Long Time No Blog

So it has been over 7 months and I am back to tell you what has been going on lately.  I don't even know where to start so much has happened!

Since February I have switched schools, turned 2, learned my numbers and alphabet, been on some road trips and so much more!

Back in March I was bit by some hoodlum two days in a row and my parents weren't happy so I was switched to another place, and oh man this new place is great!  My teachers, Bobbi and Brandy, are the best.  I am pretty sure I am their favorite and they don't seem to care if anyone notices.  It was hard to transition and I would cry for a good 3 minutes each morning but all is good now.  I am hearing chatter about moving into another room soon, but I hope not because these ladies are the best!  I can't imagine being in a school without them.

I had myself a birthday party last March and my grandparents were able to come from Georgia!  We had so much fun that week.  Of course I was spoiled rotten and being my birthday I got some great presents too!  What was also impressive was Matthew letting me have all the attention.  The 'Ol Boy was a super nice brother to me and helped me celebrate too.  Hilarious story... cute cake and nice wrapping paper the day of my party, but I wasn't having any of it.  I didn't want a bite of cake and opening presents wasn't on my agenda.  Now they did get opened eventually but since I was turning 2 I had to ring in the new year with a bang.  Ha!

In late March our family got ourselves a dog.  Lucy!  Lucy is so cute.  She came to us a puppy that was painfully shy but she is coming around and loves Matthew and I.  She is fiercely protective of me and loves to run.  I am learning not to pull her tail and she is learning not to run at full speed to knock me over.  We are both learning I guess!

In June the family took some road trips.  Our first was to Mt. Rushmore and the second was a long drive home from Las Vegas.  My parents, Matthew and I jumped into the car one day and ended up staring at four faces carved into a mountain.  Matthew is going through quite a Presidential phase (the kid knows everything about all of them) but for me... nah nothing!  I had a blast in the car singing.  My parents had no clue I could sing so I decided to showcase my skills in the car.  My favorite songs that I know best and sing the loudest are "Blurred Lines" (great parents I have huh?) and Let It Go (more appropriate for yours truly).  When I started belting out verses somewhere in nowhere Wyoming, my parents were shocked!  We must have listened to those songs 15 times each!  Like I said I had a blast!

Another trip we took shortly after Mt. Rushmore was flying to Las Vegas and driving back to Fort Collins.  It was so cool to take a plane ride and this time I was soooooo much better.  My mother was about to have a panic attack before our flight, because she was remembering how awful I was on the flight to Colorado!  She was all over me and refused to allow me to spill another soda on someone.  Along the drive we were able to visit the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Four Corners, and spend some time in Moab, UT. I slept through the dam, threw a monster fit at the edge of the canyon (I quickly got over it and I have pictures to prove I was behaving perfectly!), but I was perfect at Four Corners.  So Four Corners was my favorite!  The 3 day trip was amazing and I was able to get my State count up to 14!

The rest of the summer was spent having so much fun with my dad and brother!  We took bike rides all over town visiting parks, ate Otter Pops every single day, and sometimes we got to eat lunch with my mom.  Matthew was in a few summer camps so I even got to spend some alone time with just my dad.  It was so much fun to run around with him, wrestle and make messes everywhere we went!  It was just so much fun!  I can't wait for next summer!

At the end of summer my grandparents were able to come back out and they spent 2 whole weeks with me!  My dad had a weird work schedule so they came out to help out and I was the one that benefited most!  Those two took me on Max rides and loaded me up with more ChickFila than I have ever had!  We went on the Max buses so much that I still am obsessed with the "The Max".  I wish for it, go nuts when I see it, say good night to it during the bedtime routine, and even chatter about it in my sleep.  I love the Max, the Green Bus, and the M   A   X!!!  Anyway I say it, it doesn't matter!

Overall these last few months I have grown so much and am able to do some much more than before.  Some of my favorite things to do is zip up and down our hallway on my Airplane, play hide and seek with Matthew, go outside on our playground, jump over our dog Lucy, lay my head on the ground and study how wheels work, read Little Blue Truck, read Llama Llama books, drink milk, and more than anything else in the world... I love to laugh. 

As for right now, today, I am 2 and a half.  I know my entire alphabet, I can count 1 to 10 and 10 to 1, I know all of my colors, shapes, animals, I know my name, how old I am, I have memorized "Little Blue Truck", and I now give great big hugs with my arms!  I am a happy happy little boy who has a great family and the best older brother.  My brother Matthew looks after me, holds my hand when I need it, and gives me the best kisses when I go to bed.  Matthew is my best friend and I love him so much.

With Love,
Colin

Turning a Corner... I think

It is late February and a lot has happened since my last post.  I have added a bunch of new words can pretty much name most of the letters in the alphabet.  H, J, K, L, and Q are really hard for me, but soon!  My favorite saying in the morning is to repeat "Night Night All Done" and at night I love to run around getting my diaper ready by yelling "Poopy"! a lot too.  I am being coached to say All Done in the middle of fits though???  What is that all about?  I am just mumbling them now and protesting my dislike for saying that.  I hope this doesn't continue, but I get the feeling it will.

I am not saying much, but I can dance and my I love love love to read!  My favorite books are Tuck Me In and Little Blue Truck.  I could flip through these books for hours!  (and do!)  My favorite song to get down to is Blurred Lines.  It is way inappropriate but you can't stop this guy from shaking it when I hear it!  I can't help it and just love to dance.

At school I am learning lots.  The daycare I go to is trying to teach me colors, shapes, and songs.  Lots of songs.  I love to repeat funny songs and dances that go together.  My favorite to act out is "No more monkeys jumping on the bed".  I love to point and yell NO NO NO!  It just feels good to yell that!  (I think I know how others feel now!)  My other favorite is a dinosaur song that ends with me roaring.  I reach within and get really loud sometimes.  It is fun for Matthew and my dad to compete to see who has the loudest roar!

Speaking of school, I am being eaten alive.  I wish that was a joke, but some little boy keeps biting me.  He latched onto me twice in one week!  Of course my parents suspected me as the provoker and that it was I that would antagonize someone else.  The look of surprise was quite the sight when they were told that no in fact I "didn't do anything wrong"!  (I am putting that in quotes since the next story might be in fact my fault).  My parents are calling around looking into other daycare places and are thinking of options for me just in case these attacks on the innocent continue!

So I am going to admit something... I Colin Daniels am a terrible sleeper.  It wasn't the ears, infections, sicknesses, being cold, being warm, leaky diapers, crib, no crib, night light being too bright, no light at all... nothing works.  I am just a rotten sleeper.  I myself get a good 11 - 12 hours of solid sleep each night.  My parents on the other hand are lucky to get 6.  I moan, cry, wail, toss and turn, fuss, talk, and pretty much do things that get them up at least 1 - 4 times a night. Of course the one and only thing that I have going for me and is saving me is my parents realize that in the not too distant future I will out grow this and won't need them and won't want them in my room... so even though I am on thin ice I think I have a bit more slack and will be continuing as usual!  

Butter and Kristen came a few weeks ago to visit my mother on her birthday!  It was so nice to see them and get some loving snuggles.  We had a great birthday dinner for my mom and had a wonderful weekend.  It flew by and in only a few days they were gone.  We are hoping to see them soon and maybe even a Thanksgiving return!!!

Another visitor stopped by last weekend.  Heather a friend of my parents was driving through and stopped by with her dog.  The visit was wonderful and the dog she brought with her I think knocked over a domino!  Yup, I think we are on our way to getting a dog.  I love dogs!  I love to chase them, yell "Woof" at them, chase them, and laugh at their antics!  This visit was such a wonderful thing for us because I am pretty sure we might have a four legged buddy by summer!  We'll see...

In other exciting news Erik and Stacy are moving to Colorado next week!  We are so excited to have some Salem friends in town and to have them here with us as Fort Collins friends now!  They are going to love the snow we have been getting, the fabulous town Fort Collins is, and I am going to have a baby friend when their baby comes in May!!!!  We are all excited!

So much is happening and we are just loving life right now.  Matthew has his first loose tooth, my grandparents are coming into town soon for my 2nd birthday, and so much more.


Another post to come soon.


With Love,
Colin

A New Year!

So Christmas came and it was awesome!  I had 2 grandmothers here and 1 grandfather (Pop might be making a grand entrance in the Spring!).  There was decorations everywhere in our new house and presents were spread out all the way around our Christmas tree!  I didn't exactly wake up right away, but everyone in the neighborhood must have heard Matthew yelling because as he went down the stairs he saw that Santa brought him exactly what he wanted! (Hot Wheels Triple Track Twister)  After I got up and joined the fun I saw that I got lots of presents too:  a work bench to bang on, a noisy walker that throws balls, pillow cases to sleep on, warm clothes to wear, a remote control (from Matthew), an Elmo sing along for the car, and so much more!

It was really cool to have three grandparents visiting for the holidays and having so much attention paid to me.  Being picked up and held by all was fun!!!  I think it would have been the same if I wasn't so sick, but I was and it was especially nice to have 5 adults doting on me all the time.  As I wrote before I have been (no joke) sick since September 30.  Before I saw a specialist on Dec. 30 who is going to operate on me (will explain) I came down with something call Roseola!  Fever of 103.5, red spots everywhere, and of course an ear infection.

With the 5th or 6th ear infection since moving to Colorado it was decided that I have have tubes put in my ears and have my adenoids taken out.  My mother is super nervous but also excited.  I can see and FEEL why too!  I am not sleeping much.  Even with the antibiotics and Tylenol I am not sleeping much and getting up pretty much every hour on the hour which leads to a crabby kid and run down parents!  So pretty much we are all looking forward to some relief (hopefully!)

In other news I am learning my letters with help from the Frig!  So far I can pick out and say the A, B, X, Y, R, E, and O.  I am quite dramatic about it and proud when I learn a new one! I am almost there with the W, but I can't say it correctly.  Hopefully being able to hear will improve all this!!!  Going with this, I am pretty set in my ways and where the letters have to go.  In particular the " D's".  For some reason my parents think that the D's go on the fridge with everything else, but I am set that they go in the silverware drawer!  About 6 - 8 times a day we go back and forth from putting them on the fridge and putting them back in the drawer!  Silly parents!

That is about it.  Next time I write I should have an update about the ears!

With Love,
Colin