Trouble maker

We're raising a "green" child for sure. Collin is heavily invested in our planet's future as you can tell by his help sorting our recyclables.

First haircut!

Mike and I finally gave in and decided that the hair falling over Collin's eyes meant it was probably a good time for a haircut. Collin has the best baby hair ever. He was born with a full head of brown hair which unlike most babies didn't fall off. It's remained thick and lightened up to a sandy blond with ringlets over his ears. Sigh I love his hair and could never give him one of those super short cuts. Mike and I are in agreement that the long shaggy look on boys is adorable but for safety reasons it was time...

We took him to one of those places that specializes in kid's cuts with car shaped hair stations and individual video monitors. Packed in a strip mall in Lake Oswego, Mike's face dropped when we were greeted by the chipper receptionist. But there was no way either of us were going to attempt to cut Mr. Wiggle's hair. He'd either end up with stitches or look like some deranged soldier. The hairstylist was friendly enough and seemed to know what he was doing. We just wanted Collin's hair "Cleaned up" and he promised he wouldn't snip it too short.

Here we go:



Goodbye long locks


Sitting by himself definitely wasn't going to work so he moved to my lap

Collin squirmed in protest but didn't scream. The stylist skillfully moved around his hair with the scissors in rapid motion.


Almost done!


Collin's torture was finished!

We got a certificate and a lock of Collin's hair. It was about as painless an experience as you can expect for a fist haircut. Hopefully we can hold off on the next one until we can take him to a place closer (and cheaper) near our house but we're both happy with the cut and that he still has his long Collin hair (but can now see).

Party, Party, Party!

From First Birthday!

Collin's first birthday party was a blast! Despite napping in the middle of his own party to prevent major meltdown, everything went down unhitched. After the "recharge" Collin got his first taste of carrot cake, courtesy of grandma (Mary Ann). It took him a while to figure out what to do with a whole "mini cake" to himself that wasn't cut into pieces. But once he started, there was no turning back. To everyone's surprise ate every last scrumptious crumb. He seemed to do okay with the sugar but we definitely won't be making it a daily habit. Then thanks to generous friends and family members he made out with a ton of great loot to keep him entertained, well-read and clothed until at least his next birthday! We're so glad everyone came and helped celebrate with our little guy.

What do I do with this


Mmm cake


All done!


Hanging with his future girlfriend, Miss Hailey


Whoa grandpa, what's that!




The grownups enjoyed the toys too


A sampling of gifts--one lucky boy!


Enjoying his new ride

ONE YEAR!!

At this time last year, I was at the hospital, drugged out of my mind snuggled next to a pink faced, wriggly little creature named Collin.

I'd love to give you a thesis statement of what I've learned so far as a parent. Something neat and tight that explains it all but that's just not gonna happen. Parenthood is more exhausting, more challenging and more rewarding than I could've imagined. The romantic notion I had as a little girl playing with my "baby", rocking him gently to sleep, teaching him while he cooed and smiled, met reality with a screaming, pooping, constantly needing baby. Part of me feels lobotomized by motherhood. It's hard not to lose yourself when you're no longer independent. Now you're someone's mother. It's the most important job I'll ever have and it's easy to forget about what once mattered so much. But without Collin, life would be muted.

Having a child has inspired me to try and make the world a better place little by little (cheesy as it sounds). B.C., I didn't care so much about stuff like sustainability, reusable grocery bags, organic foods. But when I look at him, I want there to be something good tomorrow. So even if it's as small as composting, getting the "hippie bags" and making regular visits to the farmer's market, I figure maybe it'll leave some sort of impression.

Most of all, I've learned to try and see things through Collin's eyes. Little pleasures in life are too often forgotten. With Collin, everything is bright and new and he soaks it all in. The reflection of light bouncing from the window brings a huge smile across his face, or a waterfall causes a look of complete awe.

I know this is just a small preview of what's to come (and physically I imagine one of the most difficult parts of parenthood). Hopefully we're a little prepared now. A little wiser...I wish I had some sage words of wisdom I could give away to someone who wants to know what it's like to be a parent. But it's like my mom always told me. It will be nothing like you thought. And it'll be a different experience for everyone.

Now onto the Birthday Boy. Here's what I had to say of Collin's likes and dislikes in those early, early days:

Likes:
Nipples (sadly, he has discovered that only mom's leads to a result)

Being held

Snuggling with mom and dad in bed

Swaddling

The swing

Mirrors

Sleeping

Peeing on mom and dad when we change him

Dislikes:
Being changed

Clothing

The act of swaddling

Sponge baths

Now to the comparisons:

Likes:
Trying to leap off the bed and attack the lights (days of co-sleeping are long, gone)

Food, lots and lots of food. Collin will eat just about anything now so long as it's not too spicy. His favorites are chicken, turkey, cheese, garden burgers, pasta (especially spaghetti), bread, potatoes (especially sweet potatoes), any kind of fruit (especially blueberries!) He's also taken to milk which is much cheaper than formula thankfully!

Playing! He's starting to stack, he loves throwing toys and riding in his firetruck with help. Being swung by mom and dad. His toys that make noise, his blocks, magnets. He's already good at sharing with his friends at daycare.
Music. He's starting to rock to the beat. We're not big kiddie music people so he gets to listen to classic rock, alternative/indie, folk and classical.

Books. He throws his favorites on our lap (loves Where is Baby's Belly Button)

Bath time is not like the initial sponge baths we attempted...He has his own ducky tub and splashes and grabs onto his toys (and err his other favorite toy that is attached permanently).

Mirrors are still a big hit. Collin is a ham!

Walks in the stroller. He will completely chill and mellow out. He likes to look around and take in everything.

Blue Dog: His stuffed animal courtesy of Uncle Devin is his best friend. He chews on him, sleeps with him soundly and likes to bring him everywhere. Blue also starts to smell pretty funky so finding a way to clean him without upsetting the wee one can be a bit of a challenge...

Dislikes:
Being by himself...Definitely gregarious, Collin loves to play with others. Leaving him alone while you're say trying to do something as offensive as cook dinner will result in banshee screams.

Being changed. Still not a fan of this one although he doesn't scream every time. Forcing a shirt over his head can also be like torture to Collin. It's now his favorite "game" to crawl away super fast while you try to put an outfit or diaper on him.

That's about it. He's a very happy guy, though dramatic (payback says my mom). I think we'll be dealing with a high energy tot. Yet he's also very sweet. I'm confident we're raising a kind little person who will face the world head-on.

11 Months!

In just one month, Collin won't really be considered a baby anymore...He already has the face of a toddler and one day soon we'll have to cut his sandy colored hair = sad mama.


Here's a rundown of the latest milestones:
*Clapping
*High-five
*Waving (and flails his hands excitedly)
*Has "word associations" of "Momma and dada" (meaning he says them when he sees us but will also say them randomly. Still it's pretty cool that whenever he sees me it's "mama" and nothing else.
*Makes lots of sounds and communicates--he throws his favorite books on my lap to read to him and gets excited about turning the pages. He lifts his arms when he wants to be picked up.
*Stands by himself (sometimes). He lets go in surprise and quickly grabs onto something.
*Pretty good at using the sippy cup. Sometime soon we'll need to make the transition to milk and eliminate the bottle (and the boob before Collin decides the need to rip off my shirt in public)

Collin jabbering

Ten Months!

That's it I've found it. The key to happiness, the key to a smile, is watching Collin clap. Cutest thing ever. When he did it the first time, Mike and I immediately clapped vigorously back. He squealed and repeated. Probably thinking, my crazy parents are so easily amused.

Besides clapping, at 10 months Collin is a mad cruiser and attempts to climb. I can tell this kid is going to be a risk taker. Like his birth sign proclaims, he is a fiery one. He's still doing great in day care and even made a little friend--11 month old Elise.

After talking to our early intervention hearing specialist, we decided to retire the hearing aid for a while. Because of the neuropathy in the ear with the loss, it may be amplifying the static noises that his brain processes (which would be annoying in the very least). It's such a rare disorder that no one can really tell us if the hearing aid is beneficial at this stage. Since he's developing right on track communication wise (loves to hear his voice and babbles, localizes and reacts to sounds), we decided that it's probably not necessary at this point. We also couldn't tell any difference with the aid. Collin will continue to get periodic hearing tests to monitor any changes and early intervention services for speech. We're confident he'll be just fine and hopefully things will get more clear in the future on what we can do to best help him.

It's surreal that in two months Collin will have been on this planet for a year and Mike and I survived as parents. I feel so lucky to share my life with this little person that has the biggest smile and the sweetest laugh.