Oliver "Buddy" Collins... Thank you for being our friend!

Oliver "Buddy" Collins... Thank you for being our friend!

You were just a little kitten when you came into our life. I never imagined how much a cute little ball of orange fluff would make our family complete.

It will be so hard not to think of you (and cry) when we look at your chair, do the laundry, make the bed, when we open the door, give Ainsley a bath, have ice cream, watch tv with a blanket, buy a new pair of shoes, open a loaf of bread... just to name a few...

It's even harder when we go to bed... Because you were always there with us. Taking up as much room as your little body would allow. You will always be our little Bed Pig...

For the past 12 years you have been "our Buddy". You were more than just a cat to us... You were our friend! You were our little boy! You were family! You were always there... And for 12 wonderful years you were a better friend than some of the humans we once called friends.

Thank you for choosing us... Thank you for allowing us to take care of you...

Thank you for all the wonderful memories...

Thank you.... For being our friend!

In Memory

Oliver "Buddy" Collins

9.01.99-08.07.11

Letters to Ainsley: I Remember...

Dear Ainsley,

A few days ago Daddy quoted a song from the musical Rent.  At first I thought he was just playing around and then it hit me what and why he was singing it. 

"Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes.  Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, Moments so dear.  Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes... How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?"

First, I was surprised that he actually knew the words... But I knew why he was saying them.  525,600 minutes ago I was writing a post about how I wasn't sure when we would meet you.  How do we measure your first year? 

I remember...

I remember the day when we found out that we were going to be parents.  Oh, how excited we were.

I remember the day we first saw a picture of you.  You looked more like a little Yoda than a little baby.  Boy... did we get that right?

I remember calling you Fred... and Daddy calling you Fredina.  Because he knew that you were a Girl from Day 2! 

I remember the day we found out you were a Girl...  I cried because that meant we now had a wedding (yours) to pay for.  And also because I know that there would come a day (like all teenagers with their mothers) where you will say you hate me... and that just broke my heart. 

I remember the time I first felt you kick.  And the look on Daddy's face when he finally could feel.

I remember sitting in our closet looking at of your clothes and talking to you.  I would tell you about all the places I wanted to take you and the adventures we would share. 

I remember the day when we discovered you liked ukulale music. 

I remember the countless trips to triage... and just hoping you would stick around for a little while longer.

I remember the prayers I would say every night... Giving thanks for allowing me to be your mother for another day and praying for one more day.

I remember the pain, the discomfort, and being tired all the time.  But at 3:31pm that day... it was all just a distant memory.

I remember not hearing you cry and was worried something was wrong. 

I remember waking up the next day and touching my belly. It felt so weird because you were no longer there... and then looking over and seeing you in your Daddy's arms...    

You became our little girl... our Froggy... an amazing little person!   

For the past year... you have become my partner in crime and Daddy's little girl.  Since you have arrived, we look at each day as an exciting adventure that we get to share with you. 

I remember your smiles at 5am. 

I remember the days you fell off the bed or the couch. 

I remember the way you would fall asleep on us... and now the big girl sleeping in her bed. 

I remember all of your 1st!  Your first tooth, your first meal, your first "dada", our first hug, your first trip, your first shots, your first taste of ice cream, your first Christmas... just to name a few.  

  

Now... I tell you (much like I did when I sat in the closet looking at all of your clothes) of all the exciting things we are going to do or places we are going to see one day.... You have grown so much in the past year and we can't wait to see what the next 525,600 minutes brings us.

Happy Birthday Ainsley!  

Love, 

Mommy  

Nothing good happens after... 11?

Last night we had an adventure... One I hope to never have again but I am sure we will.

I'll set the scene 11:30pm. Our living room.

I was sitting at the table ordering photos from Shutterfly (I received 25 free prints on Saturday after we left for Key West and had to get them by yesterday).

So I am sitting at the table, on the computer, and Kevin has Ainsley. She keeps crawling around. (poor kid was stuck in either her stroller or car seat all day and finally fell asleep on the way home).

She sees that I am on the computer and scurries over to me. (she loves the computer and hitting the key board). Anyway... Kevin comes over and starts playing with her but all she wants is that lap top. So he picks her up and puts her on her shoulders. Next thing I know there is a crash and I look down and there is glass everywhere. She had grabbed a glass that was on the table. It fell and broke on Kevin's head. I look down and his leg is bleeding... Like bleeding. I swoop up Ainsley who is freaking out and I run to get a towel. (I am sure Kevin's version has me running around asking if his femoral artery was cut and if I needed to call 911. I just say that means I care...)

I try to vacuum up the glass but Ainsley is freaking out. And to be honest I was sort of freaking out because Kevin kept saying he was fine and was bleeding like crazy. I mean this is the same guy who hurt his back and ended up sitting on the arm rest of the couch staring at a wall for a few hours saying he was watching tv. So I'm not always trusting when he says he's fine. I end up finding out his head is cut as well.

We eventually bandage up Kevin and try to put her to bed... I pray we never have that happen again. And I am so thankful everyone is ok.

Kevin wanted to put up bloody photos on Facebook saying "what do you think happened?" I didn't think it was funny. But I did want to share.

How much is that Doggy in the window?

I just had to share this photos of Ainsley in front of the dog store on Duval. She was so close to passing out and then we walked by... This is the first time I have shown her something to look at that she actually became interested in it. She was so excited looking at the 5 puppies play. I think she actually caused more people to stop and look. After a few minutes of letting her "talk" to the puppies I started to lead us away... She had a fit! She was not done talking to them... So we stayed just a minute longer then headed on our way. But starting to think she is an animal lover.

Her personality is really starting to show more now... Especially when she is not happy with something. And me signing "stop" only makes it worse.

Key West Pool Fun

After we settled in to Key West (hitting Publix, checking in, and taking a nap) we hit the pool. Ainsley was the Belle of the pool. Everyone was saying Hi and laughing at her splashing.

For her Birthday I picked up these cute sun glasses for $3 at Janie and Jacks. I couldn't wait 2 weeks to give them to her. They match her swimsuit perfectly!

 

I have also found a new snack for her. I got some squeezable yogurt at Publix and I froze them to make a frozen pop. She loves them!