The Arneson's Story

80 Years

2010-09-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

My cousin's and I threw a surprise 80th Birthday party for my Grandpa this weekend and it was a blast. My Grandpa has had an incredible 80 years of life and we were able to share in all of those memories together as a family. The whole Stark clan can really put on a great party. Here are some pictures from the night. The theme of the night was "Drive-In theater" which was a usual past-time for the family growing up.

Wedding Day

2010-09-10T21:11:00.001-07:00

Last weekend on September 4, my cousin Jess got married to a wonderful man named Chad. It was a beautiful day and I was very honored to be part of the very special day! Unfortunately, Collin was sick that whole weekend, so the rest of my family could not be with me to celebrate the day.

My cousin Sarah said it right, Collin has taken out his "horns" lately. He has just been a tad bit hard to handle, especially at night. He tends to want to be pretty aggressive with punching, biting and pinching. I guess the Terrible Two's have finally set in. He is great during the day, it is just at night when those "horns" come out the most. I think it has been tough on both of us trying to transition into me going back to work and Collin not being able to stay at home during the day. Hopefully we will both get back into the groove of things soon!

Collin can now get into the refrigerator and freezer, so that has been interesting. He also loves to play with Play-do and ride four-wheelers.

Having fun this week!

2010-08-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Riding a four-wheeler with my neighbor Kolbe. Riding a jeep with my cousin Lana.

Exciting News

2010-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Collin has officially started to pedal!!! Yep, we were at our neighbors house again yesterday and he was watching the other two boys pedal their bikes and then he started to! It was a great sight to see! We have been having a full week of playdates, which has been a lot of fun!

Day 2

2010-08-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today was packed with playdates... First a playdate with our neighbors Keaton and Kolbe and then a playdate at a fantastic park with Gavin. All of the playdates tuckered Collin right out! He had a great nap today and fell asleep early tonight.

Favorite Picture

2010-08-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite pictures from the summer! Collin is riding a ride at Bay Beach saying cheese as I take the picture of him. Oh yeah, he can say "Cheese" too.

Day 1

2010-08-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Monday
What Collin and I did during our last week together before I start back at work again.

Took a 3 mile bike ride

Went to play in the park

Went swinging

A couple recent photos

2010-08-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

I know!

2010-08-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been forever since I lasted posted, but honestly I wasn't even sure if I wanted to blog anymore. I have been updating my Facebook status and thought that was enough, but my heart has been tugging at me to keep up with the blog as well.
Where to start....
Collin is TWO now and it is still hard to believe! He is growing like a weed! He is 3ft and 1in. tall and weighs about 34 pounds. He is not fully a terrible two, but he does have his moments. Lately it has been his pinching that has been a problem. When he doesn't like something, he surely lets you know by pinching. He is very talkative and loves to say: "be right back"
He also says:
Truck
Train (one of his favorite toys to play with right now)
Car
Puppy
Hi/Bye
What's that?
Boat
Baby
Ba Ba (ball)
Poop
Pee
Bear
Cow
Giraffe
We have started potty training but because Collin wanted to start. He has been on the toilet many times but has only pee for Dave once. Things tend to happen when Dave is around. Must be a guy thing!

I will be staring work again in a week and Grandma's will be watching Collin, which is truly a blessing! Dave has been busy at work lately and has been loving the fact that Harvick is in first place for points in Nascar. My guy Carl is in 6th, so there has been some good competition in our house lately with Nascar.
We were able to take a very long vacation this summer, which was awesome. We started with a Starke family reunion in Montello Wi, then to WI Dells and then to the LaCrosse area. The entire time camping with my parents and our travel trailer. The West part of our state is just beautiful! Collin loved camping and was a true sport with it! He is definitely an outdoors type of guy.
Well hopefully that gets you all up to speed as to what is going on in the Arneson household. Until next time....

Collin's 2 year old Pics

2010-04-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

I know that Collin in not officially 2 years old yet, but we went to get family professional pictures today and thought it was close enough to call it his 2 year old pics. Take a look... It sure was tough to get Collin to cooperate after a few pictures, but I think they turned out great!!

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Collin's second time participating in an Easter Egg hunt and he did awesome!! Every year seems to get easier and easier for him. It was a lot of fun. Collin's cousins Logan and Lana were also at the hunt.

4 Wheeling

2010-03-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

Here Collin is playing with his 4 wheeler he got for Christmas. I know that I was behind with pictures and videos, but hopefully I made up for it tonight. It is really tough to get on the computer and upload pictures and videos becasue it takes time... one thing that I do not have much of!

Macayla's First Birthday Party

2010-03-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

Macayla celebrated her first Birthday on March 2 and here are some pictures from the party. I can't believe that she is 1 already!! It was a very fun day! Yes, that is Collin with a Tu-Tu on his head:)

Floating down the Lazy River

2010-03-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Water Park

2010-03-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our water park experience a few weeks ago. Collin just loves being in the water and going down the water slides.

Here are some updates:

Running more gracefully now
Saying many more words like: thank you, welcome, and bless you
Climbing everything
Eating with a fork and spoon
Brushing his own teeth
Playing very well with matchbox cars
Putting his hat and coat on

Play Time and Bed

2010-02-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

Here is Collin playing with some whipping cream!

A little messy:)

Collin's Bunk Beds. Here is his desk too.

It is really nice because it has rails all of the way around the bed.

Sickness, Sickness and more Sickness

2010-02-03T19:40:00.001-08:00

It started as a cold, then a double ear infection and then the flu! Yep, that is what has been going on around here... Collin has been sick:( Not only Collin but Dave and I as well:( Let me tell you, it is very hard to care for a little one when you are sick as well, but God does give you the strength! I know that I still have to get pictures on here of Collin's new bed, but time has been a little preoccupied right now.

As a family, we are excited for Nascar to start back up again and for winter to be over. Collin keeps saying more and more. His latest has been "all done" and he still says "puppy" and "Bye" a lot. Collin has also been doing a lot of gross things lately. I tell him all of the time, " you just wait until you are older and I tell you all of the gross things you use to do as a toddler!" Like for example: play in the toilet, go in the garbage, lick the bottom of shoes (seriously where would he ever get that idea?), dig in his butt, and more. Do other toddlers do these things?? Or is it just Collin?
I hope that sickness hasn't found any of your households!

BiG BoY BeD

2010-01-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

Collin managed his way out of the crib one too many times and now is in his Big Boy Bed. Thank goodness Dave and I bought him a bunk bed set before he was even born and had everyting ready to go knowing this day would come soon. He slept in the bed for the first time last night and it went great!! He seems to really like it. I will post some pictures soon.
On a lighter note Collin has a cold, which is a bummer.

Hard to Believe

2010-01-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you... But it is hard for me to believe that it is 2010. 2009 was an amazing year with watching Collin grow and learn and spending another wonderful year together as a family. I have so much to be thankful for! Thank you Lord for all of your wonderful blessings!

Some things that Collin does now.

Signs more, water, and all done
Says Daddy and football ( I am still trying to get him to say Go Pack Go)
Loves to say Puppy (his favorite word)
Goes to the fridge when he wants milk
Lets us know when he is ready for bed (9:00)
Sings the ABC's (just not the whole thing)
Enjoys playing kitchen (his big gift for Christmas this year)
Still loves to turn wheels
Loves hanging out in the "heated garage"
Loves to put on shoes that are way to big for him

More Christmas Pictures

2009-12-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

This is a pair of PJ's that Collin got, but do you think that they are a little too BIG??

Lana playing "Princess." Lana is walking now!
This was about the best we could do to get all of the kids in the picture...

Collin and Great Grandma..

Opening a gift

2009-12-26T11:54:00.001-08:00

See, Collin could rip off the paper this year...

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

These are "kissing" cousins. I love Collin's expression here!

Jason, Stacey, and Macayla. Macayla is walking, with help, and has a great "Monster" voice...

The proud grandparents...

It was so much fun with Collin this year at Christmas. He was a little more upbeat with opening gifts this year. Enjoy some pictures of Collin and family....

Christmas at my parents house

2009-12-25T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a look at my new toy. Dave got me a video camera for Christmas and this is my first attempt to download video from it. This is a video of Collin and his cousin Macayla opening a gift at my parents house. Inside the gift is Macayla's first stocking.

Choo Choo

2009-12-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

We took Collin on his first train ride a couple weekends ago and it was amazing to see his face light up when the train started! We took the train to the "North Pole". The National Railroad Museum is in Green Bay and they had the Polar Express show. It was a fun event for the kidos.

I do not find myself keeping up with this blog as frequently, so I am doing a poll... Should I continue to write posts on the blog, or can everyone just keep updated on Collin through Facebook?? Please let me know your thoughts. I tend to keep up with Facebook a lot better and faster than I do this blog.

Halloween

2009-11-01T14:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween Everyone!! Collin was a Pumpkin this year and he was so darn cute!! We only went to a couple of our neighbors houses and then we handed out candy. We went through 2 BIG bowls of candy. I was sure glad that I listened to Dave and bought more candy. Collin loved all of the kids coming to the door! My favorite costume was my nephew's red lego. It was a homemade outfit and it was awesome. My neice's Ladybug outfit was very adorable as well.

Collin has said:

Excuse me and Thank you lately. So he is building up his vocabulary.

Water Fun

2009-10-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my immediate family went to the Tundra Lodge for a Birthday celebration and it was a blast!! Every year one of the family members gets to decide on an event that the whole family will do to celebrate everyones Birthdays. I made the first choice and choose a water park. Collin and Macayla loved the water (so did the adults). We were very proud of Collin and how well he played in the water. He even went up 2 steps all on his own. I didn't get many pictures of the event, but here are a couple.
Collin is growing up so fast!! He says many words now like..
Amen
Baby
What ya Doing (really fast)
and of course still HI, which is his favorite word.
There is never a dull moment in the Arneson house, that is for sure!

Jeep Time

2009-10-06T05:36:00.001-07:00

I forgot to share some pictures of Collin enjoying a ride in a Barbie Jeep this summer. He didn't care what color it was, it was FUN. The girl driving is Aubry, a neighbor at my parents campground.

Sickness

2009-10-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sickness has hit the Arneson household and it has not been fun!!! We are all trying to recover from flu like systoms and hopefully we are on the upswing. I don't have much time but one thing that I wanted to share was that Collin really likes Belly Buttons now! He likes to look at everyones. It is really funny to watch him push up other people's shirts so he can see their belly buttons.

I know, I know

2009-09-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been forever since the last time I blogged, but with being back to work now, I don't have as much free time. Collin is asleep right now, so I have some time. Grandma's are continuing to watch Collin during the week, which is such a blessing. He as all of his teeth and boy does he know how to use them!! He just went to the Dr. last week and she was amazed that they were all there:) He has a little bit of a cold right now, but it hasn't been too terrible. We've been staying busy around here with building a porch around our house, camping, working on our vehicles and keeping up with Collin (he is fast!) There never seems to be a dull moment at the Arneson house.
Collin is 26 pounds
and 32 1/2"
So he went down in weight, but keeps on getting taller. He also found out that he can climb, so needless to say that is why we have to be on our tows all of the time. Collin loves being outdoors and enjoys playing with matchbox cars. He also knows how to kiss on cue, which is so darn cute. They are open mouth kisses, but at least he can do it. That is all for now...

VaCaTion TiMe!!

2009-08-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful 9 days our family had together! We started by leaving for Washington Island last Friday the 14th. We met up with my dad's entire Starke side for a camping family reunion. There were 31 and a 1/2 of us there (one is pregnant). It was a great time!! We stayed on the Island until Monday the 17th and then we planned on coming home. Well, to make a long story short, Dave was able to get off of work for the rest of the week and we traveled up to Crivitz for the remainder of the week to camp some more. We called my parents to let them know that we were continuing to camp, and they joined us until Friday. It was a very nice, unexpected vacation. I only had to do a couple loads of laundry and go grocery shopping, otherwise we were all set. Then we left on Friday to head to Boulder Lake near Mountain, which was planned. We met up with 5 other families to camp with them overnight. We then headed for home on Saturday the 22nd. Collin loved every moment of camping and the outdoors. It was great to have our larger camper for him to move all over in, especially when it rained.

A few things new with Collin:

He says Ba, for ball

He walks all over now

He call climb on anything, he is fearless

He claps his hands to paddy-cake

And he loves to dance on tables

In this picture my parents were using their broken cooler as a wagon for Collin and he loved every moment of it.

Family Reunion

2009-08-09T13:27:00.001-07:00

Saturday was the Kominowski Family Reunion, which is Dave's Dad's family. The reunion was hosted by Dave's Aunt and Uncle who have a pond in their back yard. We brought Collin swimming in the pond and he loved it. We weren't too sure how he would like the cold water, but he did great. He even got to ride in the paddle boat. It was a fun time by all. Dave even did a canon ball from the raft with his dad, which was a sight to see.

My First Visit

2009-08-07T15:01:00.001-07:00

Collin got to meet his Great-Grandma for the first time a couple weeks ago. My mom, Stacey (my sister-in-law) Macayla, Collin and I made the trip to see her and we had a very pleasant time. Being the true mommy in me, I brought everything that I needed for Collin, but managed to forget the camera. So I don't have any pictures from the day, other than what I stole from Stacey's blog. I hope to get more pictures from my mom's camera. Here is what I have for now.

Here is Great-Grandma, Macayla and Collin all together.

Vacation Bible School

2009-08-07T14:41:00.001-07:00

This week Collin and I were at church participating in VBS. I volunteered in Collin's room this week, watching around 9 one year olds a day. It was a great week, but very tiring for Collin and I. It was great interaction time for both Collin and I. Collin played very well with all of the children and I made a connection with all of the other volunteers. Collin became very close to one girl in particular, Jordan. Collin and Jordan became special friends right away. They shared a chair together, held hands, and even leaned on each other. It was a very cute site to see each day. During the week Collin became a "True Walker", he climbedd and climbed and found out that he likes the kitchen (there was a play kitchen in the room we were in.) It was a great experience for Collin and I and we look forward to next year already!!

If you are unaware of what Vacation Bible School is, well it is a program for 4 year olds to 5 graders. The Bible is taught to the children through fun, song, and drama. There were about 400 children and over 300 volunteers, so you can imagine that it was one full, jam-packed week.

Here are some pictures of Collin and some other children. The picture of just the one girl is Collin's special friend Jordan. Isn't she a cutie?

On the MoVe

2009-07-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Collin has been more and more on the move lately! He is getting into everything! I swear that he is just like a mouse, because he can squeeze into any area. He is always so proud of himself when he can climb onto something or when he walks for a long period of time. He is just so darn cute to watch!! He still prefers to crawl to get somewhere fast, but he is walking a ton more now.

Here are some pictures of some the areas he can now get into...

Here he is in one of his toy boxes (he did this himself).

Collin's 1 year Professional Pictures

2009-07-22T14:07:00.001-07:00

I brought Collin in for his 1 year old professional pictures today. He did a great job with all of the pictures the photographer took. He is always so full of expression and personality and the pictures show it! The first picture was just a fun one of Collin and mommy, which the photographer wanted to take one. Collin really liked all of the pictures with his truck.

Cozy Coupe

2009-07-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Collin can now ride his red and yellow bug by himself. Can you tell what his favorite word is? Take a look...

The New Camper

2009-07-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

As promised here are some pictures of our new camper... We can't wait to use it for the first time in August! Collin already calls it "home." Here is the bathroom. Here is the back room with the 2 bunk beds.

A true sport

2009-07-14T11:27:00.001-07:00

Collin was a true sport while we were away. The first night there were no problems, but the second night he didn't sleep as well. But overall he was great for Dave's parents. Boy did we miss him though:( We did talk to him over the phone each day, which helped. He loves to talk on the phone and thinks everything is a phone, even his food.

Dave and I had a great time at the races. It was a very exciting finish to the Sprint race on Saturday night, which made it fun to watch. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Exciting News

2009-07-08T06:39:00.001-07:00

Our family, as of July 13, will be sporting a new travel trailer. We currently have a pop-up camper but we were looking at upgrading to something a little bit bigger and easier to use with Collin in our family now. So this past weekend we started looking. On the way to church last Sunday, I noticed a camper for sale. So after church we stopped to look at it and on Monday we are going to be picking it up. It is a 26 foot, hard cover camper with one slide out. And it has a bathroom, which was a must for me in whatever camper we got next. It is a used camper, but it is new to us and we are very excited. What is kind of weird about the whole thing is that I had been eyeing up this particular camper for a couple years now because I pass it so often. So when I saw it up for sale, I knew that we had to stop and check it out. Hard to believe that now it will be in our driveway.
I will have pictures of it on the blog next week. We can't get it any sooner because we are going to be going to the Nascar race this weekend in Chicago. It will be the first time that we are leaving Collin for a weekend:( That will be tough, but we knew that we would have to do it at some point. By the way Dave and I are celebrating 3 years of marriage today.

Bay Beach

2009-07-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today Collin and I enjoyed a day together at a local amusement park called Bay Beach. We started the day with a picnic, Collin's first one, and then we enjoy a few rides at the park. Collin was a real trooper for the entire day and is sleeping already. Here a few pics from the day...

He especially liked the rides that had steering wheels!! He loves to turn things! The first picture is us on the merry go round.

Swimming:)

2009-07-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today I took Collin swimming at the local pool and we had a blast!! He sure loves the water! We meet up with one of Collin's friends and then we went to DQ for lunch. Collin had some of my hamburger, french fries and some ice cream. He likes to eat pretty much anything and is an excellent eater. He chews almost everything with his 8 teeth.
Here are some other things Collin likes to do...
When he crawls he likes to have something in one of his hands
He really likes the remote control and can hold it up towards the TV
He really likes any phone and holds it up to his head and talks (really cute)
He likes to play with empty sippie cups
He likes pushing cars
He likes walking behind his big tonka truck
Did I say how much FUN I am having being home with Collin???!!!

Bottles are put away!!

2009-06-30T08:22:00.001-07:00

It is official... I have put the bottles away!!! NO MORE BOTTLES!!

An update

2009-06-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

We talked to the Dr about Collin gaging himself and she says that it is just a phase. He is not doing it as often, but will still do it. She says to just try to keep his hands occupied at all times, which is hard to do all of the time, but we try. She also said that it probably feels good on his gums, seeing as he has more teeth coming in. I don't understand how it would feel good, but she must be right, because he does like to do it. So I am no longer worried about this stage of Collin's life. I am sure that it will soon come to pass!!

12 Month App.

2009-06-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Collin had his 12 month appointment on Friday. Here are his stats...
31 3/4" - 90%
25# 4oz. - 75%
They say that you are half of your height by age 2. If that is the case, Collin will be a tall boy.
New Things:
He is walking more and more now!
He takes a sippie cup for his milk now! (hopefully no more bottles:)
He is drinking whole milk!
He loves making wheels spin!
He plays very well by himself!
He is talking a lot more now! Common words are:
Da Da
Ma Ma
Hey
HI (He says this the MOST!)
And then a bunch of babbling
He eats a lot more table food! (He is a very good eater!)
Some of the things he eats are:
Pancakes
Waffles
Yogurt
Bananas
Cheese
Crackers
We have taken Collin to a couple zoos now and he likes to imitate a few of the things he has seen at the zoo.
He like to howl like a wolf, especially at ceiling fans
He likes to pick things off of people and then eat it just like monkeys do (it is funny to watch)

Curb Appeal

2009-06-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures I promised of the curb appeal landscaping we got. Take a look...

Water Time

2009-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Collin and I enjoy some water toys each morning in the screen tent. Here are some pictures from this morning ( I remembered to bring the camera out this time.)
Collin loves to drink water, he prefers it over any other kind of drink.
This past weekend my grandparents Opa and Gigi, watched Collin while Dave and I went to the Nationwide Race in Milwaukee. Opa and Gigi had a blast taking care of Collin and said, "What Great Grandparents have the privilege of watching their great grandchildren?" They thought it was pretty special as we did as well! Hi Gigi ( I know your looking at this.) Thanks for watching Collin:)

90's

2009-06-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

No, not the music, but the HEAT!! Collin and I enjoyed the cool water this morning before it reached 90 and Collin had a blast using his pool and his water table for the first time. I wish that I had pictures to show you, but I only had my camera phone out there with us. The mosquitoes are terrible here, so we put the screen tent up over the water toys. It works out great!! I have the whole tent decked out with his toys. I will take pictures of it soon.
Collin has taken more than a few steps on his own now. It is only a matter of time!! I enjoy spending time with Collin daily. It is so fun to watch him grow!!

Getting Braver

2009-06-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Collin is getting more and more brave to start walking. He has taken at least 3 steps now completely on his own!! I think that swimming really helped him with this matter. It won't be long and he will be walking!!

Day 3

2009-06-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well day 3 of swimming lessons has proved that Collin loves swimming:) He was even kicking his legs on his own tonight!! He graduates from lessons tomorrow! He doesn't really know what he is doing, but he is loving every bit of it. He likes jumping in the water the best.
Collin has started a new phase and we don't know how to stop it. He puts his fingers in his mouth to make himself gag. Anyone know what to do about that? He even threw up once. I was very concerned about this, but the DR. just calls it a phase that he will grow out of. I personally hate this phase. HELP!!

I'm 1

2009-06-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Collin turned one yesterday and we were able to enjoy the entire day together as a family. First Dave got up early to go and get Collin's Birthday gift. My mom knew of a neighbor that had a playground set that they no longer wanted, so she asked them if they wanted to sell it, and to make a long story short, we bought it. So Dave brought the playground set home and set it up. Collin got to swing on his Birthday present. Here he is enjoying his new present...

We then headed to a local Zoo for the afternoon. Collin especially likes to watch the monkeys. Then that night Collin went to his first swimming lesson. Collin will be taking lessons all of this week. He loves the water and had a blast in the pool!! Here are some pictures...

What a wonderful first year we have had with Collin joining our family!

My First Birthday Party

2009-06-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Dave and I decided to have just a small, immediate family, Birthday Party for Collin on Sunday and it was a very special day. We enjoyed some food and fun. Thank you to all of the family members for making it a very special day for Collin. It was a Birthday we will never forget. Of course, Collin made his debut by eating some Birthday cake, or actually a cupcake, and boy was it a site to see. I have to say that Collin is a very clean eater. He was a true sport the entire day. I still can't believe that he is ONE. Here are some pictures from the day...

Summer Fun

2009-06-09T06:49:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of SUMMER VACATION for me and I am loving it already!! I am very much looking forward to spending every day with Collin this summer!! We already have a busy summer planned starting with swimming lessons next week. Keep checking the blog, because I will have more oppurtunities to update it now.

A couple more pictures from the weekend...

Doesn't he look so grown up?? I cannot believe that he will be ONE next week!!!

Walking and Daddy's Birthday

2009-06-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Dave's Birthday and we went to Door County to hang out with Dave's family. It was very nice. Dave's dad has a daughter that was adopted as a baby that was reunited with Dave's family a few years ago so we went to go and hang out with her and her family on Sunday. We were able to catch a couple pictures of Collin walking (with help of course) with his Aunt Bobbie.

We also took a family picture.

Playground Time

2009-06-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

Collin loves swinging and going down the slide. Usually when we go to the park I only have my phone camera, but this past weekend I had the digital camera. Here he doing what he really enjoys!! Looks like Collin wants to take a bite out of something:)

First Haircut

2009-05-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

This is Collin's new style! He received his first haircut this weekend. It was a struggle to do, but we got it done. We put him in the high chair first, but that didn't work too well. Then the next morning, while he was still waking up, Dave cut the rest. He looks so handsome!

2 Steps

2009-05-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

Collin is getting more adventurous every day!! He took 2 steps by himself the other day! He was by the couch, holding on, but then let go and walked to me! It was so exciting to witness. He also loves crawling up the stairs. Whenever he gets the chance, he gets all of the way to the top floor of our house. I don't think that it will be too much longer and he will be walking more and more.

2009-05-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

Collin ended up going to the doctor because of his cough and sure enough he is on medication. He had a nasty cough and an ear infection, so the Dr. wanted to nip the cold in the bud right away. It is the first time that Collin has been on medication. His cold in much better now.
Today, Memorial Day, our friends came over to put some curb appeal around our landscaping and it looks amazing. I will have to post some pictures of it soon. This weekend Collin also saw many animals at a local Zoo. It was a lot of fun.

Sickness:(

2009-05-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Collin has had a cold for a few days now. He has a nasty cough and a lot of drainage. This is his first real sickness and it has not been fun to watch. He has been a true sport about being sick but yesterday we were a little concerned because he wouldn't even eat in the morning, not even his bottle. But by mid-afternoon he was eating again. Then on Saturday night I got really sick and it is now Monday and I am still sick. We were in Minocqua for the weekend for our niece's baptism, but unfortunately because of all of the sickness in our family, we could not go:( Which was a bummer!

Other news is that I did have a wonderful rest of Mother's Day. We ended up watching Bolt on the new Blu-Ray disc player that Collin got me and then we had my family over for dinner. It was a very nice day. Here are some pictures from the day.

Collin and I have been rummaging lately and boy did we hit the mother load of rummage sales. I walked away with a bag full of great summer clothes for Collin for $18. He will be in 18 month shirts this summer and I did not have many short sleeve shirts for him, but now we are all set! Got to love rummage sales!!

Sandbox Time

2009-05-10T06:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommys' out there!!

We went to Toys R' Us last weekend and bought play sand for Collin's little sandbox. Dave did some research on all of the different types of play sand and Toys R' Us has the best sand out there. He thought about getting colored sand but that just bleeds onto clothes. The sand we got is the cleanest sand you can buy. Toys R' Us actually puts it thru a bleeching process. So props to Dadddy for checking up on the matter.

Amazingly, Collin does not put the sand in his mouth!! Dave thought for sure that he would, but instead he wants to put the little rocks that are outside of the sandbox in his mouth. These days you have to keep both eyes on Collin at all times. He gets into EVERYTHING!

Today is my first Mother's Day and I am excited for what the day will bring. I have already recieved a beautiful card from Collin and a Blu-Ray disc player. Apparantly Collin picked out the Blu-Ray player for me. Isn't he sweet:) We'll see what the rest of the day brings.

To Grandma's House we go!!

2009-04-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well Collin was back to my parent's house again this week. My mom is still sore, but is doing much better:) My mom missed Collin so much that she couldn't bare to wait another week to watch him.

Collin is baby talking up a storm lately and yelling!! He loves to hear his voice. He is also getting around by crawling and by holding onto things while standing. He loves to stand! Collin also loves his bathtime! I am registering him for summer swim lessons soon. We even bought him his first life jacket for swimming. We can already tell that Collin is going to be a huge lover of the water. I can't wait to spend time outside with him this summer. I made out like a bandit last summer at a rummage sale. Collin has a picnic table, slide, plane, sand box and a bike already (all of the really good Little Tikes stuff.) Got to love rummage sales!!!

Sad Day:(

2009-04-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a very sad today, as we had to put our family dog Scoobie down:( It was a very tough thing, but had to be done.
So now we are in the process of cleaning and putting down new rugs. We also had to put everything away, seeing as Collin is mobile now and gets into everything. Right now he is in the recycling paper.

Pain

2009-04-23T17:26:00.001-07:00

Collin's I-teeth are coming in, so needless to say he has been in pain lately. Tyenol helps a lot, but it is not a very fun thing to have to go through:( Lately Collin has been going to a new babysitter. My mom has a torn ligament in her shoulder, so she has restrictions of no lifting or holding anything, which includes Collin:( So Collin has been going to our godson's house to be watched by his mom. Collin enjoys it there, but misses Grandma!! Collin hopes that Grandma can watch him next week!!
Here are some of the things that Collin really enjoys lately:
Clapping hands
Dancing
Baths!!!
Playing with Balls
Patty Cake
Standing up and pounding his hands on anything (he may just be a piano player someday)

Easter Present

2009-04-12T20:27:00.001-07:00

Collin's Easter present was a wagon and boy did he enjoy riding in it!! He is actually quit the pro rider! We weren't too sure how he would react to it, but he just sits there and enjoys the ride.

Another Easter Gathering

2009-04-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

We had Dave's family over for Easter and kept it very low key. My sister-in-law brought Papa Murphy's pizza over and that is what we had for dinner. It was very good and low maintenance. Here are some pictures of the day. Isn't Lana getting big?

My first Easter EGG Hunt

2009-04-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

There was a local Easter Egg hunt and I thought it would be great for Collin to join in on all of the fun. Dave wasn't too sure about it, seeing as Collin isn't really old enough to understand what an Easter egg hunt really is, but Dave got on board right away and Collin and daddy had a blast!! He ended up with three eggs (thanks to mommy and daddy of course) and loved the playground equipment. He especially loved the red bar (see pic.). Now, I know what all of you moms are thinking, but really there weren't any germs on the bar, I swear.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

I know that it is a week early, but the Starke family had Easter today. Here are some pictures of the "growing" family. By the way Collin now feeds himself!! He loves cheese puffs and has been able to get them from the high chair to his mouth!! It is awesome to watch.

Standing in Crib

2009-03-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Collin can now stand up in his crib! When I enter his room in the morning, he is quick to stand up to be picked up by me. It is absolutely adorable:)

New Cousin

2009-03-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

Collin was able to spend some time with his new cousin Macayla and we posed the two for a few pictures. Macayla is really filling out and growing taller. She is a beautiful little girl. Collin can't wait to play with her when she gets a little bit bigger.

Standing up

2009-03-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Collin has been able to stand up recently by pulling himself up on things. He keeps getting more and more adventurous! I wonder what he will be doing next?? He wants to walk, but he's not there yet.

9 Month Check up

2009-03-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Dave took Collin to his 9 month check up yesterday and he is now...

30 1/4" tall
22 pounds 4 ounces

He is going to be a tall boy!! Collin now will occasionally say "ma ma" but not too often. We have our hands full with Collin being very mobile now. So that would be the reason why I have not been keeping up with the blog. So sorry for our daily lookers. I do try my best.
Collin wanted to get into the laundry basket to see what it would feel like.
Collin loves the song paddy cake and now he can clap his own hands. It is soooo cute!

Second Haircut

2009-03-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Technically Collin has had his hair cut twice now, but the first time it was just mommy cutting a bit off around the ears. Daddy got smart the second time and used his trimmer around the ears. His hair gets really long by the ears for some reason.

Collin loves to crawl now!! He still can get pretty frustrated when he falls, but he gets to where he wants pretty fast. He no longer likes cereal (too plain), but loves all sorts of other food. He especially loves puffs. He can pick the puffs up but he can't quit get them into his mouth yet. He also loves cheese. Go figure! He does live in WI!

Crawling

2009-03-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time, but Collin is officially crawling forward now!! It is really neat to watch him move all over now.

The newest member of the Family...

2009-03-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

Introducing Macayla Michelle Starke. She came into this world on March 2 weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces. She is beautiful and has a full head of hair. Take a look. We are a very proud Aunt, Uncle and Cousin of the newest member of the family!

Air it UP

2009-02-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

We had a Birthday party at a place called Air it up this weekend and Collin loved it!! Here he is enjoying one of the big air toys. He also went down a slide for the first time and really enjoyed that as well.

Some News... DA DA???

2009-02-22T07:59:00.001-08:00

Dave had to take Collin to the Doctor on Friday for his flu booster shot. While he was there, he decided to weigh Collin. Unofficially he weighs... 22 pounds!! So it was a good thing that we moved him to the next back-facing carseat, which he seems to like. I don't mind the new seat, but it does make it difficult when he falls asleep in the seat and then we have to take him out while he is sleeping. He doesn't always stay sleeping.
Collin is still crawling backwards, but does get one forward crawl in at times. He is also saying DA DA now, which is really cute!! I don't know if he realizes who da-da is or if he really is trying to get daddy's attention. But to us, it is his first word!!!
Collin is still waiting patiently to meet his new cousin. Anytime now!! Literally, it could be this next week:)

Nascar here we come!!

2009-02-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

Well the Racing season is officially upon us and what better way to kick it all off than to have Collin ride in his very first racecar. Dave and I support a driver that races at a local race track and they had a party this past weekend. So Collin got to test out the new race car. Check out the pics. My guess is that it will be only the first of many rides in a race car.

If you are not aware, Dave's driver Kevin Harvick, took 2nd place at Daytona (the Superbowl of racing) this weekend.

Collin now has 5 teeth and more coming. The teeth have been makng him feel not so good lately, but I do have to say that he has been a true sport about the whole process. Collin has also moved into the next car seat as of today! I told you that he was getting BIG!

More teeth!!

2009-02-04T14:51:00.000-08:00

My mom found two more teeth in Collin's mouth today! And two more coming soon:) They are all on the top. I can't believe how fast they are coming in.
Collin is ready to move to his new car seat. We are bringing it out this weekend. He is getting sooo big and tall!! He is also drinking from the sippie cup on his own now! He gets more and more talented everyday. Collin loves sitting on my lap while I am working at the computer. He has found the keyboard and loves hitting the keys.
The baby shower for Stacey, my sister-in-law, was a success this weekend! We had a good turn out and she received many cute baby gifts. Check out her blog to see some pictures (Starke family blog). My new nephew/niece will be here anytime now!! I can't wait to meet him/her:)

Another Tooth

2009-01-28T14:21:00.001-08:00

Collin got his third tooth today!! I didn't even notice it first, Grandma K saw it. It is right by his other two teeth. So now he has three bottom teeth, right in a row.

Another Week

2009-01-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

Well I was suppose to officially start back at work this week, but I couldn't quit get myself to go back just yet, so I am home with little buckaroo this week too:) Dave and I have been calling Collin "Buckaroo" lately, so I guess that is his new nickname. Thanks to my cousin Heather, I was able to add some "character" to the blog. I hope that you enjoy. I thought it was time to change things up. Collin is napping right now, so I was able to play around on the computer for a little while. The picture below is a pretty typical way that Collin likes to sleep now. He likes to have his head either up against something or buried into the mattress.
Collin is so full of personality these days and does he ever like to scream and talk!! He just loves to hear himself. He has also become very aware of our dog Scobbie. He loves to laugh at Scobbie and Scobbie loves the attention and loves to play hide and seek with Collin. While Collin is in his high chair, Scobbie runs around our island in the kitchen, trying to hide from Collin. It is a cute and funny site to see, let me tell ya. Well little buckaroo is still frustrated with crawling, but he is making progress. He has gone about a foot forward so far. I don't think it will be too much longer and he will be all over the place.
This weekend is my sister-in-law's baby shower. Collin's cousin will be coming soon and he can't wait to meet him/her!!

Date Day

2009-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

My mom offered to take Collin one day during my maternity leave so that Dave and I could have a "date day," so we took her up on the offer. We dropped Collin off in the morning and then we went out for lunch and a movie. When we got to the movie theater we said, "two for YES MAN," which is what we really wanted to see, however that movie was no longer there. There really wasn't any other movie we wanted to see, so Dave said for me to choose one and I choose Bride Wars. I really enjoyed the movie, but needless to say it was a "chick flick." Dave said that it was funny in some parts, but not particularly good. It was the first chick flick he has gone to see with me in the 4 years that we have been together.

Exploring New things...

2009-01-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Collin has been exploring new things in his world lately. He loves looking at his hands and at times is even completely satisfied with just them rather than any toy. He has also been trying to feel every kind of texture. He scratches as many surfaces as possible with his hands. Collin has also started using a sippie cup. He can't quit hold onto it and drink at the same time, but at least he can drink from it. It has been so much fun being home with Collin and watching him learn and grow!!

6 Month Appointment

2009-01-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

Collin had his 6 month appointment on Friday and to our surprise, Collin was smaller than we thought.

Height: 28" 90%

Weight: 20# 75%

He did very well with the shots this time around:) He wasn't too fussy at all. Dave found a trick with Collin to get him to smile after the shots... He takes him to a mirror to see himself and that usually brings on a smile right away!! Watching your child get shots is one of the hardest things any parent has to witness:(

Collin has been sitting up for longer periods of time now, which makes mommy and daddy very happy!! Here he is sitting up on his own.

Lana is growing

2009-01-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Dave's brother's family, including 2 month old Lana Marie. I thought that everyone may have wanted to see a recent picture of her. She is a beautiful little girl!

Other news

2009-01-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Collin is desperately trying to crawl, but just can't quit get it yet. He tends to go in the backwards direction more than any other direction. He does get very frustrated when he can't go forwards. With Collin teething, he got a cold. Dave and I have been trying to keep his nose clear, but Collin hates it! We feel so terrible for having to touch his nose, but it is necessary. He just wasn't his normal self with the cold, but now he seems to be on the up-swing and back to his normal, happy self.

Collin goes to the Doctor on Friday and I am patiently waiting to find out how much he weighs and measures. Dave and I think he weighs 23 pounds and is 29 inches tall. He is a BIG BOY!! He eats so well and really loves his vegetables. Collin now eats:
Carrots
Green Beans
Squash
Applesauce
Pears
Bananas
Prunes (only when he has to have them, if you know what I mean)
and He loves his rice

Collin has been enjoying his new toys from Christmas! He especially loves the light up and music toys. Thanks to everyone who made Collin's first Christmas very special!!
Here are a couple pictures from Christmas.

Collin's new puppy

2008-12-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

Collin received a new puppy for Christmas (a stuffed one) and Aunt Stacey had some fun with it and Collin.

Here is a picture of Collin at Opa and Gigi's house. It is tradition for all of the grandchildren to read the Christmas story, so Collin did his part by sitting in the circle while his cousins read.

The other thing that Collin received, was a cold and more teeth coming in. He hasn't been quit has happy as normal because of the new teeth on top coming in and a runny nose.

Collin's First Christmas

2008-12-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well the Holidays are now behind us and I have some time to write in the blog. Christmas was extra special this year with Collin joining our family. It was fun to watch Collin at each of the family gatherings. We knew that he liked a gift, if it went right to his mouth, which happened with each and every one. He also liked putting the wrapping paper and the tissue in his mouth, but I didn't let that happen too much. On Christmas day, Collin sat up by himself. Mommy was so excited!! I have been waiting for him to sit up. He is still not that good at it, but at least he can do it now. Here he is sitting up for the first time. Collin wore his Santa hat for most of the Christmas gatherings and boy was he ever cute. Take a look.

And here is a picture of the entire family.

We hope that you all had a wonderful Holiday Season!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a wonderful HOLIDAY SEASON:)

Professional Pictures

2008-12-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

Dave and I decided to get some professional pictures done of Collin and our family. We were very impressed with the results. We purchased the CD so that we could share the pictures with everyone. By the way.... Of course we went with a Nascar theme!

I am so excited because my maternity leave has begun! I got one extra day last week when the weather was just awful on Friday. I don't go back to work until Jan. 26 :)

Collin loves his feet

2008-12-15T18:04:00.001-08:00

Collin has found his feet and he loves to touch them!! He also found Daddy's feet and is amazed by them. He is a very active boy these days. He loves being on the floor and rolling around. I can't believe that he is 6 months today!!

Rolling over

2008-12-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

I finally caught Collin rolling over on camera. Enjoy!

Finally!!

2008-12-03T18:26:00.001-08:00

Well Collin finally got to meet Lillian (my cousin Sarah's little girl). Lillian is 8 months old and it was the first time that our two families had meet the little ones. It was a special treat:) Lillian is such a cutie and she loves to "shake her butt!"

2 New Teeth:)

2008-12-03T18:17:00.001-08:00

Well Collin has 2 bottom teeth now!! I felt them under the gums and then on Tuesday morning, they had cut through. I can't believe how fast he is growing up! And now he eats green beans and carrots!! He really likes his oranges foods, but he can get fussy with his green foods at times.
His favorite toy right now is anything that can go in his mouth. I give him something and to his mouth it goes. So needless to say, he is teething.

The Garage is DONE!!

2008-11-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

The outside of our garage is finally done! Take a look.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Don't we all have sooo much to be thankful for?? It was fun to watch Collin celebrate his first Thanksgiving. We had Dave's family over and everything turned out great. Dave is in charge of deep frying the turkey and he always does a superb job!! Have you ever tried a deep fried turkey?? It sure is good! Then on Friday it was off to Gigi and Opa's for a cleaning session on their house. Dave and I cleaned and remodeled as Gigi and Opa watched Collin (who was a true sport). It was a very fun and rewarding day! I never knew how much fun you can have cleaning with your family:)

Roll Over Time

2008-11-17T19:40:00.000-08:00

Collin loves to roll over!! He now rolls from his back to his stomach and vise versa!! He prefers rolling to his stomach more though. It is amazing to watch him grow and learn. I will try to get one of his rolling sessions on video, so that I can post it. We'll see.

Well I am having Thanksgiving again this year. I am looking forward to it. I love to host and use our 2 leaf dinning room table. I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! There is so much to be thankful for.

Squash

2008-11-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Collin loves squash!! It is the first real food that he has had and he gobbles it down. We are going to introduce Green Beans next week, so we'll see how he likes those. Collin is now rolling over all of the time. He still does not like being on his belly though. I can't believe that he will be 5 months this week!! He is still in 3-6 and some 6-9 clothes. He fits in 6-9 PJ's and some pants right now. I have not been retiring too many clothes lately, which is nice.

King of the bed

2008-11-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

Collin loves to sleep with both of his hands up by his head, which is so darn cute:) He sleeps just like his cousin Logan sleeps. Collin loves eating his cereal now. He starts on Squash on Saturday, so we'll see how that goes.

Introducing Lana Marie

2008-11-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

Finally Here

2008-11-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

Lana Marie Arneson joined our family yesterday, Nov. 3, weighing in at 7# and 13 oz. We got to meet her tonight and she is beautiful!! Mommy, daddy and Logan are doing great. It is hard to believe that Collin was even smaller than Lana. How time flies!! I will have pics of her soon, I want to get to bed now.

Rattle Time

2008-11-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Collin likes playing with his rattles now.
I had off of work the past 2 days, so it has been great spending time with Collin! (And you reap in the benefits as well, because I have had some extra time to add to the blog)