Updates

Addison was 4 month old on 11/23 but didn't have her four month well baby visit until today. Of couse, she didn't mind putting off the shots! She continues to grow and grow and grow. I think if you're quiet enough, you can almost hear her grow some days. She weighs 17 lbs 4 1/4 oz (96th percentile) and is 26 1/2 inches long (>97th percentile). She is healthy and happy and according to Dr. H, she is advanced in her gross motor skill development. She said she sits more like a 6 month old than a 4 month old! Go Addie!!! She hasn't rolled over yet but is getting so close. Addie rolls onto her side and looks like she wants to roll onto her belly but falls back onto her back. Any day now she's going to go all the way!

Addison is over the terrible cold she got around Thanksgiving but unfortunately Olivia now has it. She had fun staying home with Daddy yesterday while I went to work and Addie went to daycare. It was a treat for me too. I only had one child to get up and dressed and take to and pick up from daycare. It snowed while she was home and Daddy took her outside for a few minutes so she could wear her snow boots. She couldn't wait to wear her snow boots!!! The girl loves shoes - any kind, it doesn't matter! Liv is talking better and better every day. It's so much fun to listen to her talk to her dolls and sing songs. The other day she was watching a "Go Diego Go" episode. Dora was on the show too that day and Olivia had her little Dora doll and was showing her Dora doll that she was on the TV show. She's so funny! She loves her dress up clothes and has such a great imagination.

The girls went to see Santa last weekend. We didn't think Addie would cry and she didn't. She's too little to be afraid when strangers hold her. It was Liv we weren't too sure about. Last year, Olivia cried when we put her on Santa's lap. This year we talked about it for days before going and while we were standing in line, we watched other boys and girls sit on Santa's lap and we practiced answering the questions Santa would probably ask her. She did great!! Olivia told Santa that she wanted toys. She also said she wants a puppy but Daddy has said "no way!" to the puppy. (She saw puppies when took Jinx to the "kitty doctor".)

Last weekend, Liv helped bake Christmas cookies and this weekend, she'll help pick out the Christmas tree. Addie does her part too - she plays and naps and doesn't get fussy. I'm sure she'll help us pick out the tree too! I know she'll love looking at all of the ornaments and lights. Bill and I are having so much fun preparing for Christmas and watching our girls grow and learn new things.....and we're enjoying the fact that the only thing Liv has put up her nose in a while is her finger!

Updates

Addie turned 4 months old on Black Friday. Since she was sick and at the doctor's office, we were able to get an "office weight". She is 16 lbs. 7 oz. Her 4 month well baby visit isn't for another 1 1/2 weeks so we'll get the rest of the numbers then. She rolled over from front to back once about 2 weeks ago but it was just a fluke. She's getting ready to roll from her back to her front but isn't quite there yet. It's going to happen any day now. She has really found her hands. Last night, as she laid in her crib while I was getting her in her pjs, she watched her hand from an outstretched position all the way to her mouth. It was like she was thinking, "Wow, I can work this thing all on my own!". She was also reaching out for her toys a little and reached out for a blanket and pulled it to her mouth. How exciting!!!

Olivia is growing and growing too. She's getting taller and skinnier every day and she continues to amaze us with how smart she is and how much she's learning. She can count to 20 and only misses one number. For some reason she doesn't like the number 14 or 15. I can't remember which she misses....plus some sound a lot alike. She can also make it all the way through her ABCs and sings several songs. For some reason, she loves to sing "Happy Birthday". She'll sing it over and over and over. You should hear her read the book "Polar Bear, Polar Bear". Too cute!!!! We're still working on the potty training. We know it'll happen one day. For now, we keep trying and keep cheering every time it does happen.

It Was A Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I wrote but then again I can. We have been sooooo busy for the past couple of weeks and I don't think it's going to slow down until after Christmas!

I don't have any pictures to upload from Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving with my parents and siblings (and spouses) and Aunt Tori at Aunt Tori's house. Somehow, the day went by and it was time to go home before I realized that I never took the camera out and took pictures. This was the first time in a long time that we all were together and I forget to take pictures! (Never depend on me to be the photographer for any event!!!) Oh well. Anyway, Thanksgiving was a good day. There was tons of food and it was all delicious. Addison was not mistaken for the turkey even though she is plump enough! Olivia didn't break anything and only hurt herself once. She slipped and fell hitting her face on a glass end table. We had some tears but no blood and no black eye the next day. Keep reading. She didn't fare so well at her other Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Thursday night, Addie's cold seemed much worse. Of course it did. It was a holiday and we were going away for the weekend. Her cough was terrible, she wouldn't eat and you couldn't lay her down. She cried more that night than she has in the past month. (Meredith & Michael, we almost called you so you could hear her. Really, she does cry occasionally.) So, instead of Black Friday shopping, Addie and I went to see the pediatrician, just to make sure there was no ear infection and no problem with her chest. All was good but she was still really congested and sounded terrible! Despite that, later that day, we packed up pretty much the entire house and headed west to Oil City.

The trip out was great. Addie slept most of the way and Liv took a pretty good nap in the truck. Probably the longest nap she ever took in a vehicle. Addie was a trooper for doing so well and having such a miserable cold. She smiled and smiled and giggled and smiled some more. And at one point, she had a lengthy conversation with her Great Grandma M. Everyone endured the hours and hours of "Dora the Explorer". I think Grandpa actually enjoyed it a little. Liv had fun playing with her toys, watching her videos, and showing off a little. Unfortunately, she had a couple of tumbles on the hard wood floors. The first time, she was fine after a good cry. The second time, she wasn't so lucky. She put her teeth into her lip and ended up with a bloody, fat lip and some brush burn type bruises on her lip and chin. It looks terrible! A little bit of ice and a lot of hugs and love made it feel better. It's going to take a little time to look better. Good thing I'm so terrible with taking pictures at family gatherings!!!

Olivia's favorite word...

I knew we'd hit the stage one day but I didn't think it would be so soon........

...."Mommy, why is the bus yellow? Why do I have to buckle in? Why do I have to wear shoes? Why does Addie drink from a bottle? Why doesn't Addie have teeth? Why do I have to brush my teeth? Why do I have to get dressed? Why is it dark out? Why do I have to wear a jacket? Why is it cold out? Why is it fall? Why? Why?? Why??? Why???? Why????? Ugh!!! I never knew 3 little letters could make me want to scream! I try to remind myself that it's good Olivia is so inquisitive but I think the doctor is going to have to up my blood pressure medicine soon!!

Trick or Treat

Tonight was Trick-or-Treat night in Jonestown. This was the first year Olivia got to dress up and go to a few houses. She was so excited to put on her Cinderella costume. It's funny, she's very tall for her age but looked so tiny going up to the houses saying, "Trick or Treat" or "Happy Halloween". She had so much fun getting candy in her ghost bucket. We only went to 6 or 7 houses but she thinks she got sooooo much candy!

We took Addie to some of the houses with Liv but she didn't get any candy. The orange food coloring I put in her formula today is as close to Halloween treats as she gets right now. After going to a few houses, Bill took Addie inside to get her pajamas on. I stayed outside with Liv. I think she had as much fun passing out candy as she did getting some for herself. She would yell, "People come over" because she wanted more kids to come to our house so she could put candy in their bags/pumpkins. I thought she might be afraid of some of the scary masks but she wasn't. She looked at some of the costumes funny but didn't seem to be afraid at all. She is finally in bed and I'm hoping she will sleep well tonight. She did eat more candy than I wanted her to have but it's Halloween!!

Halloween Parade & Party

Today was the Halloween party at the daycare. There were a bunch of Cinderellas but Olivia was definitely the most beautiful. Addison was the only Minnie Mouse. She was adorable and had to be the cutest baby there!! Enjoy the pictures! The little boy in the pictures with Liv is her friend Cole. He has been her best friend at daycare since they were in the baby room together!! A few of the pictures were taken at home after the party.

I'm 3 months old!!!

Can you believe Addison is 3 months old already!!! On one hand it doesn't seem like she can be 3 months old already. On the other hand, we can't remember a day she wasn't here.

Sleeping beauty

This is how I found Liv this morning when I went to wake her up for "school". She's fast asleep in the picture.

The Bumbo chair

We bought a cool chair for Addison called a Bumbo chair. Obviously, Addison is too little to sit up on her own. The chair supports her body so she can sit up and look around at everything. It's great!! She can't fall out. Olivia likes the chair too! I thought she would get stuck in it but she didn't.

Fall Festival

Last Saturday, we took the girls to a local orchard for a little fall festival. Olivia played some games but was a little small for them. She had tons of fun and won some cute little prizes. She also got to see 2 cows and learned how to pick apples from Mr. Gray. Before we went home, we picked some apples and pumpkins to bring home with us. It was a fun afternoon but a rough evening at home because the fall festival was at the same time as her nap. Boy, she can throw a fit when she's tired!!!! Addison went to the fall festival too but she didn't get to play any games or pick any apples or pumpkins. She mostly slept and looked around at the trees.

Addie's 2 month well baby visit

Addison turned 2 months old on September 23rd (the day she was baptized) but she just had her 2 month well baby visit today. She is 24 1/2 inches long (97th percentile), weighs 13 lbs 8 oz (90th %ile), and her head is 34.5 cm (25th %ile). I pulled out Liv's baby book to compare and at Liv's 2 month visit, she was 1 lb lighter and 1 inch shorter but her head was 3.5 cm (1.4 in) bigger. So, does Addison have a small head or did Liv have a big one??

Addison and Olivia both got shots. Liv got her flu shot and Addison got 5 vaccinations in 3 shots and an oral vaccine. Liv went first. With getting 3 shots, I knew Addison would end up screaming so I thought it would be wise to get Olivia's shot first. That way she didn't see Addison's reaction to the shots and freak out before the needle even got close to her leg. The nurse did a great job giving the shot quickly. Liv cried a little but really did well. She was proud of her band-aid and the sticker she was given for being a great patient. I gave her a lollipop in the car on the way home and before we made it home, she was already telling me her "boo boo" was "all better".

Addison did well with the oral vaccine but didn't care for the 3 shots. She started to scream with the first shot and got louder and more red-faced with #2 and #3. By the time she was done getting her shots, her face was an amazing shade of dark red.....sort of like the color of a Dr. Pepper soda can. Fortunately, she calmed down pretty quickly, went back to her normal color, and then fell asleep for the ride home. In 2 months, we get to do it all again!

Updates

The girls are doing great! Both are getting over their colds. Hopefully we can make it at least a few weeks before they get the next one.

Olivia is going through a sensitive phase. It seems like everything makes her cry these days. I know I drove my parents crazy doing the same thing.....for years....but this is worse. I know it is because it's happening to me! It's just a phase.....It's just a phase......It's just a phase! Other than that, she's doing very well. There hasn't been anything stuck up her nose....that we know of. She continues to pee pee in the potty at least once or twice each day. She's a long way off from getting rid of the diapers but we're making progress. She's also talking up a storm and doing very well with her ABC's and her counting from 1 to 20. Saturday, we walked around the nature park by out development to collect leaves and other nature items to bring into daycare. This week they are learning the letter "F" and one of the topics is fall. Changing leaves, pine cones, and acorns are things you find in the fall.

Addison is a wonderful baby and has adjusted very well to being at daycare. Last Wednesday I'm happy to say that she slept through the night. Not just a 5 hour stretch that the doctors consider sleeping through the night. She slept from 9:30 pm until it was time to get up at 6:00 am. It was great (especially because it was my turn to get up with her)!!! Most nights she wakes up around 5......still fantastic. She was 9 weeks when she slept through the night. Olivia didn't start sleeping through the night consistently until she was 9 months old. What a difference! What else can I say about Addie?? She has a great smile!! She smiles more and more when you talk to her and she loves to smile at the mobile hanging on her crib. She's a very happy baby. I'm also excited to say that her hair is growing!!! During her bath tonight, we weren't just soaping up her head. There was hair long enough to move around and then brush after the bath!

Tubby Time

What a Mom does for her children.......Olivia loves to take her tubby every night. Saturday night we decided she would skip her bath because it was getting too late. Liv gets a little mean and a lot uncooperative when she is overtired. So, we told her we would give her a bath as soon as she gets up Sunday morning. She asked if Mommy would take a bath with her. I told her maybe, hoping she'd forget by morning. She's tired, right? She won't remember.

Wrong!! Sunday morning comes around and it's time for her tubby. Of course she remembers wanting Mommy to take a tubby with her!! Trying to avoid trying to cram me into the tub with her and her tub toys, I talked her into a shower. Good plan. Right?? Wrong. She hated the shower. She didn't like the water hitting her face and when she stood out of the water, she was cold. She wanted her tubby and it had to be with Mommy.

OK, picture this, 5' 9 1/2", 125 lb. me (OK the height isn't a lie) cramming myself into a normal sized tub with a 2 year old and what seems like a zillion toys. Wait, don't really picture it but think about it. Do you know how small that tub was?? I guess there was good and bad that came out of it. The bad new is that cramming myself in the tub is actually worse than the depressing feeling that a bunch of my clothes still don't fit even though I lost all of my "baby weight". The good news is that I did not get stuck in the tub, I have proven that I am still flexible.....I had to be to fit in there with Liv and all her stuff.....and Liv had a great time playing in the tub with her Mommy!! It's much better when Addie takes a bath with her.

Does it get any better than this?!?

It doesn't matter how busy or stressful the day is. Coming home to these 2 little angels makes it all worth it! (Make sure to remind me of that when I have one of those days when I want to hide or run away.)

Addie's Baptism

On Sunday, September 23rd, Addison Margaret was baptized. She looked so beautiful in her little, white dress and did so well. She pretty much slept through the entire Mass which was the exact opposite of Olivia's baptism. Olivia pretty much screamed through most of her baptism. But what do you expect? She was 4 months old and decided she was hungry. That's fine but someone (I won't mention his name) forgot the diaper bag, with bottles inside, at home. She was so upset that Father Michael stopped the baptism part of the Mass so we could calm her down. Fortunately, I carry extra everything in my car...including an extra can of formula with an empty bottle. We fed her and she did better. This time, I carried the diaper bag to the car and into the church. We weren't going to go through that again!!

Addison was perfect! She looked so sweet and beautiful and just slept. She flinched a little when Father poured the water on her head but didn't even open her eyes.

Addie's God-parents are my sister and brother-in-law Meredith and Michael. I think by the time we were taking pictures after Mass, Addie was done posing for pictures. I think she was hoping I'd take that uncomfortable dress off of her. Sorry, not yet!

Olivia did a great job too. We don't usually take her to church because it's asking a lot of a 2 year old to sit quietly for an hour. We took her the week before to show her what church was and try to prepare her for the next Sunday......and to try and prepare us for the next Sunday. Except for when she was laying on the floor at the front of the church in her dress with her legs up in the air before Mass started, she was pretty well behaved. Grandma helped keep her quiet and entertained. We were glad to see she didn't decide to sing her ABCs, count loudly, or call for her Daddy like she did the week before.

Potty time

Olivia has started showing some interest in potty training. She sees a lot of the other Bears potty training at daycare and will sometimes go on the potty too. We made up sticker charts for each bathroom and she gets a sticker for trying and 2 for actually going. It's what they started at daycare so we are trying to be consistent.

Last Friday, she used the potty 4 times - 3 times at daycare and once at home!! Now that's exciting!! It's funny to hear her say, "I pee-peed on the potty" with so much pride. It's even funnier to see how excited Bill and I can be when she does it.

What is it with her nose???

So today I took Liv back to the doctor to check for another foreign object in her nose. One would think she would have learn from the rotting raisin up her nose that it's not a good idea to put things up there. But no! A week or 2 ago I stopped her from putting a kernel of corn up her nose. Last night, Bill saw something pink sort of sticking out of her nose. She wouldn't let him look up her nose but again she let me. Yep, there was something pink in there. I ran to get tweezers and it was gone by the time I got back. Did it fall out? Did it go up higher?? Once again we pulled out the little flashlight and looked up her nose but this time did not see anything. I'm really pissed at this point. Now what? Do we take her to the doctor or assume it fell out? I looked but didn't find any little pieces of pink crayon on her booster seat or on the floor. Bill and I disagreed on what to do so I called my Mom for her opinion. She agreed with Bill and we decided we'd wait and see if it bothers her.

Well, this morning at the breakfast table, her little index finger kept making it's way up her little nose. I kept telling her to take the finger out of her nose but she said her color (aka: crayon) is in there. So, that turned into another trip to the doctor's office today. The doctor looked up Liv's nose as high as she could and didn't find any crayon or anything else. She said it either fell out or is higher than she can see. She's guessing it fell out because she feels she can see higher than Liv could probably push something but told us to watch and see if her nose gets blocked or if there is any bleeding or drainage. If there is, they will refer us to ENT doc to get it looked at. At least a crayon shouldn't rot and make her breath smell bad. What can she put up there next??? At this point, only her finger would be nice!

Addie update

Our baby is growing so quickly. She will be 8 weeks old on Monday and will be starting daycare on Wednesday. I thought it would be easier to take her to daycare for the first time but it's not going to be. When I took Olivia for the first time, I started to cry as soon as I walked into the daycare. This time, I'm sure I'll at least make it out to the car before the tears start! There are great women working in the baby room so she'll be in good hands but it will still be hard to hand her over. It's tough only having a few hours in the evening each day to spend with the girls. Especially because the evening will be filled with dinner, baths, making bottles, and preparing for the next day. Not too much time for fun!

Addison is holding her head up very well. She doesn't have complete control over those neck muscles but is getting there. She had her first little cold and definitely did not like the saline nose drops or the "boogie sucker". We had some nights of not sleeping very well but she's back to getting up only once or twice each night -- usually around 2 or 3 and then again around 5 or 6. Not too bad but I'm ready for her to sleep through the night. I'm sure Bill will be too once I go back to work and he has to share duties of getting up with Addie during the night.

Addie starts to roll onto her side when laying in her crib and tries to sit up if you have her laying on your lap. She's already going to have abs of steel!! Bill and I have noticed that the size 1 diapers and some of her 0-3 clothes are getting too small. I swear this morning she felt bigger and heavier than she did when we put her to bed last night. I got on the scale with and without her to try and get an idea of what she weighs and it looks like she weighs about 13 lbs!!! I can't imagine what she will weigh when she goes for her well baby visit on Oct. 8th. Her hair seems to be growing a little and none has fallen out yet. She's still a little redhead.

Addison has the most beautiful little smile. Some days she smiles and smiles at us and at her toys. Of course she didn't want to smile at all on Monday when we took her to have her picture taken but had smiled quite a bit every day since then. We took Liv to the photographers to hopefully get a nice picture of the 2 of them together but Liv didn't really want to cooperate either. Oh well, Fran works magic so we'll see how the proofs come out.

Almost famous.....

Bill and I heard a radio commercial for a talent discovery company (National Discovery Network) that was having open calls for kids ages 6 months to 18 years. It said if you or your child thinks he or she can be in publications or movies, come to the open call. We decided to take Olivia. We know she's beautiful and she loves to get her picture taken. She'd be a natural!! So, we went. You fill out a little form giving info on the age, gender, clothing size, etc. of the child and then wait in a room with a bunch of other parents & children. A man came in and talked to us for a few minutes. He said each child would be called up one by one and he'd ask a few questions and then either say thanks and give you a paper with info on their company or he'd give you a sheet with info on the next meeting date/time.

Bill sat with Addie while Liv and I got in line. When it was her turn, we went up to the table. The man asked Liv her name, her age, and what snack she was munching on (goldfish). She stood there looking cute and answered each question in her sweet, little voice. He said thanks and gave us the sheet with the info on the next meeting date/time. She got a call back!!!!! We knew she was beautiful!!

OK, so I'm hoping she gets picked for a Boscov's, Bon Ton, or Kohl's sales flier or something. I really don't want to be one of those crazy stage moms that drag their kids around and force them to model or audition for movies, shows, or commercials.

The next meeting was just for the parents. Bill stayed home with the girls and I went to the meeting......which was also my first time away from Addison since she was born.....we all survived. At the meeting a lady told us all about the company and the wonderful successes many of their clients have had. We saw a little moving that showed more success stories and then she passed out an information flier. She said the next step is to attend their annual convention in November in Myrtle Beach, SC. At the convention, the different talent scouts get to see your child and hopefully your child will get some call backs. So I'm thinking, do I really want to drag Liv and Addie to SC for a weekend to have Liv walk across a stage and maybe get the chance to be in a magazine, catalog, or commercial. Maybe we could do it. Then I flipped the flier over and saw that the cost to register for the convention......which does not include the hotel room......is $595.00!!!! That made my mind up quickly!!! I was disappointed because it would have been fun to see Liv in a magazine or catalog but I'm not crazy enough to write that check. I wonder how many parents did.

The lady did say that they saw over 400 kids in the 2 days they were in the Harrisburg area. They had one call back meeting and there were only about 20-25 families there. Oh well, fame and fortune will have to wait!

A quiet week.

It has been a quiet week at home although I did see Olivia begin to put a kernel of corn from her corn on the cob up her nose. I stopped that one pretty quick. What is it with her having the desire to put things up the nose??? Both girls have colds. Olivia's nose runs and runs but it doesn't slow her down. Addie had had a little trouble sleeping with her stuffy nose. She definitely does not like saline nose drops or when I use the bulb syringe (aka: the boogie sucker). I had my 6 week follow-up appointment and I was given the ok to go back to work when my 8 weeks are up. I thought it would be easier to leave Addison at daycare but I can already tell it will be just as hard as it was to leave Olivia there when she was a little baby. September 19th is approaching quickly and I'm not ready to leave Addison. I think I'm going to have more separation issues than she will.

Love the lake!

Saturday, August 25th was the annual picnic at friends Eugenia & John's house. There is a group of us who worked together in the old office (plus Sue & Jack) who try to get together a couple of times each year. Eugenia and John live in a beautiful house on a lake and invited us to hang out on their boat, ride the jet ski, swim in the lake, and have a cook out at their house. Olivia was so excited to ride on the boat. She wore her life jacket at the house practicing for the outing on the boat. She and her Daddy also had a lot of fun riding the jet ski. He said she wasn't the driver but I'm not sure about that. They also swam in the lake and she was not afraid at all. She can't wait to ride the boat and swim in the lake another day.

Addison wasn't as lucky as Olivia. She and I hung out on the boat and tried to stay in the shade. Addie is too little to ride the jet ski or swim in the lake this year. She was also much less excited about the life jacket. The jacket label says it is for children 0-30 lbs. but at only 9 lbs. (approximately), the jacket was huge on her. But, she still looked adorable in it.

One little raisin

This is not a story for the squeamish. Be warned! :o) ha-ha!

I've been trying to think of a creative way to start this entry but I think the best thing to do is to just explain what happened.

Last week we noticed that Olivia has really bad breath. It got worse and worse as the week went on. Those who know her know that she puts her fingers, thumbs, and pretty much anything she can in her mouth. Could the bad breath be from her constantly having her fingers in her mouth?? So, we had her brush her teeth & wash her hands several times a day. It didn't help. We checked the Internet and found that toddler bad breath is rare but was usually caused by an infection from food particles that were caught somewhere in the oral cavity (behind tonsils, up the nose, etc.). There was also a site that said the bad breath could be caused by ketoacidosis which could mean she had diabetes. That was a terrifying thought.

On Monday, we called the doctor's office to make an appointment. The nurse suggested we make an appointment with her regular physician but she was on vacation Monday and Tuesday. So, we had an appointment for Wednesday at 3:50. Two more days of dealing with the foul breath and worrying about the cause.

Since the info we read said the cause was usually an infection we decided to play detective. Monday night Bill looked up Liv's nose and noticed it was pretty crusty so he sprayed some saline drops in her nose to clean it out. Tuesday, we were talking & remembered a day right before Addison was born (yep, about a month ago) when Liv came into the kitchen and said something about her nose. We didn't understand what she was saying but thought she was telling us that there was something up her nose. We asked questions trying to figure out what she was saying but she said she didn't stick anything up there. We checked her out, found nothing, and she went back to playing. She never said another word about it.

You know where this is going, don't you??

Tuesday, we looked up her nose again and noticed it was again looking pretty crusty. We pulled out the saline spray again and a flashlight. With the flashlight you could see there was definitely something up there. I asked her what she put up her nose and she said it was a raisin. Why didn't she tell us this a month ago when we asked?? Bill got the tweezers and tried to pull it out but Liv kept pulling away. I'm sure it felt funny having tweezers up your nose. So, I gave it a try. I took a deep breath, grabbed the tweezers, and slowly went up her nose after the object. I got a hold of it and slowly pulled it out. Whatever it was, it was enormous coming out of that cute, little nose. I almost threw up! It may have been a raisin at one time but now it was a big, fat, green thing that looked like it had sprouted arms and legs. (Sorry Mike, no picture.)

Bill wanted me to smell it to see if that was what was causing the bad breath but there was no way that was ever going to happen. I gave it to him and he smelled it and he too almost threw up. There was no question about it being the cause of her bad breath!!

Since we had the doctor appointment already scheduled, we kept the appointment. Even though her breath was better, could the month-old, rotting raisin in the nose have caused an infection? Dr. H checked her out and said she could see where the "raisin" had been but saw no infection. She checked the other side of her nose and both ears to make sure there was nothing else stuck where it didn't belong. No other objects. Thank God! I think it's safe to say Olivia will never do that again!!!

Way to go, Mom!

This has been my first week at home with the girls...alone, without Bill. At the end of my pregnancy and right after I came home, Bill was the one playing outside with Olivia because I couldn't do all the playing outside that she loves to do. Now that I'm back to myself and am the only one home with her, I make sure to have time to play with her outside while Addie's asleep.

Monday night, Bill and Liv had been playing with a golf ball that Bill found in our front yard. He would throw or bounce it to her and she would try to catch it and run after it when she missed. How hard is that?!? Right??? Well, we were outside on Tuesday. Liv wanted to play with the golf ball. I bounced it towards her and smacked her right between the eyes with it. That was the end of me playing with the golf ball with Olivia. At least she thought it was fun to get a little bag of ice to hold on her head. She had a red circle on her head the rest of the day. Thank God it was gone by the morning!!

Addie's first trip

Well, Addison is now a world traveler. Ok, not a world traveler but she did take a trip across the state this past weekend. Bill and I packed up the girls (and tons of other things - pack-n-play, portable swing, toys, millions of diapers, etc.) and headed west. We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa in the western part of the state. Olivia was excited to see her grandparents again and they were excited to see Olivia and to meet Addison. In addition to her grandparents, Addison was able to meet her great grandmothers, her Uncle Keith, and her cousin Shelby. Olivia brought her Dora the Explorer videos and showed everyone how much fun it is to watch Dora episode after Dora episode. It was a fun weekend.....except for the long ride home when we got stopped on the interstate for about 45 minutes due to an accident. Liv did a great job during the whole ride. Addison slept pretty much the entire trip.

Veggies don't kill!

Olivia is still a poor eater but she has made a major break-through. She has learned that vegetables are OK to eat....at least if it's corn on the cob (with lots of butter, of course). Baby steps! One day she will actually eat a real meal.........We hope.

And then there were two.........

Most, if not all of you know, that little Addison Margaret was born on Monday, July 23 at 10:43 am. After spending weeks thinking I wasn't going to make it to the scheduled delivery date and some days praying I wouldn't have to wait until the scheduled delivery date, the big day finally arrived. We got to the hospital right on time but the c-section was delayed by 2 other deliveries. Finally it was my turn!!! I remember from Liv's birth that the spinal was no big deal but still just couldn't wait to get that part over with. I think I had more anxiety about that then about any other part of the delivery or recovery. They did the spinal and it didn't work. There were 3 anesthesiologists checking and checking to see if maybe I was having a delayed reaction to the spinal but really, there was no reaction at all. They kept doing tests to see if I was numb - cold on my skin, pricking my skin, making me move my toes and legs. I would have gotten up and danced a jig if that is what it took to make sure they knew that I could feel everything!! It was not fun laying there listening to the three of them try to figure out why I wasn't numb ("This has never happened before.") and what they should do now (try another spinal or go right to general). Finally, they decided to try again and gave me a second spinal. This one worked, Billy was brought in, and the fun began. Just a few minutes later, our second miracle arrived. Surprise, surprise, the little child who made me so sick in the beginning and then squirmed and kicked me for months was a girl.....a tiny, beautiful, sweet, and perfect little girl.



We came home from the hospital on Wednesday and have had tons of fun ever since. Addison is a wonderful baby and is a pretty good sleeper already. Olivia is an awesome big sister.....we only had one major melt-down over a stroller and a few days of whining and testing the limits. Bill and I are happier than we ever thought we could be. Now the question is...how do we get our bosses to let us stay home but still let us collect our paychecks?? Bill has only one more week of staying home with his girls. I have 6 more weeks. That seems like a lot of time but I know it will fly by so quickly. Reality will return soon enough, but for now, I'm going to enjoy every minute at home with my girls.

Wow, has a month passed already?? I have been trying to think of a new name for the blog instead of the first name I picked. Since it will be mostly updates about Olivia and the new baby, I was thinking about using their first names but we need to know if baby is a boy or girl before we can rename the blog. Can you believe it's only 8 days (or less) until baby arrives??? Some days that feels like an eternity and other days it feels too close.

Olivia is growing up so quickly. She now calls Bill and I "daddy" and "mommy" instead of "dada" and "mama". She's saying so many more words and talking much clearer than she was. She puts a few words together to form short sentences too. She can count to 10 very well and continues up to 15, we think. Some of the words are recognizable numbers. She's doing better with her alphabet. She has the tune down but some letters get skipped or letters get run together to form almost a word as she says it. She loves to sing and dance and was dancing her Dora dance and singing, "We did it" in the tub tonight. We got it on video and would love to show it but 1 - she's naked and 2 - I don't know how to do that yet.

Once baby arrives, I can get serious with this blog. Change the name....learn to add photos and maybe even video, and edit the set up a little. It won't be long now!!!

The beginning of the blog.....

I've wanted to do this for a while. A co-worker, Mike U (the blog master), updates and shows off his blog all the time. There are funny stories, photos of his sons and family, links to other blogs, etc. He offered to teach me how to have an awesome blog like him since I also have so many stories and photos (all of Olivia, of course) that I could share but never found the time to get started. That is until one day this week when Mike asked, as he occasionally did, if I created my passwords yet. When I said no, he harassed me saying I would never do it. So, I immediately stopped what I was doing and created the password right then. Mike gave me one homework assignment for this weekend...to create a flicker account......I DID IT!! I created the account and uploaded some pictures!! I'm on my way!!