musings of Mother Hood

10 weeks!

In honor of this double-digit occasion, I thought I'd try out a video post. Let me know what you think.

Videos will continue to get more exciting as Colt learns new "tricks" -- for now he's getting pretty good at grinning and laughing!

We are still recovering from our trip south last week, and gearing up for our big week starting next Tuesday. I go back to work and Colt goes to daycare. bum bum BUM - the real world! I have already begun mentally preparing myself for that day, while at the same time trying not to think about it...

 

I know this sounds crazy, but the Tooth Fairy made a stop at our house this week. That's right - Colt is teething. Before all of you Moms out there call me crazy - know that I have already called our Pediatrician to be sure I'm not losing it (after I did my "research" online of course) and she told me that he is indeed showing signs of teething. He likely won't get a tooth for another month or more -- but is teething nonetheless.

Colt's neck and arm muscles are getting really strong and he's holding his head up pretty impressively. Above is a photo of his newest toy/gadget for Tummy Time. He can spin himself around on this thing -- and is really learning to love it. Tummy Time is much more enjoyable these days -- and more so as he gets stronger.

Another video of the happiest baby on the block--

WEEKEND UPDATE

As promised --

First and foremost, at the risk of jinxing us, I would like to announce that I got 7 (consecutive!) hours of sleep last night for the first time since June 18! That's right friends - Colt slept through the night. He actually slept 8 hours - but Jeff and I woke up an hour before he did this morning and didn't quite know what to do with ourselves! I know better than to think he will sleep that well every night from now on - but one night is a start!

In other exciting news -- I wore my pre-pregnancy jeans to dinner tonight!

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On to the important stuff - pictures! I gave you a sneak peak of our trip in my usual Wednesday update, but there are more fun photos here and in the "Colt" photo album.

Well - 5 days and some 1300 miles later - we are home. Colt did well in the car, sleeping a lot of the way, but 8 hours at a time is about his limit. Considering the longest he'd been in the car before this week may have been an hour - he was a trooper.

We saw this great double rainbow as we arrived in San Antonio on Tuesday - and that rain kept things relatively cool the whole time we were there. We couldn't have asked for better weather - in August!

Wednesday was Grandpa's birthday - Happy 60th! We went out for supper to Rio Mambo and had cake and ice cream at home.

Colt not only wore his "MY GRANDPA RULES!" t-shirt for the occasion, but also pulled out his cowboy hat -- since we were in Texas and all.

Thursday was spent napping and hanging out at home -- two of Colt's favorite things to do. This is a rare photo of Colt and Chip in close proximity. Chip was pretty down in the mouth about the munchkin that had invaded his house and was manipulating his otherwise undivided attention from Grandma and Grandpa. I don't think he was sad to see us go on Saturday.

Friday we took a trip! Mom had tickets for us to see a show at the Rockbox Theater in Fredericksburg. So we loaded up and headed out for the day. On the way to Fredericksburg - we stopped in Luckenbach!

Colt and I met this nice longhorn named "Shotgun" -- and, though I kept calling it a cow, Shotgun's handler (who we've just been referring to as "Tex") let us snap a few pictures. This photo definitely doesn't do justice to how TALL this cow was.

We went on to Fredericksburg-- walked around the shops a bit, ate at a traditional German restaurant (yum!), and saw the show at the Rockbox. What a fun day!

Saturday we packed the car to the gills and headed home.  Colt has now survived his first road trip and can cross two more states off his list.  It was such a fun trip and I'm sure everyone is still recovering-- it was good to get to see Grandpa on his birthday, roadtrip with Aunt Becky, visit with Erika, and celebrate (Chief!) Grandma's promotion! It's fun to travel - but good to be home. Dad missed us, though I'm sure he enjoyed the quiet for a few days!

I'm off to bed - cross your fingers for another full night's sleep!

9 weeks/2 months

I've noticed that as people get older - the description of their age is less and less specific. You hear about babies being 6 minutes or 3 hours old, then 2 days old, then it's weeks - until about 8 weeks, then you get to count months for a while - probably until 24 months, then it's finally years.

So Colt is 90,720 minutes OR 1512 hours OR 63 days OR 9 weeks OR 2 months old. (Yesterday...)

And he survived his 2 month checkup at the doctor on Monday. Colt weighs 11 lbs 14.5 oz and is 22.5 inches long! Our healthy little boy also was a champ through his second round of shots. He had a few in the hospital when he was born, but we weren't there to watch. So this was the first round of shots for Mom and Dad -- it was rough. But Colt was a trooper.

The rest of the checkup went great -- Colt is 2 for 2 with gold stars from the doctor! He's holding his head up well, is starting to grasp things in his hands, and is clearly growing well! We were pleased with another A+ for the munchkin.

Colt spent most of Monday afternoon in an InfantTylenol-induced stupor after the shots ordeal. While I spent the rest of the day getting us ready for... Baby's First Roadtrip!

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Yesterday was Grandpa Martin's 60th Birthday -- and in true Ed Martin fashion, he insisted that no fuss be made of his birthday. We tried to get him to plan a trip or a party -- and he wasn't having it. So we all got together and decided to bring the party to HIM! Becky, Colt and I loaded up and left Fayetteville early Tuesday morning, Erika drove in from Savannah, and Mom (who was scheduled to be working at Ft. Hood all week) drove in from a few hours north -- and we all rendezvoused just north of San Antonio and convoyed to the house to surprise him.

It's not every day you sit down to quietly watch some Olympics reruns only to hear the doorbell ring and find your family waiting outside to surprise you! We couldn't get Laura in from Africa (we're not miracle workers!) and Jeff couldn't come because students are back on campus up in Fayetteville -- but Dad was thrilled to see us.

Of course, we know who Grandma and Grandpa were REALLY thrilled to see!

We are staying all week, so more photos to come. In return for this update being a day late (sorry...) I'll have a special Weekend Edition of the Colt Report when we get home on Sunday -- so be looking for it.

In the meantime, I stumbled upon a fun link and thought I'd share. Enjoy --

magmypic.com

Where do we stack the empties?

Yes, bottle feeding is coming along nicely. There is still the occasional wrestling match - but Colt's figured out that eating from a bottle doesn't HAVE to be torture and he's decided to comply - most of the time. It's really put him on a more reliable schedule - which is nice. And I don't think we're far from sleeping through the night -- we are SO close!

We have officially made our triumphant return to Wilson Park - where we walked MANY a lap when I was pregnant. We are doing our best to stay out of the heat - but Colt really doesn't mind the carrier so we've started making regular trips to the park for a few laps. He usually falls asleep by the second lap.

We joke about Colt having "been" to the park so many times with us - and back then it seemed like forever until we'd get to take him along. I got to thinking about all of the places that he has "been" before (under his former stage name of Bump, of course.) Razorback basketball games, tailgating for football, a George Strait concert, West Point, the Dallas Aquarium, a Spurs basketball game, Ross Perot's jet! He's well traveled already - and doesn't even know it!

8 weeks - wow. It's been a good week. Colt is awake and alert much more during the day - which is fun - and we've continued taking him with us to go eat or to see friends. We are hoping all of the in-and-out-of-the-car and the various noises at home/the park/Wal-Mart/restaurants will make him a sound sleeper. We'll see!

As you can see from the photos - Colt hasn't been missing any meals... He's got the cutest little chubby arms and legs -- and the belly! We go to the doctor on Monday for our 2-month check-up and weigh-in. Stay tuned.

(As always - more photos in the albums.)

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Whose kid is that??

What's so funny?!

Smiling! Laughing, really. I think God knew what he was doing when he decided when babies would smile. It just so happens to be about the time they start crying real tears. While I am learning to handle the tears -- the smiles are making up for it!

7 weeks! This week has been a big one - and I mean BIG. Last Wednesday, after my update, we got a scale so we could keep up with the chubby little guy. He weighed 10 lbs 9ozs!  That's over 4 pounds in 6 weeks!

We go to the doctor in a few weeks for an official weigh-in, but I weighed him again this morning and he tipped the scales at just over 11 pounds!

Jeff was the unfortunate victim of our first diaper "failure" this week -- and has been a little gun-shy ever since. Thankfully it's only happened the one time so far -- though I'm sure my time is coming...

This week brought Colt's first bottle, which didn't seem to slow the weight gain at all - thank goodness. The first few were a little traumatic - for both Colt and Dad - but they are getting a little easier with every attempt.

Dad is especially proud of one of the gifts we received from a coworker of mine -- and at the rate he's growing, this kid will be playing for the Hogs in no time!

I talked with my boss this week about my going back to work -- which only makes me realize how fast time is flying. I have so enjoyed being home with Colt this summer and can't believe how much he's changed in just the few weeks he's been here. Never before had I noticed all the babies and kids that are everywhere I go -- though Jeff pointed out that I really never ran errands at the "Mom" time of day before -- and I find myself getting excited about a time when he's old enough to do fun things like go to the zoo or give me a hug or track mud in the house. I'm trying hard not to "wish away" his babyhood -- he'll never be 7 weeks old again -- and every time he falls asleep on my chest I think, "someday he'll be too big for this" and it makes me smile and enjoy every minute of every day with him.

Happy 7 weeks, Little Man.