Road Trip!

This past weekend, we took our first road trip with Colby...to San Antonio!  We made the trip to attend my cousin's baby shower, but we incorporated some sight-seeing as well, since Robert has never really seen San Antonio.

We left around noon on Saturday, and I-10 was PACKED!  As we inched along, we found out there was a "major accident" on the highway about 8 miles from where we live.  It took us 1 1/2 hours to go 2 miles, and we finally gave up, took the first exit, looped back and went a different way.  It took us 5 hours to get to San Antonio, and it only took us 3 hours when we returned on Monday.  Needless to say, I was a bit of a wreck, what with the slow moving traffic, others illegally speeding by on the "evacuation lane" and a little one in the back on his first, seemingly endless road trip.  But Robert stayed cool and collected and we made it all in one piece.

Once we got there, it was very much worth it.  The shower was held at La Escondida, an event center my dad's cousin leases, and it was gorgeous!  There were about 60 guests, most of which were family, and the entire shower was held outdoors.  We played games like guess how many times a roll of toilet paper will go around Jamie's belly, and guess what baby toy is in the bag!  Everyone loved seeing Colby, and there were a few other little ones running around, too.

The next day, we gathered with close family at my aunts where the parents-to-be opened all of their gifts from the shower, and we got to talk a bit more.  My cousin received lots of adorable books, including Goodnight iPad, a twist on the classic Goodnight Moon!  She works at Facebook, and she gave Colby a dark blue Facebook onesie, which I can't wait for him to grow into!

We left there and toured downtown San Antonio - we went to the Alamo and then walked the Riverwalk.  It was great, though a little hot, and we had to carry Colby's stroller down the stairs to the Riverwalk, but I had a blast, eating tres leches and sipping margaritas at one of the restaurants along the bank.  We got back to the hotel, and had planned to meet up with everyone again, but by then it was Colby's bedtime, and I was exhausted.  So we made it an early night, and then got on the road early the next morning to beat the traffic - back home by 11 am!  And later that day, I got to take a nap!!!  What a great weekend!

Also, notice my picture editing skills getting better...

Super Dad

I know Robert's a good dad, but it was infinitely evident as he was about to walk out the door with his bags the Thursday before last, and my mom was waiting at her car to take him to the airport.  Instead of just heading out, he stopped, turned around and went to the pack n' play for a final kiss and hug from Colby.  So sweet!

I've always known and appreciated how much Robert does for me, and now us, but as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.  And now that he's been gone for several days, I appreciate him even more.  Things I've noticed:
If Robert isn't here to make dinner, I tend not to eat it.
Dishes don't get washed as easily.  Especially bottles.
My covers on the side of the bed aren't turned down for me at night when I go to bed.
Noises in the evening startle me a little bit more.
Colby seems to not sleep as well through the night either.
Errands that need to be run during the week do not get run - like grocery shopping.
And when it's just Colby and me, and a 5 day work week, I get TIRED!


On top of all of the things he does for us, he still has enough generosity left to consider spending a week at his grandfather's house rebuilding his roof, cleaning up the yard, raking the leaves on over an acre of land, fixing a four-wheeler and heaven knows what else

When Robert did come home last Thursday, we both thought Colby would be so happy and smiley to see him.  However, the opposite happened!  As soon Robert held Colby, he started crying and screaming and didn't settle down until a half hour after his usual bedtime.  I think he was just overcome emotionally, and those were tears of joy...


Thanks Robert, for everything you do for us!  I'm so glad you're home! 

In the Garden

Not much done today.  We went to a used bookstore to find some children's books on sale, but came away with nothing.  Even though they were cheap, these books were not quality - i.e. small and easily torn pages, poor illustrations, etc.

We did go over to my parent's for dinner, and got several amazing shots of Colby in my mother's garden.

A Great Day

Today was a great day!  Colby was so happy all day long!  He smiled at EVERYTHING.  And he played on his activity mat long enough for me to finish a 45 minute workout AND take a shower without having to console him once!  We also played Peek-a-boo successfully for the first time.  It involved covering Colby's face with a blanket and then removed it shouting "I FOUND YOU!" and by golly it got the biggest grins I've ever seen!

I went to my friend's bridal shower today too, and while I was there, my dad watched Colby.  They apparently spent the majority of the time outside on my parents newly redone patio, watching golf, and "watching golf."  The lighting was so perfect when I came back, I was able to get some beautiful shots of Colby, no flash required.  And the background of the chair cushions and his shirt really makes his beautiful blue eyes pop!  Enjoy!

Now that he's asleep, the perfect end to the day - time for a pint of ice cream, and the last two episodes of House on Hulu before the series finale on Monday....  :)

Play Date

Today, my friend, Susana, brought her baby boy, Sam, over for a playdate with Colby.  Susana and I met at a class at BP when I was around 20 weeks pregnant.  We started chatting, and formed a quick friendship, and kept meeting for lunches to compare notes throughout our pregnancies.  Sam was born 6 weeks after Colby, and we've been getting them together once a week since Sam was a month old.  Since I've started back at work, there's been a bit of a hiatus between visits, so it's been 6 weeks since they've seen each other.  They stayed over for 3 hours, and between the feedings, naps and diaper changes, we congratulated each other on how far we've both come on our competency as mothers.

We like getting together because it seems a lot of moms groups in the area include mothers with much older children than our own.  And Susana and I LOVE to compare our boys because their physical traits are so different, but they are both sooo cute!  Colby is blonde, bald, blue-eyed and whiter than a sheet while Sam has such dark features, and you can actually SEE his hair, eyebrows (and even a little mustache above his lip now)!  The first visit, Colby looked like such a chub next to Sam.  But today we discovered that although Sam is a bit younger than Colby, he has actually surpassed Colby in weight, height, and head size!  This side by side shows how big these boys have grown, as well as the clarity difference between my old and new camera!  Haha - it also shows how much I have to learn about this stinking photo editor!

Colby (10 weeks) and Sam (4 weeks) then... Colby (4 months) and Sam (3 months)!

Sidebar: Today while taking the picture, Colby kept trying to hold Sam's hand.  We tried to get it on camera, but they were too quick for us!

The next day...
Still don't really know what I'm doing, but this looks better right?

or this...

Lots to Learn

Robert left for Alaska tonight.  He's gone to help his grandfather, specifically to rebuild part of his roof that broke from the record snowfall this past winter.  I'm so proud of him, to want to make that long plane ride just to do some extremely hard work for his grandfather.  On top of being such a great dad, he's always got others on his mind. 

He'll be back in a week, but for now, it's just me and Colby in the evenings.  I already miss him, but I've got so much to learn!  This evening, Colby was particularly fascinated with his feet, so I took this opportunity to practice the amazing zoom feature on my new camera lens, as well as practice using my first photo editor on my Mac.  I used GIMP, as it was a free download app. Thanks Nicky for the suggestion! Learning so much already!

A New Chapter

About a month ago, I started following a friend of a friend's blog online here.  It got me thinking...I should start a blog for our family.
Reasons to start a blog:

1. Documenting our lives: I am not a big scrapbooker - in fact, not a scrapbooker at all; nor do I keep a diary.  A blog would be perfect to capture memories!
2. Keeping track of everything: life as new parents, life as a working mom and a stay at home dad, trying to start a business from home, and the list goes on.  
3. Updating friends and family:  Robert's family lives in Alaska, and mine lives in Texas, and California, and we have friends all over the world.  I've posted on Facebook pictures and statuses to keep everyone in the loop, but a blog allows all those non-Facebook subscribers to stay updated in our lives!

The catalyst:
 Robert gave me a Nikon DX 7000 - a professional grade camera - for Mother's Day! It's something we've both wanted ever since I got pregnant, to be able to capture our beautiful son with the best pictures we can take.  Here's our first (look at those beautiful eyes!):

Goals for this blog:
To post many a picture of Colby growing up!
To learn photography and photo-editing, so look for the pictures to get better...
To format this blog to have more character, and be uniquely Cronlund!

More to come - stay posted!  Constructive critique and feedback welcome!

Love,
The Cronlund Family