October 18, 2008 - pumpkin patch

Papa came in for a visit and we made a day trip to the Elegant Farmer to meet Colin's pals Brendan and baby Katie for some pumpkin patch fun!

Here comes the tractor for the hay ride into the apple/pumpkin patch!

Papa and Colin on the hayride (deep in thought about how big of a pumpkin they cancarry I am sure!) / Mama, Colin, Brennie (hidden), Baby Katie and Lauren on the hayride

Colin and Brendan being silly and baby Katie even more so with that cute smile!

WE DID IT- found the perfect pumpkin, that is!

Looks like these boys are up to trouble in this first picture... and having a blast searching for the perfect pumpkin!

And they wander off into the pumpkin patch....

see all the pictures from this fun day by clicking here!

October 10, 2008 - fun videos from KS trip

Check out the videos that baby Kivrin made after our fun visit!

Organic Farm song:



Shake Your Sillies:



Zoo/Gage Park Train:




You Can't Scare Colin:



Kivrin in giggle mode:

October 10, 2008 - visit to baby Kivrin!

She's so big!

Here's some highlights from our visit to baby Kivrin, now 7 weeks old! Colin and I flew to KS for a long weekend and had a blast with Kivrin, Auntie Lissa and Uncle Dan, the two cats and lots of fishies :)

Colin tickling baby Kivrin; he provided lots of amusement to her and in return, she gave plenty of giggles and grins.

Colin checking out Kivrin on the play mat while thinking... hey... this looks familiar! (Colin was able to share many toys, clothes and baby supplies to the new family!)

Uncle Dan showing off his great boppy skill to hold a sleeping Kivrn while editing video!

Mama, Colin, Aunt Lissa and baby Kivrin at story time!

On the train at Gage Park, Colin rides while Kivrin slumbers (until she decides she is hungry which makes for a more interesting train ride! :)

Mama helps Colin use this cool digger at the park... and I must say, if there wouldn't have been the cutest baby in the world that was the focus of our visit, this digger may have taken the cake for top KS attraction! :)

For much more elaborate details, pics and videos of our fun trip and more recent updates, please check out Colin's favorite baby cousin's personal website, http://www.kivrinanne.com/

October 5, 2008 - future futbol player

So maybe Mama is trying to influence a little bit :) but I think that Colin is already going to give Beckham a run for his money based on the soccer skills I saw this morning!
He dribbled the ball all over the park!
And then had a much needed rest and water break :)

No worries though, we are keeping our sports options open and give them equal play time (baseball is still a fav!)

October 5, 2008 - fall day walk to the lake

We don't take advantage of our close proximity to the great Lake Michigan enough and we had saved some bread this week to take down to feed the sea gulls along the lake front during our morning walk. Colin did a great job throwing the bread out, even with the dozens of birds flying around!

beautiful lake view from the beach at our park
Colin and Mama being silly taking pictures on a windy morning

October 4, 2008 - Fall Harvest at the library

We met Colin's friend Brennie along with baby Katie and Mama's friend Lauren at the downtown library for the Fall Harvest program this morning. It was a popular event and very crowded with lots of fun activities to do!

Here are the boys decorating their pumpkin cookies (before devouring them as their mid-morning snack, of course!)
Check out the crowd and find the boys by their blondie heads decorating their actual pumpkins with markers, stickers and more!
Cool folk singers performed fun songs and Colin and Brennie both got to participate in a song about creating a tree with a limb and a nest and a bird, etc where the kids acted out the parts (they were excited to participate but both enjoyed looking at their books when they got on stage :)

And here are our Fall Harvest scarecrows!!!!!

October 4, 2008 - monster mash

Colin is way into MONSTERS these days and is wearing his favorite monster tee in this picture and also doing his best frightening roaring monster impersonation with one of his new monster puppets in hand (thanks Grammy Mary!)

October 2, 2008 - CHEESE

from a silly Colin

September 27, 2008 - Brewer's baseball!

Colin's first tailgating experience and braving a Brewer's vs Cubs game at Miller Park!



Thanks to Melissa, Nick and Lisa for making it a fabulous afternoon!

September 27, 2008 - enjoying a book

Colin enjoying a book before his evening bath, I mean, don't you sit around reading naked frequently?

September 25, 2008 - Matey, ARRRRRR!

Take a guess as to what Colin plans to be for Halloween :) Let's just say that it was a toss up between a monster and a pirate and we've been in full swing pirate mode for a few weeks!

I ordered Colin's costume online so here he is trying on some of the accessories the day it came in the mail- his pirate hat, sash and loot bag (yes, I even let him play with the sword, as long as he's "helping" people as he plays pirate :)

Colin's funniest thing is that he only likes to say "Matey, ARRRRR" and will correct you if you say it the other way around.... he's his own pirate, that's for sure!

September 19, 2008 - POTTY TIME!!!

It's a (mama of a toddler boy) dream come true! Colin is pretty much fully potty trained, and I have to give Colin credit for really wanting to do this to be a "grown up"!

Of course, there was a lot of talking about the potty and practice occuring over the past few months, but only when Colin was interested so when he said he was ready to wear underwear and stop wearing diapers, I didn't skip a beat to give him all the high fives to get him excited about it! :)

September 18, 2008 - flower craft

Thanks to Aunt Lissa for this fun foam sticker flower craft! Colin loved making these flowers (and then hiding behind them...) and they are proudly displayed by him in the kitchen!

September 14, 2008 - Wearing big boy pants to school

SO PROUD OF COLIN!

Colin chose to wear big boy underwear to school today. The pic is just him holding up an extra pair for effect but he wore them for most of the morning and made it to the potty the second time without any accident!

September 7, 2008 - digger driver!

WOW. That is all Colin and Mama have to say about Uncle Jim inviting Colin over to help him drive his John Deere tractor/digger around. Colin got to move the levers, steer the wheel and pick up and dump a load of dirt several times!

Thanks Uncle Jim for the fun digger driving!

September 7, 2008 - Colin meets his new baby cousin Kivrin!

Colin meets his new baby cousin Kivrin for the first time and loves her! He is very gentle with the baby and a good helper to the new parents- here is Colin helping change Kivrin's diaper, helping tickle Kivrin's toes and helping keep Aunt Lissa's lap warm while Uncle Dan cuddles Kivrin for a while (okay, so in this one he's actually somewhat engrossed in a tv that they had in the family support room for Grandma's services)