So in love

Peter will be 4 weeks old on Tuesday and I can't believe how much has changed in just a few weeks. Every member of the Leiva family is completely in love! I have started to treasure the time that I spend alone with Peter in the middle of the night when I feed him. The first thing Olivia says every morning when she gets up is "baby" and then off she goes running to find him. She gets so excited when we let her hold, hug, and kiss him that she can barley stand it. Mike can't wait to snuggle with Peter when he gets home from work and I've never seen two people more relaxed with each other than when Peter and Mike fall asleep together on the couch.

Happy Thanksgiving

Olivia has perfect timing and she decided to add "thank you" to her vocabulary on Thanksgiving Day. She'd technically said thank you before but on Thanksgiving she started to say it spontaneously all on her own. She definately has saying thank you down after receiving something but she still gets a little confused about what to say when someone gives her something. It's so nice to hear her say thank you when I give her dinner or change her diaper! It's so unexpected, it's such a nice surprise!

We had some friends and their 3 year old son and newborn daughter over for Thanksgiving Dinner. We co-cooked this year which made the turkey day prep much easier. I cooked the turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberries, and a corn casserole while our friends brought over all the sides and dessert. We had a low key thanksgiving but it was nice and we're most thankful that we were all together (even though this is a horrible picture).

You can check out more pictures on Shutterfly: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AcNWTRm5ZsWH9

Fun with the Family

My parents were able to come up for the weekend after Peter was born. We had a great weekend and it was their first time to Washington state. Mike arranged for my dad to ride in one of his Stryker vehicles on Friday then we all went to the Olympia Farmer's Market on Saturday. Sunday everyone went to Cabella's (ultimate sporting goods store) while I got to stay home and rest with Peter. We had a great time and here are a few pictures of Dad and the Stryker.

At the Farmer's Market Olivia didn't want to ride in her stroller but she loved pushing it around. I think it'll be a while before we let her push Peter in the stroller but she had a blast!

Mother of Two

So today was my first official day on my own with two kids. Mike is now back at work and all of our family visitors have returned home. It was a little hectic.....

5:15 am--Peter wakes up and I start feeding him


5:30 am--Mike leaves for work. This is it, I'm officially outnumbered


5:55 am--Peter finishes and goes back to sleep


6:15 am--I am finally able to fall back to sleep for a few more precious minutes of sleep


6:45 am--I hop into the shower. I know that by the time I get out of the shower I will hear both Peter and Olivia crying but I selfishly enjoy my nice hot shower.


6:55 am--Sure enough I get out of the shower and hear both Peter and Olivia are awake. Peter is hungry again and Olivia is singing at the top of her lungs.


7:00 am--Olivia seems happy enough so I focus on Peter, he gets a new diaper and a pacifier and I go to get Olivia.


7:15 am--Olivia is especially feisty this morning and refuses to sit still while I get her dressed. She insists on picking out her clothes which I let her do but she kicked me while I was changing her diaper which resulted in an immediate time out in the corner. Olivia was upset about being put in the corner and she stood up to test my resolve (her favorite activity lately). I told her to sit back down and she "responded" by squatting and peeing in the corner.

7:30 am--Clean up the accident in the corner. Get Olivia and Peter dressed and head downstairs.

7:50 am--Breakfast. Cereal for Olivia and I sit down at the kitchen table to nurse Peter. I experience a few moments of confidence. I'm totally doing this! Both kids are happy and eating. I am the ultimate multi-tasker!

8:05 am--Phone rings, Mike has a question about paperwork that he's left in his office here at home. I frantically search through the desk to find the paperwork all the while still trying to feed Peter.

8:15 am--Olivia announces that she's "all done" and before I can do anything she tries to simultaneously get down from her booster seat and carry her bowl to the sink. This results in her spilling her bowl of milk all over the floor.

8:30 am--Breakfast is over begin cleaning. Olivia's speech teacher is coming to the house for their weekly sessions now that she's not at school all the time and the house is a mess. I spend the next 45 minutes frantically cleaning. The speech teacher is due to arrive at 9:30.

9:15 am--The house is reasonably clean and I sit down to feed Peter again. Olivia takes this opportunity to take out all the toys that I have just finished putting away. She's being quiet and amusing herself so I don't really care.

9:20 am--I hear the garage door open and Mike walks in. It's the day before Thanksgiving and it turns out they've all been released early. My first day solo with 2 kids is over. It's not even 10 am and I'm exhausted and completely relieved that he's home early! He's just in time! I finish feeding Peter and happily pass him off to Mike so that I can spend the next hour and a half playing with Olivia and her speech teacher.

I learned a couple of very valuable lessons from my first day alone with two kids:

1. I know that I will be able to do this
2. I will happily take all the help I can get