Beach Photo Shoot

We bought the kids matching outfits so we had a little photo shoot while we were at the beach for Memorial Day. They actually turned out pretty good.







  

3 Months (just a day late)

How in the world is Ford already 3 months old? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was posting that he made his quick arrival into the world? Well, here we are 3 months later and this time around I'm really going to try and grasp how quickly time flies and treasure every minute.

What a blessing this little boy has been to our family in a short 3 months. He really does give our family a feeling of completeness. It's almost like he has been with us all along. I never knew I could love two little people as much as I do. I love them so much my heart can literally ache.

Ford is such a laid back and easy going little baby. He just rolls right along with us and barely makes a peep unless he's tired or hungry. He has been sleeping through the night for a about a month now (we didn't get a full nights rest with Olivia until she was over a year) and still sleeps a lot of his days away. When he is awake he loves to talk, smile and observe his surroundings. He weighs close to 14 1/2 pounds and is close to growing out of the swing and bouncy seat.

Olivia LOVES her little brother and is always concerned about his well being. She will come tell us when he is crying or when she thinks he is hungry or needs to be burped. She has such a sweet and tender love for him and I pray they will always be so close to each other.

I love my 2 little ducklings so so much. This momma duck will be sad when the day comes that she has to let her ducklings fly but for now, she is going to enjoy her full nest!


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I bet you can guess who's wearing these red heels???

What's Been Going On???

We have been taking care of and loving on two little ducklings, that's what has been going on around here. We sometimes do things a little backwards around here. On this particular night, Olivia had a yummy (and messy) chocolate chip cookie AFTER her bath. I don't see any evidence, do you???

She can pose for the camera when she has a good reason to. Showing off her lady bug tattoo. I think we might have a Phi Mu in the making.:)

It's summer time! So thankful for our neighborhood pool. I foresee many visits there in the near future.

Ice cream date with my girl. She is one after my own heart. Like momma, like daughter.

As a stay at home momma I sometimes (ok, maybe a lot more than just sometimes) have those moments when I just want to either pull my hair out or go hide in a closet. This was one of those times. I move a step closer to a clean house only to take 5 steps backwards. It's my life right now.

On a different note, this little guy is FINALLY taking a bottle. We have been struggling with this since the bad tasting milk episode. He only took half of it though. We have been through 3 different kinds of bottles with no luck. PLEASE leave a comment if you have tips. Please.

But look at him. Sweet, sweet baby. These moments make all those struggles worth while.

Mother's Day

Thank you, Lord for filling my lap.

Mother's Day is always a day of happy celebration around here. I got to take the kids to Memphis on Thursday and spend some quality time with my mom which was such a treat. We don't get a whole lot of time with just us so it was nice to spend some one on one time with her. After all, she is the one that taught me the ropes of motherhood and is there to guide my way whenever I ask for it. She's always the first person I call when I have a worry, question or just a proud moment that I need to share. She is such a loving and caring person and I pray that Ford and Olivia can say that about me 30 years from now. I love you, mom!

I was treated like a queen on Mother's Day which really means I didn't have to change ONE diaper the entire day. That is one perfect gift in this season of my life! It really was a great day. There was monkey bread (my favorite) and flowers waiting on me when I got up along with gifts and a freshly baked cake. You really can't ask for anymore than that. I was greeted by a happy 2 year old and a 2 month old bearing gifts. My job is to take care of them but really, they take care of me and fill my heart with joy contentment everyday.

Once a House, Now a Home

For Mother's Day this year I asked Hays for a painting of our house. This house really is where it all began. This house was our first real step into adulthood. This house is where we left each morning to go to our first real jobs. This house came with our first mortgage to pay each month. This house is where we brought our babies home from the hospital to. This house is where Olivia (and Ford eventually) took her first steps and spoke her first words. This house is where we hear the pitter patter of little feet racing to our bedroom each morning. The walls of this house are filled with laughter and conversation each night. This house is where Santa will come down the chimney and the Easter bunny will fill baskets each year. This house has become our home and may not be the only place the four of us will ever live but will always hold a very special place in this momma's heart.

My Loves

This little guy has been staying awake a little longer each day but still doing a lot of this, snuggling. I LOVE snuggles from both of my babies.

This little girl has been doing a lot of this, swinging. I think when she gets to college she'll still be spending hours upon hours a day in a swing. That's just how much she LOVES it.

We have been getting a lot of these lately, smiles. Love those sweet, toothless smiles. Priceless.

These two are my loves. I love them so much it hurts.

What a Glorious Day

Ford was baptized at our church on Sunday morning. This, just as it was with Olivia, is one of the biggest days in Ford's life. Hays and I dedicated him to the church. This baptism did not symbolize that he is a believer in the Lord or that he will go to heaven because of this baptism. On this day, we (Hays and I) made the promise to raise him in a Christian home with the sincere hope that one day he will become a believer and have a personal relationship with our Lord. We made the commitment to live our lives as an example for Ford and pray for him fervently daily. God has blessed us with such a precious gift and we love him more than anything in this world but God loves him even more than that. We pray that he will know that love one day.

Precious baby boy in the same dress that his dad and sister was baptized in.

What a special time for me and Hays.

He slept the whole time. Even as Steve was putting water on his head.

We were so blessed to have many friends and family there to support us.

Just My Girl

I am so lucky that I was chosen to be this little girl's momma. She is such a blessing to be around everyday. I love her and what God is allowing me to do day in and day out during this season of my life.

Goodbye, Farewell, So Long

Warning: Not everyone will understand this post but all mothers out there, you will completely understand where I am coming from. We made a very interesting (and depressing) discovery about my breast milk this past week. Let me preface this by saying the picture below is all the frozen milk we have stocked up. Over 200 ounces of breast milk is considered pure gold in the Collins household. For some reason, with Ford I have been able to stock the freezer in case I wanted to be away he could always just have a bottle. I NEVER had this much with Olivia.

The other night I went to dinner and a movie with a friend assured that Ford would be well taken care of and could just have a bottle from the frozen supply. Every mom needs some "me" time, right? While I was away Hays had some major trouble getting Ford to take the bottle. We thought he just didn't care for the bottle so to get him used to taking one we were very persistent and just kept trying with no luck. We started researching this problem online and it turns out that my milk has too much of a certain enzyme, lipase. Excessive lipase can make any milk that is not extremely fresh taste soapy or metallic. What??? This is a nursing moms worst nightmare! We tasted the milk (I know, weird, right? I made Hays do it) and sure enough it tastes like you are washing your mouth out with soap. Poor Ford! Tear............

After many phone calls later to professionals in this field we were reassured that our findings were correct. All 200 ounces will be donated to a center in Texas where they pasteurize the milk and make it safe for other babies to have. It will be sent to NICU's around the South. I want to cry, I really do but I have come to the realization that this milk was never meant for Ford. It was God's plan all along for this milk to go to babies that need it more. So long, farewell, goodbye milk that I worked so hard for, many times in the wee hours of the morning. You will be used for little babies that need it much more than my own.



Like Father Like Son

Well, I guess there's no question who Ford looks like. :)

My Loves

This little girl has been cracking us up lately. Since Ford's birth she has been attached to several of her baby dolls. We went to Target the other day and she had to take her baby doll in with us. She kept telling the baby that "it will be okay, baby" and "don't frrryyyy" which means don't cry! She has also been "feeding " her baby often. She sees me nursing Ford and I guess, wants to feed her baby the same way. She'll be a great momma one day.

 

Our little guy was moved to his bed the other night. He did great, it was just weird not having him in our bedroom with us. It was a very bittersweet night for me. I mean...who knows...we may never have another newborn in our room again. On the bright side, Ford slept 7 straight hours which is considered all night. Whoop Whoop!!

Do you see that Olivia's arms are not in focus. That is because she is going ninety to nothing ALL the time. She keeps us on our toes.:)

Is he not the cutest thing you have ever seen??? I seriously have no idea how he is already this big. I pray that I will always be able to remember this time with him. I pray that I do remember the snuggles, the interrupted sleep at night, the constant diapers, the spit up all over everything right after a shower, the smiles just because, the chunky baby rolls, the snuggles, the rocking, nursing and oh, did I say the snuggles. I pray that I remember everything about this newborn stage.