Another one with Clara and her prop

Family Pics

My good friend Emily took our family pictures again this year. Between Collin not wanting to look at the camera and Clara wanting to use props and pose, it's a wonder she got any normal looking pictures. But she did because she's amazing. Here are a few of my favorite. Or 10.


Emily cut Mark and Collin out of this picture because they were not attractive. Cute of me and Clara though.




I think Clara was singing here and Collin joined in.


Clara got it into her head that she wanted to pose for the camera. She also found these berries and wanted to hold them. We have quite a few pictures of her holding props. I don't know where she came up with this pose but Emily and I could not stop laughing. She was trying to be so serious. And who knows what she's gazing at.



This really wasn't posed although it looks like it could be a Gap ad. Collin didn't want to sit on the bench so was attempting to stand and Emily caught it just at the right time.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Collin is old enough now to understand Trick or Treating. Although he would ring the doorbell and then say it before anybody answered the door. Then when they did answer it, he would just walk in. But he liked getting candy and now thinks his diet should consist only of it.
We carved pumpkins on Halloween day. It was kind of nice having it on a Saturday. Clara wanted to try and carve her own, which lasted about two minutes. But she tried.


Clara's kitty pumpkin. One of them. We had two kitties. And a spider, a clown and an alien. Mark got a little too knife happy and his alien looks a little more like a large smiley face.


Pretty much this whole year Clara has wanted to be Miss Piggy. It stemmed from our idea that Collin looks like Beaker and we said he should be it for Halloween. So we all had a muppet theme. Clara was a little annoyed that the kids at school didn't know who Miss Piggy was. Come on people. Show your kids the muppets. But all the older people we met while trick or treating got it right on. Thanks to our friend Erin for making Clara's costume. She even crafted the nose.

I was boring and only had a kermit shirt. No way was I wearing a big Kermit head.

Mark as the Swedish Chef. We were trying to get Collin to stand next to him. That's why he's kneeling down.

The inspiration for Collin's costume.


Clara's inspiration.

More of Cute Collin

It's funny to see a two year old try to put together the English language. Today I was carrying Collin down the stairs and he tooted. He looked at me and said "I burped" and then thought for a minute and said "I burp a bum." I just about dropped him I was laughing so hard. But if you think about it, a toot really kind of is a burp from your bum.

Time for a new wardrobe?

Today after church I put Collin in a gray pair of sweat pants and he turned to me and said "My mommy pants on." Perhaps I should stop wearing sweats so much.

Collin is Cute!

I was reading something the other day that said the golden years of childhood are the ages from 2-5. They're not in that baby stage which can be difficult but they're not to the sassy later years (which Clara is in right now...So not looking forward to the teens.) Collin is in that really cute stage right now. Sure, he has his two year old temper tantrums. But overall is pretty agreeable. He's talking a ton now. My favorite phrase of his right now is when he says "I big helper". He likes to try and help take off his clothes or diaper, carry groceries, put his shoes away. After he's done helping he confirms that he's been a big helper. So cute. He also, while helping, likes to carry things and grunt and say "Heaby (heavy)". Any time you help him do something or get something for him he politely says thank you.

On another note, Collin loves his 92 year old great grandpa Young. When Mark and I went to Europe and Collin was 14 months old, the kids stayed at Mark's mom's house and Grandpa Young was there too. Collin and he bonded for life. Grandpa Young comes and goes and is always worried that Collin is going to forget him. He never does. He's always willing to give grandpa a hug or sit on his lap for a while. Grandpa's eyes just light up when Collin runs to him. Of course the Swedish fish grandpa hands out are a big hit too.

You didn't believe me, did you?

I tried to tell you that I had a big toe. Remember how I went hiking up Timp and my toes hurt after? Well apparently all of the friction on the big toes against the tip of my shoe caused a blister to form under my left big toe toenail. By about 5 days after the hike my toe was in so much agony that I went to the instacare and they lanced the toenail. I know, gross. Then today my toenail fell off. Attractive.

WARNING! GRAPHIC PICTURE TO FOLLOW.



Really you can hardly tell that it fell off but I assure you it is no longer there.