Summer Lovin'

This year, I'm getting to experience summer through the eyes of a toddler.  And can I just say it is so much fun....albeit HOT here in Texas.  I thought summer was going to bring about a slower schedule, but it seems like we've been gone since Landry got out of school.  As soon as we got back from my 30th birthday trip (to Austin!), we said goodbye to Aunt Marci as she moved back to Chicago.  Bittersweet for sure.

Farewell dinner with Aunt Marci and Hannah

goodnight and 'see ya later' eskimo kisses with Landry's favorite...she adores her

 We watched a LOT of baseball as our beloved UVa made it back to the CWS!!  They made it all the way to the Championship series...and should've won, but things don't always happen as they should ;)

This kid was so excited to watch HER Kabul every time he went to the mound.

 In the midst of CWS excitement, Landry took 2 weeks of swim lessons.  She is the most cautious child I know, so I wasn't sure how that'd go...but she was a CHAMP.  She learned so much and did incredibly well (yep...proud mama here!).

posing with Doolie one morning before 'simmin' lessons

getting ready to jump in and swim to Ms. Randa...she would only
"jump" from a sitting position...like I said, cautious

diving to get rings off the bottom (4 ft down)

 After swim lessons were over, we met Matt's parents at PCB for a long weekend.  Landry loved getting to spend the weekend at the beach with her Lottie, Palo, Aunt Catherine...and her favorite, Pixie (their maltese)!

playing in the sand with her daddy's old beach toys

"simmin" with Aunt Catherine in the incredibly clear water

Funny story: Landry loved the waves and felt it was her responsibility to warn everyone when a wave was coming by squealing "waves comin'" or "BIG waves comin'."  I may be a bit biased, but it was the most adorable thing.  We all got a kick out of it.  

After our PCB trip, we headed out to Chicago (in a car...15.5 hrs in the car with a 2 year old, 20 wk prego Mego and my extremely patient parents) to celebrate the 4th....AND my sister's surprise engagement!  Landry talked about this trip for weeks saying "go see Marci in Cago"...I think she would've moved with her if I had let her.  It doesn't feel like my baby sister should be old enough to live in Chicago, much less be planning a wedding....but she is and I couldn't be more proud of the woman she's becoming. Jason, her now fiancé, planned an amazing 4th, complete with a cookout/softball game (during which he proposed), a huge family dinner (for all of his family to meet ours), and an amazing firework show.  Such an incredible, memorable weekend with family (new and old).

The proposal! (She was batting, he was catching.)

The happy couple in their red, white, and blue!

It's been a great summer so far, but we are so happy to finally be home for a while...in our own beds!  Landry slept until 10 a.m. the morning after we got home, ha!  Hope you guys are having a wonderful summer as well, complete with lots of yummy food and AC!  I'm off to work on potty training!!  Prayers appreciated ;)

Hello Again

Hi there.  It's been over a year a while!  Life just gets so busy with a toddler running around.  Since I last blogged so many crazy and exciting things have happened with the Colvin Family.  Matt (the husband/baby daddy) graduated from UVa Law.  WOOHOO!!  We moved to Louisiana for the summer, then to Texas in the fall, following an epic bar trip to Tanzania.  My baby girl has become a big girl.  She'll be 2 next week!  And to top it off, she'll be a big sister come November!  Oh yeah, and my brother, whom you may remember from my "Show Us Your Singles" post,...he's engaged to the most amazing SIL a girl could imagine.  It's been quite the year!  God is so good.

So here's a quick look into our life lately with our latest news linked at the bottom!  And here's to blogging more than once a year! 

Landry with her Mammaw and Bebe 

Our little family of 3 (pregnant with #2) at my brother's engagement party!

Easter in Texas

Landry's announcement to the fam!

And last but not least....our latest news!!!  Baby #2 is......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjQiGg13Qdc

Hope you guys enjoy!

   

9 Months!!

9 Months:

-  You weighed in at 12 lbs. 12.9 oz and measured 24 and 3/4 inches long right at your 9 month mark.  I had a feeling you weren't really growing, so I called the nurse just to check.  Of course they had us come in for a nurse visit/weight check.  Low and behold, I was right.  You were only ~10 oz. heavier than you were at 4 months and had only gained ~1/2 oz. since December 31st.  They checked your thyroid again....and that was fine.  They tried to draw enough blood to check everything but that definitely didn't happen with your tiny little veins.  So Dr. Schauer decided to refer us to UVa's Pediatric Endocrinology department.  We're still waiting on your appt., but I have a feeling everything is going to be just fine (so does Dr. Schauer).
- You're still in 3 and 3-6 month clothes (and some 0-3 month things).  Shoes still fall off your feet!  And socks are almost impossible to keep on as well because your feet are getting longer but your ankles stay so tiny!
- You're wearing size 2 diapers but you could easily still wear a size 1 (2's just absorb more) :)
- You started waking up more at night for a while there (it all started when you got a bad cold - it was so sad to hear you mouth breathing and sniffling).  Thankfully you've returned to your good sleeping habits!
- You are starting to spread your naps out to 1-2 a day, ranging anywhere from 45 min. to 2-3 hours.
- STILL no teeth and not crawling though you can scoot when you want!
- Despite being little you are developmentally right on target!
- 1/14/13 you started your first real solid foods (bananas) - you did great with them (soon thereafter we added avacados)
- 1/20/13 you started really babbling "mamama....blahblahblah..bababa"
- 1/24/13 after a night with the Kuhns you started waving - you started off just waving at yourself which was just ridiculously cute...then you started waving with both hands, one at yourself and one at us, haha!
- 1/30/13 you started feeding yourself puffs, it only took you a time or two and you had it down pat!
- 2/14/13 you waved and repeated "bye bye" out of nowhere...I had never heard you say the /aI/ sound before, much less for /baI/...but you did it, you imitated me exactly!  To make it even better, I got it all on video!!! ( Yep, you made this SLP mama giddy!)  You also got spoiled rotten by BeBe and Papa Mac on your very first Valentine's Day!  They sent you new shoes and several PRECIOUS new pairs of socks!  (No worries, they sent dad and me some goodies, too.) :)
- 2/16/13 you had your first sleepover ever...with Katrina and the boys of course.  They kept you while we went to the Barristers' Ball.  I think you probably had even more fun than we did.  Ah, we're going to miss those boys!
- You've really gotten smart.  You anticipate things before they happen.  You know your schedule.  You HATE when I leave for work...or when I leave the room for that matter.  You have the biggest smile on your face every day when I walk in the door.  It warms my heart!  I wish there were some way to actually articulate how much I love you, sweet girl, but I just don't think it's possible.  You are such a joy to us.
- Some things you love:
     - DOOLIE!!  She's become your fave!
     - Your highchair!  I put you in it sometimes while I'm cleaning the kitchen or cooking.  You really like it!
     - Your little train and music cube Bebe gave you for Christmas.
     - Kason and Kruse's Tiffany teething ring they've let you borrow.

Here's a glimpse or two into our weekend...a happy baby...

 

...and a happy, tired puppy after taking a long stroll through the neighborhood!

Stay tuned for our look into our Spring Break and for L's 10 month update!!

~Megan~

6-8 Months...late as usual ;)

6 Months:

- Sweet baby girl, you are a tiny little thing! This month you managed to drop down from 12 lbs. 2 oz. at your 4 month check-up (which was actually at 4.5 months) to 11 lbs. 11.9 oz. at your 6 month check-up (which was actually at 6.5 months).  You grew 1/4 of an inch to 24 and 1/4 inches.  First percentile all around!  They checked your thyroid levels at your 6 month check up to make sure there was no cause for concern....and there wasn't, PTL!
- You're still in size 1 diapers and 3 or 3-6 month clothes (3 month stuff fits best, but you're even in some 0-3 and some larger newborn stuff still, ha!)
- You nap ~3x/day, usually in your swing.
- Developmentally you are PERFECT!  Dr. Schauer was amazed at how strong you are.
- You're sitting up so well now.  You can catch yourself sometimes when you get off balance, but sometimes you still topple ;)
- You still don't like having your picture taken by professional photogs.  Poor Cade had to come back a second time to try to get your 6 month pics!
- Still no teeth but some days I could've sworn you were teething.
- You still roll to your left side to sleep.
- You LOVE to eat (you've had all kinds of things: bananas, peaches, blueberries, pears, oatmeal, chicken, white bean chicken chili, sweet potatoes, chocolate ice cream, peas, green beans, carrots, squash, avacado, apples...)
- You still love jumping in your jumperoo, especially when you're upstairs with daddy while I'm at work.
- I think you could've easily gotten out of your Bumbo if you'd really wanted to, so I only put you in it when I wasn't leaving your side (even when you were on the floor).
- You turned over from you back to your tummy this month, but you only do it when you want/need...and rarely when you have an audience.
- You'd gotten quite good at passing your pacifier from hand to hand and even getting it back in your mouth by yourself.
- You also started talking more than even, throwing the occasional consonant in the vowel mix!  You're also laughing all the time.  You get tickled so easily and have trouble stopping once you start.  We couldn't get enough of it!
- Some of your favorite things this month include:
     - eating!!
     - your Sophie (the giraffe)
     - your "Life is Good" dog
     - your jumperoo


7 Months:

- As of 7.5 months you were up to 12 lbs. 11.9 oz. (up at entire pound from a month ago) and 24 and 1/2 inches long.  WHOOHOOO!!! You GREW!!
- You're still in size 1 diapers, wearing 3 month and 3-6 month clothes.  3 months footed pjs are starting to get a little short but they still work best overall for now.
- You're still sleeping like a champ (for the most part).  You nap 2-3x's a day for 1.5-3 hours each time.
- You're still nursing but we were supplementing more with formula and you were beginning to eat more baby food.
- Still NO TEETH!
- You'd perfected finding your plug (pacifier) and putting it back in!
- While Lottie, Palo, and Aunt Catherine were here for Thanksgiving (you were 6.5 months...in your 7 month of life...which gets quite confusing!), you tried out your high chair for the very first time and were a huge fan.  I think you liked being on everyone's level for a change.  Of course, you demanded that I feed you the entire meal.  I guess I should thank you for slowing me down and causing me to eat less than I likely would have otherwise!  You had your first bite of dressing at Thanksgiving dinner!
-We celebrated Daddy's 30th Birthday this month!  We successfully threw him a surprise party...well, you actually stayed with Katrina and the boys while we partied...but you were here for all of the prep ;)
- You started reaching for us when you want someone or when you want to be picked up.
- Not too much had changed this month...you just kept getting better and better at the things you're already doing (i.e., sitting).
- You have started grunting though...it's super cute!  You even grunt back when we grunt at you.
- Some of your favorite things include:
     - your "Life is Good" dog
     - your jumperoo (especially the one with the frog on it in Daddy's office)
     - grunting

8 Months:

- I'm guessing you were around 12 lbs. 11 oz. and 24 and 1/2 inches still.  You stayed so little for so long!
- We began to transition you to size 2 diapers, mainly because you started drinking more and they were able to hold more liquid which translated to less accidents at night :)  They were still a little big at first, but they worked so much better at night.
- You were still wearing mainly 3 and 3-6 month clothes though some of your 0-3 month still fit and some 6 month pj's worked.  I never dreamed we'd get so much use of your 0-3 month outfits!!
- This month (actually when you were around 7.5 months old) we celebrated your very first Christmas!  SO. MUCH. FUN.  You were the absolute center of everyone's attention. Mrs. Rhonda Harvey sent you such a sweet Christmas surprise that was waiting on us in Springhill...your very first Christmas dress...red and white with hand embroidered holly on the collar...so sweet.  You, my dear Landry, are so very loved.  I pray you grow up realizing just how loved.
- You tried your first lemon at our annual family dinner at Jack Binions....and you LOVED it!  We thought it'd make for a funny video and keep you entertained for a minute, we never thought you'd really like it.  Ha!
-  Papa Mac had a good time letting you taste all of his desserts while we were home...you had lemon icebox, coconut, and chocolate pie just to name a few ;)
-  You started freaking out anytime you see someone else eating when you are eating.  I mean completely FREAKING OUT.
-  While we were home for Christmas, you started reaching for me ALL THE TIME.  I LOVED IT!!!  You turned into such a Mama's girl....crying when I would leave the room, reaching for me...heartbreaking and heart filling all at the same time!
-  You've also started to dance (or move..especially your head and shoulders) when you hear music!!!  I think dance lessons are in our future!!!
-  Some of your favorite things include:
     - grunting back and forth with us
     - your jumperoo
     - your "Life is Good" dog
     - your new bath toys and your little light up/noise making teething toy
     - your Louella Louella ladybug book
     - our phones, remote, iPad...anything that isn't actually a toy

 

5 months!

Typing this makes me realize that my baby girl is almost half a year old!  WHAT!?!?  Where has this year gone?  I've found myself wishing I could just keep her little.  I love her sweet baby skin, her wittle feet, her rolls (once she finally got a few), and that sweet, sweet baby breath.  Oh if I could just bottle it all up!  But what I'm learning as I go is it just gets better and better.  

So my sweet Landry, here you are at 5 months:

5 months!!

~Weighs around 12 lbs. 8 oz. (probably more now) and I'm guessing around 24 1/2 inches...we don't know exact #'s since you didn't have a doctors appointment this month
~Still size 1 diapers (the 2's look so big but I don't think they are too far away), mainly 3-6 month clothes but some 0-3, 3, and even some 6 month things...we had to get 6-12 month socks for your long feet!
~You nurse 5 times a day (every 4-5 hours with no middle of the night feedings).
~September 22nd you tasted your first real food (bananas)!  You loved them (or at least your bib did).
So far you've tried bananas, carrots, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes and peaches. You weren't keen on the green beans and squash until I mixed them with bananas...weird, I know, but you liked it!
~You nap 2-3x's/day, usually in your swing (aka "the sleep maker" per daddy).
~You talk nonstop even trying to imitate us!  Always cooing, babbling, and squealing.  This speech pathologist mama LOVES it!!
~You have the best belly laugh.  It's contagious.
~You started trying to put your pacifier back in your mouth.  You've almost got it down.
~You jump like crazy in your jumperoo.
~You started sleeping flat in your crib, no more Nap Nanny!  It never phased you.  You started rolling onto your left side to sleep (just like mommy).
~Anytime you are on your back you turn in circles (not rolling, scooting).  You will do a 180 degree turn in your crib.  It's pretty cute.
~I think you'd be army crawling if you could get a little traction.  You scoot your legs up to push off and use your arms to pull.
~You are working on sitting up, still doing V-ups and trying to get your balance but topple easily.
~October 11th you flew home to Louisiana with mommy.  I was a nervous wreck but you did great!  Everyone said you were the best baby they'd ever seen on an airplane, and I had to agree :)
~Things you love:
     -  Sophie the giraffe
     -  your LaMaze butterfly
     -  jumping in your jumperoo
     -  mommy and daddy -- just hearing our voice makes you happy :)
     -  eating sweets (bananas, carrots, peaches)
     -  talking
     -  music and dancing (you love watching mommy dance)

In other news, we've been loving our last fall in Virginia.  It's hard to believe this is Matt's last year of law school, and it's already almost halfway over!  I can't wait to be closer to home next year, but I sure will miss this beautiful state.  Here we are at our last trip to Carter Mountain (Landry loved the apple picking and pumpkin patch so much she slept, ha).

This past weekend Landry and I were recovering from a stomach bug, so we didn't do much of anything.   After Landry-bug got to feeling better, she helped Matt rake the leaves (before hurricane Sandy hit and un-did it all).  Gotta teach kids early, right?  She was pretty content initially...

but she finally got fed up with the mamarazzi!

                                     

I could just eat this cutie up!!

I feel so blessed to have survived the storm with power...it snowed and stormed pretty bad just over the mountain, but we didn't get much at all here, unlike they predicted.  Praying for those that weren't so lucky, especially the elderly, the sick, and those with little kids.  I cannot imagine what they are going through.  I just find myself praying that God would meet their every need.

~Megan~

Landry's First 4 Months!

Sweet Landry Kate...here's a glimpse of your first 4 months!

1 Month!!

~ You weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measured 20 and 3/4 inches long

~You were wearing preemie and some newborn outfits (though some were still pretty big 

on you).

~ Still wore newborn diapers.

~You're known as: Landry Bug, angel baby, bity baby, baby bug, and angel pie

~You were diagnosed with reflux and started on Zantac.

~You nursed every 3 hours on the hour...except at 3 weeks old when you hit your first 

growth spurt, you ate pretty much all the time then.  ALL. THE. TIME. No kidding.  It 

took you around an hour to eat...eek!

~You made your first road trip to Dallas with Uncle Stu and me.  Stu babysat you for a 

few hours and gave you your first full bottle of expressed milk.  Stu drove you around, 

swung you in your "bucket" (carseat), let the kitchen sink run, and dressed you from the 

bottom up all to keep you happy!

~At 5 weeks you got your nap nanny and finally slept 4-5 hours straight!

~At 5 weeks you SMILED!  A genuine smile!  (melted my heart)

~You were so strong.  It amazed me.  You held your head up more and more each day.

~Some of the things you loved:

     -  being swaddled tight

     -  being walked and bounced (we danced A LOT)

     -  being outside

     -  riding in the car

     -  running water

     -  people singing to you

     - and you LOVED your mama (I'm still eating it up!)

~On another note, you DID NOT like being naked.  Every time we changed your diaper       

or clothes you lost it.  Your great Mammaws McMahen and Stuart threatened to spank 

my behind if I didn't keep you happy. They did NOT like hearing "their baby" cry ;)

2 Months!!

~Weighed in at 10 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 22 inches long!

~You transitioned to size 1 diapers over the course of the month.

~You were wearing some newborn and some 0-3 month clothes...socks fell off your feet 

because your legs were too skinny ;)

~You nursed every 3 hours like clock work during the day. Started stretching night feeds 

to 6-8 hours.  You hit another growth spurt around 6 weeks.  Every once in a while we 

had to supplement with GentleEase but you never seemed to mind.  **You got a 

little faster at eating, 30-45ish minutes**

~Aunt Marci, Bebe, Uncle Stu, Papa Mac and I took you to the Spring Theater for your

first movie (Bernie).  You were so good.  Never made a peep!

~You got your first set of immunizations.  You cried briefly but handled them very 

well...until that night when you ran a low-grade fever and appeared to feel horrible.    

Thankfully it only lasted a day or two.

~You visited your Mammaw McMahen in the hospital.  It was the best medicine she 

could have asked for.  Oh she loved you so. You were the light of her life this summer.

~You made your first trip to the farm!  Papa Mac introduced you to the cows and his 

tractors.  You also watched your first surgery at the vet clinic.  You didn't even get  

queasy!

~You started rolling over from tummy to back! (I was one proud mama!)

~Some of the things you LOVED:

     -  the ceiling fan (your favorite entertainment)

     -  being outside     

     -  riding in the car     

     -  baths 

     -  being swaddled, bounced, walked, danced with, etc. 

    -  your Nap Nanny

     -  and you LOVE your Uncle Stu (I think you can tell him apart from else because of his whiskers)

3 months!!

~Around 11 lbs and 8 oz. and ~23 inches long (you didn't have a doctors appointment so     

we don't know exact #'s).

~Size 1 diapers, 0-3 month and 3 month clothes (some were still huge on you!)...0-6 

month socks though most of them still fell off your long, skinny feet!

~Still nursed every 3 hours, sometimes stretched it to 4...occasionaly nursed 1x/night 

**only took 20 or so minutes to eat!!**

~You started talking a lot this month!  You loved practicing your vowel sounds and 

raspberries (you imitated us when we do it first).

~Oh my drool!!  Bibs became a must ;)

~You started smiling and laughing back at us, so precious! 

~You went to church (Central Baptist) for the first time this month!  You slept straight 

through!  It reminded me of Stuart and Chet when they were teenagers little :)

~We had your "Sip and See" July 29th.  Everyone wanted to see you!

~You visited Mammaw McMahen in ICU August 4-5...she asked to see you and she got 

her wish.  I think you were the last thing that made her smile this side of Heaven.  Oh 

how she loved her sweet Landry.

~You went to Mammaw McMahen's funeral August 8th and were so very good and       

looked like a doll.  She would have been proud! And I think it did all of us good to have     

your happy little self around.

~You made the 20+ hour trip from Louisiana to Virginia August 9-10.  Longest trip ever, 

thankfully Bebe made the trip with us.  You lost it after 12+ hours on day 1, but after we   

stopped, you were fine.  Day 2 wasn't a problem at all!

~August 13th was your first day home with dad (and Bebe since she was still here) 

without me (it was my first day back to work).  You didn't seem to miss me one bit 

missed me every second I was away :) 

~August 13th you noticed Doolie and gave her attention for the first time. It was too cute!

~Things you loved:

     -  rattle and toys that make noise

     -  double sided animal toy/rattle (you LOVED the elephant)

     -  MAM pacifiers (I found several in Papa Mac's truck before we started our trip home)     

     -  practicing your vowel sounds and raspberries

4 months!!

~12 lbs 2 oz, 24 inches long

~size 1 diapers, mainly 3 month (some 0-3 and 3-6 month) clothes and 0-6 month socks

~Nursed every 4-5 hours (5-6x/day)...usually no middle of the night feedings!    

Supplemented as needed 1x/day. **You had gotten SO much faster at eating, it only    

took ~10 minutes by 4 months!!**

~Dad started keeping you every day while I was at work.  I like to think you missed me,     

but you actually loved your daddy time.  He won't put a bow on you, but he loves to sit 

other things (toys and whatnot) and your head.  You think it's too funny.

~You went to The Point Church for the first time (August 19).

~At the beginning of month 4 you found your toes

~Started getting startled with loud noises (sneezes, slamming doors, etc.)...they terrify 

you...and make you scream and scream

~You started reaching for your toys (August 28).

~You also made your first trip to Chipotle (Sept. 3) and must of loved it because you     

laughed and smiled the entire time.

~Sometime between 3-4 months you started to belly laugh.  It makes me happy.

~You got your jumperoo/exercauser...and you LOVE it.  

~Things you loved:

     -  attention     

     -  your changing table     

     -  the mirror     

     -  talking and squealing - you loved playing with your voice

     -  your singing, wobble toy

     -  LaMaze butterfly

     

Whew!  That was a lot!  I'm sure nobody hung in there to the end, but I wanted to have it all documented for my sake!

  

~Megan~

The Summer of Landry - Part 1

May 12, 2012 - 38 weeks and headed to the hospital!!!

**Funny Story: just before taking this picture, Marci and I locked the keys 

in my car at Walgreens...we laughed until we almost cried.  

One last family pic, just the 3 of us, before we headed to the hospital.

We checked into the hospital around 10:00 p.m., they got me hooked up to monitors and ready to go in no time.  Looking back, I'm fairly certain I had already gone into labor, but at the time, I didn't know :)  My water broke on its own around 2-3 a.m., they started meds around 5-6 a.m., I got an epidural at 

7 a.m. (those things are truly amazing though I think I was blessed with

 one of the easiest labors ever), and then rested and waited...

Waiting for Dr. Robertson

 We had a waiting room full of family including Dr. Robertson's family (seeing as it was also his birthday and Mother's Day) ready to meet this little angel!

At 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 13, 2012

Landry Kate Colvin was born!

6 lbs. 4 oz., 20 inches, and absolutely perfect!!

Matt was one proud daddy!

First family pic as a family of 3 

(well, 4 given Doolie-Belle)

After a quick hospital stay, we packed this little cutie up 

and headed home on Monday, May 14.

One last hospital pic with her wreath 

(it's hard to see but the pennants said "Landry Kate").

Buckled up and ready to go!

And that's how the Summer of Landry began!

Stayed tuned for Part 2!!

~Megan~