Things I cared about B.C. (Before Colton)

I was looking through some old pictures of me from before I had Colton. This one was taken in May, 2006. I thought, "Hmmm, look at me with my lip gloss and perfect hair. I bet I even have shaved legs." I decided to compile a list of things that mattered to me then, that are not so important now that I have an infant.

1. 1. Make-up: Every morning my son is nice enough to sit in his swing in the bathroom and wait while I shower. I have about 15 minutes maximum to finish. That includes getting dressed, everything. So the last thing I do is decide if I will put on mascara. Just mascara. I think about the end of the day when I am getting ready for bed and I think, "Ugh. Do I really want to have to get out a cotton ball and the make-up remover to take it off before I go to bed?" No. So...mascara is usually a no.
2. Washing my hair: I have convinced myself that my hair is more manageable if it is dirty. Enough said.
3. Clothes: Just last week I realized that I was wearing the same 4 t-shirts in rotation. Two black and two white. And the same 3 pairs of jeans. Gone are the days of planning outfits for the weekend schananagins.
4. Shaving my legs and other parts: Ummm....yeah.
5. Hair color: I used to spend a lot of money and time in the salon getting my hair highlighted. This morning I used the tweezers to pull out 4 or 5 gray hairs. This battle is useless. They are winning.
6. Being tan: Again, money and time on either laying in the sun or having it sprayed on like Earl Sheib. Now, if I am in shorts people think I have on white hose.
7. Smelling good: I have more great smelling lotions than I know what to do with that are collecting dust! Now my scent is, "Eau de spit-up"
8. Earrings and other accessories: Earrings are just another step in my routine that is a waste and a necklace Colton will jsut grab and try to eat anyway. And purses? What's that? Does my diaper bag match my shoes???

My point is that my life has changed in so many ways and I wouldn't change it for anything. So what if I find an unknown crusty substance stuck to my arm after I go to bed. He's all worth it. He doesn't care that I have grey hairs and no make up and wore the same thing twice this week. And the spit up smell I'm sure he likes.

Big Decisions

Dear Colton,

Tomorrow you are 5 months old. Every day your daddy and me learn a little more about you and try to decide what the best things are for you. Right now many parents have the tough decision about weather or not to vaccinate their babies. When I was little there was hardly any question about it...I assume the moms and dads that decided not to immunize were called "hippies". But now there is a big debate and I go back and forth.

Soon you will be ready for solid foods and I have been thinking about making your baby food instead of buying it. Right now your nanna and grandma Debbie are reading this and rolling their eyes. But I figure since your daddy works hard enough to allow me to stay home with you, why not give it a try. I'm sure the first time I get carrots sprayed all over me from the food processor I will say some bad words you shouldn't hear and I will give up, but at least I tried. Stay tuned.

I guess my point is that these first couple of years are so important and we want you to know how much you are loved. We may make the wrong decisions sometimes but we try our best.

Yesterday I took you to the pediatrician and asked him a bunch of questions about how much you should be nursing, how much you should be sleeping, how do I give you rice cereal and if he could see your teeth coming soon. You were your charming self and the doctor was enamored by you. So at the end of the appointment I realized that I had paid a $15 co-pay to listen to myself talk and have the doctor play with you. But your dad reminded me that all of those things we are probably doing right and I am worrying for nothing (big sigh). With that, I decided to stop worrying and enjoy you every second. And I do.

Love,

Mommy

Mr Cheeks

I was thinking about my nephew turning 12 last month and that I can't believe how fast the time goes. I remember when he was born and was under 6 pounds and how tiny he was. When Colton was born he was so easy to carry around...fast forward almost 5 months and now the little man is about 17 pounds. Doing some quick math in my head (okay, I used a calculator), I figured out that if Colton continued to gain weight at the rate he has the last 5 months, when he is 16 he will weigh roughly 900 pounds. Hopefully by then I will be done breastfeeding. He's a great eater...he doesn't care where we are, what time it is, or even if he ate 20 minutes ago, he'll eat again.

I used to think moms that nursed their babies until they were more than a year old were wierd, now I add that to the list of judgements I had about parents before I had a child of my own. I'm not saying I will do it, but I can understand why.

Colton meets Santa

A few days before Christmas we went to the mall for some last minute shopping and decided to have Colton meet Santa. I was a little nervous that he would scream when we sat him in his lap. But, as you can see, I sat him down and he didn't make a peep. To be honest, I don't think he even saw him. Had he looked a few inches to his right we may have had a different picture, but it turned out okay. I think Santa was a little jealous of Colton's belly.

Motherhood

Everyone asks me, "So how does it feel to be a mommy?" I have answered a lot of difficult questions in my life, and that one is the hardest to answer. Not because I don't know what to say, but to put it into words is the difficult part. I feel like no matter how articulate I am, I will miss something or not be able to explain it. How do you describe the greatest accomplishment of your life? Sure, if I climbed Mount Everest or completed a PhD program I could describe the journey, the training or the studying and the ending.....but this is different.

When Colton was born I felt like someone pulled out my heart and handed it to me. Late at night the first day he was born I was laying in the hospital bed holding him and his little hand reached up and touched my face. I looked at him and at that moment I felt as if an angel flew into the room and kissed us both. I don't think I have told anyone that because it sounds so corny, but honestly that's how it was. I thought, "This is it. This is what everyone talks about. This is what I have been waiting for my whole life."

The Beginning

I originally started this with every intention if updating the blog every month...however time got away from me and now Colton is almost 5 months old!



With the new year, I plan to keep up on it, not only for all of our friends and family to be able to see all the new accomplishments Colton makes and how much he grows, but so that Colton will have something to look back on as he gets older.