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.

Time for some ACTION!

Well, whether Colin knows it or not, he is falling in love with his dad's favorite sports already! I'm sure I have nothing to do with it... although I am already counting on a scholarship of some kind! One of his favorite things to do is to watch football on tv, point to the screen and yell "ball!" It would be unfair of me to be a blogger and not mention the fact that REDSKINS season has begun. I love the fact that his Santana Moss jersey from last year still fits too. I taught him to clap right along with me as the Redskins would score and of course they eventually WON!!!!!

Colin also loves his basketball. He has watched his dad play a bunch of times, and recently at the school across the street he has begun practicing dunking. I'm teaching him to hang on the rim, let his tongue hang out, let one hand go, and just hang there on one arm! He loves it.. well his dad really loves it! I think he dunked about 15 times today..... all with a little bit of help.

cookie making

Sometimes the good things in life don't come as fast as we want them to.

Here is a typical Colin expression. He is growing up so fast and looks like such a big boy in this picture.

our little climber

A few weeks ago I bought a little tykes climber off craigs list and Brent picked it up after work. Colin couldnt wait for us to put it together and started climbing on it right from the start. Its so cute to see him run out to it first thing and start playing on it. He loves to climb up the slide and also slide down backwards (we're going to have to teach him the correct playground safety rules one day) Colin also likes to pick the peppers from grandpa's garden and then run over to his playground, crawl under it and eat his veggies!

our beautiful family

A rare picture with all three of us looking right at the camera. And Colin is even smiling a little!

chocolate and trash cans

Colin's Aunt Mary has been getting ready to go off to college which means Colin has gotten to play with some pretty cool stuff. Mary has been storing her things in the living room as they are bought/packed up. His favorite thing to play with was her trash can. At first it was great to throw his toys in but then he figured if toys had that much fun it in - why not try it himself. The good thing about having all mary's things in the living room is that they are blocking Colin from the candy dish that grandma and grandpa keep stocked just for Colin. Luckily he hasn't figured out how to climb the mountain of things to get to the chocolate.

beach bum

A few weeks ago I took Colin to the beach and then met Brent and our friend Mike for dinner. Colin loved the sand and when I wasn't looking he kept trying to get his sandy hand in my mouth. Sand is not so fun and is sticky and gross when you eat it. Colin loved watching the kids dig for crabs and would go up to them and try to take their toys when they weren't looking. (we have since bought Colin his own set of sand toys) Colin's favorite part of the day was the little spout on the boardwalk where you wash your feet off. He loved playing in the water and thought it was great watching everyone get sand off them. Afterwards we were sitting on a bench watching the people walk by when a policeman on a bike stopped by. Colin was eating his goldfish crackers and immediately put the bag behind his back (I guess so the policeman wouldnt take them) but the policeman asked if Colin was hiding dope in his diaper! I wasn't sure if that was a joke or not but I don't think we look like the kind of people who would do that. And really who jokes about that? I thought Va beach was a family friendly place. At least he didn't look in Colin's diaper and Colin didnt have to share his goldfish!

Mommy May I?

So Colin has become attached to the neighbors dogs. They have two Shih Tzu's who have recently become parents. All the puppies have been sold but 2 and they are SO CUTE! We have come to love these puppies and they also love Colin. Colin visits them at least 12 times a day. The minute we go outside he's over to see the dogs. He goes over to the fence and tries to grab them. At first it was poking out their eyes (which we had to stop), but then it was petting them and hoping they would lick his hands! He now sticks his feet between the fence so they can tickle his toes. Once they start licking him, he laughs and laughs. And of course goes back for more! The whole doggie family comes running when they see Colin and he has fun running back and forth and seeing them follow him. On Sunday we walked outside and to Colin's delight the puppies had gotten out! He had fun running around with them until we put the dogs back in their yard. It was so cute seeing them jump up to kiss him. And then to Colins joy he discovered the hole where they were escaping through so he would go and stand in front of the hole, slap his hands to his stomach and they would come out and play. Unfortunately we told the owners and they quickly fixed the hole. But Colin still goes over there and tries to get them to come out and cries when they dont. Petting them through the fence isnt as good as having them jump all over them. Every day we talk about buying one of them, but then realize how much they cost. Pure bred these puppies are expensive. I'm hoping the owners give one to us since we've rescued them from the dangers of cars several times! We hope to get a dog one day soon though. If you would like to contribute to Colins doggie fund he would be eternally grateful.

Fierce Face

You know the saying "When you have kids I hope you get one just like you".... well Colin is turning into his mother already. Colin and I make the same "fierce" face as my parents call it. Colin makes this face all the time now - only he's not so fierce when he does it. He's down right adorable! Lets hope he picks up all the other great qualities of his mother.

So smart!

Colin can play Connect Four and loves it! Now the rules are a little different since he is only 13 months old but that hand eye coordination is amazing!

A few weeks ago we decided to take Colin to the local swimming pool. He has loved his swimming class and we thought he would enjoy this pool just as much. As you can see in the picture they have a kids mini water park too. And that was the problem. We didnt think that in Colin's swim class there were only babies who were held and maybe splashed a little bit here and there. Plus the water was heated and it was generally calm and quiet with music playing in the background. Flash forward to the public pool where its noisy and kids are running and splashing everywhere. Plus this kids area has all these sprinkler type things where water is going everywhere. A little scary for our little boy.

We met some friends at the pool who have a 10 month old and their baby was swimming around and loved it. Colin clung to us for dear life in the beginning and eventually warmed up to it. Until we put him down the slide and since then we can't get him to take a bath. We made progress a few nights ago when he sat down in the bath for a few minutes. Hopefully our next trip to the pool will be less scary and he'll enjoy it.

Ball

Besides saying mama, dada, and dog Colin has learned a new word - BALL. We were walking in the store the other day and passed the bin with all the bouncy balls and he pointed and clearly said ball. He was so proud of himself I had to buy him one and he told everyone in the store that it was a "ball." He LOVES balls and likes to pick one up out of the bin outside, take a few steps and throw it off the deck. Then he goes back and gets another ball and continues until all the balls are in the yard. Its funny because some of the balls are as big as he is! Today he was making unusual noises in his crib as he was suppossedly taking a nap and when I peaked in on him he was straining to get a little ball that was on his bookshelf. He kept repeating ball as he tried to make his arm longer. Apparently the grunting was suppossed to make him able to reach it. I couldn't resist and went in and gave him the ball. He is now napping with one of his balls.