Collin is two! And yes he can proudly hold up two fingers and proclaim this.
What does this age mean so far?
It's part sweet, part aggravation. The best are the questions asking me for a kiss or hug, the coherent sentences, the huge smiles and the independence, well this is both good and bad--he refuses to sit in his booster seat lately and longs after the big kids on the playground trying to jump high on the monkey-bars or go for the tallest slide. He uses a fork and spoon like a pro (most of the time). He can take his coat and shoes off, throws his dishes in the sink and sleeps in a big boy bed.
The hard parts are the flailing screaming tantrums because he's frustrated or God forbid you gave him the wrong snack. Or you put a cap on his Elmo watching. Or maybe he's just tired. Or teething. Or it just feels good to scream. Who knows. He's still torturing Hurley our poor cat and then looks shocked when Hurley finally scratches him.
Food wise he's hit or miss. For whatever reason he usually passes on pizza and toast with peanut butter or cheese which he used to love (although quesadillas are all good), pasta is a hit, as are beans, yogurt, anything fruit (especially "bluebons") and turkey. And now he eats cereal with milk--the kind I like, (the healthy Kashi stuff with soy milk), somehow that just makes me smile. This is combined with asking for "bacon" and loving spam, sausages and barbecue (obviously his father's son). He has been forgoing the veggies lately which he used to enjoy down so who knows. Bottom line we're not worried about Collin starving. Oh and Annie's fruit bunnies might as well be crack. Once I introduced those, he eagerly points to the cabinet several times a day with giddy chants of "buddies, buddies?"
Blue remains his best friend and our portable DVD player is a lifesaver (as are the Elmo movies he watches). Those 25 minutes can save my sanity and allow me to whip up dinner or grab the laundry. Rotting brain be damned.
Collin may be our future engineer. He likes to examine things and figure out how they work (he gets under the ride-on cars like a mechanic), he knows how to open doors, outsmarted the baby gate latch and is starting to figure out zippers.
He also loves "dodos" (the photo album) and points to "Papa, Nona, Mama, Dada, Uncle and baby" I don't think he's quite made the connection the baby = Collin. Toy wise his favorites are his choo choos, balls, his tool set (just like dad) and toy cars. He also loves looking at books and will occasionally have fun with blocks. Dancing is also a hit especially if it involves mom or dad lifting him in the air and spinning him around. He's definitely an energy ball and late this month will hopefully channel that into peewee soccer!
At Purple Moon he plays with his friends, does lots of cool art projects and for the most part is pretty sweet. He'll be moving out of the toddler classroom and into preschool in the fall!
For his birthday he brought cookies to school and I surprised him when I picked him up with a balloon bouquet, singing Elmo balloon included. Collin couldn't figure out where the singing came from but had a huge grin on his face. We went for dinner and beers at Hopworks Brewery (okay he had milk). Despite not eating until nearly 8pm, he was a trooper and happily played, ran around and enjoyed some spaghetti, French fries and a special birthday ice cream sundae! Not a healthy food day to say the least but birthdays are all about hedonism even when you're two, right?!
All in all he's a fun, dramatic, independent, stubborn and happy tot. A year ago he was barely walking and now he's blasting through the world.
Slow down Collin, I can't chase you forever.
At birth:
On his first birthday:
And today:
