Take Me for a Ride

The other night, I thought it would be fun to sit Collin down on one of our blankets we leave on the couch and pull him along. I thought of this because he really liked riding on the cart at Gymboree the other day. As I thought, he had a blast!!! He was laughing so hard, he fell over one time.....fortunately, the blanket was there to soften the fall a little. I pulled him around for about 2o minutes. I stopped because I got tired...not because he was ready for something new.

I had not done this for a few days and thought Collin did not remember me doing this to him. Well, this is were I was wrong. Tonight, while I was cooking, he walked over to me pulling the blanket behind him. I looked over at him and he looked to make sure I was watching him. Next, he dropped the blanket, stepped on top of it and looked at me as if to say "Mom, pull me around like you did the other night". So, I did. Since I was cooking, I could not do it as long as I did the other night. I stopped, gave him the blanket, and put one of his stuffed animals on it to see if he would pull is around. He did for a little while but stopped when he heard daddy come home.

Hyena Laugh

We have always thought Collin had a great laugh. No matter what kind of day we had, seeing him and hearing him laugh would make it that much better. Well....that laugh have developed into what we refer to as the Hyena laugh or the screaming laugh. When you hear his new laugh for the first time, you might think he is screaming. Looking at him though, you know he is laughing. He is all smiles, has his tongue out between his teeth and laughing loud and as hard as he can. I know none of us laugh this way so I have no idea where he picked up.

I have tried to capture it on video but have not been able to yet because I am laughing too hard myself. Yes, I know that this only encourages the laugh. Maybe today will be the day.

Gymboree Play

Saturday morning, Collin and Matthew met at Gymboree to play since it was Open Gym day (when any of the students can play on the equipment). The thought was this would wear them out so that they would take a long nap that day. I don't know if it worked for Matthew but it did not for Collin. After playing for almost 2 hours, I thought the little guy would be pooped....or at least ready for a snack. He did not want either and want not ready to go. He was having too much fun crawling through the tunnels, climbing up the slides (yep, he slid down them last week so it was time to climb up them this time I guess), throwing the balls, going for a ride on the pull-cart and crawling across the bridge. Most of the time, he and Matthew did not play together. They did play side-by-side a few times. Once some of the older kids arrived, Collin was more interested in watching them play and trying to figure out how he could do the same thing. They were getting annoyed with him because he was in their way a few times. They did politely ask him to move but he just stared.

After Gymboree, we left to visit daddy's new bike shop. WOW!!! What a difference location, a large parking lot, new paint, flooring, fixtures and space makes. The customers coming in for a visit had only positive things to say.

Mimi stopped by the shop to work a little. Before she did that, we went to lunch. Collin ate an entire plate of mixed fruit like he had not eaten in days. I guess all of that playing did make him hungry.

Shopping, shopping, shopping.....

Since both mommy and daddy have been busy with work, neither one of them have been able to run the errands they have needed to. Well, I thought errands and shopping were fun the first day since I got to meet lots of new people, scream at them (it was loud...I wanted to hear myself talk) and flirt. I really liked it when mommy let me ride on her shoulders because I was getting really tired of sitting in the strollers. Besides, strollers are for babies which I am not.

By the second day of this shopping, I really did not like the word. At least I was outside more this time and got to stretch my legs some.

We are staying home today to rest, play outside and clean the house. I am not going to clean though....I plan to sleep, eat, play with my toys and scream at the kitties.

Helping Daddy at the New Shop

After I took Collin to gym class, we met daddy at the new bike shop. Collin had a great time "helping" put inventory out on the floor. Here he is making sure we know what's in the box by throwing everything out of it. At least I was smart enough to move another box in front of him so that he would throw the supplies out into another box and not on the floor.

Once he finished "organizing" the cycling socks, he walked over to daddy and thought he should supervise what he was doing. Daddy was trying to build a bike rack but had to slow down the building of it because Collin kept walking away with the wrench. Hey, it was shiny and interesting. You can't blame him for being curious. We ordered pizza for all of the guys and Collin was a big boy by eating his own slice. He also had a little of a bread stick. Working at the bike shop makes you hungry.

After leaving the shop, I went to get the car wash since it has not rained here in awhile (every time I was the car, it rains within a day or two). Seriously, the car needed a cleaning since it had been over 9 months or so since the last wash. Collin had a great time watching the water and the cars go by.

We ran a few more errands and then came home so Collin could get some rest. I guess he needed it since he slept over 2 1/2 hours.

Big Boy on the Stairs

Collin does not always get on his hands and knees to go up and down the stairs anymore now that he is walking. He likes to stand up and go down each step while standing giving mommy and daddy a near heart attack watching him do this. He will give up most of the time and start going down on his belly backwards like to learned to do. While walking up the stairs, he uses the molding ledge to follow along with his and up the stairs while walking up in a crouched position. He will also wait for you to hold his hand and guide him up and down if you will let him.

Home Gym

Collin is a little monkey and loves to climb into, onto and around anything. I was at the store the other day and found this for Collin to play in. He LOVES it!!! He plays hide and seek in it, crawls through both tunnels and then turns around to do it again and reads his books in the main part of the gym. I used to love something similar as a kid and thought that Collin would like it. So far, he really does.

Keeping the Doc Away

Every time we go to the grocery store, I start in the produce section and find a Red Delicious apple for Collin to eat while we shop. I loves the apple and this distracts him the entire time I shop which works great for me. Used to, he would try to climb out of the cart or grab and the items on the shelves. He now concentrates on the apple until he is finished. This trip, he had already finished one and was eating his second.

Ashes, Ashes we all..........

Ring around the rosie




















Pocket full of Posies




















Ashes Ashes





















We all fall down

Tuesday's with Daddy Nov. 18th (Mommy tagged along)

What a Day, We started out with a full schedule today, first we went to Collin's new play day at Gymboree Play & Music. This is a really cool place where Collin can play with all sorts of neat things and other kids his age. Multiply apparatuses for him to climb, slide and bounce on. At the end of the session we gathered up all of the kids(about 15) and got them on a parachute and then under the parachute. Collin and one other boy were very active and social. Collin wanted to meet and play with all of the kids and when the lady that ran the program wanted all of the kids in one area Collin had other plans.

When we left there we went to see the new shop and let Collin stretch his legs, then off to the hospital to meet a new friend for Collin, Ethan. From there we did a few more errands and then went home for a nap.
Tonight Collin got a hair cut from Mom and I, BOY that was fun but he no longer has a mullet. So afterwards I took him to the hardware store, We are in the middle of building out the new shop and needed some supplies. Collin did great he likes all of the small tools and is very interested in the workbenchs. I let him walk around and he is so much fun. He gets excited raises his hands and proceeds to run wild with a huge smile and a giggle. It is much like when he comes out of the bath and comes running into my arms, only not naked.

Nonetheless Momma and I had a blast with the boy today.

Weekend of Socializing - What's New, Right?

This weekend was like any other weekend for Collin regarding the amount of time he was out and about. Saturday started off staying indoors until mommy's Chili Cook-off for work. I knew it would be a long day for Collin so we took it easy that morning. The cook-off was by our house this year so I loaded Collin up in the jogging stroller and we were off. It was about a 25 minute walk and Collin was "talking" most of the way. He loved the numerous dogs we saw and wanted to stop when we passed on by (hence the reason it took 25 minutes and should have taken about 15 minutes). We arrived and the cook-off with Collin "ohhh"ing because he spotted one of those outdoor bouncing things that kids jump in. It was too crowded with older kids so we waited until it cleared a little for Collin to jump. He got in and just watched the other kids jumping. He was not really interested in doing it himself. He has been in one of these before, so I know he knew what to do. Next, he had to pet EVERY dog there and more than once for some of them. There were about 10 dogs there (even one that looked like a horse) so this took some time. It was time for the spirit part of the judging so Collin helped ring the cow bell for our team. He thought it was his and held on tight to it after the judging was over. He did meet a few buddies that were close to his age but they could not hold his interest like the dogs could.

Toward the time I thought we were ready to leave, he started racing toward something. I knew he was on a mission and I was not far behind. He spotted one of these http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1155(I could not get the image to load).....and had to have the steering wheel (see previous posts about his love for steering wheels). The owner was not around so I thought it would be OK for Collin to play with the car until he got bored which usually does not take long. One of my co-worker's older daughter's offered to push him in it and he had the biggest grin. He absolutely LOVED it!!!! So much so that we could not get him out of it when it was time for the little boy to take it home with him. At that point, Collin made sure everyone there knew that he was still there by the fit he threw. I distracted him, fortunately, and we headed back home. So, if you don't know what to get Collin for Christmas, I do have an idea for you (see the picture above...hahaha).

Today, Addison and her mommy came over to play. They played with the toys but were really interested in playing with Chloe. She just wanted to nap but was a good sport about it. Then it was time for lunch for the kids of macs and cheese, turkey dog, and bagel. Yep, we are in the stage of giving him what he will eat. After that, the original plan was to go to the park. Both mommies were talking about wanting to go to Toys R Us at some point. Since it was on both of our lists of what we wanted to do soon, that's were we ended up instead. The kids had a great time trying out the toddler outdoor gyms, riding cars and playing with the train set. The mommies picked up a few things on the Christmas list (didn't say that we would wait until then to open them though) so that was fun. To avoid a meltdown from the kiddos needing a nap, we left after about 1 1/2 hours. I know Collin slept most of the way home. Not sure about Addison but my guess is that she did too.

Another great weekend.....

Wanna Kiss?

Collin is learning that it's fun to walk/run but it also can hurt. He got his first fat lip yesterday when he under estimated how far away the window sill was. He did a face plant into the window sill and an ear-piercing scream followed. Poor guy.....you just want to give him a big hug, huh?

Tuesdays with Daddy Nov 11th

Collin is really learning his boundaries, today Collin and I pushed each other when it comes to eating. Collin wants to throw the food off his plate. I would tell him NO but he would look at me as if he did not understand. After I told him NO several times he would look at me straight in the eyes and slowly raise his hand full of food and direct it over the floor and drop the food. Very frustrating, but we made it through without killing each other.

Later in the day Collin wants the Kitties to have his toys and proceeds to give them to the cats. SO now his toys are everywhere the cats would go. Down the stairs, on the pool table, near the window seal, everywhere. For some reason the cats are not as involved as he hoped they would be.
Collin is running now and he runs in circles so it is real fun to watch him.

Collin was just A Peein'

Sorry No Pictures, but this is a funny story, to funny not to write it. So close your eyes and create this picture in your mind. If you do not laugh there is something wrong with you.

So Laura was taking a shower with Collin in the shower, He loves water, Afterwards she opens the door and towel dries him off. Boom off he goes, out the bathroom door and into the foyer next to the front door with "Glass in about 70% of it". Laura finishes drying off and goes on the hunt for him, we have a fear of the naked Collin effect on our carpet, he is not in the bedroom so she peeks around the door and there he is sitting on his knees next to the door facing towards her. All of a sudden a stream of Pee shoots out. Collin has never seen his pee since he wears diapers all the time so this was something new to him. As he bends down to look at where this stream of water is coming from the stream stops? Collin is puzzled and sits back up and begins to Pee again( Keep in mind Laura was not in the correct clothing attire to grab him from sitting in front of the glass door) SO the Pee kept going and Going and Going. When he finished he did not think much of it but the damage was done. By this time Laura was covered and grabbed him and got him diapered up so we did not have a #2 issue.
SO we will be closing the bathroom door when taking a shower with Collin next time.

I hoped you enjoy the mental picture I can only hope that I did as good a job as Laura did when she told me. I was rolling with Laughter and still get a chuckle when I think about it, I am not sure if I am laughing about Collin or about Laura helplessly standing there having to watch such a sight?

Family Time

Collin spent ANOTHER day outside. This time, daddy joined us for breakfast at a local favorite restaurant. From there, we went to a new park for so Collin could play. He started off on the bridge since he was familiar with the bridge from the other playground. From there, he and mommy swung on the tire swing. At first, he was not sure about it and then starting smiling and laughing. He like it so much that he did not want to get off. Then, it was time for daddy to push him in the swing. After that, we put a blanket out on the grass near the playground. We watched Collin explore his surroundings. Then, he saw another little boy, Damian, playing on the playground and pretending to be T-Rex. Collin watched him and quit doing what he was doing before Damian arrived. Damian noticed Collin and started to play around him still pretending to be T-Rex. Then, we all went back to the playground to slide on the enclosed, open and twisting slide. Collin loves going down on his belly feet first. When he is sitting, he gets nervous as he is going down. After about an hour, it was time to go since Collin was getting tired and needed a nap before the long day ahead of him.

After his nap, we went to Aunt Lisa's house to visit Timmy. We then all went to lunch and came back to Aunt Lisa's house. From there, we went to Saige's house for dinner and to visit with her parents. Collin finally was interested in eating macs and cheese...maybe because it was Saige's macs and cheese. Who knows. I will have to try them again but at home to see if it was a fluke.

Playground

It was another great day outside today so we had to get out of the house again. Since there were no kids on the playground equipment, Collin and I played on it. He really like walking back and forth along the bridge. I stood on it and bounced up and down to make him bounce. He liked it but held on tight to the side. He slide down the slide a few times. I found that it was easier for him to slide down on his belly...feet first. When he does down on his butt, he twists too much and it scares him a little since he can see where he is going.

Saturday Picnic

It was a gorgeous day yesterday morning so I decided to take Collin to the park to play on the playground equipment, swing and then have a mini-picnic before heading back to the house for a nap. He had a great time walking along the bridge between the two slides. We also had fun on the teeter toter. He did slide on the slide a few times. It was electrifying because he hair had so much static in it that it was standing up all over. It was even more funny looking because his hair is over 2 inches long in places. Swinging still seems to be his favorite.

I thought it might be time for a snack, so we sat on the blanket and started to have some goldfish crackers and fig newtons (thanks Nancy!). Here is a video of Collin eating the crackers. He does not understand that eating one at a time is best. He puts them one at a time in his mouth, but before he has finished chewing the last one. Then, as usual, if he sees something better to eat or drink, he spits out what is in his mouth to make room. We call it refunding what he just ate. Probably learned this from the cats!!! Thanks Penelope and Chloe.

Collin Walking

Here is a clip of Collin walking at the water park last Saturday. I know some of you have not seen him walk yet. It's really fun to watch him walk, get off balance, and watch him recover. Most of the time, he does not fall. If he does, he gets right back up.

Water Fascination

Collin continues to be fascinated with the water. This morning as daddy was getting ready for work, Collin was in the master bathroom with him. As he usually does, Collin walked over to the bathtub and turned the cold water faucet on. Most of the time, he has thrown something in the tub before turning the water on. This morning was no different. He had thrown his favorite bedtime softie in the tub, turned the water on and then walked over to daddy to show him what he did. He had a huge grin on his face the entire time.

Helping with the Laundry

For whatever reason, Collin LOVES the laundry equipment. Every time we pass by the room, he wants to turn the dryer on. Lately, he also wants to help put the clothes in. Both Mimi and I have been letting him do this for the past few weeks now. When he does it, he is focused until he is able to put every article of clothing in the machines. He sometimes helps me shut the door but not always. I think it's because he is anxious to help turn the machine on. He also knows when the clothes are ready to be switched because he heads towards the laundry room no matter where he is on the floor when he hears the beep signaling the clothes are ready. Anyone else observe this with their kids?

Fun in the Sun

We had a great time this morning at Discovery Park downtown. Matthew, Collin, Melia and Gavin with their parents joined other kids and a Gymboree representative. To get the kids "warmed up", we started with a song about the colors on the large parachute that we were all sitting around. Collin was not interested in sitting in my lap. He wanted to practice his new walking skills. Next, the kids stood in the middle holding onto a colored large cloth cord. The kids backed up, walked forward and then shook the cord. Collin like the shacking part the best. I had to hold him while walking backwards since he has not mastered this skill yet. Next, the kids got to pick out a hand puppet from a bag which was used to pop bubbles that the rep blew. Collin and Matthew were more interested in "sharing" their hand puppets with each other and did not even notice the bubbles. After bubble time, the kids all gathered in the middle of the parachute while the parents held the outside edges. We sang the verses of "Wheels on the Bus" while walking left and right with the parachute. Collin loved this part as you can see from the huge grin on his face. During one part of the song, we shook the parachute which Collin did not like. Next, the kids got under the parachute while the parents pulled the parachute up and down over the kid's heads. This is when Collin noticed the pond close by and started walking towards it. I saw him, picked him up and put him back where he started. He began walking to the pond again. I picked him back up. We did this several times when I decided that he was not going to stop with without me find out something else to distract him. Nothing worked and Collin continued to threw some really good tantrums.

He certainly drew attention to himself with his tantrums after everytime I picked him up and brought him to the other side of where the pond was. Nothing I did distracted him from his focus. While picking up the last time, I noticed that across the park was one of those water "parks" where the water shoots up out of the ground. I thought, "why not see what Collin does in there". That did the trick!!! He had no fear and had a blast walking around and playing with the water. It did not matter that several times, the water shot near his face, at his back or on his feet. He laughed the entire time. Matthew and Melia eventually joined him. Melia was not interested in the water getting her wet and stood on the side most of the time watching the boys play. Matthew seemed to have as much as Collin was having but he got hungry. Collin did eventually get bored and took a break to have a snack. It was time to go anyway since Collin was wet, hungry and needed a nap. What great memories......