Saturday, December 29, 2012
13 Months of Colin
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Colin is 1!
What a year it's been! Watching our two beautiful children grow has been such a blessing. Colin is a big one-year old boy - it's so hard to believe! This past month has been a hectic one. Halloween was lots of fun as you saw in the last post. We were graced with some nice weather here and there so we've tried to soak up every last bit of sunshine remaining before winter gets here. Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop came to visit for Thanksgiving and lucked out with some absolutely gorgeous fall weather.
On the communication front, Colin is becoming quite chatty. His favorite thing to say is "Go, car, go!" This is a phrase we use when we're taking him on walks in his push car, but Colin likes to say it all the time. Apparently he likes to crawl into a toy bin at daycare and holler "Go, car, go!" He also says "uh-oh," "up," "hi," "bye-bye," "Mom-Mom," "Mama," "Dada," "Anna" (or na-na), "good," "dog," "all done" and I swear he said "cake" tonight! And of course, the most frequently used word this month is "NO!" He shouts it loudly all the time lately, just like his Mommy and Daddy! He recognizes so many more words when we say them - truck, ball, star, cow, train, book - we love to test what he knows by asking him to go get us an object and seeing if he knows what we're asking.
Colin's personality continues to develop and he is a silly, playful boy who loves to rough house with his sister (she loves it, too)! Nearly any time he hears music he begins to dance, and he is often found initiating a game of peek-a-boo or chase (as in I'm going to crawl away and get Mommy, Daddy and Anna to chase me)! His teachers tell me he is playing more with his classmates, particularly a little girl named Aaliyah who reminds me a lot of Anna at that age. Both Colin and his friend Aaliyah will soon be moving up in the world of daycare to the toddler room - the Puffins! We are so excited for this change - big boy toys, circle time, napping on a mat - Colin is SO big! In preparation for this change Colin is being weaned from bottles during the day, and luckily he really likes his sippy cup.
Today our big boy woke up to some fun birthday gifts: a toy workbench and other goodies - he really likes to pound things so a hammer seemed appropriate! Other gifts that have arrived include lots of cars and clothes, a train, a top, a jack-in-the box, puzzles, books - what a spoiled boy! He had a great day with his friends and teachers and came home early to snuggle with Mommy. Tonight we celebrated with Grandpa and Grandma Barb who arrived last evening. Colin had his first taste of birthday cake! He slowly warmed up to the idea, taking tiny bites at first. By the end, he was a sticky, happy mess and the cake was gone!
We're so happy to be Colin's parents and are looking forward to another wonderful year of life with him! Click on the link to see pictures from this month!
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| Colin is 1! |
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Colin at 11 months
Hard to believe, but Colin's been around almost a year! We had great fun watching him develop this month. He's losing many of his baby qualities and turning into a toddler right in front of our eyes!
The big news is that Colin can stand on his own. He doesn't really like to and if it happens, it's usually by accident and he corrects the situation as soon as possible. Typically, a pesky toy has distracted in him and in his haste to explore if more fully, he lets go of whatever support he's been clutching. Also, Colin's beginning to take a few more risks in transitioning from one support to another while creeping, letting go for just a second to the couch so he can get to the ottoman, for example. He is just beginning to tolerate being walked... Mom or Dad holding his hands up while he takes a few steps. He is happier to use some sort of outside toy - car, etc to push along, like here:
Colin has become a lot more playful in the last month. His favorite by far is peekaboo. He both likes to hide and seek, and often initiates the game with a blanket, piece of clothing, or curtain. He has shown a lot more interest in his books this past month. Not surprisingly, his favorite is called Baby Farm Animals Peekaboo! He also enjoys "Little Spider" and "The Very Hungry Frog," both of which have a place for the reader to put their finger in to make the spider move or the frog's eyes wiggle. He continues to love his rings and spindle, but his new favorite toy is the shape sorter. He's actually quite talented - he can get a cylinder as well square, triangle, and hexagonal prisms through a matching slot! His shape sorter is a hippopotamus that spits out the shapes when you pump a handle. Colin loves to bang on that handle but has trouble getting them out of the hippo's belly.
On the communication front, Colin babbles a ton. His teacher told me he says "oh no" but I have yet to hear it. Today I heard "go" over and over. He has learned the baby sign for "more" which he uses at the table, especially when he wants more puffs. It's clear he understands a lot more words, so we've been working a lot on asking him to find us certain items to see if he knows a word, like "car," 'ball," "cup," etc. He seems to understand a lot of words at the dinner table, like "cheese," "puffs," "applesauce," and "water."
Colin's big sister Anna is thriving, loving dance class, school, and playing with neighborhood friends. Her big accomplishment this month was learning to write her name. She writes a mean left-handed A-N-N-A! She practices daily at school and on her easel at home. She is beginning to recognize simple words in her books and guess what they spell with pretty decent accuracy (which is a combination of knowing the stories and guessing by her knowledge of the first letter). She loves to sing and dance and can't decide if she likes songs by Taylor Swift or Ernie better. She loves to play with her brother:
We had a visit from Pop-Pop this month which was well timed as Colin came down with a bad case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and was out of daycare for a week! Then the stomach flu went through the house - uggh! We are all recuperated, however, and ready for Halloween! We've prepped with three pumpkin patches and an afternoon of early trick-or-treating. Colin the Lion and Anna the Ladybug say hello!
Take a look at what we've been up to by clicking on the picture below:
The big news is that Colin can stand on his own. He doesn't really like to and if it happens, it's usually by accident and he corrects the situation as soon as possible. Typically, a pesky toy has distracted in him and in his haste to explore if more fully, he lets go of whatever support he's been clutching. Also, Colin's beginning to take a few more risks in transitioning from one support to another while creeping, letting go for just a second to the couch so he can get to the ottoman, for example. He is just beginning to tolerate being walked... Mom or Dad holding his hands up while he takes a few steps. He is happier to use some sort of outside toy - car, etc to push along, like here:
Colin has become a lot more playful in the last month. His favorite by far is peekaboo. He both likes to hide and seek, and often initiates the game with a blanket, piece of clothing, or curtain. He has shown a lot more interest in his books this past month. Not surprisingly, his favorite is called Baby Farm Animals Peekaboo! He also enjoys "Little Spider" and "The Very Hungry Frog," both of which have a place for the reader to put their finger in to make the spider move or the frog's eyes wiggle. He continues to love his rings and spindle, but his new favorite toy is the shape sorter. He's actually quite talented - he can get a cylinder as well square, triangle, and hexagonal prisms through a matching slot! His shape sorter is a hippopotamus that spits out the shapes when you pump a handle. Colin loves to bang on that handle but has trouble getting them out of the hippo's belly.
On the communication front, Colin babbles a ton. His teacher told me he says "oh no" but I have yet to hear it. Today I heard "go" over and over. He has learned the baby sign for "more" which he uses at the table, especially when he wants more puffs. It's clear he understands a lot more words, so we've been working a lot on asking him to find us certain items to see if he knows a word, like "car," 'ball," "cup," etc. He seems to understand a lot of words at the dinner table, like "cheese," "puffs," "applesauce," and "water."
Colin's big sister Anna is thriving, loving dance class, school, and playing with neighborhood friends. Her big accomplishment this month was learning to write her name. She writes a mean left-handed A-N-N-A! She practices daily at school and on her easel at home. She is beginning to recognize simple words in her books and guess what they spell with pretty decent accuracy (which is a combination of knowing the stories and guessing by her knowledge of the first letter). She loves to sing and dance and can't decide if she likes songs by Taylor Swift or Ernie better. She loves to play with her brother:
We had a visit from Pop-Pop this month which was well timed as Colin came down with a bad case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and was out of daycare for a week! Then the stomach flu went through the house - uggh! We are all recuperated, however, and ready for Halloween! We've prepped with three pumpkin patches and an afternoon of early trick-or-treating. Colin the Lion and Anna the Ladybug say hello!
Take a look at what we've been up to by clicking on the picture below:
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| Colin at 11 months |
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Colin is 10 months old!
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Wow, time goes fast! This month has sped by with me back to work and Brian back to school this week. Mom is by herself with the kiddos for the first time - Brian's on a business trip! This morning at breakfast, I mentioned how Daddy was gone to Colin and he suddenly swung his head around looking for him, saying "dada, dada!" It was like you could see him thinking, "Oh yeah! Where is that guy?" In just the past few weeks, it seems like Colin has started to really understand many things we say... things like "outside," "ball," "puffs," "car" (his push car for going on rides outside) - he definitely knows when you're talking about things he likes!
Colin is growing like a weed. My arms ache if I hold him for more than a few minutes - he is becoming one solid boy! He has finally gotten over most of his reluctance to table food and is chowing down like crazy. We still puree a few unique foods for him, but mostly he gets whatever he can eat from our dinner, pureed as needed. His favorite is a pasta fagioli that Brian makes. Mostly he prefers finger foods, though - lentils, cheerios/puffs, shredded cheese, and a new discovery - spaghetti squash!
To counterbalance all these calories, Colin is "working out" like mad. He crawls really fast, back and forth, back and forth, all day long. He crawls to one surface and bangs for a while, then to another and bangs some more. The boy really, really likes to bang things - his teachers told me he wakes up his daycare friends! They proclaimed him "all boy," describing a situation where all the girls were fussing, crying one after the other, and got the boys caught up in it... except for Colin, who was just hanging out in the corner, wailing on some toys and ignoring all the drama.
Colin is getting more stable on his feet and becoming ever more adventurous with his pulling up. His newest trick is climbing the stairs (with intense supervision, of course). With determination, he can get all the way up to the top (luckily there is a landing halfway through). Sometimes, he tuckers out and yells his garbled version of "all done" midstep. (No one but Brian and I would be able to interpret this particular utterance, but the "uh da" sound is something we are very attuned to from mealtime!)
Colin's babbling has grown immensely in complexity. As far as official words go, he's still sticking with the old favorites of "mama," "dada," and "Anna" but he's also developed a garbled version of "uh-oh" to add to the "all done," and very occasionally he'll holler a "no," but I'm not convinced he knows what it means. With persistence and a little luck, you can also get him to repeat a particular sound, like "bah-bah" (which we work on a lot when we play with his ball) or "la-la" (which Anna got him to say tonight at dinner).
Colin seems to have developed a much more outgoing personality since his younger days when he constantly looked very serious. He's become much more of a flirt when people say hi to him, smiling and bobbing his head back and forth. Speaking of moving back and forth, the boy likes to dance! Just a few beats of music and he's shakin' his bottom! This fits well with Anna's personality and the two of them get a kick out of watching each other dance. He's also begun truly playing WITH his toys, not just banging them or sucking on them. He is in love with stacking rings on spindles - luckily we have a few of those kinds of things. He can now place a ball or cylinder through a hole on some of his toys - he's so proud of himself, he claps! Or, if you're lucky, you can get a high five:
Our lives are now hectic with everyone back to the grind, but we manage to squeeze in fun everyday, whether it be a trip to the playground, bike riding, or a short walk. On weekends we often have fun attending the Stanford games, or at least the festivities connected to the game. You'll see some hilarious pictures of Anna in Stanford gear this month! She started dance lessons this month - ballet and tap with a little tumbling at the end - she is in seventh heaven!
Anna also has discovered a "big girl" bike with training wheels that's been left in our courtyard. She's adopted it as her own and rides it almost everyday. I've taken her on the bike path outside the courtyard to teach how to ride on the right side of the road... she's pretty good at it!
Take a look at what we've been up to by clicking on the picture below:
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| Colin at 10 months |
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Colin at 9 months
Well, this last month flew by. Preparing for Anna's 3rd birthday was distracting and Colin has aged another month already! We were lucky enough to have a visit from Grandma Jean this month. She
sees a lot of Brian's physical features in our little guy! His hair has
grown in much thicker and he is really starting to look like a little
boy.
Colin's mobility continues to improve. He's become quite a fast crawler! But he'd really rather stand. He will pull up on anything and everything, and then walk along surfaces. He's even tried to move from leaning against one surface to another - chair to ottoman, perhaps. This has mixed results! Colin is also working on controlling his descent: he has now developed a cute little squat from his standing position so he doesn't fall down too hard to the floor. Smart boy! This all has led to some more time out on the playground with big sister Anna. Colin can sit on some of the smaller toys or stand up in a the little playhouses. You've got to be careful, though, or before you know it, he'll pick up some sand and put it in his mouth!
On the communication front, Colin really only has one word to add this month. He has said it a seemingly infinite number of times this month: "Anna." anna anna anna anna anna anna anna..... ALL THE TIME! He LOVES his sister and will talk about her whether she is here or not! His other words continue to become clearer and used more purposefully. It's clear he is recognizing more words, too - if I tell him to go get the ball, he does so. He seems to actually be responding to the word "no" which is shocking to us as that was never Anna's forte at this age. To be fair, he usually pauses his action when we say "no," then tries it again shortly after. Anna is helping out with monitoring her brother and can be heard saying, "No, no, no, bud!" quite often! Colin seems unfazed. He just loves being around her and laughs at everything she does!
We have a new tooth to report! In just the last few days he cut his fifth tooth, on the upper left side. Colin's been using his chompers with a lot more verve than last month. He seems to have finally decided that he likes solids and is being much more cooperative at mealtime. Perhaps this has led to some better sleeping patterns at night, for which we are definitely grateful! His new favorite food is applesauce. Since discovering this, we sneak all sorts of food in it to make sure he's getting some variety! We continue to explore finger foods, like peas, corn, beans, and avocado. He's also getting used to some "big boy" cereal, enjoying some Cheerios and Rice Krispies after his usual breakfast of peaches and yogurt. Speaking of peaches, you'll see a few pictures of Colin chomping down on a full peach! He's grabbed them out of our hands on a few occasions and just bit right into them.
We've tried to make the most of the lazy days of summer, biking all around campus and exploring out beautiful surroundings. Here are two videos and of course a picture album to capture what we've been up to this month!
Colin's mobility continues to improve. He's become quite a fast crawler! But he'd really rather stand. He will pull up on anything and everything, and then walk along surfaces. He's even tried to move from leaning against one surface to another - chair to ottoman, perhaps. This has mixed results! Colin is also working on controlling his descent: he has now developed a cute little squat from his standing position so he doesn't fall down too hard to the floor. Smart boy! This all has led to some more time out on the playground with big sister Anna. Colin can sit on some of the smaller toys or stand up in a the little playhouses. You've got to be careful, though, or before you know it, he'll pick up some sand and put it in his mouth!
On the communication front, Colin really only has one word to add this month. He has said it a seemingly infinite number of times this month: "Anna." anna anna anna anna anna anna anna..... ALL THE TIME! He LOVES his sister and will talk about her whether she is here or not! His other words continue to become clearer and used more purposefully. It's clear he is recognizing more words, too - if I tell him to go get the ball, he does so. He seems to actually be responding to the word "no" which is shocking to us as that was never Anna's forte at this age. To be fair, he usually pauses his action when we say "no," then tries it again shortly after. Anna is helping out with monitoring her brother and can be heard saying, "No, no, no, bud!" quite often! Colin seems unfazed. He just loves being around her and laughs at everything she does!
We have a new tooth to report! In just the last few days he cut his fifth tooth, on the upper left side. Colin's been using his chompers with a lot more verve than last month. He seems to have finally decided that he likes solids and is being much more cooperative at mealtime. Perhaps this has led to some better sleeping patterns at night, for which we are definitely grateful! His new favorite food is applesauce. Since discovering this, we sneak all sorts of food in it to make sure he's getting some variety! We continue to explore finger foods, like peas, corn, beans, and avocado. He's also getting used to some "big boy" cereal, enjoying some Cheerios and Rice Krispies after his usual breakfast of peaches and yogurt. Speaking of peaches, you'll see a few pictures of Colin chomping down on a full peach! He's grabbed them out of our hands on a few occasions and just bit right into them.
We've tried to make the most of the lazy days of summer, biking all around campus and exploring out beautiful surroundings. Here are two videos and of course a picture album to capture what we've been up to this month!
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| Colin at 9 months |
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Anna's Birthday Party
Anna had an amazing day. Eighteen of her friends and their families came over to celebrate her birthday! We had a wonderful morning enjoying the courtyard playground together. We ate pizza, snacks and cupcakes! We set up a craft table that everyone seemed to enjoy. We also had a water balloon launcher - wow! Here is a video of everyone singing, followed by a video with Anna showing off one of her favorite presents. Then, just in case you haven't had enough, you can click on the picture to see even MORE pictures of the party! Enjoy!
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| Anna's 3rd Birthday |
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Anna is 3!
Anna turned 3 years old today - wow! What an amazing year she has had - a new baby brother, three schools, lots of new friends, and so much learning and fun!
Anna's birthday celebration began a couple of weeks ago when Grandma Jean visited. We had a lovely time going to family yoga on the Stanford oval and visiting various playgrounds. We took a family trip to Happy Hollow where Anna showed Grandma all her various rides. She got to spend lots of quality time with Grandma working on the craft-themed gifts she brought for her birthday. Here's one of the finished products they worked on together:
We paused on the birthday celebrations for a few days, but over the weekend started gearing up again as many packages arrived with Anna's name on them!
First up: Uncle Tom, Aunt Stacey, and Logan sent some presents along with Grandma. Anna is particularly fond of this ice cream play-doh set!
Last night, Anna got to FaceTime with Grandpa Pat, Grandma Barb and Aunt Jenny while she opened her birthday gifts from them. She loved all of her special treats, particularly her new PJs and Fancy Nancy book. But her favorite had to be the doctor's kit that Aunt Jenny sent. She was thrilled!
Each day for the past week, Anna's been waking up and asking if it's her birthday yet. Today, I took some video to see what her reaction was when we said yes. To our surprise, she was a little unsure about taking the big plunge into being three:
Anna was happy to see the chalkboard/easel that was her big gift from Mommy and Daddy, as well as some of the accompanying art supplies, particularly her smock.
Today at school, Anna enjoyed banana chocolate chip muffins
with her friends who sang her "Happy Birthday." (There was a cupcake
party already scheduled for tomorrow, so we went a less traditional
route!) Additionally, Anna's teacher, Miss Michelle, was nice enough to
make her a birthday crown. When she got home, she began opening the rest of the gifts. She got to FaceTime with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop while opening their gifts, still wearing her crown. She loved all her presents from them, but chose to play with Polly Pocket first!
Anna also enjoyed some gifts from Uncle Mark, Aunt Michelle, and Nicholas. She was enthralled by this musical jewelry box, complete with twirling ballerina.
We followed up the presents with Anna's favorite dinner (grilled cheese) and a tiered cake made by Daddy, pink both inside and out! Anna did not need help blowing out her candles this year!
All in all, it was an amazing birthday - and it's not over yet! Anna's birthday party is scheduled for Saturday, when eighteen three year olds and their families will descend on our courtyard playground for food and fun - ahhhhh!! We are so lucky to have Anna in our life. More pictures and updates to come!
Anna's birthday celebration began a couple of weeks ago when Grandma Jean visited. We had a lovely time going to family yoga on the Stanford oval and visiting various playgrounds. We took a family trip to Happy Hollow where Anna showed Grandma all her various rides. She got to spend lots of quality time with Grandma working on the craft-themed gifts she brought for her birthday. Here's one of the finished products they worked on together:
We paused on the birthday celebrations for a few days, but over the weekend started gearing up again as many packages arrived with Anna's name on them!
First up: Uncle Tom, Aunt Stacey, and Logan sent some presents along with Grandma. Anna is particularly fond of this ice cream play-doh set!
Last night, Anna got to FaceTime with Grandpa Pat, Grandma Barb and Aunt Jenny while she opened her birthday gifts from them. She loved all of her special treats, particularly her new PJs and Fancy Nancy book. But her favorite had to be the doctor's kit that Aunt Jenny sent. She was thrilled!
Each day for the past week, Anna's been waking up and asking if it's her birthday yet. Today, I took some video to see what her reaction was when we said yes. To our surprise, she was a little unsure about taking the big plunge into being three:
Anna was happy to see the chalkboard/easel that was her big gift from Mommy and Daddy, as well as some of the accompanying art supplies, particularly her smock.
Today at school, Anna enjoyed banana chocolate chip muffins
with her friends who sang her "Happy Birthday." (There was a cupcake
party already scheduled for tomorrow, so we went a less traditional
route!) Additionally, Anna's teacher, Miss Michelle, was nice enough to
make her a birthday crown. When she got home, she began opening the rest of the gifts. She got to FaceTime with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop while opening their gifts, still wearing her crown. She loved all her presents from them, but chose to play with Polly Pocket first!
Anna also enjoyed some gifts from Uncle Mark, Aunt Michelle, and Nicholas. She was enthralled by this musical jewelry box, complete with twirling ballerina.
We followed up the presents with Anna's favorite dinner (grilled cheese) and a tiered cake made by Daddy, pink both inside and out! Anna did not need help blowing out her candles this year!
All in all, it was an amazing birthday - and it's not over yet! Anna's birthday party is scheduled for Saturday, when eighteen three year olds and their families will descend on our courtyard playground for food and fun - ahhhhh!! We are so lucky to have Anna in our life. More pictures and updates to come!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Forgotten photos!
Well, keeping track of all the photos we take of the kids is tough. I discovered a bunch of photos we took with our phones this month and there are some keepers. So just in case you didn't get enough with the last post, here are 30 more photos. Enjoy!
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| More July Pics |
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Colin at 8 months
What a difference a month makes! Colin has transformed from a mostly stationary boy to a speed racer in the crawling department. It was really magical to watch the progression. He began the month with a military crawl, really struggling to keep his bottom in the air. He worked very hard to get some momentum but wasn't getting anywere.
In the process, he learned how to move from the crawling position back to a seated position by pivoting on one knee. In the last five days or so, he has quickly made progress and is now crawling all over the place. Baby gate time! In addition, he has also learned how to pull to stand in the last week. He gave Mommy quite a fright the other night - he was crying in the middle of the night and a half-awake Mommy stumbled into his dark room but couldn't find him in his crib... finally I realized he was standing in the back corner!
In other news, Colin is finally warming to the idea of solid food. He is not quite as ambitious as his sister in that department, so we've been busy tempting his palate with different food and making vigorous airplane and helicopter noises. It's starting to pay off. This month we've introduced carrots, plums, mango, and quinoa as well as some rice crackers and flavored baby "puff" cereal. In the past week we've started giving him small chunks of food, like bananas, lentils, tortilla and shredded cheese. Colin does seem to prefer finger foods so perhaps his early reluctance was a rejection of purees. He seems to be working on cutting additional teeth at the moment so he'll soon be able to chomp a little harder!
Colin's verbal skills are improving steadily. His "mama" and "dada" are improving in frequency and clarity and he has added "Anna" in the past week, though to be fair he does not seem to use it to greet his sister. He can be coaxed into a "hi" when he's in the mood. He has a garbled version of "no" that occasionally erupts when he's upset: he tried it out on both Mom-Mom and Grandma Jean on our visit back east! A couple of times he's even attempted a pretty convincing "all done," but we haven't seen that in a couple of weeks so we're starting to wonder if we dreamt it. He's developing an infectious belly laugh, usually reserved for his sister's antics but can be conjured by Daddy throwing him in the air. He can also clap his hands together, along with smashing together whatever is in his hands. Of course, he must give that object a taste as well.
Anna continues to blossom, especially with her imagination. She does a lot more pretending, making up stories about dinosaurs and dragons, seeing shapes in the clouds, etc. We told her the story of the boy who cried wolf to try to encourage distinction between real things and imaginary things. She took the story to heart: now her stories involve lots of pretend wolves. She still likes to hold her little brother, although since he has closed the size gap so much that has become a lot more difficult for her.She continues to be a big help to her brother. In fact, when Colin resists eating we'll often invite Anna to give him a spoonful, because more often than not he'll accept it from her - not us! I am working on the invitations to her 3rd birthday party tonight, which is really difficult to believe. Time really flies!
Click on the picture below to see more pictures of what we've been up to this month:
In the process, he learned how to move from the crawling position back to a seated position by pivoting on one knee. In the last five days or so, he has quickly made progress and is now crawling all over the place. Baby gate time! In addition, he has also learned how to pull to stand in the last week. He gave Mommy quite a fright the other night - he was crying in the middle of the night and a half-awake Mommy stumbled into his dark room but couldn't find him in his crib... finally I realized he was standing in the back corner!
In other news, Colin is finally warming to the idea of solid food. He is not quite as ambitious as his sister in that department, so we've been busy tempting his palate with different food and making vigorous airplane and helicopter noises. It's starting to pay off. This month we've introduced carrots, plums, mango, and quinoa as well as some rice crackers and flavored baby "puff" cereal. In the past week we've started giving him small chunks of food, like bananas, lentils, tortilla and shredded cheese. Colin does seem to prefer finger foods so perhaps his early reluctance was a rejection of purees. He seems to be working on cutting additional teeth at the moment so he'll soon be able to chomp a little harder!
Colin's verbal skills are improving steadily. His "mama" and "dada" are improving in frequency and clarity and he has added "Anna" in the past week, though to be fair he does not seem to use it to greet his sister. He can be coaxed into a "hi" when he's in the mood. He has a garbled version of "no" that occasionally erupts when he's upset: he tried it out on both Mom-Mom and Grandma Jean on our visit back east! A couple of times he's even attempted a pretty convincing "all done," but we haven't seen that in a couple of weeks so we're starting to wonder if we dreamt it. He's developing an infectious belly laugh, usually reserved for his sister's antics but can be conjured by Daddy throwing him in the air. He can also clap his hands together, along with smashing together whatever is in his hands. Of course, he must give that object a taste as well.
Anna continues to blossom, especially with her imagination. She does a lot more pretending, making up stories about dinosaurs and dragons, seeing shapes in the clouds, etc. We told her the story of the boy who cried wolf to try to encourage distinction between real things and imaginary things. She took the story to heart: now her stories involve lots of pretend wolves. She still likes to hold her little brother, although since he has closed the size gap so much that has become a lot more difficult for her.She continues to be a big help to her brother. In fact, when Colin resists eating we'll often invite Anna to give him a spoonful, because more often than not he'll accept it from her - not us! I am working on the invitations to her 3rd birthday party tonight, which is really difficult to believe. Time really flies!
Click on the picture below to see more pictures of what we've been up to this month:
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| Colin at 8 months |
Friday, June 29, 2012
Colin at 7 months
What a wonderful month! Both Brian and I have had more time to hang out with the kids now that summer is here - woo hoo! I wrapped up school at the beginning of the month, although I'm taking a statistics class to prep for next school year's teaching. Brian finished his first year classes and is continuing his research this summer as well. Anna and Colin both continue to flourish at their new school, although we've kept them away more and more as the summer has progressed. Both are still the youngest in their respective classes but have no trouble keeping everyone else in line. Their teachers seem to miss them when they are gone - Anna for her personality and Colin for his snuggles!
Colin has become so much more interactive this month! Anna has begun to really engage with him in play - tickling his feet, singing him songs, feeding him - he gives her the biggest smiles, laughs and coos in return. We're going to go ahead and say "mama" is his first word. He's usually crying when he says it because he wants to be fed! Speaking of food, we've tried quite a few new things this month. Banana, peach, papaya, yogurt, avocado, spinach, chicken, green beans - Brian's been pureeing up a storm! We had quite a few grumpy days (and nights) this month, which were tough - but led to two teeth! That's right, Colin has some chompers now and seems much happier now that they've made there appearance. Additionally, Colin is getting very mobile. We're seeing the beginnings of a military crawl with attempts (failed) to get his bottom in the air. When he can't crawl to what he wants, he uses multiple rolls and turns to get where he wants. He also is having some success climbing up the sides of things - you'll see him trying to get into a toybox in one of the pictures!
Anna continues to thrive. She has entered the wonderful stage of "why." She asks that question fifty times a day! She currently loves to play board games - Candyland, bingo, and Sequence for Kids. She seems really engaged by the curriculum at her new school. This week was Bug Week, which culminated in an entomologist visit. She got to see and hold some rather impressive (scary? disgusting?) creatures. Here in our courtyard she's working hard at mastering her balance bike and the rope swing. She got a haircut this week and looks very cute with her new bangs.
We spent last week in Hawaii with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. Anna spent practically the entire trip in the water and managed to wear the rest of us out in the process.
She's getting better and better in the pool and can almost swim (sort of)... she can definitely move a good six feet underwater holding her breath. Time for lessons! The three hour time difference was a challenge, and was Colin's teething, but our kids have gotten to be pretty good little travelers and we had a great time.
Next week we get a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Barb along with Uncle Tom, Aunt Stacey, and cousin Logan. Anna is particularly excited to show Logan all her toys and antics. Colin is just looking forward to having more people to hold him... he's a snuggler!
Click on the picture below for more, including lots of pictures from Hawaii.
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| Colin at 7 months |
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Colin is 6 months old
What a hectic yet wonderful month it has been! It's tough to believe Colin has been around for half a year, and yet we can't imagine life without him anymore!
The big challenge this month was getting the kids acclimated to a new daycare while in the midst of the end of semester/quarter craze in our own work lives. It was REALLY hard to say goodbye to Anna's and Colin's teachers - at least for Mommy and Daddy. Anna took it in stride and Colin did not seem to notice. We have had a quick and easy transition and couldn't be happier with the new place. As it is a brand new building within the center and an "off" time of year for filling spots, our kids have had ridiculous amounts of attention showered on them in classrooms that are staffed for full capacity...without the full capacity. Colin gets snuggled to his heart's content by Miss Kathy and Miss Everlean, and Anna is really responding well to the curriculum in the 3 year old room provided by Miss Michelle and Miss Barbara.
Colin's ability to sit up on his own for longer periods of time has translated into a variety of "firsts" this month. First rides in the swing, the stroller (without a car seat), the push car (see the pics) and - drum roll please - FOOD! Colin tried sweet potatoes as his first solid food. If you haven't already, check out the video in the previous blog post - he made the funniest faces! Up next - avocado!
Colin's growing fast. We'll get the official "stats" at his six month appointment this week, but our attempts to measure him up against his new growth chart tell us he's 26 inches tall! He loves to roll back and forth on the ground now and is perfecting his flat spinning technique... we've seen him do just shy of 180 degrees. I'm sorry to report that there are still no teeth yet! It seems like he is struggling with teething pain and minor fevers, but still no breakthroughs. Colin's vocal repertoire continues to grow. He babbles now and makes all sorts of silly gutteral sounds. He has stumbled upon the sounds "dada" and "uhoh," and of course we get all excited and pretend he actually meant to say them! Colin smiles a bit for Mommy and Daddy, but reserves his biggest smiles for his big sister who always keeps him entertained.
We are getting ready for a wonderful summer and a slower pace again. We're all looking forward to a trip to Hawaii with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, especially Anna, who asks them about it on every phone call. Click on our pictures below.
The big challenge this month was getting the kids acclimated to a new daycare while in the midst of the end of semester/quarter craze in our own work lives. It was REALLY hard to say goodbye to Anna's and Colin's teachers - at least for Mommy and Daddy. Anna took it in stride and Colin did not seem to notice. We have had a quick and easy transition and couldn't be happier with the new place. As it is a brand new building within the center and an "off" time of year for filling spots, our kids have had ridiculous amounts of attention showered on them in classrooms that are staffed for full capacity...without the full capacity. Colin gets snuggled to his heart's content by Miss Kathy and Miss Everlean, and Anna is really responding well to the curriculum in the 3 year old room provided by Miss Michelle and Miss Barbara.
Colin's ability to sit up on his own for longer periods of time has translated into a variety of "firsts" this month. First rides in the swing, the stroller (without a car seat), the push car (see the pics) and - drum roll please - FOOD! Colin tried sweet potatoes as his first solid food. If you haven't already, check out the video in the previous blog post - he made the funniest faces! Up next - avocado!
Colin's growing fast. We'll get the official "stats" at his six month appointment this week, but our attempts to measure him up against his new growth chart tell us he's 26 inches tall! He loves to roll back and forth on the ground now and is perfecting his flat spinning technique... we've seen him do just shy of 180 degrees. I'm sorry to report that there are still no teeth yet! It seems like he is struggling with teething pain and minor fevers, but still no breakthroughs. Colin's vocal repertoire continues to grow. He babbles now and makes all sorts of silly gutteral sounds. He has stumbled upon the sounds "dada" and "uhoh," and of course we get all excited and pretend he actually meant to say them! Colin smiles a bit for Mommy and Daddy, but reserves his biggest smiles for his big sister who always keeps him entertained.
We are getting ready for a wonderful summer and a slower pace again. We're all looking forward to a trip to Hawaii with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, especially Anna, who asks them about it on every phone call. Click on our pictures below.
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| Colin at 6 months! |
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Colin enjoyed a sweet potato a few days shy of his six month birthday! Take a look:
The whole family enjoyed a wonderful day at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo today. Colin and Anna got to see a huge tortoise, an angry jaguar, capybaras (think giant guinea pigs), lemurs and exotic birds. Anna rode the swings, a ladybug ride, "Danny the Dragon," and even braved a pretty decent roller coaster with Daddy. Mommy was appalled. Here is a video of her on the Frog Hopper:
The whole family enjoyed a wonderful day at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo today. Colin and Anna got to see a huge tortoise, an angry jaguar, capybaras (think giant guinea pigs), lemurs and exotic birds. Anna rode the swings, a ladybug ride, "Danny the Dragon," and even braved a pretty decent roller coaster with Daddy. Mommy was appalled. Here is a video of her on the Frog Hopper:
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
5 Months
Spring is in full bloom and Colin continues to blossom!
Colin is getting bigger everyday. He's pushing the limit of six month clothes and he's already had two haircuts! He is likely on the verge of getting some teeth - he's been rather cranky the past few days and poor Sophie the giraffe is taking a beating. He's rolling over from tummy to back as well as back to tummy and is making some impressive progress across the floor, especially when his favorite toy is in sight. Speaking of sight, he has gotten very attuned to when Mommy is in the room and makes his displeasure known when she leaves. He has become very vocal, using more and more consonant sounds every day. He is able to sit up for a few seconds at a time before tipping over. He's more likely to stay up with his toy piano in front of him - he loves it!!!
Anna has realized that Colin is more interactive now and gets the biggest kick out of tickling her baby brother. He smiles like crazy when she grabs his feet and belly. She is thriving and tearing up playgrounds like crazy. She continues to become more adventurous, climbing higher and higher. She's begun trying out the monkey bars on her own, which makes Daddy proud and Mommy nervous.
We had lots of Easter-related festivities in the community this month. Anna participated in three egg hunts, although one was moved indoors due to weather, so the hunting element was pretty low. In addition to the Easter candy, the Easter bunny also brought Anna a small case of stomach flu, so Easter Sunday ended up being a different kind of exciting than we'd planned. Fortunately, it only knocked her out for half a day, and she we all rallied for evening mass at Memorial Church.
In other kid-related news, Colin and Anna will be moving to a new daycare this month. Although we love their current center, we were offered a spot at the center just across the street - literally 100 yards away! It will be hard to leave, but we think getting extra time every morning and evening with the kids will be more than worth it.
Take a look at what we've been up to by clicking on the picture below:
Colin is getting bigger everyday. He's pushing the limit of six month clothes and he's already had two haircuts! He is likely on the verge of getting some teeth - he's been rather cranky the past few days and poor Sophie the giraffe is taking a beating. He's rolling over from tummy to back as well as back to tummy and is making some impressive progress across the floor, especially when his favorite toy is in sight. Speaking of sight, he has gotten very attuned to when Mommy is in the room and makes his displeasure known when she leaves. He has become very vocal, using more and more consonant sounds every day. He is able to sit up for a few seconds at a time before tipping over. He's more likely to stay up with his toy piano in front of him - he loves it!!!
Anna has realized that Colin is more interactive now and gets the biggest kick out of tickling her baby brother. He smiles like crazy when she grabs his feet and belly. She is thriving and tearing up playgrounds like crazy. She continues to become more adventurous, climbing higher and higher. She's begun trying out the monkey bars on her own, which makes Daddy proud and Mommy nervous.
We had lots of Easter-related festivities in the community this month. Anna participated in three egg hunts, although one was moved indoors due to weather, so the hunting element was pretty low. In addition to the Easter candy, the Easter bunny also brought Anna a small case of stomach flu, so Easter Sunday ended up being a different kind of exciting than we'd planned. Fortunately, it only knocked her out for half a day, and she we all rallied for evening mass at Memorial Church.
In other kid-related news, Colin and Anna will be moving to a new daycare this month. Although we love their current center, we were offered a spot at the center just across the street - literally 100 yards away! It will be hard to leave, but we think getting extra time every morning and evening with the kids will be more than worth it.
Take a look at what we've been up to by clicking on the picture below:
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| Colin at 5 months |
Friday, March 30, 2012
Colin is 4 months old!
... already. Time has flown by, although it also feels like we can't remember what life was like without all four of us. We're all pretty well settled into our new "normal"- Karen is back at work, Brian is busy with class, Anna and Colin are enjoying school. Anna especially likes helping drop off or pick up Colin from Mulberry room (down the hall from her class in Pine room), where she gets to see all the babies and especially the toys she has waaaaay outgrown. Colin seems to like his time in Mulberry, with more and more frequent smiles and giggles. But he is still usually a very serious looking child. And a big boy too, he's already reached the second notch on his jumparoo. He's recently discovered his feet and is amazed by them. We're amazed at how he can swallow his entire fist. No words yet (of course), but his "I'm lonely" cry sounds like "mamamama", which works amazingly well.
Anna still loves school and playing with her friends there. She's almost always climbing on one of the play structures with her classmates at pickup time, although she's usually excited to see us and runs right over. Unless she's busy and negotiates to stay longer. She also continues to amaze us with her vocabulary, telling more and more complex stories, some of which are even true. She has a knack for elaborate detail, to the point that we've had to check with her teachers to figure out if some of the crazier tales were real. Fortunately, teacher Nancy didn't actually give the kids grape bubblegum to blow giant bubbles like Anna told us, it was just a song they were singing.
Pictures of everyone below.
Anna still loves school and playing with her friends there. She's almost always climbing on one of the play structures with her classmates at pickup time, although she's usually excited to see us and runs right over. Unless she's busy and negotiates to stay longer. She also continues to amaze us with her vocabulary, telling more and more complex stories, some of which are even true. She has a knack for elaborate detail, to the point that we've had to check with her teachers to figure out if some of the crazier tales were real. Fortunately, teacher Nancy didn't actually give the kids grape bubblegum to blow giant bubbles like Anna told us, it was just a song they were singing.
Pictures of everyone below.
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| Colin at 4 months |
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Colin at 3 Months
As we keep saying, time flies. Colin is three months old already! Karen has just started back at work, so both Anna and Colin are going to school together. Anna has been a little reluctant to share her morning car rides, but she seems to like having her little brother just down the hall from her in Mulberry room (all the rooms at school are named after trees, Anna is in Pine room). Her teachers occasionally bring her over for a brief visit. Colin is still adjusting to having so many other people around all day long, but he's taking it in stride.
To celebrate the last few weeks of maternity leave, we joined Grandpa and Grandma in Hawaii for a week (well, I was only there for a few days, but everyone else got to spend the week). We all got to relax in the fabulous weather, splash in the pool, and see lots of whales. Shortly after we returned, Pop-Pop came to visit and help out with the first few days back at school. Both kids had a great time visiting with everyone!
Both Anna and Colin are growing fast, seemingly while we watch. Colin can almost sit up on his own (with some careful propping) and loves to punch at his play gym. He's started smiling frequently and laughing, although he is generally a very serious looking little boy. His cooing is growing more complex. We've recently introduced him to a Jumperoo. In just the course of a week and half, he's become an expert - bouncing to make the lights and music go and reaching for the toys in front of him. Anna is still climbing everywhere and using new phrases every day. Her latest is saying "of course" instead of simply "yes". "Anna, would you like some milk?" "Of course!" "Anna, can you help read a story to Colin?" "Of course!"
We've got lots of new pictures in the album below.
To celebrate the last few weeks of maternity leave, we joined Grandpa and Grandma in Hawaii for a week (well, I was only there for a few days, but everyone else got to spend the week). We all got to relax in the fabulous weather, splash in the pool, and see lots of whales. Shortly after we returned, Pop-Pop came to visit and help out with the first few days back at school. Both kids had a great time visiting with everyone!
Both Anna and Colin are growing fast, seemingly while we watch. Colin can almost sit up on his own (with some careful propping) and loves to punch at his play gym. He's started smiling frequently and laughing, although he is generally a very serious looking little boy. His cooing is growing more complex. We've recently introduced him to a Jumperoo. In just the course of a week and half, he's become an expert - bouncing to make the lights and music go and reaching for the toys in front of him. Anna is still climbing everywhere and using new phrases every day. Her latest is saying "of course" instead of simply "yes". "Anna, would you like some milk?" "Of course!" "Anna, can you help read a story to Colin?" "Of course!"
We've got lots of new pictures in the album below.
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| Colin at 3 months |
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Anna at Two and a Half!
Our baby girl is not a baby anymore! Anna turned 2.5 today in style with some cupcakes to celebrate, as well as her Pop-Pop in town to celebrate!Anna is doing so well at so many things. Her vocabulary is simply amazing. She continues to wow us with the phrases she picks up from conversation and then uses them appropriately in her play. She never stops talking - even when she's upset or in trouble, she's trying to negotiate a better result! She still sings a lot and can often be found changing up the words to songs to fit a pretend scenario she's acting out or just to be silly. She's doing a better job of playing with other children now, rather than just around them.
Physically, Anna's getting stronger all the time. She climbs all over the playground with no fear, entertaining her father and making her mother very nervous! On our trip to Hawaii last week, Anna impressed onlookers with her strength and fearlessness in the water. She had no trouble dunking her head and was able to swim short distances underwater with no training (she kept her eyes open in the salt water pool, which led to some sore eyes!) We've got to get this girl some proper swim lessons so she can develop that talent!In other news, Anna's made great strides in potty training and is able to wear "big girl" underwear. She is a wonderful big sister who is always happy to help her mom and dad fetch things to help Colin.
While it's a little sad to think how quickly our baby girl is growing up, we are thrilled to see her thriving. It's so much fun having real conversations with her in which she can so beautifully express herself already. We are looking forward to so many more milestones!Sunday, January 29, 2012
Colin at 2 months
How time flies - another month has gone by and we are loving Colin more and more. He's accomplished a lot this month. As you saw in the video, he can roll over! He's very strong and has amazing head control for his age. We can now put him in the Bumbo for short periods of time. He loves being upright, especially if he can reach the toys hanging from his baby gym. He's able to bat at them lying down as well. In the last two weeks he has begun cooing and smiling when you talk to him - so much fun! We've also noticed him focusing more on objects and keeping his eyes on them even as we move him. His sleep is becoming more scheduled so we are feeling better... although we would sure be happy if he slept in longer increments!!! Oh well, it will come with time.
Colin had his 2 month checkup with the doctor on Thursday. He received the dreaded shots but did really well with them. He weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs, 12 oz.
It's an exciting time for Anna to be a big sister! She's extremely helpful and usually willing to share a toy or blanket with him. She loves to dance for Colin. Her latest dance move, as you might have seen in the video, is spinning until she is extremely dizzy. Anna has made great strides this month in potty training! She now wears big-girl underwear all the time. We must say we are happy to be back to a single child in diapers!
We have been blessed with amazing weather most of this month - lots of sunny days have allowed us to stay out of doors much of the time. Anna tears up the playground climbing and swinging like a monkey. Colin enjoys hanging out in the Baby Bjorn with Mommy or Daddy. We are enjoying this amazing time in our lives to the fullest!
In this post we've included two videos and a huge set of pictures, all of which you can access by clicking on the images below!
Colin had his 2 month checkup with the doctor on Thursday. He received the dreaded shots but did really well with them. He weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs, 12 oz.
It's an exciting time for Anna to be a big sister! She's extremely helpful and usually willing to share a toy or blanket with him. She loves to dance for Colin. Her latest dance move, as you might have seen in the video, is spinning until she is extremely dizzy. Anna has made great strides this month in potty training! She now wears big-girl underwear all the time. We must say we are happy to be back to a single child in diapers!
We have been blessed with amazing weather most of this month - lots of sunny days have allowed us to stay out of doors much of the time. Anna tears up the playground climbing and swinging like a monkey. Colin enjoys hanging out in the Baby Bjorn with Mommy or Daddy. We are enjoying this amazing time in our lives to the fullest!
In this post we've included two videos and a huge set of pictures, all of which you can access by clicking on the images below!
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| Colin at 2 months |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Sisterly Love
Anna has really been enjoying her new role of big sister. She makes sure to give Colin lots of blankets, toys, hugs, and kisses. Here's a cute shot from the other day in which Anna insisted I take a picture of her and Colin!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Anna Playing Dress Up
Check out Anna in some of the dress-up gear Grandma Jean gave her for Christmas!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Colin's Baptism and First Trip Back East
Colin was baptized on December 30th at the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City, MD. We were so happy to have so many family members in attendance! Take a look at pictures, plus more pictures from our trip back east, by clicking below:
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| Colin's Baptism - Trip Back East |
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Colin at 1 month
Okay, so this is extremely late. Colin turned one month old over the holidays when our family was back east, so I missed this post. I hope to be more timely in the future! By one month, Colin had been in 4 states: CA, MD, DE, and PA! (And he has since added NJ and the District of Columbia. Not bad!)
We had a wonderful time visiting family for the holidays. Before we left CA, we had Christmas at our house. We simply called up Santa Claus and asked him to make an early stop at our house, as well as an on-time stop at Mom-Mom's and Pop-Pop's house! He was kind enough to oblige. Uncle Tom and Aunt Stacey hosted us in Maryland, where Anna had a ball with her cousin Logan. They play together really well - it was so fun to watch them cause mischief together. Christmas Day Anna and Colin got to see their other cousin, Nicholas. With Colin and Nicholas being only 5 months apart, we think they will be great playmates! For now, they just eye one another suspiciously...
Colin is a snuggly baby who loves to be held.... ALL night long! His tired parents are enjoying all of it, however. Anna has been a great big sister and is always willing to get Colin a blanket, a toy, or a book. The kids behaved amazingly considering all the trekking around we did this holiday season... different beds, different time zones - it was quite an undertaking. We love getting to see all of our family members, though, so it was worth it!!
Click on the picture below to see what we were up to!
We had a wonderful time visiting family for the holidays. Before we left CA, we had Christmas at our house. We simply called up Santa Claus and asked him to make an early stop at our house, as well as an on-time stop at Mom-Mom's and Pop-Pop's house! He was kind enough to oblige. Uncle Tom and Aunt Stacey hosted us in Maryland, where Anna had a ball with her cousin Logan. They play together really well - it was so fun to watch them cause mischief together. Christmas Day Anna and Colin got to see their other cousin, Nicholas. With Colin and Nicholas being only 5 months apart, we think they will be great playmates! For now, they just eye one another suspiciously...
Colin is a snuggly baby who loves to be held.... ALL night long! His tired parents are enjoying all of it, however. Anna has been a great big sister and is always willing to get Colin a blanket, a toy, or a book. The kids behaved amazingly considering all the trekking around we did this holiday season... different beds, different time zones - it was quite an undertaking. We love getting to see all of our family members, though, so it was worth it!!
Click on the picture below to see what we were up to!
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| Colin at 1 month |
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