The Best Christmas EVER!

Yep, that's what I said - the best one in my whole life! I loved my Transformers gear from Santa - the Optimus Prime helmet and gun and the Transformers Play-Doh set that really transforms cars into the robots!!!

Hayden had a great first Christmas too...he got lots of toys from Santa, thanks to me! You see, when I sat on Santa's lap, I asked for lots of toys for Hayden and only one toy for me. I really try to take care of my little brother.

Happy New Year!
Collin

Bigger, Stronger, and Better Than Ever!

Today I'm 12 weeks old...and I am a ball of fun! I love to smile, coo, and laugh a hearty "huh huh huh" at the silly stuff Mommy does. Yes, I humor her and give her laughs when she sings silly songs and makes funny faces...it's the least I can do. My vocabulary is growing - I've got a lot of vowel sounds and several consonants. I'm also growing bigger every day. I'm holding my head up really well and looking all around. I even get to sit up sometimes, which always makes me happy. I love being outside, but boy, do I get mad when the sunshine gets in my eyes. I make funny faces when the wind blows in my face.

You know who my favorite person in the world is? Yep, it's big brother Collin. All he has to do is walk in the room and I smile!

New School, New Lunchbox

Hi Everyone,

Today is my first day at preschool at Little Rock Montessori! I am SO excited to be at my new school with my friend Sloane. My teachers are so nice - their names are Ms. Leslie and Ms. Sue. You know what the coolest part of preschool is? I get my very own Transformers lunchbox! It was really hard to choose between the lunchbox with Optimus Prime and the one with Optimus Prime AND Bumblebee, but I did it!

Here I am ready to head out the door:

I can't wait to tell you how much I learn!
Collin

Hayden's Photo Shoot

Here's my baby brother:

Isn't he cute? Here's a picture of me when I was a baby too...do we look alike?

The Great Bubble Bath Fiasco of 2011

Hi Everyone,

I did a very bad thing. A few days ago, I emptied a brand new jug of bubble bath into the bathtub. Daddy said that was wrong, and the jug had enough bubbles for 100 baths! I was very sorry.

Mommy bought me a new jug of bubble bath at Walmart yesterday. Last night, just before my bath, Mommy spotted me taking a towel to the clothes hamper in my bedroom. Being the sweet boy I am, I climbed up on her lap and told her that I really wasn't doing anything...just drying my hands. But THAT was my biggest mistake...she SMELLED blueberry bubble bath on me! She asked me if I had opened the bubble bath, and I said "no" as sweetly as I could. But then, Mommy walked into my bathroom and this is what she found:

I really WAS trying to be a good boy. I was using my bathroom cup to try to pour the bubble bath back into the jug, but something just went terribly wrong! Somehow it ended up all over the floor!

Long story short (and a lot of towels later), I don't get to have any more bubble bath for a very long time!
Still working on that "good boy" thing,
Collin

Firecracker Fourth

Hi Everyone,

Wow, did I have a great Independence Day! Mommy, Daddy, Hayden, & I got to go to my friends Connor and Noah's house to eat hamburgers and watch a great big fireworks show in their neighborhood. I even got to buy a few fireworks of my own. My favorite was the racecar one that raced around shooting and making loud bangs! I also got to see my friends Sam and Amelia too. We kids all had fun playing, especially with Mr. Jeff's new hammock!

We had a great time! Thanks Mr. Jeff and Mrs. Ashley for letting us come over!
Collin

Welcome Baby Hayden!

I'm a big brother! Baby Hayden was born on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 10:58 am at UAMS. He weighed 8 lbs, 6 oz, and was 21 inches long. He's a really good baby brother, and I'm SO proud of him. Mommy says I have to wait a couple of weeks before I can take him to show and tell at school, but I did get to take some pictures of him this week.

Here's a snippet from a recent conversation while Collin was holding his baby brother:
C: Hi Baby Hayden, I'm Collin, and I'm your big brother. Do you like me?

(doesn't it just melt your heart?)

Basketball Star

Yeah, that's right, I said basketball star. Every Tuesday at school I go to basketball and learn really cool stuff with my teacher Ms. Olivia. We just had our first performance to show all our mommies and daddies all the tricks we can do. We went through our whole routine - about 35 minutes - and then...wait for it...we got TROPHIES!!!

Here's me doing a 2-handed dribble:

...and bouncing off my knee (here I come Harlem Globetrotters)

And me with my TROPHY!

And here are my pals from school. Are we cute or what?

I was so excited I carried my trophy around for a week. I really wanted to take it to bed with me but Mommy thought that might be dangerous. I DID get to take it to Show and Tell at school though!

Be watching for my next move - spinning the ball on my finger!
Later -

Collin

Cinders and Ashes!

Hi Everyone,

Mommy & Daddy surprised me by taking me to see the REAL Thomas the Train...toot toot! We took a really long drive to some place called Fayetteville and saw him. I was so excited. Here's a picture of me and Daddy at the show:

Don't I look excited to be there?

For some reason, they wouldn't let Mommy take pictures during the show, but we had a really good time. Thomas, Percy, and Diesel were all there...and so was Sir Topham Hatt! We toot-toot'ed, clapped, sang, and helped Thomas save the day. At the end, they shot confetti and balloons WAAAY up in the air. I brought some confetti home as a souvenir.

You know what was even cooler? They had a real train outside the place where we saw Thomas. Daddy said it was really a bank so we couldn't go in, but we did take some pictures of me climbing on the steps.

So...as Thomas would say..."I'm a really useful engine!" So long everybody!
Collin

Dancing and Sensitivity Training

Hey Everyone,

Did you know that I L-O-V-E the band Train? Yep, my favorite song for about a year has been "Soul Sister" (LOVE that one, don't you?). I know all the words, and if I'm in the right mood, I'll belt them out with Mommy. Anytime we're in the car, I'll ask if she has "Soul Sister" available for the spinner, and I usually make her play it over and over again. Yesterday I decided to let Mommy and Daddy listen to the rest of the songs on the CD and I found that I also like this little ditty...it's good for dancin'! Watch and see:



Also, Mommy got quite a kick out of this comment from me last week as we were playing together on the couch:
Collin (stops playing and gets really serious): "Goodness, I'm afraid your belly is getting really big!"
Mommy couldn't stop laughing - guess I said something right!

It's a .... (a note from Mommy)

It's a BOY!! Yep, Collin is going to be a big brother. Mommy & Daddy are thrilled, although Collin is a bit more interested in trains...or bicycles...or TV...or just about anything else. I thought I'd take you all on a look back at just how cute we make 'em - some of our favorite early shots of our little #1:

Collin @ 2 months

Collin @ 3 months

Collin @ 5 months

We're looking forward to seeing just how cute little boy #2 will be!

-Amy

P.S. A big thanks to Collin for letting me borrow his blog. He'll be back soon to share more fun!

All I Want for Christmas

Hi Everyone,




Guess what? I went to see Santa and told him the 2 things I really wanted for Christmas: 1) a green bicycle, and 2) a train that has a trailer with wheels. Yep, that's what I want most of all. Mommy & Daddy keep telling me that I have to be good so that Santa will want to bring my toys. Jingle Bell is also keeping his eye on me. He's my elf, and he goes to tell Santa how GOOD I've been every night. I really hope he hasn't noticed a few of the things I've done tonight!!

I can't hardly wait until Christmas!
Love,
Collin

Little Michael

Tonight's Conversation:

Mommy: Hi Short Stuff. Is your name Short Stuff?
Collin: No, my name's Michael....Little Michael!

(and there's a LOT of truth to that!)

A Fun Day with a Friend

Today my friend Cole and I got to hang out! We went to the playground and played with the construction equipment in the sand table, the cars, the balls, and of course all the slides!

What a fun day!

I'm Getting So Big...and Handsome!!

I am so proud of my new backpack!

Mommy's Jealous!

Here's my conversation with Mommy this morning:

Mommy: Are you a good boy, Collin?

Collin: Yes

Mommy: Are you Mommy's Good Boy?

Collin: No, Sloane's Good Boy

Mommy (gasp!): What?!

Collin: Collin is Sloane's Good Boy!

So who is Sloane? Well, Sloane is one of my best friends at school. She's actually my girlfriend, although I pretty much hug on everybody there. Mommy thinks she has too much influence on me - whatever that means. Here's a picture of me and Sloane at our Valentine's Day party this year:

And here's a picture of me "petting" her:

And here's a picture of me hugging (kissing?) her:

I think Mommy's jealous. This morning she gave my friend Davis an extra hug to make herself feel better. Davis likes Mommy!

Later -

Collin (aka "Casanova")

Easter Fun

So, like I said, I'm catching you up on my latest fun. I had a great Easter this year! I got to dye eggs, check out the treats in a cool Easter basket, and hunt Easter eggs in the backyard.

SUPERMAN!!!

Do you spot any eggs in this picture? I do!!

So Much to Catch Up!

Hi Everyone,

So it's been a while since I've caught you up on my life! I bet you didn't know that I had a birthday on March 9th! I turned 2 years old! We had a fun party with friends. We had cake, presents, and played on my new swingset. We even flew kites!

More Soon!
Collin

Snow, Part 2

Who knew? Just about a week ago, I got to play in the snow and now it's back! Today it was snowing really hard, and Mommy said it was the "good" snow, meaning it was good enough to make a snowman! The last snow wouldn't stick together, but this stuff sure did! Mommy had to coax me out of the garage because it was falling so fast! When I finally came out, I loved it! Here are some pictures of our snowman:

Did you notice that I did a little yardwork while we were out?