Snow In NW Arkansas

We did even know we were supposed to get snow today...but it's been coming down off and on pretty much all day. This is the most snow we've seen in more than 3 years! It's also the first snow Austin has been able to play in EVER! Yes, he's been sheltered in Hawaii! :-)

It's supposed to be really nice this week, so we knew we had to let Austin outside to play in this snow at some point today. Brian and I didn't really want to get out in the cold, but Austin just simply couldn't go without playing in the white stuff at least once this winter!

Here are the boys going out the door.

Austin making a snow angel.

Brian making a snow angel

Their snow angels when finished

See next post for more pictures!

A Different Kind of Sled

We called it a sled today...but it's something entirely different in the summer time!

Yes, when you move from Hawaii after 3 years, you aren't exactly ready for sledding with an appropriate sled! In Hawaii, we used it as a boogieboard (bodyboard is another description). In NW Arkansas in the winter, it's called a sled! In fact, that's the reason why we kept it and didn't sell it in Hawaii...Brian thought it would be a fun thing for him and Austin to use in the snow. :-)

As you can see, Austin had a blast. And he didn't even care what it was originally used for!

Maybe next time it snows, we'll have a "real" sled for him to use! Or, maybe not!

Monster Jam!!!

Austin has been into watching Monster Jam on T.V. since last year. We saw a show by accident one day and the rest is history! We probably have 10 shows recorded on our DVR right now and watch them when nothing else is on.

I remembered that there was going to be a show in Feb right after Christmas and looked up ticket information. Brian and I decided to surprise Austin with the show for his birthday. I wasn't going to be able to go though since Colten hadn't had a bottle yet and it was going to be too loud for him.

Brian and Papa went with Austin to the Party in the Pits before the show. Basically, you got to go down and meet the drivers and look at the trucks. Austin really liked this.

Austin's favorite truck right now is Avenger. He says that it's his favorite because it's green and has fire on it.

One of the ramps that the trucks jump off of. (Green is his favorite color...could ya tell???)

If you ask Austin what his favorite part about going was...he'll tell you it was getting the Avenger pillow that he bought.

Brian said that he liked the show, but it was really loud and he was asking when it was time to go home after a little while. The show was at 7 and it ended around 9:45. They didn't get home until about 1:30am!!! Austin got a nap in the car on the way home and was a trooper for being out that late. He was even a pretty good kid the next day for not having very much sleep!

Here's some more pictures from the show that Brian took...

One Month Size Comparison

We are going to copy off of our friend's, the Dyer Family, and take comparison pictures of Colten each month. We couldn't figure out what to compare him to until just recently...and figured this HUGE bear that my parents gave to me when I had Austin would be good. Austin has claimed it, but it's still mine...and kind of symbolizes when I first became a Mommy. :-)

So, here it is: one month old!

Big Brother had to get in on the action...and I figured I would add it here to show you just how big the bear is...Austin is 3 1/2 feet tall as of his b-day.

One Month Old

Colten has been in our lives for a month now...it has gone by so quickly!

For now, he's a pretty good baby. He doesn't cry a whole lot, but that could be that we tend to hold him a lot. They are only little for so long and we know from having Austin that it doesn't really spoil them! :-) He's pretty laid back, which is probably why he really has no interest in pushing up on his arms during tummy time! His neck muscles are really strong though and he likes to look up at things a lot, especially the ceiling fan.

Colten likes to sleep with Mommy and Daddy better than he likes to sleep in his bassinet. He sleeps much better there, but we are still trying to keep him in the bassinet since there's not a lot of space in a queen sized bed with 2 adults and a newborn!

He teases us with a couple of nights of long sleep stretches (ie 5-6 hours), then a couple of nights of eating every 3 hours. :-) He seems to like to keep us on our toes!

He loves to be in the Ergo Baby Carrier and falls asleep in it almost everytime I use it. He loves to smile at us and is nursing exceptionally well. He's about 10 1/2 pounds now...at least according to our scale! Colten's really filling out the 0-3 month clothes now and has officially outgrown all his newborn stuff...they are put away now.

Colten also has this uncanny sense of when I am trying to do things that require 2 hands. He always seems to know when I need to do something else instead of hold him and fusses and grunts until I stop what I am doing and hold him. Its really nice at time to just sit and hold him...but there are times when my house is definitely not looking its best! That's ok though...we have 2 kids, 2 dogs and a cat...its not going to look like a model home anyway. :-)


We look forward to seeing more of Colten's personality and see how it changes over time.

A Couple More Smiles

We've Got a Smiler!

At the ripe old age of 3 weeks....he's smiling! And no, it's not just gas! He has been having those kinds of smiles since birth...but these smiles are definitely on purpose!

It's so great to see those smiles....here's a picture but it's not really the best. I haven't been able to capture his best smiles on camera yet.

Razorback Baseball

It was a COLD day for Austin's first Razorback Baseball game!!! It wasn't supposed to be so cold. In fact, they said that it was in the low 50s when they went...but it didn't feel like it was in the 50s! In fact, Daddy bought a blanket at the game because HE was so cold.

Despite the cold, Austin still had a great time and can't wait until the next game.

Visiting St. Clair

For Austin's birthday, we got tickets to Monster Jam in St. Louis on Feb 21st. So, we figured it was a perfect weekend to visit family in St. Clair and introduce Colten to everyone. Here are some pictures:

Austin with a gift from his Aunt Amanda

Colten and Nana

Colten with Aunt Amanda

Grandma Jean and Colten

Nana and Colten

Grandma Rae and Colten

Grandma Jean with a smiling Colten

Yes, I got a lot of pictures of Colten with people, but not as many of Austin. Of course, there will be more pictures of him soon since I still have to download the Monster Jam pictures from Brian's camera...so stay tuned!

Colten's First Bottle

Austin's been begging to feed Colten since he was born. Since he's breastfed, we wanted to hold off on giving him a bottle until we thought he wouldn't have a problem going back and forth between bottle and breast.

So, I get a bottle ready, nurse Colten a bit to make sure he's not starving before giving him the bottle. I get Austin settled with the boppy and he started feeding Colten. About 2 minutes into the feeding, Austin announces he is done and to take Colten away. :-) I guess it took too much concentration to feed Colten AND watch his T.V. show!

So, Daddy ends up finishing the job.

Overall, he did great with the bottle. He drank well and nursed great the next time after taking the bottle. It will be nice to be able to leave him with Daddy for a bit and not worry about him being hungry while I'm gone.

Colten and Tummy Time

We haven't been the greatest with giving Colten some tummy time unless you count him sleeping on our chests! With Austin, it seemed we did really well with it and that he liked it.

Here's what Colten thought of it:

Looks like he's pretty bored with it, huh!

We've done some more sessions of tummy time and he does ok...just not as into it as Austin was. His neck is really strong...he just doesn't seem interested in pushing up on his arms. Of course, he'd rather be held than put on the floor, so that might be the problem!

Happy Valentines Day!

Nothing better than a Valentines Day with the best 3 boys there are!

Here's two of them:

And a few of our newest Valentine:

Responsible

Austin has been wanting a new carseat for a while now. He really wanted a booster so that he could use the car seatbelts, but I didn't think he was old enough to really do that yet. I researched and found this carseat that has great safety ratings and will last him until he is completely out of a booster. It will hold up to 100 pounds and when he gets older, we can take the back off for a backless booster.

It has all kinds of bells and whistles, but the best thing is that he can buckle and unbuckle himself which will be GREAT when I am out with him and Colten. He can just hop in and out of the car without help and I can (hopefully) get in and out of the car a little faster than if I were to fasten 2 kids before going anywhere. :-)

Here's Austin taking his new seat for a test sit...in our living room! He was so proud of it that he wanted to sleep with it....it sat at the foot of his bed in his room instead of IN the bed like he wanted.

The deal right now is that when he shows us that he can be responsible enough to get in and out of the car on his own and sit in his seat while the car is moving and not unbuckle himself, then we'd discuss using the car seatbelts. I guess we'll see how it goes!

2 Colten pictures...

Our friends, John and Jill have a son who just got his hair cut because he had this long hair on top that they knicknamed "The Noahawk." I was playing around the other day and found out that Colten could have his own Mohawk! :-)

Hanging out in the swing....but not usually for long! Colten definitely loves to be held...and only stays in his swing for a little bit unless he's asleep. I don't normally mind though...they are only this little for long and I want to take advantage of it by holding him as much as possible before he doesn't want to be held anymore!

Getting Bigger....

Austin got this height chart from Nana and Papa for Easter one year and I have been trying to be consistent and measure him at least once a year (sometimes twice). I don't think I have remembered to measure him exactly on his birthday since getting it though! However, the last 2 years I have been consistent with getting him measured on the 12th of February! :-)

Oh, and he was 42 inches tall....

Standing on tip toe, trying to be taller.

And I couldn't resist putting in this picture of him on the swings in Little Rock. Before moving here, he wouldn't go on a regular swing and would only swing in baby swings. He wants to go "real high" but was just too scared to go high on a real swing. He's growing up!