Merry Christmas 2012

Harpers Ferry

We recently went on one last family rock climbing adventure with our friends/neighbors before they leave city life for Montana.  Colton keeps telling us that he is going to go to Montana with Harper.  He's pretty sad to lose his "best friend."  We're pretty sad too.  Here are some highlights from our adventure:

How YOU doin'?

Hi, Mommy.  I'm irresistibly cute!

Foreshadowing?  If I'd gotten the shot two seconds earlier, he actually had his arm around her waist.  He loves her.

Colton and Harper even got in on the action.  I think Justin put a little more muscle into getting Colton to the top than Colton did...

"I've been crawling around eating dirt and trying to choke to death on acorns for the last two hours.  Rock climbing is awesome, Dad!!"

"Thanks for bringing me Mom!"

I think Harper might have been ready for Colton to let go...

Weightlifting

Justin's been working out.  He got two very cute (though not-quite-evenly-weighted) volunteers to help him out.  These two are available for anyone looking for a good shoulder workout.  Just to warn you, they are a little bit squirmy.  

Brian's first haircut

After posting twice about Colton's haircuts, it would seem amiss not to document Brian's first haircut as well, even if it wasn't quite the traumatic ordeal that Colton went through.

I'm so happy.  I have no idea what is about to happen.

What's that thing?  Why is it coming toward my head?

Hmmmm... I'm not sure about this.  It kind of tickles.

Oh, I see.  I'm supposed to suck on this cord.  Now I get it.

Dad's pushing my head down.  This is great!

Okay, maybe it's not so great.  Dad, could you please let my head up?

I'm serious!  Stop pushing my head down!  I don't like this one bit!

Are you done yet?

You let my head up, but this doesn't seem to be any better...

I guess I'll forgive you guys for the torture.  I look super cute and you let me go to town on some delicious peaches with rice cereal.  Hooray for my first haircut!

I said it wouldn't happen...

I assumed I would never get around to blogging about the months that I missed, but the boys are both still napping, and I still don't want to clean up...so here's to a photo recap of the un-blogged months, in no particular order. 

Colton looked cute in a helmet and harness while rock climbing with all his Durham cousins in Rock Canyon.

Rather than roasting a marshmallow on our family campout in Bryce Canyon, Margaret decided on a different treat... (don't hate my for that caption, Marg!)

Colton enjoyed his marshmallow, but was less appreciative of the sticky hands it left behind.

Marg and Josh posed during our hike.  (And despite the lack of horses and photo evidence, Chad hiked as well!)

Colton is probably the best 3-year-old hiker ever.  EVER.

Michael and Spencer hiked too.

We love national parks, and we wish the picture of our whole family had been in focus!

Colton loved hiding in a cave with Parker and Jane.

Fourteen years later, and Em and Dan still know how to pose for an engagment shot!

I'm so cute without my helmet!

But I was cute with my helmet, too!

Arrrrrgh!  Fair thee be warned...

Hey look! I participate in family activities as well.

It doesn't matter if the library parking lot is filled with all your favorite trucks in the whole world.  A loud horn is horrible no matter what.  (Yes, we had to leave truck day because the honking was a little too much for him.)

Same, same!

I had to throw in some pictures of me because my original version made it appear that Justin is a single dad.  I swear I'm an active part of this family.

Looking cute (and similar) at the park.

Please don't hate me Brian, but you honestly have the cutest bottom in the entire world.

Intense heat and humidity will make even the most scary pirate loose a little enthusiasm.

So that is what we've been up to by way of photo-worthy activities.  The end.

Some things never change

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in five months.  And I don't mean that rhetorically.  I was literally surprised to see how long it's been since my last entry because I have written so many fantastic posts in my head over the last several months.  I guess I just forgot to actually write them down.  I apologize to my adoring fans who were dying to see Colton and Brian at the park or in Utah or on a Pirate Adventure in the Chesapeake.  I'm sure those posts would have been witty and amusing, and hopefully you will forgive the fact that they are now probably not going to ever happen.

Well, this was one post I couldn't let slip away into the recesses of my mind.  It had to be recorded.  I know that it is not uncommon to document a child's first haircut.  We did with Colton.  It was awesome.  He was screaming and covered in hair and yogurt.  We recently gave Brian his first haircut as well, but that is not the point of this post.  The point of this post is Colton's 27th haircut.  Okay, I don't really know what number, but the kid is three and has had plenty of haircuts in that time.  You'd think he'd have calmed down about it by now, but I just had to share with the world have far we have not come.  Behold:

Colton was a little bit chubbier at 7 months, but I'm pretty sure the sentiment was the same: "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I thought I could trust you.  Why would you submit me to this?"

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop RIGHT NOW!"

At least this time the hair wasn't sticking to the yogurt on his face.  Poor child.  He did get a sucker at the end to compensate for all the suffering...

Guest Post from the Boys

Mommy's little helper

So technically, he mostly just spread crumbs around everywhere, but there's really not much cuter than a two-year-old who wants to help clean up.  Today he said, "We need to clean this place up.  It's a mess!"  Who are you?  Oh yeah.  Justin's son. 

All you need is love...

So, I never got around to my Christmas cards this year.  I guess I should say last year since it is already April.  Clearly, I'm a little behind.  Having a baby in November, I kind of assumed that Christmas cards wouldn't happen, so I had planned on doing Valentine cards instead (again, if you notice that it is already April, I clearly didn't get around it that either...).  I had this wonderful idea that I would make a card that said "All you need is love" with an adorable, loving picture of my two boys on it.

Well, I pulled out the camera one afternoon to take aforementioned adorable picture, and here is what I got:

Maybe the caption is still appropriate.  Clearly these two both need something.  Getting their picture taken wasn't it.  Oh well, I tried.  I even had our Scott Family Top Ten list all ready to go, and since I'm no longer fooling myself that I will ever send out a card with it, I'll just include it below.  You can pretend that you received it in the mail...back when it was still 2011:

It is never too late recap last year—especially if you are busy with a new baby when the more traditional holiday cards should be sent. 

1. We ventured South—to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  We discovered (to our surprise) that the South was pretty much just like the North with a few more ya’lls, yes ma’ams, bbq joints, and Crimson Tide fans .  Thanks Roz & Thad!
2. We ventured West (twice)—to beautiful Provo, Utah.  Highlights of our trips inluded skiing (Bethany is still better than Justin), marathoning (guess which one of us did this—finishing in 3:21:21), and bonding with family.
3. We ventured across the Pacific—to Laie, Hawaii.  We had an amazing two weeks in Paradise.  We camped on the beach, swam with sharks, snorkeled, had fun with family, and proved that Colton was a super traveler (after 14 hours on our laps, fellow passengers still thought he was cute).
4. We ventured Mid-West.  It turns out that if you are interested in fireworks, Omaha is the place to be for the fourth of July.  It also turns out they have an awesome zoo.  Guess which Colton liked more…
5.  We ventured into the “mountains”—to Shenandoah National Park.  While it doesn’t compare to the Wasatch mountains, we had a great time with the Piersons playing games, going on hikes, and touring Luray Caverns.
6. Colton learned to talk.  Some of his favorite phrases, “I wanna play dat game,”  “What dat mean?”  “I wanna run in circles!” “Bast mean!” (fast like McQueen) and our favorite “I got two wedgies” (said at the end of every diaper change).
7. Colton learned to run.  We’re predicting a future marathoner considering that he regularly runs the 1.6 miles from our house to the park.  (He liked to point out regularly on these runs that mommy is not fast like McQueen.)
8. We ate a lot of sugar.  You know it’s a bad sign when Colton’s favorite things to draw are cookies, cakes, and ice cream cones.  (New Year’s resolution 2012—eat a little less sugar.)
9. Justin built a wall.  Our house has officially changed from a four bedroom to a five bedroom, and our guest room is no longer separated from the storage room by shelves full of stuff.  Nice work Justin!
10. Bethany built a baby.  We welcomed Brian Justin Scott to our family at 4:21 am on November 2, 2011.  He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz (a mere 3 lbs more than Colton), 21 inches long.  He has proven to be the world’s most agreeable baby, and we love our sweet little guy!

Merry Christmas & Happy Valentines Day!

Love,

The Scotts

Same Same?

I think that Brian's individual features are completely different than Colton's.  However, in comparing the two, I would say in Colton's words, "Hey, look!  Same same!"

And while we're on the subject of family resemblances...maybe it isn't just Grandpa Cole that Colton looks like!

Best of 2011

Here is my photo essay, which I will entitle, "We did cool stuff this year."  The pictures should prove it.

Look!  Sometimes we take pictures of someone other than Colton!  This was outside a barn-type building in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.   Photo taken by the one and only Roz.

In February we found ourselves in Utah (thanks to a recruiting trip for Justin's work), and Grandma Louise was kind enough to watch Colton so we could spend a day skiing.  I am still better than Justin.  Just so that you know...

Sometimes we just have fun around the house.  It turns out that putting pajamas on your head and around your neck is fun.

In April we made our way to Hawaii.  This picture was taken outside the Laie, Hawaii temple.  I kind of adore Colton's long, wavy hair.

In April we also participated in the Runamuck 5K.  Justin came in first.  I was just happy to come in at all (considering that I'm not a runner in general, and I was 16 weeks pregnant).

In June we made our way back to Utah so that Justin could run the Utah Valley Marathon.

It was a lot of fun...for those of us cheering from the sidelines.

On the way back to the car, Colton decided he would help Justin push the tree.  I can just imagine Colton saying, "Dad, I don't think this tree is going anywhere."  (This might be my favorite picture of the year.)

In July we went to Nebraska to visit Justin's parents.  Colton (and Justin) showed off their sour face during our visit to the Omaha Zoo.

At the end of July, we made a spontaneous trip to NC to meet up with Justin's siblings.  We forced our children to be photographed in their diapers.  They'll probably hate us for this someday.

Justin told me that there weren't enough pictures of me in our "best of" album, so here I am resting on a couch in NC.  

In September, we spent a weekend in Luray, VA.  I love this picture because it shows was a good hiker Colton is, and really emphasizes my 7-month bowling ball.  

Colton got all wet playing in the waterfall, so after the hike, we took his pants off him and let him eat cookies.  And then we took a blackmail picture of him to use sometime in the future.  Why are diaper pictures so darn cute?

In November, we welcomed Brian into our family.  This was definitely the highlight of the year.

I love my boys!

Who needs a real photographer?  Just take 200 pictures and you're bound to get at least one that turns out okay.  This is that one!

We like to start our kids out early on the road to complete sugar addiction.  Brian seemed pretty excited by my birthday cake.

In December, Justin's family came to our house for Christmas.  Colton had a great time playing with his cousin Sadie on our slide in the back yard. 

We also enjoyed a trip to temple square in DC to see the lights.

Is there anything cuter than a baby with Santa on his bum?  (Okay, Justin's pretty cute too!)

So that was our year.  Thanks, 2011, you were great!