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!

COLLIN'S FIRST THANKSGIVING

We had a very nice, relaxing Thanksgiving. We visited with Wyatt's family first and then went to Salvi's to eat with my family. My family usually eats out but that may end soon. It was not exactly a relaxing meal with 3 kids under 3 at the table. We will have to see next year. The food is so good and no one has to cook or clean so it is hard to beat that deal. We usually have to work so it is a quick and easy way to get together with the family.

Wyatt had to work so Collin and I hung out and relaxed at home. Even though I have been home with him every day there was something nice about escaping the holiday stress of having a million different places to go and just sitting at home instead. I think Collin had about all he could take anyway. Everyone wants to hold him and he gets passed around a lot. I'm not real good at telling people they can't hold him and that when he wants me I need to take him. He is still adjusting and bonding with us. He is doing so well that it is hard to remember that sometimes but you can tell when he has been a little too stressed and I always feel bad afterward.

After a bit we got hungry again so we went across the street to Matt and Ann Marie's and crashed their dinner. Collin and Mallory had fun playing. Hopefully they will stay in thier house for a while so that the kids can play when they get older. They look so cute with their matching cars and they really do play well together. We are really lucky to have such good neighbors!

The pictures are from Salvi's, Collin with his cousins and Pops finally getting some time with Collin.

Adoption has touched our family in so many different ways and all are wonderful. I am thankful to people I don't even know and probably never will know for bringing a life into this world and then allowing another to care and nurture that life into something wonderful that can make their mark on our lives and on the world. A birth mother makes a selfless decision to do what is best for her child and makes a family that wants so badly to have a child complete.

I can say that I have learned what mothers always say you can never understand until you have a child of your own. I look at my son and it brings complete joy and happiness with no strings attached. I have never known what it was like to love another human being more than you love yourself. Don't get me wrong, I love Wyatt to death, but the love for that baby is indescribable. I would do anything for him.

My favorite time of day is bedtime when I can just hold him and be quiet and feel him relax into my arms and into sleep. I don't think a night has passed that it hasn't brought tears to my eyes thinking of what a miracle he is and wondering how it is possible to love someone so much. I hope every night that his birth mother feels a sense of peace and knows that someone loves him and is taking care of him and that he is a happy and beautiful boy.

Our First COFLAC Gathering

Yesterday we went to our first gathering with COFLAC (Central Ohio Families with Latin American Children). It was at Jeffrey Mansion in Bexley. Every month a group of people who have adopted from Latin America bring there kids together to play and have fun. Collin was still a little young but the older kids seemed to have a great time playing so I am sure he will love it when he gets older. We got some good play time in while we were there. It brought back a lot of memories since I was there pretty often as a kid. It still looks the same-it's a beautiful place. If you've never been there you should check it out.

Trick or Treat

We had a very eventful Halloween. Mommie and Collin went to a fun party at Amy's house and then Mom and Dad got to go to a grown up party thanks to Nana. Trick or Treat was fun. Mallory and Collin went around to a few neighbors then off to Nana and Pops to trick or treat with Brylie and Kahlen. Poor dad only got to spend a couple of minutes with us until he got called back to work. By the time we made it back to the house all of the kids were asleep so there are no pictures of all the cousins together in their costumes-too bad!!

Collin and his cousins-Brylie and Kahlen

Something tells me we will never be able to get all 3 of them to look at the camera at the same time?!??!! So much for the family photo!

Baby's First Halloween

Today we took Collin on his first trip to Circle S Farm to get pumpkins and check out the fun. We checked out the petting zoo, the hay barn and the slide. We found out Collin is this big...

We climbed on the giant pumpkins, and tried to enjoy our cider and doughnuts but the bees wouldn't let us. After we checked out the farm the last thing left was to find the perfect pumpkin...not an easy task!

We looked and looked...

Collin did taste tests...

But finally he found it...way down there!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Settling in

Well, I have survived my first week home-no problem. I thought I might go out of my mind but so far so good. We are all settling into "real life" and enjoying every minute we have with Collin. He is such a complete joy to have around. The kid can just look at you and bring a smile to your face. I know I am VERY biased, but he is the cutest little boy I have ever seen. He loves to laugh and smile and play all the time. Life is definitely different and this parenting thing is much harder than I had imagined but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It is amazing how this little thing can wreak such havoc on your life and keep you begging for more. Sleep...who needs sleep!?! He isn't even crawling and he has taken over the house but believe it or not I am gladly giving it up. People have seen my house in a condition that would have mortified me BC (before Collin) but I am gladly spending every second I can with him before I have to go back to work. I'm pretty sure the mess can wait!

I will post some pictures soon. I keep forgetting the camera-BAD MOM!!

New Link to Collin's First Photos

There is a link on the top left for the photos we had taken of Collin at Flash. You enter Wilson and the pics are under Heather on 9/18. The password is Collin. Take a look!!

Collin Update part 3

It just dawned on me that this may become a 20 part update and no matter how descriptive I am there is no way to actually describe the trip if you didn't actually live it. So I will try to give the condensed version so maybe I can finish it and I can move on to the present, it is so much more fun!!

Collin ended up taking a huge dive (to put it mildly)on his 3rd day. It was so bad that I was actually doubting that he was going to ever make it home. He became completely unresponsive and listless. There was a huge lack of communication and it was obvious that this was not the place that Collin would get better. I got on the phone with the US Embassy to find a hospital somewhere that could provide modern medical care rather than banana tea or to get him home somehow so we could get him to Children's Hospital. They gave me the name of a hospital in Guatemala City. An ambulance took us back to the city and THANK YOU BABY JESUS we made it to a REAL hospital. They had latex gloves and machines and little baby sized needles. Many of them even spoke English. I had no idea that they had a hospital like this or we would have gone there first. I assumed that the first place was the reality of medical care in Guatemala but I soon found out it was only a reality for the kids that are under the guardianship of the attorneys. I also found out that the doctor that had been treating all of the kids with our agency is not even a pediatrician! No wonder he OD'd the poor baby on antibiotics and drugs. Needless to say I was not happy!

The doctors at this hospital were great and luckily the doctor treating Collin was the same doctor that would evaluate him for his Embassy appointment. He was a very nice man and adamant that we would not leave the hospital until Collin was back to normal. After 4 of the longest days of my life all I wanted to see was the smiling happy baby I knew before this mess. I was beginning to think we may never see that baby again. I didn't know if his organs or brain had been damaged permanently-we still didn't even know what was wrong with him. On day 7 he still wasn't back to normal. His hands and feet swelled up and turned bright red. This obviously set off some bells. Later that day they ran some additional tests and found out that he had Denge Fever which is a virus you get from a mosquito bite in tropical regions. All of the antibiotics had killed his ability to fight the virus and destroyed the flora in his stomach an intestines.

The doctor joked and said that Collin was just waiting for his diagnosis before he would get better. By the next day he was definitely improving and we only had 1 day until his final Embassy medical evaluation. The doctor was kind enough to release us from the hospital just in time for Wyatt to arrive. He told us he wanted to see a smiling baby at his appointment the next day. He did smile for the doctor the next day and received his clean bill of health-ha ha-to leave the country!! Collin had improved so much that Wyatt joked that if I wanted him to come down sooner I could have just asked!??!!

Collin was truly was back to the baby that I remembered and I can't even describe my elation! It made me think of some people that we know with sick kids and I have an even greater respect for them now than I did before. It is the worst, most helpless feeling to see this little human being suffering and they can't tell you what is wrong or you can't tell him that these people are trying to help and it will only hurt for a second. It is unfathomable how difficult it is to not know if that little baby is going to get through this and to stay awake all day and all night just to make sure he still breathing. It really makes all the other "stuff" seem so petty and unimportant. But, the good thing is that he is home and he is better!!

He was a champ on the airplane-no crying or screaming. He was greeted at the airport by his Pops, cousins Brylie and Kahlen and Uncle Bryan and Aunt Jessie. Everyone was so happy to finally meet him. The house was decked out with balloons to welcome him home.

I was really lucky to have my mom with me the whole time. It was a great experience for us to have together and I don't know what I would have done without her. I was not sure if we would drive each other crazy but we were both so focused on Collin there wasn't time for anything else. She was quite the trooper, sleeping on the floor and eating Guatemalan hospital food. I am sorry for both of us that our experience in Guatemala was such a negative one and so different than my first trip. It really is a beautiful country and there is so much to see. Unfortunately, she only saw the worst of the worst. I have never wanted to be back in the US so badly and I have no desire to go back to Guatemala any time in the near future-maybe when Collin is 18!

So we are home now and life will never be the same-LOL!! In a matter of 1 week I have broken just about every rule I had in my head of things I would NOT do when I was a parent. The most recent being buying a DVD player for the car. I know...we didn't have DVD players or car seats or any of this stuff but Collin seems to have a major issue with the car. I don't know if it is the car seat or the fact that he can't see me or maybe it is just my driving. Either way-I cannot take listening to him scream bloody murder every time I drive somewhere. I did not hear screams like this when he was being tortured with giant needles and gagged with things stuffed down his throat. Do anything to the poor kid but don't put him in my car!!!! I can't tell you how many times I have pulled off the side of the road to see if I accidentally shut his fingers in the door or something because I don't know how that sound comes out of that quiet, happy little boy. Something terrible must have happened, but no, he's just mad. And I mean MAD!!

I debated if I should throw all of my Accident Investigation paranoia out the window and turn his car seat around to face the front. I decided to try a DVD player instead but only on one condition...only Baby Einstein DVDs played in Spanish or the family video DVD we have from our first visit. He has a DVD player but he WILL learn something if it kills me!!! I don't want to jinx myself but I hooked it up today and it seems that I am on to something!!SCORE!!! I can drive in peace and give my ulcer a break.

We have gotten rid of all of the furniture in our upstairs living room and made it into a play room. We now have a play area on every level of the house-yes, all 4 levels. Some may recall I stated I would not be one of those people that runs out and buys every toy and loads up the house with a bunch of junk. BUT-it's not junk, they are educational toys that will make him more coordinated and intelligent. I hope he's not "over-coordinated" like his dad was when he was a child!! I am sure that 3 jumpers is not overboard...right? He loves to jump!! I am simply providing him with the resources to improve his skills and abilities. Who knows, maybe he will be a basketball player or a track and field star. I'm not sure how to rationalize the McDonald's cash register that says "chicken nuggets' and "french fries"-maybe I'll get rid of that!!

Otherwise, things are going great. Wyatt never ceases to amaze me. He is truly a fantastic father. I love watching him with Collin. It is interesting seeing how Collin interacts with us differently. He definitely knows his daddy! The best part is he laughs at everything Wyatt does. We will definitely have different philosophies on parenting but who doesn't. I am a mom and he is a dad and that is the way it should be. Hopefully we will balance each other out.

I never thought that life would really change that much with a baby in the house but I was WRONG,WRONG, WRONG!. I am no longer the HBIC-he runs the house and he runs my life. The shocking thing is that I don't mind one bit. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen and a joy to have around. I can say with a great degree of certainty though, that I could not be a stay at home mom. Wow, what a job. I will need to go to work just to escape the impossible job of constantly entertaining a baby!

Well, I guess I am pretty much up to date. Announcements should be going out soon. I have to say they are really cute, but I may be a little biased!! I think we won the baby lottery!

Off to bed-hopefully!!!