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

Holiday Fun

So 2013 has flown by and really has been great for the entire family.  Christmas is coming up on us fast and Santa will soon be dropping by!  I seriously can't wait.  Our Elf on a Shelf "Joe Blue" has been coming and going everyday and night since we got home from Texas.  He watches Matthew and I to make sure we are good and reports back to Santa each night.  I really hope Joe Blue is giving Santa some great examples of me being good, because when Matthew and I saw the big guy last week I wasn't good.  Well... to be truthful I was awful.  If of course you call awful throwing yourself on the ground, crying, and refusing to even look at Santa...then I was pretty awful.  Sooooo... crossing my fingers for presents.

We have had 2 visitors in the last few weeks and looking to have even more soon!  Stacy came to visit us for a night.  She has a baby in her tummy and it seemed like the attention was paid mostly to that baby instead of this one.  Not cool, but I will forgive her just this once!  I think we are going to see her again soon and hoping that they are regulars here in Fort Collins.  It would be great to have more familiar faces around the house!  And maybe even her baby could be a friend of mine!

The other visitor was Ingrid, or Yaya!  She came for a long weekend and even stayed home with me last Friday!  We had an absolute blast hanging out with her and spending time with her.  Matthew and I were watched by her back in Oregon and it was great to have a "good ol days" moment with her.  The weekend was spent touring around town, catching up on what has been going on, and even looking forward to future visits.  It was a great visit and Matthew and I are hoping for more!

Speaking is NOT coming easy to me.  I am however very talkative and will try to speak with anyone who will listen.  I can mimic sounds and words, but I can't seem to string words together or come up with my own quite yet.  I can say Mama, Dada, Maa Maa (Matthew), baby, wow, Ah Oh, Oh No!!!, Mo Mo (More), Tat u (Thank you), and a few others.  Besides words I am listening quite a bit better.  I will give kisses on demand and running hugs are my specialty!  I think I am getting a reputation for being a terror, but it needs to be noted that I am frequenter of kisses and hugs too!!!

So sleeping has been a bit of sore spot for my parents lately.  I am obsessed (and yes I mean that in every way possible) with my mom.  If my mom were to try to put me to bed or come get me in the middle of the night then I am most likely to explode when she leaves AND wake up and want to play with her!  She is just so awesome and I love her so much I can't bare the thought of her leaving me and when she comes into the room it lights up my world!!!  Sooooo, that means that dad has taken on responsibilities of putting me to bed at night... changing me in the middle of the night... giving me a bottle at 5am... giving me my mid-night medicine when I am sick... and putting me back on my mattress when I roll off.  I really and honestly don't care that he comes in.  I am not really attached to the man and drift quickly to sleep when he puts me down.  It is quite nice to have a 9 to 10 minute pit stop when the time comes for my changing and bottle compared to the hour to hour and a half if my mom came in.

Well that is about it for now.  I am excited and so is Matthew for Santa and my grandparents to come visit soon.  I am seeing presents in my future and I am loving it!  Oh and hugs and kisses too.

With Love,
Colin

Sick

Since September 30, I have dealt with 2 pink eyes, 4 different ear infections, a soar throat and now Hand/Foot/Mouth disease.  Seriously.  I haven't feel myself in a long time and I think I am on the mend right now.  However, at my follow up appointment my doctor told my mom that my 4 back molars are starting to come in.  GREAT!

These last few weeks have brought about a lot of change.  I climbed out of my crib and now I sleep in a bed on the floor, which means that I can get out and roam around my room.  The only thing that was left in my room (for safely reasons) was my music box.  So in the morning if the parentals take their time getting me, I run over to play with my only toy.  Overall, I am getting way better at sleeping in the bed and it is slowly becoming a non-new thing.

Another new thing I have had to deal with is stairs.  This new house has stairs, and I am the only one in the house that has to slide down the stairs backwards.  Awkward. When people are looking I take the nice road and do what I am told and "sit and turn around".  However, if someone turns their back then I am on my feet heading forward.  My dad has seen some close calls.

I am talking quite a lot more lately.  I love to say Uh Oh still, but lately I can say "Have a good day"  -- in baby mumbles, "Love You" -- in loud LLLL uuuu sounds, and finally my favorite "Santa".  That one comes right out the way it should.  Matthew has been telling me about this guy Santa and I want to be on his good side.  There is a bunch of pictures and decorations up of this guy so I am practicing!  Funny how that works huh?

We are headed to Texas for Thanksgiving in a few days and my family decided to drive.  14 hours of pure awfulness is coming.  We can't head to the store without me screeching or throwing a fit about something, but these people think I am going to handle 14 hours?  Ha.  This is going to be just a fine idea.  Other than the long long drive I am really looking forward to seeing the Hansen side of my family.  It has been a long time since I have seen some of my cousins, aunts and uncles so it will be great to be seen!

The weather in Colorado is absolutely freezing.  Heavy jackets are always a must and I can't remember leaving the house without a hat.  Tomorrow it is suppose to snow!  That is exciting except I won't be able to go outside at my daycare.  My teachers ratted me out to my parents that during the many recesses we take, I just run up and down and back and forth.  Sometimes a kid gets pushed and sometimes I run into things.  My teachers claim that I barrel down for hours on end, but I don't care.  I love running and just seeing what happens next.  Hopefully the snow will melt in the a.m. so I can have my fun times by afternoon!

That is about it for now.  Hopefully I can get better and have a streak of healthiness to report to you.  Have a great Thanksgiving!

With Love,
Colin

Busy Family

It has been a few weeks since my last post.  A LOT has happened, so I will try to catch you up!

I saw my 18 month mark and Matthew's 6th birthday in September!  I thought my parents were going to have heart attacks at our age, but they are just going to have to get over it!  I am getting bigger and bigger and growing quickly out of my old clothes.  I am fitting nicely, not too much room to spare) into 3T clothes.  It is funny to get looks from strangers about how big I am as a "baby".  I think people expect me to do cartwheels because they think I am much older than I am.  Oh well...

So Matthew's birthday was wonderful.  He brought cupcakes to school, got a huge present (a weekend in Chicago), and a dinner to any restaurant he wanted!  Now I know history will judge me unfairly for my behavior at the restaurant, but let me be clear that I wasn't screaming on purpose.  I just didn't like sitting in the chair.  It is not like I ruined his birthday, not at all.  I just ruined my father's dinner because we had to go to the car and "talk about it".  I couldn't hear a thing he was saying over my screams.

We have bought a house!  Matthew and I love it so much.  Our favorite place right now is the basement, because we get to run around and play in the open spaces there.  We are not moving in right away, but we will be very very soon.  It will be sad to leave our apartment, but moving into a bigger place will be much better for everyone.  I can't wait to see how my mom tries to steer me away from the two sets of stairs!

I haven't had a good run on health these last few weeks.  I fought off a double ear infection and double sinus infection, just to have the double ear infection come back a week later!  I will admit that I have been seriously crabby, but the pain is too much to be happy about it.  Being crabby means:  I am clinging to my mother all the time, not sleeping well, not eating very much, a few throw ups due to crying fits, and pretty much zero patience.  But hey, what am I suppose to do!?

Other than being sick and watching boxes being packed up again, I am doing so pretty cool things.  I am saying more words each day.  I love to say "dada" in a deep voice and he will reply back to me "Colin" in that same deep scratchy voice.  Some new words are Uh Oh, a form of thank you, and Go.

My toys are becoming easy to me.  I can take and put back puzzle pieces, build blocks pretty high up, and push my tricycle around.  All I see each day is Matthew play, so I think it is time for me to do the same.  Oh and as a last minute addition to my new list of tricks, I can climb out of my crib at 4:00 AM!  Watch out!!!


This is pretty much what has been happening.  Next post won't take so long!

With Love,
Colin

Busy busy busy

We had an unbelievable visit with my grandparents a few weeks ago!  They came to Colorado and spent a lot of time with both Matthew and me!  We went to parks, walks, pools, restaurants, and the library!  It seemed as though we were always on the move and busy all the time.

I really loved having them at our apartment, because I got to play with them.  For some reason I found it interesting and later obsessive to hop over either my grandmother or grandfather's legs.  If they moved them while sitting I would be sure to place them back into position so I could play.  I do believe some bruises were leftover on those legs from my stepping and jumping.

I just love having them come visit and spend time with us!  Those two make me smile.

It is officially September and fall is coming, except for the 90 degree days we keep having here.  That is fine by me because that just means more hikes and bike rides!  The other day we rode (not so much me... I relaxed in the back of a trailer) 16 miles from one end of town to the other.  We packed a dinner and found a great spot to eat.  It was a great end of the weekend Sunday evening adventure!  It is small things like this that make Fort Collins so special.

Daycare is in full swing.  I really like place, adults and other kids.  From time to time I will lose it when my mom leaves in the morning and cling to her leg.  But I get over it quite quickly and run to my dad when he picks me up at the end of the day!  During the day we have art time, reading time, and lots of play time.  Most days I am dripping in sweat when I am picked up!  I am getting better at taking naps at the day care too.  I started the first week with only 45 - 60 minutes, but lately I am taking 2 hour naps and sleeping right through all the noise.  Matthew has given me practice at this!

This weekend is Labor Day and we have a jam packed weekend of activities and things to do.  We went to a Colorado Rockies game on Saturday, Sunday we are heading over to a friend's house for dinner and meeting new friends at a bowling alley on Monday!  We are thinking about heading up to Horsetooth Resevoir for a Labor Day morning hike!

I am really working on speaking these days.  I can clearly say Mama, Dada, a form of Matthew that comes out "Maaattteee", and now Gee Gee.  Everyone is surprised I don't call for my blanket because I love it so much or for milk/bottle because I love that so much too!  My parents try to teach me new words all the time, but I am just content to babble and have my own conversations.  In time I will speak their language and I think everyone is gearing up for me to talk quite a bit!!!

I will mention, but will not spend much time on "behavior".  So I throw a few objects when I want something else and sit in protest when I have walked enough, but I refuse to acknowledge any tantrums.  It is not like I lay on the ground or scream or cry or whine if I can do something I want... like opening cabinets, taking items out of the refrigerator, or getting up on the couch!  No... No acknowledgement here!

With Love,
Colin