Toothbrush

I know with a title like "toothbrush" you are expecting me to announce that Kolten finally has his first tooth, right?   WRONG!  The child still has no teeth, but boy when he gets them they are going to be the cleanest teeth on earth because this boy is OBSESSED with toothbrushes.  I mean he is crazy about them...Bryce and I can not even brush our teeth in front of him or it will cause a major meltdown because he HAS TO HAVE the toothbrush.  See below as proof:

This was on the way to daycare, and one toothbrush just would not cut it on this particular morning.

All smiles showing how big he is. 

Kolten loves books just about as much as he loves toothbrushes, he is in pure heaven here...

And who can go to sleep without their toothbrush and bottle??

Last Sunday, I finally gave in and let Kenzie cut K's hair.  Here he is with his toothbrush showing off his new do(along with a nice burn on his head, but that is another story...remember that comment about "not getting into things he was not supposed to I posted a few weeks ago...well lets just say that is over)

OK, enough toothbrush talk... Last week I took Kolten to the doctor because he had been pulling his ears for about a week and started to wake up during the night again.  I hesitated because the last two times I took him he did not have an ear infection.  Well of course this time I wait and he has a double ear infection...OH and that is not all he had...he also had a yeast infection, eye infection and was extremely clogged up from what Dr. Shelton can only attribute to allergies since he has been that way since spring....Let me just tell you how I felt like "mother of the year" that day.  Doc put him on an antibiotic and he seems to be doing better.  He weighed 24lbs 6oz which is a little more than a pound over what he weighed at his 9month check-up. 

Kolten LOVES going outside...this day he was extremely mad at me because Bryce and Randy were outside planting a bush(yep, that's right we have (1) bush now) and he could not go out with them. 

I have been able to get Kolten to eat a couple of fruits lately.  He seems to like watermelon, cantaloupe, Mandarin oranges and pears.   He also ate bacon at the lake this past weekend and LOVED it, this is a big accomplishment since he usually won't eat anything warm or any meat.

But don't get me wrong...the boy practically starts jumping when he sees the cracker package...they are still his first love.

My handsome man before JT and Kayla's wedding, it is crazy to me how old he looks here. 



He has started standing on his own for long periods of time and he is so proud of himself.  At first he would put his arms in the air when he started to wobble and it was sooo cute. When he gets tired of standing he just falls to his bottom and takes off crawling.  He has not taken his first step on his own yet, but I am sure that day is right around the corner.

 Like I said before, the child LOVES being outside.  He crawls to the back door almost every morning and starts hitting it until you finally give in and take him out.  He typically reads a book or plays with his bubble wands and I enjoy my cup of coffee.  It has been a little too warm to do this the past week, but I have a feeling we will be out there lots more once fall gets here.

Well...THAT day has come, Kolten found the stairs.  Up until now he had shown little interest in those dangerous things in the hallway, but it is "game on" now.  He is ALL about them.  He wants to go up them on his own and if you are looking away for too long he might just make it to the top.  Don't worry mom...we only let him go up if one of us is on his tail...

We went furniture shopping on the way to the lake this weekend and the owner had her dog at the store.  This made the shopping experience TONS more fun for Kolten.  He could not get enough of that little pooch. He LOVES dogs!!   I don't have the heart to tell the little man that he will never be the owner of one of those shedding things...well, I guess I should never say never right??  

He has added the words book and "oggie"(doggie) to his vocabulary.  He has also started sleeping on a cot at school and is VERY verbal when he does not like something.  In fact, his tone is a little out of control at the moment, but we are working on it.  He will try to explain what he is saying to you with hand gestures and he his new favorite gesture is pointing his finger at you to get you to listen.  Geez, it is hard to believe he will be one next month...time really does fly.



Fourth of July Weekend!

We had a very busy Fourth of July weekend this year.  We headed to Barkley Lake on Friday afternoon to meet the Krukenbergs and Bakers at Jack and Norma's new house.  Their house burned down a couple years ago and they just completed(almost) the new house.  The house was beautiful, but still had alot to be done. The boys were put to work weed eating, screwing on door handles, hauling furniture etc..

Saturday morning we woke up, cleaned the boat, ate a HUGE breakfast(thank-you Grandma Norma) and then went out on the water.  We put a kiddie pool on the  boat, which Kolten LOVED and so did I because it kept him happy.  Later that day, we left the kiddos with Granny Lorrie and Grandma Norma so they could take a nap, which every child did so well..... except mine.  We finished off the evening with dinner and a boat ride to watch the fireworks(which Kolten missed since he decided napping was much to juvenile for him that day) and then packed up and headed home Sunday.

We had planned on going to the Newburgh Fireworks on Sunday, but they were cancelled due to storms. So we spent that evening at home, which was much needed all around. Monday we went to a party for Zach Hinton, Bryce's friend who was home from Iraq and then to Aunt Carla's to watch the fireworks. I was not sure how Kolten would take the fireworks since they are so loud and he is still so young, but he LOVED them. I am afraid this child has "no fear" whatsoever.  

Kolten had a great time playing with Graham and Ellison and was more than willing to be their "baby doll" for the weekend.

This is the only Lake picture I have:(  Kolten enjoyed it, but let me just inform you that treading water with a 23 lb baby is not as easy as you think!)



All American Boy ready for Daycare!

Being Nosy like always!

 I think I found something good Mom!

Uncle Gowdy letting Kolten have his choice...this could be dangerous:)

Zach and his oldest girl Aubrey, she is a complete doll!

 Kolten met a new friend and decided to steal all of her toys.  This little girl is two days older than him.

 COME ON PEOPLE!!! Ready to hit the road! Loves being in the drivers seat of the car. 

Loving the Fireworks!



Ten months and Toothless!

Everyone told us that life would get so much harder once Kolten became mobile, boy were they wrong!  He is sooo much more content now that he can get places.  Before he could crawl we would have to move him from toy to toy or put on a full blown circus just to entertain the kid...(Please keep in mind that this boy has Bryce and I for parents so his attention span is about 2 seconds long).

He started pulling up on things at a little over 7 months, and could "roll" to things if he really wanted too, but he started "really crawling" right before we left for Florida at the end of May(about 9 months) and he has been on the go ever since. 

Look at him go, he loves having crawling races with daddy.  Bryce throws a ball and they see who can get there first...Kolten usually stops to a few times on his way to make sure nothing more interesting is going on, but eventually he ends up winning!

His favorite thing to do is stand on things.  He loves to cruise around the couches and move from one walking toy to the next.  I keep thinking he might walk on his own soon, but he still drags his right foot pretty bad.  He is still VERY bow legged and a bit pigeon toed (thanks daddy!) so this might hinder him a bit, which I am totally fine with....I am in absolutely no hurry for him to start walking.  Right now, he does not get into things that he is not supposed too and is perfectly content playing with his toys.  Yes, I know...I am probably going to pay for typing this.

It also seems like we turned the page on sleeping this month.  He is finally sleeping in his crib ALL night!  There are still some nights where he will wake up once, but overall he is MUCH  better. I am so scared this will change once he starts teething...yep, that's right the child STILL has NO teeth.  The doctor says not to worry, that they will come I am just scared that he will be a monster when they do because he is so old.  I am also worried about biting since we let him gum everything right now, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Taking a nap with the ADORED "Mr. Bear" when I get him out of his crib in the morning or after nap he immediately looks back in at Mr. Bear.  We then get him out so Kolten can kiss him and tell him "bye, bye"

We went to the doctor on June 14th for his 9 month check-up and he weighed 23lbs 7oz(85%), was 271/2 inches long(19%) and wait for it....is head circumference was 49 cm in the 100%!!  We like to say it is for all those brains, but I am afraid he gets this one from his momma.... well really his Pop.

Pop and his mini-me

He still LOVES his bottle, when he wakes up in the morning he immediately looks to the nightstand to see if it is already made and if it isn't then boy oh boy we better get moving:)  He is now taking 8 ounces 4 times a day. 

Then there is table food....I am afraid this boy is going to be VERY picky.  He LOVES crackers, goldfish, animal crackers, mum-mums, puffs, and cheerios....do you sense the trend?   If it is crunchy he loves it....if not, forget about it.  His daycare teachers have even started giving into him, he refuses to eat the "menu" food so they just cave and give him crackers. Whoever said a "man can not live off crackers alone" has obviously not met Kolten.    I am not too worried about it right now since the formula gives him all the nutrition he needs, but if we have not kicked this craziness by one I might have to start thinking of some tricks.

I tried to mix some bananas in with the cheerios, but he was not falling for it!

Crackers!!!! YUMMMO!!!!!

He has started babbling ALOT more and will copy the inflections in your voice in his grunt.  He can say "moma", "dada", "mum", "pop", and "bye-bye"...there are a few more possibilities, but these are the definites.  I am absolutely LOVING this age.  His little personality is really coming out and he is so much fun.  He is such a happy little boy and I am not sure there are too many kids out there who smile more than he does....I am one lucky momma!

10 Months Old Today!

Gave him a yogurt and fruit Popsicle for his birthday...

He did not like it!

Having fun in the bounce house at Ellison and Madison's birthday party!

Fathers Day with Daddy and Papaw!

Catch me Daddy!!!

Summer Vacation

We started summer off with a bang, going on our annual family vacation with the Siesky's to Destin Florida.  We left on Friday May 27th and dropped my sister off in Birmingham and came home the following Sunday, June 5th on Pop's birthday.   Vacation definitely has a different feel when you have a little one, relaxing by the pool and laying out turned into pushing a float around and chasing toys.  I would not trade it for the world!! 

We had wonderful weather while we were there and no NOSE BLEEDS this year!!!   My only regret is that I waited to the last night to take the "family beach pictures" and it was the only night it rained, and when I say rain I mean God opened the flood gates and poured down.   Oh-well there is always next year.  We spent alot of time by the pool, went to Seaside, and the beach then before we knew it we were packing to come home.  You would think 8 nights would be enough time, but it went by so fast....Here is a little recap.

Here we are getting ready to hit the road for our first family vacation!



We ordered Kolten's convertible sear right before we left for vacation and as you can see it was not the most comfortable option.  Auntie L tried to make him more comfortable by adding the blanket around his neck.  He was such a trooper in the car (with a little help from the Mickey Mouse DVD).

My boys getting ready to go out for our first trip to the pool.

We stayed at the Grand SanDestin this time which worked out great because they had a decline pool which Kolten LOVED.  He would just sit in the water and play with his toys and watch the other kids run around.  He is such an observant little man.

Mallory and Scott got married in Destin on Memorial Day weekend, which is the reason why we went when we did this year.  The wedding was on a Bay at sunset and it was GORGEOUS...totally Mallory.  Pink and Golds everywhere.  They even had Cotton Candy Martinis, which Bryce thought was just about the coolest thing ever.  Are they not the cutest couple??

 Our little Family at the wedding...might have been cute if I would have taken off my sunglasses.

Love this picture of Kolten and Nana!  

Kolten danced the night away...already a ladies man.

This is the day after the wedding at the pool.  Kolt was exhausted from all that dancing.

Birthday Smile!  Kolten turned 9months old on memorial day while we were on vacation. A perfect opportunity to wear his adorable outfit from Grammie and Pop.

Kolten is a MAJOR momma's boy...which I only love a little:)

We spent a day with Nana and Papa while in Florida, we went to Baytown which was totally dead during the day (different story at night)

This makes me laugh.  Looks so small in that BIG chair.

We also went to Carla's condo which was on the beach.  Kolten liked it at first.....then he ate the sand and it was over.

Not so sure about this daddy!

Bryce showing Kolten the Ocean for the first time.

This picture pretty much sums it up.  Kolten is CRAZY about Addy and she was so helpful to us because she entertained him.  It was crazy to me how grown up she seemed, compared to last year.  Keaton was not too interested in playing with Kolt this year, but I am sure that will change as they grow older.  Kolten was just a little to slow for him right now.  

One tired boy after a week of fun!!