Spring Trip to Pennsylvania

What do Mommy and Colin do when Daddy is away?  Head north!  We spent about a week in Pennsylvania in March and got lots of great family time.

After getting picked up at the airport by a very excited Mimi we headed to New Freedom where Colin wasted no time getting to know Pappy again.  He truly loves his Pappy and got the biggest smile on his face when he returned home from work each day.

It was evident on this trip that Colin is becoming quite the Momma's boy. Uncle Connor need not fret, Colin had a similar reaction with several other people over the course of our trip.

Uncle Connor tried to enjoy some bonding time with Colin but he was not having it.  Colin would not even open his mouth!  Again, not to worry Uncle Connor, he wouldn't let anyone feed him but Mommy.

He had no problem with Uncle Connor taking him on a stroll though!

Auntie Tess and Katie stopped by for some quality time with a cutie.  Tess wasn't so sure about Colin eating her necklace...

Nana and Grandpa came to Mimi and Pappy's house for brunch. 

Colin had fun opening his Easter present filled with lots of new clothes.  Colin's favorite part?  The bows on the top of the box!

Colin was showered with love from even more visitors.  Mommy's dear friend, Christina, came by the house with her adorable boys, Luke and Eli.  This is the second time we've been able to get these little guys together and we are so thankful we could make it happen.

Colin is obsessed with eating shoes (gross, I know). You can see in the photo above he's got his hand on Eli's shoe.  It wasn't long till it was in his mouth.  Eli was happy to let his friend have his shoe.

Luke and his beautiful Mommy!

After enjoying lots of visitors at Mimi and Pappy's house, Colin, Mommy and Aunt Jen O took a road trip for the day for a very special occasion...cousin Joergen's 1st Birthday!!

It had been a few months since they'd seen each other so they took a few minutes to get reacquainted.

Aunt Jen and Colin:

The Birthday Boy!  He loves his balloons.

Speaking of balloons...the boys had quite a time with Grandpa and Aunt Jen on the floor bouncing the balloons.

Aunt Jen O with cousin Liam (always the charmer!) ready to party:

Colin looking festive with Nana and Grandpa:

Checking out GeeGee:

We may live nearly 700 miles away but we really wanted to be there to celebrate Joergen's birthday!  I'm so glad we could make it.  It was a great day!

Fortunately, Aunt Jen was on Spring Break, and although she probably wanted to sleep in most days, she got up early to spend time with her nephew.  On our way to see the Easter Bunny we met Mimi and Pappy for lunch where Colin got to sit in the high chair for the first time.  He pretty much thought he was the coolest kid...ever. 

We were a little bummed because it turned out that the Easter Bunny was nowhere to be found.  Maybe next year little buddy!

After a great week, Mimi joined us on our return leg for a few days in Charleston.  More on that to come!

Colin's 7 Month Photos

Back in February, on Colin's 7 month "birthday," we got some photos taken by a very talented Air Force Spouse, Carlin Fisher. We are so happy with how they turned out! Have fun checking out our cutie.  :)

Bird Watching Lunch with Mommy

Colin and I have been spending lots of time outside since getting our new furniture.  On St. Patty's Day we enjoyed some bird watching along with our lunch.  I've always enjoyed looking at the birds in our backyard but never really took the time to truly watch them.  Having Colin has helped life slow down a little and has given me the opportunity to take in our surroundings (I love being a stay at home mom!). 

 Colin enjoying some bird-watching:

Actually...to be honest...he did a lot more mommy watching, which he thought was hilarious.  Apparently watching Mommy try to take pictures of birds is pretty funny...

Okay, so maybe I was getting a little too into watching the birds....it just amazes me how much wildlife you can find in our back yard even with the major thoroughfare behind us. Thankfully, I was able to capture a bunch of shots...most of them from my seat, while feeding Colin.  I've tried to identify each bird and hopefully I am correct!

Male Cardinal:

 (check out the worm)

Female Cardinal:

Northern Mockingbird: 

From the front...

From the side...

From the back...

On the fence...

 Eastern Bluebird:

Favorite shot...

 Yellow-rumped Warbler

 Couldn't figure this one out:

 Robin:

This one brought back some great childhood memories for Mommy.  Each year a Robin lays its nest on the beams underneath Mimi and Pappy's deck (for over 20 years now!). Each Spring brought great excitement as a new nest was built.  Not only could you see the nest and the mommy Robin by looking through the steps you could also look directly down into the nest between the slabs of the deck. The best part was getting to see the eggs inside and watching them as they hatched and grew their feathers.  We were able to see into the nests just like this:

It was truly amazing!  Some years, the nest would be just below a slab blocking the view into the nest.  I was always so disappointed when this would happen.  Since we are at Mimi's now, while I'm writing this, I just checked and this year the nest is completely under a slab...bummer!

And finally, a Red-bellied Woodpecker...It was not easy getting a shot of this guy!  After several failed attempts, I captured this one the next day.

Alright enough bird watching...now for some Colin watching...
He's been making some silly faces lately that I think may be a result of his teething:

 Turning up his nose:

 Gaping mouth for Lilly: