Christmas Morning

I was SO incredibly excited for Christmas this year. It's the first year that Adelae could actually understand what's going on. We went WAY overboard on her presents! I'm told that's to be expected ;) We wrote a note to Santa, put out cookies and milk and waited until she was sleeping on Christmas Eve to put out presents and fill stockings. I was really expecting her to come down Christmas morning and be amazed at all the presents. So, as soon as she woke up, Ben and I grabbed her up and RAN down the stairs. We were both saying "Look Adelae! Look! Santa came!" Her response? "Huh? What? Tired..." She wasn't quite as excited as we were!

Opening presents was a different story...sort of. She was really into the first couple. Then she decided she was all done opening. I think since she got her books first, she thought all the presents were books! So, we had to stop and read a few, which was fine because Mommy forgot to charge the camera battery! Once she started opening the toys, she got a little more excited. Again, we had to open each toy, then play with it for awhile before we could move onto the next one. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas morning and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Inspecting her golf clubs


Playing with her new "tart"


The BIG present...her kitchen


As always, I took a ton of pictures. You can see all of them at http://ftwaynecollinses.shutterfly.com/ Ben also took quite a few videos. I'm having a bit of trouble getting them to upload, so I'll post them in a separate blog.

The Great Ice Storm of 08

On Friday, December 19 we had a HUGE ice storm. It rained all night long and then immediately turned to ice. There was about a 2 inch coating of ice on everything. I was in bed and kept hearing these huge BOOMing noises. I was a little scared! I thought the roof was going to fall in! We lost power about 7:00 Friday morning and didn't get it back until 1:30 on Tuesday. It was a very long 5 days. Luckily, none of our pipes froze (thanks to my dad's diligence in taking care of my house) and we are back home again. Here are a few pictures of our yard the day of the big storm.

Directly out the back door.


The swing tree.


In the back yard looking West


The kitchen roof


Tree by the driveway.


Little tree right outside the back door coated in ice.


Back door and East side of the house. It was a solid sheet of ice!


We lost a few more limbs that what is in the pictures. All in all, we were pretty lucky. There doesn't appear to be any major damage. I'm just glad it's over!

Visit With Santa

I must be a glutton for punishment. Everyone told me, "Don't take Adelae to see Santa. It's a wasted trip this year." Of course, I didn't listen. Ben had the day off yesterday so we dressed Adelae up in her Christmas dress and headed off to the mall to see Santa. She was great in line, and my hopes lifted. They have a great set up from the movie "Rudolph." She LOVED the snow man and the abominable.

When we were in line we kept asking her about Santa. Her response was always "No, no Santa. Noman (Snowman)." I kept hoping and hoping that she would sit there with him long enough for ONE good picture. We even let her look at all the other kids sitting on Santa's lap, hoping that she would realize there was nothing to be afraid of. Santa was great with her and really tried to put her at ease. But, it didn't quite work. She was fine, as long as Santa kept his distance.

This is what happened when I tried to sit Adelae on Santa's lap.

So, as you can see, we didn't get Adelea's picture with Santa this year! Oh well, there's always next time.

Things I Am Thankful For

Adelae's new shirt


Ben's reaction to the great news


Yes...you guessed it...I'm pregnant! I'm very very thankful that God had blessed us with another pregnancy. I'm feeling great, for the most part. I have some afternoon sickness (instead of morning sickness) and I'm pretty tired, but other than that I'm good! Well, truthfully, Ben says I'm a little crabby :D I go to the doctor in December, but so far things are proceeding normally! Adelae is excited about being a big sister, even though she's not quite sure what it means. She has a while to warm up to the idea, my EDD is the middle of July. I'll get a more concrete date when I see the doctor.

Adelae's surgery

Adelae had her adnoids out today. She did really well and I'm very proud of her! We had to be at the surgery center at 6:30 this morning! Yikes! Luckily, she was the first patient of the day, so they got her in for her surgery at about 7:00. The procedure took about 20 minutes and Ben and I were able to stay with Adelae in the recovery room. She was pretty zonked out most of the time she was in there. She woke up a few times and said "Hi" and then went right back to sleep. When she did finally wake up, she was more upset about the clip on her finger (to measure oxygen) then she was about anything else. In true Adelae fashion, she just wanted her daddy, her bleeblee and her Sally. She was able to eat a few Cheerios while she was in recovery. The doctor that performed the surgery said that Adelae's adnoids were indeed inflamed and they were preventing the junk in her nose from draining properly. So, it's a good thing we had the procedure done. She didn't need her tonsils out, so that's good! We're hoping that this will help her breathing and her allergies. Adelae doesn't have any restrictions as far as what she can eat or drink. She just needs to kind of take it easy for the next week or so. That may be easier said than done!

Punkin Pie Time

I've never made a pumpkin pie before so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm not patient enough to actually make my own pumpkin mash, so we just used Libby's. Adelae helped me, so I guess it was her first pumpkin pie too!

Exercise Makes Us Strong!

Adelae "using" Ben's weight bench.

It's Election Day!

In case you've been living in a cave for the last two years and don't know, Today's Election Day! This has been one of the longest campaigns in history. For two years now we've been bombarded with political ads from all sides. Today it all comes to an end. I plan on exercising my civic duty and voting. I encourage everyone to do the same. We are very strong Obama supporters in this house. I guess some of it has rubbed off on Adelae. In case you are still undecided and want to take advice from a 1 1/2 year old, Adelae has something to tell you....

Don't Throw Up On Me

Sometimes I do things that Adelae finds absolutely hilarious. This was one of those times. She was laughing so hard I thought she was going to throw up!!!!

It's Pumpkin Time!

We carved our pumpkin the other day. We've decided that we have to leave it in the house, or else the dog will eat it!!! Adelae wasn't too sure what we were doing or why we were doing it. When we turned off the lights and lit the candle she was pretty scared. She decided that she didn't like it and Annie was more than welcome to have it. We're working on getting over the fear. I took a ton of pictures, too many to post on here. I made a slideshow instead of posting each individual picture.

Hitting Balfgalls and Walking in the Woods

Last week we had a day where the temp hit 84*! We all took advantage of the nice weather and went outside. When it's really nice out, Ben likes to hit golf balls into the woods. Adelae decided that she wanted to learn how to hit 'balfgalls' too. I don't think she'll be the next Tiger Woods, but it was pretty cute!



After we hit some golf balls, we went for a walk in the woods behind our house.


As always, I took a ton of pictures. You can see all of them at http://ftwaynecollinses.shutterfly.com

Photoshopping

I'm pretty new to the whole photoshop thing. I have a fear that I'm not actually very good at it! I can manage to turn pictures into black and white and use the filters that are already pre-set. The rest is sort of Greek to me. I suppose if I spent some time with it, I'd get much better. I get frustrated way too easily though! These are some pictures that I photoshopped the other day. A few of them turned out quite well, if I do say so myself! Don't worry, I'll be posting more soon!

BEFORE

AFTER


BEFORE

AFTER (It has a watercolor finish to it.)


BEFORE


AFTER


I managed to get some really good pictured the day these were taken. You can see all of them over at http://ftwaynecollinses.shutterfly.com/

Happy Birthday!!!!

Ben's 30th birthday was on October 10. He decided that he didn't want to do anything special this year. Adelae and I made him a card. I also taught her how to sing Happy Birthday...sort of!!!!!!

Crazy Folks at SNL

I don't watch Saturday Night Live much anymore. I'm usually too tired to stay up and I think the writing has really been lacking for some years now. I used to LOVE SNL and I would tape it (back when VCR's were cool) so I could watch it over and over again. I haven't done that in a very long time. However, it's a campaign year and the folks at SNL always have wonderful skits about the candidates. Imagine my joy when I realized that Tina Fey could be Sarah Palin's twin sister. I still can't manage to stay awake, but thanks to the internet I can get all the SNL I want! If you haven't seen the skit of the VP debate or the parody of Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric, you mush check them out. I was laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face. Thanks SNL and Tina Fey...you made my day!

Homemade Play Dough

About a week or so ago we decided to make some play dough. Adelae's never really played with it before, so I wasn't sure how she'd do. Ben and I decided that it would be fun to make our own instead of buying some. She had an absolute blast playing with the play dough with daddy!

Congratulations are in order

We have a few things to celebrate this month! I meant to post this earlier, but I just kept forgetting I've been doing that a lot lately! So, these are belated congratulations and I apologize!

First off, Congrats to David and Iris on their new baby girl. Jaedyn was born on September 10, 2008. She absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to see her! You can check out pictures of the whole Collis family at Iris and David's blog. By the way, it's about time they updated that thing! :D http://dnfunkyi.com

Congratulations are also in order for Aunt Carol. She took her LPN licensing test on September 15 and passed with flying colors! I know how worried she was, but I knew she'd do fine. This is something she has worked long and hard for and I've very proud of her. We'll be celebrating with a little get together this afternoon.

What?! There are adults in our house?!

I realized that most of my blog is dedicated to Adelae and I rarely let everyone know what the adults in our house are up to. We had a housewarming party on Labor Day weekend. Lots of friends and family showed up to help us break in the house in true Ben and Shaun fashion! We had a nice bonfire and just a few drinks ;)

We celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on September 15. Adelae stayed with Nana, Papa and Uncle Louie for the night so Ben and I could have some adult time. We went and watched "Dark Knight" and had a wonderful dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We haven't seen a movie in a theater in over a year and it's been even longer since we went to an actual restaurant. (You know, the kind where they have actual menus and a waitstaff?) It was wonderful! We didn't have to rush to eat and I didn't have to share one single bite of my food! :D We came home after dinner and had a nice campfire and talked. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary!

Ben is still working at CPI Card Group in Fort Wayne. He's still working the weekend shift, so we don't see him much on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. He's also been working part time mowing lawns all summer. He works a few days a week, just for a little extra money. I'm anxiously awaiting calls for substitute teaching. I'm hoping that I'll start getting called soon. The plan is for me to work as much as I can Monday-Thursday. Ben will stay home with Adelae so we won't need a sitter. I'm so excited about going back to work. I love staying at home with Adelae, but I do miss adult interaction.

Carol has been teaching me how to can this summer. I think I've spent every weekend for the last two months at her house canning. I've learned how to make salsa, applesauce, more salsa, more applesauce, and peaches. I heard a rumor today that there are more tomatoes to can not to mention all the apples and pears! It looks like I'll be over there canning for the next few months! It's kind of monotonous work, but it provides great bonding time. It's kind of cool to look around the table and see everyone together.

We recently bought a new to us car. It's a 2003 Ford Taurus and we love it! We traded in Ben's truck. With winter coming and hopefully another baby sometime, we really needed another family car. Ben trades off driving the Oldsmobile and the Taurus to work. We can almost make the payment with what we're saving in gas!

I think that's the major highlights on Ben and I!

Boy Crazy

Heaven help us, Adelae is already boy crazy!!! My mom got me a parenting magazine and in are pictures of lots of little kids. Recently Adelae became really attached to one particular picture. Of course, it's a picture of a little boy. She would carry the magazine around and kiss the little boy and tell him that she loved him! Being the good parents that we are, we cut out the picture of the little boy (mostly so I could actually read the magazine with out causing a tantrum). She now carries the picture around and kisses it. Ben said "I wondered how I would feel when she started liking boys. I don't think I like it at all!"

Future Olympian

When we were watching the Track and Field events on the Olympics this summer, Adelae decided she was going to be a runner. She started saying "Ready...Do!" Which is Adelae talk for Ready, Set Go! I took this video awhile ago and am just now getting around to posting it.   She runs EVERYWHERE now! 

My little narcisit

Aunt Jean and I had a conversation awhile back about all the pictures we, as a society, take of our kids. Does seeing their images all the time make them narcissitic or more comfortable with themselves? It's not a question that will have difinative answer and I'm sure each kid will be different. Adelae LOVES to look at herself. It doesn't matter if it's in the mirror, a picture, the camera, or any reflective surface in general. She'll look at herself for a long time. She'll point at her reflection and proudly say "Adlae." She absolutely loves to look at the pictures on the camera. In fact, if she's crabby or cranky looking at pictures of herself will calm her right down. On the morning this video was taken, I had made the mistake of getting the camera and not letting her look at herself. It promptly cause a little bit of a melt down. Good mom that I am, I captured it on video.

The bat encounter

Ben and I were doing our normal routines last night. I was watching TV and he was checking one of his many fantasy sports teams online. Out of nowhere we see this thing flying through the living room. I scream as loud as I can and Ben falls to the floor while shouting "HOLY SH*T...IT'S A FREAKIN' BAT!!!" I was paralyzed with fear. People tell me bats are nothing to be afraid of, but they clearly have never had one zooming at them in the living room! After a call to Carol and Louie, we developed a plan of action to take down the bat. I was going to continue to lay on the couch with my head covered (I know I heard they can get tangled in your hair) and Ben was going to take care of it. Sounded like a good plan to me!

That's when we realized that the bat was nowhere to be found. I sent Ben on a search while I bravely stayed on the couch shouting encouragement. He found the bat in our spare room upstairs. He bravely prepared a box for the capture of the bat. After I put on a hat, I slowly tiptoed up the stairs to check out the bat. At this point, the phone rang and I gladly answered it! I felt that I had to go outside to get better reception..I swear! It had nothing to do with the creepy bat hanging from the spare bedroom walls! With a pounding heart and sweaty hands, Ben was able to trap the bat in a box and with my help, let it free.

If I never see another bat in my house, that will be just fine with me!

It's not easy being neat

Dinosaur shaped Spaghetti O's with meatballs are Adelae's new favorite food. It's hard to believe, but I think she even likes them more than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese! She's been doing really well with using a spoon all by herself. In fact, we are not allowed to feed her anymore. Sometimes we can't even sit at the table with her! This was one day when she insisted on eating all by herself. If you've never experienced the mess an independent toddler can make with Spaghetti O's, you should. After this meal, I cleaned Spaghetti O's out of her ears, nose and eyes for about 30 minutes!

What an imagination!

Adelae has developed quite the imagination in the last few weeks. She's been taking care of her babies almost all day long. She loves to 'feed' them and make them go to the potty.

Feeding the baby breakfast



Baby's all done with breakfast.



Now it's time to potty



The baby is actually IN the potty...not sure how that will work for potty training!

Tree, Boom, Loud, Scary

Dad and Ben cut down an old dead tree in our yard last week. We weren't prepared for how easy it would come down and it took us all a little by suprise. This is what Adelae had to say about it.

Thank God I'm a country girl

In the past few months I've come to realize that I'm a country girl at heart. I do miss the convenience of the city, but I love the quiet of the country. Each time I have to run to Fort Wayne for something, it becomes a little more irritating. There's so much traffic and so much noise. Not to mention, the people just aren't as courteous as they are in the country. I'm not quite sure what has happened to common courtesy. When I go to our small town grocery store I am always asked if I would like help out to my car. In fact, sometimes they are quite insistent that they help me. One woman said "It looks like you have your hands full. Please let me help you." On that day I had bought a gallon of milk and a few other things. I went to a grocery store in Fort Wayne and bought our weekly groceries and I was never asked if I would like help. I didn't need it, but the offer would have been nice. In a small town, if people see a woman alone with a child, they will always hold the door for you. Not so in the city. I was on my way into Adelae's 18 month check up and I had my hands full with a crabby toddler, a purse, diaper bag, a bleeblee (blankey), and Adelae's baby doll. The man going through the door in front of me had empty hands and literally shut the door in my face. I thank God that He has given us the opportunity to raise our daughter in the country where people seem to look out for you no matter what.

Freezing corn

If you're from a farm family you totally understand freezing corn. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, it's pretty simple. 1)Pick the corn 2)Husk the corn 3)Cook the corn 4)Cut the corn off the cob 5)Put said corn in bags. Easy enough right? Well, that's what I thought too! You see, I haven't actually done corn (farm talk for freezing corn) in many many many years. I have a vague recollection of husking corn with all my cousins when I was little. It seemed easy enough then! When my dad and step mom asked if I'd help do corn this year, I enthusiastically said YES! I was remembering all those great memories and thinking ahead to all the wonderful corn I'd have to eat this winter. (If you've ever had home frozen corn, you'll know what I'm talking about.) I was informed that this past weekend we would be doing corn while my little sister was home. Again, I enthusiastically agreed. So, I showed up to my dad's on Sunday late morning ready, willing and able to do corn.

My excitement waned a little when I saw my brother and brother-in-law surrounded by a mountain of unhusked corn. However, I again remembered all those wonderful memories and all that corn for winter. I grabbed myself a piece of ground a nice pile of corn and got to work. We were making some great progress...till I realized dad was out in the field picking another trailer full of corn. I felt my enthusiasm slip another notch. Then, my back started to hurt..."Hmmm" I thought to myself, "maybe this wasn't such a good idea. When I was little, this was much more fun!" In the name of familial duty and all that corn for winter, I plugged on husking. After 3 hours, I was informed that my step mom probably needed help cutting corn off the cob. I eagerly volunteered. Anything to stop husking that never ending mountain of corn!

I gladly left my pile of corn behind and headed inside. I was greeted by two enormous sinks full of cooling corn, two large pots with corn cooking in them, and several pans full of cooled corn, ready to cut. My enthusiasm slipped another notch. (Did I mention that I drank rather heavily the day before and I was suffering from a monster hangover?) But, again remembering all that corn I'd have to eat this winter, I picked up a knife and set to work. Let me tell you, cutting corn is not as fun as it may look. It was great for the first hour or two. Hours three and four were a little rough. I believe my step mom said I was 'whine assing.' And to be honest...I was! However, we plugged on....and on...and on...and on. After several hours (and I mean several) we were done!

All told we did about 20 bushel of corn that day. In case you're not familiar with a bushel..it's a lot of corn. Trust me!

Table full of corn


Taylor, Louie, Maria, and Dad cutting corn


Can you tell we were having lots of fun?

Who needs a bathing suit?

Adelae decided to go for a little swim the other day. No problem right? Well, she decided that a bathing suit wasn't necessary and her clothes would do just fine. She thought she was being sneaky, but little did she know, mommy had the camera ready!

I'll just stand in the water Mommy


And maybe splash a little bit.


But I just FELL down, I didn't do it on purpose!


I'm already wet, may as well play!


Playing in the sprinkler is lots of fun!