Play Date

Yesterday afternoon I had the boys (Canon and Colt) for the afternoon b/c Nana had to go to Tuscaloosa for some family matters. I picked them up from Mother's Morning out around 12:45. As I arrived I noticed that Colt was being held (of course) and our friend Lauren was in there with a chicken hand puppet plucking at his legs...he thought it was the funniest thing ever...just chuckling away. I said "he must be sleepy" and they informed me that he only took a 30 minute nap. I've discovered that he laughs the most when he's sleepy/tired. Don't get me wrong, he fusses too, but gets very tickled just like we do when we have lack of sleep.

On the way home Colt fell asleep in the car and was out for 2 hours. I played with Canon for a little while, fed him at 1:45 and he was also out for the count for 2 hours. So, I did what any babysitter would do, I too took a nap:) Piece of cake!

After everyone was rejuvinated, we all played on the floor together. Of course, I took some pictures (as always):)

We love Saturdays!

Not sure if Colt acts like this everyday, but he is pumped up today! The day is still young, but he is cracking me up...I'd like to think it's because his mom and dad are here and he's excited about that:)

I said that I would eventually post a video of him in his jumperoo...so, the day has finally come!

Hey hey we're the monkey's....

Mom (KK) made Colt the cutest monkey outfit! I also wanted to mention that Colt loves to look at himself in the mirror, I think all babies do. Well, this is the only time I can get a picture of him smiling...he's usually so amazed by the camera and the flashing, I never catch a smile (well, I can't say never). See below:

Our new family member...

This past weekend we got to meet our new family member, Troy. Saturday morning we headed to Auburn to see Elyse, Brian and baby Troy. I have been impressed with Colt and our driving experiences in the past, but this trip was very memorable! On our way out, we stopped at Northview to see Josh at work. We were all happy and dandy talking to him and after that, it all went downhill from there. Colt cried...no screamed...from Northview all the way to Eufaula. If you've ever been to Eufaula from Dothan, there's not a good place to stop and it's around an hour. I was miserable! I finally stopped at Burger King for a break and I immediately went back to the back seat to check on Colt and take him out. As soon as he saw me, he gave me a big fat grin...I MEAN...REALLY? I have truly considered getting a life size card board cut-out of myself smiling to stick back with him on long road trips like this. That would be a sight to see! When we got back in the car after a little break, he was off to crying again...luckily it only lasted a few minutes and he was out...thank you! The remainder of the trip was nice and quiet!

Ok, back to Troy...we finally got to meet him! He's so cute and teeny tiny...he does look like a little man though and he looks NOTHING like Colt, which really surprised me for some reason. Colt didn't pay too much attention to him...it IS all about him these days. Elyse is doing a great job and seems to really be adjusting to being a new mom...it's so much fun and rewarding! Here are some pictures from the weekend.

KK & the boys:

Cousins: (4 months & 1 week)

Sisters & Cousins:

I also wanted to mention that we tried green beans this weekend...It looks like it went ok, but it really didn't, meaning that he didn't eat that much of it. I'll try again later:)

We are officially eating solids...

I sure have been anticipating this day, been very excited about it. I was going to wait until Colt's 4 month appointment for his doctor to give me the go, but I just couldn't wait. I mean, what will a day hurt anyway...and besides he is 4 months old now and according to the books, he meets all the criteria:)

I of course started with oatmeal cereal and mixed about 1 tablespoon of that with milk (for better taste). I knew he was about to wake up from a nap, so I went ahead and prepared it. I learned very fast that it wasn't a good idea to try to feed him cereal on an empty stomach...

First Attempt:

Second attempt after regular feeding (highly recommended)

**Sorry, no video:( I've been trying to upload the video for over a week now, but apparently I recorded too long. It was really funny though. Colt was extremely happy, smiling and such at me while he was eating his cereal. He did really good and ate a good bit...on a full tummy!**

I still need to work out all the logistics of feeding him solids. He really wasn't too hungry on my second attempt, so with a little trial and error, we will figure it out. Now, I can't wait to give him some fruit and veggies...I tasted the cereal...not too good:(

Troy Toulmin Corbitt

Troy Toulmin Corbitt (my new nephew) was born on September 13, 2009 (Sunday) at 2:27 am. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 22 inches long. He has strawberry blonde hair!! Crazy! My sister (the new mom) was 1 week overdue, so we were all anticipating Troy's arrival. Luckily Colt woke me up in the early hours of the 13th so I was sure to find out about his arrival when mom texted me at 3:30 that morning...funny how babies do things like that:) Colt is super excited to meet his new cousin!! He is so precious!


Troy (2 days)

Colt wearing the same outfit (2 weeks - melts me)

So, do you think they favor?

4 Month Update

Colt is now officially 4 months (as of Friday)...yay! He had his 4 month well check-up today. He is a whopping 16 lbs 13 oz and 26 inches long. He is between the 75th and 90th percentile for height and weight based on his age and in the 50th percentile for weight based on his height. His head circumference still falls in the 25th percentile. I really thought that thing was growing...maybe it is, but not as fast as others. The doc said not to worry about it, which I'm not, I just think it's funny! He doesn't look like he has a pea-head though:)

He got 2 shots today and an oral vaccination. The first shot went very smoothly, then the second was a different story. The nurse said the 2nd burned a little more than the first...and we definitely heard about it. It wasn't that bad though...it was over it in a flash. I hear he had a pretty rough day according to Mrs. Sharon:(

Doc said he was a healthy happy boy and we can start solids now...even though I already started on Sunday night:) He doesn't have to know that though, he just gave me more guidelines. Cereal for a week once a day, then I can start adding fruits or veggies. He said to try one out for three days to determine if he has any food allergies. I can't wait!

What he's doing now:

Eating: 5/6 oz every 3 hours

Sleeping: 8 to 10 hours a night, 2 pretty good naps a day and maybe some cat naps before feedings

Clothes: 3/6 month clothes and 6 month clothes depending on the brand

Diapers: size 2's, but we really need to move up!

Developmental: Colt is definitely getting louder! He loves to talk and be talked to, it will cheer him up in a heartbeat! He started grabbing his feet, getting better at grabbing objects (but still a work in progress), great head control, looks around more and more (sometimes his eyes go everywhere and he doesn't know where to look), starting to "pull up" in a sitting position (will sit in our lap easily with support and in Bumbo), rolling over a little more (both ways, but mostly from back to tummy)

Activities: Loves looking at himself in the mirror, watching his mobile, sucking on his hands, watching Daisy and Gizzy, playing in the jumperoo, going outside, standing up, splashing in bath tub, getting his picture taken (haha)

We have discovered that Colt loves for you to rub your face on his while he's lying down and talk and kiss on him. He just eats it up...and it's sooo sweet, he just "Coo's and Aah's!" But really, what baby wouldn't love that?!?!

See 4 month pics I took:

Great Weekend!

We had a pretty exciting weekend! Colt officially turned 4 months old on Friday. Wow, I can't believe it's been 4 months since he was born. He has his 4 month well check-up tomorrow, so I'll do his "update" then.

Friday night was the NHS/Central High game in Phenix City and since no one we knew was going, I made the decision to stay here. I know Josh was disappointed that we weren't going, but driving with a 4 month old by yourself wasn't such a good idea in my eyes. You never know what's going to happen. So, Friday night while Josh was in Phenix City fighting to win against Central, Deborah, Canon, Colt and I went to the drive-in. Some may think we were crazy...but if you have kids, you know it's hard find time to go to the movies and if you want to you usually get a sitter, not us cheapo's:) So, me and D thought that we would give it a try...what did we have to lose? We got there pretty early, so we could go ahead and get something to eat and make the first of the movie b/c we never have in the past. We decided to see Julie and Julia...very cute chick flick!! Well, things went perfect for me...Colt fell asleep on the way there, woke up a little before 8, I fed him a bottle and then he was out again for the remainder of the movie. It was a different story for D. Canon also fell asleep on the way there, woke up a little before 8, was fed part of a bottle and never went back to sleep. D was in and out of the car, walking, bouncing, swinging Canon around hoping he would go back to sleep, but no such luck. I felt so bad for her, she assured me that she wanted to see the end of the movie, so we stayed. The whole way back, Colt was passed out and Canon cried all the way home:( Not sure if D will be going to the drive-in again, or if she does, Barry will be there! That night Colt slept from the time he fell asleep at the movies (8'ish) til 7:30 in the morning! Wow!!

Josh came home around 2 am that morning...yuck! They lost pretty bad against Central...I don't even know the score...next.

Saturday morning after we all ate and played a little, we went over to the Moss's. D and I jogged with the boys around 9:30, it felt wonderful outside! We spent the rest of the day hanging out at my house watching football and playing with the babies:)

That night Colt did NOT sleep through the night, I was a little too complimentary of him, so he was out to prove me wrong. He woke up around 3 am and I was up feeding him around 3:15. I usually see if he will fall asleep on his own, but he kept on getting louder and louder. Weird thing was, I think the little booger suspected something because as I was sitting in "the big chair" at 3:30 in the weeee hours of the morning feeding him...I got a text from my mother. Well, if you didn't know, my sister was a week overdue at the time...so, I knew it was my mom telling me that Elyse was FINALLY on her way to the hospital...WRONG...nope, Troy Corbitt was already here!! He definitely deserves his own post! Not saying anything yet! EEEEKKK!! Yay! How crazy is that? I had a hard time falling asleep that night! Too exciting...

We did attend church on Sunday...even though Josh and I got little sleep. We've GOT to make it a habit...that sounds bad saying habit, but I guess it's true. The nursery said Colt was so good:) Josh went straight to work after church and Colt and I ate with a few people at The Blue Plate, the off to the house to do NOTHING....we were SO lazy!!

Anyway, we had a really great weekend...can't wait for the next:)

Very Impressed and Morning Routine

Last night we went to Kyoto and Colt fell asleep there, probably a little short of 8:30. I thought that I would give it a try to go ahead and swaddle him and see how long he would sleep. Well, he slept until the normal time, 6:30, this morning!! Very good boy:) 10 hours, needless to say I was very impressed. He's growing up:(

This was him this morning...he was pretty happy but my camera is delayed and he gets caught off guard when he sees all the flashing, but he was smiling...just didn't catch it.



Our morning routine.

We definitely have a morning routine now...and it works pretty well. First of all, I usually let Colt wake up on his own, not sure if this is the right thing to do but it's the Parrish thing to do:) He usually wakes at a good time anyway, between 6 and 6:30. Once I hear him through the monitor, I go into his room, draw the curtain (which blocks out most daylight - highly recommended) and say "good morning!" Even though I still swaddle him, I never know where he's going to be located in the crib, he manages to move around without use of his arms and legs. I unswaddle him right away and talk to him just a little bit before I get him out of the crib. I can always tell if he's had enough sleep or not, when he has, he's the happiest baby in the world (even before eating). When he hasn't...well...I try my darndest to sing "good morning little yellow bird," to cheer him up...not always successful. The first time I pick him up each morning is such a wonderful feeling...holding our baby in my arms...nothing can beat it!

Then off to the changing table we go. The past few mornings he's left me a nice little surprise...ok, big surprise, in his diaper and he just smiles and smiles when I finally find it:) Yeah real funny. Then we go to our bed to nurse/have our first bottle, while I catch what little news I can get during the day. We say our good mornings to Dad, before he's off to take a shower. Then it's time to eat...which takes around 15 - 20 minutes. After he finishes, I always ask him if he's happy now (not that he wasn't before) to judge if he's had enough or not. If I get a big smile, we are good to go! By this point Josh is usually ready to go or has already left...don't you girls wish you could get ready this fast?!?! Anyway, after breakfast, I strategicially place him in his infant seat right in front of the TV to watch Noggin, where I can see his little feet moving around through the mirror I use to get ready. I know, I know...he's a little young, but they say Noggin is Preschool on TV, so it's gotta be good for them, right? It pacifies him anyway, b/c once he's sees those bright colors, his little eyes are glued to the tv. Once I know he's nice and happy, I then head for the shower and get myself ready. I do tend to hear him while I take a shower talking and singing to the TV...pretty funny:)

Every few minutes I always walk by him and make sure he's ok and talk to him just a little bit. When I do, I can just see the excitement in his face, I'm sure he thinks "yes, she's going to pick me up now!," but it doesn't happen. He's seems ok with it:) Once I finish getting myself ready, I down a bowl of cereal (if we have milk). By this point (around 7:30) he usually gets a little bored with his infant seat and Noggin and his "talking and singing" begins to get a little louder and suddenly turns to fusing (that's why I "down" the cereal). Then it's time for some loving...as soon as I pick him up he get's pretty excited...I get to love/play with him for about 15 minutes until Mrs. Sharon shows up. That's when I say my 'goodbyes' and head off to work.

Here is a picture of Colt in his infant seat in front of the TV...he doesn't have any clothes on b/c my diaper surprise accidentally got on his onsie...oops. A little too much bud.



So, that's our mornings...what the heck am I going to do when he's more mobile?!?!

Outfit made by Aunt Elyse

Here is an outfit that was smocked and sewn by Aunt Elyse. Isn't it so cute!

Got Milk?

Or liquid gold...as I like to call it, but it's starting to lose it's value. Ever heard of the law of diminishing marginal returns...the more of something that you've got the less valuable it is to you. I think this is the case. I know this is something very strange to post about, but I have to say I'm rather proud of myself:) Since I'm still nursing, not to go into too much detail, I seem to produce more than what Colt drinks/eats everyday...so, the milk has been accumulating in our second freezer. Well, I took a good look at "the stash" this morning and thought to myself...how much freaggin milk is in here. Well, without taking all of it out, I estimated about 75 bags of 5/6 oz of milk, which makes an estimate of 414 oz...WOW! That's why I said I was proud of myself...that's a lot of work! Just to prove "the stash" exists check it out...



My plan is to stop breastfeeding at either 1) 6 months or 2) teeth, whichever comes first. Think I can stop early?

Concentration

I know I shouldn't joke on my child...but it's just too funny to me. I have posted in the past about his "concentration" face, but this is probably the best one I've taken so far. He LOVES his carseat toy (that's what he's looking at). Hilarious!!

Zombie

The other night I wanted to get a picture of Colt with the mohawk I made with the very little hair that he has left. Well, he was sitting in Josh's lap in front of the computer and he was amazed by the brightness of the computer...his eyes were huge, so I didn't really get a decent picture, but I did get a funny picture. He opens his eyes as wide as possible for the tv, computer,the camera or anything exciting so he doesn't miss a thing.

BTW - I should be grateful that he was born with hair, still has some hair...but why does it have to fall out? I was looking back at photos of him as a newborn and he had so much more hair. Oh well...they say new will come in...wonder if he still will have dark hair? I had very blonde hair and Josh had light light brown hair when we were babies. We will see.

He was just a couple of weeks old here...see all the hair!

I know, I know...silly!!

Northview vs Smiths Station

YAY!! We won:) Score NHS 19 Smiths Station 15. Last week was a loss, so we got a little boost of confidence this week with a region game win!!

Here's a picture of Colt before the game...I tried to get him to hold on to the football...why can't you make babies do everything you want...geez! I guess he does have the Quarterback stance...if you can have a stance laying down. He was saying "GOOOO COUGARS," he said that's the least he could do:)

I would give a play by play but, I have a really hard time paying attention at football games, always have...but now with a baby...there's no hope. I think I did catch all the touch-downs, which is what really counts, right?? I know BJ Chitty (10) and Derek Thompson (27) are really good!

Fun game...Ed & Leslie Cox, Lance & Traci Jackson, Jordan, Alicia & Ava Yates and Mrs. Sharon went. It's easy to take friends for granted...but really, think about it, what kind of friends would sit through a high school football game for you...really great friends. I understand that the fellas like to watch football, no matter what the age...but surely the girls have no interest in watching a high school football game. Anyway, what I'm saying that it's SO nice to have the friends that we have. Ones who will give up their Friday night to go to a HS football game to support us and I love them for it:)

Colt seemed to be okay with the game...he was probably wondering where in the heck his mom had him now. He sported his new Cougars onsie that took me and KK FOREVER to do! I know she's not going to want to read this...but he doesn't have much wear in it anymore...was a little tight! He had the whole 'big eyed' thing going on (see post after this)...especially when the band started playing, which was rather startling at first:) I could imagine...it still scares me when I'm not ready for it. Right after half-time we said our hello's to a few other people that we weren't sitting with, then we went back to our spot. He started getting a little fussy...then in maybe 2 minutes he was out...guess he got a little bored with the game, which was not a boring game at all...what I saw of it anyway:) He slept the entire 2nd half then some. Here is a picture of me and Colt in the stands (once again...big eyes). And yes, I wear NHS gear too:)

I did manage to get a picture of the game. I didn't think they were turning out very well, but now that I look at them on the computer they are just fine. I would have taken more if I knew that. Wonder if you can find Josh? I can, but it's hard to explain...that he has khaki pants on, a hat and a white shirt on....wait...all the coaches are wearing that. He's on the 27 yard line, working so hard calling plays!! Oh and I would like to mention that Smiths Station beat the mess out of us last year:)

After the game, me, Colt, Lance and Traci hung out at Ed & Leslie's house for a bit. Colt ended up finally waking up around 10:30 to eat and got pretty fussy...way past his bedtime. So, we ended up coming home, I fed him a little more and he went down pretty fast for the night. Colt usually wakes up around 6:15 every morning. It's now 5 til 8 and the little booger is still asleep...wait....why am I up?!?! Should I wake him up?? Not no, but HECK NO!

New Dooo...

I finally broke down and got the mop cut.

Before:

After:

Ahhhhh...so refreshing!

Julia Ashlyn Blank

She's finally here! Julia Ashlyn Blank was born on Friday, August 28, 2009 at 12:16 pm. She weighed a whopping 8 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long. She was 10 days early. Tuan had her regular appointment the Thursday before, had the doctor check to see how baby Julia was positioned. With Tuan's big tight belly, he couldn't say for sure if she was 'head down' or not. So, they ordered an ultrasound. Julia was in fact head down, but Tuan's amniotic fluid was low, so the doctor sheduled a C-section for the next day! Even though the doc was wasn't 'on-call,' he gratuously took it upon himself to deliver baby Julia anyway:) She's so cute...I think she favors her mom:) Baby and mom are doing great!

Say WHAT?!?!?!

No she didn't!