Colin Turns TWO!

My handsome Colin turned two today!  We of course spent the day doing what he LOVES...cooking in the kitchen.  Colin doesn't talk much at the age of two.  In fact, his verbal skills require an interpreter for the majority of what comes out of his mouth.  But there are a FEW words he says clearly and concisely.  "Mommy, Daddy, and COOK" 

This is where Colin spends most waking minutes of the day. Some ingenious engineer created a latching mechanism for the Kitchen Aid Mixer's beaters that has my little guy completely enthralled. When we went to San Antonio, he found his Aunt Eleanor's Kitchen Aid in the cupboard under her island.  He sat himself right down on the kitchen floor and spent the week there working on her machine.

When the stool is hidden, Colin can be found on the floor with my hand mixer, blender, and toaster. I used to just let him play with them without any attachments, but one day we were at a friends house playing and he found her mixer in her kitchen drawer along with the two beaters that attach.  Well, that occupied his mind for the two or so hours we were there. When we came home he walked in the door and went straight for the drawer with the beaters. Now, whenever he pulls out my hand mixer, the beaters are required too.

For his birthday, I made him an apron. Complete with pockets to hold the beaters! I'll post a pic soon, it turned out so cute!

10 things we LOVE about Colin
1. His smile.  He is ALWAYS smiling.
2. His cuddle. Hands down, the best cuddler of the bunch! And still going strong!
3. His jump/dance when he lands at the bottom of the slide at the park because he liked the ride,
4. His speed at which he can exit the house. (We don't always love this, but it's still cute.)
5. His charisma with the ladies. (He's got a fan club of full-grown women wrapped around his little finger. In fact, one day I had two neighbors tell me independently that if they ever saw Colin out playing by himself in the yard, they would just snatch him up and take him home with them.  All due to cuteness. This is so good to know now that he has arrived at the terrible twos.  Who needs time-out when there is a front lawn available! J/K!)
6. His drive for mechanics.  He thrives to understand how anything and everything turns, twists, bends, rotates, and snaps. 
7. Colin like to back up to sit down without looking.  (Derek likes to make the "beep beep beep" sound of a commercial vehicle backing up when he sees Colin do this.)
8. He's clever and sneaky.  I've told stories already, but this kid is amazing with swiping things from his siblings when they are not looking!
9. His love for animals. The first animal sound he made was "moo".  He LOVES to watch the cows from our patio window.
10. He's a third child.  That means anything Tanner or Lexie can do, SO CAN COLIN!

Here's the family celebrating. Happy Birthday Colin!  We love you!