Time for a Drive, Bundle Up.

Collin has some very interesting mannerisms. One being that he likes to cover himself up with blankets, towels, pretty much anything he can cover himself with he will. We were on our way to Mimi's today and he pulled this Jacket from the back seat over him. He sat like this for a good 15 minutes before removing it to do some dancing. That is another interetsing story, Collin has rhythm and when music comes on he bobs his head and tries to snap his fingers and waves his hands in the air, like he just doesn't care........

Tuesdays With Daddy

Collin wanted to play in the sink, at first I did not know what he wanted but he kept wanting me to hold him and take him to the sink. He would put his hands in the bowl of water in the sink but that created a big mess so I would put him down and he wanted back up. SO finally I put him in the sink and let him play and he was very content. SO I just left him there for about half an hour.

SO as you can see by the picture to the left I wore Collin out today. First we went to the ZOO and Collin really wanted to walk/run the whole time and not sit in the stroller. Collin really likes Elephants and got real excited when the Elephant stood up on his front legs and raised his back legs in the air. He kept looking at me and pointed at the Elephant very excited. He also really enjoyed the Giraffes. There were about a billion elementary school kids there so we left early, although at one point Collin noticed that all of the kids were holding each others hands while walking so he walked up to one of the girls on the end of the line and grabbed her hand. She was startled and let go and he looked at her like "WHATS UP" then he looked at me and held his hand up as if to say "WHY".

We ended the day by hanging outside with the 11 year olds across the street, Collin liked one of their bikes since it was Green like his. He really liked just hanging out with them, I think he thinks he is a big boy.

Mommy, let's wash the clothes

This weekend, in preparation of planting in the front garden, Collin and I went to Home Depot for some gardening supplies. I needed to get some furniture glue first and then planned to head outside to look at the plants. On the way outside, we had to pass by the electronics area which included the laundry equipment. For those of you keeping up with the blog, you know that Collin LOVES the laundry room at our and Mimi's house. He wants to put the clothes in the washer, shut the door and then push the buttons to start the washer. When he hears the beep, meaning the clothes are ready, he runs to the laundry room. So....as I was pushing the cart by the laundry equipment, he started pointed and saying "clothes" as we passed by. I did not stop and he looked a me as if to say, "Mom, why aren't we washing the clothes?" He looked around my waist and continued to stare at the equipment. Then, after looking at the plants outside for a little while, I walked by the door to leading back into the store and he pointed in the direction of the equipment again. I told daddy that night what Collin did and he thought it was hilarious.

Throw!!

One of Collin's favorite words and things to do is throw. Mimi taught him to say throw and now we do get a warning of when he is about to throw something. He says "throw", looks at us for approval, and then he throws the object in his hand...whether we give him approval or not. At first, he was throwing balls which is ok, but he started to throw his other toys. The kid has a good arm so we stood there in awe watching how hard he can throw. Now, we get to teach him that not everything should be thrown 1) like the fig newton to the back of my head yesterday when I was driving because he did not want it anymore, 2) the small toy I gave him to keep him occupied and not fussy when we were on the way to Saige's house yesterday and....this was a big one 3) the remote control into Kristen's chin and really hurt her. We have tried to say "No throw" and look sternly at him but I bet we are not consistent with him. The joys of parenting.

Yard Work

Collin likes yard work right now. He can play in the dirt, get muddy and then....most importantly....SWEEP!!! This morning, he helped me do the yard work a little slower than I usually do but I really enjoyed him being there. I had laid the pots out where I thought I would plant them and Collin rearranged a few. Instead of pulling weeds, he would put dirt in the pot that included the pulled weeds. He did give me a few hugs during the breaks he took which I loved. The worms were not fond of him since he would launch the little critters when I put one in his hand. He especially liked the clean up time where I rinsed the tools, my gloves and then my shoes. Guess which little guy needed a bath when we were finished?

Bluebonnet Time

It's that time of year when the crazy mommies get all of the kids dressed up an try to take a family picture with the bluebonnets. I was no exception today. I figured it would be tougher to take Collin's picture this year since he is mobile compared to last year. I was prepared and started snapping pictures when I could...Collin was on the move. As soon as he spotted the playground he was through with the flowers and started running down the hill to the slide.

Here is a picture from a year ago and some from today. He sure has changed.

Here he is having an electric time on the slide at the playground. You could really tell how long his hair is when it was standing straight up from the static electricity after Collin would finish his ride.

My Ying can sing like anything!!

So I was reading to Collin tonight. At first Collin did not seem to interested at first but as the first fish became the second fish and then the third fish and fourth he started to get involved. As we turned to the Bike/Mike page Collin gets excited and starts saying Bi, Bi we think that means Bike, see how smart we are we put two and two together and figured that one out when he was pointing at his Bike and said Bi Bi. That is drastically different from By By.

So the language of COllin at 19 months is getting interesting. But he is Awesome and it is fun teaching him things. Laura and I have been trying to teach him to Burp. Our hope is that he will be at a doctors office with Mimi and really let out a good Belch!!!

Good Night.

Fire Station No. 6

Daddy had the best idea ever today especially because the weather was still nasty out. I have been really interested in fire engines. If I see them in books, on the street or even on my PJs, I have to make the sound the truck makes.......rrrrrrrrrr, rrrrrrrrrr, rrrrrrrrrrrr (mom does not know how to spell it). We got in daddy's truck and pulled up to the nearest fire station. The nice man showed us around not one but TWO fire trucks. I think he liked that we stopped by because he showed us what was in every door on the side of the truck, let me sit in the front seat, put a helmet on my head (he did not know that I HATE things on my head...daddy tried to tell him), let me stand on the front of the truck and climbed to the top of the truck holding me (the man was nice but not too nice to hold me up so high). When we were leaving, mommy and daddy thanked the man. I became shy and would not say anything. As we were getting in our truck, I said "thank you" and then made the siren sound the fire engine makes. Mommy said "figures". Not sure what she meant by that.

Buckle Up!

For the past month or so, when it's time to eat, Collin will try to climb in to his high chair and then buckle himself in. He usually needs help getting started on one side but can buckle the other side. In the last week, he can buckle both sides by himself. After dinner today, he did not want to get out but wanted to practice buckling since he just learned how to do both sides. I have included a video below of him doing this. I shot this after he had already buckled himself up about 12 times. He might have been getting tired because he buckled himself slower than he has been....might have had something to do with the camera pointed at him. He continued to buckle another 10 times. I thought he would never get tired of it.

He also does something similar when we are getting into the car. He has to buckle the middle buckle that goes across his chest or he will not be happy. He must be getting close to or already in the "I do it!" stage of being a toddler.

Another Rainy Day

So far, we have stayed in the house on this rainy day. Good day to stay in PJs too. We have played with almost all of Collin's toys, read books, snacked...that's important and swept the floor. I was shocked that he did not want to wash any clothes. He has not even gone near the laundry room. While we are playing, it will start pouring rain and Collin will run over to the window to look outside and watch it. He likes the sound it makes on the skylight in the kitchen. He points at the water and does not understand what is happening or what the sound is from.

All of this rain has not stopped him from his bad habits of throwing things down the stairs. This is a daily occurrence so why should a rainy day be any different? Here he is throwing some of his stuffed animals down the stairs that he found in his room. Daddy and mommy got involved by throwing the animals back up the stairs. Collin thought this was funny and laughed really hard a few times....which made us smile and laugh too. It felt good on such a dreary day. Yeah, I know. We probably taught him that throwing animals, or anything else, up and down the stairs is OK. We will have to deal with this later. It was harmful entertainment that the time that worked.

Here is what Collin did tonight while I was running his bath water. Believe me, it does not take but 5 minutes or less to run the water. That's all Collin needs to redecorate the 3rd floor and his room.

Day with the Cuz

Collin had a good time today at Mimi's house playing and showing cousin Timmy some of his favorite toys. It was Timmy (aka Timmikins) first time to be in his office. Timmy had a great time "standing up" and looking around. Collin did not know what to think though because that was HIS office and not Timmy's. He stood around the office and played with the knobs and gadgets on it. You could tell that Collin was slightly irritated that he had to share. Later in the day though, he warmed up to Timmy being in his territory. He even was helpful and gave Timmy his pacifier....whether Timmy wanted it at the moment or not.

Earlier today, we went to Matthew's Gymboree class since it was going to be another cold and raining day. Collin had his own agenda and did not want to do what the teacher thought he should do. He even showed everyone more than once how he can through a fit. hmmmm.....terrible twos already? He did like the bubbles and the parachute which was towards the end of the class. He was a grouchy butt most of the day. Hopefully it was because of the weather and not a taste of how he is going to be for now.

Over Here Mom!!!

Lately, if Collin needs something, instead of just pointing like he used to, he will come get my hand or finger and guide (sometimes pull) me along to eventually end up at what he wants to show me or what he wants me to get. He evens scoops his hand under my thigh if I am sitting down to push me up and then takes my finger to lead me to whatever he is interested in. It can be to the laundry room so he can wash his clothes, the to kitchen to get something to eat or drink, the the closet to get the broom or to the office to read a book.

Cooling down on a hot day

Look what mommy let me do this afternoon after I played on the playground.....she is the best!!! Actually, so is dad because he reminded her that the water park was so close.

Sunday Morning Ride

Well, Collin STILL hates wearing his helmet. This picture really says it all.

I thought it would be fun to get outside and enjoy the great weather we are having with a leisure bike ride as a family. Collin was all for it when he saw daddy getting the bikes ready and pulling them out of the garage....that was until daddy put Collin's helmet on. He stood just long enough for this pictures and then ran around my car crying and trying to pull the helmet off. He did finally stop crying long enough for us to put him in the trailer. We pulled out of the driveway and Collin was laughing and pointing at whatever we saw...then he was quiet. I looked over and figured out why. The back of the helmet was pressing against the back of the trailer seat so much that the front of the helmet was covering the poor kid's eyes. We did end up taking the helmet off and had a great 30 minute morning ride.

When we got back, daddy was putting the bikes up where he got them and Collin noticed something hanging from the garage wall. I helped him take it down so he could play with it....it happens to be one of his favorite things to play with these days.....a broom!

Bunny Hop Fun Walk

This morning, Collin and more buddies got together for a family fun walk. Maria, Matthew, Terry and Melia met us for the Bunny Hop for Trees Family fun run/walk. We thought it would be fun to get together and do this plus it was for a good cause....saving the trees in the neighborhood from erosion. Here are some pictures of us before the walk...Matthew is on the left with his drum stick substitute and Collin is on the right.

I am sure the kids had fun during the walk. I could hear Matthew drumming away at anything he could hit, Collin was making sure that we did not miss all of the dogs that he pointed out to us along the way and Melia was checking out all of the people running or walking by.

After the walk, the kids had a good time playing at the park. Collin got a slow start though because something else caught his eye. I could not tell watch he was interested in but he was focused and running towards it. I finally figured it out when he got close to it.....duh, mom!....look at the bicycle!!!

I was able to pry him away from the bike to get him to play in the park. He did not want to swing which he made sure I knew he was not interested in. He did find a tunnel and talked Matthew into joining him. Collin would crawl back and forth but Matthew was only interested in standing outside the tunnel. He eventually found some mud to sit in, sorry Maria, so gone was the fun in the tunnel.

This was short lived because he found a truck!! He had a great time playing in the sand with the truck. Poor truck only had 3 wheels but Collin did not mind. He was able to make it move back and forth and even added the sound a truck making when it's driving. I would have let him stay there longer, but it was at the bottom of a popular slide. I kept inching Collin over to the side but he would eventually make his way back to the front of the slide.

The volunteers were tearing down the finish line and handing out the balloons. I would have a picture of Collin with his but he lost it within 5 seconds of getting it. He saw Melia with her balloon tied around her wrist and having a good time. I tried to do the same with Collin and he immediately turned into the kid that is not yours.....he laid on his belly, kicking his legs and arms and started to cry. I quickly took the balloon off of his wrist and the Collin I know came back. he wanted to hold the balloon himself. Of course, he is a toddler. I knew he would loose it but let him hold the string anyway. A few bounces of the balloon by pulling the string up and down and then it was gone....floating away in the air. He and Melia watched it get stuck in the tree nearby. I was ready for him to cry but he did not seem to care. Maybe because he saw that I had some snacks ready for him. Here he is eating the snacks......look at that face of concentration trying to get the snacks out of the cup. Too funny!!!

Morning at the Zoo

This morning, Collin and I met Kristen, Saige, Lauren and Sydney at the zoo. The girls were more interested in watching the birds that were not even part of the zoo but Collin really liked looking at all of the animals especially the big ones. His finger had to be sore after we left because he was ohhhhing and pointing at all of the animals he saw. Here are a few pictures of him doing this.....

He was pointing one time and not watching were he was going. He fell and scrapped his knee for the first time. Glad I am good at distracting him because he was crying until I pointed out the Lion exhibit he fell near. Poor guy ended up doing this a few times today.

We found the carousel which the girls were not fond of at all. They both wanted off within a minute of the ride starting. Collin had a good time though. While on the ride, he showed his interest in engineering again. He regularly looked up the pole the horse was on to try to figure out how it was going up and down. He even looked at the animals next to him going up and down. I knew he was having fun because he had a smile on his face the entire time.

Saige needed to go home and take a nap after the carousel ride. Sydney and Collin then went to play in the Children's zoo section. We first stopped in the petting zoo. Collin liked looking at each of the animals but he could care less about petting them.

We then went to see the monkeys. You can't go to the zoo without seeing the monkeys!!! We must have been there when it was their nap time because they were really quite. Not until the last exhibit did Collin get interested in the exhibit. There was a baboon sitting right by the glass and Collin checked him out for about 15 minutes. He would not move back so the other kids could see the monkey. I knew he liked monkeys!!!

On our way back to the car, I saw that the mini-train that goes around the zoo and the park was about to leave. They held it for us so we could get on. Collin had fun checking out the sights. He was NOT interested in me holding onto him or keeping my hand around his waist. He wants to do things on his own including holding onto the seat on the train.

Here is Collin on the way home....guess he had a good time. :)

Tuesdays with Dady & the Ducks

So we went over to Laura's Grandmas house to move the pool table over there. We are getting a new dining room table since Collin is getting bigger and we need to sit at a table family style.

Anyways Grandmas house has a pond behined it with ducks. Mimi came over with old bread and we feed the ducks. Collin really likes to eat bread right now and was a little mad at Mimi for giving that bread to those Ducks.

Collin climbed in the tree and played with the flowers he had a great time as the weather was perfect for being outside.

We went to Gymboree Music today and Collin did not do what I expected him to do. I thought he would go crazy with all of the stuff to bang on and play with, but instead he remained close to me and carefully watched all of the other kids in the room. Just when I thought he was going to engage he came back and sat in my lap. I did not realize Collin was shy. I think we need to have him around other kids more. ANyways I was the only guy there and got some interesting looks, not by the women in the room but by the other kids. They kept staring at me as if I was going to dosomething to them. I hope I did not send off the creapy guy vibe. Anyways not sure of why this was but very interesting. I was the only Man in the room.

We came home and played in the house in the area where the pool table was. Hardwood floors and socks make for a lot of fun. Oh Collin had a good time to....

Dance and Clap Monkey

Last night after putting Collin to bed, I ran back downstairs to get more comfortable. I turned the TV monitor on to see if Collin was already asleep. I had no idea that I was about to witness a puppet show. Collin was sitting up in his crib facing his music box which he had turned on. I noticed he had his stuffed animal, Monkey, in his lap. I was shocked with what he did next. He stood Monkey up on his legs and started to dance him around to the music. He then sat Monkey back down and took both of Monkey's hands in each of Collin's hand to then clap them together to the beat of the music. I could not believe my eyes. I watched for another minute and then ran upstairs to get daddy so he could see it. Daddy missed it though. I guess all of the dancing wore Collin out because he was laying down by the time daddy and I were back downstairs looking at the monitor.

Daddy plans to take Collin to Gymboree Music today which we think Collin will really like. He really likes music now. Whether he is in the car, out running errands or at home, if he hears music, he stops what he is doing and starts to wiggle and dance. Daddy taught him to snap his fingers too. Well, Collin cannot make the snapping sound yet but he usually has his right hand up in the air and moving his forefinger and thumb together. I will have to try to get a video of this. I have been to busy laughing and dancing with Collin to stop and get the camera.

Monkey Boy

Collin loves bananas so much that we cannot leave them out on the kitchen counter anymore. This morning after breakfast, he pointed to a banana on the banana hanger. I peeled some of it and gave him the entire banana because he likes to hold it. He giggled, smiled and took his first bite and it was a big one as usual. He took a few more bites and then I had to peel it some more for him. Here are a few pictures of him eating it. You will notice he is in different spots on the 2nd floor of the house because he is a traveling snacker these days. I did get him to sit for a few bites each time which is how I was able to get some of these shots. Mimi says that she has to cover up both the bananas and the bread at her house because he will eat slices and slices of bread if you will let him.

He lost his appetite about a week ago. It's back now for sure!