Valentine's Day

Here are pictures from our Valentine's dinner. We went to White Castles, and actually had a great time. We had to make reservations and everything. We were the only ones dressed up, but that made it better. I was a bit hesitant about going, but Kevin talked about it so much last year that I couldn't disappoint him again. I asked Kevin what I should say on the blog and he replied, "Everyone should be jealous they didn't go somewhere so classy."

Well put.

Colin Hiding Again

This time I told him it was time to get his shoes on. He ran and hid behind the train table. He even went back out to get his blanket. All while laughing.

Conversation With A Liar

Setting: In the car after crossing the 70 bridge while looking towards Riverport.

Kevin: We can go camping there.
Daddy: Where?
K: Right there. Look at those trees. That will be fun.
D: We can go camping sometime, but I don't know if we can go right there.
K: Yes we can. It has lots of trees.
D: We might have to ask the people who own the land.
K: We will need to get a gun for the monsters.
D: I don't think we'll need a gun. There are no monsters.
K: Yes there are. There are monsters.
D: Kevin, monsters are just pretend. They aren't real.
K: You need to tell the truth!
D: I am.
K: No you're not. Monsters are real. You need to tell the truth.

Colin Hiding Again

Here he is hiding when I said it was time to leave.

Even more news...

Updates on the kids:

Colin is really communicating so well. He is starting to speak with two words more and more now, especially when he says please. ("Juice please. Turn please. More please.") He is growing up so fast, and loves to do anything that Kevin does. Surprisingly, they do great sharing toys and Colin is very patient waiting for his turn. We took both boys to the zoo this weekend, since Colin talks daily about it. (I am NOT exaggerating.) He loved seeing the bears and bugs and walking around. As soon as we left he asked to return.

Speaking of Kevin, he is now very interested in whales. We read whale books, watch whale shows, and look at whale videos online. He is even playing with the whales in the bathtub. He also told me two weeks ago that he would like to read, so we are studying letters and their sounds. Today while watching a show about letters, he saw an "o" and said "An O, for octopus!"

Now for the funny story:

I don't want to give too many details, but Colin was walking around tonight giving his best impersonation of Al Bundy.

Yesterday we we all in the car driving home. Out of no where, Kevin says "I didn't kill him. I was at work." I am not sure if we were more shocked, afraid, or amused. We asked him what he said and he repeated it. We really need to monitor his television more.

Colin Hiding

Colin loves to hide. Behind doors. In a closet. Behind chairs. Tucked away behind tables. It is adorable except when you can't find him and need to get him dressed. We decided that we were going to collect pictures of him hiding and post them, but then our camera broke. We only got one. Here he is hiding in the bathroom. I had to turn the light on to take a picture, so imagine it darker while you look for him.

He is so quiet when he hides. He makes it challenging. Last week I spent about 4 minutes walking around upstairs looking for him, before I finally heard him downstairs. The kid is so good that I couldn't even find him when he WASN'T hiding.

Kevin's Special Day

Colin and I were sick last week, and Kevin did a great job helping out. He was extra quiet when we would sleep and had to play on his own more often than he is used to. He really didn't whine at all. So to show him my appreciation, (and give him some much needed attention) I took him to the City Museum on Saturday. (Colin was still recovering. And don't get too mad, the next Saturday we took him to his favorite place.)

He took quite a while to get the courage to start exploring. He didn't like any place dark, any slide, or anywhere with other kids. Which is essentially what the City Museum is. I finally went to the gift shop and bought him some electric courage (i.e. a flashlight) and he finally started playing!

The coolest flashlight. That is a battery hanging out the bottom.

He went down the 3-story slide, but wasn't quite ready for the 7-story slide. He even went down 2 times by himself! He was so excited and proud at the bottom! For the first hour, he stayed away from any kind of tube or darkened area as well, but as time went on he started chasing the bad guys through the trees and caves, all the time holding his flashlight.

To the left is the 3-story slide that he went down.

The 3-story slide is down the right side. This picture was taken from the 2nd story, so the slide starts further up. Here is a good picture of some of the climbing tubes and tunnels for kids and adults! I went down the spiral one to show Kevin.

Here is Kevin after he decided to start climbing. He did great!

We made it up to the Toddler Area (ages 6 and younger) where he played in the ball pit, climbed through all tunnels, and braved the train. (He actually rode the train four times, and the conductor let him ride it extra long the last time since he was the only one on it.)

In the ball pit of the toddler area. The ramp behind him leads up to a lofted climbing area.

His favorite part was the old skate park. He loved to run through the tunnels and then up to the top of the ramp. He would slide down, sometimes lying down, sitting down, or even on his belly.

The old skate park.

One of the more exciting parts was the circus that we got to watch. DTG and I were very entertained, but Kevin said "This isn't fun." We stayed anyway. And I am wondering if their bravery rubbed off on him since he started to climb the tubes immediately following. We ended up staying about two hours longer than planned since he was enjoying it so much.

For those who haven't been there, it is amazing!!! Wear a comfortable pair of pants and be prepared to climb with your kid. We didn't even go outside since it was a bit cold. I can't wait to bring Colin there!

Here are a few more picture.

Us in a log from the caves to the trees.

A pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling. Above this are more tubes and tunnels that are hidden.

The entrance to the caves and trees. Kevin loved walking into the mouth of the whale.

Fun Memory

I was just thinking about when Kevin was almost two years old. He loved raisins. He ate raisin bread every morning for breakfast.

We used to go to Pasta House often as well, since he would eat their food. One time we noticed that he had taken out his raisins and was smashing them into the rolls. He was making his own raisin bread. He was so proud too!

Adorable!