Just Like Daddy (Week 32/52)

I feel like this is a common theme in these posts, but Colin loves his dad, and he always wants to be just like him. Any time we do laundry or he sees some of Matt's clothes on the floor, he jabbers on about Daddy and usually wants to put the clothes on.

Don't worry, the jeans Colin is wearing here are not Matt's ;) but the belt is. It practically went around him twice, but he wouldn't take it off all morning. And don't let that sour look on his face fool you, he was having a blast!

I have since them bought him two Colin-sized belts, so now father and son can be matching.

Smiths Come For a Visit (Week 31/52)

Kristy, Kyle, and Landon made the trip out to Oklahoma a few weeks ago for a visit. It had been 6 months since we had seen little Landon, who is now 9 months old, so it was fun to see how much bigger he is!

Colin loved having him around, and he was very helpful--always sure to give Landon toys, his blanket, or his pacifier if he saw them lying around.

We spent quite a bit of time together, but I'm ashamed to say I only took a few pictures one night when we went to dinner. Luckily, it was the day Colin and Landon were wearing their matching shirts. Thanks Aunt Kristy for the cute shirt and bringing Landon out so we could play with him :)

These grandparents were in heaven having their two grandsons around for a week!

Pretend (Week 30/52)

Colin loves to pretend. One of our favorite things to play/pretend around here is to put his stuffed animals to bed in his crib. This picture shows his sock monkey and a little plastic parrot who were in need of a nap. We tucked them in with a blanket, and apparently Colin thought it looked so comfy that he decided he should pretend to go to sleep too.

You Can Call Me Mama (Week 29/52)

I'm not sure of the exact day, but at some point in March Colin learned to say "daddy," although it always sounds more like "dah-ee." Well folks, the time finally came that he learned to call me mama! I think I would prefer mommy, but I'll take what I can get!

In addition, his vocabulary seems to be expanding every day. Although almost nothing comes out clearly, he is definitely associating names with objects and people.

He calls both of his grandpas "papa"
His grandma is usually just "ma"
an attempt at "gegie" for Megan (thank goodness for facetime!)

But I would say that more often then having a name for things, the sound it makes becomes the name...
vroom vroom for car
choo choo for train
woof woof (panting noise) for dog
cluck cluck for chicken

He also constantly uses the phrases "what's that?" and "it's stuck!"

And anytime he gets a diaper change or he pooped, he talks about "stinky"

Although his words are still coming and I don't always understand him, he's a pretty effective communicator without words. I love watching him learn new words and figure out how to communicate--this is definitely a fun stage!

Another DC trip (Week 28/52)

It's only been...5 weeks since my last post? Good thing I have this goal to motivate me not to give up.

Way back in July Colin and I took another trip out to DC to spend time with family. We spent a whole week there and had lots of fun. Colin especially had a lot of fun with his cousin Peter. Those two boys are so cute together. I guess that would explain why pretty much the only pictures I took while I was there was of the two of them :)

Shot I took April '12 on the way home from church

Almost identical shot taken in July '12
also on the way home from church

Two cute kids that refused to go to nursery

Notice the shoes :)

We went to a splash pad/fountains at the town square one day.
Here we have Megan, Pete, and Sophie showing their excitement.

Both boys enjoying some organic chocolate milk on the stairs.

Any time one boy went somewhere, the other had to follow. If one was eating something, the other needed it too. They fought over lots of toys, but did share every now and then. They were just too cute together, and I know they will just be the best of friends as they continue to grow up!

No Babies Here (Week 27/52)

Although I have no pictures to share, this story is definitely one I want to remember.

First of all, we are officially done with pacifiers at our house. After a week of prepping Colin by telling him he was a big boy and didn't need it anymore, last Saturday night we put him to bed without it.

He did relatively well, and has done pretty well since then, except it takes Colin a lot longer to fall asleep for his naps.

One day last week he was acting pretty tired, so I laid him down in his crib, closed the door, and went to my room across the hall, leaving my door open just a crack. I was checking my email or doing something else on my ipad when a few minutes later I hear a door open. Then a second later Colin pushed my bedroom door open and saunters on in with a big smile on his face. I laughed so hard!

He had climbed/fallen out of his crib and opened his door just because he didn't want to take his nap. He did a similar trick the next time I laid him down, but that falling part (along with one trip to time out) seems to have cured him of wanting to escape his crib since then.

But just to be on the safe side, we should probably get him a toddler bed pretty soon :)

Dress Up (Week 26/52)

As seen here, Colin is wearing two swimming suits. This boy loves to get dressed. He rarely is successful at getting any clothes on without some help, but it's pretty cute to watch him lay on the floor and wiggle around trying to get his legs into a pair of shorts.

Folding laundry is an especially difficult task around our house these days because as I separate Colin's laundry into piles, he wants to put it all on...at the same time. I indulged him one day and put a few layers on him (why didn't I take THAT picture??). And the swimming suit picture above was also taken on laundry day.

Looks like we might need some dress ups at my house soon!