Liv & Addie

Priceless car conversations

2009-08-15T11:12:00.002-04:00

On the way home from work yesterday, we took a detour after hearing a traffic report that said the interstate was at a stand-still due to an accident involving 2 tractor trailers. A new/different route is always fun because the girls see lots of different things. Olivia loved to see the big "high scrapers" aka sky scrapers as we went through the city.

Further along, we passed a cemetery. She explained to Addison and me that when people die, they get buried in a cemetery. When pets die, they get turned into dental floss.

Of course I had to ask who told her that. She said it was me. I had to think about it for a minute and then figured it out. When Jinx died in March, we had her cremated and told Olivia that the remains were angel dust. Angel dust, dental floss....same thing!!

Beach fun

2009-08-02T20:07:00.011-04:00

I cannot believe our vacation is over and it's back to work for me!!! Billy has one more week off....lucky dog.

We had a wonderful week at the beach. Don't get me wrong, there were days full of not eating, not listening, temper tantrums, crying "I want to go home!" (Olivia, not me), crying because we can't stay at the beach or pool, hitting (Addie), biting (also Addie), a few thunderstorms, and yelling (me) because it seemed like repeating myself 1000 times didn't work.....but, there was also wonderful times of playing in the sand, walking along the edge of the water or sitting at the edge of the sand letting the water get our toes while we listened to the waves crashing, lots of sandcastles built and quickly squashed by Addison, ice cream....lots of ice cream, silly goggle wearing, mini golf, squealing when surprised by the cool water on the back of our legs (mostly Liv but me too), sand on every part of our bodies no mater how much we washed off, and me getting knocked down by the big wave that also stole my sun glasses and baseball cap.

Olivia and Bill were able to go for a kayak ride. Addie was terrified at the site of the kayak but was glad to hear that we only had one adult life jacket so she and I couldn't go with them. Olivia was terrified of the ocean at first but by Tuesday was having fun at the edge of the water letting the water come up and over her toes. She even sat down in the water a few times. She was still apprehensive but enjoyed playing at the edge of the water. Once, a wave snuck up behind her and I swear if I didn't grab her arm it may have taken her away. Olivia also loved the pool. As long as she had her goggles on, she could swim like a fish (with her life jacket on) and was also less afraid of the water at the ocean. Go figure.

Addie wasn't having any part of the water -- not the ocean, not the pool, she wasn't even thrilled about a different bath tub. We did dip her toes in the ocean....which she really didn't enjoy too much but I did. We also had her in the pool trying to get her more comfortable in the water (what happened to the fun swimming lessons she took??). She relaxed a little but still kept a tight grip on me or Bill with one hand. (Time to sign her up for more swimming lessons!)

Despite the frustrations of the week and the occasional crying and mean girls, it was great, in a way, to hear Olivia say she didn't want to go home when it was time to finally get in the car and go. It was great that we were able to relax and spend time with Jennifer, Troy, Gabrielle, Danielle, Mrs. Green, and Aleyah. (Great vacation suggestion Jen!!!!) We hope to be able to do it again next year!

Here are some of our favorite pictures............

Interesting lesson from Olivia

2009-08-02T20:05:00.002-04:00

Right before we left for vacation, I was driving Liv and Addie home from daycare and learned an interesting lesson from Olivia. She explained to me that boys and girl go to the bathroom differently. Girls sit down on the potty but boys pull out their "squeezer" and squeeze it to go pee-pee. Not sure where that came from but I feel smarter now.

Strange week

2009-07-22T18:50:00.005-04:00

It really has been a strange week. There is a ton of stuff for me to do at work before we go to the beach for a week and I'm running out of time. I feel like I am a little nuts trying to get it all done but on top of that, I think the girls are trying to see if they can push me over the edge.

Let's see. It's only Wednesday. On Monday, Addie bit someone at daycare. On Tuesday, it was Olivia's turn. With her, it is always provoked by someone (usually a boy) pushing her but it is still so far from ok I wanted to scream. Wait, maybe I did a little.

Olivia's speech class was a nightmare. Since Bill is off this week, he took her. It didn't go well at all...not listening, whining and crying for me, not sitting in the chair.....totally unlike her. Of course, they said she didn't nap at daycare so she was very tired and with Bill there, she pushes the limits more for some reason. Miss Sue was trying to test her to get updated scores and see how well she is really doing with the different sounds we have been working on but that did not happen. They ended up calling it quits 1/2 way through the session. I was not happy to hear it!

Because she was so tired, we made her go to bed very early. Typical Olivia, she fought sleep as long as she could. We heard her out of bed to go to the bathroom twice but since we didn't come up to check on her, she went back to her room. Finally, it got quiet and we assumed she was asleep. She was, but when I went in to check on her before I went to bed, I couldn't find her in her bed. I guess that's because she wasn't in her bed. She decided she was going to sleep on the window seat/bench Bill made for her room. She put a headband in her hair, laid a blanket down, and covered herself with another blanket. It was funny. I took the headband out and carried her to her bed because I was afraid she would fall off the bench. She is something else!!

Addie has had a less eventful week. She did bite one kiddo at daycare but has been ok other than that. Tomorrow is her second birthday and I can't believe that much time has flown by already!!! Hopefully will just be a fun and uneventful day.

First Barbie Fatality

2009-07-05T07:32:00.004-04:00

I'm not exactly sure how it happened. All I know is Addie came running in with Barbie's body in one hand and her head in the other, Barbie's neck was clearly broken. Unfortunately, she could not be saved and she had to go to that big Barbie Dreamhouse in the sky. Olivia was ok with it because it was not her Cinderella Barbie. Addison didn't care, she just played with another.

It's July!?!?!

2009-07-05T06:36:00.009-04:00

Ok, I'm sorry to everyone who looks at this site for updates on the girls and new photos. I knew it has been a while but didn't realize it was since April. I don't have a lot of free time for the computer and have been playing around with Facebook a little and didn't realize how much time has flown by. Anyway, It's 6:30 on July 5th. I should be sleeping but Bill's snoring woke me up (again) and won't let me go back to sleep so here I am.

I'm sure there are a lot of things that happened in the past 2 1/2 months to share with you but I can't think if a whole lot right now. Let's see...

Olivia finished up the school year and it back at daycare for the summer. Her school had a closing ceremony and her class sang, "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins. It was very cute. Of course it was a terrible song for Liv because 3 of the sounds we have been working on in her speech classes are not only in the song but all in one sentence -- G, F, K. It seemed like there was one girl who sang her heart out and the rest of the class, including Olivia, sang parts of the song. It's not that she doesn't know the words, believe me. I can't tell you how many times the song has been played in the car on the way to and from school/work. If I had it on tape, the tape would have worn out a long time ago. Blasted I-pod!

Liv has been enjoying daycare and seeing her old friends and I think she has a crush on a boy in her class. It's not her first crush. Oh no. Her first crush was on a HS student at her school. His name is James. James was a student helping with the after school program at the end of the year. He was out on the playground with the kids and Olivia fell and scraped her knee. The after school care director was inside the building and saw him walking in, carrying Olivia in his arms. She ran over, thinking she was really hurt by the way he was carrying her, and found out it was just a scrape. When I picked her up that day, she and James were sitting at a table by themselves playing a game. There were only a few more days of school left but each day when I picked her up, she was with James, by herself, either coloring or playing a game. I almost felt like I needed to have a talk with him and explain the "no touch" zone (shoulders to knees :o) ) but it was all Olivia. In love with an older man at 3!!

In May, Olivia turned 4 and had a birthday party at Bounce U. It stressed me out because many of her friends couldn't come but in the end it was fun. We also had a little party at our house when my parents, Aunt Tori, and Molly came down to visit. It was a tough decision what to have on the cake...princesses or Tinkerbell but Tinkerbell won out in the end.

Addison didn't enjoy the birthday party at Bounce U. We thought she wasn't feeling well but have since learned that she is terrified of the inflatable bounce houses.......also, the kiddie blow up pool and pretty much every ride at Hershey Park (good thing she gets in free). We have a little bounce house at home. When we pulled that out, she clutched onto me and would not let go. I don't know what it is about the inflatables but she is terrified, seriously terrified. Hopefully, this will be short lived like Olivia's fear of grass was.

The girls are both getting so grown up. Olivia is doing very well with her speech classes and is getting more articulate and a little more confident talking with adults. Addison is speaking so well it surprises me. There were times where she said a few words better than Liv which broke my heart a little (since Liv is 2 years older than Addie). Addie has become little miss independent. I can't tell you how many times a day she says, "My do it!". She wants to do everything Olivia can do. She gets in the car by herself, can buckle one of her car seat buckles by herself, and thinks she can walk across a parking lot by herself (she can't).

It's 4th of July weekend and we've been having some fun with small fireworks. I think Bill is having more fun than anyone. Last night, we did have a little accident. Bill was helping Addie hold a sparkler and she tried to grab it with her free hand. He pulled her hand away but she did get a small burn on one finger. We immediately got ice on it and after a short time, she was feeling better. I still am not but she is. :o)

The girls both loved the fireworks and Olivia showed us some of her own when we told her it was time to go to bed. That girl can be mean when she is tired. Wow!! She obviously gets that from her dad. LOL!

I have to upload some pictures I took this weekend and I hear Addie waking up. I usually put the pictures at the end but for some reason, I can't get the pictures to move and Blogger always put them at the top of the post. I guess I need to put the photos in first and then ramble on.

Addison's first haircut!

2009-04-18T13:16:00.018-04:00

I don't know if you all realize this but it's my fault that Addie had so little hair when she was born and has taken what seems like forever to grow hair. Really it is. Here's why.....When I was pregnant with Addie, I wished for 3 things to be different about her than Liv. We love Liv to death, but would change or would have changed 3 things.

First, I asked (ok, threatened) Addie to be a good sleeper. For the first 9 months of Olivia's life, she did not sleep and neither did Bill and I. I told Addie that if she was as bad of a sleeper as Liv was, we were going to return her to the hospital where she was born and ask for a better sleeper.

Second, I asked her to be a better eater than Liv. Liv did great with baby food but that is where her good eating ended. Addie is a great eater. She eats more than Liv many days and will eat a greater variety of foods than Liv will eat.

The third wish was about hair. Olivia had tons of beautiful, dark hair when she was born. It was so beautiful but it was a huge pain in the neck. She had so much hair by 5 months that we could put pony tails in it. Have you tried to put pony tails in a 5 month old baby's hair?? Not always an easy task but her hair looked so bad if I didn't. I wished that baby #2 would be a bald baby. Yes, I did it. It was my fault. It seemed like a good idea at the time but after she was born and people kept mistaking her for a boy (even in her pink and purple) it got old. It was much easier to care for but we wished she had more hair than the little bit she had. It didn't help that the little hair she had was on the sides and back of her head and she looked like she had an old man's receding hairline.

So, now that she's just about 21 months old, she has beautiful red hair. It's long enough that we can get some pony tails in it to keep the hair out of her eyes but not long enough to get all of her hair in the pony tails. Still, it has gotten to the point that it looks terrible without pony tails in and I decided it was time to take her to the hair salon to get her first haircut....not to get it all cut off but to give it some sort of shape and style. Here's the before picture of the back & side...

Go ahead, call it a mullet. We have.

So this morning, I told Bill that today was the day. Addie was going to get her first haircut. You all know us. Bill is the laid back one who is pretty agreeable most of the time. For some reason, the girls hair is one of those odd things that he will argue with me about. I expected him to say we should wait but he agreed it was looking pretty bad. So, off we went (before he could change his mind). When we got there, he was ok but as Addie got into the chair and he saw the reality of what was about to happen and heard the hair stylist ask how much we wanted cut off, I think he was rethinking his decision. And as the hair stylist pulled out her scissors and went to make that first cut, I think I saw a little tear form at the corner of his eye. Ok, so I'm exaggerating but it was a stressful thing for Bill to watch.

Of course she looks gorgeous. Her hair is shorter than it was but she looks so cute and her curls are back. She has her own little style.

The picture says it all.....

2009-04-18T13:14:00.001-04:00

Easter Photos

2009-04-18T13:00:00.005-04:00

Easter has come and gone quickly. The girls went to a few egg hunts but didn't get to see the Easter Bunny this year. I think it was more fun for Olivia to pick out a new dress and get to wear it all day like a Princess. The Easter Bunny did visit our house and brought some candy but also some toys and books. I know, kids want candy but don't worry. My mom pumped them full of M&Ms on Easter Sunday. Believe me, there was no shortage of sugar in them that day. Here are some photos from one of the egg hunts and of the girls in their Easter dresses.

Jinx

2009-04-10T21:53:00.008-04:00

Well some of you know our sad news. Jinx, our 15 year old cat died last week. Her little kidneys were failing for over a year and she lived longer than the vet anticipated. Right before I left for a work trip, she started going down hill pretty quickly. We thought it might be time to put her to sleep but really had a hard time making that decision. We had decided that when I got home from St. Louis, I would take her to the vet. She was so thin and was barely eating anything. It was very hard to see her so thin and even harder to pet her or hold her and feel how thin she was. (Billy offered to take her to save me the heartache but Jinx was my cat before he and I started dating and I felt like I needed to be the one to take her.....as hard as that would be.)

Well, I didn't have to take her to be put to sleep. Jinx died on her own. Billy went to check on her last Thursday morning (4/2) and she had passed away. It was very sad but we feel it was better that she died on her own and didn't have to be put to sleep.

Billy really didn't want to be the one to talk to Olivia about it. It was hard enough for him that he had to call me and tell me. I had been thinking how we would tell her since we knew Jinx's health was failing. Unfortunately, Liv overheard Bill on the phone with the vet's office telling them that Jinx had died and asking about cremation. Olivia had lots of questions and was very sad. Addie is too young and really didn't know anything had happened.

Olivia said she would miss Jinx and worried that Chevy (our other cat) would be very lonely without Jinx, especially while we were all at school or work. Of course we talked about heaven and tried to explain why she died. We explained that she was old and she was sick and the medicine couldn't make her better. Last Saturday night I was putting Liv to bed and she broke my heart. Chevy jumped up on the bed so Liv again told me that she was sad for Chevy because she didn't have her sister-cat to play with (Jinx wasn't playful for the past 12 years or so.....how do you think she got up to 22 lbs??). But she also said that sometimes she gets sick and maybe next time she gets sick, she might die. Boy, I never expected that one!

To make her feel better, we've thought of ways that we can remember Jinx. We put her picture up as our desktop background and Olivia wants to put a picture of her in her bedroom. She thinks that heaven is up in the clouds and likes to look at the clouds and find different shapes or animals. Liv thinks that she will be able to find a cloud shaped like a cat and it will be Jinx.

It's funny. Jinx was not an active cat at all. But, she had her favorite spots and at different times of the day, you always knew where to find her. We still look for her in those spots and miss her very much. Olivia's plans for how to remember Jinx has helped all of us feel better.

Miss Addison

2009-03-29T22:42:00.002-04:00

Today Bill put Addie down for her nap like normal, except when he changed her diaper, he didn't put her pants back on before he put her in the crib. After about 1/2 hour, we heard her saying, "Poop" over the monitor. So, I went upstairs to see if she did poop. When I walked in, she was standing up in her crib and she had thrown all of her blankets and stuffed animals onto the floor. I leaned over to look in the back of her diaper and there was no diaper.....just her cute little butt. The diaper was on the floor with the blankets and stuffed animals and there was a big, wet circle on her crib sheet. She didn't poop but she certainly did pee. Good thing for waterproof mattress pads and mattresses. Needless to say, I put a diaper and her pants back on for the rest of her nap.

March Updates

2009-03-29T08:07:00.009-04:00

I seem to be getting worse instead of better at updating the blog. I am off to St. Louis tomorrow for the week and should be doing laundry and packing but since everyone is still asleep and I am only awake because Bill snores, I thought I'd let you know we are still alive and post some pictures of the girls. I figured catching up on the blog was a better choice than putting my pillow over Bill's face to stop the snoring.

The month of March was busy but pretty quiet. There was the day that Olivia fell in the potty -- I guess it's terrible to have skinny little hips. Fortunately, she wasn't traumatized. Bill pulled her out and after we stopped laughing hysterically, we cleaned her up and put her in the bathtub. She went through a phase where she was having some "accidents" at home and at school. That appears to be over. I'm afraid to jinx us but she hasn't had an accident in a few weeks. Yea!!!!!

Since I last wrote, we had Olivia tested by a speech therapist. She has a tough time pronouncing many letters so we thought we'd talk to someone about it. So, Olivia started speech classes. We've learned all about tickle sounds (F, V), poppers (B, P), snake sounds (S), and bumble bee sounds (Z). She's doing better with pronouncing some of her letters but has a long way to go. Have you every tried to explain how to position your tongue to make the hard C or G sounds? She gets to do tongue exercises with life savers and grape flavored tongue depressors. Come on, that would be fun for anyone, right?!?

Addison is in the Monkey Room at the daycare and that is so fitting for her these days. She will climb on and jump or step off of anything. Since we had a few warmer days, we had the girls outside as much as possible and they were back to swinging and sliding in the yard. Addie went up the ladders and down the slide over and over and over again. She is getting more and more vocal and, at times, can be a little mean to her big sister. Addie has learned that she can get a really good grip on Liv's hair and pull. But, the truth is, she really loves "Wivy". She wants to do everything her big sister does (and of course Olivia doesn't always understand this and sometimes gets annoyed by her sister wanting "her" toy). She is still biting at home and school occasionally. It's terrible but when I get an incident report at school and realize it's because she got hurt (pinched finger, scraped face w/ finger nail....nothing major), I'm relieved. I hate walking in to get her and getting the note that she bit someone.

Bill and I are doing well. I'm working more hours and he's working less. Lately, he has had a bunch of shut down weeks due to lack of orders or parts. The threat of layoff makes us nervous but he is so helpful at home the weeks he is off. There is less rushing around in the evenings and on weekends to get chores and errands done. It's wonderful!

Well, everyone is now up so it's time to make some breakfast. I didn't take a lot of pictures in March but here are some of the cutest ones.

Catching up

2009-02-08T13:57:00.056-05:00

I haven't had much time to sit and write anything on this blog in a while. Between work, the holidays, work, spending fun time with the girls and Bill, work, treasurer duties for our HOA, and did I mention work, there hasn't been much time to sit and write. But, right now, Liv, Addie, and Bill (not feeling well) are all taking naps so I have some free time. I finished doing our taxes last night and feel pretty good about taking a 1/2 hr or so to do something fun instead of turning on the ol' work laptop to get some work done. So, I thought I'd catch up here.

Back to December:
We all had fun decorating for Christmas. Everything was rushed this year but we did manage to get decorations up relatively early. We even got a dusting of snow on the weekend we put up the outside decorations. We all bundled up and went outside to put out the decorative penguins and see how great of a job Bill did on the lights. Another year of not falling off the roof!!

Olivia helped us decorate the Christmas tree but we did it while Addie was asleep so she didn't get to "help". She was amazed to see it when she woke up from her nap. Decorating it was the easy part, trying to get a really good picture of the girls in front of it was the bigger challenge. Here are some of our attempts:

The girls were excited waiting for Christmas to arrive and Santa to come and bring them toys. Olivia could not wait for Santa to come and bring presents. Addie didn't really know what was going on but loved the red and white Santa hat.

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents' house pigging out on pierogies, as is the family tradition. No one makes better pierogies than my Mom....and of course they are perfectly sealed by me, Aunt Tori, and which ever siblings are able to make it for Christmas Eve. This year, it was Meredith and I who were solely responsible for pinching the edges and surprisingly, there were almost no pierogies that ended up not sealed. Hmmm...wonder what that means?! Anyway, we missed those who couldn't be there but had lots of fun eating great food and visiting with each other.

Later in the evening, special Christmas pajamas were delivered by one of Santa's elves for Liv and Addie because they had to go home and sleep well so that Santa could stop by with their presents. Liv was so excited that they had matching "zip-up jammies". She put them right on and was so excited. Since Addison seems to always have cold hands, we decided to get her the really warm zip up fleece pjs as her winter pjs. Liv kept saying that she wanted pjs just like Addie's. So, getting the zip-up jammies from Santa was a very special treat.....and she and Addison had ones that matched. That was until "the incident".......

Olivia and her Grandpa were playing. Olivia must have had a very full bladder and Grandpa either tickled her too much or squeezed her too tight and didn't stop when she said stop and she peed in her new, special, Christmas pjs from Santa. She was devastated!!!!! Grandpa got scolded by me and we changed her and went home to get the pjs in the washing machine. We couldn't get them washed and dried in time to wear them to sleep because it was late but I had them washed and dried for her to change into in the morning to open her presents.

There was a lot of excitement in our house when the girls (esp Olivia) went downstairs and saw that Santa did bring presents for her and Addison.

We had a nice Christmas day visiting with my family, I worked Friday, and then we spent the weekend visiting Bill's family back in his hometown. It was nice to visit with everyone there since we see them very infrequently but the time goes so fast. Soon, it was time to jump back in the car for the drive home and then it was back to work for me.

Bill was home with the girls between Christmas and New Years and they loved getting to play with all of their new toys and puzzles and read their new books. The hard part for us was figuring where to put everything but somehow we managed.

The New Year.....

We didn't have any big plans for New Year's Eve. A relaxing evening of not having to go anywhere sounded good to me. Bill and I decided to start watching Season 4 of Lost (thanks Jamie & Katie). We (really I) was able to stay awake until midnight. We stayed up a little bit longer and went to sleep. I know, not so exciting but it worked for us.

Early in January, Jinx seemed to be having more problems and we had to make a vet appointment for her. We were afraid the doctor was going to tell us that her kidney failure had progressed to the point that it was time for us to make that dreaded decision. We took some pictures of her with Addie because Addie is so entertained by Jinx. Yes, by Jinx the cat that does nothing more than lay around different spots of the house and beg for treats. Addie just loves to crawl up on the couch by her and pet and tickle her. (She doesn't understand that cats aren't ticklish.) I actually took some pictures of Addison with Jinx because I know that at 18 months, she won't remember her when she is older. Fortunately, her kidney's aren't as bad as we were afraid. Her kidney disease is progressing but her main problem was a urinary tract infection. Not a good think for a cat, esp. one with kidney problems but it was better news than we thought it was going to be.

January was a busy month but still pretty quiet. There was lots of playing......

Some shoveling of snow...........

(Yes, that's Addie standing on the window sill watching her Dad and sister outside. The girl can climb!)

A visit to the Farm Show to see the animals.....

(When you next see Addie, you have to ask her what a pig says!)

More fun and silliness........

And some relaxing.........

The only picture I have to post for February so far is of Olivia. She had her first dentist appointment where they actually cleaned her teeth and took some x-rays. She was so brave!!

The girls are both growing like weeds and keep us busy, tired, and totally entertained. You never know what they will do or say next.

Olivia loves to wear dresses every day to school, except gym days. She loves to pick out her dress and the sock/leggings or tights that go with the dress. Some days, she totally goes to school not matching but she's happy. I try to help her match her colors but she if she wants to wear green socks with her pink dress, so be it. Olivia has gone to 2 birthday parties for classmates and keeps talking about her own birthday party. We weren't really planning on having one but may reconsider and let her have a party and invite her classmates. She does not want to invite the boys in her class because they are all bad, according to Liv. She said we can invite the good boys but then said there weren't any in her class. Olivia has hit the point where she doesn't really need a nap at naptime but is a bear in the evening if she didn't have one. We've had some problems with her having accidents at home and school over the past week and it has been really frustrating, especially on the day that she wet herself right before I picked her up from the after-school care program and had no clothes to change her into. The spare clothes at school were in her locked classroom. I now have a spare outfit in the car but was glad that day for the blankets I keep in the car.

Addie is 18 months old but I don't think she knows she's any younger than Liv. She wants to and tries to do everything her big sister does. She loves to play with her baby dolls and put them to sleep. Other favorites are Elmo, her "baa-baa sheep", and she still loves Pablo (the Backyardigan). I swear she will grow up to either be a football player (like my Dad thinks) or a female wrestler. She will jump on you, dive at you, and body slam you if given the chance. She may bite you too but we're working on that! Despite these things, she is still the sweet girl she has always been. She is also a great dancer - you should see her moves!! People tell me all the time that they have never seen a happier or more smiley girl than Addison and they are right. Her vocabulary is growing and growing and she is even starting to put some words together. She love to drink her "milp" (aka milk) and is learning the names of the different characters on Sesame Street. After Elmo, Ernie is her favorite. She has a tough time saying Liv's name but somtimes can mange a "Wivy" (Livy).

Olivia's camera

2009-02-08T13:37:00.007-05:00

I sat down to finally write a blog entry telling you what has been going on for the past month and a half since I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth, at least as far as this blog goes. Then, as I went into my pictures, I saw Olivia's folder of pictures from the camera she got for Christmas. It doesn't take the best quality pictures but it's neat to see the pictures she took. I figured I would share some. She does a great job of getting people in the picture correctly some times. Other times, not so well. Her biggest challenge is keeping the camera still until the picture is taken. Here's some of her great work......................

Orange Crayon

2008-12-21T22:31:00.005-05:00

We ask Olivia to make sure she cleans up her crayons when she's done with them and we try to make sure they all get picked up. I guess we all missed one.

I was on the phone with my Mom and Addie walked up to me with the orange crayon hanging out of her mouth. I guess she was hungry for dinner!

Addie's New Nickname

2008-12-21T15:23:00.004-05:00

Some of you may recall that Olivia was a terrible biter at daycare. In the beginning, she was a one bite per day little girl and worked up to 3-4 times per day. I still remember the day she bit a child so hard that she broke the skin. Every day I dreaded going in to pick her up to see how many incident reports I would have to sign. I remember the teachers jokingly calling her "Hannibal".

Well, I heard the familiar nickname again last week but this time the teacher was referring to Addie. Addie has started biting her friends at school. I hate walking in the door and seeing the orange paper hanging behind the daily gram because I know that it most likely means she bit another child. It's terrible but on Friday when I picked her up, there were 2 incident reports. I assumed that meant she bit twice but I was a little excited when the one incident report was from another child hitting her in the head with a baby doll. She only bit one time!

In addition to the biting, she has become a little bit of a bully. Her teachers told me that she has been knocking the other kids down. She will walk up behind them, wrap her arms around them, and then fall backwards, bringing the other child down with her. Needless to say, she's getting familiar with "time out". Hopefully these behaviors will stop soon. We were asked to bring in a sour or bad tasking (edible) liquid (ie: lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) that the teachers can put in her mouth when she bites. Liv didn't mind lemon juice or vinegar so we'll see how that goes. Addie is also moving up to the next room in January so she'll be one of the younger kids in the room. She's big for her age but moving up to the next room will mean she's no longer the biggest (tallest) child in the room.

Frosty the Snowman

2008-12-21T15:10:00.008-05:00

Watching the holiday cartoons was a fun tradition when I was growing up. I was excited this year to be able to sit down and watch some of them with Olivia. We didn't get to watch "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" because it was on at 8:30 (past bedtime) on a school night. But, we did get to watch "Frosty the Snowman". It was fun watching the kids make Frosty and see him come to life when they put the magicians hat on his head. We watched them sing songs and dance around. It was even fun to watch Frosty and Karen in their adventure to get Frosty to the north pole. That is until the greenhouse scene. Do you remember what happened to Frosty?

Poor Karen was sooo cold that she was shivering uncontrollably. The camp fire the animals made was extinguished by the Professor Hinkle (the evil magician) in his quest to get his hat back once he realized there was some magic in it. Frosty looked and looked for some place warm for Karen and finally found the greenhouse. He took Karen inside the greenhouse to try and warm her up. Professor Hinkle closed the door so Frosty could not get out and you know what happened.

When they showed the scene where Karen was on her knees with her face in her hands sobbing over a puddle of water (yes, melted Frosty), Olivia fell apart! She started to cry just like Karen because Frosty melted away. Half the fun of watching the kids Christmas specials is seeing Olivia's reaction to them but we didn't expect the reaction we got. Of course we calmed her down and got her to keep watching so she could see Santa make it all better. It's a good thing that Frosty was made of Christmas snow because Christmas snow never really melts away.

"A Kodak Moment"

2008-12-01T15:28:00.005-05:00

Last night, I was sitting here at the computer checking email while Bill was putting Addison to bed. Olivia came up beside me and said, "Look Mommy, I put stickers on my face." Here is what I saw.............

Ya gotta love her!

Addie

2008-12-01T15:17:00.006-05:00

I feel like I've had a lot to say about Olivia lately so I wanted to add a post about Addison. She has learn how to slide down the steps on her butt. My Dad witnessed out tomboy in action on Thanksgiving Day. Addie will climb on, chase, tackle, or jump on anything or anyone she can. Right now, she slides down one step at a time and stops to giggle. My guess is that in about a week, she will be sliding down all of the steps without stopping and will be screaming and giggling the whole way down. I'm telling you, it will happen!

Addie likes to draw and color (or attempt to, I should say). Sometimes she spends more time trying to eat the crayons but she does manage to get some crayon on the paper.

Her Daddy likes to color too......

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T14:50:00.006-05:00

Olivia had a lot of fun at school learning about Thanksgiving. She made a turkey, a cornucopia, and learned about being thankful. When I picked her up one day she told me that the class talked about the things they are thankful for. I asked what she is thankful for and she said for her sister, Addie. I feel the need to mention this because it is very sweet but also to document it in writing for when she gets older and hates Bill and me for having a second child.

One of the art projects of the week was to make a pilgrim costume. She did a good job. Ok it may not be the best pilgrim costume but how much can you do with a paper bag, some construction paper, and a bingo dabber?

When they make costumes at school, her class goes on parade through the school. So, when she comes home with her costume, she likes to go on parade at home too. Addie loves to follow Liv anywhere so it's not a problem to get her to join in. Bill was lucky enough to get to join in the parade too.
We were able to spend time with my family on Thanksgiving Day and with Bill's family over the weekend. It's fun for the girls (and us) to see their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins but Bill and I are glad when the traveling is done. The girls are really well-behaved and listen well for the most part but you bring them to someone else's house and they can turn into little maniacs. At home the things they can't touch are out of their reach but at other people's houses it is much different. I can't tell you how many times I said the words, "no, no", "don't touch", "put that down", and "yikes" over the past few days. Here's an example. In the bedroom at Billy's parents' house, Addie saw Bill pull the night light out of the outlet. Within seconds, her finger was just outside of the socket. Fortunately, we are still smarter than she is (for now) and we were able to stop her from sticking her finger in the socket.

Anyway, it was great to see everyone over the past few days. Christmas isn't that far away so we'll be doing it all again soon.

Crazy Tooth

2008-11-27T21:28:00.002-05:00

Olivia's teeth are an orthodontists dream.....that is if her adult teeth come in looking like her baby teeth - crooked. She has a gap on the top on the left side between her front tooth and the third tooth. The tooth that belongs in between those 2 never came in.......that is until now. Can you believe that at 3 1/2 years old, the missing tooth has popped through her gums?!?!?! Who knows why it took this long but I guess she isn't really missing a tooth!

Head Lice Scare

2008-11-05T21:23:00.002-05:00

I picked up Olivia today and she had her nap mat in a large garbage back to bring home and wash. I asked if she spilled something on it but the EDP (after school care) teacher said her teacher sent them all home.

When I looked in her backpack, there it was.........A note from the school nurse saying that she was exposed to lice. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! The note said the kids were all checked and no additional cases of lice were found but we should and they will check the kids for the next month to make sure no one else has it.

There were 5 kids in my family and none of us ever caught head lice. Thank God. But, I know people who have children who were less fortunate and I know it was not an easy process to get rid of the lice and clean the house. I'm already freaking out about it and she doesn't even have lice. Please pray or cross your fingers or whatever works for you that she doesn't get it.

Backyard Fun

2008-11-05T21:19:00.004-05:00

Hateful "Woman"

2008-11-05T20:24:00.007-05:00

Ok, so I know I set up this blog so I could give you updates about Olivia and Addison and show you pictures to show how they grow and to show the cute things they do. But, this one time, I want to share a story about last Monday morning with you. It is only related to the girls in that the incident I am about to describe occurred in the parking lot of Olivia's school and Addison was in the car with me.

I'll explain what happened but first let me tell you that the parking lot at Olivia's school is a crazy place. There are many Mercedes, Volvos, and BMWs in the parking lot since many families who send their children to her school are wealthy. I don't have a Mercedes, Volvo, or BMW but do have a very nice and still new Toyota. I was warned about the parking lot and I have witnessed several near accidents in the lot. The closer you get to 8:00 (when school starts), the worse it is. There is nothing special about the lot. I guess there are parents who are so busy or that wealthy that it doesn't matter that there are people walking in the lot, other cars moving through the lot, or, as in my case, a car parked next to yours. Ok, on to my story...........

Last Monday, I dropped Olivia off like I normally do. I pulled into the lot, parked, got the girls out of their car seats and walked Liv into the school. I came back to the car to find that the person who parked on the right side of my car was so close I couldn't get Addie into her car seat. No problem, I put her in Liv's and got in the car to leave. Before I had a chance to back out, the woman (and I use that term loosely) who parked the van so close on my right got into her car, hitting my car door with hers and just continued getting in, putting on her seat belt, and getting ready to leave. I rolled down my window and yelled to her that she hit my door. Silly me, I thought she would say she was sorry but no. Without looking, at the car, she said, "It's fine". Starting to get pissed, I asked how she knew it was fine without looking at it and she again yelled, "It's fine!". That still didn't satisfy me so I told her that I think I should be the judge of whether or not it's fine and rolled up my window to just leave. That's when it happened........

She got out of her car, intentionally slamming her door against mine as hard as she could and started pounding on my window, hard enough that I thought to myself, "This 'woman' is going to break my window". And, I kept seeing Addie in the back seat and I was really trying not to become the lunatic I wanted to be at that point in time. I rolled down my window a little and told her I could call the police to have them come out and determine if "it's fine". She backed off saying she'd sit in her car and wait for the police to come, and got back into her vehicle without hitting my car door. Working for an insurance company, I know the police don't usually respond to minor parking lot accidents. They tell you to exchange insurance information and go on your way. So, I decided instead of getting out of the car, grabbing her by the hair on her head, and smashing her face into her car door like I wanted to, I would just leave. I didn't want to act like a crazy woman in front of Addie and in the parking lot of Olivia's school. I know Addie's only one and wouldn't remember me beating someone up and/or getting arrested. And Liv's only 3 but I don't want her to get labeled as the girl with the crazy mother.

So, as I backed out, I wrote down her license plate figuring if there was damage, I could file a police report at lunchtime and go from there. So, if you see a white Toyota Sienna minivan with PA license plate "ECN 1430", beware! She's nuts.

I checked my car door when I got to Addie's daycare and there was no damage to the door. Billy thinks because she was parked so close to my car that the edge of the door couldn't hit it and the flat outside of the door wasn't able to dent it. Plus, I think she was probably hitting my door handle and not the door itself. Who knows. I'm just glad it wasn't dented.

So, that's the worst of it but not the end.

I didn't see her when I picked up Liv that afternoon but I did see her the next day. Tuesday morning as I pulled into the parking lot, I saw her backed out of a parking space getting ready to drive away toward the exit. I parked somewhere else and as I was walking to Addie's door to get her out, I noticed her drive past my car. Weird because she was on her way to the parking lot exit when I pulled in the lot and she circled around the lot to go past me to then go to the exit. There was no reason for her to drive past me since she was headed to the exit when she backed out of her spot. Without showing you the lot, it's difficult to explain but you enter the lot from one side of the lot and exit at the far other end. She backed out and was heading to the exit. There was no exit near me and she wasn't looking for a parking space because she then left the parking lot after driving by me. Was that supposed to scare me or something? Oh well, it didn't.

Then, when I drove to the school to pick up Olivia that afternoon, I noticed her van in the parking lot. I thought here we go again. I was good and didn't park next to her and went in to get Liv. I didn't see the "woman" in the gallery (lunchroom) where we pick up the kids from the after school care but the kids were in the gym playing. As I signed Liv out in the gallery, I saw the "woman" come in with 2 children. She saw me, I saw her but I just went upstairs to the gym to get Liv. I went up to the gym and got Liv. While I was there I talked to one of her teachers for a few minutes about Liv falling and getting stepped on while playing. We got her coat on and walked down the halls and steps to the exit. When we walked out of the school, she was sitting in her car ready to leave but just sitting there. I put Liv in and got in and started to drive away. As soon as I passed her car, she pulled out of her spot and followed me. She turned out of the parking lot the same way, followed me down the road and into the turn lane I was in. Odd. We were at a red light. When the light turned green, the car heading the opposite way let me make the left turn so I got separated from the woman. Addie's daycare wasn't far up the road and I waited a couple minutes to see her car go by on the main road but never saw it. It's possible she just happens to go home that way but I still found it strange and wondered if she was following me.

It has been a week and I have not seen her since last Tuesday. I drop off and pick up about the same time every day and haven't seen her. I wonder if either her psychiatrist, parole officer, or the mother-ship came to get her.

Random updates

2008-11-05T20:01:00.002-05:00

As some of you know, Addison loves to climb on anything and everything she can. Last Friday, she fell as she was climbing on a kitchen chair and smacker her face on the leg of the table. Well, it has been 12 days since she did it and the shiner is almost gone. Yea!!!

Both girls continue to grow like weeds. At Addie's 15 month well child visit we learned she is 25 lbs and 32 7/8 inches tall. She's off the charts for her height. If you look at the growth charts, she is the average height of a 22 month old. I think it's safe to say she will be tall, just like Liv.

Olivia is also growing so tall. She woke up one day and we realized that all of her pants are too short. I don't know how that happened because we just bought a lot of the pants in August for school but somehow, they are all too short. We bought her a new school wardrobe and some new jeans this past weekend. She is officially out of the toddler sizes and into a girls 4 (unless a store carries a 5T but I don't find that size too often).

I was so glad to get her the new clothes and not put her in pants that were too short. On Monday, she was getting dressed in tan pants and a white hooded sweater. It's a light sweater so I thought I should put an undershirt under it. So, I pulled out an undershirt and she noticed the Dora the Explorer undershirts still in the drawer from last year. She wanted to wear it but I noticed it was a 2T/3T......too small. I tried it on her. It was short but not too bad so I let her wear it thinking it would just "disappear" in the laundry. Well, that day when I picked her up from the after-school care (EDP), she was not wearing her sweater. Yep, she was wearing just the undershirt, the too small undershirt, as a shirt. As soon as I saw her from 1/2 way across the room I just about died seeing her in just the undershirt and asked (loudly, probably in a panicky voice) why she was wearing just her undershirt and asked where her sweater was. The EDP teachers laughed but I know they were really wondering why I sent her to school dressed like that.

I sent her teacher a note asking her not to take Olivia's shirt off (or let Liv take her shirt off) if she's wearing just an undershirt underneath....esp if it's one that is too small. :o)
Her teacher said the classroom is very warm and it would be better to dress her in layers, short sleeves with a sweater over top. I guess it's back to the store to hunt for short sleeved blouses or collared shirts and sweater's for over top. It's a good thing we planted that money tree in the backyard!!!!!

Halloween

2008-11-05T19:51:00.003-05:00

I waited to add a post showing the girls in their Halloween costumes. My Mom's birthday is on Halloween and we usually go to visit her and Dad one of the weekends around her birthday and dress the girls up in their costumes. I like the costumes to be a surprise. We visited this past weekend so now I can share some pictures of the scariest pirate and meanest witch.......

The proper way to eat a sandwich

2008-11-04T05:55:00.003-05:00

For some reason, Olivia has decided there is a correct way to eat a sandwich or burger.....really anything on bread or a roll. Some people bite in the center first. Others start on one side or the other. Either way, it all ends up the same....you eat the part of the sandwich that is on the perimeter. Not Olivia. For Olivia, you take your first bite from the top center and keep going right down the center. Sure, it's a little messy. She usually has peanut butter and jelly or ketchup from ear to ear but if you keep going this way, you end up with 2 sandwiches instead of one! So, for all of you who are eating your sandwiches wrong, let this be your lesson on how to do it right!

Addison's 15 month check-up

2008-10-25T15:06:00.005-04:00

Addison went to the doctor for her 15 month check up and shots yesterday. She is 25 lbs and 32 7/8 inches tall. According to the growth charts, she is the height of the average 22 month old. She is very tall!

She loves to climb on anything she can. Thursday night she was climbing onto Olivia's bed and bumped her head on the foot board. That resulted in a lump and bruise in the middle of her forehead. Yesterday evening, she was climbing on the kitchen chairs. She was sitting on one but somehow she fell off and smacked her face on the table leg. To add to the bruise on her forehead, she has a swollen and black and blue right eye. Shortly after recovering from that traumatic incident, she was tired and she was walking through the living room and tripped over her own feet. No lump or bruise from this fall. Instead, she scraped her cheek on a Halloween decoration in the living room. The poor girl is all banged and scraped up on her sweet, little face. We're thinking about putting bubble wrap on everything in the house so she can heal from these bruises before getting any more.

Interesting fact: I looked back at Olivia's baby book and at 15 months, she was 32 1/2 inches (3/8 in shorter than Addie) tall and weighed 25 lbs. Almost identical!

Chi-ca-go!

2008-10-25T13:59:00.010-04:00

Last weekend was my brother's wedding in Chicago. We decided to drive instead of flying thinking it would be better to have the long drive but be able to bring the pack-and-play for a crib and toys and snacks, etc for the girls instead of having the convenience of a short trip by plane. Plus, this way we would have a vehicle to drive instead of having to take cabs back and forth, if we wanted.

Well, the drives to and from Chicago were actually pretty good. It took us 12 hrs to get there and 12 1/2 to get back. Not too bad with stopping several times each way. We left at 4 am Thursday and the girls slept for quite a while on the way there. Olivia learned to pee along the side of the road and thought it was fun. Of course when we were passing a rest area she didn't have to go but then we would get 5 miles away and she would need to go, especially when the next rest area was 40-50 miles away. So, sorry Ohio, but Olivia peed on your road! Addie loved stopping at the rest areas and would just run and run and run all around. We brought a portable DVD player and tons of movies and that helped pass the time. The way back was more of the same but no peeing on the side of the road. The last hour or 2 were a little tough. Addie was ready to be home and out of the car but she was a trooper.

Chicago is an amazing city. We all had a great time except for when the van was towed. Words of advice, if you go to a big city and there is a sign that says no parking 4-6 pm, tow away zone, DON'T PARK THERE!!!!........even if it is 5:45. They do have time to ticket and tow you. In fact, they probably have sensors or spies that know exactly when you park your car there so they can get both the ticket writer and the tow truck there immediately. Jamie warned me that we'd probably get a ticket. After searching and searching for parking, I was ok with the thought of getting a ticket but he didn't think there would be enough time to ticket and tow the car. He was right and he was wrong. After we parked, we walked to his condo to see where he and Katie spend their time when they are not at the hospitals working. Space is at a premium in Chicago but they have a great condo with a fantastic view of the city from the 41st floor. We then went out with Jamie for a nice and relaxing dinner. After that we walked back to Ontario Street where we left the van and found out (this is the part where Jamie was wrong) that they did have time to ticket and tow the van. It cost us some time and $160 bucks to get it back (on top of the $60 ticket still on the windshield) but we did get to see how phenomenal the view of the city is from their condo at night time (it was a great view when it was light out but after dark......amazing!). After that, we pretty much left the van in the hotel parking until it was time to head back home.

The wedding was beautiful! Jamie looked handsome and Katie was gorgeous. It was very apparent how much they love each other. Olivia was one of the flower girls and did her part beautifully. This was her second time being a flower girl and was a pro! Last time she walked down the aisle with me so I wasn't really worried about her seeing all of the people looking at her and getting nervous. This time was different. She was walking down the aisle w/ another flower girl but I was nervous she would see all of the guests and freeze. Silly me.....she did great! She looked like a little princess in her dress and sprinkled her flowers like a pro. Jamie said she "boxed out" (b-ball term) the other flower girl at one point but I don't think it's true! ha-ha!

At the reception Olivia owned the coloring table and after dinner, she danced and danced and danced....with anyone and everyone who would dance with her. Addie fell asleep for a while but when she woke up, we put her pjs on her and she hit the dance floor. Liv wasn't the only one with great moves!!!! Addie loves to dance!!!!!

Some other highlights from the trip.....

Olivia loved the "spinny doors" (revolving doors). She had to go through them by herself. She didn't need (want) any help.

Both girls loved the cab rides. Their first cab ride was the trip to the rehearsal dinner and we had a great cab driver. Not only did he not try to kill us with his driving, but he also asked Liv questions about herself (name, age, etc) and really made it a fun trip for her. Addie, I think was just a little puzzled about why we were all cramming into the back of this car without car seats. It was a real treat!

On Friday, all of my family except for Meredith and Michael got together for some real Chicago, deep-dish pizza. Delicious but wow, that's a lot of cheese. Olivia, the girl who could eat cheese as a meal, would not eat pizza so Jamie walked down the block to Harry's Hot Dogs and snuck a hot dog into the pizza place for her. Later, Molly and I did some shopping (mostly browsing) on Michigan Ave and State Street. We walked and walked and walked. Good thing because we needed to walk off the pizza! I don't know why but it's so much fun to go and look at all of the clothes, purses, jewelry, and shoes we cannot afford. I did buy a new coat and Molly bought a purse so we didn't go home empty handed.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Lincoln Park zoo. What a nice zoo. It's free to get in, there are lots of great animals to see and there were no crowds. We had a great time watching the sea lions swim, the penguins waddle and swim, and the huge polar bear try to move a large tree branch. The girls were exhausted by the time we left which was good because they needed naps so they would be ready and in good spirits for the wedding.

It was a fun trip and we look forward to going back to Chicago to do more sight seeing and visit Uncle Jamie and Aunt Katie some more.

(****Thanks to Aunt Tori and Molly for some of the pictures.****)

TGIF

2008-09-26T19:47:00.004-04:00

It has been a rough week in our house. Olivia had a terrible cold last week and this week had a cough that wouldn't quit. Late Sunday night, Addie all of a sudden had a terrible cold. She woke up crying and the only way we were able to get her comfortable to sleep was to hold her in just the right position. I held her for what seemed like hours but really wasn't. After a little Tylenol and holding her until she was fast asleep, I was able to get her to sleep in her crib.

Monday, Bill and I were exhausted. I didn't expect Addie to feel well and was ok with the idea of staying home from work since I was so tired but she woke up with a big smile on her face. She had an ok day but still seemed to feel pretty rotten. Fortunately, Monday night was better sleep for all of us.

Tuesday, Bill woke up with the cold. Addie still felt rough. We went to "Soup and Sandwich Night" at Liv's school and on the way home, Addie threw up in the car, all over herself. As if a terrible cold wasn't enough! Tuesday night was another sleep deprived night. Addie stopped throwing up after we got home but just couldn't get comfortable. Watching her move her head to find a comfortable position reminded me so much of Olivia when she had an ear infection so.......

Wednesday, Bill stayed home with Addie and took her to the doctor to have her ears checked. The doctor was on the fence about whether or not the left ear was infected. She said to give it a day or 2 and if she was still showing signs of ear pain, to give her the antibiotic. (They really prefer to not give kids her age any medicine if they can avoid it.) Now I also have the cold. So, Liv is coughing. Addie, Billy, and I have a miserable cold and it's only Wednesday. Are you sure your head can't really explode from sinus pressure??

Thursday, Addie is starting to feel much better. Billy and I are miserable. We thought about putting the girls to bed at 6:30 so we could go to bed too but didn't.

Today, Addie is a lot better. Liv is barely coughing. Billy and I are a little less miserable. Thank God It's Friday!!!!!! Next week has to be better!!!!!

Here are my new favorite pictures of the girls....pre-sickness!

A face only a mother could love - ha-ha

2008-09-09T22:35:00.003-04:00

Addie is very silly. She liked to press her face up against the screen door when she is outside and someone else is inside. It's very funny to see her little face squashed up against the screen. She thinks it's hysterical!

A good day

2008-09-04T21:48:00.010-04:00

Today was the first day since Addie returned to daycare that I could leave without hearing her cry. Usually she clings to me when I try to put her down at daycare in the morning. Her teacher says it only takes her a couple of minutes to stop crying and then she plays and has a good day. When I pick her up, she used to see me and start to cry, almost as if to say, "Why did you leave me here in this horrible place where I get to play and eat and sleep and have fun?". She was fine until she saw me. Honestly, some days I would get there and watch her play for a minute or 2......but as soon as she would see me, she would again cling to me and would cry a little.

Well, I have seen progress......

Yesterday morning, she walked away from me a little and I actually got about 10 feet from her before she started to cry. Today I was able to get her preoccupied with big, soft blocks and she started playing without needing to be holding onto me. She walked away from me to give her teacher a toy and I quietly tip-toed out the door. I know, a dirty trick to leave when she's not looking and she probably cried when she turned around and realized I wasn't there but it was nice to not hear her crying as I closed the door and walked away from the classroom. This week when I have picked her up she has been smiley and happy. Yesterday she ran towards me and dove at me giggling the whole way. It was very cute!

Other updates:

*Addie can find her nose, my nose, Billy's nose, Olivia's nose, and the nose of anyone who will let her find theirs. You just have to be careful because her thumb/hand is usually a little wet from her sucking her thumb. Boy does that feel nice on your face! Yuk!!

*Olivia continues to love her school. I hear bits and pieces of what she does throughout the day as she talks non-stop on the way home. She loves music class and gym class but was disappointed that she doesn't get to take books out in library. (The 3 year olds go to library to hear a story or watch a video. They don't get to take books out.) She also wants to be the "line leader" every day. I guess this is a very important position in the 3 year old's classroom. Unfortunately for her, they need to take turns. At home when we go upstairs for baths or downstairs after baths, she's usually the line leader up or down the steps. Maybe one day I will get to be the line leader!

*Addie has learned to blow kisses and give kisses. Blown kisses are a little "safer" for the recipient because actual kisses are delivered with a wide open mouth. There's no chance to avoid a little slobber with her smooches.

*Addie and Liv do a great duet of "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider", or as Liv calls it, "The Ipsy, Ipsy Spider". Liv does the singing and hand motions (especially the sun coming out to dry up all the rain....she's a great sun) and Addie does the hand motions for the spider climbing up the water spout. Her spider doesn't get very far but she tries hard.

Olivia: Goodbye daycare!! Hello school!!

2008-08-26T20:28:00.015-04:00

Yesterday was Olivia's last day at daycare. She really liked her "old school" but could not wait to go to her "new school".

We (I) picked out her first day of school outfit last night and had it all ready for today. She helped pack up her back pack and really could not wait to go to school. She has been looking forward to this since she went for the "play date" (admissions testing). Her teacher said she had a great first day. When I took her into the school this morning, she walked in so proud with her back pack on. It's almost as big as she is but she wanted to carry it. Here's a few pictures....

The End of Week 1.....

2008-08-17T20:22:00.005-04:00

Well, Thursday was Addie's appointment for her one year old pictures. We were worried that she wouldn't do well since she was having serious separation anxiety at daycare this week which also carried over to home. But, despite our concerns, she did great!! She played with the props and smiled for the camera. She had fun with the photographer and her husband who is there to help with Addie while I was behind the photographer trying to get Addie to smile and look towards the camera. I cannot wait to see the proofs!!

Friday, it was back to daycare and another day that I cried. Some of you reading this will think it's silly but it was heartbreaking to give Addie to her teacher and watch try to break free of the teacher's hold, red-faced and screaming, with her arms outstretched. As I walked out of the main door of the daycare, I could still hear her screaming. I just pictured her crying all day like she did on Wednesday. I made it outside but then fell apart. I called to check on her in the morning and they said she was having a better day. She played and participated in activities and was only tearful a little. Hopefully the worst is over. Tomorrow starts week 2.

Back to Day Care & Work

2008-08-13T21:00:00.005-04:00

I know it's only Wednesday but I have to say, this has been a rough week for all of us. Bill headed back to work on Monday which meant the girls are both back at daycare. We sent Liv back last week to get her back in the swing of things first. She loves being in the "Bee" room and has fun with her friends but has had a few tough days. This morning I learned that she woke up from her nap pretty grumpy yesterday (which is unusual for her). When a teacher asked her what was wrong, she said she missed her Daddy. She really wasn't herself when I picked her up yesterday and she had a rough evening (not listening, refusing to eat, etc.).

Addie had been at daycare for about 6 months before we pulled her out to be home w/ Bill. When we pulled her out, she was just starting to crawl. Now, she's walking (running) and climbing and is a totally different child. She doesn't remember being at daycare and since she's in a new classroom with new teachers, there really isn't anything familiar to her. She's in with a lot of the same kids but they have also changed a lot.

Monday, she looked at me a little strange when I walked out of her "Chipmunk" room. I was proud of myself for being able to leave her there without crying as I left. I saved the tears for the drive to work. The teachers said she had a pretty good day. She didn't want to sleep on the mat at nap time and cried a few times through out the day. When I got there to pick her up, the teacher was changing another child's diaper. Addie was standing in front of the changing table with her arms up, looking at the teacher and crying. It broke my heart. She looked exhausted and seemed very tired. I hoped she would sleep on the way home but didn't. She was tired at home but was happy and played like normal.

Tuesday wasn't as easy. Addie is a smart little girl. She knew what was going to happen when I put her down. She started to cry as I left. I stood outside the room to make sure the teachers would give her some comfort. I wasn't totally impressed with them but they did seem to get her to stop crying. She was still tearful throughout the day at times but slept better than on Monday. When I picked her up, she was not crying but started to cry and ran to me when she saw me. At home, she again seemed herself.....tired, but still herself.

Today is Wednesday. Third day there...it has to be better, right? Well, Addie would not let me out of arms reach this morning when we got to her classroom. One of the teachers who knows both Liv and Addie very well was in the Chipmunk room in the morning. She took Addie from me when I had to leave and focused her attention on something other than me leaving. She seemed to calm down pretty quickly and I was so hopeful that she would have a better day. Well, I was wrong. When I picked her up today, she was an absolute mess. Her daily sheet said she slept but she looked exhausted. She just cried and clutched onto me. If she wasn't in my arms, like when I put her down to sign her out and get her daily sheet, she would cry. We got in the car and I cried. Again I hoped she would sleep in the car but she didn't. At home, she could not be away from me. If she wasn't touching me or being held by me, she was crying. She wouldn't even go to Billy. She's normally fun loving and easy going and very easy to get to sleep. Tonight, she hardly played and had a really tough time getting to sleep. We started putting her to bed earlier (which was good because we had a tough time getting her to not be crying in her crib) and we hope she gets some good sleep.

Tomorrow we have an appointment to have her pictures taken. I'm not really confident that we will get any pictures taken. I'm hoping that a good night sleep and not being at daycare tomorrow will do her well.

Liv is up and is crying that she can't sleep and she wants her mommy. I'm off to hopefully get her to sleep.

Billy is adjusting to being back at work but is having a difficult time now that he's back to hardly seeing the girls and because they are both wanting me all the time. I know it will get better as they all get used to being where they are but I don't know that I'm going to survive it!

Addie's 1st Birthday Party

2008-08-13T20:07:00.008-04:00

Addie turned ONE on July 23rd but we didn't have her birthday party until August 2nd. We were going to have it the weekend right after her birthday but we were afraid the furniture we ordered wouldn't be here in time. For those of you who don't know the story of our furniture trauma, I'll give you the short version......we looked at the dimensions of a ton of couches and measured our space and then went to the store and picked out a couch. We bought it and brought it home and realized that it must have been the only couch the store sold that we didn't measure. So, we (I) was really unhappy with it and we returned it. We found furniture at another store but it had to be ordered. So, for a few weeks we had nothing but a love seat in our living room. Not enough seating for the party so we decided to be on the safe side and push the party back a week. (Yes, that really was the short version of the story.)

Anyway, back to the party. It was a big success!! It was great to get our families together and Addie (and Liv) had a great time at the party. The theme was "the Backyardigans". Addie lights up every time the show comes on and she hears the theme song. It's so great to see....and it doesn't hurt that Liv also loves the Backyardigans. We also learned that Addie's new baby cousin loves the Backyardigans too. She watched a show or 2 with her grandpa and had a great time!

It rained in the morning but it cleared up. I was nervous about the weather but not completely spastic! It ended up being a hot but still very nice day and I think everyone (except the little boy from the neighborhood who threw up) had a great time. I know Addie won't remember her birthday party but celebrating her first birthday and a year of having her in our lives was important for Billy and me (probably more me, I admit). We appreciate everyone traveling as far as they did to celebrate with us.

Usually the big first birthday questions are about the cake. Did she eat it? Did she like it? Did she make a mess? Well, she had her own cake and played with it a little but really wasn't overly thrilled about it. She really isn't a big fan of sweets. She did manage to get herself covered in the cake but played more than she ate. Here are some photos from the day..........

Ok so she didn't love the little tiara. I'm not sure she loved the singing either....

At first she wasn't sure of what to do with the cake.........

But after a little sample, she got the hang of it..........

Oh, and how could I forget, the Backyardigans masks were a big hit with the little and big kids.....

First Trip To The Beach

2008-08-10T13:24:00.010-04:00

Day trip #2 was a trip to the beach. Neither of the girls had been to the beach. Addie obviously was a newborn this time last year. We didn't rush to take Liv to the beach before now because we figured she would be afraid of or not like the sand. Remember, she was the kiddo who was afraid of grass touching her skin for an entire summer. Now that she's older, we figured she would have fun building sandcastles and hopefully have fun in the ocean water. Well, I'm 1/2 right.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Olivia was so excited to play in the sand and build sandcastles. We set up the blanket, rented an umbrella, slathered sunblock on the girls, and got some lunch. After that, it was time to hit the water. Bill and I grabbed the girls and headed down to the water. Olivia stood there amazed as she looked at the ocean but was afraid of the waves coming in, touching her feet and washing the sand from beneath her feet. The waves were a little strong and the water a little cool from recent storms but she wouldn't even give it a try. Addie, on the other hand, loved it. I would hold her and wait for the wave to come in and then dip her toes in it. She giggled and squealed each time!

We kept trying to get Liv to give it a try but she made sure to stand back far enough that the wave coming in couldn't touch her toes. If she needed water for her sandcastle, we had to get it for her. Addie loved trying to climb in the bucket full of water back by our blanket.

I thought I'd give it one more try and had her watch me hold Addie and dip her toes in when the water came in. Liv said she'd give it a try with me doing the same with her. Well, it worked well for a few minutes but then a huge wave came in and knocked over a woman who was father out than we were. It knocked her under the water and she slammed into my legs. That knocked me down. I did my best to hold Liv up and out of the water but she was still afraid. Soon after that we decided to leave the water and go for a walk on the boardwalk.

The boardwalk was nice. We got some ice cream, salt water taffy, and Billy won a stuffed frog, which Olivia claimed, playing "Whack-A-Mole".

When it was time to leave, Addie was ready because she wasn't able to nap on the beach (too much activity all around her). Olivia cried and cried. She didn't want anything to do with the ocean but wanted to stay and play in the sand. She said we couldn't leave because it wasn't dark yet.

Aside from the fact that Liv threw a fit when it was time to leave, Addie was a little cranky at the end of the day from not having a nap, and me getting my back burnt to a crisp (me the dummy put sunblock on the girls and not on myself), it was a great day. Next year we will have to go to the beach for at least a few days.

Here are some pictures from the beach trip................enjoy...............

A trip to the zoo.

2008-08-09T07:50:00.020-04:00

While Bill was still home with the girls, I took a week off. Instead of going somewhere for the week, we decided to do some day trips, relax at the house, paint the living room and get ready for Addison's 1st Birthday Party.

Day trip #1 was to the zoo. We loaded up the car with the girls and headed southeast.

Olivia could not wait to get there and see all of the animals. The trip was uneventful except for the announcement from Liv while we were driving down the Schuylkill expressway that she had to go to the bathroom. So, we got to the zoo and ran to the bathroom. Crisis averted.

It was hot but we got to see lots of animals. We saw elephants, lions, and hippos, peacocks and prairie dogs, zebras, cougars, jaguars, and leopards, and so many more animals. We also got to meet Daisy. She is a white rat snake. Both girls loved them all. Liv loved the snake.

While we were eating lunch, Liv got to fee a female peacock. Soon after, the peacock hopped back in the area with the male peacock and he showed off his pretty feathers. Liv loved it when he opened up his feathers and walked around. What beautiful colors!!!

They had a small building with a play area for kids. We went in to get out of the sun and see what there was to play with. There were some things to play and crawl on but nothing too exciting. It seemed a little dirty so we didn't really let Addie run around too much on her own. Everything she touches ends up in her mouth. But, they did have fun sitting in giant eggs.

They all sat on a giant caterpillar, Olivia crawled through a bee hive and was swallowed by a frog, and later wrestled an alligator. It was a busy afternoon!!!

After all the fun in the kids play house, we went back to see more animals. We knew there was a chance of thunderstorms and saw the sky starting to get really dark. So, we kept looking at animals but took the path towards the exit. We were looking for the giraffes but couldn't seem to find them. We weren't alone, there was another family who couldn't find them either. Then it started to rain. So, we ducked into the gift shop so the girls could each get something to remind them of their favorite animal. Addie couldn't tell us what she liked the most but liked the stuffed gorilla the best. Olivia didn't want a gorilla or a lion or tiger or bear. She wanted a snake. So, she picked out a blue and green stuffed snake. Not what I expected her to want but OK.

We left the gift shop and it was poring. We didn't bring umbrellas but they wouldn't have helped because it was also very windy. So, we covered up Addie as much as we could in the stroller and we ran to the car. We were able to duck under a few areas of cover along the way but were soaked when we got to the car. Liv didn't like it too much but Bill and I thought it was hysterical.

The girls were worn out. They both sat in their car seats playing with their new animals for about 10 minutes......

After about 10 minutes, here was the view in the back seat................

The next time I looked back, here's what I saw....................

It was a good day at the zoo!!!!

The New Way To Match Clothes?????

2008-08-04T20:44:00.006-04:00

Liv likes to pick out her own clothes. Bill lets her pick out the whole outfit, even if it doesn't really match. (I think he doesn't always know that the outfit doesn't match.) I usually let her pick out the shirt and then give her a choice of shorts that match the shirt from which she can choose. The other day, Bill was helping her pick out her clothes and this is what she picked.....

She said they matched because both the shirt and shorts had fruit on them. So what the shirt was red and pink and the shorts green, yellow, orange, and red. I made her change.

Last night, we were up stairs getting changed into pajamas and she picked out what she wanted to wear........

Maybe you guessed it, they match because they are both polka-dotted!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDISON!!!!!

2008-07-23T21:31:00.009-04:00

Well today is the big day! Addie turned one!! I can't believe it has been a year already. She has grown so quickly that I almost can't remember what it felt like to hold her as a little 7 lb 7 oz newborn in my arms 1 year ago today.

Yesterday I didn't really have anywhere to go in the evening but I wanted to take her for one last ride in the car seat facing the rear. Of course I took a picture......

Today, we planned to take Addie and Liv to Hershey Park and Zoo America but it rained all day. This morning we did take cupcakes into the daycare. The girls haven't started back yet but they will soon and I thought it would be nice to stop in with the girls (since they haven't seen them in months) and share some cupcakes to share her birthday celebration. Goofy? Maybe. But I wanted to do it anyway. She got to take her first ride facing forward in her car seat. And yes, I did take a picture.

Since we couldn't go to the park, we spent the day at home playing and having fun. I didn't make a cake for today since it's just the 4 of us and we'll have a cake for her birthday party next weekend. But, I did keep some of the cupcakes and we lit a candle and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She looked at us with a strange look when we sang to her holding a flaming cupcake in front of her but she clapped when we were done (probably because the singing was bad and was over). Daddy helped her blow out the candle (by accident) and she enjoyed the cupcake. Here's the proof......

Surprisingly her face was pretty clean. I can't say the same about her hands, arms, bib, clothes, high chair, and the floor!

I know that Addie doesn't understand that today is a special day for her. She doesn't understand the gifts, or the cup cakes, or that I was home on a day in the middle of the week to spend the day with her. That aside, I still think she had a great birthday. Olivia had a nice day too. There were several times we had to remind her that the singing Pablo (from the Backyardigans) and the new books are Addie's and not hers and she needed to let Addie play or look at them too but she enjoyed having new toys and books to play with and read too. I think she wished Addie a "Happy Birthday" about 100 times today.

Tomorrow is Addison's 1 year old well-baby visit. She's not going to enjoy the shots but I can't want to see how much she has grown!

Olivia-isms

2008-06-28T17:24:00.004-04:00

Here are some things you commonly hear from Liv:

Mommy, I pee-peed. Mommy, I pee-peed. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, I pee-peed. (Repeat over and over again until you feel like your head may explode. You can also substiture the word Daddy in place of Mommy.)

I took a long nap (after sleeping anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hrs).

I don't want to take a nap. I don't want to go to bed. (Both said daily.)

Mommy, I'm cold. (Even though it's 90 degrees and humid.)

I want to watch TB (aka TV).

I'm not hungry (at breakfast, lunch, or dinner).

I don't like that (at dinner time when she is given anything but a hot dog to eat.)

I want a snack (anytime other than breakfast, lunch, or dinner.)

June Updates

2008-06-28T16:25:00.012-04:00

I know I said I would add to the blog weekly but over the past few months, monthly is all I seem to be able to do. Here's what happened since the latest post...........

May 17th - Olivia turned 3 year old. How did she get to three so quickly??? She was so excited to open presents and blow out candles and eat birthday cake. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Here are some photos from her actual birthday and her party on the weekend. Yes, that meant 2 cakes and lots of fun!

She loved all of her gifts and really felt like it was her special day. Addie didn't understand what was going on but she had fun too. She even had a little bit of birthday cake too.

Olivia has been doing very well with not wetting her "big girl undies" but continued to poop in her pants. Who would have thought that the little girl who hates to be dirty would not care about having poop in her pants. We tried and tried to figure out why she was afraid or what about pooping on the potty was scary but we couldn't figure it out. We asked the doctor at her 3 year old check up but she couldn't explain it either. She tried to comfort us with the "some kids are just afraid" answer and "she'll grow out of it with time" answer but didn't have a whole lot of suggestions that we hadn't already tried. Fortunately, I think it's safe to say (or at least I hope it's safe to say) that she has stopped pooping in her pants. It has been 9 days since she pooped in her pants. Who would have thought that this would be something I would cheer about one day???

Liv and Addie went to Oil City with Bill last week to visit her grandparents. They haven't seen the girls since Christmas and I'm sure it was a surprise to see how much they (esp Addie) grew since then. Olivia is a sweet little girl who can talk and talk and is smarter than some adults I know. (Don't worry, I won't name names. Ha-Ha) Addie was not even crawling the last time they saw her and now she's walking all over and zooms up steps. I'm sure they were sad to see them leave but happy to get some rest after they were gone.

Liv and Addie successfully completed their second set of swimming classes. The teacher said Olivia can move up to the next class where she would swim without a parent. She loves the water and loves going down the slide into the deep end. She's still a little scared about jumping into the pool not holding onto someone's hand but she's getting there. Addie loves the water too. She loves to splash and gets a big smile on her face when you move her through the water. She may move up to the next class due to her age but will still be swimming with a parent.

Olivia completed her gymnastics class. Paying attention to the teacher (and not the other gymnasts in the room) was a struggle sometimes and some of the tasks they asked her to do were a little difficult for her but she tried and tried and really had a good time. I wasn't pleased with one of the teachers because I felt like she didn't always remember that she is only 3 and has a shorter attention span and different abilities than the other 2 girls in the class who are 5. For some reason the YMCA combines the Tiny Tumblers with the Little Tumblers. Liv was a TT and the other girls were LTs. The teacher appeared a little frustrated with Liv some days (even commented on by another parent). One day the teacher told me that Liv didn't get 2 of her 4 reward stamps because she didn't always pay attention to her and ran to me to go to the bathroom without her permission. I reminded the teacher that Liv is 3, the gym has a lot of activity going on and it's tough to just sit and not watch the other girls swinging on the bars, flipping on the mats, and walking on the balance beams. I also reminded her that Liv was newly potty trained and she probably didn't realize she has to ask permission. Of course I talked to Liv about paying attention and asking to use the potty but I was very annoyed by the teacher. Fortunately there were only 2 weeks left and that teacher didn't teach the last 2 weeks. We're going to hold off putting her back into gymnastics until she's a little older. The good thing was she loved the class and didn't realize the teacher was being a little rude. She loved to come home and show Billy how she can tumble. Plus, she looks cute in her bodysuit.

Olivia was accepted into the Harrisburg Academy's HATS program so instead of going to daycare, she will be attending school. The HATS program is an amazing program for 3 year olds and we're so excited for her to go. I know there are some people who think we're pushing her to start school too young but we look at it that since we have to pay for daytime care, why not put her in a wonderful educational setting where she can get a jump start on learning? Olivia has learned a lot at the daycare....they have an educational program built into their day....but it's not the same as a school. Don't worry, she will be playing and learning as she plays, not sitting at a desk all day being forced to learn algebra or physics. I promise.

Addie is growing so fast.......can you believe she will be 1 year old in less than a month?!?!?!? She is walking like a pro and can manage to sneak 1/2 way up the steps before you can say "no". She is a happy little girl who loves to play and eat. She's transitioning to table food and seems to like anything you offer her. She has mastered the sippy cup and tries to steal Liv's as often as she can. She tries to do whatever she sees us do and really loves to imitate her big sister.

Liv doesn't always appreciate Addie trying to play with her. She developed a move she uses when she doesn't want Addie to play with her. As Addison is approaching, Liv sticks out her hand....Addie bounces off her hand and falls on her bottom. Liv has learned that when she gets caught using "the move", she goes right to time out. Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often (we think).

Addie loves to climb on the "sit and spin" and loves the cats. We are trying to teach Addie that you pet a cat by running your open hand along their back not by grabbing a handful of fur and shaking it. We're also trying to teach her that a tail looks like a fun thing to grab onto and try to eat but really isn't. Jinx gave her a lesson of her own one day when Addie grabbed her tail. She nipped at her but didn't hurt her.

We are enjoying the girls so much. Bill is doing a fantastic job as Mr. Mom and it's giving us a change to spend more time playing in the evening and less time with baths and cooking dinner. Most nights, he has dinner at least started if not ready to be put on the table when I get home. He gives the girls a bath in the morning so we don't have to do it at night. I'm not looking forward to him going back to work in August and having to go back to the rush, rush, rush 5 days a week....getting up earlier, making sure I leave work on time, etc. However, I am looking forward to the company in the car again.

Batteries

2008-05-14T06:22:00.003-04:00

Don't worry. This is not a story about something else Olivia put up her nose.

Olivia likes to talk. She really likes to talk. Car rides are never quiet (even when you wish they would be for just 5 minutes). She'll be 3 on Saturday and she amazes me with how smart she is. Yesterday, on the way to gymnastics, she was her normal chatty self. We talked about where we were going, and what animals we saw along the way (we pass several farms to get to the Y), what fictitious animal was chasing us (usually an animal from a Dora episode she saw recently), and so many other things. When we got into Lebanon, a traffic light was not working properly.....I had the blinking red and knew it was going to be a pain to get across the 5 way intersection. I said, "Uh oh, the light is broken". She told me that maybe it needed new batteries.....maybe we could fix it.

Because the intersection was a pain in the neck to get through, I was hoping it would be fixed on the way home from gymnastics. No luck. Olivia said we needed to go home and get a really tall ladder to change the batteries. She said maybe her Daddy could help her. It is so much fun to listen to her and hear the things she comes up with. Why didn't we think of that....get new batteries to fix the traffic light?? Seeing life through the eyes of an almost 3 year old makes a crappy day at work so much better.

Great Progress!!

2008-05-11T11:14:00.003-04:00

When I wrote last week, I told you that Olivia was now wearing "big girl undies". Here's the update. We have survived a full week. In the beginning I was wondering if we would but after just a few days, we saw progress. Here's how the week went.........

I'm sure I mentioned it sometime in the past but let me tell you, if Olivia doesn't take a nap, we all have a really tough afternoon. She's tired and cranky. On Saturday and Sunday she did not nap and she pretty much didn't even try to no wet her pants. Sunday night, we saw a little glimmer of hope when she really didn't like the feeling of the pull-up when we put it on before bed. (We're still doing pull-ups during the night but plan to end that soon.) Monday was better than Sunday......and as the week went on she got better and better. By Thursday, she was running to the potty on her own and making it there dry! Pooping was still an issue. For some reason, we couldn't get her to run to the bathroom before she poops....until today!! I don't know why she has or had issues with pooping on the potty but this morning, I got the best Mother's Day gift from her. She looked at me and said, "the poopy is going to come out". We ran to the potty and made it there before she pooped! Yahoo!!!!!

She is so proud of her big girl undies and we tell whoever we can that she's wearing them. I still can't get over how tiny she is without the bulk of the pull-ups. She's so skinny! We've survived going to swimming twice, gymnastics once, and several stores. We still have to work on little accidents during her nap (when she sleeps) and then bed time (but she has been dry for the past 3 mornings so I think we're going to brave big girl undies at night very soon). Hopefully pooping in her pants is a thing of the past.

Has it really been 2 months??

2008-05-04T21:21:00.034-04:00

So much has happened in the past 2 months it's hard to know where to begin. Let's see......there was Easter. It came and went so quickly but Liv had fun at 2 Easter Egg Hunts. One was at the Hershey Outlets and the other was at daycare. Addie was too little to enjoy it but we did let her grab an egg or 2 at the Hershey hunt.

On Easter Sunday, they both looked beautiful in their dresses. It was nice to visit with my family and, as usual, the girls were spoiled with gifts from Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Tori, Aunt Molly, and Aunt Meredith & Uncle Michael. It was fun to see everyone but a special treat to see Meredith and Michael because they don't get to see the girls too often and Addie grows so quickly. Liv too but Addie changes a lot more from visit to visit.

Did you notice Addie's tongue? She went through a faze where her tongue was always sticking out of here mouth. Why? We don't know but Billy blames his dad. He said whenever his dad is deep in thought, his tongue is usually out the same way.

This faze has passed. We're now onto raspberries. She is the queen of raspberries. Watch out if you get too close, especially when she has food in her mouth!!

Sometime in March, Olivia realized that she is now tall enough to turn on and off the lights. Once she learned it, she had to make sure she didn't forget how to do it. Lights on, lights off, lights on, lights off, on, off, on, off.......she perfected her skill!!

In March, we decided that Bill would take a 13 week voluntary layoff. The girls were sick with cold after cold and virus after virus and work has been crazy for me and he wanted to spend time with his girls. A couple of hours in the evenings and weekends that fly by just isn't enough time with Liv and Addie. While he's fortunate to have the ability to take the layoff, we decided to go for it. The first week he spent doing some chores around the house, including painting the bathroom. After "school", Liv helped.
After that week, the fun began. Bill has been a stay at home dad and is loving it. There are days when he's really glad I'm home from work but most days are fun. I remember the first week, there was lots of Easter candy in a candy dish in the living room. Liv would sit and eat the entire bowl in one sitting if we would let her. Unfortunately for her, one piece every once and a while was all she got. One day, I came home to her crying and throwing a bit of a temper tantrum. All over.....you guessed it.......wanting another piece of candy and being told "no" because it was too close to dinner. She stomped her feet and cried and screamed. It was so weird but the words, "Go to your room!!" just came out of my mouth like I had said them hundreds of times before. I hadn't. It was the first time but it rolled right off my tongue and better yet, she listened. After about 2 minutes of falling apart in her room over the little piece of candy, she calmed down, we talked about it, and life went on.

Anyway, now Billy has a good routine and is enjoying every day with them. I think it's going to be hard to get him back to work when the temporary layoff is over. I think it would be hard for anyone to not want to be with these angels every day!

Addison is tired of crawling. She still crawls to get around to all of Liv's toys and anything else she wants to get her hands on but she is standing (occasionally on her own, no hands) and she is cruising along the furniture and with the walk behind toys. What comes along with learning to stand?? Well, learning to fall on your butt properly and forgetting that you need to hold on in order to remain standing. What happens when you forget? We'll, you get your first shiner....

Fortunately it didn't take her long to learn she needs to fall back on her bottom. I guess smacking my face off the coffee table would teach me something too!

I remember when Liv was Addie's age and my Dad said I developed a stuttering problem. It sounded like, "No, no, no, no, no.......". Well, my problem is back and Bill has it too. Now that Addie is mobile, nothing is off limits to her.

It was a shock to Liv when she found out that Addie could get all of her toys. We've had to work on not pushing Addie out of the way, not pulling toys out of Addie's hands, and we've had to teach her that she won't die if Addie plays with some of her toys. Most of the time she likes to play with Addie and show her how different toys work but sometimes she can get a little bossy. I'm sure that's something she gets from her dad, right?!?

Swimming classes went very well. They finished up their last class last weekend and by the last class, Olivia was able to swim the width of the pool all by herself. Billy stayed very close but she kicked and wiggled her way across the pool all by herself. They both just started another 8 week session of swimming. Olivia also just started gymnastics. Tuesday was her first class and she looked so little next to the other kids. We put her in a class for 3-4 year old kids but they combine that class with the class for the 4-5 year old kids. She will be 3 in about 2 weeks so she's very young for the class. On Tuesday there was only one other girl in the class and she is 5. She looked so much bigger than Liv. Liv was exhausted by the time the hour class was over but she didn't want to leave. It was amazing to see how flexible she is!

Let's see....what else??

Exciting news, Jennifer (my sister) had her baby on April 11. Danielle is a happy, healthy, beautiful, and very tiny little girl. I'm used to picking up my 20+ lb "baby". Holding an approx. 6 lb baby was so different. She is so sweet and beautiful. It was hard to give her to someone else to hold. I'd put her picture here but I didn't ask Jen or Troy for permission yet so maybe I can put one in the next post. When we went to meet Danielle, Molly rode with us to their house. She sat in the back with Liv and Addie (voluntarily) and had fun. She had her camera all ready for the trip.

Addie had her 9 month check up at the end of April. At the appointment she weighted in at 21 lbs 7 oz and measured 29 1/2 inches long. She continues to be at the top of the chart for height. We're going to have 2 tall girls.

Just this past week she started babbling a little. She likes to say, "ba-ba-ba-ba" but occasionally we catch a "da-da-da" or "ma-ma-ma". She still only has the 4 teeth (2 up and 2 down) but I think there are more in the works. She tries really hard to eat the puffs but most times she spits them back out. She doesn't like the stage 3 foods with the chunks in it. I don't think I blame her. It looks pretty gross to me.

Another bit of excitement from this week revolved around Liv. Addie's excitement was good. Liv's, not so good. Just when we thought nose issues were a thing of the past, yes, she sticks something else up her nose. I got a call from Bill at work on Thursday to let me know that Liv was up her her room to get something and he heard her start to cry. He went up to see what was wrong and she said her nose hurt. Well, she has a hamper in her room and it's made of wicker. Somehow, a 1 inch piece of the wicker made its way up her nose. She pushed it so far up that it was really hurting. Fortunately Billy didn't panic and he held her other nostril closed and her lips together and made her blow out of her nose. The wicker....covered in boogers....flew out of her nose and onto Billy's arm. When will she stop putting things in her nose??

And the last bit of news I'm going to share before I end this crazy-long post and go to bed is................drum roll please...............

Olivia is no longer wearing diapers or pull ups. I wanted her out of diapers before she turned 3 and she is able to go on the potty but still does not stay dry between every diaper change. I heard some good advise from a friend and we decided to stop using pull ups and put her in "big girl undies". On Thursday we went to the store and she got to pick out the undies she wanted. She got undies with the Disney Princess on them....some with Dora.....some with Elmo and Zoe......My Little Pony. If they were her size and she wanted them, she got them. She was so proud to go to the register to pay for her new undies. We took them home and she opened every pack up and looked at them. On Friday, she helped her Daddy wash and dry them and we found a special drawer in her dresser for her new undies. Saturday (yesterday) we put them on and she was soooo excited and proud to be wearing her big girl undies.

At first it was so funny. You could see that they felt very different to her. We kept praising her and encouraging her to use the potty. She stayed dry until nap time. That's when things went down hill. First, she pooped in her undies when she was "napping". Then, because nap time was more play time in her room than it was sleeping time, she was over tired and had several more accidents as the day went on. We kept changing her and we put undies back on today. Today she had 3 accidents but we are not giving up. Today is May 4th. Her birthday is May 17th. I'm still hoping that she'll be potty trained by her birthday but at times I'm not so sure. There's no turning back now! Tonight we saw a bit of hope. We decided we would continue to use the night time pull ups until she seemed to do better during the day. Tonight, when we put the pull up on she didn't like how it felt. She prefers to wear the undies. That has to be a good sign.

Well, I'm off to bed. I took tomorrow off to be able to help with the potty training. I'm sure there are things I missed from the past 2 months. If I think of anything good, I'll add it to the next post. I'll try to write more timely. Wish us luck with potty training!

A busy week

2008-03-09T21:18:00.014-04:00

What do I tell you first? Let's see.....

Monday was such a beautiful day that we got to go outside for a little while. Olivia was so excited to ride her bike. She has grown. Last year, she could reach the pedals but her legs were just a little too short to pedal on her own. She had no problem this time. Addie was sick but we bundled her up and took her outside for a little fresh air. After the bike riding, Olivia wanted to go for a walk. She literally ran around our block twice. She started a third lap but lost her energy about 1/3 of the way into the lap. Billy ended up carrying her the last 1/2 of the block. She slept very well that night.
Thursday evening, ADDISON CRAWLED!!! Not just moving an arm or 2....she's been doing that for a week or so but this time she really crawled! Yea!!! Look out Olivia. You're toys are no longer safe! Addie was so close for a few weeks. She just couldn't figure out how to move her right arm. All of a sudden on Thursday, she figured it out and was across the room. There will be no stopping her now!! Today she has been trying to pull herself to a standing position.

Addie's first tooth is 1/2 way in and the second tooth has just appeared. Go Addie Go!!

Both Olivia and Addison had their very first swimming lesson on Saturday. Addie's class was first and she did great. Bill swam with both of them since we had to run home after the classes, change, and jump in the truck to get to MD for Jennifer's baby shower. It's easier for him to dry his hair and be ready to go quickly. Addie did great and she looked adorable in her little swimming suit.

Olivia was so excited to get in the pool the 1/2 hour that she had to wait for Addison's class to be over had to have felt like hours to her. She just kept telling me that she wanted to go in the water. Finally, when it was her turn, went right in. She even got to go down to the deep end and slide down the slide into the pool. She had so much fun!

I took some pictures but for some reason they didn't come out very well. I tried to lighten them up but they still aren't so good.

Watching the race with daddy.....

2008-03-09T21:12:00.002-04:00

Yes, they are both asleep!!

SHE DID IT!!!!!

2008-02-26T19:59:00.003-05:00

Addie has been so close to sitting up on her own and tonight SHE DID IT!! She sat up all by herself!! Go Addie Go!!! She's still not crawling but is very close. She can move herself forward if she really wants to get to something but hasn't quite figured out how to move her arms. It's just a matter of time. Then she'll keep Liv (and us) moving!

Updates: She had her 6 month well baby visit yesterday (yes, I know she's 7 months old but it's tough getting in with her pediatrician). She is 19 lbs 15 oz (91 %ile) and 28 and 5/8 inches long (> 97%ile). She's growing fast! She's also getting her first tooth. It's hard to see but at the doctors office we were able to see a speck of white poking through her gums. Yea!!

Yesterday was a tough day for Addie. We took her to get her pictures taken in the morning....boy was that torture! For all of you who ask if she ever cries.....take her to get her pictures taken. She did not like it at all. Then, later in the day she gets 3 shots! The poor thing cried more yesterday than she has in the past month. Today she's fussy and has a low grade fever. Just enough to make her cranky. I'm sure it's a result of the shots. I wouldn't think the camera's flash would have any lasting effects!! Ha-ha!

Olivia continues to entertain us. Last week she was sitting at the dinner table and sang us a new song........"I have a little turtle. His name is Tiny Tim. I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim. He drank up all the water. He ate up all the soap. And now my little turtle has bubbles in his throat." When you get to the end of the last line (bubbles in his throat), you have to bump your hand against your mouth as your singing to make it sound like there's bubbles coming out. It's the cutest thing! She's getting good at singing songs from start to finish.

Liv's other new things is getting naked. I went to get her up one morning and she was naked except for her diaper and her socks. During nap time at home, she's doing the same thing.....we find her with her undershirt and pull-up. Too funny!!!

It Won't Be Long

2008-02-09T21:34:00.000-05:00

Addie is trying and trying to crawl. She moves her legs a little and falls because she hasn't figured out that she needs to move her arms too. We're trying to get Olivia to understand she can't leave small things (ie: barettes, hair rubber bands, Barbie's shoes) laying around but she doesn't really understand why. We're going to be in trouble when Addie starts crawling. She's already reaching for and grabbing everything.....including the cats. The cats are learning to keep a safe distance. I'm surprised Chevy doesn't have a few bald spots!

Matching clothes

2008-02-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

I've looked back at pictures from when I was little and thought my Mom was a little goofy for dressing Jennifer and me in matching clothes. Goofy or not, I have to admit that sometimes it's fun to dress the girls alike. Sometimes, Olivia wants to wear something that matches Addie. Friday, I put them both in jeans and a Valentine's Day shirt.

That night, Liv had to wear the same PJs that Addie was wearing. It's a good thing we have one set of matching PJs for them and both pairs were clean.

Olivia's first snowman

2008-02-09T21:19:00.001-05:00

We had a little bit of snow today. Olivia loves to go outside and play in the snow with her snow boots on. Without the boots, her feet cannot touch snow. With the boots on, she will run and play in the snow.

She and her Daddy went outside to play today and she got to build her first snowman. M&Ms made him pretty colorful. By the time I took the picture, the temperature started going up and her snowman started to melt. His carrot nose had already fallen out and from the snow melting, the hole for his carrot nose was too big so the carrot would not stay in. Still, he's a pretty handsome snowman. What do you think??

A sweet big sister

2008-02-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

People often ask me if Olivia is a good big sister and if there are any jealousy issues. The biggest problem we've had (aside from the "stroller incident" when Addie was first born) is when Olivia wants the toy that Addison is playing with. She has learned to either wait her turn or to get another toy to offer Addie so maybe she'll let Liv play with the toy. Both have worked pretty well.

I have to tell you what happened this moring. It explains perfectly how much Olivia loves her little sister........

Today, Billy was holding Addison. She started to squirm and ended up hitting her face on his collar bone. I don't know if she hit her nose or her forehead but what ever it was, she really cried -- tears and all. I took her from Billy hoping to be able to make her feel better (Mommy always makes it better, right??). Olivia went into the other room and got a toy for Addie to play with. She picked a musical flower toy - when you push on one of the pedals, it plays either a note or a part of a song, depending on the setting. It was so sweet!! She was trying to make her sister feel better.....and it worked.

Sleeping beauties!

2008-02-03T22:21:00.000-05:00

Liv still loves to sleep with tons of "her friends" in her bed. Dora is still one of her favorites. Can you tell?

Addison looks like an angel when she sleeps. Here's my view of her when she's sleeping in my arms. Would you ever put her down?

January's over?

2008-02-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

Where did January go? Let's see.......

The girls were sick again. Olivia caught a terrible cold w/ fever, head congestion, and a terrible cough. Of course, Addison had it a few days later. It seemed to hit her harder becuase she's so little and can't have any cold medicine. There was one day that just looking at her pitiful, sick face made me cry. She struggled with a fever. Shhhh....don't tell....I gave her motrin 2 days before she turned 6 months. The Tylenol wasn't bringing the fever down so I broke the rule and gave it to her 2 days before she's allowed to have it. Thank God it helped! Both are better but Liv seems to be catching another cold. I think we'll be passing cold back and forth until Spring.

Olivia has been talking about what she wants to be when she grows up. We seem some tractors or other pieces of heavy equipment along the road going to or coming from school & work. Olivia gets excited to see tractors (all heavy equipment is a tractor to her). She said she wants to be a farmer when she grows up. She has a long list of animals she wants to have along with big and small tractors for all of us to ride. We had her to the doctor when she was sick because she complained of her ear hurting. While she was there, she told the med student she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. When the pediatrician came in, he had Daffy Duck on his stethescope. The med student told her to tell the doctor what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said she wants to be a duck. So much for being a doctor!! She also wants to be a rock star.......

Addison is learning new things every day. She has perfected the art of grabbing my hair and pulling it. She can also manage to grab my glasses with ease. She loves to roll over and over and over and over..... You put her down at one end of the room and find her at the other end in just a few seconds. During the night, she moves all over her crib. You never know how you're going to find her in the moring.

Just yesterday, she started getting up on all fours and rocking a little. It's a little early to crawl but she's trying. She also can sit up without support. We stay near by because every so often she falls over and then can't get back to a sitting position.

Her hair is growing (Yea!!!) and is still red. We're hoping it stays that color. We've moved into the stage 2 baby foods and she loves them all. She's a very good eater. Let's hope she stays that way. We've been pulling out lots of Liv's old toys. She loves to reach for anything and everything. She's fun to watch as she realizes that some of the toys make sounds and light up.

Olivia had a lot of fun at her friend, Andrew's, birthday party last week. It was her first time at Chuck E. Cheese's and she had a blast. I wish I had the video camera with me because she was so much fun to watch. There was so much to see and do and she couldn't figure out what to do first. She was a little small for many of the games but she had fun. She also ate 2 pieces of pizza. It was amazing! She's doing better with her eating. Some days are a challenge but she has more days where she eats more and different foods. There's hope yet! Every day we get in the car she tells me she wants to go to Andrew's party. I think she just wants to go back to Chuck E. Cheese's.

We bought a new car last week. At the end of the week of sickness, Bill and I took a day off to go to a new car show and hopefully buy a car. We had been test driving some cars on weekends and had a good idea what we wanted to get. The Malibu had almost 110,000 miles on it and it was having problems so we decided to trade it in. We picked out a red Toyota RAV4. We didn't get it until this past Wednesday because the one we picked out was still on a truck being shipped to the dealership. Olivia loves that it is red. I'm sure Addie loves it too but she doesn't say much about it. Ha Ha. I loved driving off in a car that only had 5 miles on it.

We're hoping for a boring February!

The Girls

2008-01-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Olivia is getting more and more grown up. She can now say her full name...first, middle, and last. It's great! She talks non-stop and has a great vocabulary. I love to hear her say syrup, hippopotamus, Jacob, and many other words. She sounds so cute....especially when she can't quite get the word out just right! Tonight she wanted to get into the Jumparoo. When she was about 5-7 months old she loved it. She would jump and jump and jump like a little wild child. We just pulled it out of the basement for Addie and Liv wanted to get in it. I know she's too big for it but I couldn't resist........

Addie loves it too!... Olivia has been having a great time playing with all of her new toys. We had tons of messy fun with finger paints and she loves to play with play dough with her Daddy (Daddy pretends that he doesn't have as much fun as she does playing with the play dough but I know the truth!!!). She also loves her art kits, dress up clothes, guitar, vacuum, kitchen and kitchen stuff, dolls,............and every other of the million toys she got.

Addie loves her new toys too. The gym from Aunt Molly has been a huge hit! She and Liv also like the Little People train from Aunt Tori. Olivia likes to drive it around in front of Addie and make train noises. Her "chugga, chugga, choo choo" is adorable!!

Addie has been doing great with trying new foods. Today, she wasn't just a carrot top.....

But sometimes, eating can be a bit exhausting. A couple of times, she has stopped eating because she fell asleep in the high chair. Poor baby!!

But doesn't she look so sweet when she sleeps??

And when she's awake......

(And everyone said I wouldn't take as many pictures of baby #2. Ha!)

How were the holidays?

2008-01-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

Lets see....much time has flown by since my last post. Christmas, actually most of the month of December, is a blur. My work Christmas party was Friday, the 14th. There was a lot of running around and last minute details to get done....and of course, work (my "real" job) was very busy too. I survived. There were times that I didn't think I would but I did and, as always, was so glad when it was over.

My birthday was Sunday 12/16. It was a nice, semi-relaxing day. We did our normal weekend running around on Saturday so we could stay home and relax a little on Sunday. That's what I wanted for my birthday. Some time to relax w/ Billy and the girls. The weather was not so nice. There was sleet and freezing rain part of the day, rain at other times of the day, and lots of wind. In the late afternoon, we starting hearing a sound that reminded us of a lawn mower or snow blower - off and on...off and on. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I went to the basement to do some laundry and realized it was our sump pump running off and on. Oh my word!! We had the water problem in the summer of 2006 and Billy finally permanently installed the pump this past summer but it never ran until now. It kept up with the water that was trying to get in but neither of us slept well that night. By the time Bill got home from work on Monday it had stopped. Can you imagine how much trouble Bill would have been in if the basement would have flooded again (on my birthday) because he didn't install the sump pump like he said he would after the water problem in July 2006?? He's a terrible procrastinator but was so glad he got this project done!

On my way to work on Monday, I learned something new from Liv. The ice formations hanging from bushes are not icicles, they are really bananas. Silly me! I tried to explain that they were icicles but she would not believe me. Finally, I gave in. They are bananas.

OK, what's next.....the daycare Christmas party.

Wait, oh wait, we can't talk about the party yet because we first have to talk about the TV kicking the bucket. The popping and sizzling sounds it made before the picture disappeared were not good. Now what was I going to do with Liv while I got Addie ready?????? I know, lets have a special morning treat and sit on Mommy and Daddy's bed to watch TV (on the little 19 inch TV) this morning! Phew....it worked! So, now work is busy, Christmas shopping/gift wrapping is busy, I have a ton of presents to wrap (coworker gifts, daycare teacher gifts, family gifts) there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day or enough days in the week but lets add in TV shopping. You know we can't live without TV! We did some Internet price checking and called some stores and found the one we wanted. A Sony 46 inch LCD HD TV. After the daycare Christmas party, it will be ours.....

OK, so the party was on Thurs. 12/20. It was nice. Billy went to Addie's room and I went to Liv's room. Santa brought gifts for all of the good girls and boys. Of course Liv and Addie were good girls and they both loved their gifts. Liv kept saying that Santa brought her a Rescue Pack (from "Go Diego Go" - a favorite show). After the party and before Liv decided she was done and not going to cooperate and before Addie got hungry for her next bottle and sick of being in the carrier, we ran to the store to get the TV. We had all good intentions of getting the 46 inch but it looked so little next to the 52 inch. So, the 2 of us who have no willpower gave in and bought the 52 inch. Budget? What budget?? Load it up let's get it home. OK so we did and I was really scared when we brought the TV in the box into the house. Somehow on the ride home either our house shrunk or the TV really grew. Billy said there's no such thing as too big but it is a little big if you ask me. Don't worry, I've already adjusted. OK, what's next......

We were pretty good with having the shopping done. Just a gift or 2 left. The daycare gifts were wrapped and delivered and so were the ones for my co-workers. I had one last day scheduled off, Friday 12/21 - a day to take Liv and Addie to daycare and get the last few things taken care of before we go to Bill's parents' house on Saturday 12/22. Right?? Wrong!! I got Liv up and ready like normal. She was very happy to be downstairs watching the new TV. I went to get Addie up and dressed and found her covered in vomit. Not good! Could it be from the peaches we tried for the first time last night?? Well, I'll take Liv to daycare and keep Addie with me while I run around. Maybe it was a one time thing. Right?? Wrong!! We got a few miles down the road and Olivia told me that Addie was "spitting up her milk". Well, we all know that wasn't really what she was doing.......so, I turned the car around and went home. Called the daycare to let them know the girls wouldn't be in and found out that another baby's parent also called their little on in sick. Never fear, the last minute running around still got done when Bill came home. But what about going to his parents' house?

Well, Bill and Olivia went by themselves. We couldn't decide if it was a good idea or not because usually when one gets it the rest of the people in the house get it too. She was feeling fine and Billy was brave so they packed up and made the trip to western PA. They exchanged gifts with Billy's parents, grandmothers, brother and his family and were just about to eat when......you guessed it....Olivia threw up. I was home at the same time getting thrown up on by Addison. Boy are we having a fun holiday! Billy made the long trip home with Olivia trying to sleep. She'd occasionally wake up to throw up again and would then go back to sleep for a while. Needless to say we're all exhausted.

Christmas Eve, they both seemed to be doing better so we decided to still go to my parents' house. We really didn't want to miss out on the home made pierogies - a family tradition. That trip went well. The girls were tired and Olivia starts to get a little mean when she gets overtired but we survived. That was the easiest thing to deal with over the past few days. Christmas morning, Liv had a blast opening presents. She opened every gift she could. It didn't matter who it was for, she just wanted to open it. I'm sure Addie appreciated the help. We then went to church. We were asked to light the Advent candles. Liv and Addie looked so cute in their Christmas dresses so I was glad to be able to show them off as we walked to the front of the church to light the candles and then back to our seats. After Mass we went back to my parents' house. The girls got a million gifts from everyone and then we ate dinner. While we were there, Bill started feeling sick. After dinner, we stayed for a few minutes and then packed everything up and went home. Bill didn't end up as sick as Liv and Addie but it took a day or 2 until he felt back to normal. He was lucky especially because we told the daycare we wouldn't be bringing the girls in all week and I had to go to work. So he was on his own with the girls, sick or not. Fortunately, he was feeling pretty good on the 26th and much better on the 27th.

Now it's New Years Day and Addison and I have colds. I guess since I missed the other sickness that went through the house, I had to catch something. I love the holidays but I'm glad they are over! Now I'm ready to sit and relax (yea right) and get a chance to watch that new monster of a TV we bought.

Updates

2007-12-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-26T05:53:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-11-25T20:08:00.001-05:00

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...

2007-11-05T20:19:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-31T20:42:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

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!!!

2007-10-23T19:57:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-23T19:55:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-21T20:32:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-21T20:18:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-08T14:56:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-01T21:10:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-01T20:53:00.000-04:00

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?!?

2007-09-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-25T20:48:00.001-04:00

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

2007-09-25T20:34:00.000-04:00

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???

2007-09-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

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.....

2007-09-14T21:33:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-09-07T11:01:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-08-31T22:04:00.001-04:00

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

2007-08-24T21:27:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-08-05T22:34:00.000-04:00

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.........

2007-08-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

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.

2007-07-15T19:51:00.000-04:00

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.....

2007-06-09T18:27:00.000-04:00

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!!