State Fair of Texas

Patty flew in today (yay!) and we decided to go to the State Fair. I've never been (obviously the boys haven't either), and Patty was pretty excited about going too! We walked around, checked out a country western store, and ate some really gross nachos. We had fun while we were there, but I must say that I was rather disappointed in it. Everyone hypes it up sooo much. I expected it to be huge, and it really wasn't. The food wasn't any good and The people were rude. Colin had a blast. He was looking around in awe. He picked a ride to ride, and really enjoyed that. Brennan fell asleep!

Patty's Arriving Tomorrow!

Patty is arriving tomorrow to visit us for a few days. I'm so excited! I say this every time, but she is my favorite cousin, and probably one of my closest family members. I love her dearly, and am so blessed to get to see her two times this year!

My New Haircut

I decided to go short this time! I got my haircut today. I like it, even though it isn't exactly what I asked for. As soon as I get pictures of it, I'll post some.

***Updated 10/7***
Here are a few shots of the new haircut!

2 Birthday Parties Today!

Boy were we busy today! 2 birthday parties is really draining!

First, we went to Burleson to celebrate Dominic Wilson's 1st birthday! The boys had a blast playing with Dominic & Elora. We ate a caterpillar cake!
We left Dominic's party a little early to head on over to Whitney's birthday party. This year Whitney had a cool fondue party. Everyone brought a little something to dip. First, we dipped bread, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and other veggies into a cheddar cheese sauce or my favorite, creamy parmesan sauce. After all of that was done, we dipped strawberries, bananas, apples, cheesecake, pretzels and more into a chocolate dip, chocolate peanut butter, or chocolate caramel. It was sooooo yummy! Of course I had to leave early to go to work :-(

Mom's Birthday Party

My moms birthday was actually yesterday, but I had to work so I had a small party for her at my house tonight. Some friends and family came over. We visited, chatted, opened presents, & ate cake. Yummy!

Elora's Belated 3rd Birthday Party

Colin & Elora's birthdays are only 2 days apart, but due to illness upon illness in the Wilson home, Elora's birthday party had to be re-scheduled a few times. She was finally able to celebrate it today! We drove to Burleson and had a fun time singing happy birthday and eating a ladybug cake!

The Ugly Cake

Yes, I made the cake. The ugly cake. I'm so disappointed on how it turned out. I really thought it would look better. I'll try again...and it WILL be better next time!

A New Hobby?!?

I've wanted to do it for a while now...at least a few years, but I could never find the time. Heck, I still don't have the time, but I've decided to give it a whirl. I'm gonna start cake decorating. I've already made the cakes, but I have to work tonight, so I'm going to decorate them tomorrow.

My first cake is going to be a devil's food cake with a homemade vanilla buttercream frosting. Then I'm gonna cover the cake in fondant and put some decorations on it.

I'll post pictures of the progress tomorrow!

11 Month Comparison

Colin - TOP Brennan - BOTTOM

11 Months Old

Little brennan is 11 months old today. He's such a big boy! The 1st birthday party extravaganza planning is underway. I'm really excited about it, but sad that my baby really isn't a baby anymore.

Brennan is sitting up like a champ now, army crawling all over the place, feeding himself finger foods, using sign language, learning and speaking new words every day, and the best part...he's turned into such a loving baby!

Brennan has done a complete 360 from what he was even just a few months ago. He was a crying all the time un-snuggly child and now he loves to cuddle and enjoys playing solo! The power of movement!

He's got 5 teeth (2 lower, 3 upper). He loves music, just like Colin. Whenever he hears music (especially at church), he just starts 'dancing' (bouncing up and down), and his smiles beams.

He's been waking up at night off and on for a little bit now, so I'm wondering if he's teething again or growing. Next month will be a much longer post, and include his doctors visit!

Potty Training Update

So, we have been working on getting Colin potty trained since his doctor's visit last week. We've had some really really good days, some okay days, and some terrible days. It seems like when Colin is good, he's really really good.

Today is a good day. No 'accidents' yet.

Brennan

Brennan, Brennan, Brennan.

He's doing something new each day. I LOVE it!

Brennan has been 'signing' the word 'more' for a while now. He didn't quite have it right, and heck, it's still not perfect...but he is just doing it so much cuter now! I LOVE it! He also signs 'milk' and he's almost got 'food' & 'all done or finished'. I definitely think that signing helped Colin communicate with us earlier, and I believe that it helped with his advanced speech later on. So, I am diligently teaching Brennan as well. It's going well!

Brennan also has been getting up onto his knees and rocking. maybe he'll crawl the traditional way soon. Who knows?!? He's really 'perfected' the army crawl and is quite fast.

So, Brennan has been a little slow in the sitting up department. He sits if you sit him up, but he had never gone from laying down into a sitting position on his own. 2 evenings ago, as Miguel and I were eating dinner, Brennan crawled over to me and was trying so hard to sit up. After a few seconds of trying, he finally figured out how to do it, and sat himself up!!! When I went into his room to get him after a nap today, I found him sitting up in his bed. So, he's finally getting it, and we won't have to call ECI for help.

I can't believe that in 1 month he will be 1 year old. Where in the world has the time gone? It's not fair. I'm gonna go cry now.

Big Boy Colin

Yup, Colin is a big boy. I mean that in every sense...

Colin had his 3 year check up this morning. Besides the screaming due to the fear of the doctor listening to his heartbeat and the nurse giving him a shot...it went well!

Back to the big boy part...Colin weight 32 pounds 2 ounces. That puts him in the 50-75%. Now get this...he is 39 inches tall. He is in the 90-95%. He is SUPER tall! The doctor was saying that from 2-3 years old kids will usually only gain 2-3 pounds...Colin gained 3 pounds 2 ounces. He also said that most kids will grown about 2 inches...and my Colin grew 4!!!

There weren't any immunizations to receive today...he won't get anymore until he turns 4...but, I did opt for the flu shot this visit. Colin didn't handle that so well. They have a nasal spray that the child can breathe in, but with Colin being so shy and scared, I figured the shot was much quicker. He was fine as soon as it was over.

The doctor commented on how well developed Colin's speech is. He said that aside from him having stranger anxiety, he appears to be a 'fun & sociable child'.

Our next task to tackle (though we've started, but haven't been very firm) is potty training. At this point, Colin will NOT poop in his diaper anymore. He goes on the potty. He'll pee in the potty is I remind him, but he doesn't take the initiative to pee in the potty on his own. It's definitely time to buckle down though. in fact, I put him in underwear this morning, so we will see how he does today...so far, so good.

Thoughts

So, I've been thinking lately *insert jokes here*, and my thoughts have come back to God a lot lately.

I call myself a Christian. I go to church every week. I sing praise & worship songs at church. I listen to Christian music in my car during the week. I serve in a hospitality ministry at church. I pray daily (I'll get back to that later). So, I claim to be a Christian, but am I?

Actions speak louder than words. I also curse like a truck driver (not in front of the kids). I say mean and hurtful things. I don't make it a priority to 'spend time with God' daily. My prayers (what little there is) are selfish. I am quick to anger...and even quicker to hold a grudge.

I think I've determined that I'm a 'Christian' on the weekends. What a crappy realization. I don't have God in my life. I let Him in on Sabbath, and I politely ask Him to leave come Monday morning so I can live my life.

I need to work on me. I need to work on my attitude, my beliefs, my thoughts. I need to invite God into my life to change me...to make me a better person. I yearn to be a better person...no, I need to be a better person.

I think it's going to be a rough journey, b/c I want God to open my eyes to everyone and everything around me. If that person/place/thing isn't going to help me in my walk with God, I want to have my eyes opened to that.

I need this. For me. For my boys. For my family.

Please pray for me.

Colin's Birthday Post

So I just got Colin's 3 year portraits back and I was finally able to upload Colin's birthday post. Check it out!

Colin has his 3 year check up on Friday morning, so look for a post about his developmental and growth progress!

I'll just share another picture of Colin here!