Water Boy

This Saturday was my grandfather's (Colin's Great-Grandfather's) 80th birthday. All of my dad's brothers and sisters came in town with their families. Other than the intense heat, the party went off without a hitch and I think that Pap was pleasantly surprised to have us all there for his big day. 

For entertainment, we turned to Colin. He was running around the yard like a mad man paying no mind to the sun and heat. Finally, my uncle devised a 'ghetto' sprinkler for him:

My grandparents' neighbor, Ashley, has a six-year-old daughter. She took pity on poor Colin and set up a Little Mermaid slip-and-slide. After a bit of hesitation, Colin was shooting down the slide like a pro, knocking the girls out of his way:

Here is a video of him trying to keep the girls away from him with the hose (keep a close eye on his stance, this is serious business!):

It was our last trip for the summer! We are relieved to be home and relax a bit. But it was very nice to see the entire family again! 

Barker's Blackberry Hill

When I was growing up, I can remember going into the woods and picking wild blackberries in the sweltering, afternoon sun. We would drag our full pails to the neighbors' house and she would immediately whip up a blackberry pie from scratch. Delicious! Probably my favorite pie to this day. 

In an effort to MAKE similar memories with the little guy, we made a trip down to Barker's Blackberry Hill (Winery) in nearby Crittenden, Kentucky. We had a blast! We picked...

And we picked...

And Colin snuck a few...

Then he got mad because his hands were 'durdy'...

It was a lot of HARD work but in the end we gathered 13 pounds of fresh blackberries! And the pie was delicious! SUCCESS

Taking a picture with Mama, not so much

He's getting so big! Hope to make many more memories like these with him in the years to come. Love ya, Little Man!

The Fourth in Fort Wayne

We decided to spend our long weekend in Fort Wayne with Chris' family. Baby Evan joined the clan in February and Colin was very interested in him this trip. He loves 'baby's. We spent the weekend around the pool and ate a LOT of really good food. All sunshine and the running around helped Evan and Colin sleep through the entire fireworks display! 

Before we left town on Monday, we made a quick trip to the Fort Wayne Zoo with Colin. He has been a few times before but this time he seemed very interested in seeing the animals. His favorite exhibit was the aquarium! He could have stood there for hours watching the crazy-looking fish swim by him. 

Back home now for a full week! It's so nice to be back to a regular schedule. We've moved Colin to a big boy bed again- keep your fingers crossed that it works this time!

The Summer is Flying By...

So sorry! A LOT has been happening since I last blogged- Father's Day, a trip to North Carolina to visit some friends and now we are heading to Fort Wayne this weekend for the Fourth of July!  Here are a few pictures from the craziness:

Father's Day 2010 - Swimming at my parents' pool (Colin pooped in the pool and the next day, the pool was closed and empty. Coincidence? We hope.)

Enjoying (more) popcorn at the White House

Great smile, Dad! I really like this picture. Sorry for the short blog, I am pooped (no pun intended).

Mr. Clean

Chris and I will someday have the cleanest house on the block- and not because of either of us! Colin has become quite the helper around the house lately. He helps out with laundry...

And he can even sweep the floor...

A little side note on these pictures. My mom came over for dinner Monday night and brought Thai food over. Colin had a bowl of rice to himself and was running around, dropping little pieces of rice in his path. Once he realized what a mess he had made, he went over to the closet and pulled out the vacuum ON HIS OWN. The thing is like three times his size! To our surprise, he was able to pop off the "child-proof"outlet covers and attempted to plug it in himself! My mom stopped him, of course, and plugged it in for him. But he knew how to turn it on, how to put the handle down, and how to put the cord away. Very scary!

Here's to clean floors in our future!

20 Months- UHH! Where Did the Time Go?

A little update on the little man...

New Words (sorry if any of these are repeats):

'Peaz' = please

'Mo' + sign = more

'No, Dada' = no, Daddy (his first sentence!)

'Measch' = mess

'Made-a-measch' = I made a mess (haha, it's hysterical!)

We definitely have to watch what we say around him now because he is starting to repeat EVERYTHING!

Favorite Things:

Planes

Dump trucks

Loud cars

Motorcycles

Baseball, of course

It's really interesting to see how much he's drawn to 'boy' stuff without any (well maybe a little with sports!) encouragement. 

Other Topics of Interest:

He's definitely becoming more choosey when it comes to foods. He actually will open the pantry or sneak in the fridge below you and pick out what food he wants to eat! However, he is also starting to refuse some things and to reach for what is on our plates. Unfortunately, he can't always have what we have because of his allergies. 

In fact, we had his allergies tested again today. It was awful to watch! So far, it looks like none of the four (egg, wheat, soy, peanut) changed for the better. In fact, the peanut got MUCH worse. And beef was added to the list (interesting because he never really liked to eat it). We are following up with blood work to confirm. More fun!

Well, that's all I got. The boy is growing and changing so much! We are loving every minute of it and enjoying each day for what it is. 

Up for debate:

Should we begin soccer at this age? They start at 18 months but just because it is available, should we sign him up?

Memorial Weekend 2010 - South Haven, MI

If you have never been to South Haven, I HIGHLY suggest that you make a trip ASAP! You can walk to everything- shops, restaurants, piers, the beach! Very family-friendly. 

We took Colin last year but he was only about 8 months. We were very eager to see how he would react this year now that he is running and playing on his own. He was in heaven! Give him a shovel and he would dig another lake for ya. And the water hadn't warmed up just yet but that didn't stop him either! He was all about it- the sun, the sand, the water. It was so much fun to see him discovery a new world. Here are a few of our favorites from the weekend:

P.S. Do the swimsuits look familiar? That's because they are from LAST YEAR! Can you believe that? He's such a little guy.

P.S.S. Here's a listen to his latest giggle: