We left for Denver very early Friday morning, with many thanks to my mom for getting up before 4am to get us there. We thought that the airport wouldn't be too bad at 6am on a Friday morning--we were wrong. There were about 50 people in line for the Southwest check-in, and then we still had security. Thankfully they were pre-screening people, so we didn't have to take off shoes or go through the full body scanners. Much easier. We had just enough time to grab breakfast, eat it, and hop on the plane. We bought Colin his own ticket so that he could sit in his car seat, and it was worth every penny. As we took off, we saw this:
Granted, as soon as the pilot made an announcement, he woke up, but there was potential! He watched videos of himself on the iPad, ate lots of snacks, and played This Little Piggy. No real crying or wrestling on our part. We landed and met Grandmom and baby Addie. As I wedged myself into the backseat between the little ones, it didn't take long to see:
We were joined by Rodger and Sally for Saturday evening, and Colin put on the charm as usual. His favorite iPad video to watch is the one of him building towers with Rodger and knocking them down. Another night of little to no sleep for all of us. He rallied to check out the nursery at Jan & Ryan's church, looking dapper as usual.
And sat through a flurry of pictures with Addie in their adorable Christmas outfits before dinner out with Sally and Rodger.
Cue another night of almost no sleep. Colin began waking up around 12:30 am and requiring a 2-hour play session to go back to sleep. Peter and I become zombies. Monday, we decided to try to tire Colin out by taking him to the park to play on the equipment. He had other ideas.
Tiny rocks!!
He wasn't crying; it was just very windy!
Still not sleeping much. Tuesday was Christmas Eve, and Grandmom made matching outfits for Colin and Addie to wear to the Christmas Eve service. However, Colin spent most of Christmas Eve service throwing massive tantrums in the nursery (thankfully no one else really had to put up with it except us).
Peter and Ryan also wanted to get in on the plaid outfits.
On Christmas day, Colin was again up in the middle of the night, but then we slept from 6-7:30 and felt a little better. Colin enjoyed 2 gifts the most:
A slinky...
...and a box.
I don't like to miss opportunities to put Colin in adorable clothes, and Christmas day was no exception.
Please excuse the pacifier...I was at the edge of my sanity with all of the crying going on with this kid.
Finally, on Christmas, he slept. It was a Christmas miracle. He also slept on Thursday night thankfully. Granted, we had to give him a bedroom of his own to get that sleep, but whatever.
Thursday, we took him to the Denver Children's Museum, where he had a blast!
Playing with scarves.
Watching the balls move.
Helping out a corgi at the vet clinic.
And playing with the magnet wall.
Thursday afternoon we journey up to Red Rocks, which was less fun for my fear of heights. Colin enjoyed playing on the stairs though!
Also, he apparently doesn't know what to do with his hands when wearing mittens.
Finally, on Friday we got ready to head home. He enjoyed playing with a baseball and bat out in the backyard for a while, because it was an unusually warm day.
He enjoyed it until he wiped out on a paving stone in the backyard. Then he was a sad little bear.
We survived the trip home with the iPad and lots of snacks again. Then Colin was giving Christmas cheer to everyone at the airport by walking up to them and waving and giving a cheesy grin. He also walked into the bathroom and enjoyed the acoustics, screaming "DADADADA" at the top of his lungs. He was very excited to see Grandpa that evening when he picked us up from the airport.
While I may have sounded like a Debbie Downer about the trip, we had a wonderful time with Peter's family. Colin adored Addie, and he gave her hugs everytime she woke up. He showed her where her nose, hair, and eyes were (not always so gently) and loved on Dozer (and tried to love on Sadie). He was quick to win over Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jan and Grandmom, and he was always willing to have one of them hold him or play with him. He picked up some new words (cracker, bye-bye, Dozer, Sadie, Addie, Slinky). He has enjoyed coming home and running through the house, throwing toys everywhere.
Yesterday, we had Christmas with my family. While he did call Tink by the wrong name (Dozer/Sadie) all day, he helped open a few presents and ate like a champ. Grandpa and Aunt Casie taught him how to play the harmonica, and he loves it. He's serenading us now.
We love spending time with family and friends, and we're happy to be home with our little guy, preparing to move into another year of life with him. We're a little anxious of what toddlerhood will be like, as we've seen some flashes of quite a temper; however, he quickly turns back into a sweet, charming, people-person, and we love him a great deal. He has made this past year a wonderful time.
Happy New Year!
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