Classic Collin

UPDATE! (8/22/09)

As per Sassy's suggestions, I have included "proof" of Collin's love for all things baby. They have been added to the end of my original post which is..

The other day, I was driving home with only Collin in the car. He is my chatterbox on the road. If he's not talking to me, he's making another sort of continuous noise. He does not believe in quiet time in the car.

He asked me several questions about Claire being a baby. Then, he asked a few questions about when he was a baby. After hearing all of my answers, he pondered for a few minutes and then said, "When I grow up I'm gonna be a baby!"

He does love to be a baby. And, after all of my worries about him being lost in the mix as the "middle child", it may be Claire we have to worry about. I mean, what do you do if you ARE the youngest but your big brother determines he IS the baby?

We shall see!

Our Little Copycat!!!

Yes. I know I need to update this blog with pictures of Caleb and his first days of first grade. And, I realize you'd all like to see Collin off to his first day of four year old preschool today. I would LOVE to share those with you. But, I haven't had a second to upload those pictures and organize them.

So, that will have to wait for another day. For those of you wondering...Both boys had fabulous first days.

The best part of each first day has been that Scotty was able to join in our fun. For the past three years, Scotty has been driving other people's children to school via his school bus. But, due to the new full time job that includes benefits, he is with us every morning. Yippee!!!

So, last Thursday we all took Caleb to first grade. As we pulled in, cars lined every free spot and a gazillion parents were walking children in. I was explaining the situation to Scotty (who as I stated before) is unfamiliar with our morning routine when Caleb chimes in..."Well, you're not walking me in." That's our independent fella. I really love that about him....MOST of the time.

Collin had a great day today also. He was eager to tell me all about his day; then, he took a good, long nap. So, I guess the fun wore him out.

But, since I don't have pictures of either of those events YET, I thought I'd share what Claire is doing these days. She is copying EVERYTHING her big brothers do. She's working on copying what we say, but it still doesn't sound anything like our words, so her actions are more noticeable.

If the boys are playing the Wii, she gets a spare remote and pretends to play the game. If they are riding bikes, she is on a skateboard. When they are wrestling, she waits for just the right time and jumps right into the middle of the madness.

I was flipping through beach pictures again the other day and got "stuck" looking over this one. It is priceless to me, because she was very careful to mimic everything those boys were doing. They clearly stooped down to be even with her. But, that was unnecessary, because she just stooped even lower in order to "look" just like they did for the picture.


So fun! And, while the boys will nearly bite the other's head off for "copying", they don't seem to mind so much when "Claire bear" does it. I'll enjoy it while it lasts, because I'm sure her day is coming.

A Routine In Sight

I love routine! Actually, I thrive in a routine. When I taught school, one of my favorite things to do was to create our "daily schedule". Granted the benefit of having a self contained classroom was that I could vary the schedule on occasion, because I was only working around myself. However, that didn't happen much. Why? Because, I LOVE a routine.

Now, at the end of this last school year, we were all ready for a little break from the craziness of our schedule. We thoroughly enjoyed the lazy days of June as we did WHAT we wanted WHEN we wanted (as long as it didn't interfere with baseball). Then, in July, the schedule just went haywire as I taught a class for MC. It was a 1 hour aerobics class that met every morning from 8:00 until 8:50. It was a great experience and a little bit more money. I really enjoyed it and will do more of it in the fall. But, I had to get a sub for my cycle classes at the Y (which I love) and EVERY morning of the week at 8:00 with little ones gets difficult. And, then came...VACATION! And, who keeps a schedule on vacation? Not even me.

So, tomorrow, I get to return to the Y. I can hardly wait. I miss my class terribly and my rear end and tummy clearly miss the bike. I'm also hoping to add some of our swim time back to our Y schedule for this last week of summer. Next Tuesday, we get to meet Caleb's teacher. On Thursday, he returns to school. The following Monday, Collin goes back to school.

What am I saying?

Our routine is in sight. Yippee!!!

Don't get me wrong. I love my children, and I'm even a bit misty eyed thinking about our fun summer coming to and end. But, I know good things are coming. I have to give up one phase to fully enjoy the benefits of the next. So, I'm ready to embrace the schedule that is just around the corner.

I can't help but wonder if there is anyone reading this that is a little apprehensive about the schedule that is approaching in your house. Maybe there is a little one in your home making a transition. If that is the case, I encourage you to look forward to it with great anticipation. It was this time last year that I began this blog. One of my first posts was celebrating Caleb's first days of kindergarten. "To everything there is a season..." So, don't let anything hinder you from enjoying THIS SEASON. We'll only get this one chance.