Two post topics in one post.

First topic: Colin had his 18 month Dr's appt today. Like usual, he's healthy, above average in weight, height, and head circumference, and has surpassed all 18 month developmental milestones. He weighed in at 28lbs 6oz and is 33 3/4" tall which puts him at the 80% for weight, 87% for height and 98% for head.

Second topic: Pictures from Colin's half birthday celebration. Colin helped me decorate his half birthday cake. I think we'll make this a family tradition ... half cakes on half birthdays. Any excuse for cake, right? :)

Momma's little helper!

I love his sweet face!

Someone not too happy with Daddy!

I'd say he liked it :)

Dear Colin,

Happy 18 months little man. 1 ½ years old may seem young to many but not to their mom. I don’t know where the time has gone.
By time, I mean your life, I mean this month, I mean the days. Time is flying by faster than I want. I wish I could just slow everything down. Bottle up these mild sunny breezy summer days to open at a later time. Cherish the smile on your face as you hear the airplane in the sky. Or your laughter as you run through the green grass; your excitement of something as simple as a sandbox. I want to slow down this stage of your life where you are mostly toddler but still part baby. The toddler stage where daily you surprise us with new words. The toddler stage where you ask questions, have an opinion, use your imagination, and amaze us how quickly you learn new things. But the baby side of you is somedays what I cherish the most. After a long day, there is nothing sweeter than holding you and singing you to sleep.
Colin, you are a delightfully funny boy. In earlier months, you made us laugh solely by your actions. You farted, we laughed. You tried rolling over and would get stuck, we'd laugh. You walked like you were a baby giraffe, we laughed. Now that you are a big boy, all of 18 months, you make us laugh on a whole new level. You engage us. You show your intelligence. You are just plain silly. Now when you fart, you plug your nose and say "PU." Instead of not being able to roll over, you throw your self on the floor repeatedly sliding backwards in a mighty temper tantrum. You are quick on your feet and love playing games with Daddy and me that make us all squeal in laughter. You, my dear, are my greatest joy.
In these 18 quick months, I can already see certain personality traits shine through. You are a people pleaser, just like your mom. You learn what people like and do it, often. You run your chubby hands up and down my arms when I feed you at bedtime. You give me the same round of kisses before you go to bed (mouth, right cheek, left cheek, nose, then head bump.) You love clearing off the table after dinner. With two hands, you carefully carry every item from the table to the baby gate handing it to daddy and then say "Thank you welcome." Although you are a loud talkative curious active little boy, you are also sweet and sensitive. If you hear someone cry, you instantly get concerned and need to assess the situation. You give kisses when you've been naughty in your attempt to say sorry. You are quick to give hugs, kisses, and cuddles.
I think I say each month how smart you are but I cannot seem to wrap my head around how quickly you learn and retain things. Your word count is extremely high and you are now string together 2 to 3 words. You have a huge thirst for knowledge and need to know what everything is...atleast twice. You've begun learning your colors and know blue and yellow well. You adore doing "itsy bitsy" {spider} and playing "ring around" {the rosy}. You cover your mouth when you burp, cough or have the hiccups and say "Pe-Pe" which we figured out is excuse me. You've begun using your name and call yourself CoCo while patting your chest.
We are excited to see you continue to grow, learn, and live life. We are excited to see how much you'll have changed by your next milestone birthday. 6 Months from now, we'll be eating cake, singing Happy Birthday, telling you how much we love you and are proud of you. And while, I am not able to bottle up this beautiful sunshine and open it on your birthday, don't forget this. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. You are all the Sunshine I need.

Love always,
Mommy.

Mike and I are debating if we want to try to take Colin's 18 month pictures ourselves instead of shelling out the big bucks to have them taken by a professional. So we headed to Collins Park on Reeds Lake this afternoon to snap a bunch of pictures. We got a bunch of cute pictures but nothing that I think is *it*. We'll try again another day. Here's a few of our fave unedited pictures from the day ...

...how can you NOT love this kid?

Sunday after church we traveled to the east side of the state for Mike's Aunt and Uncle's housewarming party. It was nice seeing family, although our time was short (due to lack of nap and a very active little boy). Colin loved the huge sandbox and the bounce house.

Monday, we spent the afternoon with Mike's dad, Amy and the kids. I forgot the camera in the car but we had a fun afternoon and it was nice to catch up.

Colin went to daycare on Wednesday. GymC0 comes to his daycare on Wednesdays. He went last week and I heard and read about how much fun he had hanging from the bars, so I came this week with camera in hand. Of course, this week's equipment wasn't as exciting but it was fantastic to watch. For the privacy of the other kids, I won't post any of the pictures that show the kids' faces.
Colin with his best bud P.

The other night while we gave Colin a bath, I remembered we hadn't taken bath pictures in awhile. Colin loves bath time. He loves playing in the bubbles. He loves pouring water on him. He loves blowing bubbles in the water.


Saturday Mike and I had to work opposite shifts. Me 8-4, Mike 3-who knows when. So Colin worked played at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Colin watering the plants.

Colin washing Tim's car.

Colin and Uncle Tim

Men hard at work.

Here's to another fun, picture filled week.

Yup another video! He's usually a little more animated but he was distracted by something on the TV.

I've been trying to take this video for weeks. Anytime the camera came out, he'd want nothing to do with it.

I've been having a terrible horrible downright emotionally draining shitty week. Mike is out with Brandon, Colin is sleeping, so I'm having a drink and about to pop in a movie.

Instead of spending more time worrying, crying, praying, and stressing out about things, I thought I'd take a second to mention a few things that make me smile; a few things that I'm thankful for.

• How Colin covers his mouth with his chubby baby hand when he coughs or says "thank you welcome" after pretty much everything. I adore his already forming manners. I am so in love with that little boy.
• For a friend who has been praying for me because she knows how difficult this week has been. Her friendship means more than she ever knows.
• A husband who knew how terrible of a day I was having and came home with pizza so I wouldn't have to think about making dinner
• A {too} compassionate Christian owner who sat and listened to me for over an hour the other day and even teared up when I said I had spent my day off worrying about a situation. An owner who gave me a good Christian gut check. An owner who cares more about people than earning a buck.
• The weather has been wonderful lately. If I could bottle it up, I would.

So while my week has stunk a big fat one, I still have alot to be happy about.

I was talking to Merridith on the phone this afternoon and Colin was reading at his table. When we hung up, I finally noticed what he was reading and ran to grab my camera.

future Pastor Colin?
I can't help but think of my Grandma when I see this picture. I know if she was able to see it, she'd love how he folded his hands and that he loves to loudly say AMEN! I think she'd even love his cheesy forced smile :)

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the 4th of July? If not, I do. If I have, let me say it again. I love the 4th of July.

The morning started off with a wonderful breakfast at Jason and Janna's house. French toast casserole, homemade cinnamon rolls, freshly picked cherries. Delish!

We killed some time before the parade started. We weren't sure how Colin would react to the noise and it was about 11.30 by the time the parade got to us and he hadn't napped yet but he LOVED it. Like if I could create a daily parade, I would just to see that excitement again. None of the noises scared him. He loved the clapping and waving, the candy collecting, horn honking, and dancing to the music.

After the parade, the little boys ate lunch and then we walked to the arts and crafts booths. Both Colin and Micah fell asleep, so we decided to head back. Mike and I took C home where he took a 4 hour nap.

After naptime, we headed back out to Jason and Janna's where we got ice cream and then did some little kid fireworks before heading back home again.

The 4th has become tamer and earlier since having a baby but I love it anyway. I love the family traditions we have and the pride I feel to be an American.

Now unto what everyone really wants ... pictures. Slideshow style.

Edit: The pictures are all off center on the slideshow. To see better pictures, simply click on the slideshow and it should take you to the original pictures.

Mike and I have been teaching Colin about "timeouts" over the past few weeks. He understands what they are, when they are used, where to go, and how to say it. We tried a few places around the house in hopes of finding the 'perfect spot' and thought we found a good boring corner away from toys.

See sitting nicely staring at the wall. Right?

Ummm. Not so much! This whole timeout thing isn't working out so well for us.

{Part of Colin's new and improved playroom }