1094 Days

May 22, 2010

May 22, 2013

I became a mom 1094 days ago, not including the nine months of pregnancy (which I consider part of it but I know not everyone does). In those many days I have learned so much about myself, our babies, and my husband. But the thing that I have learned most is that time goes by so quickly and as much as I want to bottle up the past 3 years I can't. Which is why I photograph every moment that I can of their lives. I don't want to miss anything!

With that in mind this girl up here, she turned 3 Wednesday. I remember the 9 months leading up to Olivia's birth and all the things Ben and I talked about and swore we would and wouldn't do. Well we have done or not done those things and thats ok. We are molding this little human being into what I hope is a wonderful productive member of our society. I pray every day that we are doing the right thing, that we love her enough, and that she thinks we are doing a good job because in the end that is all that matters.

I know she may not even look 3 but her attitude, demeanor, and vocabulary beg to differ. I think she is turning 18! I love sitting back and listening to her talk whether it be to me, someone else, or no one at all. The things that come out of it amaze me. She has always been ahead vocab wise but I don't know how she has learned the proper sentence structure.

We can count up to 20 and up to 10 in Spanish. I can't even begin to keep track of how many words she knows but its SO MANY!

She loves being at school but not always the drop off part, we still have tears every now and then. I know within 5 minutes of us leaving she is fine and playing with all of her little friends. Oh and by the way she has a best friend and her name is Livia. They are only about 3 weeks apart and of course Livi is a little blond with curls and super petite just like Olvia. When I pick Olivia up from school I hear all about their adventures from the day and she clarifies all the time that only Livi is her best friend. I actually met her Dad the other day and he was like so your the infamous Olivia's Mom. Apparently their ride home must be very similar to mine.

Olivia loves her brother and the feeling is completely mutual. They adore each other and their relationship is just blossoming. I melt every time I hear her say "look Brother is holding my hand". They laugh at each other all the time, they hug and kiss, and then climb on each other. It's honestly the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

Our biggest accomplishment this past year is Potty Training. We had been working with her without pushing since she was about 18 month's old. But it never really took, then one day she said she wanted to go potty on the big potty and the rest is history. She has been using the big potty ever since. Almost every night since then she would wake up dry as well. So consistent that she now sleeps in panties and we haven't had more then one accident since.

Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet little Princess!

Life Lesson: Stupid

Stupid

Well, Olivia learned this word a long while ago now and it creeps up on us every now and then. At first she just said it to say the word, then she said it to Benjamin because it made him laugh, and now she is putting it together and not a nice way.

We aren't sure where she learned it, probably from a TV show, since I have heard it on many children's shows. Who knew children's shows were littered with words you never think of as "bad words". I only realized  recently that one of her favorite shows to watch had the kids in it calling each other stupid until we actually were paying attention it caught us completely off guard.

So a couple weekends ago as we were driving home I hear her say stupid really low, she always does this. It's almost as if she is just testing to see if I hear her. I turned around and reminded her that we don't say that word and she asked "why". Yup we entered the WHY stage about 3 months ago...so much fun! I said "because it's a bad word and we don't say bad words." which was followed by "why don't we say bad words" and so I turned it over to Ben to field that question. He said "because it is a bad word and bad is right in the name so we don't say it." Which was followed by a lot of questions...

-What if Correy calls me stupid?
-What if Hannah calls me stupid?
-What if Aunt Jamie calls me stupid?
-What is Daddy calls me stupid?

So we decided that if anyone calls her stupid she needs to tell her teacher, Mommy, or Daddy. But she is really stuck on the last one. I told her that I would spank Daddy if he ever said that to her, but she should know that he would never say that word to her.

I have been at a loss at how to explain this to her so hopefully we did a good enough job for now but I am sure that there will be more "stupid" questions in my future.

List's, List's, & More Freakin List's

With 3 upcoming trips, decorating for the holiday's, and Christmas shopping to be done you can say that I am about drowning under a million lists. Packing list's, To Do List's, Christmas List's, and Cleaning List's galore.

Yes, that is my packing powerpoint! Don't judge, you know you like my organizational skills!

You would think with car trips to Myrtle Beach (3 times) and  Key West, a flight to Boston, Train trips, and a flight back to Orlando (all within the last 6 months), I should be a damn pro now of traveling with 2 small children after all the research I have done. I have sorted through Pinterest and other blogs with Mom's tips and tricks on what to pack and how to keep a kid occupied on flights and long car trips. What would I have done in the days before the internet? My anxiety would be through the roof (for those of you who don't know I am one of those OCD people who pack weeks ahead of time and then repack 3-5 times before I leave. Let me tell you my In-Law's think it's hilarious). To say I am a planner is an understatement! Anyway's I digress.

I still feel stressed to the max about forgetting something (like; car seats, strollers, toys, bottles, diapers...the list could go on and on.) So I live by lists and lots of them. Now let's add something new into the mix. For Thanksgiving we are traveling to Pennsylvania via plane. Not so bad right? That is until you think,

Hey Crazy Lady. Aren't you from Florida? You know where the weather

is hot and sunny most of the year. Don't you know it snowed there yesterday?

Yup this is one of those times where I wish that you could just snap your fingers and be there with all of your belonging's. Because between 4 people I'm sure that one suitcase isn't going to cut it. Especially now that I have to make sure my kids stay warm enough to come back with all their fingers and toes.

Yes, we (or should I say me) are working on getting organized about Christmas this year. With 2 kids and tons of family to buy for, we need an early start. That and my children aren't hurting for anything so trying to decide what to get them is a challenge. It's about things that stimulate their minds, things that encourage pretend, educational items.

As the days go on I will continue to change, update, and make new list's!

A Night With Daddy

Wednesday I had to work a golf tournament in Tampa so it was a night with Daddy in charge! Here are some photos and video that he sent me.

Olivia's Big Day

Olivia went to her first day of day care at Saint Mary Magdalen today. She is in the Early Learning Program there, both Jamie and I went to school there through 8th grade.

Ben wasn't able to miss work so I had my Dad go with me to drop her off. She was so excited while getting ready and finally arriving at school. We took her back to the 2 year old's room and once she was inside it was like we weren't even there. She was off inspecting all the new toys there was to play with. She barely broke away to give us a hug and kiss goodbye.

She had a great first day! She enjoyed her snack time and especially loved playing on the playground with all the other children in her class. When Papa picked her up at 11 she was crying because the her teacher Mrs. Wassey had just changed her diaper and apparently she didn't want her to. Oh silly thing. Papa was also shown the Octopus hand art that she made that day.

All in all I think she had a great time at her first day of school. 

Temper Temper

Ok Mommiy's here is a fun little story that might make you laugh, I can now laugh at it. I have been keeping Olivia on her schedule with baby sitters so when I go back to work it won't be a huge change for her. So Wednesday I had both kids at home by myself for the first time.

It was going great we got up and watched some cartoons. Olivia got a little breakfast while I fed the little man and then she sat quietly in the living room playing Barney on my phone until I was finished in the shower. I was even able to do my hair, get dressed, put makeup on all without a peep from Olivia. So I decided to take them both and run to Target for a quick diaper pickup and then to Hobby Lobby to get a few things for Olivia's birthday party.

We got there and I put Benjamin in the baby bjorn and Olivia nicely walked from the parking lot into Target holding my hand. Yup and then it went down hill, I went to put her in the cart and there it was every Mom's nightmare (at least mine). She threw a temper tantrum in the front of Target, laying on the ground screaming and crying. All because she wanted to walk. I just didn't have enough hands for this! So 5 minutes after walking in we were finally making our way towards the diapers, me pushing the cart, holding her hand, and her crying at the top of her lungs.

Yes, she cried like this almost the whole time. As we made our way quietly to the check out I had forgotten the cute little toys they keep at the checkout line. There she was pulling the little Barbie's off and picking out which one she wanted and then the little Barbie phones that were next to them. I asked her to put them away several times, I put them back several times, and then I had a stroke of genius. I told her to give them to the lady, put her in the cart while we were being checked out, and gave the lady a sign that I would not be purchasing those toys. She still hasn't realized that I didn't buy them.

By the time we got home it was lunch time followed by nap time. It took me an hour to get her to sleep! But once she was out, Benjamin fell asleep to. It was the best hour I have ever had! The rest of the went ok, not smoothly but better then my Target trip. Needless to say I was thrilled when Ben walked in the door that evening.

Sleep? What is that?

*Warning: Long Post*

My baby little girl is almost 2 (YIKES) and still not sleeping through the night. As we have been preparing for Benjamin's arrival we have been working on this little task.

We first have to wean her off of milk in the middle of the night. Now there is a good reason that she has been used to getting milk for so long. She wasn't a good eater and we had to continue to supplement her lack of food during the day by milk when she would wake up for it. This lasted until she began eating better around 15 months. The other part is that she doesn't do this when she stays over night with our parents. She will either sleep through the night or wake and quickly go back to sleep. To be honest she isn't to bad for me when Daddy isn't home either and for the most part will sleep through the night. Daddy just wants his little angel to be happy and can't stand for her to be upset for any reason. (She knows how to play the game, I have to give her that)

So we thought this would be easy and started giving her less and less. After we got down to almost nothing we began to get discouraged because she was still waking up asking for it. Then we thought we got the answer to everything when she got sick about 3 weeks ago. We had to stop milk all together before bed and at night because it was aiding to her coughing (which led to us having to change the sheets every night). In the beginning it wasn't so hard she seemed to understand why we were doing this and would only ask for water. Once she began feeling better she slept through the night a few times and we thought we had done it!

Nope, no time to celebrate yet, she has begun waking up again and not just asking for milk but screaming for it and crying even asking for orange juice (now who gives a child OJ in the middle of the night?). At first it lasted about an hour and I kept my patience for the most part telling her no and offering water. She refused and continued crying. Poor Ben was ready to give in and I just kept telling him that we have to do this for our sake and hers. Some nights she does well and others we are ready to pull our hair out.

Lately I have been reading up on this topic and chatting with friends of children who sleep like a dream. It almost discourages me more, but I know that all children are different and that we are not the only ones who have a child who will not sleep through the night. Yet, I feel like I am failing at this part of parenting because I can't get her to follow the guidelines of society. I can only control so much of this. I can't force her to sleep all night! For now we will continue down this route of getting her to forget the milk at night and see where that leads us. I must for the sanity of having to be up with one child and not two. At least I am used to being up throughout the night and should be ready to go when Benjamin arrives. I also know what I will be doing differently on this second one. I understand why they say you learn from the first child!

Hives

I sure learned a lot this weekend, I found out that there is something called Post Infection Hives. Saturday morning Olivia woke up and while I was giving her a bath I noticed that she had hives all over the back of her thighs. I didn't give it much thought since she hadn't eaten anything and they didn't seem to be bothering her. Once she was cleaned they went away.

As we were leaving our shower that afternoon I noticed that she had another hive that came up on her knee. Gigi checked it out and figured no big deal. So we got home and she took a good long nap. When she woke up we had a snack and as she was sitting on our friends lap I noticed her legs had hives all over them, so I checked out the rest of her and she had them everywhere but her head and under her diaper. Ok this time I freaked out a little and called my mom (I never knew how much having a pediatric nurse so close would come in so handy until I had Olivia). She told me to make sure she was breathing fine (she was), check in her mouth, and then put her in the bath and let her play. While she played we face timed so she could see everything. Below is what I was looking at.

After bath time they went away again and so it was time for dinner and obviously an early night for us. Get ready for Ground Hogs Day because when we woke up Sunday morning and went to check her out she was just beginning to show the hives again! What in the world is going on with my poor baby? I called her pediatrician right away and spoke with a nurse who put me at ease. Since she wasn't having problems breathing and she wasn't scratching at them all we could do is wait it out.

We decided to head to Babies R Us to pick up the dresser and order the glider. Guess who we ran into as I was signing the papers? Dr. P her pediatrician! It could not have happened at a better time. We chatted with him and his wife and he gave her a free check in the furniture department. Apparently you can get post infection hives after being pretty sick. So we just need to wait them out!

Wow after 2 weeks of sickness and hives maybe things will calm down a little before the baby gets here!

Sick Duckling

Our past 5 days have been full of dirty tissues, bubble baths, dirty sheets, and whinning. My poor sweet baby has come down with a cold that has now turned into a worse cold, with double pink eye. I know parenting isn't easy but I think that the sick child part tops the list of what is the hardest part. It breaks my heart to see her feel so bad.



Bubble Baths make everything better.



Having a popsicle to help her throat.



Olivia will fight through anything and no matter how sick she has been in the past it has been hard to look at her and say she is sick. We have gone through a stomach virus, strep throat, several colds, but so far nothing like this. And this time is totally different, it's written all over her face.

This morning Ben and Papa C. took her to the Dr. since I am booked with meetings from 8am till 1pm. She was weighed with all of her clothes on and came in at 19.6 lbs. which is a weight loss for her and we kind of figured there would be since she really hasn't much in the past 4 days and if she has not much has ramined down. Dr. P checked her ears, eyes, throat, and nose. He said that she just has a bad cold, and it has drained down to her stomach (we knew this, we have changed our sheets every night for the past 4 nights) and confirmed that she does in deed have pink eye in both eyes. I found out not long ago that you can give yourself pink eye by rubbing your nose or mouth when you are sick and rubbing your eyes. Interesting!

So she is will be getting eye drops starting today and in 24 hours we will no longer be contagious. Giving a 20 month old eye drops should be a new adventure for us. Let's see how this goes.

It's All About OLIVIA

How is it possible that we are going to have 2 children in less then 2 months? Wow, my little Princess is going to be a big sister very soon! I can't believe it and so I have come to the conclusion that we need to spend as much time in these last weeks as a family of 3 before we become 4. I will chase rainbows and unicorns! I want to shower Olivia with as much Mommy and Daddy time as she can stand. There is so much I want to do with her and be able to give her our full attention.

Things like:
-A little Olivia photo shoot
-Trip to the Zoo
-Ice Cream and because I don't know what you call it...the big joint bike ride out at the Boardwalk at Disney
-Take more walks together
-Visit the playground more often
-Get back to Sea World
-Go to the beach

She loves her little brother already and is constantly kissing my belly, rubbing him, and yes jumping on him. What can I say I have a daredevil. Here is a video that I love from many weeks back. I know that she is going to be amazing with him, not that I don't think we will have our moments where she will smack, kick, poke, and prod at him. We will deal with those as they come. For now I will relish the amazing relationship I hope that they share.



She lifted my shirt so she could sleep with her brother!

 I have not really worried much about how I am going to do this, parent-2-kids-at-once thing. But as we get closer it seeps from the back of my mind to the front. I find myself thinking so much more about it, not worrying that I can't do it, just how I am going to do it. Like, how am I going to nurse or feed Benjamin and deal with Olivia if I am alone? (I'm a planner folks it may not work out like I think in my head but I feel better if I have a plan.) So I think, can you just get up and move while you have an infant attached to you? How am I going to work out bed time routines when Ben is at the bar? Can I grow an extra pair of arms by March or even better clone myself? Silly maybe, but the thoughts still remain. I just remind myself all is going to work out just the way it's planned, because God would never give us more then He knows we can handle. That and I have so many family and friends that I can rely on if I need the help.

Sisters! Sisters!

My Sister/My Friend

You are someone I look up to

You were there when I needed you most.

Though we’ve had our differences

You were someone I have always loved.

Thanks for being my sister.

It means more than I can say.

We are sisters because we’re related

But I choose to call you friend.

-Found Online

As I sit back and think of my little princess becoming a big sister to a little brother, I am reminded of my own sister and all of the amazing things she has done for me.

Going to dinner for my birthday while I was pregnant with Olivia.

'White Christmas' being one of our favorite movies to watch anytime of the year has a particularly important song in it. This is one of my favorite songs in the movie and a nice little nod to my sister.

Let me begin by saying that I am very grateful to have a sister as wonderful as I do. Yes, I may not have always realized this and by that I mean for the first few (read: many) years I didn't want to have a sister. I was in my glory as an only child (as short lived as that was) until they brought that little baby home and she didn't leave. Mom tells of the time where she was in the cradle in the living room and she caught me pushing it really high trying to turn it over. Don't worry I didn't succeed and it was then pushed up against a wall. There is also a video that Daddy shot of me laying on the edge of the couch and Jamie sitting on the floor in front of me. Sweet I know until you realize that I had the back of her overalls in my hand. When we were in school at St. Mary Magdalen I think 4th and 3rd grades I put her panties in her backpack so when she pulled out her book out they would come as well.

Please do not fear for all the not so nice things I did to her while she was younger I sure got my payback. Somewhere between grade school and high school she became much smarter than I, clever I should say! The one that I will never forget is a night we returned home late from a Solar Bears game. As I was flushing the toilet I was sprayed (from the clean top tank, I feel the need to add that) with water. I was screaming and after Mom and Dad found Jamie giggling under her covers they pieced together what she had done. Yes, yes, how can they be mad and scold her when it was so damn funny and what kid would think to pull the little tube out and stick it between the tank and the lid.

No matter what our past and not getting alongness there may have been I have always been very protective of my little (read: younger, because she out grew me a long time ago) sister. My favorite was a time she had  boy at our house and I came home upset for one of the million teenage girl things and he was just being plain rude. So I told him to get out of our house...he listened.  

I can apparently grow much past my small size and have nerves of steel when I need to and one of those times is when you are messing with my family. I am allowed to not like her and be mean to her but no one else better even try!

 

My sister has always been one to have a tough exterior and in my 27 years with her I am still surprised by things she does. Jamie has never been one to show her emotions or let you know how much you truly mean to her. Much unlike myself where I wear my heart on my sleeve, she guards it and only lets you see it when she wants you to. We have control issues!

 

She let me in when I had my first child. Jamie showed up at the hospital just as the sun was rising, only a few hours after Olivia was born. Everyone else was home still and as I was working on getting out of bed to take a shower when in walks Jamie (no warning, no call (I may have gotten a text?), just Jamie). Ben was going to help me get ready, then go retrieve Olivia from the nursery but instead Jamie offered to help me so that Ben was able to spend some quiet time with his daughter. Not many people would come in and put aside the urge to pick up and hold a newborn, but my sister put me first. She spent the next hour and a half helping me shower and get dressed. She even dried and straightened my hair, no argument just a wantonness to help. What others saw was Jamie's Facebook status saying, "The early bird gets the worm!" with a picture of her holding Olivia. See, she doesn't want anyone to know how awesome she really is.

                                         

Since Olivia has been around I have seen a side of my sister that I never thought existed. She takes her role as Aunt and God Mother very seriously, but don't get me wrong she is the first to teach Olivia how to have FUN, like jumping on my bed. Each day she never ceisis' to amaze me.

I have taken lots of time to think of what I am grateful for as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother, Jamie is certainly one of things on the top of my list. It may have taken me awhile to see all of her wonderful attributes but I since I have I wouldn't trade her for any amount of money in the world.

She is my sister and only mine.

I hope that one day Olivia and Benjamin will have the type of relationship that her and I have now. I would like to skip the beginning when I didn't care for her and just skip to the good stuff. I know that there is arguments that I will be breaking up but as long as I instill the love between the two of them like my parents did, I think I have done my job.

Sleepless Night

Well Tuesday as we each arrived home from work and playing at Mommom's house, I thought what a great night. We had planned to make a nice dinner and just relax. I even got these beautiful flowers from Ben and Olivia...Just Because!

All went according to plan, dinner, Olivia got her bath, she went off to sleep, and Ben and I enjoyed a few of the new shows. Then, it changed around 11ish she woke up crying and we brought her into our room to calm her and get her back to bed. Nope not this time, she cried for an hour, no milk would help. She didn't want to be held, she just flung herself around the bed. This is very much how our entire night went. We got her to sleep, she whined, she moved all around the bed, and she woke up crying. At 5ish AM she woke asking for milk and then refused to drink it, instead she cuddled it like a stuffed animal and slept with it. Each time I took it away or tried she screamed (even in her sleep). Silly kid. Somewhere in the midst of all the crying and sleeplessness we decided it was her teeth and tried to give her tylenol with no avail. She clung to me like a white on rice, yup the kid who thinks its like candy.

It was worse then the night we came home from the hospital! We woke (if you can say that) after a total of 3? hours of sleep. I felt like I was run over by a bus. Luckily for me I decided to work from home but poor Ben didn't have that option. However the other person that didn't get a great night of sleep, even though it was certainly more then we did, woke looking like this...

Huh? How do kids have this kind of resiliency?

She spent the day at Mommom's and I enjoyed a nap, got work done, laundry, cleaning, and made a cake (which the icing melted off of over night...wtf?).

Knowing that the impending darkness that brought 'nig night time' was not going to be good, we felt prepaired but not comforted. Daddy was putting Olivia to sleep in our bed while I showered and luckily for me and my still-hanging-around-all-day-sickness!

Because then I hear "I need HELP!" and I knew what it was, poor Olivia threw up (big girl style...EWE) all over Daddy and then all over the bed! Good ole Daddy took one for the team, otherwise you can imagine the bigger mess we would have been cleaning up if it were me.

Thankfully catching up on all the other laundry did not allow me time to strip the bed and wash every blanket, sheet, and comforter like I wanted to. To get a good laugh picture how the three of us slept in our big bed...on the mattress cover with pillows and no cases, (all the sheets were now dirty and one set in the dryer far from dry enough to put on the bed. Who knew that should have been my priority?)  each of us wrapped in one of Olivia's blankets! Yea, I still laugh when I think of it. But the good news is she slept well and only woke for milk twice, surprisingly after having an empty stomach!

Happy Thursday Everyone! I am sure your week has been better then ours, but not as interesting!

We Are Calling It "Spring Cleaning"

Our poor little one started with a runny nose this last week and we chalked it up to teething. But as the week progressed and her runny nose turned to cough and then she began to sound as if she had been smoking her entire life we knew it was more then a little tooth. On Friday I decided to see how she did over night to see if she got any better. Saturday morning she had not and in fact sounded a little worse so we headed to the doctor for a little peace of mind.

That I did not get, instead they had me hold my screaming child's arms above her head so they could swab her throat. 10 long minutes later they informed me that she had Strep throat and on top of that she said that she has never seen a case in a child under the age of one. This is very rare and they don't usually even check for strep in babies. Good, Daddy's out of town until late and I am one worried Mommy!

It is so hard to have a baby who is sick and can't tell you what hurts and how she feels. Now for 10 days she is on antibiotic to kick this thing out.

After her hopefully, contagious stage was over I got to spend Sunday disinfecting evey inch of our house and every toy. I never realized just how much she touches and puts in her mouth. In the midst of all this Ben took me to the CVS Minute Clinic because I  was feeling terrible and I thought "Oh Shit! I have strep." Thankfully I don't but I am on meds for a sinus infection. 2 down, who is next? The doctor asked me how horrible I feel on a scale of 1-10. I said "When you have a baby there is no time to feel horrible." So true, no time for me, must make the house clean for her.

So that was my weekend! It may not have been terrible exciting, but it ended with a nice walk to enjoy the fresh air. Now I can go back to being sick.

Blessed

My Princess

How could you look at this face and not feel like the most blessed person on this planet? She is amazing and perfect, each day that passes I look at her and fall more and more in love. I look at her when we are out and people are fawning over this face and I think, She's mine, that beautiful, innocent, sweet baby girl is mine. I made her. Ok so I couldn't have done it alone but I know that deep down Ben is thinking the same thing. 

Perfection

How did we become so lucky that Olivia chose us? She could have picked anyone and she chose us. Everyday I wake up and vow again that I will do anything for that little Princess. I want her to have the most amazing life possible, foremost full of unconditional LOVE!!! Each morning when she wakes up with that huge smile on her face and then when she goes to bed with the same smile and usually some giggles, I know that we are doing everything we can to make her happy. 

This face shows me that she is loved and she feels every bit of it. The way that she looks at you and reaches out for you, I know that she knows exactly how much she means to not only her Daddy and I, but every family member, adopted aunt's & uncle's, and friends.  

Dearest Olivia
You have filled our days with sunshine! Your whole face lights up when
you smile, it is in your beautiful blue eyes, and in your chubby little
cheeks. Your amazing!!!
We love you!

Bringing Work Home

Olivia and I were outside enjoying the beautiful afternoon as it faded into evening. The light was so perfect and allowed me to capture some amazing images as we sat together in the grass. Olivia sat for a few minutes just peaceful. Then her curiosity got the best of her and she began to pick at the blades of grass on her left. She smiled, picked a few blades, and then just opened her fingers and let them fall again. She did this a few times and that curiosity came back and she wondered what it would taste like. After I said NO a few times and swatted the grass from her hand, she got it.

This could be my favorite photo that I have taken todate!!! Notice she has a leaf in her hand!

Trying to decide which blade to pick up.

I could not love her more then I do everyday!

This little girl has made me whole. I thought I was complete after
Ben and I got married, I guess I was wrong! Olivia was missing from our
life.



Then we heard Daddy's truck coming down the street and Olivia got a huge smile on her face as she saw him pull up to our house. While I got a look of surprise, attached to his truck was a trailer with an Escavator on the back. Hmm...I guess he has a delivery in the morning. I was thinking this could make for some great pictures.

Look at those faces...pure JOY.



A Daddy's girl at heart!



And did it ever, Olivia loved being on the big machine, just taking it all in at first. She sat on Daddy's lap and looked on either side of her at the buttons and levers. He put her in the driver's seat and she tried to crawl to the side to play with the levers. I couldn't stop laughing as I just kept shooting away. I noticed neighbors expressions as they walked by with their dog's and I am sure they were thinking we were crazy to have a baby on this machine. But it truly made our day as I am sure that it made Olivia's!

Unconditional Love

So many people have asked me the same question...

..."Has having Olivia changed your life?"

My answer has always been the same...

"Yes."

The minute I found out that I was pregnant my life changed, for the better. We all know of the changes that go on physically during pregnancy, but not many share the ones that a first time mother goes through on the inside. You have another person who is relying on you to stay alive. It is a huge responsibility, one that Ben and I were ready to conquer. 

Precious Olivia

However, to expand on my answer that yes, indeed having Olivia has changed my life. She is the most important person in it and the most fun we have had. My life has more meaning today then it did last year at this time. I never knew that someone so tiny could bring so much joy and fulfillment to me. I am satisfied sitting and watching her every move. I don't need to watch TV, I have daily entertainment in my own house.

Just before we found out we were expecting!

The moment our lives changed!

Ben and I still get to do the things that we did before she arrived, they just take a bit longer now. It's not easy to get out of the house quickly, because we would forget half of the things we need. There is a mental checklist that you must go through to walk out that door. Dinner out is sometimes a challenge, but one we manage to get through with tons of laughter. The one night at Chili's Ben was feeding Olivia and I was feeding Ben and myself. I do wish on more then one occasion that I had more hands! I run my errands with Olivia and mostly she is content to watch the scenery as we stroll through the mall or other places. Yet, there are other times where I feel like I am running a marathon where instead of cheers there is screaming and crying. I LOVE EVERY MINUTE!!!

Olivia is the biggest and best change in my life, I live for her. 

I feel that Ben and I are closer and stronger because of her. She is teaching us a new way to love. One that is unconditional! There is nothing that she will ever do to make me stop loving her. Her smiles and laughter are what makes our world go round.