The Stabler Project

365 Project Week 13 (March 26 - April 2)

2011-05-22T13:17:00.000-05:00

2011.03.26 - Ice cream at the park, does it get any better?

2011.03.27 - Bubble Machine

2011.03.28 - Bedtime with Dad (This picture cracks me up for some reason)

2011.03.29 - I LOVE PIZZA

2011.03.30 - I am so proud that I can walk up and down the stairs by myself

2011.04.01 - Johnny Rockets on a Friday night (yes, I pretty much take my camera everywhere)

2011.04.02 - Swim lessons with Mom

365 Project - Week 12 (March 19 - 25)

2011-05-15T18:56:00.002-05:00

2011.03.19 - "Tea"

2011.03.20 - Cousin Sawyer's Baptism

2011.03.21 - Donut Saturday!

2011.03.22 - Asleep while walking with Mom

2011.03.23 - Laundry Night (Yes, our laundry room is this messy)

2011.03.24 - Morning fun

2011.03.25 - Look at me on my changing table, I just took a bath and I'm soooooo happy!

365 Project - Week 11 (March 12 - 18)

2011-05-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

2011.03.12 - Logan Lucas, one of Colt's friends who came to visit

2011.03.13 - First swim lesson, getting ready in locker room

2011.03.14 - Park in Helena (one of my favorite pics ever!)

2011.03.15 - Colt is sick, can't you tell how sad he looks??????

2011.03.16 - Veterans Park

2011.03.17 - Dad and Colt playing at park in their Butler gear

2011.03.18 - Colt loves to play with chalk

365 Project - Week 10 (March 5 - March 11)

2011-05-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

2011.03.05 - LeaAnne & Brannan baby shower for Anders

2011.03.06 - Colt and Nana made a piggie bank while babysitting

2011.03.07 - Belly button

2011.03.08 - Bath time mohawk

2011.03.09 - Reading a book with Dad

2011.03.10 - Goodnight Moon

2011.03.11 - Twins trying on Dads new shoes

365 Project - Week 9 - Feb 26 - March 4

2011-05-07T17:07:00.001-05:00

2011.02.26 - Colt and Eli at Zoo

2011.02.27 - Colt walking Beamer

2011.02.28 - Bath

2011.03.01 - War wounds are healing, Dad home from hospital

2011.03.02 - Colt aka Urkel - glasses taped up!

2011.03.03 - Stolen merchandise from TN Aquarium

2011.03.04 - Helping "la la" blow out her bday candle

365 Project - Week 8 (Feb 19 - Feb 25)

2011-05-07T17:01:00.001-05:00

2011.02.19 - Park

2011.02.20 - First skinned knees

2011.02.21 - Dr Visit

2011.02.22 - I love hot dogs

2011.02.23 - Love to give the dogs their nightly treats!

2011.02.24 - Feeding the dogs

2011.02.25 - Cain watching me come up the steps

365 Project - Week 7 (Feb 12 - Feb 18)

2011-05-07T16:55:00.001-05:00

2011.02.12 - Swing (one of my favorite things to do)

2011.02.13 - Park

2011.02.14 - Mom's valentine while Dad doesn't feel good

2011.02.15 - Dad doesn't feel good b/c he has a ruptured appendix!

2011.02.16 - After surgery

2011.02.17 - Pic removed from blog per request of Stan. He wasn't a fan of the post surgery belly photo.

2011.02.18 - Susan bday

365 Project - Week 6 (Feb 5 - Feb 11)

2011-05-07T16:25:00.001-05:00

2011.02.05 - Chattanooga Science Center

2011.02.06 - Coltie Crocket

2011.02.07 - Finger painting

2011.02.08 - Washing my own hair

2011.01.09 - Mozart

2011.02.10 - Wow look at all my toys in Dads "Man Room"

2011.02.11 - Snowing!

365 Project - Week 5 (Jan 29- Feb 4)

2011-04-29T08:41:00.002-05:00

2011.01.29 - Thinking about those goats at the zoo

2011.01.30 - Oak Mountain Petting Zoo - being mauled by a goat

2011.01.31 - Double accident day

2011.02.01 - Bath with my "boo boo head"

2011.02.02 - Art project

2011.02.03 - Colt and Dad getting ready for bath time

2011.02.04 - Colt's first happy meal (looks like a pro, doesnt he?) (camera phone, sorry!)

365 Project - Week 4 (Jan 22- 28)

2011-04-27T16:59:00.002-05:00

2011.01.21 - Crazy glasses

2011.01.22 - A little morning reading

2011.01.23 - Laundry time

2011.01.24 - Colt looking kinda girly

2011.01.25 - Mardi Gras time!

2011.01.26 - Doing the dishes, wow what a big helper

2011.01.27 - Eating a little lunch

2011.01.28 - Looking pretty in the bath

365 Project - Week 3 (Jan 15- 21)

2011-04-27T16:49:00.001-05:00

2011.01.15 - Carousel

2011.01.16 - National Championship Trophy (yes, we stood in line to see it)

2011.01.17 - Colt's glasses

2011.01.18 - Superman!

2011.01.19 - Colt and Stan watching TV (probably highlights from the National Championship game)

2011.01.20 - Story time with Mom

2011.01.21 - Some of Colt's favorite books

365 Project - Week 2 (Jan 8- 14)

2011-04-27T16:38:00.001-05:00

2011.01.08 - BBVA Compass Bowl

2011.01.09 - Glendale, AZ

2011.01.10 - National Championship Game!

2011.01.11 - Colt's "Burt" - one of Stan's old toys from when he was little

2011.01.12 - Resorting to the camera phone, Dad stuck in Glendale, AZ w/ camera!

2011.01.13 - Not happy that Dad is still stuck in Glendale due to snow!

2011.01.14 - Dad is home!!

365 Project - Week 1 (Jan 1- Jan 7)

2011-04-25T20:43:00.003-05:00

2011.01.07 - Stan's National Championship Ticket - he is ready to GO!

2011.01.06 - Bathtime w/ Piggie

2011.01.05 - Dirty dirty Colt

2011.01.04 - Colt loves Bananas!

2011.01.03 - Undecorating the Christmas tree

2011.01.02 - First trip of the year to the zoo

2011.01.01 - Stan's annual New Years Day dinner

365 Project

2011-03-31T14:43:00.000-05:00

I really dont think I have ANY followers left on this blog.......I've been a super bad blogger these days. I have, however been working on something way cool that I have yet to even discuss b/c I was nervous that I wouldnt follow through. However, I am proud to announce that I have been doing my very own 365 project and have now officially made it through the 1st quarter. For those of you who are not familiar with a 365 project......I have basically taken 1 (at least) photo per day and hope to make it a full year. Most of the pictures of course are of Colt. Some of Stan in the hospital, some of Colt's artwork hanging on the fridge, just everyday life at the Stabler house. Now that I've made it official, anyone who actually reads this needs to keep me accountable! I promise that when I figure out the best way to post these pictures I will do it!!!!! Not sure if I should post them here on my blog or on our family website http://www.thestablers.net/
Check back soon!

My First Mom Attack

2010-11-29T12:43:00.000-06:00

So Colt and I were at the park yesterday just enjoying the day. He loves to run after the bigger kids and try to do all the stuff they are doing (like climb the rock wall). Yesterday he was running after a little boy who was about 6 or 7 and Colt tripped over himself and dropped his sippie cup of milk. This is a very common occurrence in our house and I thought nothing of it. He got back up, brushed himself off and just laughed. Next thing I know the "big kid" turns around and starts pointing and laughing at Colt and said, and I quote, "hahaha, look at him, he is stupid!". I was heartbroken. Did someone just call Colt stupid? I know the kid meant nothing by it and Colt didn't have a clue what he had said either but it just killed me. Well....next thing I know I am grabbing the little boys jacket and explaining to him that "he is NOT stupid, he is ONE year old and just learned to walk." I also made him apologize and told him that was a very mean thing to say to someone. Whoops, I guess I shouldn't be disciplining someone elses kid but I just couldn't stand for someone calling Colt stupid! What on earth will I do when he is in middle school!??! Lord help me!
Here are some crappy camera phone pics of Colt playing at the park:

Colt's Vintage Fire Truck Party

2010-09-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

I admit it, I'm totally obsessed with paper products. I have a "friend" (I call her a friend because I talk to her ALL THE TIME (over email) and I feel like I've known her for years) who lives in Oregon that does almost everything for me. We in actuality have never met, never even talked on the phone but it feels like we've been friends forever. I've used her for tons of things in the past: invitations, address labels, birth announcements, wine bottle labels, recipe cards, and Christmas to/from tags. I honestly can't even think of everything I've bought from her. She is so creative and just knows exactly what I want. Anyway.....she just finished Colt's 1st birthday party invitations and although we couldn't invite EVERYONE I still wanted everyone to see them! Its so hard to not go overboard on party details so I'm trying to scale everything back. I'm so excited about Colt's birthday. Its just a little over 2 weeks away and I can't believe he is already almost 1 year old.

10 Months, Zoo & Aquarium Fun

2010-08-16T16:36:00.000-05:00

I've been terrible about posting lately.
Here is what we've been up to:

Colt turned 10 months old:

He loves to play with the paint roller.

He loves his first Tonka truck.

We have been to the zoo LOTS:

We have been to the Georgia Aquarium:

Random Thoughts...

2010-07-13T16:47:00.000-05:00

-Is it possible that Colt will have his first birthday in less than 3 months???????????? Where on EARTH has the last year gone? Every month I do a post on our family website (www.thestablers.net) about Colt and what he has been doing the past month etc etc etc. I usually then copy it to this blog but I've realized that is pretty redundant and why would I post the same thing in 2 different places. Therefore, this month I'm just going to put a link to our family website so that everyone can go there and see all of our latest and greatest pictures and updates:

www.thestablers.net

-In other news, we are in the process of joining Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church. Oak Mountain is 180 degrees different from any church I've ever been a member of and this past weekend we attended a 1/2 day class to fill us in on the ins and outs of the church. Stan and I both really enjoyed the class and realized how different it is from the churches we grew up in. Maybe change is a good thing. Pastor Bob called and invited us to his home tomorrow night for dinner. How neat is that? I'm sure they do it every Wednesday to all the new members but I thought that it was so unique and so welcoming of them.

5 Years

2010-06-18T07:35:00.002-05:00

5 years ago today I married my best friend. We have been through a lot together.........dated for almost 5 years, gotten married, lived in 4 houses (Technically 3, but I like to include my very first home in Homewood since it was right before we got married), have graduated from 3 colleges, traveled to tons of fun places (in the following order: St. Thomas, St. John, New York City, Virgin Gorda, Cooper Island, Costa Rica, Vegas, St. Lucia, Lake Placid, Chicago, The Grenadine Islands, Colorado, St. Croix, back to St. John, back to St. Thomas, Boston, Puerto Rico (and surrounding islands) and tons of places in between!!!), lived in another time zone (Indianapolis), and started a family with the birth of our son, Colt. Can't wait to share the next 5, and then the next 50 with Stan!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of our life together to date:

2003 - From our very first trip to St. Thomas together, this started our love affair with the Caribbean.

NYC, right after we got ENGAGED!

One of our engagement photos

Wedding June 2005

Wedding - June 2005

Honeymoon - British Virgin Islands (The Baths shown here)

Costa Rica 2006 (man I look skinny, what has happened to me?)

Vegas 2006

St. Lucia - 2007

Sailing The Grenadines - 2007

Chicago 2008

Indianapolis across the street from our house - 2008

Colorado - 2008

Stan gets his MBA - 2008

St. Croix - 2008

Family Pic - 2008

March 17th, 2009 - First glimpse at our little man (even though we had to call him "Mr. Baby-Lady" for 9 months b/c we did not find out his gender)

Boston - July 4th 2009 (27 weeks pregnant)

10.9.09 - The day we started a family

10.9.09 - One of the most fun moments of my life - leaving the delivery room after Colt was born and letting Stan and I show off the cutest baby in the world!

10.9.09 - First family picture

10.11.09 - Stan being sure Colt is secured as we leave the hospital.

Family October 2009 - Colt at 1 week old

Family - May 2010 - Colt 6 months old

May 2010 - Puerto Rico

Stan and I vacationing in 2055 on our 50th Anniversary.

Love you Stan!

Random Camera Phone Pics

2010-06-15T16:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my latest camera phone pics that I think are fun:

Here was Colt on Vacation at Nanna's

Colt @ Nanna's - Taking off his glasses

Eating my morning Cheerios

Another picture update from Nanna

Here is what Stan and I were busy doing while Colt was on vacation

Back at home in MY tub!

Oh my goodness, green beans wear me out!

Testing out my new sippie cup.

This ball lasted 1 day before we lost it.

Back at Nanna's "pool"

Bubble bath, Nanna style!

If I could only figure out how to post videos from my camera phone you would all laugh and all the video of I have of Colt falling asleep in the bath, his newest honed skill of crawling in circles.

Pool-time!

2010-06-11T14:59:00.002-05:00

To me, summer has always meant that it was time to bust out the bathing suits and sun screen (lets be honest, only as of late have I started wearing sunscreen). Growing up we always had a pool in our backyard and I was on a swim team before it was even "legal" (age 3-1/2). Until we moved (which was during high-school), we also owned a boat and lived within walking distance of the lake and about 20 minutes from the ocean.

I swam competitively all the way through high-school and even continued by coaching a summer swim-team of hundreds of kids ages 5-18 for several years in Birmingham. While going to college, I coached and life guarded at the health-club in town as well as coached the kids program at Auburn University.

Swimming and life at the pool has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. When you put aside all of the FUN I have had swimming over the years, I also think that swimming and water-safety is one of the most important and valuable life-skills that someone can have.

Anyway, all of this rambling to say that we have joined a pool near our house and I have big plans for Colt there! In no way am I going to push him to swim competitively (although don't get me started on the advantages!), but I am bound and determined to spend some time there at the very least.

Such fond memories of my Dad teaching me how to swim, I hope these are the start of some fond memories for Colt:
(These were taken with our water-proof camera so not the best quality in the world, don't judge.)

We are all greased up with sunscreen and ready to go!

The pool was a little cold, took about 10 seconds to "warm up" to the idea.

I'm warmed up, lets go!

"Man, this is like a big version of my bathtub - I like it!"

And........I fell asleep mid-play. Surprise surprise.

Ready to go home after a fun day at the pool! More to come!

Glasses (Long post, I'm sorry!)

2010-05-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

It all started at Colt's 6 month check-up. Dr. Whittaker was doing his exam, which included shining a red light into Colts eyes. He fumbled around for a few minutes and then said he noticed a very slight difference in the way the light was reflecting in Colts eyes. He suggested we go see a pediatric opthomologist. He was fairly certain there was no issue, but wanted us to get a second opinion just in case.

I didn't think twice about it, and called to schedule an appointment with one of the 2 doctors he had given me a card for (apparently there is a shortage on pediatric opthomolgists - note to anyone looking for a field of study). The first guy, with UAB didn't have an opening until September. Forget that. The second guy had an opening in early May so we opted for that.

Dr Metz was the first doctor we went to. Now, I'm sure Dr. Metz is a great man, and doctor but I was not a fan. He did Colt's exam without saying 2 words and upon completion told me that he was going to need glasses and he would likely need glasses for his entire life.

WHAT!?!?!??! I immediately broke down into tears and couldn't form a complete sentence to even ask any questions. Dr. Metz handed me a tissue and his prescription and walked of the room.

I called Stan bawling, very confused as to why our perfect little angel needed glasses. Stan immediately turned to Google (sometimes Google is a BAD thing) and images of "infants in glasses" scared him to death. (By the way, search for it and see what comes up, its babies in these awful looking plastic goggles.)

Anyway, after I got back to work that afternoon I did the same thing (damn you Google!) and got myself completely worked up, so much that I could not concentrate on anything else. Stan and I decided to go pick Colt back up from daycare and head down to UAB where we were going to look at options for glasses.

Once we got there, a sweet woman helped us and Stan and I were SO relieved that they had NORMAL looking glasses that we went ahead and ordered him a pair and talked about also going for a second opinion just in case Dr. Metz's diagnosis was wrong. (I mean hello, it MUST be wrong, Colt has no trouble seeing - DUH!)

We booked another appointment with Dr. Arciniegas at UAB Callahan Eye Foundation. We had about a month to wait so we decided to hold off putting Colt in the glasses until we met with her. She ended up giving us the same diagnosis as Dr. Metz, only in a much nicer tone. Colt did in fact need glasses but she didn't give us the "life sentence" that Dr. Metz did.

Colt has "Refractive Amblyopia" which means there is a difference in his two eyes: both are farsighted but one is much MORE farsighted than the other. If untreated, the brain learns to use only the "good" eye and the "bad" eye thus becomes lazy. It is very hard to teach the brain to use a lazy eye and thankfully Colt has no symptoms of this and we caught it early. The glasses help to even out the eyes in hopes that the brain learns to use them both equally.

Dr. Arciniegas says that ALL babies are farsighted and that about 80% of them grow out of the condition and never have an issue. She is unsure if Colt's eyes will continue to develop differently or if they will even out with time. Either way, she says by the age 8 or 9 kids grow out of the risk of one eye becoming lazy so at that point if Colt hasn't grown out of it on his own we can then choose to keep him in glasses, or let him go without, or even wear contacts.

We are so glad we went for the second opinion even though the end results were the same. Dr. Arciniegas was very sweet and explained things very well to two very confused parents. We picked up Colt's glasses last Friday and he looks super cute in them. I realize it could be a whole lot worse and believe me, I am SO thankful that glasses are our biggest problem. This past weekend we were at the Blues & BBQ Festival and saw several small children in wheelchairs and it really put things into perspective. We are so blessed and I am almost embarrassed for getting so upset. Check out his new eyes:

Vote for Colt!!

2010-05-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

Colt is in the semi-finals to be on the cover of Alabama Baby Magazine. See their facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/alabamababy

Wouldn't his cute face be adorable!?!?! If you think so, click here:

http://www.1037theq.com/cc-common/gallery/display.html?album_id=231558

and scroll to the 2nd picture and cast your vote (This is what it will look like below)!! Thanks everyone!!!

Taking a bath really wears me out.......

2010-05-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

As many of you have seen on my facebook posts, my child keeps falling asleep in the bathtub. I'm not sure if he is really that TIRED or it is just so relaxing that he just can't help it. I wanted to share a series of hilarious photos that juts crack me up every time I look at them. These were taken with my camera phone of course so sorry for the poor quality. Still funny.

One minute I am playing with the sprayer......

The next I am ASLEEP.

Mom tried to wake me up to get out, no luck.

Mom even put a diaper on me, still did not wake up.

Mom thought she would slip me a bottle, no luck.....I was OUT.

I love being a Mom........

2010-05-10T09:21:00.002-05:00

This time last year I don't think I would have thought I would love this "mom" thing as much as I do. I don't want to say that I was nervous about being a Mom, it just all seemed like something I wasn't sure I was ready for. As most of you know, it was quite the surprise when we found out I was pregnant and it took a while for me to warm up to the idea. Now, 7 months into being a Mom, I can't imagine life without Colt. I mean seriously, how could you not love this kid??? Check out our first Mothers Day at the Auburn vs. Mississippi State baseball game:

(My first Mothers Day gift, made at daycare! Colt looks like he is on crack in this picture but I love it anyway)

Colt snoozing during the baseball game

Playing peek-a-boo

Meeting Aubie for the first time. Went surprisingly well. Colt actually really liked him.

Aubie trying to take Colt's passie.

Colt and Daddy

After the game.

Me, Colt, Laura and Mom

6 Month Check-Up

2010-04-27T10:07:00.000-05:00

Just a quick catch up - Friday was Colt's 6-month check up.

Here are his official stats:
Weight - 18lbs, 6oz (50-75th percentile)
Height - 27-5/8" (75-90th percentile)
Head - 17-7/8" (75-90th percentile)

He also had a double ear infection, got some meds and HAAAAAAALELULIA is sleeping ALOT better now!!!!!!!! Pics to come later this week........got some catching up to do!!!

6 Months Old

2010-04-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

I can not believe Colt is 6 months old already. I mean we are 1/2 way to his first birthday party!

Colt is doing the following now:

Eating:
Colt is a good eater (hello, look at him!). He loves avocado and carrots I think the best. I have ALMOST stopped nursing him now, I am down to about once a day, but we have b-milk saved up for probably another month. He also loves to try to drink out of a real cup, it’s hilarious, he laps it up like a dog and it just spills all down the front of him but he gets ANGRY when you don't let him at least try. I bought him a sippy cup but he can't figure out that you have to either lean you head back to get water to come out or tilt the cup up. Maybe I'll try one with a straw.

Sleeping:
Colt has had some major allergy/sinus issues the past few weeks with all this pollen and between his congestion and his teething we have NOT been sleeping very well. He usually ends up in the bed with us by 3 or 4am which I know is terrible, don't judge.

Daycare:
Colt loves daycare. I know this because when I drop him off he kicks his legs and flaps his arms and can't wait to get into his jumper. When I pick him up he is always smiling and laughing. Those ladies just LOVE him too. He is still in the first infant class and his teachers are Mrs. Jerry, Mrs. Shalisa, and Mrs. Christina. Mrs. Ruby started this week (we stole her from Colts 1st daycare). Also, the teachers from the other big kid classes come and steal him away alot to play with him.

Milestones:
Although officially it was after his "6 month birthday" Colt HAS A TOOTH! He has been real fussy for about a week, mostly due to his allergies/congestion but last night I noticed he was extra fussy and grabbing at his mouth. When we got ready for bath time I tried to look in his mouth (he won't ever let you look in his mouth) and saw a glimpse of white! I felt, and sure enough there is a sharp edge of a tooth poking through! He has been sitting up like a champ for a long time now but still hates to be on his tummy. We are working on it. He FINALLY has started rolling from his back to his tummy but only when we MAKE him do it. Reference statement above, he hates being on his tummy.

Talking:
"Da da da da da da da da da da da da da" over and over and over and over and over.

What he Loves:
He loves anything that lights up and plays music. He thinks it’s funny. He still loves the bath and playing with his letters that the Easter bunny brought him. He loves the jumper at daycare and the doorway bouncer and exersauser at home. He still loves to sit in his bumbo although when you pick him up out of it now it gets stuck on his butt and you have to pull it off of him. He also loves the swings at the park. OH, and PATTY CAKE. Oh geez, patty cake can turn any situation into a laugh! He love to hold my hands and clap as we say "patty cake, patty cake"!

Stats:
I'm not sure what he weighs or how long he is but we will find out at our checkup on Friday!!! I can't wait!

Baptism

2010-04-13T08:53:00.003-05:00

Colt was baptized on Sunday at Bluff Park UMC. Even though we dont attend Bluff Park anymore, we still consider it our "home-base" since alot of my family still goes here. Stan and I were also married here by Reid so we thought this would be special. It went fairly well, a little crying for sure while the water was dumped on him but otherwise a success.

Mad at Reid for sure....

Post baptism, he actually looks happy (not mad) here!

(This was the outfit Stan was baptized in almost 35 years ago! Colt wore it to/from the church and for lunch afterwards. I think it was so neat!)

Invitation

My Little Easter Bunny

2010-04-05T08:50:00.000-05:00

Colt's first Easter was a hit. Check out the pics below:

Before Dad woke up, we had a little photo shoot with our bunny ears on. Sorry Colt, you may hate me when your older but I had to do it:

Colt & Mommy (I sort of think we are starting to look alike)

The Stabler Fam

You just cant stop smooching this kid!

This was right before Colt pulled the flowers down on himself and water went everywhere!

Colt loves his chicken that squawks from Nanna!

Colt & Dad blowing bubbles. Doesnt he look excited?

Colt fell asleep MID BITE last night. He slept in his high chair for about 30 min while Stan and I ate dinner. Yes, please note how messy he is when he eats. We have learned to just take off our clothes and forget the bib!

Weekly Dinner with Mom & Laura

2010-04-02T07:53:00.002-05:00

My mom, sister and I have met once a week for dinner since I graduated from college (minus the few years I was in Indianapolis). We never go anywhere fancy but its fun for us all to get together and take a break from our week to catch up. Lately we have added Colt to our "girls night" and he has a ball with "nanna" and "la la". Here are some (camera phone) pics from last night:

I LOVE MY FIST!

Getting Ready for Bath Time

2010-04-01T08:49:00.000-05:00

My camera phone obsession continues.......... I get so many of these because I send my mom a picture every night, she love them!! Here was last night when we were getting ready for our bath. Gosh I love this kid.

this one is a little fuzzy b/c we were laughing...

We have discovered the swing!

2010-03-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

These are pics from my camera phone but I promise to get my real camera out this weekend. Colt LOVES the swing at the park!!!!!!

Baby Food Frenzy!

2010-03-22T14:28:00.000-05:00

So far I'm really enjoying making Colt's baby food. I've made sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, bananas, and avocados for Colt to munch on. I think his favorite has to be the carrots which sort of surprises me because Stan and I both HATE carrots!!! See below for some pics from Saturday mornings batch and then dinner time with carrots and green beans!

Pured and poured into ice cube trays:

Frozen and bagged:

Ready to eat:

Down the hatch! (Well, some of it)

My Newest Obsession - The Camera Phone (I realize I'm a little late in this fad)

2010-03-17T07:57:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows Stan and I take ALOT of pictures. We love our Nikon camera and think it really captures some awesome moments in our life. However, recently, I've become obsessed with taking pictures from my Blackberry camera phone. As totally crappy as they may be, they seem to catch moments when I dont have time to run downstairs and get our real camera. These are just some random ones from lately that make me smile:

Sweet potatoes from last night.

You cant exactly see the MESS that was my bibb.

Ignore the mess in the background. Mom was multi-tasking.

Such a big boy in daddy's hat.

Mom added banannas into my oatmeal, thumbs up!

At my first AU basketball game.

My personal fav: "Which way is the gym?"

At the doc waiting on my 4 month check up.

Love my johnny jump up!

Colt is 5 Months!!

2010-03-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

This is an exact copy of what I posted on our family website (http://www.thestablers.net/) but figured it wouldnt hurt to post both places!
We can not believe Colt is already 5 months old. Here is an update on where we stand these days:

-Eating - We have tried "real" food twice now and plan to get into the full swing this weekend. I am still pretty much exclusively breastfeeding him, he gets maybe 1 bottle of formula per day. My goal is to do this until he is 6 months old. I am also planning to make most of his food at home, reference previous posts.
-Sleeping - The past week and 1/2 he has not been sleeping very well, I think its a combo of teething and a growth spurt. Our little chunkymonkey weighs about 16lbs and has 2 bottom teeth just ready to punch through the surface at any moment. It cracks me up to even call him "chunky" because he was such a shrimp for so long. He has really beefed up people! Strangers at the park comment on his "fat little arms"!
-Daycare - We are on our second daycare. Colt now attends Philadelphia Baptist Church Child Development Center. We (especially me) miss our old teachers at Little Footprints but are beginning to slowly warm up to Mrs. Jerry, Ms. Christina, and Mrs. Shalisa. It took me a week to understand Mrs. Jerry's name, I hope Colt's first word is not "hona-child"
-Milestones - Colt can sit up on his own and even catch himself pretty well if he starts to get wobbly. I still sit pretty close to him b/c eventually he goes toppling over sideways. He still hates to be on his tummy, I'm afraid he will never crawl. When we attempt to put him on his tummy he immediately rolls over onto his back. No words just yet although Stan and I are convinced that he said "oh yeah" twice in a row one morning we were all snuggling in bed.
-What he Loves - This list is very long, what a happy baby he is!! He LOOOOOOOVES the light-up/musical ring stacker toy my mom gave him for Christmas. He takes those rings and throws them across the room and then chews on the top where the button is to make it play music. He loves to snuggle with daddy in the mornings while I get ready for work. He loves to chew on everything - his hands, my face, his blanket, his clothes, his toys, Stan's nose. He loves to go hiking with us, he will chill out in his little kangaroo pouch all day long. He loves bath time and splashing water everywhere. He loves getting his picture made. He loves ceiling fans, he thinks they are quite possibly the most memorizing thing in the world. He loves Friday-night family pizza night at Salvatore's.
I know I'm a little biased but Colt seriously is the best and cutest baby I've ever been around. (Sorry to all of our friends and family with babies). I can't wait for all the fun times to come!

Picture Day 2010

2010-03-11T16:37:00.001-06:00

Colt had his very first "picture day" at daycare a few weeks ago and although Stan and I take enough pictures of him to start a library, we of course had to buy some of these too. I think they are just hilariously cheesy. The girls at daycare said he just laughed the entire time. As always, see more pictures and blogging at http://www.thestablers.net/

Colt's "Birth Day" Story.....

2010-03-08T11:10:00.001-06:00

Well, better late than never. I figured I better write all the details down of Colts birth before I forgot them so I could go back one day and share with him!

I had my 40 week OB appointment on Thursday, October 8th. October 8th was a day that was burned into my brain for 6-1/2 months (6-1/2 months because I didn't know I was pregnant for quite a while). I guess I had sort of been feeling "contractions" for a few days but I didn't really think anything of them because they did not hurt and they were very irregular. The night before my appointment, I had my bag all packed and ready to take with me in my car for when I went in for my appointment. I went to work that morning, we had our annual healthcare "skill set" training and I had planned to leave after lunchtime to make it to my 1:00pm appointment. After lunch, I told everyone goodbye and told them I would probably see them tomorrow. I had a strange feeling I wouldn’t but since I felt fine, there was no reason to believe I wouldn’t be back at work the next day.

I walked in to my appointment, they weighed me (I had gained 35lbs on the dot), took my blood pressure (which had been perfect throughout the entire pregnancy), measured my belly (measured 40 weeks), I was about 70% effaced (I had been 50% for several weeks) and I think about 3cm dilated (about the same as I had been for several weeks). I didn’t think much of it. As I was sitting in the doctor’s office I started to just feel sort of strange. Just a little nauseous/tired but nothing major. Dr. Stratdman asked if I felt ok and I said yes. She asked if I had been having contractions and I said that I thought so but wasn’t sure. She decided to hook me up to their monitor just to check. I went into a quite room, they hooked my belly up and said they would check back in about 15 minutes. About 15 minutes passed and a nurse came in to look at the print out, she didn’t really say anything and left. Dr. Stradtman came in about 2 minutes later and said that they were going to send me downstairs to labor and delivery for more monitoring but that I was definitely having regular contractions. She said she thought I was ready to have this baby. I thought she was crazy because I felt just fine.

I called Stan, who was on standby and also was working at the hospital (very convenient!). I told him what was happening and by the time I got downstairs to labor and delivery Stan was already there. They put me in LDR #1, introduced me to my nurse (Jonlynn, who I absolutely ADORED), hooked me up to the monitor and after about 20 minutes said I was having fairly strong contractions every 3 minutes! What!?!? Dr. Stradtman came down from her office at about 5:30pm and told us that we had 2 options: #1, go ahead and start pitocen (which gets labor moving) now and likely have the baby that night OR #2, stay in the hospital overnight while they monitored me and then they would get things rolling at 7am if they haven’t already started on their own. We decided to wait it out and to just hope things progressed on their own until morning.

We then called our parents and told them what was going on. My mom and sister rushed over to the hospital, we told Stan’s parents and my Dad that we would call them in the morning as we got started to give them an update on approximate time frames since they had to travel from out of town. Mom and Laura also stayed with me for a little bit while Stan went home and took the dogs to be boarded for a few days.

That night we ordered some food from the cafeteria (I had a chicken salad sandwich) and just hung out and watched TV in the LDR room. Nurses checked on us a few times but it was pretty uneventful. Both beds (mine and Stan's) were not very comfortable but we slept pretty decent.

My phone alarm went off at 6am. I was going to shower before we got this big day started. At 7am Dr. Stradtman, Nurse Jonlynn and an intern from Jacksonville State came in and checked all my stats. I hadn't really progressed too much overnight but they still felt that I was really ready to go. They started my pitocen drip through an IV which I absolutely HATED. I had never been in the hospital before and obviously never had an IV either. They put it in the back of my left hand and I hated that thing. I was so scared I was going to yank it out or bump it on something.

About 9am they came in and checked my stats again, by this time I was about 80% effaced and 5cm. Things were moving along very quickly. Some of the family was at the hospital by now and they came in to say hello but our nurse didn't let them stay too long because things were moving so quickly. About 9:30 they asked me if I was ready for my epidural. I told them I didn't think so because I was still feeling totally fine. You could see my contractions on the monitor getting pretty dang strong and they looked at me like I was crazy. They told me that if I was going to get one, why not go ahead so that I didn’t ever get uncomfortable. They talked me into it and about 9:45am Stan had to leave the room while they gave me the epidural. I sat up on my bed and leaned over in a hunched position. This was probably my biggest fear of the entire process but it went VERY smoothly. Jonlynn was there holding me and telling me what was going on while they fished the needle/tube into my spine! yikes! I felt a little sting as the medicine (I guess it was the meds?) traveled up my back. NOTHING like what I was expecting, not bad at all. Stan came back in and I laid back down. A few more hours passed and I was feeling good! I could still feel just a little tightness in my tummy every few minutes but nothing painful at all. Stradtman came in again about 11:45 (must have been her lunch break) and said I was READY. She hunted around for my nurse who had just left for 3 minutes to go eat lunch as well. She geared up, rounded up the troops and at 12:00 we started "pushing". I felt like a beached whale because it took Jonlynn on one leg and Stan on the other to hold my legs as I pushed. I could not feel one thing. You could have cut my leg off and I would not have felt it. Stan was right by my side the entire time and I have never seen him so excited. Pushing was kind of fun.......they would all look at the monitor and they could tell when a contraction was coming, they would ask if I felt it and usually I did feel a little tightening in my stomach, and then they would start counting while I pushed. The odd thing was that I mentally told myself I was pushing but I physically could not tell if I was pushing at all. It was quite funny. At some point they put an oxygen mask on me, I am not sure why. I think it was to just be sure the baby was getting enough oxygen. I kept asking the doctor and the nurses if I was pushing ok and they said, "Yes, you are doing GREAT!!!".

I pushed for 45 minutes but it didn’t seem that long at all. Because of the waiting in between and then the counting, I think I probably pushed 10-15 good times? Just a few moments before "Mr. Baby Lady" arrived (this is what we called Colt for 7-1/2 months because we did not find out his gender until 12:45pm that day), Jonlynn said "oh gosh, it looks like a little girls head!". We didn’t have much time to process that before Colt came all the way out and immediately peed all over Dr. Stradtman. Jonlynn said, "NOPE, not a girl at all, it’s definitely a BOY!!!!!!!!". Stan did a huge fist pump in the air and both of us couldn’t believe he was finally here. They laid him down on my chest as they wiped him off and he had the prettiest cone head I've ever seen! Colt lifted his head and looked at me and started inching towards my face. Stan immediately started taking photos and turned on our video camera to capture all of the first moments. Colt Malachi Stabler was born at 12:45pm, weighed 7lbs, 8oz and was 20" long. We had such a fun delivery experience and I never even broke a sweat! Crazy, I know!

Stan and I had about an hour to ourselves while they finished me up, gave Colt a bath and checked all his stats etc. Stan then took the video camera with him out into the hallway where everyone was nervously waiting to hear if everything was ok and if it was a boy or a girl!! Stan walked out and taped the whole thing as he told them "It’s a BOY!!". Everyone was so excited and I'm so glad we have that part on video.

Meanwhile, the nursing staff was trying to wait until I got feeling back in my legs to release me to go upstairs but it just wasn’t happening. They ended up wheeling me out of the LDR in my bed with Colt on my tummy into the elevator. I felt like a movie star on the red carpet with everyone taking pictures and yelling and cheering as I went down the hallway, it was one of the most exciting moments of my life, I will never forget it. I cried like a baby all the way down the hallway because I was so excited and happy that everyone was there to share that moment.

When we got upstairs everyone was waiting on us (not sure how they beat us, but they did) and no one could wait to get a good look at Colt. About 45 min after being upstairs I started to feel a little nauseous and threw up in the bed pan. I guess it was the medicine wearing off and the fact that I had not eaten since the night before. I felt fine after that but still no feeling in my legs. Late that afternoon I finally regained feeling in my legs and still had a room full of family and friends. It was so much fun. We had the best experience in the hospital the next few days, we enjoyed every single second of it. People bringing us food, gifts, pain meds, life was good and we had a brand new addition to our family. Life would never be the same.

See a few of the pictures below, and as always you can keep up with us and TONS more pictures on www.thestablers.net

Take One......

2010-03-03T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well, we made an ATTEMPT at some baby oatmeal on Monday night. Colt was not a fan and I don't think he actually even swallowed any of it. These pictures pretty much sum it up, he goes from happy to pissed pretty quick:

Look at this face....

2010-02-26T15:36:00.000-06:00

I know I havent blogged in a long time, I just have NO time on my hands and when I do my hands are full with my sweet baby boy. Colt is 20 weeks old today and he is the coolest thing in the world. He is such a good baby, I actually don't even really think of him as a BABY, more just a little boy. He has such a big personality and loves to smile and laugh. He sits up like a champ in the bathtub, on the couch, on his changing table but gets a little wobbly on the big open floor. It cracks me up because you would think he would topple over sidways but he usually topples over the front and falls on his face. He refuses to roll over from his back to his tummy, I mean why would he want to be on his tummy where he can't see the world. I'm afraid my child will never crawl, haha. Anyway, just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone that my baby is the best in the WORLD! :)

For tons more pics check out our family website: http://www.thestablers.net/

I'm BAAAAAAACK!

2010-01-05T12:40:00.009-06:00

Well, I'm back to work as of yesterday and its been WAY to long since I've blogged. Obviously lots has happened since my last post but the biggest event: we welcomed baby Colt Malachi Stabler into the world on October 9th and have been loving on him ever since. I'm going to skip over most of the last few months because some of you I know have been keeping up with our family website: http://www.thestablers.net/ and have seen our precious man growing. However, yesterday started a new chapter in our lives - DAYCARE. First of all, I bawled like a baby a month ago when I took them a check and reserved his spot. Secondly, yesterday was a disaster but went better than I expected. I dropped him off with Mrs. Ruby and he just giggled and laughed at her so I felt much better until she started to ask me questions like "how often does he usually eat" and such. Seemed like simple enough questions but right then and there I realized i was leaving my baby that i had spent over 12 weeks with with a total stranger. I broke down in tears. Tears were pretty constant until about 9:30am at work. Once I got settled in I actually really enjoyed my day back in the office. It almost seemed like a BREAK which sounds terrible I know. Anyway, here are just a few pictures from Christmas-time but as always you can see a zillion pictures on our family website.

37 Weeks Down, 3 Weeks to go!

2009-09-17T21:27:00.006-05:00

Well, we had our last ultrasound today. Everything looks PERFECT. Baby Stabler is head down and ready to make its debut here in a few weeks. The ultrasound was amazing, it looks just like a little baby in there! We got to see it open and close its eyes and smile and what looked like grunting. Haha! I think it looks alot like Stan but I still don't know if I think its a boy or a girl.

At my doctors appointment she told me I was about a fingertip dilated and 50% effaced. Not sure what all that means but I guess it means there has been some progress.

See pictures and video below!

Baby Shower #1

2009-09-06T21:39:00.013-05:00

A few weekends ago my best friends in the whole world threw a banana split inspired baby shower for me. It was so much fun and the girls could not have done a better job with everything. Stan and I are so lucky to be bringing a new baby into the world with such great friends and family surrounding (aka - HELPING!) us!!

Here are some pictures:

Giving up Travel for a While......

2009-09-06T21:28:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm now a little over 35 weeks pregnant and against doctors wishes traveled down to Auburn for the opening game this past weekend and also will travel to Dallas ONE last time for work on Tuesday. I'll admit, I don't think after our trip this weekend that I will be begging to go to another football game until after the baby is born. It was in the mid-upper 80's (could have been ALOT worse) but I was HOT. I didn't stop sweating. Also, stadium seating is not meant for a 35 week pregnant gal. We did have alot of fun however and I guess officially it was Baby Stabler's first Auburn game! War Eagle!

Here is a shot of Stan and I tailgating:

Here Comes Baby Stabler....Ready or Not!

2009-07-05T19:00:00.010-05:00

I know everyone has been hanging on to their seat waiting for me to update my blog. I mean, its only been what, 6 months? HA! Well, alot has happened since my last post, here is a quick recap:

Sold our house in Indianapolis (we miss you Indy!)

Bought a house in Birmingham

Moved to Birmingham

Found out that that we were surprisingly going to be expanding our family in the near future (see video that I promise to post tomorrow, more pictures also to come)

Trip to Montgomery over Fathers Day weekend (pictures to come)

Bought a crib (see below picture - thanks Dad!)

Trip to Boston over July 4th weekend (pictures to come)

Here is the one and only baby item we have purchased to date (thanks dad!):

Baby it's COLD Outside

2008-11-21T16:11:00.007-06:00

So the past 2 weeks have gotten alot colder up here in Indy. We took the dogs over to Butler and didn't last too long. Here are a few pics incase you are missing these two hairy beasts.

Westward Bound!

2008-10-23T09:41:00.025-05:00

Last weekend Stan & I traveled to Colorado. We had one of our best weekend trips yet! Here is a summary of what we did along with a few pictures.

Friday - Arrived in Denver early and headed North to Boulder where we stopped for lunch on Pearl Street Mall and did a little sight-seeing including Chautauqua Park. Boulder is a VERY cool place. We then continued our journey North to Rocky Mountain National Park where we rode along Trail Ridge Road through the park. As the sun set we headed West towards our destination - Beaver Creek. Checked in at Beaver Creek (http://www.beavercreeklodge.net/), had a late dinner and a few drinks in the Village and headed to bed.

Saturday - An AMAZING 4 hour horseback ride (http://bearcatstables.com/) outside of Vail through (and UP) the mountains then spent the afternoon/evening in Vail. Headed back toward Beaver Creek and ended up at a bar where we met some very entertaining people and had a really fun night.

Sunday - Headed back to Denver for our departure, just kidding, we MISSED OUR FLIGHT by 3 minutes because I got car sick (several times) on the way. We took full advantage of our extra day and got to see Red Rocks Park and Downtown Denver.

Monday - A trip to Pikes Peak, thank you Delta and your crazy check in policies!

All in all, an awesome trip, one of our favorites. Colorado is beautiful this time of year. Snow on the mountains yet beautiful fall foliage at the lower elevations.

Nashvegas!

2008-10-07T08:20:00.020-05:00

So this past weekend we hit the road (once again) and headed south to Nashville. I love Nashville, I love everything about it. I love the country music, I love the cowboy boots, I love the good southern cookin', I love the mullets and the people watching.

We met up Friday night with my brother and sister (Lee and Laura) plus some old friends. We stayed out until 5:30am and had the BEST time. Saturday we woke up (around 1pm), hit some lunch and headed for some tailgating. Lets skip this part of the story b/c Auburn lost to Vandy in a shameful 13-14 embarrassment of the ages. The loss didn't bring us down for long, as we picked up the pieces and continued the night downtown singing, dancing, and drinking the night away. One of the most fun weekends I have had in a very long time.

Here are the only pictures I can get out of Laura (she has the camera card and refuses to email them to anyone else!!).

Living from a Suitcase

2008-09-29T18:55:00.003-05:00

So the last few months have been crazy. I have literally been living from a suitcase in the floor of our bedroom. There is no point in unpacking it because as soon as I do, I'm off on another adventure. A sampling of my last few weeks:
Sept 10-14 - Went to Atlanta for a few days of work, ended the week with 2 much needed girls nights!
Sept 18-21 - Trip home to Birmingham, drove to Auburn to speak to 300 freshman, back to Montgomery to pick up Stan at the airport, back to Auburn for the Auburn vs LSU game (we lost! boo!), back to Montgomery for the night and then back to Indy on Sunday.
Sept 26-28 - Trip to Destin for our company Fall Outing. Loads of fun but missed home.
Next up:
Oct 3-5 - Trip to Nashville for Auburn vs Vandy and some good old fashion family fun (we are meeting Laura and Lee there!)
Oct 17-19 - Stan & Susan Annual Fall Trip - this year to Colorado

I could go on but I think you get the point. I really think they should designate a parking spot for me at the new airport that opens next month!