New Years Resolution

I do not make New Years Resolutions because I never keep them, however this year I have decided I'm going to make goals. I will re-evaluate every 3 months and see which ones I have hit and which ones I need to work towards, some of the goals I know will not happen until later in the year.

1. Be 145 lbs by my birthday.

2. Tone up my body (by doing ab exercises and then walk/running when the weather gets nicer)

3. Spend 7 hours a week with just my kids, no distractions.

4. Go on a date night with my husband every other month

5. Have my business see a profit

6. Send out birthday cards on time to all family members

7. Get the basement organized and looking nice

8. Have one month where neither kid goes to the doctor.


We will see how well I do on these this year and what we have to amend/change or what I leave by the wayside in the months to come.

2011 in Review

January-My business doubles.

February- Alyssa turns two!

March-We celebrate Colin's baptism and time with my mom and step dad.

April- I spend a day in the ER, Colin gets RSV and pneumonia and spends a week in the hospital. We celebrate Easter in our PJ's because we got home from the hospital the day before. Alyssa comes down with pneumonia and ends up in the ER.

May-Chris and I celebrate our 7 year Anniversary.

June- My Grandpa dies out in California. Colin and I make a trip out to the funeral and for family to meet my new son.

July- We celebrate 4th of July and enjoy the weather with swimming and watching Colin learn to crawl

August-My Grandma dies unexpectedly. The family makes a trip to central MO for the funeral and for some family to meet both of my kids.

September- Spend almost every weekend outside doing activities including corn mazes, zoo and a few others.

October- We celebrate Halloween with Alyssa as Tinkerbell and Colin as a Cow.

November- We Celebrate Colin's first birthday and also make a trip out to California as a family to mourn the loss of my Grandma.

December- We celebrate Christmas and the joy of having two walking kids. Watching their friendship grow and develop.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning Alyssa was up at 6:15. We were a little surprised that it was so early since she hadn't gone to bed till almost 10 the night before. Both Chris and I got up with her and brought her downstairs. We let her play with the toys she had gotten the night before and talked to her about her presents upstairs. At 7 we ate cinnamon rolls and let her open her stocking.


All morning she was alternating between happy and grouchy. At 7:15 we decided that we had made her wait long enough and we woke Colin up so that we could open presents.  They both really enjoyed opening presents and loved every gift they got. Colin would not let Alyssa touch his gifts once he saw them and Alyssa wanted to play with everything she got right away.
After all the gifts were opened we let the kids play while we cleaned up all the paper, boxes etc. We then brought Colin downstairs for breakfast and I started to get ready for church.
   We went to church and enjoyed the Christmas service, came home had some lunch then put the kids down for a nap while we put together the rest of the train table and I took a little nap myself.
   Once Colin was awake again it was off to Chris's parents house to open more presents. The kids were spoiled rotten and once again were well behaved and enjoyed opening all their gifts. They then played nicely or sat with us quietly while we opened our presents.

   At 7:00 we put them in the Pj's loaded them in the car and both were asleep by the time we got home so all we had to do was take them upstairs and tuck them into bed.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we got up and spent the first two hours of the day laying on the floor playing with the kids. Both of the kids were in a great mood. We danced, we played with toys and blankets, it was a great way to start the morning.

After naps we headed out to Chris's sister and brother in laws house to celebrate Christmas with all the cousins, aunts, uncles and extended family. Once again both kids were in a great mood and had a blast playing with the other kids. (Well Colin hung out with Chris or I but enjoyed just hanging out).   We got so many compliments on the kids outfits and how well behaved they both were.
At about 7:15 (so close to the kids bedtime) they decided it is time to open presents. They also decided to go oldest to youngest.  This meant that my two kids were last. While the other kids took their turns slowly Alyssa fingered each present and kept asking if it was her turn. I was afraid she was going to get bored and just start ripping open her presents but she was really good and waited.
Both the kids loved their presents and did great all night. Before we left we put both kids in their matching snowman PJ's and left.

It was the best Christmas Eve I can remember. I enjoyed my children and husband more than I can say and wish we had more down time in our lives that we could just sit for two hours and enjoy the good mood of the kids.

Ginger Bread House

A friend brought over a gingerbread house and told me that I should make it with my kids. I laughed at her and told her that she was crazy. I had watched my step mom make one with Alyssa right after Thanksgiving and said I was not doing it.

Well it sat on my counter all day and I kept looking at it so finally I decided I would give it a try. So before involving the kids I put all the walls together so that it would stay. I then let it sit for about 3 hours to harden.  Then after dinner I put more frosting on it and let Alyssa decorate it with the candy that came with it. She took this job very seriously and thought about the placement of each piece of candy. Every time she put a piece on and got frosting on her hand she would ask me to wipe it off. I kept telling her that she could eat the frosting but she didn't want to.
 After a bit of her watching me eat some of the frosting as I was decorating the walls and windows, she decided that she was going to try the frosting. Well once she tried it she was done putting candy on the house and only wanted to eat the frosting. Good thing the house was almost done.
Colin spent the time sitting in his high chair watching Alyssa and I. I think next year if I get one he will be able to help.

My life

If you would have told me three years ago that I would be running my own business and be successful I would tell you that you were crazy. When I was younger and childless I always said I wanted to stay home with my kids but I figured that was an unattainable goal (kind of like winning the lottery, we dream but don't expect it). When teaching was so hard for me I thought I was going to lose both my dream of teaching and my dream of staying home. I was looking at going back to retail or being a secretary somewhere.

I then got this job thrown in my lap. When I started last Aug I had two kids and I wasn't sure how long I would be able to make it. I knew I couldn't look for anything else until after Colin was born so I knew that I would stay home until at least the first of the year. I took the opportunity of having full days of just Alyssa and I too get to know her better and enjoy the park and other outings.

By the time January rolled around I was so full I had to hire an assistant full time and my kids just kept growing. I now have a waiting list of kids and a full house of kids on a daily basis, yet I still have a low enough numbers one day a week that if I want to take one or both of my kids and go do something I can. It is like having my cake and eating it too. I get to see my kids interact and grow every day, yet I'm still contributing to our household income. I didn't make as much this past year as I did when I was teaching(probably only about half of it in fact).  But if you could measure my success and money in happiness, I would have made 100 times what I made while teaching.

As I sit figuring out my end of the year money situation for the daycare I have found that I am actually not in the hole for my first complete year of business. (Even though I did officially start in Aug of 2010 I consider Jan of 2011 my true start. I will walk away at the end of the year with a VERY small profit (which when tax season comes will put me back in the hole).

I am very proud of the person I have become in the last year and I love my life more now than I have in the last 6 years. I know that I couldn't have done it without my husband's support. He has been there to listen to me cry, worry and stand tall. I also couldn't have done it without my family that encouraged me when I needed the extra push.

I am excited to see what 2012 does for my business and my family. My life has had some rough spots the past year but I can say that I am honestly a little sad to see 2011 end but I will look forward to my opportunities of 2012.

First Christmas Party of the Season

Today we had our daycare Christmas party. It was a huge success considering how many kids we had and the ages of all of them. All the kids did a great job waiting. The best part was watching their faces as they opened their gifts.
We did not let any of them take their toys out of their boxes here because we did not want to lose pieces around the house. So they got to open them, and then had to put them in a bag until it was time to go home.
   I know it was torture but none of the kids complained.  We let Alyssa get her Barbies out after dinner. For the first 10 minutes she had them she just walked around the house saying "I love my Barbies, I love my Barbies" over and over again. She would go put them down on the couch and give each one a hug then pick all of them back up and walk around again. It was adorable and put a huge smile on my face.
    Colin got a wooden peg holder and when you hit one down another one pops up. He would not let anyone else touch it. Alyssa tried to play with him and he screamed at her. I touched it and he came crawling across the room and grabbed it from me.
    As I sat and watched my kids play with their toys I got tears in my eyes because I can't wait to watch them Christmas morning. This Christmas might be the best Christmas ever. Watching my kids faces light up and know that they are truly happy is better than any present I could ever get.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas

I am so excited for Christmas this year. I haven't been this excited for Christmas since I was a little kid. I guess that is what having little kids does to you.
   This year Alyssa finally understands the concept of Christmas. She is so excited to point out everything she likes in the stores and tell people what she wants (though it changes every time you talk to her).
   I'm not sure if she fully understands that in less than two weeks she will get a lot of presents to open or not, but she is going to be so excited with what she has gotten.
   Tonight we put together her dollhouse that she is getting from my mom. It was so cute I wanted to go wake her up and show it to her right now just to see her face. Then I think about the other gifts she is getting from us, Santa and friends. I really don't know what she will like best because it is all so cool.
   After just celebrating Colin's birthday I know he could care less about opening presents but I'm excited to see what presents he likes too. It is so much fun to watch him play with his toys he got for his birthday and I'm sure it will be the same for Christmas.

    The other day I went out Christmas shopping, when I got home I left the packages on the table knowing there was nothing in there for the kids. Alyssa looked through the packages and then went off to play. Later that night we were eating dinner and out of no where she says, "Dad, mom bought you clothes for Christmas." Chris looked and me and I just started laughing and smiling. He said "Oh really, what else did she get me?" Alyssa said "nothing just clothes."  It was cute and reminded me of the time my brother did the same.

The count down to Christmas morning is on! I think I will be up before the kids.

Saturday in December

Yesterday we got up and got dressed and headed out to the library for cookies with Santa. It was a good event. Alyssa got to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas, got to eat some cookies and listen to some stories. Colin went with us but wasn't so sure about the whole thing so he watched from the sidelines.

   After stories with Santa we went out into the mall and tried to get Colin's picture with Santa. He refused to sit with Santa so I sat in the chair and we had Santa stand behind us. I think the picture turned out cute.
  We then went and picked out the Christmas tree. Alyssa ran around saying "what about this one". It was cute. After two stops we finally found our tree and brought it home.
   Alyssa and Colin sat and watched Chris and I put the lights on the tree, then Colin got bored and crawled off while Alyssa helped us put the ornaments on the tree. I figured after about two ornaments she would be bored and leave, however, I was wrong she spent the whole time helping and asking if that ornament was hers. It was a nice distraction from the fact that over half the ornaments where from my Grandma Shores who passed away earlier this year. All of the ornaments she put on the tree went on two branches low on the tree. By the time she was done there were about 15 ornaments all on one branch. We let it stay that way until she went to bed and then moved them up.
   Once we had all the ornaments on the tree Alyssa went and got her chair pulled it up to the tree, sat down and said WOW. It was so fun to watch her admire the tree.

Birthday Party

Colin's Birthday Party was this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun and it is always so amazing to see how many people love and support our kids and us.
  We didn't have as many people as we had planned because of a nasty stomach bug going around. We had a menu of pulled pork, pulled chicken, potato salad, mac and cheese, chips, fruit tray and cheese tray. It was a big hit and we had almost nothing left over.
  Colin slept through the first hour of his party and was very surprised to see his house decorated and full of people and noise. He enjoyed playing with the other kids. He could care less about opening his presents but he did really enjoy seeing what was inside the wrapping paper or bag.
His two favorite toys were a fire truck that makes noise and can be pushed around and an elephant ball popper.

Sick Colin

Colin is still so sick. I do not cry often, but Colin has gotten good at making me cry with worry over him. Yesterday he seemed to be doing better. This morning when he got up he was worse. He had a fever again and was breathing over 72  BPM.
  I called the doctor and it took them over two hours to call back, by the time they called back his breathing had slowed some and his fever had come down so we decided to wait until tomorrow to see the doctor.

I really hope he turns the corner tonight and feels better tomorrow. I really hate to see him so sick. I really really wish I could take away his pain.

Tuesday Night

Ever had one of those nights where you are so tired you think of going to bed at like 7? Yeah that is how I felt Tuesday night. So at about 9:30 I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I went into check on Colin and he was really warm so I took his temp (while he was sleeping) and it was 102.6. I came down and got some medicine for him but then wondered if I should wake him up to give it to him. So I went back into my room and laid down.
  He was whimpering in his sleep so I went back in with my phone and counted his breaths per minute and came out with 64 (which is way to high). So I decided to call the after hours nurse line. They wanted me to do three breathing treatments back to back and they would call back in an hour.
  Well after that hour was over he was worse than when I called the first time and so Colin and I headed to Children's Hospital.
   By the time we checked in at 12:15 he had a fever of 104.5, had a heat rash that covered his entire body,  heart rate was at 210 and his breathing was over 70 breaths per minute.  Needless to say we did not spend much time in the waiting room.
  Once back in the back he got Tylenol and Motrin and a chest x-ray. By 1:45 everything was done and we were just waiting for results.
   About 2:30 they came in and said that he had pneumonia and that because of the fever his heart and breathing were so high. They were getting ready to admit him to the hospital. They went to do a few things and when they came back at 3:00 Colin had turned a corner. His fever was gone and he was breathing at about 56 breaths a minute. The doctor came back and said that he was comfortable letting us go home if I was. I said yes. So I had to wait long enough to get a dose of medicine in Colin and make sure he kept it down then we were released.
   It was super cold and I had to go out and across the street to get the car. When I brought him in, his fever was so high I didn't worry about taking him in the cold. But now that he didn't have a fever I didn't want to take him out there. So the front desk nurses watched him while I ran (and I really did run) to the car.
   I walked in the house at 4:15 and got up at 6:05 for the day. It was a LONG night and one I do not want to repeat anytime soon!
 

HORRIBLE plane ride

After having 3 successful plane rides over Thanksgiving weekend our last one was not so successful. Before the plane took off Colin threw up all over himself and me. I had to go change my shirt in the plane bathroom and the plane could not pull away from the gate until I got back to my seat.
   Then about half way through the flight he threw up again this time into an airplane blanket. On landing Alyssa got sick from all the turbulence and threw up all over herself and the car seat that we had borrowed from a friend. 
  It was not a nice way to end the trip but at least it was on the last flight and not the first.

The Beach

While in California we took Alyssa to the beach. She hated the water but LOVED the sand. The first thing we did was go down to the water's edge and feel the water. Alyssa ran away very quickly. So we took her further up the beach and Alyssa sat down to play in the sand. She did not want to leave.

 She made a sand angel, she built a small sand castle and she had a blast burring everyone's feet in the sand. She then sat on the hill overlooking the water and waved at Ariel and Sebastian that she was sure where in the water.

We also took a boat on a harbor cruise Alyssa enjoyed being on the boat and seeing the other boats and birds that were flying around.

One Year

Dear Colin,

   You are one year old today. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. You are about 25 lbs. You are wearing 18 month clothes. You finally got two bottom teeth a few weeks ago.
    You eat all table food and have started drinking whole milk.  You have started having an allergic reaction to something over the last week so we have to figure out what is causing your face to break out.
     You are a happy baby most of the time. However, everyday at 4:30 you get super crabby until after dinner. After dinner you get happy again as you get to play with your Daddy and sister. You love to chase them around or have your Daddy run with you in his arms.
    You love to be held and tickled. You are most happy when someone is paying attention to you. Though you have gotten better playing on your own for short periods of time. You love to play at the park. You will crawl around the ground and if someone will let you then you climb up the stairs and onto the playground equipment. The slides and swings are your favorite and your face lights up when you see or get to go on them.
    You can walk and have really showed off your skills over the weekend walking all over the hotel and Grandpa and Nana's house.
    You still only like certain people. You will let Mommy, Daddy and Jenni hold you. Other than that you are fine if they talk to you or play with you as long as you are in Mommy or Daddy's arms.
    Daddy and I were talking just the other day that this year has gone by so fast, yet at the same time we can't remember what it was like before you were in our lives. This first year you have been sicker than most babies but you have taken it all in stride.
   You are so smart and already try to sing along to the songs your sister sings. You fold your hands for prayer and can say a few simple words like Mama, Dada, ball and no. You love to shake your head yes and no.
   We love you big boy and have enjoyed the first year of your life tremendously and look forward to see what the future holds for you.

Thanksgiving

Last year the day before Thanksgiving I had a doctor's appointment and ended up in labor and delivery with contractions. Since Colin was still a little on the early side they put me on light bed rest and so I did not make my mashed potatoes and gravy for Thanksgiving.

So about a week and a half ago the e-mail went out for who will be at Thanksgiving this year. I responded that we would be there and I would bring the mashed potatoes and gravy.  Well then my Grandma got really sick. So I had to respond back that once again I had to back out of making mashed potatoes and gravy.

Instead of Thanksgiving with Chris' family this year we are going to have Thanksgiving with my Dad, Michelle, Michael and our family.

We are flying out Thanksgiving day at 6 am and getting to California about 10:30. I am excited to spend Thanksgiving at my dad's as I have not done this since before I was married. I am not looking forward to getting up at 2:45 am on Thanksgiving day to do it.

Grandma's funeral will be Saturday. We are staying until Monday afternoon so we will also be doing some sightseeing while in California.

I think this will be a good trip for the whole family.

Dear Grandma

Dear Grandma,
   I can't believe that you are almost gone. It just doesn't seem fair to lose you so soon after losing Grandpa. I know that you miss him like crazy and I'm sure you are much happier now that you are with him. But selfishly we are going to miss you too. You were a very strong woman and fought a good fight your whole life. You didn't let anyone or anything slow you down.
    I remember so many time coming to your house and you would get an idea in your head and my parents or Grandpa would say no, but you would get that twinkle in your eye and we would do it anyways. I can remember many trips out shopping with you. One that sticks out in my head was when you came over for my birthday. You took me out shopping. On the way home you drove slower than I had ever seen you drive before. When we got home and walked in the front door for a surprise party.
  I also remember so many summers meeting you and Grandpa down at the Lake of Ozarks. You would go out on the boat and watch us ski.
    I love you Grandma. You and I spent a lot of time together and I'm going to miss you greatly. I will let my kids know how much you loved me and how much I love you.

Love,

Shannon

A day to NOT be repeated

Today was one of those days that by 11am I wanted to crawl in bed and not wake up until it was over. Nothing HORRIBLE happened but it was not a day I want to repeat at any point.
Last night Colin had a very rough night. He hasn't been feeling good for a week and so we weren't sure what was wrong last night. He fussed every 15 min or so from 7-10. I went to bed at 10. At 10:20 he woke up and was up until 1 when Chris finally came down put him in the car and they went for a 2 hour drive. The second they walked in the door Colin woke up again. We finally got him to sleep about 4:15 a.m. sleeping on Chris downstairs in a chair.
At 6:15 my alarm went off. Alyssa had woken me up about 5 minutes before. We got up came downstairs to see that Colin and Chris were already awake. So then went up to get showers.
We were actually able to walk out of the house on time for pictures and arrived at the picture place 10 minutes early.
Colin and Alyssa enjoyed playing at the lego table while waiting for pictures. As soon as we walked into the room to get pictures taken Colin started crying/screaming , crawling away. So we snapped a few quick family pictures by placing the pacifier in his mouth, then ripping it out really quick and snapping the picture.
  We then tried to get pictures of the two kids together. Lets just say all the pictures looked like Santa forgot to come to our house on Christmas morning. Colin is screaming and Alyssa looks sad. We got that picture put on a mug.
   We then took him back got an outfit change and tried to do some one year shots. The lady only took 3 pictures and ALL of them were horrible. Last time we went to this place I spent almost $200 on pictures. Today I spent $10.

We then went to Sam's Club to pick up an order I placed. Well when I walked in I still hadn't gotten an e-mail that the order was ready yet. So we started to walk the store slowly. About 10 minutes later the e-mail came through and we got the order and left.

We then decide we want to pick up lunch. We stop at the place we want to go to to realize we are 10 minutes too early for them to open so we once again wait 10 minutes. We take the food to go and head for home.

As we are driving home we see a speed trap ahead of us, but not in time. We get pulled over. The cop comes to my window (I was the passenger). He looks in I said something about a fussy toddler. He asks if we had just made a trip to Sam's as our truck was full of food. I said yes. He asked if Chris or I had any convection's  in the last year we both said no. (I had forgotten about my ticket last May).  He was nice and came back and said he knew that raising a family was expensive and that we needed to slow down. We thanked him and left.

We then are almost home, just one more set of train tracks, but wait there's a train. At this point Chris and I look at each other and wonder what else could go wrong. (Wrong thing to say/think). So the train passes we get home.

We go to open the garage. It won't open with the garage door open, so I get out and try the keypad, still won't open.  So we open the front door and find that our power is out!

We get in bring all the stuff in, feed the kids and ourselves. The whole time I was happy we stopped for food and didn't do our original plan of cooking a pizza when we got home (since we have an electric oven).

After that morning we decide it is time for naps. So everyone lays down and Chris goes to change his oil. By the time the kids and I wake up the power is back on and we head out to the library for story time.

Get home and get a call from my dad that they have stopped giving my Grandma food and water. This means that the end is even closer than we thought.

The kids and Chris are now asleep, I'm enjoy a quiet house for a few more minutes and then I'm going to bed and hoping that tomorrow will be a much better day!

Day Light Savings Time

I grew up in Arizona we did not participate in Daylight Savings time. Then I moved to Missouri. We started to push clocks forward and back an hour. It really wasn't that big of a deal except you had to remember to do it.
  NOW I have kids. Daylight Savings time can kiss my butt! The kids are crabby an hour and a half now before bed time and they are still getting up at what they think is 6:30 but is really 5:30!
   Colin is having the hardest time adjusting. He can't make it all night and has to take a power nap before dinner which then we have to wake him up from to eat and he gets mad and is a crab for the rest of the night. He then is awake so early that he is way tired by nap time.
   Last night we tried to power through without the nap before dinner, but he ended up sick over night so now we are back to where we were a few days ago.
   Alyssa is doing a little better but she is up super early which makes her a crab by about 5:30 and fighting over dinner is getting super old. I'm hoping by this weekend we can get them back on a better schedule.
   All I can say is this is NO fun! The only people that got an extra hour of sleep are those people that don't have young kids.

Grandparents

Since June I have lost two grandparents. First my Grandpa(dad's dad) died of Alzheimer's. Then 2 months later my Grandma(mom's mom) died. She had been having some health problems for about two years and finally lost the battle.
   Now my Grandma(dad's mom) is not doing good. She fell a few weeks ago and broke her femur in her leg. She is now in a nursing home for physical therapy. She has stopped eating, doesn't want to do PT and won't really talk to anyone. She was weak when my Grandpa died and then got weaker and said she didn't want to live once he died. I think she has now fully given up.
    It is so hard to think about my Grandma who was so strong and happy sitting in a nursing home giving up on the life she loved so much. I know she misses my Grandpa, they were married for 61 years. I know she is frustrated with her body not doing the things that it used to.
   The selfish part of me wants to tell her to snap out of it, and pull it together. I have so many things happening in the next few months and I don't want to go to another funeral.

 My heart tells me it is getting closer to her time to go. I will be there to support my dad and my family and I know she will be in a much better place.

Happy Halloween

I know it isn't Halloween until tomorrow, but if you live in where I live Halloween is always celebrated the night before. So tonight was our trick or treating.

  Yesterday our church did a trunk or treat and Chris and I volunteered to decorate a trunk. We went to the Dollar store and bought up some Halloween stuff. I think our trunk turned out pretty cool. It was not the coolest one there but it did the trick. Alyssa loved getting candy. She had started practicing how to say "trick or treat" early Saturday morning. By the time we left she was repeating it non-stop both Chris and I thought that when it actually came time for her to say it she wouldn't, but once again she proved us wrong. She walked around got all kinds of candy then went to hang out in the nursery.
    We kept Colin with us since he isn't a big fan of the nursery. He loved playing in the grass and lots of people enjoyed watching him play in the grass, yelling things about free range cows and letting the cow graze.
     Last night after we put Colin to bed we let Alyssa stay up late and help us carve pumpkins. She knew this was something special. She asked daddy to make a castle for her Ariel pumpkin she had painted. Then she asked me to make a sad face pumpkin. So we honored her wishes and came up with two pretty cool pumpkins if I do say so myself.
    Tonight we went out to dinner with the in-laws, then all came back to the house. We got the fire pit going. I took Alyssa and Colin to a few houses to show off and get some candy. As we would leave each house, Alyssa would say "Lets go get more candy!". We then came back to the house and she helped pass out candy. She gave the princesses and other costumes she liked more candy than the other ones.
    Colin could have cared less but everyone thought he was cute.

 Now everyone is tucked in bed, the fire pit is out and we put a close on Halloween even though Halloween isn't even started. We have decided that tomorrow we will turn on the porch light until our candy is gone, but our kids will not dress up. We will spend the night as a family and enjoy a night without daycare kids.

11 Months

  Dear Colin,
     You are now 11 months old! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like just a few days ago I couldn't wait for you to be born.
    You weigh 24 lbs and some ounces. Every time we take you to the doctor it is different. But really you haven't  gained any weight for the past 2 months or so. You wear size 18 months clothes and last month they were a little long on you, this month they fit nicer. So I know that you are getting longer but I don't know how much.
    You still don't have a single tooth in your mouth. You can't even feel any of your teeth trying to pop through, but that doesn't stop you! You eat everything your sister eats. You eat chicken, fish, beef, and anything else that you can get your hands on. Your favorite is probably pasta, but it is hard to tell because you are excited about anything we give you.
      Your personality is coming out more and more each day. You are a happy baby most of the time, but if we tell you no you get very upset. You will throw yourself to a sitting position, throw your arms all over the place and scream. You love to give high fives and wave bye-bye to people.
     You pull up on everything and have started to climb on to everything as well. Your favorite thing to climb on is the swing outside. You will climb in it, stand up and swing it. You think this is hilarious, mommy thinks it is terrifying.
    Last Wednesday you had surgery to put tubes in your ears. The surgery went fast and you seem to be feeling better already.
    You still sleep about 12 hours at night, once we put you down you RARELY wake up. You take a nap each day ranging from one and a half hours to three hours.
    You crawl really fast around the house and will walk holding on to toys. Even if the toy is not supposed to move across the floor you are good at moving it. You will not walk holding anyone's hand though, so I think independent walking is still a little ways off.
     I know I say it every month but you and your sister love each other so much. It is so much fun to watch the two of you interact. Just this morning you were tickling each other's bellies. Your sister will also make sure you always have food and stuff to do in the car.
    You love to copy the noises we make and we will spend hours making noises at you, just to hear you make them back. You have finally started to say "mama".
     Colin while I look forward to watching you grow I am sad to see this baby stage end. Overall you have been a really good baby. This past week I started getting things ready for your birthday. I really can't believe that you are almost 1!
   I love you big boy and can't wait to watch you celebrate your first Halloween and Thanksgiving and truly see a Christmas.

Love,

 Mommy

Colin's Surgery

Yesterday Colin had his surgery to have ear tubes put in. I was so nervous going into it. His surgery was scheduled for 8:50 so we had to be at the surgery center at 7:50.
  Alyssa spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa Knight so that she didn't have to get up with us that morning.
I was up at 5 because I was too nervous to sleep. We woke Colin up about 2 minutes before we walked out the door. He was up just long enough to get his diaper changed and then we put him in the car.
   They took us back right at 7:50. Colin was very happy and loved standing and shaking the sides of the crib. He was also enjoying playing peek-a-boo with his blanket.
    At 8:30 they brought in some medicine to make him relaxed and some Tylenol. Once they gave that to him he just laid there doing everything really slowly. At 8:50 exactly they came in and carried him down to the OR. I gave him a kiss and fought back tears.
   Then the longest part the wait. At 9:20 they came in and said the surgery went well and he was going to be waking up soon and as soon as he drank something they would bring him back to us.  I don't know what time he came back because I grabbed him so fast and didn't let go.
   I do know he drank a bottle and peed right away so when they came in to check his vitals and they were good they let us go home. We walked out of the surgery center at 9:55.
   The rest of the day he was good. He had times were he was really fussy and he went to bed early but over all it was a good day for him.
   The doctor said that he had so much fluid behind his right ear that his eardrum was collapsed in. This means he wasn't able to place the tube like he wanted to, so it is more likely to fall out faster. He also had fluid behind his left ear but that one wasn't as bad.
   This morning he got up early but seems to be his normal self so hopefully from here he can start to feel better.

Out of Town

Tomorrow I am going out of town. I am going by myself. I am SOOOOO excited. I have never been away from  my kids for this long. I will leave tomorrow at 9:30 and won't be back until Sunday afternoon. I have spent up to four nights away from Alyssa but if I was gone that long it was because Colin was in the hospital and she came to see me everyday. I was away from her for 72 hours when my Grandpa died but that was the longest.
  The longest I have been away from Colin is 12 hours.
I need this break. I need some time to be me and not mommy. I love being home with my kids all day but I am more than ready for a small break.  I know that by Sunday afternoon I will be ready to see my kids.
  It also helps knowing that my kids will be home in good hands of Jenni and their Daddy. Jenni will have them all day Friday and then Daddy will take over Friday night and the rest of the weekend.
   I am so lucky to have a husband so capable of taking good care of our children.
I will enjoy my weekend of drinking and shopping and come back a re-charged happy mommy!

Dear Chris

I'm a blogging manic tonight! But I have a lot to say and the kids are in bed and my feet are up so for once I actually have time.
In church for the last 4 weeks the sermon has been about "Living like you were Dying". I have listened closely to these messages and taken it very much to heart. I feel like I do a lot of the things the pastor was encouraging us to do maybe I should put a little more effort into trying harder.
 Today's sermon was about loving deeper. He encouraged us to tell those around us that we love them. As he was preaching I thought to myself "hmm I tell Chris, Alyssa, Colin and my parents I love them on a daily basis." This should be easy.
As I thought about it more I knew what I needed to do. I love you is said and I know my kids and my husband know that I love them, but I need to go deeper. So here it goes in public form so that the world can see:

Dear Chris,
   I want to take time from my busy life to say "Thank you". Without you I would not be the person I am today. You have supported me in my darkest of times and in the best of times.
   I want to thank you for working so hard at your job so that I can stay home with the kids. I know that at times it is very hard for you and that you work very hard to support our family.
   I want to thank you for coming home from your job every night and jumping right in with helping with the kids. I think the kids look forward to you coming home as much as I do. They look forward to it because you are such a great dad.
  Thank you for being that amazing dad. Both of our kids look up to you. You are their hero. You are also my hero. When I'm down you know how to lift me up, you are my best friend.
  There are so many more things that you do that I could thank you for but really when it comes down to it all thank you just doesn't even seem enough. I love you and I love the life that you have provided for the kids and me. So for the next week (hopefully longer). I'm going to put forth more of an effort to slow down and put more effort into showing my love instead of just rushing through the words.

Love,
Shannon (your wife of 7 years who loves you more today than on the day she married you)

Similarities

I have a daughter and a son. They are 21 months apart. They are so different, yet so much the same. What is scary is some of the things they are similar in.
Alyssa was one week shy of her 11 month birthday when she got tubes. Colin will be 3 days shy of his 11 month birthday when he gets them. She has breathing issues starting at 6 months. He had breathing issues starting at 4 months.
  She stopped all baby food at about 10 months and so did he.
Their personalities are different. Alyssa is my out going one she will only watch from the sidelines for a few minutes before she is ready to jump in and be with the older kids. Colin would rather just watch from the side lines (though that might change).
 Colin is my mommies boy. He wants to know where I am at, at all times and does not want me out of his sight for very long at all. Though he will accept Daddy as a replacement if I'm not available.
   Alyssa is my little mommy. She loves to help with Colin and loves playing with him even more. Tonight she saw him fussing because he wanted some of my food. So she took it upon herself to go over and feed him some of hers.
   It will be interesting to see as time progresses how their personalities and illnesses stay similar and how they change.

Grant's Farm Halloween

On Friday night we took the kids to Grant's Farm Halloween night. It was a perfect night to go because it was the first night of the season, it was game 5 of the cardinals play offs(meaning less crowds) and the weather was perfect.
   For this you go at night and they have bats and snakes in trees(using Christmas lights), they have camp fires and everyone is dressed up. We had told Alyssa that we were going on Thursday and all day Friday she told everyone she was going to go see "Becca and Alex and dress up like tinkerbell". She was so excited that she kept asking if it was time to go. Finally it was time and we got her in the costume and met up with Stacy, Becca, Danette, Alex and Grandma and Grandpa.

  Once at Grant's Farm she got to ride the tram(which she calls a train) into the park. She wasn't so sure and Colin who had been asleep the whole was there was very shocked. After getting off the tram we went and watched some jugulars and acrobats. Alyssa then rode the carousel (or horses as she calls them).
   We then went to the hospitality center where there was a DJ playing. Alyssa enjoyed dancing to the music and Colin enjoyed being hit on by all the women that thought his cow costume was adorable.
   We then got in the car and the kids were both asleep before we hit the freeway. I think they both had a great night.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. It was 80 degrees and sunny. It did not seem like weather to pick pumpkins but with two little kids it seemed like a perfect day to do it.
  Of course Alyssa picked yesterday not to take a nap so there were a few melt downs along the way but I guess that is to be expected.
   We wanted some pictures at the pumpkin patch and we got pictures but we did not get any great pictures. The kids were not looking the correct way or they though the hay was more interesting. But we did walk away with 4 pumpkins. Two will be painted and the other two will be carved.

   Alyssa really enjoyed the tractor ride out the the field to pick the pumpkins and Colin thought playing in the grass was a lot of fun. They both really enjoyed the apple cider.
   So over all it was a good day.