The Race is On

Almost every night, Collin starts running around a loop he has found in the house. He starts in the dinning room, runs through the office, kitchen, living room and then ends up in the dinning room again. He will do this for at least 10 minutes without a break. Sometimes, I will hide in one of the rooms and then jump out in front of him while he is running by. He LOVES this and asks me to keep doing it if I stop. I think he likes the new house....

More Friends!!!

We had more company come over last night. Matthew and his parents, Maria and Tony, and then Jimmy, Lizzie, Rosie and their parents, Monica and Eric. Plus...the bonus was cousin Timmy and his parents, Lisa and Paul. We missed cousin Dustin but he was at his Dad's through New Year already and could not come over.

The plan was to meet for dinner but I suggested we met at our house because the kids could play in Collin's playroom and watch a movie while the parents talked in another room. It worked out great! The kids did enjoy watching TV or doing anything else but having to wait on the parents to while sitting at a restaurant. We loved it because we have more people over at our new house. Here are the kids watching Elf in Collin's playroom.

Collin liked having the kids over to play with him. I caught him a few times showing Lizzie or Jimmy his tools or puzzles and wanted them to play with him. He especially liked Jimmy as you can see in this picture (that's Lizzie peeking in). He did not, however, like Timmy playing with his new tools and stashed them all on the kitchen shelf so Timmy could not find them. It worked. Timmy did find Collin's cup drawer and ran around the house with a lid from a sippie cup in his mouth while holding one of the sippie cups. Later that night and this morning, I did find 4 lids and 5 sippie cups throughout the house. Seems like Timmy did have a good time exploring the house at least.

Then, after our friends left, Timmy and Collin exchanged Christmas gifts. Collin got:

• Mr. Potato Head - from the Harrises
• Thomas Train Carnival train track - from the Harries
• Gator Golf - from Matthew

Stickers!

Last Wednesday morning, Collin decided he wanted to play with his stickers in his playroom before school. Like most kids his age, he really likes stickers. Fortunately, he typically puts them on paper in a designated area (I knew it would not last long but I had to try, right?) in his room. I have told him that he does not put them on the wall, doors or furniture. I guess I did not mention people because this is where the stickers went that morning.....



I laughed when I saw them and did not dare try to take them off. That would have only delayed us getting to school. Besides, they would not hurt him being there. I did think it was funny that this is how he posed for the picture......sticking his belly out like that.

I must say I was surprised that most of the stickers were still on his belly when I picked him up from school that afternoon.

Merry Christmas!!

What a wonderful day we had with family and friends. It really started yesterday when Grandma H arrived. Collin and I picked her up at the airport. As we were pulling up to the airport, Collin noticed her and said "Grandma" and pointed to her. We picked her up and ran some errands. Once was to stop at the bike shop because Santa as there. Collin as fine about seeing Santa until he saw him. At once, he started to cry and as very clingy to any one of us but Santa. We even tried sitting down next to Santa but all Collin did was hide or stand behind me because I was furthest away from Santa. This was the best shot e could get of Collin next to Santa. He was VERY happy when Santa got up and left where we were sitting.

We left the shop, went grocery shopping and then came home to wait for Daddy to get home. Once Daddy was home, Collin helped him in the back and front yard raking the leaves. Since we now have a TON of trees in the front and back yard, there are lots of leaves to rake almost every day. Daddy thought it would be fun for Collin to play in the pile of leaves raked in the front yard. He was right. Here are a few pictures of Collin jumping and rolling in the leaves. He would run and jump into the pile of leaves, then roll off, get to his feet and do it again. This happened for about 15 minutes until I made us go inside because it was so cold.

Collin eventually passed out before 8pm because he did not take a nap. He fell asleep while Grandma was reading a book to him and I was making cookies to leave for Santa. Santa did end up eating some of the cookies.

Collin slept until 7:30am before he starting moving around. I was shocked that he did sleep in. This might be our last morning for a few years to sleep in ourselves on Christmas morning. We ate breakfast first before opening presents. Grandma made eggs, hash browns, toast and bacon. I thought I would not be hungry the rest of the day. Then, it was time to open presents. First, the boys emptied their stockings. There were CDs, puzzles, gum and chap stick in there. Then, it was opening presents time. Collin did not know what to do at first. He opened a book from Grandma about potty training (thanks Grandma!), then a empty matchbox car carrying case and then matchbox cars from Grandma. Collin stopped opening gifts because he wanted to put all of the cars he owned in the carrying case including the ones he just opened that morning. He ran from his playroom to the den three different times to get all of the cars. He put the cars in the box making sure they all pointing in the same direction.

Then, he opened one of his to big gifts. The first one was a Home Depot tool station. We knew he would like this because he loved to play with Pappy's tools that he left at our house. After he opened the box and Daddy was taking out the tools, Collin asked me for batteries because he knew he would need them to make the tools work. He was shocked to find out they already had batteries in them when he pushed the button to the power drill. His face lite up because he as SO happy to have something that made noise similar to Pappy's tools. He helped Daddy with the Philip's head screwdriver to build the rest of the tool bench.

He played with his tools for awhile until he opened his baby grand piano. Daddy wanted him to have a piano hoping he would enjoy it and take lessons soon. Here he is sitting on the seat banging on the keys. We will have to work on the gentle part that comes with playing a piano.

Soon after opening one or two more presents, Saige and her family came over. Collin was so happy Saige was here. He showed her his new toys and then they apparently found the food table when no one was looking. I noticed a few cookies had a bite in them and were placed back on the table. I quickly found the culprits at the end of the other side of the table.

The kids then played in Collin's playroom while the rest of us hung out in the living area eating lunch and talking. Ryan and Yoko arrived at this time and joined us in the living room. At one point in time, we noticed that it was quiet and we could not hear the kids. I went looking for them and this is what I found in our room. Saige and Collin were not to be found. It was obvious they had climed on the bed since the pillows were messed up and the top blanket was pulled back like someone crawled underneath.


I then heard muffled talking in the bathroom and this is what I saw........little turkeys! They thought they were in shower! Thank goodness they did not know how to turn on the water. When they saw me and the other parents, they stopped, climbed on the bench and posed for pictures. They knew they were not supposed to be in there and thought their cute smiling faces would help us not be mad at them....it worked. What were they thinking when they saw the shower and decided to go in? Which one started it? We will never know....but have these cute picture to remember it by.




We thought it was time to go outside and enjoy the weather. Plus, Collin wanted to share with Saige jumping in the leaves and how much fun it can be. Even Linden sat in the grass and laughed as they jumped into the pile of leaves. Here they are posing for everyone taking pictures. Even the neighbors stopped by to say hello and wish us a Merry Christmas. It was a great one so far.

Later in the afternoon, Tom, Anita and their kids Timmy and Christina came over for dinner and so did Philip, Joanna and their daughter Jessica. The kids were older than Collin but that did not stop him from wanting to be included. We all played Cranium and got to learn things about each other that we did not know before......like I don't know many old songs. :)

Before I forget, Collin opened the following presents today:

Home Depot Tool Bench with tools - Daddy
Piano - Daddy
Giant fire truck puzzle - Mommy
Matchbox cars (8) and carrying case - Grandma H
Potty Training book with flushing sound - Grandma H
Percussion set with maracas, triangle, jingle stick and drum - Tirados
Puzzle box with assorted shapes and colors - Mommy
Soccer netted goal - Mommy and Daddy
Monkey trash can, monkey towels and Curious George stuffed animal - Ryan and Yoko
Book - Aunt Nancy

We all had a great time today. Tomorrow, we have more friends coming over. I know a little boy who will sleep good tomorrow too.

One Shopping Day Left

Collin was feeling the pressure this afternoon when I picked him up to get a gift for Daddy for Christmas....not really, mommy was. We stopped by the local drug store to pick up a few things. Collin wants to really help out these days. I have him a basket to carry around. He not only helped me include things in the basket that I did want to buy but added a few things himself. He would tell me "what about this one?", hold it up and then put it in the basket. He saw something else, said "let's get this one" and put it in the basket. In just a few minutes, he collected in the basket a hair brush, 2 pumice stones, a Pedi-Egg and Mickey Mouse playing the drums. None of these things are what I came in the store for. I had to sneakily put these back while including the few items that I had intended to buy. People smiled when they saw my little helper.

When it came time to check out, he wanted to take each item one at a time out of the basket. The clerk did not have the patience for this but Collin did not care....neither did I. We were making memories.

Christmas Show

Tonight, Collin and I met Melia and her parents to see a Christmas show performed by the teenagers of a local church. It was very creative and used current music with lyrics changed to tell the story of Jesus. Collin had a great time pointing out the puppets used in the show. He really got excited when he saw the singing star. He and Melia danced a little when the performers danced on the stage.

After the show, we went to Mission Burrito for dinner. The kids enjoyed sitting next to and copying each other. Collin would eat a chip and then Melia would do the same. She started to slide down in her chair and then he did the same. This went on for about 20 minutes until they got bored of that. We let them sit in a booth next to us and they thought they were hot stuff at that point. They kept looking over at us waiting for us to get up and come get them. We were just happy that they were finally playing together. Usually, they play in the same room together but not with each other. Then, they started to run up and down in the restaurant. This was our cue that it was time to leave. On the way home, Collin told me that "Melia is fun". We had a great night together.

Gingerbread House

Collin and I made a gingerbread house today. I used to do this with Dustin when he was much younger. Now, it's Collin's turn. He was eager to help too. I asked him to empty the candy into different bowls and he had a great time doing that since he likes things to be in order and put where they belong. He looked up at me and asked if he could have one, I said yes knowing he would not like it and then he took a bite. The piece of candy came right back out because it was sour. He did not try another candy the entire time we made the house. He helped put the bushes on the side of the house...then must have not liked were he put them because he took the candy back off. Collin liked shaking the candy on the roof of the house and down the walking path the best. Then, he took a knife to spread it around which ended up taking off most of the candy. He took a break lay next to Daddy while Daddy took a nap on the couch (see the one in the background).

We took a break making the house and Daddy snuck in and made a brown pile of icing in front of the house. This later became dog poop and that's all he wants to talk about when he sees the house.

Here is the house as a centerpiece on our dining room table. Yes, we do now have a dining room which is really nice to have. You can barely see the "poop". It's on the right side of the path in front of the house. I had to make sure that the snow was not covering it.

Christmas Party

Saturday, we had the bike shop Christmas party at our house. For the last few weeks, I have been unpacking, arranging and organizing the house to get it ready for the party. My goal was just to have the boxes unpacked and stuff out of the way so we could have 40+ people in our house. Of course, I had the house looking like we lived the for months including most of the pictures on the wall, family photos on the shelves and even made time to put out the Christmas decorations. I did not get the big tree out due to time but did at least put up the small tree.

Here is Collin helping decorate the tree with the glass ornaments that we have had for years...many years before he was born. I am happy to say that none of these were broken. I was actually shocked.

Here are a few pictures of the party during the white elephant portion of the party. Chris and Ozzie selected two Snuggies. These were the hit of the party. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

I think Collin had the best time because there was another little boy there, Abraham, that wanted to play with Collin. Plus, his love, Christina, was there. She is an older woman. Whenever he sees her, he wants to follow her around or have her hold him. Here she is reading him a book before bed time. He also managed to get Ryan to read him a few books too. Collin finally went to bed a midnight...the latest he as stayed up since he was an infant.

Same Activity....Just a Different Location

Those of you following this blog know that Collin would wash clothes all day long if he could. Here he is at the new house washing clothes in the laundry room.

















Later this week, Pappy did fix the door so that it would shut. Collin has figured out how to open it though so the shut door does not stop him. He is more patient though between loads and will wait, for the most part, the buzzer to sound before trying to open the door to the washer to switch out the clothes. Now that the house is all on one story, he can hear the buzzer from any room in the house. When he hears it, he stops what he does, announces "wash the clothes" and starts running towards the laundry room. He insists doing it himself and does not want any help moving the clothes within his reach.

Spectator

Collin's school had a winter party where the kids sang Jingle bells, Feliz Navidad and Wish you a Merry Christmas. Collin really enjoyed watching them sing while sitting with his mother.

He was supposed to be singing with the santa hat on. Well we all remember how much Collin likes/dislikes things on his head. Plus, he does not like huge crowds for at least 15 minutes then he is OK with it. There must have been 35-40 parents and Gparents so with all eyes on the kids he and several others took issue with standing in front of everyone.

He did however sing Jingle Bells later that day while in the car with Mommy and Daddy so we did get to hear him sing.

Why?

We are officially in the Why? stage with Collin. I noticed that he started asking Why late last week and answered his questions as he asked it. He only asked Why once or twice a day. Then....it started!! He must have asked me Why? about 15 times tonight after I picked him up from school:

Why are we going in the car?
Why are you stopping?
I'm hungry.....(yeah, something different).
Why, why, why

My responses to his Why only led to more questions. I knew the time would come that he started to ask questions such as Why? but I did not think it would be before he was 3 year's old. I wonder how long this stage will last?

Santa is SCARY!!! Snakes....Nope!!

Yesterday, Collin and I went to the bird sanctuary across the street because they were having a family holiday party that caters to little kids. Plus, I knew Santa was going to be there. Before we went, I told Collin we were going to see Santa. He keep repeating "going to see Santa" for the hour before we left so I assumed he was excited about this.

After lunch, we walked over to the sanctuary and stood in line to take a picture with Santa. It was at this point that Collin decided Santa was not as friendly looking as he was in the books we have been reading. I asked if he wanted to sit on Santa's lap and he told me "no, Mommy". Fortunately, there was a little boy Collin's age right before us that did sit on Santa's lap. Collin saw this and did not seem afraid of Santa anymore. When it was our turn, Collin became a "cling-on" and grabbed my shirt so hard because he did NOT want to sit on Santa or near him. I tried sitting with Collin in front of Santa and that did not work either. Instead of pushing it, I got up and we went outside to work on the arts and crafts they had set up.

Collin had fun coloring paper plates that were supposed to be cut to make a bird (we are at the sanctuary, remember). He then noticed some animals in cages and wanted to see what was inside. Two ladies were standing by the cages with snakes in their hands. Collin wanted to touch and hold on these snakes. His favorite was the black one named Midnight. He said "tongue" when the snake spit out his tongue to sense around him.

So....Collin did not want to sit on the scary man's lap like the other kids but had no issues with petting and holding a snake that NONE of the other kids would touch. Hmmmmm.......toddlers, right?

I found the camera cord!!!!

I was so happy when I found the camera cord today so I could post some pictures from the last few weeks. They have been busy ones and some of these pictures can tell that story.

Here is Collin on the snow day we had. You can barely see his mouth but he is telling me that it's cold and he wants to go inside.







Collin is helping me paint the foyer of the new house. He had a great time. I was amazed that he did not make a mess or put his hands in the paint. He was so proud of himself when he painted on the wall.

Collin is watching Pappy work in the house.

Big Mouth Big Bite

I was telling him not to take such big bites. He was also laughing when he was eating like this. Sort of like he was showing me what he could do.

Little Stinkbutt, We are having fun in the mornings trying to decide what to eat each day for breakfast. He is getting very opinionated and likes to tell me exactly what he wants. Sometimes he gets it sometimes he doesn't. Guess how much fun it is when he does not get it:)

I Flushed It!!!

We have not figured out how to put the toilet lock on the toilet in Collin's bathroom......and he has noticed. The first night, he flushed the toilet a few times and had a big smile on his face after he did it. I did not think anything of it at the moment. I noticed later that day that the trash can beside the toilet was empty that had a few things in it just a few hours before. Thinking it was possible that Collin did flush some of those items in the toilet, I move the trash can to under the bathroom sink. The next day, Collin ran from the laundry room (which really should be named his room since that is where he spends most of his time when he is at home) to his bathroom and then came back out of the room letting me know "I flushed it!, I flushed it!". I asked him what he flushed and he told me "A piece of paper. Come see Mommy." The toilet just finished flushing when I walked in. I did not see anything in the bowl but I am sure that Collin was telling me what happened.

Apparently, we need the lock on the toilet....or remember to shut the door. That will not really work though since he knows how to open it.

Snow!!!!

It snowed today for at least 7 hours. I could not wait to pick Collin up from school to play in it. I arrived at school as he was washing his hands all by himself and VERY proud to be doing it. He was so excited that he ran over to me after the washing part and forgot to dry his hands.

We walked outside to the car and he noticed the snow on the ground and grass. He pointed to it and said "Mommy, what's that? pointing at the snow. I told him it was snow. He smiled and then ran to my car. On the way home, he talked about the snow and pointed at the white ground. He also noticed it on the cars driving by. When we got home, he wanted a snack and picked out the cubed cheese from the frig. We then got ready to go outside. Collin was not too interested in playing in the snow. He walked out to near the street, turned around and wanted to go back inside telling me it was cold outside and then said "brrrrrr". I did manage to take a few pictures which I will post when I find that dang cord. It has not turned up yet.

When we got in the house, all he wanted to do was wash the clothes again. I tried to distract him by unpacking some boxes in my room. He had fun playing in the box until he discovered that I was unpacking clothes. He immediately got out of the box, scooped up some clothes and ran to the laundry room to put the clothes in the dryer. Ugh!!!!

First Fight

Collin got into a "fight" at school yesterday. Apparently, he was playing with a toy that a school-mate wanting. She grabbed for it and Collin did not let go. She scratched him deeply on his face (cheek and near his left eye). The teacher called Daddy to tell him what happened. She said that she told the parent of the other child that her finger nails needed to be cut since they were too long.

When I got home, I asked him who scratched his face and he said "Meme" which is the girl in his class. I put medicine on his face which he sat still for.

The clothes washing nightmare continues

For those of you following this blog, you know of Collin's focus on washing clothes and hanging out with the washer and dryer. I was excited to move into our new house because the laundry room had a door that we could shut and keep Collin out of the room when we wanted to. Well, that did not stop him. Nope, it's not because he can open the door....which he can do. There is a pet door in the laundry room door. This morning, Daddy got Collin out of bed and Collin left his room. When Daddy walked into the Den, he saw only Collin's legs and feet sticking out of the pet door. The rest of his body was already in the laundry room. He wanted to wash the clothes instead of eating breakfast.

I had not heard this story before I got home tonight. I picked Collin up from school. The first thing he did as soon as he got into the house was run to the laundry room. The door was open so I assumed that if I got him out and shut the door, he would not go back in. He proceeded to go through the pet door. My jaw just dropped. I could not believe that the "Wash the clothes!" nightmare was to continue at the new house. Please help me!!!!

I will post a picture as soon as I find the camera cord. Now, we did I pack it?

"It's just a bruise, Mommy"

I have been accumulating a few bruises, broken nails and sore muscles during the move.....not to mention bags under my eyes. Tonight after dinner, I was crawling into the passenger side of the truck and said "ouch, I just got ANOTHER bruise" because I slammed my knee into something. Collin was already in the back seat and said "bruise". I said "yes, it is" and he then said "It's just another bruise, Mommy". He must have heard me tell Daddy that I got another bruise. Too funny! He is in the hear everything and repeat everything stage.

We Moved!!!

Well, we did it.....we moved into our new house today. All but a few pictures on the wall are left at the old house. Collin went to school while most of the moving took place. Mimi came over to help unpack boxes. She then went to pick Collin up from school. On the way back to the new house, she asked Collin where he wanted to go and he said "Collin's house". Good answer since he will not be going to "Mommy's house" anymore (well, we have not sold it yet so there might be a time or two that we have to go by and check on it until it's sold). He arrived while I was unpacking the kitchen boxes and wanted to help. He started by helping me with the pantry box. No matter where I had planned for the item to go, Collin put it where he wanted it to go. He then helped put away the aluminum foil and zip lock boxes. The drawer looked like he threw them in there.....which is probably what he did do.

Then, it was time to eat dinner in the new dining room. He ate really good. So far, he was adjusting well to his new house and hand not asked about the other house or when he was going home.

After dinner, we went to his room to unpack boxes and put things away so he would feel "at home" in his new room. He helped me again by moving empty boxes around. Then, we found the bath stuff so he could take a bath which went really well. Mimi helped with that while I continued to unpack. By the time bath time was over, there were no more boxes in his room and everything was put away. We read some books, gave Mimi and Daddy a kiss good night and then Collin got in his crib. I am SOO glad I found Monkey which was waiting for Collin when he got in bed. He cried for a few minutes after I left the room but is sleeping now. Night #1 seems to be going well.

Turkey Trot - Summary

We did the Turkey Trot 2.8 mile family walk Thanksgiving morning which we plan to do every year. Here we are before the walk. Collin is snug in his stroller because it was cold (about 48 degrees). Before it was time for the family walk, we sat at the finish line to watch the runners to come across the finish line thinking Collin would like this. He was more interested in watching the motorcycle and it's lights or the people sitting in the golf cart. It was time to line up to start the family walk and Collin was ready to go....in his stroller.

Collin rode in the stroller most of the time until the last .5 miles. He wanted to get out and walk....except he ran instead. He does not run very straight either. He ran from one side of the street to the other. I was actually shocked he did not fall since he does most of the time when he runs fast like that. I enjoyed watching him run and laugh. He sure did think he was a big boy running with the rest of us. Here we are at the finish line. I was trying to show him that you have to raise your hands above your head when you finish to show that you are happy you are done. He was too busy checking out the people and the other kids.

We had such a great time. I cannot wait to do it again with the family next year.

One More Day.....

Collin has been hanging out with Mimi for a few days while Mommy paints the new house. By the time we move into the new house Monday, almost every room will have been painted....some more than once because Mommy changed her mind a few times.

Tomorrow, the house will be packed to get ready for the move. I am sure Collin will wonder what's going on....especially when his room is packed. At least the new house will not be a shock for him since he has been going over there for the past 2 months now. His first night there might be difficult. That's why I need to be sure to leave Monkey where we can quickly find him so he can comfort Collin on his first night in his new house.

Playing with Lisa, Timmy, Dustin and Mimi wears a boy out

Collin fell asleep on the way home from Mimi's tonight. I had to carry him upstairs, but when I got to the second floor he woke up and I asked if he wanted to eat or go night night he pointed up the stairs. So we went upstairs, I put him in bed and he rolled over and went to sleep. I peeked in on him a few minutes later and nothing he is O U T!!

He did tell me that he played with Timmy, I think he likes his cousin especially now that he is walking around.
Tomorrow is Turkey Day and we are going to do the Turkey Trot 1 mile walk/Run with Collin. I think he will enjoy running the whole mile but we will see. Then on to the families house for lunch and then over to a friends house that just had surgery so it will be an eventful day. We will probably need to go to Collin's House at some point, Laura has been painting and it is starting to look good.

What Did He Say?!?!?

When little kids start learning how to talk, sometimes how they say it is NOT what they are trying to say.

Now that our house is on the market, Daddy wound the grandfather clock up again. It chimes every half hour. Collin is intrigued by it and wants to know why it makes noises. When it goes off, Collin stops what he is doing, points at the clock and says "there's the cock". I am terrible but it's so hard not to laugh. I let him know that it's CLOCK and he repeats with "cock". I guess it could be worse.

A Big Helper

Today, Collin was a big hep running errands with Daddy and helping Mommy get ready to paint. After breakfast and grocery shopping, we headed to Collin's house (what Collin calls the new house) so Mommy could paint. Collin has watched me a few times before get ready to paint so he knew that taping was first. He found the blue tape and wanted to help me tape his room to get ready for a second coat of paint. Here he is taping...and then getting really frustrated that the longer piece of tape started sticking to itself. He got made, shook his hand and made it even worse.

He and Daddy left to run some errands. They came back to pick me up and show me some ceiling fans they found and Daddy really liked. We did not initially get a cart thinking it might be a quick trip. Collin took advantage of this by running up and down the isles. There was a purpose to this running. He was trying to hide from me. Remember, he really likes to hide and have one of us come find him. Home Depot is a HUGE place to play hide-and-seek. Some of the employees got into it and started laughing at how hard Collin would laugh when I found him. Sometimes, he was not paying attention, so it really scared him at first. Well, we did find some ceiling fans during this time. Here is Collin helping Daddy push the cart. He used to like pushing his stroller when he first learned to walk. He has now graduated to carts.

Here Collin is instructing Daddy where to drive the cart after we got out of the store.

Update on the move: We should be moving in a week from tomorrow. The movers come Sunday to pack and then Monday to the new house to unpack. Most of the remodeling should be done. The painting is another story.....most of the rooms should be done which is better than trying to paint with furniture in the way.