Colin's First Day of School

Colin was so excited this morning, as he got to ride the school bus to preschool! His preschool has a special transport (some with special needs) and they each have their own seat belt -- it was cute to watch him get on board. His driver, Sherri, was sure to make him smile and I got a cute pic of him all settled in. I also had a great pic of him as we waited down the hill at his bus stop and I somehow deleted it. I gotta figure out what I did wrong before I delete a baby picture in coming days on accident! We have a newer camera with some sort of spin dial which I am not too fond of...

Colin went to this same school for the last 6 weeks of the previous school year with the same teacher and 5 other of the same students (4 others are new for a total of 10 kids in his class), so he's going back to a familiar place with people he knows, or I might have been a little nervous about sending our 3 year old off to school on a bus with a stranger!

I woke up several times last night dreaming vividly/having night mares that I would go into labor during the night before his first day of preschool school. Whew! Avoided that one!

Knock on wood, but here in a few hours I think we can all safely agree that baby has decided to be a September baby and thus he will certainly enter Kindergarten one year later, since Sept. 1 is the strict cut-off around here (smile!) He wants to be a football season baby and not a pool-party baby, I suppose! That outta make Grandaddy proud! Thanks for giving us an "extra year" to save for college, kiddo! Hey, someone has to be practical about the matter!

So, my big fluff ball, Elliot, and I are resting all morning while "Big Brother Colin" is off at school. I go see the Dr. again this afternoon and will keep you all posted. And for now, the baby car seat is installed, the pack-n-play is up, and my wonderful husband has the house all ready for the newest family member. He even pulled an ugly bush from the front yard yesterday....(though attaching a chain to the truck and pulling out anything at the roots is probably a great stress reliever....)

Last day(s) As An Only Child

I thought before the craziness hits of baby arriving I would capture a bit of what Colin is like BEFORE baby brother joins us.

Colin is 3 years and 3 1/2 months old and, as I had suspected would happen, has figured out how to throw some really good temper tantrums. These peak when we want him to nap or go to bed and are mixed with lots of yelling and "No, I won't do it!" as well as lying down and kicking and screaming. Sometimes I am able to laugh, knowing that this too shall pass, but when you are this big an pregnant it takes a lot of energy to think of creative ways to get him to his room for some much needed rest.

We have started taking toys away (favorites, like ALL cars, pirate ships, and his castle) and in recent days he is working on being cooperative (having a "happy heart") to earn back his prized possessions. And he's quite the negotiator and will even tell you which item he wants you to take next when he is planning to be disobey.

On the more cheerful side, Colin is making greater strides with his language and articulation, though we still have a ways to go. He uses longer sentences and does quite a bit of pretend play on his own with his Veggie Tales pirates and pirate castle. He saw "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" over the summer at the Regal Cinemas Free Kids Movie Day and now talks non-stop about the storyline.

His passion for anything from the Cars movie is quite intense and Cars have been a huge motivator. He potty trained this summer quite easily with the motivation of receiving a car for his success. At least one thing was easy, right? We didn't push him, and it just seemed to happen. I count this as a blessing, as many of his friends a few months older are still wavering between pull-ups and the real McCoy. If you had asked me in April if I thought this was possible I would have doubted you, but we have been very fortunate.

He played soccer all summer with a buddy from his PEPS group, and each Monday after soccer we would go to lunch with his friend and his mom. It has been such a blessing to watch their friendship blossom, and a Colin has spent all summer watching his buddy adjust to being a new big brother, giving Colin a sense of what to look forward to. These unexpected blessings of friendship for both Colin and me (with his buddy's mom) are such great gifts from God that help encourage us along life's way.

Colin had his first swim lessons earlier in August (without me in the pool with him) and though he had great 1-on-1 time with the instructor, he needed someone who woukd push him a bit more to put his face under the water. On one of the days he had a more mature (older) substitute instructor push him a bit more and he had his head under water several times, so I know he can do it! We will do lessons this fall, as well.

And last week he had his first day camp experience -- our local swim and recreation club had a dino camp-themed week and at the end of the morning each day he got to play in the wading pool for 30 minutes. He loved it and the weather was great! We'll definitely be signing him up for camp again next summer.

I'll close on this recap as I remember a tender moment with Colin the other night. I am not much of a sappy crying type of person, but I was having a bad night. Colin said, "Mommy's sad and needs blue blankie." He went to his room and got his beloved blankie and took the corners of the blanket and gently blotted the tears from my cheeks as if to say, "Mommy, it's gonna be all better." This tender, sweet side makes me so proud of his sweet and giving heart! Ahhh, the power of the blue blankie!

40 Weeks and Counting

For my entire prenancy, as with any other women, people ask, "when are you due?" Friends and family, and so often complete strangers! Each time I would say, "August 27" as though that date had any meaning. And here we are, August 27, and I am resting in bed, waiting for any sign that baby wants to enter the world. Nothing; zero; nada! I have come to nick-name him "Mr. Snug and Happy!"

I'm actually not that impatient, as I'm not uncomfortable (by pregnant standards) AND I actually slept almost 7 1/2 hours straight last night. Usually my bladder isn't that cooperative! In just a matter of days I will be so bleary-eyed from a newborn that I will long for this quiet and rest. I will beg for it! So again, no recommendations of "just be patient!"

However, there is a little green monster named high blood pressure who is attempting to lurk his ugly head. I am only borderline high, but we'll see how things go at the doc tonight. Unfortunately I also suffer from white coat syndrome, so this isn't too helpful. So while I am patient for baby to come on his own, I would only prefer him to come sooner if it means beating an induction to the punch...

I have mostly packed my bags and have done most everything on my to-do list (if that is ever really possible.) The slow leak in my tire will just have to wait to get fixed some other time. We have my Grandad's air compressor in our garage, so it's no big deal to give the tires a bit of air every 2 weeks (I have never been happy with the tires Mazda factory put on this CX-7!)

Colin starts school on Monday, so the timing of his return to some structure (and 4 mornings a week out of the house) is ideal. He went to an open house to see his teacher and school friends today, so he is all excited to head back!

Baby Sturm will indeed be here soon, though, and we will keep everyone posted!

Meeting Frank the Combine

Any Cars Movie-lovin' preschool boy knows of and is enamoured with Frank the Combine from the tractor tipping scene, and Colin is no different.

On the 4th of July we ventured just north of town and found a red combine which looks just like Frank. Wow! Colin was so excited, but a little scared to see it up close and in full sized dimensions (unlike his 7 inch long version at home.) Matt also scared him a bit by whispering, "Don't wake Frank" as he got out of the car to "meet" Frank.

Visit to Texas and Colorado

Last month we made a brief, 2 part trip down to Texas and then up to Colorado. Our visit to Texas was mostly because of the O'Neal family reunion. It was good to see lots of my cousins and their kids, and Colin got to experience West Texas critters, such as HUGE toads and bull snakes. He had fun chasing around his cousins Halee and Tristin, as well.
I enjoyed a girls lunch outing to celebrate Jama's 35th birthday. Pam, Tulle (3), Jama, and I all went to lunch at Napoli's over in Amarillo, did a little shopping afterwards, and then had a cherry limeade at Sonic happy hour. I miss Sonic, which we don't have in my neck of the woods (though I hear rumors there is one about an hour away....)

Our trip wasn't complete without the small town experience of a 4th of July parade. Colin thought it was fun to chase after the candy tossed into the streets and thought all of the old cars in the parade must have names (from the Cars movie...) He also got to see cousins on the Walker side of the family and got to have some Grandparent and Great Grandparent visits.

We ended our trip to Texas with lunch with one of Matt's fraternity brothers and his family. His wife is pregnant and due a few days after me, so we had many stories to share and ideas to toss around while the guys got all caught up from their Baylor days.

After a delayed trip to Denver (due to thunderstorms looming south of Denver) we finally arrived for another 2 nights of visiting. We went to the Butterfly Pavillion and Colin also got to go fishing at the Kids' Pond in Boulder where he caught a few trout. We're not sure who had more fun -- Colin or Grandpa (Pa Pa).

This was our last travel as a family before our new family member arrives.