Christmas!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! I know we did - we ate a lot of junk food and had a "traditional" Spaghetti and Meatball Christmas dinner! The kids got LOTS of stuff! We spent the night at Mom and Dad's and that's where Santa delivered presents!

Here are some photos (backwards!):

Grandma and Colin - she is showing him a toy that Santa brought!

James is looking at the Hot Wheels that Santa brought!

I am opening my Sodamaker! (I bought it through a charity thing for myself and it's really cool!!)

I won this for Larry (about a week before Christmas) and was able to keep it a secret!! Needless to say, he was VERY surprised to see a Blu-Ray player under that paper!

Colin really seemed to enjoy this flashlight!

"I don't want SOCKS, I want TOYS!"

Colin and his "loot!"

James and his "loot!"

Mom, Dad and the Grandkids (James, Colin and Hailey)

Us - Larry, Sara, James and Colin

We don't have much planned for New Year's Eve ... we will probably rent a movie and put the kids to bed at their regular bedtimes! I bought some Sparkling White Grape Juice, so I am sure we will have some of that. We will spend New Year's Day at Mom's house.

I have registered for two classes and I am trying to get into one more ... I will have to take at least one class in the summer (depending on if I can get the one I am trying to get) and then I will Student Teach in the Fall! The downfall, I have to find childcare for James and Colin. James needs to spend time with other kids, so I am good with finding something for him. But, I got to spend a LOT of time with James (and watch him learn and grow) when he was small. I will miss out on all the a lot of the new things that Colin does ...

Well, I think I am out of things to say and this is a LONG blog with all the pictures, so ... I hope you enjoyed this blog (HI Linda!!)! Have a safe and happy New Year!! :)

It's been awhile!

WOW! I didn't realize it had been so long since I had written!

Well, we are getting ready for Christmas! We put the lights out a couple of weeks ago ... thought about getting a tree, but there is no place for it so we didn't ... I have wrapped packages and everytime we go to Mom's house, we take some with us ... We donated about 12 gifts to the Angel Tree program through the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) ... and the list goes on!

Larry has been working a LOT! 40 hours a week at SAWS and 40 at Best Buy ... He is only SUPPOSED to work 25 (max) at Best Buy, but they have a new scheduling system and it doesn't allow them to put a maxium hour limit so they are trying to work that out. We are still waiting on the "official" word that he got the job he applied for at SAWS - but it looks like it's his! YAY!! :)

James is doing well - he is getting taller and eating a lot! He is a huge help with Colin - when he wants to be! He enjoys turing the swing on, snapping Colin's onesies after I change a diaper, giving Colin a binkie and laying on the floor (or bed) next to Colin to "play" with him. James is already a messy kid! His room looks like a bomb went off - Transformers and Hot Wheels all over the place! He is good about putting his dirty clothes in the laundry - but I do have to ask him to do it.

Colin is growing like a weed!! He is six weeks old (as of 12/16) and weighs 11 pounds 7.5 ounces!! He is eating every 2-3 hours during the day and every 4 over night. He has a pretty solid routine - he typically goes to bed about 9pm, wakes up to eat about 2:30am and again at 6:30am. He has almost outgrown some of his 0-3 month clothes (the Carter's still fit, but the Gerber are almost too small). He smiles a lot, is starting to talk a little, and LOVES laying on the floor (or bed) to kick and stretch. He is a complete Mama's Boy! He will go to Larry - but prefers me!! (I never had that with James, so it's nice to have it now!)

Larry and I took our Christmas photos at Target, and that went pretty well. The the following week, Mom and I took the boys to the Bass Pro Shops and took their picture(s) with Santa! I took a really good (in my opinion) picture (the last one in today's post) of Colin ... I want to take some more, but I think I need to wait until he can hold his head up a little better.

OH! And, I have had fairly good luck with my Instant Win Games and Sweepstakes lately! Among the many prizes I have won (in December alone) ... a GREAT Christmas gift for Larry ... I will post it after Christmas because I don't want Larry to know before-hand! :)

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Frank with Colin's binkie!

Over Larry's shoulder - James kissing Colin - Colin sleeping!

Cute onesie, cuter baby!

Thanksgiving

Well, life is getting crazy! Larry is working 40 hours a week at SAWS and 25-40 at Best Buy. We are waiting to hear about the job Larry interviewed for at SAWS. (Hopefully, we will know by the end of the week!) James plays Transformers all the time. We are starting to give him chores and an allowance in hopes that it will help him listen better. (The chores: pick up 15 toys every night before bed and make sure the cats have food every morning.) Colin is getting so big! (He is 4 weeks old today!) He is wearing 3 month old clothes already! (James didn't wear three month clothes until he was about 4 months old.)

I am almost ready for Christmas - I only have a few more gifts to get. (Shopping at Target has been a real life-saver!) We are ready to put up Christmas decorations, but won't get to until Saturday.

Not too much else happening around here! Hope all is well with you all!

Well, adjusting to life (mostly just the lack of sleep) that comes with a new baby has been interesting. During the day, Colin eats approximately 3.5 ounces about every 2 hours and at night he goes 3-4 hours between meals. Colin has gained about 2 pounds since he was born. He does some lizard-like movements with his tounge, and when he does Larry thinks he is going to spit up!

James loves to hold and feed Colin and he kisses him every night before bed. James might be a little jealous over Colin still, but overall he is a big help and still a very good kid. James got a new sweater, which he doesn't like to take off, and he says that it makes him a "superhero!" We "plug it in" at night so that he will take it off!! He also has some new pajamas - the kind with the feet - which he doesn't like to take off. The other day he told me he wanted to wear them for his clothes during the day. My obvious answer was NO!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! Larry is still waiting to hear if he got the job at SAWS. I have caught a cold.

Some pictures for you to enjoy:

New Pictures!

Here are a few new pictures for you all to enjoy! :)

Continued:

Here are a few more pictures!

Colin is here!!

Hey guys! We had a midwife appointment yesterday (11/4) at 5:30pm and we were dialated to 5cm and 90% effaced! I asked if she would break my water and she agreed. Larry and I went home to have dinner and get our bags. We got back to the birthing center about 8:20pm and we broke the water at about 8:40pm. My contractions were strong and hard from about 6:20pm and after the water was broken, they only got stronger and started coming back to back. I don't remember what time it was, but we got into the birthing tub and labored there for a little bit. Colin Joseph was born at 10:06pm! It was a great experience and I wouldn't change it for anything! He was 7 lbs, 7.5 oz and 20.5 inches long! James is very excited to be a big brother! He loves to hold Colin and he pats him (only using his fingers - his hand stays still). Attached are a few pictures (they are backwards and I will post some more in another post!):