4 years old and a P3 grad

Tuna noodle! I can't believe you are 4 years old and finished a whole year of preschool and what an amazing year it has been. You are such a big girl now and so independent. You can write all your letters and have mastered your name. You have amazing thoughts and an incredible imagination. You have turned our world upside down in the best way possible. Even writing this now gets me emotional because you have filled my heart and my life with happiness I never knew I could feel. You excel in all you do and are extremely artistic. You are in dance class, swim, soccer, and gymnastics. You have the most amazing sense of style and could not be more girly if you tried. I think you are still changing your outfits 20 times a day and you could never go anywhere without your lipstick and your crown, even soccer practice! You light up a room with your beautiful smile and your incredible acro-dance moves. Each day is filled with so much excitement and you love knowing all the day holds right when you wake up. You absolutely adore Danica and have started to be a motherly teacher to her as you are well aware you are the big sister and want her to do what you say. During the second half of the school year we decided to send you to school 3 days a week and 2 days to Kathy's so you could play with your sister and you love that, so we are going to have the same schedule next year for P4. We celebrated your birthday at Firezone and you were the lead fireman, it was an awesome party with so many friends. We spent Christmas and Spring Break back in Siesta Key and you had the best time swimming every day and playing in the sun. We made a special bead bracelet and necklace at the bead shop it was a really special day. Chad and Bronya bought you your own IPAD and Ugg boots for Christmas-- wow was that a special day for all of us. I think one day you might live in Florida, you talk about going there all the time. I am so happy that our family trips have given you such fond memories that you want to go back...so do I. This summer we will work on riding your bike without training wheels and continuing with camp, soccer, swim, and gymnastics. You will also be performing in 2 dance recitals. We are lined up with all kinds of fun parties and are all ready for the pool to open this weekend! Grandma's pool will be nice and warm for you and Danica this summer so we will look forward to spending a lot of time there. Uncle Eric is now a head football coach so this fall you can go on the field before games to see him and Mr. Hawk. Every day is such a blessing with you and Danica we are the luckiest people in the world and I honestly mean that with all that I am. Thank you for being so special, so wonderful, so amazing. Thank you for the amazing gift of you!

Here are a couple songs we created together:
Achoo Song
We just heard you say achoo,
We say God Bless you when you do,
We hope you feel well and you had a good sneeze,
Next time say excuse me please.

Pocky song:
How many pockies are in your rocky
How many tookies are in your pooky
How many tockies are in your rooka
Pooka Tooka Rocka

Come on Charli you can do it your a Collins beat em to it, Charli is number 1! Just do it!

3.2- First day of school

Well... I am sitting here typing in a puddle full of tears, not sure why they continue to flow--- they are a mix of so many emotions and the first of which is proudest Mom ever. Today is your first day of preschool  and we just dropped you off. I already know you are the most advanced little girl in that class. You remind us every day that you are "so big" and that you can do anything because you are "so big." You picked out the most fabulous dress and pants for school today and you could not be more colorful ,which couldn't fit you more perfect. You are the most colorful kid in the world and I love you so much. This summer has been truly amazing and every day you become smarter and more adventurous and you are absolutely so much fun to be around. We never know what is going to come out of your mouth. You have invented a name of Salex which is Grandma and Grandpa's name put together and you tell us that is your new baby; it warms my heart every time. We went to Bob Chinn's to celebrate Grandpa and you said out loud ,when the waiter came to the table to bring our food, "I really like this guy." So Funny!!! There is just no filter which I guess being a kid is all about. We went to the Brookfield Zoo and then to the Morton Arboretum to see the lego displays where legos were used to create all kinds of amazing animals and insects and you kept saying you like the alive animals better, but they did have a fun play land with slides that you got your self red in the face playing on so that was great.

 If you could go swimming every day you would and we tried to do just that at the "play pool" and the "shark pool."  We had so much fun running around in the water and playing with your water toys. You have so many fun ideas of what we can play and yet have the maturity to be independent and play by yourself which shows your creativity. You went to day camp  twice a week and did so many awesome projects and got to play with Ella and Molly your two best friends. Mondays were gymnastics which you loved and you really like the bars so you can hang!  We had your first dance recital and you did so well, you will continue with dance but you let me know you just want to go to the recital. I believe being on stage has brought on your new favorite hobby which is asking for us to to get everyones attention by saying, "Announcing dancing Charli," to which you dance around and sing and when you are finished you say "clap now." This take place multiple times during the day and in many different outfits which I will write about because your outfits should have their own blog and one day they just might. You also went to a splash pad and did a great job hitting a pinata at Davis's birthday party. Every party we went to this summer you met new friends and had such a great time. I think this summer was a blast for you from the Pietrowski pool to the Long Grove fests to the U of I wrestling reunion party and the turtle races; where you won a  Sox hat-- there was always something fun to do. You even had your first real babysitters with Charlee, Robyn, Nina, and Arlene and you did your nails with everyone of them! How fun!!!! Not to mention you saw your first movie in the theater, Inside Out, but you were more outside the theater than in. The movies you really love are Monsters University, The Sandlot, Toy Story 3, and Teen Beach 2. I'd say you have great taste in cinema.

Oh and as a big sister. I continue to brag, you are top notch. You are teaching Danica to walk and talk and you let us know you can help because you are the big sister. The two of you just laugh at each other and what adoring mirrored blue eyes you have for one another. The high pitched scream wars the world could do with out, but boy do you giggle after. I couldn't be more in love with you both....

 Charli you are absolutely something special. You write your name, you know all your letters, you can count "so high in the sky."  You are even a great handicapper at that track! You love to play waitress and tell us you don't have certain items or they are " a lil bit spicy." Yesterday you said you have to go potty and then you'll be back to take our order. You are such an individual with your own thoughts, your own likes, and a strong sense of self. You change your clothes whenever you want or 100 times per day and prefer to wear swim suits all the time. You accessorize your outfits with headbands, bracelets, and necklaces, and have to have nail polish and lip stick as well as a purse; which you just hoard stuff in to and take wherever we go. The lip stick addiction you pass on to others by asking to put it on them or by stealing  a kiss from someone with lipstick you like so that it will be on your lips. I am sure you will have your own fashion line at some point. You let me know just the other day while standing in a completely accessorized outfit and so proud of how you looked that you are "stylish." I can't help but smile in amazement every time I think of you. You are a beautiful little girl inside and out. Your vocabulary is awesome, you asked Grandma if she's like to "join us "while we were playing a game, you are so kind and honest. Everything is so simple and innocent. We went fishing in the back yard and you just kept asking "where are the fish?" I am with you honey after 2 minutes and no fish time to move on to something new. Nothing like a girl who knows what she wants and has no time for waiting. You are able to brush your own teeth, go potty by yourself, and sleep in your big girl bed. You like to drink from a cup with no lid but you'd prefer your water bottle---it is Hello Kitty and so is your back pack:) You are a clock work eater of cereal, quesadillas,  buttered noodles, goldfish, cheese, yogurt, fruit snacks, and green beans. It doesn't get more "what" than that, but I will take it. I can only hope every day you will eat your hot lunch at school, fingers crossed.

I know school is the window to to all the new opportunities and adventures that lie ahead.  We are already lined up with swim, gymnastics, soccer, and dance come fall. I can only hope every day you wake up with a smile  on your face and go to bed even happier with a bigger smile. I hope I am someone who makes you proud and that you feel my love 1000 times more than the 1000 times I tell you every day. You are my dream come true. I am so excited for every thing you are going to teach me. I will make sure we slow down and stop and smell the roses I want to cherish every moment I have with you, my special girl. I love you my  tooka rocka pooka peeke monkey monka moo...in the zoo.

                             Can't wait to hear all about your very first day.... I love you, miss you...

2.5-3.2

First off let me say I have the most awesome daughter in the world. She has the "IT" factor and it gets bigger everyday.  An Academy award, a Pulitzer Prize, Fields medal, a gold at the Olympics, either way the cookie crumbles she is destined for greatest so the world better clear the way for this one. Let me discuss her fashion--Coco Chanel better watch out for Charli Collins. I am sure she changes her clothes at least 10 times a day--every morning we have a Runway show because her outfit needs to be perfect and I am no help with the amount of clothes I have for my kids. We might as well change our address to 123 Runway Rd.! Charli doesn't care about the size on the tag she is all about the fit, she is just like Grandma definitely not a T-shirt girl because those have no style and way to loose! This takes me to her hair, my favorite thing she says to us is that she wants her "hair in a pony tight like a cheerleader." The tighter the better! After we have the pony exactly as needed she then finds the perfect headband to match her outfit. These are not small headbands because for Charli it is all about the statement piece. As far as hair styles not too longs as she wanted her hair half up, she told me Grandpa loves that. I was floored Grandpa loved when Grandma and I would wear our hair like that--just awesome. The other day I was looking at her hands and noticed she took the tiny rubberbands for her hair and was wearing them as rings and they looked terrific. She really has an eye for design and looks fabulous everywhere she goes, especially because she is just gorgeous. Blond hair and blue eyes she is a head turner wherever she goes and she loves to wear her cowboy boots. I think she refers to them as her cawboy boots.  From the day Danica was born Charli has grown leaps and bounds, she has changed from a toddler to a kid. She even lets me know things she can or cannot do because she is a kid. She also lets up know that she is in charge, or at least she tells Grandma she is:) Charli is so assertive and smart and can also manipulate like no other! Can kids really just fake cry on the spot to get their way and then giggle as soon as they do??? She is a professional.When we took her to Disney for Christmas she was such a Princess and every time we watch a Disney movie and the castle appears she lets me know we were there. She can entertain on the spot and sometimes just busts out in song whether is be frozen- "Let it Go" or "Twinkle Twinkle" and although her pitch is completely off her ability to captivate is spot on. This can happen anywhere and everywhere. I still love that she says "how my wonder what you are." Sometimes things are not worth correcting. She has started to love movies like Tangled, Frozen, and Monsters University and could watch them for days straight.  She can also act out parts and her favorite part in any movie right now is Shrek 1 when he goes to the castle and has to fight off all the guards in the ring and hits the barrels of beer and it starts pouring out, she says  " Shrek throws the diet coke at bad guys." She is also in to acting out the monsters in Monsters Univeristy whether it by by growling or " chasing bad guys." She is too cute and so much fun. Talk about being smart, she knows the codes on the Ipads as well as the garage, she says " Whats the numbers" and plugs away. Many times she is asking for the password so she can "download." The amount of growth in the past few months of her becoming her own person and knowing her surroundings and right from wrong is incredible. She knows where she lives, she knows what to say if she is by a stranger and she knows our names. "You are not my mommy you are not my daddy." She is able to advocate for herself and I am so proud. She is definitely testing the limits but she is so intelligent that she knows when enough is enough. We took her to the Dells for spring break to the water park and she knew that in order to go she had to be in underwear and no more pull-ups so there we were a week before her birthday potty trained in her Elsa and Anna big girl underwear and we never looked back. Truly remarkable mind over matter, the force is strong with this kid. She excels in karate and dance and will have her first recital coming up. She will again take gymnastics but this time without parent help which is what she has been doing with swimming. She goes in all by herself and wow does she love to go under the water. When we were in Siesta fro Christmas she spent most of the ime in the water going under and going under - this summer is going to be so much fun! What can I say about her big sister skills other than she is the best. She loves Danica and for Danica she is just everything. Danica is in love with Charli, she is mezmorized by her and she lights up whenever Charli is by her or even enters her line of vision or sound. I could not ask for more.
Speaking of Ipads earlier Charli loves to facetime and can hold converstations with whoever she is talking to. She is very caring and asks how the person is doing and makes sure they are feeling well. She is a great friend and loves to be invovled in every thing we do so we do everythign with her. She picks out the restaurant, she orders her own food, she even walks our answers up for trivia! She still loves moony and it able to base her day around when moony comes out whether we can be up or need to go nighty. She has a big girl bed but there is no nighty without her blanket which we now refer to as "blank." She likes to drink Silk milk so asks people when we are on playdates if she can have silk milk to drink. This kid is just too much. Her food of choice is quesadillas and whatever baby food Danica is eating, I have no complaints as long as she eats! If we go to her restaurant she serves beer, wine and vodka- my kind of kid!! She has so many little friends and not only knows their names but who their parents are as well, she has an incredible memory and a real interest in people, places, and things. I am just amazed at how independent she became and how fast, she is so full of life and the need to explore, this is the reason we have children to show them everything and let us teach us the true meaning of life. We have so many adventures ahead I cannot wait for summer to begin. Charli knows her alphabet, numbers, she can write all the letters of her name, she can even count by 10's and let me tell you she is a great horse racing handicapper among all her other amazing traits. We are the most blessed parents in the world, life is good-- No, life is great.

2 years old plus

Every day is a little more amazing than the last when dealing with children. Charli is no exception and to me more amazing than any child I've ever met, which of course is understood. She is already her own little person with so much personality, intelligence, understanding, humor, skills and abilities; she is truly a gift. First we have to talk about her language. She is a talker, a singer, she does impressions, and can carry a tune. With such an adorable speaking voice is makes the songs that much more enjoyable. She is two years old and can impersonate people. She has us laughing so hard it is hard to breathe. If you ask her about someone she will impersonate them or tell you something they did, even animals! She has a terrific memory, with the ability to tell you all the people she was with and met that day, she remembers people, places, and items from weeks before. Charli identifies, places, pictures, letters, numbers, animals, and people--even our cars. She is already counting to 10. She is definitely interested in everyone having their own things - if it's daddy's pillow then it's only for daddy. She will tell you to do something, "right now," or grab your hand and tell you to "come on" or "come here." She is interested in everything we do and wants to be a part of everything. She laughs and calls us by our first names when imitating us. It is hard not to smile and laugh the entire time you are with her, even when she is misbehaving, which she does do quite often- like running out of the house with her diaper off laughing and running so fast!  She then will tell you she needs time out, which she just open the doors anyways and says "Sowry Mommy." She is just too cute with her blonde hair and big blue eyes! She has begun potty training herself at 26 months. She just decided to use the potty and then congratulates herself by cheering. It is awesome! She is so helpful and independent in so many ways. She is a contributor to conversation, to household activities inside and out, she even holds the dogs leash on their walks and gives them instructions. She helped daddy stack up wood from the deck while in high heels, there is nothing she can't do. She even has her own lawn mower and gardening tools, the outside of our house looks like a little tykes fortress!

We finished another class of swim lessons and she loved it, she can show you how to kick and scoop and really wants to jump in over and over again. We have now moved into the advanced swim class. She will start up with more lessons this summer. Currently Charli is in sports camp and gymnastics. Uncle Eric already sees her as the most decorated Olympic gymnast of all time, we've had 2 classes! It is amazing to see her strength and her innate abilities. I've never seen a 2 year old decide to walk a beam backwards with ease. She just loves it! She is so good at jumping, somersaults, rolling, climbing, running, dancing, her psychomotor and hand eye coordination are razor sharp. Tap, ballet, and more gymnastics will begin soon and right now she loves wearing the tap shoes and chasing the dogs.

Charli has such a compassionate mommy side of her and will be a tremendous big sister. She likes to lay her head on my stomach and says baby. We have to be very quiet when her Dolly's are sleeping, she will put her finger over her mouth with a "shhhhh Dolly's night night." She is very matter of fact. She is the same way with looking through pictures that is her favorite part of any technology device, the pictures. She is amazing with books that require you to find and match up pictures. Once she has discovered it, she is like clockwork/ same with puzzles she can take on any one in putting together a puzzle and yes she has just turned 27 months, it's amazing. She is just such an understanding and kind little girl. She knows emotions and how to act appropriately. She gives kisses and hugs and like to greet people with a hello and good bye. She knows Grampy is in heaven and if I am sad she comforts me. She will be an amazing best friend.  She loves her "gamma sassy" she is too funny when it comes to her and Sydney. She is a stickler when it comes to Eric because they are too funny together, he teaches her "pppppppppppp uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" She just laughs and gets louder and louder.

Charli doesn't want anything in her hair so she is usually running around like a crazy lady and likes to dress herself. She knows what shoes she will wear that day; her crocs or fast shoes depending on activity. Very selective about outfits and socks  which is just too funny to watch and she does not need help. This is the same with her car seat and buckling any stroller, she can do it and let you know. She also likes lotion and will tell you if she has a boo boo or bug bite that requires medicine or ice. I'm just saying she has had 6 black eyes, What a truck!

She is also big in to "hold you" and has Dan and I pegged for different activities, Mommy do it- Daddy do it. She just adores her daddy and whenever he goes any where she says either, "daddy poopy or daddy wrestling" she even told this to Dan's boss, and  shakes her head so matter of fact it's awesome. She also loves shopping. Every day we go shopping, just yesterday she  was rearranging the sales tags at Menards and she walks down the aisles picks out what she likes and drops it in the cart, like she's paying for it!

Such  a very clean little girl she doesn't like dirty or messy so it makes for good baths and teeth brushing teeth but again, "me do it." She loves tickles (tickys) but  she'll grab your hand and does it for you and says, "nice". This is the same with holding her she will tell you"tight" or "loose"...priceless. Oh and more Charlisms--- "Aww man" and "Aww No" and lets not forget with her finger pointed, she will be "right back!" She also really likes "Why" but likes "What" just that much more.

Every morning she says good morning and Love you and makes us aware of what she is having for breakfast. She is a very good eater and I'd say 2 of her favorites right now are green beans and ice cream! She also loves her juicy-any kind and loves apples and watermelon. She is still a little under 30 pounds and solid.

Charli is quite the dynamic of princess and athlete you just don't know what you are going to get, but when she gives you hugs she is nothing more then pure heaven. She can make you melt and there is no where else I'd rather be. She truly completes Dan and I and I can't wait for her to have a sister and be my little helper. If our baby is anything like Charli then we are truly the most blessed people in the world.