The Collins Family

Dalton is 17 Months....and I am still not the best blogger

2009-10-08T19:27:00.005-05:00

Well life around our house is busy as usual I thought when I started staying home I would have more time to blog, but it seems that the opposite is true. I was so blessed to be able to consult again at an elementary school. I go to work on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-2. My Aunt is able to keep Dalton while I am working. I am also in my fifth class of graduate school and will be done next December..so life is busy, but we are having a blast living it!

We went to take Dalton's picture yesterday with one of my best friends.....we were so amazed and she was pretty proud of herself. In 10 minutes and with the help of a few skittles we were able to take some really cute pictures of Dalton. Here are a few..
Jackson is in a dual language kindergarten program this year and doing really well in school. He loves going to school with Aaron everyday and being in Waller schools.

Dalton is offically on the move....

2009-08-02T20:05:00.004-05:00

After much anticipation Dalton has finally decided to try this walking thing. He is still very wobbly, but has began walking right before he turned 14 months.

Here are the beginning attempts at his walking.....he falls and sounds like he is fake crying, but we have figured out that it is what he does when he sees a camera. So I guess he is smiling for the camera. Just click below and you can see him go ....

Dalton starting out...

And here is Dalton walking ....YEAH!! I am still figuring out how my camera works so sorry for turning it sideways....I know now which way to leave it.

Man on the move

Here is one of my new favorite pictures of Jackson .... I just can eat him up.

Legos,legos,legos......

2009-07-31T12:58:00.005-05:00

Jackson loves Legos and they have become a major part of our daily life. Today we have been building some new inventions as he calls them.

While Jackson HATES to have his picture taken Dalton cannot seem to get enough of it....we take random photos throughout the day just because he makes the cutest noise and has a silly smile.

By the way....yes I did cut all of my hair off for Locks of Love. All 13 inches gone in a couple of minutes. Was so scary, but well worth it!

One last attempt....and six months in review

2009-07-29T20:46:00.006-05:00

Well I am making another strong attempt ....... I am hoping that I can get this blogging thing down so that y'all can keep up with our crew. So here is some major highlights..

1. Dalton's Surgery was a success
2. Jackson continues to grow and starting to play sports.
3. Aaron and I were able to go to Chicago for our anniversary.
4. The boys turned one and six....wow how time flies.

Here are some pictures and I hope to post some more tomorrow....

Praise God Dalton came through his surgery in November...The doctors were amazing and we really saw God's provision through this entire season of our life.

He has a bunch of tubes and wires so he could not really move. We were so happy that he stayed happy even though he could not move.

No more chest tube....we are getting ready to go home. God is GOOD.....

Jackson played football and soccer ....

Here are a few from our trip to Chicago...our game got rained out at Wrigley....we were a little bummed, but at least I have been inside Wrigley Field.

Ok so I am not such a great blogger .....

2008-10-25T16:42:00.002-05:00

Well a lot has happened since I last posted. Jackson has gone to Kindergarten and Dalton's surgery being moved up have been the biggest things. Well life has been pretty crazy we were without power for 13 days with Hurricane IKE.... thank goodness for great friends. Jackson loved staying with our friends because it felt like playtime all of the time.

Here are a couple of pictures of the boys

Jackson is playing soccer for the YMCA. He does not know if he really likes it yet. So far he looks forward to the snack at the end of the game.

Here we are at the pumpkin patch. Jackson loved picking out the pumpkins and Dalton just loved being outside. He is such an easy and sweet baby!

What a day...

2008-08-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

I have no pictures today and it may have something to do with the fact that I am going CRAZY. I still have all of the kiddos that I am keeping this week and I am a little tired. I do have to tell you that I think I would lose my mind if I did this full time.

Alyssa came home last night from shooting a Addias commercial...She was really excited to be one of the 15 girls chosen to shoot the commercial at the Toyota Center. If we hear when it comes on I will post the details so we can see our Super Star!

Tomorrow morning we go to meet the teacher for Jackson. I will post and let you know what happens. He is a little nervous and is worried about bullies giving him a wedgie. I am not sure where he got that from, but I have been telling him to " Fear not for I am with you always" Isaiah 41:10. He seems really comforted that GOD is always with him even when Momma is not.

Fun with Play Dough....

2008-08-19T23:19:00.002-05:00

Today we had a lot of kiddos at the house. All of teachers are required to be back at school so I am helping out by keeping their kiddos.... Boy, what a task!

Here is the gang.....

After a much needed quite time we got up and decided to make a pond ecosystem out of Play Dough. I know I am such a nerd and teacher at heart. I made the fish and Jackson was so proud of his rock....it made me laugh.

The Best Fort Ever....

2008-08-13T14:36:00.004-05:00

I know it seems like forever since I have posted, but we had a crazy week. Aaron and I were getting the house ready for Alyssa and Tanner, our niece and nephew, to come home. Aaron went to court last Monday and we received permanent custody of them. I went from only having one kiddo in January to having 4 in August. CRAZY !!!!

Alyssa is 16, Tanner is 13, Jackson is 5 and Dalton is 11 weeks today. He slept through the night for the 1st time on Sunday. He made it from 10:30pm until 6 am YEAH!!!

The boys built the "The Coolest Fort Ever"....Here are a few pictures.

No Girls Allowed....that includes Mom too!And while the boys were building Alyssa was on the computer.... Girls......

And here is Dalton and his baby blues.... I am so excited that he has blue eyes!!!

5 SHOTS YUCK!!

2008-07-28T18:24:00.003-05:00

Dalton went to the doctor today for his 2 month well check. He has grown so much since he was born. He weighed 11 lbs 9 oz today and was 23 inches long. He was in the 50th percentile for both. Dalton was not excited about his visit he got 5 shots and 1 oral immunization. All he has done since we have been home is sleep or cry. So I know it has been a couple of days since I have written, but I will be back hopefully tomorrow with some pictures and the update from the weekend.

Poor little man.... :(

Alyssa is HOME....

2008-07-22T22:21:00.004-05:00

It has been a long day today. I woke up this morning with a cold. There is nothing worse than a cold during the middle of summer.

Alyssa came home late Sunday night and began Drill Team practice on Monday. She says that it is really hard. They had to wall sits ....her legs are killing her!! YUCK. Thank goodness she was able to come home and relax...Yeah right Jackson kept her busy painting little dinosaurs.

I promise Jackson was happy about getting to do this craft....

Jackson painted Spike and Alyssa Dino.... they turned out really cute.

Dalton played with his friend the leapfrog worm. He loves it and just coos and smiles at the little toy.

Happy Birthday Kyle

2008-07-20T22:07:00.005-05:00

Well it has been a crazy couple of days around here.... We had some good friends over for dinner on Thursday night and it was so refreshing just to hang out while the kiddos played. Jackson had a blast and Dalton was so worn out that he slept until 4am!!! I thought this picture was so cute of Jackson and his friends.

Miss. "E" she was so cute with the hat on I could not resist. She loves babies and is so sweet with Dalton.

I love this picture there are actually 3 boys in it. Can you spot the 3rd boy? If you look carefully one of the boys has an extra ear. It cracks me up that they posed for the picture like superheros would.

We had a blast I am glad they came for dinner. :)

Well today was my brother Kyle's 26th birthday. We had a little get together for him at my mom's house. It is so crazy to have my mom and dad in the same room and laughing together. The best part was my dad was holding Dalton and my mom was by him talking. I heard them talking about Dalton's eyes and whether or not they were going to stay blue. Then they started talking about when Kyle was a baby and they could not decide if his eyes were going to stay blue. I know it may sound weird, but I don't think I have ever heard them talk about things that happened when they were together. It is just nice to hear sometimes..... that they were happy. Ok here are some pictures from the party....

Lauren taking a swim....

Dad and Uncle John

How BIG is Dalton??? So BIG.....

Kyle and Kelsey....this is a really bad picture, but we had to have the birthday boy!

Grandpa, TuTu and Dalton....

Aaron is offically right.....

2008-07-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

I am turning into the internet queen. I said I would never have a blog and well here I am..... I thought this would be a great way to let my family and friends stay up to date with all of the day to day happenings. So here goes nothing....

Well today we were bums.... I don't know what I am going to do when Aaron has to go back to work. I truly enjoy having my husband home with me. You would think that we would be sick of each other, but I enjoy being with him.

Dalton was such a champ last night he slept from 10 pm to 3 am. That is the biggest block he has slept since he was born. He has been in such a great mood today flapping his arms and kicking his legs. Making all of the cute baby noises.

This evening after dinner we decided to go on a walk. Jackson decided he was going to ride his bike. He was so pumped because he was wearing his helmet and got to lead the walk. He is turning into such a big boy. I am so proud of him.

He was acting so silly.....

Dalton was ready for the walk or bed it was hard to determine.

And we are off....He rode so hard and we made it to the end of our street we should have known how the bike ride would have ended up.

Thank goodness for Dad ....

Well I am off to bed before it is time to get up and feed the baby.