8/31/10 - August, Out

The last day of August, how can that possibly be?!? It seems like just yesterday we were gearing up for Olivia's 1st birthday, I was barely pregnant, and it was winter! Now it's about to be September! WOW!

Today was a very frustrating day. Today was one of those days where you ask yourself "what the hell was I thinking?!?". The animals have officially gotten on my last nerve. Chloe is the only one I can stand, and that's because she just hides all of the time. Frank cries constantly, and scratches/pounds on the bedroom doors at night. Rico also cries all night, but more importantly throws up ALL THE TIME, all over the house (including on OUR bed the other day, which soaked through all the way to the mattress....um, ICK). And Chuy, OMG Chuy. Today was the last straw. He's been back to going to the bathroom in his kennel again...twice today. I can't take it. We take him outside, he'll be out there for hours, but still goes inside. Never barks or cries to let us know he has to go outside, just goes to the bathroom whenever he feels like it. I was so upset this morning, he literally spent the entire day and evening outside. I just don't know what to do. On top of Amelia's fussiness and Olivia's craziness, we cannot handle the out of control animals! A few people have told us to put him in a smaller kennel, one where he just has enough room to stand up, and turn around. So, I suppose we'll have to try that out.

Other than the verge of insanity I was feeling, the day was pretty normal. Christian has been working some overtime lately, including today. By the time he gets home we just have to eat quick and get the girls to bed. We're usually not far behind them either. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day! At least I got to see a bit of this today...

8/30/10 - Shopping Trip, Take Two

Today was a pretty low key day. Amelia was great today, and FULL of smiles. She really seems to recognize me and my voice these days. She turns when she hears my voice, and she smiles when she sees me. I LOVE it! She was pretty good today, napped well, wasn't horribly fussy when she was awake. YAY!

I got brave and decided to try out a trip to Target today. And...it went GREAT! I got all of our shopping done, with no crying whatsoever! I felt like I'd won the lottery when I walked out of the store with everything we needed!

After Target, we both took a nap and waited for the rest of the family to get home. It was a low key evening...which was much needed!

8/29/10 - Busy Family Day

Today was a busy day. The morning was off to a rocky start with two crabby, refusing to nap children. NOT FUN. We finally had to "force" Olivia to nap (which did not last long), and had to just take turns holding Amelia so the other could get ready for the day.

Finally, we were all ready and on our way. Our first stop was over to my dad's house. My step-mom's sister from Utah was in town, so they decided it was a good chance to get the family together. The main reason for the get-together was so they could do a 5-generation photo. My niece, Rachel, had a baby, Allyse, a few days after Amelia was born. With Allyse, there is currently 5-generation of women in their family (Allyse, Rachel, my sister Chris, my step-mom, and my Grandma Berg). Crazy! It was fun to see my sisters and all of the crazy kids...let me tell you, it's a mad house there when all of the kids are together! Whoa. Olivia had a blast playing with all of them though.

Everyone started to leave, so we were on our way as well. We stopped over to Christian's parents' house for a little bit. He wanted to catch up with them for a little while...I just sat inside, feeding Amelia, and watching Big Brother (I'm a horrible guest....).

Finally, we were on our way home. Both girls were exhausted and went to bed...as will we! Weekend over, and it was a crazy one!

8/28/10 - Fair Time!!

It's the day I've been waiting for...for SO long! It's fair day. Oh the fair, how I love thee. We were excited to head out to the fair today and see what Olivia thinks of everything. She was pretty young last year, she didn't really know what was going on, so we figured this year should be tons of fun for her. However, we were a little nervous about Amelia, and how she'd take it.

The weather was pretty good. It was REALLY hot in the sun, but there was a nice breeze, so if you could find some shade, it wasn't so bad. Of course there were tons of people there, but that's to be expected. And, of course we spent way too much money, but also to be expected. We ate most of our usual yummy treats...pronto pups, footlongs, cheese curds, mini donuts, a milk shake, lots of lemonade and Australian potatoes. YUMMY! I'm sad we won't be going again, because there's a whole lot more I'd like to eat!

After chowing down for a while, we checked out some of the barns. Olivia is currently obsessed with Cow's, so she enjoyed the cow barn. Of course the Miracle of Life barn was a hit as well, just love those baby animals! After the bars, we stopped into the kidway for some rides. Of course our little dare devil had the time of her life...she loved all of the rides, and of course wanted to go on all the rides she couldn't go on! So fun.

One of the local radio stations has a "Lactation Station" set up at the fair..with lots of comfy chairs, fans, changing stations and a play area for older kids. We stopped there to feed the baby and change diapers...what a life saver!

Finally, after hours and hours, it was time to head home. Both of the girls did amazing! Didn't even hear a peep out of the baby! Olivia passed out on the car ride home, and we put her straight to bed when we got home...at 6:30...hopefully that doesn't mean a super early morning for us!

Amelia had a rough evening...she's been crying and fussy all night, we just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. She finally passed out around 10:30, poor thing. Christian and I watched the Vikings game...they won...YAY! And I passed out as soon as Amelia did. LONG DAY!!! But, of course tons of fun!

8/27/10 - D-Day

So, today was the day I've been dreading for a while. My first day home with both girls, all day. I seriously thought I was going to have a panic attack there for a while. I have such little patience, and Olivia gets to be such a handful, I didn't know how I would handle it. BUT, I must pat myself on the back, because it went SUPER well!

Amelia woke up first, so I fed her and got her settled in. Olivia woke up shortly after. We ate some breakfast and did some playing for a while. After Amelia ate again, I got both of the girls dressed, loaded up the brand new double stroller and we were on our way down to the park. Amelia slept the whole time we were there, so Olivia and I ran around. She loves to climb up all of the stairs and poles and go down all of the slides...she MUST do it by herself though. She does not want any help...that's my girl! She eventually noticed the gaggle of geese at the other end of the park, and took off after them. So, once I finally caught her (after taking some pictures of course), it was time to head off. We took a nice little walk and were on our way home. Olivia had a quick lunch and played while I fed Amelia and put her down for a nap. Olivia went down shortly after, and they both slept for about 4 hours...FOUR HOURS! It was amazing. I cleaned up the house, took care of the checkbooks and bills, ate some lunch and had plenty of time to relax. So, our first time all alone went amazing!

Christian took straight to the yard when he got home from work. After naps and yard work, we all ate some dinner and just took it easy for the evening. It was a long day, and I am exhausted!!! it's going to be a very busy (and hot) weekend as well, so a good nights sleep is definitely in order!

8/26/10 - 1 Month...and Out and About

First of all, my sweet baby girl turns 1 month old today...I cannot believe it's already been a month! She's doing really well. Her crying and fussiness has not been nearly as bad lately, I'm sure the pacifier plays a big role in that. She still sleeps very well at night, she always gives us 3-4 hour stretches, sometimes longer! She was able to hold her head up a little bit even when she was born, but she's very good at it now. She's focusing more and more, you can tell she's actually looking at you now and trying to figure things out. And, I have managed to get a couple of REAL smiles out of her this week. It's amazing how quickly they develop and grow. She's still a little peanut, and of course cute as can be!

As far as today goes...I decided today was a good day to finally be productive! We have so many little things that need to get done, it's time I get on it. Amelia and I woke up...she ate (a couple times), I ate, then it was time to get ready for the day.

First up, we had to run up to "the city" to deposit some checks, then right back to our neck of the woods. We made a quick stop at the post office to mail some medical bills (which by the way are a million times cheaper when you don't have surgery...YAY for that), we stopped to get some gas and much needed Diet Dew, picked up some drive thru for lunch and finally we were home. After lunch, Amelia went down for a nap and I jumped on the computer. I was able to find a replacement lamp for our stupid TV for pretty cheap, and ordered that. I also made up Amelia's birth announcement and ordered those. I scheduled Amelia's 2-month check-up appointment for next money and talked to a church down the road from us about having her baptized there...and scheduled that! It felt SO good to finally get all of this little stuff done and taken care of...It felt good to finally do some productive stuff (other than cleaning and taking care of Amelia of course).

Once Christian and Olivia were home, I made some dinner, he played outside with her for a little while and it was an early night for the entire house! Doing stuff makes you tired...

8/25/10 - Low Key Wednesday

Today was just a pretty low key day for all of us. Amelia and I spent the day around the house. She was VERY good today, not really fussy at all (thank the lord!). We went on another nice long walk this morning, she took a nice long nap. It was great. While she napped, I quickly cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen and grabbed some lunch. I headed downstairs to spent some quality time with the DVR...only to find out the stupid TV wasn't working...the lamp in the TV blew out...again...for the 3rd time in 6 years. UGH...I hate that TV.

When we finally broke down and decided it was time to get a "big" TV, LCD TV's were the new big thing. But, the guy at Best Buy introduced up to this brand new technology that was on the rise..DLP TV's. We though, wow, let's be super cool and jump on this band wagon right away. Of course, the technology never ended up taking off, and the TV's are basically obsolete. Why you might ask? Oh, maybe because they are CRAP! The TV's are powered by one lamp (vs. many lamps)...and this will be the third time we've replaced ours. Luckily the other two times the TV was under warranty. Also, because the technology never took off, the lamps are not sold in every day stores, and are super expensive. Directly from Toshiba, they are over $200.00! I was able to find one online for about half the price, but we haven't decided where we're going to order it from. STUPID TV!

So, it was back upstairs for me. I decided it was a good reason to just take a nap instead, so I did! Amelia later woke up, Christian and Olivia got home, and we did the usual...play a bit, have some dinner and just hang out. Just another day at our house!

8/24/10 - Thank You, Mother Nature!

Today was a beautiful day! The weather has taken another turn for the better...cool temps, nice wind, sun. It's great! It's beginning to feel like the start of fall, and I'm loving that. I was never one for "fall activities"...just not my thing. But, after having Olivia, I just love it. I love doing all of the fall stuff with her...going to orchards, going tot he corn maze, carving pumpkins, Halloween...all of that fun stuff. Amelia won't be too into it this year, but Olivia will have a blast! I just can't wait!

This morning Christian finally remembered to get the stroller out of his truck and leave it for me, so Amelia and I went on our first walk today. It was a REALLY long one, all around our neighborhood, and it felt so great! It's nice to get active again, that's for sure! I ended up gaining 27lbs during Amelia's pregnancy (which I'm very proud of). I just have a few more pounds to lose (also very proud of that)...but, I have a little left to lose from Olivia's pregnancy, then some extra baggage I was carrying anyway, so I'm anxious to get to my 6 week appointment in a couple of weeks and get the clean bill of health to start exercising again! I'm ready to get this show on the road! Being pregnant for two years definitely takes a toll on your body!

Other than that, I just did my usual cleaning up around the house, watched some TV, relaxed and just hung out. Christian and Olivia got home and, like usual, we just ate and hung out around the house. Nothing too exciting going on over here!

8/23/10 - Demanding a Day of Rest!

Today I decided to grant myself a day of rest! It was such a busy weekend, and I have a week of errands, chores and activities ahead of me, so today will just be a day of nothing!

Amelia has still been pretty fussy and crying a lot. We've tried everything, and it's just not helping. I couldn't take much more of the crying, it was driving me insane, and it was constantly making us worry that something is wrong with her. So, tonight, Christian and I finally gave in...gave in to the pacifier. We are not fans of pacifiers...I worry about trying to break the habit in the future, I don't like the effects they can have on children's tooth/gum development, and I despise the idea of getting up during the night to replace a lost pacifier. But, we've spent 4 weeks trying everything we can think of to make her happy, and this was our last resort. And, to mixed emotions, it did help. She seemed to calm down immensely when we gave it to her. And, she did well keeping it in, until she would fall asleep or get hungry. So, for now we'll just thank our lucky stars something is helping. And, pray that it's an easy thing to get away from her in the future!

Other than that, it was just another day. Once Christian got home, I took Olivia with me to do some much needed grocery shopping. We ate some quick dinner when we got home and it was just about bed time already. Boy, the days sure do fly by....

8/22/10 - Another Busy Weekend, Over!

Well, Sunday has come to an end. It was another busy weekend for us, but it was a good one!

Today was another pretty early morning for us. Olivia seems sleeps through Amelia's middle of the night crying well, but not her early morning one. She was up bright and early this morning when Amelia woke up to eat...so our day began. We did some cleaning around the house, Amelia and I hung out together and Christian and Olivia did some playing outside. We got them both down for naps (NOT an easy job today) and got ourselves cleaned up and ready.

Once the girls were up, we were all on our way over to Christian's parents' house for some grilling. My mom met us over there as well, so it was big time family time. Olivia had tons of fun showing off for all of her favorite people. Amelia seemed to enjoy spending some more time outside and napped the afternoon away. We had some yummy grilled Mexican food and it was a great way to finish off the weekend.

We got home around bedtime. Watched the Vikings game...it was Favre's big 2010 debut. They lost...to the 49er's...NOT OK. Oh well, it's just pre-season right?! Can't wait for the real season to being!!!

Early today Olivia decided to give the car seat a try...I think she's outgrown it since she first used it :) Dad, Chuy and Amelia also took a late night nap together, had to snap a picture of that.