Monday, January 31, 2011

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We had a great weekend on the 22nd-23rd with a spontaneous trip to Monterey to see the Aquarium.  Cameron and I had purchased tickets a few months ago at a fundraiser dinner for PINC and the passes were going to expire soon.  After convincing Cameron he could still catch football playoffs on the radio on the drive home and the later game on tv, he was in :)  We stayed at my parents house Friday night to get us 30 minutes closer to Monterey because we knew it was going to be foggy on the morning drive.  My parents were originally going to Cayucos to see vacation rentals but we had extra tickets for the aquarium so they joined us instead and got a room right next to ours at the Monterey Plaza Resort.  It worked out perfectly that they were able to come.  The beautiful hotel was right on the water and very close to the aquarium.

Collin gets sad when we leave the doctors office because they have a fish tank with 2 fish in it.  Obviously this was going to be a fun adventure for him!  We were so excited.  He did great on the car ride (with a few potty breaks) and some snacks.  We checked into the hotel around noon and then walked around Monterey and had a fantastic lunch at the Fish Hopper.  We ate so much that we were not hungry for dinner but made room for some frozen yogurt and candy. 

We woke up Sunday morning and had breakfast at the hotel then walked down to the Aquarium right when they opened.  This is the first picture of Collin walking into the Aquarium and his face just lit up!
I give it 2 thumbs up!
Love this picture!

Tidal Wave!

Here it comes!



The giant penguin egg.

Riding on Daddy's shoulders to get a good view!
Yaya, Papa & Collin

He loved getting up close and touching everything.


Total tourist shot.

I love this boy!

The most amazing things ever!



Starfish!

January 2011

September 2009

January 2011

September 2009


What a great weekend!
Collin slept the whole drive home and Cameron got to watch the second game on tv.  And we all lived happily ever after.  The End!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Potty Palooza!

I am officially off diaper duty until mid April!  This post is all potty talk so if you aren't interested, I'm warning you to just skip this one all together.  Our timeline went like this:

  • Starting at 12 months I sat Collin on the toilet every night before bath to conquer any fears he may have had.
  • After making quite a few potties in the toilet I attempted our first day in big boy undies at 17 months, all of 5 hours and 6 undies later he clearly wasn't ready!
  • I waited a few more months and he started showing more "ready" signs.
  • Collin started making almost all of his poops on the toilet starting in November.
  • He has always hated dirty diapers so the "poop training" was easy!
  • December all 3 of us were sick a good majority of the time but we kept working on going potty on the toilet but still wearing diapers.
  • I picked the best/worst time to start really training when we were trapped at home sick after Christmas.
    • best = staying home not really venturing out much at all
    • worst = Collin had diarrhea from the antibiotics for his ear infections!
    • Collin also had RSV!!!  Our poor little guy.
  • Even with the meds Collin was still making poops on the toilet, truly amazing, so I knew he was really ready this time!
  • 3 days of almost no accidents in his diapers and it was time...
  • BIG BOY UNDIES HERE WE COME!
  • I decided to do it big and put him down in undies for nap.  No messing with Pull-ups!!!
  • Call me crazy but so far, so good.
  • He usually goes about every hour or 2 and always before bed and right when waking up.
I really believe you have a small window of opportunity when your child is around 2 to fully potty train.  If you don't catch them when they are ready, you missed your chance and are stuck changing poopy diapers til 3 1/2.  I had very high hopes of getting Collin out of diapers before his 2nd birthday and before baby #2 is here.

When I broached the subject with the pediatrician at Collin's 18 month appointment, she held back laughing in my face.  Trying to gently ease the blow by telling me the American way is 3-4 with boys being potty trained.  I almost fell out of my seat because there was no way in hell I was changing a 4 year olds diaper.  This was all I needed to hear to get me motivated to get this boy in undies.  There is nothing like someone telling you you can't do it, to make you want to do it even more. 

Our first day in undies was a total success.  No accidents at all.  Now there is no going back and we have a Big Boy on our hands.  And seriously, his little butt is so cute in undies!   He has now been in undies for over a week and we have had a few potty accidents and no poop accidents.  Thank goodness...

Here is our little man in his big undies!  He loves to pick out his undies for the day right when he wakes up and then he runs to the potty.
Helping with the dishes.


Touchdown!


Monday, January 17, 2011

I'll do my best to catch up...

It's been a month since I've blogged!  Time really does fly by.  I'll do my best to catch up, starting with Christmas.  We celebrated with my Mom's family on the 19th.  It is so nice to spread out the family time and not rush from A to B to C and then D all in one day.
Auds, Deeds, Collin & Mo

Cousins!

The whole gang
Papa, Maddi, Brody, Collin & Yaya

Grandpa Santa made a visit!

Collin and Maddi had the most fun with the empty bags!
On the 23rd we went to Cameron's Dad's side for a Swedish tradition of abelskivers.  If you have never had an abelskiver, you are missing out!  These little fluffy, buttery pancake balls are delicious.  Breakfast for dinner with sausage, bacon and fresh fruit.  I loved it!  Now I just need to learn to make these things.

On Christmas Eve we celebrated with Cameron's Mom's side of the family.  This tradition is so fun because everyone wears their jammies!  We come all comfy and cozy, eat a fantastic dinner and open presents.  When we get home, we are all ready for bed! 
  

Collin's new chair from Grandpa and Grandma JoJo.

Best gift = empty box!

Grandpa, Collin, Hunter, Grandma JoJo and Rachel.

Next year we will be 4!

We got to see a lot of Santa this week!

We woke up Christmas morning and Santa had paid us a visit!  Collin had a candy cane trail leading from his bedroom to his new tricycle!
Riding into the tree...

Daddy and Collin reading Dr. Seuss.


A little candy cane before breakfast.
 After I made a big Christmas breakfast for the 3 of us, we headed to Yaya and Papa's house for gifts and lunch.
Once again, the empty boxes were a hit!

Cousins!
  Our final stop was to my Dad's side of the family.  We have tons of aunts, uncles and cousins to celebrate with!  It was pouring rain and we had a baby, appetizer and diaper bag to carry inside so the camera didn't make it in.  Never fear, my cousin Ashley captured the evening and you can see pictures on her blog.  The little cousins had a great time playing together!

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2010
I hope everyone is starting out 2011 with a bang!  Happy New Year.