Enjoy It Now...

I have had a few late nights this week- class on Monday, class on Wednesday, and dinner with the girls last night- so I haven't had a lot of Colin-Time this week. We have cuddled most mornings, which is very special, but when we are rushing out the door, all of that special-ness gets lost in the hustle and bustle of things! This morning I tried to recreate our Panera breakfast date. However, it didn't go quite as nicely as the first time:

First, I tried to stay on a conference call (on mute) while standing in line and at the same time, managing a two-year-old boy. Not going to happen. While I'm standing in line, Colin is going back-and-forth between me and our table, which was in the room with the closed doors. I did this intentionally so that I could be on my call without disturbing the other guests. Well, turns out, the doors also make a great toy for kids. Colin kept opening and closing- and not gently- oh, no, no, no. These doors were flying open! Sorry to the old men sitting at the nearby table. Of course, the cashier very nicely informed me (while this chaos was going on in the background) that they were out of the fruit cup - the only thing that Colin can really eat there- after I had already paid! Instead, they gave me a fruit and yogurt parfait, which, of course, Colin wanted nothing to do with. And they forgot my bagel. So after I finally got him settled I had to go back up to remind them of nicely, when I passed a sweet old man that smiled at me and said simply 'enjoy it now.' 

Here I am, bracing for a reprimand for ruining this man's breakfast because I couldn't control my two-year-old. Instead, he stopped me dead-in-my-tracks with a whole other kind of scolding- 'enjoy it now'. Am I enjoying? I like to think so. But is it enough? Am I taking the time to turn off the computer, stop the emails and conference calls, and, now, take a break from the homework to enjoy where my son is right now? Alarmingly, no. And that saddened me. I'm trying to do too much at one time, trying to keep all of these plates balanced in the air, and putting aside what is most important right now. My sweet little boy! Who is two and is growing and changing everyday! And today, with him, is a gift. 

So, just because I'm feeling all emotional, I thought I'd share some of my favorite little things about him now:

1) He has started to call me 'Mommia' again. No idea where the Spanish-flair comes from, but I kinda like it!

2) He will now tell me when he's scared! Very cute that he even knows what it is- and even cuter that he wants me to know!

3) Each morning, he comes to me to cuddle in bed for a few minutes before I have to start getting ready. And there is no better way to start the day!

4) And speaking of mornings, he's going through this I-love-my-pj's-phase. He has gone to school a few days with a pajama shirt hidden underneath of a regular shirt. You gotta pick and choose your battles, right?

Our next Panera date will be without the conference call - and with the fruit cup!

'Every good and perfect gift is from above.' - James 1:17

To the City of Black & Yellow

As I sit writing this in bed, I can see Colin busily working on a puzzle in the next room. I hope this puzzle-fascination lasts awhile!

On to bigger things, we had tickets to the UC men's basketball game in Pittsburgh this weekend which just so happened to overlap with the Steelers' trip to the Super Bowl! What a fun weekend. We stayed at my Grandma's house (Colin calls her Jam/Dam/or something of the sort) and we had a blast! She loved it. Of course, on Friday we arrived to a table full of food - at midnight, just for Chris and I. Love being Italian! 

Saturday morning we had breakfast with my Gram and Pap at Panera in good-ole Monaca, PA. They claimed that they had never eaten at Panera- just had coffee and a pastry. Who goes to Panera and doesn't eat there?!? While we enjoyed our meals, Colin (who sadly couldn't eat because they were out of fruit cups- another surprising factor) played with a little friend he had made. We let him out of his highchair to play with a little boy sitting at a table diagonal to us. The boy was a little older than Colin but that didn't stop him! He started GIVING the little boy his favorite toys- his Toy Story figurines. It was funny to watch them pass them back and forth, and Colin watched from the window as his friend left with his mom and walked to their car.

We made a quick stop at Dick's to pick-up a highly coveted Steelers AFC Champions T-shirt for my little bro and headed out to my Aunt and Uncle's. My Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ray were going to watch him for us while we went to the game and had gone over and above preparing for the big night! He got a brand new Build-A-Bear and a giant coloring book with crayons. His favorite toy, and the one that I loved watching him play with most, was a very old Noah's Ark. The ark opened up to show a huge collection of tiny pairs of animals. Colin began taking them out and one-by-one sorted them by pairs, and then by types. I was amazed that he knew as many animals as he did (alligators, elephants, zebra, horse, lion, etc.) but even more amazed that he was able to count them (two lions!) and place them in a sort of scientifically-ordered fashion (all of the rhinos, hippos, and elephants were in a line; all of the zebras, horses, and deer were lined up too!). Everyone else was very amazed by all of this too- as well as his speedy puzzle-building skills too. And I remembered the verse: "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart", Luke 2:19. My heart literally swelled with pride. Not in the proud, 'I have the smartest son in the world' kind of way, but the 'I have been blessed with an amazing little boy- and what have we been teaching him/NOT been teaching him!' kind of way. Needless to say, I was so grateful to hear all of the sweet things that my family had to say about him! 

Even though the Bearcats lost (and the Steelers too) we managed to have a very good time. It was a good family trip. We hope to visit Pittsburgh again soon- and for more than a day!

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.

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!

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

Christmas 2010 Recap

For Christmas this year, we went to Fort Wayne to celebrate with Chris' family. I got incredibly sick on Thursday (worst headache ever!) but luckily got better in time to enjoy the festivities! On Christmas Eve, we went to church with Chris' mom and her husband and his grandparents. After church, we all went to BakerStreet for a very nice dinner. Then home to bed to wait for Santa!

On Christmas morning, Colin woke up early as usual. We opened the door and he headed out to play with his new toys from Chris' Dad. He walked right by the tree and left his presents from Santa untouched! He had no interest in opening them at all. Until he opened that first one...

Then he couldn't get enough!

In fact, when we did Christmas with Chris' cousins and their flock of kid-lings, Colin was the minion that opened everyone else's presents! Kinda funny. Kinda not. He ended up with WAY too many toys! We spent our first morning at home purging his room of old toys and books to make room for the new ones. He especially loves his new cars and puzzles! The boy is a puzzle machine. 

On Monday we drove back home to Cincinnati early in the morning and celebrated a belated Christmas with my family and my grandma. Grandma gave Colin two of the Martha Stewart kid's chef series sets - which everyone loved! Every piece is a miniature version of the real thing. I can't wait to have him help me in the kitchen with those!

And we will have plenty of time for that since I am off work (except for one day) this week and Colin's school is also closed, making me a temporary stay-at-home mom! I am very excited about the idea. Being away from home has put us a little off schedule so today we stayed in and hung out. But we did venture out for the UC basketball game- it was Colin's first! 

photo op with the big 'o'

what a cheeseball!

LET'S GO CATS!

The Bearcats are undefeated so far this season and beat DePaul tonight 76-60. Colin was a little antsy so we ended up leaving at half time but he really had an absolute blast! And I'm glad that we got to see the Bearcats play in person. It's great to have a good basketball team again!

Glasgow Family Rules

A very fun package arrived for us today- our official Family Rules! Chris and I spent a lot of time thinking over each of these rules and I cannot wait to hang them up. Our pastor shared a message over this passage that really got this whole process going:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.      Deuteronomy 6: 5-9

Write them on the doorframes of your houses. That verse in particular really stuck with me, so we are going to hang our family rules right inside the front door for all to see when they first enter our home. And it will be there for us to see everyday as well. Deuteronomy 6:5 was also the inspiration for our first rule:

Colin couldn't resist a photo shoot:

Next time you come over for a visit, take a look! We already implement most, if not all, of these into of these rules into our daily lives (although Chris likes to argue that I do not always leave my shoes at the door), but it will serve as a nice reminder. And if that doesn't work, Colin will always remind us! He has taken being 'prayerful' to new levels. Whenever we eat dinner as a family and every night before bed, we pray out loud together. Lately, Colin has been reminding us to pray!

We went to dinner with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend at Grand View Tavern. The dining area was full so they put us in a booth at the bar. As soon as we all got settled, Colin reached out his hands to my Dad, on one side, and Chris on the other for 'pierres', as he says it. We all giggled a little and I said a quick prayer. And again the next morning, he climbed into my lap, put both of his little hands into mine, and asked for 'pierres'. How could a mother refuse? Hopefully the rest of the rules will be as easy to follow! 

Getting ready for bed with 'Dadda'