A Weekend of Firsts

It seems like we've hit most of the big first milestones already, but Miss Collins can cross three more "firsts" off her list thanks to a busy weekend...

1) First swim lesson-

I was really excited about this new activity- in part because there aren't many things cuter/more fun to shop for than a tiny, colorful bathing suit- and also because it would be a fun family activity.

Turns out the first lesson was a bit of a mixed bag. Frigid water temperatures, an awkward aquatic version of the Hokey-Pokey, bigger kids who really got into splashing, and a healthy dose of fear got the better of Collins for most of the lesson. But then there were some fun moments such as chasing after floating balls, realizing she was a strong kicker, and looking really adorable in her one-shoulder ruffley yellow bathing suit.

No, we did not end on a high note! :)


2) First Easter Egg Hunt-

How fun to find out that Collins was old enough to participate in our church Easter Egg Hunt this year. And how funny it was to look up during the heat of the competition and realize that everyone was in the same boat- parents snapping pictures furiously as their cute little ones wandered around aimlessly with no real concept of what egg hunting means. Collins landed a couple of eggs, but she was most excited to ride in the little car and eat a rice krispy treat at the end.

3) First dipping of chips-

Brian made yummy guacamole as an appetizer during Carolina's Elite 8 game yesterday. We were digging in and without missing a beat, Collins comes over and grabs a chip, dips it in guac and throws it in her mouth- all while watching the game. It was very instinctual- like she had been enjoying game-day apps her whole life! She made her parents quite proud. Now we won't talk about how that game ended, so sad...

A Tisket, A Tasket...

...this girl loves her some baskets. For the past few weeks, Collins has insisted on spending most of her busy time carrying different baskets around the house. She likes loading them, unloading them and seeing how much stuff she can carry at one time. Is she beefing up her biceps? Practicing for Easter? We're not sure, but we think it's pretty funny.

Assuming the position...

One is too easy, let's try two...

Very interested in pushing this stroller, but not enough to put down my basket...

An Easter basket is pretty cool, especially when you shake it really hard and eggs go flying everywhere...

Park Please

Collins really loves her park time- especially when she gets to follow around bigger kids, bark at dogs, and get messy in the sandbox. We're on a mission to hit all the cool parks in Raleigh.

Tourney Time

How lucky are we that it is an unseasonably warm March and that Collins' supply of short-sleeved shirts and shorts is ridiculously low at this point? It gave me a chance to pull this beauty out of the closet just in time for the Heels' opening tourney game today (thanks, Lindsey! and sorry, Brian).

(this is our first tooth picture!!!)

Love this time of year when basketball is at its best. Let's just hope Carolina (and State for Brian's sake) can avoid Davidson's sad fate yesterday and post some big wins this first weekend of the Big Dance.

Questions Answered

We spent the weekend at Wrightsville and got some important questions answered:

1) Does Collins fit in a mini-cooler?

2) What happens when you buy a sled on clearance at Target and then it doesn't snow?

3) Can you still have fun with a beer bottle even after the beer is gone?

4) Does Collins like the beach?

5) What's our new strategy for dining out without a meltdown from the baby? Canned peas!

and finally...

6) What's the quickest way to get Brian Fork in the fetal position? When revealing the 68 teams invited to the NCAA tournament, announce 67 other teams first and save the announcement of NC State for DEAD LAST!

Communication Attempts

It seems to me that good communication- whether it's with your husband, your sister, your parents, your friends- is never super easy. I find that many verbal exchanges leave me confused and a little bit exhausted.  That's definitely the case these days with my baby.

Collins has been attempting to communicate with us for months now. It all started back in early December when she said "bye bye" for the first time. We thought this was the start of a verbal barrage, but not so much. She continued to say "bye bye" for the next few months but only these words and ONLY IN A WHISPER. Bizarre. Well, she has finally found her voice and now says her fave words out loud and has picked up a few more along the way.

Ma-ma (yah!)
Baa (ball?)
Ut-oh (she drops things a lot)
Lubba lubba lubba (she has found her tongue)

What surprises me is the amount of non-verbal communication that she is engaging in. Examples:

"Take me there"- when we get her out of the crib in the morning, she immediately points and stretches  in the direction she wants to go and what she wants to see. Usually she wants to grab a stuffed animal or touch something up high (chandelier, picture frame, vase, etc.).

"Feed me breakfast"- (not so subtle) she starts pulling and shaking the baby gate at the top of the stairs announcing she wants to go downstairs and eat.

"Hold me"- she stands in front of us and grabs as high as she can with her little hands asking for a pick up.

"I want that and want it NOW"- uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh (with the sounds growing in intensity). This is a new one and as we learned this weekend, gets old very fast.

Lately, Collins' communication attempts have got me thinking how fun it will be when she can talk. Not only will it be nice to not have to guess as to what she wants, but it will be fascinating to figure out what's going through that head of hers.

But it will be awhile before she is talking, and as the sounds and wild gestures increase, I'm a little scared of what our communication is going to look like in the interim. Things could get ugly. My Mom warned me there is a reason why they are so cute between the ages of one and two and that's because this is the difficult stage where they know what they want but can't tell you yet. Oh dear...I feel like we might have arrived.