Tummy Time Update - By Collin

Mommy has been really busy lately so I thought I would help her write something on my blog since she has not had a chance to yet. I gotta tell you, I am really liking this tummy time thing these days. I did not really care for it before because I would get tired quick and my face would end up in the drool I left on the blanket (or whatever I was laying on). I heard mommy tell daddy recently about the poses she does in yoga. I am not sure how to do Down Dog yet but I figured out Airplane Sunday afternoon. Instead of just pushing up on my arms like I usually do (The Cobra), I lifted my legs and arms up so only my tummy was touching the floor. This was a lot of fun and caused mommy to smile and clap her hands. I like it when I make her happy. I did this a few times for her to take some pictures and then quit before all of the pressure on my tummy caused me to have to get a diaper change. hehe

Then, Monday, Mimi, the Tummy Time Nazi, put me on my tummy three different times. Instead of Airplane, I got on my knees a little each time. I think that made her nervous because I could hear her tell mommy what I did and then she said "oh no, crawling is next!". I think I will wait a little while for that. My knees hurt after doing it too many times.
Oh, mommy wanted me to tell you that I LOVE avocados! For the last three nights, mommy has mixed this in my rice cereal and I could not get enough of it! Either it was the avocado or I was just REALLY hungry the last few days but I need to be sure mommy knows to keep the avocado coming. Maybe this will keep her from giving me the butternut squash I saw her making this past Sunday afternoon for me. She put it in the freezer...so maybe she will forget about it. I know!!! I can distract her by doing something else new during tummy time!

Two Greats

For most of the day today, Collin and I hung out with Collin's great aunt Nancy and great grandma Austine. Nancy was in town from Colorado and had not seen Collin since Thanksgiving so she really enjoyed spending time with him. While we were there, Collin was hungry twice and she got to feed him a bottle both times. She was new to this and had a lot to learn. If there is a lot of stimulus, Collin moves his head a lot when he is eating. It takes practice but you have to move the bottle with his head or it comes out of his mouth. I think Collin knew that Nancy was new to this and possibly was testing her. He moved his head a few times and she had to keep putting the bottle back in. Between eating, Collin did some tummy time and laid on his back to play with his feet. He was not interested in napping at all.....especially when Mimi arrived later that afternoon. Grandma Austine got on the floor and tried to demonstrate to Collin how to kick his feet up in the air. It was hilarious because my 70+ year old grandmother was on her back on the floor, kicking like she was riding a bicycle and talking about stem cell research and then when she was a kid growing up on the ranch. I have no idea where this came from but Collin was mesmerized by what she was doing and that kept him entertained for awhile.

We went to eat later that evening and then Collin and I came home so he could eat his rice cereal, get a bath, read some books together and go to bed. Last night and tonight, he has been going to sleep with Frank Sinatra playing in the background.....music that his great grandpa Hollis Collins liked to listen to.

Tuesday With Daddy

Today was the first day Collin and I did not gel so well. Although I think he was not feeling so well and his tummy might of hurt. We are trying to give him some of the Breast Milk we had frozen before we learned of the Lactose(Milk) issue. So I think this is causing his tummy to be upset and he is irritable and whiny. We did the usual Honey Do's then we met a friend for lunch and then we came home and played. Collin did not sleep much so our Tuesday naps were out the window.
We did Tummy Time alot and Collin is sitting up. It is neat to see him do new things, something simple like reaching for his pacifier or anything that is in his sight gives me alot of joy. You can also see the sense of accomplishment in his face. He has the cutest smile and I like seeing him smile. Collin really enjoys standing as well. Most of my time with him is holding him up and playing with him in the air. I throw him in the air and catch him and he giggles and laughs. I think we have a little extreme athlete on our hands. Also it is funny when he is about to cry and I start to laugh, he can go either way, cry or laugh. If he laughs it is loud and screechy, but if he crys it is with intensity and he really knows how to sell it.
At night we have a routine, Laura and I double team him and feed him solid foods. I work the spoon and food and Laura works the bottle. You have to wash it down with milk so it gets all the way down. About half of it ends up on the outside of his body. We scoop it up and put it back in the mouth for a second and third try. It finally makes it but not fast enough for Collin. He is used to the Bottle that he can control the pace of the food. We like the new eating habits as it really knocks him out for the night and we are getting good sleep. Collin is an active sleeper and it is always fun to see what position he will be in the next morning. When I wake up in the morning it is to Collins Coo's this is the best alarm clock ever. He plays for a while then when he gets bored he lets out a screech/cry. Then we start the whole day over again. What a great way to start a day.

Collin at Daddy's Work

Collin was really making some noise when we were at the bike shop this past weekend. When we are there, he is usually handing out in his pack 'n play that we leave there for him at the back of the shop....that's if he is not hanging out in the front of the shop with daddy.

Collin is in the pack 'n play while Mimi and I are working and helping daddy out. I do think Collin likes it there because he gets a ton of attention from many different people....and Collin is all about attention. Typical Leo.....

Oh, Collin wanted me to mention that he turned 5 months yesterday. Too bad he cannot start eating birthday cake yet. It's still carrots, sweet potatoes, avacado, rice cereal and milk for him. Aren't you jealous?

Look! I Have Hair!!

Collin's light blonde hair has really started to grow in the last few days. People notice now that he has hair...before they had to look really close to see that he had a full head of hair but it was hard to notice since it was so blonde. Now, most of the hairs stick straight out and are about 1/2 inchese long. He even has several pieces that are over two inches. I stop myself from cutting these since they are probably left from when he was born. At this rate, he is going to look like one of those kids that put his hands on the electromagnetic ball from science class.

Acrobatic Sleeper

Collin continues to amaze us. For instance, we never know what position he will be in when we go to get him out of his crib in the morning. He is NEVER in the same spot that he started in the night before. Most of the time, he has turned 180 degrees around and still has his cover on top of him and even his sleep positioner at his back. Now, how does he do that?!! If he has not turned 180 degrees, he is at least angled to with his feet facing his music soother (see the stories below) and his head on his crib bumper. This time, the covers are off because he has usually turned on his soother sometime early that morning to help him go back to sleep.

He only woke up once last night after going to sleep at 8:45pm. He put himself back to sleep after about about 5 minutes. He finally woke up around 7:15am. He should have been tired. Last night, he "talked" for about 2 hours straight! I was making dinner and included him in the kitchen in his swing. He laid there and talked or screeched the entire time. Daddy knows its true because Collin was doing this when he called to say he was on his way home and Collin was STILL talking when he got home. He even acted like he was answering my questions I was asking him or commenting about how I was cooking.....he better know better than to do that! hahaha

Helping Mommy Work

After going to see week-old Sydney Hunter for a few hours today, Collin wanted to check his friend Matthew out on his blog. I went to the site and Collin started to "talk" at the pictures of Matthew just like he was right there. I changed the web site and he stopped talking. I then pulled up Collin's blog and he was interested in the computer screen again. It was way too funny so I had to take a few pictures. As you can see, he did not mind. What a little poser.

While we were at Sydney's, he played on his floor gym. After he ate a little (he was WAY to distracted by the new surroundings and the people), he started talking. Maybe he was giving Sydney some words of encouragement. She was crying and he might have been telling her that it was OK to be outside in this world. She has great parents and they will be sure to take care of her the best they know how. Sydney's mom took a few pictures of Collin sitting up and posing for the camera. He's not a shy little boy, that's for sure. Another trait he gets from his daddy.

Competitive Already?

When Addison came over to play this past Sunday, Collin noticed that she could sit up on her own...and for a long period of time before she would bend all the way over to touch her toes. He had never thought of this before and had not asked me to help him do it. He has used his chair before to sit up or sat up when he was propped against something. We have not really tried to see what would happen if I sat him up and then let go. Last night, Collin let me know that he was ready and wanted to try but not right after he ate. He wanted to be able to sit up and play with Addison the next time they had a play date. So....Collin and I tried it out to see what would happen and.....he DID sit up on his own.....for about 10 seconds before he tipped over. Chloe, our calico cat, was standing by to cheer him on when he tried it again. After a few tries, he was able to sit up for about 15 seconds this time before falling over. He decided that sitting up was hard work and he preferred tummy time over this....for now. Especially with his cool, new shades.

Tuesdays with Daddy

It is another Daddy day with Collin and Chris. What a great day, we woke up had breakfast and took a LOOOONNNGGG nap. It was great, I was on the couch and Collin was in his Swing, Both of us in front of the TV with a western on(just like I used to do with my granddad) The we woke up and had lunch and Collin decided it was time to go to the bathroom #2. So we got changed and went to get some new toys, Collin got books and I got Shoes. About that time it started to sprinkle outside and I let it hit Collin's Face for a little bit. Collin is in that stage, that I hope last for a long time, of wonderment and exploration, he was looking around trying to find out who or what was touch his face. He could not figure it our and had a really puzzled look on his face.

Then we went home and Collin ate again and we took another nap back in our same places but with MASH on again like Granddad and I used to do. I am really liking this Daddy thing and Collin and I are starting to connect. I now see him get all giddy and happy when he sees me like when he sees his mother. Life is great with our Family, Collin has added so much.

Sweet Potatoes....Not Just for Thanksgiving Anymore

Collin had sweet potatoes tonight for the third time. The first time he ate them, I thought he did not like them, so I had to blend them with rice cereal and he was more interested in eating. Last night and tonight, he ate the sweet potatoes by themselves. He liked them so much (or was that hungry) that we were not able to feed him fast enough tonight. He was getting impatient waiting for daddy to dip the spoon in the bowl between each spoonful. He was finally satisfied when daddy gave him the bottle. He can drink faster than eating the food so this seem to make him happy.

This Weekend

Collin continues to sleep more than 7 1/2 hours at night. If he wakes up at night, he starts the music on his toy in his crib and it usually puts him back to sleep. He still is not interested in going to bed before 9am but he at least sleeps until we as a family need to get up. Finally, mommy and daddy are getting some sleep.

Saturday, Collin and I went to the bike shop to work. We ended up having lost of visitors. Kristen and Saige came over to say "hi". Then, Angy stopped by. We had not seen her in about two weeks. While Angy was there, Maria and Matthew came over. Collin shared his pack 'n play with Matthew. He was OK sharing at first and then got mad that Matthew was in there, we guess, because he started to cry when he was smiling just minutes before. All of the visitors wore him out and he took a nap for a little while once everyone left.

After I rode about 28 miles this morning on my bike with the shop ride, Kristin and Addison came over for a play date. Collin and Addison played with toys, did some tummy time, played in the excersaucer and ate. Collin even napped for about 30 minutes.

After Kristin and Addison left, Collin and I ran some errands together. It was such a beautiful day outside, so we went to a shopping area with many stores and walked around outside. I went to a place were I could weigh Collin and found out that he weighs almost 16 pounds now. No wonder it's getting harder and harder to pick him up. It was sunny out so I stopped to get Collin some sunglasses. After he put his classes on, he was the hit of the shopping area. People stopped to say how cute he was in his glasses. He got hungry while we were out, so we stopped at one of dad's bicycle shops so he could eat and hang out a little.

Rested Family

Night two of Collin sleeping at least 7 hours at night. He went to bed last night after his last bottle at 8:45am and then did not even make a noise until 4:30am. He turned his music toy on by himself a few times, yep, by himself!!!, and then fell back asleep. He did do this a few more times and then did not wake up again until 7:30am. Daddy and I hope this is a trend!! Hey Maria, like Collin's onesie? Hook'em Horns!

Here is a picture later today of Collin and the music toy I talk about above. The little bird on the bottom right of the toy starts the lights and music. Who knows if Collin knew what he was doing when he turned it on but he did it several times early this morning and it soothed him back to sleep. Intentional or not, we were happy he was not ready to get up just yet.

More Carrots, Please!

I learned tonight that Collin prefers carrots over rice cereal. He could not get enough of the carrots tonight. I started with cereal and he would make a face but still eat some of it. I then gave him a spoonful of carrots and he liked the spoon clean...that's because some of it fell t his chin. I then tried to give him some cereal and he slapped the spoon out of my hand. I got the bright idea of mixing the two together and he ate this but he was not as interested in the mixture as much as just the carrots. Towards the end of his meal, which took about 20 minutes, he was bathed in carrots. This is because he would stick his fingers in his mouth as I was getting another spoonful of food ready for him. At first, I was trying to keep him clean but decided quickly that this was a waste of time. I let him go for it. You can see that he made a mess but did have fun doing it. Just look at that smile.

OHHHH, drum roll please......he slept through the night last night. He went to bed around 10pm, woke up at 4am, put himself back to sleep and then did not wake up again until around 6:30am. Big boy, Collin!!!

Tuesdays with Daddy

As you can see by the picture Collin and I went shopping today. First we went to Babies R Us and tried out several bouncy chairs with stuff on them. Collin seemed to favor this one the most. Although I think in retrospect that I thought this was the coolest non feminine looking one of the bunch. So then we went to a couple of other shops and came home. One thing I tried today was instead of carrying him in the child carrier, I took him out and just carried him in my arms. Man he has gained some weight. Good thing I have been bulking up, pumping weights and developing my GUNS. When we got home I built the new toy and then for the rest of the day Collin Drooled on it and Played and we had some fun with it. I still think he likes the swing the best but this will grow on him.

Over the last few weeks I have been holding Collin up in the air and playing with him and he loves it. I swing him back and forth, I think he has some Extreme sports attitude in him.

Collin, The Observer

Collin is really starting to notice objects and even shadows in the room. We thought that he liked to watch just the ceiling fan go around and around. He is also watching the shadow of the fan go around. Mimi noticed this yesterday when she was watching him. She also said that he was intrigued by the shadow on the wall when she did "shadow puppets" for him.

To save time in the morning, I take my showers at night now. The last two nights, instead of lying in my arms and looking at me after I finish reading his books to him before bedtime, he using his hands to explore my face and is really fascinated with my hair. He is not pulling on it just yet (I know this is coming soon) but he is twirling his fingers through the wet hair to see what it feels like. I can see his eyebrows change and furrow as he does this because he is feeling wet and cold which are probably new sensations to him.

You would think that all of this extra exploration would make him tired at night and sleep more than 4 hours. Nope! He went to bed last night finally at 11:30pm (after a 5 oz bottle) and then woke up at 2am but went back to bed after I "shhh'd" him back to sleep. Then, he woke up at 4:30am and started cooing and making his noises because he was awake. When neither mommy or daddy entered the room to play with him after 20 minutes, he started to cry.....and cry....and cry. I could tell by the last set of cries that he might be a little hungry. "Little" would not be the correct work here. He downed 6 oz and then went to sleep around 5am. That alarm was early when it went off at 6am. Thank goodness he is cute...hahaha

Running Errands with Mommy

Collin loves to run errands with me....or at least I think he does. He probably likes it because he is really popular when we are out and about. He is a big flirt whenever anyone looks at him in his carrier because he starts smiling and even laughing sometimes. Of course, this makes the observer talk to him even more and Collin sure does love the attention. Here is a picture of us after going to the grocery store.

Rice Cereal...Yuck!!

Collin is not too fond of eating from a spoon anymore....especially when daddy is watching TV which Collin loves to watch. He gets about 3 half-spoonfuls down and then he is done with the cereal. When we first started feeding him cereal about 2 weeks ago, he was really interested in it and even opened his mouth for each spoonful. I stopped giving him cereal for 3 days after I noticed that his cheeks were really red. He had not had this before and I could not think of a reason why he would now other than he might be allergic to the cereal. So, to test this theory, I stopped the cereal and his cheeks were not red anymore after one day. He also stopped sleeping through the night....yep, he did start sleeping at least 7 hours at night about two days after he first started to eat the cereal.

Since he has not had red cheeks, I thought I would test the allergic theory tonight by giving him cereal again at his 7:30pm feeding. Please cross your fingers that the red cheeks were from something else....dad and I sure did enjoy the nights Collin slept more than 3 hours before waking up.