Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Breakfast with Santa put us in the Christmas spirit so much that we decided to do something new and exciting. We went to cut our own fresh tree. We got Collin bundled up and headed out. We didn't feel like driving too far so we went to a place in Grove City. They had tons of really nice trees already cut but we wanted to cut our own so we headed out to the field to find the first annual Wilson Family Real Christmas Tree. We looked and looked, and walked and walked...it seemed that we were in the land of midget Christmas Trees. We walked all the way to the back trying to find just one tree that was at least eyeball height-no such luck. We decided it would be a little tree for out little peanut Collin-aaahhh-isn't that sweet!




Yes, that is our tree behind us...I know...you can't see it-we should have stood behind it!!


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Here is dad cutting, mom cutting and the dreaded walk all the way back! The cutting part literally took 30 seconds! Once we got home and got our prize in the house it looked pretty bad. Notice the height of the tree in proportion to Collin and the ceiling!!


It looked kind of silly-short and fat to be exact. So fat that you couldn't walk through on that side of the room. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade (or a nice lemon martini). I had a sudden recollection that last year we had to go out and buy all new plastic bulbs because someone kept pulling them off the tree and breaking them. I'm not going to name names but I will say he is very short and likes shiny things.So if we were to, say, put the tree on top of something it would solve all of our issues.BRILLIANT! Not one broken bulb yet!




And that makes us all happy!!!



Enough with your cheezy grins!! Get to work boys-get that mess cleaned up!

Breakfast with Santa

This year Collin is a little more into Santa than last year. Next year will probably be the big year but we are having lots of Christmastime fun. We hit Smith&Wollensky at Easton for Breakfast with Santa. Let me start by saying we won't go back next year. Luckily, Collin doesn't know the difference so he had a great time. This was the first year they put this on and I'm pretty sure they should stick to the steak thing and forget about the breakfast and Santa thing. No one in their right mind makes people with small children dressed in their Christmas best, crowd in a tiny hall and wait for 30 minutes when they had a 10am reservation!! It was mass chaos! Crazy kids, crazy parents, crazy wait staff, probably even crazy Santa. Actually, Santa didn't look too bad but Mrs. Clause looked just plain pissed off. I feel 'ya sister! But, it was a nice time anyway.

So back to breakfast-They started us off with some pastries which we inhaled because we were starving!! Then they brought out a plate of gingerbread cookies with icing and sprinkles to decorate...nice 2nd course! Then breakfast came and Santa came and it was over-not real exciting. Whatever excitement was lacking from the Smith and Wollensky end, Collin made up in his antics! He is a nut!! Every time he sees Santa he says "hohoho...Me". I think he wants to say Merry Christmas but you pretty much only get "me". He can spot Santa now like he can spot Elmo. I think he might actually be warming up to him. Wait until he sees all the presents Santa brings him, I bet he'll be his best friend then.

Our COFLAC Gathering

This month it was our turn to sponsor the COFLAC gathering. I decided to have it at COSI. I had big shoes to fill after the fun outing we went to at the farm. COSI has a great play area for little kids and there is lots for the big kids to do also. Click here to see pictures from the event. I should warn you there are A LOT! I am going a little crazy with the new camera. If any COFLAC people see this you should be able to download pictures straight from the page if you see any you like. Here are a few for those of you that don't have an extra hour to look at 200 pictures of kids playing. I don't know how the kids do it? I was worn out just from setting up. The kids just kept playing and playing and playing. It seemed like they were all passed out in their parents arms on the way out. I still had to go to work after the party. It stinks to be an adult sometimes.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

I had a brilliant idea-take Collin, Kahlen and Brylie, 1, 2 and 3 years old to Flash at the mall and get their picture taken. How cute would that be? Who cares how cute it would be IT'S A NIGHTMARE DON'T DO IT!! One would think I would have learned my lesson the last time I tried to take Collin to get his picture taken. There is obviously a time in a child's life where it is literally impossible to get pictures of them other than while sleeping. We are officially at that time. Why didn't I just accept that and use my new really expensive camera?? No, I had to pay someone to take the pictures, get there without having a major diaper blow out, spill, temper tantrum TIMES THREE! That doesn't even cover getting them dressed, into the room and then getting all three of them to stay in the same general area and look the same general direction at the same time-IMPOSSIBLE.

Brylie had her meltdown as we were getting dressed-we waited until we got there to avoid a catastophe. Collin had his melt down in the room where the pictures were taken. I had to drag him in-seriousy! He probably has PTSD from the last failed attempt at a photo session there. Kahlen had the "do the opposite of what everyone says" virus. If we said look up she looked down, if we said sit down she would stand up...you get the picture. I think the photographer actually thought she was skilled enough to get all three kids to sit on a bench, look at her and smile with perfect orchestration. She was directing us to talk quietly to "bring the energy down in the room"!?! Is she high? Bring the energy down??? I told her to just start snapping and attempt to at least try to get all three within the frame and if she was lucky enough to catch one standing still get a solo shot. She looked at me like I was stupid. After 30 minutes of frustration they had defeated her and she clicked away willy-nilly...my guess to get us out of her hair! I can't say that I blame her. Had she just listened to me earlier we all would have been a lot happier.


The pictures actually turned out pretty funny and some were even cute. One of the craziest pictures was actually our favorite. Brylie is in the middle with a goofy "Whachu talkin about Willis" face, Collin has his "hhmm?" face and Kahlen is planning her escape. You can click hereto see the pictures on the Flash website. They are under Heather Wilson and the password is COLLIN.

Long Night!

Well, things didn't improve much last night. We, meaning Collin and I, Wyatt somehow manages to stay asleep or at least act like he's asleep-anyway-we were up most of the night. After I brought him downstairs and let him watch TV for a bit I decided to turn it off and try to get him to sleep by holding him. No luck-so we went to the nice comfy bed in the basement-didn't work. Next, I shut the door to the basement so he couldn't escape. I snuggled into bed and waited for the screaming to end and it did...for a minute.Then it sounded strangely far away?? I had shut the door and he can't open it yet...his head wouldn't fit through the cat hole...or would it?



Yes, it would! He had pushed his head through the cat hole and was trying to get the rest of his body through. Trust me it did not come back out very easily. So, needless to say this upset him even more. I finally had to give up and put him in his crib and let him cry...and cry and cry. But finally he went to sleep-only to wake up at normal time-8:30am.

I only need one sleepless night to make a doctor appointment so off we went this morning to see what was going on!?! Good news is, just a head cold. Bad news, it will have to run it's course so there may be a few more sleepless nights in our future. Strangely enough it doesn't seem to bother his napping-unfortunately I have to leave for work soon so I will have to wake him up to take him to my mom and dad's.Poor Baby!!!

Thanksgiving

It was a very nice Thanksgiving for the Wilson's. The really nice part was that neither of us had to work which never happens! Peyton and Alexis were able to spend the day with us which always makes Collin happy. He loves his big brother and sister and I think they kind of like him too.



First, we met my family at noon for brunch at Salvi's which is an Italian restaurant but they make a mean Thanksgiving spread! Since we usually all work on Thanksgiving we started going there because we could eat early and no one had to stress out about cooking and cleaning up and then having everyone just take off. Since the kids have come along we have considered going back to eating at home but the pros seem to outweigh the cons-meaning-the food is too good and no one wants to compete with that! We will suffer and deal with the little wild ones for turkey, ham AND prime rib! Oh! Did I mention shrimp, every side you can think of and a big dessert bar??? Well worth it!






Next, we were off to see Wyatt's family.Brylie tagged along with us-the more the merrier! Wyatt's family eats early too so we missed dinner-but not dessert or football! I could care less about football so the kids and I went to the park and played.





We were supposed to go visit a couple of other people but by the time we left we were all too tired to go anywhere else.Collin held up pretty well but he was definitely worn out. He is cutting teeth and has the runny nose and cough. His stomach sounds a little gurgly so I hope he's not getting the bug that is going around. As much as he has had his fingers in his mouth I suppose it is inevitable! SO...here we are 12:30am and someone WON"T GO TO SLEEP! Here's a look at Mr. Pathetic cuddled up on the couch. He wouldn't stay in bed so finally I gave up and brought him downstairs.

Happy Turkey Day

Christmas Cards

Hopefully all of you have seen this but if not here it is...

PLEASE send cards by DEC 10. NO enclosures, just a card.

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card
and send it to the following address. If we pass this on and
everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these
wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would
receive!!

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

Sorry about the random posts lately. Our Internet is off again so my Internet time is scarce.

Winter is definitely here-in fine Ohio fashion we went from beautiful 50's-60's to horrible 20's and 30's overnight. This weather time of year just makes me tired! It gets dark so early it's depressing. It's so cold I don't really want to go outside and do the stuff we usually do-it just stinks!!

On the bright side, the holidays are rapidly approaching and I happen to have them all off work this year. Who's complaining about Wednesday/Thursday off now?? Hopefully we can take this time we are stuck inside to slow down and enjoy the holidays! Maybe I can work on some of those fun homemade gifts I have planned that never quite come to fruition.I say that every year and it always gets crazy but I'm going to try again this year!!

We spent last weekend visiting with my grandmother from Marietta and my great aunt and cousin from Pennsylvania. We did some shopping and went out to dinner. We don't get to see each other very often so it was nice. I will have to post a picture later because I downloaded them on the PC and I am on the laptop.

Today we went to a fun birthday party at a new place-I think it's called The House of Bounce or something like that. Collin loved it. I was a little worried he would be too small but he was fine. Once he got used to it, he even went down the big slides by himself. Wyatt and I got in on the action too-I'm not sure if adults were allowed but hey we have a little kid and it was a private party so Oh Well!! I have to admit it was pretty fun!

Like Father Like Son

Fun Gym for Tots

Our neighbor was nice enough to invite Collin and I to join them at the Dublin Rec Center for their play gym. WOW! It was really nice. They have it every Monday and Friday from 9a-11a and it only costs $2! We will definitely be going back.

















They have everything. What more could a kid want to do? He is really going to miss his buddy Mallory when she moves-only a couple more weeks =*(

Collin's Playroom-Before and After

BEFORE







AFTER







How does this happen within minutes of him waking up in the morning? Notice the look of accomplishment on his face!

Stinkin' Internet

I have been MIA for a few days due to our on again off again Internet. It is on for the moment so we will see if I make it through this post.





My most exciting news for the moment is...I got a new camera!! Yippee!! No more pictures of Collin looking like a big blur, or looking at the floor, or completely the other way-HOPEFULLY! I was using a digital(of course)point and shoot Cannon but have now upgraded to the Sony digital SLR. I still need to read the manual but hopefully the quality of my pictures will be improving soon. Of course, I'll still keep the little camera in my purse for those impromptu photo ops.

Today is National Adoption Day, a day where bureaucracy is given the day off and people actually push to get adoptions finalized. Just the fact that it is Saturday and you have judges holding court to finalize adoptions is a feat in itself. So congrats to everyone who is finalized today!

I found a cool website on "NO Time for Flashcards". You can pick a postcard and send a greeting to a soldier online-SO easy!!

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html

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I would like to say thank you to all the veterans out there for their courage and service to our country. If you see a soldier in uniform on the street don't be afraid to just say "THANKS". A simple word or two from a stranger can make a big difference! While we are here enjoying our freedom there are thousands of brave men and women in far away places, not able to be with their family and friends celebrating holidays and special moments. They aren't seeing their children grow up-and we all know how quickly our kids change and grow. No one wants to miss that. They are making the ultimate sacrifice for people they don't even know...so the least we can do is say thanks.








Take some time this week to write a couple of Christmas Cards for the soldiers. Enlist the kids to draw or paint some pictures. There are always people collecting cards and gifts for soldiers who are spending the holidays away from home. A few minutes of your time can brighten the day of a hero.












If you live in the Central Ohio area check out shoeboxforasoldier.com. They send shoe boxes full of gifts to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for Christmas.







Little things mean a lot when you have nothing. No gesture is too small. Even if you are struggling it doesn't cost more than a piece of paper and postage to write a letter. Have I said enough? Then get to work!!!

SHOUT OUT

Jana, my devoted blog follower, requested a shout out so here it is. Who better to do a shout out on Collin's blog than Elmo!