October update

October 17, am, Bill to Collin: Make sure to not just eat your cookie, finish your ice cream too.

October 24- Went to Target for new shoes, Halloween costume and a baby doll for Collin. He’s going as a firefighter as it was the only costume that wasn’t a movie or TV character. Collin likes to practice changing his doll’s diapers and telling her “No, no! No juice for babies, just big brothers!”

October 27-Baby girl dropped, at least I think so because I can breathe again!

T-minus 70 days

We have begun the countdown for little sister to join the family. This week Collin joined Bill and I at the 30 week prenatal appointment. When Dr. Geidt used the doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat Collin just smiled and buried his face into Bill. He was really excited and we pretended to listen to sister for rest of the week.

September was pretty busy for the family. We went to Spokane for Pig out in the Park, Collin hugged all the goats he could at the Puyallup Fair, we got in a family Mariner game and went to a wedding.

Today, we are hitting the Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch.

Animal sightings

Eating breakfast with a 2-year old is fun. He peers into his bowl of yogurt and tells me what he sees—hippopotamuses, snakes, fishes, turtles, dinosaurs, birds and dragons are common sightings.

Artrageous Auburn

Trying to beat the heat we went to Les Grove for a community art event. There were 20 hands on booths. Collin designed and made his own button. Painted a fish and was intrigued by some Garbage Gorillas. Sorry, no photos!

Two month mind dump

Collin’s vocabulary has shot through the roof in the last few weeks. He is eager to talk and explain things. I personally love it when he is able to retell what happened to him or what he saw during the day. Of course it is fragmented, but it is enough to piece the story together.
At school they have noticed he is attentive to the little kids, especially “Baby Brian”. He’s a little boy in the waddler room and Collin helps him up and gives him hugs. Hopefully he’ll share the love with the new baby in December.

Speaking of, we had an ultrasound of the new baby. Looks like the due date is December 12, I already feel a bit bad for the unborn baby. I would hate to have a December birthday, but we’ll make an effort to make the baby feel like their birthday is not just another holiday sandwiched between two bigger holidays.

My work had layoffs again. It is never pleasant, and I think it gets harder to deal with the longer you are with the company and the fewer people there are—it is just too personal. However, it is time to focus and keep chugging forward.

Heading on vacation to CO and WYO this week, it will be nice to see some true summer sun and give the family a squeeze.

Parent-Teacher conferences

Thursday, April 23, 2008 marked our first Parent-Teacher Conference. The situation was a bit humorous since we three adults were sitting on the toddler-sized chairs up to the kid snack table. Nothing like knees in the armpits to put everyone at ease. Bill and I were anticipating a big discussion on Collin’s recent biting behavior. However the teacher approached the meeting as an opportunity to get caught up on his transition to the new facility. He gets a 95% on his social skills since she witnessed a vast improvement since his arrival. He needs to work on his aggression (biting and shoving). And she reiterated how responsive Collin is to music. At Little Eagles he creates his own with various musical instruments like drums, music sticks and mini piano. He also participates with the weekly visiting musician and during weekly story time at the Seattle Public library.

Welcome Back Michael!

Michael returned from Iraq and we flew down to San Diego to welcome him home. It was great to see the family and give Michael a big hug. Of course us Seattleites were hoping for sunny skies and beach time, but family time made up for the cloudy weather. It was challenging to keep to a two-year old’s routine when on the road, but he was very adaptable and found a used tractor at a consignment shop that kept him company for the second half of the trip. I was hoping the flight would go smooth since Colliniski is use to commuting on the train and bus daily, but alas, the lack of scenery just caused frustration and fits were had throughout both legs of the trip.

Week 3-Done!

Collin just finished his third week at Little Eagles. We’ve seen an amazing transformation some of the highlights include:

• advancement in his verbal skills
• increased personal interaction with us
• he is better behaved at home
• he isn’t exposed to TV or movies during the day.

On the flip side the train ride has begun to lose its sparkle and we have to keep engaging him in toys we brought along.

For his 2nd birthday the class made cupcakes and party hats. Bill and I joined in the celebration and it was fun to see all of the kids really have fun together.

Collin's New Daycare

Collin started at the new daycare on Monday (3/9/09). He is one of two boys in the class of 12, with three teachers. Both Erin and I took him to the daycare and helped him get a little more comfortable in his new environment. We played with kitchen play set with one of the other classmates and then with some of the wood block trucks and planes until Collin felt more settled. The teachers are very nice and caring, and did a good job of comforting him when it was time to leave for work. Since the daycare is two blocks from my office I did the Tue, Wed, Fri drop-offs and then pick him up at the end of the day. Collin has been done a good job of adjusting to the drop-off in the mornings as the week progressed; by Friday's drop-off he had the start of a routine down of putting his coat in his cubby, then washing his hands for breakfast snack time. He was still clingy and crying not wanting to be left; although he's now fine with the teacher holding him and comforting him. I've been waiting in the hallway listening (typical nervous parent I guess) to make sure he gets calmed down ok, and he's now quieted down in about 30 seconds. And everyday he's been super happy playing with the other kids at pick-up. We're all quite happy with the new daycare!

One nice thing they do is provide a daily report of the daily activities (big improvement over the 'He had a good day' or the 'Not sure how much he ate, I wasn't here for lunch.' at the last place). His first day's report read:
"Welcome Collin to the Toddler Class! Today, Collin felt sad when mom left but teacher Nenita made him comfortable and he played later. He played horse ride (stick horse) with Kane and Dahlia, then did musical instrument play (musical sticks), then sang childrens songs and played 'Simon Says'. He read some books too, then played playdough after nap time. Great work!"
They also include the time when the napped; 11:56-2:03. And how much he ate; 'alot at lunch'. Plus the times when his diaper was changed.

With one week down; we're all finding the new routine to be a big improvement! We all get ready together in the morning, then commute together on the train up to Seattle. At which point Collin and I drop Erin off at her office (across the street from the train station) on the way to catch the bus to the downtown, then we walk a couple blocks to the daycare. At the end of the day I pick up Collin and we catch a bus (public transit provides a great lesson in patience for the little guy) to Erin's office to get her before heading to train for the ride home. The new routine gives us an additional 2 hours a day with Collin! And Erin and I see each about an hour more each day! Plus, we'll be able drop by to have lunch with him or take an afternoon off to explore the city!

Friday's Adventure

Yesterday, Collin and I had a full day of adventure! We both took the day off and headed to downtown Seattle, it was a great day to be off as it was a rare blue sky day in Seattle! Erin, Collin and I rode up together on the train. Collin was well behaved sitting on my lap identifying the various trucks, planes and other trains along the way. In the morning we met up and played with some new friends, he was a little shy at first and warmed as the playing progressed. We both had worked up an appetite so it was off to my office for a lunch a break; we shared Tim's jalapeno chips, apple slices, club sandwich and a pickle. After playing peak-a-boo with the co-workers and spotting boats in Puget Sound (50th floor view provides a great vantage point), we headed down to the aquarium. At the aquarium the octopus put on quite a show changing colors, as did the sea horses which were being fed (they shot the excess food out the tops of their heads!?!). Collin was convinced the harbor seals were kitties and proceeded with his "meeeooowwww, kitty, kitty, kitty". Apparently the high pitched meow noise agitated the resting seals; which, would promptly race around the tank upon hearing it. We proceeded from the aquarium to a brief walk along the pier until he fell fast asleep. Fortunately, we were only 2 blocks from my office and a recliner. After Collin's nap we headed to Erin's office (via the bus tunnel, buses AND a tunnel, very exciting for the little guy) for a round of "Isn't my son cute?", then all three of us headed across the street to the train for the return trip home. A very fun, very busy day and a much needed break from the stock market for dad!

Weaning: Day 6

I think I can declare weaning “successful”! The first night was roughest trying to get him to sleep on his own—the new fix, singing. About 40 minutes of “Old McDonald” did the trick. Granted, my voice is a bit sore from all of the singing, but it is worth it!

Yeah-We have a big boy!

Numero Uno

So, this is my first post to our blog... And quite honestly there's nothing dramatically new to report.
Collin continues to out grow his clothes in a timely manner and is more and more curious everyday. He now asks 'what's that?', then quickly points to something else, 'what's that?' He also continues to work on perfecting his jumping skills. Oh, and he's using the potty chair more frequently this week.
It's hard to believe he's almost 2yrs old! Also, hard to believe we've been in Seattle 3 1/2 yrs!

Handiwork

YES! I completed my first attempt at embroidery. This new hobby is satisfying because it doesn’t require much gear, I can work on it on the train and I get to see something finished for once.

The family that is sick together stays together

I have to make note of the weekend Bill, Collin and me got oh-so-very sick. It hit Friday night and rocked our world until Sunday morning. We went through every pant and shirt Collin owns, every towel and every blanket.

And today is my birthday and he gave me three lovely pukes at the dinner table. But I love him so! I hope we all get better and can laugh later at the time we all thought the world was coming to an end.

Birds

I’m not sure what it is about the Northwest but the quantity of birds is grossing me out. They sit in empty trees in large enough groups that the trees look full and leafy. They sit in groups of 50+ on telephone wires. And they have no fear of people.

They are giving me the heebee-jeebees.