three years of colin

Happy third birthday, Colin!

We had a little birthday celebration when my family visited this weekend. We had pizza and cupcakes at our house and then went creek stomping with the cousin crew! The kids had fun playing in the rocks and mud, chasing the water skimmers, and getting completely soaked.

Colin's birthday was a perfect reflection of his interests. (I even found banana-print wrapping paper for my banana-obsessed kid!) Creek stomping was a great activity since he loves being outside as much as possible, even if he's just collecting sticks or watering plants with the hose. We're working on giving up the stroller so we've been trying to take longer walks on "Mommy and Colin" days when I don't work.

Like many little kids, he is completely obsessed with trains (and trucks and diggers), so we added a few pieces to his wooden train set. Every night before bed, we read him two books, sing a song (Edelweiss), and then tuck him into his blankets (in a particular order) while he asks, "Mom, can we talk about trains?" And every night I have to come up with something new to tell him about trains. Sometimes it's fact like, "Today I saw a gray train stopped on the tracks by the interstate," and sometimes it's something ridiculous like, "I wish there was a candy train full of lollipops to deliver sweets to our house." I fear the day I run out of things to say about trains.

Bed and nap time have been a bit of a struggle lately. Colin started potty training recently, and we took the side off his bed. Downside: he can get out of bed. (He frequently opts to sleep on the floor instead of in his bed now.) Upside: more room for snuggles with big sister!

Colin still loves Octonauts and Bluey. He was very excited to get some Octonauts toys and a Bluey truck as gifts. We still watch these shows most nights before bed and in the mornings if he wakes up before my brain is fully functioning. He's a big helper whether we're doing yard work, folding laundry, or preparing food in the kitchen. He loves to be right up in the middle of whatever is happening, even though it makes dinner prep a little challenging! He's also really good at entertaining himself and playing quietly for short periods of time. He's the snuggliest little nugget; he often crawls into my lap and curls up while meowing. Sometimes I have a little boy and sometimes I have a little kitten.

It's fun to watch Colin's sense of humor develop. He loves to play silly pretend games like, "What do you think is for breakfast at day care today?" Common responses include things like "ice cream chicken" and "hot dog cereal." When he asks if dinner is ready and I respond, "Not yet!" he always follows up with "..... YET??" This usually leads to a good 5 minutes of "Yet?" "Not yet." "Yet?" "Not yet." "Yet??" "Not yet!!!"

Happy three years to my silly, snuggly, sweet boy!