Collin's first Thanksgiving

Collin made us thankful for his normal good nature on Thanksgiving day when he turned into an over-tired monster. We were at the park in the morning when he should have been napping, and then he fought a nap for an excrutiating 3 1/2 hours.

As I was rocking him to sleep on my chest, I kept reminding myself to enjoy the moment. Collin never falls asleep on me, so even though I should have been cooking, packing and loading the car, I realized it could be months before he'd snuggle with me like that again.

He had a great time at Uncle Libero & Aunt Elida's house for Thanksgiving, spending time with all of the family. He liked watching the football game with the big boys until everyone yelled at a missed field goal and scared him. And he found that folding chairs made great walkers, as he pushed chairs around the living room to get around.

Friday morning, Collin woke up in New Braunfels with all of Grandpa Brownie's family. At 7am, he made sure everyone in the condo was awake with him. So we all joined him in the living room to welcome him to the Texas Hill Country.

Coady read him one of his favorite books that she gifted us with, Dinosaurs Roar.
It had been 6 months since Collin had seen Uncle Alex and Coady, and he was all grins, showing off his new tricks like pulling himself up -
Pointing to silly things like Uncle Alex's mustache -

And giving kisses (that can sometimes be bites, we never know which) -

An Eye for Dirt and Danger

Collin, like all kids his age, seems to have an eye for dirt and danger. We have hundreds of appropriate toys, but he can spot the one thing he's not supposed to get into from across the room. I've been amazed as he'll make the quickest crawling beeline you've seen straight to my cell phone (even though his very realistic plastic one is on the floor beside him) or an open cup of water . . . or the dog bone -
His newest obsession seems to be these wood chips that line our fireplace courtesy of the previous owners. He glances at us before he grabs them as if to say, "I know I shouldn't be messing with these but I can't help it."
Which area to put in my mouth first (and look - no hands) -
Why play in the Fisher Price house when you can crawl around in entryway tables?
And because we're the world's worst parents, munching on the dog food bowl (i.e. building immunities) -
I was taking a picture of Collin playing with a car on the kitchen floor, but he quickly lost interest in the car when he spotted the dog area. We've had to change several shirts after he's stuck his arm in their water bowl. Guess we'll have to put child locks on our toilets once he discovers there's water in them!

A Perfect Day to Feed the Cows

The farm is grilling hamburgers on the porch, kicking back with family, and relaxing in the country.

Pam - "Do you think the smell of burning hamburgers drove the cows away?"

The farm is playing on toys - go-carts & dirt bikes

Nika after hitting a cow pattie on the go-cart, "Poop was raining down from the sky."

The farm is bundling up for stroller rides with cousins -

Grandpa Brownie - "He needs a jacket." (echoes from my childhood)

Off they go -

The farm is one spot where there is enough reception to catch bits and pieces of the Notre Dame game on iPhones -

The farm is pensive & calm, staring off into the muddy lake -

The farm is posing for pictures with minnows -
And touching your first fish -

The farm is cousins hanging out & cow skulls as yarn holders -

The farm is Advil bottles as rattles (child-proof cap firmly in place) -

The farm is feeding the cows - Collin, wide-eyed, wasn't going to turn his back on these beasts-

As we drove to the farm on Saturday morning it was cold and drizzly. Grandpa Brownie was trying to convince us to turn around and go to a family movie. But as we neared, blue skies appeared and we were gifted with a beautiful, sunny, cool fall day.

Grammy Lesa as she sat in the sun at the farm which holds such wonderful family memories, holding her grandson in her lap, "This is just perfection." We're pretty sure Grandpa Brownie was glad he didn't stay home and watch a movie.

Drool is cool -

A change of clothes led to another photo op - on Grandpa Brownie's shoulders with his caboose on display -

The biggest excitement of the farm outing happened soon after we arrived. Kyle posing for a picture. Before -

Grammy Lesa, getting the head-on shot, "Don't run me over."
During -

Re-enactment:

Since we were able to re-enact the event, you can see everyone was fine. The gears of the dirt bike were accidentally changed to first, so when it was turned on, Kyle popped a wheelie and headed straight for Lesa. It was wild! My mom's first question once she saw that Kyle was okay: "Did anyone get a photo?"

Part of the gang - (Trish, Melissa, Elena, Pam, Victoria, Stella, Kirk, Nika, Leo & Cathy)

Mother & 2 out of 3 daughters - Annie, Victoria & Nika -

Great-great Aunt Audrey & Great-great Uncle Dick -

Sibling photo - GG Uncle Dick and GGB

Trish, Kirk, GGB & Kyle - Collin going for Kyle's nose - Collin with Kirk and Kirk with Leo -

Time to go home -

Meeting family from Florida and Indiana

There was mutual excitement shared as Collin met his cousin Trish & her sons, Kirk and Kyle, his great-great Uncle Dick & great-great Aunt Audrey and his cousin Michael for the first time. We all met up for dinners on Thursday and Friday night.

After a few deer-in-the-headlights moments when Collin was warming up to everyone, he was soon happy being passed around. He is getting to be more of a ham, crinkling his nose grinning and enjoying plenty of attention. He now has this fake laugh that tends to make us laugh at him, which I guess is the reaction he is seeking.

Crinkle nose grin with cousin Kirk.
Checking out his older cousin . . . so this is what a homecoming king looks like . . .
Next with cousin Kyle

Collin loved grabbing onto Kyle's hair, nose and necklace, and Kyle was a good sport as he lost some hair (I sympathized!)

Staring down cousin Cathy (he was smiling the mili-second before I snapped the picture, which happens often) -

Playing with cousin Stella - Who is up there propelling me? Oh, it's Stella & Kyle.

Collin had to show his cousins how close he is to walking.

We had such fun introducing Collin to the family. It is the greatest experience as the parent to witness the excitement over the next generation - seeing my family thrilled to meet Collin and my son delighted by his family!