Walker?!?

I'm not sure exactly at what point babies are officially named "walkers", but I think Colby's getting awfully close to this new description. He has been walking up a storm lately! :) This weekend (Nov. 15-16), he has been walking more than we have seen yet! He will pull himself up on something, stand there for a minute independently and then decide to go. He can usually walk a pretty far distance before he stops and falls... I think he realizes that crawling is still much quicker than walking! :) It's SO cute watching them first learning to walk... arms straight out, deep concentration, and then falling on their bum! Gone are the days when I can put him down and he's still in the same spot when I return!! I'm happy he's developing as he is... he's right on par (according to most books) with development, which is nice. I was really worried after his hospitalization and infection, as they warned me that his development could be delayed for a short time, but he would eventually catch up. Colby has sure proved them wrong, as he's beginning to walk already! :) He is sure a chatty little boy lately too! I love having 'conversations' with him... when I say something, he'll reply, and then I reply, etc.... SO cute! I like that he's comprehending things that we say (although doesn't always obey... ex. 'no'), but it's nice that he's understanding and able to communicate a few more things! My, how fast time flies by!! I can't believe I'm starting to plan his 1st birthday party for 3 weeks from now already!!

I had a WONDERFUL Fall Break from school last weekend! I wish every weekend could be 5 days long... oh, to dream, hey?! I spent a lot of time with Gerry and Colby, hung out with Jen for a bit, and didn't even do any school work until Monday. It was great! On Remembrance Day (Tuesday), my cousin, Leanne, came to babysit Colby for a few hours while I went in to do some work in my classroom. I'm glad he was good for her. I really want him to get used to other people being around, other than immediate family. He's beginning to have some 'separation anxiety' issues, so I'm glad the babysitting went well!

We welcomed a new niece to our family on Wednesday, Nov. 12th!!! My older sister, Jody, gave birth to Kendra Morgan Sutherland at 8:42 pm on Wednesday evening, weighing 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19" long. She's a tiny little one, but she's absolutely precious!! We've seen her a few times since then and can't get enough! I can't believe how tiny she is!! It's hard to remember babies being that small once (although Colby outweighed her by another whole pound). Everyone's doing well and I guess she's already a great sleeper... needs to be woken up to eat! :) Welcome, Kendra!

It's report card time at school (they're due on Friday), so I've been busy working on them lately! It's a lot of work and I'll be happy when they're done! Wish me luck...

Have a great week, everyone!
Lesley

Halloween, sick, and all healed!

Interesting title!? A lot has been going on in the past few weeks, which explains my very delayed post!! Colby has been doing so many fun things... we love it! He never ceases to amaze us with things that he can do. He is beginning to drink out of a regular glass and hold it on his own. This usually ends up with a lot of water being spilled, but he wants to do it on his own! His walking is coming... he still takes between 5-8 steps at a time, and then drops down to crawl. I love the first stepping stage... arms straight out, kind of wobbly... so cute!! His personality is sure coming out more and more... looks like he's going to be as persistant and stubborn as his mom! Yikes! :) Colby had his first Halloween and dressed up as a bear. Daddy was convinced that he was a very scary grizzly bear, but Mommy thought he looked more like a big, cuddly teddy bear! Very cute... very late night with a party at Auntie Jen and Uncle Dave's house after visiting a few houses! Whew! Last week, Colby had another check-up with the pediatrician, who brought us great news.... Colby is all healed!!! There is some scar tissue left, but the body will slowly take care of that, so he finished his latest course of antibiotics and he's all done now!! Such a relief! Just as we got that great news, he picked up my stomach flu that I had early last week. I was even home sick from school on Monday and Tuesday with it. Not surprising since I can't remember the last time I had a full class at school... TONS of kids sick these days! Darn flu!! He had to stay home from the dayhome on Wednesday, so luckily Auntie Colleen came to the rescue and watched him all day. I think she had fun!! He's been feeling much better lately, which is great. The flu went right through our house, as Gerry was home sick from work on Thursday and Friday. So needless to say, not a fun week in our house!! :( Two more teeth cut through on the bottom, so now he's up to 8. I love his smile as the teeth begin to come down even more from the top gums! :) Colby turned 11 months yesterday (Friday, Nov. 7) so the planning has begun for the big birthday party next month! Wow, birthday, Christmas... December's going to be a busy month for us!! We continue to wait for the arrival of our newest niece/nephew... that baby isn't wanting to come out and meet the world yet!! My older sister, Jody, was due last weekend on November 1st. So we're anxiously awaiting!!! :) I'm really going to try to post on a more regular basis! Between school and home, there's not a lot of free time in my world these days! Take care!

Gerry, Lesley, and Colby