Collin Updates

Every once in a while I have to update some of the things that Collin has done or said recently. I like to look back at his development and it helps me to remember those moments that he says something funny or does something that gives me a little pause. I try to write things down so I don't forget. Of course, a little gets lost in translation from the actual event to the written word but it will keep the memories fresh in my mind when I read it again. He does so many new things that I look back and try to remember when he started that or figure out why he said something.



The other night we were driving home from the rodeo and out of the blue he starts saying "I'm Ian", "I not Collin (or Cowin as he says it), I Ian". Of course it took us a while to figure out what he was saying but then we were all totally confused as to why he all of a sudden decided he was no longer Collin but now he was Ian and who the heck is IAN?? The only Ian I could think of was "Uncle Ian" on the Chipmunks but he squashed that one real quiick! Hhhmmm? Then he told Wyatt he was Tommy Ian, Peyton was Christine and I was Zebra??WTH???



It was driving me crazy where this whole Ian thing came from?? He told us Ian was a ghost but he wasn't scary. I was beginning to wonder if he had an imaginary friend and maybe I should be worried. After lots of questioning he mentioned Noggin so I assumed he must have seen this on TV somewhere. I knew I could count on my Facebook friends to help me out so I posted and asked if anyone could tell me anything about Ian the ghost. Wouldn't you know within a couple of minutes I was told that Ian was on the cartoon Olivia and there was a show about a haunted house where Ian dressed up as a ghost-AH HA! I then remembered that a while back my mom told me that Collin had gotten scared when watching a cartoon because one of the characters dressed up as a ghost. This was at least a couple of months ago-what in the world made him think of that I have no idea. The mind of a child is an amazing and confusing thing!!




At least that mystery is solved.



Out of the blue the other day while Collin and I were playing he looked at me and said "Let's be best friends". AAWWW! Sure, I'll be your best friend!!



Collin is obsessed with the hospital lately. I'm not sure why but whenever I tell him not to do something because he might get hurt he will say "and I'll have to go to the hospital". Well, yes, maybe???



Some of my favorite "Collin-isms"
" It will be alright, It's safe", "it's dewishis (delicious)", "that's AMAZING", "I wanna put on comfy pants", "let's play a little bit", "I do it all by myself"!! "I want some poptorn (Popcorn)". The kid could eat popcorn day and night! I just bought an air popper because the bag popcorn is not exactly healthy!!



We emptied out Collins piggy bank and took him to open his very own savings account at the bank. We tried to explain that we were going to put his money in the real bank and every time he filled his piggy bank we could go back to the bank and put the money in the machine to count how much he has.

The other day Wyatt was saying how he hoped he won the pool for the Indianapolis 500 because he could use the money. Collin said "sorry guys, I put all my money in the real bank". LOL!




All in all Collin is very helpful and a pretty good listener. We have out moments of course and he seems to be in the hitting phase that I remember people talking about-which is driving me insane, but that is a post of its own. He is definitely becoming his own person and expressing his own opinions! He can get dressed and undressed by himself for the most part. He is in his big boy bed now and goes to bed pretty easily. He gets up early and climbs in bed with us then goes back to sleep-which I love! I don't have to get up to get him and he is a little cuddle bug!! He loves getting in the hot tub with the boys. He helps me put the dishes away and sometimes helps in the kitchen. We made our first batch of cookies last weekend-they we DEWISHIS!! He still LOVES puzzles and is up to the 24 and 36 piece puzzles. He struggles a little with the 50 pieces. He gets frustrated very easily when he isn't able to do something and throws a little tantrum where he yells and jumps around-we are working on that-lol! He is very focused and concentrates heavily on everything he does-some may call him anal retentive, I'll call him thoroughand detail oriented!!He loves maps, I actually pick up maps for him wherever we go. He will stare at them and examine them forever! He still loves baseball and football and pretty much any sports. We have been watching the Winter Olympics-doesn't really hold his interest for too long but he will watch it for a bit.



Well, I am getting the "Mama what are you doing, lets play" so gotta run and play with my little best friend. =0)

Collin the Snowman

With all the snow Collin and Wyatt decided to make a snowman (Collin's 1st) which is now known as "Collin the Snowman"!! They got all bundled up and headed out to create a masterpiece that would draw crowds from all across the neighborhood!


Getting all the warm clothes on is a job in itself!!





Ready to go!





Teamwork!





Putting on the finishing touches!





TaDa!!! Introducing Collin the Snowman!

The perfect ending to a great long weekend!

Wyatt and I were off for about 11 days. I had been super busy at work the last month or so and I was really feeling stressed about not having any time with Collin. Of course, the fact that we were taking an "adult" ski trip to Vermont with some friends didn't really help the situation either. Quite frankly, I seriously considered backing out and spending the time off at home. But, I knew I would never hear the end of it if I didn't go so I sucked it up and went.




Collin got to have his first overnight with his Grandma Patsy which made me a nervous wreck of course-not that she's not capable-but because it was something new for him and I was going to be 12+ hours away if something happened. Then he went to my parents house for the remainder of the time.

The guilt was killing me! What kind of horrible mother works for days on end only seeing her son for a few minutes a day if at all and then leaves him and goes out of town to party?? I guess I do?!?! The trip ended up being extremely relaxing and enjoyable. I got to catch up with friends that I don't get to see as often anymore, spend some quality time with the hubby and a little quality alone time with myself-which I guess I really needed!!




For 3 days I got to wake up to a quiet house, get ready at my leisure, sit in the tub and drink Mimosas, go to the spa, read and shop with no schedule and no obligations. It was fabulous! Everyone came back to the house around 4pm and we started our evening festivities!

I came back home feeling refreshed and relaxed and still had 5 days off to spend with Collin. We had a great weekend at home relaxing as a family. We got lots and lots of snow-actually more than they had in Vermont!! I think we are at about 2 feet now!! I haven't seen this much snow for a long, long time!

On our trip we talked a lot about teaching Collin to ski and snowboard next year. Of course, you hope your kids will enjoy the same things that you do so that you can take family trips and do things together that are fun. I feel so lucky to be able to offer Collin these type of opportunities. Wyatt and I don't come from families that took ski trips or annual vacations. Our parents were too busy working their butts off to keep their family in food, shelter and clothing-which we of course appreciate greatly!!




It was really nice to be "snowed in" and get to spend some quality time together! The snow is so beautiful and we have the perfect sledding spot that not too many people know about so we decided to bundle up and hit the hill!!




This was Collin's first time sledding and he loved it! I was shocked! He went down with us a couple of times then decided he wanted to go all by himself! I thought for sure it would scare him to death but no!! The kid is a little dare devil just like his father!!




Wyatt was joking around trying to stand on the sled while he went down the hill so of course Collin had to try it. It was hilarious and I know he made his daddy really proud!




Usually after a few days at home I am ready to go back to work but this time was different. I wasn't dreading it but I sure would have loved to a couple more days and a couple more runs down that hill!!

February Playgroup

Some of the families from our COFLAC group decided to start our own playgroup that gets together once a month. The kids really seem to enjoy it and it's nice to get to know the other families on a more personal level. While our COFLAC group doesn't seem to be quite as stable this is a really good group of people that I hope will stick together for quite a while. I think these friendships could prove invaluable to our kids as they grow up together.




Everybody seemed to have fun dressing up in all of Sophia's cool dress up clothes! We had some beautiful brides and fairies as well as a visit from Brandon...I mean, Buzz Lightyear!



Collin found some takers to play one of his favorite games, Hungry Hungry Hippo!




And he may have found yet another calling in life...the band leader of TBDBITL of course! He loves wearing crazy hats and now he seems to love the cymbals!Next we will work on the baton or whatever they call that stick thingy-lol!


The boys had fun in the kitchen.




And he was very excited to pass out his Valentines to all of his friends!!

Every Cowboys Dream-THE RODEO!

In case you didn't know, Collin is a Cowboy Wannabe. He was a cowboy for Halloween last year, he has a cowboy hat that he has been wearing for as long as I can remember. So when we told him that we were going to see real life cowboys he was very excited.


So, we put on our best "Cowboy" clothes and headed to the arena! And what do you know...a real life cowboy came up and introduced himself!! Collin wanted his camera to take a picture but unfortunately he took a picture of his own feet. We are still working at perfecting the whole point and shoot camera thing-lol!



He did manage to capture the cowgirls barrel racing though!

It was a really fun night and I think he enjoyed himself very much! He cheered and clapped and yelled the whole time! As a matter of fact, he rarely sat down!

Pinball

We have a pinball table in the basement that Collin likes to play every once in a while. The other day he pulled up his little upholstered cube to stand on and asked me to turn it on. Much to my amazement, the kid is good! I asked Wyatt if he had been playing pinball with him and he said that he hadn't. I have no idea how he figured it out all of a sudden. He gets the concept of using the flippers and he actually hits the ball on purpose! I know all parents think their kids are the greatest beings to ever walk the earth and that they are good at everything but quite honestly Collin seems to be good at just about everything he puts his mind to! That may sound just a slight bit arrogant but, hey, it's my blog, I can be whatever I want-LOL!