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!