Sissy

I'm not sure I've ever mentioned it before, but Mr. Joe taught Collins to say "sissy" about three months ago. Or longer. It was in reference to Collins crying over nothing.

I get it, but I tried to reverse this learning because I feared Collins would call other people sissy. That hasn't exactly happened, but he does still say it. A lot. I guess because I corrected him too much and now it's a toddler cuss word and fun to say.

I tried to stop acknowledging it at all, but Collins still corrects it himself: "Sissy, sissy." ::silence:: "No, no, Papa Joe!"

Ugh!

23 Months!

One more month until we have a two year old! Collins had just woken up when I took these pictures the other day. He is such a stinker and is getting more and more used to hamming it up for the camera.

He still wears a size 5 diaper and weighs about 25 pounds. He has started wearing "underwear" (pull-ups) at night. May I just point out that he rarely ever woke up with a poop diaper until we started having to pull them off of him. Messy, but he still stays drier than before, so I guess we'll keep doing it.

Just recently, Collins has started singing more songs. This weekend I heard him singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." He still loves "Holy, Holy, Holy," "Zacchaeus," and the "Whole World." A couple of weekends ago we went to a birthday party for our neighbors, Hannah and Jackson. They had a joint party, but Collins only acknowledged Hannah's birthday. He sings, "Happy! Happy! Hannah!"

Collins is putting together sentences pretty well. He can say up to five words, which is amazing to his mama and daddy :) He can also count to 10! He is not a fan of 9, so he usually omits it.

He loves church and talks about it a lot. We point out our church and another church near our house every day. We also point out a hill with a lot of rocks on it; he gets SO EXCITED about those rocks!

We are in party planning mode around here and getting very pumped about celebrating our boy again! 

Preschool Update

My oh my. This transition to preschool stuff is hard. Collins got sick on the second day. I guess my goal of making it two weeks was just a joke on me. He only went to school two days last week. I kept him home on Friday and he stayed with Mrs. Wilda the other days.

This week has been like week 1 again. He cries every morning. Says, "No pre-kool, Mama" on the way there. Has worn his sunglasses as much as half the day while he's there. Fake cries when I pick him up so that I know just how miserable he is. Acts out at night. Bad. Well, last night was a lot better, actually. And part of it may be his age. But of course I feel like he's just mad at us for putting him through this misery and he's making us pay for it.

My friends and Collins' teachers (who are awesome, by the way) say to give it about 2-3 weeks. I hope that will make a difference. Too much change this year :(

First Day of Preschool!

The first day of preschool was great! It even said so on Collins' little report sheet thingy. We started the day off with a nutritious breakfast of pancakes and syrup. Then Jake and I both took Collins to preschool. He was a big boy and wore his backpack in and walked while holding our hands. He went straight to his teacher, Mrs. Anna, and even played with the other kids. Jake and I each called one time during the day and he was doing great both times. He only ate some of his lunch (couple bites of his sandwich, but most everything else), and he slept for an hour! When I picked him up, they were in the gym playing. He ran to me, hugged me, and told me "Bye bye, Mommy." I said, "You want me to leave?!" He said, "uh-huh." I guess that's a good sign!

Sadly, this morning did not go as smoothly. First, Collins had a cough this morning. No fever or any other symptoms, so maybe it's nothing. But how awesome would it be if he literally got sick after his first day of school? : / He didn't want to take off his sunglasses or let go of his backpack this morning at school. He was wearing them both when I left. He cried today and was very clingy. His teacher said when he did cry yesterday (mostly during transition times) he asked for Nana and Papa Joe :( Finally, he went to Mrs. Anna and seemed to be getting better after I left. I know this because I forgot my phone in the room and when I went in to get it, he was distracted by something she was showing him. God bless preschool teachers.

I'm praying he has another good day and becomes comfortable there pretty quickly. Also praying we'll make it at least a week without an illness. That's looking like wishful thinking, though!

Open House

Collins had open house at his new preschool last Thursday! Nana Wilda and Papa Joe brought him and met me there. Jake was out of town :(

Collins had a great time! We were the first ones there for his class and we stayed about an hour. Open house is supposed to be a quick come and go thing, but I wanted to stay as long as possible to let him get a good feel for the room. He played in all the different spots, talked to some of the kids, and didn't want to leave!

He is there now for his first day. He didn't cry at all this morning except for tearing up just a little when Jake and I told him bye. He played and went straight to his teacher. My friend and co-worker, Ellen, sends her kids to this preschool, too. Her youngest son is in Collins' room. When Ellen dropped off her kids this morning, she told me Collins was playing and seemed happy and content. Whew.

Jake and I are most nervous about lunch time and nap time. I hope he does well. I really think he will enjoy interacting with all the kids.

I am technically off work today, but I'm at the office right now. I didn't know what else to do! It's not like I would enjoy a day off. I am just happy to be on stand by in case he does need me. I plan on calling in a little while to check on him.

 Not to be a pessimist, but I predict Collins will get his first preschool related sickness within two weeks ;)

We're There

Last night Collins asked for McDonald's for the first time. I knew this day would come. I fear the day he realizes you can see the golden arches from our back yard.

We were picking up a prescription at CVS when he spotted the mecca. He said, "Mommy...Donald's!" Then added, "Gammy." I said, "Yes, Grammy and Poppa take you to McDonald's, and MawMaw and PawPaw take you to McDonald's. But Mommy can't go to McDonald's! No! We have to go home to have our pork chop!"

I'll stoop that low while I can ;)

Also relevant to "We're There" is the fact that Collins is in his last full week at Mrs. Wilda's house. He starts preschool next Monday. I already cried this Monday. Open house is tomorrow night.

I really do think he'll like school, but I dread, dread, dread not going to 'Nana and Papa Joe's' house every day. They graciously offered to be our backup, and will keep him some half days next week. Plus, they go to our church so we'll definitely still see them. They've just been such a HUGE blessing and are really like family. I cannot imagine a better situation having unfolded for us than having them in our lives. They were literally an answer to our prayers.

I dread the preschool adjustment process. The whole transition: nap time, lunch time, sleeping on the floor for the first time (without a sound machine for the first time), getting sick frequently, etc.

But it will be fine. I am a big girl. I just kind of feel like my two-year-old is starting kindergarten :(
 

22 Months!

Collins recently turned 22 months old! He is so much fun right now. It's a challenge getting these pictures with the signs, but I keep trying for some reason. At first he was not having any of it, but then MawMaw got creative and helped me out!

Doing "Here's the church; here's the steeple."

On July 19th and 20th I woke up to a sick baby. Collins had fever, so I kept him home and prepared myself for a stomach bug. Luckily, he never had any other symptoms but fever. It got up to 103.9 one time, but I just kept medicine and fluids in him, so he was fine. He mostly just wanted to lie around and look at pictures and videos of himself on my phone :) On Friday, he took a nap in my bed (for the first time since he was a newborn). After sleeping about 2.5 hours, he was back to feeling normal!

Feeling much better the following week! Mrs. Donna from church made the outfit he's wearing in the picture below. She made about four shirts for us and a few pairs of shorts. The car seat or high chair are the only places I can take his pic without him grabbing for my phone and saying, "Doddins!" (Collins)

 

Some new things this past month: 

• "Oh no!" Usually followed by "Man, shoot!"
• "Oooone more time" Sometimes used appropriately, sometimes not.
• "No, no bees!" (No, no boys--a picture of two boys fighting in his book--he loves it.)
• "Me me pep pep mit mit" Collins' version of "peppermint"
• "Sorry" Tends to do things sometimes just so he can apologize
• "Knot hole" (In the head board. except he thinks we're saying, "not hole" so he shakes his head when he says it :)
• "Little big hill" The opposite of "big hill," according to Collins
• "Happy Maw" How he told Maw "happy birthday"
• "Wood" He thinks wood is the culprit anytime he gets hurt because he knows the headboard and floors are made of wood. He has even knocked on my head after bumping it with his own and declared my head, "wood." Watch it, young-un'.
• "Mis-sippi"
• "Tootie Tot!" His new favorite song/game. Taught by Katie and Meri Davis :)
• "O-meal" Oatmeal

Hmmm...

We taught Collins to "think" by rubbing his chin and saying "hmmm." It's funny. He does it a lot, unprompted, and it's always in good timing. Love that boy!

Multilingual?

Lullabies

This may or may not turn in to a mushy post. It is what it is!

When we first brought Collins home from the hospital, I remember sitting in the nursery one night rocking him while my mom sat on the ottoman in front of me. Collins was just about asleep and I was humming a lullaby to him. It was Brahm's Lullaby and I commented that I wish I knew the words. My mom told me she and some other people used to sing that song at church when they were little. Not the original words by Brahm, of course, but the Bethlehem version.

Mama started singing it, and here are the words:

 Song lyrics to Brahms' Bethlehem Lullaby:
Long ago, there was born In the City of David
A sweet, holy Babe
Who was Jesus our King
Angels sang at His birth, 'Lullaby, Peace On Earth'
Angels sang at His birth, 'Lullaby, Peace On Earth'

Jesus came as a Child
From His Father in Heaven
And has shown us the way
To be loving and kind
While the stars sang above, 'Lullaby, God Is Love'
While the stars sang above, 'Lullaby, God Is Love'

Lullaby and goodnight
Thy mother's delight
Bright angels beside The Baby abide
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on her breast
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on her breast

Angels sang at His birth, 'Lullaby, Peace On Earth'
Angels sang at His birth, 'Lullaby, Peace On Earth' 

Okay, so she only knew the first stanza, but still :)  I loved learning the words and they are so sweet! Then one day I realized how symbolic this whole little experience was. That during one of my first moments as a parent, I could say, now I know the words.

Isn't that truly what having your first child is like?!

:::end mushiness:::

So, two other lullabies I frequently sing to Collins are "Good Night, Sleep Tight" and "A You're Adorable." No idea if those are the right titles. And on the second one the words are apparently, "C, you're a cutie full of charms." I learned it as, "C, you're a charming little child." I hate when artists get the words wrong ;)

The other night I was humming and got to the "M, N,..." and Collins said, "O P"! I was impressed! I didn't even realize he was listening so closely. (Scary.)

Now that he's talking more, sometimes I start singing and he says, "No Mama." I can't say I'm surprised. I am a horrible singer.

Jake taught Collins to sing, "Jesus Loves Me." Sometimes when he tells me to shut up "No Mama" I ask, "Well, what do you want me to sing?" He usually says, "Dis I Know." :)

I sure do love my rocking/singing time with that baby!

VBS

 Collins was able to go to Bible School this year! It was the week of June 18-22, which was the week I went to D.C. until Wednesday. He did great the first day, fair the next two days, skipped Thursday so Mrs. Wilda and Mr. Joe could rest :), and great on Friday. We are so proud of him for being such a big boy!

When Collins saw this picture, he said, "My turn!"

When he sees this picture, he fake cries. I assume this was a 'fair' day. Ha!

Look at that little grin and his thumb in his pocket :)

Playing in the human hamster ball! You can't tell by his expression, but they said he loved it!