It seems everyday Collin does something new that I have never seen before. It is amazing how quickly he changes. It seems like just in the 8 hours I am at work he learns something new. We spent a few hours together the other day before I left for work and in that short time I saw so many new things! It just makes me think about all of the stuff I miss while I am at work-NOT THAT I WANT TO QUIT MY JOB!! I just like to appreciate the time we have together and make the most of it. It's fun to hear Wyatt and my mom and dad tell me what they have seen him do throughout the day too. I just hope that he takes his first steps at home when I get to see it!!
His speech is getting slightly recognizable. There is still a lot of babble but he is starting to say thank you, Bosley, Peyton, and Brylie. The other day he tipped over the trash can. I picked up the trash and took the bag outside and when I came back in he was inside the trash can! He is climbing inside the cabinets and shutting the doors in the rooms. Getting out is the problem. I foresee a future of chasing the "path of destruction" trying to save what I can and keep him out of the hospital as much as possible. He is going to keep us on our toes that is for sure!I'm not complaining-it will keep us young and on the move!
I am trying to figure out how to get video clips on the blog. I bought a FLIP video camera and it is the best! It fits in my purse so I can take it everywhere. I have tons of video so I guess I should start sharing some of it. I probably need to learn to edit first because my videos usually end up being 5 minutes of waiting for him to repeat the cute thing he did before I pulled out the video camera. I'll work on that!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
What's new
Today we had our first "Baby and Me" swimming lesson. It is a class designed for babies 6 mos to 3 years to get them acquainted with the water. I figured since Collin loves the bathtub and sticking his face in the dog's water dish that the pool would be no problem. I was wrong.
I think the combination of the loud sounds from the indoor pool, lots of new faces and cold water didn't help us start off very well. They say that the pool is 82 degrees but it sure doesn't feel like it. The poor kid was freezing! The class is 30 minutes and for at least half of that he had a death grip on my neck. I didn't want to traumatize him but we just kept trying and eventually he relaxed. By the time the class was over he was laughing and clapping and back to his usual happy self. Hopefully it will get better each week.
The instructor advised us to get a polyester "Under Armor" type shirt for him to wear in the pool so it will keep the heat in. Unfortunately, he is still wearing his 3-6 month swimming trunks so I think a tiny polyester shirt may be difficult to find. So, now I am on a mission to find a shirt or a baby body suit so he doesn't freeze to death.
Collin continues to ravage the dog food bowl. I am at a loss as how to keep him out of it! I try to put it up but it never fails that I forget to put it back down when I leave and the poor dog is starving and thirsty. Poor Bosley is just going to have to learn to eat on a schedule and then his food will go bye-bye. But then what do we do about the water dish??? What kind of a parent am I that I can't make my kid stop playing in the dog food?
Collin is not walking yet but he does crawl around with one leg all the way out to the side so that he is almost standing up as he crawls. It is pretty funny. He loves dancing to all of his musical toys and any other music he hears. He babbles almost non stop. Usually he is very loud!
Collin has a couple of little plastic bats that he likes to carry (while crawling) around. He has learned that it is fun to bang them on things like the windows!! I'm just waiting to see what he will hit next.
I'm not sure if I have posted a list of careers that I think Collin will pursue. If I did sorry. Here it goes. I base this solely on his current behaivor and I'm sure the list will change often!
1. Hairdresser-he loves to "fix" my hair.
2. Dentist-He loves to get his hands in your mouth and poke around.
3. Makeup Artist-He loves to watch me put on makeup and he tries to grab everything I have in my hand. He will take the big powder brush and brush it on his face just like Mommy!
4. Baseball Player-self explanetory
5. Talk Show Host- He always has something to say and he's so stinking cute!!
6. Librarian-His books are his favorite toys-He LOVES them.
7. Anything that has to do with DOG FOOD
We are very excited that the weather is finally improving. We bought a bike trailer and I bought a new bike and baby bike seat. We have used the trailer and Collin LOVES it! The bike seat just arrived so I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. The other day Wyatt rode his bike with Collin in the trailer and I roller bladed beside them. Collin looked so perplexed by how I was right beside him rolling along. It was pretty funny!We have all kinds of fun plans for the Spring and Summer. He missed it last year but we have him home this year and we are going to make the most of it!!!
I think the combination of the loud sounds from the indoor pool, lots of new faces and cold water didn't help us start off very well. They say that the pool is 82 degrees but it sure doesn't feel like it. The poor kid was freezing! The class is 30 minutes and for at least half of that he had a death grip on my neck. I didn't want to traumatize him but we just kept trying and eventually he relaxed. By the time the class was over he was laughing and clapping and back to his usual happy self. Hopefully it will get better each week.
The instructor advised us to get a polyester "Under Armor" type shirt for him to wear in the pool so it will keep the heat in. Unfortunately, he is still wearing his 3-6 month swimming trunks so I think a tiny polyester shirt may be difficult to find. So, now I am on a mission to find a shirt or a baby body suit so he doesn't freeze to death.
Collin continues to ravage the dog food bowl. I am at a loss as how to keep him out of it! I try to put it up but it never fails that I forget to put it back down when I leave and the poor dog is starving and thirsty. Poor Bosley is just going to have to learn to eat on a schedule and then his food will go bye-bye. But then what do we do about the water dish??? What kind of a parent am I that I can't make my kid stop playing in the dog food?
Collin is not walking yet but he does crawl around with one leg all the way out to the side so that he is almost standing up as he crawls. It is pretty funny. He loves dancing to all of his musical toys and any other music he hears. He babbles almost non stop. Usually he is very loud!
Collin has a couple of little plastic bats that he likes to carry (while crawling) around. He has learned that it is fun to bang them on things like the windows!! I'm just waiting to see what he will hit next.
I'm not sure if I have posted a list of careers that I think Collin will pursue. If I did sorry. Here it goes. I base this solely on his current behaivor and I'm sure the list will change often!
1. Hairdresser-he loves to "fix" my hair.
2. Dentist-He loves to get his hands in your mouth and poke around.
3. Makeup Artist-He loves to watch me put on makeup and he tries to grab everything I have in my hand. He will take the big powder brush and brush it on his face just like Mommy!
4. Baseball Player-self explanetory
5. Talk Show Host- He always has something to say and he's so stinking cute!!
6. Librarian-His books are his favorite toys-He LOVES them.
7. Anything that has to do with DOG FOOD
We are very excited that the weather is finally improving. We bought a bike trailer and I bought a new bike and baby bike seat. We have used the trailer and Collin LOVES it! The bike seat just arrived so I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. The other day Wyatt rode his bike with Collin in the trailer and I roller bladed beside them. Collin looked so perplexed by how I was right beside him rolling along. It was pretty funny!We have all kinds of fun plans for the Spring and Summer. He missed it last year but we have him home this year and we are going to make the most of it!!!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Race For The Cure
The Race for the Cure is coming up May 17th. My family (Collin too) will be participating in honor of my mom, a breast cancer survivor. We are walking/running the 5K with the "Cops for a Cure" team. Above is a link if you would like to make an online pledge. It would be greatly appreciated-Thanks!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Computer Challenged
Please forgive the next 2 posts they are in reverse order and I can't figure out how to change them.
A beautiful Day Cont.
When we got home Brylie was begging to come to "Sissy's" house. I thought about all that I wanted to accomplish this weekend-the house is a disaster, the yard is a mess, I have a huge pile of laundry-so I said "sure you can come over"!!
I knew Collin would love to have a playmate and it was such a nice day. The day before I had spotted another "Must Buy" item for my spoiled son. It is a tug boat sandbox but we will use it as a pool. The kids and I ran to Once Upon A Child and bought the tug boat. It barely fit in the minivan and the back hatch wouldn't close so it beeped the whole way home. I had to put the car in park at the red lights so it would stop!But, we made it!
They had a blast! The water was freezing so Collin just stood outside and splashed. Brylie didn't seem to care at all. So rather than accomplish anything at home I sat outside and lounged in the sun and played with the kids all day. I sat there and tried to remember what I did on my weekends before Collin was here. I always felt like I was so busy and had so much to do. I guess I was busy with school and work but this is so much more fun!! And luckily, I'm not nearly as stressed about getting things done as I was before. I am having so much fun just hanging out with him. And the time that Wyatt and I have together is so much more fun too!
Here are a couple of pics of the kids playing-
I knew Collin would love to have a playmate and it was such a nice day. The day before I had spotted another "Must Buy" item for my spoiled son. It is a tug boat sandbox but we will use it as a pool. The kids and I ran to Once Upon A Child and bought the tug boat. It barely fit in the minivan and the back hatch wouldn't close so it beeped the whole way home. I had to put the car in park at the red lights so it would stop!But, we made it!
They had a blast! The water was freezing so Collin just stood outside and splashed. Brylie didn't seem to care at all. So rather than accomplish anything at home I sat outside and lounged in the sun and played with the kids all day. I sat there and tried to remember what I did on my weekends before Collin was here. I always felt like I was so busy and had so much to do. I guess I was busy with school and work but this is so much more fun!! And luckily, I'm not nearly as stressed about getting things done as I was before. I am having so much fun just hanging out with him. And the time that Wyatt and I have together is so much more fun too!
Here are a couple of pics of the kids playing-
A Beautiful Day
Actually it was yesterday because I was too tired to post last night-but it was another great day!
First we had to drive my mom to Zanesville to meet my grandmother (Meme). She lives in Marietta and my mom is going to stay with her for a couple of days. The good news was that my brother and his kids decided to tag along. That makes for a much more interesting trip. The kids are a great distraction from a number of things but mostly my mothers nonstop rambling about nothing of importance. Don't get me wrong I love her to death but the talking can wear me down very quickly. I know we all turn into our mothers eventually but I hope I avoid that part!
We met Meme at Cracker Barrel and had breakfast. That is always a treat as well with 3 kids-a 3 year old and 2 one year olds!!It is nice to see Meme and I like Collin to see her as much as possible. She is the only great grandparent that he has and I have really fond memories of my great-grandparents. I was lucky to have 3 of them for a good part of my life.
Here is a picture of all of us. You would think the kids would be the ones making funny faces but it is my 30 something brother who was doing something goofy in every picture!!
After we dropped off my mom we all drove back to Columbus. My brother bought a book at Cracker Barrel with letters written by children to soldiers in Iraq. He read the letters to me while I drove and we cracked up the whole way home. If you ever see it it is a great book and a great idea. More important though, my brother said when he was over seas in the Army that he loved getting letters from kids and he saved every one of them. He said that it brightened his day. He also said that they get a lot of hate mail from people wishing for them to die. Stupid me, I figured someone looked at the mail before it was delivered. Can you imagine risking your life for your country, being away from your family and someone sending you a letter like that? I don't care if you agree with the war or not these people are HERO'S and should be treated as such. So if you have a kid, have them draw a picture or write a letter and address it to "ANY SOLDIER". Throw it in the mail box and brighten the day of a hero fighting for our freedom so that we can sit here in our homes and enjoy our families and all the things we take for granted. And if you see a veteran, THANK them for their service and for our freedom. How do I always get on my soapbox?
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Catching Up
Collin and I have been home alone for the last few days since Wyatt went to Las Vegas-Lucky Dog!!It is actually the first time I have had the baby all to myself for more than a day since we have been home. Being home alone with him has its positive and negative aspects. It is always nice to have a second pair of hands but I enjoyed having all of the cuddle time and not having to share.
I shouldn't really say I had him the whole time because my mom was kind enough to take care of him while I did my baby sale rounds this weekend. I LOVE going to the baby sales. I can clothe Collin for the whole season for under $200. I even loaded up for my neices-2 full trash bags of clothes for $160. My favorite sale is the Grove City Nazarene Church MOPS sale. They have TONS of clothes,all in great condition, most look new! They have lots of brand name clothes and the prices are great. I actually was a seller and a shopper this year. They solicit sellers and the church gets 25% of your profit. They do all the work you just tag your items and drop them off. They send you a check a week later.
This sale is a very big deal. Maybe some of you know about this but it was all new to me last year when I started checking them out. Think of Black Friday but with a bunch of pregnant ladies and moms. People line up long before the doors open. Then when they open the doors people make a mad dash with thier trash bags in hand and start grabbing everything. Forget your manners and forget you are in church this is mommy competition!! I even took my own bags so I wouldn't waste any time.
They have a deal that sellers can volunteer 6 hours and they allow you to pre-shop on Friday night. PRE-SHOP..that means before everyone else!!! I don't have to elbow pregnant ladies and grandmas to get to what I want. Sounded good to me so I signed up. Friday I volunteered from 8 am until about 3pm. That is a story in itself. I was so excited when I saw a Step 2 Sand and Water play table! Only $20!!It was exactly what I was looking for-it HAD to be mine-I mean Collin's! I returned early so I would be the first "pre-shopper".
It started at 6:30pm so I was going on 10 1/2 hours. I earned my pre-shopping benefits-I worked my tail off!! SUCKER!!!!! First thing the lady running the sale says..."lets go over the rules before we get started". WHAT!!!!There are no rules in baby sale shopping! "You can only pre-shop in the clothing room, no large item purchases and you have a 20 item limit in the clothing room".UUUUGHHHHHGHGH!!!!!!! I wasted an entire day, got up at the butt crack of dawn, missed a night and a day with my son and now I can't even bring his sand and water table home for him??? And what is this 20 item crap??? I'm shopping for 3 kids!! Even if I was only shopping for Collin, 20 items is nothing. I was SO not happy!! I went in and got my 20 stinking items. It took about 5 minutes and I was done. There went 12 hours of my life I will never get back. 12 hours with a bunch of church ladies I don't know rocking out to Christian music-I almost cracked! Watch out pregnant ladies...I'm going home to stretch!
Needless to say I was on a mission the next morning. Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep and I woke up feeling like I had the flu-again! But, nothing was going to stop me!! I didn't arrive until 7:15am so there was already a line. I had pretty much given up on getting anything good and there was no way I would get the table.
Finally the doors opened-Game On! Forget being nice, I busted past all of them-they were too slow. I spotted the table across the hall and took off in a full sprint. Out of my way grandpa! Don't even think about it! I cut him off and snatched the sold tag, threw him a quick victory smirk and took off for the clothing room. I dare you to be at the 18 month boy table!!!
I hit the girls 4T and 2T tables then the 12-18 month boy tables. I filled up a trash bag for one kid,threw it in a corner and started on the next one. The secret is to push your way up close to the table then put your elbows out and swing them wildly so no one will get too close to you then you grab anything that looks decent. Fill the bag, dump and do it again. When you are finished you find a spot on the floor, dump out your bag and evaluate the booty. Not everyone has what it takes. Someone says "excuse me" and I just laugh-haha LOSER-and keep loading up! I was a woman on a mission, not only a woman, A MOM ON A MISSION-Watch out!
Is this what they refer to as maternal instinct? I wouldn't have been caught dead at Filene's Basement fighting for a wedding dress or standing in line in the freezing cold all night for the $10 DVD player on Thanksgiving night so what is the deal? Who cares... I got the table!! And today we went and bought sand and filled it up and played for hours-he loves it!! And, if I wouldn't have gotten it at the sale I would have gone and paid full price for it because I knew he would love it!!
It was 65 degrees and sunny and we were so glad to be out of the house. We spent the day at the zoo and then came home and played until dark. Now that is a good day!
I shouldn't really say I had him the whole time because my mom was kind enough to take care of him while I did my baby sale rounds this weekend. I LOVE going to the baby sales. I can clothe Collin for the whole season for under $200. I even loaded up for my neices-2 full trash bags of clothes for $160. My favorite sale is the Grove City Nazarene Church MOPS sale. They have TONS of clothes,all in great condition, most look new! They have lots of brand name clothes and the prices are great. I actually was a seller and a shopper this year. They solicit sellers and the church gets 25% of your profit. They do all the work you just tag your items and drop them off. They send you a check a week later.
This sale is a very big deal. Maybe some of you know about this but it was all new to me last year when I started checking them out. Think of Black Friday but with a bunch of pregnant ladies and moms. People line up long before the doors open. Then when they open the doors people make a mad dash with thier trash bags in hand and start grabbing everything. Forget your manners and forget you are in church this is mommy competition!! I even took my own bags so I wouldn't waste any time.
They have a deal that sellers can volunteer 6 hours and they allow you to pre-shop on Friday night. PRE-SHOP..that means before everyone else!!! I don't have to elbow pregnant ladies and grandmas to get to what I want. Sounded good to me so I signed up. Friday I volunteered from 8 am until about 3pm. That is a story in itself. I was so excited when I saw a Step 2 Sand and Water play table! Only $20!!It was exactly what I was looking for-it HAD to be mine-I mean Collin's! I returned early so I would be the first "pre-shopper".
It started at 6:30pm so I was going on 10 1/2 hours. I earned my pre-shopping benefits-I worked my tail off!! SUCKER!!!!! First thing the lady running the sale says..."lets go over the rules before we get started". WHAT!!!!There are no rules in baby sale shopping! "You can only pre-shop in the clothing room, no large item purchases and you have a 20 item limit in the clothing room".UUUUGHHHHHGHGH!!!!!!! I wasted an entire day, got up at the butt crack of dawn, missed a night and a day with my son and now I can't even bring his sand and water table home for him??? And what is this 20 item crap??? I'm shopping for 3 kids!! Even if I was only shopping for Collin, 20 items is nothing. I was SO not happy!! I went in and got my 20 stinking items. It took about 5 minutes and I was done. There went 12 hours of my life I will never get back. 12 hours with a bunch of church ladies I don't know rocking out to Christian music-I almost cracked! Watch out pregnant ladies...I'm going home to stretch!
Needless to say I was on a mission the next morning. Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep and I woke up feeling like I had the flu-again! But, nothing was going to stop me!! I didn't arrive until 7:15am so there was already a line. I had pretty much given up on getting anything good and there was no way I would get the table.
Finally the doors opened-Game On! Forget being nice, I busted past all of them-they were too slow. I spotted the table across the hall and took off in a full sprint. Out of my way grandpa! Don't even think about it! I cut him off and snatched the sold tag, threw him a quick victory smirk and took off for the clothing room. I dare you to be at the 18 month boy table!!!
I hit the girls 4T and 2T tables then the 12-18 month boy tables. I filled up a trash bag for one kid,threw it in a corner and started on the next one. The secret is to push your way up close to the table then put your elbows out and swing them wildly so no one will get too close to you then you grab anything that looks decent. Fill the bag, dump and do it again. When you are finished you find a spot on the floor, dump out your bag and evaluate the booty. Not everyone has what it takes. Someone says "excuse me" and I just laugh-haha LOSER-and keep loading up! I was a woman on a mission, not only a woman, A MOM ON A MISSION-Watch out!
Is this what they refer to as maternal instinct? I wouldn't have been caught dead at Filene's Basement fighting for a wedding dress or standing in line in the freezing cold all night for the $10 DVD player on Thanksgiving night so what is the deal? Who cares... I got the table!! And today we went and bought sand and filled it up and played for hours-he loves it!! And, if I wouldn't have gotten it at the sale I would have gone and paid full price for it because I knew he would love it!!
It was 65 degrees and sunny and we were so glad to be out of the house. We spent the day at the zoo and then came home and played until dark. Now that is a good day!
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