ENT Results!

I took Colton to the ENT doctor last Friday and it looks like Colton is going to have to have tubes put in his ears. We are scheduling the appointment for the beginning of November. We're all hoping that this will help with Colton's ear infections and will help him with his speech. Please keep praying that this will help Colton. Thanks!

Concert

Chris and I went last night to Valley View to hear Avalon and Selah in concert. It was amazing!! We had such a good time. Thanks to The Hall's for inviting us!

17 Months Old

I can't believe Colton is almost a year and a half. The months are flying by and it's sad knowing that my little boy is growing up way too fast! He is such a joy to be around and Chris and I love every minute with him. I really don't remember what it was like without him in our life. These days, he is entering into the terrible twos and mommy and daddy have our hands full! (At some times, I believe daddy wants to pull his hair out) He loves to play with everything that is not a toy and will throw a fit whenever he doesn't get his way. We are learning new things every day! He has a hard time communicating because he hasn't started talking yet, but hopefully soon he will learn a few words. We adore him soooo much and are looking forward to seeing what he learns within the next month.

Highlights from the past month:

• His favorite toys this past month: Thomas the Train Tent, Bull Dozier and Dump Truck, Veggie Tale Book


• His favorite cartoons this month: Sid the Science Kid, Veggie Tales
  
• His favorite foods this month: Applesauce, Popsicles, Crackers (He was not a very good eater this month)


• He loves the following songs: Old Mac Donald, How Much is that Doggy in the Window


• He had two ear infections this month. We had our first appointment with the ENT (Dr. Lake) on September 18th, and we are scheduling to have tubes put in his ear in a month or so. Hopefully this will help with the ear infections and will help with him talking as well.


• When we tell him we are going somewhere or when we walk out of a room, he waves "bye, bye".


• He got two more teeth (lower cuspids)


• He has started brushing his teeth in the morning and at night. He gets so excited when I hand him his toothbrush. Mommy sings: "Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth, Brush them all day long" and he loves it!


• He loves to give sugar and "high five".


• He has figured out how to climb into the rocking chair and the living room chairs.


• He has mastered drinking out of a straw sippy cup, but he still prefers the regular sippy cup over the straw one.


• He loves to explore!


• He is still not talking.
  
• He screams every time he sees himself in the mirror. It is so cute!
  
• He continues to test us everyday!! We are trying to find the perfect discipline system for our house. We have tried time out (he still doesn't understand) and spanking on the hand (he just laughs). Hopefully soon, we will find something that works for us!


• He started Preschool this month and is doing great! He is only going 2 times a week, from 8:30 until noon and he loves getting to play with all of his friends.
  
• He loves to spin himself around and around, making himself dizzy.


• He loves to snuggle!


• He hates to have cover over him when he is sleeping.


• He tosses and turns in the bed when he is sleeping more than anybody I have ever seen. He constantly kicks and moves around in the bed. He usually gets up around 5:30am, so Chris and I let him get in the bed with us. Chris and I have both gotten kicked in the head by him, so needless to say we are going to put a stop to him snuggling with us in the morning.


• Weighs 29.6 pounds (lost .8 ounces)


• 34 inches long


• He wears size 4 diapers, is in 12-24 month, and some 2T clothing and wears a size 6W shoe


• His Daily Schedule: Wake up around 7am, Breakfast @ 8am, Plays and watching cartoons , lunch around noon, Nap Time until maybe 3pm, Dinner around 6pm, Bath Time @ 7:30pm, Bedtime @ 8pm.

Beach Trip - Day 7, 8 & 9

Day 7

Friday, August 21st

We headed down to the pool after breakfast, to play with some new toys in the kiddie pool. Colton had seen a little boy with some trucks in the kiddie pool, the day before and he wanted to play with them, so Chris and I bought him some the night before.

We also went swimming in the big pool with Nana, Aunt Valerie and Daddy.

After swimming, Colton was tired, so we headed up to get ready for lunch. Poor thing, fell sound asleep on Big Daddy before we even made it out the door for lunch.

We went to the Shrimp Basket for lunch (one of my favorites). They have great Shrimp Poboys and Fried Pickles!

After lunch, Chris, Colton and I headed to the outlets to do a little shopping. Coltno was wonderful while we were there! He loved his new umbrella stroller that we had gotten him and he loved being strolled around outside.

Before dinner, Mom and I took Colton down to the beach to try to get a few more pictures of him. Again, we didn't have much luck, but I did manage to get a few that I really liked.

This was one of my favorites. I love his little grin in this picture!

Nana and Colton

One of the only family pictures that we got the whole trip.

Can you tell that Colton is teething??

We headed to Colbalts for dinner. It was amazing and the atmosphere was wonderful. We wanted to eat outside, however, we had to move inside before dessert because it was starting to sprinkle.

Colton coloring with crayons.

"What in the world is this?" "Look's like something good to chew on."

Aunt Valerie and Uncle Rob

Big Daddy and Colton

Colton fell sound asleep as soon as we got there! He was so tried because he hadn't had a nap all day long. It was so nice though, because he slept all through dinner and it was nice to have dinner without picking toys up off the ground every few seconds.

Rob, Valerie, Tara and Chris

Day 8

Saturday, August 22nd

We all decided that it would be fun to go to the Water Park on our last day. As a child, every time my family would go to the beach, we would always go to the Water park at least one day. It was always my favorite day of the vacation, and it's been years since I've been to one. So, we were all excited about trying out Gulf Shore's Water Park.

Colton loved the kiddie area. He wanted to check everything out! He especially loved the slides and the big ship!

Big Daddy and Nana watched him for an hour or so, so Chris and I could try out a few of the rides. We all agreed that the Gold Rush was our favorite ride. We did try a dark tunnel one and I will never do that one again! I literally thought I was going to get stuck in the tunnel and not be able to get out.

Colton loved the frozen lemonade!

He is the cutest little boy!

After spending the day at the Water Park, we were all tired so we headed back to the condo to rest before dinner. Rob and Valerie had dinner plans already with some friends that live down in Foley, so we headed to dinner with Big Daddy and Nana. We were all pretty tired of eating seafood, so we decided on Outback.

Day 9

Sunday, August 23rd

The cars were packed and we were all ready to head home, however, I wanted to try one more time to get a few pictures of Colton on the beach. Here are some of my favorites:

We all had a wonderful time at the beach and we are looking forward to going back next year!

Beach Trip - Day 5 & 6

Day 5

Wednesday, August 19th

We spent the entire day today relaxing in the condo, playing in the kiddie pool and swimming with Colton. For dinner, we all headed to The Original Oyster House (one of our favorites) and met Uncle Rob. Colton wasn't too happy about eating dinner so late, so he pretty much cried the entire meal. This was a first for us!

Day 6

Thursday, August 20th

Colton and I woke up early again and headed down to the beach to try to take a few pictures before the sun came up. It was impossible this year to take a decent picture of Colton on the beach because he didn't want to sit or stand still. As soon as I would put him down on the sand he would coming running at me or would run away from me. So, I really didn't get any good pictures of him this year at the beach. Hopefully, next year will be better!

While down on the beach, Colton and I spotted this sting ray in the ocean.

The guys all went to play golf this morning, so after taking pictures at the beach, Colton and I headed down to the kiddie pool with Nana and Aunt Valerie. Colton was so excited to play in the pool!

Colton was ready for a snack around 10am, so he enjoyed his goldfish, Ritz Crackers, and Crystal Light out by the pool.

Poor thing, though couldn't make it through his snack before he fell asleep.

Once daddy got back to the condo from playing golf, we headed out to the beach for an afternoon walk. Colton did much better this time walking with daddy on the sand.

We decided to stay in for dinner since it was raining a little bit, so the guys cooked steaks for us! They were amazing and we all filled our bellies up before falling asleep!

Beach Trip - Day 3 & 4

Day 3

Monday, August 17th

Colton and I woke up early to eat breakfast and to watch a few cartoons on TV.

This is the face I got from him when I asked him to smile for the camera.

After breakfast, we headed down to the kiddie pool for the morning. We spent most of the day out by the kiddie pool, taking naps and just relaxing around the condo. It started to rain later on in the afternoon, so we cooked Taco Salads for dinner and we waited on Big Daddy and Chris to get down to the condo.

Day 4

Tuesday, August 18th

Chris, Colton and I woke up early again and ate breakfast before heading down to the beach. We had all intentions of playing all morning long on the beach with Colton, but he wasn't too fond of the sand. We only stayed about 30 minutes, before he got sand all in his face, causing us to head back up to the pool to wash off. He did however, get to play in the sand a little bit and he did get his toes in the ocean. (It was during this trip to the beach that my camera got sand in it and stopped working. Needless to say, I couldn't take any more pictures with my camera the rest of the trip. Thankfully, Rob let me use his camera when he got there to the beach)

Building his first sandcastle

For lunch, we all headed out to the Crap Trap! And then it was back to the condo for afternoon naps before dinner at King Neptune's.