Bad Dream

Collin continues to do or say what he can so that one of us, mainly me, lays next to him when he initially gets in bed.  I, too, do what I can to get out of it because he needs to be able to go to sleep on his own. 

Last night after I told him that I needed to be on the computer for a little while before coming back in to lay with him, he said, "I have a great idea (they always are).  You can sit on this side of my bed with your computer and your papers over her (pointing to his right).  We can turn on the fish tank for more light for you."  Then he looked so sweetly at me waiting for for my response.  I told him that WAS a really good idea and then hated to tell him that there would not be enough light for me but it was true.  He did eventually lay back down and then I re-covered him and his animals back up.

I has been at the computer less than 10 minutes when he came out to the living room.  I asked him what was wrong. 

Collin:  "I had a bad dream."

Mommy: thinking he made it up just so he could come out of his room and get me in bed with him "Oh, I am sorry to hear that.  Tell me about the dream."  Gotcha kiddo!

Collin:  "There was a waterfall and I was falling down it"  Oh, that's a good one and great comeback

Mommy:  "I can see why you might have been scared.  Then what happened?"  Let's see where he takes this one.

Collin:  "Saige was there and she was crying"  OK, he is REALLY good. 

I did walk him back to his room and tucked him back in.  By this time, he was yawning and really tired.  He fell asleep within 5 minutes and did not get back out of bed for the entire night.

5 Year Check Up

I met Daddy and Collin at Collin's 5 year check up appointment this afternoon.  Daddy said that Collin recognized the building as they pulled up and wanted to know if he was getting shots.  Daddy said that we would have to see what the doctor says.  While in the waiting room, Collin did not seem preoccupied about the shots.  That's probably because we read at least 6 books before the nurse called his name.  While waiting, he figured out the system of the office.  "The lady will come from over there and call my name."  Each time the nurse came out, he looked up to listen for his name. 
She did finally call him and said we were to go to Room F.  Collin walked by each room until he stopped in front of F.  The nurse asked him a few questions like his name, what street he lived on and the name of his school.  He knew is name but not the answer to the other questions.  I have been working with him on his address including city and state but he could not remember his street.  He remembered Houston though.  She then looked through his chart and announced that he did not have to have shots.  I would have thought he would have been more excited but he was busy checking out the board on the wall and making hand prints on it.

She then weighed him and checked his height.  He is 3 feet 5.93 in (29.9%) tall and weighs 37lbs (22.21%) so he remains a little guy and even fell further down in the percentages.  The doctor was not too concerned about this dip because his BMI ratio was good.  She said as long as he is eating she is not worried.  He is an active little boy and sometimes gets more than an hour a day of exercise.  She was really happy with that.  We did discuss that he is still not dry at night and she said that she would not push it based on what we told her about him snoring loudly and grinding his teeth.  He is just a heavy sleeper.  Also, she did say it does run in the family.  Knowing that Aunt Lisa wet her bed when she was older confirmed that he will just need more time to learn to be dry at night.

We did discover that his developing cough is likely bacterial bronchitis so she gave a prescription that should help him in the next week.  I am not too surprised because Daddy has had a cough for over a month and it has been hard from him to get rid of it. 

He and Daddy headed home to swim with Saige and Linden (shhhh....he is not supposed to swim with his cough.  One last one before he starts his medicine) and then I headed back to work. It's that time of year for me because of the tax deadline.

Feedback From First Day of School

Collin seemed to have a great first day of school.  Daddy picked him up and they rode bikes on the way home.  On the way, Collin asked if they were riding bikes every day.  Daddy said that they were.  Collin then said, "We can ride bikes unless it's raining then we can ride in the black car...not the Jeep".  We are quickly finding out that Collin is not fond of the Jeep and all of the wind in his face.

When they got home, they swam for an hour and played with the underwater camera some more. There were some great shots and they looked like they had a good time. Next, Daddy thought they would play soccer in the front yard since Collin will be playing soccer soon.  He wanted to play baseball instead.  Daddy threw the ball to him and he did really good hitting about 50% of the balls thrown to him.  Next, Collin went to play with Saige and Linden until 7pm which is about the time I got home.  Those extra 2.5 hours he was home compared to when he went to Montessori school were BUSY!

When he was finally home for the night, I got to talk to him about his day. One of the first questions he asked me was “Mommy, why did you get home late tonight?” I was not home late but it might have seemed that way because he was home for a longer period of time before I came home from work. Some other feedback from Collin:


• “I met a new friend Julia but she’s a girl”

• “I had a really good lunch today” – we asked follow up questions to try to figure out what was good about it but he did not respond

• “School was fun. The teacher read to us”

I knew he had a good day when he announced this morning, “yeah, I have school today”. Wow, I was getting used to the question, “is it school today” and then hear the disappointment when I would reply that it was a school day. That might only be because he knows there is movie at the end of the day if it’s not a school day in the morning and he does get to spend more time with me because I am with him more when it’s not a school day.

I cannot wait to hear how his day today goes.

First Day of Public School

Today is Collin's first day of public school.  He is starting Pre-K at the elementary school just a few blocks from our house.  We have been talking about him going to this school most of the summer to get him ready for it and hoping that the transition would go well.  Maybe that's why he was fine this morning and did not throw a fit.  He was actually so excited that he only ate 3 bites of his three scrambled eggs this morning.  Normally, he eats all of these so Daddy thought he would do the same when he made them this morning.  Nope, he was ready to get dressed in the clothes he picked out.  His new shark shirt was dirty so he wanted to wear his school spirit shirt instead.  I told him he did not have to wear it but he insisted.  He got dressed and then brushed his teeth.  Daddy was getting dressed at this point and Collin wanted him to wear a matching school spirit shirt.  Collin said I did not have to because today was not my first day of work.  Don't kids say the funniest things?

After packing his lunch of 2 "fold overs" which are peanut butter jelly sandwiches made with one piece of bread folded over, bunny crackers, fruit snack and a drink, we took pictures by the fireplace.  Daddy took his first day of school pictures by the fireplace so Grandma H wanted me to make sure that I got a few pictures there.  While doing this, Daddy was getting the bikes ready to ride to school.  They plan to ride their bikes to school every day that there is good weather. 

Once outside, Collin wanted to know if I was going with him. I told him that I was not because I was going to work.  That was a good enough response for him.  He got near his bike and then wanted me to take a picture of him telling me "I love you Mommy".  At least he is still my sweet little boy.  They then got on the bike and rode off to school.

Excited about riding his biked AND going to school

This is right before he wanted to tell me that he loved me.  Aww...

Here they are headed off to school.  I cut it a little short because Daddy started telling me things that he had already told me to do several times that morning.  What, I will forget already?  It was a crazy morning because our little guy is growing up.

I caught Daddy riding back when I was heading out of the neighborhood.  He said that Collin got off the bike and headed to his new class.  He was not nervous at all and was a big boy.  I think meeting the teacher and seeing his class Friday was a great idea and helped with how smooth today went.  I cannot wait to hear tonight how his first day of school was.

Collin and Ms Hansen, his Pre-K teacher

Fun with a New Camera...Under Water!!!

We had a great time playing with our new camera that takes pictures in and out of the water.  After I got home from a long bike ride, Collin thought it would be a great idea for us to get in the pool, "that way you don't have to take a shower mommy".  Considering I just rode my bike almost 3 hours, I thought this was a fantastic idea AND we could play with the camera. 

Collin had no problem posing, swimming, jumping in the water and just having fun while I figured out the camera under the water. What I thought was so cute was that he always had this grin on his face when he was under the water. You would think this was because he knew I was taking his picture. Well, that's not true. This is how he always looks when he is swimming or underwater. Now that he is not afraid to get his face wet or put his head under the water, all he wants to do is swim to me, to the side of the pool, from one step or the other, jump in the water or dive for toys at the bottom of the pool. I love that he is finally not afraid of the water so we can enjoy swimming now…..as you can see in the pictures we took today.

Look at that happy little boy.  He loves swimming now.

Concentrating on the swim strokes

At the bottom of the pool

One of my favorite ones

He wanted to try swimming without his googles.  He did great!

Jumping from the rocks...

....and then splash!!!

My two favorite boys....being boys.

Last Day of Montessori School

This afternoon was somewhat of a sad day.  It was Collin's last day at his Montessori school.  He has been going there since he was 20 months old.  He has had a good time with his first teach, Ms Maria, and then his current ones, Ms Kristine and Ms Arlena.  They have been wonderful with him helping him learn and understand his world. 

Daddy dropped him off today and also gave presents to both of the teachers.  One of the cards played dance music when it was opened.  The kids had a great time dancing to the music.  I bet the teachers have not had a card like that before.  I am sure they will not forget this day for a long time.

Later when I saw Collin at home, I asked him how his last day was.  He talked like it was a regular day.  We have been talking about it being his last day so I know he knew it was...but don't think he will really realized it until he starts at his new school next week.  I took some pictures of him on his last day to compare to his first day.  Look how much he has grown in just over three years. 



So proud to be wearing his uniform



Being silly.  I love this guy!

Meet the Teacher!

This morning was "meet the teacher" at Collin's elementary school.  Grandma H, Daddy and I all went with Collin to meet his teacher, check out where his assigned seat is going to be for the school year, check out his classroom and meet some of his new classmates. 

When we arrived at the school, they were not ready for us to come in yet.  That's when the leg-hugging began.  Collin wanted to stick right by me holding onto my leg.  We quickly saw a friend from T-ball, Tyler, and walked over to talk to him.  I did most of the talking and hoped Collin would warm up a little before we went into his class.  He did not.

We finally were able to go in and walked down the Pre-K hall.  I pointed out Collin's name above a hook outside his classroom where he is supposed to hang his backpack before going to class.  Ms Hansen, his new teacher, was standing at the doorway.  She introduced himself to him and he was too shy to respond.  We walked in and quickly found his spot at the head of a table.  There was a list of things we were supposed to find in the classroom to get him familiar with it.  He was so quick to find everything on the list that it only lasted 10 minutes.  He then sat at his spot watching the kids come in.  He did eventually warm up and played with Sam at the back of the room with some toys.  We stayed for about 40 minutes letting him introduce himself to other new friends before we left for his last day at his Montessori school.

He does not look to happy in this picture.  I am not sure why the sad/mad face.  He usually likes to have his picture taken.  Maybe it was just too much for him to take in.

School Birthday Celebration

This morning, Grandma H, Daddy and I went to school to watch Collin's 5th birthday celebration.  It was a little sad for me because this will be his last one at his Montessori school since he will be starting Pre-K next Monday at his new public school.  I wonder how they celebrate birthdays?  Sorry...that's what happens when I post so late.

The kids where sitting around in a circle waiting for the celebration to start.  Ms Kristine started by holding up a poster with pictures of when Collin was an infant through his first year.  She described the pictures and then asked the kids what else Collin might have been doing at that age.  He then walked around with the poster showing his friends wearing the birthday hat that he made.  After he made it around a circle, he then took the globe, walked around the circle again while the kids sang:

The Earth moves around the sun, the Earth moves around the sun, around, around, around and around, the Earth moves around the sun. 

The teacher then talked about the poster from his second year.  This continued until she said he was now 5.  He then sat in the middle of the circle for the "friends" to sing Happy Birthday to him.  He then blew out the fake candle. 

He got to pick out a friend to go first and have birthday snacks.  He picked Jacob, of course.  They sat down while we fixed plates of grapes and multi colored goldfish (yes, from yesterday) for the kids to eat.  There were only 14 kids attending today which was small compared to the usual 25.  At this time, we told him Happy Birthday and then left for the day.

Talking while eating snacks.

Now...for the serious pose!

5th Birthday Party

After thinking for it for a few weeks, Collin decided he wanted an art party for his 5th birthday.  Because of the number of people we knew were going to attend, we held his party in the back room of the bike shop.  He invited 18 of his friends and wanted me to make sure that Timmy, Saige and Jacob where going to be there.  The other friends in attendance were:

• Kyana, Madison and Jessica
• Alex and Ellie
• Dane and Finn
• Saige and Linden
• Oliver and Lucy
• Tyler
• Mila
• Clayton
• Audrey
• Joe 
• Leah

For the art party, each child had there own personalized apron to wear while painting a canvas.  When Grandma H and I were working on this Saturday, Collin looked through them and had me point out the one for Timmy, Saige and Jacob.  Collin chose a red apron for his.  After painting, they hung there art on a display board and then had some snacks.  They chose from grapes, strawberries, pretzels, colored goldfish crackers and "paint brushes" which were Rice Crispie treats dipped in colored chocolate.  I chose these because of their color and Collin loves these for snacks...especially the strawberries. 

After painting and snacks, they gathered around Collin to sing Happy Birthday and have cake.  The cake was shaped like a canvas and had a "painting" on it like a child would draw.  The flavor was awesome and it was a hit at the party.  Several of the children then had to leave.  Collin was very interested in handing out the party favor bag which included a box of crayons, a Thank You note, a dinosaur bookmark and the paintbrush the child used on their painting.

After most of the kids left, the ones that remained (about 9 of them) played Duck, Duck, Goose.  Collin said this was his favorite part of the party.  They played this game and others for at least another 30 minutes.  The parents loved it because the kids were wearing off the sugar they just ate and they got to visit more while the kids had fun running around.  All of the kids and their parents seems like they had a great party.  I thought I would be stressed during the party because there where 18 kids in the room painting but I was relaxed and getting enjoy myself too.

We cleaned up and came home so Collin could open most of his presents in front of Daddy, Grandma and and I.  He got lot of cars, a Nerf gun, Lincoln Logs, metal detector, Legos, and other great toys. 

I saw this as an invitation and thought this would be a great display on the entry table where the aprons where laying

The awesome tasting cake.  The "canvas" is butter cream and the other cake was chocolate.

Snack table

Plenty of room for 18 kids and their parents

Timmy busy on his artwork

Collin painting his typical "person".  Mimi had to remind him to add arms.

Look at those cheeks ready to blow out the candles

Blowing out candles with help from his friends.  Yes, there are more than 5 candles but that made it even more fun.

All of the finished art on display.  I love it!!

Here is Collin's art.  Mimi did the "dog" on the bottom left.

Opening presents when we got home.

Being a fart as I was trying to take a picture with his birthday shirt on.  I don't blame him.  He just had a great time with his friends....and wanted to open more presents.

"I Saved You Some Room"

The night time routine is still full of negotiations, whining and challenges.  It's also full of love and good times with the Boy.  He has lots of great ideas during this time:

Boy:  "Mom, I have a great idea.  What if we play in the playroom for 10 minutes and then we can take a bath?"
Mommy:  "Collin, are you going to change your mind about that when it's been 10 minutes?"
Boy:  "No"

10 minutes goes by.....

Mommy:  "Collin, it's been 10 minutes"
Collin:  "That was not right.  How about 2 more minutes?"
Mommy:  "We talked about this.  After 10 minutes, then it's time for a bath."
Collin:  "We need 2 more minutes first"
Mommy:  "We just spent the 2 minutes talking about it"  hehehehe....I knew that would go over REALLY well.

FINALLY in the bath, Collin announces "I want to play a little while before you bathe me".  I told him that he played in the playroom so we needed to take a bath and get ready to read books.  More than 15 minutes later, he is out of the tub drying off.  Then, there is brushing teeth.  He is better at wanting to brush his teeth but he is speedy about it now.  He used to take his time and get all of the teeth, front and back.  Now, it's a couple of swipes and "I don't need to brush my tongue today because I did not use it".  Oh really....

Now, we are in his bedroom and ready to read books.  "How about 3 books, 2 little ones and then the dinosaur book".  I know how this goes.  We read the 3 books and then I get to hear "Just one little one more".  Does he like the books?  Well...I am sure he does for the most part but he is also smart enough to know that this delays him going to bed.  I do like to read to him but, by now, it's been over an hour and a half of getting him to this point.  Plus, it's that time of year at work that I have to work for at least an hour or two after I get him to bed.  This means, I am not usually in bed before 11am.  Anyway....I do finally finish reading however many books we plan to read for the night.  I tuck him in bed, make sure his animals are around him that he wants for this week (he does change one or two of them out but Monkey is the primary animal still) and then I kiss him good night.  He asks "Are you going to sleep with me tonight?"  I have used every reason that I am not laying down with him right then because he needs to learn to sleep by himself and I cannot always lay next to him every night.  He used to cry about it and now he responds "I moved over to give you some room so you can lay next to me when you are finished with your computer".  Ugh!  How do I not come back and lay next to him after that?  Sometimes I do and then sometimes I don't.  I do love this time with him and know there will come a time that I am gross or that he does not want to be around me.

No Broken Bones! Yeah!!!

Glad we went to the orthopedic doctor and had a second X-ray.  We found out after 2 hours of being at the doctor that Collin did not have a broken bone in his foot. What he did have was likely an internal bruise and he was sure his foot did hurt. The doctor said that he should feel better in two weeks. What a relief!!!  His birthday party is Sunday, he has his birthday celebration at school Monday, starts Pre-K at a new school next Monday and soccer in about three weeks.  Then there is swimming, running and playing with friends.  Having a cast or even a boot would not be fun with all of that going on.

Sprain or a Brake?

Saturday morning, we rode bikes to what will be Collin's new school so he could see where his school is and know that he will ride bikes to school every day with Daddy.  He was interested in looking into the windows to see the classroom.  We then road our bikes to the park behind the school.  We all played on the equipment for a little while before Collin and I got on a round thing that Daddy pushed us on.  We were supposed to hang on as it went around.  Collin either did not hold on tight or let go because he fell off and landed on his left foot.  He cried out and told Daddy, "You hurt me".  We checked for blood and inspected his legs and feet.  Thinking that he was at least surprised from the fall and was probably hurt with a bruise, we got back on the bikes to go home and put and ice pack on his leg or where he hurt the most.  He pointed that the top of his foot hurt so he sat on the couch with the ice pack for at least 20 minutes.  Afterwards, he was feeling find and not complaining about his foot.

We left the house and went to the mall because it has been awhile and Mommy needed new work shoes.  The entire time we were there, Collin walked around and did not complain about his foot.  He was actually a great shoe shopper.  He found a shoe he really liked, picked it up and brought it over to me explaining why he liked it.  "I like this color, don't you Mommy?"  "This one has black stripes.  Try this one on".  I did try one or two on that he liked so that he could see them on me.  He does have great taste because he did end up picking out one of the most expenses shoes in the store.  We got hungry so we went to the Rainforest Cafe.  What a restaurant!  There were animated animals all over that came "alive" every 10 minutes.  The monkey and the lions were Collin's favorite.  When we were getting ready to leave, Collin could not walk to the bathroom with me.  I could not tell if his foot was swollen or not.  Thinking that it might be because we sat there for an hour, I picked him up to take him to the bathroom and then held him so he could use the potty.

When we got home, Collin rested on the couch.  He did not walk and crawled when he needed to.  His foot was swollen a little but not discolored at all.  Thinking he did have a sprain at this point, I lightly wrapped his foot with a bandage.  He liked that and asked why his heel and toes were not wrapped.  I explained that I thought these were not the hurt areas based on were he pointed.  Grandma H came to take him to her house so we could go out for a date.  She looked at his foot and thought he was OK. 

The next day, he did not walk on his foot until later in the day when he found out that his friend, Ella , and her family were coming over for a swim.  We thought it would also be good for him to get in the pool and get the pressure off his foot.  He swam great and was too cute playing in the water with Ella.  She was scared to go down the slide, so he got out of the water and showed her how it was done.  She copied him and LOVED doing down the slide.  They did this over and over again for at least 20 minutes.  The entire time, Collin got out of the pool and walked over to the slide.  We saw that and assumed his foot was better.  If it was sprained, he was feeling better enough to walk on it.  Oh good, what a relief. 

After swimming, I noticed that he did walk but kept his toes off the ground.  Daddy and I decided that he needed to go to the doctor the next day.  Good thing we did that.  Turns out that he had a fracture on the second metatarsal of his left foot.  It's barely noticeable on the Xray and not a large fracture.  However, the doctor does want us to see the bone doctor to see if he has a small enough boot for his foot or how else he might recommend to isolate the foot.  In the meantime, Collin cannot run on it and has to keep his shoes on all the time unless he is sleeping.  That is really hard for active an almost 5-year old that takes his shoes off as soon as he gets in the house...just like his Mommy. 

He did not favor his foot tonight and even sat on it while reading books.  However, when he walked, he did keep his toes up and off the ground.  I am relieved that he can walk and is not in pain based on what he said when I asked him questions about his foot.  I hope it continues that way and he does remain calm (HA!) until it's healed.  We will find out from the specialist if he is concerned about the growth of that bone.  His pediatrician was not too concerned but she did want a second opinion.

"It smells good"

Before Collin eats something, he likes to put the food under his nose to smell it.  He mainly does this with candy and snacks and not his main meal (good thing because that could get messy).  I am not sure why he does this but he does do this regularly.  I asked him a few times why he does it and he said "because it smells good".  Well, I agree but does he need to do it EVERY time he eats it? Yep!  I guess it's a good thing that his sniffer works huh?

Soccer Practice.....in the House!

Collin is signed up to play soccer starting in the Fall.  When he starts, we have to have shin guards and soccer socks.  Ms Kristen went ahead and bought some for him when she was buying some for Saige because she is registered too.  For whatever reason, last night, he decided he wanted to try on the shin guards and the socks.  I was fine with it because I wanted to make sure that they fit.

Of course, we just HAD to try out the shin guards to see how they worked.  He found the soccer ball and he and I started to play a soccer game in the dinning room.  I was impressed how Collin could take the ball away from me when I was dribbling.  He didn't dribble too bad himself either and knew already that he could not use his hands.  We played several games for about 20 minutes and both of us had a great time.  Here is just one of the videos I took.  The really good one is too long to get off the phone for some reason.  Darn!

"When's my birthday again?"

I can tell that Collin is getting excited about his birthday coming up on the 20th.  He has asked several times about his birthday, who has been invited and who has said they will be attending.  He mainly is interested in the following people being there:  Timmy, Saige, Linden, Alex, Ellie, Mommy, Daddy, Mimi and Grandma H.  Sorry if you did not make the list.  By the time he gets to the end of the list, he is ready for the next question.  If I divert him back to listing people, I am sure you will make it on there.  :)

Last night, we were looking at the calendar and he quickly noticed the stars, hearts and big box marked around Monday, August 20th.  He asked what that was for and I told him we did that several months ago so he would know when his birthday was coming up.  He then wanted me to point to what day it was on the calendar.  I pointed to Monday, the 6th and he started counting, "one, two, three....fourteen.  I have my birthday in fourteen days!"  It was time to read books and he picked out the Clifford birthday book and the mouse book where Toast, the mouse, is having a birthday.  Hmmmm.....I can guess why he picked these books out to read.  I was shocked that the dinosaur book was not selected at all. This one has been the top choice for at least the last several weeks.  Fortunately for me, there are over 200 pages in the book so I don't get bored with it as easily as some of his other favorite books.  Also, we pick 5 pages out of that book to thoroughly read so that way he does not look at every picture which he does want to do.

Before reading books last night, he said, "I have a great idea" and walked over to his bed.  He took off two pillows and laid them on the ground next to his bookshelf.  He then instructed me to lay down on one of the pillows (the inferior one was mine...thanks Collin) while he got "covers" out of the closet to cover us up.  I read both the birthday books to him and then he announced that he wanted to sleep where he was.  I knew that he would wake up later in the night and come into my room needing help finding Monkey but I let him sleep there thinking it would be fun for him.  I laid there for about 5 minutes and he feel asleep.  Later that night, I came in to check on him before I went to bed.  He had not moved at all.  It was too cute.  I could not get enough light in there to take a picture without waking him but wish I had one to share.  Yes, at about 11:30pm, he did wake up, came into my room and asked if I would sleep with him.  He was ready to get in his bed. 

Saturday = Museums, Dinosaurs, Butterflies and Lots of Questions

Collin, Grandma H and I went to two different museums today.  First, we went to the Natural Science museum thinking Collin would really enjoy the new Hall of Paleontology where all of the dinosaur and prehistoric creatures where.  This just opened a month or so ago so we had not seen it yet.  As soon as we finally found that part of the museum, he said "Where are the frogs?"  I told him that these were the dinosaurs and that we would see a T Rex.  "But where are the frogs?"  He said this over and over again as he tried to hurry through the exhibit.  I finally figured out that he thought we could see live frogs and snakes.  I told him this was the Science museum and that the frogs and snakes were at the zoo.  He did not like this answer and wanted to leave the exhibit.  Grandma H and I were enjoying looking at the fossils and walking around so we stayed as long as we could take Collin asking about the frogs.  The museum did such a fantastic job with the exhibit so I wanted to take some time to enjoy it.

Here Collin is looking at the map to help us find the next place we wanted to go to.

Next, we went to the special exhibit of Warriors, Tombs and Temples which was about the Terra Cotta Warriors unearthed and on display.  He was a little more interested in these.  There were some smaller terra cotta figurines and he announced, "Why are these guys naked?"  Awesome!  Gotta love when a kid asks this innocently in a quiet exhibit.  I explained that they once had clothes on but they are gone because these guys were so old.  We moved on.  At the next display, he said, "These guys are naked too Mommy!"  Ugh!  "Yes, they sure are Collin".  We moved over to the bench and he laid down on my lap waiting for Grandma H to go through the exhibit and enjoy it.

We had lunch and then went to the Butterfly Center.  I was not sure if Collin would like all of the butterflies flying around or not.  When we first went in, there were contained live insects.  He was a happy boy now because 1) he was looking at live things and 2) they were insects!  He really liked the spiders, frogs, and butterflies.  When he was ready, we entered the butterfly habitat.  The butterflies were flying everywhere and they were so beautiful.  Collin stuck close to me but was not too scared.  He walked fast when he saw some butterflies flying near him. He laughed really hard when one landed on Grandma H's hair.  We stayed in the habitat awhile identifying the butterflies based on the mat that we had with all of them listed.  When he saw other people with butterflies on their finger, he wanted to try to get one.  He stuck his finger out and patiently waited but no butterfly landed there. 

Blue Morpho butterfly.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Waterfall in the habitat

Mommy and Collin

We were leaving the habitat when I saw the large green iguana being carried outside by one of the museum personnel.  I called over to Collin to go outside and see him.  The iguana's handler explained that the iguana needed sunlight for his bones.  Collin stood far away at first to observe him and then did finally get brave enough to come closer and even very quickly pet the iguana. 

Collin at the bottom of the stairs thinking about petting the iguana

Yeah, he finally got the nerve to do it, touch him and then ran back down the stairs as quick as he could

As we were leaving to the next museum, Collin said that the butterflies and the iguana were his favorite part and he smiled really bid.  Boy, that made it worth it.

We then walked to the Holocaust museum because Grandma H wanted to see an artist's paintings that were on display there.  Of course on the way, Collin's legs hurt and he could not walk.  He wanted me to pick him up and carry him the 5 blocks it took to get to the museum in 97 degrees.  I guess I do really love him.  When we got there, he and I played with his new small dinosaurs and butterflies while Grandma H looked around.  He was quiet and really good while we were in there. I was really proud of him for that because we had already been out looking at the museums for over 3 hours by now. 

We walked back to the car, stopping only to get a drink for the ride home.  What a nice way to spend a hot, Saturday.  Now, TIME TO PUT THE FEET UP!!