My Pumpkin

When I picked Collin up from school yesterday, he could not wait to show me "my pumpkin" which was a pumpkin that he drew on with crayons and put stickers on. I asked if I could take a picture to send to Grandma, and he turned around with his pumpkin and posed for the picture above. He wanted me to take another picture and held the pumpkin right in front of my camera phone. Of course, that picture did not turn out since he insisted to stand so close with it.

We then headed to Saige's house to celebrate her birthday. She turned 2. When I said "Saige", Collin got a smile on his face and said "See the Saige" twice. Yes, he did say "the" before her name. He is doing that now....see the Daddy, see the Mommy....and see the Saige.

To recall the previous Blog post

In fear of the whip that will get cracked over my back I have to recall the previous blog. My wife does not yell at me, she is perfect in every way.

That said she is a real sucker, tonight she is letting Collin stay up late. In all honesty it is also Mimi's fault as together Collin has both of them wrapped around his little fingers.He is still up and not in bed and it is 9:35. Just to brag a bit Last night I was on Collin duty and I was able to get him to sleep by 10 after 9. So chaulk one up for the Daddy as by my tally I am the better parent with better parenting skills.

In her defense Collin is really cute these nights coming up with every reason why he should not have to go to be. He has quickly become the little manipulator and while it is great to get so many hugs and kisses at night from him you do realize at some point that he is just using this tactic to stay up later and not go to bed.

Here she comes so I have to stop typing as she may yell at me for saying some of these things. It will be a scarey night hopefully she will not read this until the morning when I have left and then forgot it when we get home tomorrow night. Otherwise I am in for so one heck of a night and may not make it through unscathed.

Chris Holmes

I got yelled at last night for not posting in a while so here you go.

I am enjoying watching Collin develop his social skills. Each morning on the way to school, we discuss his friends and he is remembering all of their names now. He even adds in Saige into his school friends names which tells me that he thinks of all of his friends when I ask him about his friends on the way to school.

When he walks into class, he has a group of peers that he is learning with and the things he is learning are very evident when he is at home or away from school. He is growing up to be a very confident young man. It even shows in his decision making, he is now picking out his clothing, telling us what he likes and does not like, and so much more.

Sinus Infection Update

Based on how Collin acted today, you would not have been able to tell that he was sick until you felt his forehead. He was still running a slight fever but managed to:

• run around back and forth between the kitchen and the living room and announce each time that he was "running"
• jump from the ottoman to the couch and then do it again
• read his books
• had a decent appetite for a sore throat.
• not very tired or sluggish. He only slept about 30 minutes today. Yeah me!

I do know that he was still hurting because he brought Monkey down from his bedroom and told me that Monkey's ear hurt as he stuck his finger near Monkey's ear. I did confirm that is what he said and then asked if Monkey's throat hurt. After thinking about it, he said "yes".

Even though he felt much better, he is staying home from school again tomorrow. Mimi will watch him this time and have him at her house in the afternoon. Mimi already had errands to run with Grandma in the morning. Aunt Nancy is in town, so she will get to see him. She won't be able to help much since she hurt herself Monday night at a restaurant. She is OK but really sore.

Sinus Infection

Daddy had to pick up Collin today from school because he had a fever over 100. He took him to the doctor's office where his fever had risen to 101.8. The doctor said he had a sinus infection and possibly an ear infection. There was too much fluid in his ear for her to tell. Daddy then took Collin home and laid him on the couch. Collin slept for almost 5 hours and then I came home to relieve Daddy. Collin laid there a little longer and then got some energy after taking some additional medicine. He wanted me to read some books to him and then he started to jump around. We then put some face stickers on some small pumpkins we bought last week. I was trying to keep him up for a few hours to make it to at least 8:30pm so he would sleep good and through the night. Later, he was not interested in a cool bath or a cold rag on his head. I read two more books to him, gave him some Motrin and then he let me pick him up and put him to bed. That part NEVER happens. He usually wants to crawl into bed himself and not let either one of us help him.

I will stay home from work tomorrow to watch him since he cannot go back to school for 24 hours.

Grandma Holmes!!

Grandma Holmes came for a weekend visit. We have been busy hanging out with her. A summary of her visit:

Saturday:

• Daddy picked her up at the airport and dropped both Collin and Grandma off at the garage sale I was having near the new house.
• Collin showed Grandma his new house and his playroom. We have not moved in yet but Collin has most of his toys over there.
• Lunch at Jason's Deli. Collin had all of the strawberries, some hot dog and all of the ice cream
• We met Daddy at the bicycle shop to drop off some lunch.
• Grandma, Collin and I went home so Collin could nap and we could rest. Both of us were up that morning before 5:30am.
• We went back out to shop around for some things at the new house
• Daddy came home for a little while before going back to the bike shop to watch the fight with the guys

Sunday:

• Breakfast at a local taquito place. Collin LOVES eggs and ate most of the egg and cheese from the inside of burrito
• Ran a few errands with Daddy
• Walked around a lake, checked out the fountain and found a tractor. Collin was in heaven until we had to go.









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  Shopped in a furniture store
• Grandma and I shopped in two other stores while Daddy drove around while Collin napped in the car
• Went to Timmy's first birthday party. Collin had fun with Daddy on the playground equipment, helping Timmy get up when he fell down while walking, helping Timmy open his presents, and then playing with them when they were opened.





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• Reading books with Grandma on the couch after taking a MUCH needed bath

Grandma leaves in the morning before Collin gets up. I know he will miss her when she is gone.

Mom is the champion This Morning

Last night I was coughing and it just would not go away. I was having a hard time sleeping and just could not get rid of it. Then Mommie came in and made me drink something new. It did not taste like my normal medicine but she said it would help. First I did not like having to get up and I let her know very loudly for several minutes, then I took the medicine and screamed at her some more. Just so you know this is part of being a kid you have to scream at your parents every once in a while to keep them on their toes. We discuss this at school when the teachers are not around.
So after all of that I asked for a drink and we went downstairs where daddy was and he gave me some apple juice and then Mom took me to the couch. We laid down and I squirmed around for an hour then fell asleep. Mommie was great though and played with my hair and scratched my back. That stuff feels great and really makes me drowsie.
I guess she moved me from the couch because this morning I woke up in my bed and mommie was gone. That is OK because there was daddy with his smilin face and he scratched my back some more before I wanted out of bed.

Hard night but in the end it all worked out and the cough went away and I got some good sleep. Thank God because I have a busy day today at school.

Pumpkin Patch

I surprised Collin today by picking him up from school on Daddy's normal day to pick him up. I took the day off to work at the new house and thought it would be fun to pick him up and go to the pumpkin patch set up at the local church. Daddy was able to join us too. Collin had a great time picking out pumpkins, sitting on the wagon and saddle that was set up and checking out the other kids. We ended up taking home two big pumpkins and three little ones. We thought it would be fun for Collin to draw on the little ones or put face stickers on them. Here are a few pictures of the good time we all had.

Daddy's Birthday

Saturday was Daddy's 40th birthday. That morning, mommy made us some homemade, yummy blueberry pancakes. I love pancakes especially when they have syrup on them. I could not finish both of them mainly because I was more interested in playing with my cars. Later, we picked Daddy up from the bike shop to have birthday lunch with him. I did finally tell him "happy birthday to you" when we were at lunch. I did not eat much because there was a little girl in the booth behind me. I had to flirt with her a little and then lost most of my appetite. I did like dipping the chip into the sauce and then licking the sauce off.

Mommy and I then went to the new house to drop off more stuff. I was a HUGE help by carrying one or two things in for her. I made about 5 trips and was not tired at all! We stay longer because Pappy came over to look at the new house and talk to mom. I sat and read some books and then followed them around when I was finished. I love my new play room. Mommy keeps telling me that my room is "over there". What is she talking about? I am sitting in MY room. Actually, we are all in "Collin's house".....at least that's what I call it.

After Daddy got off work, we met him at Saige's house for dinner and a yummy cookie. Daddy let Saige and I blow out the candles. We did not stay too long since Mommy wore me out today. She said something about a long day tomorrow. Not sure what she meant about that.

It's Just me & my shadow:)

While Collin clings to his mommie a lot when we go places I get to enjoy that fact that he copies me and my mannerisms. We had to let him take a shower tonight and it was funny to see him stand there exactly like he has watch me stand many times before. When it was time to get out he just wanted to stand there and let the water run over his back like I do.

I will also see him stand in front of the TV with his hands behined his back after breakfast just like I do before we head to school/work.

Altough he is a lot like me when it is time to go to bed he is not because I like my sleep and he never wants to go to sleep. I aksed my mom about this and she said he is just like I was when I was when I was his age, so maybe he is just like me. It sure is fun having a mini me.

Collin's first sporting event

We took Collin to his first sporting event tonight. I won tickets last night at a company party and thought it would be fun to go with Collin, Daddy and I. We had no idea how Collin would react or if he would even pay attention. Daddy and I went lots of times before Collin was born (last game we went to I was pregnant with Collin) so I was excited to go again.

Collin had a blast! He DID watch most of the game and asked questions like "where did they go" when the players left the ice at the end of a period, "what are they doing" when they were trying to score, and "what is that" when the man in front of us rang a huge cow bell. Collin's favorite part was NOT when the cheerleaders danced on the ice but when the Zambonis came out to clean the ice. He called them buses and watched them drive around the entire time. He was adorable sitting between Daddy and I eating popcorn by the handful. We also got him cotton candy (why not?) to see if he would like it. He did. He was not sure why people were yelling and would stare at them to see what else they would do. He flirted with the ladies behind us and just had a great time.

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Collin loves to count things these days. I will ask him how many objects there are and he will start counting: 1, 2, 4, 6....10. He will count to 10 and skip 3 every time....no mater how many objects there are. Daddy and I have been working with him to at least sneak that 3 in there.....but he is stubborn like his Mommy and skips it every time. Daddy worked with him this morning and would count 1, 2, 3 and then stop. He said Collin would say 3 a few times. We know he can say it....it's just getting poor little 3 included with the rest of his buddies.

Hugs and Kisses x 5 = Delaying bedtime

I wrote before how at bedtime, Collin would pull out just one more book to read so he would delay having to get in bed. Each time I would finish that "last book", he would pull out another one from the shelf and say "one more". He does not do that as much anymore. He has graduated to pure manipulation! He figured out that we cannot pass up a great hug and a kiss from him. Now, just before he climbs into bed, he has to give each of us a hug and a kiss. That part is not new. What's new is he continues to go back and forth until we stop it. We first try, "ok, just one more and then it's time for you to climb in bed". He turns and smiles with that adorable, "I love you" smile and leans in for "just one more" hug and a kiss. Last night, he must have done this 5 times before Daddy told him that either Daddy was putting him in bed or Collin could do it. Collin chose to do it himself....of course he did, he is 2!

I wonder what new trick he will try tonight.

Puddles, puddles, puddles!

It's been raining a lot the last week and today was no exception. Since we bought the new house, Daddy and Collin have been going to Collin's new house (that's what Collin calls it) to check out the progress in the updates that are going on. Today it rained REALLY hard before they got there. After checking out the house, Collin wanted to play outside. One huge reason we bought a house is that Collin really needs a yard to plan in and explore. That's what he did this evening. He quickly found a puddle of water on the side of the house near the driveway. Daddy let him be a boy and run through the water several times. He had a blast. Can't you tell?

School = Undies

Collin's teacher said he was ready to start wearing underwear during the day. We were both surprised to hear this and excited for our little guy. So....starting yesterday, Collin started to wear underwear during the day while at school. When Daddy picked him up yesterday afternoon, Collin was in different shorts, as expected, than he wore when he was dropped off. Based on the clothes in the "dirty" bag, it looked like he wet his pants twice. Not bad for his first day. We don't know if that means he went on the potty the other times or not. Since his teacher is not there when Daddy picks him up, we have to wait to ask her question until the next morning. She did not leave us a note to forget it so that must be a good sign too.

Another birthday party

Collin is such a social dude. He went to ANOTHER birthday party today. This one was for Jason who is the son of a co-worker. The party was at the Children's Museum. He and the other toddlers at the party went to the toddler section. He started out in the toy cars and drove them for a little while. He even got to give the one car gas. Then, he found some books and he wanted me to read about 5 of them to him. At least he did not have those books at home. Next to the books was the large Lite Brite board. He liked picking out each peg and putting them in the slot that then lite the peg up. He got distracted when he found some balls and started picking up all of the ones he could find. He put most of them in the basket but kept one of them and slid down the slide a few times before we had to go back to the party room for dinner and cake.

He, of course, was not ready to go. He did go to bed earlier tonight than usual. Probably because he did not take a nap today except for the small one on the way to the museum.

Odd Reading Chair

I was getting ready to go out to the grocery store this morning and I heard Collin making noise in the closet and then bathroom. I came around the corner and found out what he was doing. Here is what I found:

He had crawled into the laundry basket and was reading the book that he brought down from upstairs. It's one of his favorite ones...about trains. He would read the book and then look up into the mirror. Maybe he was reading to his friends? Who knows. I was surprised to watch him able to get him self out of the basket too when I asked him to stand up. He unwound himself like it was no bid deal.

Hanging out at Mimi's House

When we heard that cousin Timmy was going to be at Mimi's all day, I thought it would fun for Collin and him to hang out for the day. I also knew that Timmy was walking and I had not seen him do this yet.....neither had Collin and I thought I would be fun to see his reaction to Timmy doing this.


We arrived with some lunch for Collin. I told him to get in his chair that he usually sits in when he eats at Mimi's and around the corner, Timmy came walking. Collin stopped and stared at Timmy. He was not sure what to think about him walking....so he turned around and ran. Timmy walked after him. Collin turned the other way and had a stressed look on his face. I don't think he was ready for Timmy to walk yet. He did finally make it to his chair only to have Timmy walk up and try to grab his cup from the tray. Collin was eventually able to eat and then the boys played in "Mimi's Playroom"....aka her living room. After playing for a little while, I thought it would be fun to get a few pictures of them. I knew that taking pictures of toddlers would be a challenge....and it was. Here are a few of them on the couch. I know Collin is older and should be bigger than Timmy, but he looked REALLY big next to him and matured him even more.





Timmy did take a 3 hour nap but Collin was never interested. He continued to play and wait for Timmy to wake up. I even ran errands with Collin thinking he would sleep in the car.....nope.


When we got back, Timmy was still sleeping. The back door to the pool was open and Collin wanted outside. He found a riding toy and started to ride it around the pool....I think to just make me nervous. He did to a great job of staying away from the edge and turning it around when needed. There were a few times that he even picked it up over the steps around Mimi's pool to keep going.

Timmy did wake up and watched Collin ride around. Then, Collin decided to run around the pool. He must have ran around it 20 times.....not kidding. He was all sweaty but having a blast. Timmy even wanted in on the action but did not do to well walking on an incline.

Before Collin got tired, we posed the boys on the 3-wheeler. Notice Collin's sweaty hair. We then went to dinner where we met Daddy and then came home. What a great day. I know the boys are going to continue to have a great time together....getting each other into trouble and exploring the world.

Pop goes the weasel

Collin loves to sing songs.....especially in the car. Before we even pull out of the parking lot or driveway, he wants he CD on that has all of the songs. Some of them, like the Baby Bumble Bee song, he knows by the music before the kids start singing. He really likes it when I sing Pop Goes the Weasel because when the part in the song mentions "pop", I hit the top of my clinched fist while singing the song. He copies me and laughs.

This morning, he took some medicine for some congestion he has with a dropper. Daddy asked him to put the dropper in the sink after he was finished. Collin walked over to the sink, threw it in and said "pop goes the weasel". Daddy thought that was funny.

He also associates songs with things he does or sees. For example, whenever he sees a star, he points to it, says "star" and starts singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Bed Time

We have mentioned before that Collin fights to go to be these days. There are better days than others about him taking a bath, brushing his teeth or putting his PJs on. Some nights, he does not want a bath and cries if we try to get him in there. Fine, no bath then. That does not mean no bed though. What will he try next? No PJs and throws them back in the basket. That does not work either. The last few days, Daddy and I have read books together, tell Collin to give us a kiss and hug good night (which he does) and then Collin climbs into his crib. We turn his music on and the lights off. Daddy says good night to Collin and leaves the room while I sooth Collin. He cries just a few seconds and then settles while I ask him about his day. I asked him "What did you do a school today". He typically replies "played with friends" or "see friends". I ask, "what friends?" and he lists out his friends which includes Charlotte, Nicho, Juanito and then a few names I am not familiar with. I then asked if they sang songs. He will start singing a song. Tonight, he went through his ABCs and got all the way through Z. I ask him about what he did with Daddy when he left school and he either does not answer or says "truck". I then know he is getting tired. I kiss Piglet and Monkey good night and then Collin. I tell him I will see him in the morning and leave his room. He might cry out few just long enough for me to get downstairs and then he stops. I have enjoyed this time together the last few nights.

"Whatcha doin'?"

While it's not "Why?" after everything I say, Collin is asking "whatcha doin'?" and "whatcha doin' now?" (5 minutes after the first "whatcha doin' "). He is very inquisitive and wants to know what you are doing or be included. His stool is getting a lot of use these days especially when I am in the kitchen. He must have asked me "whatcha doin' " at least 3 times while I was making breakfast yesterday morning. I would answer him, he would pull up his stool and watch me and then ask again if I changed and started to do something different. I heard him ask Daddy at least once in between asking me.

He is starting to use 3 to 5 words together when he talks. Most of the time, he is describing what he sees or is letting you know what he wants you to do. "Don't" is still prevelant but "thank you" is a close second so at least he does have manners and not just ordering everyone around.

Smarty Pants

This morning while getting ready to go to Nicho's house (see blog entry below), Collin heard the train outside (we have a train track 3 block from our house). He stopped what he was doing and said "train". I asked him what sound the train makes and he said "choo choo". I then asked him where the train was expecting him to respond with "outside". Smarty pants looked at me seriously and said "on the track mommy" as if to say "duh, where else would it be?" I laughed and he knew he was being cute.

"I'm Tired"

When Collin gets tired, besides around his eyes getting red, he wipes eyes or his nose with the back his hand a few times or he takes the front of his fingers and wipes both hands down his face starting with his eyes. He does this a few times and then can barely walk, he is so tired. But....does he want to go to bed or take a nap....not way. He continues to wipe and play but it not interested in going to his room. We know that within 20 minutes of him doing this, he is out!

Hanging out with Nicho

This morning, we went to Nicho's house to play and have lunch. Collin had a great time playing in their huge backyard throwing the ball and playing with other toys. He also had fun watching Nicho's siblings, Victoria and Chris play. None of the kids had any idea that Nicho's daddy was charging the battery to the mini-Jeep. At first, Collin and Nicho just sat in the Jeep not knowing it was powered and ready to go. Chris showed them it was and the kids had a blast! Collin sat on the passenger side and held on tight. He laughed and smiled most of the time. Notice him holding the handle in the front. He might be a daring boy but there are times he is cautious about it. hahaha

It was then time for lunch of hot dog, pasta salad and Cheetos. Collin just ate his Cheetos....and had the powdered cheese all over his shirt. We hung out a little more and played inside in the playroom since it started to sprinkle.

Collin was not ready to go when it was time to leave but I knew he was tired. Within 10 minutes of being in the car, he was asleep.