Why Sundays are the Best

Last year our church started at 1pm, which was really rough for us as Lucy's nap was right at that time. Now, church starts at 11am and I am loving Sundays! Lucy started going to nursery a couple months ago and I finally got some good pictures of her in action. She loves playing with the other kids and I just can't believe how grown up she is sitting at the table coloring. It was hard for us at first letting her go, but we love that she goes right in and we just can't wait to pick her up after. Scott and I race to pick her up and we love seeing the smile on her face when we walk through the door. After church I wanted to take a quick belly shot and Lucy wanted to get in on it. She was so adorable and I am in love with picture of her and Scott! After Lucy's nap I wanted to introduce her to chocolate dipped fruit. I have been dying for some chocolate covered strawberries (probably my favorite food) and so we bought strawberries and pineapple with chocolate chips. Lucy is such a fruit fanatic so I assumed she would be all over it. But, at first, she did not want to dip. She kept saying 'no dip' and would just eat the strawberries alone. When she finally tasted the melted chocolate she loved it. She started dipping strawberries and pineapple like crazy! Of course we had to bathe her after, but it was totally worth it! Sundays are so fun and I love spending it with my little family!





23 Weeks

Snow Day

The weather has been so crazy. It has been fairly warm and we haven't had a big snow storm yet. A couple weeks ago it finally snowed, although it melted before the day was over, and we took advantage of it. We all put our snow clothes on and we pulled Lucy around in a raft. She was unsure of it at first, but she threw a fit when we had to go in! I got in the raft and put her on my lap and Scott pulled us around, but she wasn't having it. She wanted to ride in it alone! She is such a funny girl and we love being able to share new experiences with her!

Happy New Year!

We had a great New Years! Our friends and neighbors, the Makins, had a party and it was tons of fun! It is so nice because Lucy is getting old enough to play with the other kids and we can finally enjoy ourselves! We had a yummy dinner and set off fireworks. We are so blessed to live in such a fun neighborhood!

20 Weeks and Finally A Bump

I can't believe I am half way through my second trimester. The first couple of weeks of my pregnancy went by really slow, but then it sped up and it has gone by so fast. The first trimester I was sick, but zofran was my best friend. I have yet to throw up and I have been able to eat pretty normally, which is definitely different from my pregnancy with Lucy. I drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fruit. But don't get me wrong, I wanted soda a lot earlier in this pregnancy and I eat A LOT of junk food. I started feeling this baby boy at 10 weeks. Believe me, I know that sounds crazy, everyone has told me so, but I know what it feels like. My Doctor said it is possible, so I guess I'm not crazy! He is such a mover and a shaker. He is already moving constantly throughout the day. It is so fun to feel this boy move and that he is healthy and active. During my second ultrasound he couldn't hold still. He was moving and kicking all over the place. I thought I would start showing a lot earlier this time, with Lucy I didn't start really showing until after 20 weeks. But, with this baby, I still didn't start showing until about 20 weeks. I was looking back at my blog from 20 weeks with Lucy and I said that I felt great and didn't even feel pregnant, and that is pretty much the same this time. The only exception is I am way tired. On the weekends I am pretty much comatose. With working full time and taking care Lucy at the same time, it has been difficult balancing everything. The house, making dinner and laundry have fallen to the wayside. I try my best, but it is SO hard! I am blessed though that I have a flexible job where I can spend a lot of time with Lucy and that I have a husband who helps me so much and is an amazing father. During my second ultrasound it really hit me that I am having a boy. I guess it just wasn't real before, but seeing him again kind of put it in perspective. Right now having Lucy, everything is girl, girl, girl..dolls, babies, necklaces and stuffed animals. It will be fun having a boy around. We are so excited to meet our little man! The time can't go by fast enough!

CAUTION: Bare belly below!

Merry Christmas from the Collins Family

We had such a great Christmas this year. Scott surprised me with a photo session with Ken from his work who took these wonderful pictures of us! Scott finished the first semester of his Masters program, getting an A & A-. I'm so proud of him! He had a lot of time off around the holidays and it was so great having him around. We did lots of fun holiday activities and spent time together as a family. On Christmas morning Lucy had a blast opening her school bus slide, table with chairs and toddler four wheeler. After she opened her gifts Addy, Auntie Jess and Grammy came over. We opened even more gifts and our stockings and had cinnamon rolls. We relaxed all day and watched the 'Glee' movie. We had so much fun just being together. It was such a nice Christmas, the first one where we got to spend Christmas morning at our house. We are so blessed this holiday season. We have a healthy family and baby boy on the way. We have a daughter who brings light and sunshine into our lives every second. We have family and friends nearby who completely enrich our lives. We have a warm home to call our own and jobs to pay for it. We are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and everything he has given us. Life has its struggles, but the people in my life make it all worth it.

Lucy Francis is 18 Months Old!

Our baby is all grown up! I just can't believe how fast time has gone by. She is definitely approaching 2, she is challenging us at every stop. We love her more than ever though. She is the light and joy of our lives. Sometimes I look at the her and just want to hold onto her forever, it is going by too fast. I don't know the exact stats, but she has stayed about the same: approx. 8% weight, 85% height and 1% head. She is vivacious, happy and has an amazing sense of humor. She loves to tease me. I will try and take her sippy and she'll taunt me with it...she'll say 'mommmmyyyy' and then I'll reach for the cup and she'll grab it away and laugh. Her laugh is infectious and I love hearing it every second. She is very girly. She loves bracelets, necklaces, stuffed animals and dolls. If I point to my belly and say what's this, she says 'baby'. She loves to lift my shirt up rub my belly, rest her head on it and give the baby a kiss. It was an incredible moment in my life as a mommy. Scott probably didn't think so when she tried to find his baby, lol. He told her only mommy has a baby in her belly. I told him he better lose a few pounds! She is such a little chatterbox, since I'm writing this late I can't remember exactly what she was saying at 18 months but now she says: mommy, daddy, Addy, papa, apple, cheese, shoes, socks, EIEIO, ABC, 123, grammy, no (a lot of times she says it with a lot of sass, 'nooooo'), meat, kitty, doggy, thank you, wawa, juice (which is what she calls milk), please and more. She will also say two word sentences, like 'more apple'. She makes tons of animal sounds and will repeat almost anything we say. You can just tell when we say things her little wheels are turning, she soaks up everything. This girl continually surprises us, there is something new everyday and we can't wait for what the new day brings!