my big boy is 2!

This week was one big milestone for Mr. Colton ... he turned two years old. It sure makes me sit back and think about how fast these past two years have gone. My parents assure me that it only gets worse as the years go by, and I can't imagine what I will feel like when my baby boy turns 18! When I think about how I was feeling two years ago ... it's not that hard to remember the fear, questioning, sleepiness, joy, excitement, and utter complete love that I felt with my brand new baby boy home in my arms. (Mostly because I have just gone through those same feelings with little Khlobear just a few weeks ago!) Now, I plop Colton down in his crib after his story and prayers ... say goodnight, give him a million kisses, and wonder who that big boy is in my baby's bed. He has grown into such a smart, sweet little boy. He has accomplished so much learning in the past two years. I can't believe how much he knows and absorbs every day! I love to observe him playing the most ... he will talk to his toys and sing songs while he plays. I wonder what goes through his little head. He has brought me more joy than I have ever had, and I have been blessed by his presence in my life. I am so proud of Colton and the wonderful big brother and big boy his has become ... I can't wait to see what he will be like when he is 18--but I don't mind waiting a while!I made this shirt for Colton. I found some John Deere fabric at Jo-Anns and some green fabric that matched. I had some brown embroidery thread here at home, so I stitched his name into it as well. I like how it turned out!

On Thursday (Cole's actual birthday), we had a birthday dinner and a little cake. Colton said he wanted macaroni and cheese and peas for dinner. So, I made a macaroni recipe by Jessica Seinfeld. It's a super delicious recipe that includes cauliflower puree. It was incredible! I am going to make more of her recipes to see if they all taste so good. She is the queen of adding vegetable purees to foods to get kids the nutrition they need without fighting the "vegetable" war at meal times. Anyway, Colton ate it up! So it must've been tasty. He picked out the sprinkle cake mix and chocolate frosting at the store, so we had a small cake on his birthday. It was okay ... I didn't feel like making frosting from scratch (I've been busy to say the least), but it didn't really taste as good as homemade. The cake tastes like classic birthday cake. That's probably why I don't like it--I'm not really a cake person. Colton LOVED it ... I guess sugar is sugar to him. He blew out his own candles this year! It was really very cute.This is Colton's snowman pancake made especially for him for his birthday breakfast. He liked it a lot, because we had been watching Frosty this week. He likes Frosty!




After cake, he opened his presents! He had such a fun time. He got so many wonderful gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles. He is a blessed kid! We got him a tricycle. He loves it ... he'll have to learn to pedal. We are excited to teach him. Other than that, he got some great Bible videos, a tractor, Cars: the movie, a robot, and a sing-a-long book. He loves everything! What fun gifts from the family. He has really enjoyed it all!



I have been feeling kind of sick today. It's my fault, really. I took my prenatal vitamin on an empty stomach this morning ... and it has been cramping my tummy all day long! I've done this once before, but I didn't connect the issue. I thought it was residual effects from the surgery ... but now that I'm feeling this way again, I see that it was taking my vitamin on an empty stomach. By the time I ate something, nearly 3 hours had passed, so it eased the effects but didn't take it away. I think it will take the vitamins time to clear my system before I feel 100%. I'll have to remember this for the future. Upon looking at the bottle, I saw that it said "Take this product with food." Whoops! Read the label.

We're having a birthday party for Colton on Sunday. A few friends and family members will be coming. It's nice to have people come to share this day with him. He will love having his friends here. It's a tractor themed party. He is so into those right now. I'll post pictures on Sunday night ... I hope! This week, when we were driving in the car getting stuff for the party, Colton was "reading" this magazine from the zoo. He now wants it every time we ride in the car. "Mommy, I'm reading my mazagine!" he says to me. (Yes, I know I spelled that wrong, because that's the way he says 'magazine'.)

I sent a quilt square to my sister-in-law this week. She's making a cute quilt this winter for my niece, Elle. It's a patchwork quilt with squares from all of the important women in Elle's life. I love the idea! It's going to be adorable. Here's the square I made.

It represents Elle and all of her cousins, as well as, me! The base square and the trim are from the blanket I made for Elle. The E-R-E are from her cousins blankets, and the apple represents me (a teacher)--and I embroidered my name on that. I think it turned out well. I'm happy with it. I just can't wait to see the blanket finished. I know it will be fabulous!

Khloe has passed the 10 week mark. She still wakes sometime between 4:30 and 8:00 every morning. I love the days when it's closer to 8, and I am happy with every other day--it definitely could be worse! I started feeding her a bottle with a medium flow nipple ... she is eating much better now. I think that might allow me to feed her more per bottle and have less feedings per day. I would like to cut that one feed out before Christmas! I have been really happy with her personality so far. She is pretty chill--much like Colton. She is happy most of the time, and she sleeps very well. I love, love, love her chubby cheeks, and I could give them kisses all day long. She's starting to laugh. She laughed at me a few times today ... and yesterday, too. I can't wait until I can get it on video. She is much better at tummy time than Colton was. She will lift her head and look at me a little ... and only complains and crys a little in comparison to Colton who screamed bloody murder whenever he had tummy time! Poor guy!
This is Khloe at 10 weeks ... she's wearing my sweater from when I was a baby. She looks pretty good in it, too!

Today, I toured a Montessori pre-school with my friends. It is a great little pre-school. Colton had fun playing there and being at "school" for the tour. We probably won't send him to pre-school, but I do wish he had more and longer contact with other kids. We have friends, but the social aspect of meeting lots and lots of kids is something that I wish he had more of. I think once Khloe gets a bit bigger, we'll officially join Mom's Club, so he can be around a lot of kids more often. The Montessori school is great, but it's so expensive! More than putting him in an Adventist school the first year.

I'm so happy that it's the weekend. I love it when Billy is home! I was spoiled last week when he had 4 days off for Thanksgiving. I'm excited for Christmas break ... and going to see my Mom ... though the actual trip itself is going to be rough! Well, I'm pretty sleepy, so I'm off to bed. Happy Sabbath ... again, it took me a week to write one of these things!