It's Fall, Y'all!

The weather has turned a tad cooler and we have had a lot going on around the Collins' household. Most of all, we have enjoyed being outside.

This will be reality all too quickly. 

School is in full swing and Olivia has been making big progress. She is finally taking interest in learning her letters and how to write her name. So proud of her!

I am pretty sure we were at the park every single day last week. 

They just can't get enough.

Would you look at this BIG guy?! 

He likes to try and do it all these days.

When the weather gets cooler, it calls for many trips to the zoo. 

Thankful I get this time with these two while no one else is around.

We've also been celebrating my two besties. Emilee is having twin girls at the end of October and Rebecca is having her first girl a few weeks later. It's about to get reeaalll crazy. Not sure what I would do without these two girls. 

We also rode in the Wendy's midnight bike ride to benefit adoption. You can't judge the way we look considering it's 2 am. Fun riding with my parents for a great cause. Kudos to Hays for planning a great event!

And that's a wrap for now....

Kicking off Fall

Ford and Hays took their first boys trip of the fall to the Ole Miss game. 

I think it's safe to say that Ford is an Ole Miss fan.

Pretty sure it runs in his blood.

First Sibling Sleepover

These two little people have grown to adore each other. Like any siblings, they have their moments but overall, they are giggling and playing with each other ALL the time. It was a tough road for us while they were babies but now I'm so glad we had them close.  

They were wrestling the other night on Olivia's bed right before bed time and ended up wanting to sleep together. Olivia said "mommy, can Ford sleep with me? He's my best friend." Now how do you say no to that?

It took them a LONG while to go to sleep but afterwards I went up to check on them and they looked like a small litter of puppies all snuggled up together. 

I pray they will always stay best friends.

Wrapping Up Summer

Labor Day weekend we wrapped up summer with a quick visit to Montgomery and a long weekend at Lake Martin in Alabama. 

These two were excited to be spending some time together.  We went to the bookstore, library and visited the zoo.

We took a train ride, a sky lift ride and even fed the giraffes!

Then we headed to paradise, the lake.

We met the Hesters and Glovers there and had the BEST weekend.

It's sad to wrap the carefree summer up. 

God willing, we'll see it again.

Update on Brother Bear

Y'all, this boy continues to amaze us.

 He is doing so well that his OT has been decreased to only once a week (he was going three times a week just 3 months ago). He also continues to have speech once a week which he will pick up with at his new school. 

He is saying everyone's name and 3-4 word phrases.

He is able to go up and down stairs with minimal assistance and his sensory issues seem to be decreasing. 

We are SO thankful to our clinic, A Focused Brain and the therapists there. There is no way Ford would be where he is today without their persistence, knowledge and love to help children like Ford.

All Glory goes to our Lord.

 He has and always will have a special plan for this brother bear of ours.

New Beginnings

It's that time of year again. 

A new year, new friends, a new teacher, a new school with all new beginnings. 

We're excited that both Olivia and Ford will be attending Covenant Preschool this fall. They both already love it so much (although Olivia has had her moments). 

We can't wait to see how they learn and grow in the coming year.

And, we hope it just drags by...

New start to a new year of dance too. 

Olivia is working on her third year to take and LOVES it.

The Furry Baby

She's loved just a little bit...

Camping or the Beach???

We went camping a few times this summer. Probably a few more times than we anticipated. We would ask Olivia if she wanted to go to the beach condo or camping in the pop up and every time she would say camping. We bought the pop up when Ford was just a baby and we can already say that we've gotten our money worth. The kids just absolutely love it and just can't get enough. So every chance we got this summer, we packed it up and off we went.

We're happy to say that after many years of crying babies in the car, we finally have silence. 

We thought this day would NEVER come.

The kids favorite spot to camp is Jellystone Park which is only 30 minutes from our house.

Doing a family "train" down the slide was a big highlight.

The bathing beauty.

This is what the girl packs to go camping. 

She always has to be accessorized. 

We have two little ones counting down til we can get the ol' camper out again.

Summer Bucket List

We've had one of the busiest and BEST summers yet...

The zoo and kayaking.

Baking cookies.

The beach.

Suckers and sunglasses.

Family game night on the front porch.

Target runs.

Slumber party with the BFF.

Park play dates.

Movie and popcorn night.

Celebrating the Fourth of July.

Some days were longer than others.

Kroger trips with 2 extra shoppers in tow.

Fishing.

Princess dance camp.

 And more play dates.

Date night with daddy.

Celebrating daddy's birthday,

Watching sunsets.

Seriously. It doesn't get any better.