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What's happening now?

Well, it has been some time since I posted last. Much has happened since the potty training chapter.

Colton has stopped potty training, for now. There has been a lot of life changes and with all that I am not surprised he has not wanted to go on the potty anymore. But, as things settle down and we get into a good routine we will ne kicking it up and getting stuff accomplished.

Big changes, sold out house and moved to Utah. Shortly after that I started working for the first time in his life. He is currently in a daycare around the block from our new house. Which he still refers to as the new house after a month of living here...I am a long term sub for a teacher in a Montessori school. So far it is fun. Next year, I am not sure where I will be. I am hoping to he teaching closer to the house, commuting is not so much fun when you miss your baby.

Colton is slowly making new friends at the daycare, I hope we can make some more. As a family, we need to branch out and have friends to hang out with on down time.

The bonus to the move is all of the things we now are able to do, like bouncy houses aquariums, and larger zoo. We may even be taking him to see monster trucks this weekend! That will be fun. Lots to look forward to this summer too, hiking and camping on the list. Who knows, maybe a visit to Zion national park? Road trip anyone?

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The adventures of potty training

While not yet two, Colton is great at holding it in for long periods of time. He even knows when he has to go and will tell me often, so the logical thing to do is to try potty training.

We have attempted it a few times already with not so much success. This time we are having a better time of it. We started half days last week. He went a few times in his little seat while watching Daniel tiger (insert eye rolls). Today we had two successful goes at it and one accident, which resulted in me taking out our living room rug...and the paw patrol big boy pants are a hit, he likes them and when he had his accident, he was upset about it immediately. He asked for help all on his own right as it happened. But of course I was too late to do what was necessary to get him on his seat, next time mayhaps.

As for when he does go, he is so excited about what happened, and yes I make a big deal of it. Who doesn't need a personal cheerleader?

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Oh man, what a summer we are having! It doesn’t feel like we have done a lot, yet it seems we are always doing something at the same time. Life is one big adventure after all. In case the photos do not explain enough, Colton is as much in love with reading as he ever was, has even taken to occupying my chair to do so in a comfy fashion. He enjoys both reading to himself and choosing books on a rotating basis for me to read with him. He has even tried to read to the dog in his bed a time or two, Scooby Doo books even! 

With summer comes water and playing outdoors, both of which Colton is enjoying in large quantities. Baseball and hitting around any ball with his golf clubs is a hit right now too, kid is setting trends of his own! He is pretty good at hitting the ball off of his Tee too. 

A big development in his world, and ours, is that we changed his bed to a toddler frame now. He is liking it at bedtime, but naps have not happened since Friday...however, he is sleeping just fine at night so it is a good thing in the long run. Who knows, maybe he will decide at some point that he needs his naps again. I know I wouldn’t mind the mommy time back...

Other less obvious but important facts of life are that his vocabulary is rapidly expanding. I can not even count the number of words the little guy now has in his baby dictionary. He is even putting sentences together. This morning the dog licked his face and he told the dog “no no Hank, don’t do that!”. Not that the dog listens to his words yet, but it is a good start. Another occurance in his young life is that he is into everything, not in the ‘I am interested in it’ kind, but baby Taz style. Okay, maybe not that bad, but goodness, I can not seem to get anything done without him ‘helping’. Although, in some cases, like trying to help me flip pancakes, it is not a bad thing, but laundry...oh boy, that is not something he is good at doing the right way. More like taking everything out of the basket and on the floor, or running around the house declairing whose clothes he has confinscated this time. 

Regardless of the wild side, he is a joy to have in our lives. He makes us smile, laugh, and learn to be more sneaky (or faster to the bathroom so we can lock the door). He is learning, curious, and loads of fun. 

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The Journey Continues...

It has been some time since my last post, we have been a bit busy around here, with all of the learning, growing, lazy days and adventures we partake in. So here is an update on life as we know it thus far in our household:

*picky eating is in the house, Colton has a few favorites that he eats on a regular basis. However, trying new foods is not something he is willing to do or does often.

*large vocabulary is in use! While he may not be talking in sentences yet, he can communicate much of his needs on a regular basis. I have lost track of all the things he can now say. He is also willing and wanting to learn more every day.

*learning how to use art tools. We have been working on coloring (scribbling and such) with markers, crayons, colored pencils, all of which he refers to as colors. We even tried to use glue and squares of paper the other day to make a mosaic in the front yard, he thought that was pretty fun.

*MAGNETIC TRAINS ARE THE TREND...hours upon hours of entertainment watching him push and pull trains across the track in the living room (Thank you Stef and Devon!). We are even reading lots of Thomas the Train books from the library and our stash.

*Learning how to sing songs! ABC’S and theme songs from CAT IN THE HAT and NATURE CAT are favorites in our house at the moment. Colton is trying his hardest to sing them with me. With the ABC’s, he will often call out the next letter rather than copy me. Favorite letter is W, he can recognize it and pronounce it properly. He has even started to count a little with me, but always skips over #1, and loves #3.

*Outdoor activities are our friend. He loves being outside, whether it is hiking in his pack on our backs, in his stroller running and walking the dog with me, or just hanging out in the yard playing fetch with the dog. We are working on kicking the soccer ball, its a hit and miss kind of thing. 

**HE HAS LEARNED HOW TO OPEN DOORS WITH KNOBS! We have now reached the stage where we need to lock the bolts to stop him from sneaking out of the house when our backs are turned, or that may be a thing he likes to attempt when its just mommy at home...

*likes to ask for family members who are not present. He likes to look at photos of people he knows, may be that he is missing them, he doesnt have the words to tell me if this is so just yet however.

*He has started to inform me that he needs to go potty, but will not just yet potty train. We are working on that when he is in the mood. He is still little and will get to that point soon enough.

Those are the highlights of our life, I know as always, that there are things that are not mentioned, but the big ones, those are fun to share. TTFN

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Changes are inevitable...

When we are with someone day in and day out, we have the tendency to not see changes that are happening right in front of us. It is when we are seperated or are not able to see someone on a daily or regular basis that we notice all of the changes that affect a person, how they grow, develop, mature. Well, I would like to say that this is true for my small family, but that would not be the truth. Since I am with Colton every day, and even some really early mornings, you would think that small changes, small developments would not be noticed, well that may be true if it was one or two and not like looking at a spring flower go from seed to bloom overnight. 

That is the best analogy I can give for what has been occuring with my son. One day he is his normal self, running around and using a small set of words. Now...now he is like a different child, he has had a major maturity spurt. His little brain has had a huge leap in processing and output. He tries to have whole conversations with me, he can communicate well, most of the time when he needs or wants something. Boundaries are being pushed and tested, more often than not via hitting and slapping. A normal phase, I know, but it does not mean that it is acceptable behavior. This is our current lesson we are learning. That and taking turns with other children when we are playing...

He is such a happy little boy, full of smiles and adventure. He loves being outside, climbing on everything, including the dining room table! We might need to change his name to George as well, he is curious about everything! What a great way to learn about the world!!!

Another huge change is his wanting to sit down with me to read, will even bring me books to read with him. We have read Llama Llama Red Pajama I don’t know how many times now. He has been interested in Curious George and Splash and Bubbles lately, where ever we are he has been asking for splash (fish). I am not sure where that has come from, because we don’t watch the show often nor do we have fish in our house. For the longest time I thought he was asking for actual bubbles but it turns out I was wrong.

In addition to these wonderful advances, we have to add that he has been telling me when he is either going potty or needs to go. We have yet to actually go in the potty, but I am excited for the communication, even if it is not always consistent. It sure will make potty training all that more easy when he is finally ready, I know I am ready to be done with diapers!

By the looks of things, putting clothes and shoes on will be the next things to be mastered. He has been helping me take them off and is now trying to put them on, but without success yet. So much has been changing that it is kind of hard to keep track of all the changes happening in his little world, regardless, it sure is fun to watch him learn and grow!

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Growing up

Lately I have noticed that Colton has been changing, he acts more like an older child now than ever before. He uses his words, climbs on things like the dinning room chairs (and table), has even moved them around so that he can get to things that are out of his reach, like on the kitchen counter he is not allowed to climb on. He still has his moments of pouting and acting his age, don’t get me wrong, but it is scary how smart and intentional he is in his actions. He develops these plans in his head, and he does his best to accomplish them, and heaven forbid I stop him (safety first and all). 

I really noticed it today when we were at his nature program. We go every tuesday, rain, snow, or shine. Normally in the past he would have a few tantrums. The first time we went it felt like he was trying to give himself a concussion on the river rocks as he threw himself backwards, all because I would not let him walk out into the fast running water. There are normally at least two fits, over things like keeping with the group and needing to be picked up, or having to have gloves on his hands because it is cold outside. Today however, today was a lot different. Today he kept up all on his own, held the teachers hand as she helped him traverse to the edge of the ponds and over logs and tall grass. He even let her pick him up and carry him, all without a peep of protest. He was happy, smiling, leading the pack of two other children, which he was the youngest. The only time(s) he got mad was when I did not let him follow another child who was told not to head in a certain direction, and when it was time to leave. It was getting toward nap and we had an errand to do before we went home. Once we got going and talking with each other the attitude subsided and he was happy and giggling once again. 

It is strange to see the difference in your own child. For so long I watched other peoples children learn, grow, and change. It somehow feels different when it is your own, when you are with them all the time and all these changes are happening, yet it takes a bigger moment like today for you to really stop and see what is really going on. 

My baby is growing up, he is becoming his own person. He is learning about the world around him, and how he can managed without help from his mommy, yet knows she is there if he needs her. 

Knowing about how children grow, learn, and develop helps me to understand what is happening in his little body: how when a child goes through a growth spurt they fly forward, it usually is not a small or slow jump forward. Understanding that when they seem to regress and when things seem to get turned upside down, there usually is a change coming, boy did we have a week or so of that one, and a really bad day does not mean that you are a bad parent. We all have rough and bad days, so during nap when your toddler takes a dirty diaper off and then wets his bed, hands you the dirty diaper and says uh oh, its not because he is mad at you, he is just missing something important he needs: like running around pretending to be a wild hyena (sharp teeth yes, but thank goodness no biting!). Bad weather does funny things to childrens behavior, I think it is written in the Toddler Behavior Manual or something, which I still can not locate. 

There is nothing like being a parent, watching your child grow and learn. It is a fun ride, sometimes exhausting, but fun and fulfilling. And thank goodness nicer weather is around the corner!

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Being a parent is full of firsts, oh my's, and I can't believes. Normally Colton sleeps well, but lately he has been waking up screaming around 530 but goes back to sleep. Not true this morning...we were out of bed come 6, because at that point I saw that he wasn't going back to sleep. 9 he morphed into a wildling so I put him down for a nap. Waiting for 20 minutes to make sure he fell asleep, no luck. So I hopped in the shower before resuming my mommy duties... mistake 1 for the day, didn't help attitudes any. So I get out, do my thing and go to take Prince Charming out of his bed, only to be handed a poopy diaper! It's a mess in his bed, and his head. So I do a quick clean of the swamp monster, get him in the tub only to irritate him even more. It was like a washing machine whose balance is off, mistake 2, giving a quick baths and scrubbing his face (or says that cute little prince). Get him to his room to dress and he hasn't morphed back into my happy little boy, yet. Wasn't happy about the hair brushing or getting dressed part, but didn't really give him a chose. So now we are dressed but his room is still a mess. So what do I do, I put him in a chair and put sesame street on and gave him some more milk, worked for a minute or two. I at least got dirty linens going without help. He comes in to help me vacuum the floor, jump on his mattress and get into everything else. Baby tornado! He looks like a zombie but won't sleep, ugh. So next plans may be to go for a long drive to knock him out...oh the joys!

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(It's a) Good Friday!

Oh me, oh my! In school we learned about child development and how at some point in their young lives they go through a transition where they are easily frustrated over everything. We learned that's in part due to lack of language, or rather being about to tell you with words what's up. And also partially because they can't do a thing they want. Both of these actions, skills, or lack of is what leads to tantrums and attitudes. Well, we are getting to that point now. Although he does talk with us, only part of his "words" can be understood enough to make sense out of baby speech. Colton has added hello, bubbles, ball, and a few others to his vocabulary now. Now the trick is being able to understand him when he is really frustrated and needs to be heard. But, I was leading this to where he now throws things out of a fit of frustration and tantrum, even hits if he is mad. Learning time out real quick! As so other joys my awesome and intelligent son has learned is to kick the soccer ball in the yard! We are also working on throwing the ball for the dog. The biggest change though is the language barrier. We will get there.

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I was pretty upset yesterday when I couldn't find the first photo. Thank goodness for my mom (and sister) she looked through all of the millions of photos I have sent and found this gem for me (somehow my phone and the internet ate my copy). So much has happened, he has grown so much, learned to do so much over the past year. It's hard to keep up! We have added more words to his vocabulary. Gold fish is the best one so far. And he is working on I love you, hello, doggie, and countless others that I have failed to translate into comprehensible English 😏. He has one speed these days, full speed ahead! He is always on the move, it is hard to get him to slow down now and again. The biggest change this month is his vocabulary though, he is a little sponge and trying to talk more and more, learning new words and trying out new sentences. Makes life fun, I can understand him more each day though, that is a huge help. As for now that is all there is to report, I will try again around Easter.

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Someone has been a busy boy! This precious little guy has added words to his vocabulary as of late: *oh no *uh oh *all done *all gone *thank you *out (ou) - we are working on the t part *yes * no no no (with head shake) *boom *zoom *momma *dadda/daddy I think that is it, might be wrong though. He says more but nothing I can translate from baby. He is now climbing all over EVERYTHING! He has mastered climbing on the couches and our recliners, even over the side using a box as a step stool. He is trying to get climbing onto the dinning room chairs down, but I am not ready for that one. He more or less has stairs down. Three in the front steps are nothing to him now, but still don't trust him on the big stairs by himself. He is getting the idea of a fork better, it's still used as a dingle hopper at times...don't know what that is? Watch the little mermaid some time... Since the weather has been so nice, we spend most of our days outside. Once every other week we go to Nature Nuts. It's a little tykes explorer group at a local conservation center here. He isn't too sure yet, kind of early for him to be expected to function to that capacity (10-11). We still go to the library every Thursday, provided he isn't napping. Otherwise we kind of wing the rest of the week, play dates and random trips and play dates. Andy got him a little pop up tunnel and tent set for the living room, we keep the tunnel in the living room and set it up part of the day, Colton loves playing with it. Today I set up the tent part and put pillows inside, he thought that was pretty cool. Right now he is looking at flash cards and trying to read them to the dog lol. Quite funny to watch. I think that's about it for updates, until next time!

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The Many Adventures of Mommihood.

Behind, again. It seems like I am failing at keeping people up to date on what is transpiring with Colton, but then again, anyone that does know me knows it is because I am having too much fun being a mommy!

This month (on teh 21st) the little man turns 17 months old. Today I found out that he is now 25 pounds, not sure as to his height just yet, moves around too much to find out on my own lol. 

Now to the interesting part of life...The past few weeks he has barely eaten anything in a single day, but at some point they do eat. This evening he actually ate a lot, for once. He is talking really well for someone so little. I have not counted all the words, but I would guess that he has between 10-20 that he can say at any given time. With two sentences down (I got this; What is this) and a catch phrase “uh oh” under his belt, he is on his way to talking up a storm.

Skills, well running is a big one, as is throwing balls (and other things like tantrums and blocks). He is stacking things and putting things on dowels (stacking toy) with ease. A favorite activity of late is to transfer objects from one container to another, so much fun when you have a pumpkin bucket from halloween laying around ;-) And of course, the books, reading to himself is a daily must! Plus, he is asking me to read to him a little more all the time. We managed to get through a whole Dr Seuss (Green Eggs and Ham) the other day, had to read a little fast but we did it! I noticed tonight that he is really figuring out how to stack his legos together now, had himself a little tower going on with a pattern even...coincedence I know, still wonderful to see all the same.

Outside activities are still a hit and miss thanks to the randomly changing weather, if it is not snowing and 30 or less outside it seems to be so windy that he might blow away. But we are really looking forward to getting to spend countless hours outside this year. He now has his own car to drive around the yard thanks to some friends of ours. Look out world, baby is going to learn how to drive a little tyke!

Well, for now I will stop, someone needs to play (and I took this over into the next day because I am slow). So, for now I will sign off and try to update again before the month is out....

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Hello again, from mommy hood...

My first entry from the new year is coming at you from the last day of January! Not that I have been neglecting to write, but a certain short person has been a busy boy and keeping my in my toes... What's new? Where do I start? Well, as of the 21st he is 30.5" tall, 23 pounds, started to copy what we say (as best as his developing vocal skills will allow, which is getting to be more each day!), asking for things like Cheerios (eeo's in Colton talk) and old Macdonald songs. (Which he says E I E I). You can understand about 1/3 of what he is talking about, when he goes slow and doesn't tell you a whole novel. Still working on fork skills but that's okay, hand-eye coordination is getting better. And he is starting to do movements for songs, more of that in the next section. Recent activities? Well he learned how to splash in puddles, as our snow was melting, until more started coming down some time around 630 this morning (oh joy...). He can now roll himself on his riding car, but still enjoys a good joy ride through the house with dads help. Books are still a favorite, likes to read to himself a lot, plus letting me read more to him, so long as the book is t within his immediate reach anyways. We have been having more and more dance parties in the house. He enjoys the music and it is good exercise for when we can't get outside to play, I am really looking forward to nice outside play weather (rain boots are on the list of needs for future use). We are also still going to the library once a week for a play group. He is even starting to sing and do movements for the songs, at home at least, he is a little shy about others seeing him do things, plus his timing is off right now and he knows it. Happy and you know it is fun, but I have to make a long pause for him to clap or stomp his feet. Even the Italy bits spider, he tries to make him go up, so cute to watch. Man, a lot has changed. I know there is a ton I didn't say, so maybe next time!

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This awesome dude has been working on his skills! Currently, he is learning how to clean up toys after himself, with mommies gel of course. Learning to stab good with a fork to eat, getting better at it all the time. He has started to follow one to two step directions as well. This is so cool to watch, he gets very excited about following directions too. Soon it will be time to play Simon says type games! Communication is in the works, working on using "yes" appropriately. And we are trying to learn new words, he does his best and tries hard. Every once in a while he puts things together well and it comes out like he wants. Such as when he was done with his milk the other morning, he handed me is cup and said "all done with this", granted it was one long word. But progress all the same! He turns 14 months this month, weights 20 odd pounds, over 30 inches tall, and loves to throw things around lol.

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Oh my!

A few months later...Colton is now a year old, growing like a weed, and so many things have changed in his little world. The last time I wrote was close to the beginning of October, it's now late December, as in the last week, and getting ready to bring in the new year. Since that time he has gotten taller, more teeth, bigger attitude, and many milestones and personality changes. He now has all 4 molars, his canine teeth are coming in, 3 at once even. That is a fun time, not really, but we are managing. He is at least sleeping on his own all night, for the time being anyways. Nap time has been an off and in challenge, since he is tired and gets to be grumpy if he doesn't get an afternoon nap now, but is currently protesting that nap. Fun times in our house. His go to meal is peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some kind of fruit, either blueberries or mandarin oranges. French toast is good too, but he isn't eating as much egg as before. Otherwise, he eats what we eat, if he is in the mood. Some nights we fall back on the sandwich because he refuses what we are eating. As for other things that are changing, he is trying to talk, starting to try out copying words and tries saying "three!" When playing with his dad today! High fives are happening now, and he is bringing us books to read with him. He is giving attitude now too when he doesn't get his way. Makes outings real fun. Running through the house, or any place he can get his feet down is a hit. And nothing is safe on the last 6 inches of the table or counters now. He has learned to get up on his toes to try and pull things down when determined to do so. I know there are more things that I could discuss, but mommy duties are calling. Until next time!

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Oh boy, a year has gone by!

Again, time has lapsed since my last update, but here we go...

Someone just turned a year old last week. At the start of month family came to town to help us celebrate his birthday early, to beat any bad weather that may have or not come this way for his actual birthday. And during that visit the birthday boy learned to walk, thanks Nana B...now I can’t get him to stop...(but that is okay).

Later, just after his birthday we had our friends over to celebrate with us. Good friends and food, plus yummy cupcakes! 

This past week he has learned how to stand up in the middle of the floor with no use of objects, practically running around the house now, but holds his little hands up in the air as he walks around (for balance). In addition to this new development, he is acquiring his first set of molars! Meal time is now soft, pureed foods again, and lots of water and milk. Also, he has mastered “mom”, it is now his favorite word...we are now using: yeah, yes, na (no), do (dog), dad, dadda, mom, and momma. Sometimes bubba, but that is when he is just talking, not with a directive in mind. 

The saddest part of this month is for me, he is done nursing, he will drink a bottle of warm milk at (some) nap time and then at bedtime...I kind of saw it coming at the start of the month when he wasn’t so interested, but one day it was basically done. 

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Happy Birthday!

Okay, so part of me feels like I have gone over board with celebrating my baby's birthday, but, you only turn a year old once in your life, so it's okay. It is my job as his mommy. Next week we get his new weight and height, but he is (my estimated guess) over 20 pounds now, and close to 30 inches tall? He is grabbing areas of shelves that he could have before , but has better balance to do so now so I had to go round two of baby proofing some things. Colton still loves books, cars, using a walker (or riding car, thanks Grammie and grandpa!) trying his legs at walking on his own throughout the house, and now trying his skills outside! Smooth surfaces are still best, Bain ever he hasn't exactly figured out that he has to lift his little legs higher. He has 8 teeth now, four on top and four on bottom. Eating solid foods like a champ, and likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Anything that can make noise or be used to make. Pose ( like by banging it on things) is fun. Objects that can be moved or pushed are fun, as is pulling things out of the cupboard before daddy rigged it so he couldn't play on things like flour. We are getting ready to celebrate with friends on Saturday, little dude gets two parties for his first birthday, had family come earlier in the month. That is when he figured out the whole walking thing! He sure is a busy little boy, and keeping up with him is fun! Okay, that is enough for now, have a birthday boy to play with, and I am getting run over by his bad driving...

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Oh my! this guy has grown...It feels like forever since my last post, so some updating is in order now.

Colton is now 11 months old, and getting ready for his first birthday party with family in a week and a half. Still only has seven teeth, but has now started to eat things like chicken. For the most part, he eats what we eat for meals. 

New tricks: has learned how to put objects into containers, toys back into their containers, walking holding one hand, wiggles to dance or excited, crawls on hands and knees all the time now, climbing on everything, attempting to eat anything he can get his little fingers on, and I am sure I am misisng things in that list. 

We discovered the discomfort a his first bad diaper rash, at 4am...also discovered the superpower of coconut oil and aquaphor cream combo :-) day two and it is nearly gone! Also, nothing can ever really be baby proofed, they always find out what you missed. And, cleaning with a crawler in the house is equivelant to cleaning during a tornado! I know, welcome to motherhood lol, but at least we still get the job done. 

Still getting regular outside and play time with friends, thanks to lovely weather, winter will require some creativity. Keeping him busy helps wear him out for sure! 

For now that is all I got, someone is getting into things he shouldn’t :-/ so I will leave you there for now...Chaos to be continued at a later date and time.