Spoiled Spoiled Spoiled!

Spoiled is an understatement when your the first grandchild on both sides. I previously wrote in a blog that Colby needed a picnic table because we eat lunch outside everyday and his JoJo read the blog and had one delivered Friday. I thought about writing in the next blog that Colby needed a new car, hehe! It's the cutest little table and Colby loves it! Chris put it together while Colby was napping and he was so excited when he woke up! He enjoyed his milk and then created his first piece of art! Thanks so much JoJo & Coach!

Colby's first artwork

First time Colby saw the picnic table

Daddy putting it together

Saturday Paw & Gammy decided that Colby needed a trip to Toysrus to get a Kangaroo Climber and an ABC play mat. He also picked out a stretchy worm and was completely amused by it. We went to eat afterwards and he would not let go of it.

We took him home and put him down for a nap. While he was sleeping we put together his kangaroo climber and again he woke up to a great surprise! Now you know why he is such a good sleeper, he gets a surprise every time he wakes up, hehe!

Colby Signing

Colby has started to sign a few letters. Chris and I sign the alphabet to Colby every night and he moves his little fingers in an attempt to sign with us. Signing letters require fine motor skills so most children can't sign the entire alphabet until 2 or older. It's a great way to enhance fine motor skills especially for boys because they are usually a little behind in this department. This will help toddlers and preschoolers with tying shoes, buttons, using scissors, writing, etc.

We were outside and Colby kept signing "outside". I told him we were already outside and he signed " dog outside". He was telling me that Bentley was at the back door and wanted to come outside. I let Bentley out and Colby started to clap his hands. He was proud that he could help Bentley I guess. It was Colby's first time to string two signs together for a mini sentence.

We call my sister KK and this weekend she came over to visit and he signed "KK" when he saw her. He also signs "O" when he wants cheerios. Signing is such a great tool for learning letters easily, spelling proficiency, and building connections to literacy. Maybe it's just me since I teach children to read, but I think it's an amazing stepping stone that we can give children. The hardest part of teaching was finding a way to help the struggling readers. It literally would break my heart because it was so frustrating for certain children, and I just wanted to do everything possible for them so they wouldn't have to struggle and get so upset. Reagan is a 2 year old in our sign class and she signs the alphabet, finger spells words, and can pick out certain words in sentences, and it came naturally through signing. I just wonder about all the struggling readers that could be prevented. There are three types of learners: visual (seeing it), auditory (hearing it), and kinesthetic (doing it). Hearing a word, seeing a word, and signing a word (letters) makes it easier to comprehend.

Good Morning America did a segment last week on signing increasing vocabulary. Here is a clip from the show.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=6901286&page=1

They also posted this article about baby sign language boosting IQ

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TurningPoints/story?id=521213&page=1

"Cheerios"

"Cheese"

"milk"

"up"

Colby turned 14 months old on Feb 19.

Things he loves at 14 months old!

1. Shrimp shrimp and more shrimp

2. Avocado

3. Taking his diaper off and running around in his birthday suit

4. Eating out of a bowl and saying bowl

5. The word Bye Bye

6. Birds

7. Airplanes

8. Bicycle

9. Bell on the Bicycle

10. Picking up things he knows he's not suppose to get and then bringing it to me so he can say thank you

11. Story time at the library

12. A wok top

13. Stretchy worm toy

14. Sliding

15. Books

16. Dancing

17. Signing

18. Showing off his boo boo ( a tiny scratch on his knee)

19. Belly buttons

20. Watching the neighborhood kids play

21. Stealing Bentley's toys and running for dear life

22.Being outside ALL DAY!

23. Still putting everything in his mouth

24. Trying to talk

In the last two weeks he has really been trying to talk. He has said some more difficult words such as; no touch, purple, all done, and bowl

25. Singing

he mumbles during the song and thinks he is saying the words

26. Signing to songs

27. Still obsessed with passy and binky (lovey)

28. Making animal sounds

29. Tape measure

30. Sleep ritual

Colby gets excited when it's time to go to sleep because he loves our sleep ritual.

He gets his passy, blankie, and binky and then picks out a book to read. Then he climbs into my lap in our big, comfortable chair and is giggling because he is ready for story time. When we finish the book it's time to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and he really thinks he is singing every word perfect. Next, I lay him down and sign "I Love You & sweet dreams" and he signs "love" back. He lays there smiling at me and follows me with his eyes as I leave the room and he falls asleep.

His molars are now completely in, so now he has 12 teeth. His hair is dirty blond but starting to get a little red tint and he has yet to need a hair cut. His eyes are mainly green with a touch of blue. His personality is very silly and he thinks everything is funny. If he can't do something or he doesn't get what he wants, he has a temper but it only lasts for a few seconds and he is over it. His temper consist of stomping his feet in place really fast, I try hard not to laugh! This age is soooo much fun and our days are full of laughter!

14 month routine

We tried to transition to one nap and Colby still wasn't ready yet so our day usually looks like this:

7:00 wake up

7:30 Breakfast

Play Time

9:30-11:30 Nap

12:00 lunch

Playtime

2:30-4:00 Nap

Snack time

Playtime

6:00 Dinner

6:30 Bath

7:00 Bedtime

Colby's Buddy Came to Play

Conner Neely is 20 months old and him and Colby just started interacting with one another. They usually would passive play and ignore one another. It's neat to see them play together now that they are getting older. Colby hasn't learned to share and he thinks he can just take everything away from Conner. Conner would pick up a toy and Colby was there in a split second to take it away. I kept telling him no, but he insisted on taking everything away from Conner. Conner goes to daycare so he has learned survival of the fittest. When Colby took his toys away he would pinch his cheeks, so Colby started to learn real quick to find another toy. We had to keep a close eye on Mr. Stingy & Mr. Pincher.

This is a short video of them playing! Conner says "I Love You" in the funniest way! We try to make them love each other! As you can see Conner will be getting a little brother in just a couple of weeks. We can't wait for Cooper to arrive or as Conner would say, we can't wait for Popper to arrive!