Kipp Family Blog

Christmas and Outer Banks

2012-01-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day after unwrapping gifts.

I can run as far as the Wright Brothers flew in 1903.

Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head at sunset.

Did we push the kids too hard?

Happy Halloween

2011-11-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

Kaitlin loves to copy Colin.

2011-11-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

Good news! Colin and Darth Vader have made up.

Does it look like they are ready for a police line-up?

It's Spiderman!

Birthday Party

2011-10-26T18:37:00.001-07:00

Day out with Deans

2011-10-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Final Birthday Ice Cream from Aunt Sally.

Running around the tree.

Colin and Meghan by the trains.

It is very hard to get a good picture of the 4 of us.

Fall Festival

2011-10-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Colin and his friend Ryan from school.

Disney Pictures

2011-09-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

So many pictures! We had a great time at Disney.

Colin in Jedi Training

2011-09-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

There will be more pictures to come of our Disney Vacation, but here is one of the more special moments for Colin, our young Jedi in training.

Pictures downloaded from my new iPhone

2011-09-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

Our nightly bike ride around the circle. It's a race!

Colin and his neighbor Emmy.

Bubble Time!

Joshua's last day at Day Care. Good-bye hug.

Trip to Pittsburgh

2011-08-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Colin's birthday early in Pittsburgh with Grandma and Grandpa. He was thrilled with his Phillies shirt.

Kaitlin in the sandbox at Blueberry Park. Lots of toys!

Look at the monkey...and the baboon.

Yes, that is a real elephant that we got to pet.

All is well after Irene!

Spiderman

2011-08-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

The gang during thier visit. I don't think Kaitlin was too happy about the group picture.

Kaitlin loves big shoes! Even just Colin's shoes are fun.

Oh my, is it Spriderman?

Nope, just mild mannered Colin Kipp.

Look ma, no crack!

2011-08-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Fun day at Independence Hall. Could not have asked for a nicer day.

Go Phillies!

Day at Sesame Place

2011-08-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Suprisingly cool day for water rides considering it was Aug 4th. We were cold at times. Kaitlin was not a fan of the characters. Colin reacted as if Elmo was a rock star.

Summer Fun

2011-07-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

Colin went with his Mom to a fairy tea at Tyler Arboretum. Colin had a great time!

My Facebook profile picture!

This is Colin's best friend from school over for a playdate.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit July 2011

2011-07-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

1st T-Ball Practice!

Enjoying the pool.

2011-07-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Pictures from 4th of July Parade and 4th of July weekend.

Fire Engines and Ice Cream

2011-06-25T18:42:00.001-07:00

Later that same day after hanging out with Thomas, we had ice cream and played in fire engines. Big day!

Day out with Thomas

2011-06-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

We spent a day out with Thomas today in Strasburg, PA. We were passengers on a train pulled by the one and only Thomas the Tank Engine. A good time was had by all.

Missed Baptism

2011-06-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

Since Kaitlin missed her baptism this weekend, I decided to post a video as a special treat. She is doing much better today.

Kaitlin's First Birthday!

2011-05-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Kaitlin had a great time at her first birthday party. She showed off her new skill of walking and was thrilled with all of the attention.

Day at the Zoo - Monkey Madness

2011-05-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day! 70 degrees and sunny. Happy Anniversary and Happy Mother's Day!

Vacation Pictures

2011-04-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:57:00.001-07:00

New Post!

2011-03-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

It has been kind of hard to keep up with the blog with my new job and other activities. These pictures are from last Sunday when we went up to the Please Touch Museum up in Philly. It is a really great venue for someone Colin's age. Kaitlin is making it tough to type. She has an ear infection and is a grumpy this morning.

So far behind

2011-01-30T17:32:00.003-08:00

It has been a tough and very busy start to the year. So let me just post some pictures.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T18:06:00.001-08:00

Our little monkey had a great time trick or treating this year. We started out the evening with a neighborhood happy hour and then retreated to our respective home to get to the serious work of handing out and collecting candy. Colin and Daddy achieved our goal of making it all the way around the block and returned home in plenty of time for the Steelers game. Kaitlin and Mommy handed out candy and enjoyed seeing all the kids in their costumes. Colin took full advantage of dressing up with an event at day care plus a parade at the neighborhood restaurant.

Warm Fall Weekend

2010-10-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day so we went to Longwood Gardens to spend some nice time outside. Colin heard that Thomas was going to be there so we were on a mission to find Thomas. The bottom picture shows Thomas in front of the trains. Mostly Colin just wanted to watch the trains, but we were able to pull him away to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins did not seem to fit well with the shorts and warm weather, but it made for a number of good pictures.

Kaitlin is rolling over with no problem now and she had her first taste of solid food this evening.

Trip to the Zoo

2010-09-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

We had a fun post-birthday weekend for Colin last week. We took a trip up to the Zoo again which is always a hit. This was the first time we turned Kaitlin around and she showed excellent head strength. She is getting so big and she is doing a great job with her exercises. She is showing improvement after just one week. We think she will be rolling over on her own soon.

Can it be? Colin is 3.

2010-09-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

Colin really enjoyed his birthday party at the Little Gym! It was just about the perfect size with 11 of his little friends including his cousins. The kids got to bounce on the airtrak and play on the gymnastics equipment. Two instructors were there to guide the party and keep everything on schedule. It worked out very well for Colin's first real birthday party.

We had to test out one of his new birthday presents...a baseball glove! It was a beautiful day.

Here is the kids on the airtrak just before it blows up.

A picture of Kaitlin for good measure.

Still Catching Up

2010-09-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

Things are really hectic as we prepare for Colin's 3rd Birthday party this weekend. Just trying to catch up on some pictures. I wanted to make sure I posted the full group picture from the Pocanos.

Kaitlin improving with her tummy time!

I really like this picture.

Coming soon, birthday pictures.

Claws and Paws

2010-08-19T18:24:00.001-07:00

During our vacation to the Poconos, we visited Claws and Paws animal park. It had a surprising collection of animals with some interactive experiences like feeding the giraffe, playing with the tortoises and feeding birds from your hand. Colin really loves the animals. He even fed the giraffe by hand.

These two look like trouble!

Here is Kaitlin with her Great Grandmother.

Bushkill Falls

2010-08-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Back from vacation now and a bit behind on everything. Here are a few pictures as a first installment. Bushkill Falls - the Niagara of Pennsylvania.

Tongue...Goggles...Race Car Driver

2010-07-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me why she is sticking out her tongue. Probably to let Colin know that he is not going to win this battle.

New goggles from TT! Colin was very excited about his new goggles and we having a great time at the pool this Summer. Colin likes jumping in off the side now.

Watch out!!

Smiles Everyone, Smiles!

2010-07-18T18:14:00.001-07:00

Pictures of Kaitlin

2010-07-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

There were some comments that Kaitlin was shortchanged in the last blog entry. Kaitlin was hanging out with Mommy at Sesame Place, so consequently left out of the pictures. Here are a few more pictures with both of the little ones.

Here they are in the Orange during World Cup Final Sunday. Sorry to the Dutch, better luck next time.

Here is a picture of Kaitlin from today just hanging out and waving hello all of her fans.

Sesame Place

2010-07-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy extended 4th of July weekend. On Friday, July 2nd, Colin's cousins came up for a big trip to Sesame Place north of Philly. Everyone was very excited to see where Elmo and Big Bird live. Colin has only seen the show a couple of times, yet it is hard not to be excited to meet Elmo in person. The weather was perfect and we maximized our time at the park. Colin's favorite thing was going on the big water slide with Daddy. Mommy wasn't so sure about the whole idea, but after the ride he wanted to go again - so we did.

On Saturday, the first shift left and PopPop and TT arrived to continue the excitement. Daddy and PopPop went to the AT&T golf tournament. No Tiger sighting since he was out of it, but we picked a good horse who came in second by 1 stroke.

We did not stay up for fireworks, but did a couple of our own the next evening to introduce Colin to the experience.

What a busy weekend! Phew! Had to go to work this week to rest.

Assorted Recent Pictures

2010-06-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we met the Kings up at Valley Forge National Park. We spent most of the time pedaling on the trails. Jedd was disappointed there were no swings at this "Park" and so Colin and Jedd learned the difference between the park and a "National Park".

Kaitlin sitting up like a big girl (with some help). 6 weeks old!

I really like this picture of Colin and Kaitlin.

Now that the US is eliminated we are now supporting the Dutch in the World Cup. A colleage of mine from DuPont that lives in the Netherlands was very thoughtful to send Colin a "soccer man" jersey for the Dutch National team. Kaitlin has an Orangie onesie as well so we are set. Neiderland nummer ein!

Gavin Turns 6!

2010-06-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Gavin Turns 6!

This weekend was Kaitlin's first overnight trip out of town. She was very good. We drove down to DC on Friday night and she slept the whole way. We could not miss Gavin's birthday spectacular celebrating turning 6. As an added bonus, Kristin's Aunt Sharon and cousin Shell were in town visiting from Texas and Doha respectively. Kaitlin enjoyed meeting everyone and Colin enjoyed the party and the cookout the next day. He especially enjoyed playing with his cousin Keira. The ride home went almost as well. Kaitlin needed a feeding along the way, but that is perfectly understandable.

Kaitlin with Shell and Gavin.

Kaitlin and Aunt Sharon

She is already 5 weeks old. It is very hard to believe.

Grandparents

2010-06-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought it would be hard to keep this up with the second kid? I am typing this with one hand right now while holding Kaitlin. Here is a series of pictures with the proud Grandparents.

Live it up because you are done after this one! This is your last grandkid. Fortunately, Kaitlin has had a really good first month.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Colin is in my lap right now so this will have to be brief. Aunt Alison and Cousin Gavin and Keira came to visit this weekend and meet Kaitlin. The kids had a great time playing with each other. We visited Longwood Gardens and had a fun time getting wet in the Children's Garden. The cousins really feed off of one another and really get wound up. Kaitlin can't wait to join the fun.

OK, now Colin wants to type his favorite letter. uuu

More Pics

2010-05-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

More pictures!

Back to Kaitlin

2010-05-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Now back to more pictures of Kaitlin. The first week is flying by. Yesterday, she had her doctor's visit and passed with flying colors. She is down to 7 lbs and it is time to pack on the weight. Last night was our best night yet so far. She ate vigorously through the evening and then slept soundly. We had to wake her up for a 2 am feeding and then she was out for the rest of the night. We are getting used to having her around. It is hard to believe that we were not expecting her to mid next week.

Did the Trick!

2010-05-20T19:31:00.001-07:00

I realize this going back a few days, but I could not miss highlighting the PA Railroad Museum that apparently did the trick to advance the pregnancy. The picture above was taken around 5 pm in Strasburg, PA (near Lancaster), by 7 pm we were home and Kristin was feeling funny and by 8:30 pm we were at the hospital and she was about ready to start pushing. Perhaps all of the walking at the museum was a factor. Good thing we did not have to flag down a horse and buggy as an escort to an Amish hospital.

We met Sonia and Garrett at the Train Museum. Colin had a great time and is still talking about it. I assume the same for Garrett. Sonia probably assumed with the baby coming that she lost her shot at being on the blog this year. This one is for you. You have to keep the fans happy out there.

Kaitlin Maggie Kipp

2010-05-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

Kristin and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of Kaitlin Maggie Kipp who was born 2 weeks early at 12:45 am on May 16th. She weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz. Everyone is home and adjusting to very little sleep (except for Colin who did not get up once with all the crying). Colin loves his new baby sister - sometimes a bit too much. He likes to kiss her over and over and we have to remind him to be gentle.

These pictures are all from the first 2 days in the hospital. More pictures to come when I can find a moment.

Trip to Zoo

2010-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we went up to the Philadelphia Zoo for a fun Sunday. The highlight for Colin was the Orangutans. There was a mom with baby inside and the dad outside. The baby was old enough to start climbing away from Mom and the Dad was very shy outside and likely to keep a sheet over his head. Colin was talking about them for the next couple of days. It really made an impression. Looks like we should renew our membership for next year.

Only 29 days to go (at most)!

Happy Easter 2010

2010-04-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter Weekend down in DC! The weather was fabulous and Colin enjoyed spending a lot of time with his cousins. We were never able to get great posed shots of Colin, so I posted the action shots to better reflect the story of Colin. He likes to have a good time!

Aruba

2010-03-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

You know it has been a long time since posting when you go from snowstorm pictures to those taken in 90 degree weather. The time span is not as great as that suggests since we took a mid-March trip down to Aruba. It was nice to have one last get-away before baby and shower Colin with attention. We had a great short trip from Saturday to Wednesday. Some of the highlights include playing at the pool, going on a submarine ride, feeding iguanas, touring the island and riding on the Steelers plane!

Colin was very brave feeding the iguanas including the big one pictured right up to the end of the piece of lettuce. The weather was perfect and it was a nice break to mark the end of a tough Winter and the start of a beautiful Spring. The first weekend back reached the low 70s!

Snowmaggedon

2010-02-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

Over a period of 5 days we have experienced more snow than Colin has seen in his entire life. We have already smashed the all time record for snow in this part of the country by 5 inches. We have had close to 40" of snow in these last two storms. There was a State of Emergency in DE today and my work was closed for the last 2 days. We were just grateful that we had power because we know of several people that were without power for up to 24 hours during the storm.

Colin enjoyed our walk today. He did the little dive into the snow below several times. The first was an accident. Then it was a fun little game (until his nose went into the snow).

It is back to work tomorrow. Fortunately there is no snow in the forecast until at least Monday.

Big Boy Bed

2010-02-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

Colin is proud to report that he has left his crib and moved into a Big Boy Bed! The transition went very smoothly and he seems quite happy with his new bed. We went with a safari animal motif with lions on his sheets. He still fights the falling to sleep part, but it is no trouble getting him into bed.

It looks like we will be trapped inside for most of the weekend. The snow is moving in.

Colin Shoes

2010-01-30T17:36:00.000-08:00

Colin has been very lucky to receive Gavin's hand-me-downs and it is always fun to see what we find in each box of clothes. Here are some shoes that he was particularly enamored with. I took a short video to see how that might work on the site.

For those of you who don't already know, the scope of this blog will expand sometime in late May. We are expecting a little girl!

Energetic Play with TT

2010-01-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

Colin had fun playing with TT in their basement over the holidays. Here are some great pictures of Colin giggling in the moonbounce. Plus, what could be better than chocolate milk after a good play session?

See you at the Ridge!

2010-01-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

Colin made it to Jockey's Ridge for the first time during this year's trip to the Outer Banks. Jockey's Ridge was a popular meeting place during Beach Week some 15-20 years...err let's not say how long ago. As always, Colin wanted to walk and yes he did walk all the way to the top. It was not as steep as the old days and I think we were on Ridge 2.0. Sand dunes are kind of fluid over the time scale from college until now. Well, that is very short on a geologic time scale. I was hoping to get Colin to participate in the group picture, but he was not in the mood. In his defense, it was pretty cold that day. This still did not lead to a nap for the little dude.

Christmas Day

2010-01-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day was very busy for Colin. We had Christmas morning breakfast at his cousins place followed by opening presents. I think Alison was able to get a better group picture on her camera. Colin was squirming a bit in this one. We had a bit of a break during the afternoon when we hoped that Colin would nap (no luck) before going to Carol's place for dinner. The no napping thing became a theme over the holidays. Mya and Cole were added into the mix for dinner bring the total of under 6 year olds to 5. Colin and TT show a fine example of the tone of the party in the bottom picture. Lots of fun!

Only 2 weeks behind now.

Kippmas 2009

2010-01-03T17:25:00.001-08:00

The holiday season was quite hectic for us as we were out of town from Christmas Eve through Jan 2nd. The blog postings are therefore out of date, but I will do my best to catch up. A good place to start is the pre-Christmas festival known around here as Kippmas. My parents visited from Sunday through Christmas Eve and we celebrated Christmas at home with Colin a couple of days early. Fortunately, Santa got the message to come early to our house and was relieved to cross one delivery off of his hectic Christmas Eve schedule. Colin may be ready to reach the conclusion that Santa is not such a bad guy after all. We followed up presents with a trip to the Brandywine River Museum to see a model train display.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-12-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-01T04:43:00.001-08:00

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

2009-10-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-23T04:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T18:33:00.001-07:00

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"

2009-07-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

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!

Charleston, SC Vacation

2009-05-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our vacation to Charleston, SC. We had a great time even though the weather was lousy. On Monday, a record was set for the all time low high temperature for that date. Add some wind and rain to the equation and then you will have the complete picture. We weren't planning on spending the whole day at the beach anyway, even though we were staying at the beach. We spent our time touring the historical attractions around Charleston like Fort Sumter (above) and the USS Yorktown (below). Colin really enjoyed all of the attention!

PA Railroad Museum

2009-05-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Since Colin is a big fan of the "Choo-Choos", we headed to Strasburg, PA today to visit the PA Railroad Museum. The museum has a very large space with many fully restored engines. Colin was interested in seeing the trains, but the most fascinating part for him was a play room that had a large Thomas the Train set and a large Geo-Trak set up. He could have stayed all day playing with these toys. Here he is in front of the Geo-Trak set to give you an idea. He is watching a train that you can activate that circles the track near the ceiling.

Philadelphia Zoo

2009-05-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend we visited the Philadelphia Zoo for the first time. The Philadelphia Zoo claims to be the oldest in the US and consequently it is not as spread out as many of the newer zoos you are likely to visit. Good for seeing the animals up close, probably not so great for the animals. A good example was in the Big Cat area. Colin was close enough to start petting this lion if the glass was not there. Strangely enough he gets nervous about petting a small dog, but he was ready to pet the mane of the lion. I think this was his favorite part and the "Roar" of the lion is one of his favorite animal noises right now. We decided to join with a family membership so we may drag visitors to the zoo as an alternative to Longwood Gardens.

Splash Down!

2009-04-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a game that Colin and I came up with recently that Colin really loves. We call it Splash Down. We start over by the door and count 1-2-3. Colin participates by counting "2" which appears to be his favorite number. Then we run hand in hand to jump on pillows and bedding. The pictures can give you a sense of how much he enjoys this game.

Splash Down!

Cousins over Easter

2009-04-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a cute picture of Colin and his cousins Gavin and Keira over Easter weekend. They just keep getting bigger. We are looking forward to the warmest weekend of the year so far this weekend.

Easter Catch Up

2009-04-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Playing catch up again with pictures. Here are a couple of shots from Colin's first Easter Egg Hunt the week before Easter. We practiced in the house before hand and both Kristin and I were confident he would have a blast. I think it would have gone well if he was not force to wait for the start. These small kids had to wait outside the rope just a few feet from the eggs waiting for the starting annoucement. Actually, most of the kids were handling it well but not Colin. There were mostly a bit older, but Colin did not deal well with the idea of waiting that close to his naptime. After getting a few eggs in his basket he decided to dump them out again rather than continue to fill it up with more eggs. Big mistake. We were lucky enough by the end of the day to be left with 4 eggs. Way to go Colin!

Happy Easter 2009

2009-04-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Colin had a very busy Easter Weekend down in DC visiting his relatives. On Saturday, we went to an Easter brunch with his Grandparents, cousins and Aunt Alison. He had a great time running around with all of the kids. We had our picture taken with the Easter Bunny and this went much better than the trip to see Santa 4 months ago. No fear at all of the 6 foot tall bunny rabbit.

Colin did not participate in many of the arts and crafts that were available for the kids. Not enough patience. They had buckets you could decorate with Easter images. Without prompting, Colin immediately started putting the bucket on his head which became a fun game. You can see from the picture that he did not just leave it on for a second. I think we have a goofball.

North Carolina Tar Heels - 2009 Men's BBall NCAA Champs!

2009-04-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

Colin gets to celebrate another Championship. The North Carolina Tar Heels beat Michigan State on Monday night to capture their 5th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. The outcome was never in doubt, so Colin was able to sleep through most of the game. He did wake up just before halftime to make sure everything was under control. Colin is clearly yelling, "Go Heels!" in the second pic. Colin is pretty good identifying sports now. When we watch Sportscenter in the morning, he correctly says basketball, baseball or football when he sees the corresponding sport on TV. His Dad is so proud.

Catching Up

2009-04-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

This picture goes back a few weeks (pre-haircut) but it is one of my favorites. We joined Longwood Gardens again so you might see a few more pictures from Longwood Gardens. It is not far from our house and we find reasons to go often enough to make it worth while. It is just a nice place to walk around on a nice day.

The Tar Heels play in the National Semifinals Saturday night and we are pulling for another Title. Go Heels!

Go Heels!

2009-03-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

2009 is starting to look like a special year in sports in the Kipp household. First the Steelers win in dramatic fashion in February and now in March the Heels are marching on to the Final 4. Colin hasn't spent too much time watching the Heels play since they have usually started after his bed time, but he is a big fan of basketball. He can't wait to start playing. On Sunday, the basketball court was open at the gym and he was so excited! He loves to attempt to shoot the ball. I mean a regulation basketball. This consists of one of his parents trying to hold him and shoot the ball with him at the same time. Alternatively, he could sit on my shoulders and the ball either ends up behind us or on top of my head.

The second picture is with his friend Jedd who is also a big Heels fan.

Notice anything different between the two pictures? Colin also had his first professional haircut a couple of weeks ago. He was very good and attentively watched SpongeBob during the haircut. It was very much needed and he looks much better now.

Grandparents Visiting

2009-03-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

We are a little behind on the blog updates again. The weekend before last Colin's grandparents from Pittsburgh visited. It had been almost 3 months since their last visit. Colin can do so much more now and he is really fun to play with. A good time was had by all. Colin really enjoyed playing in the Children's Garden at Longwood Gardens and getting all wet. We also went to the little DE natural history museum.

Colin has learned how to say Please now and will use it reliably when it comes to asking for food. Just to be sure, he sometimes does the sign for Please at the same time to make sure he gets what he wants. We see more and more examples of Colin speaking in context rather than just repeating after us. We are amazed by how much he understands, but on the other side it is frustrating because that means is chosing not to listen rather than not comprehending.

Snow Day

2009-03-06T17:17:00.001-08:00

Colin had an unexpected treat this week on Monday with a surprise snow day. It was not quite as bad as the weatherman was predicting, but it was enough to make the roads treacherous for most of the morning. It was not much of a break for Kristin, because Brian was on a conference call literally the entire day, so Kristin had to entertain Colin until he was ready to go down for his nap. I think Colin really enjoyed the extra day at home. The shots out in the snow are from the full 5 minutes Colin was outside was consisted of two separate trips. I am not sure if Colin wasn't thrilled about the cold or his parents, but we were not staying out long in that cold wind.

As usual, our house was very popular after the snow since we have a great hill for sledding. We were kind enough to dispose of our swingset before Winter so that did not interfere with the sledding and snowboarding.

OK, we are ready for Spring now and March Madness. Go Heels!

Fun at Boomers

2009-02-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Colin had a fun afternoon at Boomers. Picture a place like Chuck-E-Cheese. We have visited this place before, but this was the first time that Colin was big enough (well sort of) to climb in all of the stuff they have around the games. It is a pretty neat set up with slides and such. It is designed for kids a bit older and certainly not for adults, but I was able to escort Colin through the maze. I was not the only adult with a 1 year old, by the way. He had a great time!

Happy New Year?

2009-02-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we took Friday off and made a nice 3 day weekend out of Valentine's Day and celebrated Kristin and her Dad's birthdays. On the way down to DC we stopped at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Colin seemed a bit overwhelmed by the experience and wanted to be held most of the time. He had a blast playing with his cousins on both Friday and Saturday. There were many picture taking opportunities and I did remember my camera, but in our haste to leave I did not bring the battery. I remembered to charge the battery but forgot to put it back in the camera. I decided to post a couple of pictures from New Years that I had not had a chance to post yet. Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLIII Champs

2009-02-09T17:14:00.001-08:00

"And then Big Ben saw Santonio Holmes barely open in the back corner of the end zone and then he threw the ball just like this", as Colin demonstrates the last few moments of the amazing Super Bowl XLIII where the Steelers came back in the last drive to defeat the Arizona Cardinals. Many fans of the blog must have been wondering when we would post a celebtratory nod to the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately, the entire family was sick last week with a really bad cold. Actually, Colin was not too bad for a change, but Mommy and Daddy barely made it through the work week. Then, I wanted to put some video on the blog of Colin and his terrible towel, but I am having a software glitch. We were all very thrilled that the Steelers were able to earn one for that other thumb.

Wright Brothers Memorial

2009-01-26T17:45:00.001-08:00

I am back to catching up on pictures taken over the holidays. While we were on the Outer Banks, we had a fun morning trip to the Wright Brothers Memorial. Colin enjoyed learning about the first flight and exploring the museum. I remember that he was very vocal that morning. The way he behaves you would think we never let him out of the house.

Colin loved his daily excursions out of the beach house. Unfortunately, the only way to get him to take his nap was after a busy morning and a car ride. Kristin spent some relaxing time in the car in the driveway while Colin was asleep in this car seat.

Pittsburgh's Going to the Super Bowl!

2009-01-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Here we go, Steelers, Here we go... Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl!

Colin was in the spirit right before the big game with not one but two Terrible Towels. We are very excited that the Steelers were able to knock off the hated Baltimore Ravens and earn a chance to compete for their 6th Super Bowl title. It was a special day for young and old Steeler fans alike. You can bet that Colin will be wearing his lucky Steelers outfit on Super Bowl Sunday.

Here we go Steelers, Here we go!

Colin's First Trip to the Beach

2009-01-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

After Christmas, we headed down to the Outer Banks for the annual William and Mary New Years Eve event. We have missed the past couple of years but this tradition has continued uninterrupted since 1999-2000. This was Colin's first time to the beach. Normally, this is not a good time of year to be on the beach in NC without at least some warm clothing, but we really lucked out this year. Our first full day there was around 70 and all of the kids were able to go out to the beach and play. Colin wasn't sure what to make of it and we pretty sure he tasted both sand and shells on purpose.

Here is a picture of all the kids. Note that the oldest of 7 is only 6 years old. Colin was the youngest by 1 week.
Since I know they read this blog occasionally, so I will say, "We missed you Cheeks and hope to see you next year!".

Christmas Evening

2009-01-14T14:00:00.001-08:00

I know I am running about 3 weeks behind, but I have a number of pictures worth posting from the holidays. These pictures are from Christmas evening at dinner. The kids had a great time playing over at Gavin and Keira's Grandma's place. Colin especially enjoyed the ice cream after dinner. A special treat that he does not get from his parents. The kids had a fun game keeping the dads out of one of the bedrooms. You should have heard Colin laughing and screaming. He had such a great time!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-04T12:50:00.001-08:00

Due to the hectic holiday season, updates to the blog have been severely lacking. Never fear. I received a new camera for Christmas and I have plenty of pictures. I may be writing about Christmas and New Years into February to post all of the great shots.

Christmas 2008 was a different experience as compared to last year, because Colin could grasp the concept of presents and new toys. The second annual "Kippmas" was held on Christmas Eve and Colin really enjoyed his new gifts. He especially loved the dog shown in the picture. It barks and pants as he pulls it around the room. Colin can even say a variation of dog consistently enough that we know what he is saying. Colin probably did not realize it at the time that Christmas was just beginning.

On Christmas morning, we went over to Dan and Alison's place to open presents with Colin's cousins. Just going over to their place is an adventure with all of the toys, so adding Christmas to the mix just elevated the excitement level. Colin really enjoys playing with his cousins. Here are the three kids will all of the gifts. Santa seems to be coming through the recession OK.

To be continued on the next blog...

15 Month Checkup

2008-12-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

Colin had his 15 month doctor's visit this week. Some of us were nervous because Colin appears to have a belly and we were worried the doctor would say we were feeding him too much. It turns out that he is steady in the 50th percentile for weight but jumped to the 75th percentile for height. If anything he is tall and skinny versus short and stout. He still has quite the belly though.

Colin is faithfully cheering the Steelers through the season and can hardly wait until the playoffs. Every week we practice his response to "Touchdown Steelers" which is to raise his arms in the TD signal.

In other news, Brian had LASIK surgery yesterday and everything is looking good so far. The ritual burning of the glasses will be held this weekend.

Christmas Spirit

2008-12-12T16:57:00.001-08:00

Colin is really enjoying the start of the holiday season. We put up the Christmas tree and decorations last weekend, and Colin had a great time putting the ornaments on the tree. We have heard him exclaim, Ooooooo, when he sees the tree all lit up. The first picture was from Longwood Gardens which is now decorated for Christmas. Maybe he was overwhelmed, but he seemed to get a bigger reaction out of our decorations versus the truly fantastic ones at the Gardens.

In other big news this week, it was "transition week" at day care where they introduce him to the Toddlers room. Colin really loved hanging out with the older kids and there will be no going back to infants starting on Monday. We now officially have a toddler!

Turkey Day

2008-11-30T10:28:00.001-08:00

While most people have turkey for Thanksgiving, we took it a step further and had turkeys over for Thanksgiving. Colin was not a big fan of eating turkey but he enjoyed having breakfast with them. We were at my parents house in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving this year and their property backs on to some woods. They enjoy feeding the animals and it is not uncommon that a deer or two are out back. Recently, a rafter of turkeys started visiting my parents. I bet you didn't know that is what a group of turkeys are called. They may be good eating but they are truly ugly, large birds so I decided not to put a picture on the web site. Would you believe there were about 14 birds out back in the morning? Colin was very intrigued.

The rocking chair below was my mothers and apparently I used it as a small tot as well. Here is Colin trying the chair on for size. Colin really enjoyed playing with his grandparents and soaking up all of their undivided attention.

Fun and Games

2008-11-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

Since Kristin and I are both working full time, we really try to spend some good quality time with Colin before he has to go to bed each evening. He is often very tired after a long day of day care but he still really wants to play. The games he seems to enjoy the most are just silly little things. For example, these yellow balls were "won" by his dad due to his unique skill at golf. You see, yellow balls might be easier to find when you hit them in the brush as often as I do. They are just little foam balls but Colin loves throwing them or dunking them into the trash can. He can sit in his chair and throw the balls time and time again as we fetch them. Sometimes he even attempts to fake us out with some misdirection throws.

Maybe this is a sign of an early interest in golf. Look out Tiger Woods.

Boustos!

2008-11-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind on the blog again. With the excitement of Halloween documented in the last blog entry, we missed talking about our visit to New Jersey to see Nick and Liz DiProspero and their two boys. This was a quick trip up to Northern NJ to spend some time with my college roommate and his family. Colin had a great time playing will all of the toys in the basement. It is hard to say at his age how much he was actually playing with Peter and Andrew. The adults enjoyed Nick's new toy of his movie theater experience. Watch DVD's at home just like the movies with their HD projection system on one entire wall of the basement.

I know this isn't the best picture of the boys, but we just remembered to get a picture at the last minute and Colin did not feel like sitting still. I told the boys to all cry like Colin. Andrew on the left gave us his best fake cry, but Peter was trying to settle everyone down and get things back into control. Thanks for trying Peter.

First Time Trick-or-Treating

2008-11-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Colin had a great time his first time out trick-or-treating! He really took to it like a fish to water. Colin is a very strong willed little boy and he did not want to be carried up to the houses. He wanted to walk up himself carrying his pumpkin just like the older boys and girls. This slowed down the process a bit, so we did not get a big haul of candy, but he did get a lot of attention at each house. Besides he hasn't really had candy and he loves attention.

We visited about 7 or 8 houses and felt that was good enough for him to get the experience and then we went home to see all of our trick-or-treaters. Apparently, Colin was not of the same opinion and he grabbed his pumpkin and headed out for more (by himself if need be). After doing this a couple of times and chasing after him, I finally realized he was not going to call it a night that early so we had to hit a couple of more houses. I think we are in big trouble for the next several Halloweens.

In case it is not obvious from the pictures. Colin went as Pooh's favorite side-kick, the famous Tigger.