Adulthood

Last week I was watching a news interview with an author and was horrified to discover that this grown-up-looking lady being interviewed was my age. She seemed so old and mature, yet I still think of myself as young and fresh out of college. And then last night I had a huge milestone towards adulthood.

Cas was at a basketball game, and I had just put Collin down for the evening. I headed to the bathroom to take a shower and there it was - my lifetime nemesis - the dreaded tree roach. It was a huge one and I am extremely (irrationally) afraid. But as my heart rate escalated, I thought of my son and knew I had to kill it before it escaped the confined bathroom.

I sprinted off for the Raid, entered the bathroom, aimed and unleashed about a quarter of the can on the disgusting creature until its movement ceased and I was gagging for fresh air. But I was so proud that some protective mom instinct kicked in. I did not need to call anyone to buoy myself up for the attack. I thought back to a standoff I had a year ago with a roach in our living room where I threw one of the dogs' balls at it for 40 minutes (I clearly need better aim) before having the courage to get close enough for the Raid to hit it. Last night, within 2 minutes of its siting, it lay lifeless in a pond of Raid.

I told my mom afterwards that I look forward to the day when I can ask Collin to kill the roach for me. But until then, I'll make sure we always have cans of Raid ready on either side of the house. (We need more than one in case the closest can of Raid is in the cabinet within the roach's path, which would be paralyzing to me). And of course that we have plastic bowls to cover the carcass until Cas gets home to dispose of it!

If you care enough to have read about my roach saga, you will now be rewarded with pictures of Collin :) Here's Collin with Great Grandma Betty:


And Great Grandma Jewell Rae:

Uncle Larry came in to visit this weekend:

And Collin played with Jackson at Great Uncle David's birthday lunch. They played peak-a-boo:

Collin was looking so intently at his cousin:

Of course a visit to Great Aunt Debbie's would not be complete without a dip in the pool. Grammy held onto Collin as we got him geared up for some fun in the sun. Doesn't he look excited?

When Mom's Away . . .

The boys will play! Here's the photo I received as my plane landed in Houston Friday afternoon:
What's pathetic is that I was more upset that he was in the high chair, and I was worried that Cas had tried to feed him for the first time without me - the beer didn't phase me.

Collin's favorite teething toy seems to be Sofia la Giraffe. She ends up in many contorted positions in Collin's mouth. She also squeaks exactly like our dogs' favorite ball, so they sometimes snack on her too.

Grandma Libia came to the rescue of our teething boy, spending the night Thurs night since I was out of town and then playing with Collin all day on Friday.

Collin misses the coziness of his bassinet that Great Grandma Maria made him. Thankfully Great Grandma Betty made bumpers in his crib, because Collin tries to recreate the bassinet feel as he turns himself 90 degrees in his crib, cramped along the short side of the crib.

On the snuggly front, he's at that stage where he'll cuddle up against you when you hold him on your hip. I really don't know a better feeling in the world. Someday he'll be wiping off my kisses, so I've got to get my snuggle time in before he becomes too cool for Mom.

Rad like Dad

It is fun to see Collin light up, a huge grin forming on his face when he sees Cas. On Father's Day morning, Collin sat in his bumbo on the bathroom counter top and "talked" with Cas while he shaved and got ready for church. Collin has a lot of clothes that proclaim his love for mom, so I bought him a onesie to even things out. (It says "rad like dad.")

Cas does his best to ensure Collin knows that Dad is his favorite. Quite often when I'm in the room, I overhear Cas telling Collin something to the effect of "I love Daddy, Mommy is just okay."

Spoiled by grandparents

I was at a dinner with a work colleague during my conference in Boston 2 weeks ago, and he mentioned that he sometimes watched his grandkids, but that he had already raised his own children and wasn't thrilled about having his grandchildren over. His attitude was shocking to me, as Grandma Libia, Grammy Lesa, and Grandpa Brownie love spending time with Collin. If it's been more than a week, they miss him. And even when they see him every week, they still gush at how much he's grown and are amazed by the tiniest developments. How lucky we are - and Collin is - to have grandparents that love him so much!

Grandma Libia came over on Friday to play with Collin. He rolled all over the floor for her, and they danced to music. Cas and I were able to go out to dinner, and the two of them hung out that evening. Unfortunately, we were messing with settings on our camera, so we didn't get any good pictures, but trust us, Collin and Grandma Libia both were doing a lot of smiling!

On Saturday, my parents watched Collin while I grabbed lunch with some girlfriends. When he took his nap in his crib, Grandpa Brownie rested on the floor nearby!

When he woke up, he swung on the front porch swing with Grammy Lesa.

Then he had their full attention as he cooed and squealed on the bed.

The whole family had a great Saturday - Cas got the day to himself, Bruno and Fergie had a blast in Rudy's backyard, I loved catching up with friends, and Collin was spoiled rotten by all the attention from his grandparents.

Answer - and 5 month photos

Collin's first tooth, discovered on his 5th mirthday. (If you can't see it, trust me, it's on its way to the surface. Thankfully, this explains his crankiness over the last few days.)


I would love prayers for nursing an infant with teeth - I'm so scared!!! I keep telling myself, I got through labor, I can get through this . . . but I might be reverting back to those Lamaze breathing patterns until we get the hang of it.

Even drenched in Off!, the mosquitoes were so horrendous that our outdoor photo session was a bust. We got one decent photo back in the basket and then moved it inside.


As only the proud mom would be impressed, Collin's getting much stronger and lifting up high on his stomach. If he could get his knees under his hips, he'd be in crawling posture . . . but then we'd have to pick up every speck of dirt on our floors and baby-proof our house, so I'm enjoying the immobility stage!

Look at him posing - I could not get him in this position if I tried. I think he was in the process of shifting his hands to his side to roll on his back, but my camera happened to catch him striking a pose!

Mystery Pic of the Day

Can you guess what this is?


(We'll reveal the exciting answer tomorrow. BTW, the mystery photo was Cas' idea.)

Healthy Junk Food

I decided to try these Kashi "healthy" cookies -full of fiber & whole grains - this week.


I'm not sure why I expected them to compare to my normal Pepperidge Farm treats, but it was a mistake! And the good intentioned food experiment completely backfired, as I had to eat a Dove Dark Chocolate and York Peppermint candy to get the healthy cookie taste out of my mouth.

3 Dogs and a Baby

Cas always asks me not to book up our weekends, and after a 4 day business trip, I was very thankful that we didn't have plans. My big "outing" was taking the dogs to the dog park - I hadn't been since Nov or Dec. I picked up my parents' dog, who is being cared for by my grandma while they're on vacation, and was exhausted by the time I corraled the three into my car.

The trip made me have an incredible amount of respect for parents with 3 or more kids. Somehow it's easy for me to keep an eye on my two, but add in Rudy and I was overwhelmed. I'd be trying to keep Bruno from humping other dogs and throw toys for Fergie in the lake while Rudy would be pooping off in the distance. And these are dogs! How easy we have it with Collin who stays where we put him, give or take a roll.

And speaking of Collin, here's our happy guy -

In the backyard - Cas and I have eaten dinners on this dirty picnic table, me bathed in Off!, so that we can eat together and talk to one another, while Collin is content just being outside.
On Sunday we headed over to Great Aunt Debbie's for another swim - perhaps our last with cousin Bryce this summer. (In case the baby police, aka Grandpa Brownie, are concerned, Collin was in a onesie to keep the sun off him for all but the 5 min he was in the pool with Bryce . . . which just happened to be the only time we snapped photos.)

Bryce is wonderful with kids, and though Collin was one of the first infants he's held, he's now a natural - especially in the pool! We'll miss you Bryce! Can't wait to see Finley Knight in Chicago!!

Foot in your mouth . . . literally

Collin's new favorite chew toy seems to be his own toes. I'm not sure if they are particularly tasty to his baby palate or if he enjoys the flexibility challenge.

He rips his socks off to get a taste. Between trying to get his feet to his mouth and practicing rolling over, it's made changing his diaper more challenging, and I'm sure it's just a glimpse of what's to come when he starts really moving.

Just because he's discovered his feet doesn't mean he's forgotten about his first favorite appendages - his hands!



Halfway through a roll -

And on his back -

We're finding him in all kinds of positions in his crib - back, side, stomach and one night turned 90 degrees.

Back outside, he's easily entertained. Checking out a tree -

Talking up a storm -

And not to ignore our first children, Bruno turned 3 years old on my mom's birthday a few days ago and felt the effects of turning one year older, as he somehow injured his leg. He was perfectly fine a few days later, but at the time was being extra cuddly. We keep waiting for his hyperness to decline as he matures . . . maybe by his 4th birthday.

Bruno snuggled up on Cas' legs on the couch -
Fergie in her fetching element -

Fergie is not a fan of this summer weather. She is now the one to end our outdoors play, standing by the garage door until I get the hint that she's ready to return to the a/c.

Outside with Off!

Wouldn't it be great if we could pick and choose which traits of ours we gave our child? I wish Collin had Cas' ability to repel mosquitos rather than my ability to attract them. Now anytime we venture outside, we have to cover him in Off! bug spray (except his hands, we follow the baby rules).

Smiling - and drooling - away in our front yard -
Looking for bugs -

Checking out the neighbors -

My serious boy -

Everyone told us parenthood would get more and more fun, and they were right! Collin is getting more talkative, expressive and aware. We've given him baths in the regular bathtub and he splashes and kicks water everywhere, squealing in delight of both the bathtime fun and hearing his voice echo off the tile. And I think I'm going to have to watch my wardrobe - especially my accessories - for awhile, after he yanked on my necklace and broke the chain. (Of course it was a cheap necklace - he's not ripping through solid gold chains yet.)

Worst Dogs Ever

We love our dogs to pieces, but we tell them quite often that they are the worst dogs ever. Like when they bark at someone riding their bike in front of our home and wake up Collin. Or when we wake up in the morning to find that they have snuck up onto our bed in the middle of the night. Or when Bruno barks at squirrels when I let him out to do his business at 6am.

Tonight Fergie received that label. Cas had them in the front yard while he grilled on the driveway, and when I went outside to check on the progress of our dinner, noticed a foul stain across Fergie's neck and back - she had rolled in poop! Why do dogs do this and how can we train them against this disgusting act?

Swimming with Dad

Cas put down the camera and ventured into the pool for his first swim with Collin on Memorial Day Monday at our friends, Jeremy & Dana's new home. Collin had such a great time swimming that he pushed his lunch #2 time back an hour without a fuss!


In Dad's arms, lounging in the pool, thumb in mouth - what could be better!?!

Apparently you're not supposed to put sunscreen on babies until they are 6 months old. I'm not sure who makes up these rules, though I'm sure I had sunscreen on before I was 6 months and somehow I survived it. Whatever, I'm a rule follower to the core, so we decked Collin out in his swim shirt & bottoms, glasses and hat. Somehow his cheeks were a tiny bit pink, but I'll rationalize that he needed his Vitamin D.

Visit with Father Jim

One of my mom's cousins, Father Jim, came in for a visit over Memorial weekend, and we broke bread together with family for multiple meals. On Saturday night, we got together at Great Grandma Betty's. The Jones girls were so great with Collin. Anjelika had him giggling.


And later Collin decided Annie's finger was delicious, and vocalized for all to hear his excitement with a new person's digit to munch on. Sunday night we had Tex-Mex at my parents'. Here's my mom with Collin, Father Jim and Great Grandma Betty.


Hanging around the house, we decided Collin was big enough for the jumperoo, at least as another station in his rotation. One of these days, he'll take advantage of its full functionality and really jump, but he seems content enough with small bounces at 4 1/2 months.