Summer Fun!

Wow, first time ever skipping a blog post. I guess that means you're in for a real treat, because this one is going to be a long one filled with pictures of our recent summer fun. I've made a goal for myself to make sure Colin does something every day - whether that's go to a new park, do some painting, play in the pool - because it is summer and he and I both get bored staying inside the whole time. The major bummer is it has just been unforgivably hot here, so that really only leaves the morning or evening for activities that don't include water.

Here we are painting (flour+water+food coloring). Colin definitely taste tested his medium.

Here's Colin standing up to the wind at the park before a storm.

There's a botanical garden by our house and we thought it would be fun to take him there. It was incredibly hot and we couldn't stay long, but we did manage to get this snap of him desperately trying to crush this unsuspecting butterfly.

Colin turned 11 months old during my blogging hiatus! I had to wait a few days because the weather wouldn't cooperate, but we finally had some dry weather and went to a park by our house for the photo-op. I cannot believe he is almost a year old - the time has really just flown by. He's walking really well now, and can change directions and correct himself if he starts to lose his balance. Chris and I have a whole bunch of learning curves in the near future!

Then of course we had the 4th of July holiday! I really wanted to make sure Colin saw fireworks - it is such a fun event. On the 3rd we went to a park and grilled out and relaxed which was fun! Chris' longtime friend Josh came to join us as well, so they threw the frisbee around while we hung out at the little playground. Colin even found a few friends in the local flora!

Which brings us to the 4th of July! I was hoping to go to a parade and managed to find a Facebook page for one in a nearby neighborhood. We went, all jazzed up, but it ended up consisting of an old-fashioned fire truck, a jeep with red & blue lights, and the whole neighborhood walking down the street to a nearby park. Needless to say I was disappointed! Either way, Colin was dressed to impress - does he have your vote?

At night, we went to Golden for their fireworks show. It was very windy, and a storm ended up blowing through - I was worried they were going to cancel them! But Chris bundled up under the blanket with the baby until the storm passed, and soon thereafter we heard the joyful popping of fireworks!! Colin looked around at first a little scared, but then when he saw we were not scared he really enjoyed them. He was clapping and reaching his arms out to grab them. First 4th of July = success.

Josh ended up getting us tickets for the Rockies baseball game on Thursday. We were pretty nervous about taking him, only because he can be very curious and rambunctious and we weren't sure how long we'd be able to hold him in the seats. We didn't stay very long (maybe 3 or 4 innings) but he seemed to like it - he of course thought everyone was there to see him. Colin also got a pin for it being his first baseball game - he thought he was really cool after that!! 

That brings us to this recent Saturday, where as scheduled Colin had his swim lesson! There were a few new kids this week, so Colin didn't get the usual outpouring of love from Ms Diana (understandably) but she managed to find time  to see her favorite. True to form, he thrilled her with his big underwater kicks! In fact, yesterday, I took him to our complex pool and he was standing on the steps while I sat next to him. All of a sudden he jumped face first into the water! I was so surprised but also so thrilled, I wanted to cry at how brave that kid is! 

Finally!! This weekend I completed Sensory Board 2.0. I made it with the intention he would definitely grow into it, and made sure everything was securely bolted down (Sensory Board 1.0 had to be disassembled because he was too strong!). Right now he only wants to smack the doorstops and scrape all the magnetic letters off the board. I'm going to fill the empty space with some gears - just have to think how to go about that.

Well now that the tips of my fingers are officially bleeding, I think it is time to sign off for this week. I will do my best to make sure I don't miss anymore blogs in the immediate future, because I know you all were just dragging along your daily routine feeling unfulfilled without it. Until next week!