Oh well, maybe in Sochi 2014.

It's a bummer that the US Hockey Team lost in overtime to Canada for the gold medal, but it was one heck of a game. Awesome effort by our NHL hometown team goalie Ryan Miller, and the rest of the young, super talented US team. They truly amaze me.
Colin and I watched the game. And by watched, I mean I flipped through the channels when the action got too intense for me, or looked at the TV through my fingers while my hands covered my face (you know exactly what I'm talking about Mom!). Colin really must of thought his mommy turned into some crazy person, because he would be sitting there playing or watching the TV, and then I would yell out something hysterically and he would turn and look at me with a totally puzzled expression on his face.
Get used to it kid. There is a long, sports-filled year ahead. Just wait until you watch a Bills game with your Daddy.

Here is our future NHL star (?) watching the game.

Oh, and by the way, Colin copied me and yelled "go go go" at the TV and waved his little arm up and down. It was priceless. Even if it sounded more like "gee, gee, gee".

That hair.

I starting taking some pictures of Colin to show how proud he is while standing and cruising. This boy is getting around! But then I got distracted and my focus went to his hair. First, I can't believe what a blondie he is. He is truly a towhead. Second, his hair is always a mess. It is long in some places, short and sticking up in other places, and frankly, he looks like a crazy baby.
One more thing added to the list of things that we love about Colin.

Rewind to the Sabres game.

Like I said in an earlier post, thanks to Kevin's sister Carrie, we were able to attend a Buffalo Sabres hockey game in celebration of Kevin's homecoming/30th birthday. It was so much fun! And we had good seats to boot. It's always nice to attend a game close to your hometown, and as always you could sense the Buffalo pride in the air. They gave us an exciting game to watch, and even though they had a tough loss that night, another fun memory for us was made. Lets go BUFF-A-LO!

Two loyal fans. We can't wait to take Colin to a game!

Our Team USA goalie, Ryan Miller! I usually love watching the hockey games on the Winter Olympics, but it's even more exciting since the Sabers goalie is on our side! He definitely showed his talent during the win against Canada. Now we face Switzerland. Go Team USA!

Gettin' ready for beddy.

Here is Colin after his bath tonight. There is NOTHING better then the smell of a baby fresh out of the tub! We were missing our official-towel-guy (Daddy) since he is away at training.

Exploring.

Uh oh, we're in trouble. Definitely time to do a little baby-proofing!

Rub-a-dub-dub...two babies in the kitchen sink.

Colin spent his first Valentine's Day morning enjoying a nice bottle, getting hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy, receiving a new Valentine book, and then driving to Virginia. HUH??...

We decided very last minute to take a little trip visit the Shuffstalls, because Kevin S. is deploying for a year to Afghanistan. He is such a dear friend of ours and we thought it would be nice to say good-bye in person before he left. Of course this trip had other perks because not only did the 2 Kevins get to spend some time together, but I got to visit with his wife Lindsay, Colin got to play with his buddy Caden (they were born just days apart), and Lucy got to romp around in the yard with their two dogs. What fun!

Lindsay thought it would be fun for Caden and Colin to have a good ol' fashioned bath in the kitchen sink. They had a ball!

We will miss you, Kevin S. Work hard, stay safe, and always know that we will be thinking of you.

When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie...

...that's amore!
Kevin mentuioned to me that he really was craving some pizza and wings while being away. Apparently you can't get good pizza in Afghanistan, who knew? So Kevin wanted pizza. And not your standard chain pizza...he wanted upstate-NY pizza. You see, where we grew up, there are small authentic Italian pizza joints literally on every corner. And you can only imagine some of the names- Perri's, Cordello's, Colombini's, Dirosato's, and Guiseppe's...just to name a few. I can hear all the stereotype jokes coming at me as I type! Anyways, we set up a little get together at Pontillo's Pizzeria to celebrate Kevin's homecoming and 30th birthday. It is always a good time with friends and family, and authentic Rochester pizza and Buffalo- style wings!

I think he's had his fill...for now.

Oh, and we need to write it in the baby record book that Colin had his first delicious bites of pizza that day! Of course he loved it.


I cannot say enough how wonderful Kevin's family is. His sister Carrie and brother-in-law Dave are no exception. Of course Carrie knows what a huge Buffalo Bills fan her brother is, so she took a chance and called up a local Buffalo car dealership. Why, you ask? Only because Steve Tasker, a former Buffalo Bills player from their glory days is the dealership's spokesperson. She thought maybe they could send her a signed something-or-other for Kevin. Man, did they deliver. She ended up speaking to the company's vice president, and they gave her a life-sized signed Steve Tasker cutout, along with  a personalized signed football. If that wasn't enough, they called her back and offered her 4 Buffalo Sabers tickets for the game that week. West Herr in Buffalo is great!
SO, thank you Carrie for going the extra mile to make your brother's homecoming and birthday that much more special for him. You are always so thoughtful. And thank you Dave, for taking the time to go over to pick up the goods from West Herr, and driving home with a life-sized cardboard cutout of Steve Tasker in your car.

And yes, Steve made the drive from NY to NC with us, and is now standing in one of our rooms upstairs. So thanks again Carrie.

Kevin is HOME!!!!

I'm a little late posting this...
After a looonnnngggg trip back from Afghanistan, Kevin finally made it home a couple of weeks ago! We are so happy to have him back!

Waiting for our guy at the airport.

Yup Colin, that is your Daddy! Minus the mustache (thank goodness).

Our little family is complete again.

I do have to say, although we totally hated that Kevin had to deploy, I was fortunate enough to go home to Rochester to be with our families and friends for the 4 months that he was away. We were surrounded by endless amounts of love and support, and it helped make our time away from him go by that much faster. Not to mention, it was FUN! Thank you for everything...even though Colin is young, I am certain he took so much good away from it, and it helped to shape him into the wonderful baby that he is! Words cannot describe how special being with family meant to me. We will miss you dearly, but will see you again soon enough.
Remember...our door in NC is ALWAYS open...

9 months old!

Colin was 9 months old on February 4th! He really is the best baby around.

He is:

-Crawling.

-Sometimes pulling self up to a stand, and can stand while holding on to something.

-Enjoying most foods...he definitely takes after his mommy in the pasta-loving department.

-Saying ma-ma and da-da to us!

Colin LOVES to brush his teeth. He gets so excited when he sees his green train toothbrush. Granted, it is probably because of his sweet fruit flavored toothpaste, but I guess it's never too early to start some good oral hygiene.