Swinging!

Colin and I went to the playground today! It was such a gorgeous day. We met some other moms there and went for a walk, and then tried out the swings. Of course he loved every minute of it.

His first playground-swinging experience!

Checking out the other kids, to see how it's done.

Here he goes!...

Hippity Hoppity...

Easter's on it's way!
We got a huge package in the mail today from Grandma Donna, Grandpa Joe and Uncle Chris. It was filled with Easter goodies...not only for Colin, but Kevin and I scored some awesome stuff too!
Thanks so much!

Bunny Bowling! How fun!

Believe it or not, this is Colin's first time seeing bubbles (although I think the Easter Bunny is bringing him some too). He loved them!

Daddy is home!

Finally.

She's a peach.

Apparently this is what Lucy does when she thinks no one is watching.

The bedtime routine.

Colin has been on a great little bedtime routine for a while now. It's pretty standard...we play after dinner, then go upstairs for a bath (every other night), brush our teeth, get jammies on, read books, have a bottle and say prayers. Then it's off to dreamland.

I'm blogging about the "reading books" part of our routine. At some point, Colin has decided that we read from six of his bedtime books. And only these six. If any books are added to this bedtime-book-rotation, he won't let me read them. I know this because I went out and bought a few new ones, or tried to add ones that he already has (just because I thought maybe he would appreciate a little variety) and he literally pushes them away.

So, his cherished bedtime books sit in a pile by the rocking chair, just waiting to be read every night. I can recite them totally by heart. I can predict what parts make him smile, and what parts he will point to. Frankly I'm a tad sick of reading the same six books, but if this is the perfect ending to his little day, then it's mine too.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May your heart be warm and happy

With the lilt of Irish laughter

Every day in every way

And forever and ever after.

Colin Patrick's first St. Patrick's Day!

I may not be Irish, but I sure am one lucky girl.

Oh, and today is an extra special day because it's Grandma Millie's birthday too!

Colin and Great Grandma Millie, August 2009.

Did you know...

...that Columbia is the capital of South Carolina? Yeah, we really didn't either. So I guess it was a little bonus that we got to visit the capital on our trip there this weekend. Here are a couple pics.

The boys under the capital building.

Kevin's artsy-fartsy pic of us under a horse.

The Wearing of the Green.

Since Kevin has been away at training, we thought it would be nice to meet halfway and take a weekend trip together. OK, so it was a 3 hour drive for Colin and I, and a 5 hour drive for Kevin...but who's counting. Our destination was Columbia, South Carolina, and coincidentally there was a huge St. Patty's Day festival there. So you know the Tracys couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy ourselves and partake in the festivities!
We had a fun weekend with Daddy. It was great to see him because we miss him. And it was nice to eat all our meals out and sleep in a nice hotel. What's not to love about that!

Green bagels- the Irish breakfast of champions.

He was ready for some Irish fun!

In front of the green fountain.

Watching the parade.

The little leprechaun.

Too much Guinness.

It's your day, Grandma Patty!

Hope you have a wonderful birthday! Enjoy!

Colin and Grandma Patty- September 2009

Eat, Drink and be Merry.

Colin had his first ride on a merry-go-round! One of the wives of Kevin's coworkers asked us to join her and her two boys for a little trip to the mall. We had a nice lunch, did a little walking, got a much needed coffee drink for the mommies, and then our day was completed with a ride on the carousel. Actually we rode twice in a row, due to her two year old. She was nice enough to snap this picture with her cell phone. We kept laughing because Colin was literally squealing with excitement. I have a feeling this won't be his last ride, but next time it's Daddy's turn to take him on, since it was totally making me woozy.

Hey kid, you know you're half Italiano, right?

So the other day I decided to whip up the most delicious dinnertime treat for Colin and I- homemade sauce and meatballs. Or "a dish of macaroni" as my family calls it. If you know me, you know this is one of my absolute favorites (especially when Grandma makes it), and I figured Colin would follow in my footsteps. I envisioned his little sauce covered face gobbling up noodles and meatballs, becoming more and more hooked with each bite, all while I documented his first tastes of it with my camera. I knew it would be the start of something good. I was wrong.

He did love the meatballs. He ate three. And I even added some spinach to them just to get in some veggies. The noodle part was a no go. He picked out every piece, even the ones hidden among pieces of meatball and covered with sauce, gave it a look of disgust, and threw it on the floor.

Oh Colin, what is your pasta loving mama to do? I really hope this is just a phase, and one day he'll come around.

Let's give him a round of applause...

Colin started clapping today!  Up to this point, I've tried so hard to get him to clap. There has been many rounds of "Patty Cake" and "If You're Happy and You Know It"...all my efforts were to no avail. Instead of clapping, he would wave his little arm up and down. So he kinda got it.

While I was getting our breakfast ready this morning, Colin was playing with his toys. And then I heard that sweet little clapping sound- unprompted, all on his own. Throughout the day he's been clapping along to music, clapping to Patty Cake, clapping when he's excited, and clapping when he does something to make me proud. So today he really got it.

Let the clapping begin!

Guess who's TEN months old!

Colin is 10 months old today. This past month we have been busy getting settled, and adjusting to our life in NC again. Colin does have some new tricks up his sleeve.

He is:

-Crawling. He does a super fast crawl when he tries to go for something he wants, or tries to get away from me. All while laughing of course.

-Pulling up to a stand, and wobbily tries to cruise along furniture.

-"Dancing" when he hears music.

-Saying "baby". At first I thought it was a fluke, but he actually says it on his own while pointing to pictures of a baby.

-Crawling up stairs, and is a little too brave for my taste.

-Starting to get into mischeif!

His absolute favorite foods at the moment are avocados, mac and cheese, and broccoli cheese nuggets (which is a simple little creation I found on the internet). Just take cooked chopped broccoli, mix in egg yolk, shredded cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs, form into nugget shapes and bake. Viola'! Delicious broccoli cheese nuggets! He also thouroughly enjoyed our fried rice when we went out for sushi a few weeks ago.

Ok, so our monthly photo shoot is not so easy anymore.
Clearly he is not happy here.

He's done.

Trouble...

We love you, big ten month old boy.

Oh, the joys of babyhood.

Every baby has to play in the Tupperware cupboard, right?

This reminded me of two things. One, is when my Aunt and Uncle first got married and moved into thier apartment. My brother was just a baby and he took all of the condiments and spices out of their cupboard and was licking the bottles and then putting them back. So gross, yet so funny. Two, when my brother and cousins were babies one of thier favorite places to play at Grandma and Grandpa's was the corner revolving cupboard, taking all the stuff out. I know there is a picture of that somewhere!

Oh well, maybe in Sochi 2014.

It's a bummer that the US Hockey Team lost in overtime to Canada for the gold medal, but it was one heck of a game. Awesome effort by our NHL hometown team goalie Ryan Miller, and the rest of the young, super talented US team. They truly amaze me.
Colin and I watched the game. And by watched, I mean I flipped through the channels when the action got too intense for me, or looked at the TV through my fingers while my hands covered my face (you know exactly what I'm talking about Mom!). Colin really must of thought his mommy turned into some crazy person, because he would be sitting there playing or watching the TV, and then I would yell out something hysterically and he would turn and look at me with a totally puzzled expression on his face.
Get used to it kid. There is a long, sports-filled year ahead. Just wait until you watch a Bills game with your Daddy.

Here is our future NHL star (?) watching the game.

Oh, and by the way, Colin copied me and yelled "go go go" at the TV and waved his little arm up and down. It was priceless. Even if it sounded more like "gee, gee, gee".

That hair.

I starting taking some pictures of Colin to show how proud he is while standing and cruising. This boy is getting around! But then I got distracted and my focus went to his hair. First, I can't believe what a blondie he is. He is truly a towhead. Second, his hair is always a mess. It is long in some places, short and sticking up in other places, and frankly, he looks like a crazy baby.
One more thing added to the list of things that we love about Colin.

Rewind to the Sabres game.

Like I said in an earlier post, thanks to Kevin's sister Carrie, we were able to attend a Buffalo Sabres hockey game in celebration of Kevin's homecoming/30th birthday. It was so much fun! And we had good seats to boot. It's always nice to attend a game close to your hometown, and as always you could sense the Buffalo pride in the air. They gave us an exciting game to watch, and even though they had a tough loss that night, another fun memory for us was made. Lets go BUFF-A-LO!

Two loyal fans. We can't wait to take Colin to a game!

Our Team USA goalie, Ryan Miller! I usually love watching the hockey games on the Winter Olympics, but it's even more exciting since the Sabers goalie is on our side! He definitely showed his talent during the win against Canada. Now we face Switzerland. Go Team USA!

Gettin' ready for beddy.

Here is Colin after his bath tonight. There is NOTHING better then the smell of a baby fresh out of the tub! We were missing our official-towel-guy (Daddy) since he is away at training.

Exploring.

Uh oh, we're in trouble. Definitely time to do a little baby-proofing!

Rub-a-dub-dub...two babies in the kitchen sink.

Colin spent his first Valentine's Day morning enjoying a nice bottle, getting hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy, receiving a new Valentine book, and then driving to Virginia. HUH??...

We decided very last minute to take a little trip visit the Shuffstalls, because Kevin S. is deploying for a year to Afghanistan. He is such a dear friend of ours and we thought it would be nice to say good-bye in person before he left. Of course this trip had other perks because not only did the 2 Kevins get to spend some time together, but I got to visit with his wife Lindsay, Colin got to play with his buddy Caden (they were born just days apart), and Lucy got to romp around in the yard with their two dogs. What fun!

Lindsay thought it would be fun for Caden and Colin to have a good ol' fashioned bath in the kitchen sink. They had a ball!

We will miss you, Kevin S. Work hard, stay safe, and always know that we will be thinking of you.

When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie...

...that's amore!
Kevin mentuioned to me that he really was craving some pizza and wings while being away. Apparently you can't get good pizza in Afghanistan, who knew? So Kevin wanted pizza. And not your standard chain pizza...he wanted upstate-NY pizza. You see, where we grew up, there are small authentic Italian pizza joints literally on every corner. And you can only imagine some of the names- Perri's, Cordello's, Colombini's, Dirosato's, and Guiseppe's...just to name a few. I can hear all the stereotype jokes coming at me as I type! Anyways, we set up a little get together at Pontillo's Pizzeria to celebrate Kevin's homecoming and 30th birthday. It is always a good time with friends and family, and authentic Rochester pizza and Buffalo- style wings!

I think he's had his fill...for now.

Oh, and we need to write it in the baby record book that Colin had his first delicious bites of pizza that day! Of course he loved it.


I cannot say enough how wonderful Kevin's family is. His sister Carrie and brother-in-law Dave are no exception. Of course Carrie knows what a huge Buffalo Bills fan her brother is, so she took a chance and called up a local Buffalo car dealership. Why, you ask? Only because Steve Tasker, a former Buffalo Bills player from their glory days is the dealership's spokesperson. She thought maybe they could send her a signed something-or-other for Kevin. Man, did they deliver. She ended up speaking to the company's vice president, and they gave her a life-sized signed Steve Tasker cutout, along with  a personalized signed football. If that wasn't enough, they called her back and offered her 4 Buffalo Sabers tickets for the game that week. West Herr in Buffalo is great!
SO, thank you Carrie for going the extra mile to make your brother's homecoming and birthday that much more special for him. You are always so thoughtful. And thank you Dave, for taking the time to go over to pick up the goods from West Herr, and driving home with a life-sized cardboard cutout of Steve Tasker in your car.

And yes, Steve made the drive from NY to NC with us, and is now standing in one of our rooms upstairs. So thanks again Carrie.

Kevin is HOME!!!!

I'm a little late posting this...
After a looonnnngggg trip back from Afghanistan, Kevin finally made it home a couple of weeks ago! We are so happy to have him back!

Waiting for our guy at the airport.

Yup Colin, that is your Daddy! Minus the mustache (thank goodness).

Our little family is complete again.

I do have to say, although we totally hated that Kevin had to deploy, I was fortunate enough to go home to Rochester to be with our families and friends for the 4 months that he was away. We were surrounded by endless amounts of love and support, and it helped make our time away from him go by that much faster. Not to mention, it was FUN! Thank you for everything...even though Colin is young, I am certain he took so much good away from it, and it helped to shape him into the wonderful baby that he is! Words cannot describe how special being with family meant to me. We will miss you dearly, but will see you again soon enough.
Remember...our door in NC is ALWAYS open...

9 months old!

Colin was 9 months old on February 4th! He really is the best baby around.

He is:

-Crawling.

-Sometimes pulling self up to a stand, and can stand while holding on to something.

-Enjoying most foods...he definitely takes after his mommy in the pasta-loving department.

-Saying ma-ma and da-da to us!

Colin LOVES to brush his teeth. He gets so excited when he sees his green train toothbrush. Granted, it is probably because of his sweet fruit flavored toothpaste, but I guess it's never too early to start some good oral hygiene.