3 yr check-up

So this is kind of dumb but I was so excited today at Collin's appointment b/c he is now at the 53rd percentile for weight and 50% for height (up from 25 and 30 at 2).  Like I said, silly, but it was good to hear that my little preemie is not perfectly average (never thought I'd want to hear someone to say my child was "average").

Earth

So Collin and I went to see Earth yesterday.  All in all the movie was pretty good but it is not a movie for small children.  It didn't seem to upset Collin at all but some of the older kids (5, 6) were very upset by the natural "cycle of life" stuff in the movie.  I'm not sure if it's just not going to bother him at all b/c we've watched nature shows w/him before or if he just didn't understand what was happening.

Overall I thought Collin did well.  The movie was 1.5 hrs and he sat still and was pretty attentive for the first 50 min.  After that he started getting restless and ready to get up but he stuck it out and was quiet, for the most part.  Part of that probably had to do w/the giant soda and popcorn we had.  

That leads into the worst part of the trip...the snack bar.  Everyone knows that movie food is super expensive but it was his bday and the first thing he said when we walked in was that he wanted popcorn.  I was looking for the smallest combo possible b/c i thought a combo was probably cheaper than buying stuff individually but, who knows...they don't list the prices of any of the combos.  The smallest I saw was a med drink and med popcorn.  I ordered this and the popcorn was HUGE and drink was pretty big too....and, it cost $11.50 (!!!).  I asked the guy if we could change the popcorn out for a smaller size and they let me (he'd already made the drink so we were stuck).  I was happy that he traded this out but it only reduced the cost by $1.  :(  As we got into the movie for free (thanks to work) I guess it wasn't terrible but it hurt me to have to pay that much for popcorn and a drink.  I just kept thinking that at the summer movies for kids popcorn and drinks are $1/each or that we could go to Target and get pretty much the same thing (only a little smaller) for $1.60 or something.  Oh well...it's the experience, I guess.  Needless to say I brought the rest of the popcorn home for Jared b/c I wasn't about to throw it away after paying so much for it.  I am getting so cheap in my old age.  :)

So, back to the movie...I would say that while the movie was good and worth seeing I would wait until it comes out on DVD...especially if you have an HD tv.

Tommorow Collin will turn 3 and I cannot believe it.  It seems like just yesterday he was born...well, really, that he wasn't more than a dream.  He is so fun.  Every day we think how blessed we are and wonder what we did before we had him b/c he makes our lives so full.  

While he is certainly at a stage where he's testing his limits (and, therefore, testing my patience), he is so much fun.  It is really cool to see him grow and change.  His vocab has really taken off in the last month and, thankfully, his enunciation has improved as well.  He's always been a talker but I feel like I literally have a constant commentary on life.  People joke that he talks from the moment he wakes up until the moment he falls asleep but, while they are joking, it's not that far from the truth.

We have the 3 yr well check next week and I'll be very interested to see how much he's grown and where he sits on the growth chart.  I don't think about it too much but sometimes when I look at him he just seems so much bigger than the day before.  As he's always been on the small side I'd love to see him come a little closer to avg.  

This past Sat we had his bday party and despite a lot of worrying on my part it turned out really well.  Things are still pretty weird w/family and I initially thought that no one would come but he had lots of friends and some family there and had a blast.  While it was a lot of work to get together (mostly b/c we waited to the last minute - it really snuck up on us) it was worth it b/c it was, hands down, his best party to date.  Just to see the smiles on his face and the excitement in his voice made our days.  A few pics from Collin's party and bday celebrations are posted above (b/c I'm too stupid to figure out how to get them at the bottom).

Happy Bday to my FAVORITE boy!!!!  I love you!!!! 

I suck!

So I totally suck at doing this b/c while I have good intentions of blogging consistently I get busy and forget or say I'll do it later.  So, once again I'm going to try to get back into doing this b/c it is a nice way to get stuff out.  Anyway...guess we'll see how long it lasts.  :)

Bucket List

Saw this on a friend's blog and decided to do this (here b/c i'm too stupid to figure out how to do it on facebook).  :)

The Bucket List. 

Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not, then send it to your friends.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, do the list and tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.) If you don't see the Tag people in the upper right hand corner you are in the wrong place.)

Things you have done during your lifetime:
( X) Gone on a blind date 
( X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
( X) Been to Florida
() Jumped off a cliff
( ) Bungee jump 
() Parasailed
( ) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane
() Flown a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
( X ) Been lost
(  ) Gone to Washington, DC
( X ) Swam in the ocean
( X ) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
() Been to New York City at Xmas time
( X ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( ) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( X ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( X ) Danced in the rain
( X ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( X ) Watched the sunrise with someone
( X ) Blown bubbles
( ) Gone ice-skating
( X ) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
( x ) Lived in more than one country
( X ) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars
( X ) Seen a falling star and made a wish 
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( ) Been on a cruise..
( X ) Traveled by train 
( ) Traveled by motorcycle
( ) Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
( X ) Been to Disney World... 
( X ) Truly believe in the power of prayer/thought/energy
( ) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier crack
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X ) Been water-skiing
( ) Been snow-skiing
( X ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
( ) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Ever been skinny-dipping 
( X ) Laugh so hard you cry
( ) Follow a map for treasure
( ) Drive a dune buggy
( ) Get lost in East L.A. after dark
(X ) Got a Tattoo

grammar nazi

so i'm not really a grammar nazi but i have to say that i do tend to pay a lot of attention to it.  at any rate, yesterday morning when collin got up i asked, as usual, how he slept.  he immediately responded that he'd slept "well".  i was so proud.  i asked several more times and each time he replied "well", not "good".  yay collin!!!

good times and new experiences

so, friday i went w/a friend to my first drag show.  it was actually a lot of fun.  at first it just seemed like a really good way to get out of the house and do something just for me.  it was also to benefit a good cause - an aids foundation in ws.  the show was at wfu and sponsored by the gay/straight student alliance.  B/c it was sponsored by a school club i fully expected the performers to be students, which would have been fine and funny but they actually had professional drag queens.  some were very, very good and some not so good at all but all of it was interesting.  seeing that made me sort of want to see a real drag show but i'm not sure i'm up to trying to head out to a bar to see that kind of thing (b/c i don't care to go to bars, not b/c i have anything against seeing another drag show).  my only regret was that i left my bag (and camera) in the car.  i seriously contemplated heading to the car to get my camera during the intermission but traipsing across campus in heels in the cold made it seem not quite worth it.

all in all it was a lot of fun and i was very glad that i decided to go.  i'll just have to try to remember to look out for this next year as this was apparently the 6th annual deacon drag.  

visit to the eye doctor

so yesterday collin went to the eye doctor for a vision exam.  i recently learned that preemie's should have their eyes checked regularly b/c of the oxygen that they use in the nicu.  i have also had some concerns (jared thought i was overreacting) b/c collin would often squint and hold books and things very close to his face.  fortunately, the doctor said that he didn't have any of the problems you often find w/preemies.  she also said that he is a little farsighted but that it wasn't bad and that we didn't need to worry about correcting it at this time.  this is good news b/c i wasn't looking forward to incurring the cost for glasses if he needed them but, at the same time, i think how cute he'd be if he wore glasses.  

he did beautifully throughout his exam.  they were impressed that he knew his letters and numbers at 2 and said that he sat still and did what they asked w/o too much of a fight.  he had a little meltdown when it came time to dilate his eyes but when the doctor told him if he kept crying she'd have to put in more drops amazingly the tears disappeared immediately.  :-)

thankfully, we don't have to do this again for 2 more years!!

Big boy bed

so...finally yesterday we turned collin's crib into a toddler bed.  it's something we've talked about for a long, long time (probably almost a year now)  but have just never quite gotten the nerve to do.  unbelievably, so far, so good.  it was kind a snap decision on my part yesterday morning so we didn't do a lot of talking to collin about it to hype it up but he thought it was "super cool" (as everything is anymore).  

a couple of interesting, and very good things: 

1.  he seems to think he cannot get out of bed unless he's given permission to do so.  awesome!  
:-)

2.  he took a nap yesterday w/no more fuss than any normal day.

3.  he's only chosen one stuffed animal, a snowman named yumechika, to keep in the bed (as opposed to the 15+ animals he kept in the crib).

keep up the good work, pud!

potty update 2

so...things are, for the most part, going really well.  we are very hopeful that we've bought the last package of daytime pullups and that we won't have to buy any more diapers at all.  we got a fold-up potty seat to take so that collin can easily go potty while we're out and it seems to be working pretty well.  it's not perfect b/c it doesn't fit all toilet seats but it's much better than nothing.  we went 2 whole days w/o any pee pee accidents, which is awesome.  he's still not willing to poo poo in the potty but we sort of got him to last night (caught him trying and put him on the potty) so we're hopeful that will come soon too.  if we can make it the rest of the week w/o any accidents i may consider taking him out (short trips) in undies only.  not sure that i'm ready for that but i think he'll probably do better than i think.  yay collin!

potty update

6x yesterday and 1 time already today!!!!!!!  can't even begin to say how many accidents we had (including poop in the floor) - enough for me to have to do a second load of pee laundry - but we are making progress.  :-)

Weekend Update

So, we have decided that we are really going to try to work hard on the potty training thing and spent Sat am researching the best way to potty train boys.  Collin does all of the things that they say shows that your child is ready to begin potty training but has been resistant to sitting on the potty.  I have not been consistent w/this b/c sometimes it really is just easier (and faster) to do the diaper but w/his 3rd bday just around the corner I feel like it's time.  At any rate, we took things from several articles and put them together into a do-able plan.  One thing we saw was that you should get a toy that your child LOVES (let them pick it out), bring it home and let them play w/it for an hr and then put it up.  If the child uses the potty they can play w/it for an hr but then you have to put it up again.  Collin picked out an R/C Thomas train and wants to play w/it all the time.  So, it's sitting on top of the entertainment center where he can see it but out of reach.  We also let him pick out some new undies and made a big, big deal about that.  

When we got back from the store off went the pull up and on went undies (not the new ones - of course they have to be washed first).  :-)  i had to clean up lots of pee pee accidents but he did use the potty (#2) sat night.  yesterday he peed in the potty once and 2x today so far.  the good thing is that there have been no accidents today at all.

We are also doing the timer thing and doing a potty song each time it goes off.  So far, so good.  My goal is, realistically, to have him in undies full time by his bday (well, maybe pull ups at night).  that give us a little over 3 mo so hopefully it will work.

So, on a totally unrelated note, I lost 5 lbs last week.  Yay!!!!!!

New Year, New Me

So after watching The Biggest Loser I decided that I was going to try to get my behind back into exercising (since I've been such a slacker since the colder weather started).  I did two yoga workouts on Exercise on Demand.  I feel energized but a little sore (I'm sure this will be much worse tomorrow).  Now I just have to do this 3-5x/wk.  In an effort to help me do this I joined the Pound for Pound Challenge on biggestloser.com.  I'm hoping that the thought of having them provide food for needy people will give me the incentive I need to do this.

On a different note, while checking out the stuff on Exercise on Demand I saw that they have yoga for kids.  I thought this might be a fun thing for Collin to try so after his nap we set up the mat and acted like Australian animals.  He had a blast and it was really cute.  I did this along w/him to try to demonstrate and actually got my heart rate up from jumping up and down like a kangaroo and a frog and running in place.  I guess he and I can do this regularly b/c he got very upset when it was over and I put up the mat for lunch.  :-)

argh!!!

i am soooooo tired.  i can't seem to get to sleep anymore.  i got ot bed adn then am wide awake.  i've never had any problems w/caffeine keeping me awake (i used to have a shot of espresso at 11 at night and then go home to bed) so i'm not sure that's it.  i've had a headache since new year's eve (most likely sinus pressure) and i know that's not helping but it stinks all the same.  a few nights i took a benedryl sinus tab which, of course, knocked me out but, obviously, i can't depend on that to make me sleep.  hopefully sleep will come back soon.  :-(

Collin's 3rd Christmas

This year Christmas was really fun with Collin.  I'm not sure that he got it completely but he understood, sort of, that Santa was coming and that he was going to get presents.  He also enjoyed (for the very first time) opening gifts.  He really seemed to enjoy the entire season b/c he LOVED the trees, lights and presents.   Whenever we were out he would tell me EVERY time we passed a tree, a Santa, wreath, Christmas flag and whatever other decorations he recognized (and then some he didn't).  

I think Collin is a little sad that the decorations are gone.  We were out last night and he saw a house that was still decorated and kept asking for Christmas lights.  I'm usually more than ready to take everything down on New Year's but had to chuckle b/c when we were putting everything away Collin told it all "bye" and said "see you next year".  :-)

Happy New Year

I have always been terrible about keeping a diary but was determined to keep this up...for my own sanity and, well, w/the holidays it's just not been on the top of my list of things to do.  so...as we get into the new year I'm determined to keep w/it.  (I'll be interested to see how long i can do this....)