Christmas Cards 2010

Good Blessings Religious Christmas 5x7 folded card

Turn your unique photos into Christmas cards with Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

21 Week Update

How far along? 21 Weeks :)

Heartbeat? 152 bpm at our last visit at 18 weeks

Total weight gain? +12 lbs

Maternity clothes? Probably about 50/50 now…pants are either worn with bella band or maternity.  I think this may just be because I am short, but I am not a huge fan of the Bella Band.  I think it is too long for my body and I have to fold it over or it ends up bunching and causing wrinkles under my clothes.  I can still wear most of my shirts, but they are getting shorter & shorter :)  I am sticking to longer tops or maternity tops because as much as I hate seeing bare midriffs, a bare midriff with maternity pants is just even less attractive!

Sleep?  Much better!!  I only have to get up once at night now, and sometimes not at all :)

Best moment? Gender confirmation & feeling the baby from the outside!

Cravings?  Random things like pigs-in-a-blanket, pizza, and hummus dip

Gender? It’s a GIRL!!!!!!  Confirmed for sure at our 20 week ultrasound :)

Labor signs? Nope.

What I miss?  My full wardrobe…I just hate to buy a ton of maternity clothes when I am only going to need them for a few more months.

Looking forward to?  Decorating HER room!!

Milestones?  Feeling her kick me on the outside last week!!  So cute!!

And because no post is complete without pictures…

 

The “bump”.

Collin sporting his “Big Bro” shirt, waiting to see the baby.

Her wardrobe so far :)  Shopping for pink is so much fun!!!

Collin James is 19 Months

Yes, I am starting to deal with the fact that my child is getting closer and closer to being a two-year-old.  Still no signs of anything “terrible” but he has been known to throw a temper tantrum here and there.  Here are his most recent stats:

Height – 30.5 inches & Weight – 24 pounds

He is talking more and more every day, and now frequently puts together phrases.  I wouldn’t call them sentences yet, but they probably will be soon.  Some of my favorites:

“shoes car store” = Put on my shoes, let’s get in the car and go to the store.

“cookie beau-beau” = Can I give Beau a dog treat?

“Dada car” = When is Dada going to drive home in his car?

He is also realizing that if he adds “please” to the end of a request then mommy is much more likely to go along with it…such as “up please” or “cookie please” or “outside please”.  Too cute & too hard for mommy to say no to!!

He is still a sleeping champ, although it is really hard for me to get everything done during the day now that he is only taking 1 nap.  We do bath time around 7 or 7:15pm then he is asleep in the crib by 7:45 or 8:00pm.  He is up some time between 7 and 7:30am then usually naps around 1:30pm but rarely sleeps for more than an hour.

He is becoming more and more picky with his eating…I have done more and more research on toddler eating, and Son and I have had numerous discussions on what is right for our family.  We are trying to find a happy medium between one extreme “You eat what we eat or you don’t eat” and another “You can just eat your favorites all the time”.

It’s tough and it’s been really hard trying to decide what to do and balance my tendency to be more strict, with Son’s tendency to be more lenient.  So for now we have compromised with serving Collin a plate at dinner time with us that has a portion of what we are eating, plus one other healthy item (usually a veggie) that we know he will eat.  It’s not perfect but are just learning about this as we go and trying to do the right thing :)

Collin’s favorite activities involve anything outside.  One of his favorite things is trying to throw his bouncy balls up on the roof, or catching them as they roll off after Son has thrown them up for him.  He also LOVES going to the park…if we even drive by a playground of any kind without stopping he points out the window and starts whining “play play play please” in a really sad voice.  He is starting to learn to jump and he thinks it is hilarious!

“I love drawing with Da-da!  Especially early on Saturday mornings when we both have crazy hair :)”

Some of his favorite toys are cars, crayons, books, and balls.  If we are in the store I swear he can see a car or a ball 3 aisles away, and starts saying “car car please” or “ball ball please”.  This is one of those times that, unfortunately for Collin, “please” usually does not work.

He also LOVES watching “Elmo’s World”, “Yo Gabba Gabba”, “Singing Babies” from cousin Lilo, and a “Bible Songs” DVD that is slowly growing on him.  He asks for “Elmo” “Gabba Gabba” and “Babies” constantly but we limit it to one video in the morning after breakfast while mommy is cleaning up & drinking her coffee, and then he can have them on in the background while we are playing after dinner/before bedtime.

I think we have pretty much decided to move him up to a “big boy bed” in January…or at least give it a try.  Even though we have a sleeper sofa, I just hate the thought of giving up our guest bedroom, so what I would like to try is let Collin keep the full-size bed when we move him into that room…if we push it into the corner where he has less space to fall out, then add a bed rail, I think he can do it.  A few months ago I was convinced that we just needed two cribs for a while, but Son has now convinced me that Collin is ready, and I think he is right :)

We also found out for sure that Collin will have to have surgery in January.  It is a very very minor outpatient procedure, but he will still have to be put under general anesthesia, and it will be about a 2-week recovery.  I am not looking forward to seeing him in pain for those 2-weeks, and I think the most difficult thing will be just to see him hurting and not be able to explain to him why or that he will be better soon.  It’s not a super-urgent thing, but the surgeon told us that around 3 years old is when they may start remembering things like surgery, so we are just going to take care of it now while there is no way he will have a memory of it.  And also before baby #2 comes so that I will be able to devote 100% to him during that time.

“But Mommy, I want to be in the bump pictures too!”

So that’s the latest on my little man :)

My Next Project – Design My FREE Cards!!

So, let’s just start this by saying that I LOVE getting photo Christmas Cards in the mail!  Yes, a traditional Christmas Card is nice and they all go on display for the holidays, but by New Years most of the non-photo cards are out with the trash…sorry!!  However, our fridge is full of photo cards for many months to come…and after that they go in our photo album to remember the changes from year to year. 

I am already planning our family Christmas Cards this year, and will be ordering mine from Shutterfly’s Photo Card Collection.  And – to make it even better, they are offering 50 FREE cards to bloggers who write about their products!!!  They have such cute cards like the ones below & they always have deals on free shipping to take advantage of.

Here are some of the ones that I liked…

Hehe…it looks so funny to have random people’s pictures on my blog but I didn’t know how to edit them out :)

Last year was Collin’s first Christmas & also my first year to do our own family photo card & it was so much fun browsing through all of the great cards & looking through our pictures. 

Other great gift ideas from Shutterfly include their Personalized Photo Mugs – both my dad & Son’s dad are proud owners of “Collin Mugs” :)  They also have the cutest Photo Birthday Cards that I will have to remember this April for a certain little man who will be turning 2 years old!!! 

Ahhhhh – I am going to have a 2-year-old!  Now that Collin is 19 months old, he is officially closer to being 2 that he is to being 1.  Okay, that is a whole separate blog post for another day!

What a Trip!

My dad’s side of the family planned a mini-reunion this past weekend in Austin, TX for everyone to get together and spend some quality time with my grandmother.  I was so excited about an opportunity to see family who I have not seen in over a year or more.  Unfortunately Son had to work that weekend and wasn’t able to make the trip with us, but my sister’s husband, Warren, wasn’t able to go either so we met up in Dallas and rode to Austin together.

The flight to Dallas was really full, and I was a little nervous when this huge guy sat down next to us (Collin has a little issue with understanding the difference between “stranger” and “best friend”).  I really think all the guy wanted to do when he sat down was listen to his iPod & sleep…little did he know that he picked the WRONG seat for that!  Probably about 5 minutes after take-off Collin starts touching the guys arm, then he notices that the guy is wearing a t-shirt with a baseball on it and starts saying, “ball ball ball” while trying to poke this poor guy in the chest.  Next, Collin notices the guy’s watch and starts touching it saying “watch, watch, watch”.

At this point I was so embarrassed and tired of trying to convince Collin to leave this guy alone.  Fortunately I guess the guy realized that there would be a lot less crying if he just played along, so he started talking to Collin.  Normally I don’t encourage Collin to have conversations with strange men that we just met, but in this case my choice was either screaming baby on a plane or just go with it.

I won’t give you a play-by-play of the entire 3 hour flight, but let’s just say that the guy ended up being really nice and the flight ended with Collin in the guy’s lap laughing and playing during landing.  He even fussed when the guy had to give him back to me…seriously??

The drive to Austin Saturday morning was great, except for a pit stop to change a diaper at a McDonalds that had no changing table!!  How can you not have a changing table in the entire restaurant?

We made it to my Aunt’s house in time for lunch – Greenburg Turkey!!  My favorite!  We pretty much spent all day over at her house & Collin had a blast playing with his cousin Shay.  That night I even got some Taco Cabana for dinner – yummy!

For some reason I totally forgot to pull out my camera until later that night at the hotel during bath time.  My parents got us a really nice suite with 2 bedrooms & a kitchen so that we could stay together and have everything I needed for Collin.

 

My mom & I giving Collin his bath – and yes, even though it was a really nice place my mom bleached and cleaned out the tub before we put him in.

He thought it was hilarious that we let him play with the plastic serving spoons from the kitchen & had a great time splashing us!

Playing peek-a-boo with “De-De” from the crib – and yes, my mom brought this pack-n-play from home…no nasty hotel germs for our baby!

Giving “Jimbo” aka “Mo-Mo” big hugs & kisses before we had to leave.

I was supposed to be able to meet up with my friend Emily to visit before we headed back to Dallas, but Collin had been up all night with a cough and just wasn’t feeling like himself.  I was so upset but I ended up cancelling because I just knew that he wasn’t feeling well & I wanted to get back to Dallas asap in case he got worse.

Well, he did get worse.  When we got back to my sister’s house he was breathing really heavy, using his chest muscles a lot, and wheezing.  I still wasn’t too worried because he had bronchilitis (sp?) a few months ago and the Dr. had prescribed him an oral Albuterol (sp?) to help with the wheezing – which we actually never used because he got better so quickly. 

Anyways, I decided to call my pediatrician and they recommended we take him to an urgent care clinic just to get looked at.  I still wasn’t really too concerned until we met with the Dr. who advised us to take him to the nearest Children’s Medical Center ER in Frisco.  Then I panicked…

We get to the ER, and the triage nurse checks him out and basically tells us that he is fine and that we should have just taken him to a children’s acute care clinic (who even knew those existed??).  I was feeling much better until we get back to a room in the ER and they start hooking him up to all the monitors, taking a chest x-ray, nose suction, 2 breathing treatments that were over an hour each, and IV fluids…panicking again here!

 

When we first arrived in the ER – trying to distract him with all the toys they had.

After several hours, when his fever spiked they took off most of his clothes to try to cool him off.  I am so thankful that my AMAZING sister was there with me the entire time – there is no way that I could have ever done this without her.

Basically after all of that the doctor told us that he had a virus (broncholitis) that triggered the inflammation in his lungs so that his lung capacity was diminished, his oxygen levels were too low, and his pulse rate & his respiratory rate were too high.  The breathing treatments had helped during the treatment itself, but the effects were not lasting very long after the treatments ended.

They decided to admit us to the hospital to give him more time on the fluids, and because they were concerned that it may get worse during the night.  We got checked into our room, Warren brought me & Becca some dinner, and I think Collin watched the Disney movie Cars about 3 times before he crashed.  I know he wasn’t feeling well just because of the fact that he laid in my arms and watched the movie over and over again – this is the same boy who can’t even sit still for 5 minutes of his favorite Elmo video :)

Collin ended up doing great overnight, although it was difficult for him to sleep with the nurses coming in to check on him every hour.

Mommy & baby the next morning – no sleep & no shower does not make for a very pretty picture!  That morning before Becca & my Mom got there Collin woke up saying, “Becca Car!” “Becca Car!”  I think he was trying to tell me to call Becca and have her get in her car to come and pick us up. 

My mom got up super early & drove from Tyler to the hospital.  Fortunately she was there soon after Collin woke up and was able to help…I was finally able to go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and she picked up some great stuff in the gift shop for him to play with.

By about lunch time Collin was feeling much better & was ready to GO!  But he wasn’t a big fan of the hospital food and the Dr. said he had to be eating and drinking well before we could go home…so Aunt Becca came to the rescue with a Chick-fil-a meal that he quickly ate all of!!

After he ate, drank, and they were able to take him off the IV fluids  it was really difficult to keep him entertained in the hospital room.  He kept running over to the door saying “Walk, walk, walk”…I think another hint that he was ready to leave :)

Once they finally released us we got out of there as fast as we could!!  By that point we had missed our Monday morning flight back home, and the Dr. told us he couldn’t fly until Wednesday.  I was really missing Son, and was dying to get home, but I just tried to make the most of the situation and really enjoyed the extra time with my mom, Becca & Warren.

Collin LOVES Becca & Warren’s dog, Addie.  One of his favorite things to say is “Addie, stay!”  It is so cute & he says it so clearly too.

So we finally made it back home on Wednesday afternoon, and that’s the end of our story!!

Oh yeah, in other Vuong Family news, something happened between the time that I left for Texas and came back because the clothes that I packed fit me at the beginning of the trip, but by the end I was having a hard time trying to find something to wear home…I guess it could have been the Greenburg Turkey, Taco Cabana, or Pei Wei, but I prefer to think that I have “popped”…hehe!  Collin & I are still on play-date restriction just to make sure we don’t get anyone else sick, but I am anxious to see if any of my friends can tell!  Right now if you didn’t know me then I just look fat, but if you do know what I used to look like then I think you can probably tell :)  I promise pictures soon!

Family Fall Festivities

We have been busy participating in all of the Holiday activities going on lately – and having a great time too!!

Collin really loved the Pumpkin Patch!!  I took him once with some other mommy friends and babies, then Son, Collin & I made another family trip a few days later.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera to the outing with friends, but here are some pics from our family visit.

He loved being able to just run free since it was all fenced in!

Pushing the wagon with our pumpkins we picked :)

“But Da-Da, I want to take the wagon home too!”

Here is Collin’s back-up costume after this fiasco :)  I think it was pretty cute for basically being just a pair of orange pajamas.

My little pumpkin!

Then we let Collin “decorate” one of the pumpkins he picked out.

“Am I really supposed to have this permanent marker?”

After that we “made” pumpkin cookies & Collin really enjoyed helping Mommy & Daddy eat them :)

“Yummy!!  My mommy is so talented to make a perfectly shaped orange and green pumpkin inside each cookie!  It’s almost too perfect to be true.”

The guys hanging out eating cookies together – Collin is up waaaaaay past his bedtime here.

A few days later we carved the big mommy & daddy pumpkins and put them outside on display as our family of four :)  This makes me very happy!

Since Halloween was on a Sunday we were going to church then our church’s block party afterwards…but they didn’t want the kids to wear costumes, so we got Collin dressed up again on Saturday and took him to trick-or-treat at Publix – it was sooo cute & kept him entertained while mommy & daddy did some grocery shopping :)

The cutest pumpkin at Publix :)

This is Son’s “Embarrassed” face – for some reason he thought it was a little embarrassing that we took Collin trick-or-treating at Publix, even though it was an official store event & there were tons of little kids there :)  Plus, I am sure the fact that I was taking a million pictures didn’t help either…hehe.

And last but not least was actual Halloween where our church service was titled “Hallelujah, Not Halloween” and was about how what we should be celebrating on October 31st each year was the beginning of the reformation with the 95 Protestations being nailed to the door of the Catholic church by Martin Luther – very good history refresher. 

I was so amazed at all the activities they had afterwards at the Block Party for kids – even little ones like Collin.

He enjoyed a few different arts & crafts, of course the snacks, playing in the sandbox filled with rice, corn & dry beans, hay rides in the wagons, and running all over the place with his friends.  Of course he loved the ball pit :)

And that about wraps up our October!!

Wordless Wednesday

Collin voted…twice :) What did you do yesterday?

Collin’s “Almost” Costume

Growing up we always dressed up for Halloween.  And I don’t mean going to target and getting a cheap-o plastic mask or wig, but full out, handmade by my grandmother, beautiful costumes.

I know some people feel differently but I really don’t see an issue with participating in some of the traditions that come around in the end of October.  We will go to the pumpkin patch, put up a few fall decorations, carve a pumpkin, get some special candy, and if Collin wants to he can wear a costume.  (Last year, thanks to our friend “Auntie Rachel” Collin was the most adorable frog prince.)

So as much as I wanted to make his costume this year and start it as a tradition, I was just so tired with the pregnancy that I just didn’t have the energy…but I did find the most adorable giraffe costume at Old Navy that I thought Collin would LOVE! 

That is what I pictured for his costume this year…adorable, right?  Well, I am not sure what the issue was, whether it was too big, too hot, too scary, but let’s just say that Collin was not a fan of the giraffe.

At first I thought maybe he just needed to get used to it, so I took it out of the bag and hung it on the outside of the closet door.  I would let him look at it, touch it, and I would ask him, “Collin, where is the giraffe?” 

Then I would periodically put it on him, which he hated, but I LOVED it & I REALLY wanted him to wear it so I kept trying.  It got to the point where if I even said “Let’s get your giraffe” he would run away screaming.

So instead of the adorable costume model above, I got the crying angry giraffe – not fun & not worth what we spent on it.

After about a month of this I gave up & exchanged it for a cute but boring pumpkin pj’s outfit.

Oh well, better luck next year.  However next year he will probably be old enough to pick out his own costume so I am probably just going to have to wait for the next baby to dress up!  Fortunately I won’t have to wait very long :)

14 Week Update

How far along? 14 Weeks & 1 Day

Heartbeat?  135 bpm – although I could barely hear it over the screaming toddler in the room.  I mean seriously, who brings their 18 month old to an OB visit??  Even if it is a quick one??  Oh wait…that was me :(

Total weight gain/loss: + 5 lbs

Maternity clothes? Not really, but I did wear a pair of maternity dress pants to church Sunday night.  However, they were really loose even with the bella band that I kept having to pull them up.  I can still fit into my jeans, but most of my dress pants are getting a little snug :)

Stretch marks? No – and I doubt they will appear since I didn’t get them with Collin either.

Sleep?  Still really hard to sleep lately…either not able to go to sleep with about a billion things running through my mind…or if I am able to fall asleep I wake up a billion times to run to the bathroom.  I don’t remember it being like this with Collin?

Best moment this week:   Going shopping with the whole family & picking out a few things for baby :)

Movement: I think I have felt some baby “fluttering” a few times, but I am still not sure.

Food cravings:  I just made buttermilk biscuits at 10:00pm and ate 2 – does that count?

Gender: I had my 12 week ultrasound a few weeks ago where they check the neural tube, etc. and she told me that she was 90% sure of the gender of the baby…but I’m not posting it on FB or blog until we are 100% sure :)  If you want to know just ask :)

Labor Signs: No, but I didn’t ever go into labor with Collin so I doubt there will be much action here.

Belly Button in or out? In, and it stayed in the whole time I was pregnant before too.

What I miss: Sleeping all night without waking up.

What I am looking forward to: Right now I am just enjoying every moment.

Milestones:  Hearing the heartbeat – music to my ears (even if it was music barely heard over the screaming of a very angry little boy) hehe!

My Baby Sister’s Wedding

Let’s just start out by excusing the fact that this post is over a month late, okay?  Thanks!

Well, about a month ago my little sister, Becca, got married!  And I will have to say that (besides my own of course) it was the most beautiful, fun, sweet, wedding that I have ever had the pleasure of attending. 

Collin & I were able to fly in to Dallas, then Son met us in Tyler a few days later.  Here is Collin sitting in his “big boy” seat in the airplane :)

He even let me buckle his seat belt…too cute!

I have already gone over the details of the weekend in this post, so I will just skip to the good stuff – the pictures!

Becca’s dress was SO BEAUTIFUL!  I loved how detailed yet simple it was, and her sash & “bling-bling” necklace made it totally perfect!  Here are my mom & I helping to get her dressed :)

My cousin Brenton was playing at the wedding (just like he did at mine) so Collin got his first ever Viola lesson.  He really enjoyed listening to Bubba play and even got to pluck the strings a little :)

Awwwww – isn’t the Vuong Family just adorable!

Me with my parents – I thought my mom’s dress was beautiful & perfect for the Mother-of-the-Bride.

The happy couple cutting the cake

I wish I had taken more pictures of the wedding site itself because it was so gorgeous!  The wedding was outdoors & the weather was perfect.

Congrats again to Becca & Warren!!!

Mommy’s Little Helper

The other day Collin was taking his sippy cup, turning it upside down, mashing the spout on the floor until a large pool of water formed, then taking his hands and splashing around in it and basically making a huge mess.  Every time he did this I would get on to him, go into the kitchen, get a towel, clean up the mess, and take away the cup. 

Of course a few minutes later he would look at me like he was dying of thirst and say “wa-wa” (water) with those sad eyes…how can you say no to that?  So I would give him the cup back, watch carefully to make sure he was actually drinking, and just as soon as I was convinced that he was really thirsty and turn my back…the puddle of water trick again!

Well this happened probably 3 or 4 times and I was getting really tired of it, so I guess Collin realized that I was really unhappy and ran away…I thought he was running into the other room to play or get a toy but he comes running right back carrying the dish towel in his hand and wipes up the puddle he just created!!  It was the sweetest thing ever!!  Of course I made a big deal of it with clapping and thanking him, and telling him how much mommy appreciated his help.

I LOVE watching my little boy grow up & learn new things!!

However, not even a minute later he created another puddle & ran to get the towel to wipe it up…I think he was surprised that I wasn’t quite as enthusiastic with the praise this time :)

10 Week Update

So, is it really possible that I am already 10 Weeks pregnant??  That means that I am already 1/4 of the way through the pregnancy!  When I was pregnant with Collin it seemed like it would be FOREVER until I got to hold my little guy, but now it is flying by.  And I am one of those people who actually really like being pregnant, so this is not a good thing!

Anyways, here’s the latest on what’s going on with Baby #2.

How far along? 10 Weeks & 2 Days

Heartbeat?  Absolutely perfect and sooo cute to see on ultrasound (which my amazing Dr. does every time I go), but not yet audible on the doppler.

Total weight gain/loss: 2 lbs – yikes!  I don’t think I am supposed to have gained any yet

Maternity clothes? Nope, thankfully I can still fit in all my cute summer clothes.

Stretch marks? No – and I doubt they will appear since I didn’t get them with Collin either.

Sleep?  Getting really hard to sleep lately…that’s really the only thing I have to complain about.  Like right now, Collin is napping and I was going to nap to because I have been SO TIRED lately, but I was just laying there not able to go to sleep with about a billion things running through my mind…so here I am blogging :)

Best moment this week: Collin has just been so sweet and helpful this week – I can really see him being sweet with the baby. 

Movement: Nothing yet :(  I forgot when that starts so I need to look it up so I know when to start getting excited about it.

Food cravings:  Whataburger cheeseburgers and salad with Ranch Dressing

Gender: ??????  Everything feels so familiar and similar to when I was pregnant with Collin, so if I had to guess I would say BOY!  Plus someone told me that statistically you are more likely to have the same gender with your 2nd child as you did with your 1st…so that has been stuck in my mind also.

Labor Signs: No, but I didn’t ever go into labor with Collin so I doubt there will be much action here.

Belly Button in or out? In, and it stayed in the whole time I was pregnant before too.

What I miss: I was really missing coffee & Diet Dr. Pepper until my doctor told me Monday that I could have 1 per day!!  Woo hoo!!

What I am looking forward to: Right now I am just enjoying every moment.

Milestones: Telling our family & friends the news was really fun :)  And I bought a package of size 1 diapers :)

The Difference 2 Years Can Make

Two years ago at this time I was about 10 weeks pregnant with Collin & so excited about this new adventure of “mommy-hood” that I was about to embark upon.  I was nervous, but more than anything I was ready to do it all!

Two years ago…I had already read almost the entire “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” book & was re-reading certain parts.  Now…I keep meaning to dust it off & skim the important parts.

Two years ago…I had already gone through probably 1-2 bottles of the expensive Cocoa Butter lotion from BabiesRUs.  Now…I finally got around to buying the cheapest one I could find at Target.

Two years ago…I spent an insane amount of time coming up with lists of possible baby names to go over with Son & bought about every baby name book on the shelf.  Now…I have a boy name that I like, but I can’t even think of anything for a girl.

Two years ago…I would go every weekend or on my lunch hours and just look up and down the 100’s of aisles at Babies R Us so overwhelmed at everything that I “must” have to raise a baby.  Now…I have a list in the back of my head of a few items I need to pick up eventually, but I am not stressing about it.

Two years ago…I was working full-time and looking forward to the time when I would be able to “take it easy” as a SAHM.  Now…I realize how easy I had it while working, but am loving every minute of being at home & am so incredibly grateful that I will be able to be home from the beginning with baby #2.

Two years ago…I was most nervous about the actual delivery.  Now…I am most nervous about the actual delivery!  Ouch!

Two years ago…I was rushing through everything, just wanting to get to the next step.  Now…I am just enjoying every minute of it because I know how fast it goes by.

So that’s what has been on my mind lately.  We are so excited to announce that Baby #2 is on the way!!  Due April 16th, 2011.  Yes, that would happen to be Collin’s 2nd birthday!

What a Trip!!!

Wow - what a trip!!  So I am sitting here in my (newly married) sister's house thinking back on the wonderful trip that we have had and wishing that it wasn't all over tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong...I am ready to be back in my own house, in my own bed, with all my clothes, with all of Collin's toys...and I have been missing Son terribly since he left yesterday...but I am still not ready for it to end.

A summary of our vacation.

Thursday - The day didn't start out so well with a trip to the Dr. and a diagnosis of bronchalitis (sp?) and ear infection - poor baby!  Collin & I arrived in DFW and were picked up by Becca & Warren & Addie (their puppy) to make the drive to Tyler.  It was a pretty funny sight - Becca's car was loaded down with every one's luggage and other items for the weekend so the only place the stroller would fit was in the front seat - so that meant that me, Becca, Collin, and Addie all road in the backseat together...too funny!

Friday - Bridesmaids luncheon!  Yay!  The wedding festivities began!  The food was so yummy & I really enjoyed spending time with Becca's sweet friends who I haven't seen in a while.  Son arrived in Tyler (along with Beau) and stayed home with Collin while I went with the rest of the family to the rehearsal...let me just say that the location Becca picked out for her wedding was breathtaking.  So Beautiful!!  I promise pictures as soon as I get home & get them from my camera!  That night some sweet friends of my parents (Celia & Tom Ridley) kept Collin for us so that Son & I could enjoy the rehearsal dinner.  Yummy BBQ at a new place in Tyler hosted by the Steplers.  When we picked Collin up it was so funny because he apparently LOVED Mr. Tom and wouldn't let him go the whole time.  Collin even fell asleep in his arms - awwww!

Saturday - THE BIG DAY!!!!!  All the girls met at the hair salon at 11:00 for a day of pampering with hair & make-up.  So much fun!  Then we had to be at the location by 4:00 for pictures. ***A HUGE shout-out goes to my sweet hubby Son who single handedly managed a sick baby Collin all day & night so that I could enjoy everything with my sister.***  The wedding was beautiful - the weather was perfect & the reception was so much fun!!

Sunday - Collin was still a little under the weather so we skipped church and hung out around the house.  Becca & Warren came over for lunch before they had to head back to Dallas.

Monday - Zoo Day!!  Collin had so much fun at the Zoo with us, my parents, and my cousins.  I think his favorite part was either the petting zoo or feeding the ducks :)  That night was also DATE NIGHT!!!!!  We had a great dinner at Mercado's and then went to see Inception.  I know, that movie has been out for like several months but we have been dying to see it...and the last move we saw in the theatre was Blind Side.  I would have to say that it was "ok" but not as good as everyone kept telling us it was.

Tuesday - My dad took Son & I to a friend's house where they had an outdoor gun range set up & we spent about 3 hours shooting all different types of guns!  It was so much fun!  I wanted to go just to shoot a gun since we own one now I wanted to know how to use it in an emergency...but I had no idea how much fun it would be!  My dad's friend was so nice & gave me several lessons & kept pulling out different guns for me to try.  That afternoon my mom & I took Collin to the Discovery Science Place Children's Museum in Tyler.  He loved it!  There were so many things for him to touch, climb on, push around, and throw that he had a great time.

Wednesday - We "attempted" Family Pictures but Collin just wasn't feeling it that day.  I guess I can't complain because we have done it several times in Tyler but this was the first time that he really didn't want to cooperate.

Thursday - DATE NIGHT again!!!   This time we went to Olive Garden (I know...boring, but hey - we had a gift card so it was free!)  Then we stopped and got ice cream and a present for Collin in the way home.

Friday - We took Collin to a cool Tiger Rescue place outside of town where he got to see several tigers, lions, and other big cats.  They even had 2 tigers formerly owned by Michael Jackson!

Saturday - Son left to go the New Orelans to visit friends & my dad & I went to Dallas to see Becca & Warren.

Sunday (Today) - Went swimming at the Stepler's house (Warren's parents) and had a great dinner cooked by Becca & Warren tonight.

I know that I am missing out on so much that we did but it is late, I am tired, and this post is already way too long.  If you are still reading this then you are either related to me or really bored :)

Other highlights that I don't want to forget:

*Collin now eats with a fork!  He loves it but the only problem is that every time he gets a bite in his mouth he looks at you and waits for you to clap for him before he will put another bite in.

*Schlotzky's, Mercado's, Luby's, Pei Wei, my mom's pasta salad, my dad's smoked bbq, my nana's new potatoes, tons of home made cookies - need I say more?

*Collin's favorite new word is "Stay".  He learned it by watching uncle Warren talk to Addie girl & he loves pointing his finger at you and telling you to "Stay".

Okay, night night!

Julie

For My Sister, The “Bridezilla”

So my baby sister is getting married on Saturday…AAAHHHHH!!!  Seriously??  When did this happen?  She is not old enough to get married, right?? (Please ignore the fact that she is exactly the same age as I was when I got married)  Besides the fact that I am still in denial, I am SO EXCITED for her & Warren!!  They are such a perfect couple & I cannot wait to be a part of their special day!

So as comes naturally to brides around their wedding day she has made her own “demands” for me.  The list includes:

1.  Update your blog

2. More pictures of Collin, please!

I mean really, how selfish can you be??  Wanting to see pictures of your favorite nephew the week before your wedding.  Come on!

Okay, I guess I should humor you since it is your “wedding week” and all, so here you go…

Happy Birthday to Collin’s buddy Maxwell :)

Coloring while waiting for our food at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney – He loves to draw & it keeps him happy so I really do not like to go to restaurants without the kids coloring sheets – unless it’s date night :)

Tired Baby!!  Car ride home after a long day in Disney

One of Collin’s favorite things to do…slide!  Thanks to Dallas for sharing her swing set.

And just for my favorite Bride-To-Be I even went to the trouble of uploading a few videos…

 

 

There, are you happy now??  I hope so!  We seriously cannot wait to see you, Warren & Addie girl TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!  Yay!!!!!

Confirmation that “Boys will be Boys”

While playing outside yesterday Collin spots a rather large dead bug – of course he runs over, picks it up & crushes it in his fist!  When I told him to put it down & that it was yucky he kind of looked at me, smiled and opened his fist to let the little pieces of crushed bug fall to the ground…lovely.

Pretty much every time I change his diaper the points to his “man-hood” and says, “what’s that?”

Today at Chick-fil-a we were in the play area and I notice Collin is bending down behind one of the benches to pick something up…when he turns around it is a french fry that had been there who knows how long…of course when he sees me running towards him he puts it in his mouth and takes a huge bite!

He is obsessed with wrestling & doesn’t understand that his younger friends can’t wrestle back like daddy does…so he usually ends up just tackling them to the ground.  We are working on learning “Be sweet, he/she is smaller than you”.

When he “toots” he looks at me & laughs!  Where did he learn that??

And of course no post is complete without some pics of the munchkin.

Gymboree with Cousin Lilo

 

Play time with Cousin Jaeden

“Mommy…why are you torturing me?”

Downtown Disney with friends!  As you can see, Collin was done for the day :)

Love this little boy!!!

“Pump It Up” Pre-K play time  today – he was a little skeptical, but I think he had fun!