Look what I know now!

Collin has really starting demonstrating new skills and knowledge lately. For example:

- Neighbor Natalie gave him a balloon three weeks ago (it amazingly still floats!), and just in the past day or so, he learned that when he maintains a grasp on the string, the balloon doesn't float to the ceiling! Now, he takes his balloon everywhere with him (in the house), and he's always so proud to show it off!

- He has a farmhouse, with horses, cows, chickens, a pig, a sheep, and two farmers. Yesterday, he had "hidden" the pig inside the barn. When I later asked, "Where's the pig?" he looked all around the farm and correctly found the pig where he'd hidden it! I didn't even know he knew which one was the pig! And this morning I asked him to find the cow ... sure enough, a moment later, he found it and handed it to me! It's so fun to see that he's been listening and learning all along!

- Collin loves to read. He has a "reading couch" in the playroom, and I often walk in to find him flipping through the pages of one book or another. About three days ago, he started reading aloud as he flipped! "Da dee ta ttt ckh dada tt." I love it!!

- Because Collin's a natural climber, chairs have caused Dad quite a bit of stress in the past few months. It is not uncommon for Kevin to remove all little chairs out of a room to avoid temptations and potential falls. But Collin has now learned that chairs are for sitting in (rather than standing on backwards with no hands!), and he'll now climb into them, turn around, and sit facing forward! Anxious Daddy is especially proud!

- Collin is walking about 95% of the time now and getting around quite well. Yesterday, he even took about 8 steps backwards! His new challenge: he's trying to reach door handles!