Holiday Preparations

Just a few weeks ago, we had no plans on our calendar and now it is full right up to Christmas Day. We have decorated the house. The tree is set up, complete with train and tiny village. And Colby has recieved his video email from Santa. Now we are on to cookie baking, ornament making, and party going. Wow! I'm tired just thinking about it. But for now, enjoy these few photos of our holiday preparations. They include lights, a shephard, and a few other cuties!

Some Quiet Fun

We have been busy but now our schedule seems to have settled down a little. We had one last birthday party this past weekend for my cousin Colleen's little boy. Liam turned 1 in September. On Sunday Colby and I went with my sister-in-law Jan to Rainforest Cafe and to Build-A-Bear. Jan loves both places. We had brought Colby there in April for his birthday but he was quite overwhelemed by it. Now he really enjoyed Build-A-Bear but the elephants and Rainforest Cafe did upset him a little. It was really noisy. I am noticing that things that seemed to upset Colby before, now don't and things that he didn't seem to care about before, now scare him a little. The ever changing 2 year old!

During our quiet time, I have noticed that Colby has really gained a little imagination. He has a Little People farm and many animals. We had bought some of the animals when we first visited him in Russia in June 2007 and left them for the kids in the baby home. So Colby has had them for awhile. Just recently though he has really started to PLAY with them. He has the cow drink the water and the horse eats apples. The rooster says, "Doodle Doo" as he sits in the top of the barn. All the while he says the animal sounds and even sounds for when they drink and eat. It is so cute. I took a short video and hope to post it soon.

Colby's other favorite pasttime- sitting on Daddy!

Colby has also taken to building puzzles. Since I was a Kindergarten teacher for a couple years, I have a lot of puzzles, games, books, etc that I hope to use with Colby as he grows up. Right noe he LOVES the little wooden animal and transportation puzzles. They are mostly 4 pieces each, a couple have 3 pieces, and the giraffe has 5. At first Colby asked for help with putting the first two pieces together. Now, he wizzes right through the puzzles saying the animal's or vehicle's name and a sound for all of them. Also caught on video! It is amazing to watch as Colby learns all these new things. He loves to count and repeats the letters of the alphabet. Now we are working on colors! So many new things!

Fun In The Sun

Mike's Uncle Steve and his family were visiting from Utah for the past couple weeks. Steve and his wife Kay stayed about a week and then went home but there kids Eva (8) and Jack (5) stayed with Mike's grandparents and aunts for the past week. It was the first time Colby has met them and they hit it off. Colby and Jack became best buddies and Eva loved playing Mommy Hen to both of them. Colby and I spent a lot of time with them enjoying the summer weather.

Last Thursday Eva, Jack, Mike's Aunt Jo, Colby, and I went to Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island. On the way there we went to Voluntown to see a sunflower field. A farm there grows the sunflowers as food for their cows. The also see ice cream which I am told is really good but we were there in the morning. Mike's Uncle Mark has his grandkids at the beach too. So, Colby was able to spend the day with Eva, Jack, Jake (8 or 9), Julia (4 or 5), and Logan (just turned 2). They all had a great time. Fearless Colby loved the waves and laughed everytime they pushed him over. Jake had a buggy board which the kids took turns using and Colby loved being pulled while he sat on it. On the way home we stopped for dinner and then stopped in Middletown for Lemon Ice. It was delicious! A full day, with no napy but Colby did really well.

Buttonwood Farm and Sunflower Field. Very beautiful.

Colby and Logan. Eva, Julia, and Colby.

Jack and Colby. They look like they could be brothers. They loved digging a hole in the "dirt".

On Friday Eva, Jack, Aunt Jo, Colby, and I went up to Barkhamsted. It is a small lake made by the dam. We spent the afternoon playing in the water and enjoying another sunny day. The kids were a little tired from the big day out the day before so we only stayed a few hours. Jack wanted to swim with me so I brought him out a little deeper and Fearless Colby decided to follow. He walked in right up to his neck. Thankfully Eva swam with him and enjoyed holding him in the water. There are no waves so it was easier for the kids to swim and enjoy the water. When we got back, Jack stayed with us to play with Colby on the swingset and Eva went with Jo to start dinner. We went down to Mike's grandparents' for dinner. Another long day with no nap.

Eva, Jack, and Colby. He walked right in up to his neck!

Saturday night Mike's Mom's sister, Aunt Jaycee, was down from Buffalo, NY. They were going for 3 days to Foxwoods Casino, to enjoy the sights and visit other family in Mystic. So, Mike, Colby, and I went to Mike's parents' for dinner. Mike's Uncle David was there to along with Uncle Ernie (Mike's Mom's Uncle). We had a nice dinner. Colby was tired though so we made sure to get home on time for bed. These long days were starting to wear him out.

Sunday we spent a quite day at home except for lunch with my mom and Mamie. We definitely needed time to catch up on chores and just relax.

Monday was another day with Eva and Jack. Mike's Aunt Mary went with us this time and we went to Mt. Tom, another lake nearby. Uncle Mark, Aunt Karen, Jake, Julia, and Logan were there too. They all enjoyed seeing eachother again and playing in the water. Logan doesn't like the water much but Colby wanted to splash with the big kids so I brought him out. He was really starting to "swim" kicking and moving his arms about. I was amazed. Karen and Mary were too.

Yesterday we stayed at home. Colby was a cranky little boy. I don't think he likes the fact that Eva and Jack went home. Mike and I told him they went home on a plane to see their Mommy and Daddy. He wasn't happy with that. I think the week was too much for him and he became a little stinker. Not listening and definitely not working on the potty routine. Ugh! Back to reality today! Only a trip to the library. We'll see what tomorrow brings. We really should visit Mamie and maybe swim in her pool!