So much to catch up on!

Oh where to start?!? It's been a crazy train since Thanksgiving with another trip out to Madison, finishing up holiday shopping and preparing for our trip to Elmira. We're exhausted!

First a stop over at Trish and Jon's on our way to NY for Christmas. (We stopped there on the way back too - nice break in the home stretch). The babies don't actually play together, just near each other for now. We're all fine with waiting on the games of tag that will ultimately ensue.

The girls are taking a break from trying to give Colin a kiss

The day after arriving in Elmira we celebrated Colin's 1 year birthday! (Actual DOB is 12/23/08) Colin wasn't too sure what was going on, but he loved the balloons and thought it was great fun to have a room full of people singing to him. He clapped more than anyone at the end :) Lots of our NY family took time out of their busy holiday schedules to be with us - thanks!

The bakery made Colin his own cake - yummy!

Favoritest birthday present

The almost-week between Colin's party and Christmas was busy and fast. We finished up shopping and spent time with the family, both at the house and the restaurant. The large group gathering for the Flores family is Christmas eve. (Clam chowder, sausage and tamales - you wouldn't think these go together but it was awesome!) Christmas morning was wonderful, albeit early with Colin waking 2 hours earlier than usual - imagine how early it will be when he knows Santa is coming!

Colin "helps" cousin Enrique open his present

Colin and Aledia plan with his new xylophone

We rounded out the trip with a surprise 30th birthday party for Juan's brother Carlos thrown by his fiancee Krissy. (And he was surprised)

We had Colin up waaay past his bedtime so he could at least see everyone for the 1st 1/2 of the party. He's very sleepy but enjoys playing with the Red Sox-friendly side of the family up there.

The best baby hair ever Carlos!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving with our new family (and marking Colin's 11th month!). We spent the day at the Seymour's with the traditional ton-o-food, football and laughing babies. 

Fried turkey is quickly becoming a family favorite

Watching football with daddy

After turkey play-time

Home with Daddy

After postponing as long as I could, I finally had to travel to St. Charles, IL (just outside of Chicago) for a week of mandatory training. Colin stayed at home in Mass with Juan. This was my first time being away from Colin overnight and it was very, very hard. The boys seemed to have a good time though and I received several pictures every day from them.

The boys go for a haircut

Morning Mommy

10 Months Old!!

Here's our wonderfully happy big 10 month old boy at the park enjoying probably the last nice day in Wisconsin. (The outfit was a special request from daddy - not my fault.)

The Best and Worst in People

I was all set to use this page as an outlet for my horrible, horrible day this week. I have been fortunate enough since back at work and traveling to not have a complete meltdown ...until now. However, time has passed and it's not as raw and I don't feel the need to bore everyone with the details. Instead there's one thing I'd like to pick out from that day as it's an interesting comparison to an event later in the week.

One of the many things that went wrong last Monday was my seatmate on the trip from Mass to WI. (No, not Colin. He was suggly and laughing most of that trip.) I was asked by the flight attendant to sit in the aisle seat even though I held a ticket for the window. Apparently on this particular airline, the infant life vest is specifically under aisle seats. When the man with the aisle ticket arrived, the flight attendant asked him to switch so that I could reach the baby's life vest in the case of an emergency. The man, and I use the term loosely, actually whined "but I won't be able to reach my laptop in the overhead". Are you kidding me? Your laptop? Did you not hear that the LIFE VEST for a BABY was the rationale here? ...is what I wanted to say. I give credit to the flight attendant. She was calm and simply said to hit the call button and she would come and get it for him when he needed it, told him to take his seat and walked away.

Fast forward a few days and my rental car won't start for the 2nd time that week. (the 1st time being the aforementioned horrible Monday.) I didn't want a jump as I was no longer comfortable driving the car and Avis said they'd have another one brought to my hotel. Well it's after 8 pm when the tow truck arrived with the car, it was after Colin's bedtime and it was pouring out. The man who brought the new car saw me struggling with the baby wrapped up in a blanket and insisted on doing everything for me. He transferred all of my personal items from the old car to the new one and even parked the new car for me. He firmly but politely refused the tip I tried to give him.

This is the type of man I want to raise Colin to be. If he's a tow truck driver that's fine - as long as he's a good man.

Trick or Treat

We were very happy with the family pictures that we did at JCPenney's a few months ago and decided to go back there for Baby's 1st Halloween pictures. Some of our favorites below ... We call the 1st one his "old man face".

Our little bumble bee won't be trick-or-treating this year but we're planning to attend an event at the local zoo on 11/1 that is especially for kids. We'll have some pictures and video of that as well I am sure.

Colin Crawling :)

Colin's baby teeth

Happy Birthday Daddy!

With Jenn's considerable help, Colin welcomed Juan back to Madison in style. In addition to the sign and paper party hat in the picture, they made Juan a paper plate sun made out of Colin's hand and foot construction paper tracings. Very cute :)

Big Boy Hair Cut

A few weeks ago we took Colin to a men's hair shop out in Madison - his hair was way down over his ears! He actually did really well with the cutting. What he hated was having his head held still by mommy. We have the whole event on video - very cute.

You're going to do what to my head?!?!

Just a little off the sides please.

Visiting Megs

Colin and I hopped the short flight to Detroit from Madison this past weekend to visit my best friend Meaghan and her family. Unfortunately Juan had to stay in Columbus to work through some project issues.

Colin had a good time, with some moments of extreme fussiness. I chalk that up to sleeping in a different place and meeting new people. We went on a nice long walk and Colin played in the grass. (aka putting as much grass into his mouth as he could). Sunday was Colin's 8 month birthday and he celebrated by standing and holding on to the coffee table. Megs fed us well and I very much enjoyed the relaxation. My favorite pictures from Meg's camera :

No Such Thing as Too Many Pictures!

Madison was hot and muggy this weekend! We had thunder and lightning storms all day Saturday so there wasn't much chance of going to the playground or for a walk. Instead our indoor activity was to get our pictures formally done as a family. We have some nice ones ordered of the 3 of us, but predictably the best are of Colin. Case in point -

Check out the big boy wearing shoes for the 1st time! Funny enough it was actually hard to get our usually laughing baby to smile much. He was too interested in checking out the equipment and lights.

On Friday, Juan and I had a special treat from Colin (helped considerably by Jenn!) As an early anniversary present, they had decorated pictures of Colin with his hand and foot prints and construction paper tracings. They hung them all up so that I would see them when I got home. So sweet!

Celebrating 7 months

Colin is 7 months old now and continues to grow big and strong. He laughs LOTS, loves to be sung to and has a lot of pre-crawling squirminess on his belly. His 2 front (bottom) teeth are adorable and we call him "Chompers". Colin has come with me to a couple of work dinners and is adored by the team.

Colin's nanny, Jenn, has taken several really good pictures of Colin -

Colin and I can't wait to head home next week to Mass. It's our first time flying without Juan, so wish us luck!

Off to a good start

This week was Roberta and Colin's first week alone in Madison as Juan started on his new project in Columbus, OH. This was also Colin's first week with his nanny. She's doing a great job with Colin and keeps him entertained throughout the day. She took this video of Colin and it's our favorite.

Making Madison "Homey"

After a nice vacation we're back in Madison. I think we are all settling in a bit more, but we still miss all of the "extras" back home (swing, play mat, toys, etc.) How did our parents do without all of these things!?!?! So even though it'll be a bit difficult to store over weekends we travel home, we did end up getting a stationary jumper for Colin. He's high energy these days and loves it, as you can see in this picture.

How we're doing

Juan, Colin and I flew to Madison 2 weeks ago now and we must have passed on our "good traveler" gene because Colin did great. He slept most of the way on both legs of the flight over and fussed very little. However, I can already tell that we'll never make it to 2 years old with him on my lap ...he's a big boy and he'll need his own seat sooner rather than later. And with all of the stuff we had, I am a little nervous about making the trip without Juan in the future.

We're staying at a Homewood Suites hotel while in Madison which is like a small 1-bedroom apartment with kitchen (minus an oven), living room and separate bedroom. It's small (very!) but has more of a home-like feel than a regular hotel room. The first night wasn't too great with Colin waking up several times (he had been sleeping through the night in Mass). The next few sleeping nights were better though and he's now only getting up 1 time.

My first day back at work was quite difficult. It was hard to leave Colin that first Monday morning as we haven't been apart for more than a couple of hours since he was born. He was with his daddy though which comforts me and each day has been a little easier. I often wonder if we've made the right choice, but he seems happy and is doing better than I am with the change. He's awfully glad to see me when I get home though! The folks at work have also been very supportive, Accenture and client both.

Juan and I interviewed 4 qualified, very sweet women to be Colin's nanny, adding to this trip’s craziness. It was a tough choice and will certainly be another big transition point for us all.

We had a nice family weekend here in Madison and celebrated Juan's first father's day. This really is a lovely city, as you may expect near a large Midwest university, and the weather cooperated. We visited a Mexican restaurant for breakfast (outdoors) and checked out the farmer's market on the capital building common. Colin especially liked getting out of the stroller and playing on a blanket in the shaded grass.

The trip home was not nearly as calm as the trip out. Our flight was delayed to the point where we missed our connection in Detroit back to Boston. In addition, the storm which had caused the delays also knocked out several power grids such that our hotel, and all surrounding hotels, were without power. But at midnight, we didn't care and just wanted to sleep!

We have a week of vacation now and are enjoying the chance to recuperate after these first 2 weeks. At the end of the week we head to Elmira for the 4th and then back to Madison. We'll have pictures soon ...we only brought a disposable and not the nice digital so we have to wait until the pictures are developed. Old school :)

What a big boy!

I can't believe Colin is almost 6 months old! He's doing so many new and wonderful things every day.

Colin is getting pretty good at sitting on his own as you can see here. We still have to stay very close. (I cropped myself out of the picture) He still gets excited an topples back. He's our weeble-wobble.

Colin also had a move this week to his own room at night. The first night ...he slept through the whole night!! (8:30 pm to 6 am). It didn't go quite as well the 2nd night, but still much better than feared and we're sleeping much better too. 

The fateful day has come

After 6 truly wonderful months home with Colin, I will be returning to work. To add a little extra twist, I will be traveling to Madison for a project with the University of Wisconsin. This work is in Higher Ed (which I love) and on a current version of the software I have been implementing for years, but it is with 90% sadness and 10% excitement that I go. So these last few weeks are busy with preparations ...the biggest one being finding a care giver for Colin. I'll likely stay out there for a month or more at a time with the baby (vs. coming home every weekend like we do on every other project). Juan will join us on the weekends. Wish us luck!!

Playoffs!?!?! Playoffs!?!?

Colin and I braved the chill a few weeks ago to see some of Sydney's softball game.  Here she is quick-stepping it to 1st on a walk. 

Colin's Baptism

Saturday the 16th was Colin's baptism. Family and friends from all over (Detroit, Elmira, Austin) came in to celebrate with us. It was especially nice that he was baptized at St. Mary's in Hanover, where Juan and I were married. (Why it wasn't our church here in Ashland is a long story.) And once again my parents "donated" their beautiful and spacious house to help us host. A few pictures from the event and party afterwards ...

We really liked Father Chris who officiated the ceremony. Colin, however, wasn't a fan of the holy water. He screamed as soon as he was a little wet, causing Father to exclaim "be gone demons!". 

Colin was fine only a few minutes after the baptism as we waited for the other 6 babies to be baptized. Here he is looking adorable in his christening gown. 

Here is baby Colin with his Godmother (my sister Erin) and his Godfather (my brother-in-law Carlos). The blue pacifier makes the outfit, don't you think?

Our Flores family. Colin was a little too fussy to be in the picture ...apparently the demons weren't gone yet :)

Grandpa Seymour arranges games and activities for all children old enough to walk. 

We had absolutely beautiful weather and everyone enjoyed the outdoors. We'll have a very nice story to share with Colin when he is older.

Mother's Day

My first mother's day was very nice. Juan and Colin took me to brunch in the morning and Colin got lots of "daddy time" so I could rest and catch up on a few things. Colin also took the opportunity on Sunday to learn how to yell. He's not crying or upset ....just likes to make loud noises. I am not sure how I feel about this particular development point.

Although technically a belated birthday celebration, an outing Saturday made for a nice weekend too. Juan and I went out for the first time without Colin. We went to a movie together - our absolutely favorite thing to do pre-baby - and my mom stayed with Colin. We saw Star Trek and went for BBQ. We were a little nervous (and when I say "we", I mean "I") but definitely enjoyed our time alone. 

4 Months!!

We're a little late on this post (Colin turned 4 months on 4/23) since we wanted to wait until Juan was back from a trip to Chicago. As you can see, he continues to grow on daddy's chest. No sports center this time :)

Some other 4 month pics ...

Happy Birthday Tricia!

We held Trish's 30th birthday gathering (yes, I am broadcasting your age!) Saturday night at a family-friendly pub in Worcester. We had our own little private room so that the plethora of babies which follow us now wherever we go were secluded :) Happy Birthday - Welcome to my decade!

Family and friends at Tweed's Pub

Yes, no matter how old you are we still sing Happy Birthday

Sydney gave her mom a beautiful toast

Our mom doesn't look old enough to have 2 children over 30!

The traditional game of honoree-jeopardy. Sydney apparently knew her mom best!

Congratulations!

Baby Brother Billy and his wonderful girlfriend Avanti Kulkarni are engaged! We love Avanti and are very, very happy for them.

Older picture of the 2 of them (from Trish's wedding) but very sweet.

Easter 2009

We celebrated our first Easter with Colin in style. He got a really cute new outfit (I love vests on baby boys I've decided), we went to church and we had dinner at sister Tricia's and Jon's. Church went ok ...he was a little cranky and we had to make use of the "the room". You know ..the one at the back of the church with a door to close and the mass piped in with all the other cranky babies. He was actually fine once we was up and moving. 

As usual, the pictures are all of babies. I promise to get a couple of adults (e.g. the friends and family of the people actually reading this blog!) in the next event. 

Colin in his Easter outfit with his basket from the Easter bunny. The candy actually went to daddy this year though as he deserved a treat after giving sweets up for lent. Colin liked his toys and basket though!

Happy Ella

They were even cuter with their Easter bonnets :)

Thanks for hosting Tricia and Jon

Opening Day 2009

Given who Colin's parents are, this is entirely predictable. But c'mon ... you know you would be disappointed if we didn't showcase!

This picture is actually pretty old. Colin is about 8 weeks old here but you can see some of his first smiles.

The NYY is older too - maybe @ 10 weeks.

Even Ciara got in on the team paraphernalia when visiting and needed a chance of clothes. (All we have in size 18 - 24 months is team gear!)