Getaway

Rick and I were invited by Rick's dad to go on a little adults' trip.  We had talked for a while about taking a little trip on our own and we couldn't pass up the chance!  I was so nervous about leaving Colby overnight for the first time in his entire life.  But we had a blast and Colby did too!  Not sure if he missed us all that much and had a great time with Gran and Pop.  The only pictures I have are these...

Pretty happy ;)

The machine that Rick didn't want to play, but ended up sending us home about $300 richer.

If there were more pictures they would include us laying by the pool, taking naps, eating a lot, and generally enjoying uninterrupted conversation.  I was really ready to get back to my little man but we had a great time!

Fun Gift!

For Christmas my grandmother gave Colby a subscription to Highlights magazine... I didn't even know they have a toddler version!  So now each month this arrives in the mail with Colby's name on it...

 

You can't really tell from the picture but the "magazine" has thick laminated pages so they have all lasted!  And then you'll find this...

Makes the heart of a teacher happy!  If you are looking for a great toddler gift that isn't a toy... this is the way to go!

Go Skeeters!

One of the new highlights of summer around here are visits to the Skeeters' games.  Last summer Colby was too little so we left him home with Gran while we went.  But this summer he has already been twice and enjoyed it!  He even made it up for fireworks after the game both nights.  I have great memories of Astros' games with my grandfather and dad, and I love that Colby will have these sweet memories with his Dad and Grandad (and mommy too ;))

One to remember

Some things you just have to write down to remember.  Colby was invited to sweet Ava's 2nd birthday party at the children's museum.  Colby loves Ava, but he especially loves Ava's mom, Ms. Angela.  So when she called for all of the kids to come for cake... he ran to her side.  So she sat him right next to the birthday girl.  We all sang Happy Birthday and they told Ava to blow out the candles.  She didn't move.  So Angela asks Colby if he can help Ava blow them out.  No clue what he was thinking... but instead of blowing he reached out his sweet hand and put out the candle out by squeezing the flame.  I don't think it hurt as much but about 30 people in the room collectively gasped and Colby got so embarrassed.  Luckily a little rub with some ice and hugs helped.  We will never forget sweet Ava's birthday party!

First Annual Turner/Maas Beach Trip

To kick off our summer we headed to the beach right after school let out for a wonderful weekend with our best buds.  We rented a little house right on the beach and it was perfect!  I'll let the pictures do must of the talking.  We basically ate, played, napped, and then did that again.  Both kids enjoyed the beach but Maggie was basically fearless (as she is around all water).  We can't wait to do it again next year!

Hitting the road!

18 months!

Wow... the theme for me at 18 months is that each day my "baby" is becoming less and less a baby.  There is less carrying and more walking, less pointing and more talking, and of course less helping and more doing it himself.  It is precious!  

When I look back at all of my monthly posts I think I was focusing on the wrong things!  Or maybe that's what was important then... but things have changed.  So I'll summarize all of that to say that Colby eats well, sleeps well, weighs 24.5 lbs, is 32 in tall, and has 16 teeth (17 & 18) are poking through.  He is growing and healthy (something we are thankful for and don't take for granted!).

Helping make half birthday cupcakes

Colby:

runs instead of walking
holds hands when walking with us
climbs anything and everything
is very social (says hi and bye without prompting and cheeses at anyone who will look)
says byes instead of bye and says bye bye dada to everyone
is very affectionate (started giving hugs and kisses to his cousins and to Maggie)
"reads" books by himself (turns pages and looks at pictures)
slides down big playground slides and the baby slide at the pool by himself
closes doors from the inside and from the outside

Funny things he does:
LOVES to put on shoes and will ask for shoes randomly
LOVES to put buckets on his head (see above)
says "dah" when he gives a hi-five and "boo" when he gives a fist bump
when you tell him you love him he blows a kiss back
every time he sees a dog he says "dah, woo woo woo"

 Love this sweet boy!