Weeks 8 & 9

Week 8 was a busy one! Colin got to visit both of his parents' offices. At his dad's office, he played with Sorina and got a job offer from Gabe's boss who wanted him to start billing some hours! When he went to his mom's office (or, as Gabe calls it, the "Troutman Lounge" since Karen likes to hang out there so much), he slept the entire time...we'll have to work on his enthusiasm for energy law.

Speaking of Troutman, we thought it would be a good time to post a clip from Karen and Gabe's Troutman baby shower. Clearly this is NOT your typical law firm...

Also during week 8, Aunt Lisa babysat for Colin while Karen and Gabe went to an infant CPR and safety class. And later that week, Gabe and Colin hung out while Karen went out with her bootcamp girlfriends. They did lots of cool, boys-only things together...

Colin has a couple new favorite things - he's been wearing a new "Bootcamp Baby" onesie because he and his mom did bootcamp "together" while she was pregnant. And he uses his new frog towel from Aunt Kerkhoff every single night after his bath!

Unfortunately Grandma McGinnis had to cancel her trip to visit Colin, so Karen and Colin kicked off week 9 with an (almost) surprise trip to Oklahoma to visit her instead. They didn't quite pull off the surprise, but the trip was a blast anyway! Even though Karen broke some of the airline rules (did anyone else know you can't throw diapers away on an airplane???), Colin is now a pro at flying. In fact, he's a bit bored with it I think...

We did all kinds of fun things - visited Grandpa McGinnis at work, attended Grandma McGinnis' garden club meeting, went for a walk by the water and saw lots of Oklahoma wildlife (including an armadillo and lots of ducks).

Grandma and Grandpa McGinnis (and Molly and Bud) were very patient with Colin, even when he was a little cranky in the evenings. They made their home baby friendly by setting up a crib, a fancy changing area that could easily be moved from the bedroom to the living room, and a bath area on the kitchen counter. They also let Colin sleep in their room so they could take some night feedings and Karen could sleep! Colin obviously feels very comfortable around both of them, and as you can see below, thinks his Grandpa McGinnis is a pretty funny guy.

And when Colin was cranky, it made him feel better to give his Grandpa a couple right hooks...

The week ended with a really great doctor appointment where we found out that Colin, at 15 pounds and 24 inches, is literally off the size charts! His doctor (and the nurses, and the lactation consultant, and other moms, and just about everyone else in the office that afternoon...) were thrilled and a little shocked at his size. They said keep up the good work! Colin also got his first round of shots that day - Gabe winced, Colin cried for a few minutes, and Karen almost died. Before we left, the doctor gave us some good advice on how to improve Colin's ability to fall and stay asleep (put him to bed drowsy, not sleeping). The process is a bit painful when we let him cry a little - 5 minutes seems to be Karen's max - but he has been showing lots of improvement and sleeping even longer stretches at night! In fact, since the appointment he has slept at least 7 hours every single night, last night hitting a record-breaking 8.5 hours in a row!

With Colin getting so big, we had to make some adjustments in his car seat and front carrier. Now when he's in the carrier he seems to be able to keep his head up and look around a little more, rather than curling up in a ball and falling asleep on his daddy's chest within the first 30 seconds.

And finally, some of Colin's funny faces from the last couple weeks!