Couch Conductor

It's funny how without any prodding, Collin is naturally drawn to automobiles.  He points out every big truck, city bus, motorcycle, sports car, tracktor, airplane and helicopter he sees.  When we go to the Children's Museum, he hoards the big trucks, often navigating the tot spot with one per hand. 

So on a Thursday afternoon, the matching newsboy hat that Grammy gave us became his train conductor hat.  He always navigates the couch train first to the rodeo, I guess because we rode a tram to the rodeo this year.  As passengers, we have to provide him a ticket, and by the end of the ride, all of our couch cushions are normally on the floor.  Smiling with green ticket in hand -

Being sweet -

And then being silly -

Mommy wanted in on the matching hat, train ride action -

Enough photos already, I've got better things to do!

Father's Day twins

On the day before Father's Day, Brownie and Grammy came to baby-sit while Cas, Aunt Debbie and I went to a comedy show and dinner.  They were perfectly dressed for some pre-Father's Day posing -

 The promise of goldfish elicited some "cheese" smiles -

 Proud grandpa & grandson -

On Sunday, Cas and Collin dressed as twinkies for church.  Collin stayed in the 3-year-old Sunday School room where we teach monthly.  It was interesting to see him with the older kids, at times intimated but for the most part holding his own.  He did pretty well until we did individual interviews with each of the children, asking them questions about their fathers (what is your favorite thing to do with your daddy, what is your daddy best at doing, etc).  And then he was jealous of all the attention his parents were giving other children, at one point walking up behind me, getting ignored, and then slamming a block on my head.  Maybe God knows what He's doing giving him this long to be an only child!

We tried the next day after church for some pictures with Daddy but the results weren't as impressive.  I guess right before nap time is not the ideal photo schedule -

 The most natural smiles came with the help of tickles from Daddy -

Mother's Day Cascarones Cracking

We had Mother's Day pizza at our house.  As soon as our guests arrived, Collin showed them his tadpoles.  He had collected them the day before in our ditch after a rain with Grammy and Brownie.  And 5 weeks later, miraculously, there are still a few survivors.  Unfortunately, they have yet to give any indication they'll be transforming into a frog soon, and they've only got about an inch of water left.  Hopefully it rains soon!  (According to wikipedia, it takes 6-8 weeks to become frogs and they can only be in rain water or distilled water, not tap water due to fluoride levels.  We're debating buying bottled water for our tadpoles but have yet to spend money on the little guys.)

Collin delayed our party preparations with a ride and poses in the ice chest.

After dinner, we headed to the front yard for a cascarones battle.  We bought 3 dozen for Easter and forgot to use them.  We thought they'd last a few minutes, but they were cracked within 20 seconds, enough time to get only a few action shots.

A re-enactment of my mom slamming a cascarones into her mom's head - nothing says Happy Mother's Day like confetti in your hair -

Bryce & Radscha post battle -

My dad, striking a pose, as he picked the confetti off his polo -

Aunt Debbie with her son, Bryce and his girlfriend, Radscha -

And some Mother's Day poses in the setting sun -

When we got this shirt out of his drawer, Collin noted that he looked like Grammy -

Better smiles upside down than right side up -

My Aunt Cheryl was in town for Mother's Day and was able to celebrate with us (and show the proper excitment over Collin's tadpoles).  My Grandma Jewell Rae and her two daughters -

A blurry picture of my Grandma, Mom and me -

The mom's - Aunt Cheryl, Jewell Rae, me, Betty, my mom and Aunt Debbie -

So thankful to not only have the world's best mom, but absolutely incredible aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and my mother-in-law who are all so involved in my life!  We couldn't operate without them!

Power Nap in Times Square

For the second half of our time in NYC, I was at a work conference, stuck in a hotel listening to energy presentations while Cas, Collin and Uncle Steve were exploring Manhattan . . . not that I'm bitter about it.  After the blurry camera debacle, Cas stuck with his iphone for pictures of their big day.  

Starting a tad out of order - since I'm in the photos - here we are at the airport when we arrived.  It was COLD - a 50 degree weather drop for us.  Collin didn't seem to mind, he was still excited about his airplane ride and the promise of a fun time with family in New York.

And Sunday on the subway to visit Leah - Collin wasn't so sure at first, but soon became a subway pro, particularly delighted when we'd see other trains at the stops.  

Monday morning, Uncle Steve met Cas and Collin at our hotel in the Wall Street area, and a block away was the World Trade Center memorial still under construction.  Though I wasn't there, I'm quite sure Collin pointed out every bulldozer, digger, and construction vehicle he saw in typical two-year-old boy fashion.

Next they visited a park in the south side of Manhattan -

Gazing out at the ships.  Uncle Steve knew all the great spots for free toddler entertainment.  Cas and I never would have thought about heading toward the port, but Collin was thrilled watching the boats.

And right next to the port was this incredible park.

After burning energy at the park, they had to refuel with some New York pizza, Collin raising his arm in victory after taking out his first piece of his Daddy's favorite food -

The simple pleasures of chasing pigeons - 

Posing with (a wax-y) Morgan Freeman & Elmo in Times Square -

They couldn't pass up the massive Toys 'R Us in Times Square.  Notice how Collin is holding his silkie?  This is because he is deathly afraid of the T-Rex breathing down his neck.  But after the fact, he talks very bravely about seeing the humongous dinosaur in New York City.

After the dinosaur experience, Collin was worn out, and took a quick snooze in one of the brightest, loudest sections of Manhattan.  Just looking at pictures of his little stroller a few steps away in such a crowded area makes me nervous!

Back to our hotel for a little peek-a-boo in the curtains -  

And ending the day snuggled up with his Daddy and New York City tour guide -

Thanks to our wonderful NYC family for hosting us on Collin's first trip to the Big Apple!