Dear Laina (2 Years)

Dear Laina,

My sweet, sweet Laina. On this very day, at the tick of 11:36am, you turned 2 years old!! As I rocked you to sleep tonight, I wondered where the time has gone. I remember holding you in my arms the exact same way two years ago.


Although I see much change in you, my feelings for you have not changed. I am still in awe of you and completely in love with you. You are my sweetest gift. My bright star. My light.


Two years ago, you completely melted my heart from the start. I stared at you and talked to you and wondered what you were thinking. I wanted you to know just how much I loved you.


Now I'm thankful to have a window into your world through your very own words. I love that we can both communicate now. I love to listen to you talk so I can know what's on your mind. Tonight, I told you what was on my heart and how much I loved you. You said in the sweetest voice, "Wuv you mommy." You also chatted about your birthday party and that we will play when you wake up and a few other miscellaneous, yet important things. You were extra sweet tonight, and my feelings for you were extra sweet too :)


Your personality is shining bright, and I can see much of me in you - the good and the bad. You are sweet and thoughtful and caring and compassionate. You are as smart as a whip and never miss a beat! Nothing gets by you. I can already see that you have my attention to detail and knack for cleaning ;) You have a strong stubborn streak and strong will that is already tough to break. You can be quite bossy too. But the good far outweighs the bad, and it always will.


I am undeniably proud of you, my sweetheart. Funny enough, today you started saying the word, "sweetheart." You love to copy what your mama says, and I always call you my sweetheart :)

You reading one of your favorite books, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"

I am proud of your progress and your brilliance at just two years old. Proud of your thoughtfullness. Proud of your sincere desire to help others. Proud of your sweet spirit. Just proud of you.


I could go on and on about how amazing you are and all the hundreds of thousands of reasons why I am in love with you, but instead I'll close with a song that your daddy likes to sing to you...

You are my sunshine


My only sunshine


You make me happy


When skies are grey


You'll never know, dear


How much I love you


Please don't take my sunshine away


Alaina Brooke, you are unquestionably my sunshine in the darkest times. I love you more than words can say. HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY!!

Love,
Mommy

Aunt Trail

(I started this post on May 6...I'd say it's about time to get rolling with this one!)

In early May, we finally made a trip we've been thinking/talking about for quite some time...a trip to College Park to visit Aunt Gail!


Sad to say, this was the 1st time Alaina has been to Aunt Gail's house. We have been wanting and meaning to visit for months and months and months, but we made the mistake of never making an official plan. Then life just carried on...


BUT we finally made it down to the A-T-L to Auntie Gail's. It took Alaina no time to find the "pi-nano."





Like mother, like daughter.


Sarah fact: I took piano lessons for 9 years, somewhat against my will. I hated practicing and cutting my fingernails :( But torture aside, I am glad that I learned how to play.


From Aunt Gail's house we continued on our "aunt trail" to see Aunt Martha. But not before a trip to Chick-fil-A! Aunt Gail got to see first hand Alaina's love of CFA. Sorry folks, no pics to share from our first CFA visit (yes, first, as in we went more than once in 1 day!) Shocker?


Alaina met my great Aunt Martha for the very 1st time, and boy were these 2 a pair! Alaina is usually leery of strangers, but she absolutely ADORED Aunt Martha, or "Aunt Marfa" to be exact :)


Alaina enjoyed checking out the house and all that was in it. Testing each chair was a favorite activity.


What also proved to be fun was running from one end of the living room to the other, straight into Aunt Martha's arms. It was sweet to see their natural love for each other.


Sidenote: Aunt Martha is not biologically my aunt. My grandmother (who passed away a couple years ago) had been best friends with Martha ever since they were little girls. We're talking multiple decades of sisterly friendship. This just goes to show you that sometimes family is not related by blood, but by the heart :)


Next up: Aunt Jackie's! Aunt Jackie keeps her house s-p-o-t-l-e-s-s, so I was a tad worried that my toddler tornado might do some damage. To my pleasant surprise, Alaina was none other than a well-behaved angel. It was Alaina's very first time meeting Aunt Jackie too, and Alaina took to her as well!


We ended our aunt trail with another stop at Chick-fil-A! Although this time, it was at another location and for the primary purpose of seeing my dad's band (ROC) play. They had an acoustic setup at the CFA in Douglasville, so we surprised him with our delightful presence ;)


As could be expected, Alaina "cut a rug" on the imaginary dance floor. Too bad I didn't capture this sight on camera. All that visiting and dancing wore my tiny dancer OUT!

We Gather Together, In Memory of Pa

On Saturday, June 11, at precisely 3:09am, my grandpa ("Pa") passed from this life to the next. It was expected somewhat, but yet not quite so soon. Pa has been bedridden for four years with endless health problems. His last battles were pnemonia and kidney failure. Sweetly enough, his very last words were to his sweetheart, his selflessly loving wife of over 50 years. He said, "I love you, Babelle." (*tear*)

Thankfully, our entire family was able to gather together the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We usually have a family cookout around Memorial Day, and this year we had planned a big celebration to honor our family graduates - Mom, Hannah and Hadrian.


Pa was in the hospital at the time, and due to the situation, we opted to eat out for lunch and make our hospital visit afterward. We are all SO GLAD we got to spend this precious time with him because for most of us, it was our last time spent with him :(


Pa was in good spirits, as he always was anytime a gathering was held. He loved to socialize and visit with family and friends, always to finger lickin' southern food and often to finger pickin' (bluegrass) music. Hosting parties was his specialty. Pa never met a stranger, that's for sure. He knew everyone in the town of Blairsville. Every restaurant. Every restaurant special. And just about every piece of juicy gossip :)


One thing that sticks out in my mind about my Pa is that he was a proud man. Proud of his family. Darn proud of his 5 grandkids. And darn tootin' proud of his 1 and only greatgrandchild - ALAINA!


Pa was also proud of the town from which he came. I couldn't picture him anywhere else besides Blairsville. Every tree had a story, every mountain had a name. Pa was a great storyteller at heart. He would tell you the God-honest truth, or a lie, or a mix of both. Whatever would make a good story :)


Each loved one has special memories of Pa, Alaina being no exception. Every time Alaina visited, she knew she could always find her Pa in the same place, in his special bed in his special room. She would peek in and check on him. Often times he was "seepin" (sleeping). Sometimes she would sit with him in the bed and hang out, read books, laugh, or whatever the mood called for.

2 months...

10 months...

11 months...

And who could forget Pa's dollars? Each time Alaina came to visit Pa, he would enthusiastically give her a crisp dollar bill. Her very own dollar! The last time around, he generously gave his princess $2!!


One things for sure, Alaina certainly loved her "Paw Paw." For the last couple of months, literally every day, Alaina would talk about Pa. She would say things like, "Paw Paw...bed...seepin...shhhh" or "Paw Paw...sick...sad...tiss (kiss)...hud (hug)." A "tiss" and a "hud" were Alaina's solution to making Pa feel better. So innocent and sweet. Unquestionably, Alaina has a knack for brightening someone's day :)


Although Alaina doesn't understand death, I have tried my very best to explain to her that Pa is no longer with us. She looked at him quite a bit during the visitation. She thought he was taking a nap because his eyes were closed. She also told him bye and that she loved him. During he funeral, Alaina audibly said more than once, "Bye Bye Paw." I think he would have been mighty proud of his spunky little greatgrandchild who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Reminds me of someone ;)


I also think Pa would have been proud of his girls - me, Haley, Hannah, Hadrian & Alaina (plus Adam) - for eating a late night (second) supper after the visitation at his favorite restaurant in town...Huddle House!


We kept Lainey Bug up WAY past her bedtime for this special occasion. But as Pa would have freely said, "WHO CARES!" We ate and ate until we couldn't eat anymore, just as Pa would have wanted. The 5,000 calorie meal was proudly consumed in honor of our beloved Pa. ;)


Our dear waitress found a Huddle House nametag that we got to take home in honor of Pa. His name was written on the nametag, and it was thoughtfully placed in the memory box of Pa's casket. Yep, proud he would be.


In loving memory of my Pa, who will be greatly missed.

Garnett Talmadge Collins
October 29, 1934 - June 11, 2011

22 Months

As of May 31, Alaina turned 22 months!


In general news, she weighs about 24 pounds, is about 34 inches tall, sleeps about 11 hours at night (usually from 8pm-7am) and takes 1 nap a day after lunch (usually from 1-3pm).


Alaina is a little more picky in her eating. Lately she has been "off" meat, so to speak. I can sneak it in certain things like casseroles or dishes, but plain cuts of chicken will not do. Deli turkey or chicken is hit or miss. On the bright and sweet side, Alaina LOVES fruit of all kind. Strawberries, grapes, oranges, pears, bananas (which she now holds herself), peaches, and the list goes on. She will also eat a whole vine-ripe tomato with sea salt in one sitting, usually still begging for more. For a special frozen "prise," Alaina gets sorbet or a popsicle. Yummm...


Her vocabulary amazes me every day. She is stringing together several words, making phrases. Warning: Alaina will try to repeat what someone else says. Thanks to a little girl at the neighborhood pool, Alaina now knows how to say "Party Pooper." :) I thought in honor of Alaina's 22 month mark, I'd jot down a list of 22 words/phrases that she says that are my favorite...

~"Mommy, hold you." (said about 100 times per day!)

~"I hold you, you hold me." (also said multiple times per day!)

~"We-mom-mane" (lemonade)

~"Va-tomb Tea-ner" (vacuum cleaner)

~"Oh...WOW!"

~"Sweet Dweams" (sweet dreams)

~"Dader-Dader" (later gator)

~"Wud You" (love you)

~"Baby Soup" (bathing suit)

~"Dady-bug" (ladybug)

~"Pidder" (caterpillar)

~"I toot" :)

~"Bid dirl potty" (big girl potty)

~"Bubble baff" (bubble bath)

~"Bid tutch" (big truck)

~"Na-nah" (Alaina)

~"Hi Mom"

~"By a-self" (by self)

~"Itsy fighter" (itsy bitsy spider)

~"Op-pa-puss" (octapus)

~"Wedd-y fwedd-y" (ready Freddy)

And my personal favorite...
~"Tane-tu-fweetie" (thank you sweetie)

I'm sure there are MANY MANY more words and phrases that I'm forgetting at the moment. One thing's for sure. This girl of mine is the biggest sweatheart who has completely taken over my heart. Alaina makes sure to show her "Mom" affection each and every day. A pat on the shoulder, a kiss on my knee, a bear hug - it all melts me! She is quite polite too, saying "thank you fweetie" when I hand her something, for example. Completely unprompted. What a lucky mom I am :)

Everyday Emmett

Quick update of our "Everyday Emmett" lives...

~ Adam's Job Update...

Thankfully, Adam started job training for his new job at Byers Engineering Company TODAY. We have been (im)patiently waiting for the last 2 months for this opportunity to be finalized. YAY (for all of us)!

No, I am NOT wearing a cowboy hat. Stupid prop on the wall.

~Out with the old, in with the semi-new...

So long Exploder! Around Easter, Adam's parents were in the market for a new vehicle. So it was only a natural decision to give us their old vehicle, FREE & CLEAR! We actually traded them - they took the Explorer (which they plan to donate) and we gladly took their Isuzu Axiom. Seriously, Adam & I have been waiting for his 1998 Ford Explorer to literally explode for years. It's a wonder it lasted as long as it did. It's had some major problems over the years, and I would absolutely not drive this car. I really didn't like for Adam to even drive it. Unreliable it was. But Adam skillfully knew how to maneuver it and work with it. They were cool like that. Anyway, THANK GOD it is G-O-N-E!



The replacement: 2002 Isuzu Axiom (in excellent condition, might I add)


~29, and not feelin' so fine...

On May 27, I turned 29! Actually, 29 has been a bit of a bummer. I think I am having a mid-life crisis. Not because of my age. Just because. But my birthday weekend was great. Adam arranged for his parents to watch Alaina for the night, and he took me out to Atlantic Station. We ate a superb fine dinner at Strip (no, not a strip club). I shopped, Adam bought me an outfit, I had dessert at a fudge shop, we people watched (my, oh my!) and enjoyed staying up and out past 10pm. Ha! The next day, we casually got ready without the "crumb snatcher" (Adam's term) on our hands. We ate lunch at a Japanese Steakhouse and went to a matinee movie. We saw "Bridesmaids." It was hilarious! Then the next day, we got together with family. This was all over Memorial Day weekend. My parents also took us to lunch one afternoon. And I've already gotten my hair done and 1-hour swedish massage, courtesy of my birthday loot. Pampering is a must when it comes to birthdays :)


~Alaina's Boyfriend...

Alaina met what I'm calling her boyfriend at the mall recently. One 90+ degree day in May, our air conditioning decided to go out, and we headed directly for the mall to keep cool. We were there for a few hours, and most of our time was spent at the mall play area. Cool concept really.


It was here that she met - and had her 1st date with - Aiden. I guess he was maybe 3 or so. An older boy. Aiden & Alaina played so well together. She talked and he listened and tried to sweetly interpret what she was trying to say. He took her fishing on the boat and talked intelligently about what he was doing. We were all impressed. You can't see his face in these pics (I didn't want to be a super stalker), but he looks like Adam did as a child. Sweet :)



Other than that, we have been staying busy playing outside in the hot, hot sun. Swimming is a must if we are outside for too long. We have also taken the opportunity to visit family and friends that we don't normally get to see since Adam has been home. More on that later. Alright, my memory recall is fading, so I suppose I have my sign that I need to sign off. Until next time!