Some life updates!

Life is good in the Collins' household. Scott has a new job!!! Yes, we only have 9 months left before we move. No, we are not staying in Denver (this is a secret from his job though!). But, life was too hard with his schedule at Target, so, onto bigger and better things. He has a 9-5 job working in HR for the Denver public school district which is wonderful. Now only one of us works nights and weekends (yes me unfortunately), which is outstanding for our family life and our marriage. Plus, it should open a lot of doors for jobs when we move. Speaking of moving, we are coming back to OREGON! I am in the works of getting my contract signed and once it is all finalized, I will announce all of the details. But, by the end of next June, we will be back in Oregon, seemingly for good!! We couldn't be happier. We have loved Denver, but it is time to be back with family.




Violet and Avery are doing great. Violet is your typical three-nager or sour patch kid if you will. Sour one moment, then adorably sweet the next moment. She can write her name and is pretty funny/silly. She loved playing soccer this summer and I think we will try gymnastics with her this fall. She has really started to love playing with Avery now that she is on the move and not a boring baby :). Avery clearly loves Violet the most and really only laughs at her. Violet can get her to stop crying at any moment. This is what I looked forward to most having two kid, finally seeing the two of them play, it makes me just melt as a mama. Avery is on the move more and more. You can tell she is really thinking about this walking thing, but I am hoping we are still a couple months out lol. She can say mama and dada. Just this morning I would say uh oh and she would say it back, several times. It was adorable (well maybe only to a mom...). She is sleeping great and eating like a monster. Seriously, she steals everyone's food, which her sister does not appreciate. Its funny how nervous I was to have two kids, wondering how we would survive and make it work, and although it is rather chaotic, I can't imagine our life any other way. Most days our house is a mess and we are running around getting everyone ready, stopping someone from crying, or wiping a butt. Its a beautiful mess though right?! Scott and I head to Mexico in a few weeks for a much needed parents only vacation. We will get to pretend we are back to the life of no kids for a few days. Now for a picture overload!


Camping:

Sister loving

Avery's baptism/trip home to Oregon

Pike's Peak Cog Railway

Chief year!

Well folks, we have entered the final countdown of our time in Denver. 10.5 months left. Craziness. Its been so long since I updated, hard to even know where to start!


Avery- now 9 months old. I know, I'm as surprised as you are that she is that old. I may be biased, but man she is just one of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen. Her hair is looking light brown, so that's exciting for me, but it appears to be the only trait I passed on. Better than the zero with Violet. Avery sleeps from 8pm to 530/6am, nurses for about 10 min, then goes back down until 730/8am. This literally happens every night and has since she was about 10 weeks old. She is a champion nurser and sleeper. So thankful for that. She loves the dogs and her sister. She sits so so well and has since about 6 months old. She's strong and flexible, but is not crawling yet and doesn't seem to have much interest in it either. Avery is one of those babies that is just kind of content where she's at, watching. She's an observer, not too curious yet. I also think she's a little bit slower to move because of the torticollis (stiff neck) she had when she was younger. I find myself wanting her to move, but then the other part of me is soaking up the baby that is content in her mommy's arms. She is still nursing and she just loves it. Violet weaned herself at 6 months and so, since I was an intern, I just stopped. Avery is soooo different and would nurse at any moment if I let her. I have about 800 ounces of breast milk in the deep freeze though and I am tired of pumping, so we will see how much longer I will hold on for her...


Violet- 3.5 years old. She is at that age where she seems a little bipolar, one second she is the sweetest, most fun little lady ever, then the next minute she is in tears because she doesn't want you to laugh like that... Its an adventure to say the least. She is actually very well behaved and an extremely good listener, she just needs some help calming down when she's lost herself in a moment. She really doesn't break the rules and has started to really be a great big sister. She will sing to her and rock her - make her laugh. Melts my heart really. Today, she was worried about Avery because she was trying to chew on something small and didn't want her to choke and said, "I don't want her to get dead." LOL. Violet also sleeps like a champ from 8pm to 8am. She can count to 30 and write every letter in her name except the E. She can draw a person, with a face and everything (think abstract art here people). She loves barbies and pretending to fight the grinch year round. I love her imagination.


Scott - still with Target and working his tail off. There may be something exciting on the horizon for him, but I can't announce it yet. Tune in in 5 months when I have time to blog again ;). I also sap over him, but he really is the best dad to our two girls. Always cleaning and doing laundry (although we finally hired a cleaner and I think it was the best decision ever). We are going to Puerta Vallarta in November without the kiddos and I just cannot wait. Parents-only trips are the best and if you don't take them yet, you are seriously missing out.


As for me- chief year. Wow, time flies. I have started to look for jobs and even have an interview in September!! Hard to believe that we will FINALLY be moving back to Oregon. Its been a long time coming. Residency has been so many things for me: challenging, exciting, exhausting, fun at times, hard at times, but through and through it has been so positive and I have learned so much. Hard to believe I will be out there practicing on my own in really no time at all. Such a sacrifice this dream was, for everyone in my family, so I sure do hope I have become an outstanding, well trained doc!


We've had some great adventures in Denver along the way. We just recently did a trip up to Glenwood Springs which was a blast. They have hot springs and we did a nice hike to Hanging Lakes (google it if you don't know what it is because its gorgeous). We were able to stay once at one of my besties condos in Frisco with family (although my dad had altitue sickness nearly the whole time). We are going camping at Turquoise lake at the end of August. We are trying to soak up as much of Denver as we can before we go!! So that means hopefully some skiing this winter, maybe a 14-er (that's where you hike to 14,000ft), and hopefully a little more exploring in the Rockies.

Being a mom of two

Well, life is crazy and chaotic as usual. I knew life would be hard being a mom of two, but you really have no idea until you're going through it. Every day, I feel torn between two little ones, trying to split my love and attention evenly. One requires very frequent nursing (Avery likes to cluster feed when I'm home to make up for the hours I'm not around) and the other requires very active playing. Its definitely no easy feat and pretty exhausting. I see a light at the end of the tunnel though as we only have 16 months left of residency and then we can move home and have help from family!

Violet is your typical 3 year old. There are days she is as sassy as they come with tons of tantrums and crying. Her favorite thing to say right now is, "You're making me so sad," when we tell her she can't do something or has to go to bed. Well, ok then you little manipulator lol. She is sooo much fun at the same time though. The other day we took her to her 3 year old check up and at the end of the visit she told the nurse, "Thanks for checking me!" She says the funniest things, like "You're ok hunny," when Avery cries. She is so sensitive and very silly. She has the best imagination and will pretend her pens are princesses. She loves dancing (but not in front of people) and playing with barbies. She still loves kitties. We have been taking her to dance class and she is extremely introverted there; its somewhat painful to watch because I just want her to open up and show everyone how wonderful she it. We are going to keep at it to help keep her social since she's with a nanny at home day in and day out. She is truly a homebody and loves playing in our toy filled basement. She is warming up to her sister more and more, per the nanny, she actually played with her without being asked recently. Hopefully they will be good friends one day!

Avery is becoming a little ball of fun. She is so smiley and happy. Not really rolling over yet, but she is definitely a mover and a shaker. She loves to be upright in a bouncer or practice sitting. she's not a big fan of tummy time and she must be DOUBLE swaddled at night or cries very very hard. She is feisty and has no problem telling us exactly what she wants. She is a great nurser and continues to sleep really well. Usually from 9pm to 5am, with an occasional 3 or 4am wake up here and there. I love this age because they start to really interact with you and laugh with you. I know most parents hate it, but I really cant wait for her to start moving!

Scott and I are crazy busy with work lately, but have a great nanny to help us survive the busy life style. We are adjusting to life with two kids, but it sure isn't easy, especially when we have to take care of them by our self because the other one is working. We are both pretty tired most days, but I'd also say we are deliriously happy. We feel very blessed that everyone is healthy and that most days, everyone is happy :).

Avery is ONE MONTH old already!

I'm not sure where time goes. I'm already nearly done with my maternity leave and it breaks my heart. I have had such good time with my girls but this maternity leave has felt so different. With Violet, it was just her and I, so I was able to dedicate all of my time to her. With Avery, Vi has been home with us, so I feel like I've had to split my time between the two girls. It almost feels like I've had less time with Avery and probably because I have. We have done some good bonding and nursing is going well, but I feel very sad that I have to leave her already. I knew having a baby in residency meant less time to bond, but it doesn't mean it hurts any less. I just try to remember that I am doing this for my family and for our future, so I can provide for our girls and give them a good female role model. It helps to also think that many many other female physicians have done this and lived to have their kids love them through it :).

Avery is a very good little girl, but she is pretty different from Violet. She is extremely strong. She holds her head up and her arms are incredibly strong. When we do tummy time, she often will roll from tummy to back when I'm not looking, and that started when she was 3 weeks old!! She is a fiesty one. With this strength comes some fight. She often fights to go to sleep. She is really only happy being held or flat on her back on the ground or on her changing table. She's not very tolerant of her swing or her bouncer. Avery makes good eye contact now and can track objects across the room. She is also smiling more and starting to coo which is fun. Her sleep is hit or miss and this is where she varies most from Vi. Most nights, we can put her down at 830 or 9 and she makes it until 2, then shes up again at 6. But some nights when she wakes up at 2, she fights going back to sleep and is up for 2 hrs. I think part of this is that we have her sleeping in her crib in her room, sleep training her to prepare for work, and she is fighting this a little. I think if she had it her way, she would co-sleep day and night. She loves to be snuggled up close to me and my boobs. Violet was much more independent and was much happier to sleep on her own. Vi also could fall asleep on her own if we put her down awake. Avery has yet to master this skill, as much as I try to teach her to do it. And while she feels like a more difficult baby than Violet, I can't complain too much. She is easy to soothe and will sleep by herself for 4-5 hr stretches. I have two good girls and I love their differences (one is my fighter/strong little baby, one is a sleeper/very compliant little lady). I can't wait to see what those look like as they age.

Kisses for my little one

What bath time looks like now

My sweet little Vi

 Posing for her one month shots. She is just too cute!!