Dear winter, you have overstayed your welcome.

Like most of the continental United States, we have had our share of winter.  And snow.  And cold.  It's pretty, for the first couple of times.  But I don't remember what grass looks like.  I can't remember being warm.  I miss having an electric bill lower than $300.  I need to be outside!!

Our house does look pretty covered in snow:

And Ella enjoys the snow:

But I'm over it.  It's too deep for Colin to walk in.  Peter's tired of shoveling it.  I don't want to have any more snow days at school, because it is so hard to make up what is missed!  We've been planning our vacations for this summer.  We're heading to Costa Rica to celebrate our five-year anniversary--our first real vacation since we got married.  And then we'll be going to New Jersey to see Peter's family as well.  Warmth!  Beaches!  Swimming!  Hard to imagine it's only about 4 months away.

You didn't come here to listen to me whine about the weather.  You're here for Colin.

Mr. Sassykins

He continues to have a huge language explosion.  He's doing a LOT of repeating right now, so we're watching what we say.  His daycare teachers report that he knows everyone's names in his classroom and the baby room, which we have seen quite a bit of.  We show up and he runs around and points to everyone, telling us their name.  His teachers are most entertained by his attempts at saying "Cooper" which sounds like "Pooper."  Very similar to when I asked him if he wanted some of my soup tonight, and he replied "Poop!"  Yum.  Other favorite words right now are snack, thank you (dee-doo), help, and "may-mie," which is his way of saying Comet, his rocking horse.  He's picked up a few colors and knows what a circle is. 

He's never been a kid who got upset at having a dirty diaper.  So we started working with him on understanding when he needs a diaper change (mostly for #2).  We started prompting him with "poop" when he would start grunting--he's not shy.  Then we told him he needed a new diaper.  Tonight he was standing next to me grunting, and when he stopped, he looked at me and said, "Poop.  Diaper."  So he's at least showing a little more awareness.  I'm not in any kind of rush to potty train him, but I do like improving his self-awareness.

We see an allergist next Monday.  I don't think he needs to go anymore, as he is no longer reacting to eggs.  However, our pediatrician is not comfortable giving him the flu vaccine in her office, but that's our primary purpose for going to the allergist.

Pictures:

Ready for another haircut.

Hanging out with buddy Logan, while we waited to find out the gender of Chris and Aimie's baby (Soon to be Colin, Logan, and Luke...we're in for fun years ahead with these boys!)

 Trying to figure out this whole hat thing.

Can you see me now?

 My cousin and his family moved to South Carolina at the end of January, and we got to see almost all of my dad's side of the family before they went.

 Playing with the light switch with my cousin Jordon...who is awesome with kids.  She always has been.

 We're really at our happiest when we're crammed like sardines into my Grandma's house.

Colin had fun playing with all of the other "kids."  Some are my cousins, some are my cousin's kids...we're kind of a mixed breed.

 And this weekend, we went to celebrate the twins' 4th birthday, and Colin had a blast.

Best party ever!

He's been enjoying reading ALL the time lately, which is wonderful from his book nerd parents.

 

And his Nikes finally fit!  Yay!

I apologize for any lack of posts in the upcoming months; I feel in over my head with grading and doing my own homework.  But in 2.5 months, I'll be done!  Hooray!  And hopefully I will be able to see grass and feel the heat of the sun.  All good things, friends.

Stay warm!