Pops Bday Gift

Collin made a painting for Pops birthday. I videotaped him painting and burned a copy of it to CD. I tucked the CD in to the back of the frame so that he could watch Collin making his gift. The video is very entertaining. Not only did Collin decide to taste the paint which gave him blue lips but he also rubbed his eye and gave himself a black eye! Too Funny!

Happy BirthdayS

Today we celebrated our families October birthdays with breakfast at Nana and Pops. We celebrated Pops, Kahlen and Wyatt's birthdays. Someone forgot to get birthday candles, as well as a few other confectionery mishaps, so we had to improvise. Everyone got their favorite cake-or pie in Pops case.









Peyton was able to join us which was a nice surprise, especially for the kids. Everyone loves to play with Peyton!!

Cheese!!

Collin is becoming quite a camera "ham". As soon as he hears the word "cheese" he poses with this silly smile!

Our 'Lil Buckeye

The Bucks may not have represented but Collin ALWAYS does...

GO BUCKS

Collin decked out in his Buckeye gear!




Wyatt giving Collin some very important tips on how to be the Cornhole Champ!





Collin thinks he's one of the kids. They were playing football and he thought he was playing too...luckily he didn't get run over!





Giving Brutus a well deserved hug!! Go Bucks!!

FOLLOW ME!

Okay people...I know you are out there. I added the guestbook and no one signed it. So why am I adding a followers list you ask??? I have no idea but someone JUST HAS TO FOLLOW US!!! Maybe I am bored??? Come on everyone is doing it ;^)

Look Ma...No Cowboy Hat

I'm not sure how long the blue plastic bowl AKA the helmet will be considered cool but for now I think it is super cool! Okay-maybe a little "special".

Fun at COSI

We took Collin to one of his favorite places to play-COSI- The Center of Science and Industry. I think most cities have a place like this. I remember COSI from my childhood and let me tell you this COSI is nothing like what I remember. A complete change of location didn't help. At first I was disappointed that it wasn't exactly the same as I remembered but now that Collin is here I see that it is a place that is fun for kids of all ages. The little kids play area is the best! And the only thing better than that is that Elmo has an exhibit there through January. I know where we will be all winter.









I'm not sure if Collin had any fun...let's see

Time for some changes

I have noticed that some things on the blog need a little updating. I also think we are ready for a new look so keep checking back. I have lots of new people to add to my list of blogs that I watch and unfortunately need to delete the first blog I began to follow.


I met Rebecca, of "The Adventures of Adopting Owen", on our first trip to Guatemala, pretty much as soon as we stepped off the plane. We spent some fun times with Rebecca and Owen and I had hoped to stay in touch. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. At the time, I was new to blogging. I had heard about it but didn't really understand it. I found that after we got home I really enjoyed checking her blog everyday to see how things were going.


She stayed in Guatemala to foster Owen until he could come home. I was selfishly hoping that she would still be there for my second visit trip. I thought I would be going by myself and I thought I could hang out with her and the other Antigua moms. Luckily for Owen and Rebecca they were gone by the time I returned and luckily for me, my mom went with me which ended up being a true blessing.


One of Rebecca's last posts was that she was pregnant. I guess she is that person that causes everyone to say that annoying phrase "as soon as you adopt, you will get pregnant" =*) I was thrilled for her and her family but she stopped updating the blog and I miss seeing pictures of Owen and what his life is like now.




It is such a striking contrast between life in Antigua (Guatemala) and life back in the States.Sometimes, especially in bad economic times like this, I wish I could go back again and see that we all could live with so much less. I know that a lot of the reason that Antigua seems so magical is that it is the place where our life with Collin began. But, I also think that I really could enjoy living that very simple life. I'm not kidding myself, I realize everything is simple on vacation and the government there is a nightmare etc. etc., but I choose to keep Guatemala as a very special place in my heart. I learned a lot of lessons and a lot about myself there. I met a lot of very special people there, many of them are still there.


SO ANYWAY...by starting with Rebecca's blog I found lots and lots of other blogs of interesting people with interesting stories. These were people I had never met but most of us shared the love of a child and that was a common ground. I also learned about blogging by looking at other blogs and found that once you clicked on to another blog they had thier favorite blogs linked and on and on and on.


I am what is referred to as a serial "lurker". I will not be able to keep that status for long since meeting several of the people who's blogs I follow. Also, the fact that I have recently figured out how to subscribe to blogs so that I can read all of my favorites without surfing around aimlessly. Blogging is a learning process just like everything else. I hope that Collin will be able to look back at this blog someday as HIS story from his momma's perspective. We learn together about life and about eachother-it is our big adventure.


I hope Rebecca and Owen are doing well and maybe she will start blogging again some day.

We're Back!

We are home from Myrtle Beach finally-what a long drive!We had a great time and met lots of nice people. It was neat to actually see people you have never met in your life but you feel like you know them because you follow their blogs. It is even more interesting how we even find each other's blogs and then end up attending the same event. It is a small world.



I think this will be an annual event for us. Once Collin gets a little older he will understand the bond that all of these families share but for now he just has a great time playing with all the kids. I felt like we were back in the Marriott in Guatemala City. Everywhere you went there were families with their beautiful Guatemalan babies-now toddlers running wild!! Hopefully a lot of the families will keep going back as well. It will be fun to see all of the kids grow up.



The weather was not great but manageable. It was a little rainy but we still made it to the beach. They had several events planned for us. We went to the Aquarium, Barefoot Landing and the Outlet Mall. We should have stayed far, far away from the outlet mall! As if Collin needs one more piece of clothing-but who can resist The Children's Place Outlet,or Baby Gap, or Osh Kosh, or Gymboree...Heartstrings..Carters-you get the idea!! Obviously not me! We even planned it just right so Collin slept through the majority of the trip.




It seemed as if everyone had some sort of bad health drama during this trip and we were not to be left out. On the way home I received a text message from Wyatt stating that he at the hospital and that he was in too much pain to talk on the phone so that was why he hadn't answered my calls-but-not to worry! Yeah Right! Meanwhile we are only half way through North Carolina!! Wyatt is never sick, feels no pain and only goes to the doctor once a year to get a note so that he can take his work physical fitness test. He would NEVER go to the hospital probably even if he was dying!! All kinds of bad things were going through my head and we were still at least 10 hours away from home! But, there was nothing I could do but drive so that is what we did. He ended up getting released and the issue was pretty minor but very painful. Mr. I Never Get Sick is still in bed recovering and seems to be feeling better all the time.


It is always nice to go away but even better to come back home and sleep in your own bed. I have to say Collin thoroughly enjoyed the beds at the Marriott and is not very happy to be back at home in his crib. I think we spoiled him with the fluffy down comforters and pillows AND GETTING TO SLEEP WITH MOM EVERY NIGHT! Now maybe I can sleep a little better since I won't be pushed off the edge of the bed and kicked in the head all night. That kid is going to be a fighter!

Sometimes,he even shares the hat...but not often!

Collin gearing up in his "Bob the Builder" safety goggles to go outside and help dad clean up the yard after our hurricane in Ohio?!?!




Cowboy boots to go with the cowboy hat. Unfortunately they are not nearly as popular as the hat. He HATES them! When I put them on he just stands there like he forgot how to walk! Trick or Treat will be a blast!



Collin and Mallory (our favorite neighbor) playing out back. Unfortuntely, they will be moving out of state soon so Collin will be losing one of his best playmates =*(




I have been tearing up the seasonal baby consignment sales so Collin has a few new toys. This is one of his favorites! Notice, once again, you simply cannot drum without a cowboy hat!




Collin and his best pal Bosley (or Bozzy in Collin speak) taking a well deserved nap.

COFLAC outing

THe kids lining up for the sack race







The dads lining up- those poor dads didn't know anything about WT.







Cowboy Collin checking out the cows-he moo's pretty good.

Bad Blogger!!

I have been a very bad blogger lately-sorry! I really have no excuse, just hanging out and enjoying life.


We (me, my mom and Collin) are heading to Myrtle Beach this weekend for Guatoberfest. I'm very excited as this is the first time we have gone. Gutoberfest is a gathering of families from all over that have adopted kids from Guatemala. I just found out that there will be over 100 kids under the age of 3 attending. So if you are at the Marriott in Myrtle Beach this weekend-SORRY ABOUT YOUR LUCK!!


I am really looking forward to the trip-except for the drive. Wyatt is not going and my mom doesn't drive so that means I am the only driver. I hate driving long distance! For some reason when I get behind the wheel I automatically get tired. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't sleep on airplanes or in cars. The only way I can sleep in a car is if I am in the driver's seat. Scary thought when you are responsible for driving 3 people for 11 hours!! Other than that I think it should be a good time.

Today we had an outing with our COFLAC group(Central Ohio Families with Latin American Children. It was at a members farm in Pleasantville. We were a little late getting there but we didn't miss out on all the fun. We arrived just in time for Wyatt to crush the other dads in the sack race-that's a real surprise. I'm not sure that I represented quite as well. I had to play "Poop the Potato". You have to sit in a chair and stick a potato between your legs then run over to the pot and drop it in without using your hands. Then you pick it up and run back to the chair for the next person. My team lost-bad potato poopers!

It was really cute seeing all the little kids do the sack race and even funnier watching the dads! After the games we went on a hay ride. It is funny because so many people think of Ohio as farm country but it was like we were on a field trip to see something we never get to see. Kind of amusing!

When we got back from the hayride we had a wiener roast. It was the perfect October outing. Of course, Collin wore his cowboy hat almost the whole time. For once it was appropriate attire!! Due to his love of the cowboy hat, it was not difficult to decide what he would be for Halloween this year.


We were running late to the outing because mom and dad got a night out last night!! We took full advantage of the fact that Collin spent the night with Nana and Pop. We haven't really been out since Collin has been here. Life is very different, but I wouldn't change it for anything. It was really nice to see some friends that we haven't seen for a long time and to cut loose a little bit! I will have to say the Wilson's are not the party animals they used to be but I am proud to say we closed that party down just like the old days!! Okay, not exactly like the old days (thank goodness)but close enough.

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!!