FFF: Theme-UP

You thought I forgot, didn't you? Up was a little difficult but here we go. To see more FFF pic go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me

Wordless Wednesday-I almost forgot!

Brilliant Idea

I just had a brilliant idea. Remember when my days off changed I was going to do a "Weekend Update"? Well this 25 random things tagging deal that has been going around got me thinking. I am going to make Tuesdays, which is really my Monday, Top Ten Tuesday! Make Sense??? My top 10 will be random things that Collin has done in the last week that are funny or impressive, new things he has said, pretty much whatever. I think it's a great idea-but I will start next week-lol!

Sleeping Baby

I have been trying to get Collin to take his nap for 3 hours now. He has been very mischievous today-for example-pouring water from the dog bowl onto the floor with measuring cups. This is one he has never done before. So what do I do? Video tape it of course! What a good mom. I'm sure that will encourage him never to do that again but I was in shock, I have no other excuse!



After all that he decides to fall asleep sitting up on the couch.




IT is so hard to be upset with him-lol.

Last Happy Birthday post-I promise!

In true Collins/Wilson family style Collin's birthday was celebrated for an entire weekend. I ate a ton of cake and somehow managed to lose 5 pounds this week! I might be on to something. I like the sound of the cake diet-I know I could stick to that one. I thought I would post a few pics from Collin's party on Sunday. We had the family over for cake and an unexpected snow storm. Brylie and Kahlen were out of town visiting their great grandma and didn't get back to Columbus until later so we had to have a THIRD birthday celebration-AKA more cake!

New Pictures!

Today we had Collin's 2 year picture taken. We got a few family pictures too. Actually, it was the only way he would go for it. The picture place has the same bad mojo as the haircut place. Luckily, the pictures came out pretty good. Click here for the link to Flash. Enter "Wilson" under the last name and then find Heather Wilson for 1/24/09. The password is "Collin". The pictures from early December are still on there as well. The password is the same.

FFF:Theme New

This is the BEST new thing I could imagine.

Collin's 2nd Birthday

Today was Collin's birthday. Wyatt had to work so Collin and I got to spend the day together. I couldn't let him have too much fun on his special day so I took him to Cookie Cutters so they could torture him with a haircut. This is something I have come to dread. I used to take him to the salon that I go to, and at first he was fine. But, he started not caring for the whole hair cut thing. I started taking him to Cookie Cutters because it is just for kids so his screaming and carrying on may not cause quite as much annoyance to the clientele. At home, if I were to turn on the Backyardigans or Elmo he would drop whatever he was doing and run to the TV where he would sit in a dead stare until I turned it off. This phenomenon does not apply at Cookie Cutters. I started giving him his "good boy sucker" prior to the haircut in anticipation that if he is enjoying his special treat he won't notice the haircut. NOPE-that only leads to a hairy sucker. Today I packed a bag of all his favorite toys, books and snacks so I would be prepared for his every whim. It didn't matter. I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am going to have to deal with bloody murder screaming for a while when it comes to haircuts. A little practice with the head locks and finger scissor avoidance might not hurt either.

So anyway, after our torture session we went to Chik-fil-A for lunch and a little play time. Collin unknowingly "dimed out" Nana and Pops at Chick-fil-A like he dimed me out at Tim Hortons in front of Daddy one time! It was very obvious when we turned into the driveway of the restaurant that he LOVES this place. He was yelling "yay yay yay and MMM MMM MMM". This isn't a place that we go on a regular basis so the only other culprit could be Nana and Pops. At least it's not McDonalds! Although, we never go there so maybe I should test him and pull in the parking lot!!!


On a side note, I am addicted to Tim Hortons coffee. I drive through on a regular basis and often Collin is in the car with me. If he is in the car, I order him one Tim Bit along with my coffee. Wyatt does not like my coffee drinking habit and also knows that I cringe when my parents give Collin sweets. One day we were all in the car going somewhere and Tim Hortons called my name, so I pulled in. Wyatt rolled his eyes and Collin started the "Yay Yay Yum Yum" thing. Wyatt looked at me and he didn't even have to say it. No-I'm not feeding the kid coffee-"Welcome to Tim Hortons, May I help you?"- Medium coffee... and one sour cream Tim Bit please. BUSTED! So I had to listen to the old you give everyone else a hard time but look what your doing speech.



So on to the birthday. We played and had lunch then ran to the grocery store. Something else I avoid like the plague since Collin had a catastrophic meltdown a few months back-to the tune of leaving a full cart of groceries in the frozen food aisle and walking out the door-which also means I only had 2 aisles left until my shopping was complete. Thank goodness, today he promptly fell asleep in his car cart. Of course every old lady had to walk up to the cart and let me know he was sleeping-OH, not anymore, sorry! I need a sign,"GO AWAY SLEEPING BABY-MOM TRYING TO SHOP IN PEACE".


Nana and Pops were coming over for Collin's favorite dinner "skedy" and salad and cake. Luckily, it was just them because the house was a disaster and I was running behind schedule as usual. I had planned on making Collin a Pablo cake but I ended up making him an Elmo cake instead. I borrowed a Pablo pan but I didn't want to sit a huge cake in front of him so I made a small Elmo head with a little egg shaped cake and 2 cupcakes. I thought it turned out very well.

Nana and Pops brought gifts and Collin definitely knew what to do with them. He opened Indiana Jones Mr. Potato Head and started to check it out. Nana handed him another gift and he promptly threw Mr. Potato, and I mean threw, to the side and tore into the next package. Dinner was great, Collin loved it. Luckily, Wyatt was able to come home from work to eat and hang out a bit before heading back out. The cake was a hit. Collin especially loved eating Elmos eyes and nose and giving him kisses. Needless to say it was off to the bath immediately after and bedtime! What a good day. Sunday the fam comes for cake and ice cream so we get to do it all again! I bought the cake for that one!!

Depressing, Guilty...THANKFUL

I know I have been a little lax in my blogging lately other than posting pictures.I blame Facebook mainly-it is internet crack. But, on a more serious note, every time I log on I can't help but check on the status of Abbie. Her link is on the side of my page. Abbie was adopted from Guatemala, like Collin, and she was a normal healthy kid, just like Collin, until she was diagnosed with Leukemia at age 3. It makes me so sad every time I look at her and read about her. How I remember sitting in a hospital with Collin dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing if he was going to live or die. It was unbearable. I can't even imagine how it would feel to have to deal with the uncertainty on an ongoing basis and watching your child suffer in unimaginable ways. I feel guilty because I don't want to have to see that poor little girls face because the fear it instills in me is unfathomable. How do these people do it? I don't know if I could. I feel really bad that I feel that way. It seems selfish because it makes me uncomfortable and my discomfort is nothing compared to the pain and anguish this family is dealing with every minute of every day. How dare I be so selfish? I'm human, I like living in my pain free bubble where everything is good and nice. But what happens when that bubble breaks and something like a child's illness rocks your whole existence? I'd like to think I would be strong but how do you deal with that kind of devastation?

On the other hand,I am thankful that Abbie is here with her family in the US getting the best medical care. If she were still in Guatemala there would be no hope. At least here she has a chance. I am thankful every day that Collin is healthy and I value every single minute that I have with him. As parents, and especially as mothers, our lives are no longer our own, they belong to our children. When they are sick or they have a problem, it is our problem as well. That is one of those things you were told you wouldn't understand until you had a child, and they were right. You would give up anything for them, you want them to have the best life has to offer and you don't want them to ever have to suffer. I hope Abbie and her family don't have to suffer much longer. I wish strength for them to make it through this tough time and live full, happy and healthy lives.

Collin is 2 today!

Wordless Wednesday-I made it again!

FFFF-Finally Favorite Foto Friday-Eyes

It may be late but I couldn't resist this one. Tennille King, a really great photographer took this picture of Collin when he first arrived home for a "Celebrating Adoption" session. It feels like you can just look into his soul through those big brown eyes. I hope we can afford to have her come over again soon and take some more pictures-she really is the best!

FFF-Eyes

FFF will be posted on Saturday do to circumstances out of my control-AKA I have to work overtime and might be too tired when I get home at 3 or 4 AM.

Wordless Wednesday-I only missed it by 20 minutes!

FFF:Cold

This picture is from just before Christmas when we went to Wildlights at the zoo.It was pretty cold. Sometimes I wonder why we do it??

It seems lately I have been reminicent when it comes to Collin. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is because he is turning 2 soon and it seems like he's not my little helpless baby anymore. Everytime I look at him he seems so big. When I check on him at night he takes up so much more space in his crib. When I change his diaper he barely fits on the changing table. In a way it makes me really sad but in other ways it makes me happy because I see all of the new things he is learning. It seems all along he has been learning new things everyday but for some reason it's like an explosion all of the sudden. I love that he is able to express himself and I really love that he is very affectionate and loving. It pulls at my heart everytime that I hear "I love you my mama". He calls us "my mama" and "my daddy" most of the time. Otherwise, he just yells "MMMAAAA" at the top of his lungs!

A friend at work makes calendars from pictures that you give her. Yesterday, we got our calendar. When I looked at it I almost started to cry. I kept telling myself-"self, you have NEVER cried at work-DON'T START NOW"!! That's the only reason I didn't! She said she could tell from the pictures that Collin looks so happy and safe and loved-that made me so happy. I hope that he always feels that he is surrounded by people that love him more than anything.I always worry that someday he will have "issues" or there will be a time when he will have questions about where he came from and why he was adopted and I guess I just realized how unprepared I really am to answer those questions. To me, he has always been here and he has always been mine. His story is an amazing journey that we travelled together. I hope when he is older that he can comprehend how wonderful it was and not see it as a bad thing because there was nothing bad about it. It has changed my life forever. Because of him I have learned to put someone before myself. I would do anything for him. I want him to have everything in life and to grow to be a good person. I hope I am doing the right things to give him the tools to become a good person. You don't want to spoil them too much or make them think they are better than everyone because mom and dad think they are the greatest. At the same time you want them to know mom and dad think they are the greatest-LOL! This parenting thing is a lot of pressure. If you mess up it's a pretty big deal.

I literally could spend hours just watching him. I had all kinds of things to get accomplished today and I got started but was sidetracked by Collin jumping off the bottom step so I got the video camera out. Then, he wanted to show off for the camera so he climbed to the top of the steps and came down facing forward and standing up. He always turns aroung and slides down on his belly. He would climb down to the bottom step and then jump off. He did it about a hundred more times and I didn't miss one of them!It's like everything he does is amazing and the best ever. I'm almost positive I am becoming one of those annoying mom's whose kid is the best and can do no wrong. Poor Collin...scarred for life by his crazy mother!

Wordless Wednesday-and it's really Wednesday!

New Years Festivities

New Years Eve we went to my parents for pork and sauerkraut and then got home at about 10pm. We put Collin to bed and went out to sit in the hot tub for a while. We jumped out of the hot tub just in time to go hop in bed and watch the ball drop. That's my kind of New Years Eve...it was very nice being home and having our family together. Cuddling on the new microfiber sheets we got for Christmas was pretty nice too!!

The kids were absolutely insane at my parents house. Collin pulled all of the plastic containers out of the cabinet and climbed in. Of course, Brylie had to get in too. Then she decided to wear the Lock&Locks on her feet. And finally they settled down a bit...Collin and Kahlen kicking back with Nana's special drink.





For New Years Day we went to our friends Scott and Lindsay's house to watch football. Collin had a great time wresting around with their daughter Abby. He has obviously been paying attention to his father's lessons on grappling! I realized that I don't think Collin plays with any boys-all of his playmates are girls-we will have to work on that!!









Oh! Am I going to have to keep my eyes on this boy!?!?!Somebody call Children's Services!






Like father, like son. I'm blaming this one on Wyatt!!

FFF:Theme Best Foto of 2008

How do I choose?? I picked this one because it always makes me laugh. All that is missing is the cowboy hat...and clothes of course!!

Wordless Wednesday-I know it's actually Thursday-AGAIN!