Such Concentration....

My Little Girl...

is getting so big! It's so rare to see Olivia actually smiling for a picture. How can I get mad at her for sitting in her brother's swing when she smiles at me like that. I do realize that she has me completely wrapped around her finger.

Calphalon...made to last!

I'm loosing it, in the midst of yesterday's nap time poop incident I left the pot of soup we had for lunch on the stove. When I took Olivia upstairs to put her down for her nap I left the soup on low so that it would be warm when I sat down to have some after putting Olivia down. Yesterday after the poop incident and the massive clean up we went outside and then I got caught up in making dinner, bathtime,etc. When we went downstairs for breakfast this morning I saw the pot of soup on the stove, still on low! I can't believe I was so irresponsible! We have a gas stove so I could have burnt the house down! However, I am very impressed with the Calphalon pot. The soup was burnt to a crisp in the bottom of the pot but after soaking in some hot water for a few minutes it was good as new! Good thing we got all that fancy cookware as a wedding gift!

The magic of disney

Today was one of those really long days (see the earlier post). Olivia didn't take a nap today so at 6pm she was grumpy and fussy. That means bathtime (for the 2nd time today). After her bath it wasn't quite bedtime so I thought I'd give movie night a try. I grabbed our new copy of Sleeping Beauty and we crawled into my bed in our pj's with the labtop and put in the movie. Olivia doesn't watch TV, she will watch a few seconds of Oprah (because of the clapping) and Ellen (because of the dancing) but that's pretty much it. I've tried tons of cartoons and almost every program on the Noggin "preschool on tv" network, she's just not that into it. Which is fine, I don't want my kiddo to be addicted to the tv but a few minutes would be nice. Anyway, Olivia loved Sleeping Beauty! She sat through the entire 75 minutes! She happily pointed out things in the movie and every time Maleficent left the scene she happily said "bye bye". It was adorable. Thank Goodness! After this afternoon's experience we needed to end the day on a good note!

I really miss my hubby when....

Olivia decides to take off her diaper when she's supposed to be napping and then poop in her bedroom and then smear it all over the place. What is she a monkey? What happened to my sweet little girl. When I walked into her room the first thing she said to me was "bath". Yes, bath is right, head directly to the bath, do not pass go, do not touch anything!!!!!

I used to be on time

I used to be the person who was never late! I was always right on time, if not a little early. I was always on time to class, I always got to doctor's appointments 15 minutes early as requested, I was always on time to work and to meetings. I didn't like to rush. I worried that this might change when Olivia was born and I became a mom but it didn't. I was still able to get where I needed to go on time. When she became a toddler it took us a little longer to get where we needed to go but I was able to plan accordingly.

Now I'm a mess. I have no idea how I can wake up at 5:30 in the morning and be late for a 9:30 am appointment. It's crazy, there's no controling it. I'm starting to become one of those people who I always used to get annoyed with. I'm still a long way from accepting it but they say that admittance is the first step to recovery so I'm admitting it here. I'm late, disorganized, and in a constant rush and I have no idea how to stop!

As good as it's gonna get

I've decided that I had a pretty good Valentines Day today, considering my husband is gone and I haven't talked to him in over a week.

This morning Peter slept in until 7:30 and Olivia slept until 8:15! Olivia mysteriously decided to eat whatever I gave her today without complaining and asking for cheese and hot dogs instead. Today she and I shared bagels at breakfast, she had ritz crackers with peanut butter and raisins for snack, grilled chicken and edamame for lunch, and tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner. Mike left a nice note on our valentine tree. Peter amused himself on his playmat long enough for me to take a nice, relaxing shower. Olivia took an extra long nap today. I talked to a girlfriend who's husband is due to come home from Iraq TOMORROW! We went to the library and to the grocery store, both of which were not crowded at all! I indulged myself by buying a trashy tabloid magazine at the checkout line. Now Olivia is asleep and Peter is enjoying tummy time on his playmat while I enjoy a glass of wine in bed at 8pm! Considering that Mike is gone I'm thinking that this is as good as it's gonna get and I'm ok with that, I think that it was a pretty good day!

Peter's first toy

The other day Peter decided to start reaching for toys! I can't believe he's getting so big so fast! He's 3 months old today!

Playdate

Olivia had a playdate the other day with her friend Wesley who is about a year older than she is. Olivia and Wesley seemed to have a great time. Olivia is very into taking her clothes off and on now that we've started potty training. By the end of the night I was so tired of putting her clothes back on that I just gave up and let her run around naked. They both had a great time running laps around the house while holding hands, pushing eachother in a laundry basket that Wesley decided was a boat and driving eachother on Olivia's car. I'm sure that one day Olivia will not be to happy that I posted these pictures for the world to see but they are both so stinkin' cute that I had to share!

Sleeping Arrangements

I still remember the first night Olivia slept in her crib, it was September 19, 2006. For whatever reason I was very concerned with making sure that Olivia was sleeping in her own crib as soon as possible. We actually put her to sleep in her crib the first night she was home from the hospital (of course that only lasted about an hour and a half). I don't know why I was so obsessed with our sleeping arrangements, perhaps it was because Mike was deployed and I didn't have as many other things to worry about. I wanted to be sure that Olivia was sleeping in her crib by the time he came home. Once Olivia was 2 months old I decided that she could sleep in her crib. I remember discussing this at her 2 month well baby visit with her pediatrician. He assured me that she would cry but that she would be fine. I guess I thought this process would take several months longer than it actually took because Mike didn't get home until the end of November.

The situation with Peter couldn't be more different. He is still sleeping in his bassinet, right next to my side of the bed and I'm in absolutely no hurry to move him down the hall to his crib. His 2 month appointment came and went and he'll be 3 months old next month. He is sleeping pretty much through the night but occasionally he'll start to fuss a bit and I'll just reach over and hold his little hand that he's managed to work out of the swaddling blanket and he goes right back to sleep. That's how we woke up this morning, my arm was hanging out of the bed and his little hand was wrapped around my finger.

I had big plans for moving him into his room while Mike is out of town but somehow I'm just not ready for that. It all goes by so fast! I just want to enjoy every precious moment of this newborn stage!

Peter

So I can't believe how big Peter is getting. He's busy starting to figure out how his arms and legs work. I couldn't help but capture some of these precious milestones on video. I hope these clips help you get your baby fix for the day. Thanks Laurie for the adorable outfit! I'm so glad that Peter was looking presentable for his big screen debut!

A Day in the Life ....of a dog

So I can't believe how attached Olivia is to her dog. She refuses to go anywhere or do anything without it! Other than her pacifier which we took away over the summer she wasn't ever really attached to anything. She had a stuffed doll that she napped with at daycare and she got her owl to replace her pacifier but those only stay in her bed. The dog (which she refers to only as dog) is taken everywhere.

Olivia wakes up to find "dog" in her bed and a beautiful relationship is born!



Olivia's loads "dog" into her stroller and shows him around the house!



Olivia and dog on the way to the gym. She insisted he come along and was very upset that he had to stay in the car. Olivia decided to throw a fit as we were leaving the gym because she wanted me to carry her. I took her aside and explained that if she walked like a big girl to the car then she would get dog when we got to the car and her tantrum ended immediately!


Yes, that's the dog wearing Olivia's big girl panties. At the rate we're going I think it's likely that dog might be potty trained before Olivia.



Waiting at the doctor's office.



Olivia is now sharing her snack with the dog.

That's right, dog got a sticker at the doctor too!

Valentines Puppy Dogs

Here are the pics of the Valentines Puppy Dogs that Mike left for Olivia and Peter. Olivia has become quite attached to her dog but more on that later! I know my kids have some serious bed head!

I love this man!

So Mike left this morning. I heard him quietly close the front door around 6 am and I just wanted to sleep until it's time for him to come home.

When I did finally drag myself out of bed I found the cutest surprise in Peter's bassinet, a stuffed valentines puppy dog. In Olivia's room she also had a valentines puppy dog and I got a cute picture frame. It absolutely made my morning!

I took some really cute pictures of Olivia and Peter with their early valentines presents but I can't find the cord to download the pictures from the camera so they'll have to wait till later. Instead here's our engagement picture, it was only 7 years ago but we look really young!

Sometimes I really miss my job!

I absolutely never thought that I'd say this! But sometimes I really miss my job!

According to the speech therapist Olivia has started to "withhold language" from me. In her toddler world she wants things that she can control and the amount of food she eats and the words she uses are pretty much the only things she can control. Of course this is happening this week because I've been doing my very best to let her make her own decisions about little things all week long! She gets to choose what she wears, she gets to choose what book to read, she even got to choose who gets out of the car first, her or Peter. Apparently now she's chosen not to talk to me. This makes me want to choose to have a glass of wine at 10:30 in the morning (but I haven't actually done it)!

I haven't been able to take a shower all day and despite numerous changes of clothes I still smell like baby vomit.

I caught myself telling a girlfriend the other day that I liked doing our taxes because it made me feel smart. Who likes doing their taxes! What am I an accountant? Anyone who knows me knows that I hate dealing with money. I am seriously lacking intellectual stimulation here if I'm enjoying doing the taxes!

I can't remember the last time I went to lunch with a group of girlfriends, oh wait yes I do, it was my last day of work, back in NOVEMBER!

I miss having deadlines and meetings and due dates! Instead my calendar is full of doctor's appointments, speech sessions, and playgroup dates.

I'm tired of wearing stay-at-home clothes when I have a closet full of business casual attire that's just sitting there.

I know that I definitely didn't take the easy way out when I decided not to go back to work after Peter was born. I am so blessed to be able to stay home and enjoy this time with them. I keep thinking about how Peter is having to go to daycare for a couple of hours on Friday when I take Olivia for a hearing exam and that terrifies me! I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all day. I know he'll be fine but I just hate having to leave the little guy! If only I could find the perfect part-time job with great pay that was intellectually stimulating!

Even though Peter will be in daycare I am really looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with Olivia, maybe she'll decide not to "withhold her language" and talk to me :)

Library, why didn't I think of that

I've always loved going to the public library! As a girl I remember going there often in the summer. I loved picking out books all by myself. I'd participate in the summer reading programs. I still remember the day my mom took me to get my very first library card.



The library in college wasn't nearly as exciting and to be honest I didn't spend much time there. I spent a little more time at the library in grad school (though not nearly as much as my brilliant roomie who practically lived there).



When we moved to Colorado I happily got a library card and fell in love with the online request system. I'd get books on cd to listen to during my hour long commute from Colorado Springs to Denver. I loved that I could renew and request books online and they'd be waiting for me at the library!



Now that I'm at home all day with Olivia and Peter I'm always looking for new ways to keep everyone occupied. Last week we took a trip to the library. I can't believe that I didn't think of this before! We had a great time. There's a library at the front of our neighborhood so I loaded everyone into the stroller and we took a walk. On the way there I explained to Olivia that she would get to pick two new books. The library is pretty small but it had nice kids area. Olivia picked her 2 books and happily played with some of the other puzzles and games they had. When it was time to check out Olivia was a little confused that I handed her books to the librarian but her face lit up when the librarian handed them back to her to take home. Olivia happily announced that she had two books and then ran for the door. She held the books on her lap very carefully all the way home.



This week we'll try story time for toddlers. I'm just not sure how Olivia will react when she has to give the books back.....

Sleeping through the night

I swear that I am not going to be one of those moms who remembers and documents every second of her first child's life and then is too busy to do the same with her second child. Last night Peter had a terrible night, for whatever reason he was up from about midnight until 5 am. He was fussy and cranky, he didn't have a fever, who knows what was wrong with him! Poor guy. The point is that I didn't realize how much I appreciated that he'd been sleeping through the night until last night when he didn't.

Perfect Saturday Morning

The perfect Saturday morning happened this past weekend at our house. We all slept in until 8:30. Olivia and Mike made breakfast together. The sun was actually shinning. We all went on a relaxing walk up to the coffee shop in our neighborhood. We stopped by the park on our way home. Despite the beautiful weather we happened to be the only ones at the park and we had a blast playing together. Mike and I got to talk about whatever we wanted, without interruption. It was wonderful!

A big girl bed

When Mike was out of town a couple weeks ago (I'm a little behind in my blogging) Olivia and I decided it was time for her to sleep in a big girl bed. She's been sleeping in her crib that was then transitioned into a toddler bed and then a day bed but we decided it was time for a real big girl twin size bed. She and I took apart her crib and then we went to go pick out sheets for her new big girl bed. That night I put Olivia to sleep in her big girl bed and she absolutely loved it! She's very proud of her big girl bed and she especially likes that she gets to sleep with her books. This isn't completely true as I only let her take a couple into bed with her but there's a shelf under her bed and apparently Olivia decided that sleeping on top of her books is the same as sleeping with them.

What a champ!

Olivia did great at the dentist! Wait no, let me rephrase that, Olivia behaved exactly like any 2 and a half year old would behave at the dentist. At first she loved it! She picked grape flavored fluoride toothpaste and she proudly told the dental hygienist that she likes to "brush teeth". She brushed the teeth of the stuffed alligator they had. She sat in the big scary chair. She let the dental hygienist brush and count her teeth. She was having a blast. She laughed at the dentist's special glasses. She said "ahhh" and opened her mouth. She told him how she likes to "brush teeth". Then it came time for the exam, I helped the dentist hold her down while she screamed, kicked, cried, and bit. I loved the dentist! He was so calm about all of it and told her that she behaved exactly like every 2 and a half year old should. When it was over she got a brand new toothbrush and she got to pick a prize from the toy chest. We'll see you again in 6 months doc.