Sometimes I think it's important to remember the simple things that bring us joy....like my Coleman - who inspired me to write this. Life is so complicated sometimes - at least, as adults, I feel we complicate life A LOT. I was feeding Colie his bottle after a wonderful hour and a half nap (seriously - this NEVER happens that he takes a nap this long) and he does this thing where as he's feeding himself, he stops, and cocks his head WAY back so he can see me looking down at him...then he gives me this HUGE grin with milk running down his chin....it's so precious and made me cry this afternoon as I held him - trying to make a memory of this moment, holding my 8 month old son, remembering his smells, and his cute little noises because I know that in the blink of an eye he is going to be walking, talking, and heading off to college (okay, maybe not that quick...but it sure seems like it)!!!
Why can't we enjoy simple things like a ceiling fan - which Coleman stared at and began to laugh uncontrollably. A spatula, a stuffed toy coming at him roaring (he loves his lion)...chasing a ball around the house....looking out and window and laughing (at what I'm not sure of) - looking at Harley and laughing...
Sometimes I think we need to remember to enjoy those small things in life that make us smile...it may not be ceiling fans and kitchen utensils...but I'm sure we can all think of something
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
St. Patrick's Day!
I should really be getting stuff done around the house....oh well...
I'm not huge into St. Patty's Day...but it does give me a reason to wear my favorite color all day...GREEN!Coleman and I are sporting green today....and he looks very cute in his "My First St. Patrick's Day" onesie. Justin makes fun of me for buying an outfit or bib for these holidays...but I think it's a cute memory to have in his photo album for him to look back on when he's older. =) Coleman wont sit still for a picture...so here you will see him playing with a spoon so mommy could take a picture of him in his outfit before it got covered in spit-up, drool, and food today.
Coleman also "made" this for his daddy....
I'm not huge into St. Patty's Day...but it does give me a reason to wear my favorite color all day...GREEN!Coleman and I are sporting green today....and he looks very cute in his "My First St. Patrick's Day" onesie. Justin makes fun of me for buying an outfit or bib for these holidays...but I think it's a cute memory to have in his photo album for him to look back on when he's older. =) Coleman wont sit still for a picture...so here you will see him playing with a spoon so mommy could take a picture of him in his outfit before it got covered in spit-up, drool, and food today.
Coleman also "made" this for his daddy....
I'm super excited because tonight I get to have a "MOMMY'S NIGHT OUT!" Woo-Hoo! One of my good friends and I will be heading out to paint pottery while our husbands watch our little ones. I am really looking forward to relaxing and having some adult conversation without Coleman around. I think getting out of the house and away from Coleman for a few hours is important to recharge myself and have a little break. I'm sure that I will come back a better mommy for him. I've even made the boys dinner tonight (white chicken chili) and THIS St. Patty's Day dessert (with some of my own modifications). Not sure how it's going to turn out...but I'll have to let you know later after we dive into it!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Also, Happy 1st Birthday to Miss Avery!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sleeping through the night...but not this mommy!
For the past 4 or 5 nights I have woken up around 3:30am and haven't been have to fall back asleep. It takes like an hour and a half before I'm able to fall back asleep...and then, it's only another hour of sleep before having a get up to start the day with Coleman. Seriously - what is up with that? It's like my body is in some sort of routine and I can't figure out how to break it. I had an interesting idea this morning thinking that I should take some NyQuil or something and maybe that will help me sleep through the night and break this new thing of getting up at 3:30.
The good news is that Coleman has been doing GREAT the past few nights of sleeping from 8pm - 7/7:30am!! Woo-hoo. He will fuss a little bit during the night, but we've learned to strategically place a bunch of pacifiers around where he may turn so he can grab them. Works like a charm! (not sure what we're going to do when we break the paci habit - but for now I'll take it!) However, last night while I was lying awake in bed at 3:30...about 15 min. later Coleman decided he was going to fuss (doesn't help me to fall back asleep at this point) and fuss he did for an HOUR!! At one point I had Justin go in to check on him (b/c if I go in he thinks he's going to get a bottle) and Coleman was sitting up in his crib crying. So Justin put him back down and he continued to cry...but it got less and less and he almost fell back asleep. Then he started up the screaming again so I went it and he was sitting up again! I finally took him out of his crib and let him fall asleep on my chest then put him back down for the rest of the night (which was only 2 more hours). My alarm went off at 7:30 (since that's when we start our day)...and I just couldn't get myself to wake up and Coleman was still sleeping...so I let him and I get a few more z's 'til 8. =) YAY!
Hopefully this waking up in the middle of the night was only a 2 night thing for the little man and that he will decide to sleep through the night tonight and hopefully I will be able to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG! It's been 8 months since I've gotten a full uninterrupted nights sleep - and I think I deserve one!
The good news is that Coleman has been doing GREAT the past few nights of sleeping from 8pm - 7/7:30am!! Woo-hoo. He will fuss a little bit during the night, but we've learned to strategically place a bunch of pacifiers around where he may turn so he can grab them. Works like a charm! (not sure what we're going to do when we break the paci habit - but for now I'll take it!) However, last night while I was lying awake in bed at 3:30...about 15 min. later Coleman decided he was going to fuss (doesn't help me to fall back asleep at this point) and fuss he did for an HOUR!! At one point I had Justin go in to check on him (b/c if I go in he thinks he's going to get a bottle) and Coleman was sitting up in his crib crying. So Justin put him back down and he continued to cry...but it got less and less and he almost fell back asleep. Then he started up the screaming again so I went it and he was sitting up again! I finally took him out of his crib and let him fall asleep on my chest then put him back down for the rest of the night (which was only 2 more hours). My alarm went off at 7:30 (since that's when we start our day)...and I just couldn't get myself to wake up and Coleman was still sleeping...so I let him and I get a few more z's 'til 8. =) YAY!
Hopefully this waking up in the middle of the night was only a 2 night thing for the little man and that he will decide to sleep through the night tonight and hopefully I will be able to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG! It's been 8 months since I've gotten a full uninterrupted nights sleep - and I think I deserve one!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Spring has Sprung...
but not in Michigan, in the stores...not two seconds after Valentines was over Easter candy started making its way onto the shelves. I'm all about the Valentine candy...these are my favorite of the season...
...but I think they are putting out the spring/Easter treats a bit too early. I wont complain about it too much, but my favorite candy comes out during Easter. Cadbury mini eggs. So delish! They have this yummy chocolate center and a sweet candy shell. I'm already on my 3rd bag...It's not good for me!
Also on my list of favs for the season are Starburst Jelly Beans Tropical flavor. This year they changed the color of the bag (to an aqua blue color) and I almost thought they discontinued them!
So while I love my favorite Easter treats...I think they should wait just a little bit longer to place them on the shelves so I have a shorter period of time to enjoy them and not start my chocolate egg consumption a month and a half before Easter is even here!
...but I think they are putting out the spring/Easter treats a bit too early. I wont complain about it too much, but my favorite candy comes out during Easter. Cadbury mini eggs. So delish! They have this yummy chocolate center and a sweet candy shell. I'm already on my 3rd bag...It's not good for me!
Also on my list of favs for the season are Starburst Jelly Beans Tropical flavor. This year they changed the color of the bag (to an aqua blue color) and I almost thought they discontinued them!
So while I love my favorite Easter treats...I think they should wait just a little bit longer to place them on the shelves so I have a shorter period of time to enjoy them and not start my chocolate egg consumption a month and a half before Easter is even here!
Monday, March 7, 2011
"One Heartbeat At A Time" scc
I was listening to this song today as I was playing with Coleman. It's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, he wrote the song for his wife and was also inspired by many other moms blogs. It reminded me of what an amazing blessing it is to be able to stay at home with Coleman and to take care of our home and our family....it just made me smile.
One Heartbeat At A Time - Steven Curtis Chapman
You're up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
Like the beautiful woman you are
So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Oh, maybe you just don't know
Or maybe you've forgotten
You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
With every "I know you can do it"
Every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
They're just like the drops of rain over time
They become a river
And you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
How you're changing the world
You're changing the world
You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
Oh, I believe that you
You are changing the world
One little heartbeat
At a time
And you're changing the world
One Heartbeat At A Time - Steven Curtis Chapman
You're up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
Like the beautiful woman you are
So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Oh, maybe you just don't know
Or maybe you've forgotten
You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
With every "I know you can do it"
Every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
They're just like the drops of rain over time
They become a river
And you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
How you're changing the world
You're changing the world
You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
Oh, I believe that you
You are changing the world
One little heartbeat
At a time
And you're changing the world
Friday, March 4, 2011
8 months
My precious Coleman turned 8 months old yesterday! I can't believe it. I know I say this every time...but he's growing up way to fast! He is exploring, doing, and learning so many new things each day. So here's what my little monkey (that's our nickname for him) has been up to this past month...
* I can't get enough of his cheeks *
Coleman still loves to stick out his tongue, but this month he has decided to stick it out and curl it to the left. It's pretty cute.
One of my FAVORITE things Coleman learned to do is to give us "kisses". We can say "Can I have a kiss?" and he'll open his mouth wide and plant one big wet one on our cheeks. It's the best. I love those slobbery kisses from my baby! He has also given them to his grandparents, great grandmom, uncle and aunt. Oh...and Harley too!
We're not quite crawling yet, but we are very close! Coleman can go up on all fours and rock back and forth. He's got the leg thing figured out as he will push himself up to his toes in a "bear crawl" like position...but he just hasn't figured out the arms yet. He has figured out how to crawl backwards in frustration to the fact that he can't move forward. I'm sure in the next week or two he'll be on his way. Which is why we are going to be childproofing the house THIS weekend!
Coleman is also working on pulling himself up onto different surfaces. The bathtub was one of the first. He's getting so much stronger and holding himself up now. He LOVES strings that hang off of our sweatshirts...here is his holding himself up on Justin so that he could play with those yummy strings!
We officially have heard Coleman's first words! I know that it was up for debate a few posts ago when Coleman was babbling the words "dadada". But I got the okay from Justin that his official first words are "mama!" YAY! And he doesn't just babble them, he is really looking for or wanting his mama. It's absolutely precious! Although, sometimes I wish he would want his daddy just as much as his mommy so I could get a little break. But I know someday he wont need me as much and so I better soak it all in now.
Coleman has begun to mimic little things that we do. He wiggles really fast back and forth, he copies our noises, and my favorite is when he smacks his lips together and we have a battle back of forth of who can do it the longest.
This month was special because Coleman got to spend 3 wonderful days with his great grandmom. I was so happy that we were able to go and visit her and that she was able to spend some quality time with her great grandson. Coleman also got to see the ocean for the first time (too chilly to touch), but we did get to see the ponies on the island which he enjoyed looking at as well. We also got to see one of my best friends, Val, who we haven't seen since we got married and she hadn't met Coleman yet! Although it was a short visit, I'm so thankful she made the effort to come and see us while we were in NC.
Which bring me to another big even this past month....Coleman traveled 2,100+ miles with us on another vacation/business trip. WOW! We spent a LOT of time in the car and boy was he a trooper. The longest trip was on the way home from NC where we spent 12 hours in the car, but it took us 15 hours to get home because of stops. I am so thankful that my parents let us borrow their van so that we could take practically our whole house with us so Coleman had everything he needed. I will never have a van...but if I did, I would want one like my parents. To keep little man occupied we played with lots of toys, read the same books over and over and over and over (I now have them memorized), and sang lots of "itsy bitsy spider" (the only song that will calm him down). I was very impressed with how well Coleman did in the car and being away from home for 10 days. His schedule didn't get too thrown off and we had a wonderful time!
* just for fun at a stop...can't wait 'til he can face forward when he turns 1! *
Coleman is still an eating machine. He LOVES the puff snacks and it's really cute to watch him chew on them. I'm excited to try some new foods with him this month like broccoli, plums, and kiwi! All things that I'll make and freeze for him. My food processor has had a bit of a break with the vacation and all so I'm excited to get it back out!
It's crazy to me that last year at this time I was pregnant with Coleman and really just starting to feel him flip and kick inside me. And now he's here, almost crawling, and saying "mama". I'm so blessed!
* I can't get enough of his cheeks *
Coleman still loves to stick out his tongue, but this month he has decided to stick it out and curl it to the left. It's pretty cute.
One of my FAVORITE things Coleman learned to do is to give us "kisses". We can say "Can I have a kiss?" and he'll open his mouth wide and plant one big wet one on our cheeks. It's the best. I love those slobbery kisses from my baby! He has also given them to his grandparents, great grandmom, uncle and aunt. Oh...and Harley too!
We're not quite crawling yet, but we are very close! Coleman can go up on all fours and rock back and forth. He's got the leg thing figured out as he will push himself up to his toes in a "bear crawl" like position...but he just hasn't figured out the arms yet. He has figured out how to crawl backwards in frustration to the fact that he can't move forward. I'm sure in the next week or two he'll be on his way. Which is why we are going to be childproofing the house THIS weekend!
Coleman is also working on pulling himself up onto different surfaces. The bathtub was one of the first. He's getting so much stronger and holding himself up now. He LOVES strings that hang off of our sweatshirts...here is his holding himself up on Justin so that he could play with those yummy strings!
We officially have heard Coleman's first words! I know that it was up for debate a few posts ago when Coleman was babbling the words "dadada". But I got the okay from Justin that his official first words are "mama!" YAY! And he doesn't just babble them, he is really looking for or wanting his mama. It's absolutely precious! Although, sometimes I wish he would want his daddy just as much as his mommy so I could get a little break. But I know someday he wont need me as much and so I better soak it all in now.
Coleman has begun to mimic little things that we do. He wiggles really fast back and forth, he copies our noises, and my favorite is when he smacks his lips together and we have a battle back of forth of who can do it the longest.
This month was special because Coleman got to spend 3 wonderful days with his great grandmom. I was so happy that we were able to go and visit her and that she was able to spend some quality time with her great grandson. Coleman also got to see the ocean for the first time (too chilly to touch), but we did get to see the ponies on the island which he enjoyed looking at as well. We also got to see one of my best friends, Val, who we haven't seen since we got married and she hadn't met Coleman yet! Although it was a short visit, I'm so thankful she made the effort to come and see us while we were in NC.
Which bring me to another big even this past month....Coleman traveled 2,100+ miles with us on another vacation/business trip. WOW! We spent a LOT of time in the car and boy was he a trooper. The longest trip was on the way home from NC where we spent 12 hours in the car, but it took us 15 hours to get home because of stops. I am so thankful that my parents let us borrow their van so that we could take practically our whole house with us so Coleman had everything he needed. I will never have a van...but if I did, I would want one like my parents. To keep little man occupied we played with lots of toys, read the same books over and over and over and over (I now have them memorized), and sang lots of "itsy bitsy spider" (the only song that will calm him down). I was very impressed with how well Coleman did in the car and being away from home for 10 days. His schedule didn't get too thrown off and we had a wonderful time!
* just for fun at a stop...can't wait 'til he can face forward when he turns 1! *
Coleman is still an eating machine. He LOVES the puff snacks and it's really cute to watch him chew on them. I'm excited to try some new foods with him this month like broccoli, plums, and kiwi! All things that I'll make and freeze for him. My food processor has had a bit of a break with the vacation and all so I'm excited to get it back out!
It's crazy to me that last year at this time I was pregnant with Coleman and really just starting to feel him flip and kick inside me. And now he's here, almost crawling, and saying "mama". I'm so blessed!
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