Olivia

Exactly one year ago today, I began to have what I only hoped were the first twinges of labor. I was overdue and getting close to the date my doctor told me that I would have to be induced. I did not want to be induced so I was so excited that things were getting started. I went to bed and was really never able to sleep so at about midnight, I got out of bed, I told John I was pretty sure that I was in labor. I let him sleep because I knew that it was still very early and I thought one of us should be well rested. I was up the whole night, I went on facebook , watched silly tv shows and as silly as it sounds, I just enjoyed the last few hours of having Olivia safe inside me. At about 5 am I got John up as the contractions were getting a little intense, we made our phone calls for Johns cousin Melanie to come watch the girls and to my friends Emily and Heidi and of course my mom. Melanie came over and Emily and I and my mom and John headed to the hospital, Heidi met us there. About eight hours after arriving at the hospital, little Miss Olivia arrived. It was an amazing moment as all births are. I was so excited to hold my baby girl in my arms and to nurse her the first time.

So much has changed in the last year. It has been a year of firsts and how excited they make us all. We all got excited over her first smile, first time she rolled over, the first time crawling, first taste of cereal, peas, green beans or whatever new food she was trying, her first steps, her first words! She can say "doggy" (Auntie Emily taught her that one), "ball" and "kiki" (kitty), da da, and that is about it. She says ma ma sometimes but I am not sure if she means it or if she is just making noise.

I absolutely can not believe that my baby girl is turning one. I am excited and sad at the same time. I love watching her grow and I love watching her explore the world but there is a small part of me that wishes she could be little forever.

Olivia at one day old.

Olivia at almost one year old.

We had a little birthday party for Olivia last weekend. It was small with mostly family and it was wonderful. Olivia did not like her cake, making it three for three in this house. None of my girl have liked their cakes, in fact, they have all cried when they touched it.

The picture above shows a very annoyed Olivia trying to get the frosting off her hands.

The party was Olivia themed. I just love Olivia and am decorating her room that way so I just used stuff from her room, it was so fun to put everything together. I love birthdays!!
Me and my baby standing by the beautiful wall hanging that Emily made for us. She is so talented.

Thankful

Yesterday I was having sort of a bad day, feeling sorry for myself and my lack of mommying skills, housekeeping skills, etc, etc. I was just whiny!
Well, this morning I got to meet with a few mommy friends and walk (in the crazy wind and cold with our babies) and it was totally what I needed. For one, it is always nice to know that we are not alone in this mommying journey and that there are other women out there with struggles similar our own. It is also amazing to be in the presence of women who love Jesus and live there life so totally sold out for Him. I feel so blessed to have women like that in my life
So thank you friends for letting me spend time with you this morning, you made my week!

p.s. I know that mommying is not a word!

Just a few great things...

about today!

The baby slept until 7:00 (she woke up at 5 to nurse but went right back to sleep)

John got home from work and did some school with the girls while I did some shopping for our next MOPS craft. Gotta love that guy!

I think the next MOPS craft is going to be fun and cute.

Got my new 2010 desk calendar and I am about to write in all the important details for the year! Getting a new calendar is like getting new school supplies, soooo fun!

The baby is on her second nap of the day! Will miracles never cease!

My kids have not fought ALL day! Another miracle. If I were superstitious I would knock on some wood after typing that sentence!!!

I am listening to Julie Andrews sing "My Favorite Things" as I type this, makes me smile and sing loudly every time I hear it. This might not be a great thing for others in ear shot of me but it is great to me!

I found a new blog today in which the blogger describes herself as having a love/hate relationship with home schooling. Yay, I am not the only one!

Got to visit a little with Emily today, the holidays are always so busy, we never see each other much the second half of December and it was good to visit, if only for a few minutes. I sure do love her!

Off to write on my calendar!

Happy New Year!

It is going to be a great year I just know it. John and I got to go on a date last night and it was our first in almost a year! It was great way to celebrate the New Year. My mom kept all three girls while John and I went to dinner and then we went back and got Liv while the big girls stayed and had a New Years party and sleep over with their Granny.
I have been debating with myself over whether or not I was going to make any New Years resolutions, I often make them half heartedly and forget about them by the end of January. I had pretty much decided the whole idea was not for me and then I saw this post and it made me rethink the idea. Instead of coming up with a bunch of resolutions this blogger chooses a word or phrase to be sort of a theme for her year. That idea really made sense to me. However, no one has ever called me a woman of few words, much less a woman of one word so I have taken that idea and made it mine, I do have a word but I have some resolutions to go along with it.
So....my word for twenty-ten is "need". I am so about my wants that sometimes I think they are needs, I need to remember there is a difference and to make choices accordingly! What do I need, what does my husband and what do my children need.
First and foremost, I need my Savior. I need to give Him the best of me, not the left overs at the end of the day when I crawl into bed exhausted and say a quick prayer while falling a sleep. I need to be in His word regularly and I need to not just talk to Him but to listen to Him and to obey Him and to love Him with all that is in me. It is my goal to read through my Bible this year and to have a daily quiet time. I am going to be realistic with this goal and I know that God is gracious to me, He knows that I am a momma to young kids and there are nights when I am up a lot, there may be days when my quiet time is a quick verse read in the morning before dragging myself out of bed and there may be days I may get to spend some serious time with my Lord in the morning, I think the norm will be somewhere in between!
Secondly, I need to be the wife God would have me to be. For me this means I am going to read Created to Be His Helpmeet with out throwing it across the room or thinking "it is unfair that I am a woman because men have it made" as I read each chapter!!! I am also planning on getting up with John before he heads to work in the morning, he likes it when I do that. I would also like to go on a date with him once a month.
I need to be the Mommy God would have me be. I need to play with my kids more, discipline when I am tired, teach when I am tired, and be more loving. I
I also need to be healthier. I had some health issues taken care of in 2009 that could have been bad had I not gotten them dealt with and I am so thankful to the Lord that they were dealt with. They are things that could easily return however, and I need to eat healthier and exercise to keep those bad things gone! I think that I will aim for exercising 4 times a week and saving chocolate for a special treat rather than every day and I will eat the sort of diet my dr recommended!!
I also need to be a good friend to my friends because I have some great ones! I also need to be a good daughter to my mommy, she is pretty good to me!!
I am pretty excited to see what 2010 brings. Very soon after the start my baby is going to be one and that makes me sad! Life goes by so quickly!
My prayer is that God will use me this year in what ever way He can! I want to be open to Him and what He wants for me and my family!

For more New Years Resolution posts, check out Kelly's Korner

Our Day

Oh! What a day. It started off o.k. but it ended up being a little stressful.
This morning we went and spent time with my mother-in- law at her new apartment. Very cute place! Then Liv and I took off to the mall to get earring backs for her new earrings. We got the earrings for her last week and she has already lost one back, I have no idea how she got it off, they screw on. Luckily, we did not loose the earring, they were $40!
It was great walking around the mall with only one kid and the fact that the one kid that I had with me could not walk was an added blessing!!! I did not get anything except a small gift for my secret pal and the backs but I enjoyed window shopping. When we headed to the car to leave, I realized that I never bought the earring backs so back into the mall we went! I felt pretty silly.
After our mall trip Liv and I went for a little lunch date to Chipotle, we had some time to kill before Liv's Dr appointment (she has been pulling at her ears). I had never been to Chipotle and I have always wanted to try it out. I was impressed with my veggie burrito, it was great. Liv was a wonderful lunch date, we had so much fun together.
Our next step was the doctor and that is when our day got a little yucky! We went in because Liv has had a cold for some time and has just began pulling at her ears. I thought maybe the congestion had caused an ear infection and we decided to get it checked out. The doctor went to look in her ears and could not see anything because her ears were so full of wax, they decided to irrigate them and holy cow, it was awful. Our beloved pediatrician recently retired and I am having a little trouble with the transition to the new doctor and staff. I was not happy with the way the nurse did the irrigation and then she spilled all the water on my foot! While we were there they checked Olivia's weight. The last time we were in there was for Liv's 9 month check up and there was some concern with the fact that she had actually lost weight since her 6 month check up. She went from 50th percentile in weight to the 1oth percentile. She grew in length though. Well now, she is in the 3rd percentile for weight. I am a little stressed about it and am going to follow the pediatricians advice to up her caloric intake with more foods like avocado, sweet potatoes and sweet peas, he also said I needed to give her more meat. I am not going to follow his advice as far as stopping nursing her though. I did not like that advice and I do not agree with it at all!! We are going to recheck her weight in 4 weeks and if she is still losing then we will have to do some testing to make sure that nothing serious is going on. I was very worried about it this afternoon, there were even tears shed (by me). I have never had this problem with my other two, they were always chubby babies and I am not doing anything different this time so I am not sure what is going on.
After the doctor we came home and relaxed. John listened to me go on and on about the doctor, he is such a good guy.
I am tired from a full day and will hopefully go to bed early tonight, if I do not get to caught up in my book!

Christmas

We had an amazing Christmas this year. One of our best ever and that is saying a lot because I was sick and so was Liv!!!! That part was not great but luckily it did not ruin Christmas, in fact I think that it made it better! I felt really bad the day or two leading up to Christmas and that caused our already low key Christmas to become even more so.

Last year we decided to BBQ steaks for Christmas since it was just going to be our family, my mom and John's dad. Well, we ended up loving that and decided to make it a tradition. We had already planned that for this year which meant John was in charge of the meat, the hardest part. I made some sides and we had a great dinner. I did not stress about the perfect table scape or super clean house because I had no energy and I think that was a good thing! I enjoyed my family and the day so much! The weather was absolutely beautiful, the sun was out, we bbqed outside on our fire pit and the girls played. Having mild December weather almost makes up for the insanely hot summers we have here.

We all played Gestures and after bragging on my mad acting skills, I fell on my turn, flat on my face! Socks and hard wood floors, not a good combination!! I used it as a teaching moment for Ellie when I told her pride literally cometh before a fall!!! Ellie played with us and she was quite good, I was proud of her, I would say that she got her talent from me but I learned my lesson and I do not want to fall again!

One of the most exciting events of our Christmas day was that Olivia decided to walk. She just took three steps, no one was encouraging it, we were not expecting it, in fact I had just been video taping her and had just turned the camera off, she just took off. It was so exciting, everyone started yelling and clapping and she looked at us all like we were crazy! We got her to do it several more times and she was so proud. What a fun Christmas gift she gave us all.

Miss Liv showing off her mouse. She loved that little guy.


Ellie and her American girl doll, Chrissa, she had been letting me know she wanted Chrissa for Christmas for several months and was so excited to open her Christmas day. I saved the dolls for last and sort of had them hidden from view. After she opened them, I asked if she was suprised and she said yes! I asked her if she was disappointed when she thought she was not going to get her and she said "no, mom, I just thought, 'well I did not get her this year but I did get some wonderful things' I was so proud of her, she really does appreciate what she has (well, most of the time). The girls only got a couple presents because the dolls were such big gifts!


John and I and our old people gifts, we both wanted robes for Christmas and John got me a steam mop, which I love. I was most excited about the soundtracks John got me, he got me soundtracks for The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! I literally jumped up and down when I opened them. I mentioned to John that I wanted the Sound of Music soundtrack months ago and he knows that I love the music in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (I know, I am incredibly corny). It was such a thoughtful gift! I have been listening to them nonstop! I love singing along to the music with my girls.


Emma with her Molly doll. She loves her doll too. She has been taking such good care of her and she loves to change her clothes. (my mom got the girls each an outfit from Target for their dolls, they fit perfectly, which is good to know because the actual dolls are the only things we will be purchasing from American Girl!)
My Mama and Ellie and I enjoying the beautiful day! You can sure tell that my mom and I are related, we both practically close our eyes when we smile. I love my mama!

Well, that's it for our Christmas. It is over for another year. Now it is time to start thinking about my New Years Resolutions.

Christmas Eve

 
 
 
 

Every year we have a little birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve, its very low key. This year we ordered pizza! Yum! We eat a little cake, have ice cream and watch a Christmas movie. I love it! Last year we began a new tradition of unwrapping Christmas pj's (an idea we stole from my friend Raquel). It was a great evening and it gets our minds and hearts in the right place for Christmas, remembering that Jesus is the reason!!!
We end the evening setting out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. My kids do not actually believe in Santa but we love to do this anyway!