Not much going on around here...

I haven't written lately because, well, there just hasn't been all that much going on. I say that as this past weekend was spent preparing for a coaching staff get-together at our house and the arrival of my cousin, her two daughters, and her mom (my great aunt). It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and I didn't take one stinkin' picture. :( My cousin did, though, so I'll steal some of hers. It was so nice to meet Jeremy's coaching staff. They are a great bunch of guys. Their families are so warm and welcoming; I can see why Jeremy likes working with them. After the families trickled out and made their way home, my cousin and her family made their way in! They came all the way from Rock Hill, SC to visit. My cousin is someone very special to me. I've admired her since I was little and always wanted to be like her. We almost always get mistaken for sisters because we do look a lot alike. She was my matron of honor at our wedding. And she gave her youngest daughter the middle name of "Brooke" to honor my sweet, sweet Ayden. She has always been like a big sister to me and is more like an aunt to our boys that just a 3rd cousin. Having her here was so wonderful, and I can't wait until she visits again!

Other than that....not much is going on around here. I've been working on my dilemma that I wrote about in my last post, and I'm happy to report that things are improving! I've taken a lot of your advice (thank you so much!), and it's helping. I'm still giving Collen formula once or twice a day just so I can keep working on my supply.

We have learned that Collen really likes carrots! He's getting really good at eating and is keeping more food in his mouth with each "meal." Tomorrow, I'm moving on to sweet potatoes. I accidentally gave him peaches tonight, thinking it was squash. It was some baby food my mom had made and frozen and it wasn't labeled. It was yellow (and since I can't smell too well at the moment thanks to a lingering head cold) so I assumed it was squash. Nope...peaches. I didn't want to give him fruit yet (other than bananas) because of the acidity, but he didn't seem to mind them too much.

Collen has also become quite talkative these days. Over the weekend he started saying ga-ga-ga-ga (sounds like da-da-da-da). He will mimick you after you say it - so cute! He's also squealing a lot more and has perfected his ah-goos. He smiles so big it takes up his entire face, and he has mastered fitting his whole fist in his mouth. He's back to sleeping through the night, but I think we are embarking on teething, so that may not last long. He will be 5 months old on Saturday - I can hardly believe it!

We recently put pictures up on the walls in our house. We put up pictures of Ayden and Collen and some of us with our boys. While looking at the pictures of us with Ayden, I told Jeremy that it didn't seem real. I look at us and don't even recognize those people....those happy, carefree people. Grief has changed us so much, and the past year and a half has seemed so long. I look at pictures of us with Ayden and pictures of us with Collen, and it's as if I'm seeing two worlds colliding. And just when I'm feeling really depressed about that, I look at our pictures with Ayden and realize that that is what Heaven is going to be for us.

So...not much going on, but I'm enjoying every second of it.