Collin & his cousin Ryan
Collin & Ahlivia
Okay, so it's been over 3 months since I've updated Collin's blog. I would chalk it up to being extremely busy, but there really isn't any excuse. I have promised myself that I won't get this behind on it again (hopefully I can keep that promise). I don't even know where to start. Collin is growing up and changing everyday. It is almost daily that he does something or says something that we've never seen or heard. He has definitely mastered the art of saying no. He has no problem letting us know when there is something he doesn't want to do. Often times, Collin will say, "no, I not want that" or "no, I not do that," which usually leads to a spanking or a few minutes in the corner. As much as Collin dislikes spankings, he is really at an age where he absolutely hates having to stand in the corner. As soon as we tell him to go to the corner he always says, "I'll be good...I'll be good." At that point, it's too late. :)
I am trying to think back over the last few months to some of the memorable things Collin has done. We are always so impressed with his vocabulary and his ability to use the right context and meaning for things. You can actually hold a decent conversation with him now. It's fun to watch his facial expressions as you talk to him and he begins to rationally think out a response. Not too long ago, dad asked Collin to pick something up and he quickly responded, "okay." Well, a few minutes went by and Collin didn't move - he was still sitting on the couch playing with his cars. Again, dad asked him to go pick up something and explained that he needed to do it "right now." Collin calmly responded, "I said oooookkkaaaay, daddy." It was as if he were frustrated that his dad would not let him finish playing before he had to do what he said to do.
We took him to see the big light show at Shelby Farms back in December. We waited in line for a good hour. For those that aren't familiar with this, it's over a mile of LED Christmas lights. You drive your car through the park to view the lights. I wasn't particularly amazed by it (at least not for $20), but we thought Collin would enjoy it. After our long wait in line, we were finally making our way to the light show. Collin was not impressed at all. As a matter of fact, he cried almost the entire way through it. He kept asking us to turn his movie on. Great. We just paid $20 and he would rather watch his DVD. :) I guess you never know what your child is going to find interesting until you try it. Now we know.
Now, on to Collin's "school life." He is still attending Ms. Amelia's home daycare center. I just renewed our contract for this year. I was so shocked when she pulled out his file and it had "8 weeks old" on the cover of the folder. He was just 8 weeks old when we started taking him there. Ms. Amelia and her staff have watched him grow up. He still calls Ms. Amelia "mom" on a very regular basis. I've had people ask me if that bothers me and it never has. I am so glad that he loves being there. I can count on one hand the number of times he's actually cried or not wanted to go to school. Most of those times it was only because he fell asleep in the car and didn't want to wake up. He has a wonderful bond with several of the other kids there. Of course, Amir (Amelia's 3-yr old son) and Martavius (another 3-yr old) are his best buddies. He will ask about them several times throughout the weekend. Now, the girls are another story. Collin has no problem with the girls. I love to watch him interact with them. He is such a sweet kid and a protector. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments of "roughness" with pushing, hitting or not sharing, but I've watched him on several occasions stick up for one of the girls when another kid is trying to push her or take something from her. He is your typical 2-year old that gets frustrated when he doesn't get his way, but he has such a tender heart and is so good about saying "I'm sorry" when he's hurt someone. It is my hope that he will always admit when he's wrong and apologize when it's needed. We have been very fortunate to find a place that loves Collin, takes the time to teach him right from wrong and encourages his individuality and unique personality. As Collin gets older, I have a bittersweet feeling about leaving Ms. Amelia's and heading to another school. I think our plan is to move him into more of a school environment when he is 3. Since his birthday is in October, that means he will likely not start this August but in August 2011. It seems so far off, but the last 2 years have gone by so fast that I know it will be here before we know it.
I am trying to think back over the last few months to some of the memorable things Collin has done. We are always so impressed with his vocabulary and his ability to use the right context and meaning for things. You can actually hold a decent conversation with him now. It's fun to watch his facial expressions as you talk to him and he begins to rationally think out a response. Not too long ago, dad asked Collin to pick something up and he quickly responded, "okay." Well, a few minutes went by and Collin didn't move - he was still sitting on the couch playing with his cars. Again, dad asked him to go pick up something and explained that he needed to do it "right now." Collin calmly responded, "I said oooookkkaaaay, daddy." It was as if he were frustrated that his dad would not let him finish playing before he had to do what he said to do.
We took him to see the big light show at Shelby Farms back in December. We waited in line for a good hour. For those that aren't familiar with this, it's over a mile of LED Christmas lights. You drive your car through the park to view the lights. I wasn't particularly amazed by it (at least not for $20), but we thought Collin would enjoy it. After our long wait in line, we were finally making our way to the light show. Collin was not impressed at all. As a matter of fact, he cried almost the entire way through it. He kept asking us to turn his movie on. Great. We just paid $20 and he would rather watch his DVD. :) I guess you never know what your child is going to find interesting until you try it. Now we know.
Now, on to Collin's "school life." He is still attending Ms. Amelia's home daycare center. I just renewed our contract for this year. I was so shocked when she pulled out his file and it had "8 weeks old" on the cover of the folder. He was just 8 weeks old when we started taking him there. Ms. Amelia and her staff have watched him grow up. He still calls Ms. Amelia "mom" on a very regular basis. I've had people ask me if that bothers me and it never has. I am so glad that he loves being there. I can count on one hand the number of times he's actually cried or not wanted to go to school. Most of those times it was only because he fell asleep in the car and didn't want to wake up. He has a wonderful bond with several of the other kids there. Of course, Amir (Amelia's 3-yr old son) and Martavius (another 3-yr old) are his best buddies. He will ask about them several times throughout the weekend. Now, the girls are another story. Collin has no problem with the girls. I love to watch him interact with them. He is such a sweet kid and a protector. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments of "roughness" with pushing, hitting or not sharing, but I've watched him on several occasions stick up for one of the girls when another kid is trying to push her or take something from her. He is your typical 2-year old that gets frustrated when he doesn't get his way, but he has such a tender heart and is so good about saying "I'm sorry" when he's hurt someone. It is my hope that he will always admit when he's wrong and apologize when it's needed. We have been very fortunate to find a place that loves Collin, takes the time to teach him right from wrong and encourages his individuality and unique personality. As Collin gets older, I have a bittersweet feeling about leaving Ms. Amelia's and heading to another school. I think our plan is to move him into more of a school environment when he is 3. Since his birthday is in October, that means he will likely not start this August but in August 2011. It seems so far off, but the last 2 years have gone by so fast that I know it will be here before we know it.
Last couple of things and I will sign off...
Collin has finally figured out how to actually play with Yukon without torturing him. For a long time, Yukon has totally avoided Collin or run from him every time he sees Collin coming towards him. Now, Collin no longer smacks Yukon with his toys or hits him when he's trying to pet him (at least he doesn't do it very often; we still have moments). Collin loves to get one of Yukon's toys and throw it. Yukon takes off running after it and makes Collin chase him around to get it back. Yukon is a little too fast for Collin, which usually results in Collin getting frustrated and yelling for Yukon to "sit down right now!" Sometimes Yukon listens, most of the time he doesn't; that's just his way of playing. He wants Collin to chase him.
Last week I took Collin to the dentist for his 6 month checkup. I knew he probably didn't remember his last visit to the dentist, so on the way there I was explaining it to him. You know, telling him that the dentist wants to look at his teeth, brush them, etc. I explained that he would have to sit in the big chair and open his mouth really wide so they could see all of his teeth. I told him that if he was a good boy they would give us a new toothbrush and a toy when we finished the visit. After carefully explaining it and watching how intently he was listening, I got quiet. I couldn't believe he wasn't saying anything back or asking questions. After a moment of silence, Collin spoke up:
"Mama?" he said.
"Mama?" he said.
"Yes," I responded.
"I not know what you are talking about," he said in the most serious voice.
I couldn't do anything other than laugh. It was almost as if he really tried to understand what I was saying, but after thinking about it for a second, he just didn't get it. Although you would have never known that he didn't get it because he was absolutely perfect at the dentist's office. He did exactly as they asked him to do and didn't whine or cry for a second.
Well, that's it for now. I hope to have a new update in a couple of weeks!
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