Happy New Year!

Wow, time has been flying by. Colton hit 8 weeks this week and had his 2 month appointment. He weighed barely over 11 lbs and was 23.5 inches long. Woo hoo, big boy! It is so nice to finally have a baby who is in the higher percentiles on weight....45th% to be exact. The little guy eats like a champ and is an awesome sleeper. He sleeps solidly from his 10pm feeding to 7 or 8am every day. The only "hiccup" we've had with him so far is we have him on the Enfamil "Gentlease" formula that is a lower lactose version, as he was having some problems with the regular formula after I switched from breastmilk. He was just noticeably fussy and irritable after his feedings with a hard tummy, so it was probably gas. he's been much better with this formula, so we're sticking to it. It's just a little bit more expensive - is the only downside. Other than that, he's an extremely easy-going baby and smiles a lot now. His older siblings dote on him, and I have to admit I can't wait until he's a little older and can really play with them.

Brandt also went to the pediatrician with us this week, as they have been following his weight gain closely. Unfortunately he lost weight from the last visit 6 weeks ago. UGH! Poor little guy is still only 20 lbs. at almost 2. We are trying to "fatten" him up, and put a renewed emphasis on fatty foods. I went last night and bought him cheesecake, high-fat ice cream, and cinnamon rolls that are made by Cinnabon. It seems so wrong to be purposely searching out the highest fat options, but at the same time, we hope it works. We've tried the adding butter and cheese to everything strategy, but we are hoping the fatty desserts will do the trick, as they have that magic ingredient called SUGAR that every kid loves. We'll see how it goes. Brandt also has a double-whammy in that the allergy test that the pulmonary specialist did on him came back positive for an allergy to dogs. Allergies and asthma are closely linked, and it's somewhat likely that is what has been causing his breathing problems. We'll know more when we go to the specialist again on Feb. 10th, but it's looking like we may have to have a dog-free environment for Brandt growing up....at least while he's a child. We're hoping he outgrows it some day.

Mackenzie has been awesome as usual. She got a really cool electric guitar that she's totally into now, and is about to start taking guitar lessons. What a cutie! I keep thinking she'll be my little Taylor Swift singer-songwriter. We just had someone else the other day comment on how she should be in voice lessons because she has a great voice. She obviously didn't get it from me! She really does love to sing and entertain, and so far she's really picking up guitar quickly. Who knows - this could be one of those defining moments that we look back on...."Well she got her first guitar when she was 8, and the rest was history..."

Jason and I are looking forward to a few upcoming trips we'll have this year. I accomplished enough sales at my company in 2010 to win a trip to St. Maarten in April. We'll be staying at the Westin there, which happens to be on the same little bay as the hotel that Jason and I stayed at in 2006 when we went before. We're hoping to be able to explore the island more this time, as last time we spent most of the time scuba diving, as I was getting my open water certification there. We are also going to stay a few extra days in St. Barths, as we haven't been there before and it's a ferry ride away from St. Maarten. We figure since my company is paying to get us there, might as well take advantage of it and extend the trip a little. In addition to that trip, we're going to take a long weekend at the end of July for Jason's 40th birthday. I just booked the hotels for us to go to Pebble Beach and then Napa Valley. He'll play the famed Pebble Beach golf course on his actual birthday (which he's always wanted to do), and then we'll go to Napa for a few days and stay at an awesome resort there and visit wineries. It's going to be wonderful. You only turn 40 once!

Well I better run, as we are going to celebrate our 3 year anniversary tonight. It's a bit early (12 days), but our old nanny Mary is in town to visit and has offered to let us have a night to ourselves. We're going to stay at the Brown Palace where we had our wedding reception, and enjoy a romantic dinner there together. It'll be our first night away from Colton, but I know he'll be OK, especially since he's become such a good sleeper. 3 years sure has flown by, but at the same time, with 2 kids since then....a lot sure has happened. :-) I've loved every minute of it.