Slides, I love them again!

Today after lunch and to wear me out (I heard mommy and daddy talking about the wearing out part and that I might take a nap), we went to the park. I am officially not afraid of slides anymore!!! Yeah me!!! When I do go down them, I prefer to go feet first on my belly. I am all smiles on the way down. There is one slide in particular I really like. It has a cover over it. I think it's fun to slide down in the dark and then end up in the sun. Here I am demonstrating this. If I am not busy climbing the stairs, I am busy running along the paths to the other fun play ground equipment. Here I am having fun.....and not getting worn out. I don't think my parents know what they are doing sometimes....don't tell them though.

Grandma H is here!!!

Grandma H arrived Friday and it's been non-stop fun. We picked her up from the airport and headed to daddy's work to eat lunch with him. I did not care if we ate or not at the moment because I was taking my morning nap finally. Well, they woke me up anyway. Glad they did because I got to eat french fries. Grandma H showed me how to dip the fries in ketchup. My parents were shocked because I don't usually like my food to touch anything else nor do I like anything sauces, condiments or toppings on my food. After the initial shocking taste wore off, I wanted more! Why did I take so long to realize that ketchup and fries are meant to be together?

After lunch, we drove around a little and then went back home. We all took a nap this time. Here I am chilling with Grandma H and waiting for daddy to get home.

No Socks Mom!!!

For whatever reason, Collin does not like his socks and shoes on his feet anymore. Give him the chance, and he will take at least his shoes off. I can hear him doing it because most of his shoes have Velcro on them. I can hear the Velcro coming undo and turn to him to tell him to keep his shoes on.

Last night, we dressed him in PJs that did not have feet to them so I put socks on his feet to keep them warm. By the time we left his room and got downstairs, we saw in the baby monitor that he had taken his socks off. What a little turkey!

Tuesdays With Daddy Feb. 24th

Collin woke up ready for action today. We played real hard and he then took a nap. We got going again and I thought he was worn out but he was still ready to go so we played some more. Collin is rerally into sweeping the floor these days and no matter where we are if there is a broom he wants to sweep. So he swept a lot today. Collin ended the day with a 3 hour nap.

SO to sum it all up He awoke, he played, he ate, he slept, he played, he swept, he slept and then he ate and now he is sleeping. This pretty much sums up a full day with Daddy.

Oh yeah he said "UH OH" about 500 times. I can not wait until he learns more words!!!!!

What a Day!!

Daddy stayed home a little more this morning than usual. Collin and I thought it was great. After breakfast of blueberry muffins and a short nap, we all headed to the park. Collin likes to climb up the stairs and then slide down one of the many slides. He did this over and over again even when we put him at another spot on the playground, he found his way back to his favorite slide and slid down it. Every time we are there, there is a lot of static on the slides. Here is a picture of him after sliding down the toddler smaller slide. Check that hair out! His seems to collect more static than the other kids for some reason.

After coming back home, Mimi called to say she was coming over to help mommy so we decided to bake some cookies for her...and daddy later. Collin was not sure he liked the beaters. when I used them to cream the eggs and sugar together. I showed him what I was doing and he looked in quickly and then backed away. Once I was finished with the beaters, I thought it would be fun to lick the beaters. Collin did not know what to do at first until I showed him a few times what to do. Once he figured it out, he wanted my beater too. He stood there an licked most of the cookie dough off the beaters. I should have known...that's what mommy and daddy like to do to. He fits right in with the family....but we knew that before today anyway.

Mimi came over and had fun playing with us. After a short nap, we went to the grocery store. Apparently Collin wanted a snack because when he saw me put a loaf of bread in the cart, he wanted a piece of it. Mimi gave him a corner, he ate it and wanted more. He did eventually eat the entire piece. I would have given him an apple from the produce section like we do sometimes but he did not seem hungry when we were in that section of the store. We got home and feed him more.

Later tonight, I was making dinner and noticed that Collin was pointing to where I keep the diapers. I was not sure why but gave him one anyway. He walked off with it into the living room. I took a break while the noodles were cooking to play with Collin a little. When I turned the corner from the kitchen, I died laughing. Collin had taken the diaper, opened it up, put it on the floor and put his favorite stuff animal on it. This is what daddy does at night after Collin gets a bath. I thought it was too funny that Collin did this to his stuff animal. Hmmmm....did that mean that Collin needed his diaper changed? I checked and he did! Was this his way of telling me he needed his changed?

18 Month Stats

Short and sweet during Collin's 18 mth check up. He is still thin with a big head:

Weight: 24 lbs 3 oz (30%)

Height: 32 1/2 in (50%)

Head circumference: 19 in (60%)

After his appointment, we went to the bike shop to help dad work a little. Here is Collin helping daddy analyze an invoice. He at least gave his opinion...nothing we could interpret but he was jibber jabberign the entire time he was sitting on daddy's lap. He got down and started to explore the shop and noticed not one but five brooms!!! He pointed and laughed with excitement about the possibility of sweeping the entire shop. I did give him the broom and he started sweeping the back and then moved to the side of the shop. He was really focused until Ryan offered him a chocolate chip cookie. Hmmm....sweep or a cookie, sweep or a cookie......the cookie won and he never went back to sweeping.

After running a few errands, we came back home to clean the house a little. Collin actually does enjoy this part...especially helping to wash his clothes. Not sure why but I will take all of the help he will give me. Here he is putting his clothes in the washer. He could stand there all day taking the clothes out and putting them back in. He yelled at me when I finally shut the door and started the wash. Nothing would get cleaned if we continued at his pace.

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Clean these mom!

I am glad I checked the kitchen sink out tonight before I started the water to wash the dishes. Collin had thrown a few of his plastic small balls into the sink. I did notice earlier in the day that he threw his huge ball in the sink. You can't miss it since it was too big to even fit in the sink. I am not sure what the sink fascination is but maybe he moved on from the washer and dryer (see prior post about balls being in the washer).

We have his 18 month check up tomorrow. Look for updated stats!

Update of What Collin Can Do Now

I am sure I forgot a lot on this list but here are a few things Collin can do or does now:

If he wants something he knows he should not have, he will point and put the back of his hand under his nose.

If he does not know where something is, he will hold his arms out waist high and palms up as if to say "where is it?" or "I don't know".

He likes to put clothes in the washer...I am glad I looked before I washed the last time because he put a ball in there too.

He likes to wash his hands.

He knows his face parts. His new find it is tongue. Sometimes, he does get his ears and eyes mixed up. He knows a lot of his body parts too like hands, fingers, toes, legs, arms and feet.

He enjoys crawling through his tunnel daddy got him.

When he is hungry, he will start to climb in his high chair and wait for us to help him in it.

If he is not interested in eating, he has learned where to push the button on the side of the high chair tray for it to come off.

He wants to buckle himself in his car seat. If I try to help, he lets me know he does not want it.

He says: ba for balloon and banana, ball, bye-bye, thank you, dada, oh and uh oh (this is a favorite of his).

He loves to give kisses and we love to receive them.

He knows how to open the pantry door to get the broom out and sweep.

His way of putting away his toys is to throw them over the gate at the top of the stairs.

If we ask him to be quiet, he will put one finger up against his lips and sometimes say 'shhhh'.

During his bath, after I bathe his belly and back, he automatically lifts one leg up at a time for me to wash each leg.

When I tell him it's time put on his socks and shoes, he will sit and lift one leg up waiting for me to put his socks and shoes on.

When he gets tired, he pulls on one ear.

He knows the sounds a dog, cat, and monkey make and does them.

His stuffed monkey is his best friend right now. He has been since he broke his leg.

He crouches down on his knees to look under the couch or ottoman for his toys.

He can clap his hands.

He puts his hand up if we say "high five".

If he needs help going down or up a step, he will reach out for your hand.

If you are sitting on a chair or floor and he wants you to go somewhere, he will get behind you to push you up. If you don't move fast enough, he will put his hands underneath you to boost you up.

He can drink from a straw.

He will sit and flip through pages of a book as if to read it.

He is a very curious little toddler and a joy to have.....even when he is throwing a fit with his tummy on the floor and legs kicking.

Tuesdays With Daddy

What a Glorious day. Collin is a full on little person. We went here and there and he walked everywhere we went. We ended up at the park and he climbed around and laughed and played. He even went down the slide several times. Collin and I were wore out and had to take a nap around 4pm. Other than that we played around the house and destroyed everything. Collin was on a mission to BLOW thru all of the diapers we had in the house. So you can imagine the fun time I had with that. All things being equal he is a lot of fun to watch grow up and be part of his life. Collin is a researcher like his mother and is slowly learning all of our moves. He does things specifically to get a reaction out of us so you have to be sharp on your feet when you are around him. He is always learning.
More next week

Still Thinking About It

Collin still sticks his tongue out when he is in deep concentration or working hard at something. Here is a good picture of him doing it Saturday after his bike ride with Saige.

Fun in the park

This morning after breakfast, Collin and I went to the local park by our house. Along the way, we saw some puppies that Collin had to bark and point at. I walk by the dog park on purpose so he can enjoy watching the dogs run around and bark at each other. Once a the park, he wanted to swing but only for a little while because he spotted the seesaw. We had not been to this park in awhile so I guess he missed being on this. I sat on the other end and we went up and down. I would stop and he would kick his legs to tell me to do it again.

Next, it was time to play on the big playground. He loves to run back and forth along the bridge that dips down in the middle and moves. He would sometimes stop in the middle to bounce up and down which really means for mommy to do the same so the bridge will shake. He then saw something he could climb on so he got down from the bridge and ran over to the ladder. He needed help and reached out to me finger so he could hold onto it while he climbed up the ladder. He then ran across the bridge, down the steps and then to the ladder to do it all over again. He did this for at least 4 times until he saw the squirrel and decided to chase after it. He scrunched his nose and got a little mad when the squirrel ran for safety up the tree. It was too funny!

Then, I thought he might like playing with the T-ball set I got him the other day. The bat is still huge compared to him so he was not interested in using it. He did want to throw the balls to me so I could throw them back. He's got a really good arm....for most of the throws. I thought for sure he would be tired and ready for a nap by now since we had been at the park for about 45 min. so we headed back home. He's still awake and it's almost an hour later. No such luck!

Clean your room!

Collin is happy to be sweeping the floors these days. After he eats, he heads to the pantry to get the broom and dust pan out to sweep the floor. He does not do a great job, but at least he is trying. I am sure this is because he has seen one of us do this before.

This morning, I caught him sweeping the play room/office. He had some stacking toys and toy cars on the floor and used the broom to push them around. He thought that was fun.

If I am sweeping, he will bring the dust pan to me so I can sweep into it. I have to hold it though. Then he knows it's time to go to the trash with it.

Best Buddies

Collin spent most of the day playing with Saige and at her house. Yep, he and Saige actually played together instead of next to each other like they used to do when we would come over. Saige got a new bike so Collin brought his over to ride with her and show her how it's done. Both of the kids had to be pushed by their parents because their legs were not long enough to push the pedals but they did not care. They were all smiles! After they got bored with that, they played in the yard with Saige's other toys and explored the area. Next, they went inside to play in her playroom. Collin LOVES to play with the play house and get the mai out of the mailboxl. Both of them ended up in the house and the quarters were a little too tight for both of them. That's when the pushing began. Collin thought she needed to leave and pushed her through the house door. She did not care because she found something else to play with. They did got along great....even shared each other's sippie cups. Well, Saige shared hers but she was not interested in his.

We stayed so long that Saige and Collin took naps, at separate times, and even took a bath together. That was entertaining. Collin taught Saige, or maybe reminded her, about how much fun splashing could be. The floor was soaked by the time both of them got out.

Someone is sleeping soundly right now that's how much fun he had today.

Books, books, and more books

Collin likes to pick up one of his many books, sit down and then flip through the pages. For a few of the books that we read a lot, he does point to the pictures and says what it is. Don't get excited Grandma H, he does not really say a word but he is "talking" the entire time he is flipping through the book.

After visiting daddy at the bike shop yesterday, we stopped in the local bookstore next to the shop. Here is a picture of Collin playing with the toy sandwich maker. He had a good time (and was occupied while I looked for some books) putting together the pieces to make a sandwich. His attention was broken though when he found a large stuffed bear sitting next to the Valentine display. He ran over to it, took it out of the chair to give it a huge hug. Of course, he was not happy to let it go so I could put it back and take him back to his chair. Let the games begin! He did it all over again.....get the bear, mommy takes it and puts him back. Alas, my shopping for books was over. I did find two in the time that he was sitting still and brought those home.

Jealous?

This morning, Collin stayed with our neighbor, Ashley, while I went for a quick doctor appointment. Ella, Ashley's baby girl, was asleep for the first 30 minutes while Collin was there. Ashely and Collin had a great time playing until Ella woke up and it was time to eat. Ashley said that Collin threw a fit and started crying when Ashley sat down on the couch and gave Ella a bottle. When she stopped, he was fine.

Collin does the same thing when Mimi is holding Timmy. He does NOT sharing his time with other babies.

Last night, Collin was looking through baby pictures of him which he likes to do. This time, I pointed to people in the picture and said their name......mommy, daddy, Grandma H, Mimi, Dustin, etc. He smiled or laughed when he saw people he recognized. On one of the pictures though, he stared to get mad and make a face. I noticed that I was pointing to a picture of daddy who was giving baby Collin a bottle. Collin probably was upset because he saw daddy with another baby...not knowing that it was him in the picture.

Watch Out Below!!

For whatever reason, Collin REALLY enjoys standing at the top of the stairs, throwing anything over the gate (his toys, pillows, tooth brush, blankets, broom, PJs, diapers, etc). He laughs in between throws and then turns around and searches for the next thing to throw over. He will do this until he gets bored or runs out of things to throw over. This has happened every night now for the last several nights. Not sure when it will end but it does keep him entertained.

Yard Work - Yippie!!!

After looking at my yard with weeds grown larger than some of my plants, I decided it was time to pull them and make the yard look somewhat decent. I am sure my neighbors are happy with this decision too. Collin and daddy joined me outside so we could be together as a family. Daddy put some tunes on for us to listen too. I started pulling weeds and Collin and daddy played in the front "yard". Collin road his bike a little, had to check out the neighbors dog and then wanted to walk on the bridge in the other neighbors front yard. When he came back, he saw that I was putting weeds in a bucket that daddy would help me empty. I put the bucket on the ground after one time that it had been emptied and watched Collin pick up some dead leaves and put them in the bucket. He had a huge smile on his face because he was so proud of himself. He did this a few more time and got bored. It was time to play with daddy again. Daddy put Collin in the pick up truck bed and shook the bed a little. Collin started to laugh really hard. Then, Collin found a rope in the bed and started to play with it. He threw one end out of the bed and daddy started to pull on it. I looked up from my yard work when I heard daddy say that Collin was skiing. Too funny.....not sure what the neighbors thought.

We had a great time.....well, at least Collin and daddy did. I am a little sore right now but VERY happy that the yard looks MUCH better.

Sorry....camera is getting repaired so no pictures.