Happy 7th Anniversary

Today Patrick and I are celebrating our seventh anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been seven years since we were married. We always celebrate by going out to dinner somewhere special that we both love. Tonight we are especially excited since we will have a quiet dinner where we can take our time eating since Collin will not be in tow. We are heading down to Maggiano's. Although it is not too fancy, it is definitely our favorite and we are not able to go there much now that we have Collin. It is hard to believe all the changes that have taken place in the past seven years, but our love remains stronger than ever. Happy Anniversary, Patrick! I love you with all my heart!

Adventures in Birmingham

Whew! We are just getting back from a four day adventure in Birmingham and boy are we worn out. Since Collin does not get to see his grandparents in Birmingham as often as we would like, I decided to take him there for a visit and to give both of us a change in scenery. We headed down on Wednesday morning and came back last night. Collin had a great time during the days he was there. He got to go to the park every morning and run around. He LOVED this as he had the entire play area to himself. We also hit the zoo every morning so Collin could see the animals. He got to see kangaroos, parrots, sea lions, giraffes, lions, and monkeys to name a few. Despite all the animals right in front of him, Collin was far more interested in getting out of his stroller and walking around on his own. He loved the exhibits that were indoors where Mommy let him down so he could run around. He really liked the tiger. It was right next to the window and Collin just stood at the window and smiled at him. No fear at all of the animal that was more than triple his size. We also took Collin to a great toy store called Smith's Variety. It had a baby sized grocery cart that Collin pushed around the store. He went so fast with it that we thought it looked more like bumper cars. He could have spent all day in this store but I am pretty sure they were ready for him to leave. Collin also got to go swimming with his Granddaddy which he loved.

The nights, on the other hand, were a different story. Collin let it be known that he was not going to sleep in a pack-n-play. He had terrible sleep each night we were there. I think he likes to snuggle with his bumper and he couldn't do that there. When Daddy came on Friday night Collin was so excited to see him that he woke up at midnight and wanted to play with him. Thank goodness for some Motrin that put him back to sleep:) Birmingham is also an hour behind us so Collin was getting up around 5:00am every morning. It was definitely a long day for Mommy getting up so early and having no relief. It made me appreciate Patrick and how he gives me a break from Collin when he gets home so I can regain some sanity and have some "me" time which everyone needs.

All in all it was a good trip. I am so glad Collin got to spend quality time with his grandparents and we got to see some family we haven't seen in a while. Needless to say, we have got to come with a plan for how we are going to get Collin to sleep on our beach trip in less than a month. I am thinking we may have to rent a crib because this Mommy needs her sleep.

Happy Father's Day

Today Patrick got to celebrate his second Father's Day. Collin and I surprised him with a new briefcase that can hold his laptop. We were very proud of our gift and how well we kept it a surprise. We are pretty sure he thought he was getting clothes. Inside the briefcase I hid post-it notes telling Patrick everything we love about him. Some of the things from Collin were: Thank you for being the best Daddy ever, Thank you for reading to me and playing with me, and Thank you for taking me fun places like Home Depot. Some of the things from me were: Thank you for working hard to provide for our family and Thank you for being a great father and husband. Patrick is such a great Daddy to Collin. Everyday when he comes home from work and Collin hears his voice, his face lights up with excitement. He is very hands on with Collin and wants to spend every minute he can with him. I am so blessed Collin has such a wonderful Daddy and I've got such a perfect husband. He is definitely the rock of our family and we love him so much!





We also went out to eat with my side of the family to celebrate Father's Day with Papa. Collin had a great time getting to see all of his aunts and uncle and running around the patio of the restaurant. Collin absolutely loves his Papa! He has a book at home with all of his family members in it and the only person he will ever find in the book is Papa. We think he loves his white hair and facial hair and the fact that he always gets on the floor and plays whatever Collin wants to. He spoils him just a little bit.



Happy Father's Day to Granddaddy, too! Collin cannot wait to see you in couple of weeks and go swimming with you.

Bye Bye Pacifier, Hello Toes

At Collin's 15 month appointment, his doctor told us it would be a good idea if we started weaning Collin from his pacifier. We did this by cutting a off the tip of one and only letting him have that one during the day. He gets so mad he cannot suck it that he throws it on the floor. Well today in the car Collin decided if he could not have his pacifier, his big toe would do. We are pretty sure this was NOT what the doctor was hoping for.

Tanglewood Farm

Today we took Collin to Tanglewood Farm in Canton, Georgia. This is a petting farm with lots of miniature animals that children can pet and feed. We found out about this farm because Aunt Brittany had to bring her pig, Piggely Sue, to this farm when she became allergic to her. Collin LOVED the farm. He walked around the entire area and got to see all kinds of animals. He saw goats, ponies, rabbits, sheep, a llama, cows, and pigs.

Such a Big Helper

Here is what Collin decided to do while Mommy cooked dinner tonight. Oh, he is such a big helper! Do they make refridgerator locks?

Collin's First Surgery

Well today was the day Mommy and Daddy were dreading. After seven ear infections that required antibiotics and a round of antibiotic shots, Collin could not get rid of the fluid causing the infection in his left ear. After trying everything suggested by his doctors, we finally decided to meet with an ENT and move forward with tubes. This morning at 5:40, we woke Collin up, put him in the car, and headed down to the Pediatric Surgery Center of Atlanta for the procedure. When we got there at 6:15 Collin checked out the fish in the waiting room and walked around behind another little boy waiting. At 7:00 we were taken to another waiting room to meet with the doctor one more time, meet his nurse, and talk to the anesthesiologist. They allowed one parent to accompany Collin to the operating room to be put to sleep. I could not bare to do this so Patrick volunteered. He laid Collin on the little hospital bed and held his hand while they put a mask over him. Within 20 seconds Collin was out and the procedure began. It lasted all of five minutes and then Dr. White came out to tell us Collin did great and everything seemed to have been successful. We then were moved to another room to wait for Collin to wake up. It took him about 10 minutes and then we were able to see him. When we entered the recovery room he was being held by a nurse, had "lovey" in his hand, and was sucking his orange pacifier with tears streaming down his face. I grabbed him immediately and let him snuggle with me until he woke up a little more. We tried to have him drink some Pedialyte but milk was all he would accept. He LOVES his milk. The nurse then went over everything with us and we were on our way home by 8:30am.

They told us to expect Collin to fall asleep in the car. Negative. He was wide eyed and ate Puffs the whole way home. When we walked in the house, he motioned for us to let him down and off he went to play. Apparently the medicine and procedure did not affect him at all. He did take his normal 3 hour afternoon nap and that was it. We are so thankful the Lord was with Collin and his doctors today and everything turned out great. Let's hope we don't have to do another procedure anytime soon.