Coltons first fish

Brian and Justin had a successful day at the spillway and Colton can't wait to go. What is the limit???

so funny

Colton has really been laughing lately, he loves it when you play with his feet and belly. Listen to this...but excuse all my noises!

do I have something on my face?

I found this picture today on the camera...Laura must have taken it. You gotta love that face!

don't we look cute!

Rylee came up this weekend and brought Colton a matching outfit...we will have to show this to them if they ever date when they get older!

Colton's fun

Colton sure is enjoying his jumperoo now that he fits in it, as well as his exersucer (a Christmas present from Mimi and G-pa...thanks!). He enjoys it so much it just wears him out!

back to blogging

I feel like I haven't updated in a while!! It's been non-stop since Thanksgiving...and what a wonderful holiday we had! We flew into Tampa Thanksgiving morning and drove over to Orlando to see my family. My aunt as usual put together a wonderful day with PLENTY of food. Thanks to Janet's neighbor, Colton was able to borrow an exersaucer and swing so that kept him entertained for a little...he was pretty worn out from the traveling!

The next day we headed back over to Homosassa with my parents and brother to see Justin's family. We spent time on the boat seeing the manatee's and the boys spent Saturday fishing for trout. We had two more days of PLENTY of wonderful food...what a great time we had and great to be able to see both family's in one state. We truly have so much to be thankful for!

happy birthday Rylee!

Colton and I headed down to Jackson this past weekend to celebrate Rylee's 1st birthday. As you can see she was as cute as ever in her pink tutu, tights and high top converse sneakers! It's so hard to believe that one year has already passed. Brian and Courtney hosted a great party and we had a fun time!

16 weeks

Colton turned 16 weeks on Thursday. He has been such an active little baby! He is constantly rolling over and playing on his belly. He tries so hard to move once he is on his belly, but just can't quite figure it out. It won't be long until he will be crawling all over the place! Although watching him grow and achieving milestones is fun, I sometimes miss when he was just a few weeks old and so tiny...and he stayed in one place! He started eating vegetables at lunch last week, and Laura (our babysitter) says he has been doing well. Colton has been doing better with his sleeping, sometimes he can sleep through the night, otherwise he is up somewhere between 3 and 4 to eat and then back to sleep until about 8 or 9! The last time I weighed him he was up to 16 lbs!! His legs are long, he will soon be out of 6 month pants. These past 16 weeks have been so much fun and absolutely amazing! We are so in love with our little Colton!

fun with rylee

Brian, Courtney, and Rylee came up to visit the other weekend. The two kids had fun together, the dad's went hunting and the mom's did lots of shopping! Here are some pics from the weekend.

ready to jump!

I pulled Colton's jumper out of the closet this weekend and decided to put it together because he looked like he was about the same age as the girl on the box.


Well it doesn't look that he is tall enough just yet, oh well, he likes to sit in it and play with the toys.

Hotty Toddy!!

Saturday we headed to the Grove for our first football game of the season. The weather was beatiful and the rebels won!! Colton enjoyed his first game and all the sights of the grove. Thanks Bess and Mac for the cute camo overalls.

Thanks Ms. Vickie!!

October 20 was my first day back to work, and thanks to Justin's mom it wasn't that bad. Ms. Vickie came and stayed with Colton for the first week, and she was a HUGE help. She cooked, helped around the house and best of all, loved on Colton! She also interviewed ladies to sit for Colton at home while I'm at work. We are so blessed that we have found Laura, she is watching Colton during the day so that he can stay home and not have to go to daycare! This past week Laura could not came everyday since she was finishing up with another job. Thankfully Justin, Rachael and Curtis were able to move their schedules around to keep Colton. Thank you so much for all of your help!!!!


For those of you who didn't know, I have taken a new job, Friday was my last day at Baptist. I will be working now in Marks which is only 20 minutes from home and the new position is less hours so I can spend more time with Colton. I start in Marks on Monday!

Rain, rain go away!!

This is how I found Bella the other day, seeking shelter in the fire pit! She wanted to be out of the rain so bad, but still close to the door.

Boo

Thanks aunt Claire for the cute ghost outfit.

Happy Birthday Janet!

Happy birthday aunt Janet, Colton, Justin and I hope you had a great day!! Can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving.

New pics

So it's my last week at home with Colton, back to work on Monday. Justin's mom is coming up next week to help transition into our work/school/day care schedule. Colton is an absolute joy!! He has really become a happy baby, smiling whenever someone is smiling at him. Last week he started taking some formula and rice. He did great with the rice and has no trouble taking it from the spoon. He still is not sleeping through the night just yet. He goes 5 hours, eats, sleeps 2.5-3 hours, eats, then sleeps for another 2.5-3 hours. I have really enjoyed these last 12 weeks.

Trip to Houston

Justin, Colton and I made a quick trip to Houston this weekend for a wedding. Although the weekend flew by, we had a great time. Colton met his great grandma Mary and his Aunt Keri. Thanks for the babysitting, we had such a wonderful time!!

Caught ya!

Justin snapped this pic while Colton and I were catching a cat nap...traveling is hard to do!!

10 weeks

Colton turned 10 weeks yesterday. At his checkup last week he weighed 12 pounds (which is what Justin weighed at 1 month!!) and was 24 inches. He did well with his shots, which was a relief for me since I went to the doctor without Justin and knew that we would be flying home the next day. I was so worried that he would break out in a fever and would be miserable on the plane, thank goodness that was not the case! The older Colton gets the closer we are getting to me going back to work. I am going back on the 20th and I am dreading it!! I have been having so much fun at home with Colton.

Isn't this the cutest picture of Justin and Colton!! I just love it :)

Back from Florida again

For those of you who don't know, my grandmother passed away last Wednesday peacefully at home. Colton and I left last Friday to head back down for Florida for a memorial service on Friday. It was a beautiful service and tribute to my Grandmother. Colton did great with traveling and at the service.

This was what Colton did during and after the service.

This table was at the front of the church. It had a picture of our family, and a picture of my grandparents. It also had my grandmother's charm bracelet and paper doll necklace, many cards that she had saved over the years, her favorite perfume, and my favorite...her name tag that said 'Jennifer Armstrong's grandmother' from a parent's weekend swim meet at Delta State. I'm so thankful that Colton and I were able to make it home 3 weeks before she passed. She was able to meet and hold Colton, which is a memory I will cherish forever and I look forward to showing Colton those photos and telling him how wonderful his great grandmother was!

8 Weeks

Not our best picture, this was after a long day of errands, hence the pacifier. We go to the doctor next week for our 2 month check up and shots :(

Sweet Baby Sounds

So sweet!!

Happy Baby!!

We have turned a corner this past week! Colton has been such a happy baby and has quit fussing (for the most part that is).



We still get a little fussy around feeding time. He typically goes 3 hours between feedings in the morning and afternoon, but starting in the late afternoon/early evening he can only make it 2 hours. Justin and I have just been enjoying all the smiles and sweet baby sounds instead of crying!

7 Weeks

Colton is now 7 weeks, it it continues to amaze me how fast time is flying by!! Colton is sleeping better now, he has made it 7 hours twice now between feedings at night. He is also doing better with taking naps which has alowed mom to get some work around the house.



He absolutely loves to be outside!! The other evening we sat outside while dad hit golf balls, Colton had the best time being outside watching dad and the dogs. He still is smiling and cooing, but don't get me wrong he still does his fare share of crying!!

6 weeks

Colton is 6 weeks today! It's amazing how fast time has gone by. He has changed so much from just last week, he now is smiling and making all kinds of noises, I'm so amazed with him each day. He tends to be fussy now and then about 1 hour after he eats. I think it may be some reflux since he arches his back and then will spit up, this usually happens about 2-3 times a day. Of course it had to happen today when I went for my 6 week check-up at the doctor. I had to take him with me since Justin had class. Colton spent the entire appointment in my lap, thank goodness I have an understanding doctor!

Back from Florida

For those of you that don't know, I went home to Florida to visit with my family last week. My grandmother has been ill and I was fortunate to fly home with Colton to see everyone.

My grandmother was so excited to see Colton, and enjoyed holding him. I'm so thankful we were able to make it to Florida. A huge thanks to Justin's parents who were helped me down there, flying with a five week old was challenging and I would have never been able to do it without them!

Look at those feet!

We thought Colton's feet were big for his size, that was until we compared them to daddy's size 15 feet. Colton's foot is just about the size of Justin's big toe. We did compare Colton and Rylee's feet, and Rylee (who is 9 months old) just barely had Colton beat. Do we have a future Michael Phelps on our hands??

Catch up

Well we are back on our own again, Justin's mom left last week. She was such a HUGE help and we really enjoyed her stay. She was also a great babysitter while Justin and I went out to dinner for the first time without Colton. Thanks again Vickie!

This past Firday was our first test with going out of town with Colton. We went down to Jackson to visit Courtney, Brian ans Rylee. The 2 hour drive down was fine, but not too long after we got there I had a clogged milk duct and I think Colton decided to go through a growth spurt. He was so hungry and I was not helping him with not being able to nurse. So after laying on a heating pad for nearly the entire night, help from Justin and Courtney and a call to my lactation specialist (Kristen!!) we had things under control. He is dong better now, but he sure will scream when he is hungry!! (which seems to be often)

Colton continues to change everyday. Last week at the doctor he had gained a whole pound in one week. As of last Monday he weighs 8.12 and his doctor says he is doing great!

2 Weeks!

Colton was two weeks on Thursday. He has been more alert during the day and enjoys being on his play mat while listening to music and watching the lights. He is pretty strong as well, holding his head up for a good length of time.

Justin's mom came in on Thursday and has been a big help with Colton and around the house. Tonight Justin and I will be heading to Oxford for dinner while Colton stays at home! We head to the doctor on Monday for our two week check-up, can't wait to see how much Colton has grown.

We finally have a blog!

I have finally started a blog, this should be much easier to keep all of our family and frinds updated on the Whitaker family.

We have survived our first day without g'ma and g'pa Armstrong. They were such a big help this past week. My mom went to Oxford with me each day to check Colton's jaundice, she cooked/cleaned/did laundry and loved on Colton. My dad helped Justin work on the shed in the back yard in 100+ heat. It was great to have them here, it stinks that we live 10 hours away, hopefully we will be seeing more of the family now that Colton is here.



It's amazing to look back at pictures from just 12 days ago to see just how much Colton has changed. He is doing well on a feeding schedule and makes it about 3 1/2 hours between feedings in the evening. Justin's mom is coming this Thursday and staying through Justin's birthday on the 12th. We are looking foward to her arrival this week!