Our Day in Court

Today was our final adoption hearing through Franklin County. As I mentioned before it was just a formality but the Wilson's never pass up a perfectly good excuse to celebrate.

Where do I begin?? The "re-adoption" process in theory is very simple. I had heard most people don't even hire an attorney they just do it on their own. If most people can do it, I know I can do it! It was mostly fill in the blank paperwork with a lot of fancy language. I have a theory that the clerk at the adoptions desk in Probate Court has some type of agreement with the attorneys to make the process as difficult as possible for the idiots that think they can do it on their own!

When I went in the first time to turn in the paperwork it was not a very pleasant experience. When I walked out I felt about 2 feet tall, I must be an IDIOT! The clerk was nasty and rude. She rolled her eyes a lot and was very short with me as if I should know exactly how this all worked. After all of the huffing and eye rolling she told me she couldn't assign a court date until 6 months after we returned home. Why was she rushing me then?? We still had 5 1/2 months to go! We came home September 13th so 6 months would be March 13th. She told us to come back on that date at 10AM and then gave me her list of demands. Bring this, bring that, do this, do that!!! And if you don't, you will be sent home!! Quite honestly, I wanted to knock her out but instead I left before she reduced me to tears. Didn't she know what we had been through??? As if it wasn't enough to deal with the Guatemalan government and the US Federal Government now I have to be hassled by a clerk at Franklin County Probate Court. When will it end?? Oh! And yes, they took money from us too!!

So here we are...March 13th! We got up early to get Collin fed, bathed, dressed and ready to go. He wore a suit and tie!!! We ran down the checklist of demands so as not to get sent home with our tails between our legs. Off we went on our adventure downtown to the courthouse. My mom, dad, Bryan and Brylie met us down there-we had a crowd. We get to the counter and there she is looking at us like we are IDIOTS! "Can I help you"? DUH!!! My 1 year old is in a suit...yeah we just thought we'd come up to the 22nd floor to look out the windows!!! Now who's the idiot...I mean, there is a big sign above your desk that says ADOPTIONS!! Wrong, it's still us! "We don't have any hearings scheduled today"??

Now, I KNOW 100% that she told me March 13th-exactly 6 months from the day we came home. "Your hearing is March 14th at 10am". This chick is really cruisin' for a bruisin'!!! She claimed that all the magistrates were gone and we would have to come back. Just as we were walking out the door-wait a minute! A magistrate magically appeared . Thank goodness because the idea of getting Collin in that suit again and going back down there the next morning was not sitting well with anyone, especially me! And, mostly because I know I'm right and she's wrong!!!

So we got our hearing where some strange guy asked a bunch of personal questions. He wanted to make sure that we understood that this was the same as having a biological child and he doesn't come with a warranty-he comes as is. NICE! As Wyatt put it, I'm pretty sure they have never turned anyone down since the adoption is already legal-get on with it buddy!!

Finally, the hearing was over and we had to return to the dreaded clerk for some additional paperwork and...suprise...to take some more of our money! There was a lady sitting at the desk looking very frustrated. The clerk was rolling her eyes and literally scolding this woman holding her newly adopted baby. The lady got mad and eventually started crying-I feel your pain sister!! I know it is embarrassing to break down in public. People think the only women with the raging hormones are the pregnant ones-WRONG!! So when the clerk stepped away I had to go talk to her and tell her not to feel bad that she treated me the same way which seemed to bring her a huge sense of relief.

She said something that rang so true with me. She said you go through all the "stuff" you go through to get this baby home and you are just emotionally "raw". I thought that was the perfect word. You expect and are used to dealing with disappointment, rudeness and annoyance from so many different angles throughout the process. You don't feel like you can really speak up for yourself because you don't know if this person can make or break your adoption. You are literally at the whim of that person's mood. Once you are all home together you just let it all go. All it takes is one person to look at you wrong and all that anger and frustration just floods out of you. But the other thing I have found is that there is usually someone close by that knows what you are going through and that is willing to help or at least offer some words of encouragement. Sometimes that is all you need is someone who really understands. It seems throughout our journey with Collin, especially when he was sick in Guatemala, just at the time I thought I was going to lose it someone was there to help me. Don't laugh, I call it karma. You help someone when they need it and someone will help you when you need it. That has been proven over and over to me during this journey.

Off the soapbox and on to the pictures!!


Here is Collin waiting patiently in his favorite chair with his remote.

Collin and daddy both in their suits!

Here we are during the actual hearing-thanks to my brother, our photographer.

Collin wasn't too happy about the magistrate either.Wyatt looks like he's running for office!

Collin-worn out after a tough day in court.

Nice Suprise!

Today we received a nice surprise from the son of Collin's foster mother "Mama Rosa". He e-mailed us pictures of Collin that we had not seen yet. We have a few but we were really glad to receive more so that we can fill up his baby album. It will be very special for him to see the people that love him in Guatemala. We have stayed in contact with his foster family and it is very apparent that they love him and miss him very much. We hope that some day Collin will be able to meet them. We can never thank them enough for taking such good care of him and loving him as a member of their own family. They gave him such a good start in life and created a great foundation for us to build on.



Here is Rosa, Collin's foster mother.





Today (yesterday now since it is 1am) is the 1 year anniversary of the day we received Collin's referral. Forgive me while I go back in time...it was a very exciting day!!! We had just turned our dossier in the day before . When the phone rang I saw that it was the adoption agency and figured that they were letting us know they got it. Our coordinator said "you have a baby"! I was at work driving around with some coworkers and I just wanted to scream!! She was e-mailing the photos and overnighting his package to us. I called Wyatt and he told me I had to wait for him to look at the pictures. I think he had special duty that night because he didn't get home until after midnight as I recall. I was sitting at the computer waiting. Neither one of us could wait to get our eyes on him! We pulled up the pictures and breathed a sigh of relief. You have no idea how you will react in a situation like this. A million things go through your head but he was absolutely beautiful!! We printed off about a million pictures and started passing them out the next morning. There really are no words to describe how happy we were. And today there are no words to describe how happy we are that a year later it is all ancient history and he is here at home where he belongs!! It is hard to believe.

I have to go check on the little guy sleeping in his crib and give him a little extra love on this special day(if that is even possible)!!

I must be psychic!

What did I tell you? You have to love Ohio. 5 days ago I predicted a blizzard and guess what????

WE GOT IT!!

Maybe I should go into the weather business? I have to say that this is the most snow I have seen in quite a few years! I had to weather the storm to go to work today only to find my city car snowed in. I couldn't even get into the parking lot. I couldn't find a place to park my personal car so I had to go to headquarters and sit there all day. FUN! Another productive day. The real tragedy of the day is the fact that everything is closed including White Castle! No coffee for me! I thought White Castle never closed???

We bundled Collin up in his snow suit and took him outside this morning. He didn't seem to enjoy the snow any more this time than he did the last time. I don't think he is going to be a cold weather person. We were outside for about 5 minutes which is only half as long as it took us to get his snow suit on! I will have to post the pictures later.

So, Collin and Wyatt get to stay home together this weekend while I brave the cold to make the bacon. What has this world come to? I wonder what they are doing??? My guess is laying on the couch watching a lot of TV-some quality male bonding!!

Look mom...I'm a dog!

He must have been really thirsty! We need to get this child around kids. It seems like he's being raised by the pets. I know it's gross but he was very proud of himself.

Collin's Favorite Things

I've noticed there has been a lot of writing and not a lot of pictures posted lately so here is a photo update of some of Collin's favorite things.

PLAYING WITH BRYLIE




PULLING THINGS OUT OF THE CABINETS/
MAKING A MESS



PLAYING WITH BOSLEY


BATH TIME AND WRITING MESSAGES
WITH HIS BATH LETTERS-HE SPELLS VERY
WELL!!


VISITING WITH HIS BROTHER AND SISTER
AND RIDING HIS ZEBRA-VERY FUN



SITTING IN HIS FAVORITE CHAIR
WITH HIS REMOTE
WATCHING BACKYARDIGANS or Food TV


SEE ABOVE



FALLING ASLEEP IN HIS FAVORITE CHAIR



FALLING ASLEEP WITH DAD-PRICELESS!!

Spring has Sprung-but not for long!

What a beautiful day!! I have a love/hate relationship with days like these. I love them but I hate them because I know it will be followed by a blizzard or freezing rain or some other weather catastrophe. Regardless, the Wilson's enjoyed the day as much as possible before going to work.

Collin was especially crazy today. I don't know if it was the nice weather but he was in a great mood and very chatty. He talks and talks but we have no clue what he is saying. He does say "yeah" a lot. We can make out the occasional mama and dada. There have been a few nana's and pops. I guess he knows what he is saying though because he looks right at you and tells you how it is!!

So we had our first taste of Spring and it was great. I didn't want to go to work today. We can't wait for it to warm up so we can go to the park and on bike rides. There is so much more to do when the weather is nice. Collin is getting so much more interactive and attentive. He actually seems like he is enjoying himself so the zoo will be much more fun this year. We can actually play outside instead of at the mall and in the house.

We finalized our plans for family vacation! We are going to Beaches an all inclusive Sandals resort in Jamaica. Everyone is very excited. My parents are taking Brylie and Kahlen. Alexis and Peyton will be coming with us and of course Baby Collin! The kids should have a great time. The resort is family oriented and very kid friendly. They have a water park and tons of kids club programs for the little ones. The big kids have an XBox game theater and teen disco-not to mention the beach and pools (with swim up bars for the really big kids). It should be a fabulous trip.

All the kids are getting their passports. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Collin will have all of his paperwork back in time. I thought we would have plenty of time but after reading some posts on an adoption site it looks like the US government is taking their sweet time (and lots of our money) processing Certificates of Citizenship(CoC). Collin already has his but it is in his other name "Rodrigo Alejandro Wilson" so we have to have it changed once his name change is complete. Speaking of which, Collin's final adoption hearing is on March 13th. That is when he will have his official name change. We didn't have to readopt him here but they call it "recognizing" a foreign adoption so that he can get a US Birth Certificate. It will make things easier for him in the long run having a US Birth Certificate. Then we will have to wait 6-8 weeks until he is in the system to get a copy of that and then go to the Social Security Office to get his SSN changed to Collin rather than Rodrigo. It is all very complicated AND expensive! Just when we thought we had all of the adoption expenses paid for they hit us for something else. All I know is I booked Collin Jeffrey Wilson on his vacation so it better all be official by August 11th!!! Keep your fingers crossed!

Here are a couple pictures of the resort. Maybe I will make one a screen saver to keep the positive weather thoughts flowing!!

In honor of St. Patricks Day-even though it's a month away

Have you ever wandered why I make the big bucks??? Yeah, me too!! Above, you will see what Collin's name would be if he was a leprechaun. These are the things that I do while I am bored at work thanks to my new air card. Technology is a beautiful thing. I'm not complaining that more people aren't out there beating up there families, causing me to earn my money, but is it too much to ask for just every once in a while?? Do you sense a lack of satisfaction with my current position? Don't get me wrong I am far from miserable enough to return to Patrol and push a cruiser around all day but a sister needs some work every once in a while!

Relief may be on the way but I will have to wait until Tuesday to find out. I put in for a job in Assault Squad which should be much busier, dare I say, too busy? Mama needs to stay busy or she wants to go home to spend time with her baby and this job isn't cutting it! I am number 3 so 2 other people would have to pass for me to get it. This would also allow me the opportunity to learn some tricks of the trade from Yoda aka dad since he also works in Assault Squad on 3rd shift. We would actually work together a couple of hours a night.

But, back to my time wasting solutions...I checked out a website called blogthings.com. They have a bunch of stupid but fun quizzes to take that tell you things like your star name and if you are normal or not. It has entertained me for several hours now so if you are in need of some mindless laughter you should check it out. BTW my star name is Venus Velveeta, Wyatt is Jimi Vicious and Collin is Amadaus Vicious. My leprechaun name is Paddy Greentooth and Wyatt is Sneaky Potfiller...hhhmmm?!? Also, just in case you were wondering, my rapper name is Freaky Supastar, Wyatt is Ghetto Beatbox and Collin is Dr. Millionaire. Oh, and I am 45% normal...is that good???

Since this is the story of Collin rather than the story of Heather lets catch up. We are all feeling better but Collin still has explosive #3, and I mean explosive! Hopefully you all know what #3 is, if not, never mind. He is not walking yet but he did stand unassisted the other day and clapped his hands. I don't think he even realized what he was doing. He crawls with one foot in front of him so he is just a step away from standing up and taking off.

If you have ever been in our house you know about the infamous ledge or drop off from the dining room down into the family room. I ripped out the railing when I moved in never contemplating children but simply liking the open space.

Once kids started hanging out at the house I thought we would just have to keep an eye on them. Brylie seemed to learn that she had to stay away. Kahlen...not so much. She was the first to tumble off. But, she escaped without injury and she hasn't done it again. Collin likes to fly up the stairs and sit right on the edge and just look at us. When we tell him no, he just smiles and starts rocking back and forth as if to say "what are you going to do about it"? It is a joke to him. I wander if it will still be a joke if he actually falls off? I have covered all sharp corners on the TV stand since Kahlen fell off but so far I am sticking to my original game plan. I think kids (and adults) learn from experience. I know that kids depth perception is not developed yet and all the developmental stuff they tell you in books but my kid is a genius!

I have contemplated putting up some sort of gate but I'm not there yet. I may be giving him way more credit than I should but his joking around tells me that he knows that is a bad thing that he should not do. Does that mean the next step is he'll do it? We will see. Now if I can just keep him out of the dog food.

Speaking of the dog...Bosley and Collin are getting along very well. Bosley has adjusted nicely and they share their toys like good boys. I was a little confused as to why Collin was always crawling around with toys in his mouth, now I understand. They play tug of war with stuffed animals. Bosley has literally pulled Collin across the floor because he just won't let go. Usually when he does it is because he is laughing so hard I think he forgets to hold on.

Collin loves playing chase and loves to be pulled down the stairs by his feet. He thinks it is hilarious. He will go upstairs and when I call his name you hear a high pitched squeak and then a giggle. He thinks most things are funny. When he is in the tub he will hand me his tub letters and numbers and I make up words for the letters and show him the sign for the letter. When he gives me a number I count and sign the numbers up to that number and he about falls over he thinks it is so funny!?! I have no idea why...I'm just glad someone thinks I'm funny!

I could go on for hours just like I can sit and watch him forever. Everything he does is so stinking cute! Well, I would like to say back to work but since the phone isn't ringing-back to surfing!!

The Flu

Yes, we all have it-the flu. What a taxing experience having a baby and a sick husband while you are sick. I never thought 2 people would have to fight for space with 2 bathrooms but it happened. We had contemplated devoting each bathroom solely for a certain activity and none other ,if you know what I mean.

Thank goodness I bought diapers because poor Collin is going through them like crazy. We didn't even bother taking him out of his PJ's today although I think he has been in at least 7 different pair. Luckily, he only has one end of the deal and he seems to be feeling okay otherwise.

Gone are the days of being a baby. You really have to suck it up. Luckily, we have kind of taken turns being the one that gets to "act" sick. You can get through anything for a little bit then by the time you are worn out hopefully the other person is rested up and ready to go. Not that we haven't snapped at eachother but I think we will make it through!!

The worst part is everyone is out of town. I was supposed to be taking care of my parents animals so they are suffering too. I hope they come home soon because we are at dangerously low levels of toilet paper!!! We may have to declare an emergency and call out the troops!

I WANT MY MOMMY!!!!

Collin's 1st Birthday

Collin's birthday cake was a caterpillar. It had 5 small cakes, 2 yellow and 2 chocolate and one half and half. The head was for Collin to tear into or should I say Collin, Brylie and Kahlen?? Collin is okay with sharing this year, we will see about next year?!? He also had the cake from his FLASH pictures and an ice cream cake at Nana and Pops.

This is what was left of the cake...not much!!

This is Collin opening his gifts. Once again Brylie was a big helper opening the packages for Collin because he could really care less about opening and more about playing!!

I should have put this in reverse order because we opened gifts first and cake last. Then...everyone to the tub!!!

Now it is Brylie's turn (she is 3 on 2/4) so Collin wanted to sent her a message...and it's not HPEV B1RTDAVI BRV1LIE!!!

I think we need another set or two of the bathtub letters! We had to make do with what we had!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Collin had his first birthday on January 23rd. We took him to Flash to get his 1 year pictures taken. They are so cute...of course. Not Tennille King pictures but they will do for now!! We took a little cake and let him tear into it while they took pictures. He really seemed to like the sugar!! Imagine that?!?

Wyatt had to work so we spent the evening at Nana and Pops. Uncle B, Aunt Jessie and the girls were there and we had ice cream cake. Keeping with the Collins tradition of dragging out your birthday as long as possible, we will have some people over on Sunday for cake. I am making a caterpillar cake-hopefully it will turn out!! I will post pictures after Sunday.

It is hard to believe little Collin is one! He has only been with us for 4 months though in some ways it seems like he's been with us forever. Everyday he does something new. He has a new face that I have to get a picture of so I can post it. He looks like he's about to start crying and he closes his eyes and opens his mouth then the next second he is back to a normal face. He probably keeps doing it because we laugh at him every time he does it. He is the happiest baby and we are having so much fun.

We are trying to plan our first big family vacation so if anyone has any good kid friendly ideas let me know. The 3 cousins are so much fun when they are together although the adults may need a vacation from vacation after taking on those 3!!! Hopefully the 3 of them can grow up and have lots of great memories of their times together.

Stay tuned for some great new pictures!!

Collin's First Haircut

Leann at Kenneth's was nice enough to give Collin a nice trim so he can look extra handsome for his one year picture. He was not really thrilled about the whole thing but it could have been much worse!! Thanks Leann!

Christmas Pics ... Finally!!

It was a great first Christmas with Collin. Although he could really care less about opening presents it was just so nice having him here. It is amazing how much our lives have changed in a matter of a year. Chritmas time last year we were just in the research phase of our adoption. I was getting ready to graduate and my graduation present was to turn in our application for a little girl from China. Here we are with our boy from Guatemala and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he was meant to be with us. He is the perfect fit and a great addition to our family! Here are a few photos from our Christmas.

BEFORE>>>

AFTER>>>

Christmas Eve Craziness!!

Testing out the new toys.

Everyday Something New...

I Can Do...

Walk all around the family room (with the help of my toy).

Sit by myself in the bathtub-no more baby seat in the tub! I WON'T SIT IN IT!! I REFUSE!!

Sincerely-"baby" Collin

In the few seconds it took me to type what is above, Collin was here and then I heard the smacking of little hands on the hardwood floor upstairs and dog food rattling. He set a speed record for going up the stairs-and I didn't even see it-BAD MOM!!

Now after the time it took to type the above paragraph he has opened my recipe drawer and thrown all of my recipes that I had cut from magazines all over the floor.

I think we are in trouble!

GOTTA RUN before the next adventure begins!!

Merry Christmas Eve!!

LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!!

The days of putting Collin in the family room and thinking he will stay there are officially over! A couple of days ago Wyatt was taking a nap and I was cleaning up the kitchen (how ironic). Collin was down with Wyatt in the family room playing-or so I thought. I heard a noise and went to check on him and he was half way up the stairs!!! My heart about stopped!

It is so amazing how fast he is growing. It seems like everyday he does something new. He is crawling at lightning speed, he pulls himself up to standing, he claps, he tries to snap his fingers and now he CLIMBS STAIRS!!! He laughs all the time, sometimes even when he's asleep. He loves yelling and now he has started a new squeaking noise which I like better than the yelling because it is not as loud! And he loves "BIG HUGS" and to give "BIG KISSES". They are big because his mouth is wide open!!

I have some other cute pictures to post of our random family outings for Christmas. The Collins Family doesn't know what has hit them! These kids have Rocked our World!! What FUN!! We are having a blast and these kids are going to be best of friends!!

We all went to Wildlights at the zoo. It was really cold and the kids were so bundled up they could hardly move but Collin seemed to enjoy looking at the lights. He stayed awake the whole time. This is monumental because I took him to the zoo about a dozen times while I was off work and he would sleep through the entire outing and then wake up as soon as I put him in the car to go home!!

This is Collin showing his cousin Kahlen a thing or two about how to eat out of a bowl. You have to get your entire face in there!

And last but not least-THE ELUSIVE TRIO-at it again! Still no picture of the cousins together. I'm not giving up yet! I can't figure out how to get the pictures right side up so you will have to see them sideways-SORRY!

Christmas Lesson #2

DON'T LET THE LITTLE ONES DECORATE UNSUPERVISED

Because they don't decorate cookies...they decorate their faces and eat all the cookies!!

COLLIN MEETS SANTA

Today Collin got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time. He was not very excited at first but eventually he warmed up. What a fun experience watching all the parents make fools of themselves to get their kids to smile-then it's YOUR TURN!! HAHAHA Merry Christmas!!!

More Christmas thoughts

Since I have pretty much done everything I said I would never do I might as well keep up the trend. We were not going to buy much for Collin this Christmas because we still have gifts in boxes that we were going to wrap and put under the tree and maybe even wrap some of his current toys. He's a baby, he wouldn't know we were re-gifting. He really doesn't NEED anything. And, more importantly, we are running out of space!

But...sometimes I go shopping and I see something that I know he would just LOVE! So I've picked up a few things here and there. Today I started organizing the gifts and found that I have gone slightly overboard. Is this how kids get spoiled? Is it wrong to want to give your child everything? I mean, he could have one toy and he would be perfectly happy. I don't mean to be sappy but I remember being in Guatemala and seeing poverty like we can't even imagine here. I remember coming home and the excess and importance we place on "meaningless stuff" kind of disgusted me. But here I am, doing it, and doing it well. I don't know what to say...Merry Christmas?

Christmas Lesson #1

BUY PLASTIC ORNAMENTS!!!

Need I say more?

Celebrating Adoption Photos

Collin had a session with Tennille King, a photographer that donates a free session and photos to newly adopted children to document this special time. The program is called "Celebrating Adoption". She came to our house and took the pictures. Some are in his bedroom and others are in and around his playroom aka the old livingroom. Since he is crawling at the speed of light it is tough to keep him in one place for too long. She was very patient and the pictures came out great. Bye bye FLASH! It is worth the extra money for the quality of the pictures and you pick the location for the session. She is a natural light photographer so she doesn't have a ton of equipment-only a camera!

I am adding the link to the bottom of the blog titled "View Collin's Photos" to view the online gallery. It will only be up for about 10 more days so look fast! They are SO cute!! The password is "WILSON".

I have added her web page also. I highly recommend her!!!!

1st SNOW!!

I couldn't resist bundling Collin up like the kid from "A Christmas Story" and taking him out in his new sled. I think the trauma of putting all those clothes on far outweighed any excitement over snow or the sled. Actually, I don't think he cared for the cold stuff. It may take a while to adjust to the new weather!