Busy weekend

My parents came to visit Saturday and Sunday. We baked cookies, took some pictures for Christmas cards, ate some steak and homemade french fries (some of which were more like chips), and indulged in some Cookie Dough Delirium Cold Stone cake. I got a kick-butt sewing machine from my parents that I'm going to be making some projects with in the near future:
Felt food and toys, which I LOVE.(Grocery store by buggabuggs on etsy.com)
(Donuts by sweetiepiebakery on etsy.com)

And THIS which is called Moose Creek Camp and it's a box that opens up with a bunch of play things in it.

And then, for when Colin's a little older and needs to be entertained in church, or in the car, an iSpy bag:
More examples of iSpy bags

My brother and his girlfriend Mandy visited too. He gave me a hair dryer, which sounds lame, but is actually quite fabulous since I dropped mine 2 years ago and cracked it.

And to conclude...some sweetness:
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Picture time!

Our little Mozart. He loooves to "play" the piano.Today was Grandpa J's birthday and he played him a song over the phone.
Time to retire the swing to the basement! (Yes, he's strapped in)
First fauxhawk. We can tell when Colin is tired because he gets red circles around his eyes.

Wedding stuff for sale

I spent my snow day cleaning out the basement and found a bunch of wedding stuff. I had every intention of trying to sell it 3 years ago, but obviously didn't get around to it. If you want anything, make an offer! (And hello MN Knottie visitors!)

6 flat-ish, round vases:5 red, wavy, IKEA vases:
50 white/ivoryish IKEA Floating candles:
42 Orange, dark brown, and light brown IKEA tealights--they are scented, and I can't exactly pinpoint what they're supposed to smell like:1 Spool of ribbon (approximately 6 ft):
Unity candle holder (NOW TAKEN):

I do know my child, you know.

Daycare thought Colin had another ear infection because he was "off" all last week. I didn't think so, but I appeased them and made him an appointment last night. No ear infection, thankyouverymuch. The reason he's not eating as much and why he's crabtastic is probably due to his teeth moving. We, of course, do things to help his teething, but daycare doesn't seem to buy into my claims. Our favorite PA gave us a boatload of sample-sized Dimetapp Cold and Allergy for his stuffy nose. He said that every parent should have a gallon of it. I do believe he's right. No more stuffiness!

...Which means Colin slept sooo much better last night. I was up for only (!) 1 hour last night, which is a huge improvement. At one point, I put Colin in his crib asleep, and 5 minutes later he started fussing, and then crying. I went into his room to check on him, and he was standing up. The little stinkbutt! We adjusted the crib to the middle setting this past weekend because he could go from lying to sitting up, but now we have to adjust it to the lowest setting tonight so he doesn't flip himself over the rail. Dude's only 7.5 months old! He's been waiting to stand like this for 7 months though. His scooting/crawling has drastically improved over the past week. Last night he went for the Christmas tree skirt. We baby proofed the fireplace this weekend and put outlet covers in. He's on the move!

We're so fortunate

A baby message board I frequent has experienced numerous losses of babies and children in the recent past. A few girls went into early labor and their babies passed away hours after birth. One little boy died because he was sick with high fever, but otherwise seemed fine and was sent home from the clinic numerous times. I'm not sure if his parents have an answer yet. Early this morning, one girl from Boston gave birth to a 24 week old little girl named Jillian. She's in the NICU fighting and growing. Please keep all of these family in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve their losses, and for Jillian and her family to stay strong.

It is out of others' times of struggle and pain that we realize we how fortunate we are. This is one of those times. It is because of little Jillian that I haven't minded rocking or sleeping with a restless Colin for part of every night this weekend.

I'm not even going to speculate

Colin got sent home from daycare on Friday with a "fever" of 100.8. After a dose of Tylenol, it went down and hasn't gone back up since.

He didn't sleep a wink in his crib last night. He slept with either Kev or I on either the couch or in the rocking chair. His nose was so runny/stuffy (a crazy combo) that he had to sleep upright to breathe. We thought about elevating one side of his crib again, but he'd most likely end up with his head facing down and his butt up.

We bought some Vicks Baby Rub today and put it on him before he went to bed with the hope that it keeps his nose relatively clear so we can get a relatively good nights' sleep.

He's a drooling machine. He has a little rash on his chin. He has a bit of a diaper rash. He has runny poops. I'm telling myself it's just a cold.

The last two weeks in a nutshell the size of Texas

I'm sorry I haven't been a very good blogger lately. My reason, which I shamefully admit, is Farmville. I got obsessed with becoming a master grape and soybean farmer, and the amount of time it took to do that ate into my blogging time. Now I'm mastering pineapples, which take 2 days to grow, so I really only have to farm every other day which is a happy medium for me. Call me a nerdycake, it's okay.

Since I have so much to update you on, I'll keep it as short as possible. So much happened in 2 weeks, though! I can't make any guarantees.

Sleeping--Colin's bad habit of waking up hungry 1-2 times a night has returned. For the past 2 weeks, we've struggled with this. Tonight before he went to bed, he drank 8 oz of milk (as opposed to me just nursing him=who knows how much he was drinking, but probably about 3-4 oz), so hopefully that will satisfy him until 6 am. If it does, you can bet your buttons he'll be drinking 8 oz every night. Colin has even napped in his crib at home a few more times!

Eating--We started 2nd foods, which includes yummy combinations. I admit to tasting them. If I were on a desert island and the only food available were Apples with Summer Peaches, I wouldn't be sad. Colin's also really loving apples in his mesh feeder. He sucks the juice right out of the apple pieces and bops his little body around happily as he does so. Tonight I gave him a pear, but it wasn't very juicy.

Pooping--Ha! I thought I was kidding when I thought...hm...what topic is next...sleeping, eating,...hmm...oh yes. Pooping. I'll keep it clean by saying now that solid foods = solid poos, our cloth diapering experience has changed. Now we have to rinse out the diapers before we wash them. It's not so bad.

Thanksgiving--We went to Rochester to visit my parents. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandma's house.

• On Friday, my mom and I went shopping for the family we "adopted" from the Salvation Army. My mom, dad, my dad's siblings, my grandma, my bro, and of course Kev and I pitched in some money. We went to Kohl's, spent $200 on winter coats, boots, baby/kids' clothes, books, etc. Then we got $40 in Kohl's cash that my mom spent on Monday on a backpack and some other miscellaneous things. We also got a Kohl's gift card so the dad could buy shoes, and we bought some games and toys at Target. I hope the family has a great Christmas and enjoys the things we bought them. One of the kids is actually one of my first graders, so I hope he makes mention of it. He doesn't know we adopted his family.
  
• We had a 2nd smaller Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's house Friday night. I gave Colin the tiniest taste of mashed potatoes mixed with some baby food, and he gagged on it and spit the spoonful and then some back up. Better luck in another month or so!
• We also hit up our favorite pizza joint, Mr. Pizza (we almost always eat lunch there when we're in town) for a slice of the day with Stephie, her husband, and my mom's friends.
• Kevin and I did some Christmas shopping as well. We bought some books for Colin at Barnes and Noble and we're done shopping for my family members! We're on a tight budget this year, families, so remember...it's the thought that counts. We just have Kevin's family left to shop for.
• We headed back home on Sunday morning, stopping at Inta Juice (the second place we always hit up) for a Fruit Flirtation on the way out of town. Colin was such a good rider. He slept almost the whole way home. We had about 20 minutes left, and he woke up in good spirits. He realized that his box of toys was on the seat next to him, so he pulled one out and kept himself busy for the last leg of the trip. Ahhh...the sweet sight of a little independence.

Scooting--We officially have a scooter! Colin can go forward, backward, and even spin in circles on the floor. Sometimes he's a grumpy scooter, sometimes he's a determined one. Sometimes he gets his butt up in the air and moves forward a little bit, but then plops his belly back down. Sometimes he looks like he's going to bear crawl. The boy is on the move. Watch out!

Standing--Today, for some entertainment while I was putting his clothes away, Kevin sat Colin in his mini laundry basket, and within 3 seconds, I kid you not, the boy was standing up in it. And he didn't get any help.

Bathtime--I was giving Colin a bath tonight, and the little dude was splashing so much I had to step back to avoid getting soaked! We're talking palms-flat-hitting-the-surface-of-the-water, losing-his-balance splashing. The water was splashing out of his tub. He was having so much fun! I remember when he was a little guy, about 1 month old, and how he was just starting to get used to baths, but wasn't interactive with the water at all, and how I told Kevin how excited I was for him to splash around in the water. That day has arrived.

Whew! I'm sorry I don't have any pictures. Actually, I might, but if I do, they're still on my camera. When I get a chance, I'll upload them.

Oh...and Kevin and I have decided to make the blog private starting Jan. 1. If you want to be "invited," you need to let me know. On Jan. 1 you won't be able to read if you're not on "the list." I do want you (yes YOU!) to feel welcome to read. I just don't want the random crazies (no, I don't mean you!) to infiltrate. So, if you're a reader, you're welcome in the elite AJ+Kev+BabyRain club. If you know my email, email me. If you know what PM means, PM me. If you know other ways of contacting me, please do so.

Thank you and good night. ;)