Things I Have Learned in 2010

• That hearing a little boy say “Hi Ma” is the best feeling in the world!!! No words can describe how much that brightens my smile every day. I will always thank God for allowing me to hear these two simple words.

• That public speaking is not as bad as I had imagined. A little over a year ago, my biggest fear was probably talking in front of large crowds. I now love it and have taught over 100 coupon classes in the past year alone.

• That Autism is not the end of the world! If you had talked to me in October of this year, I probably would have told you different, but I now know that Autism is a blessing for our family. I always thought that God choose special parents to have special children, however I never thought I would be one of those parents. God had other plans though, and He blessed me with the greatest child in the world.

• That couponing saves a ton!! Throughout 2010, our family has saved well over $7000 on grocery and personal items.

• That singing songs with Colton is probably one of my favorite things to do. (We love the following at this time: Deep and Wide, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, If you’re Happy and you know it)

• That my husband is one of my best friends. He has been my rock this past year when we faced so many trails as a family. Thank you Chris for loving me and for never letting me forget that God has a plan for everything.

• That God placed adoption on my heart. (More details to come later)

• That a 2 year old little boy can bring you closer to God than you could have ever imagined.

• That road trips with a 2 year old involve the following: listening to toddler songs for the entire trip and frequent stops at McDonalds and Chick Fil A for playtime and lunch.

• That preschool is just as hard for mommies as it is for their babies. Yes, I started tearing up as I left Colton at preschool on his first day.

• That I have some of the best friends in the whole wide world! Thanks for all of your support, prayers and words of encouragement this past year.

• That God works in amazing ways and He has everything in control!! I’m so thankful that He is my King, my Savior and my Lord! Without him I would be nothing.
  
  

Way Behind

I know I’m way behind on blog posts!! Sorry, my 2 year old little boy is keeping me extremely busy! Hopefully though, within the next few days I will have us all caught up on our life at home in the Whitaker house. In the mean time, check out a few things I learned in 2010.

32 Months Old!!

2 Years 8 Months Old!!

Highlights from the past month:

• His favorite toys this past month: Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Cars and Trucks and Airplanes (He has a helicopter named “Fly” as well)

• His favorite cartoons/movies this month: Wonder Pets, Toy Story 3 and Veggie Tales

• His favorite foods this month: Crackers, Oranges and Chicken Fries!! He is eating much better at school and is finally trying some new foods.

• His favorite activities: Playing with his trucks and cars, putting puzzles together and reading books. Playing on Daddy’s I-Phone.

• Favorite Books this Month: Picture Books (Animals and Cars)

• Words are starting to come faster and faster over the past few months. He is trying to talk all the time, but it sounds more like Chinese than anything else. A few words that we can understand are: Hi, Bye, See you Soon, Ma, Da, Papa, Bug, Buzz, That One, Right There, Sissy, Eye, Ear, Teeth and all of the ABC’s. He also says “Boxy” all the time when referring to Cars and Trucks but we can’t figure out what he is trying to say. We’re still so blessed that he is becoming more vocal and is trying to communicate with us more each and every day.

• He knows all of the animals, all of his body parts, and all of his ABC’s.

• He is now taking Speech at the University and he is doing great!!! We have seen great progress since he started back in November and we are so proud of him. He is currently still getting speech and special instructions through Early Intervention as well.
  
• He continues to love school. He loves showing me all of his school work every day when I pick him up.

• He loves the following songs: Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know It, The Wheels on the Bus and Deep and Wide (He can do the motions for all of the songs and wants to sing them every time we get in the car.)

• Weighs Approximately 35 pounds
  · Wears a size 6 Diaper.

• He wears 3T clothing and wears a size 7W shoe.

• His Daily Schedule: Wake up around 7:00am, Naptime at noon, Dinner around 6pm, Bath Time @ 7:30pm, and Bedtime @ 8:00pm.

Colton,

I am soooo proud of you!!! You have grown up so much over the past few months and have become such a big boy. You started taking speech with Ms. Angie in November and you love it. You love playing with her every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at the University of Alabama. Since you started speech, you are now talking all the time! We still can’t understand a lot that you say but I do understand one word, Ma, which brightens my day every morning. The other day, when I picked you up from school, you saw me and you said “Hi Ma”. It was the highlight of my day!! Your new favorite things the past few months are playing with play dough, airplanes (you love Fly), and Toy Story 3. You still love Buzz and Woody and you love to pretend to be Buzz and fly around the room. You even got a Buzz bath towel for Christmas that you can now wear that makes you look like Buzz even more. You have also become such a great helper over the past month as well. Your teacher even said that you helped her clean up your classroom the other day when no one else would help. You’re great about helping mommy and daddy clean up around the house as well. Thank you! You have also become such a loving little boy. You love to snuggle with mommy at night and with daddy in the morning. You love to hold my hand and sit in my lap to watch cartoons. I know these times will fade away when you get older, so I cherish them every single day. Colton, you are a special gift from God and we are so proud of you. Your Daddy and I love you so much and we are so thankful that you are a part of our family. Always know that we will always be here for you and that no matter what we love you so much! Hugs & Kisses.
Love,Mommy

Christmas Morning!!

We all woke up bright and early Christmas morning!! I think I was up and ready to go around 4am, but I tried to go back to sleep until the boys were up. Finally around 7:00am, they decided to get up, so we headed to the living room to see what Santa brought. (Colton wasn't sure what was going on but he was so excited to see all the new toys!!)

Look what Santa brought Colton!

A pirate ship, cars, games, books and puzzles!

A drum set, dinosaurs, train set and a scooter!

He was so excited when he walked into the living room to find all of his new toys!

His favorite was Thomas the Train. (One of Santa's last toys that he picked up)

Still in awe of everything.

First time on the drum set.

Playing with McQueen and his Big Truck

Checking out his stocking filled with goodies.

He looks so grown up in this picture.

Let's just say that daddy about drove mommy CRAZY with that piano.

Daddy and Colton... Daddy is playing the piano, while Colton takes a break to grab a snack.

After opening gifts from each other, we had a small breakfast (cinnamon rolls and pigs in a blanket) and watched the Christmas Parade at Disney World. We then called Big Daddy, Nana, Granny and Pawpaw and told them to come and see what Santa had brought Colton.

Christmas @ The Roberts

We had Christmas with the Leonard side of the family on Christmas Eve night at Uncle Steve and Aunt Melinda's house. We had yummy steaks and lots of sides for supper, and it was so good!

Colton loved all of the talking Christmas animals that Aunt Melinda had around the house. These kept him entertained for a while.

One of the only Christmas picture we got as a family together.

After supper, it was time to open presents!!

Colton LOVED his Buzz towel from Aunt Janice, Uncle Dwayne, Collin and Garrett. He wanted to put it on ASAP and he pretended to be Buzz flying around the room.

He also loved his new puzzles, Pj's, Sweep and Dustpan, Lego Set, and Buzz Lightyear phone.

All of the older kids opening gifts.

Playing with some new toys.

And with one of his favorite cousins!

Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!!

Big Dadddy and Colton

After presents, we all headed upstairs to play our Christmas game.

Colton loves all of his older cousins!

And he loved the Christmas game!! He thought it was so funny and he laughed the entire time.

Some of the boys trying to get dressed as fast as possible so that they can start opening the present.

Aunt Janice's turn.

Rolling the dice with Jessica and Aunt Valerie

Rob ended up winning the game this year. Maybe next year Colton will win.

After the game, we headed home to get in the bed so that we could wake up early the next morning to see what Santa brought us.