rock and roll vol. 3

Oh, Hi. Want to know what I did just before this picture was taken? I totally rolled over from my back to my belly for the first time. It was awesome.



Then I did it like 5 more times. By the time my mom thought to get the camera out, I was pretty tired of rolling, so this video is kind of lame. But I am quite proud of myself.

colin and uncle adam

What a difference 5 months makes! Uncle Adam stopped by on Sunday on his way back to Chicago. The last time these two met, it looked like this...




I barely even recognize this guy!


Now, 5 months later ...

A little different!



Goofing off together.

Colin loved playing with his Uncle - and his Aunt Zoe will be here this weekend for even more fun!

5 months old!

I feel like I just took his four month pictures last week! The time is really flying by now. Colin seems to grow and change every single day. He's getting so good at grabbing things, although everything he grabs goes straight into his mouth. He laughs out loud at the things we do and say (especially Mike - he LOVES his dad), sleeps through the night (usually) and is about 75% of the way to rolling from back to belly (he gets up on his sides and then doesn't know what to do with his other arm). He's so much fun these days. I just can't believe he's five months old already!!


5 months old!


Wait.. I'm how old?

So the month decals stick to his shirts. Never been a problem before. Then this month he realized he could pull it off.

So what else could he do but try to eat it. Being the good parent that I am, I took a picture rather than take it away from him. Because, cute, right?

random weekday pics

One downside of daycare that my mom friends have warned me about is constant illness.. not always on the part of the babies, but the parents too. This may be why I came down with a stomach bug on Sunday for the first time in about ten years (it could also have been some suspect sushi I had over the weekend, but given my love affair with sushi, we're going with a daycare virus). It worked out okay though; since I was trapped at an all-weekend trial bootcamp I didn't get to spend any time with Colin this weekend, so, when I was feeling better yesterday I busted him out of baby jail early and we had a fun afternoon together. Some random pictures of our activities:


Colin has finally figured out how to play with one of the toys on his exersaucer - he loves spinning the chickens around and around. It's the only one he plays with so far, but it's progress.



he's also figured out how to sit in the Bumbo without throwing up or crying. Which is a bonus.


he's been chewing on anything and everything he can get his mouth on. These are his feet in his mouth.

Since he seemed hungry enough to want to eat his smelly feet (how do baby feet get smelly? it's not like they wear sneakers or something...), I thought I'd give the cereal another shot. It was another FAIL.

Then dad came home. Since I didn't have the energy for a walk, he decided to forego the stroller and strapped Colin on for a walk around the 'hood. In a hood. So cute. He refused to take Truman on a leash. But I tried.

Good news is that at least for today, we're all healthy and back to school and work like normal.

top of the mornin' to you

Colin showing off his Irish pride (the .00003% of him that might be Irish... ha)






*And yes, I am already aware we are the Dorkiest Family in America for taking these pics. Don't judge.

Cereal, attempt #1

At Colin's four month appointment, his doctor suggested we gradually start him on rice cereal and then oatmeal, to add iron to his diet and to get him ready for solid foods. So, this weekend, we made our first attempt. While most of it went down his chin, he was happy (at first) to slurp the cereal up, and ate more than I expected. Unfortunately, he started to get really hungry and seemed annoyed that the food wasn't coming as quickly as his bottle. Once we fixed up his usual meal, he was a lot happier. Poor guy has also picked up a little stomach bug from daycare this week. So, we'll probably try the cereal again in a week or two. Pictures of the adventure are here: http://tinyurl.com/colincereal

what 9:30 on a sunday looks like

This morning we headed out for a nice family brunch. I love the weekend.

instant mood-lifter

Proving once again there is no denying who his father is, Colin apparently thinks fart noises are the absolute funniest thing on earth. He laughed for a good five minutes at this today. I dare you to listen to this and not smile :)

what 5:30 am on a Saturday looks like

I was all excited and set to report this morning that Colin had slept through the night EVERY SINGLE NIGHT this week!! It was amazing.. for the past week straight, we got him down super fast and he slept soundly and quietly for ten hours straight, usually waking around 7 so we could get him up and ready for school at the perfect time. It was a great week.

Then Saturday morning hit.

With a 4:30 am wakeup call.

I headed up to his nursery to find that he'd wiggled sideways in his crib, was doing a crazy baby dance and was smiling at me like I was Santa Claus. It was clear there was no return to sleep for this little guy. He wasn't hungry, he didn't want to be rocked - it was playtime!



Thus, the extra-large mug of coffee for me. Did I mention I made it through seven years of higher education AND the bar exam without so much as a drop of coffee? I have a feeling when his head hits the crib at 9 tonight, I will be hitting my bed too.

new pictures

Hey! My mom quit slacking and uploaded some pictures of me. You can see them at:
http://tinyurl.com/colinmarch

Because ... who doesn't like looking at this face? I could do it all day, personally...

everybody's working for the weekend...

We're slowly adjusting to our new life with everyone working and going to school every day. So far the mornings haven't been as bad as I feared. It has helped that Colin has slept through the night every night so far (knock on wood that continues!) and has been waking around the same time that we need to get up anyway. While I get ready, I have a little audience in the bathroom in the morning:



Dropping him off hasn't been too bad, although he has fussed/cried both times, and it's pretty hard to walk down the hall away from his room while hearing that. But it helps that he's had good days so far at school. Yesterday he even got to have art class - painting with his feet!

Still, I think we're all ready for the weekend. By the time we all get home, eat dinner, play, have bathtime, and get Colin to bed, Mike and I have about a half an hour to relax and unwind before we go to bed and start it all over again. I'm looking forward to a little decompression this weekend.

first day part II

Since people have asked, Colin did great his first day at "school." Mike picked him up at 5 and he was happily playing in an exersaucer and gave Mike a big smile when he saw him. His teachers said he barely cried, was full of smiles, and took two LONG naps in his crib. So far, so good! On Mike's arrival they had already taken a full-smile picture of him and put it on the door with his name along with the rest of his babycrew. They also asked that we bring in family pictures to decorate the wall above his crib. This morning he was a little fussy when I dropped him off, but he seems to be settling in just fine. What a relief!

first day of school

This morning, we dropped Colin off at daycare for the first time.


I am so not impressed with this new morning routine.

It wasn't too bad; Mike came with me and he handed Colin over to one of his teachers, Miss Lindsey, while I filled out the morning forms about how he ate, slept, etc. We left him there and I was doing pretty well. Until we got in the car, turned it on, and my radio blared the opening strains of "cats in the cradle." One of my most hated songs in life. I mean, really? We drop our kid off with strangers for the first time in his life, and the first song we hear is about abandoning your son and how he hates you when he grows up for not spending time with him?

Mike thought it was hilarious.

It made me cry.

But we do feel good about the place we've chosen, we couldn't ask for a better location, and hopefully once we get into a routine it won't be so bad. For now, I'm just looking forward to tonight when I get to get home and spend some quality time with this smiley guy:



I guess this face is what will get me through the day at work.

4 mo. appt.

This morning, we all headed to the pediatrician for Colin's four month appointment.


on the way to the dr!

Colin was quite the charmer at the doctor's office, smiling and flirting with the nurse and Dr. Caldwell, giggling and cooing while she tried to hear his heartbeat, and finally, shredding the paper on the exam table to pieces while on his belly.


waiting for Dr. Caldwell and plotting his next move...

Colin is an even chunkier monkey than at his last appointment. He's up to 25 in. long (50%), 15 lbs 11 oz (75%) and 42.7 cm head circumference (50-75%). Dr. said everything looks good though. He got all of his paperwork filled out and he's ready for daycare tomorrow morning!