Collin- 5 months

 There is not much exciting about the 5 month mark. Not much new happens, just fine tuning of things already learned. Little milestones like moving an object from one hand to the other, getting a little higher off the ground on his tummy, things of that nature. Which I might add, I feel like tummy time is pure torture for babies, so I may not do it as often as I should, which is why Collin may be a tad behind. It may not look like it in the picture above, but that is because he is propped on his boppy. Probably the biggest milestone was rolling over. I don't count his first one it as a "real" roll over, because it happened on a soft bed that has a dip in the middle of it. I call a "real" roll over one that occurs on the hard floor and requires some effort, which he has done once or twice as well. I forgot to write it on my milestone calendar for him, but I do know it happened during his 5 month. He may be a tad behind on the rolling over, because you have to be on your belly to roll to roll to your back, and as you read before, I rarely put him on his belly.

I have noticed more signs of teething during this month. Thankfully my friend Danielle gave me some black market teething tablets. I never used them for the other 2 boys, but I recently heard about them when they were recalled. Don't worry, I did my research and I would have to give Collin like 1,000 tablets at once before he would get sick off them, which is why they were recalled. They work pretty good, and I am thankful to have them. He is constantly chewing on anything he can get his hands on. For Christmas, I got him a Sophie the giraffe, which is basically a glorified dog toy that costs $20.00, and he went right to town chewing on it like a dog chews on a bone.

Sorry for the crap picture- I hate using my flash, and if I don't my pictures come out fuzzy and out of focus. Not sure which is worse- bad flash lighting, or fuzzy pictures?
Christmas was a ton of fun with the kids. I know Collin is too little to understand what is going on, but I think he had fun too. Look at this picture- doesn't he seem surprised by his gift? Like "oh thanks, I've always wanted one of these?"

I think I did really good with his Christmas presents. There's not much left to buy when you have 2 other boys already. In his stocking he got his first box of baby cereal, and Jake and Ty thought it was so funny for Santa to bring baby Collin cereal. He also got the cutest little busy book from Ikea, which he was so excited to get in the picture above, a play tray for his Bumbo, a high chair that attaches to the table, a book about pets, a Skwish cube, a Lamaze firefly toy, and of course Sophie.

Since he got his first box of baby cereal, we decided Christmas day would be the perfect time to feed him his first solid food.

He got the big eyes yet again. "Oh, I finally get some food! Gimme that damn spoon, I'll feed myself."

It's hard to remember much about this past month, it was so busy it was just a blur. We did take him on his first mini vacation to Chicago for 3 days and he did really good. We schlepped him all over Chicago in the Moby wrap, Baby Bjorn and his stroller. He was quite a trooper and didn't fuss at all.

 At the 5 month mark, Collin was still sleeping in our bed. This past week we have moved him up to his crib, but he is waking up 4 times per night, just to have a snack and a pajama party. I'm hoping he will just learn to sleep through the night without having to let him cry it out, but this business of getting up all night long is getting old fast. You would think by the 3rd baby I would learn from my mistakes! He is also starting to take 2 or 3 long naps instead of 4 or 5 short forty minute naps.

Just when I got him a nice wardrobe for winter/holiday he outgrew it already. So we are now moving on to 6-12 month clothes and I have to go shopping all over again. Oh, darn. (With a hint of sarcasm).

He is still keeping his rank with probably the easiest baby we've had. He doesn't even really cry when he is tired or hungry, he just makes these whimpering noises. I still can't believe we are closing in on the half year mark. I'm glad the holidays are over and things can start slowing down a bit.

Collin- 4 months

Each month with Collin gets more and more fun. I just don't remember enjoying the other 2 boys as much at this stage. I think with Jake I was a new mom and just didn't know what to expect. And Tyler was such a hard baby, there wasn't much to enjoy. But Collin has been a easy baby and I have cherished each milestone. I feel like I am much more aware of everything with him, because I have done it already, twice! And it has been easy to care for him because I am now a dang professional at this child rearing thing. I am enjoying every minute of it, because before I know it, he'll be one and no longer a baby.

It's hard watching my little baby get bigger, but hearing his giggles for the first time this past month has made it a little easier. There is no better sound to hear than laughter, from all my kids, but baby giggles melt my heart. He is so darn ticklish it's easy to get him going, and then his eyes light up and he is just plain happy.

The begining of November had some crazy warm days, so we spent a lot of time enjoying the outdoors. I put Collin in the baby swing hanging on the porch and he was loving it.

We also just plopped down a blanket and played. I couldn't help but think the next time he will be outside in the warm air, he will probably be 9 or 10 months old and crawling around in the grass. The winter is too long!!

 We traded his swing out of the living room, and brought in the next big piece of baby gadgets: the obnoxious Rainforest Jumperoo. It is hysterical to watch him in it. Who would have thought watching a baby bounce up and down would be so entertaining? It must entertain him too, because I find him a lot like this:

At four months, he is definletly becoming more aware and ready to play. He his really enjoying putting his toys in his mouth, playing with his hands, and finding his feet. He is really using his hands a lot to reach, grab, touch, and play with toys. It's amazing to watch him spin the toys on his Jumperoo. He also can "pet" the kitty now, well more like grab the kitty's fur and pull it out.

He still is not sleeping through the night, but that is probably because he is still sleeping in our bed. He wakes up a few times a night for a snack. I don't burp him or change him, so I really can't tell you exactly how many times he wakes up, I am barely awake myself. Mr. Collin is transitioning from naps every two hours that last about 40 minutes, to a long morning and afternoon nap. The past few weeks have been hard because his naps were short and frequent, so it was hard to get much done.

I still snuggle him as much as possible. It's hard to believe a year ago, I was just finding out I was pregnant with him!

When I took him for his 4 month check up, he weighed 16.6 pounds and was 26 1/2 inches. That puts himat the 75% for weight, and the 90 % for height. This boy is going to be tall! No wonder his clothes don't fit.

The two things

The two things that are driving me crazy right now with the boys.

1. Every single morning they come down stairs and the first thing they ask for is to turn on the t.v. I do let the boys watch television, but only when I need them too. Some examples are: when I need a nap, when I need a shower, when I need to do something that requires concentration, when they are fighting, making dinner, or need some computer time. I *try* very hard only to let them watch an hour per day. If I let them in the morning, that only leaves me with a 1/2 hour left. Not enough! I understand when they first wake up, they need to slowly work into the day, much like me and my coffee. But listening to them whine and beg every morning for some t.v. starts the morning off sour, and that is no fun.

2. The second gray hair maker- treats. I admit I have a big sweet tooth. I love anything sweet, and I have been known to give myself a treat after breakfast, lunch, dinner and maybe even through the day at my leisure. The boys expect a treat after lunch and dinner. Every single day. I let them. But what is annoying is after every. single. bite. is the question "Did I eat enough to get a treat?" Our rule is your plate has to be clean to get a treat, but it is very lenient. And there is controversy with making kids eat all the food on the plate, which some think causes obesity when the kids get older. It makes dinner not so pleasant when I have to be the referee for dinner vs. treats. And dinners always seem to suck because I am always concentrating on what and how much they have eaten. Actually come to think of it, the whole food thing in general makes me annoyed. The boys are always asking for juice, a snack, or a treat. I get to the point where I am so run down that I don't feel like explaining why they can't have juice all day. I don't think my kids have drank a drop of plain water ever.  And it's always a battle of some sorts. I can only blame myself and model good eating habits, and if I didn't have the stuff in my house, it wouldn't be an issue. But doesn't that take the joy out of life? A house with no treats? Blah.

Weekend Update

When I look back in my planner, I always wonder what we did each weekend, because by Sunday I can't remember what I did on Friday, let alone the weekend before. So I thought it would be fun to recap our weekend, to save a little moment in time.

It was a long day on Friday. Ty talked my ear off, and when I asked for a few moments of him not talking to me, he still talked to himself so there was constant noise. Davids mom called and said he wanted the boys for a sleepover. Yesss! Sherry usually takes the boys over night about once a month. Before Collin, it was a free night for David and I, plus a morning to sleep in. And the boys really enjoy staying the night at Grandma's. They all have those weird snuggie blankets and have "snuggie parties" whatever those are. So it's nice for us, and nice for them. Now that we have Collin, and he is to little to participate in snuggie parties, it's not so much a free night for us, but it is quiet at least. After the boys had gone to grandma's, Collin took a long 3 hour nap. I'm sorry to say I spent almost the entire time on the computer. I ordered Collin's stocking from Pottery Barn, did some blogging, did some facebooking, and looked for Christmas presents. After David got home from work, we decided to take Collin out on the town. He is still little enough he can pass out in his car seat when he gets tired and he is still portable. We met Chad, Lindsay, Corey, and Keri and all piled in our mini van and headed to Outback. The restaurant was packed, but I had my heart set on a Wallabee Darned. We made the guys wait in the van and us girls bellied up to the bar for our cocktails. By the time we finished, a table was available, so we ended up staying. We had a great time with our friends, and baby Collin didn't make a peep. I held him in my lap the whole time and he just looked around and flirted with the baby girl next to us that was his age too. After Outback, we went back to Corey's and watched movies. We left around 11:30 with sleeping Collin in his carseat.

No sleeping in on Saturday! Even though the older boys were gone, Collin was still up at 7:00. David left to meet Jake and take him hunting at his mom's, so it was just me and the little guy. We played all morning until he passed out at 11:00. Then the boys came home and I got ready for town. We grabbed lunch and headed into Jackson. I was excited to stop at Micky D's to try the new Carmel Mocha. Yes, this is what I look forward to. We got our coffee and head into Jackson. When I try my mocha, which is full of yucky froth. I look at the receipt and the lovely McDonalds button- pusher put cappuccino's on the screen instead of mocha's. What a great big let down.How can McDonalds workers screw up orders? Seriously, you just need to push a button. How hard is it?

Ty fell asleep on the way to town because it takes 30 minutes to get anywhere from our remote location we call home. Our first stop was Toy House for Jake's boy scout shirt. I had a coupon if I spent 100, I could get 20.00 off, and since Jake's shirt was 23, so I was already a quarter of the way there. I grabbed a Chicco table high chair for Collin, a Melissa and Doug United States puzzle for Jake, a wallet for Ty, and a firefly toy for Collin. Already got some Christmas shopping done.

Then we went to the big library. The kids love to get books from there and a fun play room. I decided since we were near by, I should stop by the Belly to Baby expo to say hi to Jane and Nicole. I had some extra diapers I wanted to donate, plus I wanted to see the picture of Collin that Nicole had on display there. After that, we went to Sam's Club for snacks. You have to fight the crowds, but it is worth it. We always end up buying something that we try, this time it was Parmesan crusted tilapia. I really like being able to try different foods that I normally would not buy. It gives me a lot more options for dinners.

It was time to head home. We had our friends Brent and Jenna coming over with their daughter Abigail. It was was so fun having a little girl running around the house. She is an absolute doll. She loved playing with the boys and they all played great even though she's only 3. She kept calling me Miss Sadie and loved baby Collin. After they left, David and I crashed. We were tired after running around all day.

We had no plans for today (Sunday). We should have went to church, but the thought of getting all the kids ready and getting them all buckled in the car seemed to be too much work after doing it all week long. David washed the van and then made room for it in the garage. The boys played outside with daddy. Again, while Collin took his nap, I jumped on the computer. I think I may be a tad hooked to the computer. This time I started looking for bunk beds. We promised the boys bunk beds last January when we told them we were having another baby. I had looked at a few furniture stores, but never found anything I loved. I have been dragging my feet because I kept thinking I had to buy them from a store and never had time to shop for them. Today I decided to check out Amazon and found some I loved and ended up ordering them! It feels good to have that done, and I didn't even have to leave the house. No wonder I love the computer so much. After lunch, the boys went back outside and I picked up the house. Then we had to do a family thanksgiving project for Jakes school. After that- dinner and showers. When the boys went to bed, I talked David into watching Kate Plus 8 with me. What a good weekend, although I felt a tad guilty today because besides the 15 minute family project, we didn't do much as a family today. Seems like Sundays David and I are busy trying to get projects done instead of hanging out as a family. The boys are getting so big and soon enough they won't want to hang out with us. It didn't help when I was on facebook, I kept seeing all these posts about all the fun places people were going as a family. A lot of the time, David doesn't want to go anywhere on the weekends. He just wants to stay home and relax. He is tired of driving after doing it all week long. We will do more when he gets laid off, but today I had some major mommy guilt going on.

Now I'm off to bed with my People magazine. It doesn't get any better than a cozy bed and a People to wrap up a weekend.

Halloween 2010

For the first time, I didn't have coordinating costumes for the boys. It was fun while it lasted. Jake is getting to old for coordinating costumes. Back in September when we were school shopping at Old Navy he spied a Superman costume and loved it. I thought it was for toddlers so I told him that just wouldn't work. Oh darn (sarcastically). As it got closer to Halloween I asked him again what he wanted to be and he thought for a moment and told me a tooth. I could already vision it. I love the homemade costumes and the creativity that comes with it. As it got closer yet, he changed his mind and told me he wanted to be a generic Star Wars character. No way was I spending $30 on a Star Wars costume. Try again, buddy. I thought back to the Superman costume and decided to give it a second looksy. It was the week before Halloween at this point, and it was on clearance for $5. And after all, it wasn't for toddlers, it was for bigger kids. Superman you are Jake!

Tyler was easy. He told me last Halloween he wanted to be the cheetah costume that we already had for dress up.There is a funny story behind this cheetah costume. I bought it back when Jake was probably 2 and I worked at the Gap. It is a size 4. I had it for 2 years before he could even fit into it. I think I paid 3 or 4 dollars for it after Halloween and with my discount. The kids love this costume. We have plenty of dress up clothes, but this one for some reason has been the favorite by far. The funny thing is- nobody has used it for Halloween until now. I will never get rid of it. I have tons of pictures of both boys wearing it. On any given day we have a cheetah in our house. This is what makes having kids so fun. I wonder what they are thinking: "I think I'll wear that cheetah suit today, that will look nice." They have also slept in it and fought over it till the point I was looking for another on E-Bay. It's the random weird things that kids are drawn to.

David and I had a lot of fun taking the kids trick or treating. We started at the school's trunk ot treat and met Danielle and Matt there. We went to a few more houses and went to Corey's sisters house to warm up and have dinner. Collin was at grandma Dar's so I didn't have to worry about keeping him warm and content. I decided to have wine for my dinner. Let me tell you- this made trick or treating very enjoyable. I don't get to excitied about Halloween and walking all over the neighborhood in the cold, but with a wine buzz, it wasn't too bad. I will for sure do this next year. Maybe I will get Mom of the Year Award for taking my kids trick-or-treating half drunk. We took the kids to a few more houses and went to Danielle's moms. There was a giant leaf pile on the side of the road. I told Jake to jump in it. He told me no. I told him I would give him a dollar if he did it. He dropped his bucket of candy, looked both ways, and dove right in. Everyone at Danielle's moms loved it. That is so my Jake.

Collin- 3 month

 Collin is now a pro at the art of thumb sucking. He has got it down and you will rarely see him without it in his mouth. I love it and think it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. And it is so nice having him able to comfort himself. In the car or when he is trying to fall asleep he just pops it in and is content.

Daddy calls him the Michelin baby (the tires) because of his arms and legs. He is definlety a chunk. He has a few rolls on his legs and his arms are thick but I've seen chubbier babies. He won't be skinny like Ty is though which is good- he's got 2 older brothers that he will have to deal with.
He is really showing interest in toys and loves to lay under his play mat and bat at toys. He'll play for 45 minutes straight. His favorite toy right now is a little bell bunny toy that I hooked to the mat. He has also been sitting in the Bumbo more. It is nice to see him sitting up- they do so much laying on their backs the first 3 months. The Bumbo is a must have baby product for sure. We put him in it during dinner and put him right on the table. He loves to watch the boys and will smile when he sees them. It is nice for him to be at the dinner table because that is the only time he ever sees the boys sitting down and being still enough for Collin to see them. They are always running around and he doesn't see them much!

This past month we went to the homecoming parade, went to the orchard with Sara and the boys, and had Nana come for a visit at the end of the month. During the week we did our usual drop off at preschool 2 days and run errands. There is always something that fills up the weeks and makes them go by so fast! Appointments, pre-school parties, volunteering at school, playdates, library, and grocery shopping an next thing you know Collin is another month older!

We still have not slept throught the night yet. I would have thought by now, but it isn't too bad getting up because he sleeps in the bed with us in his little co-sleeper and it's only 1 time per night anyway. I am going to have a hard time moving him up stairs to his crib. I love having him near by. My only incentive moving him  is getting a new headboard and putting our queen bed back in our room instead of the ginormous king we have now.

I have it really good with Mr. Collin. For the most part, he is a really easy baby. Of course I am comparing him to Tyler so any baby at this point would be easier, but he doesn't cry much and can easily be calmed with filling his belly, a pick-up, or a nap. He is content laying on the floor and watching the chaos that goes on around him.

For now he is eating every 3 hours and still naps after being up every 2-3 hours. Towards the end of this month he has starting taking longer naps and not so many in a day. Pretty soon we will be down to a morning and an afternoon nap.

 I am excitied to have another little guy to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with this year. I am very blessed to have 3 healthy, happy boys to share the fun holidays coming up. Although he is little this year, I can't wait to share all the tradtions we have as a family with the newest member of our family.

Stats: 15.5# and 25in.

Brotherly love

Either Tyler was hungry and really wanted to keep Collin happy while I made his lunch, or he was bored and didn't have anything else better to do. Or maybe he just wanted to show his brother some attention. Whatever it was, it melted my heart and made me smile.