Collin ~ 13 months old today

Collin is 13 months old today. We've had our hands full for the past 13 months, but it's been worth it! I remember those first couple of months of waking up several times throughout the night, rushing to take a shower in 5 minutes or less because I was afraid he would wake up and start crying (heaven forbid he have to cry for a few minutes), planning every move around whether or not he had a nap, packing up half of our house in the diaper bag if we wanted to go out to eat, trying to give him a bath and keep him from falling over when he wasn't big enough to hold himself up, and all of the other little things we did when Collin was smaller. I remember thinking we were never going to get past all of the "complicated" stuff! =)

Now, here we are, chasing him all over the place, rolling around with him on the floor, watching him grab Yukon's tail and hang on to it when Yukon takes off running, teaching him to brush his teeth, watching as he learns to put one arm at a time in his jacket, giggling as he learns to say new words (and repeat some words that we really don't want him saying...oops!), telling us "sssshhhhh" as we talk, dancing to music when he hears something he likes, running from us when he knows a spanking is headed his way and all of the other things he manages to figure out how to do on his own these days. What a joy it is to watch him grow.

Collin becomes more and more curious as he gets older. He definitely doesn't miss much and he pays attention to everything we do. Not long ago, Collin was in the bathroom and had our bottle of lotion. He acted as if he were getting some out and then he took his hands and started to rub them on his legs. It was hilarious. Yesterday, when I was giving him a bath he took his hands and rubbed them together and then started running them through his hair as if he were washing his hair. =)

He is growing up into such an independent little boy with a personality all his own. He is still so sweet and innocent, even when he does things that he probably knows he shouldn't do. When I become frustrated with Collin for not "acting the way I want him to" (often during our morning routine), I often try to remind myself how small this is compared to some of the issues I may face later on down the road as a mother! I guess forcing him to keep his socks on long enough for me to get his shoes on isn't so bad after all!

I look forward to all of the things to come with Collin...every day is an adventure and it's one I am extremely happy to be a part of!


Collin laughing...



Collin & Yukon ~ Nov. 2008