Stayin' Busy

A couple of weeks ago, our friend, Tiffany, invited us to go to the Strong Museum in Rochester. It's a stinkin' amazing museum. Best I've been to. I could spend hours there myself and stay occupied! The upper level is cases and cases of toys and dolls from the decades. I don't know if Collin truly appreciated it. I think he's still a bit young to take advantage of it all, but he did find some things to keep busy on.

 This room threw your balance all off. So weird how they do that. Collin was tripping out a bit. He preferred to stay on all fours.

 He enjoyed the "sand room". And may have given it a taster, as seen here.

 Just couldn't hold still for the obligatory {dental} shot. This was part of the Berenstein Bears room. Loved it. Reminded me of the good old days!

 Last week I hosted Bunco at my house and was thrilled to be in charge of October! Here's a sample of my tasty treats. So fun to host and even more fun to be done. :)

 Also, a couple of weeks ago, we started a babysitting swap group for Friday nights. My, I hope this lasts, because we are LOVIN' IT! Life changes dramatically when you have a couple of hours, free of the screamer, and able to go to dinner, run errands, or simply grocery shop. Last Friday I thought it would be so romantical to have a picnic dinner, watching the airplanes land, while the sun set. It was a nice day that turned into a crazy windy, cold evening. We scarfed down our subs as fast as we could just to get the heck out of there. My body literally shook from cold as I tried to inhale my dinner. Not so romantical.

Last Saturday was the Miles4Megan Walk-a-thon. Gorgeous weather. It was great to see so many people there. Megan is going through another rough patch and was in a coma while all this was going on. I hope she could still feel the love that everyone had for her. I was impressed with all the work that went into this. Glad we could be a part of it.

   We walked about 3 miles, but Collin was tired of his stroller, so he bunked up with Gavin and was having a ball. I don't think Gavin enjoyed his hugs quite as much as Collin did.

They had a DJ at the event and the kids were rockin' out. It reminded me of the night before, when we may or may not have been driving down our street with Collin in my lap and the first thing he did was lunge for the radio dial to turn up the volume. After cranking it super loud, he raised both arms up, hands in fists, and pumped the air... face totally serious. We were dying. Who is this kid? The Situation? :)

The very end of this video shows it a little bit.

18 MoNThS BaBy!

Except, he's not a baby anymore! :( When this happened... I do not know. Trav and I like to peek on him before we go to bed, and without fail, every week we have to comment, "When did he get so big?!" I remember him being a tiny newborn and thinking he'd never grow out of his 0-3 month clothes. He didn't even fit INTO them to start with!

These past couple weeks with him haven't transformed into a piece of cake, but they have been better. Maybe those teeth came in, or maybe I'm just learning to manage him better, or maybe he's watching more TV... I don't know. But what a difference it makes! He seems to understand what I'm saying and I'm getting more adept at reading him. He doesn't say much, but he does say momma, dadda, ball (working on football and basketball... he has them on his jammies and he loves to point to them and attempt saying them), uh oh, wooof wooof wooof (doggie noises).... and once he said Eggo. Seriously. Every once in a while, we'll ask him to say a harder word and it really comes out sounding just like it on the first try, then never again. More often than not it goes like this:

Mom or Dad: "Say (insert one syllable word)"

Collin: (mustering all his strength and breath) "Baaaah!"

Mom or Dad: "Say (insert two syllable word)"

Collin: (again... deep, meaningful breath) "Baah baah!" 

It makes us laugh. We appreciate the genuine effort.

At his 18 month appointment his stats were:

Weight: 23lbs 3oz- 28%

Height: 30 1/2 inches- 15%

 Head Circum. 19inches - 89%

So proportionate :)

Some pictures that illustrate Collin at 18 months....

He loves shoes. He's always finding our shoes or his own and trying to put them on, or bringing them to us and putting them in our face.  

 Just a boy and his beads... :)

Despite the way this has started, this kid is in fact, all BoY. He loves balls, rocks, throwing both, and cars. He's now noticed airplanes and always points to the sky and ooohs and ahhhs as they fly by. However, we do own a pink toy that he just couldn't leave behind at a garage sale. It's one of the pull toys where the balls pop up in the dome thing as you drag it on the floor. Trav was annoyed when he saw it, but I don't see what the big deal is. He likes to try on my necklaces and is intrigued with my headbands or bows. It's all in good balance. :)

 Checking out the belly.

Some think that Collin is a good eater, but I think he's picky. For a while he wouldn't eat hardly anything, so I started feeding him whenever he'd eat, which led to a snacking/grazing habit. This week I've finally started being stricter about mealtimes and its helped quite a bit. I took this picture after he'd had a really big meal and so his belly stuck out. Right after he got out of his high chair, he suddenly noticed this obtrusive thing sticking out, and stopped, lifted his shirt, and started poking at it. So funny.

He's a typical kid, loving mac and cheese, hot dogs, and pizza. He also likes bananas, mandarin oranges, and grapes. He'll have nothing to do with sandwiches. He'll do anything for a gogurt.

 Learning to use utensils! It's an adventure!

 He wants to be wherever we are around the house (outside the house, he couldn't care less where we are- he's on the run!) He follows me from room to room and wants to be held. Last Saturday he wanted to be with his daddy.

 Still getting the hang of coloring. When I'm at my computer, he wants to be in my lap, scribbling with his pick of pencils or markers..... always taking a chunk out of an eraser before I can stop him. The belly thing is new too. He likes to switch to his belly in the bath tub and slurp up the water. That reminds me, when he's thirsty, he'll come to us and just make a slurping noise. Very effective.

 He gets his fair share of bumps and bruises. Yesterday he bonked his head and up popped a pretty good goose egg. They always seem to be on his head near the hair line.

 Harry Potter in training!

He likes books, but I can't actually read the book or he gets bored. I have to keep up a pretty steady pace of turning the pages, only pointing out objects and saying one or two word phrases.

 Watching TV with Dad! He may enjoy TV more than the average kid. He's usually addicted to a movie for a couple weeks, then moves on to a new one. A month ago it was this 3-D Peter Cottontail movie with pretty rockin' music and lately its been this really weird one called Baby Huey's Easter Adventure. It is super weird.... including a giant baby duck that interacts with real humans. It was given to us.



A few other things:

*He's suddenly hit a shy streak. He used to beam at strangers and do anything for attention, but lately if anyone says something to him, he ducks his head and burrows into whatever body part of mine he can get close to.

* He loves to dance. He can find a beat in a cell phone tune or commercial jingle. When I hear a good song on the radio in the car and start dancing, I'll look back and tell him to dance and the next time I look back, he's obediently got his hands raised motionless in the air, staring at me. (I usually dance with my hands up in the air)

* He HATES getting soaped up in the tub. He cries like he's being beaten. He doesn't mind getting undressed, but don't dare try to put a shirt on over his head.... that will get you more shrieking.

* He gives the best hugs and kisses. It's my favorite thing in the world.

This boy keeps me busy but I love watching him grow up and learn new things. He's my little buddy. It's so fun to watch his personality in action. What would we do without our sweet Towaga?!

Miles 4 Megan

Oct. 9, 2010, Travis and I will be participating in a fund raising event called Miles 4 Megan. It's a Walk-a-thon that is benefiting Megan Smith, a friend of ours who found out in July (while in labor with their first baby!) that she has leukemia. If you'd like to read more about her story you can visit her website here, http://prayersformegan.com/ . Of if you want to see more about the event you can visit here, http://www.miles4megan.com/ . If you would like to help, we are collecting pledges ahead of time. You can sponsor us for an amount per mile or name a maximum amount that you are willing to contribute. Anything would be great!

Be Careful What You Wish For....

I'm afraid its been no secret that I've felt a bit burned out from Young Womens. I think the calling, in and of itself, is exhausting, but add on a few more factors from my particular situation and I'm lucky my blood pressure is still in check. 

Well, a couple weeks ago, I received that fateful call at 9:45pm, Saturday night. "Hi Stephanie, this is Brother Benson... would you be able to meet with me tomorrow morning right before church?"

My heart may have skipped a beat as I assured him that I could indeed fit him in. 

Trav told me not to get my hopes up. You never know what it could be about. Pishha! I was about to be released! And better yet, he didn't ask for Travis to accompany me the next morning, so it didn't look like I was going to even get another calling right away. They were giving me a break!! Travis just rolled his eyes. No chance, he said.

I hate when he's right. 

I had had a suspicious feeling even before the words came out of Brother Benson's mouth. A sort of ominous, foreboding, pit in the bottom of your stomach type of feeling.

And for good reason.

Have you guessed it yet....?

I did.

Sunday School Teacher.

(I imagine a collective groan is appropriate)

Yes, Gospel Doctrine teacher. And what is the current text this year? Admittedly, I wasn't sure at first. Remember, I've only just been reintroduced to what the 2nd hour of church should religiously entail. So if you're struggling here, let me help you- Old Testament (dun du duuuun!)

Is there possibly a calling I could be less qualified for? Maybe you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill here, but I feel like I was rightfully terrified.

I mean, I'm no scriptorian. Sadly, I've never even made it through the entire Old Testament. I tried once, years ago, and got to maybe Kings. Then I just couldn't take it anymore and retreated to the Book of Mormon (which, I know, I know... I should have reading all along).

I dodged this calling once before, but call it karma, it came back to get me. When I was in the Countryside Park singles ward with Travis, he happened to be the executive secretary and therefore was a part of all the bishopric meetings. Well, I forget specific details, but I think I knew I was up for a new calling. Trav and I were dating and I told him in no uncertain terms that I did NOT want to be a Gospel Doctrine teacher. (awful, right? I probably shouldn't even be admitting this) Well, shortly after, Trav informed me that my name did indeed come up for the new Sunday School teacher and all seemed on board with the decision. Now I imagine poor Trav (maybe afraid I'd break up with him if he didn't... I don't know) meekly interjecting, that actually I didn't really want that calling. And I was spared. How embarrassing. And completely against all that I was taught about accepting callings. Maybe I felt justified in the fact that I wasn't exactly turning a calling down, I was just preventing the calling from ever being extended. Nope, still doesn't justify it. And obviously, it didn't last forever.

So back to present day. Last Sunday I gave my first lesson on none other than the Isaiah chapters. And you know what? It wasn't too bad. When you're handed a manuel with everything spelled out for you, it takes a lot of the unknown away. And I actually learned a few things. I guess that's the general silver lining to being a teacher... you learn the most. The time flew by and I didn't even get to cover 1/2 of what I had prepared. And about 15 minutes in, I started to relax and kind of enjoy myself. I'd forgotten how fun teaching can be. So, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, I think I may actually like being a Gospel Doctrine teacher. I don't know... ask me again in 6 months :)

On the downside, after thinking I wanted out of YW for so many weeks, my wish was granted and now I want to take it back! For my last mutual, the YM and YW had prepared talks to give to the bishopric in preparation for what it would be like to speak in church. They did amazing. I cried in every talk. These girls beyond astound me. They are up against it all and still stand as witnesses of Christ every day in their families and schools. I really don't think I had their courage at their age. Heck, I don't think I have it now. It doesn't take much to love these girls. They've become my friends... not just on Facebook... but for real :) I want them to succeed SO BAD. I want them to be happy SO BAD. I want them to stay active, contributing members of the church.... well, you get it. The hardest part about being an influential part of a child or teenager's life is when you aren't that influential anymore. At least, you're not as big a part of their life as you used to be. It's a little disconcerting. I don't want that relationship severed. In the past two weeks, I've gotten random text or Facebook messages from two of my former 5th grade students, just asking how I am and telling me they miss me and loved me as a teacher. *heartthrob* I can't imagine feeling any better than when I got those messages. There is a Beehive from my former ward that I was only a leader for, for maybe a few months and yet she still emails me occasionally about what's going on in her life and to see how I'm doing. Seriously, these kids are amazing. And it just goes to show that you make an impact, even when you think you're not. It makes being a youth leader so fulfilling. I think the greatest rewards come after you've put your heart and soul into something or someone. And maybe you don't see it right away, or maybe you won't ever "see" it, but the difference is still there. Needless to say, I will miss Lizzy, Pam, Rachel, Lorali, Cortney, Chelsea, Magaly, Whitney, and Bonnie.

 

Life with Collin

Yes, there is a reason this blog is titled { The Collin Chronicles }... and this post illustrates why. My life revolves around this guy. I don't think blogs should always be roses and rainbows, because real life isn't, and so I'm going to try to describe the past couple weeks as they have really been. Hard. 

It occured to me at the R.S. Retreat (when we were discussing journaling) that it could be a good thing for a teenager to read his mother's journal. I don't think anyone really understands the trials of parenting (hello, not even me yet, I'm only 18 months in) until they become a parent, but maybe reading about what your mom and dad went through, in their own words, when things were hard, might bring a little compassion into the picture. Because, generally speaking, children and teenagers tend to mostly think about themselves. They aren't really concerned about what their parents are sacrificing or feeling. It's all about them. As my mom would call it, they are "acting their age". Well I certainly don't expect Collin to understand what I'm feeling yet (except for when he hits me in the face with his diaper cream and it leaves a mark and I want to scream, STOP, THAT HURTS! And maybe I do yell it a little.) But maybe when he's an ornery 15 year old, he can read some posts like this one and feel sorry for his mother. Just a little. :)

This kid wears me out. I'm not sure why they call it the Terrible 2's, because I think it starts at 18 months. He doesn't really talk and he's mostly given up on signing, so he just screams and points when he wants something. I feel like my whole day is spent playing the game of trying to figure out what he wants. If I'm laying on the couch and ignoring him, he'll grab my hair and pull it as hard as he can. It certainly gets my attention. He wants food all day long, but only eats maybe 40% of what I get for him. He wants to go outside, but the second he hits the driveway, he's off running and we don't have a fence. So I follow him around the neighbor's yards as he throws their rocks and tries to pick up their ceramic lawn ornaments. He HATES going to the store. Literally the second I walk into Wegmans, Target, JoAnnes, he starts whining... loud. I even succumbed this week to pushing him around the grocery store in the cart with the car attached to the front. I swore I'd never do that. It was like driving a bus. I even ran into a little old lady's cart, turning a corner. Worst part was, it didn't even keep him happy longer than 10 minutes. Then I had to bust out the sucker. I tried teaching him how to color, which was great at first, but now he want to color on everything. Our brick has sidewalk chalk scrawled on it and our living room got graffitted with crayon. He spills my bag of buttons all over the floor and then giggles and laughs like he just did the best thing. As pictured below, he can't hold still for a hair cut, so while I'm cutting his back hair line with clippers, he jerked backward, and won himself a bald spot. This was 3 hours before our pictures were taken. He must have snacks at the store or in the car and when I pulled him out the other day, he had Kix all stuck to his pants. Ok, so that was kind of cute.

 After a particularly bad day, I put him in the tub and decided he could use a real bubble bath. I'm glad I did, because it reminded me of how cute he can be.

 First, blowing the bubbles.

 Then tasting them. You'd think after one taste, he'd learn they were no bueno. But no, he liked them.

 Mostly, I'd just say that describing him as {busy} is an understatement. I've had mulitple people comment to me things like, "Wow, he just never stops." Or, "My goodness, he as got some energy!" And these are people with young children of their own, not older people who have forgotten what it's like to have kids.

Granted, he has gotten some molars lately and I think some more are on their way, but in general I'd just say he is not content. He won't just play with his toys or watch a show for too long without me next to him. He always wants to sit in my lap. He really just wears me out. By the end of the day, I am exhausted. And he's just ONE CHILD! So not only do I feel frazzled and spent, I feel incompentent, because I can't keep up with just one kid. How am I pregnant?

And yet, even as I'm writing all this, I miss him. (He's napping) I don't even know what it would be like to fix dinner without him at my feet, pulling down my pants. He has finally learned to give kisses and it's my favorite. When we go on walks and he sees a squirrel, it's like Santa just scurried by. And when a dog starts barking, well forget it, that's just the most exciting thing ever. He points and leans forward, so happy, and yaps right back at the dog. He is obsessed with my teddy bear and his doggie (hot pink, by the way. I got it on Valentines Day from a student and am too cheap to buy a boy colored stuffed animal for him) He hugs them and presses them to his face. While he won't do what I say most of the time, he always faithfully obeys when I tell him to come get his "spray" (The spritz of hairspray on his mohawk). I don't know why he likes it so much. Truthfully, I can't imagine my life without him. I guess that's how it always goes.

We had a little scare two nights ago with him that kind of put things in perspective for me. Thursday evening he had his 18 month check up. I knew they were going to want to give him the flu shot and I thought it over and for some reason wasn't that concerned about it. Maybe I just wasn't up for the "fight" with the doctor over it. I talked to Trav and he agreed it was probably fine. Well, we got there and I found out that it was a mix of swine and regular flu in the shot. For some reason, I got the worst feeling. I said a quick prayer and just couldn't shake the feeling. So the doctor came in and did the exam and was really nice and everything checked out fine and he said Collin would be getting 3 shots and having his finger pricked. And for some reason, I just went along with it. The whole procedure was completely awful of course. Collin was screaming and I had to hold him down and he was so panicked his whole body was shaking and quivering. But once the episode was over and the Twix had been consumed, all was well again. Until 1am when he woke up screaming. I had heard him cry off and on up until then which isn't normal, but when I went to get him, he was scortching hot. I took his temp and it was nearly 103 and he was shaking again. My stomach just dropped. Why had I let him get that d@*# flu shot! Even if it wasn't a reaction to the flu shot, how would I know? That was the whole point to him being on alternative vaccination schedule. So that if there was a reaction, I'd know better what it was related to. I stripped him down and gave him Tylenol and Trav gave him a blessing while he screamed. I felt like an awful mother. I had had a bad feeling about something and did it anyway. I will never do that again. I just held him and rocked him and cradled him on the floor. Eventually we ended up back in our bed and he slept most of the night (what was left of it) on my chest. He still ran the fever the next day, but I think today its gotten better. I hope that nothing more serious follows. But of course, I was imagining the worse and completely terrified of it. What would I do without my Collin? I would fall to pieces and never be the same again. He's worth everything and anything. So again.... life in perspective. I'm grateful to be a mother.

However, our awkward sleeping postition may have been what triggered my latest back "episode". Yes, I'm currently living life as a crippled 70 year old. Not only do I look like I'm perpetually on the look out for spare change, its nearly impossible to pick up Mr. Collin. At least it's the weekend and I have Travis here to help. It is wonderful to be married. When I'm a wreck and crying because I can't handle my 18month old or when I'm a wreck and crying because I think I killed my 18month old with a shot, Travis is steady and calm and willing to do whatever is necessary. He loves me and soothes me and listens to me when I think I should probably be committed to a mental institute. Being married is good. :)

As for last weekend, we headed out to Becker Farms to do some apple picking with Trav's dental class. Only, we didn't really do much more than say hi to some of them, then head to the orchards.

Here's my cuties while we wait in line for the tractor ride.

Really good illustration of every day life.

 This guy went to town on an apple. I'm not a big apple fan, but my, these were good! Especially the Cortland ones.

 After a while of eating, he stuffed his mouth and I think it was too much to chew or swallow. We tried to get him to spit it out, but he refused. He probably remained in chipmunk status a good 15 minutes until it all came spewing out in the car. Lovely.



FaMiLY PiCTuReS 2010

Last Monday the stressful day had finally arrived... family picture day. It really shouldn't be that hard with only one little creature, right? Wrong. This kid was a menace. He had woken up too early, taken too short a nap, not eaten very much and was a cranky monster. And that made Mom an even crankier monster. I couldn't even handle him- poor Trav had to do most of the work... along with Megan. I may be smiling, but I wanted to pull my hair out. While we were driving away, I felt like it was all a waste... how could even one picture turn out? Well, Megan worked her magic and now for the even harder part... which ones to print? Help!

What a stink face, huh?! He just perfected this scowl maybe a week or two ago and I've been trying so hard to get a picture of it... to no avail. I was so glad when Megan chose this one as one to edit. I'm sure she had plenty to chose from :)

Women's Retreat

Last weekend our stake hosted a Relief Society Retreat at Seneca Lake. It was the first time I'd participated in something like this and I must say it was well worth the drive. Although I had to make a crack at the sign... not very {scrapbooky}, ladies. Just kidding, actually it's signs like this that remind me there are other "normal" Mormons out there. :)

After dinner we had a skit night where every ward came up with a skit that described "who they were". It must have been indicative of the demographic of our ward, that we were just about the only ones who did a silly skit. We had three {scenes} that are common to our ward. Here are Tiff and Carolyn demonstrating yet another craft night making headbands for the babies. Tiff is wondering if her flower is too big for her baby's head :)

Rach and I did a skit where she was "Elder Shaw" calling me up Sunday morning to see if we could give some investigators a ride to church... but then I find out there are 7 investigators. I stammered that we only have one car with 2 extra seats... but ok, we could make it work. Then she mentioned that the Elders were sure getting hungry and if I wouldn't mind having them over for dinner. Okaaaay... I guess. Oh but wait, one Elder doesn't like fruits or vegetables (and yes, this describes exactly one missionary in our ward) and the other is watching his weight, so no chocolate. Etc, etc.

The other skit was the Compassionate Service Committee discussing the 17 babies born the past week and the need to get meals out to all of them pronto.

Well we got some laughs, which was good, and of course these were exaggerations, but still pretty funny that this is exactly what it feels like to be a part of the Buffalo Ward. Gotta love it! :)

After skits and a fireside, it was time for dessert and GaMeS. This is the beginning of the group...

And this was the end. We'll blame it on the fresh air.

During a rousing rendition of {I have never...} we learned lots of fun tidbits about each other. Maybe more than we cared to know... or share for that matter. We didn't do too bad... only stayed up til 2am, and I was a happy camper because I got a group to play Ninja. Even Lynae, who is 8 months prego, was in on Ninja. I was impressed.

I had to get Natalie in her hair net! When I heard the menu, including salad bar and pulled pork sandwiches (you know me) I wasn't too thrilled, but my goodness, it was delish. I ate WAY more than I should have (It's for baby Duff, right?) and loved every bite. Especially those brownies... way to go Nat!

The next morning we had a couple of workshops and I was remotivated to start journaling thanks to Rachel! This girl has at least 5 different journals she keeps going all the time. I used to be good about that, but not so much after blogging. Time to get started!

Then we were able to do a session in the temple, which was long overdue for me. So fun to be sitting in the Celestial room with friends. We are truly blessed.

Well, Rach and I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to go to H&M in Rochester on our way home (that's of course after missing our exit and having to drive 20 extra minutes just to turn around... and then getting lost amongst toll booths and junctions...darn thruways!). I scored on a bunch of great maternity stuff and felt our {girl trip} was finally complete. Thanks to the hubbie for taking care of the screamer while I was away! I sure missed my boys while I was gone.