The Zoo

We took a trip to the zoo with Kahlen and Brylie. I thought he might sleep through the entire trip but he woke up just in time for the petting zoo.

Here is my little goat groomer!




This is the first time Collin has really been interactive with the animals at the petting zoo. I don't think we have been to the zoo since he started walking.All the kids had so much fun it was hard to drag them out!





After the petting zoo we rode the train and ate some pretzels!



I was so impressed that Collin was able to put coins into the coin slots all by himself. The first couple tries were a little sloppy but once he got the hang of it there was no stopping him.That has to be some kind of fine motor skill achievement-I knew he was brilliant!!

Powder POOF!

I swear I only turned my head for a second...





I turned my back for a couple of seconds to grab diapers and I turn around to this!!

Poor Collin

Collin had to get tubes in his ears today. I'm told it is very common for kids his age but any kind of "surgery" is stressful for everyone. We had to be at the surgery center at 7:30am and his procedure was scheduled for 8:30am.

They took us back and gave him a little medicine to make him relax. They also gave him a little oxygen mask to play with so he would be used to it when he went into the surgery room. By the time they took him back he had put all of his stuffed animals to sleep with the mask and tucked them in with his blanket. He didn't fuss at all when the nurse took him from me, which for anyone that knows Collin, that is NOT the norm!

They warned us that it would be a different story when he came out. They assured us it was not because he was in pain but I guess when they come out of the anesthesia they are very disoriented and to put it mildly-PISSED OFF!

I forgot to bring a sippy cup so I sent Wyatt to get one across the street. I seem to always mess up something important on these occasions. I guess it could have been worse. He was gone all of 10 minutes and as he was walking through the door they called us to the back to see the doctor.

Collin's surgery went fine and we could go back in just a couple of minutes to see him. Well, they were right! I could hear him screaming as soon as we turned the corner. He was screaming and fighting and wiggling, but it seemed like he wasn't even awake. His eyes weren't really open and no tears were coming out. He kept this up for about 30 minutes and then he started to calm down. He drank 2 whole cans of apple juice before we left and ate a big bag of goldfish. I guess he was feeling better.

We headed home and we started to see signs of normal Collin coming back. He ate breakfast and took a nice nap. He doesn't seem to be in pain and seems to be functioning normally other than he walks around like he is drunk. Once again, it's like nothing ever happened-thank goodness!

So for the rest of the day Collin and I are just hanging out and taking it easy. I was concerned I may need to take tomorrow off work but he seems to be right back to normal so I guess he can go to Nana and Pops. What a relief!!

HAPPY HOMECOMING DAY !!!

Today (well actually yesterday now that I am finally getting to this post) is Collin's 1 year anniversary of the day he came home from Guatemala. The day did not go exactly as planned...of course.

I wanted to decorate his bedroom in balloons while he was asleep so he would wake up to balloons all over. He loves balloons as I am sure most kids do and his Pops had decorated his room with balloons for his homecoming last year. BUT...I ended up getting stuck at work on overtime and Wyatt was called to Children's Hospital because Peyton broke his ankle. So, since we would both be very late Collin had to stay at Nana and Pops which means he wasn't going to wake up at home. The balloons I bought were going to serve double duty at his party. Needless to say only one bunch of balloons made it home. Oh well, maybe next year!!

I got home at 3:30am and had to finish the gift bags for the party so I went to bed at about 4:30am and had to get up bright and early at 6am to meet Amy and Em for our twice annual Kids Resale fun at the Grove City Nazarene Church. We make an event of it! We meet at Starbucks to map out our strategy and arrive an hour before the doors open to make sure we are first (or close to first) in line. Yes, there are other people as crazy as us that show up super early. This is another one of those things I NEVER would have done BC (before Collin).I wouldn't even do it for myself! But I buy his entire wardrobe for the following season for about $100-$200 dollars and that includes a few extra toys to add to the embarrassingly large pile he has already!

Then it was off to Collin's Chick-fil-a party. I was working on an hour and a half of sleep but made it through. We had a great party! Chick-fil-a was great. I'm pretty sure we ended up with more than 50 people but they just kept handing out the food. They are so nice and helpful there. So allow me to plug Chick-fil-a for all of your party needs, or lunch time needs. They even serve breakfast =*)

Collin was in a great mood and worked the room when he wasn't in the playroom. The "eat more chikn cow" even made an appearance and the kids loved it!I think this experience taught me that when Collin gets older to have all of his birthday parties at someone else's place!!!When it is over you just leave and go home to your house that is in the same condition as when you left. Sounds good to me!

We went home to have a little family time with Collin. When we were in Guatemala we bought various things to give him over the years on his homecoming day to honor his culture. Nothing big (except for the one he will get on his 21st) just little handmade items we found at markets. So we gave him his first Guatemalan gift.

We also "adopted" the Discovery Reef at the zoo in honor of Collin's adoption. He loves the aquarium at the zoo. I remember when we were in the hospital in Guatemala (the real one)that he loved watching the fish in the aquarium and it was really the only thing that would settle him for a short period of time so we thought that was appropriate. He got a backpack with some fish and sea creatures and an adoption certificate with a picture of "his" Discovery Reef.

Finally-we got to take a nap!! I HATE sleeping during the day but it was unavoidable this time. It seems to just waste the day especially on a special day like today but Collin needed a nap too so I took advantage of that.

We woke up just in time to eat dinner and then the OSU v USC game came on. Collin was going to stay up late and party with mom and dad to watch the Bucks beat USC. He went to bed at halftime...AND THAT IS ALL I'M GOING TO SAY ABOUT THAT!!!

All in all I think we had a great first homecoming day!

GO BUCKS!!

I should have posted this yesterday but better late than never! Let's just hope the Buckeyes get it together by next week!!

First Leaves of the Season

As you can see Collin was a big help!

Should I be Concerned??

Collin LOVES his "helmet"! He wears it everywhere. In case you haven't noticed, his helmet is a plastic bowl! We are hoping that he will not be THAT kid-you know-the one that wears a bowl on his head to school everyday!!

Looking Back

We are approaching the one year anniversary of Collin's homecoming from Guatemala. Looking back on where I was one year ago is not a good memory. It was the beginning of the worst nightmare. Collin was so sick and this would have been the night that we took him to the first "hospital" where my mom and I counted the minutes as we spent the night in the garage full of screaming babies. It was horrible. This day started the bad dream that lasted 10 long days while I stared non stop at that baby we had all fallen in love with, not knowing if he was ever going to come home to us. All I could do was hold him and love him and try to let him know it would be okay he just had to get better so we could go home where we have real doctors and real hospitals.


I also have to think of how many great people we met along the way. People that touched our lives forever with their kindness. People that we will never forget no matter how far away we are. Without our Guatemalan angels we never would have made it through. We are eternally grateful to all of them.


Luckily, that bad dream came to an end and our baby Collin got to come home!! And, look at him now. I can't imagine not having him in our lives. The amount of joy he brings to our lives every day is infinite. Even when he is being a bad boy he is still my little pumpkin =*)


Our life has changed a great deal in the last year.Our living room is now a playroom, our house is in a perpetual state of disarray, and our pristine backyard is filled with more plastic toys than I ever knew existed. I count the days to the next seasonal baby consignment sale. I check out potty books at the library. When people ask how old Collin is I say 19 months instead of 1 1/2. I have a working knowledge of all things Backyardigans and am quickly re-familiarizing myself with an old friend, Sesame Street. Elmo might as well be mommy-he's VERY popular. And, I wouldn't change a thing!!


This has been a fantastic year for the Wilson's and I know the future will bring more fun and good times!