Day Eleven

Day Eleven.

Showing off that adorable smile! :) Little man was swinging in his swing and he just couldn't keep himself from cooing and smiling!! Absolutely makes a Momma's day!

Day Ten

Day Ten.

Before heading to bed. He has his hands covered because he just LOVES scratching his face! lol

Day Nine

Day Nine.

Today was bath day. We call this 'Mr. Naked Taliban Man'

Now that Colin is able to sit up in his tub (with support) he LOVES his baths. He hated laying down in the water because he would get wet and then freeze! Our little man is growing up already!!

Day Eight

Day Eight.

Alex had already left for work at 1:30am... So here comes 2:30am and I realize that I never took a picture for Day Eight. I had been focusing on catching up my 365... So here is my sweet little boy sleeping on my bed, next to me. He'll probably sleep here tonight just because I'm going to be lonely with Alex being gone! lol

The First of Many

This marks my first blog solely about the upcoming deployment. With that being said... I am s-c-a-r-e-d, but who wouldn't be. This also marks the first night that I am spending by myself with Colin. Not like that's a huge deal, because I take care of him every day by myself... But the reality is starting to hit me that Colin is getting bigger and eventually Alex will not be here to see how big his handsome son is getting.

I feel slightly numb. I started making friends here to help me survive after Alex has left. But the friends I was so close with are starting to prove themselves unworthy. Although I can't complain too much because as this happens, I meet or get to know better more people. I know what I'm going to do during the day, what I've always done... Take care of Colin. The question is, what am I going to do by myself? This is my first deployment with Alex and I can't begin to fathom what it's going to be like. I've endured long absences before, but this is on a whole different level and there are so many different variables.

The sleepless-ness is starting. It is now 2:30am and I still haven't fallen asleep. Colin has woken up and I have fed him, rocked him, and put him back to sleep... Alex left for work this morning at 1:30am. Although I am normally like this. I don't sleep whether Alex goes to work at 1am or 6:30am. I normally don't go to sleep until 2 or 3am and then wake up at 7am with Colin.

Such is life of an Army wife and a mom. You become a single parent and take on so many different responsibilities that you may or may not know how to do. (I know how to do everything) But you go on with it, because it's the life that you married into. You take pride in your husband and you family. You make friends that would help you through anything from bringing you Ginger Ale while your sick or throwing you your baby shower because you just moved to post. You appreciate each other on a whole different level because everyone is going through the same thing, for the most part.

Day Seven

Day Seven.

Colin, intensely listening to me read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Little Colin is so happy whenever we read to him.

Day Six

Day Six.

After a day of hanging out with Kelli and Caitlin (which Colin slept through) Colin continued to sleep as Daddy came home and cuddled with his sweet little boy.

This night, we got NO sleep.

Day Five

Day Five.

After a long day at work, Alex came home to hang out with his handsome little boy. Little did he know that he was going to have 'the touch' and put Colin right back to sleep!! Alex LOVES to brag about that...Whatever!! :)

January 15, 2010

Colin has started doing so many different things. It's absolutely amazing! Of course I've tried to capture these accomplishments on video, but no such luck with that! :)

Colin has been able to support his head for a while now, but is now taking time to smell the flowers. He prefers that you hold him above your shoulder so that his arms are dangling off. He looks around everywhere. Colin knows who Daddy is... to some extent. Colin will follow Alex with his eyes. Then when Alex leaves the room, Colin won't take his eyes off the last place that Alex was until he comes back into the room. I'm pretty sure that if Colin continues to stare at the lights in our house like he has, he will be blind before the age of 1. lol

He now watches his mobile above his swing. And has the beginning of a laugh, starting. It's absolutely adorable, as I'm sure you would have assumed!!

Hershey's 'Perfectly Chocolate' Chocolate Cake w/ FrostingDireDirD

What You'll Need:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1-3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of Hershey's cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.
3. Stir together all dry ingredients.
4. Add in wet ingredients, except for boiling water, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in boiling water
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Make sure you use a toothpick and that it comes out clean!
7. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer out of the pan to finish cooling.
8. Make Chocolate Frosting!!

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Day Four

Day Four is for Tummy Time!!

Unfortunately seconds after this picture was taken, Colin decided that Tummy Time was the end of the world and got very frustrated!!

Day Three

Day Three with Mommy.

I had the stomach bug today and of course Colin wanted to be held constantly!! So we worked on his neck muscles by sitting him up! My little old man!

Day Two

Today was Alex's birthday! So I made him this wonderful cake from scratch! I never thought that I would be able to do it, but I did and he has a piece with each meal, now! haha

So here is little Colin blowing out Daddy's candles with him!!

Day One

This was this morning. Please ignore Alex's exhausted, un-enthused expression on his face... It had been a long morning, if you couldn't tell by the way Colin is sleeping!! :)

They both allowed me to sleep in until about 11am. They then came in to wake me up. We were watching a movie on ABC Family when I looked over and Colin was passed out. What a good picture opportunity.

Before I Begin...

I totally forgot that I wanted to do Photo Project 365 until I looked on my friend's Facebook.

So I am officially 10 days late, but oh well!!

Garlic and Tuna Pasta

What you'll need:

• 1 Can of Tuna
• Butter
• Fresh Garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• Oregano
• Dill Weed
• Pasta of your choice

Directions:

1. Melt a few pats of butter.
2. Chop Garlic and add to butter.
3. Season Garlic and butter mixture.
4. Boil and drain pasta.
5. Add Tuna to Garlic and butter mixture.
6. Add Tuna, Garlic, and butter mixture to Pasta.
7. Enjoy!!

Zucchini and Tomato Pasta

What you'll need:

• Grape Tomatoes
• 2 Medium Zucchinis
• Fresh Garlic
• Olive Oil (your choice)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Your choice of pasta

Directions:

1. Crush Garlic with knife. Mince Garlic.
2. Slice Tomatoes and Zucchini.
3. Put 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil in a pan and turn the pan on Medium heat.
4. Add Garlic, Tomatoes, and Zucchini to pan.
5. Add Salt and Pepper to your liking.
6. Cover pan, but stir vegetables frequently... If vegetables get too dry, add a little water and cover again
7. When vegetables begin to break down, put water on High for the Pasta, then add pasta when water is ready
8. After vegetables have broken down, drain pasta.
9. Add vegetable mixture to pasta and serve!

Colin - 0-1.5 Months

Yesterday our son, Colin, turned one and a half months. I am amazed at all that he has learned so up until now and am excited to see the rest he accomplishes before his second month of life.

Last month was a big month for Colin. He had the opportunity to meet a majority of his family! His Grandmom and Granddad flew in from Sarasota, Florida for Colin's first Christmas. During this time he was showered with love and affection. He is his Grandmom and Granddad's first and only grandchild and being as they are from Florida, they wanted to spend every waking moment with him. At first this was a huge change for my husband and I. It had only been the two of us with our son for almost his first month of life. Eventually we warmed up to the idea of the rest of his family loving him just as much as we do.

After his Grandmom and Granddad left, we headed to Ohio so he could meet the other side of his family. To my husband and I, the ten hour trip felt like it would never end. When we left Upstate New York it was raining. As we made our way across the state it slowly began to snow and our trip turned from a ten hour trip to a 12 hour journey. We finally made it to my husband's Nana's house in Vandalia, Ohio where we were going to be staying. While in Vandalia, Colin got to meet his Aunt, Cousins, Grandma, Grandpa, and so many other relatives! It was easier to allow people to hold him, by now. I finally understood that most of these people had held tons of other babies and they weren't going to hurt my son.

We eventually made our way back to Upstate New York just in time for New Years Eve. It was our first holiday in our house as a family, just the three of us (even though Colin was born before Thanksgiving, we spent Thanksgiving in the hospital). It was nice and relaxing. We watched TV and enjoyed the champagne that Alex, my husband, had surprised me with that day. We had little finger foods (a tradition that I brought over from my parent's house) and just enjoyed our time together. It was fun.

Alex went back to work and I had to get used to taking care of Colin by myself, again. It was Alex's first or second day back to work when Colin began to scream and cry the whole day while Alex was gone. By 5:30pm I was at my wits end and didn't know what to do. I posted something on Facebook and my mother suggested switching him from breastfeeding to Soy Formula. So seeing as Alex had our only car, I texted him to ask him when he'd be done. He made his way home so we could get formula for Colin. Sure enough, Colin was lactose intolerant. Finally our little boy was content and gaining weight like he was supposed to.

Now all during this time I was trying to push the thought of Alex's deployment to the back of my mind. We were having such a magnificent time, I didn't want to bog my mind down with the thought of my husband leaving. However, the time is slowly creeping up on us and I find that I am trying to savor the simpler things. Little walks we went on during the Summer and Fall months, trips to the park to just eat lunch, watching TV, or simply just sitting down at our dining room table and enjoying a meal together... even if that meal was Hamburger Helper. I am going to make sure that Colin knows who his father is while he is gone on his 12 month deployment. Alex is a proud father and I know Colin will be a proud son, once he's able to understand everything. :)