Here is a picture of the cake I made for Colin's after-baptism party. Yes, I'm back to baking as the spring hasn't been kind to poor William as far as allergies go, so he's not able to eat many baked goods unless they are milk & egg free. I think it turned out pretty good!

 

And, here's a quick pic of all of the kiddos eating at the table. The only one missing is Colin as he slept through most of the after-party! Our neighbors, Maddie & Allie were there, as well as Luke & Will, who are in school with Daniel and his "best friends", and the Simmons' kiddos--Drew, Shelby, and Luke:

 

In come the grandparents!

Nana and Grandpa Sam (also known as my parents) arrived yesterday around noon. We hit the pool yesterday afternoon & the zoo this morning. They were amazed at how much Colin has grown and changed. My mom keeps saying her arm is going to be sore from carrying him around! Here are a few snaps:

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

Two cool dudes!!

From Mom & Dad visit

Did Grandpa Sam miss a restroom stop or did they just water the hedges?

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

Daniel was tired--he hasn't ridden on my back in probably a year, but today, he was tired:

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

From Mom & Dad visit

Ijouell???

So, one of William's favorite past-times is to sit in the back of the van & listen closely (much more closely than I thought!!) to the radio & then name the songs based on what he picks up from their lyrics. The other day, I heard from the backseat, "Mommy, this song is called 'Gives you hell'. Now we just need to find out who sings it!" It was this song by the All American Rejects (a song which I happen to really like, BTW, but I've never closely listened to the lyrics). I told him that that wasn't a very nice word (as I had visions of his telling his pre-school teacher he wanted to "give her hell") and we probably shouldn't use it anymore. He appeared to understand & I've heard no more about it until today. He came up to me this afternoon & said that "ijouell" (sound it out phonetically--short "i", the word "jew", and then "ell") was a bad word for some people, but not for him b/c he's four. It took me a minute to realize that he'd scrambled "gives you hell" in his little brain into "ijouell". I didn't know whether to correct him & give him more ammunition or just go along very seriously & tell him that it was a bad word. (I chose the latter!) If only it was so easy to make all curse words go away ;-)

Colin's first swim

The Simmons crew has a pool in their backyard & this weekend, we went over for a "quick afternoon swim" that turned into 5 hours & dinner--who can complain? The water was warm enough for Colin to get in, so I pulled out the baby carrier I bought to use this summer that hasn't even been wet ONCE & in we went. He LOVED it! It was a little cooler than bathwater, so there was an initial gasp as we went in, but then he was so comfy, he tried to fall asleep on my chest! Check us out:

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

And the sleepy baby eating his fist:

From Colin pics

Colin in a nutshell--3 months

Once every month or two, it's my goal (I now speak in Mommy-speak, as in "it's my goal", not "I will definitely") to post a little bit about what Colin is up to. My family (as well as lots of friends out there) have been bombarding me with questions about what he's learning to do. Three months, for all of my little men, has been the magic age--where there is quite a bit that they actually "do", as opposed to just lying there & looking cute!!

So, right now, Colin is starting to bat at things with his little fist. For the most part, he just lays there & wriggles & makes funny faces as he tries to figure out how, but for the past two days, he's actually had some success! Just today, he actually managed to make a coordinated bat at the animals hanging over his little pack 'n play. He loves his playmat and will lie there for up to 40 minutes (yes, he's a dollbaby!) looking at the animals hanging over him. I've started taking his little fist & making him hit them & saying, "Get it, Colin, get it!" I heard that from William the other day & looked over & he was practically yanking Colin's arm out of the socket as he tried to "help" him like Mommy! Yelp!!! We had a big discussion about being gentle, but I'm not sure how much of it actually sunk in.

He's also trying to roll from his back to his tummy. He sees things over to the side & pushes with his little feet & wriggles excitedly & the end result is that he starts to roll to his side. On that same note, he's not pushing up onto extended arms on his tummy anymore b/c he's so excited about trying to reach for things that his arms end up in the air & he just ends up "airplaning", for lack of a better term. Check out the pics at the end of the post for examples of this.

He's been doing the social smiles and giggling thing for about 6-7 weeks now & he's SUCH a happy baby that he spends a LOT of time giggling. Ironically, the loudest giggles can be heard just before an "I'm tired" meltdown. He gets kind of slap-happy. In general, he's a super-happy baby. He finally seems to be figuring out the napping thing, so he's been better rested, and I didn't think it was possible for him to get any happier, but he's managed. He loves, loves, loves his big brothers & it doesn't take much from them to get a smile from him. Here are a few pics of William playing with him as well as a quick video:

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

From Colin pics

And, here's a little video of the happy baby laying on his playmat. Note William's voice in the background. Isn't he the greatest big brother in the world????

From videos

Backyard buzzcut

Now that William is basically having his hair buzzed at the beauty shop, Scott figured he'd save us a few bucks & do it himself. I know, I know, I'm crazy to let him try, but he did a fabulous job!! If it's uneven over the ears, it's all my fault, but everywhere else looks great!

Looking a little nervous before they started:

From big kid pics

Still not too sure:

From big kid pics

From big kid pics

And, the finished product with his barber ;-)

From big kid pics

Cute Colin pics

Here are more random Colin pics:

In his bumbo seat:

From Colin pics

With Maw-Maw Lin:

From Colin pics

In his stroller last night, watching the big boys ride bikes--VERY sleepy!!

From Colin pics

And, here he is in one of the cloth diapers that the big kids wore until they were over TWO! Yes, I cloth diaper, and no, it's not because I'm "green". I DO like the fact that we're putting less crap (literally!) in landfills, but it's mainly because the diapers are so darn cute & I'm so darn cheap!!

From Colin pics

These were taken today in his golfing outfit. Thank goodness I pulled it out of the closet because he may only be able to wear it a few more times. Big, little boy!

From Colin pics

From Colin pics