Mouse Please

This has been a busy week as this was City-Wide garage sale weekend. I just love it. I get to buy all sorts of fun stuff for Collin without having to spend a fortune! We can find really great bargains at garage sales here (most clothing items are $1 per piece!) and there are literally hundreds of garage sales--a few starting as early as wednesday and running thru saturday. We found lots of clothes and even some books and toys. Probably the most "fun" items were a Little Tykes convertible car that either he can push with his feet or it has a handle for an adult to push, and a Sesame Street Toolbench with lots of tools--each for $5!! As I have said Collin truly doesn't need more toys, but how could I pass that up! :) The toolbench was missing a few small things, but had some extras as well. It is obnoxiously loud, but some tape helped that! The car is just missing the board for the bottom for riding, I believe, but I think we can "fake something" in it's place if needed. Mom came with me on Saturday and Dan watched Collin so we could maximize on the time--which was good because it was freezing outside so I didn't really want Collin in & out of the car in the weather. We had a wonderful weekend with lots of fun with Grandma!

Grandma also brought up some new blocks. Collin is so interested in building right now. He really didn't play much with other toys this weekend due to the new blocks! And his balancing of them is actually pretty remarkable.

Collin is also doing some more of putting words together a bit. The other day as I was sorting laundry Collin was playing in his "box" (the large box our grill came in acts as a playpen in the basement :)). He was asking for a bag so I prompted in a sing song voice "bag, please.bag, please." And he sort of tried it. Then a few minutes later while my mind was wondering I suddenly realized he was saying something to me (not just jabbering) and found he was saying "mouse, please. mouse please. mouse please." in the same sing song voice! Let me tell you I found that computer mouse he wanted & handed it right over! :)

We also had quite a few thunderstorms this week. So how do you explain thunder to a 21mo old? Collin was quite sure there was a large truck outside that he needed to "see, see, see" as it sounded similar to the garbage truck he enjoys watching that comes many mornings to empty the dumpster.

Finally we did have a little bit of non-toy fun earlier in the week. I cut a slit in a box for Collin to put playing cards through. (found the idea in a book) He had fun with it....and so did I :)

A beautiful day

Today was a WONDERFUL day. The weather was just perfect--and look at that--the grass is actually mostly green! We walked to church and it was a good service with good challenges for me. Then we came home for lunch and naps all around. After naps we played out on the front lawn just "exploring". Collin just LOVES to be outside. He plays with sticks and rocks and leaves and mulch chips and....the hose attachments. :) In fact usually when he wants to go outside he says "ose, ose, ose" and points to the door. We had our snack outside where Collin forcefully fed Dan about half of his apple--just shoving piece after piece in :) and then went to the playground--stopping to visit with some neighbors on the way. Collin played with the rocks and sticks and climbed the stairs and went down the slide and just had a great time exploring while we relaxed and chatted. We returned home and Dan grilled while we explored more in the front yard. After supper is bath time and Collin and I played bubbles. We have done that quite a bit lately. It's great to blow bubbles during bath time because when they land on a wet surface (skin, toys, bathtub, water) they don't generally pop right away. I had no idea how much fun it would be! Collin likes to pop them with his nose :). Plus, you don't have to worry about the slimy hands since you can just rinse in the tub.

So I think this was just about a perfect day for me. We got to spend the day together as a family and it was outside in the best weather so far this spring--I can't think of anything that would have made it better!

Collin has been pretending more and more. This week we started to feed horsie "oats" and give him drinks of water (from a cup) :). It's so cute. He also loves to play with his stuffed penguin. He rubs noses with him and places him here & there & in "forts" and other little houses built of cereal boxes or couch cushions; identifies his eyes, nose & hair (with a nose rub thru the hair, of course); and then puts him ni-night at the end of the day.

I've also found some great blogs this week of mothers with children close to Collin's age who post all sorts of fun activities to do with stuff you have around the house, etc. Some of them take a bit of prep or are unusual things, but others are just obvious things that I hadn't thought of. For instance, on one of my favorites called Chasing Cheerios, there was an idea to put plastic easter eggs into an egg carton. Why didn't I think of that? Collin has now enjoyed it many times.
However, I also realized that I could really lose a LOT of time on this blogging stuff....very dangerous. This week, I read a statement by someone against TV watching--but it applies to my blogging as well. Basically their argument was that TV makes you believe you are living but really you are just passively watching someone else live. Same goes for these blogs in my opinion. I can read about hundreds of ideas of fun activities for Collin or I can turn off the computer and actually get the materials together so we can do some of them. I'm quite glad I came across that...it will help me to remember to keep my reading/surfing in check...

Wish you all a nice a day--as I have had today!

Here kitty, kitty!

Oooo. I missed these photos! These were taken the weekend we were at my parents house for Great Grandma Dotty's birthday. As you can see he loves the kitty! He likes to lick his tongue in/out like the kitty. :) As with anything soft or furry (or hair), he loves to stick his face in it and feel with his nose! Not quite sure where this came from, although I have been known to sort of "smell that baby smell" by rubbing my nose through his hair in the past ;)

Mooooo

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit a farm. Dan had a trip planned with the Taiwanese cohort group to some farms where our good friend Mark works, so Collin and I decided to tag along. It was so much fun. Collin just loves animals. Whenever he sees one, in person, stuffed, or in a book, he makes kissing noises. :) At the first farm we were able to see cattle raised for beef. There were young calves that we could touch. I'm not quite sure who was more nervous--Collin or the calf. Both were hesitant and if one would move the other would jump. I wouldn't say he was really afraid, just a bit unsure.

Then we visited a dairy farm. It was all very interesting. Collin kept mooing after he would hear one do it and try to imitate their low pitch, etc. We ended the evening with a cookout on another farm--it was wonderful. And we had the warmest day so far to do it! Since then Collin has become more interested in animals' names and sounds. Many animals have recently been called "cows" and say "moo" :)

There have been so many little things I've been wanting to blog about in the past couple months and there are far too many to come up with great transitions, etc. So here's the disconnected bunch :)

First off, you may have noticed in the pictures that Collin's hair is finally coming in! It's really growing and getting thicker. Everybody comments on how red it looks now. And it is quite curly as well. We generally comb it (fairly) straight, but when it is wet or damp it is really curly--especially on top and in the back.



Dubuque did finally break that snow record--. And we keep seeing more little bits of snow here and there--IN APRIL!! But the forecast for the next week finally looks like Spring might be here. I hope so! Collin and I take walks or go to the playground whenever it gets even close to feeling warmish.

Collin has really been building his vocabulary. I'm amazed each day at the words he picks up. And he just loves to look at "word" books (Baby's First Word Book for example--thanks Gma & Papa) and each day he knows more and more of the pictures. He does still generally need an interpreter when anyone besides mom/dad are listening, but...it's coming. One funny one lately was his pronunciation of "Soup" which we had for supper a couple nights last week. He very clearly pronounced it "poop". It was all Dan and I could do to not laugh at that one when he was asking for more :) I think he is also very close to putting words together. Generally he still says one word several times and then when you repeat it back to him, he will say the next one--usually "please?". But a few times lately he has said a word paused and said the next one. Which brings me to the next thing he's been doing. He seems to have learned that apostrophe s means possession. So for example he will say "hat, hat, hat" and then "BaPa's" (Grandpa) or "juice, juice, juice....Mama's". He also seems to think that if he can't have something it must be because it is someone else's, so if for example he see's a book and asks for it, when I say "No we can't have that book" he will reply with "Mama's" or "Daddy's". So I'm pretty sure "Mine" will be the next thing coming...

For several months when Collin is waiting for something (usually food) and getting impatient I will suggest that he sing a song while he waits and tell him he must be patient. Then he would hum for a few seconds. Recently though I just told him he must "wait patiently" and he started humming. So now he associates that phrase with "singing"--I think it's quite cute--hopefully it will last!

We have also begun to do a bit of potty training. And if nothing else it has gotten him to sit long enough to do a few more activities. We started out with a sort of "potty boot camp" sitting him on it very very often and trying to get him to sit for 10 min or so, so he would get the idea of things. I made him a little "desk" from a cardboard box to do activities on (why today's high chairs don't have trays is beyond me!) and we had lots of fun. And the reward--not M&M's, but CHEESE! Let me tell you he really wants to learn this one if it means he gets a little slice of string cheese each time! We played with toys, blocks, unplugged electronics, homemade play dough, crayons, and our personal favorite--beans! I was so excited that Collin is old enough to start this one--don't know why, but I think it's fun. He just poured the beans back and forth between the cups. He might be a bit young yet as he gets quite frustrated when he spills...but he wasn't eating them! And hopefully it just might help to build that patience and perseverance that he is lacking. I try to only do them when he isn't already in an impatient state (overtired, hungry, etc). We've really enjoyed it.

I've worked with children a lot in the past (babysitting, daycare, nanny, etc), but I must say I am often surprised by things now that I have one here full time! One of the things that surprises me most is how many things they don't have to be taught. I think I first noticed this when Collin was a baby and was learning to crawl. Babies instinctively know that they need to reach for their toes and stretch out their legs, etc in order to be able to crawl. I could just see him distinctively practicing and stretching--like it was more than just play. Lately I've noticed more things that he has learned all without teaching. Collin can match items. He has a set of bug pop beads and one day I noticed he was carrying 2 of the same ones (there are 2 each of 6 diff ones), but thought it was probably a coinsidence. But then a couple days later we were playing with the bugs (on the potty...) and I had the grasshopper, so I asked him where the other grasshopper was and he got it. He then matched all 6 sets of bugs with me. I had no idea he knew how to do that! I think due to this same "matching" knowledge, he can also identify a circle now. There are shapes on the top of his "desk" and I identified a circle for him and he went on to point to another one and call it "ircle"--I was amazed.

I'm also amazed about how defined the different developmental phases seem to be. Collin was consumed with put/take play for several weeks and now it seems building is coming in. He loves to build towers (although when they fall he gets pretty frustrated) out of blocks, giant Mega Bloks, cans, food boxes--anything. He also seems to be starting the sorting phase as he has sorted out the 3-blue triangle blocks from his shape sorter a couple times and was lining up the canning lids in rows today. And he is just starting to do some pretend play--usually pretending something is a vacuum!

The End...finally!