Action Packed Spring Break

On the go was the theme of the last 10 days!  Since my dad is a teacher he gets Spring Break away from work and stays home with Matthew and I.  We got to do so many things away from and at home too! 

The first few days Matthew was out of the house going to a friend's house and the movies.  That is totally ok with me because I get alone time with my parents.  It is pretty rare that I am the absolute center of attention and I got a glimpse of the only child situation.  But each time I was alone and just getting used to it, the older sibling came back!  I can see how good Matthew had it for those couple of years.

The beginning of the week we went to the Air and Space Museum and saw all sorts of cool things.  Some little boy pulled the fire alarm and we had to leave the building.  Don't worry it wasn't Matthew, but I certainly would have enjoyed that car ride home had it been!  Instead I got to sit in a stroller as he played on the airplanes and space ship playground.  Yeah, real fair!

By the end of the week my dad took us to the Portland Zoo and we saw all sorts of animals.  Some were tiny and others were huge!  My dad thought to try and take pictures of us boys "posing" with the animals.  Seriously?  You can tell from the pictures that I wasn't amused.  In fact right after the polar bears and black bears I lost it a bit and we made our way to the exit.  What can I say?  I was hungry and needed a nap!  The zoo really amazing and we need to go back this summer!!!

Sunday morning a bunny rabbit came and left candy and chocolate all over our house.  This is the second time this has happened since I have been around.  I saw the eggs, but Matthew snatched them all up and apparently gets all the candy too.  Being too young is a drag sometimes, but next year's Easter is going to be mine.  I am going to come out of my room running!  

To cap off the week my entire family and Butter, my mom's mom, went out to the beach to check out the scenery.  We had a great dinner and played on the beach.  My mom and Butter held me tight because the wind was whipping from the Pacific.  My dad took another approach.  From the picture you can see that he and I are having a blast, but what is not shown is the face my mom made!  It was an awesome trip, but sad at the same time.  The coast is my grandmother's favorite place to visit in all of Oregon, but it will be her last time.

This week is my grandmother's last living in Oregon.  My Aunt Kristen is flying in Thursday night and helping her move to Texas on Friday morning.  My grandfather will be joining her in late June.  This makes Matthew, my dad, my mom, and I all very sad because days like this won't be the same without her.  Butter always makes me smile when she comes in the house and has the softest touch when she brushes my face with her fingers.  She is always telling me how cute I am and defends me no matter the fit, noise level, or smell that I may have caused.  She is very special person and I will miss her.  She was my 2nd visitor in the hospital and these last 13 months have been nothing but special.  I will miss her. 

As you can see it was a wonderful Spring Break week for us, but this week will be a sad one.  Hope all is well.

With Love,
Colin










MORE PICTURES!!!

Ingrid, Sharing, and Milk!

Ingrid came back!!!  Just like that my grandparents left to go back to Georgia and my Yaya was back during the day watching me (mostly following me around the house).  She is so patient with me and teaches me so much.  I really missed her and am glad she is back with me, well after spring break!

Spring Break means my dad is home with me, and unlike Yaya he is pretty rough and doesn't have the "gentle" touch my mom, grandmothers, and Yaya all have!  His idea of fun is chasing me around the house, wrestling, and rubbing his beard on my belly.  My mother works with me to teach me to share toys and raise my hands above my head, but not dear 'ol Dad!  "I'm gonna get you!!" is what he says and that sets me off in the other direction giggling.  I try my best to run but he catches me every time, or I fall to the ground giggling too hard.

As I mentioned I am able to share!  I don't love it yet and will let you know it if the toy I give you is not promptly returned in a few seconds, but sure I share!  I prefer to share with my mother because I seem to trust her judgement the most.  I have my doubts about toys being given back when it comes to Matthew and my dad.  You can't be too careful with those two but you can always trust my mom!

"How big is Colin?" is now part of my bag of tricks.  Again this works mostly with my mom if she asks me and then I will throw my hands up over my head to show her how big I am (big!).  She keeps asking me and I don't give her a 100% response, but in a few weeks I am sure that will change.  Hopefully she will have other questions too.
 
My parting words this week will be saying goodbye to Similac.  Each feeding time I would crave that sweet stuff and did so for over a year.  Recently I have been given whole milk and it is amazing.  This change has been such an improvement, but I have noticed that I don't get as much.  I am "suppose" to drink water, but that bottle goes to the floor most of the time.  I am only interested in the red cap milk!! 

Again we will wait and see!

With Love,
Colin

Birthday Boy!!!

I AM A ONE YEAR NOW!!!  I had my very first birthday party last week and it was amazing!  Cake, presents, parents, brother, and 4 grandparents.  What else could I ask for!  The party was a dinner with family, but eventually all eyes were on me to open presents and eat my very own cake.  Well I didn't disappoint!  I took a few bites of my Pure Decadence cupcake, covered myself in frosting (literally in my eyes!) and then threw it to the floor.  It made quite the mess!!!

I received some pretty amazing presents from some pretty amazing people!  But by far my favorite gift came from Matthew.  He went out with my parents and bought (with his own money!!) me a switch and go dinosaur.  It is exactly what you think it is... a present for me/him!  It makes noises and has lights for me and does other stuff for him.  Kind of a perfect present from a perfect brother!


Besides my first birthday lots and lots of things have been happening.  I am walking with much more steady feet and can put rings back onto the pole.  My grandparents visited for an entire week and I was able to learn so much from them!  Since they like to follow me as I walk I thought it would be great to tour the house over and over again!  I can pretty much walk from room to room and back again without falling.  I of course do fall sometimes, but the balance is there.  Last Christmas Santa brought me 5 rings that I have loved taking off the little yellow pole they rest on.  Well, last week my grandparents worked with me over and over to put them back on!  It was shaky at first but with a day or two I can almost do the ring toss to get them on!  They might not be in order yet, but I am sure I will learn that soon too!

With all that happened with grandparents coming and going and my birthday I had a doctors appointment too.  I am in the 125% for weight, height, and head size.  28.5 pounds and 32.5 inches!  The doctor thinks I am healthy and growing as expected.  He labeled my constant babbling as talking, and told my mother that soon enough I would be speaking so much she will tell me to be quiet!  I also received four shots and had strips of band aids to prove it.   

Another great thing about my birthday is that Spring is right around the corner!  The cold weather is easing and the sun is out longer.  The weather has been beautiful and we as a family have been enjoying the parks around town and long long walks!  This of course tires me out, but enjoying the outdoors and something I am very very excited about in the upcoming months.

With Love,
Colin


PICTURES!!