Sweet Laughter

My little boy is just so happy and smiling all the time. I was lucky to catch his sweet little laugh on video the other day.

Birthday Party {Olivia}

We celebrated Olivia's birthday with a little party on Memorial Day. It was amazing day, despite the small tropical storm blowing outside. It was just a dessert party but what meant the most was that it was a family thrown party. Aunt Julie brought the sunday bar, made the cake pops, and Aunt Jamie brought the fruit. Grandma Evelyn was in charge of brownies as always! It wasn't as elaborate as I did last year but it was still amazingly special to me.

So Grown

We had Olivia's 2nd Birthday party yesterday and it was wonderful despite the weather. Until I have pictures and words picked out I just thought I would leave you with this. My little baby is growing into a beautiful little girl.

TWO! {Olivia}

 My baby is TWO and officially not a baby anymore but a TODDLER! How did this happen so quickly?

When she woke up this morning Ben and I sang Happy Birthday to her, but half way through she began crying. Poor thing I guess she wasn't fully awake yet.

I dropped her off at Mommom's for the day and she had a cupcake and balloon waiting for her.

Tuesday night Daddy planned a surprise dinner special for Olivia so the four of us headed out after work. We took her to a character dinner at the Swan Hotel. It was perfect not crowded at all, a buffet with lots to pick from, and the characters just made their way around at a leisurely pace. It took her a little bit to warm up to the idea of the characters but we managed to get a few good pictures of them together.

DISNEY WORLD

My Dad has been dying to take Olivia to Disney World since he found out we were pregnant with her. There has always been something that came up and we have had to wait. So about 2 months ago we decided that we would take her for her birthday. This past Sunday was the big day and boy were we all super excited!

We rode the Merry Go Round, It's A Small World, Peter Pan, and saw the Country Bear Jamboree. The kids and mostly I mean Olivia loved every second. You could just see on her face that she was taking in ever sight and sound. We had lunch and then she finally took a nap unfortunately she slept through the parade so instead we headed to Tomorrow Land to get Fast Pass for Buzz Light Year. Which once she woke up she had so much fun shooting the little gun during the ride. After that we were exhausted and figured it was a great time to head out and grab dinner on the way home.

2 Month's {Benjamin}

Stats

Weight: 13.5 ounces

80th Percentile

Height: 23 3/4 Inches

75th Percentile

Your 2 month Dr. appointment went well, I took you and your sister in at the same time. You did great with everything, you got one oral vaccination and 2 shots. You cried after the 2nd one but were pretty happy by the time we left. In the last month your little personality is really coming through. You are so easy going and happy, when I wake you up in the morning you just begin to smile and it never goes away.

Mommy went back to work this month (when you hit 8 weeks old) so you know spend Monday with Papa and the rest of the week with Mommom. The transition has been really easy for you even though Mommy has missed you so much. Your sister seems to like spending more time with you even though having to share Papa or Mommom with you is a little difficult at times.

Since Mommy has gone back to work we are now pumping so you are eating fully from a bottle. Your feedings are slowly reaching 3 hour intervals during the day and you eat around 4-5 ounces at each feeding. When we approach bed time you eat a little more as you prepare for your hibernation. You have made bed time so easy for us, you eat, cuddle with us for a little bit, and then we swaddle you. Your off to dream land from between 8-9pm and sleep peacefully until between 6 and 7am.

You have had a lot of firsts in this last month, we took you on your first vacation to Long Boat Key, FL. It was where you first put your little toes in the sand and the water. We celebrated your first Mother's Day, you got Mommy a very special card. You have also take your first trip to the beach condo in Daytona.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

...it was off to work I went!

Yup, back to work this past Monday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I mean don't get me wrong I missed those kids like crazy. But it was nice to get back into the swing of things.

I am still super lucky that our families are able to watch them, although we are looking at starting Olivia in day care in the next few weeks. Monday's they spend with my Dad and then the rest of the week they are at my Grandmother's house.

Our new routine is Mommy gets up at 5am to pump, shower, and blowdry before Daddy leaves at 6:15am. Then it's makeup, clean bottles and pump pieces, make sure everything is ready, and put all bags in the car. Monday's I have a little more time to relax since Papa comes to pick them up, I can actually sit and have some tea while I watch the news. Tuesday-Friday I have to leave the house by 7am. So I pack Benjamin in the carseat and put him in the car and once he is in, I wake Olivia up and put her in beside him. I am at work by 8am and ready for the day. I have been able to pick the kids up between 4-5pm and we are home by about 6pm just in time for dinner, bathtime, and finally time for bed. By then I am exhausted, we haven't even had the slightest bit of interest in TV before bed. Needless to say I am really going to enjoy our weekends just that much more now.

Work is still the same, the only thing that has changed since I left is my office location. Jamie was sharing an office with another recruiter and decided she wants to look at my beautiful face every day instead. So we now share the largest office.

It is still an odd thing to be pumping at my desk, but I am getting used to it, not that I can say the same for poor Jamie who gets an eyefull every 3 hours or so.

My View

 

Jamie's View



Mother's Day

Mother's day was wonderful, I got to spend lots of quality time with my little one's. The one's responsible for making me a Mommy. I love this new job and as things are changing with the addition of Benjamin, I continue to learn and change the way we roll. Organization and routine is quickly taking over and the days of just being able to drop everything and run are a thing of the past.

Each day that passes my love for Olivia and Benjamin grows stronger and stronger. Even through the crying when you think your going to pull your own hair out, it stands tall.

Toes In the Sand

Benjamin's First Time in the Sand!!!!

30th Anniversary Weekend

This past weekend we headed back to Long Boat Key to celebrate our parents 30th Anniversary. The weather was beautiful and the view of the gulf was amazing. We spent 3 days lounging by the pool, playing by the ocean, and wandering around St. Armand's circle!

 

Jamie, Ben, and I secretly had been arranging something special for Saturday night. I rushed Mom and Dad out of the hotel suite and dropped them off in front of the Chart House, (they thought we were all going to dinner) I sent them in to have drinks and appetizers and told them I would be back. In the meantime, Jamie was decorating the room while baby watching, and Ben was off to pick up a wonderful dinner.

By the time I picked them up they were wondering when and where we were having dinner especially when I took them back to the hotel. But when we walked back into the hotel room and they saw this...

they figured it out. We enjoyed appetizers and champagne on the patio while we watched the sunset! Followed by dinner and the delicious cake that Jamie designed especially for them.

What an amazing weekend celebrating our amazing parent's! I hope my marriage lasts as long as theirs and our love remains as strong!

Gold Digger

Yup, we have a nose picker on our hands.

A few weeks ago Olivia started to dig around in her nose searching for "boogies". When she finds them she likes to tell you and show you whats on her pointer finger. On the way home last week she found 2 little nose treasures and wanted to save them for Daddy. As he took her from her car seat she proudly showed them off.

This morning on our way to Mommom's she was digging around in there again and excitedly pulled out a "boogie" and exclaimed "BIG BOOGIE!!!". "Yes, dear that is big!, I said as I was trying to find a tissue to wipe it from her finger before it ended up wiped somewhere.

It's funny and disgusting all at the same time.