Christmas day

We had a wonderful Christmas. Colin woke up super early (as usual) and couldn't understand for a while why he had to be quiet since he knew his aunts (sarah and mary) were home. My brother (Ensign Gouger now!) and Angela came over later in the afternoon as well as Grandma and Hoooowwwward (as Colin calls his great grandpa) And angela and James brought their dog AJ! Notice the picture on the right as Colin proudly waves his daddy's Redskin flags with sheer jubilee! His dad said he is always going to remind him where his loyalties lie! His Redskins look (hope) to be playoff bound after this weekend.



It was a day filled with fun and lots of presents. Colin got his train (wooo woooo) and now has to carry it around everywhere. Mary gave him a Thomas dvd so now we watch Thomas all the time. In fact, Colin dreamed of trains that night. He had a hard time sleeping - probably due to all the excitement of the day. But as we're rocking in the glider in his room, I hear him begin to talk in his sleep. At first I thought he had woken up since I had just gotten him back to sleep. But he begins to go - "wooo wooo" - and then "i don't know" followed by an "uh oh" (in the Thomas video a train goes off the track and Colin always goes uh oh) I wish I knew what he was dreaming! Colin also got this huge dump truck. He is really into trucks and the funny thing is that right after he opens the truck, he starts driving it all over the house, but had to first make a pit stop in the living room. There he opens his truck book Santa brought him, flips through it and then proceeds on his way. I guess he had to make sure he was driving the truck right!

Merry Christmas

candy!!!!

Notice a theme here? We learned for next year to put the gingerbread house together first before getting the candy and Colin together. That way next year he hopefully won't eat as much candy. But he LOVED it and our house is still standing (for the moment)

Santa

Last year Colin loved Santa (as you'll recall if you go back to our December archives). This year it was a different story. Probably because the Santa last year was the REAL Santa and this one was obviously Santa's helper. This one didn't even have a real beard! But Santa and Mrs. Clause were great and the elves played with Colin while we were in line. Colin had a great time until we were next. Then he started inching AWAY from Santa and Mrs. Clause and moved toward the exit. Luckily Mommy caught him and we were able to tell Mrs. Clause what he wanted (he went wooo wooooo which in Colin language means train) But then we got close to Santa and he didn't think much of him. Not even sitting on mommy's lap. But at the end he did blow Santa kisses. And we just got back from a walk around the block were there are several Santa's outside and he waved hi to them so I guess we didn't scar Colin with taking him to meet Santa.

outside christmas lights

This morning we woke up to a beautiful day - 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. (We are really loving being back in VA especially since our little boy loves to be outside all the time) Since it was so nice Colin and I went for a bike ride. And unfortunately we had to turn back around almost as soon as we started because of everyones outdoor decorations. At first Colin kept going UH-OH.... UH-OH since the lights weren't turned on but then we passed several houses where the blow up Santa's weren't blown up and looked like they had died. That greatly distressed Colin and he tried to climb off the bike and kept blowing kisses to the houses .Usually that is an indication that he wants to go home- but probably this time he wanted to give the Santa's some extra loving to try to fix him. For Colin, kisses fix most everything as he kisses his trucks when they fall and especially when he bumps any body part we have to kiss it several times. So we turned back around and thankfully we found a cat to play with on the way home and Colin forgot about the dead Santa's. We probably wont go on a bike ride until after all the Christmas decorations are put away.

uh - oh

Colin just loves our christmas trees. He walks in the room and goes "ooooo" when he see them and get really excited when the lights are turned on. He likes to look at all the ornaments and points them all out to us. He also loves the bubble lights my parents have on the trees. You can always hear him going Uh-OH all day and pointing to the lights because the lights aren't turned on. He doesn't understand why they aren't on all day. He then has to look the trees over and make sure every light is on and bubbling properly. Next year we'll have to get our own bubble lights (hopefully our house will have sold by then) He also likes to look at the stockings and really likes Aunt Angela's for some reason. Probably because there is glitter on it.

presents

Is this present for me?

Colin noticed this present under the tree and thought it would be fun to wear.

lawn mower

We have mentioned Colin's love for lawnmowers before but here is a glimpse into every day. As soon as he gets up in the morning he is usually asking to go outside and mow the lawn. He makes his lawnmower noise and also pretends to start the lawnmower. He takes his arm and pretends to pull the string 3 times. I'm not sure why its 3 times but he's very cute doing it. His new thing is to have mommy take the lawnmower, pretend to start the mower (this is a very important step in the game), and chase him around the yard. We're both ready for naps by the time its over.... well at least mommy is ready for one!

arts and crafts

Colin has been to a few different christmas kids events and has come home with some very fun crafts. His first was the christmas mouse that is proudly hung on the tree. (colin likes to take it down and show people) He then made the reindeer the other day and loved it so much he wanted to make another one. I love the position of rudolph's nose on the first one! He's our little picasso! Some of you might get one for Christmas.... a Colin original.

mama, dada, baby, baaaaa

Now that Christmas is near, Colin has found the nativity set very facinating. At first he had to learn what "gentle" meant as he promtly took off Joseph's head. (Joseph has been put back together with glue) But since then he has been gentle or at least tried his best. He loves to take the sheep and go "baaaaa baaaa baaaa." He also likes to take inventory of all the people and point to Mary and says 'mama', Baby Jesus is "baby" and Joseph is "dada." He isn't sure what to make of the shephard or the wise men but he does know they aren't Baby Jesus' dada. There are days I hear him saying "mama, dada, baby, baaaa" over and over.

On another note: he loves to answer most questions with "yeah" or "there"(which sounds like dare sometimes) depending on what you ask him.

gobble gobble

Gobble Gobble Gobble! Colin loves to tell you what a turkey says and even pointed to the turkey we were eating and said gobble gobble. I guess knowing what animal he is eating doesn't faze him yet. He loved the stuffing and especially liked the pumpkin pie. Usually when Colin and I share food he will eat a bite and then tell me to eat a bite - not so with the pie. It was all for him! We had a great thanksgiving and especially loved the 70 degree weather. We went to the farm and Colin had a great time jumping in the leaves (which his aunt sarah and aunt mary started) and he also loved raking the leaves. He is our little helper for sure. We cut down our christmas trees and since then Colin has been trying to take his toy chain saw and "cut down" our perfectly decorated christmas tree. He figured Grandpa cut them down, he can too.

We have a lot to be thankful for

18 months old

It is hard to believe Colin is already 18 months old. He is a very active boy and is constantly surprising us with all the new things he's doing. He says about 20 words - although his balloon sounds a lot like his please (but there is a difference what part he stresses depending on what he means). He also knows most animals sounds. He loves to set the table every night (bable as he calls it) and is surprisingly quite good at it. He also has started pretending things when he plays. He LOVES to make soup - everything goes in the pot (all his toys) and he stirs it and goes MMMMMM and then takes a pretend bite. He has also started making "soup" outside with the leaves and his shovels as utensils. His favorite game right now is to take his fire truck and make truck noises as he drives it around. Then uh oh (or ahhh hoooo as he says) the truck crashes and is broken so Colin comes to the rescue, kisses the truck, puts the truck right side up and then drives the truck around until it crashes again and the process is repeated. He has also become facinated with trains after I rented a Thomas the Train video from the library. There was one point in the video where the train is derailed and they have to go fix it, well it scared Colin and he screamed and cried so the train video went back to the library the next day. Only Colin keeps asking me where "Woooo Wooo went (as he pumps his arm up and down) and then tells me "I don't know". He loves animals and is always outside playing with the neighbors dogs. We also go on walks trying to find "cats. He walks with me going Meow meow meow and every once in a while we do find a cat. Which at that point Colin gets so excited he screams and scares the cat away. He also loves his santa clause pj's and doesnt like them to be washed or taken off. Christmas is going to be really fun this year!

caught red handed

The other day Colin and I were playing outside with his water table and Colin kept trying to put his feet in the water and stand up and splash the water . I had to run inside for a minute and told him not to put his feet in the water (I was afraid he would tip it over and hurt himself) Well, as this picture shows he doesn't listen too well and I took this picture through the window after he looked around to make sure I was gone.

our little astronaut

Today Colin went to the moon and was back home in time for his nap! We spent the morning at NASA and saw some really cool things. Colin loved the hanger and seeing all the airplanes and he even got to go inside one. Brent and I learned a lot and are hoping they have another open house in a few years when Colin is older and will sit through all the demonstrations. Who knows, maybe one day Colin will be able to go the moon for vacation. (Although thats what they told me when I was in elementary school and that hasn't happened yet)

Having fun with a fake turtle.

This morning we took Colin and his Aunt Mary to a pumpkin patch. Last year Colin wasn't too sure about the pumpkins and just wanted to eat them but this year he loved the "Balls" (we are working on getting him to say pumpkin) The best part for Colin was the hay ride. He loved the tractor pulling us and kept making grunting noises (his way of sounding like a tractor) He had a hard time picking out the perfect pumpkin but as you can see he picked out a beauty! Most of the pumpkins were too big for him to pick up (and he tried) but finally found one his size. Mary found a 24 lb pumpkin which incidently is exactly what Colin weighs (we went to the doctor monday and found he had gained 3 lbs and grew 3 inches over the summer.... can we say basketball scholarship??)

My brother, James, used to have a dinosaur tent that he slept in and we always played in it. Now 20 years later, Colin is enjoying the tent. We put it up one night while he was sleeping (in mary's room since she is now in college) The next morning while he was going into Mary's room to play with her stuffed animals you hear a gasp, squeal, and clapping as Colin found this amazing tent all set up. We have to play in it all the time. Colin climbs in, hugs and kisses every stuffed animal (as you can see his kisses could also be CPR) and makes each animal noise. If any animals are missing Colin goes and gets them and brings them to join the party. He and I took a nap in the tent Sunday and was so cute we just had to take a few pictures.

Colin loves to help Grandpa around the yard and is constantly asking him to cut the grass. Colin is facinated by lawn mowers and if he hears one in the neighborhood we have to go find it and usually end up standing across the street watching a neighbor cut their grass. Sometimes I wonder what they think as Colin usually claps for them when they are done. A standing ovation after cutting the grass is something I'm sure very few people recieve on a daily basis.

IKE IKE IKE

A few weeks ago we finally put Brents birthday present to use and attached a childs bike seat to our bike. Colin loved helping Brent put it all together and as you can see made sure it was attached right. I guess he wanted to make sure he wouldnt fall off the bike once we were on our way!

He wasn't sure of it at first but finally warmed up to it and we now take bike rides almost daily. You can always hear him going "oofff ooofff" trying to call the doggies in the neighborhood to join us. He gets really excited when we pass a dog or someone else on a bike. He's so cute in his "At" = helmet and makes sure everyone is wearing one.

phone calls

Colin was aparently taking a very important call when I interrupted him by taking a picture.

When asked who he was talking to Colin replied "mama."

The other day I smelled something and thought Colin was working on a diaper but after checking realized it must have just been gas. So I said to Colin "Colin do you have gas?" Colin got a really serious look on his face, looked at Brent and proudly yelled, "DADA!" I guess we can't blame Colin anymore. (By the way, Colin dressed himself this day)

Our little handyman

Anyone need any jobs done around the house?

Hokie Bird Part-ay!

It was a very eventful weekend in Blacksburg for us all. Especially Colin. We usually make our annual Virginia Tech football game, but this year was extra special. It was the Hokie Bird's birthday party!!! Colin was invited and given special priviledges that well.... hundreds of other kids were given as the line was about as long as a U2 concert! As much as he enjoyed the birthday party and seeing Hokie bird, his favorite part of the weekend was seeing all the bikes on campus.

IKE IKE...AAT AAT he would say. The first time he saw some bikes he got really excited and then as we turned the corner we heard this big gasp from Colin as there were MORE bikes! It didnt get much better than that! Now the first part makes sense, but the "AAT AAT" we have no idea. We knew what he was talking about and I guess that is all that matters. Okay, news flash.... Abigail just told me what AAT means. It actually stands for "HAT" which Colin is referring to a helmet which you are supposed to wear when riding a bike. His grandpa always wears a helmet when riding his bike and Colin loves to put it on. Now it all makes sense!!!! What a smart boy!

Colin loved watching the game and got really serious when the opening "enter sandman" song came on that he usually listens to on the house computer. But at home he jumps up and down to the song - we think he was overwhelmed by all the people. The whole game (other than when he was sleeping - he slept for most of the first half) He would yell, "ball...ball" and point to the players and football as the action moved on the field. He would cheer and clap along with the crowd. He even did the Hokie Pokie with his aunt angela and aunt sarah.