Chatterbox

I cannot believe how much Collin talks. He's absorbing everything and a lot less frustrated with communication (= way less hitting too). He's starting to string words together but doesn't quite do sentences. Example Collin phrase: "Dada shoe." "Momma Uhoh" (as in momma I broke something). I'm trying to write down all his words but everyday there's something new and it's hard to keep track of them all!

The concern about his hearing is pretty minimal at this point. He's definitely on target if not ahead with language. Toddler talk is just about the cutest thing ever. I'll try to be unlazy and charge the video camera to get some Collin conversation in action.

Here's a breakdown of Collin's (nearly!) two year old vocab, I'm sure I'm missing some. He's also repeating a lot (watch the cussing around him!):

Momma
Dada
Nona (grandma)
Baba (grandpa)
Uncle
Blue (the dog)
Elmo (newest obsession)
Baby
(He's also said friend's names and names of other kids: Katie, Ali, Kai Kai, Anna)
Cat
Doggie
Duckie
Gecko (kind of random but he loved these guys in Hawaii)
Light
Bubble
Botty (potty, says it but won't use it)
and along those lines: Poop, pee, diaper
School
Sun
Moo (moon)
Die (sky)
Pillow

Ball
Balloo (balloon)
Book

Purple, blue and orange (colors in context)

Apple
Nana (banana)
Orange
Apico (apricot)
Dodee(tomato)
Mah (milk)
Pumpkin
Pear
Juice
Oameal (oatmeal)
Bean
Wah (water)
Puff puffs (cheddar corn puffs)
O's
Blueba (blueberrys)
Chee (cheese)
Cook (cookie)

Shoe
Socks
Pants
Shirt
Coat
Hat

Knee
Eye
Tee (teeth)

Choo choo (trains and cars, doesn't quite differentiate the two yet)
Bite (Bike)

Hot
Cold
Yummy
Yucky

Uhoh
All right
All done
Bye Bye
Hi
Up
On
Nigh nigh (night night)
No
Yah
Mine
More
Help (just started saying this for when he needs our assistance like scooping out the rest of his yogurt)
Sit
Peas ("please," according to his teacher but I have yet to hear it!)

The day in the life of a toddler

Collin loves "balloo," of course Blue and also his new baby.

From Winter 09-10

"Choo choo" time with dad!



And there's nothing better than making a fort

This is what happens you leave a toddler alone for 5 minutes while you gather the laundry

Yep he discovered the box of mandarins. Such fun to squish.

Christmas Fun!

For Collin's second Christmas we spent a few days at the Oregon Coast with Mike's family. Jon and Mary Ann rented a beautiful beach front house and we got lucky with the weather. I've been to the coast in July only to find it gray, gloomy and 60 degrees. But this time it was bright, clear blue skies and although chilly with the wind, still pleasant to walk along the beach.

From Christmas 09

There was a pile of gifts to bestow (recession, what recession)!



Collin received lots of fun presents including books, a new best friend we call Reindeer, a train set, and a tool box just like dad's (foul language not included).



Mike surprised me with a new camera just like the professionals use and an introductory lesson in January! I started messing around with it, though I'm completely clueless with ISO and all the manual setting stuff, I'm excited to learn. I've always wanted to take up photography and now no excuses. Best part of the new camera--that click, click, all in a row instead of seeing the perfect picture and then having it disappear in the time I press the button to take the photo. We also got lots of great gifts from family including a dutch oven and a rice cooker I'm excited to add to our kitchen appliance collection.

We spent about an hour on a chilly doc while Chris, Jon and Virginia went crabbing for dinner. Collin was pretty fascinated by the crabs and their claws and luckily didn't find out what happens when you reach out to touch them. We left when it got too cold for Collin but they stayed to catch enough crab for a delicious gumbo dinner.







After we left our relaxing coast trip we went to my parent's house for "second Christmas" and we all got more fun toys to play with (a griddle/panini press/bbq = more awesome times in the kitchen) and once Collin gets the hang of the "sit and spin" I imagine he'll enjoy making himself sick with dizziness.

We're fortunate that both our families are nearby and we were able to spend time with everyone during the holidays. And appreciate everyone's generosity. Collin is beyond lucky to have so many people that care for him.

Aloha!

We spent 10 days in beautiful Hawaii. As the rain pelts and the Oregon sky remains that lovely shade of blah gray, I'll close my eyes and pretend I hear the ocean and see palm trees swaying and cover myself in that nice blanket of warmth. Now, back to reality!



Here's the lowdown of our trip:

The Highs:

Collin hanging with his great grandpa! He absolutely loved "Baba." Every time he saw his great grandpa he's stretch his arms out to be picked up with a big smile. We were all a little nervous about Grandpa holding him as Collin is nearly 30 lbs but he insisted! Grandpa took us to the aquarium and Collin loved pointing to the fish. Collin was his usual bundle of energy and loved to run up and down the halls of Grandpa's retirement home. The older residents also circled in on him.







Family: Not only did Collin see his Great Grandpa but he also got to hang out with Uncle Chris for a few days. Then we left Maui for the Big Island to spend a week with my parents and Uncle Devin. Traveling with family is SO NICE when you have a rambunctious toddler. Mike and I got a bit of a break and Collin got to bond with everyone.

Friends: For the last couple days of the trip Mike's college buddy, Shoji and his girlfriend came over from Oahu to hang out. Shoji is hilarious and sweet and both of them were awesome with Collin.

Beaches: I admit the waves sort of freak me out but I love to wade in the ocean with the sun beating down. Just lying out in the sun hearing the sounds of the beach is the most relaxing thing I can think of. Collin had a great time digging in the sand and filling buckets but whimpered whenever we got near the water. Mike ventured in with him and a wave clobbered them so that probably didn't help.



Hawaii in general: Just to reiterate...Hawaii is wonderfullll. I love how natives think it's chilly when the thermostat hits below 80. It's always warm. Almost always sunny. And most everyone is so low-key and friendly. The accents are kind of cute too. But will someone please explain what "da kine" means?

Talk, talk: Collin has been flying with words! He picked up new ones and surprised me by repeating several after hearing them the first time. Um one of these said words is attempting to be reprogrammed to "Ship!"

His new vocab from the trip:
Baba: Great Grandpa
Papa: Grandpa
Uncle
Gecko: He loved pointing to the sweet little creatures that eat all the blood sucking bugs
Purple: Sort of random but he pointed to something purple and said it
Hi
Bye bye
Ball

The Low's:

The act of travel: Seriously what was I thinking when it crossed my mind I could take Collin to Europe. We'd all need sedatives for that to happen at this stage. The flight to Maui was horrid. We lucked out and got an empty seat for Collin but he squirmed, thrashed and screamed virtually the whole 5.5 hour flight. The books, puzzles and snacks proved useful for about a minute.

Two different couples approached us on our trip and remarked how Collin seemed much happier now. Two couples we didn't even recognize. Yes we're "those parents."

The first day Collin woke up at 3am and after that gradually later (until around 7am on the last day). The nice part about this is once back home, he's been sleeping in!

The flight home was 10 times better. My parents were there this time and helped with lugging stuff and again we scored an empty seat after Mike put on his Hawaiian accent. This time we strapped Collin in his car seat. He cried a little but napped for almost two hours, played, walked up and down the aisles and was much happier. And luckily he didn't have anyone sitting in front of him because the seat room proved perfect for kicking.

Bugs and safety: The house in the Big Island was beautiful however for the first few days there was no air conditioning which meant mosquitoes hovered in the house and ate everyone up (thankfully Collin's blood didn't seem to be sweet enough for their taste). In order to keep the house cool, all the doors had to be open which led to the pool which led to super vigilance to make sure Collin didn't run outside and drown, or fall off the drop off of the property which is perched high on a hill (and where wild boars and livestock roamed). After a couple days my parents opted to pay to turn the A/C on saving us some bites and a lot of peace of mind.



Collin the fiery one: This I'm a terror stage will hopefully be short lived. Collin scratched and hit nearly every one of his poor family members. When he's alone with the grandparents he's fine but for whatever reason when Mom and Dad are around it's free reign to turn on the terror. He also grabbed a little girl's hair on the airplane and popped another girl's balloon at the airport (she burst into tears because Collin "killed her friend.") We've tried time outs which don't really seem too effective at this point and a little pinch which stops him for a second. Sigh. I'm hoping this is a side effect of teething as one friend suggested and that sweet Collin the Angel will stick around for longer periods.

Fun with Dad

I had my first trip alone from Collin when I went to Austin, TX for a grants conference. I admit, waking up whenever I wanted, not having to worry about diapers or someone else's well being was a little nice. But every time I heard Collin's tiny voice say "Mama" on the phone I had to steady myself from tears. After five days it was nice to come home to my sweet little guy who likes to pull my face to his and touch my nose, a sort of Collin kiss. Mike was also relieved to see me (just because he loves me right!) it may also be that working full-time, finishing up remodels on the house and taking care of a toddler is, well hard...

They did seem to have lots of fun though and I was happy to come to a house that didn't need 12 hours of heavy cleaning.

Drunk Pumpkin

Well okay we didn't really spike Collin's milk with vodka but you wouldn't know it by this picture:




I know I'm a little late in Halloween posting. Let's just say this year's Halloween can be stricken from the record. It consisted of Collin looking cute with a too small Pumpkin costume, going to the jam packed halls of the Kennedy School with some pretty impressive costumes (robots, cartoon characters, animals, families in matching ensembles).

Collin's Pumpkin hoodie was purchased from the bargain rack at Costco. Next year when we actually take him trick-or-treating I think I'll be a little more inspired. He had a slight meltdown at the Kennedy School (too many kids, lots of noises may have bothered him, who knows). He played the part of the Killer Pumpkin and attempted the gouge the eyes out of a poor one year-old "Superman" three times. We left shortly after, had pizza and put one tired babe to bed. Collin did try a peanut butter cup before the night was over and he's been doing his "more" sign and pointing at the candy jar ever since. Mmm peanut butter cups.