It's official...Colin can walk...walk well

For the last three weeks or so Colin has been a novice walker. Walking up to about 6 steps together, diving at objects for support as he closed in, and falling frequently. He made slow gains, but still seemed to favor crawling. That is until this weekend. When he saw all his grandparents he just went into show-off mode. He is now what I would call a walker. He walks all around the house. He still falls sometimes, but he prefers to try to walk everywhere instead of crawl. Next obstacle--learning to walk in shoes. He is really enjoying his mobility, and sometimes just walks around in a circle patting his belly. Cute.

New hobby

I've really been enjoying working in the yard and planting flowers for the summer. I snapped some photos to show some of the work we have done over the last couple of years and my recent handy work. Above is a planter I arranged. I have a matching one and they flank the brick surrounding our garage.

I planted the petunias--no big deal, but here's another planter I did. This one is not near as nice as my one above. You can't see as much texture in this picture.

We planted the evergreens abou 18 months ago in our front flower bed: boxwoods (very top-can only see the very bottom of them, nandina, and then liropia (grasses). Interspersed are various annuals.

A far away version.

This is the side of our house. We took out the shrubs from our front flower bed (The side I didn't photograph), and I planted the roses this summer. We had a yellow one last year that was beautiful, but died, so I'm trying again. I also planted pink knockout roses, but they aren't blooming here.

I made it!

I made it through this past crazy weekend. We had Sarah's wedding shower in St. Louis I wish I could have had some better pictures of the shower, but my camera took really blurry pictures for some reason. The church looked beautiful. I also wish I could have got better pictures of the decorations/place settings. I made these fake cakes that turned out super cute, but you can't really see them. The day was too much a blur to get great pictures.

Part of our yummy and beautiful dessert spread.

More dessert! Fruit salad, mini-cheescakes, classic wedding cake, chocolate cake with latte icing and chocolate cake with peanut butter. In the last picture at far right you can see the coconut cake, oreo truffles, and cookies. They were all so delicious! Us bridesmaids and the moms made it all.

Berni's yum chicken salad and other sandwiches.

We almost immediately we followed it up with a surprise (sort of) pirate-themed seafood , b-day extravaganza for Scott. He was feeling infringed upon sharing his b-day with his sister's shower. Since he was being such a baby about it we through in the surprise pirate-themed part of it. It was fun, but I don't recommend throwing two parties in one day. The first was for about 40 people, but thankfully the second was for only 12, and it was all family. Both were a success, and each person enjoyed their time.

Family in their pirate gear as Scott approached. Can you see the blow up sword and parrot? Can you spot the earrings?

Colin is even wearing an earring.

Scott ready to break in his new deep fryer and apron. Can you see his pirate b-day boy award?

Scott's reaction as he walked up to his party. He was surprised about the pirate part. He enjoyed the lack of subtlety we were implying about him acting like a little kid over his b-day.

Other pics

Three boys watching daddy mow the lawn. This is a regular occurence for Colin to wedge his way into the group to see what's going on. Such a nosy little boy.
I just love his face in this picture. He flashes this smile at all older women in stores. He gets so much attention for his grins.

I've got the hang of this finger food thing. Well, sort of.

Some cute diaper shots

Little man loves to read in his room. He pulls down the bin and pulls all his books out.

That hair cracks me up. When he gets hot, it curls up in the back and over his ears.

Walking with his lovie. He never takes his lovie out of his crib, but this evening he'd pulled it through the slats.

Eye to eye with Kona

Come here you, book!

How'd that big belly get there? Notice the carnage of stuffed animals. We call them bunkimals for some reason. We even have a song we sing about them. Bunkimals on patrol...

Trip to Grant's Farm

G-pa and Colin on the tram

Colin feeds the goats. He wasn't scared--just indifferent. I guess when you have dogs that are the size of adult goats what's there to fear.

Hmm? The alpacas on the other side were sporting poodle cuts. Should have got a pic.

Not loving the carousel. It seemed such a good idea. He had a death grip on Scott's shirt.

A new type of hell

So I entered one of the rings of hell today. Swimsuit shopping. Ahhh! I swear, all bathing suits are made for teenagers or old ladies. They are especially not meant for women with much in the way of post-nursing girls. I spent hours today trying to find something suitable for Colin's swim lessons. There are bumps and extras in places I never had before. Ick! I couldn't believe that was my reflection. Note to self--lose 20 pounds before Monday. Must stop drinking, eating, breathing. Seems possible. They say it's all about the power of positive thinking. I think I can, I think I can dare to wear a swimsuit in public. Should have signed up for a daytime class.