Misc. Stuff

Jake
Originally uploaded by tracyg00.

Alright....so Aunt Jenny wants regular updates. You know that means that all of the entries aren't going to have super funny, witty stories. Jake is just about the happiest baby ever. This photo portrays how Jake would look at just about any moment throughout the day if you were to make eye contact with him. Those rosy cheeks are just a sign of wind burn from our ten degree Chicago weather.

Megan's always up to something these days. We just signed her up for 3-year old pre-school this week. She starts in the fall.

Her latest thing is - when she spills anything at all (from the tiniest drop of something to a full glass), she says "That's ok!" and that comes out even before anyone knows she spilled it. It could be "Oops" or "Oh no".....but no, she just says in a very nonchalant way "That's ok". Who's really in running the show here?

Sibling issues....

Bath Time!
Originally uploaded by tracyg00.

So, there's a funny story about bath time last night. I had Megan and Jake both in the tub and Jake is a super splasher. He gets in and his hands just start going a mile a minute and water gets pretty much everywhere. Well, Megan wanted to be in the tub too, but is not a big fan of getting her face wet. For a little while, she would get kind of upset and ask for a towel. Then she started screaming "No, Jake!"......then she got mad enough and threw a cup of water right in his face. That stopped him for a moment. He didn't cry. He was just a little surprised. He looked up at her and gave her another big splash. She got him again with another cup of water. Meanwhile, I'm trying not to laugh too much so as not to encourage her to be mean to her brother. She was definitely mad -- not just trying to be cute. I'm afraid this may just be a little glimpse into what I've got in store for me over the next 18 years or so. Hmmm.

They're growing up.....

IMG_8943
Originally uploaded by tracyg00.

Well, the Collings kids are reaching a couple of milestones. Megan is basically day time potty trained and Jake can hold his own bottle. You don't realize what a big deal it is to hold a bottle for a baby until you don't have to do it! We can hand it to him and actually do other things while he's eating! Jake can also sit up on his own -- even though every now and then he gets excited and kicks his feet, which makes him fall over.

Megan is really into "make believe" these days. She likes to be the mommy for all of her "babies". The other day she told me she was the mommy and I was the baby. Here's how our conversation went:
Megan: I'm the mommy.
Me: ok
Megan: You're the baby.....say, Mommy
Me: Mommy
Megan: What?

Apparently I was supposed to have a problem for her to deal with. Ahhh, what stimulating conversations I'm having these days.

Ahhh....best pals

IMG_8877
Originally uploaded by tracyg00.

Big Jake

IMG_8851
Originally uploaded by tracyg00.

Sitting Up!

It's Been a Busy January already.....

We've had quite a busy month already. We hosted a small gathering for New Year's Eve -- hopefully everyone had a decent time. Just a standard Collings get-together (food, drinks and a few games of left, right, center & celebrity). New Year's Day was a day of recovery, then it was back to work for 2 days and off to Disney World for 4 days. Megan's big enough now to really enjoy herself there. She was quite proud of herself when she and I had breakfast with some characters and she told me "I wasn't scared....I didn't even cry". Our stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was nice. They have a great pool. I think Jake's gonna be our fish. He started kicking his feet as soon as he got within a few inches of the water. You can pretty much dunk him and he doesn't mind. He's a pretty easy-going guy.

We spent about a half day at the Magic Kingdom. It was a bit too crowded -- most kids were still on their holiday break, so it was more crowded than in past years during Disney marathon weekend.

Now we're back into the swing of things. Jake's getting good at sitting up. Megan has mastered the use of a mouse with my computer -- scary that she's only two and can search the PBSKids web site like a pro.