Colby is 13 Months Old!

Colby is 13 months old today! I feel like this is a milestone for both of us, I am so relieved to know the boys will be at least 13 months apart! WAHOO! I took some pictures of him that I will post tomorrow, it takes FOREVER to upload pictures using this computer so I will not be posting as many as I have been.

Here are the things that a 13 month old Colby is up to...
Likes:
1. Opening and closing cabinet doors and drawers
2. Playing hide and go seek
3. Being held upside down
4. His soft blankie
5. Food (especially watermelon, raisins, bananas and Baker's Square bread)
6. Water (it's his favorite beverage and he drinks tons of it!)
7. Remote controls, cell phones and other adult things that he shouldn't be playing with
8. Looking out the window
9. Shopping (he gets tons of attention which he eats up)
10. Going to the park, he especially loves the swings

Dislikes:
1. When mommy or daddy take the remote or cell phone away
2. Loud noises (it makes him extra snuggly so Jase and I exploit this fear often!)
3. When mommy and daddy try to hold his hands and help him walk, he melts down on to the floor and throws a fit. Who needs to walk when you can crawl?

Skills:
1. Fake laughing and crying/whining (we've gotten very good at this)
2. Singing
3. Standing without support briefly
4. Drinking out of straws
5. Using utensils (kind of)
6. Brushing teeth
7. Jumping while holding on to the edge of the crib (wonderful, he's already jumping in bed!)

13 month pictures will be posted at a later date! Oh and for all of those that are wondering...no baby yet. I feel like I've been in labor for an entire week because I am almost always having contractions that are 10 minutes apart but I had an appointment yesterday and there have been no changes since the week before. I am just crossing my fingers that the baby waits until the 1st to be born because my mom will be here. And we still have no idea what we're going to name him so if you have any other suggestions please let us know!

Daddy and Colby Videos...

Here are some videos of Colby playing with Jason. We just can't get enough of Colby's laugh!

We took this video the night that Jase arrived back from Iraq. He wanted to eat at Outback. Colby was on his best restaurant behavior (he is so fun to take out!) and Jase had a lot of fun with him. It was such a fun family meal. A lot better than the last time we went to Outback (right before Jase left for the deployment), it is so nice to know he's home for good.

Fly Catcher

We don't have Vinny the chamelion here to catch the flies in our windows so we're training Colby...not really but the flies do provide him with many enjoyable moments of entertainment! If you zoom in you can see the fly right above his pointer finger.

Potato Lover

Colby discovered something new...potatoes. Who would have guessed. He realized not only are they fun to throw on the ground but also fun to put into his mouth. They must have tasted horrible but he didn't seem to mind, oh...his Aunty Ling (who is from Idaho) will be so proud to know she has such a die hard potato lover nephew...

He enjoys the little red ones...And also the giant sweet potatoes, tasty!!! (he was literally biting chunks out of them!)Look at the little potato project he has going on on the chair there...apparently some potato organization was happening.Followed by some more potato eating...

Union Point Park

One of my favorite parts of living in New Bern, North Carolina is the Union Point Park in downtown. It is right next to the water. We decided to take Colby down there because we were all getting pretty stir crazy at home. We all had so much fun that we decided to make this one of our weekend traditions.

Colby and Jason walking down to the water to feed the ducks. The water was really high today...

This duck was the only one of it's kind and it was so beautiful!See the black duck in the middle? He was who we dubbed as the ugly duckling, poor thing. His wings were a mess and he had these creepy yellow eyes. Don't worry, we still hooked him up with tons of bread.

While we were feeding the ducks we noticed a bunch of geese. We went over to feed them too. They were very cute from a distance but much to my shock they have teeth! And those suckers are aggressive. (I tried to get a picture of him with his mouth open, I kid you not...his whole beak is lined with these tiny teeth, I couldn't get too close in fear I may lose an appendage!) We will not be feeding the geese again anytime soon...

Colby's version of feeding the ducks... Poor baby, you'd think he never gets fed! As soon as we handed him a piece of stale bread he'd shove it in his mouth like he's starving. Needless to say he doesn't quite get the concept of feeding anything other than himself just yet.

Colby just loves to swing!This was Jason's first time seeing Colby on the swings, I think he was suprised how much fun it is to watch Colby at the park.

Colby wasn't too sure what to make of these bears...

Snuggles for Daddy

Colby loves to play with sunnies...

Hooray for Daddy...

Praise the Lord...Jason is home and can now give Colby a bath. It has become nearly impossible for me to give him a bath in the only tub we have here (it is a giant tub that I can barely reach across with my even more giant belly). I am and will forever be grateful to Jase for helping me with this task...I just love this picture...it's like Colby is saying, "AHHHH! Daddy is giving me a bath!!!!!"

Bubbles...

I'm happy to say (Mindy will be so relieved to hear this...) that Colby has finally overcome his fear of bubbles! Landon sent him home with some in his party bag and Colby and Daddy had tons of fun playing with them...

Landon's 2nd Birthday Party...

Happy 2nd Birthday Landon! He had a Thomas the Train party. Stacey did such a great job especially considering the fact she did it all on her own (her husband, Brendan, is at MOS school in Missouri and has been gone for almost a month).

Landon was not very interested in his guests at first...

Landon chillin' with his friend Casey...

Literally 2 seconds later, he crashed completely...poor baby! All that party prep wore him out!Snoozing on mom...Colby felt the urge to poke Landon to make sure he was alright, poor Landon...can't the birthday boy get any rest?!

Colby also felt the urge to look into Addison's mouth (apparently looking for her teeth). She is 3 months younger than Colby. I just want to point out her adorable outfit...do you see why I have to have a girl someday?!Colby decided to make himself at home at Landon's house and check out the toys in his bedroom...
He and daddy spent some time reading books too...

Unfortunately we had to leave the party early. Colby wasn't himself (I don't think he was feeling well) and I was almost positive I was going into labor. Of course by the time I went to bed the contractions and cramps went away...false alarm... It was a really fun party though, I'm sorry we had to leave early!

Daddy Time...

We thought we could get Colby to lay down with us for a little while this morning...yeah right!!

This picture just cracks me up, here Colby is literally on the edge of his seat as he watches sports center, like father like son I suppose!

Our new home...

Here are a few pictures of the downstairs of our town home. The master bedroom is right to the left of the stairs. Upstairs there is a loft with our desk and Colby's room and the guest room and a bathroom.

There is a little half bath just to the right of our key hook. And the garage door is next to that (I LOVE having a garage!)

I want to say another thank you to Ling. There is just no way I would have been able to get settled and unpacked if it wasn't for her help. You're the best Ling!

Colby's Playdate

Colby hasn't seen Rilyn since they were not quite 6 months old. They are only 6 days apart in age (Rilyn is older). Rilyn is a signing queen and a spectacular walker! Colby didn't seem to mind or notice the fact that she was walking. He was probably so distracted by her beauty! Colby was dressed in his cutest clothes for the occasion but ate too much watermelon and threw up just minutes before she arrived. So he was wearing his jamies (complete with bootie shorts!) Rilyn didn't seem to mind his ensemble.

Daddy Time

Jason's sign was definitely the biggest in the neighborhood (there was another guy from his platoon that had a poster board on his door but Jason had the only sheet!)

I didn't realize until the day was almost over that Jason and Colby were dressed exactly alike! Jase was getting dressed downstairs while I was putting Colby's clothes on upstairs, great minds think alike I guess!

Chillin' with Daddy on the couchPlaytime with Daddy, this was right when we got home from picking him up. As you can see...Colby warmed up to him right away and Jase slipped right back into Daddy role.

Jase only got one day off (isn't that crazy! After a 7 month deployment he still had to go into work on Monday morning). This was the night before, Colby was helping him roll his sleeves.If you click on this picture you can see Colby's HUGE smile. This is our backyard, we actually have a patio and a little yard. We are on the hunt for a grill. Reading the paper with Daddy...Jase couldn't even stand one day of being without technology. He felt so isolated from the world without internet and cable. He had to go out on his first morning home and buy a newspaper.As you can see from these pictures the boys have slipped right back into their roles and have been enjoying each other a lot. I didn't think Colby would remember Jason at all but after seeing the two of them together there is no mistaking it, Colby remembers him. Colby has warmed up to him so much that he amost always prefers to be held by Jase...unless he's hurt than it's mommy's turn to snuggle. Jase has picked up right where he left off and is an even better daddy than I could have hoped for Colby. He is so hands on and always willing to help. Things have been different for me since Jase has been home. I forgot how tall he is. It is nice to have someone around to talk to all the time and someone who is just as obsessed with Colby as I am. It is such a nice treat to not have to bring my wallet with me and know that Jase will take care of the bill and tip if we go out. I haven't had to take the trash out once since he's been home. He carries all the heavy stuff. It is so nice to know that if I hear something creepy in the night that he is right next to me and will investigate. I feel a whole new sense of security for both me and Colby now that he's back. It feels great to be a family again.