Cory Collier

So after a couple months of being a dad to twins, I’ve come up with a list of stuff that first time parents should know about. Here’s some of the most important stuff Melissa and I use:

• The Slumber Bear: One of the few calming things for babies is white noise. It’s the shhh noise we all know so well. A tip: Do it loudly. When babies are in the womb, the sound of water running by their ear is akin to white noise, and it’s reportedly as loud as a leaf blower. Another Tip: We took the bear skin off, and just use the noise making guts.
• Boppies: When the kids are little, they can’t hold their own head up. When it’s feeding time, you’ll either have to hold them yourself, or have something to hold them for you. That’s the idea behind the Boppy. It may look like a neck pillow for Big Foot, but it’ll give you a spare hand for that beer of yours.
• Probiotics: Babies typically don’t digest food well early on. This is one of the causes of colic kids. So, just like a wastewater treatment plant, you can help get the pipes working by introducing bacteria in your child’s diet. Some of you might sound appalled, but you’ve still got billions of E-Coli in your belly right now.
• Bouncy Seats: I don’t know why, but a bouncing baby is usually a happy one. If baby has eaten, and has a clean diaper, and is still crying, the bouncy seat should be your next plan of attack.
• Swing: Another great way to chill your baby out is to set them in a swing. The bouncy seats are a great way to soothe babies quick, but it still requires you to sit there and bounce them (we’ve yet to find the automatic bouncy seat).
• The Happiest Baby On The Block: The doctor behind this DVD is a bit odd, but his methods work 100%. I knew nothing about raising kids before watching this (the day before Mason and Charlotte were born). Within a couple hours of using the methods described, I was better at calming the kids than anyone else was. This DVD is definitely a must.

I’m sure there’s some stuff out there that some of you have come to rely on a bunch. I’d love to hear what everyone else is using to get by the hardest times. These days, with the help of the previously mentioned tools, things are a lot of fun.

Things have been pretty busy for Melissa and I over the last few weeks. Melissa’s finally on Maternity leave, which is great considering almost everything is getting difficult for her these days (twins are no joke). The one thing that both of us have been pretty busy on lately, is getting the kids room ready.

We’ve done a bunch to the house to prepare. We’ve had the carpets cleaned, moved rooms around, and got the nursery setup. It’s been an interesting process. Anyways, here’s some pics of everything.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corycollier/3870999911/in/set-72157622187046976/

It’s official: Melissa and I are having a boy and a girl. I sent out a text message that said: “1 boy and 1 reason to buy more guns”. I guess it’s a little typical of me, but I still thought it was pretty funny.The picture to the left is of Charlottle Elizabeth Collier. The Boy is Mason $strMiddleName Collier (we haven’t figured out his middle name)

We found out about Charlotte first. In technical terms, doctors are looking for Hamburgers and Hot-Dogs. So, the first thing was a hamburger.

The second was the Hot Dog.

So, I guess I’ll be playing with guns and barbies. It’s great news for Melissa and I.

For those of you who don’t already know, Melissa is pregnant. We’ve kept that pretty quite for the last month (it’s been hard). We were supposed to have an ultrasound before I went to SXSW, but it got canceled on us (weird, I know).

So, on my first day back home after SXSW, Melissa and I went to the doctor for an ultrasound. While, I thought I saw more than one baby initially, I figured I was crazy. I apparently wasn’t crazy. I can’t begin to describe the emotion when the nurse said (quite technically) “There are two babies”.

My heart started racing, Melissa’s hands got clammy, we were both saying ‘oh my god’ a lot. It’s kinda funny, ’cause I always wanted twins. The thought of getting the whole ‘baby’ thing out of the way definitely appeals to me. Melissa thinks I jinxed the whole thing. It’s especially surprising, since neither of us have twins in our family.

Well, here are some pictures of the awesomeness:

Last August I started work at Hydra Studio in Downtown Orlando. Hydra shares office space with a local ad agency, Push. Push celebrates their anniversary on Halloween. As you can imagine, an ad agency can be quite creative on Halloween, when celebrating at work.

I was warned ahead of time that a costume was an absolute must for the day. I was also warned that the festivities started early and it was unlikely that any work would get done for the day. One of the major take-home points I got from talking to folks who had been part of celebrations in years past, was ‘Go big or go home’. 

I’m an over-the-top kind of guy. The thought of being challenged gets my blood flowing. When I heard there was a bit of competition behind the costume contest, I was pretty excited to be a part of it.

I’m also a really busy guy. Work has been very busy lately and I’ve little time for my side project, Florida Death Metal. Any spare time I’ve got lately I have to use wisely.

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Last week, Melissa and I went on a vacation with her family to Swan Quarter, NC for her family reunion. Her family has a reunion every 2 years during the summer at some location in the US. The last time we went, the reunion was in St. George, Utah. Her family is pretty cool, so it’s usually a good time.

The Drive There.

Did I mention, we decided to rent an E-150 8 passenger van to get us up there? Well, that was the transportation idea. It seemed like a good idea at the time. There were 6 of us going up there from Melissa’s immediate family (parents, sister, sister’s boyfriend, and us). 

We left Thursday evening, around 6:30 from Altamonte Springs, heading to Savannah, GA for an overnight stay on the way up to NC. That was probably the most fun the drive was the entire time. We played the alphabet game on the way, and that’s always awesome (Thanks Molly for introducing me to it). 

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