The Swift Life

Christmas festivities....part 1

2012-01-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Christmas this year. We are so blessed to have both our boys, as crazy as it is, they are such an amazing blessing in our lives!

The month of December was a blur of get togethers, visitors and fun Christmas activities. Here is what our pre- Christmas looked like, here at home!

Picking out the tree...

Colton LOVED decorating the tree...

His Christmas shirt...so fitting for my little wild man!
A rare pic of me and my hubby...
Even Mason man joined the festivities!
The finished product!

Before we headed home we got to have Jordan visit for a week and we got to ride the carousel!

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving (yes, I know it's waaaaay late, but oh well) in Fresno, eating and hanging with our family! We had a great time with our family, but the highlight for me was shopping the day after Thanksgiving! Here are some pics I took of that long, fun weekend!

All the munchkins on Thanksgiving day...yes that's my kid who was refusing to get in the picture!

Press Mess...

Zekers...

Crazy man Colton...

Gavo...

Kenni...

Jordi...

Braden...

And the rock star for the day, Lexi...

Gmoney with Mason man...

Mason was really into the Thanksgiving spirit!

It was a weekend full of fun, food and family! We had such a great time and were so happy the rest of our family got to meet Mason man!

Mason James...3 and 4 months old

2011-12-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so needless to say December was a blur. From family and friends visiting us, to Christmas, to staying a week and a half in Fresno, we had quite a busy month. And Mr. Mason changed SO much in this past month, I hate putting these together, but it must be done! Here it goes..

I cannot believe my little pudge muffin is 4 months old. It's amazing how he has only been here a short time, yet it feels like he's been here forever. He is such a great baby, we are so blessed to have this guy in our lives!

Mason started grabbing things like crazy (3 months)

He also started chewing on his hands and DROOLING like crazy...let the teething begin :(

A little before his 4 month birthday we put him in his exosaucer and, even if the picture doesn't show it, he loves it!

He is rolling all over the place...he started in the middle of the blanket.

He loves bathing with his brother in his big boy bath!

Here's what Mr. Mason is doing this month ( 3 months)...

He is so close to rolling from his back to his belly.
He is a mover! When I put him on the floor, he can wiggle his way all around.
Daddy and brother are his favorite forms of entertainment!
He is starting to love his baths, he even splashes and kicks the bottom of his bath.
The boy is a sleeper, but sleeps best cuddled up with mommy.
He is a chunker, weighing in at 17 lbs!

4 months...

He is around 19 lbs. wearing 9 months (soon he'll transition to 12) and is wearing size 3 diapers.
The boy rolled over, back to front, at 1 week short of 4 months!
He SCREAMS out of delight when he is talked to by anyone! He has even started doing it at 4 am :(
The boy wakes up in the morning with a bright smile on his face...best thing ever!
He is not fond of the car, thankfully it puts him to sleep most of the time.
Poor thing, teething is kicking in and he is biting down on anything in his mouth and drools a TON!
He refuses to drink formula, he will spit it out and scream until you give him the boob or boob milk in a bottle.
His brother is his favorite entertainment!
We love this little man; he really is our angel baby!

Mason James...Two months old

2011-11-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

Such a happy boy :)

This should really be 2 months and 1 week, but hey our house is crazy right now! Our little (big) man, is growing up so fast! I feel like he gets bigger everyday ( which is why I am so thankful we saved all of Colton's clothes). He has made our lives crazy and hectic, but has already brought us so much joy in just 2 short months!

Here is what we know of our little munchkin so far...

He still sleeps in random spots and can still, for the most part, sleep through his brother...

He also LOVES to snuggle...with anything!

Love this shirt! And little man loves to sleep in his bouncer (which he has pooped out of two outfits while sitting in this thing today...true story)!

He had his first Halloween...

He weighs in at 15lbs 7oz and is 24 inches long...yeah he's a big boy!
He is wearing 6 month clothes and is in size 3 diapers.
This boy is SO HAPPY! He smiles anytime someone talks to him :)
He tries sooo hard to talk to us. He makes lots of coos and ahhs. And when he gets really excited, his bottom lip quivers! Love it!
He is starting to stay awake longer and longer.
This boy is a champion night sleeper! He will usually go anywhere from 5-8 hours at night without eating. He has plenty stored up....
He is such a snuggle bug. He can move himself to get to where he is touching my face at night. The kid pushes me off the bed already!
He has so much personality already, he is going to be a little charmer, for sure!
We love this little man so much :)

Mr. Smiley Pants!

2011-10-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

Our little man has been smiling since like 3 weeks, but we haven't been able to get a picture of it. He is such a sweet boy and loves to smile. He can do it spontaneously or when played with. He loves it when you say "hello" to him and gives HUGE smiles to his big brother! We love this little man so much and his smile brightens our day!!

Fun filled Saturday with the Swifts...

2011-10-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had a great, but busy day! We spent the morning eating breakfast with the Albany firemen at the fire station. And in the afternoon, we made our way over to the Ocean View Carnival! We did both with our neighbors and Colton's buddy, Tyler! It was a long day, but tons of fun!

Here's Colton with the Fire dog, he LOVED him!

Eating pancakes...yum!

He went over and said hi to the fireman...

told him his name...

and then got put inot the truck by the fireman! He was in heaven :)

Our sweet Mason,shockingly, slept the whole time!

Future fireman!

Here is Colton on the giant slide at the carnival, taking some kid out!

Walking on a slackline! Uncle Shane would be proud!

Painting pumpkins, it started innocently enough, but then turned into...

THIS! There was a gril across the table with her face painted like spiderman, I am pretty sure he was trying to re-create that!

Mason James...One month old

2011-10-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

We cannot believe our sweet new addition is one month ( and 7 days) old :) He is such a great baby, we are so blessed to have him (and the fact that he's a sleeper doesn't hurt)!

Here's what we know about him so far..

He weighed 12 lbs 10 oz a week ago and is wearing 3 month clothing. Although, these are starting to get too tight :(
We are finishing the last of his size 1 diapers and starting our size 2.
He can smile spontaneously and loves to smile at his big brother :) We just haven't been able to catch it for a picture yet :(
Sleeping is his number one priority still! He loves to sleep, especially during the day. The time he is most awake is from 8-11. Then he pretty much sleeps all night and only wakes up to eat.
He is still sleeping with mommy and daddy...the boy is a cuddle bug!
He has rolled over from tummy to back! He can also get from his back to his side, then from his side to his tummy! The boy is strong!!
Mason LOVES to grunt from the hours of 4 to 7 am. He's asleep, but won't stop grunting, which keeps his mommy awake.
He is such a love bug and sweet baby! We really could't ask for more. Colton is in love with him (most of the time) and calls him "Colty's baby!"
We all love you bunches little Mason!

Mr. Mason, 3 weeks and counting...

2011-09-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little man is 3 weeks and I had to do a post because today he did this for the first time...

That's right, he smiled! Don't mind the closed eyes, he decided to close them for the pic. But this was his first non sleeping smile.

Here are some more pics from the past week with our sweet boy...

I love this pic, he makes this face a lot!

We started tummy time this weekend and he was trying to move :)

The next time he decided it would be better to rest...

And his umbilical cord finally fell off, so he got his first real bath! And, he hated it :)

We love this little guy so much. He is a sleeper and sleeps most of the day and night (with some hours of grunting between 3- and 5 am). We love that he is a snuggle bug and sleeps with us (something Colton would never do). I am just nervous that he will be like his brother and do everything fast. But like Tim pointed out, he has to do it fast, to keep up with Colton. But what a joy and blessing he has been to have at our family. We love you little man.

East Bay Vivarium...

2011-09-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today we made a trip to the East Bay Vivarium on Daddy's last full day at home. We are so thankful he has been home with us for 3 weeks and we are so sad to see him go back to work tomorrow (mommy the most)! We had a blast and Colton LOVED seeing all the reptiles :) I, personally, was a little creeped out but the boy had a blast and can't wait to go back!

Colton, checking out some snakes!

Our sweet Mason slept the whole time...love this kid!

The boys had a blast...well at least Tim pretended to love the creepy crawlers. Such a good daddy :)

It's been one of those weeks...

2011-09-18T23:09:00.001-07:00

Around our house it has been "one of those weeks." You know one where it's not just one day where things go wrong, but it feels like you are just swimming everyday to try to keep from drowning? Well that is how this week has felt....

It all started with this....

A broken washing machine...

A toddler, not sleeping, and then when he does sleep, he ends up on the floor.

Poor guy, he keeps ending up on his floor multiple times a night . And then there is Mason. Who is an AMAZING sleeper, most of the time. But the nights Colton was crazy sleeping, Mason decided to fuss all night. We had at least 2 or 3 nights this week where we maybe got 2 hours of sleep.

All that said, things could always be worse. And we are just so thankful and blessed to have each other and our beautiful boys...

Brotherly Love...

2011-09-11T14:51:00.001-07:00

Since Mason has showed up, we have been pleasantly surprised by how much Colton LOVES him! He still has shown some jealousy, but overall, he just loves his baby brother and wants to hold him. all. the. time...

Here they are in somewhat matching outfits,...let's hope this shirt just stays true for only one of my boys...

We love both of these boys so much and cannot wait to see how much fun they are going to have together as they grow up!

Mason James...One week old

2011-09-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Our newest little addition is officially one week old...

.He LOVES to sleep, although he's waking up more and more these days...

Here is some more about our sweet little guy...

Mason was born on September 3, 2011
He weighed 9lbs 13.5 oz
He now weighs approximately 9 lbs
I am pretty sure he is his brother's twin (just with a few extra chunks).
He is a snuggle bug, he loves to snuggle with anyone who's around.
At first, he kept us up at night, but he has seemed to corrected his day and night. Which is good for us.
He eats every 2 hours, like clock work. Except at night, he will give us one 3-4 hour chunk.
The boy does not cry (knock on wood). But seriously, one of the quietest babies ever. I am pretty sure this is God's blessing after 2 years with Colton,lol.
When he is awake, he basically will eat, look around for a little while and go back to sleep :)
We are so in love with this boy and are so thankful to have him...

Freezing Time...

2011-08-27T22:50:00.001-07:00

Colton and Daddy playing firefighters! Colton had the bright idea to use the bucket as a helmet and had daddy join in the fun!

So I was thinking tonight as I rocked my son and sang Twinkle Twinkle before bed, how much I wish I could freeze time and stop it in it's tracks. Even though my son sometimes acts like he's possessed, he is at such a fun age. And even though I hear mommy about 5000 times a day, I get so sad thinking there will be a time when I don't hear that.

The only thing that I would change right now would be....

the fact that I am STILL pregnant! I am pretty sure that if my kid were any lower, he would fall off. Not to mention the fact that he keeps making us think he's coming and then it all stops. I have been miserable since my doc appointment on Monday. We are crossing our fingers Mason comes soon. We can't wait to meet him!!

My kid, the comedian!

2011-08-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Colton is getting funnier and funnier these days, here are some of the crazy things he has said/ done. I wanted to write them down so I could have them to look back on someday :)

"Baby Mason eats from mommy's chi-chi," (thanks Tim)
"Hey mommy, what's that? The quesadilla place, " (when we passed by Chipotle).
"Seriously, what in the world?"
"That's a big nurse!"
" There's a small mommy," referring to a non pregnant mom in a book.
"Haha, Colty tooted!"

Here he put a bucket on his head and called it his fireman helmet! Love this little man :)

Look who's turning two...

2011-07-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe the day actually came (and went) that my little man turned two! I keep asking myself where the time went. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was pregnant with him and now he's 2! He has grown and changed so much this past year, I am excited to see how much he will in the next year.

Here are some things that have changed in Colton's second year of life....

His daddy graduated from Cal! YAY, Dr. Daddy!

He had his first love...

He had his first fight with lice or fleas, which lead to his first haircut...

He found out he was going to be a big brother, and is actually getting excited about it...

He had his first, of many, trips to Disneyland. He had a BLAST...

He learned how to ride a scooter (and got one for his bday, thanks Gammie and Papi)

He learned how to ride a bike and got one for his bday (thanks gma and papa)...

He just recently watched his first movie, Cars. And now is obsessed with Lightning McQueen and tow mater...

He LOVES to sing! Some of his favorites include: Wheels on the bus, Abc's, She'll be coming 'round the mountain (strange I know) twinkle, twinkle and one two buckle my shoe.
At night he says his prayers and thanks Jesus for his family, friends and Jody (our friend from Mosaic). He loves to pray.
He can name just about every tractor or truck there is.
Some of his favorite phrases to say are: " look at that____mommy!" " Um, where'd Coltie go (as he covers his eyes)?" " No, Coltie have that or No Coltie do that!" And our all time favorite, " That's Coltie's big woody!" (did I mention he's discovered toy story?)
He is not even close to potty training. He like to pee in the potty before bath to get a jelly bean, but that's it. He has even stopped telling us he pooped in his diaper :(
He can say his full name and age when asked.
He can sing his abc's and count to ten.
The kid would move to Fresno if we'd let him. Everyday he asks to ride the train to one of his grandparents house.
If there's a plane in the sky, it's always going to Alaska, according to him.
Every night before bed we read, The Going to Bed Book and Goodnight Moon and now he can recite them almost word for word.
He knows when we are turning left and right in the car or on his bike.
He can now say his brother's name. He calls him baby brother Mason.
On Monday, he starts preschool! He can't wait!

He continues to amaze us everyday with how much he remembers and how much he learns everyday! We are so blessed to be his parents and thank the good Lord for him everyday! Happy 2nd Birthday Colton, we love you to the moon and back!

22 months...

2011-05-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Our little man is just two short months away from turning 2. I cannot begin to tell you how sad this makes me. He is growing up so fast and continues to amaze us at how fast he learns things.And even though he is starting to show us his "terrible" side he really is a fun kid to be around and I am so thankful I get to spend everyday with him. As one man in McDonald's put it...he's like your little friend who is always there! So true :) Here is a little more about our growing boy....

He's probably still around 33-34 lbs. Which is making it increasingly harder to hold him for long.
We are still slowly potty training hi. He really enjoys being naked and wearing underwear, but isn't crazy about peeing on the potty (he's rather just let loose on the floor), so we're working on it! We have found that bribing (gasp) with jelly beans helps...he's obsessed with them!
He is starting to say "just one more minute" accompanied by an adorable outstretched index finger, if he wants to keep doing something.
We are working on colors right now. I would say he knows blue, green and red. So we're getting there.
He has started to "count" He will say "1,3,4!" He totally skips two, it's really cute. I have even heard him say "6,7,8!"
He understands maybe and uses it correctly. He will say "yeah maybe" if he thinks there's a possibility of something happening.
Probably the most adorable thing he does is sing. He loves to sing songs we hear at the YMCA and he also enjoys making up songs with his daddy.

Every night, after bath, Colton and Daddy make "pictures" for mommy! They say cheese and smile at themselves in the mirror.

He is starting to do imaginary play, which is super fun! He will say "four dollars" which means he wants to play buy something from you.
He is really starting to warm up to the idea of a baby brother (as much as he can anyway). He loves playing with babies and will even kiss/touch my belly and then say 'baby brother!" Sometimes he will lift his shirt up and say " Coltie baby brother too!"

When we moved into our new house, he moved into a toddler bed and has never looked back! He LOVES his firetruck bed (compliments of grandma's good find-25 bucks at a yard sale)!

Life is crazy with a toddler ( a crazy one at that) and baby on the way, but this boy sure does make life fun!

20 months and...we're back :)

2011-03-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

So I have decided that it's only fair to baby bean number 2, that I blog their life just like I did for Colton (also because I am not good with memory or scrapbooks if I don't write it down somewhere, I will never remember any of it). So to start off, I am trying to get back into the swing of things...so here goes nothing!

Our little man turned 20 months yesterday and my how much has changed since my last blog.

He's approximately 32-34 lbs.
I am buying him 3t shirts and 2t pants.
He can now say up to 4-5 word sentences (my fav is "no, my mommy kiss it!"), although most of them are still 2-3 words.
He knows a ton of shapes and we are slowly, but surely working on his colors. He can also recognize his name, Ava and we are working on mommy and daddy.
When asked if he wants the baby to be a boy or a girl, he responds with "boygirl"
His new favorite word seems to be "no!"
His personality is starting to shine through. He is starting to try to make us laugh and when he thinks something is funny, he has an adorable, deep belly laugh! Which makes you laugh even harder!
In general, he is a sweet boy, who uses please, thank you and bless you. But I am starting to see glimpses of a more, slightly evil side! I am terrified of what will happen when my stubborn boy goes into his terrible twos (or when baby bean comes along).
He is happy and makes our life full and complete.

Here are some 20 month pics, enjoy!

Papa's truck...

2010-11-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I really should call it Zeke, Colton and Papa's truck. Colton is obsessed with Papa's truck and when we were in Fresno last week he got to "help" papa work on it. He had so much fun and didn't want to come inside.

Hey look, I can drive like Papa :)

He had to check on Papa, to make sure he was doing it right,lol :)

15 months...

2010-10-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

My sweet little man, I cannot believe that you are 15 months old. You are so full of life, energy and personality it's so fun to watch, yet so exhausting at the same time! There is never a dull moment in our house, and that is all thanks to you. You keep us laughing and guessing what hilarious thing you will do next!

Here's a little more of what you're up to:

You are a messy eater...no matter what you are eating!

Personally I think you're a future Picasso, but what do I know?

You love trains, trucks, tractors or anything with wheels.

You have your first potty and will sit for a few seconds on it...

but mainly you use it for a step stool...

Your first "big boy underwear" are Thomas the Train! You choose them over cars :)

money shot :)

You have gone pee and poop outside your big boy potty.
You enjoy your new undies :)
You weigh around 29 lbs and are still in 24 months-2t clothes and size 6 diapers.
You have such an amazing memory, you remember soooo much!
Some new words you've added: Jor-Jor (jordan) Mamooo (Gammie/Grandma) cook-cook (this is for cooking and cookie monster) choo-choo, chugga, poon(spoon), kick,avo (Gavo) and my personal favorite...upid (stupid, courtesy of mommy :)
Most of your phases are two words, with a few three word phrases :) And things are starting to have possession (my baba, my dada, mama car)
If you don't have our attention, you will do anything to get it. This may include: climbing on chairs or tables, hitting or screaming (fun)!!
You have started to hit and kick,especially when you don't get your way :(
Now you love to watch any video that has you,dada, Papa,Papi or Gavo in it! You love to watch Gavo's dancing videos :) Oh or choo choo soul
You are still the love of our lives and we are so thankful for each and everyday we get to spend with you :)

Tired and torn up Tuesday...

2010-10-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

As you can see...my son is the torn up one....yeah he busted his nose at Kinkos AND has a rash from teething and a runny nose :(

And in between the time I started this blog and finished it...he fell off the concrete stairs outside and re-busted his nose AND got a new scratch on the side of his head :(

Yes I am aware, he looks VERY tore up,lol! My poor baby :(

And we both are tired after he decided to be awake for an hour and a half in the middle of the night and then wake up early :( This has been going on for a whole month and I am exhausted. I don't know if it's teething, separation anxiety or a mixture of both. All I know us that it has to change and soon, because I don't know how much more of this I can take.

Needless to say we had "one of those days" but tomorrow will be better...I hope!

Habitot Children's Museum

2010-10-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Habitot Children's Museum for a free entrance day!! We had a ton of fun, although I think poor Colton was in need of a nap and extremely overstimulated!

Here he was with the trains. He is obsessed with trains right now :)

There were dancers from Mexico City there and Colton was in awe of them...a little scared, but he always clapped when they finished!

Me and my boy, watching the dancers :)

They also had a a water table there full of soapy water. My son may, or may not have, consumed a large amount of bubbly water. I literally would step away from him for one second and he would gulp the stuff down.

Colton working hard at the clay station :)

After the museum, we had to pick up daddy and take him to school. Needless to say, our little man was sooo tired.

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-10-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween Time...

Good luck Daddy...

2010-10-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a big day in the Swift house; Tim is taking his qualifying exam (quals)!! He has been working and studying so hard for the past few months, so needless to say, he will be happy when it's over. The test is a 3 hour test, where he gives a 20 minute presentation and then gets bombarded with questions for the next 2 1/2 hours from a 4 professor committee! He has faced so much adversity throughout this process, from difficulty finding professor, to them continuing to change the date on him (up until a few weeks ago), yet he remains persistent and steadfast to achieve his goals.

After he passes this (hopefully tomorrow, although he keeps reminding me that the pass/fail rate is 50/50), he will just need to write his thesis and he will be done with school. His goal is December, which would put him at 3 1/2 years to complete a PhD in Mechanical Engineering(average is 6 or 7)! No matter what happens tomorrow we will be proud of him and what he has done in 25 short years!! Our prayers go up for you babe, knock 'em dead!!

Are you ready for some football?

2010-09-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well...at least Colton is getting that way :) Here how he's been preparing..

practicing his game face...

warming up his throwing arm...

pull ups...

cardio...

team work...

fitting in with the guys...

and most importantly... looking good in my jersey, for the ladies :)

14 months...

2010-09-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I know I say this every time, but seriously, how did my kid get to be 14 months?? I hate that this is going by sooo fast! He is growing and changing on a daily basis.

Here's what Colton's up to this month.

He is super cute :) Seriosuly, look at this picture...oh and his hair is loooong and curly!! Love it!

He is a social kid; he especially loves our neighbor Ava!! He says her name all.day.long and door bell ditches her house!

He loves his family (especially Papa and Papi, but you didn't hear that from me)! We look at pictures at least 20 times a day! He was kissing the pictures, in the pic below!

He is learning how to eat with spoons and forks :) We still have to help, but he's getting it!

He is 27 lbs and 12 oz and 32 1/4 in long! Woo hoo, his body is slowing down the weight gaining!!
We are now officially buying 24 months clothes and size 6 diapers...eek!
He is such a flirt...he loves waving and blowing kisses to the ladies.
He has thrown some pretty crazy tantrums :(
He is talking a ton! Some of his new words include: Meow, dump truck, done, Annie, uh-oh, on-off, fan, down, ouch and doctor (said it to the actual doctor)!
He is even starting 2 word phrases! Some of them include: my baba/car/dada/mama or bye dada/mama,etc.
He loves to dance, even in his car seat!
He has 8 teeth and is cutting a top molar.
The child goes non-stop! He is on the go, all day long!
His new favorite game is throwing a ball at daddy, at the bottom of our stairs.
He is obsessed with trucks,tractors and trains!
He loves riding in papa's bug truck!
He is still his parents' pride and joy!

Thank you, little man, for continuing to teach us how to love more deeply and how truly precious life is!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-09-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

My sweet boy :)

Reunited and it feels so good....

2010-09-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

We were in Fresno while Tim was in Boston and then we stayed to give him time to study for his upcoming quals. I think a week and a half is too long for these two to be apart...

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-09-08T18:17:00.001-07:00

Our big boy...

Little Daredevil....

2010-09-06T19:22:00.001-07:00

Tonight Colton decided that it was no longer good enough to stand in the chair, no he had to try to jump from his chair, to the big chair. And me, being the good mom I am, grabbed my camera! Hey, we tried moving it away, and he just moved it back! If you can't beat 'em take pictures!!

Success!!

That's right ladies...I'm a stud!!

* Please note: no children were hurt during the filming of this stunt. Well, except once, but it didn't deter this very persistent fellow!!

Wordless Wednesday....

2010-09-01T19:23:00.001-07:00

Dirt,dirt,dirt!!!

Waiting for daddy...

2010-08-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

This morning Daddy left for Virginia and will be gone a whole week, so I promised him we would blog a lot! Here is the first one babe. Colton was standing at the window saying "dada!" We miss you already....

Water play Wednesday

2010-08-25T21:47:00.001-07:00

The other day it got hot here ( 99 degrees with no AC) so I set up some water in a bucket for the boy and he loved it. He even stayed on the towel (he did DUMP the water off of the towel, but his bottom stayed on the towel). As a mom of a very active child I enjoy these times where he will sit and play quietly for a few minutes.

13 months...

2010-08-24T23:14:00.001-07:00

So, our little guy just turned 13 months and yes I am doing a post for it. Why, might you ask?? Well, it's selfish really, I just want to be able to remember what he was like! And he is changing so much that I don't want to miss a thing.

Here is what he's up to this month:

He is transitioning into 24 month clothes and I swear in a month into size 6 diapers.
Um, yeah he's a major climber. He is now trying to climb up to the monkey bars at the park and refuses to let me help him get up the big playground to the slide.

He LOVES animals. He can now say: moo, cow, neigh,baa, ooh-ooh ahh-ahh (not only can he say them, it's paired with the correct animal).

He is obsessed all things with wheels. He is heaven at the park because there at tractors there!
He loves his new car and rides in it to the park everyday, with one arm hanging off the side!
Some new words he's added: bus, tractor, Ava, tire, papa, maa-ma
His favorite words: Elmo, car, truck, tractor and PAPA (the boy loves his papa and papi)!
He can now open/close the doors at our house and when you have stairs, this is bad.
Can you say TEMPER TANTRUMS!! That's right out one year old has an opinion and feels compelled to let us know when he is not happy! He will fling himself backwards and/or go limp when he is not getting his way!
He thinks the word "no" means I keep doing whatever I am doing and laugh really hard while doing it!
He is busy...he goes...non stop...and hates sleeping :(
He has learned to back flip when we lift his legs to change him! We just life his legs and he does the rest!

He is still our pride and joy and we are so blessed to have him!

Messy Monday

2010-08-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Colton's first girlfriend...

2010-08-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

That's right, eat your heart out ladies, he's spoken for!

Can't you feel the love between the young couple? They have even been spotted holding hands in the back seat! He can even...say her name! Who is the dashing beauty you ask? Well, it's our neighbor Ava! She is too cute! Colton is very lucky to call her his "lady"

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-08-18T22:26:00.001-07:00

Curiosity is a beautiful thing...

It's a hard life...

2010-08-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Colton's life is filled with many challenges, like...

stunt work...

eating...

cleaning (can you believe she makes me do this)

reading...

Hey, it's a tough life, but somebody's gotta do it :)

Jelly Belly Factory!

2010-08-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have Anne, Alyssa and Shy Shy stay with us for a few days this week! We have been wanting to take them to tour the Jelly Belly factory and since we had the time, we went for it! We had such a great time watching how they make every jelly belly (it takes 7-21 days for ONE jelly belly to be made)!!!

Anne and the girls with the Jelly Belly car...

me and the boy...

The girls each had picked their Jelly Belly car to take a pic with...

Getting ready to head in and see some Jelly Bellies!!!

This is how he started (fussy and tired) but we let him loose on the tour and he was mesmerized by the machines and all the conveyor belts!By the end of the trip he was still interested and all of us girls were over it!!

He is all boy, that's for sure :)

We had a great time and I am so thankful we got to make this wonderful memory with the girls!

Colton's First Birthday Bash!!

2010-08-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we celebrated Colton's first birthday with a big huge bash at Gammie and Papi's house! There was family, food, friends, and fun!! We had a great time and were so thankful that we have the friends and family we do!! A big shout out to all Colton's grandparents who helped with the party!!

Here is the Elmo cake...thanks to Mandy who helped me with it (and the decor as well)!

12 months of Colton...

Daddy and the boy swimming!

Papa/Papi bbqing and telling some big story while doing it!

Little Man!

All the kids( I should say cousins) who came to the party!!

Present time....we started off good

Then I just ended up opening the rest :)

The truck was a big hit (thanks Gammie and Papi)...

So was the car (thanks Grandma and Papa)!

Pinata time...

Thanks again to everyone who came, we had tons of fun!! Colton can't wait to do it again next year :)

Potty Mouth :)

2010-07-28T22:31:00.001-07:00

The problem with teaching your child words in the "uck" word family...is they sometimes say words they shouldn't!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-07-27T21:22:00.001-07:00

Mommy's little helper...

Riverside...

2010-07-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

One of our many travels was to Riverside to see Kristi, Jason and the kids :)We had so much fun just hanging out and swimming. We always love getting to see the kids, they are growing too fast and we don't see them enough (and we missed Braden this time too), so when we get to see them we enjoy every minute :)

Here is Gavo!! Can you say cutie pie???

Colton's favorite toy was the dog pen!!

Lexi Grace...isn't she beautiful :)

Presley, aka little mama!

Seriously, could he be any cuter?

Here is little mommy Pres, pushing Colton in his car.

While we were there we swam, a lot...

Colton LOVED the make-shift ball pit!

Unkie Jason and Auntie Kristi got the boys matching outfits, so we decided to get a picture...and these are the best we got :)

They are going to be trouble makers and heart breakers!!!

We had so much fun and can't wait to see them again soon!!

Goodbye baby...hello toddler!!

2010-07-22T22:29:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the day has come...my baby is officially 1 year old!!! Where the heck has time gone?! It seems like it was just yesterday my baby looked like this...

Now, he looks like this...

Here is what Colton's has been up to this month...

He is around 27 lbs and is wearing 18 months clothes.
He is wearing size 5 diapers!
He has 7 teeth, and is teething again :(
He LOVES riding forward in his car seat (see below)! He doesn't play with toys anymore, he just sits with his hands on the "arm rests" and says TRUCK (while pointing of course)!!

No more formula for him, he is completely on whole milk (praise God)!!!
He can say duck, quack, water, truck and Up (well and cup, but they sound the same).
He understands one step commands like, take this to mommy/daddy and he does it.
His favorite thing to do is to throw toys over the gate and laugh hysterically when we scream, no!!
He is starting to be playful and likes to be tickled.
He can do arms up, more and he made up a sign and says "ot" (hot). He can also poit to his belly, foot and ear!
He LOVES swimming, in any form of water! He went swimming in the ocean for the first time and we had to drag him out.
Peas, corn, bananas and sharing a muffin with daddy in the morning are his fav foods!
He has begun waking up at like 1 and 3, but I am praying it's due to teething!!
He loves to drink water and still has not had any juice yet.
He is beginning to manipulate toys and is gaining a lot of coordination in his hands.
He can feed himself and has begun spoon feeding himself. He will even try to re-dip the spoon and get more on it!
He is a food moocher! He loves any food that someone else is eating!
He is starting to hold food and take bites! He is also starting to drink milk from a cup (we'll see how long it takes him to give up his baba).
MY FAV (not)...he can say NO and shake his head!! He has even pitched a few fits when he has not gotten his way!!
He is a healthy, strong, lovable boy, who has turned into a toddler right before our eyes!

Happy First Birthday Colton!!

You are and will forever be our pride and joy!

On this night, a year ago....

2010-07-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

On this night, one year ago, we were hanging out in the hospital waiting for our little man to be born. Here is a little taste of what we were doing on the eve of Colton's birthday.

Happy...before pushing, haha!

Playing joker poker, we were told we needed to "quiet down and get some rest" lol!

See, I told ya the game got out of hand!! I will let your imagination run with what you think happened!!

Colton's One Year Letter

2010-07-19T17:16:00.001-07:00

Dear Colton,

I cannot believe this, but in three short days you will be 1 years old!! It continues to amaze me how much time really does fly when you are having fun! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was holding you in my arms for the first time, you were so new and helpless. All you did was eat, sleep (not too much, actually, but you have learned), poop (a lot of this, actually) and lay around.

It's hard to believe that it's the same boy who is running

around our house! You have been amazing since you entered into this world, different from the beginning. I remember your Grandma was astounded how wide-eyed you were and from that point on, people were amazed at how aware you were of everything around you. It was like, from birth, you came out wanting to soak in the world around you, and it hasn't stopped (to the point of staring now, but we're working on it)!

You are such a good, stubborn, but good boy who is so full of life! You LOVE to be outside and meet new people. You are such a BIG boy ( literally), but you are incredibly sweet and just as cute as you can be! You love being around your family and Daddy really can make you laugh the best!

You have been such an Enormous blessing to our family! Words could never describe how much you are loved, by not only me and Daddy, but by the rest of your family as well. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us and we are so thankful for everyday we have with you. We love you baby, to the moon and back! You will always be our pride and joy!

Happy Birthday Colton!!

2months and 10lbs...

2010-07-10T23:01:00.001-07:00

So...I have I am the heaviest I have been.IN.MY.LIFE. Yes, I know I had a child, who stretched my muscles to the limit, but I.FEEL.FAT. There really is no excuse for me being this weight, except for the fact that I love to eat and hate to exercise. But, the time has come (again), the weight must go.

I have given myself the goal of 10lbs in 2 months. Why, you ask? Because we want to start for baby number 2, in 2 months and I refuse to start a pregnancy at this weight!

The Plan:

Breakfast: Special K

Lunch: Slim Fast Shake

Dinner: Sensible or Slim fast shake.

With healthy snacks in between and most importantly NO MORE CAKE or regular soda!!

Oh and exercising...yeah, that too :(

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-07-07T15:22:00.001-07:00

Home:)

2010-07-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

It feels so incredibly good to be home! In the past 2 weeks we have been to Alaska and back and then to Fresno and back...twice! So, needless to say it's nice to be at home base for a few weeks. Poor Colton still hasn't recovered from all of our travels!

With all that, we decided to stay home for the 4th and watch fireworks at the Berkeley marina! It was freezing, but fun! I think next year we will head back toward warmer weather to be with family. We missed our family this year, it somehow wasn't the same without all the kiddos running around! With that being said, we loved getting to spend it with our Bay Area friends (and Gammie and Papi too)!

Colton posing at the picnic...

Our little family at the marina, waiting for fireworks :)

Colton was a trooper in the freezing cold weather!

Watching the fireworks

Colton had a cold, but fun first 4th of July!

Alaska!

2010-06-30T23:34:00.001-07:00

Last week my mom, Jordan, Colton and I ventured forth to Alaska to visit Anne, Shane and the girls. This was only my second time flying and Colton and Jordan's first! Here is our trip in pictures (and some commentary, of course).

Here is Colton on the plane! He was amazing and loved flying...I on the other hand did my best not to freak out!

This was during landing! Jordan loved flying too, the two could fly on their own... seriously!

Alaska is beautiful...everywhere you go! This is the view from Anne and Shane's living room! The best part was that this is pretty much the darkest it got!

Day 1: We hung out and went shopping at the military BX :) We were pretty tired.

Day 2: We drove 2 1/2 hours to Seward to go on a 3 hour cruise!

A bald eagle, on our way to Seward!

Here are the kids before we got on the boat!

Here is Colton on the boat, with Grandma. Iwas scared that after a long drive, he would drive us all bonkers, but he was so good!

This is BEFORE the boat started moving...

It was a beautiful, sunny day that day! They said it was the first sunny day in a week. The views were amazing :)

Here is me and little man on the boat! I love this pic of us!

He loved running around the boat and going to the bow, but it was too windy for him to be out there too long :)

Me and Annie :)

Okay, so the boat became the boat of pukes! All of the Hargis ladies got the barfs on the boat, which made for an interesting boat ride and ride home :(

Here are the kids AFTER the boat ride.....

Side note: Jordan wasn't asleep, because she was being a great cousin and helping the girls when they would throw up in the car! Good job Jordie :)

Day 3: We hung out and relaxed, to make sure the pukes were gone :)

Day 4: We climbed mount Baldy; it was beautiful! We also went to Chuck E Cheese :)

Here is me and Colton on Mt. Baldy. Behind me you can see the sleeping lady/queen AND the rectangle patch is where Shane jumps out of planes!

This is how Colton got around...Uncle Shane's back and he LOVED it!

Day 5: We went to the Nature center to hike :) It was such a beautiful place (I know I have said that about everything but it's true)! Our mission was to find a....Moose! My mom had seen one before, but didn't have a camera. So, our goal was to get a picture of one ( a bull to be exact)!

Well...the proof is in the pudding :)

Colton loved Alaska, mainly because he was outside ALL the time!

Day 6: We floated the river and then I white water rafted!

We had so much fun, thank you guys for showing us the beautiful place you live! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-30T23:27:00.000-07:00

Yeah, our son's gonna hate us :( Can you guess whose idea this was???

11 months :(

2010-06-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

AHHHHHH, I am not sure if you can tell, but I am FREAKING out! I cannot believe my littlebaby boy is almost 1 year old! Where did the time go? It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born! Time has never gone as fast as it's going right now, and all I want to do is stop it!

He is growing and changing so much, it's hard to keep up! We love him so much and can't wait to see what he has in store for us!

Here's what Colton is up to this month:

He had his first plane ride, and he LOVED it! He is an amazing traveler!

He is walking really good! He can now pivot, turn and just started standing up without holding onto anything! Oh and he walks like a mummy :)

He still has his amazing figure :)

The boy is a fish! He loves to swim. He kicks his feet and tries to drink the water!

He is weighing in at around 27 lbs and thankfully still wears 18 months clothing.
He roars...it's so cute :)
He LOVES bananas, crackers, yogurt, applesauce, corn and avocado!
He is on the go CONSTANTLY! Seriously, the boy never slows down!
He's a major flirt! He made a lot of girlfriends on our trip :)
On our trip to Alaska, he began to try to say Alyssa, Shy and Jordan.
He loves dogs and can even say dog!
He talks A LOT! We really can't understand most of what he's saying, but he knows! I swear he can say what's that!?
He now has 6 teeth...well 4 complete and 2 breaking the surface!
He is still the love of our lives and we couldn't ask for a better boy!

Wordless Wednesday...almost

2010-06-15T21:05:00.001-07:00

Fat boy exercises...

Heavy lifting...

Yoga...

Curl Ups...

Leg Stretches...

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-06-02T10:06:00.001-07:00

I wanna be like Daddy...

Or at least play in his shoes...

Or take all of his stuff...

2006 Flashback?

2010-05-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

This past week, I have been taken back to the spring of 2006, when I never saw my hubby! It was his last semester of Fresno State and the hardest year our marriage has endured! I remember seeing him, if I was lucky, for like an hour a night; towards the end of the semester an hour would have been GOLD! I can remember COUNTLESS nights where my hubby would come home at 12-1 am and be back at work before I even got up in the morning. Tim was working 30 hours a week and spending the rest of his time on his final project, totaling around 80 hours a week. Talk about stress on a marriage, we needed almost a whole month to learn to live with each other again!

Well, this past week I completed my student teaching, so Tim has re-hit the ground running on his project. There are some amazing things happening with his project right now, that I would love to tell you about, but I would have to kill you. Okay, so not kill you, but it's very hush, hush!

Anyway, so he is pushing to be done as soon as possible, which means he is going to be working like crazy! With all of this said, I am so proud of my hubby and how hard he has always worked for our family. Unfortunately, we just won't be seeing him much anymore, but there is hope he will be done sooner rather than later!!

There is,however, a little boy in our house who already misses his daddy and all the fun his daddy brings to our house!

*Here is a link to his website, so you can get a taste of the crazy, cool things his company does!

http://www.berkeleybionics.com/index.html

and here's an old video of the military exoskeleton they have:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdK2y3lphmE

2010-05-26T00:52:00.000-07:00

Yup, this post sums up the past 2 days of my life...

10 months

2010-05-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Getting him to take the picture was...interesting :)

Here's what he's been up to this month...

He weighs 26lbs, 15 oz and is 20 in long.
He is still in 18 month clothes.
He has taken steps! He has taken single steps and on 3 occasions, has taken more than 3 in a row!
His top 2 teeth came in, so now he has 4 total. He also seems to be getting a few more on the top.
He can blow kisses, thanks in large part to his papa and papi :)
He is still a big flirt, if he's in the mood to be! He can turn it on in a heartbeat! One lady at kaiser today said she could tell he was going to be a ladies man already,lol!
He is not so crazy about jar food anymore, he wants the real stuff.
Thankfully, he is still sleeping through the night, he just wakes up at 6am :(
Whenever he is laying down, he loves to stick his feet in his mouth! He is quite flexible for a chunky little man.
He "chats" to us all the time! It sounds like he thinks he is saying something very important.
He hates the feel of sand or grass in his toes...just like his daddy :)
He can say mama, dada, baba and yeah for sure. We also think we have heard hi and buh bye!
He loves to wave hi and bye :)
He is still the love of our lives!

6 years ago today...

2010-05-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

6 years ago today (okay, yesterday) I married my best friend and we became a family of two.

6 years later, we are more in love than ever before AND we are now a family of 3!

Over the past 6 years we have had many highs (having a baby and graduating from college) and lows ( moving and Tim's last semester at Fresno State) but we love each other more now, than the day we got married. And I think I speak for the both of us when I say that while this has been our poorest married year, it has been our happiest. We are so blessed to have each other and to have a house full of love and laughter.

Up to no good...

2010-05-19T20:21:00.001-07:00

Now that he knows how to turn it on and off, he does it all the time :( I think he's gonna be an electronic guy like his daddy.

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-05-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

I am loving this big boy...

But missing this teeny, tiny baby boy...

*All photos (execpt the first) are from Jill Sornson http://jillm.com/

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-05-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Future Bear...I think so :)

Beautiful baby blues...

Mama's Day

2010-05-09T19:33:00.001-07:00

First off, can I just say, that I love, love, love being Colton's mommy. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me! I have always (and will always) loved being an auntie, but nothing compares to being Colton's mommy! We had a great, relaxing day hanging out with each other! I am so thankful for Tim and Colton, they make my life complete and I only hope that they can say the same about me.

I woke up to the best present ever, this morning...my hubby is the best! It is Colton's hand print with a sweet little note from Tim. This is more valuable to me than anything he could have bought in the store! I will definitely be holding on to this and showing it to Colton when he is older!

Colton, admiring his work!

Mommy and the boy :) This is the best pic we got, he wouldn't look at the camera!

Last, but not least, I wanted to give a shout out to the woman who raised me! I love you mom! Thanks for showing me how to put your family first, even before yourself! You did a great job (obviously ,lol) But in all seriousness, thanks so much for making me the person/mama I am today! We love you bunches!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-04-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

My son is fearless...

Thankfully I knew enough to hold onto my little daredevil! The boy knows what he wants and gets it!

9 months...

2010-04-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

This is the blog I didn't want to write. I hate saying he is 9 months old, don't ask me why, I just do! We are heading towards his first birthday faster than a speeding bullet and all I want to do is put my nails in the ground and slow life down. But since that is not possible, I am sucking it up and typing up this month's blog!

There are going to be fewer and fewer of these "month" pictures, because we aren't going to be able to keep him still much longer!

Here is what our sweet boy is like at 9 months:

He makes the CUTEST cheesy face!

He wants to go anywhere he is not supposed to be.

Anywhere...

He has figured out how to open the doors to the entertainment center, although he's a little backwards here! He has also figured out how to unlock the doors on it and, when inside, he can eject Daddy's game from the PS3!

He loves to read, or, look like he's reading.

He's even starting to turn pages and the past two days he's even saying Ahhhh while looking at the book. It sounds like he's trying to read it!

Some extra stats:

He is weighing in at almost 27 lbs.
I am not sure of his height, but he is as tall as many 1 1/2- 2year olds.
He is wearing size 18 months in clothes.
He is eating tons of different solids and loves to eat bagels with Mommy in the morning.
When I get ready for work, he now knows this means I am leaving. HE. FREAKS.OUT.
He greats us every morning at 6 am (sometimes 5:30) with a lovely surprise. His digestive system works like clockwork.
When we roll the ball to him, he will stop it and flicks it with his hand. It's his way of playing ball and it is so cute!
He is one ornery soul. When we say no, he stops, laughs and then continues to do whatever he was doing before!
He is really close to walking: he cruises all over the place, he stands for a long time, and we have seen him take a few single steps (and then he falls immediately).
Bathing and getting him to drink his bottle have become increasingly difficult. He stands the entire time he's in the bathtub and holds onto the faucet. We are so afraid he's going to bust his head open!
He's a man of few words. He can say mama and dada, but he mostly says dada! It also sounds like he says yeah, go and good.
When he gets mad or doesn't get his way, he will scream and clenches both fists!
He has grown tired of playing patty cake the "normal" way and so now he grabs our hands and claps for us!
He is still the love of our lives and our pride and joy!

When Mommy's away, Colton will play..

2010-04-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

While I am doing my student teaching, Colton is staying with our friend Alex. We are so thankful for Alex and the love that he has shown Colton. He absolutely loves Alex and is always so happy when I get home, which has definitely made this transition easier!

Since, as most people who know me, know that I am a picture taker fanatic, I was going crazy not having pictures of Colton during the day. So Alex and Rebekah (his wife), being the nice people they are, have started taking pictures of their adventures with little man! I love coming home to see the pictures, because it makes me feel like I was there! So thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

LOVE this one! This picture shows how much he loves Alex,lol!

And Rebekah reminded me that Alex went to film school, so the pics are really good!

Yesterday Alex and Colton met Rebekah and little Liam at the park. I love this picture!

I have a hunch that he was making his lovely, AHHHHH sound in this picture!

Papa would be so proud...heading right towards the dump truck!

I love this pic, Bekah said they wanted each other's binky so bad! The funny thing... they were exactly the same!

He looks sooo big in this picture :)

Buddies!

Here is a picture of Alex and Colton!

I miss my little man every second I am away, but these make it easier for sure! Thanks again guys!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-04-21T16:13:00.001-07:00

I think we need to do a better job at "Colton proofing" our house.

What do you think?

Let me count the ways...

2010-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Today I stayed home to take little man to the Dr.'s office, and I was just reminded of how much I love him (not like I forgot,lol)

Colton, here are just a few reasons why I love you, I could never name them all.

You never meet a stranger, whether we're in Target or at the doctor's office, you smile at everyone.
You are soooo HAPPY.
You are the busiest 8 month old I know! You definitely keep us on our toes.
While you love other people, mommy and daddy are two of your favorite people and you are always happy to see us.
You have handled mommy leaving like a trooper, even though you get upset when I leave, you are so happy when I get home!
Your smile and laugh are contagious to anyone who is near.
You are rotten to the core; you smile when you do something you're not supposed to do. Sadly, this makes mommy and daddy laugh and so continues the cycle.
You have an amazing sense of adventure and love to do anything that looks or seems remotely dangerous!
You are so soft, cuddly and squishy :)
You are so beautiful we could watch you sleep for hours (and we sometimes do).
You are too cute for words

Colton's first trip to the Zoo

2010-04-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

This Saturday while Tim and Dave were working on the stage at Mosaic, we made a trip to the Oakland Zoo. My master teacher was so nice to give us a free pass, which was nice because he had NO idea what was going on! We still managed to have a good time and Colton loved looking at the grass, fence or anything that was not an animal!

This is how we started the trip...

Ha! You only THOUGHT I was going to keep that hat on!

I love this pic because it looks like he is actually looking at the giraffes, however, I can assure that was not the case!

He did like the ducks...

He definitely has the pensive look down.

Elephants, or should I say, the fence because that is what he is looking at!

Is my mom looking?

No? Oh good...Success!

Look, my butt can look like theirs!

My favorite...dirt!

Do you think she would notice if I ate this?

A peek at the bunnies,err, Gammy's hand and then finally...

SNACK time!

Time to eat,

and run my feet through the grass!

We had so much fun! I look forward to taking him back when he can actually SEE the animals!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-04-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

Helping mommy study...

Peek a boo :)

This book looks like a great read...

Fun videos

2010-04-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

Some videos from around the time Colton was born ( a little before and after) that we never got around to uploading. So here they are, enjoy!

Here is Kennedy, age 4, demonstrating "feeding her baby, like mommy feeds Gavin!" It was the cutest thing ever, I had to post it!

Here is Colton's first, of many, time on film. I cannot believe how little he was!

Colton and Daddy, getting acquainted! I love this video, because it is both in love and in shock! It also shows how my son came out, ready to explore the world! He came out wide-eyed and checking things out!

And last, but not least, this is Shy's video! It was taken while they were here for Colton's birth! It is just way too cute to not post!

Here is my channel to see these videos and many more!!

The McPhails come to Berkeley!!

2010-04-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

It finally happened! The whole McPhail clan made it up to visit us, and what a visit it was! We had so much fun showing them the sights of SF and our 'hood! They were only here for a short while (not even 2 days), so we tried to show them the main touristy spots! The kids were such troopers, they had driven from Riverside, to Fresno, to Berkeley, back to Fresno and then home to Riverside all without any barfing,lol!

We loved having them and can't wait for them to come back!!

All of the McPhail kids waiting to head into the city!

Lexi and Kennedy :)

Colton, ready to go!! Unkie Jason gave him a super cool fohawk!!

These boys are going to cause a lot of trouble one day...

I like this picture because it looks like Gavin wants Colton out of his stroller!

Presley and Papi!

Kennedy, so cute!!

Gammie and the girls ready to hit fisherman's wharf!

Braden wanted me to take a picture of his foot touching San Francisco soil!! He was soooo excited to be there!

Looking at Alcatraz.

By this time, the little ones were hungry and done with the wharf! But this is a cute picture of Gavo and Presley!

Enjoying the view...

At the Wharf, Jason and Braden took their picture with the creepy silver man!! What a great memory :)

The McPhails on Lombard street!

Colton's second trip down lombard street and he was sleeping both times!

Sadly, we didn't get to walk across the Golden Gate, but they got to drive over it! We had such an awesome time and are so glad the McPhails did too!!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-04-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

What has been on my mind lately....

Oh yeah and I want another one of these...

Happy Easter

2010-04-06T13:15:00.001-07:00

So this may be the longest post I have done, but we had one great Easter! The McPhail's came up to Berkeley (post to come) and then we drove down to Fresno for Easter. There was very little sleeping, but tons of fun! We always love getting to spend time with our family!

Daddy and Colton :)

The Easter bunny aka Easter Clause was VERY good to the kids this year! Colton loved his basket, thanks Easter bunny.

I love you Elmo!

Presley and her goldfish that the easter bunny brought!

The goldfish were a big hit!

Kennedy and her bunny :)

Okay, it was sooo difficult to get a good picture of Lexi for some reason! But, she looks cute here :)

Braden and his football.

Here are all the pics from the photo shoot we had!

Our family :)

The cousins.

The McPhail Family

Too cute :)

Sisters :)

Helping Gammie with the dishes..

Dying Easter eggs!

We headed out to the Hargis house for Easter and the kids had so much fun! It was cold, but thank goodness the rain held off! We had such a good time, but we missed Shane, Anne, Alyssa and Shy!

The kids had fun petting the new horsie :)

Colton got some "quality time" with his grandma and gammie :)

And the kids (and adults) got to hunt eggs, and it was so cool to watch the little ones find them.

We had so much fun and are so thankful for all the time we were able to spend with our family! We really are blessed to have such a great support system!

Happy Easter!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-03-31T21:46:00.001-07:00

Swinging makes him...happy :)

8 months already?

2010-03-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my oh my, where has the time gone? I cannot believe I have an 8 month old. What a blessing this little man has been. He really is a fantastic baby. He has started to take much better naps, some have even been 2 hours:) His curiosity, love of people and great sense of humor make me love him more everyday.

I love these pictures because he smiled for all of them :) Dang, my kid is cute!

He is such a happy boy. Everywhere we go, people tell me what an adorable, happy boy I have. I agree, of course!

His favorite song is old mac donald-he laughs every time he hears it!
He will break into spontaneous laughter with us :)
He is beginning to imitate our movements.
Win he wins a sleep battle, he will rub it in your face with crazy,nonstop, laughter.
He has an obsession with trying to bite shoes and spinning wheels.
When he picks something up, he must turn it over to examine the other side of it.
Anytime he hears a song or someone says hi to him, he does the stevie wonder head shake.
He can clap his hands, play patty cake and wave bye bye, when he feels like it.
His favorite way to drink water is from our cup.
When Tim and I are eating, he crawls over to us, pants like a dog and waits for us to give him a bite.
He can climb the stairs REALLY good.
He is learning how to play on his own a little bit, which is nice.
Going to the park is his favorite thing to do. He loves to crawl around, get dirty and watch the older kids play.
He is still our pride and joy. He never ceases to amaze us!

The baby bug...

2010-03-21T21:52:00.001-07:00

Okay, we've officially been bitten...again! Dang, we both want another baby so bad. We love our little man sooo much! I know he is only 8 months, but he is growing up so fast we don't even remember the little baby he once was. We literally look at his baby pictures every night and say remember when he...! We are obsessed with him. We have so much love to give, we want to have more and more kids that we can give that love to!

Some reasons we want a baby:

Reasons we can't/don't want to:

Right now the cons outweigh the pros :( Looks like we're gonna have to wait 'til Tim's out of Grad school, which is okay with us because we are...happy :)

Enough with the Dada already!

2010-03-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the past day or two Colton has been chatting away. Our little man goes through stages where he is so quiet and then stages where he talks all day long. Well, our sweet little boy has been in one of his chatty stages for a few days now. He has been saying the usual, Dada and gaga. He has even added what sounds like YEAH! But his favorite of all is, sigh, Dada. He has said it non stop today, it even sometimes appeared he would say it to Tim! And while I love his chatty phases, would it kill him to throw in a mama?!

Tim, being the kind soul that he is, told me "I swear I heard ma from him like twice this morning." My reply" When I hear it, then I will believe it!"

But seriously, we are just so happy to hear his voice and to see his personality begin to shine through!

I was finally able to catch it on video, enjoy :)

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-03-17T10:58:00.001-07:00

Pics from my phone...

Colton's first trip to the ER...

2010-03-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the book that is to come...

This past Monday night, at around 11pm, Colton started coughing and making weird sounds. At first we thought he was making his usual mumbles, so Tim told me to wait and not rush in to quickly ( I am so good at that). Anyhow, he kept making noises, but they were muffled and didn't sound right, so I listened to that Mother's intuition that was telling me to get up there!

When we got up there, he was still asleep, but coughing a lot more. He then sat up and he seemed like he couldn't catch his breath and was almost choking on his saliva. Well, of course I freaked out and we both had this shear panic, like what do we do?! He then kept coughing, wheezing and sounding like he was gagging, so we jumped in the car and headed to the ER.

Well, the doctor in the ER thought Colton might have had asthma and had him do these breathing treatments! What a trooper he was! All the nurses kept commenting on how they had never seen a baby be so good during these treatments. In the pic below, he looks a lot more sad then he was. He was smiling the entire time, which charmed all of the doctors and nurses.

So, after the treatments he started to sound and breathe much better, so they sent us home, (it was almost 3 am). But by the next morning the horrendous wheezing was back, so we got an appointment to see the doctor. Turns out...it was the croup cough!

Poor Colton was having a hard time sleeping, so this is where he spent a lot of time...

I love this pic because he looks so big!

One hard part about this is the night before the ER trip, he slept from 8pm to 8 am! It was wonderful :) He was also napping so beautifully, I wouldn't have to go in to his room once. Now, well we are having to retrain him how to sleep on his own again! Can you say, fun?!

But seriously, we are just so happy he is happy and healthy (well almost) again!

Big Girl Panties...

2010-03-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

I am going to break from the normal Colton post and do a mommy post! I have been dreading doing my student teaching ever since Colton was born. I have been telling the kind people who listen to me rant, that it feels like this dark cloud is following me and it won't go away. I have been focusing on all of these things that I have to do: student teach, RICA (4 hour test in April) and one horrendous task (stupid 60 pg. school thing)!!! I have to do this, maintain my sanity, house and spend time with my family.

Ugh....

I know, I know, some people have done much more than this and have maintained their sanity, but I am no Kristi McPhail! She is a super hero who has 2 master's degrees, a PPS credential, works full time, has 5 kids and STILL finds time to make adorable crafts! And here I am complaining. Well, no more!! I am putting on my big girl panties and sucking it up!!!

The worst part of all of this...not spending everyday with my little man. I have wanted to be a Mommy ever since I could remember and I HATE leaving him. I have to keep telling myself that he will survive and so will I (I hope).

But, this to shall pass, hopefully it will go by fast. Here's hoping!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-03-10T08:58:00.000-08:00

First bubble bath...

Just hanging out...

2010-03-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

Here are just some fun pics and videos of how we spend our days here at the Swift house.

We never feed him,so he resorts to eating whatever he can find! I am sure you believe that! Haha :)

I love this pic of him! I was trying to get his tooth, but couldn't!

Mr. Happy pants!

This is possibly one of my all time favs! He stared out the window for a long time, just watching the world!

7 months old...

2010-02-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or does time go by faster when you have kids? I cannot believe Colton is 7 months old! He is growing up so fast; I feel like we have he's a different kid everyday! He is such a determined/stubborn little person, who know what he wants and will not stop until he gets it! It has been so fun seeing him develop his own personality!

There is no slowing this boy down! He is on the go constantly!

Hey, what's that, I think I want to get it!

Yep, here I go!

YES!!!

Here's a little about Colton this month...

He is pulling himself up, on everything!

He LOVES to feed himself!

He can clap!

He weighs around 25 lbs.
He is crawling all over the place! He especially loves any place he's not supposed to be!
He is taking steps, once he stands up, to get closer to whatever he is holding onto.
He can stand for a few seconds on his own, not holding onto anything.
Peek a boo and giddy up horsie are his favorite games :)
He loves exploring new and uncharted territories of our house! The kitchen is his current favorite!
Reading books is one way to soothe his fussiness. He loves to read.
He can babble,say Dada and gaga but he doesn't talk a lot when he is mastering a new skill (or getting a tooth).
Some of his favorite toys are not toys at all. He loves boxes, soda bottles and wipe cases just to name a few.
He can dance, even on his knees, it's super cute.
He is trying to climb the stairs :(
He has one tooth and is working on another right next to it.
He loves to give kisses, especially upside down kisses to mommy while he's in Daddy's arms.
Daddy's shoulders are his favorite mode of transportation.
He is getting better everyday at transferring from one object to another, while standing!
He is still our pride and joy!

We could never begin to put into words how much we love this little person :)

2010-02-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

My Latest Trends

Tunes: Cowboy Casanova Carrie Underwood. The wonderful tunes of Colton's toys, patty cake, itsy bitsy spider, and :)

Books: What to Expect the First Year, Elmo's colors, The Going to Bed Book

Drinks: Coffee-daily and of course, pepsi or dr. pepper :)

Eats: white cake with chocolate frosting (good for losing weight, ha), beef stew and ceasar salad!

Watches: Winter Olympics, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Real Housewives of Orange County, lame I know!

Goals (week): find a student teaching placement :( Perfect my cloth diaper cakes and wipe covers!

Goals (future): Learn to: sew, bake (from scratch), and craft.

Fails:Studying for upcoming test,organizing our apartment and not exercising!

Hopes:for Colton to grow up big, strong and healthy. To live a meaningful life :)

Loves: my hubby and son more than anything. practicing my crafts :)

Dislikes: having to leave my son in 3 weeks, bleh. Waking up to dirty, poopy diapers :(

Learns: That family really is what's most important! My son is a lot of work, but he is the best thing that I have EVER done and will do!

I can crawl!!

2010-02-17T23:13:00.000-08:00

Well, technically, he's been able to "crawl" for a while now, he had just decided he wasn't going to go all the way! Well, he woke up this morning and decided today was the day.

He started off crawling backwards, but gave that up like a week ago. He then moved to doing the crawling movement twice and then sitting up and changing directions. And this morning he actually crawled! It's crazy, he got a tooth and crawled on the same day. It is time to start seriously baby proofing this house, because not only can he crawl, he is pulling himself up really good! Colton, you are amazing, and growing up way too fast! We love you :)

All of this happened on his older cousin's birthday! Happy 1st Birthday Gavin! We love you bunches! I can't wait to see all of the trouble you and Colton will cause as you get older!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL82TroA30E

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-02-17T22:36:00.001-08:00

I wanna play like Daddy...

Success!

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a tooth!

2010-02-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

We are so proud to announce that Colton's first tooth has finally made it to the surface!! This came as a welcome surprise this morning after a few horrible weeks of not very much sleep and super fussiness! We are hoping that the next ones to come in will not be so painful for our little guy, but one can only dream! We love you Colton!

Reflections of Colton....

2010-02-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

The other day I noticed that Colton enjoyed looking at himself in the mirror, more than he used to. So, I got out our long mirror and laid it on the ground to let him explore the little person he saw in the mirror.

Here's what he did...

He LOVED to bang on it and stare at himself.

I think I may want to kiss that good looking boy...

He loved giving himself big smooches!

I see you mama!

He spent like 30 minutes playing with the mirror, which is a lot of time for a 6 month old to spend doing anything! We are going to have to make this a daily activity...I just hope he won't become to vain!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-02-10T17:09:00.001-08:00

Hanging out in my diaper...

Dada!!!

2010-02-08T13:28:00.001-08:00

So our little man woke up this morning jabbering way more than usual with his typical gaga, ah-goo. He kept it up all morning, which is unusual for him,because it usually comes and goes. Well, we picked up daddy for lunch and headed to Costco for some much needed supplies. When we got back in the car he was still chatting away, so we kept saying "say Dada, or mama" you get the picture.

Anyway, after a few minutes we heard....Da-da! We were like did we just hear that. And then again we heard...da-da! We were freaking out as you could imagine, repeating, "yes, dada!" It was such an amazing moment for our little family!

Daddy, as you could imagine, was thrilled! We are over the moon, as you could imagine! We love you Colton! You never cease to amaze us and you truly are a gift from heaven!

Motherhood will Change Your life

2010-02-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Motherhood will Change Your life
by Dale Hanson Bourke

Time is running out for my friend. We are sitting at lunch when she casually
mentions that she and her husband are thinking
of “starting a family.” What she means is that her
biological clock has begun its countdown and she
is considering the prospect of motherhood.

“We’re taking a survey,” she says, half jokingly.
“Do you think I should have a baby?”

“It will change your life,” I say carefully.

“I know,” she says. “No more sleeping in on Saturdays,
no more spontaneous vacations…”

But that is not what I mean at all.

I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her.
I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth
classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of
childbirth heal, but that becoming a mother will leave
her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be forever
vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never read
a newspaper again without asking “What if that had been my
child?” That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her.
That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will
look at the mothers and wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit
and think she should know that no matter how sophisticated
she is, becoming a mother will immediately reduce her to the
primitive level. That a slightly urgent call of “Mom!” will
cause her to drop her best crystal without a moment’s
hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she
has invested in her career, she will be professionally
derailed by motherhood. She might successfully arrange for
child care, but one day she will be waiting to go into an
important business meeting, and she will think about her
baby’s sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of
discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure he
is all right.

I want my friend to know that everyday routine decisions
will no longer be routine. That a visit to Mc Donald’s and a
five year old boy’s desire to go to the men’s room rather
than the women’s room will become a major dilemma. That
right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be
weighed against the prospect that danger may be lurking in
the rest room.

I want her to know that however decisive she may be at the
office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that
eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but will
never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so
important, will be of less value to her once she has a child.
That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring,
but will also begin to hope for more years, not so much to
accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish his.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or stretch marks
will become badges of honor.

My friend’s relationship with her husband will change, but
not in the ways she thinks. I wish she could understand how
much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder
the baby or who never hesitates to play with his son. I think
she should know that she will fall in love with her husband
again for reasons she would never have imagined.

I wish my modern friend could sense the bond she will feel
with other women throughout history who have tried desperately
to stop war and prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing
your son learn to hit a baseball. I want to capture for her
the laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for
the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real
that it hurts.

My friend’s quizzical look makes me realize that tears have
formed in my eyes.

“You’ll never regret it.” I finally say.

by Dale Hanson Bourke
from Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul

* I thought this was a beautiful description of what motherhood is :)

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-02-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

Teething is NOT our friend...

2010-02-01T23:37:00.000-08:00

Our little man is teething and cranky. We are NOT enjoying this experience at all. I feel so bad for our little guy who seems to be in constant pain; he whimpered and screamed for most of the day today, poor baby :( I think I see a little white bump on his gums, but his Daddy says I am crazy! I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will not go on FOREVER! Either way, we love and cherish every moment with this little person who gets funnier by the minute.

This signifies our life...chewing/biting on anything he can get in his mouth.

These two below are just two really cute pics of him in his Gap hat...back in the happier days (2 days ago, hehe)