day 19 {a month of thanks}

I'm not very good at doing this daily, but oh well.

Day 19. I am thankful for childhood wonderment, and for getting to experience childhood things through my kids once again.

I didn't get a chance to post this last weekend, but we had our first snow in Minnesota last Saturday and of course Maia was THRILLED! When she first saw snow she squealed - so cute! (Then every morning since then, right after she wakes up, she runs to the window and screams "snow!!!!") I had to capture some pictures of my kids looking at the snow together - it was Kieran's first snowfall and he could definitely tell something was up as he looked out our big window! It was so fun watching them experience the first snowfall, something I've always looked forward to each fall/winter since I was a kid. What a treat to see the joy in their eyes!

Then we headed outdoors. Maia had so much fun!

Hard at work with her plastic shovel.

day 16 {a month of thanks}

Day 16: Today, I am so thankful for not only a happy, healthy preemie son, but also for a developmentally on-par little dude!

Today Kieran had a NICU follow-up to check his development. They do one at 5 months adjusted, 12 months adjusted & 24 months actual age to chart his progress and make sure he's not behind developmentally. Because he is supposed to be 5.5 months, he should be meeting milestones based on that adjusted age at least, and I'm happy to report that he is doing just that, and more!

An occupational therapist had him play with toys to check fine motor skills, and then did some listening/cognitive exercises. He also played on a mat to show off his gross motor skills, and despite holding on to his feet the entire time, still managed to roll around and show them what he could do :) While the testing went on, the occupational therapist wrote down scores for him on something called the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. They tallied up the scores and came up with the following - keep in mind that 85 to 115 is the "norm."

Cognitive Score - 110

• Age equivalence: 6 months

Motor Score - 124

• Age equivalence - Gross Motor: 6 months
• Age equivalence - Fine Motor: 8 months

Language Score - 100

• Age Equivalence - Expressive Language: 5 months
• Age Equivalence - Receptive Language: 5 months, 10 days

So, as you can see, he's right on par with his adjusted age for everything, and even "caught up" in fine motor! As for height and weight, well, he continues to be a big, healthy boy there, too! He weighed 20 lbs and was 27 3/4 inches long, which means he's still 50th percentiles for his actual age and off the charts for adjusted age, woohoo! The RN who did his measurements was SO excited to hear that Kieran was breastfeeding and remarked that he didn't even look like he was born premature. I happen to agree with her! What a long way he's come from 2lb 10 oz, hm? I am so proud of my AMAZING son!

sibling love. {a month of thanks}

Well, it's been a little nonstop in the Collins house since last week, so I missed a bunch of {month of thanks} entries. Ah well, I'll sum up the weekend in a little bit. For today, enjoy my two sweet kiddos having fun together.

Day 15: I am SO thankful to have two kids close in age like this (1 day away from 2 years apart) They are an absolute blast and I love watching their bond form!

day 9 & 10 {a month of thanks}

Day 9. Sometimes I lament the fact that I drink too much Diet Coke (always 1 a day, sometimes 2) and that I need to cut back, but this week, during Daylight Savings time adjustment at our house? I AM SO THANKFUL FOR IT.

Natalie Dee says it better than I ever could. This is ME, ha!

As for Day 9, today I am thankful for amazing opportunities presenting themselves to me lately. I'll expand more on this soon, but I'll just say 2011 is looking to be a great year for me!

day 8 {a month of thanks}

Day 8. Today, I'm thankful for this amazing redhead:

Ha, you thought it was going to be one of my kids, right!? ;) No, but seriously, Conan's triumphant return to television tonight made me SO happy! He is honestly the only man other than my husband who can have me laughing so hard I can barely breathe - and he didn't disappoint tonight. Josh and I were just about dying of laughter a couple times! I'm so glad he's back on TV! Team Coco!

day 7 {a month of thanks}

Day 7. Today I'm thankful for warm, sunny days in November that allow me to take a certain little sweetie pie to the park (and to practice using some of the new-to-me settings on my new camera!) The park was lovely, the camera practice, not so much. But practice makes perfect, right? So I'll keep practicing!

day 6 {a month of thanks}

Day 6. I am very thankful for dates with my husband. We've always had a tendency to forget to make time for them, so last month on our anniversary, we made a commitment to go on at least one a month (special thanks to our lovely sitter, Auntie Kiki, for committing to the 'sitting'!) The past few dates we've been on have been so special, and not because we did the most wonderfully romantic things, but simply because we're just alone together! It's so refreshing to get a moment to chat without having to talk loudly over a toddler, and eat with both hands free. I can't believe we let dates fall by the wayside, because it's evident to me now that they are crucial to our foundation and strength as a couple. When we have that opportunity to connect outside the house, it's like we've recharged our "couples battery," I love it!

{a month of thanks}

I was skimming a few blogs today and saw something I liked - a blogger was giving thanks daily in a "month of thanks" series. I love that idea! I am constantly listing off things I'm thankful for in my head, but it's rare that I get a chance to write them down. So, five days into the month where Americans focus on giving thanks (oh my gosh, Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner!) I myself have decided to do a little "month of thanks" feature. Some days you'll get just text, some days you may get a picture, too. Sometimes there will be explanations, and other days, it will speak for itself. Maybe I can even get the husband to join along for a couple days!

I'll just catch up on days 1-5 right now, then hopefully post daily or nearly daily for the rest of the month.

Day 1. I'm thankful for my new camera, which is challenging me to my tech core as I try to learn how to use it.

Day 2. I'm thankful for suckers & lollipops, which have been occasionally helping me get through long, necessary shopping trips with a feisty 2.5 year old.

Day 3. I'm thankful for my long, thick hair, which has taken me a looooong time to grow out. It's so pretty and worth the long effort it took to get here!

Day 4. Consequently, I am also thankful for hair-binders and cute ponytails, because if the baby pulls on my hair once more I just may scream!!!!

Day 5. I'm thankful for Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul for introducing me to the most amazing ice cream I have ever tasted - salted caramel ice cream. It's the kind of treat that, after you take a bite, you close your eyes and pause to savor the flavor of the most perfect combination of sweet & salty, but you look sort of silly doing it so your husband makes fun of you. Oh well. It's just THAT good.

What are you giving thanks for today?

happy halloween (yesterday!)

Just had to share some cute photos of the kids' Halloween costumes! I did end up making Maia's tutu & painted her broomstick black - the rest of her costume I found for super cheap at various stores. For Kieran's costume, I made the hat, beard, belt & added felt mushrooms to some shoes I found at a consignment shop for a $1. I was able to come in under $30 for both costumes, which is pretty good! I could have done better but I decided that Maia had to have a GIANT tutu, I guess. Ha, oh well. Enjoy the pictures!!

Spinning around in her tutu. Some passersby told her she had a cute skirt, but she loudly exclaimed "it's not a skirt, it's a TUTU!"

"See my broom?"




Sitting up all by himself!










Out trick-or-treating


Family picture in front of the old Hollywood Theater in our neighborhood. It's been vacant for years...spooooky! ;)