Cereal for Dinner

I am eating cereal so much better now. Check it out! I even open up my mouth when the spoon is on the way or if Mommy and Daddy are taking too long. I'm also spitting up less and less. Aren't you so proud of me? I can't wait to taste some new things. Mommy says veggies come next but not for at least another month. Today was Mommy's last day of maternity leave. =(
Mommy and I are not very happy about it. I think Mommy is taking it harder then me. I think she'll even cry after she drops me up. We'll see and I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I have to go to bed now because Mommy is waking up early.

AZ Diamondbacks Game

Me watching the fireworks

I got to go to my first baseball game tonight. I had a lot of fun! I sat in my stroller or with Mom and Dad. I was talking, kicking and moving my hands all over the place. I feel asleep around the 6th inning but I woke up again around the 8th. At the end I got to see my first fireworks show. I loved it and my eyes didn't leave the sky. It was like being inside the Baby Einstein movie. Daddy's friend gave us the tickets and they were really good seats on the lower level right behind home plate (normally $70 a seat). Thanks Matt!

Here is a video of some of the fireworks finale.

Here is CJ sending you some kisses.

Ok so mom may lick her hand and then flatten my hair but Dad just licks my head.

5 Months

I am 5 months old today. Daddy weighed me on the scale and I'm about 19 1/2 pounds. Mommy and Daddy went and visited a daycare to check it out in case Aunt Dawn can't watch me or needs time off. It was pretty nice but nobody will take better care of me then Aunt Dawn can when Mommy is at work.

My First ID

Mommy got me an Arizona State ID today. We actually had to go back and get another one because they listed me as a female. Dad says I'll have enough problems with my last name and we needed to fix that immediately. Thanks Aunt Dawn for pointing it out because Mommy didn't even notice. Mommy and Daddy went bowling. It was past my bedtime so I slept in my car seat most of the time. Daddy beat Mommy like 5 or 6 times but Mommy won twice. Daddy's high score was 146 and Mommy's was 131. They need some practice.

Cherne's Playland

Aunt Dawn bought me a bunch of toys to play with while I'm at their house. It was so much fun. I've never seen so many toys in one place. I went down the slide, played in a little house, played a xylophone, read and book that sang songs, played on a cash register and even drove on a little steering wheel. It is going to be so much fun at Aunt Dawn's. Mommy is not too excited about going back to work but I think I will be just fine.

Church with Aunt Mickey

Today we went to church in a movie theater. It was Aunt Mickey's church and it was pretty cool. It was their 1 year anniversary so they had a party afterwards at the bowling alley. Mommy and Daddy played some of the arcade games. Daddy tried winning me a toy in a huge crane game and tested his muscles with a big sledge hammer. Mommy beat Daddy 7 times playing the basketball game. Daddy kept trying but he didn't even come close to beating Mommy. On the way home Mommy let Daddy visit the PGA Superstore. He saw a lot of golf clubs he would love to have and they even looked at clubs for me.

Drive-in

Mommy and Daddy took me to the Drive-In. It was customer appreciation night so it was free. When we got there Daddy woke me up and took me out of my car seat. I threw a fit. I screamed and screamed for about 15 minutes before Mommy and Daddy finally had to take me home. I cried the whole way home but when we got home I laughed and played. Mommy and Daddy waited until I fell asleep and then they went back again for the late show. Mommy and Daddy watched Iron Man while I slept in my car seat the whole time. Maybe next time Mommy and Daddy will let me see a cartoon.

New Car Seat

Mom and Dad took me to Babies R Us because I need a new car seat. They say that I've outgrown my old one. I really like the new one! It's like having my own little Lazy Boy. It is really comfortable. Mommy thinks it is too big to fit in the back of her car but we haven't tried it yet. If it works they might buy another one for Aunt Dawn's car. Mommy found an old keyboard in the closet today and let me play with it. It was so much fun. When Mommy and Daddy tried taking it away I threw a fit.

Gymboree

I had a blast today. Mommy took me to a free introductory Gymboree class for babies. Sorry Mommy didn't take any pictures because she was playing with me. There were 9 babies including me. Of course I was the biggest baby there! I loved looking at all the little girls. There was only one other boy in the class. He had a twin sister that was there too and they had the same birthday as me. His Mommy and Daddy are both teachers. All of the babies were between 4 and 5 months. One little girl could sit all by herself and the other little boy was rolling over a lot (front to back and back to front). Mommy heard that some of the other babies are sleeping through the night without waking up. I don't think she was too happy about that. I might not be able to pull off waking her up two or three times anymore. Besides just looking at the other babies I liked the parachute and the bubbles the best. I can't wait to go back. Mommy says it's kind of expensive and we'll have to see ($65 a month-1 class a week). They only offer one Saturday class and I would have to be 6 months old. So if Mommy decides to do it either Aunt Dawn will have to take me or we'll have to wait. After class we went to the car dealership because Mommy was way overdue for an oil change. Turns out Mom's car needed some other work too. We came home in a different car because they kept ours. It's going to cost Mommy and Daddy almost $1,000 to fix.

My First Sunday Service

Mommy, Daddy and I went to church this morning. We found Uncle John and sat by him. I was such a good boy! I loved the music and I slept the rest of the time. Daddy wouldn't let me go to the nursery to see the other kids but I did get to meet Ethan Heston. Ethan is a few weeks older than me and Mommy follows his blog. Ethan's Daddy works in with the high school and cousin Johnny. We all went to the Cherne's for dinner. The grownups had tacos and then brownies and ice cream. Daddy and Uncle John watched some football and we all went swimming. I was pooped and fell asleep on the way home.

Neighborhood Park

Today Mommy and Daddy took me to the park. It was the first time I got to play on a playground. Mommy and Daddy walked and I rode in my stroller. I really liked looking at the sky and the scenery but by the time we got there it was already dark. I went on the slides, rode a bouncy horse and even got to swing. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back. I heard Mommy tell Daddy she would like to go for a walk every night. Mommy wants to lose the 80 pounds she put on when I was in her tummy.

Gabby Lou

When we woke up this morning my big dog Gabby wasn't doing well. She couldn't sit down and was shaking and panting. She kept whinning and was obviously in a lot of pain. Aunt Dawn came and babysat me while Mommy took Gabby to the vet. They didn't know exactly what was wrong with her but she was in bad shape. Mommy had to put Gabby to sleep and she died peacefully around 2:15 pm. Gabby was a really good dog and will be dearly missed! Mommy and Daddy are pretty sad.

4 Month Pictures

See my 4 month pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/coltonjames08/Colton4Months?authkey=keKkBCqmjgg#

Old Videos of Colton

Mommy was able to convert some old video of me and get it online. Check it out!

Here is the sonogram from December 21st when Mom and Dad found out I was a boy.

This is right after I was born on April 25, 2008. The nurses are trying to get me to cry.

Here I am in the NICU right after birth on April 25, 2008. You can hear I'm still struggling to breath so they moved me from this oxygen hood to the C-PAP.

Look how little I was. This was on May 9, 2008 (2 weeks old)

This is the first time I went swimming. June 7, 2008 (6 weeks old)

This one is of Daddy giving me kisses.

Here is Daddy reading me Naughty Little Monkeys (Currently my favorite book). Watch how I look at the pictures. I just love to read!

I love to play Patty Cake and I always laugh. Here I am playing with Daddy.

Mommy vents about adult probation

Why is Dad always trying to dress like me? =) Today we had to take Dad to see his probation officer. Her office was 19 miles away in North Scottsdale. That will be a nice trip for Dad by bus when Mommy goes back to work. She told Dad he had to be there at 11am so he had to tell work he would be late. Then she made him go take a drug test. He has to pay for these of course so we had to get a money order and then take him there. Of course this place is in the completely opposite direction in downtown Mesa. If Dad had taken the bus he would have missed at least half the day of work. What is with these people? How are people ever supposed to overcome this stuff? They certainly don't seem to want to help anyone out! Dad has to pay fines, pay probation, pay for drug tests, ride the bus all over the city, do hundreds of hours of community service, attend court dates, go to counseling and AA meetings, etc. all while trying to hold down a job and spend time with his family. Mommy now knows why there is such a high recidivism rate with criminals but my Daddy is a trooper and keeps holding his head high. You go Daddy!

Hoodies

Uncle John said something about a hoodie so Mommy got out the winter gear to see what I'd look like. We hung out with the Cherne's again tonight. The grownups ate homemade chicken pot pie and watched Big Brother. I hung out and looked cute as usual and then fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.

Bouncing is what Tiggers do best!

Daddy got a welcome home present from his cousin Becky yesterday. It had a new book for me and a new shirt for Daddy. That was so nice of her to send. Daddy loved his new shirt and wore it to work today and I loved my new book. Thank you Becky! We tried eating cereal again at dinner but most of it still came out. Aunt Dawn bought me a Halloween costume. We didn't want to spoil the surprise but Mommy thought I was too darn cute so she took a picture. Yep, I'm going to be Tigger. Maybe Mommy will be Winnie the Pooh. Thanks Aunt Dawn!

CJ's First Bowl of Cereal

Before Cereal While Eating Cereal After Eating Cereal

Mommy spent the day cleaning the house while I hung out with Daddy. Daddy went out to watch football with some friends for a little while. Mommy finally forced Daddy to give in and I got to eat my first bowl of cereal. Aunt Dawn even came over to watch. I sat in my highchair and mommy made me a small bowl of cereal. I tried to eat it but most of it just came out of my mouth. I still thought it was a lot of fun though. Mommy thinks it was too cold and we will try to have it be a little warmer next time. Even though I really didn't get much if any down Mommy wonders if I will sleep better.

You can see all the pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/coltonjames08/CjFirstCereal?authkey=3umjbfA-f3M#

Chicken Wings

Aunt Dawn invited us over for wings. Mommy never liked wings until she was pregnant with me but now she does and of course Daddy loves them. Uncle John made them outside in a deep fryer. They were so good. Daddy ate like 40! I laughed every time Aunt Dawn said chicken wing. Mommy is still bugging Daddy (who is getting quite annoyed) about letting me eat baby cereal. She wrote on my tummy and we waited until Daddy saw. He laughed but still isn't really budging yet. He did do some further research tonight though on the subject and just maybe we can convince him it's ok. I took a good nap with Aunt Dawn in their big bed. It was sooooo comfy! Daddy had fun bouncing me on the big exercise ball.

Big Bird

I spent most of the day over at Aunt Dawn's visiting with the Cherne's, Great-grandma, Grammie and Papa. I got to meet Big Bird. I looked at him pretty funny but I heard he was Elmo's friend so he must be ok. Daddy went to the Drive-in with Uncle John and Cousin Johnny. He said he had a good time. I can't wait until my first movie. I wonder what cartoon they will take me too.

Cassie's B-Day

Me with the birthday girl.

Today was my cousin Cassie's 17th birthday. Happy Birthday Cassie! We went over to the Cherne's house. Great-grandma Allece, Grammie and Papa were even there. I got to watch Cassie open her presents. Aunt and Dawn taught me how to take pictures. They even re-wrapped a toy so I could practice opening presents. They want me to have practice so I can open my own presents on Christmas. I went swimming with Dad and Johnny while Grammie and Great-grandma watched. Great-grandma had never seen me swim before. Then I got to swing for a little while. I was tired so I had to take a little nap. Johnny played his guitar for me and I had my own little concert. Oh yeah and I found my voice today. I talked and talked and talked. I even learned how to make loud noises.