Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A Few of His Favorite Things...

Sorry for the lack of updates! Believe me, there has not been a lack of adventures or stories around here- just a lack of new (a.k.a. good) pictures! To make up for it, here's a cluster of some recent photos - and all of his latest favorite things:

1) Toy Story toys:

He even sleeps with his Buzz!

2) Family Movie Night:
We set up a little picnic of apple slices, grapes and cheeses to munch on while we hang out and watch Colin's movie flavor-of-the-week!

3) His hat from Uncle Michael, trips to the library, and puzzles, puzzles, puzzles!

This child is a puzzle-machine! He has an ever-growing collection and has conquered them all- big and small. It's amazing to see how his little mind works!

Treat.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Newport Aquarium

We have been talking about taking Colin to the aquarium for weeks now but it just never seemed to work out. Well, we finally made it today! And it was SO worth it. We are considering annual passes because it is such a great option for a family with young children. They can run around and explore without being out of your sight! And I think it would be the perfect activity for a rainy day.

Colin has this habit of sticking one of his hands in his mouth whenever he gets excited or nervous. Not really sure why, but it's really cute to be able to read what he's feeling! We could tell he was very excited today because he immediately put his hand in his mouth. He was so overwhelmed. After a while the hand was out and he was his usual bubbly, little self! He had an absolute blast. His favorite exhibit, of course, was the NEMO exhibit:


Lots of NEMOS!


Here he is with Chris looking in the shark tank (don't worry, these are pet-able sharks)

He looks like such a big boy in this picture!
A REAL shark. The no petting kind.
There were murals like this one throughout the entire aquarium and Colin got just as excited to see those as he did the real thing. Sorry for the poor lighting, I need a better camera! (hint, hint)

We were very impressed with our aquarium visit. Hopefully we won't put it off as long the next time!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!

Last year on New Year's Eve, we took Colin to see the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and we decided then to make it into a family tradition! Last New Year's, it was cold and misty. This year, it was 57 degrees! That's my kind of winter!

The lights on the tree and around the pond are timed with the Christmas music. It's very beautiful and entertaining- for littles and adults alike!

No, we didn't suddenly have another little, this is Colin's friend, Inara. They had a blast together! She thought he was hilarious and he was constantly asking her "you alright, baby". Very funny to watch!

Colin's favorite- the elephants. Last year, he called them 'puppies'. 
This year, he couldn't stop pointing out their 'poop'. 

We stayed late enough for the fireworks and surprisingly, both kids enjoyed them. It was a wonderful New Year's Eve! Hopefully every year will be clear and in the upper 50's. A girl can dream...

I was going to do a sampling of my favorite pictures from 2010, but I haven't even started browsing through them, so we'll save that for a later post. Instead, I wanted to share our Family Word for 2011- Prayer. This isn't really a New Year's Resolution, I've never been a big believer in those, it's just a word that our family will focus on throughout the year. Even Jesus encouraged his disciples that they 'should always pray and not give up.' (Luke 18:1) So we will be pondering 'prayer' this year, along with this verse:

'Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer' - Romans 12:12

We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe New Year's Eve! Here's to a very blessed 2011!

'Look at the nations and watch-
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe' 
Habakkuk 1:5