The Park=Happy Girl=Happy Momma

Big Momma and Big Sister

I know I have been saying this for it seems like FOREVER but we are truly on the countdown to Ford's arrival. The doctor has set an induction date for February 27th if he doesn't decide to come before then. I am praying hard that he will come on his own time. I REALLY don't want to be induced, it sounds like absolutely torture to me. Sooo we have been walking, eating Mexican and pineapple and next on my list is to clean baseboards and eat Parmesan eggplant (I know...weird).

This is our big sister and her big momma! Ha!

I NEVER thought I would post pictures of my bare belly on my blog but these are just too precious not to have in my blog book. Olivia is finally acknowledging that I have a baby in my belly and will come up and kiss it often. The rest will be a total shock to her. I pray that her transition into a big sister will be a smooth one.

Olivia is saying "WOW, mommy! That's a BIG belly!"

I can't wait until she can kiss her baby brother on the cheeks.

Just Catching Up

Well, not a lot has been going on around here. We have just been waiting...waiting....and doing more waiting. We thought for sure that Ford would have already been here by now. When I went to the doctor at 36 weeks and was already 1cm dilated I ran around and got things prepared thinking he would be here any day. So we have just been playing, going to the park/zoo and playing some more. Hays and I cherish this one on one time we have with Olivia right now.

Trying to walk in Daddy's boots. She didn't get far.



 Apparently, she was taking twins to the grocery. Bless her heart :)

This is Olivia's favorite past time. She will swing for hours and has loved it since she was a baby. 

It rained ALL day here Saturday. I mean ALL day. Coloring the play house was one activity of many we found to pass the time.

I think she was looking for a t.v. for her bedroom. We told her we really didn't think so! :)

At a birthday party that was sports themed. She was one of two cheerleaders there. Poor thing has LOTS of boy friends. Of course, we had to cheer on the Saints.

Snuggle time with my girl before I have two little ducklings. I wish I could bottle these snuggles up. I know later in life they will be few and far between. I soak them up every chance I get.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has been pretty low key around here. Hays got Olivia Lady and the Tramp for Valentine's Day so maybe we'll get out of this Mickey Mouse streak.

 I did attempt to make heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes this morning. I did this last year so I thought it would be a good idea to carry the tradition on for Olivia and eventually, Ford. I was so proud of myself for getting out of bed when no one else was up and start on breakfast. Little did I know my cooking skills were not up to par and I burnt the first batch of pancakes and set the fire alarm off waking everyone up. Are my cooking skills really THAT bad?? Haha. We'll hope for a better turnout next year.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Collins!

Ford's Nursery

I had to really change gears to decorate Ford's nursery. I guess being a girl made it so easy to decorate a girls room. It's like I am drawn to all things pink when I walk in a store or look in a catalog. So to decorate a little boys room in a short period of time was quite a task for me. But all in all, it is complete and ready for his arrival.

I tried to go for very calming colors and textures. I found this bedding at the Pottery Barn outlet in Memphis which ended up being a lot cheaper than online. I love the colors and the sweet little elephants. We used Olivia's bed since she is in a big girl bed now. I think it is just timeless and gender neutral. I hope to keep it forever and use it when we have grandchildren (I hope that is eons away).

Ford's bookshelf filled with stuffed animals, books and toys. I went through Olivia's room and found everything gender neutral to put in Ford's room. She didn't have much. But I did find a nice place for the belly cast. Who knows how long it will actually stay there. The big yellow truck was given to us by Hays' grandmother. It was his when he was little. Olivia loves it and I am sure Ford will to.



This is the same rocker that was in Olivia's nursery. It was pink minky dot but we had it recovered in white. What was I thinking? We sprayed it with scotch guard and are going to hope for the best. Ha....yeah right!

Love these. I had the frames made at a local frame shop and bought the letters at Hobby Lobby and just hung them inside the frames. So easy.

  

We are using this antique sideboard as a changing table. I LOVE it. If it doesn't fit with his room later I will just put it somewhere else in the house or get it repainted.

Ford's going home outfit. I am still in shock that all of this is blue and not pink. Somebody PLEASE pinch me!!! Is this really MY life??? Thank you, Lord for all my many blessings.

Just Some Pictures of the Girl

I thought I would post just a few pictures of the princess of the house. Soon she will have a prince to join her in these pictures. I'm not so sure how she is going to feel about that seeing that she has gotten 100% of our attention since she was born. I pray it will be an easy transition for her. She just started coming up and kissing my belly. I'm not sure if it's because she understands that concept of a baby in the stomach or if it's because it's so ginormous she has no choice but to acknowledge it. Ha!

The other night Hays got her ready for bed and then she got a wild hair and wanted to put on every tutu that she owns over her jammies. Then she started playing with Ford's tonka truck. It's like she couldn't decide if she wanted to be a girlie girl or tom boy. Who knows....

 Holly and Cole got her a BIG (I mean, REALLY BIG) house to play in and color. She LOVES it. Hopefully, this will keep her busy when Ford gets here.

My multitasker. Coloring and watching Micky Mouse at the same time.

Next up will be an update on Ford's nursery. It is finally about complete and ready for him to be in it.

Olivia Turns 2 with Abby Cadabby

Olivia turned 2 and the day was absolutely perfect! We decided to celebrate the day with Abby Cadabby to help host and a big castle bouncy house. Thankfully, it was a lot warmer than the day she was actually born. We had many friends and family come and help us celebrate the special birthday girl. We are so very blessed.

The birthday girl.

We had to include 2 of Olivia's favorite things:bubbles and balloons! She was beside herself!

Abby Cadabby cake.

Olivia is some kind of daddy's girl. They are two peas in a pod.

She LOVED the bouncy house. Can you tell???

Ring around the rosie with Cole (her boyfriend).

Birthday hugs given with lots of love!

Well...someone skipped the cake and went straight for the candy. Surprise, surprise!

My two loves. Soon, I'll have three! My cup runneth over!

35 Weeks

We are finally on the official countdown of baby Ford joining our family. I am 35 weeks and hoping that he is going to come 2 weeks early just as Olivia did. I am becoming quite uncomfortable and it is getting harder to carry and take care of Olivia with a basketball of a belly. I am really trying to savor this time being pregnant and spending quality one on one time with Olivia. I know the time will pass so quickly and we will have 2 toddlers in the house before we can even blink our eyes. For now I am just wishing this back and feet pain away.

Some Favorite Things

Well, well well...it finally happened. Olivia is getting out of her big girl bed on her own. We gave her a cute little painted step stool for her birthday to put at the end of her bed. It had been there for a good week without her really acknowledging it. Well, around the end of nap time yesterday I hear "moommmmy, come heeerre" which is not very unusual. I open the door to find an empty bed but what you see below. Olivia just a rockin away in her rocking chair. She looked at me and said "mommy, I wake up" with a BIG smile. I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear and take a quick picture. She is just growing up way too fast!

 As you know, Olivia LOVES balloons. She had lots of balloons at her birthday party and of course, wanted to sleep with them. She looks like she could float away at any minute.

Last night they got a ride in the grocery cart.

Her birthday party was the day before her actual birthday so on her birthday we let her choose what she wanted for supper and then had cake and ice cream and of course, we sang to her again and had candles. It was so funny because the whole time Hays and I sang to her she also sang...to herself.

Before I know it she'll be blowing 18 candles out.