Ho Ho Ho!

Every year in our neighborhood they have Mr. and Mrs. Claus come to the clubhouse and they have cookies, hot chocolate and surprises for the kids. Last year Colby cried when he sat in Santa's lap but this year he did very good. We talked about going to see Santa a lot before we went and I think that helped. Colby got to see Santa's magic key and Mrs. Claus gave him a special book.

Our neighbors and their church also do a nativity scene outside of the clubhouse so Colby got to go see baby Jesus. He covered up baby Jesus so that he wouldn't get cold and he sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. It was very sweet.

We had a great night visited with all of the neighbors and all of the kids had a lot of fun!

We hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jingle Bells!

Mr. Turkey

Here is Colby singing "Mr. Turkey" which is a song that he and our neighbor Maggie learned at mother's day out and have been practicing. The words are "Mr. turkey, Mr. turkey, big and fat, big and fat, I am gonna eat you, I am gonna eat you, just like that, just like that."

Halloween Fun!

Well this year Halloween seemed like it lasted a whole week for us. We had a lot of fun activities planned and enjoyed them all. We started off with the Pumpkin patch in Clanton. We went with the Norris family and my sister Marcia and Maggie and Mckenzie. Everyone enjoyed searching for the perfect pumpkin and the kids enjoyed riding the hay ride and the tractor train.

Then on Wednesday night we went to the Hunterstreet Baptist Church Trunk or Treat with Marcia, Kyle, Maggie and Mckenzie. It was raining outside so they moved everything indoors and let me just say that church was packed. The kids had a lot of fun playing games and getting candy. Maggie was dressed up like Wonder Woman and Colby was an Auburn football player.

Colby did not like all the noise though.

On Friday, the Norris's and the Martin's came over and we all carved pumpkins. Non of the kids wanted to touch the pumpkin goo except for Maggie Norris, so the adults did most of the work. The kids got to paint some pumpkins while the adults carved. We all had a lot of laughs.

Even though Halloween was not until Sunday our neighborhood was Trick-or-Treating on Saturday night. So we had a bunch of family and friends over for a baked spaghetti dinner and then we all went trick-or-treating together. Colby really got the hang of trick-or-treating this year and we had a lot of fun watching him. Everyone looked great in their costumes.

Afterwards everyone came back to our house for dessert and the kids got to enjoy some of their candy.

Our last Halloween activity was on Sunday when we went to the Westwood Baptist Church fall festival. Colby love playing all of the games and getting candy just for playing. They also had face painting there and when Colby saw his friends Maggie N. and Miller getting their face painted he decided that he wanted to try it. The girl was going to do an AU on his face to go with his costume but once she got the "A" on he decided that he did not like it and would not let her finish. So, he walked around with just an A on his cheek.

All in all it was a very busy but great Halloween!

Fun at the Zoo!

Today was such a beautiful day that we decided to head to the Zoo! We had a great time and Colby loved seeing all of the animals and riding the Choo Choo train.

Roll Tide!!

Check out what mommy and I picked up at Target today! Daddy will be so proud!

A Weekend of Fun!

A Picnic at the Park with Friends!






Fun on the Playground!






A Walk with Dad!


Playdough Fun at Home!




What a Fun Weekend!

Zoe and Colby

"Look What I Can Do, Mommy"

This afternoon I was in the kitchen doing the dishes while Colby was in the den looking at some books. I had just about finished the dishes when I noticed that Colby was being awfully quiet(usually not a good sign). I went in the den to see what he was up to and this is what I found.






The rascal pulled out the movie drawer and used it as a step to climb up into the entertainment center. He definitely keeps me on my toes!!

New Year's Eve Pictures

I can remember how I used to look forward to New Year's Eve. The counting down of the clock, the fireworks, the fun. Wow, things have changed. This is a picture of Colby and his neighborhood friends. This was taken about 9 PM New Year's Eve. They were wired from the brownies and ice cream. These are some of the sweetest kids that you will ever meet. Starting from left to right, Maggie, Isabella, Colby, Casen, Kinley, Parker and Miller.

It's A Miracle!

As many of you know when Colby was 9 months old we went to the eye doctor to discuss surgery for his blocked tear ducts and found out that Colby is severely far sighted and needed glasses. This was a major shocker for us and I could not imagine trying to get Colby to wear glasses at 9 months old. Well at first I was surprised because it went better than I expected but that did not last long. Since Colby was not crawling at the time he was rolling everywhere and rolling all over his glasses. Lets just say Colby was not digging the glasses. We kept trying a couple times here and there to get him to wear them and he would just scream and pull them right back off every time we tried to put them on. Well, 2 weeks ago we went back to the pediatric opthamologist for Colby to get the stints removed from his eyes and the doctor asked how it was going with the glasses. When I explained that it was not going well he prescribed some drops to put in his eyes that would dilate his eyes and make his vision blurry unless he had his glasses on. He wanted us to do the drops for 2 weeks. Scott and I did NOT want to do the drops. I couldn't imagine him walking around and not being able to see. We decided to give it one more go before trying the drops. Colby still was not happy at all but I knew he would keep them on if we were outside. So I bundled him up and we went outside for about an hour. He did not bother his glasses once. When we came inside he tried to take them off a couple times but I was able to put them back on. Now, he has been wearing his glasses ever since and we are so thankful that we did not have to do the drops. He still pulls them off when he gets upset about something but other than that he is doing a great job.

We are so proud of you Colby!!

Drooling while you work

This was Colby after a tough day at work. He was washing all of his toy cars and trucks with the new "Drool Gel".

New Year, New Hopes, New Dreams

Well it has been a long time since I have updated you and a lot has changed. Last year was a tough year for Colby but he has made so much progress and is doing very well. Let me get you up to date. When Colby was about 12 months old they discovered that he had low muscle tone in his trunk (bottom half of his body) and that was why he was not crawling or walking. We went to see a neurologist and had a MRI done to make sure there were no problems that were causing those delays. After several stressful days of waiting, the test results came back normal. They set us up with Early Intervention to have him assessed to see which areas were delayed so they could start working with him. He passed every test except for the physical development. He was 12 months at the time and was testing at a 9 month olds level. They also discovered his low muscle tone. They set him up with a physical therapist and a special instructor to work with him. They come out to the house or to Colby's mother's day out class once a month and do exercises with him. They also teach me how to continue to work with him at home. Colby started making progress immediately. While working with him we noticed that he was turning his feet out and that he was really pronating his feet. His PT(physical therapist) said that it was due to his low muscle tone so she decided that he needed to be put in some orthotics. They are basically hard plastic ankle braces. Within a week of receiving the braces, he started trying to walk. One week before Christmas we received the best Christmas present ever, Colby starting walking on his own and has not stopped since. I remember Scott and I talking before Christmas and saying that all we wanted for Christmas was for Colby to walk. It was such a blessing and we thank God for answering all of our prayers. Colby still wears his braces some of the time and is doing so well. He had physical therapy on Tues. and his PT said that he has made so much progress that she does not need to see him again until March or April and that after that it may just be twice a year. Yeah Colby!!

As most of you know Colby had several surgeries last year and we appreciate all of your prayers. Now we are hopefull that we are through with all surgeries and everything is corrected. He is doing great.

I know many of you have been praying for Colby throughout this year and I cannot express how much we appreciate your prayers. God has been so good to us and Colby is such a blessing to have in our lives. It is so wonderful to watch him grow each day and learn and discover new things. He now is saying "Mommy" and "Daddy" and it is music to our ears. He is about to be 18 months old and we cannot believe what a big boy he has become. Children are amazing!

FINALLY CRAWLING!

Hey Everyone. Scott here. It has been a while since I have been able to blog a little. By the time I get off work, get home and eat and play with my family, it is time for bed. So, what is new in our little man's life. Well, over the last week, he has progressed to a full blown crawl. Yes, he is a little bit of a late bloomer. For the longest time, he would do a partial swim move on the floor. He would push and move on his right side only. Then, with no warning, he got on all fours and crawled about two feet. A week later and he goes EVERYWHERE. He is excited and loves to explore his new world.

We hope to get his one year pictures taken soon. We were supposed to get them a couple of weeks ago but we had to move the appointment due to having a second set of tubes put in.

Now, let's talk about his appetite. He is a very picky eater. The one thing that we have learned is that you can't pull a fast one on Colby. i.e. We will give him some grilled cheese bites to eat. During that time, we will try to sneak in some green beans. If we get caught, he will express................in a very vocal way..........................his displeasure in the trickery. We really think it is more about the change in the texture of the food rather than the taste. He has become very independent and prefers to feed himself. Our little man is growing up.