Colby is on the move!

For the last couple of weeks, Colby has been so close to crawling. Jason and I have been living in constant anticipation. We just knew he was going to crawl at any second. Last night, he finally did it!!! We are excited to see him on the move! The best part is that we were all here to see him do it for the first time and cheer him on. We are so very proud of Colby!

So close to crawling...

He is on the move, and we are in trouble now!

Nutritionist Follow Up

We went to see Colby's nutritionist, Keena, on Monday for his 6 week follow-up appointment. This was the moment of truth for us. Were all of the calorie boosters and super shakes helping him to put on weight? Keena's answer was a big YES! In fact, he is putting on a lot more weight than anticipated. His goal was to gain a max of 10 grams per day, and he averaged over the last 6 weeks a gain of 50 grams per day. Wow! I can honestly say that in the 15 months of Colby's life, no one has told us he is gaining too much weight. The good news, though, is that height for weight, he is right at 50%. This means he is also getting longer as he gets heavier. We definitely want him to remain proportional!!

Our new plan for Colby:

• Reduce number of calorie boosters added to foods each day
• Drink straight whole milk (we were occasionally adding pediasure)
• Supershakes a max of every other day (still use Carnation Instant Breakfast in these)
• Try to slowly eliminate the 2 bottles he drinks during the day and have him only use sippy cups (my concern is that without the bottles, he won't consume enough milk/calories)

Colby's goals:

• Gain 1/2 to 1 lb each month
• Maintain height to weight proportionality (we will modify plan if needed)

Overall, Keena was very pleased with Colby's growth. She, like Dr. Hudson, feels that this year is going to be a big catch up year for little C. It is great to have Keena as a resource. I love that I can email her anytime to help modify his plan, especially as he starts becoming more mobile and burning more calories. We will follow up with Keena in the nutrition clinic in 6 months. Hopefully by then, Colby will be a 23 lb 21 month old!

First Swim Lesson

The boys had their first swim lessons at Seastar on Saturday morning. I am happy to report that they both did very well and had lots of fun! I was a little nervous about how Brody would do getting in with the teacher instead of me or Jason, but he did great. He is such a big boy now. Colby of course loved splashing in the water, and he did surprisingly well with going under water for the first time. As suspected, though, he was completely exhausted by the end of the class. He could barely hold his little head up anymore. This just shows that swimming will definitely help strengthen his neck and core.

The Nashville Zoo

Last Friday, the weather was beautiful, so I decided to take the boys to the zoo. Brody has not been to the zoo in probably a year and a half, and Colby has never been. I have really been wanting to take them both, and I am glad I did. We had so much fun!! The only thing that would have made the day more perfect is if Jason had been with us. Brody said, "maybe next time daddy can come."

Colby seemed to love any animal he could actually see, but I think his favorites were the fish and turtles swimming around in the aquariums inside. He was so funny...he would just point and smile. Brody, on the other hand, spent the morning begging to see the elephants. He wanted to see them march like they do on Jungle Book. He was a little disappointed when we finally got to the elephants and they were just standing around doing nothing. Oh well, he quickly spotted the giraffes and decided he liked those better. We finished up the morning with a ride on the carousel. Both boys loved this! I tried to get some good pictures, but it is not easy to take pictures while trying to keep two boys safe on a moving carousel.

I am hoping that Jason and I can take the boys back to the zoo soon before the weather gets too cold. Brody has already been asking to go back to "that zoo place" and "look for the dinosaurs this time." Hmmmm, I think he is going to be a little disappointed to know that there will be no dinosaurs! Maybe I should plan a trip to the science museum instead.

15 Months Old

Colby is 15 months old!! Can you believe it? Our little baby is getting so big...literally this time! Check out his growth in the past 3 months:

Height at 12 months: 26 inches

Height at 15 months: 27 inches

1 inch gain!!

Weight at 12 months: 14 lb 15 oz

Weight at 15 months: 17 lb 8 oz

2 lb 9 oz gain!!

Colby is still not on the growth chart, but he made a huge jump back toward that line. At 12 months, he had kind of leveled out. Now, his height and weight are just right below the growth chart again. According to Colby's nutritionist, Keena, his weight for his length is at 34 percentile. Way to go Colby!!

Dr. Hudson was impressed with Colby after examining him. He was shocked when he listened to Colby's heart and didn't hear the crazy rumble (heart murmur) that he used to have. It is so amazing to me that his little heart now sounds normal, even though it is far, far from normal! As far as fine motor, language, and cognitive development, Dr. Hudson was very pleased with Colby's progress. He is right on track with other babies his age, which is always great to hear. Dr. Hudson did bring up concern about Colby's gross motor development, but he was thrilled to hear that we have already started Physical Therapy at Vanderbilt. He believes that this year is going to be a major "catch up" year for Colby in both growth and gross motor development.

Below are some of the new "tricks" that Colby has started in the last 3 months:

• He loves to "talk" on the phone. He puts anything and everything up to his ear and pretends to hold a conversation...remote controls, thermometer, combs, cars, and of course his favorites are Jason's cell phone and our home phone. He has accidentally called a few people. Sorry to those of you who got those strange phone calls!!
• When you ask him what a lion says, he will answer with the cutest and most vicious "roar." It makes me laugh every single time!
• He thinks giving people "high 5s" is the funniest thing ever.
• When we leave somewhere Colby will give a "chest pump" and then point. I guess it is called a chest pump? He takes his fist and hits his chest twice and then points to who he is saying bye to. This is so funny to see coming from a little bitty 15 month old.
• Brody always wants to sing "Jesus Loves Me" before going down for his nap. Every time we sing it now, Colby will put his arms up and show off his muscles when we sing the part, "but He is strong." Brody is proud of himself for teaching Colby to do this!
• He is finally starting to answer "yes" to some questions with a big nod. The first time he did this was yesterday when Brody asked him if he took a good nap. Brody was so excited to see a big nod and a smile.
• Colby loves to play with cars, balls, and remote controls...all boy for sure! He has lots of fun taking them out and putting them back into containers.
• He loves "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and tries to do the hand motions whenever we sing it.
• He loves to watch people, especially kids, and sometimes he will try to imitate what he sees them doing.
• Colby can "work" a room!! There is just something about him and his smile that just makes people pay attention to him wherever we go. It is so funny to see. One of Brody's preschool teachers, Ms. Angie, jokes that he is a little politician. I'm good with that as long as he is an honest politician!
• He still loves to dance! He is not picky about music, either. He dances and claps to any music that he hears.
• When he sees something he likes or wants, he will point to it and sometimes say "dat."
• Loves, loves, loves bath time!! He has so much fun splashing in the water.
  

Colby is starting to eat a larger variety of foods, or at least try them. Some of his favorite foods right now are hot dogs, peanut butter, avocados, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, beans, fruit snacks, and of course his "super shakes." He is also starting to eat more and more meats: chicken nuggets, baked chicken, and hamburger meat.

Just this week, Jason and I decided to make a change in his night time schedule. We are always nervous to change anything with Colby, especially when it deals with calorie intake and sleep, but we got brave and just went for it. Before, we would put Colby in his swing when Brody went to bed between 8:30 and 9. Once he was asleep, Jason would feed him a bottle while he was swinging and sleeping, normally around 9:30 or so. Then we would put him into his bed around 10. Colby would drink 5-6 oz during this feeding. It may not seem like that much for other kids, but for Colby, that was 100-120 additional calories each day! He has done well so far with his new schedule of going straight to bed between 8:30 and 9:00. We are hoping that he continues to do well and that the lack of this bottle does not slow his weight gain down. I guess we will see in a couple of weeks!

I really can't wait to see what the next few months will bring for sweet Colby. It is truly amazing to see God working in and through Colby each day. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. The pictures below show just how far he has come in 2 months. God is so good!

August 30, 2009 (9 short weeks ago)

November 5, 2009

Physical Therapy

Colby has now had three sessions of Physical Therapy, and he is doing great. Jason and I are scared to turn our backs, because we know he is going to crawl at any moment. He is extremely close! We are so proud of him and how far he has come.

This is a short video of Colby today at Physical Therapy. He works so hard while he is there, and he enjoys every second of it. Ms. Shirley always makes it fun for him, which I love! In the video, you will notice Colby doing the sign language for "more." Ms. Shirley showed him this last week, and he apparently remembered it today. He never ceases to amaze me with how smart he is.

Since Colby is doing so well and we are able to get out and about more, I have been wanting to get the boys involved in a fun activity. I had it narrowed down to a gymnastics class or swim lessons. After seeing the boys in our big jacuzzi tub the other day (see video below), we decided swim lessons are definitely the way to go!

I mentioned this to Colby's therapist today, and she said that swim lessons would be very good for him. Water exercise is a great way to build strength and endurance. I love that this will provide him another way to get stronger and have fun while doing it.

The boys will start their swim lessons on Saturday, and I can't wait!

Halloween Night

Buzz Lightyear

Sheriff Woody

Max, Brody, and Ethan ready to trick or treat

Cousins Emilee and Kylee

Me, Cecili, and Marye

Mary Grace, Carleigh, Carolyne, Colby, Brody, and Tucker

The kids posing on our steps after trick or treating has become a tradition. It is so fun to see how much they have grown each year. Unfortunately, Brody, Colby, and Tucker had already taken off their costumes.

Our two big boys after a long night of fun, food, friends, and candy

Halloween Week Fun

Story Hour at the Library

Now that we are off of "house arrest" and trying to be "normal," I thought it would be fun to start going to the Library for story hour. This week, they had a special Halloween story time, and Brody and Colby both really enjoyed it. We are really looking forward to making this an every Wednesday event.

Colby really looks up to his big brother!

I love how much they love each other.

Colby, Max, and Brody enjoying their Halloween Treat from the Librarians.

Brody's Preschool Halloween Party

On Thursday, Colby and I joined Brody at school for his Halloween Party. I was really excited to finally meet some of Brody's friends. On the way to school that day, he said, "I really like my new friends." So sweet!

Enjoying pizza, fruit, and cookies...yummy!

Max, Max, Max

Brody and Ms. Angie

Brody and Ms. Lori

Brody and his new little friend, Ava. We have heard a lot about Ava! Too cute!

Carving Pumpkins

Jason and Brody did a great job with the pumpkins this year. Brody lost interest with carving, but he had a lot of fun "drawing" on the pumpkins with markers. Colby and I had fun playing and watching them work.

Brody took a break from the pumpkins to "wash" the car. He is such a great helper!