Gymboree

With Colin starting school and the new baby on the way, we've decided to stop attending Gymboree, at least tentatively.  Daddy went with us to Colin's last class and joined in the fun.  Mommy got a little teary eyed at the thought of not coming back because, as you can see, Colin absolutely adores it.  Maybe we'll just have to splurge and sign up for more classes?....

Bye, Bye Gymbo!

Colin is 18 months!

Since Colin's last update at 15 months a few things have remained the same while there have been many changes as well. Let’s go ahead and start with the things that have remained the same.

Colin is still a picky eater.

Much to Mommy’s dismay, Colin continues to be one of the pickiest eaters ever.  It drives me absolutely bananas some days (no pun intended as bananas are one of the only healthy things he'll eat some days).  For being someone who eats pretty healthy and enjoys most food, except for the occasional meat, I can’t believe my son is so fussy about what he eats.  A typical list of daily foods for Colin looks something like this…Breakfast: waffle & milk, Lunch: cheese stick, banana, & a little peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Dinner: a piece of rye bread.  Yep that’s right, a piece of bread for dinner…often it is nothing at all.  Don’t worry he had a whole assortment of yummy veggies from a stew on his plate to eat but he wanted nothing to do with them.  After screaming for a few minutes, eating a few pieces of bread, he may have eaten a mini bite or two of the veggies.  Oh and I just remembered, I also gave him a few pieces of apple with his bread since he kept saying apple over and over again. Colin is obsessed with the word apple.  We haven't quite figured out why. It almost seems like he likes the way it sounds.  He plays around with the pronunciation and tries to get it just right. It also seems that he sometimes thinks any fruit is an apple yet at the same time knows the difference.  Its strange, I know, but it makes us smile every time he says it.

He very rarely gets treats such as cookies or junk but will sometimes have snacks.  He still loves the Gerber yogurt melts and rice puffs but I try to give him snacks like hummus and crackers or peanut butter and apples instead.  It can get kind of tricky when the only fruit he will eat are bananas, pears, and thankfully now apples and the only veggie is green beans.  Seriously, our kid won’t even eat potatoes.  Who doesn’t like potatoes? 

One thing is for sure though...he loves to play with his food (and who can resist that gorgeous smile while he does it?)...Maybe somehow the food will magically enter his body this way and give him lots of good vitamins and nutrients:

Colin's favorite place continues to be "outside".

Our little boy loves to play outside.  Mommy really likes to be outside too so its a win win for both of us.  Before we can go outside we have to make sure and find our hats.  When Colin is ready to go out he will start saying "outside" and "shoes" while patting his head for his hat.

All suited up.

It's no fun unless you get messy.

Colin loves to check on the neighbor's lawn.  We happen to have a broken slab that is perfect for his viewing pleasure.  He especially likes when their dog is outside.

I had to throw this one in here so I could mention Colin's love for squatting.  He seriously loves to squat.  Even Daddy is always making comments about this fact.  I guess he likes it because it keeps him on his feet, ready to stand up and move on a moments notice.  The only time you'll see Colin sitting is when he's reading.  Speaking of reading...

Colin still LOVES to read.

All I can say is thank God for books!  We've got a little boy on our hands that really could care less about toys.  Sometimes we will go the whole day with Colin not taking out a single toy although my whole kitchen may be turned inside out.  Colin's motto: anything that is not a toy is fun anything that is a toy is not fun.  Luckily, we have books and a LOT of them (although I still have lots more I want). I made a little reading nook in Colin's room for him as well as one under the desk in the great room. 

He also enjoys reading on his chair from Christmas.  I am so thankful that this is an activity that will actually keep Colin occupied by himself for a few minutes.  

I love cuddling up and reading books with Colin.  It is my favorite part of the day.  He has an amazing attention span when it comes to stories and has been known to be read to for almost a hour straight. 

Now on to some of the changes over the past few months...

Colin goes to school.

I made the tough decision to start Colin in a preschool three mornings a week.  He was dying for more interaction with his peers.  Gymboree and playgroup dates just weren't cutting it.  I knew with the little one coming he would start going even more stir crazy.

Not sure what is going on in this shot but here he is on his first day.

Apparently Mommy made the bookbag a little too heavy...poor little guy couldn't even stand up with it on.

Thankfully, he recovered quickly and did some exploring of his bag before we were off to meet his teachers and new friends.

Checking out his classroom for the first time.

Everyone was very welcoming on Colin's first day.  He was extremely excited and didn't even blink an eye when I slipped out the door.  When I picked him up I was told he had one of the best first days.  Only a few days later, he was literally running away from me when I came to pick him up because he wanted to stay and play.  Since then he has only had trouble with me leaving a few times.  Although Colin loves school and it really helped to transition him to one afternoon nap it has caused him to be really sick and in turn miss a ton of school.  We are hoping the worst is behind us and he doesn't have to miss anymore time in the future.

Colin (Mommy) has a love/hate relationship with the iPhone.

You know how some kids are all intuitive when it comes to technology.  Our little Colin is not.  He gets really easily frustrated with it (sounds like someone else he is related to.  I'll give you a hint: its not me).  Although I occasionally let him play a game, I usually keep my phone out of sight when Colin is awake so that he doesn't fuss for it and then fuss even worse when he keeps pressing the home button over and over and causing me to reopen the app or cry when he doesn't know what to do.  After saying all this, watch Colin becomes a super computer whiz some day.

Colin is a writer...and a LEFTY!

Writing and/or drawing with a pad of paper is much more Colin's style.  He loves to get down on the floor (often on his belly) and write, write, write.  He prefers a pen, which Daddy can't stand, but Mommy lets him use it pretty much whenever he wants.  I stocked an old storage clipboard of mine with writing utensils and paper.  Its a great hard surface for Colin and he loves opening it up to find his tools inside.  He gets frustrated with this activity sometimes too but he works hard to communicate with me what he wants.  Usually, its a blank sheet of paper.  We have endless pieces of scribbled paper around the house and I absolutely love it.

Notice in the photo how he is holding the pen in his left hand.  It is confirmed that Colin is definitely a lefty. No one in Mommy or Daddy's immediate family is a lefty so this is a first for us.  In lots of ways I see how Colin aligns with many other lefties.  I have to step back and think about it sometimes since using his dominate hand make tasks a lot easier for him.  I am always so quick to have him use his right hand.

Colin loves to go on dates with his Momma.

Colin spend a lots of time with Mommy, especially since Daddy is away all the time.  (He left us...again... for two weeks right after Christmas!)  To help pass the time and lift our spirits we enjoy going out to eat together.  Colin is becoming quite the date.  Here we are having lunch on the beach.

A quick side note: This is Colin's new face.  He makes it all the time.  It does not mean he is unhappy, often quite the opposite actually.  I guess it is when he is deep in thought about something and questioning it.  Strangers tend to get it a lot before he sweetly smiles at them.  He will also do it when he notices something to be different.  He may just end up like his mom and Pappy who can be read like an open book just by watching our expressions.

And finally....

Colin is impossible to photograph and video these days.

Notice a lot more words and a lack of photos to back them up for this update?  It has a little something to do with this...

I can't tell you how many of the exact same photo I have from the past few months.  Colin has gotten very into taking the camera away when I'm trying to capture a shot.  He has even begun saying "See. See. See." until you let him see.  Video is the hardest. A lot of the videos lately will end with Colin behind the camera and he and I discussing what we see.  I'm thinking this is just a phase and I'll be able to go back to my paparazzi ways soon.

Family Reading Promise

**A former colleague of mine started a blog this school year to encourage families to create a Reading Promise.  I was inspired by this idea and after playing around with it myself I made a guest post for her.**

The Stay at Home Teacher's Promise: Including the Family

Back in August, I received an email from Mrs. Hartman about Alice Ozma and The Reading Promise.  I found it ironic that I received this note on this particular evening because I had just had an especially wonderful reading time with my then 13 month old son.  One of the stories we read that night was Ten Little Ladybugs. I can remember bringing this book out a few months before and Colin showing little interest.   On this night, however, it was as if the whole book opened up for him. He was mesmerized by the pages, "counting" the ladybugs, and finding them on the page.  As I was putting him down to bed, I actually whispered in his ear how much I cherish all our reading cuddles.  In my moment of joy, my heart ached wishing my husband could take part in this time too. He is active duty Air Force and has been away from home since July and will not return till Christmas. When I received Mrs. Hartman’s email, I had already made several recordings of my husband reading story books to my son.  He also did one of the Hallmark recordable books.  Although I had these recordings I wasn’t consistent with playing them for my son.  

Reading with Daddy at 3 months old

Once I heard about The Reading Promise I knew that mine and my son’s reading promise would be a little different than others.  After several years as a teacher (three of which were at Sinking Springs, go Panthers!) I am now a stay at home mom.  At least for now, reading to my son throughout the day is something we do without even having to think about it.  I don’t think we have missed a day of reading since he was six months old.  My husband, on the other hand, is rarely given this opportunity.  I decided then that our reading promise would be Daddy “reading” at least one story a day to our son.  Starting August 21^st, Colin and I listened to one of Daddy’s stories each day.  We were also fortunate enough to visit Daddy shortly after this where he was able to read in person.  These days are always the best.  Unfortunately, after a few weeks it became apparent that some days Colin didn’t want to listen to Daddy’s story.  Although only a toddler, he is well aware of his Daddy’s absence and it seems the stories are a reminder that he is not here.  

Our reading promise was in need of some adjustments.  Not only is my sweet Colin often separated from his Daddy he’s also hundreds of miles away from his grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  I decided to add all of them to our reading promise.   Now, in order to keep our Streak going, Colin must listen to at least one family member other than Mommy each day.  Just like Alice and her father, Colin listens to the family member just before bed.  I make sure it is the first story we do each night so that I don’t accidentally forget.  He’s not quite old enough to remind me yet.  I have audio and video recordings of family members on my iPhone that we use most often.  On evenings when our schedules align, Daddy reads a story over the phone in real-time, and whenever we are visiting family or they are visiting us Colin will get his story read in person.  

Reading with Pappy as part of the Streak

We have been going strong with the Streak so far. I have to admit that there have been a few nights Colin has had a babysitter or he's fallen asleep in the care late in the evening and we missed our reading promise story. I guess it can't be a Streak with missed nights. I've figured out some solutions like playing one of the recorded stories in the car during those unexpected late nights. Since I can't even remember the date of our last missed night, we will officially call today, November 12, 2012, Day 1 of our Reading Promise Streak. 

How can our reading promise relate to yours?  Perhaps you have a relative far away that you’d like your child to be able to connect with or maybe your child’s father travels for work as well and you’d like him to continue being a part of everyday life at home.  Maybe you have to work late or you’re busy taking care of another child but still want to read to your other child.  

I have lots of hopes and dreams for our reading promise.  I know that it will evolve over the coming years.  I imagine my son writing emails to his grandmother about chapter books they are reading together and listening to stories with ear buds on long car rides.  No matter how our reading promise changes, one thing I know for sure, my son will be read to every day.

Reading Promise Update

Since writing this post, Colin and I are still going strong with our Reading Promise.  While up north in December, Colin got to spend a lot of time being read to by family members and Mommy got a few more recordings for when we are home. 

Since we were living at Mimi and Pappy's with Uncle Connor, he and Colin had a lot of bonding time over books.

Reading this dinosaur book was especially entertaining. 

New Year's Day at Colin's Favorite Park

It was a gorgeous New Year's Day in Charleston this year so we spent the afternoon at Colin's favorite parkground, Alhambra Park.  The grounds are beautiful, surrounded by oak trees and the harbor across the street.  Colin loves to climb up the pirate ship and play in the sandbox.  This was the first time for Daddy at the park so Colin took him by the hand to show him the ropes.  We are so lucky to play outside in January without jackets!