Happy Birthday Kaetlyn!

Happy first birthday Kaetlyn Kolb! Colin blows a kiss your way!

Cutting Another Tooth!

So I just noticed that Colin is cutting another tooth! This one is on the bottom. Now, when they are all fully in, he'll have 6 on top, and 4 on bottom.

10 teeth! Whoo-hoo!

Poop in the Potty!

I know I'm crazy for being excited over poop in the potty, but Colin did it!

I sat him down and a few minutes later, I smelled it!

We are slowly working on potty training...very slowly...but I want him to start getting used to the idea of the potty.

Merry Christmas!

We hope that everyone had a safe and blessed Christmas. We surely did! Colin actually enjoyed the day a bit this year, and helped to tear into his gifts.

2 More Teeth

Colin cut 2 more teeth the other day. I just happened to see them when he was hanging himself upside down. They are the top molars. They aren't fully in yet, just little white dots...but they are coming!

1 month Body for Life

I didn't mention it when I first started, just in case I didn't last on it...but I've been doing Body for Life for 1 month. I'm very pleased with the program. It's not a fad diet, but a total lifestyle makeover.

Anyway, After 1 month I have lost 9 pounds and several inches!

Thank you Lisa for telling me about that life changing book!

Colin Used the Potty

We are so proud of Colin!

I went to use the bathroom, and decided to sit him on the potty while I was there. He sat nicely for a bit then he stood and as soon as he stood up he started to pee, so I sat him back on the chair, and he pee-ed in the potty!

Yay Colin! He got so excited when Miguel and I praised him. He kept looking into the potty and smiling!

Colin's First Haircut

Colin got his first haircut yesterday. He wasn't a happy camper! He cried from the minute he sat in the chair until I put him back into his stroller.

The end result: NO MORE CURLS!

I teared up while she was cutting away. I know the hair will grow back, but Colin just doesn't look like Colin without the curls!

After waking him up this morning, I am a little more used to his "bald" head.

Happy Birthday William & Robert!

Today Colin & I had a great time celebrating William & Robert Clarks birthday party. William turned 3, and Robert will be turning 1.

The theme was "ABC", and all of the kids looked like they were having a blast.

Colin is Standing...ALONE!

It's kind of hard to tell in the picture unless you look very close...but Colin is standing up all by himself!

He has been doing it for a few weeks now, but this was the first time that I've caught it while the camera was handy.

He was cruising around the chairs with that toy in his hand. He decided to stop and play with the toy, so he let go of the chair!

Christmas Blog

A huge "THANK YOU" to Emily for designing my blog title. I love the Christmas theme, and think that Em did a great job!

Thanks again...now I'm in the Christmas spirit!

Colin's 7th Tooth

The pediatrician was right...

Colin cut his 7th tooth last night and was there in the morning. It's still pretty tiny, but it's there!

It's on the bottom...so the count is now 4 on top, 3 on bottom.

Christmas Portraits

Miguel's mom took our Christmas portraits this year. I think that they turned out great! The rest are on my smugmug.

Colin's 15 Month Check-Up

Wow! 15 months already? The time is flying!

Colin had his 15 month check-up today. He's growing strong and healthy. Colin weight 24 lbs. 6 oz. (50%) and is 34 inches long (90%). So, tall and average weight.

He's hitting all of the milestones that he should, except walking. The pediatrician isn't too worried about it right now, and says he's pretty sure he'll be walking soon. The doctor also noticed that Colin has a bulging tooth on the bottom, and his molars are bulging as well...here we go again with the teething.

Colin got 3 shots, and wasn't too happy about them...but he handled them like a champ!

All in all it was a great visit. Our next check-up is at 18 months.

Thrice Show

Miguel, Danny, Rossilyn and I went to see Thrice last night at the House of Blues. What a show...even though they weren't headlining!

First Me Without You played. The music was pretty good, though the singing was pretty bad.

Then Thrice cam on, and played probably the best that I've ever seen them play! They played a bunch of older songs...which I loved, and quite a few new ones. I'm not too familiar with the new ones yet, but it all sounded awesome!

After that Brand New played. They were okay, but definitely not as good as Thrice. I think that the crowd ruined it for me. There were these psychotic girls in front of us that were totally obnoxious...spilling beer and turning around screaming at the crowd.

What I had fun watching was right before Thrice came on a row of old people were seated in the special seating area. I was worried at first, and also thinking to myself 'why in the world are these old people here?", but when Thrice started playing, the old people were bopping their heads and singing the songs! it amazed me! I think that they must have been family or something. Some of the songs were pretty hard and the old lady was bopping away!

Tonight we are heading back to the House of Blues to see Coheed and Cambria, another favorite band of mine. Thrice & Coheed always seem to tour this area around the same time...but I'm not complaining about that!

Standing

Yesterday Colin stood up by himself for almost a minute! He did it a few other times throughout the day. I wonder if he'll be walking soon!

No More Toothless Grin

Not sure if I posted about this or not, but Colin has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom. His smile looks so different with teeth!

Run of Bad Luck...

Poor Colin. I thought it was bad when he had the viral rash & fever before we left for NY, but now he's got another virus. This time he isn't running fever, but he is vomiting. I don't think I've ever seen a kid vomit as much as he did today. I took him to the pediatrician's office, and he told me that he hopes it's not the roto virus. Colin did get his immunization for that, but you never know.

He's seems to have stopped the vomiting (for now...he hasn't had any food since before he vomited the first time), but the pediatrician said that once the vomiting stops, the diarrhea will kick in.

Colin is very contagious, so we are steering clear of everyone so as to not get anyone sick, and I am actually in the process now of disinfecting my house. Miguel and I will probably get sick since we've been around Colin, but I'm hoping that Miguel doesn't.

Anyway, Colin can use some prayers, and hopefully he will be feeling back to himself sometime soon.

Happy Fall

Well, Emily, you've inspired me to change my blog...again. This layout is for the fall. It's not perfect yet; I still have some tweaking to do, but I wanted to get it up tonight.

My Trip To CT & NY: The Good & The Bad

Tuesday: I was due to work last Tuesday before my flight to NY. I went in and got called a little after 10. My friend who was watching Colin called to tell me that he was running a little fever and that he had a rash all over his body. Great. I left work and made an appointment to see the pediatrician at 11:45. Didn't leave the pedi.'s office until 12:30.
I had to leave for the airport by 3:00. After a slight turn around and some traffic, I made it to the airport 1 hr & 15 mins before my flight was to take off. I decided to check in at the desk instead of curbside, just b/c I feel that my luggage is safer that way. At the counter, the lady told me that I was early enough to catch the flight right before the one that I was scheduled to take, and that was pretty empty. So, I was all excited about the earlier flight, but didn't realize that they would be boarding that flight in about 10-15 mins...and I hadn't even been through security yet. I was moving like a mad woman to get through security and get to the gate. I did make it in time, and was very pleased to see that I got an entire row to myself, the row next, behind & in front of me were all empty as well. Well, good thing that the plane was almost empty...Colin was horrible. Granted, he was teething, and ended up cutting 3 teeth that night, but the flight was just terrible. He cried for the first hour, then fell asleep. Right as he was falling asleep, he pooped...but there was not a chance that I was going to wake him up to change his diaper, so the plane smelled like poop the whole way. Then, he woke up about 30 mins before we landed, and cried until we got off of the plane. Some lady was frustrated (understandably), and tried to make me feel like I didn't know what I was doing as a mother, but it was 11:30 pm, and I had had a really long day, so I didn't feel like arguing with her. I met up with my mom and Sammy and we drove into Connecticut. We stayed at a hotel about 30 mins away from my aunt's house (where my grandmother lives). Colin didn't want to sleep. Bad night for us.

Wednesday: We woke up pretty early and hit the road for my aunt's house. I think that we for there by about 10ish. I got to eat breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, a northeast favorite. We lazied about for the rest of the day. It was very pleasant and relaxing. My grandmother looked great! I was so surprised. I got to eat dinner with 2 of my cousins, and play with my aunt's 4 dogs and 8 cats!

Thursday: My mom & Sammy went back to NY, and I stayed with Nanny. We went out shopping, and had a blast! Just like old times, only a tad bit slower. Nanny did great, and I was very surprised at her stamina. We ate breakfast at a quaint diner, and lunch at Friendly's. Friendly's was something that I missed about the northeast, but after eating there this time, it just didn't seem as good as I remembered. After we got back, I took Colin outside to play in a leaf pile, and got a few cute pics of him. Autumn in the northeast is so beautiful! I never appreciated it while I was there, and now I can say that I miss the leaves changing colors and falling off of the trees. Colin loved playing in the leaves!

Friday: We woke up early and I drove Nanny's car to New York. We got there around 10. The drive really wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be. We met up with mom & Sammy at the hotel, and Courtney came around 11. It was supposed to be a surprise that Colin & I were there, but she didn't really act all that surprised. I think she knew. She claims not to have known, but I think she did. We did some shopping for the rest of the day.

Saturday: Court & I drove to New Paltz to pick up one of her friends. Miguel went to SUNY New Paltz, so I got him a t-shirt and jacket. What a pretty little town! I met up with my favorite cousin Patty for dinner. After Colin & Rachael went to bed, we started preparing food for Rachael's birthday party the next day.

Sunday: Colin & I spent the morning in the hotel room with Nanny while mom and Court decorated the hall for the birthday party. The birthday party was fun! My cousins from Long Island came. I hadn't seen them in years! I also saw family from my biological father's side, and I saw my biological father or the first time since my wedding. Awkward to say the least. Rachael looked beautiful, and had so much fun eating cake!

Monday: Another hectic day. I drove Nanny and her car back to CT. Mom and Sammy followed. We then turned around and they drove me to Queens, NY to the airport so I could head on home! Colin was much better on this flight. He slept almost the whole trip, waking up about 30 mins before landing. Thank God that he was good this time b/c the flight was packed full!

While we were there we had some family portraits taken. We got a nice generations photo with my grandmother, mother, sister, niece, Colin, & myself. I'm glad that we got it b/c in all honesty, this was probably the last time that all of us will be together at the same time (until heaven). As soon as I get them back I'll post the pics.

All in all, I had a great visit with my family, but I'm so happy to be home. I missed Miguel like crazy, and I know that Colin missed him too! It is so true that there is no place like home.

I'm Back...

I have all of my photos up on smugmug, and I'll be posting about my trip shortly!

Off to NY I Go!

Tomorrow, that is.

I work until 3, then I have to come home, get Colin, get the car packed and get to the airport to take off at 7.

Colin was still running fever today, and was very fussy. I am so thankful that Miguel stayed home to help me take care of him. He was soo difficult today, and I definitely needed the help.

I tried putting Colin down for bed at 8 (his normal bed time). He normally goes to sleep right away with minimal or no fussing...but not tonight. Tonight he SCREAMED until 9. Miguel tried holding him for a bit. He was fine, but the second that he laid him back in his bed he screamed again. We let him cry for a little bit more, then it was my turn to do the same. He was fin while I was holding him, but the minute that I put him down, he screamed some more. It's now 9:10, and he is still screaming. If this goes on all night, and I don't get any sleep, I'll have to call in to work tomorrow, which I don't want to do.

Please pray for a good night for all of us, and for traveling mercies tomorrow.

Poor Colin

My poor Colin has been running a fever all day while I was at work. Miguel kept it controlled with Tylenol. It didn't get any higher than 100.5. When I got home from work I took it again, and it was 100.6. I put him down for a nap, and he slept for a little over 3 hours. I finally had to go in to wake him up, and he was steaming hot. I took his temperature again and this time it was 102. More Tylenol and a few sippy cups of pedialyte later, he is feeling better at a comfortable 99.6.

I think it's him teething. I posted that he cut his third tooth the other day, and I looked into his mouth last night, and it looks like 3 more are coming in on the top. I didn't even get to see the bottom. Poor kid, he's getting all of his teeth within like 2 months, and multiple coming in at the same time.

My New Toy

Today I got the new iPOD Touch. It's really cool, but the thing that I like most about it is that it has WI-FI. That will be helpful during my trip to NY b/c I'm not bringing my laptop.

Thrird Tooth!

Colin cut his third tooth today. I knew it was coming b/c he had been pretty fussy for a few days. I think the 4th is on it's way too....

Colin at the Park

Colin, myself and Whitney went to the park after the Kolb girls left our house. He had fun on the swings, but was a little scared of the slide.

Colin's Day with the Kolb Girls

I had the pleasure of watching 2 of the Kolb girls today. Colin had so much fun playing with them. I was surprised at how easily things went with 3 kids!

Emergency Nurses Week

This week is Emergency Nurses Week, and today is Emergency Nurses Day!
I hope that all of my ER RN friends have a great week!


Some ER humor. Some sick, some funny, but all true!

• Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal seems perfectly normal to you…

• You have the bladder capacity of five people...

• Your idea of a good time is a full arrest at shift change...

• You find humor in other people's stupidity...

• You believe in aerial spraying of Prozac...

• You have your weekends off planned for a year in advance...

• You automatically assume the patient is a drug seeker when presented with the complaint of migraine, lower back pain, chronic myalgia (choose one of the above), a list of numerous allergies to meds (except Demerol).

• You encourage an obnoxious patient to sign out AMA so you don't have to deal with them any longer...

• You have discovered a new condition that you call "hypo-xanax-emia"...

• You believe that the government should require a permit to reproduce...

• You debate which is worse, spaghetti and meatballs or pizza and beer, while performing gastric lavage...

• You plan your dinner break while lavaging an overdose patient...

• You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if the phrase "wow, it's really quiet" is uttered...

• You threaten to strangle anyone who even starts to say the "q" word when the ER is even remotely calm...

• Your diet consists of food that has gone through more processing than most computers...

• You believe chocolate is a food group...

• You take it as a compliment when someone calls you dirty name...

• You say to yourself "great veins" when looking at complete strangers...

• You refer to someone in severe respiratory distress as a "smurf"...

• You have ever wanted to hold a seminar entitled "Suicide...Doing It Right"...

• You have ever had to leave a patient's room before you begin to laugh uncontrollably...

• You have ever referred to the E.R. Doc or triage nurse as a "shit magnet"...

• You think that caffeine should be available in I.V. form...

• You have ever restrained someone and it was not a sexual experience...

• Your most common assessment question is "what changed today to make it an emergency after 6 (hours, days, weeks, months, years)?"...

• You have witnessed the charge nurse muttering down the hallway "who's in charge of this mess anyway?"...

• You believe the waiting room should be equipped with a Valium fountain...

• You want lab to order a "dumb shit profile"...

• You are totally astounded when someone from a nursing home is understandable...

• You have been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider radiation a form of birth control...

• You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say "I have no idea how that got stuck in there"...

• You know the phone number to the local Detox Center by heart...

• You have ever had a patient say, "but I'm not pregnant; I can't be pregnant; How can I be having a baby"...

• You have ever had a patient control his seizures when offered some food...

• Your bladder expands to the same size as a Winnebago's water tank...

• Your immune system is so well developed that it has been known to attack squirrels in the backyard...

• You get an almost irresistible urge to stand and wolf your food even in the nicest restaurants...

• Your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat...

• You have a special shrine in your home to the inventor of Haldol...

• You have recurring nightmares about being knocked to the floor and run over by a portable x-ray machine...

• Your nursing shoes have been seized and quarantined by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

• You've been chipping away at your BSN for longer than most people take for a Ph.D....

• Your idea of thawing the holiday turkey consists of an IV and warmed saline (the holiday turkey you usually see has arms instead of wings and is sauced instead of basted)...

• You have every referred to subcutaneous air as "Rice Krispies"...

• You have thought OD instead of BBQ when asked to get the Charcoal...

• You always try to schedule days off around phases of the moon...

• You think that Prom tickets should have coupons good for one free gastric lavage

• Your alcoholically challenged patients know you by your first name, and can point to "their room"...

• You've ever hung a "banana bag", "yellow jello", or a "rally pack" for an etohlic...

• You believe things would go much quicker if everyone would just get a head CT, Roc and Doxy, narcan, D50, ativan, and a loading dose of Dilantin at the ED entrance..

• You believe that the sight of a full moon can ruin a perfectly good day...

• You find yourself avoiding an unhealthy looking "COPD"er in the grocery store in fear that he'll drop near you and you will have to do CPR on your day off...

• Your family members have to have a fever of at least 105 or be missing a limb with active bleeding in order to receive your sympathy...

Shindig

The Shindig was a blast! All of the hard work and preparation paid off! The band played awesome, the line dancing was fun (even though I couldn't get it), the food was yummy, and we had tons of guests! I was taking pictures of the event, but my head was killing me...migraine. So, I didn't get as many photos as I would've liked.

The only bad thing was that they weren't expecting that many people to show up, and ran out of food. Over 150 people more than expected came! Praise God! What a ministry this event has turned out to be!

I ended up with a migraine. It was actually the worst one that I've ever had. It started at 2:00 pm in the afternoon, and by the time that the Shindig started it was full blown. I had taken my medicine (twice), but it didn't help...at all. Finally, I told Miguel that I needed to go home, and that I was thinking about going to the ER to get some pain medicine to help. We drove separate cars there, and now I needed to drive from Crowley, home with a migraine. I saw nauseous, and dry heaved a few times. I ended up driving home with my sunglasses on at 11:00 pm. It was horrible. The headache finally went away around 4:00 am...so I got up at 6:00 and went to work!

2nd Tooth

Colin's 2nd tooth cut through today! It's on the bottom, to the right (his) of the first one.

First Weekend Away

This coming weekend will be our first weekend away from Colin. We are heading to Arlington this afternoon to help prepare for the Shindig...a social event that our church (YG) is throwing. Miguel's going to be practicing with the praise band, and I'm going to be preparing food. Then Miguel has to practice again on Friday evening while I'm at bible study. After church on Sabbath we all have to get to the location so Miguel can practice with the praise band one last time, and I can help set up.

Colin is staying with his Tio Joel and Titi Valerie tonight, which I am so thankful for their willingness to help us out. Then he is going to stay with his Nanny until Sunday.

I'm a little sad b/c we've never been away for this long, and I won't even get to see him on Sunday b/c we are driving straight from Arlington at 5:00 am and I'm going directly to work. :(

Nanny is Home!

Nanny went home from the hospital on Monday afternoon! Praise God for his greatness!

I talked to her on the phone, and she sounds great! Just like her old self. She says that she feels better, and is ready for some fun when I get out there!

Thank you everyone for your prayers. I know they are the reason she recovered so quickly!

Happy Birthday Casey!

Happy birthday Casey! thanks for being such a great friend. I hope that your day is wonderful and relaxing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Busy Day

What a busy day we had...2 playdates in one day! I had one set up and on my calendar for a while. Early in the morning, one of my co-workers called me to say that she was meeting up with another co-worker for a playdate and wanted to invite me.

So we had a great morning here at my house with the Clarks, Rodenburghs, and Pachecos. The big kids played nicely and the babies had a good time crawling around (and Christian looking at everyone!).

After an afternoon nap, we went on over to Abbie's house (in McKinney, so we didn't have to drive far!). Colin played with Taylor (18 months) for a little bit until Martina got there with Hannah (2 years). Then we went to her community park where the kids had a great time swinging and sliding down the slides!

13 Months

Where would my blog be without a monthly "birthday" post for Colin?

Today he is 13 months old! He's doing so many new things...just about something new every day! It's amazing how fast they learn. He's becoming more independent, but still loves loving on his mommy and papi.

He's so smart, and I just love watching him grow into this little mini man!

Halo 3 Release

Miguel went to GameStop last night at midnight to pick up his copy of Halo 3 that he pre-ordered. I didn't get to see him play it when he got home b/c I was sleeping, but we had the family over tonight for a Halo 3 release party. We had dinner and played! The game is awesome, so worth waiting for. The graphics are great! I am even thinking about getting my XBOX Live account back so I can play again!

Frustrated

So, my post last night about me not feeling well and wanting to call in to work was what I should have done...

I finally fell asleep last night after midnight, probably closer to 1:00 am. I woke up at 6:00 for work, got dressed, and went in. At 7:30 my manager saw me and said "I tried to call you yesterday to cancel you. We are overstaffed today, so I need you to go home."

I was a little relieved b/c I didn't feel well, but then I was mad b/c I'm not supposed to get canceled anymore. Anyway, they weren't overstaffed, in fact, they were like they normally are...1 nurse short. I helped out for a few hours and when things started to get really busy, it was time for me to go. The charge nurse wanted me to stay, and so did all of the other nurses (who ended up taking more patients than normal, b/c I had to give them mine).

Sick :(

Last week Miguel was sick. He's still not feeling back to himself, but he's better than he was. Well, yesterday at work it hit me...all of a sudden. I got extremely tired, and congested. I felt bad. Then, last night I felt even worse. Today was the worst...now I have body aches, and am running a low-grade fever. Poor Colin has been a trooper putting up with his lazy mother who only wanted to sleep today. I did get up to take him to his Kindermusik class...which he had a blast at. This evening Miguel said that Colin felt warm, so we took his temperature, and he is running a low-grade fever as well.

I have to work tomorrow, and should probably call in...but I don't want to. So, now I'm going to bed so that way I can wake up at 6:00 to head out to work!

My Colin is the Cutest!

Colin is definitely blossoming lately. He's doing and saying new things every day!

For the past few weeks he has been saying something close to nuh-ny. We couldn't figure out what it was until today when it was past dinner time and he crawled over to his highchair, stood up, and said nuh-ny. We finally figured out that it means hungry!

When Colin woke up from his nap today, Miguel was playing guitar. Colin started crying while I was changing his diaper, so I stopped, and started dancing. Colin sat up and repeated exactly what I was doing. Kind of scary, to know that I looked as doofy as him!

He knows tone of voice. When Miguel or I say "no" or something similar, he looks at us with this face. This face of disgust. We call it "The Face."

Colin strummed a guitar for the first time today! Miguel was playing and Colin crawled into his office and watched him play (while doing his new doofy dance). Then he crawled over to Miguel and Miguel showed him the guitar and how to strum. He took his little hand and strummed for it! It was the cutest thing that I've ever seen!

He's also turned into a little jabber mouth! He has these "conversations" with us, and with his toys that have faces on them. They are just sounds and noises. He knows exactly what they mean, and he really thinks that he's saying words to us.

Update on Nanny

First off, I want to thank everyone for their prayers, words of encouragement, phone calls, & e-mails. It has really helped me!

Nanny is still in the hospital, and we aren't sure just yet when she is going home. She says that she is feeling great! Praise God!

The repeated the CT scan of her brain, and they won't have to drill holes in her head! Praise God again! The bleed hasn't gotten any bigger from the last scan, and, it's starting to decrease as well.

The stroke was not devastating, but Nanny didn't get away without any deficits like she has done in the past. Some of the effects that she is having to deal with this time is that her left side...arm, leg and mouth, are all weaker than they were prior to the stroke. She drags her left leg just a little, but she is pretty confident that she can manage with some physical therapy.

She is suffering from pretty bad migraines since the stroke, but that is due to the bleed that she has. I'm guessing that once the bleeding has stopped, the headaches will subside as well.

Nanny is optimistic about her recovery, and is still planning on having fun when I arrive!


Thank you everyone for all of your support and prayers. I know your prayers are why she is doing so well today. Please continue to pray for her and her recovery.

Happy Birthday Whitney!

Happy 21st birthday Whitney!

You are such a blessing in our lives, and we are so lucky to have you around! We love you!

Prayers Please

My grandmother (mother's mother) hasn't been feeling to well lately. Bad enough that she isn't coming to Texas for the winter like she has done for the past 3 years. She's battled breast cancer twice now, has had a few strokes, a heart attack, pneumonia multiple times, along with a list as long as my arm...all in the past 7 or so years

I finally booked a flight to NY to go visit her at the end of October. I talked to her on Friday and she told me that she really wasn't feeling well. She sounded terrible on the phone. Then I got the dreaded call in the middle of the night Saturday night. My aunt called me to tell me that my grandmother is in the hospital. She had another stroke.

It's amazing how great God is for in all of the strokes that she has had, none of them have been devastating. She's still fully functional, alert & oriented. I talked to her on the phone on Sunday, and she says she feels better, but she sounded very tired. There is still bleeding in her brain, which is causing the horrible headaches that she's been having (and what caused the stroke). If the bleeding doesn't stop soon, they are going to have to drill holes into her head to release the pressure that is building up.

This is the grandmother that I was raised with, the one that I am closest too, the one that I spent weekends with as a child, the one who has been there for me through everything. I ask for your prayers. I know her time is short, and I've come to accept that, b/c I know that I will see her in the kingdom of heaven some day soon. My prayer is that she make it until the end of October when I can get there with Colin to see her...probably for the last time. She hasn't met Colin yet since she's not been feeling well, and all she wants...is to meet him, to hold him and to tell him that his great-nanny loves him.

Please keep her in your daily prayers, and the rest of my family too, as we are having a hard time with this. Thank you so much. Have a blessed week.

Learning Explosion!

Colin had a learning explosion this weekend!

It started on Saturday morning. We were getting ready for church at our Pastor's house. Colin was playing with their dog (Charlie, a mini Yorkie). I picked him up and as we started walking away, Colin said his first sentence: "okay, bye doggy." It's crazy how they pick up on what you say. Every time I get off of the phone, I say "okay, bye." Colin had been saying okay & bye & doggy separately for a while now, but this was his first time to string them together like that.

The second thing was this evening at dinner. Miguel and I have been doing very basic baby sign language to Colin since late last week. At dinner tonight Colin did the sign for "more please" multiple times. He caught on so quickly!

Lastly, Colin has been saying "pa-pa" for a while now, but never actually said papi. Well, tonight, I told Miguel to say goodnight to Colin. Miguel said goodnight, and Colin looked around and said...clear as day..."papi, papi." Miguel's face lit up and he got so happy!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday! We took her out to dinner to a Greek restaurant that she likes.

Happy birthday mom!

Colin's First Kindermusik Class

Colin had his first Kindermusik class today! He had a blast. Miss Sheila is his teacher. She's also our Pastor's wife. We sang song, played with instruments, massaged baby, danced, and lots of other interaction. All of the kids seemed to have a great time. Valerie and Christian are in the class also, and Colin loved seeing his cousin! The rest of the pictures are on my smugmug.

Colin Cut Hist First Tooth!

Finally! My child is NOT going to be the first toothless child like I thought he was going to be.

Colin cut his first tooth today. It's the bottom front left tooth, and it's barely poking through the skin. It's very hard to see, and the only reason I know is b/c I was fishing something out of his mouth and sliced my finger on the razor sharp tooth!

Colin was definitely at his crankiest this past weekend. If he wasn't being held, he was screaming. Even then, he still screamed sometimes. Nothing I tried seemed to soothe him. Tylenol, teething tablets, teething gel, teething rings...nothing. He was so fussy...he refused to eat, and didn't really sleep that well either. I'm not used to a picky eater...and I don't like it!

I'll take some pictures when you ca actually see the tooth. My Colin is so adorable!

Colin's 1st birhday Photos...Finally

I got Colin's 1 year pictures back last week, and I finally got them onto my computer. The rest can be seen on my smugmug.

My little boy is 1?!?

As If My Day Wasn't bad Enough...

As if my day wasn't bad enough, I finally got home from work, to find this...

This WAS our mailbox...until...

Our neighbor demolished it with his car.

Kristen and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I went to work today, and it started out great. It went pretty well until about lunch time. Then things starting picking up...but not in a bad way yet. I was going to get off at 3:00, but at 2:45 was when my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day began.

I'm not going to go into details on the blog...so if you are interested in details, you'll have to talk to me about it. Anyway, I didn't get home until 6:00. My eyes were red from crying, and I had to vent to Miguel. I cried some more, and he just held me. What a great husband.

I don't want another day like I had today. I try to be strong at work. I have to be strong at work...but today I wasn't, and then more I told myself not to get emotional, the more emotional I got. I had to excuse myself a couple times to go to the restroom to cry.

Thanks for listening. I could use some prayers, and my patient could definitely use some prayers. God is good, and He can get her through.

September Already?

Where has the past few months gone? I can't believe that it is September already. It's almost fall, it's going to start getting chilly soon, the days are shortening, and it's almost time for my favorite time of year!

Colin will be starting Kindermusik classes this coming Monday, and they will last into January. I'm so excited! Colin just loves music, and I'm so glad that we are able to foster his liking! Sheila, our Pastor's wife is a maestro teacher for Kindermusik, and will be Colin's teacher. I think that Valerie and Christian will be joining us in the class as well!

Happy Birthday Miguel!

I just want to say a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best husband in the world!

You are such a blessing in my life, and in the lives of so many others, and I love you with all of my heart.

A Lovely Awakening...

Imagine yourself not sleeping too well one night b/c your child wasn't feeling well, and kept waking up whining for a minute, then going back to sleep. Imagine this happening all night long, and you have to work the next morning. You have to get up at 6:00 am, and must leave the house at 6:30. Your alarm goes off at 6:00, but you decide that you are going to sleep until 6:15...just 15 more minutes. You'll hurry and get ready in 15 minutes...maybe you'll skip makeup for the day. You drift off to sleep without setting the new alarm. You suddenly awake, look at the clock and it is 6:30! Ahhh, the time that you are supposed to leave. You jump up, but your eyes are still just about closed b/c of how tired you are. The room is almost pitch black b/c the sun hasn't come up yet. Your feet hit the floor and you take a step. You realize that there is something soft under your feet. Your eyes are squinted, and in takes you a minute to get them completely open and focused...but once you do...you realize that there is dog poop smashed on your foot. An entire "log" of poop is smeared all over your foot. You look to the rest of the ground and see that there are "logs" all over the floor, and you have to hop between logs on one foot so you don't get the poop that's already all over your foot onto the rest of the floor!

Yuck! I'm glad that you only have to imagine that was you...but that really was me this morning. I had a shitty start to my day...literally!

Sick or Teething?

Well, Colin was pretty lethargic this evening. He just laid in Miguel's arms for an entire hour without moving or making a peep. I knew at that point that something was wrong. I took his temperature, and it was 100.7, so I gave him some Tylenol, and out him to bed.

Miguel will be staying home with Colin tomorrow b/c I have to work, and I just want to be sure that I have someone who can take him to the doctor if need be (my mom doesn't have a carseat...or a safe car for that matter).

According to the doctor today, Colin's teeth can cut at any time...and I'm hoping that this fever is just from him teething (finally)...but, he does have a runny nose and he is congested again tonight, so I'm not sure.

I hate seeing my poor baby sick :(

Colin's 1 Year Check-Up

Colin had his 1 year check-up today. Everything was great. He weighs 22 lbs. 2 oz. (50%) and is 30 1/4 inches long (75%). The pediatrician says that he should be getting teeth any day now, b/c they are "bulging" and that they will probably come in all around the same time. Poor child. He was impressed with Colin's social skills. He said for a 1 year old, he maintains eye contact really well, and is very social. Do we have a future preacher or musician or public speaker? I wonder! Colin didn't exhibit much stranger anxiety toward the doctor, and that impressed him as well. He said that the stranger anxiety of a 1 year old is pretty high. Colin does have some stranger anxiety, but it has been getting better recently. He got 3 shots today, but handled them like a champ! He only cried while he was getting them, but as soon as I was able to pick him up, he was all smiles again!

All in all it was a really good visit, and our next one will be at 15 months.

Sick?

Poor Colin woke up about 3 times crying last night...which he never does. I worked today and when I got home I noticed that Colin had a runny nose, he sounded pretty congested, and he was quite fussy. Miguel said that he had been like that all day long. I took his temperature in the early evening, and it wasn't too bad...99.9, but I gave him some Tylenol anyway, b/c I didn't want him to spike in the middle of the night, and not have anything on board. By the time that he went to bed, like 1 1/2 hours later, his temperature was down to 99.3. He was still pretty fussy when he went to bed, and I've heard him a few times in the monitor, but he hasn't started crying yet. He has hi 1 year check-up tomorrow morning, and I'm thinking that he'll be fine until we can get to the doctors office, but I hate thinking that he isn't feeling well.

I'll update tomorrow about his appointment!

Happy Birthday Patty

Happy birthday to my favorite cousin! I hope that your day is filled with fun! We miss you and can't wait to see you!

Colin is 1!

The first 12 months of Colin's life. The many faces...and changes.

Colin's birth picture. He was 2 days old.

Colin at 1 month. How precious.

2 months old. I just love this picture!3 months old. He was starting to develop his personality.

4 months old. What a ham for the camera!

Colin at 5 months. He was starting to get chunky!6 months old. He was at his chunkiest! I love it!7 months old. Colin was starting to look like he does now.8 months old. Looks who's standing!Colin at 9 months. He's so sweet and loving.10 months old. He loves posing for the camera!11 months old. Colin was crawling all over the place!Colin is 1 year old! Happy birthday!
We are waiting for his birthday portraits to come back.


I love Colin so much. My life has been so blessed since he has entered it. He has touched my heart in a way that I could never imagine. He's taught me how to be selfless. I don't know what I would do without him. I thank God every day for allowing me to have this little boy, and to love him and teach him things. What a blessing!

I think back at the past year, and my time has been consumed (lovingly) by Colin. I feel like just about every minute of every day I am either directly taking care of Colin, playing with him, feeding him, holding him, or doing misc. thing with/for him. I often think back to when I was childless, and I wonder to myself...what did I do with my time? I feel like I wasted all of the time that I had before Colin. My days revolve around him, and I enjoy it! In fact, I look forward to waking up and seeing his smiling face every morning.

I thank God for such a wonderful year that was full of blessings, and I ask for many more. happy birthday to my little boy, my baby boy, my angel.

ACLS Certification

Wow, I've been a nurse for 2 years already. How the time has flown by! Every 2 years I have to re-certify in ACLS (advanced cardiac life support). It's a 2-day course to certify the first time and a 1 day course to re-certify.

Since this is my first time having to re-certify, I didn't know what to expect. I apply the ACLS skills every day in the ER, so I figured that I would do ok. Iwalked into the class this morning, and everyone had books and a pre-test completed. I didn't even have the book. I didn't even know I needed one. The instructor was a little annoyed, and told me that I had to complete the pre-test before I was able to sit in the class, and since I didn't even have a book, it was obvious that I hadn't studied, and I probably wouldn't do well on the test, and would probably not pass the course. I told her that I would like to take the pre-test anyway, since I was already there.

I sat at a computer and took the stupid 45 minute test. When I finished it, I printed my results (76%). I wasn't too happy with the results, but I guess I couldn't complain...I hadn't studied. I turned it into the instructor and she commented "Wow, a 76% without studying...you can practically teach the class." I joined the class.

When it came time to do the hands on stations, people were looking to me for the answers. Then after the hands-on "mega-code" we had to take a written test. I was in the class with about 15 people...most of whom had been paramedics for years, or nurses for a very long time. I turned in my test, and the instructor was very impressed that I got 100% on my test. I did better than the people who studied before hand and had their pre-tests complete. Praise God! I'm now certified for 2 more years! Yay!

I definitely give Him the glory for helping me through today!

Dallas Zoo

Whitney, Valerie, Yasmin, Christian, Colin, and I had a fun day at the Dallas Zoo. It was Colin's first zoo experience. He especially liked the turtles and the birds. We had a great time, but boy was it hot!