Tuesdays with Daddy Oct 28th

We were WALKING!! All day we walked into every building I would hold his hands and he would walk with me. We walked into an elevator and then out the ride up was fun with Collin stabelizing himself by squatting down.

We went to Petsmart and he would yell at the birds and puppies but not at the fish. He just stared at them I wondered what he was thinking. We have toy fish in his bathtub but they look nothing like the fish at the store. So once again I am trying to look through his eyes and see what he sees with no success.

We went to lunch with our neighbor today and took naps like normal. At the end of the day before mom came home we sat and read a few books. Laura's friend at work tells her that she read somewhere that kids that crawl longer into life tend to be readers. This make sense for Collin becuase he likes looking through the books and enjoys reading time.

I think he is just smart and gifted. But then doesn't every Dad?

Where's the other sock?

For a few months now, I wondered why I could not find the match to several of Collin's socks. Yes, I did think that the dryer was "eating" the match like it did daddy's socks and did not think anything more of it. A few weeks ago, I think I figured out what happened to some of the socks. One night while getting Collin ready for bed and packing his bag for a day with Mimi the next day, Collin pulled out the bin of socks that are stored in the armoire in his room. He has been doing this for months. He likes to dump the socks out and then put them back in the bin one by one. If there is time, he dumps the bin back and puts the socks back in.

This night though was different. He took a pair of socks, crawled over to the Diaper Champ (where the dirty diapers are collected in a garbage bag before throwing them away outside) and then put the socks in the Diaper Champ. He did this a few more times before he took the handle and turned the lid over almost all the way. I was able to save the socks before they were combined with the dirty diapers. Mystery solved!!! My guess is that Collin had done this before and we did not notice when we put the dirty diaper in the lid of the Diaper Champ before turning it over. Oh well, the socks were getting too small anyway.

Cousin Timmy

Collin is a big cousin now. Little Timmy was born this morning a week early. He weighs 6 lbs 9 oz and is 18 1/2 inches long. The hospital let Collin in the room....we were surprised that they let us do this. We were even prepared to tag team watching Collin while we visited with the family. Timmy was so precious!!! He slept the entire two hours that we were there. Collin got close to him a few times and tried petting him like he does the cats. Daddy told him to be soft and he started to be more gentle. He was interested in Timmy's wrist band and wanted to take it off him. Timmy's mom distracted him by showing Collin the huge balloon in the room. It worked! He sat next cousin Dustin and played with the balloon. Someone dropped something on the floor and said "Uh Oh" and Collin copied and said "Uh Oh". He said it a few more times. I know he was just copying us but wonder if he knew why we said it. I guess we will have to wait and see the next time we drop something around him or he does.

Skinny Dipping?

Collin sure did have a great time at Addison's this afternoon. After playing with a few of her toys in the sun room, we all went outside to finish our snacks, enjoy the great weather and to play with the bubble machine. I think I was more excited about it than the kids. The kids could care less about the bubbles and were more interested in climbing in and out of the lawn chairs, trying to drink out of each other's sippy cup and eat each other's snacks...Collin more so than Addison.

Then it was pool time!!! Once Kristin took the lid off the pool, the kids were excited. Instead of putting a swim diaper on (why waist the energy?), we just stripped them. We could not undress them fast enough. They both raced to the pool and started splashing and splashing and splashing the water. We had to stand back or we would have been drenched. Addison was the first to crawl into the water. Collin stayed out to splash her and himself more. They were having a blast splashing and crawling in and out of the water. It was finally time for us to leave but Collin was not ready. I had to surprise him to grab him out of the water. He fussed but calmed down when he noticed the towel and began to wrap it around his waist. For whatever reason, he really likes to wrap blankets or towels around him. I am not sure where he got this from.

Pumpkin Patch....The Toddler Scene

After Saige's 1st birthday party/brunch and meeting daddy for lunch, Collin and I headed to a nearby church pumpkin patch. I dressed Collin in his Tigger costume (hey, at this age, he will let me so I am enjoying it while I can). There were a few other kids there in their costumes but none of them matched the pumpkins like Collin's did. When I first put him down, he was not sure what to think of the pumpkins so he crawled around them to check them out. He then stood over one of them and tried to bite the stem. After I few minutes, I then put him in one of the carts nearby and he like being up high.

I put him back down and he started to walk around the pumpkins. I figured out that he was headed to the lights so I scooped him up and put him back in the middle of some pumpkins. He looked over his shoulder and did his "Ohhh" sound. I looked the same direction and quickly figured out what he was looking at. He spotted blonde twin girls about his age. Oh, his daddy would have been proud! He started to crawl toward them and their mother noticed that Tigger was on a mission. He finally ended up in between both of them and started to check them out. He looked at one twin and then looked the direction of the other twin (I was laughing so hard I did not catch their names). He then spotted a pumpkin sewn one twin's shirt and he tried to pull it off. By then, their daddy noticed what was happening and said "Oh my, it's already started. I thought I had a few more years before they would get hit on".

They were really cute. Collin's got good taste. Don't worry Addison or Saige, you two are still number 1 to him. ;)

Walking Update

Mimi said that Collin took 17 steps in a row today while she was watching him. He is more interested in walking. Before, he would only try to take a few steps if we stood him up and then let go. Tonight, he crawled to the couch or ottoman, stood up, and then walked away towards daddy or I. The entire time he did this, he had a huge grin on his face because he was so proud of himself. During a few of the walking episodes, he even turned and went another direction. My guess is his will be walking regularly in a week if not by this weekend.

Hose Him Down!!

Last night, Collin was really messy with dinner. Instead of eating the spaghetti and meatballs, he decided he should paint the high chair tray and his chest with the sauce. I think thought I would teach him how to use his spoon. He has been watching us dip the spoon in the bowl and then feed him with the spoon. So, the last month, we have let him dip his own spoon in the bowl and then try to show him that the spoon then goes in his mouth. As you might guess, he does not have great aim when he even attempts to put the spoon in his mouth. Most of the time, the bounces the spoon up and down which makes a mess if the food is runny.

So, instead of trying to wipe him down and then give him a bath, I thought it would be fun to transfer him to the kitchen sink like old times. He is MUCH bigger than he was a year ago when I used to bathe him in the sink and he is more interested in the water, faucet and things around him. Here are a few pictures from the "shower".

What a Weekend!

After arriving at Grandma H's Friday morning, Collin received his first official hair cut from Grandma H. She has been wanting to do this for a few months now. At first, Collin sat still and was not too wiggly. Then, he wanted to see the scissors and to see what she was doing with them. He started to arch his back a little as he squirmed but she still managed to cut his hair. Daddy was watching and taking the pictures to make sure that she cut his hair in the style that he wanted. We left the back still long and cut the rest shorter to keep it out of his eyes. Daddy and I got ready to leave for the day. Grandma H kept Collin but not in the house. She had to get out to show him off to her coworkers and friends. She said he did really good but would not eat much. He had a bad cough when we arrived and he was possibly teething so I was not too surprised. That night, Daddy and I went out for his 20-year high school reunion. We started at the high school football game and then ended up at a local bar where the others where waiting. He had a good time reconnecting with a few people he had not seen in awhile. We left around 11pm because we knew we were getting up by 6:30am to drive back home.

The next day after driving home, I stayed home with Collin while Daddy went to work. Before he left though, we "walked" Collin so he could stretch his legs out after being in the car for over 4 hours. Earlier that week, I had Collin help me get the mail by pushing his truck to the mail box, I then loaded it with the mail and then he pushed it back to the house. He did not go directly back to our house. He had to stop by Ella's first but was too shy to knock on the door so he decided he wanted to play in her front yard first.

Later that afternoon, I dropped Collin off at Mimi's because Daddy and I had a date that night. His birthday was Friday night but we did not get to celebrate due to his reunion. Saturday night, we met with Stephanie and Tommy for dinner at Salt Grass Steakhouse before going to a comedy performance. We both needed the laughter since it had been a long weekend so far and we still had Sunday which was going to be a long day.

Here is a picture of Collin FINALLY taking a nap while waiting for Mimi.

The next morning was the big bike shop race. We left the house at 4:45am to set up for the race. We finally got back home after the race after2:30pm to take a nap before meeting Mimi to pick Collin back up. We then went to Saige's house for her daddy's birthday dinner. Saige must have worn herself out from excitement about Collin coming over because she was asleep by the time we got there around 7pm. Collin showed off his new skill of taking a few steps and standing on his own. He also had to show Saige's mom were her belly button was. I am glad I warned her that he might lift her shirt up only 5 minutes before he did it. He amused himself by walking along the couch to look at her belly button, laugh, and then walk along the couch back to me.

More of todays activities

Twisten the day away!!!!

Sliding down the Slide!!!

Crossing the bridge!!

Climbing up the slide!!

Another great Day with my son. Collin is so much fun right now, his smile lights up the day and I am just glad I am along for the ride. I am also glad that my wife Laura lets me be a dad and trust me with Collin. Collin is a very headstrong little boy that does not have much fear. I will cautiously enjoy his adventures and try to be part of them as much as possible.

Tuedays with Daddy Oct 14th

I plan to add more but here are a couple of Pictures from today so far. First is Collin asleep in the truck in the middle of a good cough. Collin has had a nasty cough for about a week now. As always with everything he does he is really cute when he coughs.

Collin and I spent some time over at Rick and Michelle's house today. Collin really likes going there because they have a Boxer Puppie that loves to play with Collin. You may remember him climbing in and out of the dog kennel. This is a picture of their new baby girl (3 month old) Audrey. Her mom seems to think that Audrey likes me because she says I am soft and warm , so I guess I am a muffin, great. I don't care she sure is cute and look how tiny she is? It sure is hard to believe Collin was that small at one point. Collin of course spent the whole time chasing or being chased by the dog. No need to worry about him he takes care of himself.

Although Collin did spend some time checking Audrey out. Really cute seeing him try to touch the baby's face or foot. I think he knows he needs to be soft and gentle but at some point his depth perception goes kaput. SO lots of fun.

Socializing in the Park

This morning, Collin and I met up with a few of his buddies at a park downtown. Melia, her parents, Isa, her parents, Wendy and Ethan were there. Matthew, Addison and Saige could not make it. While waiting for the others to arrive, I was blowing bubbles for Collin to chase and pop. He had a good time doing this until he decided it was time to push his stroller around. Fortunately, the front wheel was turned so he ended up walking around in circles. Once the others arrived, we moved to the lawn around the water area so the kids could crawl or walk around. Collin was hungry but only interested in eating what the others had. He ended up eating goldfish crackers, dried fruit, plums and spinach mixed with potatoes. Once the sun came out, we decided it was time to leave since it was also really humid out.

Tonight, Collin ate and then joined us at the table while we had dinner. He really liked sitting up high and watching us eat. We gave him so crackers which ended up on the floor. Once he got down, I was not fast enough to pick them all up. He found one of them and then crawled around with it in the kitchen, living room and then on the couch. Talk about leaving crumbs behind him!

While he food was settling and before going to bed, I sat on the floor with him to watch him play. He was more interested in crawling over me and blowing on my legs and arms to make fart noises and then laughing. Thanks dad for teaching him this. ;)

As he has done for the past several nights, while taking a bath, he stands at the faucet to turn the water on and off. He has been fascinated with this lately. Most of the time, he turns it on and then does not turn it off. I don't mind it while bathing him because it's easy for me to wash all of his parts instead of when he is sitting in the water.

Say no to crack

I had to laugh when I saw this sight a few weeks ago. We were over at a friend's house for a visit. Collin was a little fussy so daddy put him on his shoulders. I went to get the diaper bag, looked up at the back of daddy and started laughing really hard. It's nasty when I see this sight out in public and it's a stranger.....but I thought it was hilarious for some reason. I had to share.....

What about these clothes, mom?

Tonight, I was going through a box of clothes that we got from Collin's cousins several months ago. I had put them away because they were too big at the time we got them and out of season. I wanted to go through them soon so I knew what we had and see if anything would fit Collin now. I had just finished bathing him and he was hanging out with daddy on the couch when I brought the box out from his room. Collin immediately got excited, climbed down off the couch himself and crawled over to "help" me sort through the clothes. I found PJ tops and bottoms, pulled these out of the box and then set them aside to put in Collin's dresser. I guess he did not want them there because he put every piece of clothing back in the box. He then climbed into the box to start throwing the clothes back out. That is not the sorting that I had in mind. I let him do it because he was having a great time. I did manage to find some shorts, PJs and long pants than he can wear now and put these in his room when he was not looking.

Aunt Lisa's Baby Shower

This morning, Collin and I went to Lisa's baby shower. He was so excited about seeing his aunt, Mimi and all of the other people that were going to give him attention, that he did not take a nap either before we went or on the way. I knew he would be tired when we got there but he managed to get some energy from somewhere. He should have been hungry but he was distracted by Mimi and Lisa wanting to hold and play with him. Lisa had a pin on her shirt that would light up so Collin was fascinated with it until he saw the balloons behind her. He was "oooohhh ing" at them and trying to hit them with his had. It was present-opening time after we ate and had cake. Collin was right there to help Lisa with the gifts. He enjoyed tearing the wrapping paper up into little pieces. I don't think he put any of these in his mouth but maybe I did not catch him doing it.

Here is a picture of Grandma Filla, Mimi, Collin and Lisa at the tea house were the baby shower was held.

Here is a picture of the diaper cake I made for Lisa. Stephanie helped roll all of the diapers. I could not have done it without her! In the cake are Earth Best's baby bath products, baby shoes, rattle, teething ring, hand sanitizer and toy keys. Swaddling blankets are wrapped around the diapers.

Walking soon?

That's correct. Collin still prefers to crawl but maybe not for long. Sunday, Collin was concentrating on what he was holding in his hands and did not realize that he was standing on his own. Daddy and I were watching him and applauded him for standing. He realized what he was doing so he squatted down and then tried to stand back up again but fell to his knees. Last night and tonight, he took a few steps several times between the furniture or in the kitchen between his high chair and the bar stools. I stood him up next to the ottoman and encouraged him to walk to me. He took 3 + steps toward me and then fell into my arms. He had a huge grin on his face and acted proud of himself.

High School Reunion Weekend

Last night was a dinner/dance for my high school reunion (not telling what number this one was for me...hint, over 5). I had a great time connecting with people I had not seen in YEARS but seemed like it had only been days. It was funny to me that the cliques seem to still exist. Chris had a good time too since he did know a few people there. That helps....he did not have to be the lonely, bored spouse at an event that he knew no one. After dinner and visiting for a little, we ended the night dancing with old friends to music that was popular when we were in school (thought I would give the decade away huh?). That was a lot of fun since we have both not done that in awhile. Chris can really dance and I love to be on the dance floor with him.

Today was a picnic were the couples could bring their kids. We brought sandwiches....and Collin..... We continued to catch up with people that we talked to the night before. Collin and daddy enjoyed a walk, swinging and looking at the lake before Matthew and his parents and the Deal's arrived. Several people that we had reconnected with the night before were there too. It was fun to see their kids and for the kids to play with each other. Matthew and Collin are old buds already but they did meet some new friends.

We had a great day....but sure could use a nap right now. Collin was lucky enough to have one in the car on the way home.

Coming out of the closet....

When either daddy or I are getting dressed or in our bathroom getting ready, Collin loves to open and shut our mirrored closet door. Until recently, he would do this from the outside of the closet. He would either sit or stand near the closet, put his hand on the outside of the door to slide it closed or open. He then graduated to pulling it open or shut...and actually not shutting his little fingers against the wall. Yesterday morning, I was getting ready and heard the typical sound of him sliding the closet door open and shut. I did hear it shut and looked to see what his reaction was. You should have seen my reaction. Collin was not there. I could hear him though and walked over to open the closet door. This is what I found....

Stair Baby Olympics?

If there was stair climbing in the Baby Olympics, Collin would have a good chance of at least placing. As daddy has already mentioned in the blog, Collin climbs up and down the stairs like a pro. He is so funny we he first starts going down the stairs because he usually has to either "talk" about what he is about to do, maybe he is letting me know he will be back soon, or he sounds the Collin horn (him screaming/screeching) right before he goes down. He scopes out the steps, sees if they are clear and then turns around to head down the stairs. It's funny because most of the time, he will start backing up way before the stairs starts.

As promised, here are short clips of him going up and down the stairs. I did found out how hard it was to film, try to keep the camera steady while going up and down the stairs myself....and being ready for an emergency if it happened.

Anyone need a tissue?

Isn't Collin thoughtful? He found the Kleenex box on the floor the other day and climbed up on the couch. According to daddy, he started to pull out each Kleenex and then started pulling them out faster and faster as daddy got closer and closer to him.

Climbing the Stairs

No Pictures yet but Collin is getting really good at going up and down the stairs. Actually it is a lot of fun to watch him. When he is on the third floor he will run over the the stairs notice he is close to the edge and then turn around and back up. Laura is so funny as when he starts to back up she starts making the beep beep sound that you hear when large trucks go in reverse. Anyways he will lay down on his tummy and push himself backwards until his feet touch the first step down and then he repeats all of the way down.
Once he gets to the bottom He wants to go right back up. This is a great way to wear out a little boy full of energy just before bedtime, so we do not stop him.

More fun times to come.