Colin's First Christmas

Colin really enjoyed his first Christmas even if the photographic evidence is to the contrary. He was in the middle of one of the fits that makes Colin, Colin during this picture. We unwrapped presents at Aunt Alison and Uncle Dan's place and soaked up the excitement generated by his Cousins' Gavin and Keira. Later that day, after a nap, Colin was in better spirits. This picture was before Christmas dinner over at Uncle Dan's mom's place. It was fun to get all dressed up in this cute dog outfit.

Merry Christmas!

Kipp Family Christmas - "Kippmas"

On December 23rd we celebrated Kippmas with Colin, his parents and grandparents. It was Colin's first experience opening presents. He had a little help but he seemed to enjoy the tearing of wrapping paper. It is now Christmas Eve and we are heading down to DC for Christmas and then to Nags Head, NC for the New Years Beach Trip. This will be a grand adventure for Colin and there will be many pictures that we can post in the new year.

We are busily trying to pack so I have to sign off. A little baby needs quite a lot of stuff for a week away from home.

Todd's Coming Out Party

Colin had a number of visitors this weekend and he really seemed to enjoy all of the socializing. The gang was over for Todd's conversion to a Cowboys fan. In reality Todd is a lifelong Eagles fan that was forced to wear a TO jersey as a result of a lost bet. It worked out well because TO had a horrible game and the Eagles managed to upset the Cowboys in Dallas. There was some kind of voodoo action going on. TO played like he had a few beers during the course of the game. Very interesting. Perhaps Todd will be purchasing his own TO jersey soon.

We were really glad everyone could stop by. Colin was fascinated by all of the activity and slept really well that night. He tends to be less fussy when visitors are over, so if you are reading this, please stop by!

Holidays

Just a quick picture to add to the blog. We are all very busy getting ready for the holidays and Colin seems to time his meltdowns for the early evening hours. Colin is looking forward to his first Christmas and his first trip to the beach.

Laughing?

It is getting a bit harder to keep up with the blog during the holiday season, but I intend to keep it going. Here is a picture we really like. I can't really say that Colin is laughing, but it certainly looks that way in this picture. He is smiling frequently when he is in a good mood, but he can still be pretty fussy at least once per day. Like now for example. Gotta run!

Bath Time

What is a baby picture album without the picture at bath time? Colin has been pretty cooperative at bath time. We have established a routine and he knows his next meal is right around the corner. He may only be in the 25th percentile in weight, but this boy loves to eat.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Colin had a grand time at his first Thanksgiving down in Northern Virginia. He was able to meet his cousins Gavin and Keira and his Great Grandmother for the first time. He also had the chance to meet Aunt Nan and her boys, Drew and Garrett. The event was lively as you would expect with 3 kids that are 3 or younger. The fire department even made a surprise appearance, especially to Drew and Garrett in the basement who weren't told they were coming, but it was only due to a faulty carbon monoxide detector.


Colin spent some busy days in the DC area visiting friends and shopping. We had a chance to visit with Sonia and Garrett on Friday morning and learn about their trip to France. That afternoon we compared baby stories and experiences with Laura and Chris who just had a boy seven weeks ago. We were able to dispense little pearls of wisdom from our 3 weeks additional experience as parents. It was great meeting Connor and we look forward to seeing the boys play.

Thanksgiving Eve

Tomorrow I leave for Washington, DC to celebrate my first Thanksgiving. Everyone seems excited for me, but I can't understand what all the fuss is about. It is not like I am going to have any turkey, or stuffing, or gravy, or cranberries. I really like to eat so maybe I will get some additional feeding time to celebrate the holiday. I understand that I will get to meet a number of new people like my cousins and my great grandmother. I enjoy showing off for new company. That way they can see what a wonderful baby I am and folks can't understand what mom and dad are talking about when they say that I am "fussy". I just know how to get what I want and I enjoy making mom and dad look foolish.

This is my first overnight trip away from home. Mom and dad are packing just about everything so I should be OK. Unfortunately, they won't have room for a change of clothes, but I guess they will manage. I will tell you about my trip when I get back.

Busy Week

Week 9 for Colin was a very busy week. The highlights included visits from both sets of Grandparents and his 2 month check up at the doctor's office. Colin continues to track along the same growth curves so all seems to be going well. He is now 10 lbs 7.2 oz and is 22.5" long (tall?). The measurements still indicate that Colin has a disproportionately small head, but the doctor was kind enough to point out that Kristin has a small head as well.

Colin really enjoyed seeing his Grandma and Grandpa Kipp for the second time. He was so good during the errands around town and slept the entire time. We are still having quite a few fussy moments. Hopefully, he will work through those by Christmas so he can get on the "Nice" list.

Almost 2 months

It is hard to believe that Colin is almost 2 months old already. We are really excited for his two month check up this week. We are noticing some changes. Colin is becoming more expressive and we are confident we have some confirmed smiles. We have also endured some long stretches of fussiness but we think that is often because he is hungry. Kristin is always able to calm him down with a meal, but he can take up large chuncks of time eating.

This past weekend is a little less eventful than last weekend. We have another couple over and their son for dinner and Colin slept through the whole thing. Colin's grandparents from DC arrived on Sunday and Colin's grandparents from Pittsburgh will be here on Friday.

Barney

The purple dinosaur? No.
But yes, we also had Barney during the Full House weekend, but not the happy, singing dinosaur. (Is he still around? We have to get caught up on our young kid shows.)

Barney was in town for a conference in Philly and it also happened to be his Birthday Weekend. Happy Birthday Barney!

Something seems to be missing. Oh yeah, Colin is not in the picture. Somehow I did not manage to get a shot with Colin and Barney. I guess that means Barney will have to come back to visit and bring Katie along.

Full House

We received an unexpected surprise this week. One of our most frequent visitors to the blog site decided they just had to meet Mr. Colin in person and drove up from North Carolina. Colin was a big hit with the young ladies and took some time out from eating and sleeping to hang out and socialize. It was convenient that they decided to come up and meet Colin because it turns out Matt had an important meeting in DC on Monday. It was a great weekend! So good in fact, that Elizabeth says they are going to drive up again next week.

Matt and Sally enjoyed hanging out with Colin, but I think by their expressions they are saying, "Three kids are enough".

Barney may think he is getting off without his picture going in the blog. Barney was also in town this weekend so we truly had a full house. I just need to wrap this up because the Steelers game starts in 15 min. Stay tuned...

Happy Halloween!

Colin is still a little too small to make it out Trick-or-Treating, so that will have to wait until next year. We all stayed home and handed out candy to all the ghouls and goblins that came by. Colin wasn't exactly in costume but he did wear his "I love my Mummy" outfit.

Here Colin is practicing his scary "Whahahaha" Halloween laugh to scare the trick-or-treaters. He decided to spend most of the evening using his scary screams and cries to freighten those that stopped by. It was most effective on young couples thinking of having kids.

New Friend

Colin went to visit a new friend this past weekend. It was his furthest trip from home...ever! Jedd has about 9 months of life experience on Colin, so we are hoping he can show Colin the ropes. It is too bad that Colin really isn't up for playing just yet because Jedd went right for him. A new toy!

It was great seeing the Kings and we are so glad that are back in the area. They will have to come down soon so we can make them dinner.

Taking Time

"Every now and then you need to take a break from your busy schedule to stop and smell the flowers", thinks Colin to himself.

We all enjoyed the nice flowers from Dan and Alison and the Texas Maneys.

Aunt Alison and Uncle Dan Visit

Happy Anniversary Dan and Alison!

Colin enjoyed meeting his Aunt and Uncle for the first time on Saturday. We went to dinner at Don Pablos and after a rough start in the car, Colin sailed through dinner with no problems. Colin is looking forward to visiting DC to meet his cousins.

On a separate note, by our definition, Colin slept through the night last night. He went to sleep in his crib at 10:00 pm and did not wake up until 5:30 am. His daddy predicted last night was going to be the night and even guessed the wake up time correctly. I am not predicting a repeat performance tonight.

Colin on Chest this Time

This is one of our favorite positions. Daddy gets to hold Colin with some good quality time AND watch TV. Now that is what I call multi-tasking. Colin is getting bigger every week. On Monday he had his one month check up. Happy one month, Colin! We learned that Colin is medium height, kind of skinny and has a really tiny head. It is kind of unfair being born two weeks early, so we have some catching up to do. There are advantages though. Having a small head makes tummy time easier and it is easier to move your head from side to side.

Colin on Shoulder

I am supposed to be burping but I am feeling a little tired right now. I think I will just go to sleep.

Back Home Again

Kristin had a very scary emergency on Friday, but she is doing great and was back at home by lunch on Saturday. Kristin was very happy to be back with Colin after their longest time apart...ever. We are all very happy and relieved that Kristin is OK.

Are you talking to me?

Are you talking to me? I can't understand what you are saying but I think you are talking to me. Mommy and Daddy talk to me all the time. It is kind of funny because I mostly ignore them.

Football Sunday

Colin and Brian enjoy hanging out on Football Sundays. Here we are celebrating the Steelers 21-0 win over the Seahawks to go 4-1 on the season.

Not Always a Happy Baby

This seems to be a picture of someone who is tired of having their picture taken. Sometimes I get grumpy but overall I am a very good baby and a good sleeper.

See. Not long afterward I am surprised that I could have been that upset. Whoa! What a fuss!

Visit by Grandparents

Colin met his grandparents on his very first day, but he was kind of tired from his ordeal and probably does not have the best memory as a one day old. So GranT and PopPop returned to spend more quality time during Week 3. Now that Colin is 19, days that is, he was really looking forward to spending time with his Grandparents.




Colin enjoyed seeing his Grandparents again and went for his first trip to a museum. While at the Delaware Art Museum he enjoyed the Howard Pyle illustrations best of all.

Dimples and Looking Alert

These two pictures really show off Colin's dimples. I don't know if these will stick around once he can smile on purpose but they make for really cute pictures now. You also can see his spikey hair really well in these pictures.

This is one of my favorite pictures so far of Colin. He is looking very alert and much older than his 15 days.

Grandma and Grandpa Kipp Pay a Visit

Colin met Grandma and Grandpa Kipp for the first time the weekend of September 22nd. Colin enjoyed the extra attention and behaved very well during some lunches out and a few short trips. The new proud Grandparents are mising their new Grandson already.

Here we go Steelers!

Touchdown Steelers! Colin may have missed Week 1 of the NFL season, but he did not want to miss any more games so he decided to come 2 weeks early. On his first full day of life he was able to watch the Steelers beat the Bills in the hospital room. They say newborns can only see 18" but I am pretty sure he knew what was going on.

In this picture, Colin seems to express with intensity that "the Steelers had better win today".

First Week

Much to our delight, Colin had a wonderful first week at home. Mom and Colin started to improve with the feedings and Colin was able to sleep for long stretches through the night without crying. In fact, we had to set the alarm and wake Colin up rather than the other way around. Are we feeling cocky? No, but we are feeling some hope that the sleepless nights won't be as bad as feared.

Going Home

Finally, Tuesday arrived and mom and Colin were allowed to come home from the hospital. Colin was very excited to see his new home and mom and dad wondered if they were ready for the challenges to come. It was convenient having a button to call a nurse anytime we needed help. No such luxury at home.

Hospital

Colin was a very healthy baby boy, but he did not make things easy on mommy. She went through a long painful labor and still ended up having a c-section because Colin got a bit turned on the way out. Mom is not going to let you forget that Colin.

Here is the new family in the hospital.

Welcome

Welcome to the Kipp Family Blog. You will have to be patient as we get this blog up and running as I am a first time blogger. I must give credit to Bryan Cheek for this idea as a way to keep friends and family posted on new family developments without sending many large emails full of pictures. This way those that are interested can check in on updates whenever they like. This assumes, of course, that I have the discipline and find the time to keep up with this blog.

The reason for starting a blog in the first place is shown below. This is Colin Randoph Kipp who was born on September 15, 2007 to Brian and Kristin Kipp. He weighed in a just under 7 lbs and arrived 2 weeks earlier than we were expecting. I suspect you will seeing a lot of this little guy in the coming weeks and months. The following picture is from the very first day of Colin's life.

Here is a picture from Day 2 that shows all of his hair and with his eyes open (at least for the moment).