6 Month update

I know, I know, it has been WAY to long since my last post.  But to say the least the past 3 months have been a whirl wind!  Between going back to work, and making that adjustment as a family of 4, then to making a new adjustment where we are all home every day together, to say the least we are pretty much always on the go.  We have also done a little traveling up to Chicago's for Greg's graduation, Dr Day that is, and then to the lake many times so far this summer for some summer fun.  SO like you can imagine I have alot to up date.  But before I forget, today was Addison's 6 month check up.  Hard to believe she is 6 months.  But here are her stats and what she has been up to lately....

Weight: 17 1/2 lbs
Height: 26 inches long

She is growing at a very steady rate always staying at a good 50-75 percentile, which can be a little hard to imagine in the weight department with her chunker thighs!  She is quickly moving into that "older" infant stage, which pretty much means, she is doing more than just eating sleeping and observing her brother all day long!  Here are some things she can do.

1. Sit up: She can sit up on her own, which is her preferred way to be.  She bats at things grabs everything in her site, today at dinner she was sitting in the bumbo and the next thing I knew she was holding the butter!
2. Movement: NO rolling over.  According to Dr. Steele it takes will and the ability to roll over and because she is so easily sitting up she has the ability just not the will.....too much work for her i guess.
3. Talking: She loves to make noise, especially when Collin is not home or not in the car with her.
4. Jumping Bean: She absolutely loves her jumper. 
5. Sleeping: She is sleeping all night, wakes up at about 5 eats and then goes right back down until 7 or so.  She is quite the napper, always take one 2 hour nap during the day then two other naps that are usually about an hour long.  This is the total opposite of her brother.
6: Eating: We have completed all the types of cereal and have so far only tried banana's, which she absolutely hates and sweet potatoe.  She is really not that interested in the food yet so I am not rushing her, especially since her doctor said there is no need to! 
7. Brother: She LOVES her big brother! She watches him at all times.  Laughs constantly at him, and whether he is being gentle and soothing her when she is sad or is playing with her by "helping" her roll over, she is always so happy when he is around.  She has just started wanting the same toys he has and he is just now realizing that she may start to become a problem when it comes to "HIS" toys. 
8. Attachment: Because she has only been away from her momma at a daycare for a total of 30 days her entire life, she is already showing strong signs of attachment issues.  She has gone to day care a few times this summer and is just so sensitive to the noises around her. The second another child cries or there is an unfamiliar noise, she begins to cry too.  Also the second I am out of her sight she just cries.  Even when we are at my parents house, if she can't see me or hear me she starts to cry.  For me, that is so hard, because at home she is the happiest baby ever! She never cries ever!!!  So not that it is good that she will be heading to day care soon, but hopefully that will help with this:(

Otherwise, she is a completely different little munchkin than her brother.  She loves to smile and giggle and is a very laid back little girl.  I do have a feeling she is going to be a bit of a drama queen, but is definately going to be a girl who knows what she wants:)

I have so much more exciting news to add......like COLLIN IS POTTY TRAINED, and all the fun activities we have been doing this summer....but I will add some more very soon, it is past my bed time!  Plus I'll add some pics too!

Yeah Baby!

Collin has decided that Addison needs to be a part of eveything he does lately.  Not sure how long this will last but he wants her to "play" with him.  Whether we are playing cars, she has one, coloring or painting, she has a color at all times, or even kicking the ball, she gets a turn each time.  The other night we were sitting on the floor working on his puzzles.  First he put a piece of puzzle in.  Then gives me a piece for me to place it in.  Then of coarse, he says, "Baby"(which is what he still calls her...not sure when she will actually have a name to him).  So I then grab a piece put it in her hand and "help" her put the piece in.  He then proceeded to clap and shout "YEAH BABY" and was sooo excited for her.  It was just so cute to see what a great "Big" brother he already is and is going to be.  Plus, I have started to see that he is pretty good at sharing and taking turns.....but we will see how long that last...probably until she starts taking his things!

2 months!

Okay I know it has been way to long since my last post...2 months to say the last....and you would think since I am home everyday it wouldn't be that hard.  But a few things I have realized. 
1. When staying home the days go soooo fast.....they never go that fast when at work.
2. At night after you finally get the kids in bed by 8 all you want is to have 30 minutes to just sit, of coarse that is after you pick up from the day, then you quickly realize that it is a mad dash of how fast you can get ready for bed so that the sooner you get in bed the longer you get to sleep before you have to get up again!
3. Using the computer is now just a quick check of the email and facebook of coarse then there is always a diaper to change, little one to feed, or little one to play with.
4. Nap time is no longer a time to sit around on the computer....it is now a time to eat, clean up from the morning or even just sit down for a short amount of time and do NOTHING! 

So, to say the least uploading pictures and writing on the blog has definately not happened.  But amazing things keep happening and I keep thinking I need to write that down so we don't forget it.  Today Addison went for her two month check up and here are her stats
Height: 23 1/2 inches
Weight: 11 lbs 7 oz
Head: 15 inches
She is 75 percentile for both weight and head and in the 95th percentile for height.  Not sure where she is getting this height but I seem to remember Collin starting out this way and then has dramatically slowed down in his height growth.  She had to have 3 shots and 1 oral shot.  I thought maybe the second time around seeing your little one get shots wouldn't be so hard but to say the least...I was WRONG!

She just in the past 2 weeks started smiling, cooing and is constantly watching every movement her brothr makes.  She has slept through the night 3 times, 2 times just this week and otherwise only wakes up one time a night.  Still working on our napping ability....she is a great napper in your arms but when  you put her in the bed she is a cat napper and the moment you finally give in and pick her up she instantly falls back asleep in your arms.  Surprise Surprise!

Collin is still being a great big brother.  Still has his moments where he just wants his Mommy or Daddy all to himself, but he is such a great helper.  The minute she makes a peep he jumps up to give her her pacifier or in the car instantly says "Momma, Baby"  in case i didn't hear her.

Introducing...Addison Ann

Monday, January 10th Eric and I went in at 10:00 am to St. John's Hospital and at 12:21pm Addison Ann was born.

Here are her stats:
     *Weight: 8lbs 5oz
     *Length: 20 1/2 inches
She came out kicking and screaming and it wasn't until 20 minutes later once they finally placed her in my arms that she opened her eyes, heard my voice and stopped crying.  It was this one moment that I will never forget and truly felt that Addison and I created that amazing "Mother/Daughter bond'

Okay...enough of the sappy stuff....
My poor little Collin is slowly learning that his life has drastically changed and this "baby" as he refers to her isn't going away.  The first meeting of Collin and his little sister went as I suspected.  Collin walked in the hospital room, looked at Mommy who looked a tad bit scary with a tube up her nose to measure her oxygen levels while on the pain meds and sitting in a hospital bed, and he started to cry.  Grandma at this time was holding Addison and he walked over to her took a look at her and just said "Baby" then walked away. It was within 2 minutes that he decided he was ready to leave!
So moving on to the next two days in the hospital we slowly started making progress.  The next day he brought Addison her pacifier and gave mom a kiss and a hug before leaving, but I think his total time spent in the hospital room was about 15 minutes.  Finally the last day, with the help of a chocolate chip cookie Dad brought with him, Collin sat in bed with Mommy, looked and talked to Addison and spent quite some time in the room playing with the bathroom sliding door saying "In/Out". 
Now that we have been home for a week things have finally begun to slowly become more of a routine lifestyle rather than just chaotic, getting by lifestyle.  Collin has definately had his moments of anger and frustration at his Mommy!  It took about 3 days once we got home for my favorite little snuggler to come jump up on the couch with me and snuggle.  He has definately had his fair share of melt downs and frustrations when told "no" but all in all he has really started to be a fabulous Big Brother.  Here are just a few exciting moments of that brother/sister connection we have seen....

           1. Every morning Collin wakes up and says baby and has to find her whether she is in the bassinet or swing and say "Good Morning" to her.
           2. He is a Super "Wipe" distibutor: I have given him the task of handing me wipes as we change Addison's diaper.
           3. He has taught Addison the correct way to do "tummy time"
     \
"Not like this Baby Addison"....................."Like this"
         4. Collin really likes to help "Hold" Addison

So overall the past week and a half has been some of the most amazing two weeks yet!  I can't believe she is finally here and really life with two has been a much easier transition than I ever could have imagine.  I am sure there are many more ups and downs ahead of us but watching the two munchkins every day makes me smile more and more every day!

Here are a few more pics from the past week....

Pictures in the hospital

Trying out the bows

Addison all ready to go home from the hospital

Hard to imagine Collin was once this little too!


Finally...Collin showing off his Elmo Slippers!

Snuggling with my....soon to be big boy....

As I snuggled with Collin in bed tonight, I decided that just laying there a little bit longer tonight with him was definately necessary. One of our favorite thing to do before he goes to bed these days is while snuggling in bed we talk about how the day went, good and bad, then discuss how the next day is going to be.  Our conversations usually go like this....

Mom: Did you have a good day today?
Collin: Ya!
Mom: What did you like doing?
Collin: Ummmm
Mom: Did you have fun playing with Playdough?
Collin: Ya
Mom: Aren't yo glad we got to play outside today?
Collin: Ya
Mom: Are we going to have a good day tomorrow?
Collin: Ya
Mom: We don't have to go to school tomorrow, but we have a lot to do. We are going to go to the store, play with your trucks, clean.  What do you want to do?
Collin: Ummmm

So as you can see we have very deep meaningful discussions but I have to say this is one of my favorite times of day.  Especially as he has become such a busy body I can't help but treasure every snuggle time I can get.  But tonight it was different.  As we layed there I couldn't help but think that this is one thing that I do not want to give up with him.  As we are just one day away from having our entire world change with all the excitement of our newest little family member I can't help but feel just a little sad that my baby will no longer be my baby.  I do just keep telling myself that he will always be my baby and it is things like snuggling with Collin at night that do not every have to end!

Christmas 2010

These past few weeks that I have had off of school have been very uneventful, yet eventful.  We basically spent evey day just enjoying our little family as well as enjoying some company from Greg and Rachel.  They were so kind to come here to visit since I couldn't travel.  Basically our Christmas went like this,

Christmas Eve: Mass with my parents then they came over and we cooked dinner, they all drank wine and we all watched Christmas movies



All Ready for Church



Christmas Morning: We all slept in until 7:30, woke up, opened gifts from Santa and the Horning Clan.  Then finally about 10:00 we headed to my parents for Brunch.  After Brunch we came back home and all took naps.  Then went back to my parent for the arrival of Greg and Rachel.  We all just played and hung out that night and saved the Christmas dinner and gift opening for the next day.

opening the first gift

playing with dad..trying to lay just like him



 

LOVING my new Thomas remote control

Day after Christmas: We just hung out at home, took naps then headed to my parents for dinner and gift By the end of this day Collin had definatley mastered the art of opening any gift whether it was his or not and I think just by his attire by the end of the night, t-shirt and new snow boots, he had a wonderful Christmas!....i'll post more pics of this later.....

Some of Collin's lucky items he received were puzzles, clothes, a table "his size", books, a Thomas beginner train set and the list goes on and on.  So, overall it was a wonderful Christmas.  It makes us remember how lucky we are to have such great family, even if we didn't get to spend it with all of them, we definately felt loved by all! 

THANK YOU!

One thing I have been very deteremined as a mommy is that my children will have good manners.  Now, who knows if I will completely be successful with this, but I am going to try my best for all our kids to at least say please and thank you at all times.  So I am constantly reminding Collin when he says, "Yes" I then repeat "Yes, Please"  or anytime he does something for me I sign and say "Thank You".  Well Thursday night was the first time I finally saw it all pay off.

Now Collin will sign Thank You if we ask him to. For example, someone gives him something, we say "What do you say" and he will sign "Thank You".  But Thursday evening Collin and Eric were partaking in their nightly routine of standing at the sink cleaning all the dishes as I cleared the table.  As I brought a plate over and set it on the counter or Collin he said, "Momma" and signed "Thank You" to me!  I was so excited.  But that wasn't it.  Then later that night as Collin and I were snuggling up in his bed he wanted a book that was under the bed.  So I grabbed it so we could begin reading.  He then once again said, "Momma" and signed "Thank You"!!!  I have to say this was one of the most proud nights I have experienced so far as a parent!!!

Big Boy Bed = 1 Collin = 0

  As we are "slowly" beginning to start to get ready for Collin's little sister, who is trying so hard to be here early, Collin is starting to slowly see new changes to his life.  Last Sunday Collin officially moved into his "Big Boy Room".  We had been working on painting, moving and getting Collin aquainted with this new room and surprisingly the first night went SO well.  Me, the somewhat emotional pregnant Mom, was much more worried and concerned about Collin's first night in his big bed.  Collin was so excited about the entire family sitting in his new bed to read books he could barely contain himself.  After we all picked out books we all sat on the bed and Collin started quickly speaking a language of his own(he has recently started rambling like crazy....not sure what he is saying but he is very aware of what it is) with a huge smile on his face.  It was so cute to see how excited he was for this, when in reality his Momma was scared to death.  So we read books, had a drink of water, and gave hugs and kisses and we were out the door.  It took one or two whines and he was out cold in his bed.  Here are a few pics of the room and Collin in his bed....the room is completely finished, still waiting on wall decor to come.....

okay so i've had this post done now for at least a week and i was waiting to find our camera charger to upload the pics. However, what's new, we still can't find it.  So I'll post pictures as soon as I can!!

   Okay so after we got Collin's new bed set Eric was very concerned with the height of the bed.  Yes it seemed a little high but what kid hasn't fallen out of his or her bed, right??  Well Eric being an ortho guy was determined that he has seen way to many kids in the OR after falling out of bed.  So I decided to just let him win this battle and we took the box spring out and he bought plywood to keep the bed supported.  Well, not that I like to admit it, good thing my hubby is so protective because it didn't take long for our first fall! 
  The friday after Thanksgiving we woke up to Collin crying at his bed side trying to get back into bed.  I quickly picked him up, cuddled him and placed him back in bed.  Well the next thing I noticed his entire left side of his face was full of blood:(  I turned the light on and noticed the carpet was spotted with blood and the white closet door looked like a serious fight took place here with blood smeared all over.  We Collin was okay but somehow ended up with a huge gash over his left eye and on his cheek.  The poor kid still looks like he was in a serious fight as the eye is now draining all colors of purple, yellow, blue and green!

entering the toddler stage...

The past few weeks Collin has started doing so many big boy things!  He is very into playing golf, kicking the soccer ball, drinking out of a "big boy cup without a lid", repeating so many words and sitting in his booster seat, NOT his high chair.  Some other things that have changed is Collin's sleeping.  He is finally learning how to sleep in!  The past few weekends he has slept in until at least 7:30 and even 8 o'clock one of the days.  Then on the school days I am having to wake CP up at 6:35 or until the last second I can giving us enough time to get him dressed and out the door in time.  Collin is becoming such a great helper.  He loves to help!  Whenever we need him to do something he is not you simply say, "Collin you want to "HELP" mommie _______".  For some reason it is that magic word of HELP that he loves.  At school he is even getting really good at unzipping his coat, taking it off and putting away in his cubby.  It is so hard to believe how big he is getting.  Collin is learning so many new words and slowly starting to say phrases.  Some of his favorite things to say and do......
          1. Mickey (meaning can we watch Mickey Mouse)
          2. Boots (collin has a slight obsession with shoes and now that it is colder he loves my big black boots)
          3. Ya (almost anything you ask Collin he has learned how to respond correctly.  For example, Collin did you have fun at the store with Grandma? "Ya" Did you ride in the big car? "Ya" Were you a good helper for Grandma? "Ya".
         Along with these great "big boy" things he has also started to have quite the strong opinion!  We are now fully experiencing lovely TANTRUMS! For such a long time I thought Collin was such a good listener, even our neighbors would comment on how great of a listener he is, for example, when I ask him to stay on the side walk and not go into the street.  However, things have changed.  One of Collin's fvorite things is to run out the garage, down the driveway, and up the sidewalk.  He will stop here and there to check and see where you are and then will continue up the street.  He will go all the way up about 3-4 houses just testing you to see if you will come get him. 
              So basically once Collin has his mind set up, he thinks that is what should happen.  We have found that if you just walk away and become engaged in something else,  like walk out of the kitchen when he is insisting on having yet another snack,  he will throw himself on the floor give a few screams and then within 2 minutes he will be back ready to play.  Another thing I have never seen from him is his lack of sharing.  Last weekend we had TJ and Sarah down to visit.  Well Collin was not all that thrilled with TJ using all his toys.  He would be okay if he was using toys he didn't care all much about but when it came to his lawn mower, broom and golf clubs, Collin was not the best sharer!  How do you tell an 18 month old he has to share when he doesn't get what that even means!  But we continued to remind him to take turns and share and poor Sarah and TJ had to experience a few of Collin's tantrums as he is slowly learning this new skill! 
           So as the little dude is definately keeping his momma and dadda on their feet he is also everyday saying new words and growing at a rapid rate!  Hard to believe he is already 18 months and within no time will no longer be our little baby!!

Jumping Elmo = Jumping Collin

These days Elmo is the coolest guy around, well and so is Mr. Noodle.  SO, what ever Elmo is doing so must Collin be doing.  Today Eric and Collin came to visit me at school during my conferences and as I was walking them out I look back at Collin and he is standing on the sidewalk with his hands in the air pushed up on his toes.  After watching him for a minute or two, I finally realized what he was trying to do. JUMP!  There is an entire Elmo dedicated to jumping which has become one of favorites these days, so it all started making sense.  So I went over to Collin and lifted him up and down and we practiced jumping.  He then continued to try so hard on his own but was never quite able to get off the ground.......

A visit from Grandma Shelley

Last weekend Grandma Shelly came all the way from Ohio to visit.  We had a wonderful weekend...except for the part when Collin got the flu Saturday afternoon.  Grandma Shelley arrived Thursday afternoon and Collin and Eric went to pick her up at the airport.  Then Friday, Eric and I both had to work, so Collin stayed home with Grandma and hung out all morning.  It sounds like they had a great time between playing in the play room, in the family room, and outside!  Then Collin, Eric and Grandma went to get Colllin a haircut as well as went to the park.  Saturday we had planned to go to the farm right up the street but decided because it was pretty cool in the morning we would save that for the afternoon.  So instead we went and ran errands in the morning.  Collin was soooo lucky to have gotten a new wagon from Grandma so after nap Eric, Grandma and little helper Collin put it together.  Here are some pics!

Here is just one pic...i will add more later!!

Pics from the summer....

My favorite "clothing atire" and My favorite thing to do



At the lake

At the lake

Once again...I love any thing that cleans...or makes noise!

                                                    What??? I wasn't doing anything wrong...... 



Our trip to St. Louis Botanical Gardens



I walked that whole bridge by myself!

 Chillin' at the park



Grandma and the three boys....the best we could get of the little boys and Frankie's full force smile:)0





Our Soccer Player

This weekend we went up to KC for a quick but very fun filled day!  Kristin and I had realized that it had been way to long (since August) that we had seen each other.  Since we had an open weekend, we took full advantage to head up to visit.  It had been quite a while since Collin had seen his cousins and seeing them all together just gets me so excited about the future ahead.  We were lucky enough to get to go to Frankie's soccer game and then later that day went to his birthday party.  Collin quickly saw all the big boys kicking the soccer ball around and he quickly decided he too was going to be a soccer player! 

A True Soccer Player Picture

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Running out on the field with Daddy after the game

A big ol' apple is also one of Collin's newest adventures.  Like you can imagine this little dude likes to eat.  However, I don't mind if he wants to eat if it is just things like apples.  The other night he saw me eating an apple.  Of coarse, at this time, anything Eric or I eat, he must eat as well.  So he just started taking little bites of my apple.  Then the next thing I knew, he was holding the entire apple chomping away, all the way down to the core. 

Sharing with Mommy

I KNOW IT"S BEEN FOREVER....

Okay so I know it has been quite awhile....maybe 3 months or so...but I was some-what rebelling against the blog spot for a short period of time.  I was having an issue publishing things and after taking the time to get a post all ready, I had just about had it, so I refused to post it again. 
   But I guess now that I am over throwing my fit....and there has been quite a lot that has occurred in the past three months, I realized I need to/want to get back to my blogging! 
   SO here are just a few things to get everything all caught up on our past 3 months.
 1. I am pregnant!!  Collin is going to be a big brother, to a little sister that is!  As of January 10, Collin will no longer be the only "baby" in our family and will get to start sharing his mommy and daddy!  However, according to all Collin's teachers at school, they seem to think he will be the best, most protective big brother:)
  2. Talk, Talk, Talk: Collin is such a talker now.  Both nonverbally and verbally his language seems to amaze me everyday.  He is able to understand just about everything we say or ask of him, and he is learning more word every day.  HE may have his own version of these words but his momma sure knows what each is!
     So far some of his favorite words are: "Roe Roe's" (Cheerios), More, Me, Please, Up, Duck, Walk, "Wal Walk" (shoes because we walk with them), Broom, Ruck (Truck), Ball, Nana (banana), of coarse momma and dadda, and I am sure there are still some others! 
  3. Animals: Collin loves all animals....especially dogs! You have a dog, bring it on over and my little guy will be entertained all day.  Plus all you have to do is say the name of the animal and he will give you the sound.  He does have a few original sounds: Penguin: we say happy feet and he instantly stomps his feet: Giraffe: He knows a giraffe has a long neck so he will go and find our necks.  Fish: he makes a fish face
   4. Cleaning: Collin has developed a love for cleaning.  He is just a tad obsessed with things like the vacuum, the broom, using a paper towel and spray bottle to wipe things up, the lawn mower, ect.  I guess it is not too bad of an obsession but at times I would rather we just sit and play with his trucks and not always have to clean......
   5. The park: Over the summer we probably went to the park almost every day and now even on the weekends we at least go daily to the park.  Collin has no fear when it comes to sliding down huge slides and loves to climb through tunnels, go up steps, over bridges and swing.  I think the little man would live at the park or even just outside if he could!

Okay well here are just a few things, I will post some pictures, as soon as we can find our connector cord!

Sticking your tongue out = GOOD CONCENTRATION

Lately Collin has been getting more and more into his walking. However, he has found that sticking his tongue out gives him that little extra bit of concentration he needs to take 3 or 4 more steps! Here are a few pics....

Now that Collin and I are home for the summer we are also finding that Mommy has to get things done around the house. SO.....according to Collin....I absolutely have started to torture him and am making him walk from here to there so I can get things done! It took him a few days, with many dramatic fits, but he is finally starting to be very willing to come along as long as you give him "the hand". I found that sticking my hand out and saying, Come on, let's go, he feels very included and joins in the fun! It may take me a bit longer to get from one place to another, but I am able to do laundry, pick up, make lunch etc much easier!! Other things we are finding being home all day is......

1. We love early morning walks. Every morning after Collin and I have eaten breakfast we take a 30-45 minute walk around the neighborhood. Collin points out all the birds and says hello to every car we pass as Mommy gets some exercise herself!

2. Going at least one place a day is crucial! Staying home all day can be an okay thing. But for both Collin and I we need at least one outing a day. Now being home all day this can easily become an expensive thing, but I have been trying to do things that don't cost like going to the park or the walking trails, or even visiting Grandma. I hope as the summer goes on to go explore all different parks throughout Springfield as well as go to the library.

3. Naps are only a problem at daycare. Collin and I have gotten into such a great routine for naptime. We simply go in his room, read a few books, snuggle in his chair, put on his music then night night we go. Now granted some naps aren't the longest....45 minutes maybe...but we have had many 90 minute naps even some 2 hour naps! Mommy is finding that the afternoon nap is crucial, cuz that is when she naps too!

4. We needs toys when you can just carry things around the house all day. I have found that the huge baskets of toys we have are almost a waste. Collin will play only if I sit and help keep him focussed on his toys but otherwise he is carrying a box, that is twice the size of him, all the way around the house, pushing his monkey around on his mickey toy, or taking ours shoes all over the place.

Not gonna lie...this lifestyle is pretty amazing....one could get very used to it!!

The Wheels on the Bus

Okay so I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER!! But I have been boycotting my blog. The last few times I have put together a post I have then spent hours and hours to get it to load. But I am going to give it another try without any pictures or anything special and see if it works......

But this morning as Collin and I were on the way to our play date at the park we got about 5 houses away from our house and he instantly starts saying mu-mu-mu then signs please about 10 times. This is a common thing once we get on the road. Some of you may wonder what this means, well he would like me to put his music on so we can sing. So I put it on and here comes the song, The Wheels on the Bus. This has become his absolute favorite song. As the music begins he begins all the motions including "the wheels go round and round", "the door goes open and shut", "the horn goes honk, honk, honk" and even repeats the gas goes "glug, glug, glug". I must say watching him in the rear view mirror gets so excited about such a simple song truly makes me smile!

Another thing I have noticed as we are listening to our music is how intently he is listening to the words. He has started to repeat all the animal sounds as they are sung. A very strange song we listen to is "I had a rooster" and in this song the boy has a bunch of animals that all make their sounds. Collin has started to repeat all the sounds like "Baa", "Meow", "Squeak", etc.

Once again I am so lucky to be home with him every day and am so glad that I get to see all this wonderful milestones and experience them right there with him!!

Fun Outside Time

Collin received a water table for his birthday! Being that two of his favorite things are being outside and water...he is in absolute heaven!!

Another favorite thing is going to the park.....I think we will be there quite often this summer!


Climbing like a big boy!

This was a two weekends ago and just this weekend he proudly went down the slide all on his own....well just holding onto Mommies hand!

It's my PARTY!

The weekend of May 1st we had Collin's birthday party, because we were out of town the following weekend. Collin was so excited to have his cousins, aunts and uncles come down for the fun! Watching Collin and Sam, his cousin, play/interact with toys was very funny! Since Collin is 6 months younger than Sam he is just a tad bit slower when it come to moving around than Sam. For example, Collin may be slowly pushing his Mickey toy across the room. He pauses for a second and turns around and quickly Sam slides in to try out that toy. As we all know, what 1 year olds knows how to share, but it was so funny when finally Collin gave in and just stopped, tightened his fists and shuddered as if he was so frustrated he didn't know what to do! I definately think this summer we will need a good "timer" method for the boys or just have two of every toy we have.

I decided to make cupcakes...I must say I was very proud of how they turned out! I made a monkey, tiger and lion. Of course Collin ate the monkey...his favorite!

Here are some more pics from the party!

Aunt Kristin and Collin just hanging out.

Grandma and the Boys!

FRANKIE making faces!

Gift Time

My new chair from Grandma and Grandpa!


Cupcake Time...thought I should touch the fire!

YUM! This looks tasty!

I am soooo tired!!

SO overall is it was the perfect one year birthday celebration!!! We have been so blessed this last year to have family and friends support us throughout Collin's first year. It is hard to believe it has already been a year!