"Don't cut this one Mommy"

At night before or, most of the time, after bath, is when I cut Collin's finger and toe nails, clean his ears, floss and other grooming needs.  Collin has a certain way he wants me to cut his nails.  If you have not figured out already, this kid does know what he wants and does not want to do it any other way but his way.  There have been compromises but not after multiple negotiations, usually from his side.  So....nail cutting time is no exception.  When it's time to cut his finger nails, he likes to put his hand on my thigh or flat somewhere like that so he can see the nail being cut off.  This can make it difficult to cut the nail in the first place because of the angle.  His toe nails are a different story.  I can usually cut his finger nails without him putting up too much of a fight.  He does NOT like for his toe nails to be cut because he is very ticklish like his Mommy.  I did figure out that if he does not see me cutting his toe nails, like turning his head away from looking at his toes, I can usually get a toe nail or too before he squirms out of my clutch.  If you can imagine this, it does then take a few nights in a row to get all of his toe nails cut. He does like to clean his own ears and then comment on the color or what's on the Q-tip when he is finished.  We do have to clean his ears regularly because the boy can manufacture ear wax like crazy.

Last night, when I was about to start cutting his finger nails, his hand was in position on my thigh.  He told me as he was pointing to his pinkie finger nail, "Don't cut this one Mommy."  I wondered why he told me this because 1) he had never made this request before and 2) why that finger?  I guessed it was because he used the nail as a "tool" for something.  I asked him, "Is that the one you used to pick your nose?"  He looked and me as if to say "How did you know" and told me "Yes, see" and showed me quickly how it fit in his nose....then put his finger back on my leg and laughed.  I had to laugh too because I would not consider him one of those chronic nose-picking kids you see and because he thought he got away with putting grossness on my leg...which he did not.  After putting his fingers back on my leg, he said, "Oh...and don't cut this one either" pointing to his pointer finger.  He then put a pointer finger in each nostril.  I could see both of us loosing focus quickly.  :)  I did manage to cut his finger nails.

I was not as successful with his toe nails.  Last night, he sat on the ground with his legs out.  I crouched over him so to block his view of his feet and was able to get the pinkie toe nail off of one toe.  That one really needed it because it was starting to curl it was so long.  I have been trying to get it for two weeks now.  Success!

After all of this, the negotiations about how many books and which book to read started next.  He still needed to brush and floss his teeth....which he did eventually do.  I did have to help him floss as he was yelling out , "You are hurting me".  Not sure how I was doing this since the floss was not even making it close to his teeth. 

The things mommies do to make sure that their kids are groomed and look presentable every day. 

Leah's First Birthday Party

Collin had a great time at Leah's first birthday party at Stomping Grounds.  It's a place with an indoor playground including tunnels, slides, trampoline areas, etc.  I think that Leah's cousins and Timmy had a better time playing on the playground than she did.  However, she seemed to have fun visiting with all of the adults passing her around and talking to her. 

The kids had a blast.  Every few minutes, we would see Timmy run out of the equipment first followed by Collin or another cousin quickly behind him.  They would run into the party room where we were, around one of the tables, and then head back into the equipment to play...Timmy leading the way every time.  They did this several times.  The parents thought it was funny and we could at least see how they were doing or offer a drink if they slowed down enough to take a sip.  After playing for an hour, the kids did finally take a break to eat dinner of pizza and fruit.  Collin was SO sweaty and disappointed he had to stop playing to eat but he did eventually settle down and eat.  He was not interested in the cake...just as usual.  I actually ate a piece of cake because it had a yummy cream cheese filing.  Oh soo good!

The kids went back to play more while Leah opened her presents.  She received several really pretty dresses, a toy phone that went right into her mouth and a stuffed turtle.  Collin was exhausted when it was time to leave and did fall asleep on the way home.  It did not last though.  He woke up when we got home because the neighborhood kids where outside playing in the front yard. 

The kids taking a break to eat:  Collin, Mason, Timmy and Schuyler

Pappy and birthday girl

Grandma Filla and her great grandsons, Collin and Timmy

All of the kids helping Leah blow out her candles

Leah's first bite of cake and icing.  She really liked the icing and kept spitting out the cake.  Can you blame her?

Leah checking out the oversized stuffed turtle we got her

The kids stopped to watch Leah open her presents from the top of the playground

Look at Leah's crazy family.  They sure do love her.

Collin picked out a pink balloon to take home with him.  When he found out that we were in the Jeep, he started to cry because he was worried that his balloon would pop.  He wanted Daddy to put the roof back on so his ballooon would not fly out.  We told him that his balloon would be OK and drove away.  Within a minute, he told Daddy to slow down.  As we were getting on the freeway, the balloon really started to shake...and Collin started to scream that his balloon was going to fly away.  I turned to the side and put my hand on the top of the balloon.  I got told to not push so hard so it would not pop.  He repeatedly told Daddy to slow down and even told him, "I feel you driving even faster now!".  He was so concerned about his balloon.  However, he did fall asleep while we were still on the road after he put his had on top of mine.  Daddy hit a bump a few minutes later and my hand moved.  Collin woke up, grabbed it and pulled it back on top of the balloon.  That kid sure was protecting his balloon.  We did make it home without it popping.  Collin had to hold it until we got in the house.  Once we were in the house...he forgot about the balloon.  Really?  After all of that?  Ugh!

Cowboy Collin

Here is Cowboy Collin and how he looked when he went to school yesterday morning for Rodeo Day at school.  He is wearing the cowboy hat we got him 2 years ago when we went to the the rodeo and had such a great time.  Notice the two tattoos he is wearing on each of his forearms.  

Butt Protection?

I don't know why he does it but it does drive me a little crazy.  Collin LOVES to come up behind me and stick his nose in my butt...especially in shy situations...for protection.  Yep, I said it!  It did take me several months to come forward and post about this.  I thought he would have stopped by now but has not.  It started because he would hide behind me when he would walk into a room and not know anyone in the room.  Well, he was shorter then, so his nose was positioned between my legs.  Now that he has gotten taller, his nose is well....at my butt level.  I try to pull him away from that area and in front or even to the side of me.  He is sometimes locked in there and does not budge.

I  guess I will have to start eating a lot of beans and fresh veggies to prepare for the next time he does it.  If he squeezes me too hard, he will likely not ever do it again.  ;)

"He has Manners"

I would imagine that every mom of a 4 year old thinks their child could have more manners.  "Collin, what do you say?" when he should say Thank You or Please.  He sometimes looks my way as if to say, "Do I have to do it EVERY time? Ugh".  He does say it sometimes but does need to be prompted regularly enough. 

Tonight after picking up Collin from school, I went to Target to pick up a few things.  Collin was hungry and wanted a snack.  We went to the snack stand inside Target.  After finally choosing a granola bar, Collin and I stood in line to pay.  I gave Collin $1 to pay for his snack and then we stood there...for at least 5 minutes.  That's a LONG time for a pre-schooler to stand still and patiently wait to eat a snack in his hand.  He did wait, gave the lady behind the cash register his $1 and then wanted me to open his granola bar.  The lady behind us was patiently waiting as well.  When we were about to walk away, the lady behind us said, "It's not too often that you seen such a young little boy with such manners.  You should be proud.  I can tell that you have worked hard with him and should be proud". 

I AM proud of him.  He is a really good, sweet little boy.  I love him so much.

Wound up 4 Year old!

Collin was wound up today!  I don't know where he got his energy from.  For instance, he was getting a drink from the frig, stopped what he was doing and then started dancing and singing with his pretend microphone to his mouth.  He did this several different times throughout the house.  Also, EVERYTHING was a race...which is not unusual.  I was getting dressed so we could head out to run some errands, he said, "I will get dressed faster than you Mommy" and then run to his room to pick out different clothes to wear. 

While we were out, we stopped at a park hoping it would wear the Dude out.  He did not end up napping at all today but had a great time at the park.  We were there over 45 minutes and he, non stop, climbed up all of the ladders and stairs, slid down the slide and the ran back to do it again.  He liked jumping off the stairs and the bottom of the slide.  At one point, I sat in the middle of the equipment so I could watch him run by.  Here he is being his goofy self:

A nap...and stickers?

This morning, Daddy and Collin hung out while I went to ride my bike and run.  I have a race next Sunday that I am training for.  When I got back home, Collin greeted me at the front door with a bouquet of flowers.  Daddy told me that, when they were walking through the flower section of the grocery store that Collin told him, "Mommy needs some flowers.  She really likes purple and yellow."  Well, they sure did find some beautiful purple and yellow flowers in a bouquet.  He helped me cut the stems, put the flower food in the water and then arrange the flowers in the vase.  He then helped me wash the dishes which he LOVES!  He requested for me to include "fishies" the the sink full of water.  These are ice cubes that he drops in the water, watches them "swim" and then melt away.

Collin wanted to ride his bikes but I was getting tired from the exercise I did this morning.  I thought it would be fun to lay by the front windows, read our books and watch for the boys to come out and play....this way, I could also close my eyes for a few minutes.  In between Collin asking me questions about the dinosaurs in his book and if the boys were outside playing, I did manage to shut my eyes and rest in 5 minute spurts.  He apparently read The Kissing Hand at one point because I found the evidence later.  This is one of the several books he has that includes stickers in the back.  I felt him putting stickers on my hand when I was resting.  I thought that was the only place he put them.  Glad I checked the mirror when I woke up later and was headed out the front door.  This is what I saw (besides the 40+ year old age spots...gotta love 'em):

Valentine's Day Cards

Collin exchanged Valentine's Day cards at school today with his 26 other classmates.  He brought Toy Story themed cards enclosed with a sticker and a silly straw.  I did not want to include candy because I knew that many other kids would be including candy with their cards.  In the prior years, some of the mother's went what I would call overboard with the cards and or the treat they included with the card such as homemade goodies, custom ordered cookies or homemade cards.  I knew that this might be a possibility this time but also knew that these mother's had more time.  Either way, Collin was not too interested in what he brought to school but what he got from the other kids.

Here he is going through his "loot" looking for tattoo stickers and then candy.  Unlike last year, most of the cards did not include anything extravagant.  I was actually shocked to see this.  Collin was the only one that gave a straw.  Based on his reaction when he saw the straws as I was making the cards this weekend, I bet some of the other kids were excited to see this when they went through their Valentine cards tonight.  Collin also liked the chocolate and then the suckers.  He was not interested in the homemade cards that did not include anything with them...and there were a lot of these this year. 

Collin also brought home is artwork from Spanish class with a Valentine Day theme.  He had to stick on the number of hearts associated with the Spanish number.  I thought he did great!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Feliz dia de la Amistad

Collin seems to really enjoy Spanish class.  He now regularly counts to 10 in English and Spanish.  Most of the time, he counts in both languages.  For example, I ask him "How many cars should we play with?" and he will reply "Uno, dos, tres, quatro" and then say "four". 

While eating dinner last night, he started saying his A, B, Cs in Spanish.  He got all the way to D and then started all over again.

Here is one of the Valentine Day cards he made for me in Spanish class.  The front of the card says "Feliz dia de la amistad" (which translates to Happy Valentine's Day in English).  Inside the card says "I love you!".  He proudly handed me the card which I took to work this morning.  I love you too Collin!

Name Calling .... Already?

When picking out Collin's name before he was born, Daddy and I did consider the possibilities of how his name would or could be made fun of.  We made sure that his initials did not spell out anything that was too funny or that was not appropriate.  We said it out loud to see how his name would sound....etc.  Lots of pressure picking out a son's name, right?  I loved "Collin", however, I did think of something that kids might do using his name.  "Calling Collin, Calling Collin...."  I figured it would be years before one of his friends or someone at school would pick up on that one.  Nope....tonight, when we were planning in his playroom, Collin stopped playing, looked at me and said, "Mommy, Collin starts with a C" and then said "Calling Collin.  Thanks funny, right Mommy?  Calling Collin".  Did he figure that out himself or did one of his buddy's come up with it.  I smiled and kept playing with him.  He did not bring it up again.

Oh...he was dry this morning.  Daddy did wake him up at 3am to go potty, which he did.  I am sure that helped him.  He is wearing underwear again tonight.  We are going to continue this for at least a week to see how it goes.  So far, so good.

Night Time Pull Up ... Still

Collin is still wearing Pull Ups at night because he is wet most mornings.  He has not shown any interest in wearing underwear at night.  It does not matter if I mention that any one of his buddies are wearing underwear at night (which they are).  He does not care and asks for a pull up.  Occasionally, he does want to wear underwear but is not interested in laying on a towel or other protective lining.  We have tried different things and figured he is not ready yet.  That was until I told him this week that Timmy does not wear diapers and night (it's true.  Timmy is fully potty-trained at 3).  That did it!  Collin wants to wear underwear now at night.  The next two times he did wear underwear to bed, he was really wet the next morning (I just finished folding the now clean wet sheets, pillowcases and blanket).  So...I am researching again for suggestions about how to help him keep dry at night.  We think his biggest hurdle is that he is such a HEAVY sleeper.  The kid snores just as loud as Daddy and he is hard to wake up.  We have woken him up to pee at midnight, which he does, and is still wet in the morning. 

I am sure he will be potty-trained at night too at some point but wonder how long that will take.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's that time of year again at work when I get really busy.  I worked 60 hours last week so there was not too much time with Collin during the week....which I did not like.  I could tell that he missed me too.  Friday morning, he woke up early and let me know that I did not need to go to work and then left to the living room.  When he came back, he looked at me, then folded his arms across his chest, stuck his lower lip out and said "You need to take your work clothes off and put your play clothes on.  I don't want you to go to work today".  Ugh....I did not either but needed to.  I told him that I was the one picking him up today and that we would spend lots of time with each other the next two days.  He was OK with this only after I gave him several kisses and a hug.  By this time, I was actually giving "Kitty" a hug and not Collin.  "Kitty" wanted to watch a movie until Daddy woke up .  I put a short movie on, kissed "Kitty" again and then left for work.

Later that night, I picked him up from school and came back home ready for the Jureks sisters to come over and play with him.  They played together great in the playroom until the pizza arrived.  It was the wrong pizza so we had to think of something for the kids to eat while the correct pizza was made and delivered.  We did keep one of the pizzas and pulled off the wrong ingredients.  This helped because the kids were getting cranky because we knew they were hungry.  They then went back to play but tattle telling and fighting started.  No wonder, it was close to 8pm and the Jureks girls are usually in bed by then.  After they left, Collin took a bath, put his PJs on and then we laid on the couch to watch Dinosaurs.  I was not sure I would make it through the movie because I was exhausted from the week.  I had Collin lay in front of my on the same couch hoping he would fall asleep....which he did in about 15 minutes.  I moved him to his room and then I went to bed.  Daddy was in class and was not home yet.

Saturday morning, I went for a bike ride freezing my butt off in the wind.  When I got back, Collin and Daddy where at the back of the driveway using the colored chalk to make planets, stars and space ships.  I got cleaned up from the bike ride, Daddy went to work and Collin and I went outside to play.  Soon, the neighbor boys came out to play too.  It quickly turned into "chase Collin's mom and throw a ball at her".  I was having a blast with the kids doing this...and getting a great workout.  7, 6 and two 4 year old boys are QUICK!  Collin laughed and then yelled out a few times, "I hit my Mommy in the butt with a ball" so I knew he was having fun.  We met Daddy later for lunch, ran a few errands and then came back home.  Five minutes before we pulled up to the house, Collin fell asleep.  I unloaded the car and then came to get Collin.  He woke up only briefly to tell me "I'm.....not.......tired" and then fell asleep for a 3 hour nap.  I got some work done during this time waiting for Daddy to get home.  We went out to eat and them came home to watch a new movie that Daddy rented called Rio about a blue macaw bird and his friends.

Sunday, we stayed inside most of the day other than groceries and another errand because it's 35 degrees outside and Collin has a stuffy nose (probably from playing outside yesterday morning). 

Museum on a Rainy Day

Knowing that it was going to be a very raining day, Collin and I met Timmy and Aunt Lisa at a new science museum....well, knew to us.  It's been open since 2009 but we have not made it there yet. 

I had not even paid for our tickets yet and the kids were already pointing at the sharks, turtle and dinosaur bones.  The gift shop is right by the entrance (they knew what they were doing when they built it there, right?) so the kids were picking out what they wanted us to buy.  After finally getting the tickets, we stopped first at the archaeological dig.  It was a pit filled with dirt covering fake dinosaur bones.  The boys had a good time using shovels and other tools to uncover the bones.  They then played in the ball pit next to the dig pit...which was for the little kids...but there were not any around at the moment so the boys had a good time in there.  They had fun jumping and then landing on the balls.  Lisa and I were surprised that they did not smash the balls because of the amount of jumping they were doing.

Excited that they might have found the bones to the head

Timmy selecting his tools

The ball pit.  Let the jumping begin!

We then toured the rest of the museum.  The boys were not interested too much in the quartz that was the first section we stopped in.  Up the stairs we went to the dinosaur bones.  Collin did not want to stay long because he was scared.  He said he was not but he was fine as soon as we left the area.  Next, they got to dig and find teeth, shells and other objects. 

Collin using the magnifying glass to find a tooth

Aunt Lisa helping Timmy find a shell

We then went to the discovery section were the kids could see how things worked.  Timmy liked playing with the pulley system to lift the bags or the spinning the wheel to turn this sphere.  Collin liked pushing this button to make the air flow and push the ping pong ball in the air...and then stop the flow. 

We went into the portable planetarium to watch a movie about the Earth and the moon.  The boys liked laying on the floor to watch the movie on the ceiling.  They both did end up sitting by me in the middle of the movie.  We then went to the reptile section and the boys LOVED picking out the frogs in each of the containers.  Collin did get frustrated a few times when he could not find a frog even after we pointed it out to him.

Looking at the frog tank

Here they are showing us the animal with the biggest, then the sharpest and the smallest teeth.  They started fighting and getting cranky which really meant "we are ready to leave and eat lunch". 

Before we left, Aunt Lisa bought both the boys several miniature dinosaurs.  Thanks Aunt Lisa!!!  We stopped at Beck's Prime for lunch.  Collin ate like he had not eaten in a few days devouring several bites of hot dog and fries.  Timmy, on the other hand, did not touch his food except to push it out of the way of playing with his dinosaurs. 

Collin and I ran a few errands on the way home.  I put in James and the Giant Peach movie when we got home for him to relax before Kyana's birthday party.  It took an hour bu he is napping now.  What a great morning/afternoon.

"Do I have a Shadow?"

With the talk this week about Groundhog Day and whether the groundhog would see his shadow or not, Collin was very interested in shadows last night and then again tonight.  Last night, we used his flashlight in his dark room to make shadows.  He started first and took a few minutes to figure out how to make a shadow on the back of his door.  Once he figured it out, he was able to make a dog bark and a bird.  Then, it was my turn.  We went back and forth like this a few times sharing shadows and guessing what the shadow represented. 

Tonight, he talked about shadows with Mimi and wanted her to make shadows.  Because he had already stalled so tonight before bathing, reading books and getting into his bed, it was late and we did not want to spend too much more time aiding him in his "delay tactics" as I call them.  Mimi did do a few shadows before we both kissed him good night. 

He is to bring something that makes a shadow tomorrow for show n tell.  I set out a few of his zoo animals for him to bring to school.  Wonder which one he will pick?  Maybe the giraffe.