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.

Colin really enjoys crawling all around the playground and courtyard. He loves getting his hands dirty in the sand, and particularly enjoys having a few sticks to bang together. We've been doing lots of practice on walking - giving him a toy to push as we walk along the courtyard path. He seems to enjoy that but still is not too keen on trying to walk on his own - he just prefers to crawl! I'm sure next month I'll have some walking to report! In the meantime, Colin has now learned to go down the stairs rather than just up. With very careful supervision, he'll kick one leg back at a time and scoot down the stairs. He takes a little pause at each one to look down and make sure he's got his footing- a cautious boy!

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!

Colin is 1!