I Actually Pretty Old!!!

I was looking through some old pictures from the "good old days"!!! Just wanted to share a few. So here's a few:













Serioulsy, doing this made me laugh!!!! I love the second picture: it looks a lot like my Grandma to me. It kind of makes me want to lose weight, strangely enough!!! If you want a good laugh, just click HERE and upload a picture (one that is free of glasses and no hair in your face to optimize the different looks!!!! Have a great laugh!!!

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

Today is my wonderful hubby's 29th birthday (which means that it is also Jason's birthday so happy birthday Jason too!) and I just wanted to say that I love this guy more than anything. He is so kind, so loving, and such a hard worker. He is the most wonderful husband and father, and I really could not have made it through these last few years without him!!! So here's to a happy. happy birthday honey!!!

Milk

Since we brought Collin home, because of wonderful Mommas that have donated and literally sacrificed their time and energy by pumping, we have been able to keep Collin exclusively on breast milk. It has been a tremendous blessing because this little guy needed the best start possible. I could get on a soapbox and talk about how wonderful breast milk is to babies (and please understand I know personally what it is like to not be able to produce enough for the needs of my child) but what it comes down to is this: we made a goal to try to go to 6 months of age with breast milk. We are getting low, and I am worried about making it to this goal. I know there are formulas out there, but because of the drug exposure Collin experienced, I am constantly worried about his development. I know breast milk cannot make up for drugs he had going through his body, but I know the powers too that breast milk (antibodies, easily digested, DHA and ARA in its natural forms, etc.) So if any of you know someone or personally have extra milk that you would be willing to donate, we would be so appreciative. If you do, could you e-mail us at
littleforeverfamily@gmail .com? Again, kudos to all of you who have donated, but we are trying to keep up on the milk!!!! Thank-you everyone!!!

The Most Beautiful Sound in All the World

Do you know what that sound is? For me, I think the most beautiful and sweet sounds come from babies giggling. You thought nothing could beat that, huh?! But I have to tell you, when Collin is sleeping and dreaming about something wonderful (and funny), the fast-asleep giggles just give you a heart melting smile that literally brings tears of joy to your eyes. We have waited a LONG time to hear that beautiful noise. As you can see from just looking at this beautiful boy, he just really rocks our hearts and worlds. We love you sweet Collin. Thank-you for bringing hope back into out life. *And thank-you Wendy from Blue Lilly photography for supplying us with these stunning photos~what a treasure for us (do not worry, I will share more pictures from the session!)*

200th Post

Wow, 200 posts. Can you believe that?!?! I cannot believe it. The crumby part is that my 200th post is all about the sick guy in our house. Yep, who knew that the respiratory junk from RSV season is still going around. He has not had a steady fever, but he has had to be suctioned and gets breathing treatments every 4-6 hours. It pretty much stinks. He has been coughing now for 2 weeks, and I am hoping that before Collin has to go back on Thursday to our pediatrician Dr. Glade, (for the third time mind you) that he will have turned the corner of less wheezing and coughing, with less congestion too. Our niece Gracie has been sick with stomach stuff, so Mike's family is struggling a bit with everything, including his little sister moving this week :( So sorry for not posting, we have just been trying to stay out of the heat and get our little guy feeling better. I wish I had a picture of Collin in his little mask. But sadly, our lovely camera's flash has died. But it is pretty cute. The funny part is that when we took him to see Dr. Glade on Monday, Collin saw him and immediately started smiling. I told Collin no one is going to believe he is sick with him dishing out such cute smiles. He has been a little bit fussier, but pretty much just really sleepy. Anyways, I will post some pics soon. But for now, thanks to everyone who has followed us, through this journey. We appreciate everyone of you and adore reading the comments from every one of you!!!

Blue Lily

Do you guys vaguely recall the awesome makeover I won? Remember how along with the makeover I also was given the opportunity to have Wendy from Blue Lilly photography to take some awesome family pictures? Well three weeks ago we ventured into a cute little orchard right at about dusk and took some really beautiful/stunning pictures. I do not have a way yet to show you the pictures, but I would just like to brag a little about two of the most handsome guys in our family and how photogenic they both are (me not so much, as many a family member will attest too!) Collin's eye's literally shine with every picture. They are just simply stunning. I mean really, how many almost 4 month olds do you know that go to a photo-shoot right at about bedtime and actually are happy and content the whole time while being moved and adjusted for different posted? For those of you who personally know us and would like to see the preview of pictures to come, shoot us an e-mail at littleforeverfamily@gmail.com and I will tell you how to view the pictures. But for the rest of you, I promise they really are stunning. To see some of Wendy's AMAZING work, click here to be connected to Blue Lily!!!

Having Some Fun

So why have I been a somewhat lousy blogger? Well, we've just been having to much fun!!! We love the summer, and having Collin in our family is such a treat. We've been swimming, to the zoo, swimming some more, camping, to the lake/boating, and just been having some great fun.


Mike's family had their yearly camping trip (and when I say camping I am referring to sleeping in the camper but still cooking both on the fire and at the gas stove!) We even took Collin out on the boat for about half-an-hour, but the poor guy just does not enjoy his life jacket! We did not get a ton of picture but I thought the one above was cute with Grandma Gourley. She goes to a lot of work to put this together every year.


Collin has little buddies and he loves to watch them and interact with them (his cousin Tatum, his cousin Caden, and his little "cousin" Xander) and also some cute little girl cousins that he loves to smile at and chat with. My sister Heather and one of my best friends Abby decided to take our three boys to the zoo.

Collin loved the giraffes because they were so upclose that they were within licking distance (just know when I say licking distance I am referring to the fact that giraffes are known for their random up-close licking!) and Collin just watched the two giraffes in awe~pretty cute! I think we enjoyed it more than they did but they are all still so little to really enjoy the animals (and it was around their time for naps, so sleep they did!)





Our 4th of July was spent at Deer Creek, eating some yummy food and enjoying the company of friends and family. I love the 4th of July and love to have some fun with friends and family. Besides everyone getting burned, I do not think it could have been more fun! This is a picture of when we got up to Deer Creek and Collin had just woken up. He is just so cute and we loved sharing this holiday with him!

His Aunt Heather is so funny with him, and we love to lay the babies beside each other and just watch them interact. Tatum is pretty fascinated with his cousin's long dark hair. Collin is a pretty good sport abou it though.


We ventured to the pool a couple of times and Collin has LOVED it every time. Makes me happy because it has been hot and the water feels wonderful!!! Collin is nearing five months, which just really makes me sad to see him grow so quickly. He is such a chubby guy, and is always wanting to smile and giggle. He has started eating solids, and has started to watch when we are eating. He still is getting 100% breast milk thanks to some AWESOME milk Mommas. He is growing wonderfully and is developing perfectly. I try to do everything I can to make sure he gets a better start so that hopefully he continues to grow and develop the way he should. He makes us so happy and we could not love him more!!!
Also, I forgot to wish my little nephew Caden a happy first birthday!!! His Dad and than his Mom and our nephew all got the swine flu right during Cade's ist birthday, so there was actually a joint birthday party tonight for Gracie and Caden. What a huge milestone for both and we will miss Caden and his Mom and Dad when they move to California in two weeks :( :( :( Sad day for the rest of us because they will be missed. Hopefully vet school and 4 years goes by quickly. Anyways, there's the update!! Hopefully I will do better about remembering to take pictures.

Happy First Birthday Gracie-Girl!!!

Is she not the most beautiful little thing? We are just very grateful to have this sweet little niece here, to celebrate her first birthday!!! She has been through countless procedures and spent nearly half her life at Primary's (and boy are we also grateful for how wonderful Primary's is, they have been WONDERFUL to this little family!!!) and she truly is a little miracle. So happy happy birthday sweet Grace and we will keep praying we have many more birthdays to share with you! Love you tons!

Just Needed to Vent

I just need to post a little vent here (sometimes I wish this was a private blog because than I could really vent in the way that I would like, with only those I wish to read the aftermath.) But my aim for this blog is to be open and honest, so I guess with that you get to read the good, the bad, and the ugly. I understand that constructive criticism is helpful, but what about criticism that just plain hurts and makes you sob uncontrollably because you feel like such an insignificant human being? With constructive criticism, isn't there supposed to be something that lifts the person up, makes them feel like they are somewhat of a good person while helping the person to grow? Why did I allow myself to be hurt like this? I knew it was going to hurt, but I NEVER realized it would hurt like it did. I held it together, but when I let it go, the floods came. I just feel like it is better to build people up, not break them down. We are knocked down enough in the world around, and it seems that there are many quick to hurt and injure, and not enough to uplift and show kindness. On another note, I tire of women and the constant feelings of having to one up the other, or look better than the other, or just plain show not one ounce of humility. It makes me realize that I do not want to be one of those women. I would much rather be known as a woman who is kind to those around her.
Whenever I get frustrated, and I talk to my wonderful mother-in-law about any frustrations (especially when it involves people) she reminds me of the saying at the top of my blog: "Be kinder than necessary, because everyone is fighting some kind of battle." So for today, while I am sad, and life is sucky, just remember before you say something about another, remember that sometimes we may not realize what is going on in another's life, so maybe just let that thought or comment pass, and maybe instead say something kind.