"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!