Ode To Colton Lloy

colton - kindergarten; age 5 1/2

in celebration of colton's 1st official school picture, i thought i would let him be the star of the blog today.

First Live Performance and a Standing Ovation (from mom)

colton had his official first live performance not long ago. i mentioned that he and i are taking guitar lessons on saturdays, and i guess he had learned enough to feel pretty secure in his ability. this past saturday morning, we were practicing before breakfast. he was supposed to have learned twinkle twinkle little star for that week, but his reading of the notes had progressed farther than we anticipated and he learned happy birthday as well. he played both twinkle twinkle and happy birthday all the way through for me without missing a note. now, granted, he took it very slow...looking at the sheet music very carefully before he strummed each note...but hit the right notes none-the-less. after he finished and i went wild with applause, it hit him that we were going to a birthday party that afternoon before his lesson. he said that he wanted to play happy birthday for his friend at the party. i said o.k. as long as it was alright with his mom and he was sure it would be. now, i was a little unsure if he was ready for this because he has always been very shy when it comes to ANYONE looking at him...never wanting to be on "stage" for any reason. however, if he was ready...i didn't want to stop him. so, long story short...after many of the guests at the party had left, and colton asking me several times if it was time to get his guitar out of the car, i timidly asked the mom if it was o.k. she was very gracious and said of course. so, we went to get the guitar and pulled a lawn chair up for colton to sit in. (the party was outside). colton got out his purple pick and everyone gathered around. well, you can imagine what happened next. it got quiet. that was enough to bring on the stage fright. i pointed to the notes, and he started to play. he got the first 3 notes correct, but then missed the 4th one...then proceeded to lose his place because he wanted to start over again and i kept going (to which he blamed me for the whole catastrophy). he kept playing...trying to get back on track for a couple of seconds...which seemed like hours for the two of us. finally, the nerves and silence got the best of him and he smiled humbly, shrugged and said, "that's all." everyone clapped and cheered and said that it was great, but he knew the truth...that what he had played perfectly just 2 hours prior, he failed to do when he thought it really mattered. he held it together while saying our good-byes, but as we walked down the driveway toward our van, with guitar in hand, he looked at the ground and said, "i messed up. i lost my place. i didn't even get to finish." we had one of our long, encouragement talks on the way to the lesson where i told him all the "mommy things" like...i was more proud of him for trying, and it was the first time and it is so normal to get nervous...and the story about the first time i sang silent night in church by myself and i got so nervous that my voice trembled and i looked down the whole time. (that did make him laugh and feel better). i have to say...even if he got stage fright, i give him a standing ovation for just getting on the stage. as soon as we got to the lesson, i whispered to the instructor, "have him play happy birthday first." sometimes we all need a little help getting back on the horse. i bet you can guess how he did...yep...didn't miss a note.

Coltonisms

here or some of colton's funnies from over the years

mommy: "i can make free-throws."

colton: "i can make 5 throws." while holding up 5 fingers (age 2)

colton saw a cute little girl on tv who was an expert in history facts...after watching her he said, "i'm impressed about that girl." (age 3)

if colton wanted us to watch him, he would say, "all the people look at me." (age 3)

after his cousin sneezed colton said, "bless you my child." (age 3)

we were leaving iowa, and we were telling colton to give hugs and kisses bye and he said, "don't rush me." (age 3)

we were visiting iowa, and colton had trouble going to the bathroom. i gave him a child's laxative that gave him gas. he came to me and said, "a storm came out of my butt." (age 3)

colton was bothering chase and chad kept telling him to stop. chad finally took him upstairs and asked him why he didn't listen to daddy. colton said, "it just didn't make sense." (age 3)

i told colton to eat his carrots, to which he replied, "no, and you're making me crazy." (age 3)

chase had a pencil and a part to the computer. i told colton to get them from him. he was chasing him around the room trying to get them from him and finally he said, "chase, chase...please...cooperate!" (age 3)

chad flew home from atlanta and hugged colton. colton sniffed him and said, "dad, you smell like a goat." (age 3)

i asked colton one day, "when are you going to start listening?" he said, "Next Thursday." (age 3)

colton bit his tongue and it was bleeding everywhere. the next day i was trying to figure out whether i should take him to the dentist. i asked him if it hurt. he said, "yes". i asked him, "when does it hurt?" he said, "on tuesdays and thursdays." (age 3)

colton was playing catch with his grandpa rod. he caught the ball a few times and said, "i'm good." then he caught the ball a fiew more times and said, "i'm fantastic." (age 4)

i heard colton and chase bickering in the other room. colton ran in and said, "chase just hit me in the brain." (age 4)

i was in much need of a break and at dinner that night, chad said that i could go take a hot bath and that he would get the kids ready for bed. next, chad said to colton, "could you bathe chase and aiden and then feed aiden?" colton's eyes got really big and he said, "WHAT...i'm not even a mom...i don't even have milk in myself...i don't have those milk holes...you know those little bottles that sneak out." (age 5)

well, that concludes my ode to colton. thanks for taking interest in our lives. i can't believe he is getting so grown up. it seems like just yesterday that he was a tiny baby. he has a cough and i had to give him cough medicine late last night. i rocked him back to sleep...which i don't get to do that often. he is almost too big to fit in my lap. i loved every minute of it and that experience is what inspired this blog post. we are so proud of him. just this week, he won a character/citizenship award at school. we go tonight for him to receive his honor. all i know, is i'm the one that feels honored...honored to be his mom.