Christmas is almost here!

I cannot believe that Christmas is almost here. As you can see from the picture Colin is very excited! We bought a Christmas tree from Patrick's parents (Colin's Oma and Opa) and it is beautiful. Patrick and I had so much fun putting it up while Colin watched. I think Colin's favorite part of the tree is the lights by far. He sits there and stares at them and just smiles. Colin is smiling more and more each day. He definitely knows who mommy and daddy are and is starting to follow voices. He is changing more and more each day and getting so big! When we went to buy our Christmas tree at the produce stand that Oma and Opa own we put Colin on a produce scale and he weighs around 12 and 1/2 pounds. He is getting so big. Next week we have his 2 month check up.
Last weekend Colin went on his first out of state trip. We went to Columbia, SC to see all of Patrick's family. We stayed with Big and Papa, Colin's great grandparents. They live right on the lake so Colin got to see the lake for the first time, but I am not sure he really noticed. We got to spend some time with Patrick's cousins Andrew, Abby, and Jennifer and her little boy Gabe. We also got to see Uncle Ken and Aunt Kim. They got to see Colin for the first time. Saturday night we went over to Colin's other great grandparents, Mamaw and Pawpaw. At their house we got to see Colin's other cousins Mitch, Phillip, and Lydia and Uncle Marty and Aunt Lori. We also got to see Aunt Julie, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Carol. Colin was definitely making his rounds and loving every minute. Everyone got to love on him and Colin loved it. It was so nice getting to see everyone and spend time together. With Patrick having to work so much we do not get a lot of time to go to Columbia so when we do get to go we have to make a lot of rounds to see everyone. Patrick has a huge family and we only got to see part of them this visit. Hopefully we will be able to go back again soon and see more family. Colin did great with traveling and even slept great while we were there. Luckily it was a great trip for all of us!
Make sure to check out the new pictures of our visit to Columbia!

Growing too big too fast...

Sorry we have not blogged sooner, but we have been staying busy. Colin will be 6 weeks old on Monday and I cannot believe it. He is growing so big so quickly! His personality is coming out more and more. We are eager to celebrate our first big holiday with Colin. This Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for. Each day I thank God for giving us our precious angel. He is more than I could have ever asked for. When he smiles my heart just melts. As you can see by the picture he is growing up to be a Gamecock fan just like his daddy. It is so cute to see Patrick holding our son while he is watching the game. Even though Colin is not very interested right now too soon he will be cheering on the Gamecocks along side his dad.
Well I have 7 weeks before I have to be back at work and I am dreading it. It will be great to get back to doing what I love, but leaving Colin is going to be so hard. Good news is... day care is opening up! Colin has been on the waiting list for 6 child care centers and 2 of them have spots open. One place is right up the road from the house and is a wonderful place. We are still looking into other options, but at least we know he has this option available. Luckily Patrick is off one day a week and so am I so Colin will only be in child care 3 days a week. Right now I am just going to enjoy being at home with him and cherish each second!
We want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family. We pray each of you have a wonderful day and time with family. We are thankful for each of you!

Our Updated Family Photo

Well Colin is 15 days old today... and mommy cannot believe it. This has been my first week completely at home alone with my little man and it is definitely an adjustment. Colin is already growing up so fast and gaining weight like crazy. He has a doctor's appointment on Friday so it will be interesting to see how much weight he has gained. Yesterday we went to the Children's Outpatient Center where I work to see everyone. Everyone loved seeing Colin. I think he would have loved getting to meet people if he had been awake. I enjoyed getting to see all the great people I work with. I miss the people, but love being at home with Colin. We also went to see Nana at work. Lucky for us though daddy was delivering the mail there yesterday and we got to see him too! We love days when we get to see daddy during the middle of the day... daddy loves it too! Patrick and I are so blessed to have such an amazing baby boy. Colin has such a little personality even when he sleeps. He sleeps with his hands in the muscle position and smiles constantly while he sleeps. Last night Colin slept through his first "snow", but at this point he sleeps through almost anything. Our dog Kolby is getting more adjusted to Colin each day. He is definitely going to be his protector. Everytime Colin makes even the slightest sound Kolby is right by his side. There is a lot more adjusting to do, but we are loving every minute!

Day 5

Well Colin is 5 days old now and getting more adjusted to being at home. Patrick started back to work on Friday which was difficult for all of us. Patrick said leaving us on Friday morning was the hardest thing that he has ever had to do. It was so cute though on Friday because Colin must have know his daddy needed some cheering up before he left for work. While Patrick was getting ready for work I layed in bed with Colin. I was trying to get Colin to go back to sleep, but as I was laying there Colin kept grabbing my face. He would take his hands and pat my check. When I opened my eyes he was laying there staring at me. I looked at him and asked if he wanted to watch Sports Center with his daddy and he just kept looking at me. Colin sat in his rocker beside daddy and they watched Sports Center together. It was absolutely adorable! I think it helped give Patrick a sweet start to his day. With Patrick going back to work I have been so blessed to have family and friends who have come to the house and helped me with Colin. My friend Jennifer has been wonderful along with her husband Josh. They have been here each day since Colin arrived. They have cooked us dinner and helped take care of Colin so that I can catch up on some much needed sleep. We are so thankful to have them in our lives. My sister came out on Friday and helped me around the house and got to love on her nephew. She has been a huge help as well especially on advice. She has been so great to talk to and get comfort from when things get frustrating. My mom is taking off all of next week to help me around the house and take me places that I need to go. God has blessed us with so many wonderful friends and family.
Colin has had many visitors since he arrived. This weekend my granny and great aunt were able to come and visit along with my cousin Jenni and my aunt Martha. Everyone has been eager to love on Colin. My cousin Kathy and her husband Jim along with their girls Rachel, Amy, and Emily from Charlotte stopped by on their way home from Tennessee. It was nice to see them and for them to get to meet Colin. We are looking forward to more visits this weekend from family and friends. Colin loves being held and loved on... plus it wears him down by the evening! Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement along the way. We love you all and cannot wait for everyone to meet our precious baby boy.

On a sad note, I ask that you remember the Jones family in your prayers. This is not my family, but a family that I have worked with through the Children's Hospital. This weekend they lost their little 6 year old son to Leukemia. They are in need of much prayer as they seek God's peace and guidance through this time of grief.

Colin James is FINALLY here!!!

Well I'm sure most of you know now that we have a beautiful baby boy, Colin James Simmons was brought into the world Monday October 13, 2008 and 3:14 pm. He weighed 8lbs 7 ozs, was 20" long and absolutely perfect in every single way.

After a few nights at the hospital, we got to bring him home Wednesday. his first night at home was perfect, we all slept a good bit and it was wonderful.

Please check out the pics, we'll be putting more up soon.

Pat and Blair

Our Family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com