It's all tied up!

For the past several years, Ty has participated in Fantasy baseball and football. I was always less than enthusiastic about his participation in this "sport" because of all the time it took. He was seemingly ALWAYS online checking stats and rearranging his teams. Well, this year, Ty got smart. He recruited me to play on his fantasy baseball team. For a good chunk of the first part of the season, I was in 1st and 2nd place, which got me excited about participating and actually making an effort. And it really didn't take as much time as I thought it would, which is great since I don't have much time to invest in it :)

Well, this is the last week of the season and GOOD NEWS - I am playing for the championship! (and a $200 cash prize). Out of 10 players, it is down to me (team Colt 45s) and my archrival (team Juiced). The bad news- the two teams playing for the championship must play each other for 2 weeks and I have been losing... until today. As of today, we are all tied up! Just four days to go until the championship is secured. I just need my pitchers to pitch well and my hitters to hit some homeruns, and 1st place is in the bag (easier said than done).

I really can't believe how competitive I've become about an online game, but it really is quite fun! I now can watch ESPN with my husband and actually pay attention because I my player's real life performance effects my team score. I've even been logging in during Colt's 3am feedings in order to pick up the best players before my opponent can snag them! This season has been so great, that Ty talked me into playing Fantasy football as well. I'm not very excited about spending 3 months paying attention to football (especially NFL football). But we'll see, maybe I'll be hooked on that by season's end as well.

Speaking of baseball, here's a cute pic of Colt in some Astros overalls.

Colt's new friends

Whenever Colt sits in his swing, he looks over to this fabric swatch and starts smiling at this little blue elephant (see pic below). Then he'll start squealing and "talking" to it! It is too cute. Guess he has some new friends! He has started to "talk" much more recently, especially if you sing to him. He'll just talk for minutes on end - it cracks me and Ty up!
Yes, if you look closely at the above picture, there IS another swing in the background. This is because we bought the Fischer Price Papesan swing and it BROKE! It is battery operated, and it will eat 4 D batteries in one swing session! So, we bought Colt a different swing (the one with the elephant), which is working MUCH better! It operates with electricity through the wall socket, which saves us money on batteries :)

This week, we left Colt with a babysitter for the 1st time!! We found a girl at church who seems responsible and she loves Colt. She's a high school senior, so we ended up taking Colt to her house (which worked out good, cause her parents were there to lend a hand if needed!). Ty and I went to a Bible study. The whole time I kept waiting for my phone to ring and was hoping it had good reception in the house! When we picked him up, he seemed happy and was clean and fed. Can't ask for much more!

Below is Colt in some of the outfits Grandma J gave to him. Thank you!


Sorry this is sort of a boring post, just not a lot going on with us right now!

I am out of control!

As a friend of mine recently put it, "When we become parents, we are so excited to teach our kids new things. But really, God uses parenting to teach THE PARENTS new things!" Since becoming a mom, God has been working on me. The number one lesson he wants this control freak to learn, is that I am NOT in control! I am having to put Colt's needs infront of my own, even if it's not convenient for me or doesn't fit into my schedule. Even though I am responsible for my son, some things are simply out of my control. For example, this week I dropped my son on the floor. He is fine, but it scared us both. From this I am learning that I can't control everything. There will be accidents (probably more to come, especially having a curious little boy on our hands :) and God can use whatever happens for the good of those who love Him! It is never easy for a stubborn person like me to learn a lesson (usually I have to learn it the hard way). So when I do learn something new, I am humbled that our GRACIOUS God would take the time to repeatedly try to get through to me. Unfortunately, it took me dropping my son for me to finally realize my control problem. Fortunately, God is in control and HE protected Colt!

Now onto this week's pictures :)

Colt is starting to laugh! It's adorable. He kinda goes, "He. He."

Colt and Molly during "tummy time"

Labor Day weekend

Colt FINALLY got to take his first trip to TEXAS! We made the tour of Texas, starting in Houston, then going to Austin, Marble Falls, and Fort Worth. Here is a bit about our trip:

Colt took his first airplane ride. I was nervous because Ty couldn't come with us, but Colt did great! He slept all the way up, and drank his bottle on the way down! (As you can see, the flight was pretty empty, so even if he did fuss, it wouldn't have disrupted too many people!)
In Austin, Colt met his mom and dad's friends and their new kids. Adalaide was sleeping, but we got pictures of Colt and Kate (isn't she a cutie?)

Next Colt went to Marble Falls and met lots of other friends: (Don't they all look SO happy to be there :)

Cooper, Camden, Chase, & Colt

Colt laid out at the lake in Marble Falls:

Then we drove to Fort Worth where Colt got to meet his GREAT Grandad and Grandma:

It was a fun vacation and it was great to see lots of wonderful friends and family along the way. We miss you guys, but you're always welcome to visit us in sunny Florida!

Somewhere during all of our travels, Colt picked up a cold and then had a slight ear infection. He was a bit fussy when we got home, but after sleeping with him in the recliner for 2 nights and a bit of baby Tylenol, he was back to his old curious, chipper self again. Colt getting sick was one of my biggest parenting fears, so now that we've been there and done that, I feel much more confident. Yes, it was hard to hear him fuss and not be able to sooth him quickly, but he really was a trooper and we got through it.

Also, Colt had his 2 month checkup: he weighs 13 lbs 80z, height 24.25 inches. We have a big boy on our hands!

My favorite (mommy) things...

Right now I am in Houston and don't have any of the pictures that I've taken recently, so I figured I'd post some of my favorite Mom accessories that I've discovered. I know there are a number of expectant moms who read this blog, so maybe this will be of some help to you! And if anyone has a favorite item of their own that you wish to add, feel free to comment!

1) I love my baby ring sling! Colt loves to fall asleep in his baby sling and it lets me move around hands free. He can lay down in it, sit looking out at the world, or snuggle with me against my chest. He can also nurse while laying in the sling! I recommend the padded sling, which is softer on your shoulder. Slings are important for infant development too! They keep the baby in close proximity to the mom or dad which allows the parent to respond quickly to the baby's needs, it allows the baby to see the world from your perspective which helps him socialize with others, and it mimics the womb with it's warmth and confined space which leads to a happy baby! The sling is definitely a must have. Check out http://www.slinglings.com/ for more info. We also have a Baby Bjorn and an Ultimate Baby Wrap which I like for long excursions (because they balance the weight between both shoulders), but the sling is great for around the house or a quick trip to the store (plus, you can pick the fabric to accessorize if you want!).

2) Can't live without the swaddle blanket! We have the swaddle blankets that you can buy at BabiesRUs from Kiddopotomous (about $10). But my neighbor has one from http://www.miracleblanket.com/ ($30) that I would've bought if I didn't already have 3 from BRU. Swaddling mimics the confined space in the womb and is great for calming a fussy baby. (You can read Happiest Baby on the Block for further benefits of swaddling.) I've also found that Colt sleeps MUCH longer at night when he is swaddled than if he is not. His arms will flail around when he's not swaddled and that ends up waking him up. When I try to swaddle him in a receiving blanket, he just wiggles out of it... thus, the necessity of a swaddle blanket!

3) If you are planning to breastfeed, you will definitely need a nursing cover (unless you aren't afraid to bear it all)! I originally bought some nursing shirts from http://www.motherwear.com/, but now I don't even use them because I just use my nursing cover to cover us up! The nursing covers from http://www.bebeaulait.com/ have a bit of wire or something that bends the top so you can look down at your little bundle of joy while they are eating, and it gives good air circulation! Plus, you can choose the material to make the cover shabby chic! I've used my nursing cover to feed Colt at home when we have company, at baseball games, in restaurants, at the mall, etc - it gives an ease to breastfeeding on the go!

There are a number of gadgets available for moms and newborns, but these 3 are ones that I use EVERY SINGLE DAY! Thank God for such wonderful inventions :)

On another note, the reason I am in Houston is because Ty's dad is having some issues with his health right now. It was discovered that he has blood clots in his lungs, so Colt and I came to help out (me, not Colt) and give him moral support (more so Colt than I). Steve (aka Bang Bang) is a very wise man and already enjoys sharing his "pearls of wisdom" with Colt, and we want him around for many, many more years. Please pray for Steve and his health!

Colt meets Uncle Cody & Aunt Chez

Colt enjoyed meeting his Aunt Chez and Uncle Cody and was on his best behavior. Uncle Cody was on his best behavior too. He even ventured to change a diaper and babysat Colt all by himself while Chez and I went to get pedicures! (Sorry, Chez - I can't figure out how to type the ^ above your name!) Despite the fact that Cody spent a week of his summer touring baseball parks around the country, he still wanted to visit Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. So we packed up little Colt and took him to his 2nd Rays game. Unfortunately the Rays lost again, but we all had a good time nonetheless. The stadium has a sting ray petting tank that we visited and Colt may have had his first tv appearance as the cameraman for Fox Sports was videotaping him at one point! I touched a sting ray but wouldn't let Colt because I didn't want one to go Steve Irwin on him.

I'm also attaching pics from a recent game night with our young couples class at church. The kids were all mesmerized by the baby and wanted to hold him. They did a great job! The person I was worried about holding Colt was this guy named Jesse Petersen :) Just kidding, Jesse! He's the one holding Colt in the 2nd pic. He really loves holding Colt and does a great job. You can check out his blog at http://www.perfectlypetersen.com/, if you dare.

Many firsts this week!

Colt is now 6 weeks old! He is sleeping for longer stretches at one time (sometimes he'll have a 5 hour stretch!) which means we all get more sleep. His neck is getting stronger and he's able to hold his head up for a little while. Among these milestones, Colt has also had a number of other "firsts" this week.

First smile!

It makes my heart melt when he looks right at me to show off his pearly, uh, gums?

Daddy gave Colt his first bottle. Yum!

Colt went on his first playdate. His little friend is Brady Roell. Colt is 5 days older than Brady! Actually, his mom and I went to lunch and then hit the mall, but it was a good outing for us all.

Mamaw Patty was here this week, since Ty went out of town for 6 days!! She was such a help, especially those few nights when Colt was very fussy. She took some fabulous pictures while she was here! A few of my favorites are below.