LONG Overdue!

I can't believe how time has flown by and how incredibly long it has been since I have managed to type something! I honestly have just been busy - as usual - and any free moment I have, well, I'm spending that holding and playing with the sweetest, cutest baby in the world!

Colton is SUCH a joy! He is happy and sweet 99% of the time, which makes the fact that he won't drink from a bottle and still is up every 3 hours at night completely fine. I am so in love with him and I really just can't get enough! It makes me sad to know that he has just turned 9 months old and is growing up so fast. He is crawling everywhere, waving, pulling up on things and I swear he is starting to recognize the sound "Ma Ma" and "Da Da" for us. He is just the nicest little baby (I think I probably thought this about all of my boys!) and I can just spend my whole day wrapped up in him!

Summer has brought loud times at our house with all 4 boys home all the time! It has been fun-filled and I am not looking forward to them heading off to school in a few weeks.

Jacob is HUGE and is actually excited to head off to 6th grade... I, on the other hand, am NOT ready for this transition into adulthood that I am already starting to see. He is a good boy and I'm praying that he will continue to be just as responsible and compassionate as he continues to grow. I had to buy him a size 8 MENS shoe yesterday and since he has outgrown everything (and he needs "COOL" clothes) we are spending a small fortune to dress him for the school year. I'm also getting a lot of heat from him about getting a cell phone because ALL of his friends have already had them for a couple of years! I would say he is exaggerating, but he's really not. He is just about the only one who doesn't have one, but other than that, I don't really see any reason for an 11 year old to have one! Who knows what we will do because I don't want him to be truly the only kid without one, but I don't really want him to have one either!

Keaton has been having a good time building and hanging out, sleeping late and playing with friends. He's not as excited about school starting, but I guess that just comes along with going into 3rd grade - the grade where they actually start real homework and letter grades. He's growing too and is just figuring out who he is.

Gavin is looking forward to starting Kindergarten and has already gotten his backpack and lunchbox. I can't believe he is going to be away from home all day everyday soon and that makes me sad. Kindergarten is really one of those big "grow up" years and by the end of school Gavin won't be the same kid that I am sending there in 3 short weeks.

So, my babies are all growing up and while they are all in such fun stages of life, I am always sad when I stop to think about how fast the time is flying by. I love these kids more than life and yes, they consume me, all my time, love, thoughts and energy, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Their childhoods are passing by so quickly and I am constantly just grasping for one more moment of them at the age that they are, but no matter how hard I try to stop it, time just keeps marching on and the days, months and years just keep passing by. It's sobering to think that Jacob has already lived more than half of his life with us as a child...

On a happier note, summer has been great! We have been to Orlando to see Universal Studios and Disney World, The Everglades, Key Largo and the other Florida Keys, JW Marriott in San Antonio for a long weekend, Port Aransas to the beach for a few days and we still have another trip to JW Marriott in 2 weeks! We have spent lots of days at the movies, laser tag, bowling and hanging with friends. The boys are having a blast and I am so thankful that we have been able to spend such a good summer together. Joel has even been able to take some time off work to spend with us!

I need to update more with some pictures, but atleast I got some thoughts and memories out here. After all, that was the whole point of starting this blog - to keep track of things I never wanted to forget.

Is He Cool or What?

Valentine's Sock Hop 2010

15 Weeks Old

I really can't believe it's already been 15 weeks! Only a couple more weeks and my sweet baby will be 4 months old...:(

At 3 months old (1/27/2011) Colton weighed 16lb with all his clothes on and was 24.5 inches. He has basically doubled his weight since birth and has grown 3.25 inches! He's starting to sleep a little better. He goes to bed usually around 10 and wakes to eat between 3 and 4am, nurses on one side and falls back to sleep. Around 6:30 we're up again to nurse on the other side and then back to bed for another couple hours. He wakes up in a happy mood and loves to smile and giggle. He's batting and grabbing at the toys that hang above him on his activity gym, but doesn't seem to be anywhere close to turning over. Probably because I hold him entirely too much, but I just can't get enough of him! He's getting too big to sleep in his little bassinet next to my bed, but I am keeping him there as long as I can. I love waking up to his sweet little face in the dim light of the alarm clock. He is very ticklish on his tummy and upper thighs and loves to bounce up and down. He is loads of fun and continues to be the sweetest, cutest, most happy natured baby I know!

Behind the Times

Time is flying by at our house and baby Colton is 14 weeks old today and will be 3 months old tomorrow! I am so sad that he is growing so quickly and spend most of my days just holding and loving on my sweet, sweet baby. Well, as much of my day as possible, because as you can probably imagine, with 3 other boys, a husband, 2 dogs, 2 businesses and just normal life, things can get pretty busy around here. Baby Colton is the sweetest, cutest, most loveable baby in the world (I'm sure everyone thinks that about their baby), but I truly think that he is! He has grown SO much and was 13 pounds 10.5 ounces and 24 inches long at his 2 month well check. I think he is probably approaching 16 pounds now, but will know for sure in a couple days when we are at the doc. He's been smiling for ages and lauging out loud as well. I don't know a happier baby! He's even started batting at toys hanging above him a couple weeks ago and "talking" to them. His hair is still red as can be and I really don't think it's going to change. I spend so much time holding him up close to me that it still shocks me how red his hair is when I see him from a distance. I don't let him get too far away from me because I am just enjoying him SO much and treasuring every moment. As much as I'd love to always have a baby in the house, I'm sure this is the last one that my husband will allow, so I've got to make each moment last.

The other boys are all doing well and are glad that the school year is half over. They are counting the weeks until Spring Break! Keaton turned 8 on December 1st and Gavin turned 5 on January 3rd. I can't believe either of them are so old already... I can still remember them as newborns like it was yesterday. Jacob is working hard on his school play and it's only about 10 days away now. I look forward to seeing it, but don't know how anything can top his performance as Charlie Brown in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown last year.

I will have to be more diligent in keeping this up to date. I really want for this to continue to be a record of our lives and a way for me to keep those precious memories forever. For now, I'll just leave you with a recent pic of the cutest red-head on the block!

Can I Feed Him?

I had to remember to write this down!

When Colton was 1 day old and Gavin came back up to the hospital to visit with my sister, he was puzzled by how I was going to feed the baby. It was time for him to eat, so I started to nurse him. Gavin saw what I was doing and asked, "how does he get milk out of there?" I explained to him that babies drink milk from their mommies so they can grow big and strong. He was sitting on my hospital bed and pulled up his shirt and said, "Can I feed him from mine?!" He was as serious as can be and it was just the funniest thing!

2 Weeks Already :(

My sweet baby is 2 weeks old already! Although I've been through this 3 other times, I really just can't believe how the time has flown by. It makes me sad that he is growing and changing so very quickly and there's nothing I can do to slow it down.

Colton has the sweetest, most laid back personality. He doesn't cry much, only when he's got a gas bubble or needs to burp. He doesn't cry when he wakes up at night, just makes little baby noises. He smiles a lot and although I know he's not smiling at me or at anything in particular, he still seems like a really happy baby. He actually has "laughed" in his sleep several times. None of my other boys have ever done this at such an early age, but he seriously will be sleeping, crack a huge smile and then his tummy starts to move back and forth and he starts making a little baby noise. It's not a cry and it's not the same noise he makes when he wakes up. The only thing I can equate it to is a chuckle! He sleeps a lot and wakes up about every 3 hours in the night. He has yet to be awake during our family dinner time which is great because it allows me to eat with the rest of the family. This in itself seems amazing because I can vividly remember my other babies waking up as soon as I sat down to eat! It was like they could sense that I was about to do something I really needed to do and inevitably would wake up and NEED me before I could ever finish a meal. So, thus far, his red hair has not proven to make him hot tempered or any of the stereo types of red heads. I'm praying this will continue to be the case!

Colton's 2 Week Stats-
9 pounds 6 ounces (93rd percentile) - he's gained 1 pound and 3 ounces since birth!
22 inches (99th percentile) - he's grown 3/4ths of an inch since birth!

So, when I say he's growing too fast, I really mean it! Here he is at 2 weeks old. I think green is really his color!

Cutie