A few days ago Colin and I were at the playground and he sat on the steps and wanted me to run through the playground and then go down the slide. I guess Momma makes a funny picture trying to slide down a slide meant for little kids. But I told him we had to go home in a few minutes and he told me "one more" while holding up 1 finger. I think I tell him that a lot because now he tells me "one more" if we are at the playground so he can go down the slide again, or "one more" cookie (his favorite), "one more" if he is throwing rocks in the river, "one more" drink or he uses it pretty much for everything. and he's so cute doing it I usually give in (except for the cookie part) and let him tell me one more a few times until we're done. I have to say "last one" now so he knows we're going home or doing something different. So anyways I said Ok and went down the slide one more time. Well, as I'm halfway down the slide I see him take off running in the opposite direction looking back at me and laughing all the way! And he's fast. He had it planned the whole time. I guess he figured it gave him a few more minutes at the playground. I caught up with him and he was still laughing at his "trick" the whole walk home.

Today we went on a walk to find trucks. Colin LOVES his trucks and gets so excited when he sees one in real life that we follow the garbage truck around every Thursday. We have to wait for him to come around and then we follow it around the block. But they are paving a road a few streets over and we have been going to check on the progress almost every day. Whatever they are doing it seems to take at least 20 trucks and at least 8 or 9 different types. We watched them for an hour today until Momma got hot :) Colin could've watched them all day. But there were some trucks parked on the side and Colin started yelling "man"... "Man"... "MAN!!!!" (louder each time) and tried to get the attention of the construction workers (which he calls man) and then very expressively pointed the the unused trucks. Most of the workers just waved back - not knowing what he was trying to get them to do. Which made Colin just try harder. It was really funny - a little embarrassing for me and frustrating for Colin since they didn't listen but toward the end one of the trucks were used so Colin was happy.

family vacation

We just got back from our first family vacation in years. The last time we all went on one I think mary was 4 or 5! We all met this past weekend for a long holiday weekend in the Shenandoah mountains. It was a beautiful weekend - the weather was perfect and sunny each day. The house we were staying at was very unique. It was called the historic round house and had so many stairs! I'll have to put a picture up later to show you. Colin loved all the stairs and was very independent on wanting to climb them himself. There was a stream near our cabin and once Colin discovered the joy of throwing boulder sized rocks into the stream he was out there every chance he could get. Colin loved all the attention and had so much fun each day. Mary taught him to burp on command and James taught him to make bodily function noises with his hands! Colin is so proud of himself but he does say excuse me after doing it - "eme me" He didn't nap for a few days and I was really worried especially the day we went on an all day hiking trip. He did wonderful. It amazing since when Brent and I take Colin for short little hikes at the park and he gets tired and wants out its hard to contain him in the pack and I was really worried he would want out when we're halfway to the waterfall or the peak -and then really what do you do with a screaming toddler when you're halfway up a mountain? But he was great. Brent and I went ahead and just got to the waterfall (Dark Hollow Falls) as fast as we could so he wouldn't get bored and the rest of the family met us down there. Colin loved putting his feet into the ice cold water and throwing rocks. I think we changed his clothes 3 times on that hike since he would get wet each time we stopped to play in the water on the way back up to the car. And then the family decided to do another short hike and Colin did that one too. (this all after only sleeping 6 hours the night before and getting a 20 minute nap in the car) That hike Colin walked up mostly by himself but did fall asleep in the pack on the way down. I was sure he wouldn't make it up but he did. He slept most of the way home Monday in the car and yesterday around 11 am he sat in his chair and fell asleep almost instantly and slept most of the afternoon.

We had a great time and are already looking forward to next years family vacation.... maybe this time we'll make matching tshirts.

Playing with water guns - Colin got really good towards the end

Throwing rocks with Grandpa Getting ready to hike Dark Hollow Falls

Telling Uncle Opie how to play putt-putt

Playing in the water on the hike The family
With aunt sarah at the top of the mountain

its finally over!

Well much to my surprise we actually closed on our house today! And in the words of Colin, YEA WOOO HOOOO! So now we can really get serious about looking for a home down here.

And one of the most ridiculous things we had to do so the couple buying our home could get their FHA loan was to take the garage doors off our garage so it could be turned into a car port! Which its still a garage but at least it passed their requirements. Makes me wonder on who gets paid to make these rules. I'm glad they bought our house and glad they could get a loan but wish they hadn't gotten and FHA loan. Good thing they don't do FHA loans down here. There was a whole long list of stuff like that which made no sense and made me pray that the couple wouldn't back out since we could have a hard time selling it to someone else after all the FHA requirements. But they didn't and its now their house and they are currently moving in and probably repainting our walls going "i can't believe they actually painted this room that color!" haha I'm so glad its over.

Tomorrow... tomorrow... I'll love you tomorrow....

Just a little update on our house. We still haven't closed. It keeps being pushed back. First it was Wednesday, then Friday, then this past Monday, then Tuesday and now Thursday at 11:00. So this is the first time we've had an actual time but I'm not holding my breath or banking on tomorrow. And every time it gets pushed back it seems like it costs us more money. So here's to hoping our house will close tomorrow.

Colin-isms

This weekend we made eee-aha's with a-ha-ha-ha (or cookies with chocolate) Colin is talking more and more and developing a big vocabulary but he also has come up with his own language for some things. And there are moments that are very frustrating for both of us since he tries to tell me something and I don't know what he was saying. But for the most part I can figure out his new language. He can say orange but eee-ah is cookie. Go figure. He has also started singing songs. Yesterday in the store he broke out with a pretty good version of head/shoulders/knees and toes. And his new favorite song is from book that plays Oh Little town of Bethlehem and he sings along. You can pick up the melody but not much else. But I'm sure by Christmas he'll be ready for caroling! But his secret language is really cute and here are some of my favorite Colin words.

eee-ah = cookies
a-ha-ha-ha = chocolate or sometimes candy
ba = stairs (if your upstairs it means he wants to go downstairs but if you're downstairs he wants to go back up stairs)
ba-ba = pacifier
heh-heh-heh = his blankie (not to be confused with the above chocolate)
eee-at or sometimes ah-eet = cereal (also not to be confused with cookies)
oh-woh-woah = peanut butter (this came from a song about peanut butter)

There are more but these are the ones I can remember at the moment. I'll post more as he says them throughout the day. Its become part of my language too now so they don't stand out as much since I know exactly what he is saying.

Happy Birthday Colin

Today my baby turns two (or dooo as Colin says) So hard to believe. Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with Aunt Mary (nana), Uncle Opie, Aunt Angela, Grandma, Grandpa, Rod, Debbie, AJ and Colin's mom and dad of course. We wrapped his presents while he was napping since some of them were big (a bike and a new lawnmower) and put them on the fireplace hearth since we didnt know where else to put them. Colin woke up, went downstairs, and I had forgotten about the presents by this time, but he squealed, jumped up and down and ran to open them. We told him he had to wait so he helped Brent make homemade spaghetti (Colin's favorite - pasta) It wasn't until I was in the dinning room putting up streamers, Brent was checking something on the computer and the family room was unguarded that Colin made his move. I heard paper ripping and Colin's YEA WOO HOOO that he does when he gets excited. He had opened one of his presents and it was so cute how excited he was that I grabbed the video camera to capture some of it. Colin had fun when everyone got here and ran around after AJ and entertained everyone. After dinner we opened presents only it was dark by this time and the poor boy was so excited about his bike and lawnmower that he got really upset when we wouldn't let him go outside to use them. He even opened up some rubber ducks and ran to the door to go put outside in his water table and was denied that one too! poor boy. AND then he opened up a soccer ball and was so excited he threw it - only for us to find out it was a ceramic bank. Super cute but not what Colin expected. But today he has been using all his toys and has had a great time.

But its amazing how fast two years can go. It seems like just yesterday he was born. Colin is such a blessing to us and brings us so much Joy. We have no idea what the future holds and know that in what will seem like a blink of an eye he will be all grown up. So for now we are trying to enjoy every day and every moment.

strawberry picking

Saturday we took Colin strawberry picking with his Aunt Angela and Uncle Opie (or as Colin call his Peee-ta-peee) It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed getting to know a little more of va beach and where we might potentially live. Angela showed us neighborhoods that are good to live in and James took us around to some houses that were for sell near their house. Too bad they are moving to CA probably when we move to the beach! But it was a great day and perfect for strawberry picking. Colin got out of the car, ran to the strawberries, picked a few and then told me he wanted to go "home - AJ" (back to James and Angela's house to play with their dog AJ - and also Angela's dad was getting the pool ready and had some great tools. Colin was all about helping) But the rest of us weren't ready yet and Colin eventually made it back to the patch for some more strawberries. He was more excited about the old rust lawnmower we passed walking back from the berry patch. Brent had to take his time and pick only perfect ones and while it took a while I must say it was worth it.Nothing compares to fresh strawberries.

it gets worse

It gets worse.... Carol went over to our house to shut off the breaker so they could turn the electricity back on and since the electricity was turned off the sump pump didn't work so there is now 2 inches of water in the corner of our basement. Our basement has NEVER flooded - well it did once from sewer backed up from the street because tree roots had grown through the pipes - gross but the city came and fixed that for us. I was pregnant and didn't have a bathroom for a few days. Very interesting and another story for another blog. But then there are some tresses (I guess you could call them that) on the exterior of our home that need to be painted before they pass inspection. This house was built in 1924 and these are mainly decorative tresses and we've always wanted to paint them but never had a ladder big enough and since there are only 2 in the back of the house we never bothered. But some company is coming out tomorrow to paint them and we're not sure who pays for that one. Its just paint - why should that matter for the loan to go through? And why wasn't all this brought up a month ago???? I'm almost afraid to answer the phone anymore. And why did all this have to wait until AFTER the supposed closing date. We're just praying nothing else goes wrong.

Today we were supposed to close on our house. But note I said supposed. We had moved out, filled out our end of the paper work, everything was set and seemed to be in order and then we got a call from Carol yesterday. She said that the closing wouldn't happen today since the couple buying our house had applied for an FHA loan and for some reason those loans can't be processed as fast and that we had to wait. Which someone should've noticed that before. If FHA loans take so long then you shouldn't try to close in 30 days like they wanted. It was fine for us - the sooner the better but apparently they were a little hasty. So today I got a call from Carol saying that we had to get all our utilities turned back on (we had turned them off since we were supposed to close today) for the loan company to test all the appliances and make sure the electrical work we had done was done right. The appliances had to be checked during the home inspection but I guess the loan company or whoever is holding up this closing wants to make sure it all worked. So they are worrying about giving thousands of dollars in a loan for a$50 microwave! It doesn't make sense. Especially since the electrical work had to be done by a certified electrician and we had to send them a copy of the bill and name and phone number of the company who completed the repairs. So I am now on hold with the power company (and the kind operator just said there are 52 people ahead of me) so they can get in and check all these things so the couple can get their loan and we can close. OH and guess who gets to pay all the start up fees for them to do this! thats right us. All for one day of being turned on. AHHHHH so frustrating. You would think someone would've noticed all this BEFORE today. So hopefully it all gets straighed out soon. And a side note - we LOVE Carol. We met with a Realtor this weekend and while she was nice we really love Carol and wish she could come down here and help us find a house.

how fast they grow

I took some of these pictures today and realized they were a lot like some pictures I took almost exactly a year ago. He really is so cute in his overalls! Colin still loves plants and watering his flowers! Some things never change... only our little baby is no longer a baby and is a little boy!


A year ago (Colin was almost 1)




These pictures were taken this morning

lawnmowers

Colin's love for lawnmowers has continued and he is very excited it is now time to cut the grass. And to make for a wonderful Friday - today when my dad gets home he will cut the grass. He told Colin last night and all day Colin keeps talking about when grandpa will cut the grass. He is ready! Here are some cute pictures from last week.

Country Roads... take me home

Well we are finally out of WV! It was a long weekend but we are finally done... for now at least. Colin, Brent and I left Friday afternoon after Colin's gymnastics class - (there are more boys than girls in it - its mainly a gym class for his age, but for those of you who are horrified I put my son in a gymnastics class... he LOVED it and it tired him out for the trip) Colin fell asleep in the car and slept until we got to DC and hit traffic -for some reason once the car slows down or stops he always wakes up. He was so good though and after playing some games, reading stories, and coloring we turned on the DVD player (bought just for this trip) and we all enjoyed the trip much more! We got to our house around 7:30 and Colin had fun exploring this new place. He was so funny since we left his old crib in his room (he broke it from jumping up and down so much on it) and bought him a new one when we moved last year - but the crib was for a "BABY" as he is now in a toddler bed. And he wouldn't go near the crib - that was for a "baby." The pack-n-play was his new playground as he liked to climb in and out of it. We had a lot of help moving all of our stuff out and had fun visiting with some friends as well. It was fun to see them after a year and also for them to play with Colin. He loved the boys who came over - although Adam Z did teach him to pick his nose! The guys were great and a huge help. We couldn't have done it without them. All but one of Brent's old bible study guys were there helping. Colin loved helping anyone fix things and took all of Brent's tools out of the toolbox and lined them up to use. He also liked running up and down the ramp for the truck. Brent drove the truck back Sunday and I had to stay until Monday to close our bank accounts and also wait for the gas meter man to come shut off the gas. And since I couldn't convince my friend Beth to come from KY to stay with Colin and I in an empty house - who could blame her - we stayed in a hotel and had fun playing in the pool.... or rather just splashing our legs in the water (Colin didn't want to go in the water - just sit on the side) We had some friends come visit us in the hotel and Colin had fun entertaining them with his somersaults and even made them march around. Colin was a perfect angel though and I was so proud of him. He never complained even when we were so busy cleaning and packing the house as he didn't really get play time in. He also didn't complain about the long car trip. He and I came home in the rain Monday and the only video he wanted to watch was his Bob the Builder video. I think he needs a new one for his birthday - or at least mommy needs a new one! We will miss our friends dearly but are very excited about finding our new home.
Marching and doing somersaults in the hotel for jess, michelle, christina and karen

I love Rachel

Making soup - we had to pack our spoons when he was asleep as he kept getting them out to feed everyone

Helping Matt Kim take apart the bed

With Victor

With Destiny or Des-deee as Colin called her. (we got ice cream with Destiny and Colin was VERY sad to see her go... especially since she took some ice cream home with her!)

could it really be true???

After 11 months on the market I think our house has finally sold! We have had a steady flow of people looking at our house all year and had our hopes crushed almost monthly it seemed as people loved our house but for various reasons didn't buy it. We love our realtor and have gotten to know her even better this year and I will miss her weekly, sometimes daily phone calls. We had a contract on the house in October but once the home inspection was done the couple backed out. The inspectors report would've scared me! Our Realtor had never heard of the company and we've been worried about the state of our roof ever since. But we finally got another offer a few weeks ago and after countering and more counter offers we accepted their offer only to worry about the home inspection. But the inspection was last Friday and not only did the home inspection go great, but the wife's father (who is a contractor) went along too and didn't find anything to scare them away. They said the house was in great shape. So we've worried for nothing the past few weeks. We will get a copy of the report today but we are planning on moving out next weekend as the closing is April 30th. We are going to put our stuff in storage down in VA beach and then take our time looking for the perfect home. We loved our first home but are very excited about what our new home will look like.

ewwwww

This morning Colin was lying on the floor going "ewww" which usually means he has spotted a bug (or lately it could mean a piece of fuzz, dirt, leaf, etc) but Brent hadn't left for work yet so when he walked in the room I told Colin to show dada the bug since I don't like bugs either and Colin pointed to his mouth! Brent asked him if he ate the bug and he said yes and went yummmm. I really do hope he didn't eat the bug but we will never know for sure but whatever Colin ate it was yummy!

Fun with bubbles

kitty

Colin loves kitty. We give kitty kisses, play with kitty, feed kitty, talk to kitty, read books to kitty. (when we read books sometimes colin makes kitty's head move to tell me if yes he wants that book or no choose another one... I think Colin's preferences sway kitty's true feelings sometimes. haha) This cat is slowly becoming Colin's favorite stuffed animal. And the funny thing is its one of Mary's old stuffed animals he found - not one of his new ones people have given him. This is a well loved cat.

Monument Aveunue 10K

(Just before the race)

A few months ago, Sarah talked me into running the Monument Avenue 10k. I used to run 6 miles every day but that was many years ago... and definitely not since I had Colin. It seemed like a great idea at the time and a fun motivation to get into shape for running 6.2 miles. Well April 5th was here before I knew it or was ready for it. I had been running more and thought I was doing good but then I took my car to clock how far I had been running and it was only 2 miles instead of the 4 that I thought I had been running! My friend Tifiny went running with me while she was in town and really encouraged me saying the first 2 miles were the worst - and they were - but that there comes a point where your body gets in it and you can keep going.So leading up to yesterday I just kept telling myself that. So along with 30,000 people Sarah, Mary, Sam and I ran our first 10K. We were able to all run together - or at least start out together Mary took off shortly after we started and we didn't see her until the end. Its a really pretty run down monument avenue and there must have been 25 bands set up along the course playing for us as well as tons of people cheering. It started to downpour after we started but once we were running I really didn't notice the rain. The only hard part was my socks got soaked from the rain and I now have the blisters to remind me of the race. It was amazing seeing 30,000 people running and you just saw a wall of people when you looked ahead of you but I was surprised how well organized this event was. It took me about an hour to finish - as soon as the official times are up I will know for sure but I at least beat Sarah :) I sprinted in right before her! Here we are at the end of the race. The sun did come out - when we were walking to our cars! ha - but it was fun and now I'm looking forward to the next race I run in.

our little climber

Its a good thing Colin is signed up for a toddler gym class in a few weeks because he is a climbing machine. He loves to climb on things/over things and especially stairs. He has also mastered some of the hard climbing things on the playground - much to his mom's anxiety each time. The other morning I went upstairs really fast to get Colin's shirt to change into and this is what I found. I quickly grabbed the camera and was amazed at his abilities. (don't worry I was standing there with him) There is a climbing thing on the playground that has stair steps going up and then a bar at the top to hold onto. And it does resemble the way Colin is climbing the stairs in the picture. He's going to love his gym class where he'll be told to climb on things and mommy won't have to worry about him getting hurt. Although I do worry about what he'll do when he gets home. If he thinks the stairs are like the playground climbing thing(I don't know the official name) imagine what he will do when he gets home from his gym class.


For those who wondered what happened with Colin climbing out of the crib - we converted the crib into a toddler bed and he loves it. We kept his bumpers as he likes to snuggle up to them and put in a little bed railing. It doesn't keep him from climbing out as you can hear him knocking on his door when he wakes up. (and saying COME IN in a really cute voice.... so cute) But at least thats one less worry I have about him falling when trying to climb out of his crib. Here he is asleep. He was too cute not to take a picture.