A Month of Firsts

The month of January was a month of several "firsts" for Colten. Ideally, I would have posted about these as they happened...but here it is February already, so thus the all-in-one post!!

On January 9, Colten tried rice cereal for the first time. And as we would expect, he was not sure what to think about it!






We are now in the first week of February, and he is just now starting to eat it pretty well!

Then the next day (Jan 10), Colten rolled over for the first time. He had been so close for about a week, and he finally made it all the way over that morning. Wouldn't you know that he decided to do it while I was taking Tanner to school and Daddy was watching him??!! I was so disappointed!! But the next day, I was able to get this video of him rolling over.

Colten's Dedication

Colten was dedicated in church on December 26. Since most of our family was in town for Christmas, we figured this was the perfect time for his dedication. It meant a lot to have them all there for the special occasion!


I think we set a record for the number of family members on stage for a baby dedication!








My grandfather, Archie Lee Alderson, prayed over Colten and it was so powerful! Colten is named after him (Colten Lee) and it was an honor to have him be a part of the service.







I was reminded after the service, that it had been one year ago TO THE DAY that we found out we were pregnant. Colten is our special miracle from the Lord and we were delighted to dedicate him back to the Lord in the church that we love and surrounded by the family that we hold so dear!

Three and Four Months

I'm a little behind...so this post will be Colten's three AND four months photos!

Here are the three month pics:





And then his four month photos:






At his four month appointment, he weighed 13 lbs 15 ounces and was 25.5 inches. He is such a happy baby - smiling and laughing all the time. What joy he brings to our house!

Two Months

Colten was two months on October 30. The time is flying!! It almost seems like you can SEE him grow. Here are his two month pictures:





A few highlights from the month:

* He is smiling and cooing a lot. Melts my heart! Even when it is at 2 in the morning!

* He just discovered his hands and is fascinated when his fists cross his line of vision. It is so funny to see him just stare at them!

* He weighed 11 lbs 2 oz at his 2 month checkup and was 22 1/4 inches long.

* On Friday night (10/29), he slept from 10:30 pm to 6:00 am. I felt like a new woman!! I did have to get up a few times and give him his pacifier, but at least we didn't have that 2 am feeding. It was heavenly...sleep is a precious thing! Although we have had a few rough nights since then, he is sleeping pretty good for the most part.

* He has lost a lot of the dark hair he was born with but still has a ring of dark hair around the bottom of his head. We call it his old-man hair!

A few more pictures from the month of October:

Shutterfly Card Promotion

I will admit it...I love Shutterfly. I have countless photobooks from them and have used them for Christmas cards for several years now. I love designing the photo cards each year - and they are easy to order and they look great! Besides, family and friends usually love to see updated pictures!

As usual, Shutterfly has some great card options this year. Here are a few of my favorites:

I like both of these...and you can change the titles to say "Merry Christmas" or whatever you want. Love that!

This one is just fun!

Another favorite!

Now we just need to get a good family picture! That usually means about 50 or so attempts - much to the delight of my husband.

So check out the new Shutterfly holiday cards - I know you will find something you like! They also have some some great gift ideas - like Christmas ornaments and wall calendars. I make calendars for the great grandparents every year - and they LOVE them!

If you are a blogger, you might be interested in the promo Shutterfly is currently offering. You can get 50 free photo cards just by blogging about this offer. You can't beat that!

So go get some good pictures...and if you are free, you are welcome to come over and take ours!

Deja Vu

When I am holding Colten, I sometimes feel like I have been transported back 6 years to when Tanner was born. They are alike in so many ways. And then I pulled out some of Tanner's baby pictures. Oh yes...twins born 6 years apart!

One Month

Colten turned one month old last week - and even though I am feeling very sleep deprived with a newborn in the house, it still makes me sad that he is growing so fast. Maybe it is because of our fertility struggle over the last several years. I can't help but wonder if this will be our last one and if it is, I want to savor every single second! Chris tells me that I am already spoiling him. Just because he cries in the middle of the night but then is happy as a lark when I pick him up and lay him in bed with me! I tell him that you can't spoil a newborn (or at least that is what I keep telling myself!).

But how am I supposed to resist this:



A friend of a friend makes these adorable iron-on "monthly" transfers. They are perfect for the monthly photo shoot. You can find them here. Here are a few more pictures from his "1 month" session:








A few highlights from Colten's first month:

• He is VERY alert for a newborn. In fact, when he was born he was wide-eyed and alert for the first two hours or so. He studied the face of every family member holding him and would even turn his head to look for other voices that he heard. Everyone commented on how alert he was and even our nurse said she had never seen a newborn that alert. In fact, I think she used the word "trippy" to describe it...I wasn't so sure I wanted that word used in relation to my precious new baby boy, but it did make me laugh!


• The smiles started early - around 2 weeks - and we get them regularly now (as seen in the pictures above).


• We had a weight scare at his 2 week appointment. The doctor weighed him in at 6 lbs 10 oz - more than a pound under his birth weight of 7 lbs 12 oz. I took him in the next week to check it again and he weighed in at 6lb 8 oz. It didn't make any sense because he was eating well, had the right number of pee and poop diapers, and was a very content baby. But the doctor's scale said 6 lbs 8 oz - and scales don't lie right?? She told me to go see a lactation consultant and I made an appointment for the next day. When I took him in, he weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz. I stood there in shock...knowing that he didn't gain a pound in 24 hours. She had 4 different scales in her office and we checked them all. Yep, my boy was a healthy 8 lbs all right! Turns out the doctor's scale was off!! I was dumbfounded and more than a little annoyed. All that stress and worry for nothing!


• Tanner loves his little brother! He has to give him a kiss every morning on his way to school and wants to kiss on him and hold him when he gets home. I love it!!

Finally, here are a few more pics from the month. I also took weekly pictures this month because he was changing so fast!