Happy Thanksgiving!

Colin had a wonderful Thanksgiving and was able to enjoy spending time with both sets of grandparents. He enjoyed playing with Gavin and Keira and having chocolate ice cream for dessert. He had so much fun. I think he was pretty dissapointed when we headed home. This was much better than the normal routine. Fortunately, Christmas is coming soon.

Trip to the Zoo

We finally had a nice weekend without any rain! We took full advantage on Saturday and visited the Philadelphia Zoo. Colin's favorites included the Gorillas and other monkeys, the Rhinoceros, the Giraffes, and the river otters. He reminded us frequently that there are no elephants at this zoo - a fact he learned when his grandparents visited. The Philly elephants were shipped off to Pittsburgh to have more space.

Colin is looking forward to a big Thanksgiving celebration. Only a couple of weeks away!

Halloween

Halloween was a big hit! The rain was not able to dampen Colin's spirits and he did a great job Trick-or-Treating. We made it all the way around the block plus a few more houses down the street. I am not sure if Colin was saying "Trick-or-Treat" because it sounded more like "Chicken Treat", but it got the job done. His "Roars" were more reliable and also effective at getting candy. The first picture is Colin ready to go, the second picture is Colin wanted to head back out for more Trick-or-Treating and the last one is Colin inspecting his loot.

Pre-Halloween Party

It is Halloween today and Colin is napping to have energy for the big night. These pictures are from last weekend's test run of the costume. We had a Halloween party at Colin's Little Gym. There was a huge turnout and Colin was very excited to go as a dragon. The first picture is from on our way into the party and it is a bit out of focus because I had to run to get ahead of his determined walk. I think Colin really enjoyed the excitement and the food. Colin won a pencil with Mommy's help. We had fun practicing our "roars". I hope we don't scare anyone too bad tonight.

This will be a big day for Colin. We even went to Chuck-E-Cheese for a late lunch and to make sure he was beat for his nap. We did not want his excitement to keep him up all afternoon. Only a couple of hours until the excitement begins.

DE Museum of Natural History

This was a few weekends ago. It was very rainy one Sunday and we decided to go to the DE Museum of Natural History. The fact that it was free that morning really appealed to Kristin. Colin enjoyed playing on the part of the floor where you can look down like you are above a coral reef.

"Am I 3 feet tall?" Pretty close. Colin will be ready for those rides when the amusement parks open up again. No more suffering the discrimination of the under 3 ft group. He still has a way to go to catch up with the penguin.

Nice Fall Weekend

It was a very nice Fall weekend here. Great weather for being outside before it starts to get too cold. On Sunday morning we went to the gym and then Colin got to go swimming. He really enjoys playing around in the pool and this time he did not want to wear his life jacket at all. When it was time to go, it was not a unanimous decision. You can't believe how many times we heard "I go pool" during his fit. After regrouping, we went to paint pumpkins at the local park. Colin was very proud of his artwork and Daddy was very pleased that he managed not to get any paint on his Steelers shirt. We did not plan well.

I can't believe it's true, Colin is Two!

Last week we had Colin's 2nd birthday party down in Virginia. The only kids were Colin and his cousins, but he did not seem to mind at all. He really enjoyed all of the attention from both Grandparents. We planned a very busy day for Colin starting with the International Children's festival at Wolf Trap where we met a very tall lady, watched tap and Indian dancers, made some arts and crafts and almost petted a horse. After a very short nap, we opened presents went to the park and then had a nice party with dinner and cake. Colin is getting so big.

The next day Colin discovered yet another present, a train table set that was set up in the living room. Colin loves the new train set and it is compatible with everything he has already. We are definately going to have to finish the basement to have a place for his toys.

Legoland

Colin had a great time visiting Legoland in California, even though they were very conservative with their rides. There were almost no rides that Colin could go on even accompanied by a parents. In contrast, Dutch Wonderland left much more to the parents judgement which was the opposite extreme for the first ride Colin tried there. What makes Legoland a bit different is all of the amazing Lego structures all over the park. The first picture is part of Miniland with lego creations of many cities. Here is Colin and Keira outside of DC (appropriately enough). The gang is also pictured with a Lego tourist.

Keira's favorite ride was the Beetle Bounce shown at the bottom. She did not ride too many rides but that one she must have gone on 6 or 7 times.

More to come...

PS - Only 11 days until Colin is 2!

San Diego

We have just returned from a busy week long vacation in San Diego. Colin really had a great time hanging out with his cousins and all of the activities. This was probably the best, most memorable vacation in his life. Our list of activities included visits to Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, the USS Midway, 2 Aquariums, the beach (of course) and a lagoon. I have a number of pictures I plan to post on the blog from the trip and we have to get ready for the return to the old routine, so I will keep this short for tonight.

Trip to the Zoo with Grandparents

This past weekend Colin's grandparents from Pittsburgh came to visit. "Mayor", as Colin likes to call him and Grandma had a great time taking Colin to the Zoo. I think his favorite part was the Gorillas because he was able to get up close to the glass and say hi. Hopefully, he is still interested in the Zoo because that is on our agenda next week as well. We leave tomorrow morning very early for San Diego! We are all very excited for a week of vacation.

Colin also enjoyed getting ice cream and meeting the firemen on Saturday. He sat in two different fire trucks and still enjoys wearing his little Fire Chief hat.

More Pictures from Visit

Here are a couple of more pictures from Dutch Wonderland and Hagley that are Blogworthy. Colin was very determined on the train to turn the wheel with his hands. He would get very frustrated if his hands came off as I was pushing him.

The old school house at Hagley was a hit. Here is a cute picture of Colin with his Cousin Keira. I wish Colin was looking at the camera with his smile.

We have a couple quiet weekends to start August but then Colin's Grandparents come to visit and then it is off to San Diego for vacation.

Hagley Museum

Part 2 of the busy weekend with all the visitors was a trip to Hagley Museum. For those of you not in the know, this is where DuPont Company was formed. You can learn all about the early years of DuPont and the making of black powder (gunpowder). The Brandywine River provided the power to the Works and you can see it in the background behind the girls and Colin (who was overdue for lunch). The second picture is after lunch. Much better!

Dutch Wonderland

It was a big weekend here in Southeastern PA. Colin's cousins, Aunt and Grandparents all came up to visit. The first day was spent at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster. It was the perfect park for a 5, 3.5 and almost 2 year old. The rides were well suited for small kids, the shows were fun and the park was just the right size. Not too big, but more than enough for the kids to complete a very full day. We might have to go back next year!

Colin really enjoyed having his cousins over to his place. They had a great time. More on the weekend in the next blog entry.

"My Car"

Previously, there was only "Daddy's car" and "Mommy's car", but now thanks to PopPop and TT there is "My car". Colin really likes his new present. Sometimes he rides and sometimes he pushes. If he is pushing, he really doesn't want you, or at least me, to touch the car. He is getting pretty good at holding his legs up so we can push him along easily. He really enjoys going for trips to the end of the street and back.

Another early birthday present.

4th of July and Orange Shoes

We had a busy 4th of July down in DC this year. So busy that I did not get many pictures. In fact, the only picture I have is of Gavin and Keira's face paint art. A very patriotic display. Kristin and I joined her Dad at the AT&T golf tournament on the 4th of July and we saw Tiger Woods play several holes on his way to victory.

I decided to include one random picture of Colin this week. Colin unexpectedly had sprinker day at school (it was not on the calendar) and so his shoes got soaked. They loaned him these orange crocs for the rest of the day. I have no idea why they did not put him in the crocs for the sprinker play to keep his sneakers dry. Go figure. Anyway, Colin was very proud of his orange shoes when he got home. He did not want to take them off.

Visiting the City of Champions

Last weekend, Colin visited his grandparents in the City of Champions - Pittsburgh, PA. Colin had a great time hanging out with grandma and grandpa or as Colin likes to say, "Mayor and ?". We had a hard time getting him to say grandma and grandpa, but he found Mayor quite to his liking.

Colin wants to thank them for the new train set. He plays with it every night.

Our big events were a trip to the Franklin Park festival and the trolley museum (Ding-Ding rather than Choo-Choo).

Last time I mentioned the turkeys visiting for Thanksgiving, this time I have photos of the summer visitors. Colin had no problem pronoucing his new friends names, "Deer" and "Racoon".

New Swingset

I am going back in time a bit to early May, but I realized that I never put up pictures of our new swingset. If you recall, our swingset blew down in early January. Colin enjoyed having a swingset and it was very convenient for us because we don't have time to head to the park after work. It just made sense to get it now if we were going to get one.

Colin isn't too big on the swinging part, but really enjoys the slide.

This Friday we are heading to Pittsburgh, so we are sure to have some fresh pics for the next blog.

Pens Win the Stanley Cup!

What a year! The Pens pulled of the surprise upset of the Detroit Red Wings on the road in a Game 7 for the ages that was not decided until a last second stop by Marc-Andre Fluery on Nickolas Lindstrom. This completes the Kipp Hat Trick that I never thought I would see. My three favorite teams all won the titles in 2009 with the Steelers in February, the Heels in April and then the Pens in June. I think I might play the lottery in August with this every other month pattern.

This weekend we went back down to DC to celebrate Gavin's 5th birthday party in grand fashion. It was quite the blowout! The highlight was a large inflatable water slide in the front yard. It was a little too big for Colin this year, but look out next year.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Let's Go Pens!

Sometimes with everything going on, I have pictures that I have not yet posted that I think are cute and consider blogworthy. There is no set theme to these pictures. The first one I have on my desk because Colin looks so happy. The second one with him in position to nap on the couch was his own doing.

Even though some folks can't believe that they are still playing hockey in June, I am very excited by my Pens coming back from an 0-2 hole. There is still a chance for my personal sports triple crown. If you ask me at any time my favorite sports teams, I would say 1) Steelers, 2) Tar Heels Basketball and 3) Pens. Most people are probably aware that the Steelers won the Super Bowl and the Tar Heels claimed the NCAA crown this year. Only 1 to go and the Pens just need to win 2 of 3 from Detroit. They still need to take one from the Wings on their home ice and the next chance is Saturday. Let's go Pens!

Trip to Asia

Colin and his mommy survived a week on their own last week as I was on a business trip to China and Japan. I was fortunate that I was not quarantined by China's strict measures to combat Swine Flu. Several rows on my flight were held back due to one person with a fever and I can only assume based on the warnings I received before the trip that they were held in a Chinese hospital somewhere in Shanghai. I was able to do some rapid sightseeing on the last day and here I am in front of the gate to a temple complex in Tokyo that dates back to 680 A.D. However, none of the structures date to that period.

Since this blog is about Colin, here is a picture of Colin with his friend Jedd at a part right before I left for Asia. They are getting to the point where they can almost play together. Very cool!