Colby - Growing, but Frustrated

First of all, thank you SO much to everyone that posted a comment in my last posting! Seventeen is a record for me, and I'm thinking of holding some type of contest to encourage more comments...as I know there are others out there that stalk the blog and haven't left a comment yet!

Anyway, I'm still trying to post more often. I have a ton of posts planned with pictures of the Rankin girl cousins coming up, but I'm still finishing editing the pictures; so, until then, here's a post of Colby's latest pictures!

Playing on the floor is still Colby's favorite thing to do...way better then the swing or bouncy seat. However, since we've been making her spend more time on her tummy, she's not quite as thrilled about playtime. She likes to pull herself up on her hands vs her forearms. She thinks she's big stuff then. She'll smile and laugh at you for a bit, and then she gets whiney and mad that she's not on her back. She 'rolled over' once this weekend...if you can call losing her balance and ending up on her back as rolling over! I'm actually worried about her discovering she can roll over onto her back...she'd never ever spend any time on her stomach then! In any case, here are a few pictures...AND two videos of Colby. Please note: the videos aren't the greatest...they're taken with my cell phone. I have to get a video camera ordered soon!

She's starting to notice more of her toys. Until this week, the only thing she was interested in was that mirror that's behind her in this picture. She likes the black and white checks and seeing her reflection move as she moves.

Hello, Mr. Elephant! Where did you come from?!

I think she's studying herself in the mirror in this picture.

A few fun facial expressions! She's very social now and loves it when people talk to her or even just smile at her!


Her more serious look.

I think she somewhat looks like me in this picture!!

She's SO over and done with being on her stomach!



Playing nicely in this video.

Telling you how bad life is on your belly in this one.

The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes

First of all, thank you SO much to everyone that posted a comment on the blog today!!! You cannot even imagine how exciting it is to check it throughout the day and read everyone's comments! And, welcome to the blog Carolyn...who also has a new baby boy named Henry! Nick and I can't wait to meet him. And, ummmm, Bethanie, I thought after your confession that you stalk the blog last Friday night that I could get you to comment! So, I'm really going to harass you at the next Bunco night!!

Now on to the most important part of this post, like I said in my post yesterday, my cousin and his wife Christine welcomed beautiful baby twins on March 5th: Henry Dean and Sophia Rose. They were gracious enough to let me photograph them a week after their birth, but I have to admit, I'm definitely not destined to be a children's photography in life. I find it very hard to get their little bodies to lay like I want them too! Notice that no one has received a birth announcement about my own child! That's because every time I get all set up to take her pictures she scowls at me, goes cross-eyed, or has limbs flailing everywhere! Thus, the photographer has no formal pictures of her child yet...just like the cobbler's children never had shoes. In any case, in the small amount of time I gave Sophia and Henry, they did wonderful and gave me some wide-eyed photos and some fun ones too. Here are some of my favorites.

Henry gave me a little smile.

...and some big eyes.


...and a fist. Pow! Pow! This is what you get for making my sister cry!

Sophia crying. She had better things to do besides get her pictures taken.

"Sophia," Henry said, "Your crying is getting old. It is my picture too, you know."

Sophia realized that Henry was right. This was her moment to shine. And oh how her eyes did shine! (PS - I LOVE this picture!)

Brother and sister finally at peace.

"Yummy. Is that Johnson and Johnson lotion I taste?" said Henry.

"I was thinking the EXACT same thing," replied Sophia.

The New Twins

OK, I am working REALLY hard here to post every day and there's only three comments posted? What??? This is probably going to be the last time I post every day if I'm going to only get a few people leaving comments! For you blogstalkers out there, I am a comments stalker!!! I check the site all the time to see if people left comments; so, PLEASE leave me a comment! It's the fuel that keeps this blogger going!

Now, on to the post! As I posted a couple of weeks ago, my cousin Kyle and his wife Christine had twins this month! Yeah! Here are a few pictures from our visit to the hospital to see the new cuties!

Baby Sophia was bright-eyed all evening!

Kori holding Baby Henry.

Here's my Uncle Randy keeping Colby occupied.

Kyle spent a lot of time at our house growing up. My sister Karen kept telling him she was going to be an aunt to his babies instead of a second cousin, once removed...or whatever the correct term would be. Kyle kept giving her flack over that. Really though, he was the brother we never had growing up, and we're so happy for him.

Sophia's thinking about drifting off to sleep.

Kyle's brother Mark came home from college to see his new niece and nephew.

I drove Mark's twin brother Matt home from college to see the babies. I tried to get him to change Colby's diaper to practice, but he wouldn't go for it.

The old twins holding the new twins. :)

Here's a little preview of tomorrow's pictures. I go tthe chance to take the twins' pictures the week after they were born. This is little Sophia gazing at her mom. Her look translates to "Mom, make the crazy woman with the camera stop! I just want to eat and go to sleep. And, Henry keeps touching me. Make him stop touching me, Mom!" Hehehe!

Baptism Preparation

Baptisms are a big deal in my family; so, a week before Colby's baptism, my parents, their spouses, my sisters and all of their husbands, kids, toys, suitcases, and helping hands came into town. Here are some snapshots from the few days before the baptism and the few days afterwards.

Hello, Cousin Jacob. I love you. Please pay attention to me.

Hello, Blue Eyes.

Colby looks so small in this picture in my opinion!

Jacob can't take a break from flexing his brain power even on vacation!

Mmmmm. Supper was yummy.

I do NOT like my new hat, Mom!

This problem is SO hard to work out...even with paper.

Loving cousins.

Mom finally got Colby to go asleep...although in a weird position.

Karen taking her turn spoiling Colby.


Ornery Emma and Anna!


Great Aunt Stacy (GAS) occupying Colby.

Emma looking all grown up. :)

Colby's Baptism

Some people cry at weddings. Others at funerals. Me - I cry at baptisms. It doesn't matter if it's an infant or an adult. I get teary-eyed. So, three weeks ago, when our families gathered at church to baptize Colby, I made the horrible mistake of not taking a tissue to the front of the church with me. "I'll be fine I told myself. I'm going to really concentrate on the words so that I don't have time to get teary-eyed." Whatever. I spent almost the entire time up there concentrating on not letting my nose run! Halfway through the ceremony, I finally threw the towel in and let my nose run. It was more important to pay attention to one of the most important moment's in my little girl's life.

On a lighter note, I've taken the proverbial beating (like how I'm mixing a little biblical humor into this paragraph??) for not updating the blog in, like, FOREVER! So, as humble penitence (again with a biblical word!!), I promise to blog every single day this week! I already have what I'm planning to post for each day...so, watch out for coming pix from the baptism preparations, the baby twins in the hospital, the baby twins first photo shoot, Rankin cousins photo shoot, and perhaps a few more of my every-changing Colby. She's getting SOOO big that I hardly recognized her in some of these pictures that I've posted today!!

The people who have vowed to make sure Colby is raised in the church. Nick's Uncle Larry assisted Pastor in the baptism, and his Grandmother embroidered the napkin that was used to wipe her head.

Colby is wearing the McCormick family gown, and the blanket that she is wearing was the one my Grandma Rankin made for me to wear at my baptism.

Her candle being lit.


Amelia on Grandpa Rankin's lap....she was SO good the whole ceremony!

Me, Nick, Colby and her sponsors.

Kim showing her sass at the lunch afterwards. The two grandpas are behind her...probably talking about what a

perfect baby Colby is. :)

Aunt Kendall came in from the great, white Norte' for the baptism, but she couldn't stay long....because she was headed out for a Caribbean cruise later that week! Argh!

Great Aunt Gail (GAG, as we call her) keeping the chickies busy!

Lining up for the good food! My great friend Allison Vonderheide catered the lunch for us! If anyone reading this ever needs a caterer, call her! It was fabulous!!!...smoked ham, twice-baked mashed potatoes, homemade croissants!

Colby's cake.

Cousin Claire being gregarious with all of these kids to play with!

The day the bad habit started: Colby has discovered that it's quite soothing to suck on your fingers. we try to curb this bad habit, but at night we can hear her doing it behind our back! She's sneaking bad habits on us already!!

Thanks for checking in!!! Kelly