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9/5/08- Sarah came over to play with Daniel today while her mom, Susan, was at the school. They play together so well. They were playing hide and seek, and monster. So many cute things! I think they'll be special friends over the years...
9/3/08- Day # 2 of potty training! Daniel is still doing GREAT! We're all so proud of him!!!! Go Daniel!
9/2/08- And so it officially begins... potty training for Daniel! We took Caleb to school and when we got back home, I explained to Daniel that I was going to set a timer on the stove, and everytime that timer went off, he was supposed to go to the bathroom and go potty. He was very excited! We put our training pants on and set the timer for 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, the timer went off, and like Pavlov's dog, Daniel went running to the potty! We checked to see if he was dry, and he was! He went a little potty, got off, pulled up his training pants, washed hands, and went back to watching cartoons! I set the timer again for 15 minutes. We did this for about 1 hour, and then I started spreading out the time to 20 minutes. He stayed dry all morning.
After lunch, we got ready for him to take a nap, and I told him that we were only going to wear diapers at naptime and bedtime from now on. We put a pull-up on for naptime, and when he woke up, we went potty, got our training pants on again, and set the timer throughout the afternoon and evening. He did so great! He only wet a little bit one time, but he did GREAT! Good first day, Daniel!
9/1/08- Before we headed for home, Papa took Daniel over to one of his properties to see and ride the new big tractor he got. Daniel had so much fun riding in that thing! It was so cute to see him in there waving and smiling. Papa showed him how to drive it and he did some of the levers. He had a blast!
8/29/08- Caleb had a half day today, so the kids and I planned to have everything packed when he came home at 12:00pm, and head up to Nana and Papa's for the Labor Day weekend. We, of course, made a pit stop in S.Pitt. to see everyone at the school. That was really neat and it was great to see everyone again. We went to the teacher's lounge and Mrs. Donna, Caleb's Pre-K teacher, ran in to go to the restroom, and just casually and quickly said "hi" to all of the people that were around us talking and kept walking. Then, Caleb piped up and said, "Mrs. Donna!" and she looked and saw Caleb and just screamed with delight and ran over to him. She was so excited to see him and talked about how big he was now and even mentioned how his voice had changed. That made him feel really special :)
We got back on the road and headed up to Nana and Papa's. The kids were anxious to go in the pool. Looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend...
8/27/08- Aquarium day with Tucker! We are all just loving having this aquarium pass. It makes it so nice to plan a day and pack a lunch and not have to spend anything.
We met Rachele and Tucker at the church building and then rode over to the aquarium together. We went through the main building first, had lunch, and then went through the other building with the sharks. Daniel even touched a snake! One of the the workers was holding a snake in the lobby and asked the boys if they wanted to touch it. Tucker didn't want to have anything to do with it, but Daniel did! The boys were so cute together and had so much fun. I'm so glad they are buddies- they are so close in age, so it makes it nice :)
As we were heading to the van to leave, the boys wanted to walk by the little fountains. But, knowing boys, they can't just walk near them without getting wet. I got a picture of Daniel walking right over the fountains- priceless :)
8/26/08- What is it about Daddy's and their little girls? How does it happen? There is no doubt that Aaron adores his two boys; and there is no doubt that the boys adore their Daddy. But, there is something different about Lydia and her Daddy. Gigi (Aaron's mom) has even commented on the way he holds her is different than how he held the boys.
Tonight, he got her already for bed and she was just lying there on the diaper changer talking to him and he was just leaning over her and talking to her. She would just stare at him when he would talk and it was so sweet. I took many pictures of this bonding moment...
8/21/08- Poor Caleb. He didn't feel real good last night so I debated about taking him to school this morning. I let him sleep as late as possible and then got him up. He said he thought he could go to school, so I put a pop tart in a bag for him to have on the way to school and we headed to school. There's a fun set of hills on the road to the school that the boys like me to go "fast" over, and as we approached those hills, Caleb said, "mom, don't go fast over the hills today." I asked him if he felt sick, and he said, "well, not really...but kind of." We turned left to go to the school, and he said, "mom, we're gonna have to go home..." and he threw up. So, I pulled over, called the school, and the lady said it's already going around this early in the school year.
We went home and I let him rest and cleaned up the mess. He got sick a couple more times throughout the morning, but then was okay the rest of the day.
I felt bad, because there was an ice cream social at his school tonight. I went and his teacher said all the kids missed him. Poor Caleb :(
8/16/09- Aaron has been teaching the high school class at church and since his nephew, Jeremi, has just moved here for the school year, we decided to have the class over, plus all the college-aged kids...and middle school aged kids (Aaron didn't want to leave anyone out :) ) I was making spaghetti and bread and all the kids were bringing drinks, chips, and dessert. I cooked 5 pounds of spaghetti and made 2 huge pots of sauce! I wanted to make sure I had enough for all this hungry teenagers. We expected about 20 kids and that's what we had!
They all played basketball and football and some watched tv or played Playstation upstairs. There was plenty of food- they only ate about half of the spaghetti, so I'll have to remember that 1 pot and 2 and 1/2 pounds of spaghetti is enough :)
8/14/08- Well, I have to post this, because this is BIG and EXCITING news right now for Daniel! Daniel has been showing signs of potty training for a couple months now. He tells us most of the time when he has to go #1, and he has stayed dry through many naps and even through the night at times. But, going #2 has been the problem. He has been scared to go #2 in the potty. He's gone #1 in the potty, but never #2. Well, today, we had to run to the store, and while we were there, he said he had to go potty. So, we went in to go, and Daniel went #2 in the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made a BIG deal about it and he was just smiling so big and he was so happy. I asked him if he'd like to call Daddy, and he said "yes." I never call Aaron at school unless it's really important, or unless he tells me to call him, because I know how busy he is and what his job entails. But, this was an exception- this was really important, because for months, we have been trying to get him past his fear of going #2 in the potty...and he finally did it!!!!!!
Since I hadn't called the school yet this year, I had to tell them who I was, that I was Mr. Collins' wife, and they were so polite and nice, "oh, yes, ma'am! Just one moment! We'll put you right through!" So, when Aaron answered the phone, I told him Daniel had something to tell him, and in the middle of the store, he told Daddy on the phone, "Daddy, I went shooey in the potty!!!" Aaron was so happy and told Daniel he was so proud of him. Aaron told me later that he was in a meeting and had to go back and tell everyone that his son called and had to tell him that he just went #2 in the potty for the first time :) That definitely got some laughs :)
8/8/08- I decided to walk Caleb in one last time today, just to make sure he knew where his classroom was all the way down at the end of the hall. When I asked Ms. Maynor how he did yesterday, she just laughed and rolled her eyes. She said, "He did great- he just cracks me up!" She said they were in the middle of carpet time yesterday afternoon, talking about something, and Caleb raised his hand and said, "well, acutally, that's because we're kind of tired and we don't take naps in kindergarten." She said she wasn't ready for that intellectual speech to come out of a kindergartner's mouth :) I think she learned in just one day that there will never be a dull moment with Caleb Collins :)
Lydia started smiling tonight! We've been putting her in the dalmation bouncy seat that has a little doggy hanging at eye level for the baby, and she just studied that thing tonight and started talking to it and cooing and smiling! It was adorable! Such sweet sounds from a sweet baby.
Daniel is doing well with his brother at school. He looks forward to seeing him in the afternoons and playing with him when he gets home. He is really growing up, too. He has a lot to say now- he's just talking so much!
8/7/08- Today's the day! The first day of kindergarten for Caleb!!!!!! We took pictures out by the tree in the front yard. This big boy with a Buzz Lightyear backpack, and Cars lunchpack. I wrote a little note and put it in his lunchpack, saying, "have a wonderful day! I love you! Love, Mom." I drove him to school and walked him in for his first day, along with Daniel and Lydia. His teacher this year is Ms. Maynor and she greeted him at the door. Once he got his backpack in his cubby, he looked around for his spot to sit, and then gave me a hug and I told him I loved him.
I thought about him all throughout the day. I knew he was fine, but I couldn't help thinking of how he was doing, what he was doing, what his teacher was thinking about this brilliant child of ours. I love him so much! His teacher gave a schedule out the night of Open House, so I found myself looking at the clock, and then looking at the schedule to see what he was doing. This is the first time that I am not in the same building as him, or within walking distance of him. Wow- now I know how other mothers feel!
Daniel and Lydia did fine throughout the day. I put them down early so we had enough time to pick Caleb up from school. We left around 2:20pm, and when we got there, the line was so long! I couldn't wait to pick him up! We finally got up there about 35 minutes later. He looked very happy when we pulled up, like he had a great day.
When he got in the van, he told me about his day and he seemed like he really enjoyed everything. I was so glad. It sounded like he did great and like he'll have a great year.
As we headed back to the house, we ended up behind the school bus that goes through our neighborhood. Caleb asked about riding the bus and I told him that he was a car rider and that I was going to take him and pick him up. He let me know that he'd like to ride the bus sometime. I'm going to have to think about this one :)
My little boy is not so little anymore. He's really growing up. And as I write this, I know I'll look back and read this on his first day of high school and think, "where did the time go?" I look forward to treasuring these moments.
This "first" is now over. He will never have another "first day of kindergarten." But, the memory of it will be forever in my heart...
8/5/08- Chuck E. Cheese day!!! Today, I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese as an "end-of-the-summer/before-you-go-back-to-school" reward for Caleb. We got there around 10am and I couldn't tell if they were open or not. Sure enough, they were, so we went in and were the only ones there for about 30 minutes! This lady who works there has to play all of the games in the morning to make sure they work, and she came to tell us that any tickets we saw sticking out of the games, we could have! How nice!!!!
We got pizza and just had a great time! Since I had Lydia and couldn't go around to every game with them, I would give the boys each a token to go use on a game, and then have them come back to me for another one. That way, I could keep up with their tokens, and they wouldn't be gone long from me. It really worked well.
In the evening, we had Open House at Caleb's new school. He starts kindergarten in two days and it's so hard to believe. His teacher seems nice and we were able to meet some of the other kids in his class and some parents. I'm looking forward to getting to know the parents in his class and helping where I can. Caleb seems excited to be starting kindergarten and I am too; I just have the motherly feelings that come along with it!
8/4/08- The kids are doing well together. Today they were all in the boys room looking at books together. Lydia was just lying on the floor while they were reading their books. Caleb has been so cute to read to her throughout the summer. We told him he needed to read throughout the summer, and he could work up to rewards at the end of the week if he read a certain number of books. Well, when we suggested that he read to Lydia, he grabbed a whole stack of books and just went to her side and read them all in one sitting! So cute :)
8/2/08- Got some cute pictures of Lydia and Daddy together. You can tell she's Daddy's little girl already. She just stares at him when he's holding her. He just loves her so much and she loves him :)
7/31/08- Today, Great Grandma Medvedik, Great Aunts Carol and Jeanne, and Nana, all drove down to spend the day with us. It was really nice and we had a great time. They all enjoyed seeing the boys and Lydia and seeing how much she's grown! It was Carol's first time to meet Lydia and to see our new home. We had a good visit!
7/27/08- This baby is getting SO big! She's a litle chunk! She's got these big cheeks and no neck yet, so she just looks so funny and cute. She's going to be a roly, poly baby for awhile! She still spits up a lot, which surprises me that she's so chunky! And plus, she's only eating 5 times a day. I guess the milk agrees with her :)
Caleb is so good with Lydia. He's always wanting to hold her, so I try to let him when I can be right there with him. After she ate, he wanted to try to burp her, so I let him, and he did such a great job! He was so easy with her and got her to burp, and she was so quiet and curious, because she could tell someone different was burping her. Great job, Caleb!
7/24/08- Well, Grandma and Grandpa Collins left this morning, and now we have more company coming! Amanda and Tim and their kids, David and Nora are coming through to visit!
Aaron picked up pizza on the way home and we all ate out on the porch. Then, we loaded the kids up in the wagons and strollers and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Tim and Aaron got to talk and Amanda and I got to talk, so that was nice.
It's always great to see friends!
7/23/08- 6 week check up! I can't believe this baby is 6 weeks old! The time has just flown by. I had my 6-week check-up at Dr. Brody's, so it was his first time to meet Lydia, since he was out of town when she was born! She was kind of fussy, which isn't like her, but I think we've been "on the go" so much and it's taken a toll on her. Plus, we've been having company.
We went to see Dr. Harnsberger and got a picture taken with him, since we didn't get one at the hospital. It was good to see him.
Grandma Collins and I ran to the antique shops in Chickamauga for a couple hours and found the cutest little cradle for Lydia's dolls. It will need to be repainted, but it is so cute! She got it for her, so it will be a special thing to have as she grows up and plays with dolls.
7/22/08- Grandma and Grandpa Collins are here for a couple days, on their way up to Gatlinburg for a family reunion. This is their first time to meet Lydia and they just love her! They can tell she is such a great baby :)
We took a walk around the neighborhood- Caleb on his bike, Daniel on a tricycle, and Lydia in the stroller. Daniel didn't last as long on his tricycle, and we had to keep helping him, but we all made it!
Daniel was so cute tonight. He tried on a lion's costume that we have and was running around the bonus room pretending to be a lion and just roaring! It was adorable!
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