Spring

We've been having lots of fun and it's been nice to spend a little time outside in the sun. I'll recap what's been going on in the last month or so:

Spring break- It was so nice to stay home, relax, and spend time together for 2 weeks. We caught up on sleep, and explored a few new places around Portland, including a good used book store and Multnomah Falls. We went one day and it was rainy, so we didn't hike to the top. But we went back a few days later to do the whole hike.

 Rob's parents came for one of the weekends. It was a fun visit- we introduced them to Ikea and had some delicious Red Lobster. We also made sushi while they were here, and it turned out pretty good. We were glad they were able to come visit! And we wish we had remembered to take pictures. 

During the last weekend of the break, Rob's sister Amber and her family came to town and we went with them to the OMSI. Again we forgot to take pictures except for on this camel in the Egypt exhibit.

Rob started his 3rd quarter at school. From what we have heard, this is supposed to be one of the hardest quarters. He has also gotten back into running a little bit and we're both looking into training for races this summer.

Collin is 7 months now. He weighs almost 19lbs! He loves "standing up" with help. When he's laying on his back and we take his hands to pull him to a sitting position, he straightens his body so he stands all the way up. And when he's being held standing up, he also loves to jump! His favorite is "jumping" all the way up the stairs. He has also been rolling all over the place lately, and I can no longer leave him on the couch or bed, even for a second. Or change his diaper without him rolling over. He has lots of energy, smiles, and laughs. 

Messy eater

Finally getting to spend some time outside!

This last weekend, my dad came to visit. We did some shopping and Laurel and her family came over and decorated cupcakes with us. 

For Easter dinner, we made ribs and mashed potatoes. 

Collin got some fun things in his Easter basket and so far has enjoyed chewing on the books the most.

Happy Easter!

Cribs

Here are some pictures of our new apartment. We really like it, and it feels more like "home" than our last place ever did. There's a lot more storage and floor space, and it's in a little gated complex with lots of our fellow student friends.

Kitchen/Dining area

Living Room

Our little "yard," with a storage area.

Stairs and entry- In the entry area is a bathroom, closet, and laundry area.

Downstairs half bath

Upstairs bathroom

Our bedroom. There's enough room for a desk for Rob to study.

3-door closet

Collin's room

Other side

Collin's huge closet

Time to relax!

Rob has a break from school this week and next week. It's so nice to be able to relax at home! We had been so busy the last few weeks with moving right before finals, and I am proud of us for all we got done!
I was in charge of almost all the packing while Rob was at school or studying, and we have definitely accumulated a lot of stuff! I also had to do a lot of cleaning in our old apartment, along with taking care of Collin, who would really prefer to be held all day (and night). Somehow I got it all done, and didn't even miss a day at the gym (even increased my running distance too)!
Rob had to squeeze in as much time as he could to study while we were getting ready for the move, and moving day was the Saturday before finals week, so he couldn't study much that weekend. However, he managed to do really well on all of his tests!
We had lots of help from friends on moving day and it went really quickly and smoothly. We love our new apartment and are constantly commenting on how much better it is than our last place. We'll have to take some pictures soon and post them.

Collin is 6 months old today. He's around the 50th percentile for weight and 70th for height. (17 lbs, 8oz and 27 inches). He's growing fast and his hair is still sticking straight up! I love it. He is so happy and funny all the time. He loves to see new faces and gives everyone big smiles and sometimes big laughs. He's tried some new foods and today's sweet potatoes were the biggest hit so far! He could hardly wait for me to refill the spoon each time. We love our funny boy! He's so cute. Here are a few 6 month pictures we took today.

Loves playing with his feet these days

He also loves it when we make his arms dance!

Matching hairstyles

And another favorite from this week. . .

Cracks us up!!

Updates

I can't believe February is almost over! We've been busy, but not with anything too exciting. Rob has been studying hard, and Collin has been keeping me constantly busy. He is becoming quite the screamer. He just loves his parents so much, he never wants to be put down some days! He's also been in a stage of horrible sleeping habits. . . waking up several times per night (at least 3, at most 7!) with difficulty getting back to sleep. However, he is so adorable and fun, and he's getting quite the personality. He smiles and laughs easily and loves to see new faces and surroundings. We're so grateful to have such a healthy, high-energy boy.

We are also getting ready to move to a townhouse apartment closer to Rob's school.  We had been thinking of moving there for a while, and everything fell right into place for us. The packing and moving part will be pretty hectic, but we're excited for our new place.

Superbaby

There's a lot of drooling going on around here.

I like this picture. Collin looks so chubby and serious.

We tried out rice cereal in an attempt to get him to sleep better. He ate it for a couple of days, but now he won't.

Handsome boys

We went ice skating. So much fun!!

4 Months

 Collin is 4 months old now and getting so big. He had a doctor's appointment this morning and he weighs 15lbs, 6oz and he's 25 inches long. He's between the 50th and 75th percentile for everything and growing perfectly. He also had shots at this appointment, and hardly even reacted! I was amazed. 

I had to take some pictures of what his hair looks like right now. It sticks straight up, even when I try to flatten it. And it's all the same length so people always ask me if I cut it. But nope, he just has a natural little crew cut.

A picture of Rob and Collin on a day when they happened to be wearing almost the same thing.

Holidays Part 2

 For Christmas, we drove to Salt Lake to spend it with my parents.  Even though we've said many times that we never want to make that drive in the winter again, the trip was well worth it, and the roads were even clear for us most of the way. We were nervous about the long trip with Collin, but he did a lot better than we expected. When he was awake, he was most entertained by a box of Mike & Ikes.  He loved the sound when I shook them and stared for a long time. He slept most of the way, then surprisingly slept well that night also! He is the best baby.

He got another box in his stocking for the ride home.

Reuben and Katie were in Salt Lake and Liz came for a couple of days with her kids. The day after we arrived, we went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert to see my dad sing, along with David Archuleta. We really enjoyed it! Dane and Bridget Smith came along and it was great to catch up with them, as always.

After the concert

Collin and Grandpa after the concert

We went back to Temple Square the next night with my family to look at the light displays. Collin loved looking at the lights! (Although he definitely got tired of being in that infant carrier for so long).

I like this picture with the temple in the background

Mesmerized by the lights

We also went to Thanksgiving Point to look at the lights display, took some walks, did some shopping, lots of relaxing, and definitely lots of eating Christmas treats (my mom's sugar cookies are the best in the world, and I've been obsessed with shrimp ever since my dad grilled us some). It was really good to spend Christmas with my family. Collin got some toys that he is starting to show interest in. Our gift to ourselves was a camcorder, and we love it. I always love watching home videos and we decided it was important to make our own.

Cute in his 1st Christmas outfit

We got dressed up and took some family pictures while we were there. We were intending to send out delayed Christmas cards with pictures, but I guess that just didn't happen. Maybe next year :) Collin was adorable in his little fancy outfit.

He is such a happy, smiley boy!

     While we were there, my dad made Collin laugh hard for the first time! He'd had really short beginnings of laughs before, but his grandpa just cracked him up.
     Another exciting thing was that Collin's eye suddenly got better. He'd had a blocked tear duct in his left eye, so ever since he was 3 weeks old, it was constantly gunky and watery. We had to clean his eye out and massage his duct several times a day. (If you look at the picture above, you can see gunk underneath). As soon as we got to Salt Lake, it got much worse, we assumed because his eyes watered more in the dry climate (maybe). Then, the day he turned 3 months old, he woke up with no gunk, and there hasn't been any since! We're pretty happy about that.
     We made it back to Portland before New Year's. We went to our ward party, which ended at 8, and barely made it to midnight to watch the ball drop.
     Since then, Rob has started his 2nd quarter of school. It's nice to get back into a good routine. We recently got new church callings- Rob teaches Sunday School for 12-13 year olds, and I am an Activity Days leader with the 8-11 year old girls. We're excited for 2011!