holiday photos

Here's the latest and greatest from the fabulous Jenn Cress.

Who Goes there?

Merry Christmas!

Holiday Family Photos

Here's the latest and greatest from the fabulous Jenn Cress.

Thanksistmas!

So, we realize its not Thanksgiving yet, but we are sharing our holiday photos so were mushing Thanksgiving an dChristmas into one holiday post. I am sure there will be more on either, featuring photos from Thanksgiving in Milwaukee and Christmas in Michigan, but today we're sharing a bit of what is to come.

We're so very thankful for our family, our uber-amazing photographer, Jenn Cress and our happy healthy baby boy!

This year's Christmas card looks like this....
Drum roll please for the cutest holiday picture of Collin EVER.
and here's the inside of the card.

Aren't you super excited to get one?

Half birthday!

Today is Collin's half birthday. A whole six months has passed already and we are getting to know all about Collin's personal preferences and he's hitting all kinds of milestones left and right.
Now that Collin is 6 months he is practicing sitting up, which he can do by himself when he wants to, but most of the time prefers to just lay back and lean against whomever is sitting behind him.

He has also moved on to bigger and better foods. We stopped feeding him cereal, as most research I read suggests its not really necessary and now he's on to pears (last week) and sweet potatoes (this week). Sadly, this has made for some challenges with his digestive system and Collin turns all different shades of purple trying to poop. We hope that his system adjust soon so that he can enjoy his fruits and veggies. While he's eating sweet potatoes he loves it. He gets very excited when we get out the bowl for his food and anxious anticipates each bite, but as it passes through his little system he tries hard and hard to make for a smooth transition on its way out by pushing pushing pushing (and turning purple along the way).

Collin also has become increasingly amazed by Samson. He loves to watch him and cracks up hysterically when he runs up and down the stairs. They are two of a kind when it comes to putting things in their mouths(Collin's toys or Samson's toys respectively) and they both love love love our attention. We think they are pretty cute together too so we let them have their way and enjoy each others' company.

Collin is such a happy baby, and laughs at so many things now in his environment. He cracks up when we make funny faces and tries his hardest to respond with all types of sounds. Once in awhile it will coincidentally sound like a word. The other day I laid him on our bed and his little squeaks sounded like "okay". Its fun getting to hear his little voice an imagine how he'll sound when he really starts talking.





We feel incredibly blessed that he is such a happy, healthy and active baby. Before we know it he'll be crawling, so we are enjoying his stationary time while we can.

Happy 6-Months Birthday Collin!
We love you tons!

People of Collin

Its so difficult for us to believe Collin is 6 months old today. A whole half year. I know I say this every post, but it really is amazing how fast they grow. We're quietly becoming parents of a bright, active, smart little boy.
Now that he's a little older, we take Collin with us to more places, like for instance, the mall. Today we did some Christmas shopping and we were accosted by yet again another 'Minnesota Nice' couple sharing their stories. Its so weird to me that having a baby in a stroller instantly raises a flag that says:

"Please tell me your life experience with babies, and if you currently have a son/grandson/daughter/grand-daughter please expect that we'll become instant friends and you can tell me your worries/joys and ask questions! I love it!"

Its sort of like "People of Walmart", but instead People of Collin.
Seriously.
For those of you who don't know about people of walmart, please let me enlighten you. It's just like that bad accident you can't seem to quit staring at. Clink on the hyperlink. I dare you.

Case in point, today we are strolling along in Sears as Drew picks out his Christmas present. He picked out this but its beside the point in this story. So he's paying and Collin and I are perusing the aisles, as usual. We turn a corner, and BAM, there is miss Minnesota grandma. She approaches me and our conversation goes like this:
Minnesota Grandma: how old is he?
Me: 6 months today.
Minnesota Grandma: look at those eyes! I have a new grand-daughter, Ashley she's 1 week.
Me: oh.
Minnesota Grandma: I keep telling Stephanie that it will get easier. You know, just this morning she called me and said, "Mom, the baby's asleep, can I go to the kitchen?", can you believe that? I mean its not like that baby is going to crawl out of the bassinet. So I said, yes, go. The she says,"but Mom, are you sure?" I said, of course!
Me: uh huh.
Minnesota Grandma: you know, these things just don't come with user-manuals.
Me: nope they don't.
(stage right: Minnesota Grandpa enters the scene).
Minnesota Grandma: oh honey! Look, he's just 6 months today! I was telling her about Ashley and Stephanie.
Minnesota Grandpa: appropriately silent.
Me: well have a nice Thanksgiving.
Minnesota Grandma: Good to see you, have a great Christmas with that little boy.

End Scene.

Really? Doesn't this seem just a little too "I already know you"? I mean, poor Stephanie has no idea all of Sears is aware of her paranoia and lack of confidence as a new parent, and apparently, I now know her and her daughter Ashley on a first name basis. The thing in this conversation that really threw me was the "Good to see you", as in, my day would have been less pleasant if I hadn't because I already know you.

So weird.

Finally Fall!

Its November now, and so far, this autumn season has been anything but 'usual'. We had snow in October, and now warm beautiful weather in Mid-November. Ts and this past week we reached the 60s and this weekend was perfect fall weather, sunny and 50-something. So, to celebrate, Drew took Samson and Collin for a walk. We wanted Collin's little hands to stay warm, as well as his head, so we bundled them up. Here are some photos of him all ready to go. Thanks to grandma and grandpa Wackerle for all of the stuff he's wearing for the walk.

check out my super-cute boots.

Meanwhile, while we are trapped inside when its far too cold Collin loves to jump in his Jumperoo. Here he is having a blast. I've also posted a video, but I can't figure out how to rotate it, so its sideways.

Here's what all the fun's about:

Collin's personality is really coming out more and more everyday. He's so vocal and loves to laugh. We caught a little video of him cracking up when Drew was kissing him. We love his little laugh and smile. I could watch this video all day, and every time it would make me smile.

Otherwise, our lives are filled with drool, drool, rice cereal, spit up and more drool. Did I mention he's teething? Were just trying to tread water this week with the fall to-do list getting longer and longer and our free time becoming less and less, so sorry for the less than satisfying post- we hope to only amuse you with videos. Once I get back up to speed I'll starting posting something thoughts with more content and less ridiculous regurgitation of our week :)

Happy Halloween!

Collin's first Halloween was filled with excitement as grandma and papa Wackerle came all the way from Michigan to visit, and Uncle Chris and Aunt Amy stopped by to see him too.
My parents arrived on Thursday afternoon and quickly scooped up Collin. There was lots of "he's gotten so big", "He's growing so fast". Its funny how people who don't see him everyday see his growth spurts so much more readily than we do. We see him grow, it just doesn't seem as alarming to us :)

For Halloween we dressed Collin up as a monkey, taking after his daddy's monkey-like climbing skills. His costume was super soft and adorable, it was hard to take it off. He just was so happy to just wear it around all day. We also got a shirt that says "my first boo" and a Halloween bib too. My guess is every holiday from here on out will have its own special attire.



One of the first things my parents did with Collin was shower him with gifts. It was like Christmas. Collin got, a sweater, adorable fleece-lined jeans, a fleece hat, mittens and boots, a halloween book and this toy, which is actually super cool. He loves to watch it go and I imagine when he starts crawling he'll be chasing it.
It didn't take long for Collin to warm up to them, and by the time I got home from work Collin's papa had him cracking up. Collin seems to think that my dad is completely hillarious and every time he smiled and made faces at him he would start laugh. We found this pretty funny too.

While they were here, Collin's nap schedule went out the window. At first I tried to get him to take his naps in his crib, but it became a futile attempt. He wasn't sleeping long, so I gave in and let my mom hold him for nap time. She was quick to take on the task and cuddled with him in his rocker. At least when he slept in her arms he had a decent nap. Its unfortunate for our nanny though, who come Monday, will probably wonder why he doesn't want to sleep in the crib.
While they were here we also watching the MSU-MN game, with my parents rooting for MSU and Drew and I supporting Minnesota. It was a good game, Minnesota pulled out with the win, so our Halloween trick-or-treaters were amused with the revelry of college football.
This year was also the first year we really cared about when the trick or treaters would be coming to our door. Oh, how babies change perspective. I was worried that every time the doorbell rang Collin would wake up, so we shut down or candy service at 8 p.m. sorry Roseville trick or treaters who were hoping for a late night stop at our house :(
Collin had a great time with his grandparents, especially since he was spoiled so much. He hung out with papa, played with grandma and overall had a fantastic time.

On a separate, but related note, Collin has officially started teething in a serious way. He's chewing on everything and we are just waiting for a little tooth to pop through. Here he is chewing on one of his teething rings. He generally likes our fingers best, but this ring is a close second.

Overall it was a very busy weekend, but we had a great time catching up with our family. It makes me miss them a ton, but I'm glad they came to see us, even if it is a little bittersweet when they leave.