Go Mommy Go!

My fabulous friends and neighbors threw a welcome home open house for Collin last weekend. One sweet family got him a Go Diego Go! tricycle. (Thanks again Jonie and family, he absolutely loves it!) I was totally excited for him. Until I started reading the instructions which started with "adult assembly required". I experienced a few moments of sheer panic when I looked around and realized...that was me. Oh boy. After a few deep breaths, and a little internal pep talk, I grabbed my trusty set of pink tools and went to work.

Bless, his little heart, Collin seemed to have complete confidence in me. He even offered to help keep it steady while I put the wheels on. At least that's what I decided he meant when he plopped down on it out of nowhere and refused to move. Now come on, doesn't that look like complete confidence on his face?

It probably took about three times longer than it would have taken grandpa or uncle Jed to do it, but in the end:

Mommy was still the hero and that face made it totally worth it! Bring on the swing set! Okay, really don't. Pink tools can only go so far... Thanks again Kristin and Mandi for organizing and all of our friends for coming. We had a blast!

First Snow

It's been a pretty mild winter thus far, so when Collin got home, all of the snow had melted off the lawn. A few days ago, we had a little storm. I was curious about what Collin's reaction would be to the cold white stuff. At first I took him to the window and let him watch the snow fall for a few minutes. Apparently that wasn't enough to satisfy his inquisitive nature as he started smacking the window and yelling/pointing outside. So, we bundled him up and took him out for a closer look.

He was definitely fascinated.

I showed him how to catch a snowflake on his hand, but he couldn't seem to figure out why it was gone by the time he got it to his mouth.

He seemed to be having a great time. Right up until he looked up to see where the snow was coming from and flakes started falling into his eyes and on his throat.

That's when he realized that this stuff is COLD! Hey buddy, just wait for about 10 years when you have to help mommy shovel it!

My Solution To Dusting

Collin threw his ball through the coffee table. I was sitting on the couch when he came over, patted my knee and pointed to the runaway ball with that pleading look in his eye. Not wanting to be sucked into this no doubt entertaining (for him) game of fetch, I told him to go get it. I figured he'd run around the table, pick it up and bring it back to me. Not so much.

Apparently, the shortest distance between two points is STILL a straight line. Even if it's a little slippery...

Is There A Doctor In The House?

One of the first things we did when Collin came home was to take him to the doctor to make sure we knew exactly what illnesses and bugs we were dealing with and to start immunizations.
It turns out he's a pretty social kid once he gets comfortable. He started out playing with the nurses, but got a little nervous when mommy started taking his clothes off.

The worried look went away as soon as we put him on the scale. He decided it was fun to bounce in it. Once we settled him down, he weighed in at 20.5 lbs, pre-bounce of course.

Our doctors office exam rooms are decorated with animals. While we were waiting for the doctor, Collin kept pointing to the animals and repeating their names after I said them. He was starting to think this place was pretty fun. And then the nurses walked in with the needles. Game over. That's when the above playful guy turned into this guy...

Having had no personal experience with the fine art of giving a two-year old shots, and not being smart enough to ask someone, I was completely taken by surprise when they asked me to hold him on my lap and "make sure to keep him still" while they tag teamed him with needles. After that, we didn't so much have an opportunity to pull the camera back out. I was rushing to get his clothes back on before his screams actually burst any ones ear drums and trying desperately to keep the tears in my eyes from rolling down my cheeks. I'm still traumatized. Okay, stop laughing at me. And Collin? Well, after they gave him a little toy tricycle, he was all smiles again. That is, until the next day when we had to go back for a TB test. Poor kid is gonna think every time he walks through the door of that office someone is gonna stick him with something. Thankfully, the test came back clean and we don't have to go back for awhile.

Good thing too, I'm gonna need some time to work up to the next one. Seriously, stop laughing at me Toria... :)

Silence Is Golden?

Probably, but in this case, it called for investigation. Collin had been toddling around the house for about a half an hour babbling in what I assume was a combination of Kreyol and baby talk and making himself laugh. Then, suddenly all was quiet. Mommy radar went up. Upon further investigation, I found this:

Good thing he hasn't figured out how to turn the water on. Yet. :)

Sweet Dreams Little One

The first night Collin was home, I had grand dreams of him sleeping in his own room, with me in a sleeping bag next to him. It seemed like a good idea at the time, until we didn't get home until nearly one in the morning. Collin saw the bed (which at the time was a mattress on the floor with a darling spread that Grandma made for him) and started freaking out. I was too tired to play that night, so we slept in my bed. That went on for the rest of the first week. Then, last week, thanks to our new friends, The Mason's, Collin got a brand new Captain's bed and mommy pulled out the sleeping bag on his floor.
The first night, he slept great, almost 12 hours, only waking up twice. Both times, all I had to say was "mommy's here" and rub his back for about 30 seconds and he went back to sleep. Fast forward to the end of last week when mommy's still-attempting-to-heal hip reminded her that she is MUCH too old for sleeping on the floor for any extended period of time, and it was time for a new plan: Collin gets to sleep solo. It took him a bit to warm up to mommy's plan, but for the last few nights, Collin has drifted off to dream land in his own little bed, and so has mommy.

I used to secretly giggle when people would say that they love to watch their children sleep. Now I completely get it. Laundry can wait and the bathrooms? Well, I wasn't really cleaning those before... :)

Phone Fun

This morning, Collin confiscated my cell phone. It was locked, so I wasn't worried about him accidentally dialing anyone. I was cleaning up breakfast and making his bed, so I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. That is, until I heard this:

Collin: Hello? Hello Dadda!
Me: Umm, How about hello Mamma?
Collin: Hello Dadda!

For the next 20 minutes, he wandered through the house giggling "hello Dadda". Umm, does he know something I don't??

Welcome Home Collin!!

(Okay, I know we've been home for a week, but sadly, I have been without a computer for most of that time. Mine crashed in Miami, and I just got a new one.)

When I got home that Friday, to madly pack a bag and catch a flight to Miami the next morning, I found this on my garage door.

Thanks so much to the Bale's and the Brown's (and anyone else who may have been involved). I did have to move it inside so the balloons would still be inflated when Collin actually made it home. He absolutely LOVED them!

The whole trip to Miami is a bit of a blur. Once we landed, and by we I mean the 9 families that traveled from Utah, we rented two SUV's and headed off to His House where the children were being taken care of. By the time we got there, it was a little after 5:00. It took a few hours for all of the children to be processed and reunited with their parents. Collin was the 2nd to last one. By the time they brought him to me, it was close to 8:00pm. He was half asleep, but he still reached out for me, which of course made me cry. It only took a few minutes to turn the sleepy boy into this:

We flew into Miami during Pro-Bowl weekend. It didn't cause too much of a problem until we tried to fly OUT. There was nothing available until late Monday night, which put us home at midnight. That didn't stop Grandma, Grandpa and a few aunts, uncles and cousins from being there to welcome us home. Thanks guys!

We're working on a getting on a schedule so hopefully, I'll be able to update a little more often. Stay tuned!!

We're Home!!!!

I am guest blogging for Tia today because though she and Collin made it home last night, her luggage decided it likes the warm sunny weather in Miami. She will be back on to share pictures and stories once her luggage finds its safe return home with her laptop.

She asked me to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers.