Colin is 3!!

Colin is 3!!

Who, me??

When Colin wakes up in the morning, he makes it a point to come into my room and exclaim, "Mommy! It's morning-day! It's morning-day, Mommy!" When I come into a room I wasn't previously in, he shouts, and runs to me with a hug, "MOMMY! You are here! You came back, Mommy!" When I take him to school, he is the first one with his shoes on, ready to go out the door. When I pick him up, he's the first to say, "I did work, Mommy! I did numbers! School was fun!"

Colin potty trained himself about 4 months ago. I think he did it earlier than he was ready, but he is determined. He knew he could do it, and does. But he still doesn't like public restrooms and he hates being told what to do. So if he doesn't want to go... he'll wait too long, or flat out refuse. But he did it, and he's proud to be a big boy. We have good days and bad days, but I'm proud of him. He made the decision and stuck to it. Is that weird to say about a 2 and a half year old? If it is, I don't even care...

Colin LOVES to sing. I believe he knows the words to about 20 songs, backwards and forwards, and begs for me to sing to him every night. He's very into music and loves to request songs.

His favorite songs are "the ABCDE" song and Ba Ba Black Sheep. EVERYONE in the house knows that Ba Ba Black Sheep is his favorite song, and everyone wants me to sing it to make him happy. Or it's about those 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed. The only times he doesn't want me to sing those songs it's because bed time and he doesn't WANT to go to bed, and then he tells me to shut it when I start to sing it. Ain't nobody going to tell Colin when it's time to go to bed.

Even when he's all droopy-eyed from his favorite song.

When the other two are dancing, he wants to sing... which is pretty fitting to his stance on life in general. He does nothing because "the others are doing it."

Colin ADORES his siblings... separately. Claire is HIS GIRL. He rubs her back, gets her milk, picks up after her, and picks out toys for her when he is out with me. And he adores his brother. Adam hung the moon. But when Adam and Claire are together... he can wait it out. And his whole life lights up when he can get one of them individually, on their own to play with JUST him.

He can count to 15 and knows all the colors (his favorite is definitely GREEN), and he's in the 60th percentile for height, by my calculations. He's about 1.5 pounds lighter than Claire but it feels like less because he's just so dang cuddly... when he's not using his head as a weapon.

When Colin sees an airplane, he shouts, "Look! It's MY airplane!" When Claire sees a construction site and declares that a crane scares her, he says, "that's my crane." He tells me all the time that there are ghosts in the house... and Claire wags her finger and says, "Everybody knows there's No. Such. Thing. As. Ghosts." She heard it from her Daddy. There's totally ghosts, and Colin tells me all about them. But he's not scared of anything. Except maybe being alone on the trampoline when the air conditioner kicks on.

He wants to play basketball and always talks about watching sports with Daddy. I have a feeling he'll be an amazing pitcher one day, and batter... but is one of those guys who will not hesitate to rush the mound when provoked (or not provoked).

Colin's speech is absolutely, 100% adorable. "Aunt RaRa, I'm a Nake. SSSSSSssssssssss." "Daddy, I want Na-bewwie. NA-BEWWIE." (Strawberries.) or... "I no want to do that... cause... I said NO." And I just melt when I ask him a question and his response is "Yam." (Yeah.)

He loves Cars, Frozen (Elsa), Pirates, Trucks, and Airplanes. And don't get me started on Mickey Mouse. Pirates are HIS pirates. Planes are HIS planes. When we drive past the tiny airport he tells me he's sorry. When I ask why, he says it's because they are his airplanes, but I can ride in them if I want. When I ask if he will fly the plane, he says no... the planes can fly.

Colin's eyes are brown in regular indoor light, but outside, he radiates and they turn this sparkling greenish-gold, full of mischief and mystery. He's like one of those people you always wanted to really get to know, but that was always an enigma, always moving, always keeping you guessing. And he's smarter than all get out. Mostly about how to destroy things, and about puzzles. The most toddler-proof toy is unsafe around Colin, and then he'll "fix" it. The whole world to Colin is an experiment on what can be broken down to the last tiny piece. And he HATES being in trouble, but he is IN it... often.

He is a kind kid and doesn't look to be mean. He is never a bully, only likes to be left alone or to play with one friend and not several... or if he causes a stir it's out of pure mischief, not malice. He often gets into trouble for not knowing when to stop wrestling Claire. I think he can't get enough of her hugs.

When anyone new or not as familiar talks to Colin he still has that "stare into their soul and evaluate them" look going on. You only know you are "in" if you get a glimpse of those mischievous dimples.

Colin likes to line everything up, stack it up, sort it out, and lately he's been incredibly interested in basketball and sports with Daddy. He loves to pull Claire and Adam (a full 75 pounds plus) in the wagon with me around the neighborhood, and I've watched him pull them for over a mile and a half with no complaint. He is concerned about his hands being clean, his hair out of his eyes, and is the first to offer to vacuum or dust or clean with me (other than Adam, who is also enormously helpful).

What Colin wants to do, Colin will do. He does not conform, follow, or entice. There is no reasoning or using logic to convince Colin. He marches to the beat of his own drum, and never succumbs to peer pressure. He has an incredible common sense and appropriate caution, but also will never believe, NEVER, if you say that he should try something he doesn't want to do. There is no grey area with Colin. It is either Colin agrees, or Colin disagrees. Go swim? No thanks. Stop wrestling? Never. Have to go potty? He will hold it. He has a hard time expressing his emotions and is more than slightly OCD about how things should be. Doors, windows, light switches, his clothes. He has an impeccable sense of style and loves long sleeve button down shirts because he looks like Daddy and Grandpa.

One day when I picked him up from school he told me that he was going to work with Daddy. "It will be fun, Mommy. Daddy will be happy." He is much more calm and content with Daddy most days. They are so much alike.

Colin loves Aunt RaRa (Robin), and loves sitting in her lap and having conversations with her, and basically messing with her. (Apparently it's a family tradition).

Colin is mostly drawn toward Grandpa. Grandpa is Colin's guy. When Mamie comes over, Colin gives her a hug, looks behind her, and asks where Grandpa is. When Grandpa comes over, Colin packs up his stuff, grabs his hand and is ready to move out. There is a special bond there that was immediate upon birth... and this kid has no interest in beating around the bush about it. If he could wake up everyday and go to work with Grandpa, his life would be set. But he adores his Mamie too, and one of his favorite games is "Mamie is coming over." I believe he thinks it is his doorway to getting over to Grandpa's house and sleeping there, alone, with no one to bother him and 4 - 6 ears there ready to listen to him alone.

I adore this kid. He gives the best kisses, the best hugs, and sees the world in a very interesting way. He's incredibly smart, but very rarely has a desire to prove it. He doesn't say "I love you" often, but says Claire is his best friend and thrives most in one-on-one situations. When I've got him alone he wants to sit in my lap and hold onto my face. When I look at Colin I'm mesmerized and trying to decode all of the things he must be thinking... because the things that come out of his mouth are so interesting and adorable... and sarcastic. He's definitely got a cool style that I could never in a million years acheive.