Colt Bonham

:) !!!

summer love

woooooah. so I've seriously neglected this blog! I keep meaning to write a post, but I seem to get distracted. ok, so where to begin... baby Colt has been a busy little dude.

june 6:
Colt and I went on a trip to Victoria, B.C.!! we were there for 10 days... we flew with his uncle Chad and auntie Ann and while there he met his Grandpa Craig, Great Auntie Brigitte, Great Uncle Curtis, and Great Auntie Corinne. It was so nice going out everyday in the sun on long walks and hikes, checking out the ocean, the parks, baby billy goats and duckies, butchart gardens, good meals, swimming and spending time with family. (pictures to follow soon, promise.) also, grandpa taught him how to 'cluck'. he loooves making the sound over and over. he also learned to drink from a straw. :)


june 11:
we were (mostly) all out for dinner, and I was explaining to my family about teaching Colt sign language... about 10 mins later he was all fussy and I was trying to feed him bits of food off my plate when he clear as day looked at me and signed "milk" !!!! I was like 'wow! he just did the sign for milk!' and everyone looks over and he did it again. I went and nursed him and ahh it was such a great moment. I'm so proud of him. didn't see it again for a couple of days and again after that for another few, but he has since been quite consistent with it. It's sooo nice for him to be able to communicate that to us.
june 15:
the day before we were leaving (and before 3 plane rides! ha) Colt began teething. he sprouted his top 4 front teeth all at once within a week! he now has 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. holy hot cranky drooly mess. fun times on the planes... overall he did pretty good though, considering. (thanks Chad!)


june 19:
my mom taught him his first word. was it mama? dada? nope. it's "uh-oh". it's also a fun game.. throw a toy on the floor and say "uh-oh" pick it up, throw it, repeat. TOO cute. (and annoying picking up the toy over and over but so worth it)

june 29:
his 9 month appointment was short and sweet. he is still at 21lbs, and is 31" tall. we were referred to a pediatrician to make sure his head is doing ok since it's a bit on the big side. we were given the clear! yay! (the worry was hydrocephalus).

july 3:
he gave his first kisses, but it was a one night deal. he gave them to grandma then daddy then me. it melted my heart. he will not do it again though.. I think he knows how bad I want him to give me kisses so he holds out. lol

july 4:
he learned to wave hi!!! love love love it. he is really good at waving when he hears someone say hi to him, strangers at the store, when we answer the phone.. most times he hears it he waves. adorable. I'd been trying to teach this for awhile with no luck, but one day we were shopping at Ikea and he was upset so we stopped in the mirror department. he was quite fascinated with his handsome little self so I started waving and saying 'hi colt' and he started waving back. it was like it just clicked for him and he's done it ever since. he can't pass a mirror or his reflection without waving no matter if he just woke up or if he is completely crabby and crying. awwww. (see end of video below)

july 11:
he has also been very frustrated about sitting and not being able to get anywhere, until now... he can crawl!!! yup, we now have a mobile baby getting into everything. he's quite happy with himself.

he also has a new favourite toy to go with his new mobility.. a ball! he can throw it and chase it everywhere. which, brings us to the next exciting news. he can say "ball"! it doesn't sound exactly like ball, but he is getting close. if you ask him where it is he searches for it and gets it.

july 15:
today at the park we were going for a walk and my mom and I were talking and Colt was babbling excessively, and she stops and says what is he going on about?! we listened and he was saying ball ball ball ball ball... sure enough there are kids practicing soccer everywhere! aww it was sooo cute. smart little boy.

when we got home I picked up one of robs hats and he was interested so I said, 'daddy's hat' and he said "hat". it sounded more like "aught" but he tried a few times. he is really trying hard to learn everything, it is truly amazing to watch. he also tried "book" tonight.. he repeated it a few times but mostly it sounds like "ook". we'll be working on both of those lots.

also when he sees the fan he gets mesmerized so we have been saying 'round and round' and circling our arms.. he started repeating the action and if we randomly say 'round and round' he looks up for a fan and starts to move his arm around.

whew, what else?

he's enjoying the summer days and going for lots of walks. he likes swimming in the pool in our yard and trying out his little boat. he loves watching the kitties and 'petting' (grabbing) at them. I think he tried to imitate a meow today. he looooves aurora and playing with her. he loves cartoons (yes he watches them sometimes). he bumped his head on the desk and got his first real bruise. he pulled up on the ottoman for the first time, he's very wobbly but loves to stand and gets really excited. he is famous for a 'little scrunched up nose face' these days and showing his teeth and doing really loud sniffs. I caught him on video snoring away in his buggy today.

told you he was a busy little guy.

hmm, the food department... Colt has basically been on a 'milk only, I hate food' phase the past month, which has been exhausting and slightly confusing. he finally this past week is back into solids. he loooves cottage cheese! finger foods are a big hit too.. anything with some texture. he's too much of a big boy for silly baby purees apparently. as well Colt is a pescetarian like his mommy and daddy, and is doing very well so far without meat. he is still getting most nutrients from his milk though, so as he begins weaning and living off of food we may end up giving him meat. we will be seeing a dietician soon to make the best choices for him and our chosen diet.

in other 'green' type news, he is soon to be outgrowing the majority of his cloth diapers, so we will soon be searching for new ones. I'm so happy we are cloth diapering. so many doubted this choice, and I'm proud to say we are still doing it. baby Colt is starting off his life right for this planet. :)

he is growing up so fast I could write an update everyday.. if I had time to sit down from chasing him. lol.
oh one last thing. he is cuter than ever.
:)

beach babe

little baby Colt is pretty well travelled for his age! we got back not long ago from beautiful West Palm Beach Florida, a two week vacation! It was so nice. Colt had a blast and many firsts. It took us a 3 day drive each way and he did very well. By the 3rd day on the way back home, he was pretty fed up but managed to not lose all control.. just got very very whiny. he did so great though overall, I'm very proud of him.

On the trip down things were going smooth, we left in the night to make it easier with Colt's sleep schedule (if you can call his crazy irregular nights a schedule, ha!). At about 3 am we ran over a rock or something and ended up with a flat tired, which Rob changed fairly quickly while I tended to Colt. BUT we left the lights on and drained the battery (ugh) and had to call AAA after all to come boost us. Over an hour at the side of the highway (120km hr speed limit!) in the middle of the night with dying four way flashers and a baby.. scary and not fun. the rest of the drive went great though!

Colt went for his first swim at the hotel the second night and looooved it! I was so happy to see he liked being in the pool. he really took to showers on this trip too. while we were in Florida he went swimming almost everyday either at the pool or the ocean. plus all the baths to rinse him off, he was in the water like 2-6 times a day!

His beach gear was pretty cute.. he hated putting the sunscreen, hat and sunglasses on and was very vocal about hating it, but once it was all on he was actually good about keeping them on. His biggest problem with being in the pool was splashing himself in the face so the glasses helped him out with that. he really enjoyed the beach too.. so much to see! the waves were a tiny bit scary but he got over them quick and loved bobbing around in the water.

(lots more pictures on facebook here)

it was my first mothers day while we were on vacation too! it was SUCH a gorgeous day. I woke up to colt & rob bringing me flowers and a card and breakfast in bed! Then we spent the day hanging out at the beach and collecting sea shells and swimming. best day ever.

while in florida he learned to clap! something we had been working on for awhile and he just started doing it while he was happy the one day. he's been clapping everyday since, usually when he is really happy! soooo cute! he often does it when you just say 'clap clap clap' now. he knows 'drum drum drum' means to pat on a surface too. i love it! he has little toy bongos as well as a real bongo drum that he gets a huge kick out of.

video of baby Colt clapping, this was one of his first few times, he claps much better now. :)

his gobabygo drum


since we have been home he has been sleeping a bit better, trying a few new foods and overall being a better eater. he likes eating 'puffs' now too and just moved onto 'mum mums'. he also started "baa" sounds in favour of "ma ma mom mom" sounds. he started waving bye bye this week and if we say "bye-bye" he says "ba-ba-ba-ba" and waves. tooo cute! he also was weighed this past week and weighs 21lbs!! little pork chop, he's growing sooo fast.

and a video of the mum mums & drums. :)

(ps. aurora got the cookie. lol)

also, this morning Colt had his first emergency room visit.. So Colt is usually very regular with his poopy diapers, 2 a day.. by evening yesterday he had none which we thought was strange but not a big deal.

He went to bed at 9:30pm and wasn't wet after his last diaper change being 7:30pm. At 1:00am still no wet diaper, which has almost never happened that he would be dry at a night wake up.. We decided we would wait for his next wake up and see before we worry. 5:00am next wake up and no wet diaper so we called the telehealth nurse and she had us try blowing on him and compressing his bladder a tiny bit. If that didn't work we should bring him to the ER... I guess after 8 hours it's a worry and warrants a trip to the hospital.

so we get to the ER by 6:00am and Colt is happy as can be, like super happy, to be on a little morning adventure. We go through the triage check up and he is laughing and smiling through the temperature taking, heartrate and blood pressure check.

As soon as we go to the waiting room.. he pees. The triage nurse said since he is in such great spirits and seems fine, we might as well go home. Fun times in the early morning hours... sigh.

(too much info alert: as of now we just fed him some prunes and are still waiting on the poopy diaper... oh the joys of parenthood!)(edited to add: he pooped. a "man" poop in robs words.. eew! poor baby)

mmm mm good

today was baby food making day! colt's freezer cubes needed some replenishing, as well as finally adding a couple other items such as sweet potato and acorn squash. I also threw a couple of avocado in there, but I'm pretty sure he still hates them. he had a sample of the sweet potatoes while they were still nice and warm and he loooves them! Also I ground up some rolled oats into a powder to make him some oatmeal cereal. He likes having cereals mixed up with the cubes of pureed fruits and veggies.

sweet potatoe, acorn squash, avocado, apple, banana, & pear

the aftermath of baby food making

Also, tomorrow is a sad day. I am leaving Colt for the whole weekend!! We had our first overnight apart 2 weeks ago, but this is going to be a full weekend away from my little babe. So sad. He does not do very well with a bottle, he much prefers mommy so it's going to be rough on him. He will be with daddy on friday then grandma on saturday and sunday so he is in good hands. I have a feeling no one is going to be getting sleep. Also, I have a clogged milk duct right now that is so painful and causing flu like symptoms. I hope it goes away really quickly because it is going to be pretty rough on me as it is trying to keep my milk supply stable this weekend without Colt.

and, speaking of going away.. Colt is fast becoming a little jetsetter! Next week we have decided to drive down to West Palm Beach Florida for a nice family vacation. I cannot wait!! I'm worried about the 3 day drive for Colt in the car as well as protecting him from the sun once we are there, but it is all going to be so worth it. THEN we are only home for a couple of weeks and we are off to Victoria BC! Coast to coast. Fun adventurous times for the little boy.

And in closing... Colt's favourite thing these days.. smashing things. He loves loud noises and banging, drumming, smashing, dropping toys.. anything to make noise. Every time he gets something in his hand he has to test out how it sounds being banged. Loud, but cute!

colt's trip to the zoo!

little Colt had his first trip to the zoo this week! We went with his 'aunties' Laura (for her birthday), Vanessa & Christine, and 'uncle' Erik. soooo much fun!

The weather was pretty nice and Colt visited pretty much every animal in the zoo. He was a very good boy despite such a long day trip. He liked looking at all the people and having his aunties play with him as much as he liked looking at the animals.

He got a little zoo sun hat but even still he got a little sunburn on his one cheek. I felt like a pretty bad mommy... clouds are deceiving! It was basically gone the next day though, lots of cream later. He also brought some of his animal toys to the zoo to show off to the real animals, like his Sophie the giraffe and the monkey Uncle Chad bought him. I think he liked watching the wall of fish the best as far as the animals go though. Good times!

In other news, I have been very busy helping Candace get ready for her wedding, so I have not been doing too many updates. That and Colt is very demanding of attention these days!! If he is awake, he wants to be paid attention to and carried around. He is a pushy little guy that knows what he wants. haha. He squirms around in our arms a lot to get to the direction and places he needs to go. Busy little guy, busy mommy.

He also has a new stroller! It's a nice lightweight one, good for his trips through the house. Also.. my good little sleeper is gone. He is waking a few times through the night now and last night it was almost every single hour. sigh. I think he is going through another growth spurt, at least I'm hoping that is why he is waking so often and soon he will return to longer sleeps. He is doing good with his food too.. carrots, bananas, peach, pear, apple, as well as oatmeal cereal. I have some sweet potatoes and an acorn squash to make up with the next big baby food making day. Also, I think I may attempt the avocado again, for a good laugh if anything!

The last few days his new obsession is sticking his tongue out and making sounds... the result is a lot of spitting. It's SO cute. Well, everything he does is cute but this little act in particular is pretty fun to watch. I don't know how it's possible but I just fall in love with this little boy more and more every day!!

give peas a chance

haha, a little ended up in his mouth but he wasn't really a fan. It was WAY more fun to play with.
(ps. click photos to enlarge.. lol you can really get the true scope of the mess this way)

shadow puppets

so the other night Colt decided 3am was a fun time to wake up and PLAY! yay. (for 3 hours!)
He was rolling around and play yelling in his crib for awhile then came into bed with me, only to continue playing. He thought it was hilarious to grab my nose and chin while I was trying to sleep, and kicking my face was also tremendous fun! As he was kicking his toes in the air and clapping his feet, he noticed the shadows they were making on the wall. He started kicking them like crazy, then would stop and watch for the shadows, then start up again. tooooo cute!
I was a mean mommy and turned the light off though. lol. 20 mins of back rubbing later, he was sound asleep.
I love waking up to his little smiling face...

happy 6 months baby Colt!

baby Colt is officially 6 months old now! I can't believe how fast the time is going by... my little tiny holding baby is growing up.

He went in for his 6 month shots and was really good with them this time. He weighs 19lbs 9oz and is 31" tall! He is over the 100th percentile for his height, holy tall boy. Everything went very well at his appointment and he goes back at 9 months for a check up. He has had a bit of a hoarse voice/scratchy throat this past week though, and has not been sleeping too well. It's made for some pretty tired mornings for Rob and I.

Colt is at a super fun age these days! he demands constant attention when he is awake, and is so curious about everything that is going on. He has a new found love for daddy's hat and has a cute little habit of putting his hands behind his head and belly scratching. The other morning when we heard him on the monitor, we found he had rolled to his tummy in his crib. It happened 3 times, and of course he was upset about it once he is on his front.

As far as his eating is going, I was worried about my milk supply this past week due to his fussiness and not sleeping, but I think now it is just a growth spurt he is going through and not my milk. He has been nursing a lot and is still having cereal mixed with banana or pear for dinner. We will be starting breakfast and maybe a lunch as well of fruits/veggies/cereals. He has only had rice cereal so far, so I'm thinking we may try some oatmeal next. This week on the menu, we will be adding apples and peaches! He tried some sugar snap peas and hated them, but we'll give them a go again too.

Oh yah! Since he is such a big boy I checked the label on his car seat, and yah, he is under the weight limit still but he is over for height!! I didn't even realize... we rushed out last night and my mom bought him his big boy car seat. Can't wait to see how he likes it this weekend, it looks pretty awesome.

sunny day cave baby

some warm weather is finally upon us and it is SO nice to get out of the house with Colt. He took his first couple of stroller rides without the car seat and really likes sitting up like a big boy. He is getting pretty big for his car seat these days.
We went for a hike at some nearby caves on Sunday with my mom and Aurora. It was pretty awesome! I wore Colt on my back in a hiking carrier and he really enjoyed it. He was wearing his little baby banz (headband sunglasses). Since it was so nice out the trails were pretty busy and so many people that passed us were like "aww did you see the babys glasses?"
too cute.

We will have to go back sometime without Colt though so we can actually climb down into the caves with some flashlights. They were a lot more impressive than I thought, and it's strange how it was the first time going there and they are literally 5 minutes from our house!!

rock & roller

he rolls! He has done it twice before from back to tummy, but they were kind of accidental I think. Last night, he was very very determined to roll over and does this little face smush wiggle into the floor until he suddenly flips. Then he cries because he hates being on his tummy, but it was awesome. I was too amazed by watching him to take my eyes away long enough to grab the video camera, but one will follow soon. He started the face smush wiggle a few times today but didn't care enough to go all the way, so hopefully we'll get another roll soon. I think today he was just camera shy. :)

Also, Colt visited his aunties (who are 3.5 years and 1.5 years old) as well as his best buddy Miles (3 weeks older than Colt) and looooves seeing other little people! too cute.

In food news:
bananas with rice cereal - good
bananas on their own - good (in his little mesh fruit feeder)
avocado - bad, very very bad (and hilarious)
avocado with rice cereal and milk - still very very bad
avocado in the fruit feeder - must be poison

holiday cards

I have been making 'cards' for all of Colt's first holidays. Some we have sent out, but mostly I am just printing one out to put in his keepsakes box to look back on all of his firsts. Here is the collection thus far: birth announcement, halloween, christmas, valentines day. ( click to enlarge & see less blurry)

5 months old

baby Colt is 5 months old today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. He is looking so big to me these days. I miss my little holding baby, but he is at such a fun age right now! He has big belly laughs all the time and gives little hugs and cuddles. He really is such a sweet and super easy baby.
milestones & goals:
- we have been working on sitting up for awhile now, but he still does a faceplant if he is left for more than 15 seconds
- he finally is okay being on his tummy without screaming
- he has started tucking up his knees and raising his bum in the air in crawl position (ahh!)
- he did his first back to tummy roll
- he can stand by himself if he is holding onto the ottoman
- we started organic rice cereal and he loves it!
- we are finally full time cloth diapering as he fits into them now (yay!)

lounging, showing off his 5month old belly

ready to go out in his little hoodie

playing in the bath

working on his crawl position

standing on his own like a big boy