Thanksgiving 2012

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hosted everyone over at our house this year. Collin was so excited about having everyone over. He helped me set the table and put out the name cards he made at school at the spot he wanted everyone to sit in. We had a yummy feast of turkey, ham, dressing, macaroni and cheese, squash casserole, peas and biscuits. A southern and delicious meal! We then spent the afternoon visiting with each other and playing outside with the boys.  We are so blessed to be able to spend the day with all of our family. 

Our family has so much to be thankful for this year. Although we have had a few setbacks with unexpected diagnosis's for both boys, we are blessed in that we are finically in a position to be able to pay for weekly therapy for both boys. We are hopeful we will see big improvements in both of them. We are also blessed that Patrick has found a job he absolutely loves and is less than five miles from our house. We are able to sit down as a family for dinner each night which is extremely important to both of us.  His side business is also doing extremely well and picking up a ton of business which was completely unexpected. I am so blessed to have such a hard working husband who has allowed me to stay at home with my boys and spend each day with them. God has blessed our family so much this year and to Him all the glory is due!

Collin's Last Soccer Game

Today Collin had his last soccer game for the Fall 2012 season.  He had a great season and showed a lot of improvement. This year he was aware of what was going on and ran around chasing the ball each game. He even scored four goals this year! Mommy and Daddy were so proud of him.  Daddy also did great this year as a coach.  He had no clue what he was getting himself into! It was so funny watching him try to get the attention of six four-year olds and keep them on task the first practice. I had to keep reminding him he had to change up the activities often to keep their attention. He quickly got the hang of it and by mid season he was getting hugs and high fives from all the kids all the time. He did a great job encouraging all of the kids and helping each of them feel good about themselves. Collin was so happy to have him out on the field with him each Saturday. Team Thunder had a great season and I am so proud of both of my boys!

Happy Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween! The boys had a wonderful, fun and sugar filled night. As soon as Collin came home from school he helped me decorate our pumpkin like a Mr. Potato head. Since Mommy had been filling under the weather the last week we ran out of time to carve a pumpkin, but he really seemed to enjoy this.  We then got Parker up from his nap and ate an early dinner. Afterwards Collin transformed into Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, his favorite show at the moment. Parker dressed up like a dog but was not nearly as happy about it as his brother was. We then went outside for pictures and went trick or treating to the houses on our street. His friends Mackenzie, Caleb, Addison, Matney and Halle Kate then came over and we headed out for some more fun. Collin and his friends had a blast going house to house filling their bags with candy while Parker enjoyed the sights and sounds from his wagon.  We then headed home where Collin indulged in entirely to much candy. Oh well, it is only once a year!

 

Collin's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Today Collin's preschool class had their first field trip. All of the children met up at Kinsey Family Farms in Gainesville for a pumpkin patch adventure. Collin was beyond excited! When we arrived at the Pumpkin Patch he immediately spotted two of his favorite buddies, Rahul and Yu, and ran over to say hello. All three of them explored the pumpkins and farm until the tour started. The tour was very well run and interesting. The class started off by listening to a story about the sights and sounds on a farm. Several tractors passed them during the story which the children were in awe of! They then made their way to the petting zoo where they were able to feed goats, cows, chicken and several other farm animals. Collin was a little timid at first but eventually warmed up and fed the largest cow they had. The class then went to the fields where they worked together to plant a tree. All of the kids worked together to dig a hole, put the tree in, and water it. All the boys and girls loved it! After the tree came the hayride. Collin and his classmates loved being on the tractor traveling through the Christmas tree fields. The driver stopped at a pond halfway through where they were able to feed tons of catfish. The trip ended with a picnic lunch followed by the boys playing in the dirt and getting as filthy as they possibly good. Collin had a wonderful time!



Collin: The Soccer Stud

Collin has started his second season of soccer. Even better, Daddy is his coach! Patrick had debated all last year about coaching Collin this fall and finally decided to do it. Collin was thrilled! He is once again on team Thunder and has six other players on his team. Since the team is smaller, Collin will get more playing time which is ideal. They have had two practices so far. They have been interesting to say the least. Watching Patrick and his assistant Eric try to wrangle in seven three and four year olds and teach them how to play the game is amusing to say the least! They had their first real game today and put forth a good effort. Although Collin did not kick the ball, he ran around following it the entire time and had a much better idea of what was going on verses last season. We are excited to see what the season will hold and watching Collin hopefully score his first goal.

Pumpkin Patch Fun 2012

Today we took the boys on our annual pumpkin patch adventure. This year we decided to try somewhere new so we headed down to Corn Dawgs in Loganville. It had a pumpkin patch along with several other activities for kids of all ages to participate in.  The kids loved it! As soon as we got there Collin took off to the huge slides up on the hill. He rode them over and over again. Parker even got in on the fun by alternating riding on Mommy and Daddy's lap. We then headed over to the cow train. Collin and I went for a ride while Daddy and Parker watched. We then headed to the swings which Parker loved. Put that boy in a swing and he is in heaven! We let him chill out there while Collin took a ride on the pig swing, ran up the hay pyramid,  took a ride around on the tricycles, and took a turn on the jumping pillows.  We then all headed over to the hayride and got a tour of the farm. Parker was not a fan of being enclosed in the trailer but Collin loved it. Our last stop was to the pumpkin field to get our pumpkins. We gave Collin the task of finding the perfect pumpkin and it looked great. It was definitely a day we will not soon forget.

Meet Parker: The PMO Drop Out

It is official-Parker is a PMO dropout.  Despite going for a month, he never seemed to make the adjustment. Each time I would drop him off he would cry and cry. I was called to come and get him early three times as he would not calm down and geniunly seemed to be upset and unable to be calmed. After several conversations with his teachers we have decided to pull him out. We are going to work on his separation and stranger anxiety through occupational therapy so hopefully next year he will do much better. Mommy is not going to complain about the extra one on one time with my little man.