Colby is One!

Well, he actually was one about 10 days ago but I've had one thing after another keeping me from writing on here....fatigue - - helping a friend box 800 cupcakes - - headaches - - company. Yada, yada, the list goes on and on. But I'm finally back.

He didn't cry about the candle but almost did when I had to jerk him away quickly because he put his hand in the candle.

One of his favorite expressions.

"Was I supposed to do this?"

We had the usual group over for the little supper party on a Tuesday night. I wanted to do it on his actual birthday which would have been Wednesday but the kids had Adventurers.

So yes, on August 27, the little bugger turned one year old. I made it!! Having my baby get to one year is always my personal goal because it seems like it should get easier after that somehow. Just wondering when that kicks in with this one because so far, he's just as ornery as ever. Case in point...Typically I would take my shower in the morning once he's down for his morning nap. But because I want to get in as much school as possible while he's sleeping, I got the bright idea to shower before his nap which meant he would go into his pack n play while I'm in the shower. Yup, great idea. He literally cries the ENTIRE time I'm in the shower. Your sisters and brother did not do that, mister. They just sat there and played like a normal person. And when they were your size we lived in our old house and there was a shower curtain blocking their view of me so they had to trust I was behind there. Meanwhile, you get to see me through the glass. What a stinker. At any rate, I've had to go to Plan B which is to shower at night. One can only take 15 minutes of straight crying for so long before they go a little crazy.
Turning one isn't without a few accomplishments, at least. He started walking in much more earnest around the time of his birthday and I would say is doing so about 75% of the time now. It was so strange because he started taking a lot of steps about six weeks ago and I thought for sure that was it. For the other three, once they started taking steps within about a week they were off to the races. But it didn't happen that way at all for him. It's almost like he said "Ah, well. I have another few months to go before I hit the age that my siblings walked (13, 13, and 15 months) so I think I'll just chill for a bit." He finally decided to pick things up a notch. I will be very glad when he's completely stable on his feet and he doesn't sit and crawl around on the floor in public bathrooms. As far as talking, he's got the "Mamamama" down pretty well and interestingly, not so much with the "Dadada." I thought kids always did the Dada first. He knows where his bread gets buttered, apparently. He also seems to be saying the word "ball."

I had still been nursing five times a day but now that we've introduced whole milk to him, which he loves, it's down to about three or four. The best part is that I'm no longer nursing during church which means I get about half my Sabbath wardrobe back. Yay!! I was getting sick of either not wearing some things at all or having to contort myself in the most uncomfortable of positions to try and get a portion of myself out of the dress. The nursing is still going well and we will probably just continue on until it wears itself out like the other kids did. Although...the other day it seemed like he was trying to play around and kind of bit me and I gave him a strict talking to: "Listen pal. You are one. This is now a privilege and not a right. So watch it." That seemed to do the trick.

Birthday at church. He looks SO excited, doesn't he?!

We had his check up last week and everything went great although he is getting smaller. Well, not really but compared to the rest of the population he is shrinking. He's down to the 10th percentile for weight after being up over the 50th, I think. The important thing is that he's still on his own upward curve so no worries from the doctor. And on the plus side, maybe he won't catch Brady in the near future. Here are his stats:

Weight - 20 lbs, 2 oz (Calleigh - 20 lbs, Aubree - 18 lbs, 8 oz, Brady - 17 lbs, 4 oz)
Height - 29 1/4 inches (25th)
Head - 18 3/4 inches (75th)
Shoe Size - 3/4
Clothes Size - 12 months

Just chilling...waiting for the doctor.

Let's see. What else has been going on non-Colby related? Last weekend Duncan was gone on a trip up to Maine. He went with Shawn and Camille's brother, Cameron, on a backtracking trip up Mount Katahdin which is the highest mountain in Maine and also the northern end of the Appalachian Trail. He left on a Thursday morning, flying on Allegiant Airlines straight from Sanford to Bangor. They stayed on the mountain on Thursday and Friday nights and returned to Shawn's house on Saturday afternoon and then he flew back here on Sunday afternoon. Everything went very well but because of poor cell phone coverage, as expected, I went to bed both those nights without having talked to him or gotten texts. That was a strange feeling! He had a great time and they are already working on plans for a trip for next year. I'm perfectly happy to stay at home with the kids. Ha!

Glad I saw this AFTER he got back.

Awesome picture taken by my brother. That's Duncan. When Brady saw it, he said "Is he going to jump?"

School has been going pretty great. The first two weeks have exceeded my expectations. I think Calleigh has only given me a hard time about three or four times. At the end of the first week, we didn't do school on Friday, as our usual, and BOTH girls told me they wanted to have school. Perhaps Calleigh was particularly bored at the moment. I don't know. But I'll take it! They've both been engaged in everything we've been doing and will even run upstairs in the morning before we start school and get the books all spread out on the desk for me and get their papers out (we start with Life of Fred for Math and their is always some questions at the end). We are doing our school in two sections. As soon as Colby is down for his morning nap, school is in session and will go from about 9:30 - 11:15 although Colby is awake for the end. In the afternoons, we start at about 2:45 or 3:00 and go to about 4:30. Brady is obviously awake for our morning session and boy, what a difference a year makes. He is so much calmer at age three than at age two. He will sit peacefully on the floor doing puzzles or playing with blocks now. He is also sometimes now awake in the afternoons as well. Without the binky, its been taking him longer to fall asleep and the naps are shorter. Sometimes an hour now compared to 2+ hours before. To his credit though, he has done great with the binky. There have been binkies of Colby's (same kind he used) all over the place and he's never once put it in his mouth.

Here are some anecdotes from our school/learning time:

We were on our way somewhere in the car and I was asking kids questions about that week's school work.
Me:"Remember, there are many different kinds of scientists. For example, a biologist who studies living things. What about a scientist who studies flowers?"
Aubree:"Um, a plantieologist?"

We are doing a word of the day each day which has been a lot of fun. We go over it and then the girls have to try and use it throughout the day.
Me: "The word of the day is 'Inquire.' Does anybody know what that means?
Calleigh:"Is that when you like play an instrument or you like sing in a group?"
Me:"You mean like you are in a choir? Nice try!"

Another trip in the car. This time we are almost home and it was obvious the high school had just been dismissed as bus after bus was passing us by. I took it as a teaching moment.
Me: "Okay, let's count how many buses go by. 1, 2, 3...10, 11, 12, 13. Brady, what comes next?"
Brady: "Another bus!"

Science experiment. Moving sheets of paper by flapping cardboard behind it.

We studied Christopher Columbus last week and I made Christopher's boats out of tinfoil.

Alas, only the Santa Maria floated which is ironic since it's the one that ran aground off San Salvador and had to be taken apart.

We had Cory and Amanda and the boys at our house this weekend as Cory needs to be here for meetings for Monday - Wednesday. We had a great time as usual, especially all the kids. Cory brought his bike and he, Duncan, and Allen went out this morning on a 50-mile ride. We decided to do a brunch afterwards at First Watch and sent Duncan and Cory out ahead since we knew it would be a long wait. It turned out to be even longer because the governor of Rick Scott happened to be eating there. He is out on the campaign trail since he's up for reelection in November. He was very nice and posed for pictures and talked to the kids.

Waiting for our table.

Love this picture! Aubree is right next to the governor with her Brady jersey on, Calleigh is holding the sign, and look at Kohlden with his arms around Brady. Isn't that the cutest thing!