Everyday Happenings

Colin is just about 11 months and Whitney just about 3 years and 9 months.  They both have been growing so much lately I thought I should write about it.

As I watch Whitney walking around talking, singing and playing make believe, I can't believe my first baby is so old!  She continues to make us laugh everyday with her silly ways.  Ever since she was a baby she has loved to put things on her head.  Buckets, boxes, napkins, blankets.  And to this day she loves to put random objects on her head and thinks it is the funniest thing ever.  Lately, she has been singing a ton and we have gotten some really good recordings of it. Anything from Call Me Maybe, to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Doe A Deer.  It is so fun to watch her grow and see how her mind works. We love seeing that she is such a blend of the two of us.  She can be quiet at times like her Mama, but loves to be a jokester like her Papa.  She loves to sing and dance like  you know who!  She loves maps, and lists and puzzles and just loves to figure out how things work.  Definitely a Papa trait.  Whitney has always been such a loving little girl but lately it has matured in a way.  Really asking me how I am feeling about something or asking me how my day went.  The other day she asked after a baby shower, "How was the baby party, Mama"?  I am so proud to see the loving and considerate little girl we are so blessed to call ours.


Now Colin is my snuggle bug.  This boy just continues to melt my heart with his snuggles and kisses.  However, he gets very excited and those kisses sometimes turn into bites.  Bites that really hurt!  So, we are working on that!  He has been cruising the furniture for quite awhile and is getting much better with his walker.  He has even had brief moments of standing with no hands.  My prediction is he is walking by 13 months.  He seems to be about a month ahead of Whitney with that stuff.  He is an eating machine.  He loves just about everything we put on his plate.  Some recent additions to his menu are tilapia, soy beans and he LOVES pears.  His favorite thing to do is to play with Whitney's kitchen.  Yes, Whitney's big play kitchen she got for Christmas gets more play time from this guy.  We have blocked off our unfurnished living room so he can't escape and put the kitchen in there.  He will spend hours in here.  He likes it because he can look in and see me cooking dinner but is happy in there playing by himself.  He has also started dancing.  If music comes on he stops what he is doing and does a very subtle nodding of his head.  Very cute!

Whitney is so good with her little brother.  If he is crying, she says, "It's ok Colin, I am right here".  And of course he wants to do whatever she is doing.  Which of course has caused for some difficulties with grabbing toys and such but that just comes with the territory of having siblings.  I love to watch their bond grow every day and I feel so lucky I am home to witness it all.

Here are some fun photos over that last month.

I mean, who doesn't watch TV with a hat over their face.

Shopping cart a Wegmans

Morning talks

Helping out while we had a weekend away.

Library time

Under a tent, a favorite activity around here.

So big!

 After nap snuggles

Kitchen time!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was really fun this year.  Whitney was especially into it since they were talking about it so much at school and doing many projects.  We did a few project here at home too, thanks to Grandma for sending some fun supplies!

My favorite thing about this Valentine's Day was our Love Jar.  I took an idea from a blog I follow and came up with a plan of my own.  I really hope to make this a yearly tradition.  Whitney helped me decorate the Love Jar.  For the two weeks leading up to Valentine's day we all wrote reasons why we love each person on a piece of paper and put it in our jar. Obviously, we had fun writing them for Colin but it was really fun seeing what Whitney wanted to say about everyone!  Then at our Valentine's Day dinner we read them to each other.  It was so much fun!

Loved his card but had to quickly take it since he started eating it.  

Loved her Jake and The Neverland card from Papa.  Had fun putting the coins in the treasure chest!

Colin's Baptism

This past weekend was Colin's baptism.  It was an amazing weekend spent with family.  He was baptized at Leesburg Presbyterian Church where I grew up going.  Whitney was also baptized here.  He did an amazing job the entire service.  He loved watching the choir and dancing along with their singing.  He got passed down the pew sitting with different people.  And most importantly he did not cry when the minister took him and put the water on his head!  We then hosted 35 people at our house for lunch and had a blast visiting with everyone!

What was extra special about the weekend was the visit from Brady, Niki, Cole and Haley.  They live in Charlotte and we only get to see them about 2-3 times a year.  We were thrilled to have them come and stay at our new home and create many fun memories together.  Cole and Haley kept Whitney and Colin busy with hide 'n' seek, Ipad games and crafts.  And the best part was Brady and Niki became Colin's god parents!  Thank you guys for making the trip up!

I definitely did not get enough pictures from the weekend but here are a few highlights.