busy bee

A phrase that frequently came up last weekend at the grandparents' was how "busy" Colin is. It's true.. he never stops moving and it seems he is always working on a "project" these days. It's funny watching him so intently working on things, babbling to himself and walking around seemingly "on a mission."

When we're on the patio, he spends all his time going in and out of the storage box (which his classy parents think is a decent substitute for having a "playhouse" in our yard). He likes to get his rake and shovel out and work on the yard. In other words, scrape them on the cement and hit things with them.

He still loves to mow. Just think Mike, only 12 more years of mowing being your job.

He also enjoys sweeping and will go into the garage to find the biggest, most unwieldy broom he can find to lug around.

He's getting really into putting things in containers and taking them out. We gave up having clothes in his drawers in his room because he just wants to dump them all into the laundry basket. Every night, he puts them back in his drawers, then pulls them out again. This was the scene a couple weeks ago when he decided everything in one bathroom drawer absolutely needed to be put into the other drawer:

It seems like every day we can't wait to see what else he comes up with. Since I never did a 20-month list of his activities, consider this a late update:

• He is talking so much and really putting concepts together with words. His favorite thing lately is to ask if anything is "hot?" before he touches or eats it. It's so cute. He also likes to advise me when things are "ucky." I made the mistake once of telling him his feet were icky dirty and now every time he takes off his shoes and socks he points at his feet and tells me, "ucky." I may have given him a complex.


• He has lots of new words and is imitiating us all the time. He has started copying (mocking) me making the "uh uh" (no) sound which he thinks is hilarious. He is also answering our questions now... usually with "yeah" or "no" but if you ask him "where" anything is, his answer is either a) "outside" or b) something that we swear sounds like "I dunno."


• His memory is getting so good! Last weekend we had a thunderstorm. Afraid that he might get scared of the thunder, we tried to make it fun, yelling BOOM! after each clap of thunder. Almost a full week later, last night Mike just mentioned the word "thunder" (there was no actual thunder) and Colin immediately yelled BOOOM!! I couldn't believe he remembered that!


• He runs everywhere. No walking for this kid.


• He's going through a "mine phase," as they described it at daycare. Unfortunately, his friends are not a fan of this phase, and yesterday he got bit in retribution for trying to steal a toy from another kid.


• He loves to put on his own sunscreen, brush his own teeth and hair, and the other night he grabbed the off bug spray, came over and tried to put it on our legs for us. He pays so much attention to everything we do, even when we don't realize it!


• He just seems to be learning so much and turning into such a big kid lately!