Gigi and Grandpa visit

It had been a while since Gigi and Grandpa were up for a visit since they just got back from an almost two month amazing European adventure! It was so fun for us to have them see how much Colter has changed in just a few short months! Our visit was full of fun adventures and it was a huge blessing for me to be able to get out on my own a few times and get some much needed errands done! Thanks for the visit Gigi and Grandpa Crowl!

Here are some of our fun times together:

Ben's grandpa made Colter this awesome dump truck totally out of wood. Colter loves filling it up with all sorts of cars and animals. Ben's parents also brought up Ben's conductor hat from when he was older and Colter immediately fell in love with it... although it seems he associates it more with playing guitar.. a railroad riding guitar man perhaps?

Gigi and Grandpa got to attend one of Madison's appointments, but before hand we went to check out the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton. This year was probably my favorite! The theme was "Once upon a time" and it featured a ton of disney movies that I love.

We have a running joke that it always snows when Mary & Greg come up to visit.. because it really almost always does! No luck this time (I even bought a sled at Costco)- but it was cold!! All the more reason to warm up with some cocoa!

 Colter has a mild obsession- ok, mild really isn't the right word. A CRAZY obession with cranes. Mary & Greg spotted this one in action one day and took Colter to it. It was such a fantastic experience! The crane went right over our heads and we saw it lift up an entire dumpster and load it onto a flat bed truck. I don't know who was more impressed- me or Colter!

                                             

Mary & Greg also got to sit in on one of Colter's swim lessons. By the look on his face, you'd think he knew it was the day we were going to practice going under water. He did surpsingly SO well.. no tears, choking, etc. I was over the top enthusiastic so he would come up rubbing his eyes to me yelling "GREAT JOB BUDDY!!" and he would reply between wiping his eyes "good job buddy." He has really enjoyed our time in the water.. who will he take after? Sailing papa or synchronized swimming mama? haha.. hopefully papa!

There was also some down time that included looking at the lights outside, going for walks to the park, playing lots of trains, and spotting goldbug in Colter's favorite Richard Scarry book.

Colter got an early Christmas when he got to open some presents! He definitely got the hang of ripping paper and loved everything he got!

A new choo choo train complete with two guys that fit inside.

A puzzle with his name. He's already totally into naming letters (He usually says CO2) when you ask him to spell his name. Hopefully this will help even more!

A new truck that loads up cars. Super fun.

Thanks again for spending time up here loving on our man!