All About Colton

It has really been fun the last few weeks watching Colton grow.  Not only is he now recently wearing size 3T clothes, but he is maturing too.  At 2 3/4 years old, I have seen a quite a bit of change lately and I want to write about him for a bit! 

Colton:  2 3/4 years old

I have noticed Colton growing out of the "two-year-old" troublesome phase :) (woohoo!).  Over the past half a year, Colton has needed disciplinary correction multiple times per day, whereas in the last few weeks I haven't had to discipline him at all!  He is learning to use his words and utilize more self-control in his actions when he is frustrated or upset.  He also has more self-control in his obedience and follow-through.  I noticed the change most dramatically when standing in line at the post office two weeks ago (note: the post office is my LEAST favorite errand with 3 kids because there is ALWAYS a long line and there is no shopping cart to put them in!).  While in the past, Colton has usually created a scene of some sort by pushing his sister, wanting to run, touching something he shouldn't, etc, Colton actually stood in line quite nicely the whole 10 minutes it took to stand in line and needed very minimal verbal correction.  I was ecstatic!

 He is also growing up in how he eats!  Not only is he a great eater (much less picky) but he is much neater and will only wear a bib for saucy or syrupy foods or ice cream.  He now likes his cereal with milk on it instead of dry and can eat it without getting his shirt wet! 

 He had his first dentist appointment last month and did great.

First Dentist Appointment

He is a very non-fearful kid and isn't afraid of trying new things, of scary characters, or of new situations, which is really fun to see and also helps Summer get over fears she might have of these things.

He turned off all the lights in the house and walked around with his spy gear and flashlight :)

 He is also still very silly!  Paul took this video of Colton after he was feeling better from his 104.3 degree fever a few weeks ago.



 I have noticed improvements in his ability to do multiple tasks at a time too - he is now in charge of dressing himself and making his bed each morning and he can do it quite quickly with minimal instruction.  He consistently gets his shoes on, gets into the car and gets buckled right away now with me only needing tell him "It's time to go" one time.  He is able to behave much better after pickup from church or BSF (he used to act out quite a bit after all the stimulation of being with other kids).  We still try to get his energy out in positive ways, but it hasn't been quite as NECESSARY for good behavior as it has been in the past. 

The trampoline is the best way to get his energy out positively and quickly!

Playing basketball in our basement

Video: Playing hockey with Daddy:



 He has quite a good memory and can now say the entire verse of the week and reference with me only giving him the first word.

Video:


He is getting much better at writing his name and can do all the letters by himself now except for "N".

First time writing his name all by himself (except I did the "N")

 He is currently learning the difference between different periods of time (minutes/hours/days/weeks/months as we talk about what happens each day of the week and whose birthdays occur in which months of the year.  He can say the first few and last few months correctly but gets a little mixed up still on the order of the middle months.

He LOVED placing stickers on important days on this calendar from GiGima and GiGipa

He is very persistent and patient when it come to getting himself dressed, doing puzzles and working on a difficult task.  He is also quite a perfectionist.  If his blankie isn't folded the right way or if he traces his "C" a bit incorrectly he wants to re-do it.

He LOVES puzzles

He spent quite a while trying to get the magnetic ramps lined up so the ball would roll correcty (at the Children's Museum)

Working on his "car"

Here he is learning how to criss-cross the Lincoln Logs

He is getting much better at his counting

Here he is tracing his name through tracing paper (and erasing any small line that is not perfect!)

He loves flying his planes all over the house and racing them.  Here he is "showing his planes to 'Warkin' "

He still loves cars just as much as ever.  (Video)








 I am seeing a marked improvement in his kind heart and I love watching him speak kindly to Summer, offer to share things with her, and play kindly with her while still holding his own in a kind tone of voice if she gets bossy.

He finished his kindness chart (acts of kindness toward Summer were rewarded with a sticker)

As a result of finishing his chart he was ECSTATIC for his reward.  His reward was a date night with either mommy or daddy - he chose to pop popcorn and watch the movie Cars for the first time (he has loved the cars character "Lightning McQueen" for a year now but hadn't seen the movie).  His kind heart invited Summer to join his "reward date" to which she excitedly agreed!

Recently, Colton and I went on a date to see Sesame Street Live (I took Summer to see the same show when she was Colton's age) and I so loved my one-on-one time with my big boy.  He is such a great conversationalist, cuddler, and sweetheart date.  I love you, Colton buddy!

Ready for our date!

Riding the lightrail to Minneapolis

He loved the construction downtown

And the scaffolding "tunnel" we got to walk through on the way from the lightrail to the theatre

Watching the characters dance on stage

Exploring the cool theatre during intermission and getting Skittles!

It was a great show and I loved my one-on-one time with this dude.