baby's 1st cabin trip

such a good little hiker! and could he be any cuter in that hat?

(guess it's easy when Mommy does all the work. :) he was awake and looking all around at the beautiful scenery God had made on the way to Cascade Falls then slept on the way back.)

at Cascade Falls.

Kelsy & Rena being adventurous...climbing over the railing (not supposed to do that but the warning sign was missing...) and then down to get in the water. crazy!!

the baby and I went up to Duck Creek, Utah (about 4 hours away from home) for a Women's Retreat. it was an amazing time in the mountains with my sweet sisters in Christ. we had sweet conversations, laughter, delicious food, and were really intentional in pouring into each other's life. it is always such a blessing to go to the cabin and this trip was no different.

L to R: Jenny, Kristi, Gloria, Julia, Kelsy, Colton & me, Flor, and Liz.

Liz, Gloria, and Kelsy on a rock over hang above the falls.

same pic as above...sub out Gloria and insert Rena. :)

Flor, Kelsy, and Jenny on the trail to Cascade Falls.

[p.s. not only did I pack the 16 pound baby in the sling, I rocked this trail in my flip flops! Wes said, and I quote, "That's my wife!" with gobs of pride, when I told him what I did.]

he is straight up cute.

[Jenny took this...how funny the way the light is highlighting his faux-hawk hair!--which by the way is all natural. I don't style it at all.]

there is just something about sleeping at the cabin. mountain air, lots of exercise and activity, and yummy food = some very sweet sleep!

this is also the 1st time Colton slept in his pack n play.

we seem to have a belly sleeper! he constantly flips on to his belly when he's asleep.

on our walk out the the lake Colton loved the motion from the stroller and he took a little napper.

Gloria & the baby.

Cascade Falls

view from Cascade Falls.

Kristi & BW

(BW= boy wonder...Kristi's nickname for the baby)

the look on the sweet baby's face makes me melt!!

Julia and Bugga Boo

1st time sleeping with his legs tucked up underneath his bum.

a perfect Wednesday.

we drank our morning coffee on our grass. the baby entertained us by blowing raspberries (his new thing this week!).

telling us a story.

squinting at the bright blue Vegas sky
time with our family of 3 in the backyard (temperatre is lovely in the shade on our freshly watered grass).

Colton rockin the "Superman" pose during a little

{photo booth} action.

happy boy after a visit to our neighbor & her son.

one cool dude.

just chillin with Mommy as Daddy works.

a perfect Wednesday.

Week of Hope.

Check out what Week of Hope is all about.

baby Colton is always popular when we go to Week of Hope on Thursday nights.

Kara & Danielle love to get their snuggles in...as do the campers and the youth group leaders. He gets lots of "Awwwww! What a cute baby!" from all that see him.

my love bug.

Colton's girl-buddy, Danielle.

she's from Colorado and probably my twin since we like all the same things (like ice cream out of mugs, iced coffee with cream and light ice, and are not picky eaters). she has a heart for mission work and impacting lives for Jesus and spreading joy along the way.

Colton's girl-buddy, Kara.

She's from Detroit and is in love with Myers [it's a store, not a person, just for clarification]. (She says that if Wal-Mart & Target had a baby it'd be Myers. She has a heart of gold and has really challenged me to seek out what Titus 2 would look like in my life. Not to mention her willingness to serve...specifically serve me and I am learning to be served. It's beautiful. )

these two young ladies are amazing women of God.

I love them.

They have come as Red Shirts to work as Summer Staff for Week of Hope. Kara and Danielle didn't know each other before this summer...and it is obvious that God put together the perfect pair for the Las Vegas Week of Hope.

I didn't know what to expect as far as the Summer Staff would go...God blew my socks off with these two women. They love the Lord above all else. They are full of energy and desire to soak up everything that this summer has to offer them through experiences, people, and time spent in great conversations. They have hearts that desire to honor God as they pray for their future husbands and wait on God's timing. Our time together has been so simple and so beautiful. Full of laughter. Full of fun. Full of serious talks. Full of sharing our hearts. I am going to miss them terribly (and so will my family for they have touched our hearts & lives forever--not to mention they have left very big shoes to fill when next year's Summer Staff comes!).

and i will miss them terribly!

Each night (except for Tuesdays) there is an evening program at Week of Hope.

Thursday's Evening program includes:

BIG Game Extravaganza [pictured below]

crew's are in a relay race to see who can fish the gummy worms out of the chocolate sauce with a clothes pin and feed it to their blind-folded teammate the fastest. Hysterical I tell you!

• Introducing the Local Coordinator (that'd be Wes) and his family.

Wes gives the crews a big thank you and opens the evening in prayer.

{I am usually leaking tears over the sincere hearts of the campers and what they have seen and done that week to impact our community for God. And to think that Wes organized it all. It's overwhelming in a wonderful God way.}

• God Stories

Members from each crew share where they saw God at work during the day as they served the community. This is so powerful!! Lives have been changed each and every week that this camp has been going on in Las Vegas, Boulder City, and Henderson. The campers are leaving changed. The people they served all week are changed. It's amazing.

• Worship

Lead by the youth groups that come. My favorite week was a praise band consisting of 3 people, one from each youth group that represented 3 different states. It was beautiful.

• Youth group devotions. This is a tap-light purchased to help our baby at night in the car. He usually cries the entire way home from Week of Hope (or any where really if it is after dark). This night the tap-light was on when the door shut so he wasn't in complete darkness. He promptly fell asleep. Problem solved? We are hopeful!
  

5 month professional photos

our baby is 5 months old!

5 months old!!

on July 8, 2011.

for comparison...here's 1 month old.
{ 5 months }

All things go into his mouth...and most recently his thumb (usually only when he's tired, though). He's still teething (no teeth bumps yet) and his favorite things to chew on (that seem to bring him relief) are a burp cloth and Wes or my finger.

Colton rolls over all the time, often in consecutive circles that move him from one side of the blanket, to the opposite side, and then onto the carpet.

While on his belly he "flies" like Superman with arms and legs stretched out and only his belly on the floor (Wes calls this high-centered).

On his bellly he will chase his ball around by rocking from side to side until his ball is with in reach. He can inch his way across the blanket until his ball is within grabbing distance.

Colton will spot an object he wants...then with great determination and control he'll grab for a toy and pull it toward himself. If it isn't within his reach he will move his body toward it, even if it means using his legs to launch himself or arching his back in that direction.



Colton is such a little cuddler who seriously smiles and laughs all the time. God's light shines through our son's smile. It's totally beautiful. (Sure he is fussy/cries a bit when he is sleepy or hungry...but who doesn't whine/get cranky then??) There is nothing better than when he smiles at his Daddy and Mommy, then snuggles close. It melts our hearts. We adore that little boy so much and thank God for him daily. We never knew we could love someone so very much in such a short period of time. Being parents to Colton is the best job in the world...he is so amazing and completely wonderful--each day is full of him doing the cutest things with a bit of something new in the mix. It's so hard to believe that our little Bugga Boo is already 5 months old.

playing with mommy

...his grip is so strong & the control of his hands has gotten so much better this month. he'll grab any thing (hair, glasses, skin, fingers, nose, lips...I think you get the idea) & hold on tightly and then he pinches. It feels like a little crab's pinchers on your skin. Ouch!

did I mention he's soooo strong??
This month Colton has definitely found "his voice". He "talks" all the time and even does this "screeching" noise that is so loud. So loud but oh so sweet at the same time. It's like he has all this happiness and joy inside him that he just has to let it escape or he'll burst. He's constantly telling us "stories" in his own sweet way. He even adds to the conversation (which sometimes must be put on pause because the little baby's voice has taken center stage). It's noisy, but so sweet to hear his little baby boy excitement. :)

Colton is so into anything we do--from drinking out of a cup, putting a bite of food into our mouths with a fork, texting, or reading a book. He wants to grab on and help. His alertness to his surroundings amazes me daily. I wonder what goes on inside that little blond head of his as he processes all that he sees.

He is a little sponge...which has me starting to think about what I am doing and is it what I want our son to imitate. Hmmm...those are some deep thoughts for another post I think.

i love our mini van. a lot. yes, i will publicly admit that...shout it from the rooftops even. it is especially fantastic during stops while on a road trip (proof is in the picture). putting down a seat allows space for me to sit and feed Colton. then we give him time to kick & play before we get on our way.

this little one adores his super comfy crib.

crib update: all naps & bedtime sleeps are here! and Bugga Boo loves his space (see photo for the proof)

he spun himself around while putting himself down for a nap. had to show you how cute it was.