We kicked off September with Blair's 8 month birthday. Time is really flying with this one, and true to form (and just like her brother) it is very difficult to get her to hold still for a picture. She also loves to wrinkle up her nose when she smiles! Chris calls it her bitter beer face. These are my best efforts - we didn't do a sibling picture this month because Colin was out on an adventure when I took these. Next month!
We also had a great visit with Grandma Yvette and Grandpa Curt for a whole week in September! It was wonderful to spend time with them, and both kids enjoyed the extra attention and love. We went on all kinds of adventures and look forward to when they can come visit us next time!
We went to the beach at Lake Michigan and for the first time in my memory, the water wasn't like tiny ice cube daggers slicing my skin! Colin was in his element, splashing around, jumping in the waves, and even asked to get buried in the sand! Blair was way more interested and active in the water than I thought she would be - she sat at the edge of the water and splashed the waves, sampled the sand and got a few waves to the face. She took it like a champ! We're glad we could share that with Grandma & Grandma Kuriyama!
We went on an adventure to the museum to show Grandma & Grandpa what cool stuff there is to do there. I was glad we had extra sets of hands because we had to tear Colin away from the innovation lab. Blair enjoyed watching a cloud tornado form with Dad, and Grandma Yvette was even on TV! And the best part, the museum is always free!
Football season kicked off the weekend after Grandma & Grandma left, and the kiddos sported their team gear (and looked great doing it)!
And then, Colin started preschool. He has been so excited to start and the day finally came where it was time to take the next big leap up & away from us. I took some sibling pictures (since I missed them for Blair's month birthday) and tried to get Colin to hold still long enough for a "first day of school picture."
Chris and I were both fairly confident that Colin wouldn't have any issues with the "see you later" part of preschool, and we were right. Colin ran right inside and didn't turn around once and hasn't during any drop-off since. I'm so happy he loves going and there aren't any tears, but sometimes it would be nice to just get a "Bye mom!" Now when I drop him off I at least make him say bye to Blair.
School comes with lots of new experiences, like peeing in a urinal and having lunch on Fridays with his friends. When Blair & I pick him up, the teacher makes them wait and releases them one at a time. Colin stands (he NEVER sits) and looks for us, and when he sees us he pretends not to smile and looks away then sits down. He's already WAY too cool for me.
We have been trying to soak up every last bit of warm weather before Fall finally hits head on in October. We've gone on hikes, headed to playgrounds and had some backyard fun. As the days get shorter and colder I already miss these beautiful days where we could all head outside without taking 15min to get jackets & shoes on.
(this is at Colin's playground - some kids usually stay afterwards and the kids play, and sis has some specific opinions on the swings)
Colin and I took our first bike ride this month too! Blair is too young to support her head with a helmet on, so she'll have to wait until Spring to ride with us. When we got to the playground, Colin got out and said "Whew that was hard work!" Dingle.
Cooler days kept us inside, so Colin was able to do some baking, some arts & crafts and a (very failed) science experiment.
(FAIL)
Colin & Blair. Still the best of friends. Blair has developed an independent streak so sometimes she shows less of an interest in Colin, but she still gets very excited to see him when we pick him up at school. He comes to give her a hug and she gums his nose (and he lets her). We are starting to see Colin being a little selfish with his toys again, so we're working on not ripping the toys of out sis' hands. I was anticipating we'd go backwards with sharing & taking turns once Blair reached a certain age. It is hard to not just let Blair have everything since she's the baby, because she needs to learn too, and I don't want Colin just giving up everything to other people. It will take time and get better with age!
I have been looking back through the blog to see how Blair & Colin compare on their milestones, and I saw that around this age I made Colin a little light box for him to play in. I refuse to succumb to second child syndrome so Blair got her own light box too.The interest only lasted an hour or two, and now it is relegated to the basement.
We decorated for Halloween one day early, so it will make it onto this blog! Colin had so much fun going to the stores to check out the Halloween costumes and decorations. There were a few times he got pretty scared of the ones that are supposed to scare you, but instead of freaking out he just told me he didn't like it and not to make it do that again. We're waiting a few weeks on pumpkins so they last until Halloween but everything else is up and looks great.
Colin's friend Louie showed him how he can curl up his tongue, and not to be outdone, Colin worked hard on the way home to do the trick too! And here he is, so proud of himself.
Scholastic Book Fair!
Colin was playing with my phone one day after dinner and I noticed he took a lot of interesting photographs, so I made them into a collage for his first "still life" collection.
Funny Colin anecdotes:
- Another kid bit Colin at preschool pretty hard on the finger. When Colin saw him in the hallway the next preschool day, he walked right up to him and said "Don't you bite me today!"
- Colin has days where he asks me to call him Dash. If I say anything to him using his name, he won't do it until I call him "Dash" and even says "Call me Dash." I didn't even know what Dash was until one of the other moms told me it was from Incredibles.
- Similar to the above, he will pretend he is a dog or a cat. He makes me play fetch with him, and will bark or meow. I told him that cats clean themselves by licking their fur; he thought about it for a minute then started licking his arm. Method actor!
- I am working overtime to watch what I say aloud. One day Colin said "You two kill me up a wall. I'm going to turn you into a ghost."
Oh Blair - growing up so quickly! She has accomplished so much since last month's post. She is still completely toothless, though I do see some about ready to make an appearance on the bottom. Blair is crawling around like wildfire, and loves to do naughty things like play in the dog's water bowl and try to pull down the baby gate protecting her from tumbling to her certain death down the basement steps. In case you were wondering, yes her hair still has a mind of it's own, and I'm looking forward to cooler weather so we can put hats over that mane.
(She really looks like me in this pic)
Blair has a funny little personality. She is always jabbering on about something, sharing her opinions & life experiences, and has a smirk to go along with it. Like her brother, Blair is very curious and loves to investigate new things, and isn't afraid to go off on her own. Maybe someday they will have their own reality show called "Let's Scare our Parents to Death."
Chris built this brachiation ladder for Colin when he was just shy of 9mos, so I dug this out and set it up for Blair! It is meant to help them learn how to pull themselves up and get them strong enough to start standing and walking. Blair thinks she's hot stuff when she's standing on it!
Blair and Carlo still love each other. She mashes his ears, lips & eyes, pulls his fur & tail and puts her entire mouth on him. And what does he do? Lay there.
Blair is starting to show her displeasure for pureed, spoon fed baby food by just shoving the spoon away from her face, so I have been wracking my brain trying to remember what I fed Colin when he was weaning himself. So far I haven't really found anything she doesn't like, but I'm sure as we foray into the world of table foods she will get a little more picky. I'm still breastfeeding her, though I am growing tired of it. I want a little more freedom (and help at night!) but I don't want any regrets about weaning her too soon, especially since she's my last baby. I always told myself I'd wait until after she got her teeth (I can see them through the front of her gums coming in) because she already takes certain liberties with my nipples that I do not appreciate, so maybe I'll stick to that plan!
Towards the end of the month, we moved Colin into a bigger room with a queen sized bed, and moved Blair into her own big girl room. Both transitioned really well for the most part, which we're thankful for - it seems like it was harder for mom & dad. I miss having Blair in the room with me, and I know Chris saw this as yet another jump for both of them into big kid mode. Of course we're fortunate to experience those moments, and are so proud of who our kids are becoming.
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