An Amazing Weekend

Our anniversary weekend was wonderful!  We enjoyed alone time at Mt. Vernon, family time on Saturday at the water feature and at home, then on Sunday we did some house work that Bill and Patty came up to help with.  Great times!  Here are some pictures from our weekend that I haven't posted yet.

Getting ready our day at Mt. Vernon

Happy Anniversary to us!

My Lil C

His viking that Bill and Patty got for him!

He loves it!

Thank you to Bill and Patty for helping us paint our shutters and door yesterday.   The sun was brutal but it looks so good! Thank you!!!

Mo ghrà

"My Love" in Irish. 

Will and I are celebrating three amazing years of marriage this Sunday. I have been so fortunate to find my Will.  He has changed my life in so many ways (can't even begin to count) that I will forever be indebted to him.  Time truly seems like it has flown by since we said our vows three years ago...back when I was 24 (that does seem forever ago).  Crazy.  Each year has been full of  exciting, life-changing events (it seems)...well maybe not all life-changing but definitely exciting.  It feels like we jump from one big adventure to the next, which I love.  You never know what way our life will take us.  We moved acrossed the U.S., got married, both found amazing jobs, had a baby, bought a house and now I have transitioned to a new position that sends me all over the world.  I am so grateful for everything I have and everything that has transpired to get me to this place (good and bad - can't be picky).

I am hoping that with some of that Irish luck (got it from both sides) that we could be planning our first trip to Ireland together for our next annivesary or maybe our 5th.  That would be a great way to celebrate our first major milestone.

Thank you to my husband for being such a wonderful person who keeps me sane and in check!  I love you!  Here is to our first few years and to many, many more!

Summer Fun

I forgot to post some pictures from a few weekends ago.  One of our favorite weekend venues is the water feature at a local shopping center.  Colin LOVES playing in the water!

The water took the bucket from Colin.

Colin getting back at it!

Daddy helping out.

All ready to go!

Colin is looking at himself in the mirror - he loves mirrors!

Kisses for mama!

I was very proud of Colin.  He was doing so well at sharing his bucket with this little girl.  He apparently is better at sharing with girls then boys!  He is getting better though.  It is funny because all the parents seem to use the water feature as lesson for sharing.  At least we're not alone!

Pure Randomness

I took today off so I could get some homework done and work on a few house projects.  I have been working on-site all week so it just seemed like a good idea to stay home today!  I have been able to cross off quite a few items from my "to do" list - such a great feeling.  Will - I am not slacking right now, I was on the computer looking for pictures to hang in our guest room and hallways...maybe got a little side tracked, but no worries, it was only for a few minutes :)

I found some pictures I have been meaning to share with my mom and Liz, so why not share with all my friends/family!  So, from me to you - some pure B family randomness from the last several weeks!

One of my beautiful lily plants from my brother-in-law Michael that are growing in our backyard.

Lil C getting a boost from daddy at a local playground.

Colin playing with his new race track.  He LOVES it!

Colin talking with Grammie (my mom).

Now he is calling Grandma (Will's mom).

Telling Grandma about his new swords that I brought him from Orlando.

OK, back to work!

Looking Back: First Months (1-3)

Continuing my series of "Looking Back" blog entries here is one about Colin's first months.

The picture below is when he was just a few days old!

My little guy.

Baby Colin

Not so happy with the parents.

Once we got our sweet little baby home, we were luckily able to fall into a routine before I had to get back to work. Thankfully. That accomplishment was pretty amazing, since I was only home for 6 weeks before going back. It is hard to keep the same routine for too long, since as the baby grows things change, which means things are constantly changing.  I think for first-time parents though we did pretty well!  We were able to recoup since we obeyed the doctor's orders and kept Colin away from public places for the first 4 weeks, (since it was winter and so many sickies out there). It was hard being couped up for that long, but it was worth it since we did not want sick strangers or friends breathing on our baby!  Yes, strangers love approaching babies!!

Colin slept a lot the first few weeks, but we had to wake him up every few hours to make sure he ate so that he would put the weight he lost back on.  One thing that made it a little difficult for us to sleep, was that he would only sleep when he was held.  I guess because he was so snug in the womb, being held felt the most comfortable for him.  Plus, he was a winter baby so it was really cold at the time.  After about a month he would sleep without being held and then when he was 3 months we finally moved him to his own room. This caused more lack of sleep the first week because we were so afraid we would not hear the little guy crying. 

*WARNING: Breastfeeding Paragraph...Skip if needed*

Mommy time!

Something that none of my friends/family with babies warned
me about was how much it hurt when your milk finally came!  Man that was pure agony! It was like having two over-sized cantaloupes about ready to burst.  So, uncomfortable. I can't even emphasize how uncomfortable. I will admit that breastfeeding was not something I ever really cared for. I know a lot of moms feel it is a bonding time, but me...not so much. I made it to the 3 month mark that my doctor recommended, but once that came I packed up my pump and never looked back.  Colin was already having to drink my milk and formula (soy) because he had such a big appetite! I know that they would like for you to breastfeed longer if possible, but making it to 3 months was more than some babies get and I was pumping at work (awkward) which was not the easiest thing to do, so I was actually losing my supply anyways.

*Safe Paragraph* 

Baby's first Christmas

My mom was planning on being there for the birth, but since Colin came a week early she was able to spend the week after with us.  It was great having someone around to let us rest a bit and who had so much "baby" experience.  Plus, I felt even better because she is a nurse.  She is my go to for any medical questions that I have. That is when the 3 hour time difference is good.  When I would call her at 2 a.m. my time; it was not so late for her. When she was here it was late November/early December, so we had an early Christmas with her.  Our first Christmas in VA was also Colin's first Christmas.  Obviously, he did not know what was going on but it was such a nice Christmas!  What a wonderful gift!

Such a little guy!

Colin was a very healthy baby.  He had some stomach issues when drinking regular formula but changing to soy cured that pretty quickly.  When he was older and we changed over to milk he still had to do soy for a while, but now he is fine with skim. The only other things we had to deal with (besides a few fevers and colds) were very minor; cradle cap (which I like to call "cradle crap") and a little baby acne.  We have been very fortunate so far...fingers-crossed. 

Little GQ

He was so small!  Crazy how big they get so fast!  Also, how much their looks can change.  Colin was a little tan thing with very dark hair; now he is fair-skinned and a blondie!  People love to comment on the contrast of our family's hair color.  Me, with dark brown (yes, honey it is dark brown, not black!), Will with red and Colin with blonde.  So different.   My older brother was a blonde and now has dark hair like me; so who knows what Colin's will be when he is older.

Sadly, sleep-deprivation can cause your memory to be a bit blurred.  It seems like the first 3, even 6 months went by so fast.  The picture to the right, is a rare one of Colin with a pacifier. Our boy was not a fan, which could be considered good or bad.  Mostly good, because now we do not have to break him of that habit.  At the time, it was not so good because we would have loved for it to help him sleep on certain occasions at 3 or 4 in the morning.  All is good though.

Bath time!

Colin has had a love/hate relationship with bath-time.  When he was really small and not able to be in a real bath, he was not a fan. Once he got into the big bathtub he loved to splash around and play with his toys. 

More to come.  There may be a chunk of time between each one and I went out of order and skipped my pregnancy one (don't worry it will eventually get done) but I am taking my time on these.  This one took me a few months. 

Cooling Off

Mom - here are the pictures I promised!

Colin and I recently went to a cute little shopping center that has a water feature for kids to play in.  It was a great way to cool off.  He had so much fun playing with the other kids.  It takes him a little longer to warm up to the idea of getting wet, but to each their own. 

 Colin at first avoiding the water.

Then getting a little braver...

A little more...

Now challenging the water to come out!

Then he thought better of it and decided to have Duckie try.

When he went to relieve Duckie, it got him!

Going back to rescue the one left behind.

Taking a break!

Our Little Baker

The day before I left for my trip, the three of us made some blueberry muffins together.  It was fun all working together.  Anyone with kids know that little helpers can make a task more difficult than it has to be, but it is worth the extra trouble.  Here are some pictures of us baking.

My flight home was last night.  I had such a great time on this trip, but am so glad to be back.  I was really missing my boys.  This morning we went to a local playground that was also near a creek.  Fun times!  Colin loved playing in the water and had dirt from head to toe to prove it! Below are some pics of our morning.  I know this is a little on the short end, but I have to take two mid-terms today and am taking advantage of Colin's bathtime to type it up real quick.  Oh, daddy just said it's "nap time", got to go bathtime is over...

My Little Photographer

I kept Colin home with me today.  It was quite a feat trying to balance getting work done, some homework and entertaining a toddler!  As I was composing an email I would have to react to a football being launched at me from across the room.  At least he gives fair warning by yelling "Catch it" or "I throw".  I found it a little funny that when I set my laptop aside and asked him to play catch he lost interest - hmmm.  It was a nice day.  I got in late last night from hanging out in DC, so my sweetie of a husband let me sleep in a bit.  I woke up to Colin flying his rocket on the side of the bed.  I made Colin a big breakfast and then he played while I worked a bit.  Then we went outside to make exquisite art with our sidewalk chalk.  Of course, I took some pictures!  Then Colin took his turn behind the lens! I usually try to buy him a little toy for when they drop me off at the airport for a trip and then another one for Will to give him halfway through the trip.  My last trip I bought him a little Fisher-Price Elmo camera.  He LOVES it!  As you can see from the pictures if it had film he would have a lot of pictures of himself!  At first he was taking it correctly but now he turns it around.  The camera is cute.  Each time he takes a picture, Elmo says something like "Work it, Baby, Work it" or "The Camera loves you baby".  All in all a fun day!  I was even able to get some of my homework done, only two more things to do for the week before I fly out for my next trip.