Goodbye Crib.....

Hello Bed....


Colby has been sleeping with a crib tent over his crib for about a year now. He never climbed out of his crib, but we had many indications that he could and probably would if we did not cover it. Over Labor Day weekend, he somehow learned that if he stuck his hand out of the crib and reached up he could get ahold of the crib tent zipper and un-zip the tent and climb out. After getting out 3 different times, we decided it was probably time for the toddler bed! We are using Maddy's old bed right now, but will probably move him into a twin size bed sometime soon.

He has been doing GREAT with his new bed and has not come out of his room once!! I can't believe it. He is even napping still! After his naps, we normally find him sleeping on the floor (sometimes with clothes on and sometimes w/out clothes :-)) but he is sleeping so I am happy! Another funny thing is that he has no problem sleeping with a blanket over him. He never had this in the crib, so I really didn't think he would like it (he will never let me put a blanket on him if we're sitting on the couch, etc...) He has had no problems!! So far it has been a very surprisingly pleasant transition! We are very proud of Colby for being such a big boy!!

Homework....

Colby had to decorate an apple for "homework" at PMO. He has a wonderful helper for these little projects they send home:

First Days of School

Maddy started 1st grade on Wed., August 24th and Colby started his Parents' Morning Out program on Tues., Sept. 6th (he goes 2 mornings a week; Tues. and Thurs.). They are both enjoying school so far and it has been nice to be back in a routine. Maddy is also doing gymnastics and Girl Scouts this year. We have an overnight Girl Scouts camp-out in October so that should be interesting (I mean, fun :-))

First day of school picture outside:


I found my friend Stella!:


Maddy and Stella in front of the First Grade sign:


Giving Colby a hug goodbye:


Getting off the bus after 1st day:


Colby all ready for PMO:

Last Day of Summer!!

Today is our last day of summer before Maddy starts 1st grade! She is very excited to get back to school and see her friends. She can't wait to be a 1st grader. We got to go into her school last night and meet her teacher and see her classroom so that was really fun and her teacher seems very nice. She has a few friends in her class from last year, so that will be great as well.

We have had a really good summer --- I am actually a little sad to see it go (even though I love Fall and the cool weather it brings!)

I think Colby and Maddy will miss each other -- they had a lot of fun together this summer and now that Colby is a little older they interact and play together more than they ever have....

Relaxing and watching tv:

2 1/2 Years ......

.....and this picture pretty much says it all!! Colby had his half b-day yesterday and is now 2 1/2!! He is changing so much everyday and is still a very curious, active, talkative, fun-loving little boy! He decided to start the morning off by getting into my mascara and putting it all over his face :-)


Next we celebrated by going to Colby's first movie in the theatre, The Smurfs. Really the movie was more for Maddy (and me, I'll admit, I have been wanting to see it :-)) Colby did pretty good, although there were 30 minutes of previews, so he was ready for a couple of breaks before the movie ended.



It is pretty amazing how much Colby has grown this year and improved in his communication skills. He is pretty much talking non-stop and is so friendly and social to everyone he meets. His favorite things right now are dogs, bunny rabbits, Barney, and playing "tickle monster". He also loves to play outside, ride his scooter and mow with Jeremy. We have had a great summer!

Taste of Hope 5K

Our church has an annual 5K every summer and once again this year I went out to run, even though it seemed a lot hotter this year than in any previous year! Maddy and Colby both did the kids' run as well. Maddy has done a few kids' runs in the past; this was Colby's first one. He was pretty excited and ended up winning the 2 yr old division with only 3 kids competing! Of course, he also got a big head start as he was so excited to run that he took off before they said 'Go'! The 2 other kids came running behind, one holding her dad's hand and the other one crying the whole way -- it was pretty funny! Of course Colby needed no prompting or help to get started; He just needed to hear the words 'Run' and it was all over!!!

Really funny to watch -- I included a video from my camera of both Colby's and Maddy's races below.

Maddy and Colby greeting me after the 5K and enjoying some post-race snacks (sorry for the poor quality, it was really dark):



Maddy, the ol' pro:


Colby standing in the rain waiting for the kids' race to start:


Colby's Race:

Maddy's Race (she is the 3rd one in on our left with a yellow shirt on:)

Fun with Cousins!

Jeremy's sister Tami and her 2 girls Meg and Abbie came for a visit in July. We had a lot of fun going swimming, going to Adventureland, Living History Farms, celebrating the 4th of July and just hanging out. The kids look forward to this fun-filled week every summer!

All ready for the 4th of July parade:


Racoon River beach on the 4th -- We buried the kids in the sand...ahhh, the memories of doing this as a kid...


Watching Fireworks on the 4th (Colby couldn't make it until 10:00 this year; maybe next year!):


Living History Farms:


Meg and Colby on a ride at Adventureland:


Abbie reading to Colby: