Back from the beach!

We finally got to take our first family vacation, and we went to Avalon, NJ to spend a week with Peter's mom's side of the family.  At our peak, there were 12 grandchildren and 20 adults (5 of whom were grandparents).  Colin showed off his ability to remember a crazy amount of names and knew almost everyone at some point or another.

He was a dream on the plane rides there, as well as when we waited 90 minutes for a rental car.  Most of this was due to the fact that he was sleepy from getting up at 4am against his will.  He slept in our arms on the plane and was content to sit in his stroller and eat Cheerios all morning at the car rental place.

He inherited his dad's ability to sleep upright...an ability I unfortunately do not share.

We finally got to have Colin together with all of his cousins and Grandmom.  I have a video that I will have to get from Peter's phone and add later, but let's just say it was a little difficult to get a picture of the four of them.  The only one I have I stole from Geoff.

Addie (12 months), Colin (21 months), Cora (almost 4), and Rhys (almost 2)

Grandmom made capes for all of the kids for gifts.  We couldn't manage to get a picture with all 4 at the same time, but here are some of the better ones.

 3 of our superheroes

 And the littlest Wonder Woman

Rhys was looking for someone to save.

We also made an attempt to get all 12 grandchildren in a picture together.  As I'm sure you can imagine, this did not go well.  They ranged in age from 8 to 12 months, and anyone older than 2 was cooperative.

 Well, there are 12 kids in the photo, but not many look happy about it.

Addie was sick; Tessa was mad at being separated from Mom, and Rhys was probably upset that we made him put a shirt on for the picture (and tired).

Colin decided that this was his time to shine though.  So when all of the other kids had left, and just the 4 3-year-old girls were left, he invaded.

 Unsuspecting cuties

Photobombed by Colin.

We spent a lot of time at the beach, where Colin mostly loved digging in the sand, running fast, chasing seagulls, and forcing Peter to dig him "pools" and fill them with water so he could jump in them.

We also spent some time at the playground and at the zoo for some different activities.  Colin asked for the seals and walruses (his favorites at the Indy zoo) and was very disappointed that they didn't have any of them in Avalon.

We were lucky enough to spend our week with Peter's cousin Suzie, her husband Chris, and their daughter Allie, who is 3.  She and Colin had a lot of fun together, and they played great 90% of the time.  Most of the squabbles were probably due to differences in age and understanding.  We also stayed with Peter's mom and her sister Christy, and her husband Gary.  Colin loved all of these people dearly, and he was pretty attached to Suzie (or Su-ey).

 Flirting with Allie

 Hanging out with (Great) Aunt Christy

 "Bellowing like a walrus" with Grandmom

Watching Frozen while Hurricane Arthur sent rain and wind our way.  He only watched for about 5 minutes, but I did hear a "Let it Go" out of him.

We made it home safely on Saturday afternoon in time for Costa Rica/Netherlands in World Cup.  We were sad to see Costa Rica lose, thinking of the friends we made and how they would be so disappointed.  

Sunday afternoon we went to pick up our new puppy!  Yep, you read it right.  We picked out a golden retriever puppy before we left for vacation, and we brought her home with us today.  She's so far a very calm dog, and she likes to play with Colin.  Ella seems to be okay with having her around, and she has even tried to play with her.  I'm not sure Penny understood what was going on.

Fast friends

She only needed to go out once in the middle of the night (much easier than a newborn!)  We hope that she and Colin will grow to be friends, as we really intended for her to be a dog for Colin.

As for Colin, he's going through some changes right now.  We started gently introducing potty training.  He pooped in his potty on the first day, but he mostly likes to sit on it fully clothed.  He is very interested in his potty chair though.

We're also weaning him from the pacifier for something like the third time.  I'm embarrassed that we've let it go on as long as we have, and that we give in all of the time.  The first time we gave in when his molars/canines came in.  The second time we gave in because of his ear infection.  Last night was tough in going to sleep, but then he didn't wake us up again.

He's in a big "No" phase right now, which is difficult for Peter and me.  Every single thing is "No," even if we know that he doesn't mean it.  We're hoping that it will settle down a little, and maybe going back to daycare will get him back in a more normal routine.  He had a rough transition back this morning, as his teacher wasn't there at dropoff.  So many changes!

I suppose I have to acknowledge that I need to start planning his second birthday party.  I can't believe he will be 2 already!

Sorry for the blog title change--it's a work in progress for now.