Kiddo Update

One of the reasons I wanted to blog was to basically journal what the kids are doing so I can go back and remember (how is it that every milestone feels so important and monumental at the time and then the first time someone asks me when Collin started crawling, I can't remember?!) So, I'm going to try and catch up a bit on the kiddos...

Kate 

• She is chatty as ever and if you don't give her your attention she says, "Mom, you look at a person when they are talking!" This is stemming from me asking for her eyes when I am talking to her....it all comes back out of their mouths! 
• Kate can count to 30. And then she goes a little haywire... "28, 29, 30, 4060, 4070, 4080, 4090.  :)
• She is still SO good with Collin but still picks him up too much. The last couple of days Collin sits on her lap when they are playing in the playroom. The biting and scratching from Collin has calmed down a bit, so that is a relief! Right now, their favorite past time is to chase each other and scream as they run around the house.
• She started preschool and is doing great. From what I can tell so far, she is helping the teacher, Mrs. McGuire quite a bit and adores her. Her favorite friend is Gracie, she sometimes naps longer than the others and wakes up and most of the kids are outside already. She likes going to the art room and is doing a LOT of coloring, drawing and artwork lately. 
• Kate talks about soccer a lot, she is excited to play again but it isn't until spring.  She is however starting dance next week and we started gymnastics this past Tuesday! She was so excited, was bouncing off the mats before it started and did great for her first time. I was somewhat preoccupied with a very antsy 18 month old who was not prepared to sit still and be quiet for 45 minutes. It was sort of a disaster for me in that respect and if at all possible, I just cannot take him there. I hate having to find sitters for more and more things! Kate said her favorite element was the '"runway" (vault) and I did get to see her do that at the end. It is 45 minutes, once a week for only 8 weeks, but I'm guessing she is going to want to continue this activity as well:)
• Kate is so serious when she is "playing Mommy" with her babies. She takes Bitty Baby (her American Girl baby) to her school, changes her clothes each day, she just walked past me with her doll in a carrier and said, "Having an 18 month old is a lot of work..."  

First day of gymnastics

Collin

• Collin loves to come up to you and just nuzzle your leg. Kind of a little hug, he is really quite affectionate. His stranger danger seems to come and go, dependent on his mood/sleep. When we have had friends over, he was constantly going up to Amber, Cassie, etc and wanting to be held and would cuddle with them. He grabbed the hand of a lady at church (Dave knew her, but the rest of us did not) and he just walked with her all the way to her pew. Kind of cute, like he was ushering her to her seat, but a little upsetting that he would just go with a stranger! Then the other day, I needed our neighbor to come over to watch the kids during my ultrasound and he was not happy that Barb was here! 
• Collin is starting to eat better! He has started to eat Cuties and started liking watermelon. He loves the lentil soup that I make and has been eating more and more. Makes me very happy! 
• He needs a his hair cut and I have finally decided we should do it:) At least the front, the curls in back are cute. Dave wants to take him to a real barber for his first, and probably subsequent haircuts. I know that he will look older when we cut it, not sure I'm ready!
• Collin has started wanting to carry around a baby and he always says, "Shhh" when he holds one. He says, "Baby!" when he sees one. At the MOPS meeting, the gals said he went up to one of the babies and was very protective of her and wouldn't let anyone near her (sleeping in a car seat):) 
• He still walks around with his hands clasped behind him and he also seems to have some sumo moves. He stomps each foot and squats down and then runs away. Where does he get that?!
• He is getting better at saying, "please" and "thank you." Gets excited when he sees animals or a ball and we are learning more animal sounds, which he likes to say. Loudly. He has started to say, "Ya" for "yes" which is pretty awesome and helpful. He shakes his head emphatically for no:) Usually when I ask him if he is tired! When I hand him things, we count and I'll say, "One...." and he says a kind of "two" and sometimes "three!" Which we also do when picking him up and lifting him into the air...so fun to hear all the new words and get more and more communication from him. I love it. 
• With naps, he is SO all over the place! Each day is different (school, just starting MOPS twice a month, running errands, appointments, Kate activities) so I know it is hard and I don't even know a time of day that is consistent each day. It would make my life more easier or at least more predictable if he took one nap each day but if we are home, I can sometimes get two out of him and I love that! And he is obviously way happier if he has more rest. Suppertime can be a little hairy on the days when he is short on naps. I will be very happy when we figure this out. 
• Collin likes to sit and look at books. For a pretty good length of time, for an 18 month old. Also magazines, there was one of the Kate's High Five magazines that had a bunch of cars in the back, for two weeks he would climb up on the couch and just sit there looking at it. Lately, he climbs up and just chucks all the magazines on the floor, but he likes some of Kate's old books. And anything with trucks/trains/cars:)  

They are changing, growing and being ridiculous every day:) We love it.