Welcome George!

After waiting 2 months, Coleton finally got to meet his new best friend.

George Duncan Rawl

born January 6, 2011

7 pounds, 8 ounces

We are so excited about this little guy's arrival! We were able to meet him yesterday and spent some more time with him today. He is so precious and sweet; he looks a lot like his Daddy but has his Mommy's adorable cheeks! Thank you Les and Carrie for letting us visit!

We know Coleton and George are going to have so much fun together over the years. We're also sure they'll manage to get into some trouble together, just like their Daddies did. :)

We love you Rawl family!

8 weeks

At 8 weeks, Coleton...

• Smiles, coos and giggles - especially at his Daddy during midnight diaper changes or when you talk to him


• "talks" to you and even "sings" with Mommy, which is SO fun!
• Is growing, growing, growing and is growing out of those newborn clothes; 2 month well check-up is 1/19 so we'll get his official weight and length at that visit
• Enjoys his bouncer, swing, and tummy time mat
• Goes ~3 hours between feedings during the day and 3-5 hours at night


• Naps ~30-60 minutes 2 times a day, usually in the swing or bassinet
• Still sleeps in the bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room at night... don't know how much longer we'll do this, but it is so convenient for those middle of the night feedings (and we have about 2 a night)


• Loves to rock with Daddy at night
• Mouths his right hand all the time and occasionally sucks his thumb


• Is starting to get control of his head; he can hold it up when lying against your chest or shoulder and even briefly when sitting (if you hold his trunk)
• Continues to not have hair on the front of his head; it does not appear that any more has fallen out but I don't think any is growing back yet either!

I had a friend once tell me that each new stage of her child's development became her favorite, and now I understand what she meant! It's so fun to watch Coleton's personality start to show. He melts my heart every time he laughs or smiles at me :)

Happy New Year

REFLECTIONS ON 2010:

• Discovered we were expecting
• Played in a winter wonderland for the first time at our new house during the first snow of the year (we got 5 inches at our house)
• Celebrated our birthdays in the north Georgia mountains
• Cheered our beloved Gamecocks on to a CWS national championship
• Found out we were having a B-O-Y
• Took a babymoon to Savannah - our first trip there together
• Both experienced some changes at work that were neither expected nor wanted...but learned to trust God's plan (ok, so we're still learning)
• Cheered our Gamecocks onto to some big football wins (#1 ranked Alabama, beating Florida in the Swamp for the 1st time ever)
• Celebrated the birth of our beautiful little boy on Veteran's Day 11/11
• Experienced the Holidays as a family of 3
• Had an almost white Christmas with snow on 12/26 - 2 snowfalls in 1 year!

We rang in 2011 at home and somehow actually made it midnight to watch the countdown on TV! (Of course, we went to bed early the next night to make up for loss sleep.) Coleton slept through the celebration but he still got his New Years kiss from Mommy and Daddy. When we rang in 2010, we had no idea that our next new years would be celebrated as a family of 3 - we were just hoping that I would at least be pregnant! We are so thankful for all of our blessings that this year has brought us and we look forward to seeing what wonderful things God has in store for 2011. Happy New Year everyone!

Date Night

I decided that it was time for Mommy and Daddy to have some alone time and go on a date night. While I love every second I can spend with Coleton and want to soak up as many moments with him as I can, I also realize the importance of Clif and I keeping our relationship strong. Plus I love every second I can spend with my sweet hubby. So off to Tsunami we went. We had a great time eating lots of sushi, which I had been craving for about 6 months, and even drank a couple of tasty Blue Moons. While we did find plenty of other things to talk about, I'll be honest and let on that we couldn't help but talk about our cute boy a little bit. However, Clif was the one who broke down first and texted to see how Coleton was doing without us... and he was just fine! BIG thanks to Gram and Granddaddy for taking care of our little man while we were out! Here are some cute pics we found on our camera when we got home...

Christmas and Snow

We've had the best Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve with Gram and Papa/Granddaddy/what's his name and Coleton got lots of goodies! Of course, he slept through the whole unwrapping presents thing so Daddy had to help him out. After that we headed over to the other Fordham resident and had lots of fun spending time with more family.

Christmas Day brought presents from Santa and Mommy and Daddy; Mommy helped open presents while Daddy helped with the stocking. We headed out to Lugoff for dinner with my family where we ate too much yummy food, exchanged gifts via the white elephant way, and spent time making memories. And of course, our sweet baby boy got even more goodies from the family.

This morning we woke up to a {somewhat} winter wonderland. So after breakfast everyone bundled up and we trooped outside to take a few pictures of Coleton's first snow experience. Thanks to Pops and Jan for the awesome outfit that kept our little man toasty, but we have to say that he looked a little like Ralphie's brother Randy in "A Christmas Story". So cute!

We are so blessed and thankful to spend the Holidays with our loved ones!

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

4 weeks

At 4 weeks, Coleton...

• is starting to coo and smile
• is losing his hair from front to back and sort of looks like an old man :)
• can lift and rotate his head while on his tummy
• enjoys his bouncy seat (thanks Aunt Keala!)
• weighs 7 lbs 14 ounces - gained 1 lb in 2 weeks!
• loves bath time but hates the cold that comes with getting out of the tub (who doesn't?)

• goes 2-3 hours between feedings during the day and ~4 hours at night
• loves looking at the lights on the Christmas tree
• appears to enjoy listening to Mommy sing Christmas hymns - or at least he doesn't complain
• sucks his fingers and hands more frequently

Hard to believe our little man is already a month old! Time is flying by! Daddy goes back to work next week so we will have to adjust our routine a little bit. It has been such a blessing to have him home with us this past month. Sending our love to everyone!!