'Set' the Table

Colt loves his new table, just his size and spent most of his first day 'setting' on it. He also decided that day that he would have nothing to do with his shirt which he refused to put back on at his mother's request. Hey what can you do when you have a physique like that--gotta show it off!

Super Boy Visits the Playground

A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.
-Author Unknown

Mascot Mania

So we have shared Colt's obsession with mascots in previous posts--this is just further evidence to affirm that. We went to a Relay for Life event that Blaine's program was a part of and inevitably we were chasing Colton who was chasing the mascots throughout the event. Gotta love those Gators. . . [and random giant tooth]

The Mighty Machine Moves

We Love This Kid

I can't really explain these pictures other than that they are random and Colton does all of this stuff on his own from the yellow rain boot addition to the stuffing of his jammies with penguins. We love this kid--he makes us laugh everyday. Lately, he jabbers on and on like an adult carrying on a conversation and copies everything that daddy does. If Dad is wearing a tie he wants one, if Dad's playing X-Box than he's doing the same. Everyday when we drop Blaine off at school, Colton waves goodbye, gives Daddy a kiss & a hug and inevitably begins bawling his eyes out the moment Dad shuts the car door. This lasts for less than a minute because by now Mom's turned on the radio and it's time to do some shoulder shrugging and limited dance moves thanks to the constraints of his car seat.

And Why Not. . .

We spent yesterday at Epcot and took Colton to see Mickey and Friends. He loved it so much--he was squirming and waving as soon as he saw Mickey. When it was finally his turn he bolted out of Mom's arms with Pooh Bear in hand [refer to last post about Disney for that story] to give Mickey a big hug. By the time he got to Goofy, he wasn't as into it [poor Goofy, always living in Mickey's shadow]. Anyway, between the character stop and a 7-11 slurpee Dad insisted on Colton was one happy kiddo. Between sips he would clap his hands together with glee and give this devilish smile of satisfaction (colton that is, not blaine). By the time the day's adventures set in and we hit the road to head home Colton was out like a light.

80 Degrees Folks--Clear & Sunny

We spent today lounging on Crescent Beach outside of St. Augustine, soaking up the sun and watching Colton run into waves coming in. [do I detect a tinge of jealousy from our Northwestern frozen friends & family?] It was the perfect day and thanks to much anticipated pleas on the part of one Grandma, here is the digital documentation. Enjoy! (P.S. We miss you--please hurry up May so we can do this together! and oh yes--what do you think of my haircut Grandma?)

My Funny Valentine

I could sing you a song,

or blow you a kiss

just so you know Grandma,

That it is YOU I miss!

Colton has the best Grandmas in the world--even though they are far away they both made sure to let him know how much they love him this Valentines via the postal system. Thank you Grandma Calaway and Grandma Furness--Colton loves his cards as you can tell and he is very possessive of them still.

Happy Valentine's Day

Can you believe another Valentine's Day has come and gone? Apparently, Colton couldn't either. Hope all of you had a great one!


Sweetheart Tag

1. Where did you first meet your hubby?

It was March and Blaine had been back from his mission a couple of weeks and he went to Rexburg to visit his brother Dallin who was attending BYU-Idaho at the time. I knew Dallin and his group of friends, and they were taking Blaine around to meet girls so that Blaine would have the area 'scoped out' for when he attended school in the Fall. I don't remember even talking to him when he stopped by--he was chatting it up with my roommate Celeste so I figured whatever--but then I get a call later that Blaine was really interested and wanted to take me out that night since he was heading back to Washington the next day. I unfortunately had plans already (code=another date) so we exchanged email and numbers and kept in touch until he returned in the Fall.
2. What do you remember most about him?
His confidence--finally, a guy that knew exactly what he wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it. He was persistent and I loved that.
3. Who asked out who first?
Of course there was the initial hit and miss, but he asked me out in the Fall when he got back to school.
4. What did you do on your first date?
It was a great first date--I was right at that point where I was tired of playing the game and wasn't trying to impress anymore--I was myself--take it or leave it. This was good because we went to Millhollow's (sandwich shop in Rexburg, yummy.) and talked, and talked, and talked about everything and anything. We felt the same about everything and realized our value systems and priorities were in sync.
5. What was your favorite thing to do together while dating?
We had so many good dates--how to choose. We loved doing bonfires, going to movies, football games, on and on. From the time we got serious we were together every waking moment--we are each other's best friend and that was so nice to have.
6. When was your first kiss with your sweetheart?
In my parent's basement. Good story. He went in for the kill and I turned my head so yeah. This didn't deter him though, he made up for it and everything else is history.
7. Who said "I love you" first?
He did--and this was really big because I never told another boy 'I love you'. I was at his parent's house over Christmas break and he was saying goodnight and then he just said it and I said it back and I was so glad I waited and it was perfect.
8. When did you first realize you loved him?
A million little things added up to evidence that I loved Blaine but I knew it when he left for Christmas break and both of us were DYING that we were apart. I left the day after Christmas to go to Washington and spend the remainder of Christmas break with him and his family.
9. How did he propose?
We built this huge ice cave into the side of a hill on BYU-Idaho's campus with all of our roommates and friends. It had all of these different tunnels and it was awesome--we'd worked a long time on it. Anyway, big sidenote the day he proposed we went out tubing on the Sanddunes and he got his pickup stuck and I swear everything that day was hard. I was awnry, blah, blah, blah(like Satan was fighting this tooth and nail til the bitter end) so when he asked to take me on a drive later that night I honestly thought, "He's breaking up with me, I've been such a jerk today. No way he's going to put up with me". But we ended up at our snow cave and he suggested checking it out. There were 15 or more people on the hill sledding and we climbed the hill and I was crawling in the tunnels and he says, "Hey come look at this". I am of course freezing at this point, I mumble a not so good word under my breath and then crawl back to him. He shines his flashlight at the ceiling of the cave and I see this big sparkle and realize it is my ring! He proposes and after I say yes and everything we took pictures and the strange thing was when we came out of the cave their seriously wasn't a single person in sight. Everyone had just left. Blaine got the surprise factor for sure.
10. What do you remember about your wedding day?
It was the most beautiful day--the weather was perfect. I loved wearing my wedding dress and Blaine looked so handsome in his tux. Ok--I'll share it. Blaine's going to kill me. So we are sitting in the celestial room right before we are to be sealed just the two of us and it's beautiful. I turn and look at Blaine and we're gazing into each other's eyes and I'm waiting for him to say something really wonderful and romantic like, "I love you". Later I would learn that he had been up since 6 that morning sick with an upset stomach which would have helped me understand why he said the following: "Hillary, when I stand up will you tell me if my pants are brown?" Hmm, who knew he'd be so excited to marry me, he'd nearly poop his pants.

**I tag anyone who wants to do this.

Happy Birthday Cassie

Happy Birthday Cassie--you are one of a kind and we love you!

Stop Growing Please

"Young boys should never be sent to bed, they always wake up another day older."
I cannot believe Colt is almost 20 months old--where did the time go?

No Seriously. . .Poo Everywhere

"I don't think you understand what kind of day I've had."

This is what I told my sweet husband when I picked him up from class yesterday and he mistakenly asked how my morning had been. Now I fully recognize that for most of you FIVE star Moms out there (namely, my Mom and Mother-in-law) this is another walk in the park, but this being my first 'official' induction into the annals of blessed motherhood, I hope you'll afford me this one.

Yesterday morning started at 5 a.m. with Colton puking over every visible substance within a five foot radius, followed by five subsequent hours of the same, followed by and continuing today with the worst diarrhea I've seen thus far from him.
After my initial three laundry loads washed in an attempt to reconstruct what was his bedding, he followed it up with an EXPLODED diaper that went all over the jammies, the rug, the floor, the cupboards, the shower, the towel, and ME. Yay!

So after FIVE laundry loads, TWENTY plus diaper changes, a disinfected bathroom and FOUR outfit changes (one for myself) we are back to normal (sort of) today.

Honestly, I was laughing most of the time thinking about how I've finally got my come-upons on this one and I share this not only to make our folks laugh in recalling their days of glory in the sick kids department but to offer up a heartfelt THANK YOU for their love and care. I remembered as I rocked Colt yesterday morning that no one comforts us like Mom and that this is what it is all about--this might be one of the first, but definitely not the last episodes like this so bring on the laundry, the diapers, the dishes and more. Thanks Mom and Dad--we don't know how you did it!

**Due to the graphic nature of the photos related directly to the events described, the author has included the photo pictured from an event previous to such.

WARNING: Pooh Everywhere

Sharing Pooh with Daddy

Dropped His Pooh

Possessive of Pooh

Lazy Pooh

Sleeping with Pooh

On our latest adventure at Disneyworld we forgot to take Colton's favorite stuffed animal dog Pluto in and boy did we pay dearly for it. As soon as he saw stuffed animals in the Emporium it was over--there would be nothing accomplished that day unless satisfied so we settled for a $10 Pooh (most expensive Pooh Blaine's ever had he said, ha, ha) and went along our merry way. All of the workers that day took note of the Pooh Bear with Colton and would say stuff like, "Oh no, you've got pooh in your hands" or "You dropped your pooh". So this post is all about Colton and his 'Pooh'.