Christmas Festivities

Merry Christmas everyone!

Our festivities began with Christmas Eve at grandma's house. Whenever we go to grandma's house, Colin clings to grandma and refuses the rest of us..yes, even me! Our two favorite grandma pictures: when Colin rests his head on her chest, and whenever we try to get a "decent" holiday picture, he always seems to have a water/drool stain on him!

Christmas Morning: I made mushroom fritatta, and Natalie joined us for a morning of opening presents. Colin absolutely loves his play kitchen--and cooks and serves us now! (yes, i have bangs now!)


We also spent a good part of the morning watching movies. Colin couldn't sit still, so he made some phone calls. Sorry to our west coast family--it was a pretty early phone call!

Natalie hosted us for Christmas dinner. A fabulous meal--salmon patte, cheese & crackers, roasted veggies, garlic mashed potatoes, poached salmon with chutney, celery salad and peppermint ice cream cake! SO good. Colin's favorite was the roasted veggies.

And we played a nice family game of Russian rummy. Not that anyone cares who won or anything, but yes, yours truly, Jamie Elwell, is the 2008 Christmas Grand Champion of Russian Rummy.

Fellow Christmas party go-ers, thanks for a wonderful Christmas night! Here is one of many odd, huh?, happy, crazy pictures of the night. Call me if you want me to send them to you!
And lastly, Christmas festivities concluded with Natalie offering to let Colin stay the night at her house. Jack and I quickly left, and enjoyed a restful night sleep at home. For the record, Lola (Natalie's cat) woke her up before Colin did! Jack and I were also able to enjoy a fun morning of after christmas sale shopping while Colin took care of Natalie's hangover. Love you, and thank you!

Updates: a little over 1 yr

1. Scared of Santa. He screamed, yelled, and cried...but he loved watching Santa from a distance.
2. Current fruit choice: blackberries. 3. Current stain removal choice: Shout stain removal stick. It can get blackberry stains out!
4. A stuffed animal kind of guy. They are cleverly placed at stroller level at every store. Colin loves them, and wants to hug and kiss each one that we pass. This dog below is from Aunt Natalie...an early x-mas present.
5. Hugs and kisses. Every morning, he wakes Jack up with hugs and kisses.
6. Future reporter? He loves walking around the house with paper and pen. He babbles, pretends to write, babbles, and paces through the house. Last night it kept him busy for 45 minutes. I can't wait to know what he's thinking and trying to tell us.
7. Loves his bottle. We're down to one bottle a day (early morning), and he won't give it up. He has sippy cups for the rest of his meals/snacks, but he refuses it in the morning. One of these days, when Jack and I have the patience to listen to him cry, we're going bottle-less!
8. He still drools. Enough said.
9. Role playing. We put his stuffed animals to bed during the day, tuck them in and all. He's learned to leave the room and close the door to let them sleep.
10. Following directions. He's pretty good at doing what we tell him...

• Can you get me that book, and come over here so we can read?
• Please go to the bathroom to wash your hands (of course we assist)
  
• Can you please wait?
  
• Please sit by your chair until your food is ready.
• Can you please find me (insert toy here)?
• Can you please go to your room, I have to change your diaper? (he's learned to turn around and go in the other direction for this one!)

Oh how quickly time flies.

What do you guys do when it's cold and snowy out?

Well, last weekend, we went to our University Circle Holiday Fest...all of our museums are located in University Circle, within walking distance of one another. They all open their doors and have special events for the Holiday Fest.

So we ventured out on this particularly cold, cold day. And when Jack wears multiple layers, you know it's a cold day. Colin has so many layers on, he couldn't move anything but his eyes. We stopped by each museum just for a break from the cold.

And here I am--dressed in more layers than I have when I go snowboarding! Colin kept calling this horse a "da" or dog. Poor kid couldn't move his arms to pet the horse.Our favorite place was the natural history museum. Colin loved it so much, we bought an annual membership. He just ran from glass case to glass case babbling to the animals. Pretty cool to watch.
Later in the week, our friend Amy stopped over for dinner. Colin was smitten...I've never seen him so giggly before. I think he has his first crush...

Christmas Tree Shopping

Depending on when you asked us, we either had a fake 3 inch tall tree or a dying hibiscus tree as our christmas tree last year. This year, we decided to get the real thing! I grew up with real christmas trees every year, and it just doesn't feel right without one in the house...

On our way to the christmas tree lot...

Our salesperson was kind enough to explain the different types of trees and what they had on the lot. We saw our perfect tree from across the lot, and he said, "well, you just picked our cadillac of christmas trees, the fraser fir!" I couldn't stop laughing. So in case you'd like to see what the cadillac looks and smells like, feel free to stop by!

And finally, our tree at home. Sorry, bad camera skills... It's about 5 feet tall, and we have ornaments that we've collected and have been given as gifts over the past couple years. And yes, we have a snowman on top...not religious, but seriously festive.... perfect for us!

And that's Colin hugging his favorite stuffed animal, eeyore. We can't find this exact version, Disney 2007. If you know of any places that stockpiles eeyores, please let us know. We need back ups!

Thank you!

Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate Colin's bday. We had so much fun. We already miss Aunt Dorothy, and our Virginia and California family. =(

Colin's bday & Thanksgiving

Happy Birthday Colin! One year ago, Jack and I were just hoping and praying to keep this small little baby alive and healthy...and after a year, we've all made it! We celebrated twice--Lori flew in a couple weeks ago, and we celebrated again on Thanksgiving with the rest of the family.

Colin's 1 year stats: 31 inches, 25.8 lbs.

Colin loves grapes, so I attempted to spell his name out with grapes on his cake. The nieces helped me put frosting and sprinkles on the cake. Colin ate all of the grapes and some frosting...

It's winter time here!

Colin's b-day sign from Auntie Lori.

We spent Thanksgiving at Jack's mom's house..and the whole family was in town! Colin was playing in the mud and got his pants wet and dirty. We took them off and were drying them...and then he was called in for the grandkids picture. So he's not in his best outfit, but nevertheless, we have a picture for the memory books. Grandma with all 8 grandkids.

Colin's Uncle Billy is holding him here with all 7 Elwell kids.

Back row: Chris, Matt, Billy, Jack, Nick.

Front row: Pete, Natalie

Happy Birthday Jichan!

This one is for you!

11.5 mo Update

Dear family and friends,

This weekend, mom and dad had planned a trip to visit friends around Ohio. But last minute, dad had to work. I told mom that I would be good, so she decided that we would go on the road trip without dad. I did really well in the car--sleeping and eating. Mom only had to sing "old mcdonald had a farm" one time!

This is me and my new friend, Kate. I held her hand when it was time for pictures! (Springfield, Ohio) Thanks for making lunch for us.

Then we went to Auntie Katie and Auntie Trish's wedding reception. It was so much fun, and I loved playing ball with the big kids! (Dayton, Ohio) Congratulations!

Mom and I stayed at a hotel in Dayton. Mom loved the "king suite," and my favorite room was the bathroom. I love toilet paper rolls.

The next morning, we got to see Meera, mom's friend that's in medical school. She had so much fun playing with me that she's going to look into pediatrics as her specialty. =) And our final stop was in Columbus, Ohio. I got to see Lizzy, and her big sister, Emma. Their mom and dad let them keep a room full of toys that make lots of noise. They are so lucky. The piano was my favorite!

That's it for now. Mom said that if I'm good this week, Auntie Lori is going to come and visit on Thursday. I can't wait!

Love, Colin

P.S. This is dad's favorite picture, and he wanted me to share it with you. Thank you Auntie Dee and Uncle Mike for my Halloween cookie. I was on a bit of a sugar high.

Colin's first steps on a new day

1. Colin took his first steps today. He walked right to me when I picked him up from school!
2. Barack Obama is his president-elect today. What a grand day to take those first steps!
3. Prop 8 passed in California, and I do not understand why all human beings can't be treated equally.

Happy Halloween!

Winnie the Pooh & Elmo, Colin with his friend at school.

Front Page News!

Colin made front page news in our local newspaper, the Sun Press. This photo was taken at the Fall Fest ("Fun Fall Weekend" post). Call us if you'd like an autographed copy. =)

Family Fun in Hawaii

We spent an amazing two week vacation on O'ahu with our close family and friends...
Left-Right:

Ryan & Lori, Mike & Dee, Dad & Mom, Jack, Grandma, Jamie, Colin, Joel

(Brian & Dana aren't in this photo, but see them below on the mopeds.)

What did you guys do in Hawaii?

• snorkle, eat, hike, play gin rummy, swim, body surf, ride a catamoran, eat, nap, kayak, talk, touristy stuff, play poker (and I won!), eat, eat and eat!!
• We hiked Koko Head, Makapu'u, and the ~1000 steps up Koko Crater,
• We enjoyed fine dining at Alan Wong's Restaurant and Roy's Restaurant. We are also lucky enough to have amazing cooks in our family/friends. We ate like royalty at home. The non-cookers did the dishes...Jack and I did dishes.
• We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay 4 times, and I saw a sea turtle each time. What a way to start off my days!
• We saw the Society of Seven at the Outrigger Waikiki, where Lori was pulled on stage to impersonate Elvis!!! See pic below.
• Most of all, we enjoyed good family time with family and friends we don't get to see too often.
  

Where did you stay? We rented a house (Waterfront Oasis.) It was four bedrooms, four bathrooms, with a grand kitchen/living area. We also had our own pool and boat dock with a kayak. What a way to live for 2 weeks.

What did Colin do? He did everything we did! My mom and sister were especially amazing with Colin...teaching him new things, and waking up in the early morning hours to play with him, allowing Jack and I to sleep in a bit longer. A couple new tricks: walking holding one hand, finding his (or your) nose, raising his arms for a touchdown, waving, clapping, finding his duckie (and other favorite toys), and surviving crashing waves! We're not positive, but we think he says "mama" for food.

How was travelling with Colin?

• Door to door, it was approximately 12 hours. 1 hour to Chicago, 1-2 layover, 8-9 hours to O'ahu.
• He's more mobile now, so we had to take many laps up/down the aisles, and used the food area for him to play while the flight attendants were serving.
• I'm sure you can imagine how much we had to pack for Colin, but hands down, we used this travel placemat the most! We highly recommend it for families on the go.

Jamie's top three:
Spending time with family/friends; watching Colin play with family; enjoying barefeet and swimwear everyday.

Fun Fall Weekend

Fall is here (my favorite season)! We went to a neighborhood Fall Festival to celebrate...

Colin loved the petting zoo! He had a moody morning until we sat him down with the sheep and goats. I have a new appreciation for these animals now.


The pumpkin patch at Whole Foods!
Cousin Sam celebrated his 2nd birthday at a bouncy house party place, Pump It Up. Colin wouldn't leave Grandma's side the whole night. Colin's favorite was the bouncy slide..smiles everytime.

I've been trying to think of things to do during winter this year. I get a bit bored with cabin fever myself, and I surely don't want to be bored sitting at home with Colin all winter. But after seeing Colin climb, tumble and roll through this gymboree play area at the Fall Fest, I've found my new winter hang out spot! I'll be checking into classes soon.

happy birthday...

almost 10 mo. picture update

I eat dirt when mom and dad aren't watching me.

Dinnertime is best when I can eat on my own: spaghetti, sweet potato & green pepper sticks, tomato and chicken.

All done!

Dessert: nectarines!
And yes, mom's not lying, I get into EVERYTHING NOW! I love taking things out of drawers, and pulling pictures off of the refrigerator.

I love you Auntie Lori.

See you in 13 days. Get your rest now, so we can play together.