Colin's 3rd Birthday

We had Colin's birthday party at the Saint Louis Zoo, just like last year. Most of the same friends attended, and even though it rained (AGAIN!) I think everyone had a good time!

We had a private party with giant cupcakes, rode the zoo train, and then make "pirate treasure boxes" before lunch. Here are some pictures.

Kevin walking with Kyle, Chase and Parker


Kevin, Kyle and Colin playing


Colin and best bud Noah (He used to call him No-No, now he says No-ya.)


Parker and Colin meeting animals


Perfect Colin face. I see this every day!


Eating cake


Gwyn hanging out


Parker, Colin, Ryan, Chase, Rachel, Kevin and Kyle (Preston and Noah didn't want to be in the picture.)


Riding the train


Kevin's treasure box (Looks similar to last year's frame...)

Quilts

Gwyn had two quilts made for her when she was born. This first one was made by her Aunt Kelly. It included pieces of previous quilts Kelly has made, including the ones for Kevin and Colin! I love it, and really like the lady bugs on the back.




The second one was made by a coworker of mine, Diana. She is the librarian so of course I see her all the time. I love this one too! This one is warmer, so I think Gwyn may have a summer quilt and a winter quilt!

Batman Guys

The boys have most of the Batman guys in the Imaginext series. They love playing with them. They even have a few from other series as well. These are often the toys they take to play with in their room.

A few weeks ago we had the boys start napping in separate rooms because all of nap time would be spent laughing and playing. Colin sleeps in his bed, while Kevin sleeps in Gwyn's room. (He likes to sleep on the recliner in there. Expect last week he told me that he spent part of his nap under her crib.)

A week or so after this started, I saw Gwyn's mobile. It looked.... different. Apparently, Two-face, the Riddler, and the Joker had been there a few days without anyone noticing.

We decided to keep it like that a little longer!

Family Picture

Thanks to Colin, it takes about 10 pictures before he will sit and smile (without props). Here are a couple outtakes.

Oops...

She is apparently still working on how to play with her hair without pulling it. So far this is the only time she has pulled it, but I am sure she will do it again. Also, I tried to get her to let go, but couldn't. So I did the second best thing - I took a a picture.

Artwork

We love artwork in our house. It hangs in almost every room, and our refrigerator and front door (the inside of it) are covered in it. Here is the most recent work by Kevin and Colin. (Gwyn has yet to contribute to the artwork collection.)

Here is what Kevin brought home from school last week. I knew what it was immediately. It is a drawing of a T-Rex, and Stegosaurus, and a Triceratops. The Triceratops even has 3 horns drawn on its head! Kevin told me that "the T-Rex had no arms and it is a nice T-Rex who ate plants and is friends with the other dinosaurs."

Here is what Colin drew this week at home. He usually thinks that the only work we have up is Kevin's. I have to walk around and show him that we have his artwork on the fridge and the door. (More than Kevin actually.) This was his attempt at putting stuff up next to Kevin's ocean. He drew four pictures and told me where to hang them. I don't remember what they were, but I am almost positive that at least one was of a mean dinosaur.



The last picture is of their room. They have enjoyed adding art to the walls. At first it was just Kevin, but Colin has gained confidence in his abilities! (And I think he felt left out.)

A Lady

Whenever Gwyn does something that is different from what the boys did as babies, we say "A lady does that." Her is a small list of the things a lady does and does not like.

A lady likes room to straighten her legs.


A lady does not like a poopy diaper. (She starts screaming, even is she is sleeping. She used to poop at nighttime, but somehow figured out to save it for the morning.)

A lady likes to have her hair washed.

A lady does not need to be swaddled to sleep.

A lady knows how to play with her hair and not pull it.

(Obviously, Colin did not figure this one out.)

Music

Kevin has reached the age where he really picks up on music. (He has for a while now.) He seems to prefer classic rock. Those are the only songs that he knows the words to and asks us to play over and over again.

Here is a list of his current favorite songs:

• Down On The Corner (CCR)
  
• American Pie (Don McLean)
  
• Amie (Pure Prairie League)
  
• We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions (Duh)
  

The other night Down On The Corner came on the radio. The boys started dancing.


Then Colin wanted to play his guitar, so they both played music and danced for the rest of the song.

Colin's Collections

Ever since Kevin was 2, he has been collecting "nature things," which is basically anything he finds outside. Rocks, pine cones, weed, sticks, you name it. Kevin has several bags of things. He likes to walk around parks or the backyard. He tells me he needs his bag to "collect nature things." Colin has picked up on this.

Colin likes to also collect nature things. He often will come home from daycare with items that he "collected for mommy and Gwyn." The only difference is that Colin does not like to use a bag. He uses his pockets.

Last week he came home from daycare with 8 pine cones, 34 dandelions, and 1 rock in his pocket, all for Gwyn and me. (And in only one pocket!)

I am now the mother who has to check pockets before I do laundry.

Being Daddy

We have a baby that Kevin often takes care of. I think he is pretending to be a daddy. He has been changing the diapers for a while now, but since we have a changing station for Gwyn, he uses that. The other night he got a tub out and washed his baby before getting her a clean diaper and putting on clean clothes.