Three point five...

(I have started keeping these all together on a page at the top of this blog. It makes it easier for me to click back and see what Colin was up to. These are mainly so I don't forget any of these precious moments...)

 

(These pictures are just the many faces of Colin =)  Not sure where he could possibly have learned all the facial expressions.... )

Wow.  Colin is 3.5 years old!  My baby is growing up.
I keep telling him to stop.  Every time I do he says, "but I want to grow up Mom."  awww.

Colin is so so fun.  We have tried many many (many MANY) things to make nap time/quiet time/mommy's time go smoothly.  He used to nap from 1-4.  Then it was from 1-3.  Then he would talk or read for an hour and nap from 2-3 or so.  Then he decided to just read from 1:30-3.  THEN he started screaming and crying the whole time he was in his room.  Which woke Addison up.  Which made me mad.  Uggh it was no fun for anyone.  Finally, we decided to get "new" books from the library.  Bump the time back... and now he reads quietly in his room from around 2-3.  I'll take it. 

Colin loves to read. 

He loves his sister and makes sure she is happy.  He is seriously the best big brother!

He is a super picky eater. 

He loves trains and cars.  Especially trains right now.  If I ever need to get ready in the mornings and he is right.under.me. I just youtube "trains for kids" and he watches trains... win win for everyone ;)

He loves to be outside.  And get dirty.

He is very sensitive.  He can be rough and tumble, but he really has a sweet heart.

A few funny things he has said lately:

Addison sneezed in the car and I said, "God bless you!  You need a tissue!"  And Colin quickly said, "It's okay mom.  She can drip."

I was going to get a car that was thrown over the balcony in St. John.  It was up a little rocky hill and behind torn bushes (I'm pretty hardcore like that), and Colin coached me the whole way! 
"Be careful Mom!"  "Step on that rock... and then that one..."  "The rock you are on...... it just fell" 
It went on and on.  Precious.

When we pray before bed, I usually say something along the lines of "protect us..." and Colin questioned why I asked God to "protect us".  Then he said, "Maybe from the turtles that come out of the ocean?" Then started laughing hysterically.  =) 

He put a block under his shirt and said, "Look Mommy!  I have a boobie!"  Geez.

Randomly Colin put his finger to his mouth and said, "hmmmmm.... wonder if we can get some cars from Papaw and Grandmama's house and bring them here?"  =)

If Addison is trying to get to his cars or trains (which is anytime she is in the same room as he is), Colin will push every toy she has in front of her to try and deter her.  It is hilarious!

 

This child has my heart.  He knows my buttons and boy does he push them some days, but he will also run up to me and tackle me with a hug.  I really have no words for what Colin means to me!  He is so much fun and I love talking with him!  He has the most interesting conversations! 

Fun little island...

I have a ton of pictures from our trip to St. John, so I am going to try to keep my "talking" short =)

Garet and I were soooo excited that we were able to make this trip!  His mom and her husband live there, so we went to visit!  A lot has changed since we lived there NINE years ago!  (wow!)

We took 2 planes there... here we are on the first one:

 

The kids did AMAZING!
The second plane, Colin first saw the islands out the window!

 

Then we hopped in a taxi and went to the ferry boat.

 

After the ferry, we met up with Kay and Rod and had dinner.  Colin scarfed down 2 slices of pizza and then headed to "dip his toes in the water" (really he got soaked!) with Garet.  This was the view from our table:

Maho Beach:

Grandma Kay and Papa Rod got Colin a few cars and this dump truck.  It was a HUGE hit!  He drove that thing on every beach we went to!

 

Addison was not a fan of the sand (or grass)  (or really being put down outside at all)

 

 

After quiet time and the 2nd beach of the day, we couldn't wake this boy up!

 

They didn't have a bath, so Addison got to bathe in the sink =)

The beaches don't have big waves (some hardly have any at all!) so it was perfect for Colin to wade out.  The slope was so subtle too that he could go out a good ways and still be able to touch.

 

 

Kay and Rod walk around the Westin Resort a lot, so we headed there one afternoon and let Colin play on the playground (see that little body on the stairs to the left?)

 

 

Our morning view!  Addison had me up by around 6:30 each morning, so I got my coffee and watched the sun rise!  We also ate every meal out here on the balcony!

 

We went to a beach every day and every day we had perfect weather!

Colin had talked about "building a sandcastle that he could go inside of" for weeks before we went... so I helped him build a sandcastle around him =) It was the closet we could get to him being inside of it! 

 

The towel on Garet's lap is a sleeping Addison.

 

 

At the park

 

We went into the grocery store to check prices.  Unbelievable. 

 

A couple nights, after the kids were in bed, Garet and I got to sneek away!  It was a lot of fun!  There is a new place, Cruz Bay Landing, and there was live music which was so much fun!

 

Each morning, this was part of our routine.... Turn on a cartoon, Colin stands on the table and I apply sunscreen =)

Our set up...

Addison fell asleep while at the beach almost every day.

 

One afternoon we went to Caneel Bay Resort for a walk... these are sugar mill ruins...

 

When we lived there, Garet took people on tours of Honeymoon Beach and this part of the resort.

There are pigs, horses, cows, chickens, donkeys... all sorts of animals that roam the island =)

Addison LOVED to watch the donkeys!

 

Walking... it was so pretty and there were deer all over the place!

 

Colin was saying, "look Addison, donkey's!"

 

 

The animals were so close!

 

Island cars always seem to have personality =)  I mean the one we owned when we lived there had holes in the floor.... Garet's mom's has a plant growing out of the door:

 

=)  And bumper stickers!  Colin was able to add about 4 more for them

We loved being outside on their balcony!  Anytime we were at the house, we were pretty much out there!  After the kids were in bed, it was so nice to sit and chat outside... it was even a tad bit chilly!

 

 

One afternoon, we left Addison napping with Grandma Kay and Papa Rod and we took Colin into town with us.  I did a bit of shopping and the guys went to check out the boats.

 

 

 

We went to Jumbie Beach, and there are some rocks off to the side where Colin spent a lot of time.

This is what I get when I tell him to smile sometimes...

 

Addison was a huge hit on any beach we went to.  Wonder why...

 

 

The afternoon before we left, my friend Greer took some pictures of us!   I can't wait to see them!  I have to admit... Colin was a sandy mess before the pictures even started!  haha  Greer was great though, by the end of it (in this pic) she just had Colin running in the water!

On our way out the door...

 

The trip to get there and back is an adventure all on its own.  We drove to the car barge... then once on the car barge we had lunch... and snapped some pictures (so sad we are leaving)

 

The boys walked around...

 

Then we drove to the airport, unloaded everything and got through customs and finally got to sit in the airport and wait for the plane.

We had 2 planes before we landed in Charlotte.  The kids were changed into their pj's for the second plane, and lucky for us they both fell asleep shortly after the plane took off.  They were AWESOME!  I tried to capture the sunset...

 

We had an amazing time!  And can't thank Kay and Rod enough for the visit!