Water Baby

Colton is a water-loving baby! 

We have had many adventures at the splash pad and our backyard baby pool. Colton is fearless in the water! At the splash pad, he loved crawling around in the water- even to the point where he started to put his face underwater. 

Our first time at the splash pad

We went with my friend Mal, and her son, Nolan.

Here is Colton's first time in our backyard baby pool

He loves to splash and play with his bath toys

Colton also learned how to climb OUT of his baby pool:

The next time we went to the splash pad, we joined several more friends including Baby Clive:

This is how Colton spent 90% of his time:

Colton loves spending time outdoors! Or, even just LOOKING outdoors:

He used to be afraid of the grass, so he would stay mostly confined to a blanket... 

However, now he will fearlessly explore the backyard and venture into the grass. 

Hmm, well I WAS trying to read...

And, of course, he loves going on walks

June

We are having a wonderful summer! Colton gets wilder and wilder each day, and it seems like he is always learning new skills. Here are some photos and videos of our little man and his new abilities!

Look, a cute family picture! ...Except for Colton not looking at the camera. This was from a friend's wedding a couple of weeks ago.

Here is Mr. Colton mastering the stairs. 

Library Time

We love the library! Colton and I take many trips to the library throughout the week. 

When my mom visited, she took this picture of Colton putting on a little puppet show. (...with himself as the puppet). 

He loves to pull all the books off the shelf.

Playing with the train table. 

He takes the Legos very seriously. 

Colton Doing Things He Shouldn't

1. Playing in the dishwasher

2. Licking the oven

3. Playing in the laundry

More Random Cuteness

When my dad visited, we went out to dinner. Colton spent most of the time making a a mess, looking at the ceiling fans, and standing on his dad.

Brian took a trip with some friends to watch a Cardinals game in Minnesota. Colton cheered them on with his Cardinals outfit and hat.

And here is Colton looking out his baby-sized window, smiling at his own reflection. 

Videos

Colton loves to dance! He loves bouncing along to the music.

He is walking so well with his push-walker!

He also loves to push his play table around. :)

Sometimes Colton plays very aggressively.

May Recap

I realize it's already late June, so let's just pretend I posted these earlier. :) I am very behind on pictures and videos, so expect several blog posts coming shortly. 

So here is a May recap from life with Colton, in photos and videos...

This baby is just too cute for words in his little sleepers. 

In May, we had a Nicklaus family reunion in West Des Moines. I didn't actually get many pictures of family, but I got a few SUPER CUTE ones of Colton and his daddy. 

Excited to go grocery shopping

Colton is SO HELPFUL with laundry.

We had a visit from Uncle Dyson!

Guess who learned how to climb the stairs?

Baby buddies ride together.

Bath time!

Looking so cute in his little overalls. 

Enjoying some sunshine with little Nolan. 

Colton loves opening baby wipes and pulling them out, one by one. 

Videos

Here's Colton saying "dada".

Colton loves playing with doorstops.

His sweet little giggles.

Playing! (...And yelling "dada")

9 Months

Happy 3/4ths of a year, Baby!

I can't believe Colton is already 9 months, as of June 2nd. This past month he has developed like crazy.

Weight: 20.4 pounds - 64%

Height: 29 inches - 77%

Head: 18.6 inches - 96%

• Colton has been crawling for about a month and a half and now he is a fearless crawler. He has grown more confident- he crawls very quickly and over anything and anyone that gets in his way. 
• He is a master at pulling himself up on anything he can find. He'll often even hold on with just one hand while standing! 
• Colton has started cruising- standing and walking along the furniture. 
• He loves to babble. Colton has yet to say his first word, but he "talks" all day long. He has set a lot of syllables, including "dada" BUT I say it doesn't count as his first word, because he isn't doing it on purpose, and he doesn't know what it means. 
• Colton can now grab food and put it in his mouth. He has been able to grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth for several months, but it was a lot harder for him to learn this with food. He is finally catching on. In fact, he now loves to shove food in his mouth, then demand more! 
• This kid still loves his food. He is now eating mostly what we eat for meals, plus some baby food I make for him. 
• He can officially climb all the way up the stairs now. We need more baby gates! 
• Colton gained less than a pound since his 6 month check-up. He's still a big boy, but he's no longer in the very high percentiles for his age. 

Colton is such a joy- we love him so much! He is the most active baby I've ever seen- he is always crawling or climbing to get somewhere. He pulls himself up so much, that I feel like he is standing more than sitting these days. Much of my day is spent chasing him around!

Our little cutie at 9 months!

We didn't get quite as many photos this month, due to Colton's craziness. This boy does NOT like to sit still. Most of our pictures turned out like this...