WHY? & Meet Bill and Dennis

Our son discovered this word over the past weekend. Now all we hear is "why, mommy?" "but why, daddy?", "why, why. why"? I remember my nieces going through the "why" phase around 3 years old and how annoying I thought it was at the time. Then, I could leave when I got tired of all the "whys" or ran out of good answers for them. Now, I have to endure the "whys" for now. I am just thankful he's able to ask for what he wants and needs so plainly. I've had several people lately ask me if he speaks any English. I have to laugh when they ask me that. They underestimate the power of a young mind. ALL he speaks is English. Once in a while he will attempt to say something in English that we don't understand, but the attempt is there, and we do our best to encourage him to explain further or show us clues as to what he is trying to tell us. There are also a few words and phrases that he says in English that only Erik or I can understand, but these are becoming less and less.

Collin's preschool teacher commented today that he brought his "why" word to school with him this morning. He had lots of "whys" for her when he was supposed to sit down and color his letter page for the week. Apparently, after a lengthy discussion, he was finally satisfied with one of her answers and said "okay!" and proceeded to color his page.

You may be wondering who Bill and Dennis are. They are not new neighbors, although we do have a neighbor named Bill, but he doesn't live with Dennis-ha! Bill and Dennis are Collin's new choo choos from Kiki (Kristen) and Matt (see picture). He has had these trains in his hands since he got them on Saturday night. They even go to bed with Collin. We don't allow them in bed. He keeps them on his dresser while he sleeps. In the morning he takes them back into the living room. Since they are new, they don't have to stay on the floor all day with the other choo choos, oh no..they get prime spots on the couch until Collin comes home to play with them. This is the normal routine. When he gets a new train, Bill and Dennis will go down to the floor with the other minion choo choos. Bill and Dennis traveled to church with us on Sunday-they had to stay in the van, of course. They also made an appearance at an open house we went to on Sunday afternoon. You would think a cuddly stuffed animal would be more soft to carry around and love, but this kid's got his own ideas!

We signed Collin up for 4 year old preschool this past Sunday. He will be going all day next year, which I worry a little bit about, but deep down I know he will be fine and love it. His teacher is great so I don't worry about that end of it. 4 years old seems so little to be going all day already, but I know other parents who have said their kids have gone and they were glad they did. It prepared them even more for kindergarten. I was worried about there only being a few who would choose the all day option, but apparently 16 of the 20 preschoolers will be going all day, with the possibility of 2 more choosing the all day option, so that is great for interaction. The best part will be having him in the same building with me all of the time!

What Collin is doing now: watching his favorite Diego show while holding Bill and Dennis, of course!