Singin' With Momma

Apparently, Ford loves to sing Jesus Loves Me because he couldn't get enough of it the other day. Love him and all his smiles. Especially love singing Jesus Loves Me to him.

Our Home Away From Home

The Zoo. Yes, sometimes I feel like we go to the zoo so much that it is our home away from home. Olivia loves going and it's free so we really can't complain too much. One day she won't have this obsession with animals so we are soaking it up all we can.

Ford's get up. Can I please crawl in there with you, big boy???

 

Me and the smallest duckling.

Me and the biggest duckling.

We were counting the flamingos. Olivia can count to 20 if you think the numbers 14,17, and 19 are not of importance.:)

The zoo just opened a splash park so after looking at the animals on this hot, summer morning we opted for the water the rest of the time.

We had a blast if you can't tell.

For our summer vacation this year we are heading to St.Louis, Missouri. Olivia will be beside herself when we go to that zoo and aquarium. Soo excited!!!

Goooo USA!!!

Can you tell we're just a tad pumped about watching the Olympics for the next 17 days???

This little guy isn't really sure what he's so excited about but his mommy and daddy LOVE everything about the summer Olympics. If only we had all the time in the world to actually watch every bit of it. I guess with our television service dedicating a whole channel to the Olympics only will make it easier for us. We'll be anchoring down in front of the TV every night to cheer on our country.

 U-S-A  U-S-A  U-S-A

Come on, join me in the chanting and get that fist pump going....be proud of your country!

5 Months

Can you believe that Ford is already 5 months old?? Once again, I am in denial with just how fast time is flying. I think it's going by much faster than with Olivia. If you would have told me that was possible when Olivia was a baby I would not have believed you.

Anyway, on to more important things. Ford now weighs 17 pounds and is 26 1/2 inches long. He is a mere one pound away from what Olivia weighed at 1 year old. He is in size 2 diapers (should be in size 3 but we have a ton of 2's left so we're being budget friendly). He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and 9 month pajamas. He nurses every 3 hours during the day and can go anywhere from 7-10 hours at night. He goes to bed every night around 7-7:30 and wakes up anywhere from 6:30-7:30 in the morning. He also takes about 4 naps a day. He LOVES a routine so that is exactly what we have him on.

He has grown physically but also his personality has developed a ton over the last month. He wakes up in the morning with the sweetest grin and the loudest cooing as if he is saying "good morning, everyone". He will smile and laugh at just about anything and is a VERY ticklish baby. He LOVES his lovies, ninny, activity gyms, his bumbo seat, a good, warm bath with his sister, to be pushed in the stroller and rocking before bedtime. He is also chewing on his hands like crazy so maybe we'll see a tooth before much longer.  He has tried rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and pears. The only one he actually tolerates are the pears but it's a work in progress. He is such a sweet, laid back baby. Not sure what we would do without this Big Boy.

I hear my duckling #2 cooing so he must be waking from his nap and calling me. Gotta go. Until next time....maybe 6 months will seem like an eternity away....

Hot Summer Days=Inside Activities

Like coloring...

or sidewalk chalk on newspaper...

or painting with a brush for the first time.

This little guy stays entertained in his activity gym...

but why play when you can just lounge?

It is so hot and humid here that if we do anything outside it has to include water. Or we just opt to stay indoors and get very creative with activities. You do what you gotta do to keep the kids entertained. Fall, please hurry up I'm running out of ideas!!

Random

Olivia loves her Wil. And that is exactly what she calls him too, "my Wil". She knew she was going to get to see him the other day so she kept asking about him. The morning of the day she was going to go swimming with him she kept asking me about him and where he was. I said that I didn't know but I would think he was at his house. She said "I'm gonna go look out the window and see if I see him". The day before she also asked Lilly, the dog, to go get him for her and also thought her Wil might want to try the sucker she had that afternoon. This silly girl LOVES her Wil.

Cute guy in some jammies his big sister also wore.

This is how we wake up in the Collins household, veeerrrrryyyyy slowly.

His Lovie=His BFF

Thankfully, both of our children have grown a strong attachment to their lovies. I sorta encouraged this attachment just so they could find comfort in something in the middle of the night, etc. and not cry out for me. Of course, I do hope that they grow out of it at some point but for now it's a-ok. Olivia has a lamb, giraffe and bear that she LOVES and sleeps with at night. I wasn't sure if Ford was going to be equally as fond of them but he has proved me wrong. He loves them just as much as his big sister.

I mean, why not? They're cute, soft and oh, so cuddly!

Happy Happy Day

Today is Hays' 31st birthday (but who's counting these days, right)! We are so thankful for him in this household. I really don't know what we would do without him. I know a little girl that would have a very boring life. He brings so  much joy, laughter, playfulness and love to our lives.

We love you more than you'll ever know!!!

Just Some Firsts

With 2 growing children in our household we have a lot of "firsts" going on.

The other night Ford and Olivia took a bath together for the first time. Once again, the bigger of the two is quite thrilled and the smaller of the two is wondering what he has gotten himself into. Olivia was beside herself excited to have a partner in crime in the bath tub with her because, let me tell you, she commits LOTS of questionable acts during that short period of time. Not kidding.

This little guy tried his taste buds at sweet potatoes for the first time. Although, it did go better than the cereal I still wouldn't call it a success. We have our fingers crossed that he will become a tad more successful in the next few weeks.

And, a couple of more pictures of the cutie pies for good measure.

Today, you get a sideways picture. Yep, blogger can be pretty silly sometimes but I had to post the sibling picture anyway.

First time for the chunk to be on his beautiful blanket my Aunt Cindy made. I think he thought it was so soft and cuddly. I mean, look how happy he is (of course, he's about that happy 95% of the time).

Hays' Mini-Me

Both of these pictures were taken around the same age, 4 months.

Hays

Ford

I guess we all know where my adorable baby gets his looks.

Girls Beach Trip Plus Four

The girls (Me, mom, my sister and Aunt Cindy) started taking an annual beach trip to the Collins condo when we first got married. Well, now that my sister and I both have kids we have added 3 boys and another girl to the trip. I guess technically it can't be called the "girls" beach trip anymore. I can't say that this trip is as relaxing as it used to be but I can say that we have an equal amount of fun as we did back in the day.

These kids kept us on our toes the entire time. Let's just say that there was an 8:30 mandatory bedtime for EVERYBODY.

Nano had her arms full about 99.9% of the time (even while she was sleeping). That's what you call a good Nano.

Our annual ritual is to bury Kai in the sand, the kid LOVES to be buried.

He's soaking it all in and learning the ropes from the older three. Boy, next year should be very interesting.

Can't go to the pool without a break for sno-cones.

Chillaxin.

Nano and her girl.

Our BIG baby, Dalton had to try out Ford's bed.

Sleeping with momma after the early morning feeding. #anythinggoesonvacation

Aunt Cindy wasn't able to make it this year and boy, did we miss her! You'll have to come next year so the kids don't have us outnumbered! We missed you terribly.

The Next Katy Perry

Have you seen the Katy Perry movie yet? I know she is a tad strange but she really worked hard to get where she is today and I have a new respect for her music. Olivia is a lot like Katy Perry in that she can make up her own lyrics, they may be a tad strange and a little off to the rest of the world but they make perfect sense to her.

Home At Last

The beach was oh, so nice but this little boy is so happy to be in his own bed!

Diva in the making???

We had to take Lilly to Petsmart to get groomed the other day. This is the little lady as she is doing her shopping. Don't you love the purse? I made her keep another purse and jewelry in the car.

Gotta love her.

Overstaying the Beach

Is it even possible to overstay the beach??? Not in my books. We are working on our second week here. We came down with Hays and his parents for the Fourth of July and decided to stay by ourselves (me and both kids) until my sister, nephews and mom get here tomorrow afternoon. This will make about a 2 week trip altogether. But, I mean really, who gets tired of being at the beach??

This chunk of burning love hasn't minded one bit.

I think this one could probably live at the beach. She loves everything about the beach. She loves the sand (she even likes to eat it) and the ocean (it helps that Nemo and Dory live there).

Of course, he hasn't missed one snooze since being down here even while we're at the pool or beach.

Thank goodness big sister is a little water bug.

Meet Sophie, Ford's best friend. I guess he needed to find a companion while we swam.

We decided to forgo the swimming this afternoon and instead kicked the beach ball around. She kept kissing and hugging the ball and telling it it was sweet. Who would have known a beach ball could be so loved.

This guy has taken over Gigi's leather chair. Just give him a remote control and the T.V. on ESPN and he would have it made (ugh, just like a man).:)