It will never end. Busy Saturday’s. I dream for the day of a weekend with ZERO plans. Will it ever happen again?Today Amelia and I “slept in”. Well, we were actually up from about 4:00-5:30, but THEN, we slept in until about 9:30...it was AWESOME! We spent a little time together, ate some breakfast, but then Christian was off. His friend (that he drives to and from work) bought him a remote car starter for Christmas! Lucky duck!! So, today he was getting it installed. While he was gone, I got the girls down for their naps, did a little picking up and relaxed for a while. He got home right after they woke up from their naps, so I got ready and we were all off.Today is my father in law’s birthday, so we were off to celebrate. His parents made a big dinner and we hung out with them for a few hours. The girls started getting antsy, and tired, so we headed home for the night. I had all the intentions in the world of watching Saturday Night Live, but, like most Saturday’s, I passed out on the couch about 10 minutes into it. Boo.Here is a picture of little Amelia, happy as can be!
Well, today started off quite hectic! Today was my mom’s Friday with the girls…but, now mom’s sick! I woke up to a voicemail that she was still battling a cold, and didn’t want to pass it on to the girls, so she couldn’t watch them. While I, of course, completely agreed and understood, this threw me into a panic because I have so much work to do, including a pile of stuff I left specifically to get going this morning. Christian doesn’t really have any leave time at work (until June!!), so he couldn’t stay home. My mother in law was already at work for the day, so that wasn’t an option. I contemplated calling up my dad/stepmom, but they just live so far away, I just didn’t think it was a great option. So, in the end, I decided to just stay home. Actually, knowing that my office has MANY willing babysitters, I decided to bring them in to work with me for a short time, just so I can clean up some loose ends. I ended up at work for about 1½ hours, the girls got in some play time with my co-workers, and I felt much more relieved.It was time for a quick lunch and naps once we got home, and I actually took a nap myself! I haven’t done that in a VERY long time. It was much deserved if I don’t say so myself!Christian had his monthly ear appointment today. He has one more before his next (and hopefully FINAL) surgery. Hopefully all of this will finally work. After some dinner and play time, the girls went to bed, and we watched a movie. A WHOLE movie. We watched “The Other Guys”, and it was HILARIOUS. It was definitely what we needed. Some cuddle time and a good comedy.Here’s a picture of my girls today. I love this one.
Another normal day here. Everybody is feeling even better, dare I say pretty much back to normal in fact! YAY. Olivia continues to act out though, and her behavior seems to be getting worse. We’re at a loss of what to do. We are finally implementing “Time Outs” now for hitting and throwing (her main issues). She is NOT a fan of time outs, but hopefully the process will work. Her new thing is also hitting the wall/floor when she gets upset…basically, when she’s upset she just doesn’t know what to do with her “anger”, so she acts out. But, she acts out violently, and I don’t know what to do about it. I’m really starting to think she needs to be in a real daycare. When we’re around other people, or when she has other kids to play with, she usually does really well. I think she needs that stimulation and interaction. We’ll see, but I’m thinking we’ll need to start researching some daycares pretty soon, probably just for her though.After work Christian ended up taking Olivia to the mall to give her some time away from the house, and away from the baby. Some, alone time if you will. Horrible as it may be, I was excited to get a little peace and quiet and spend a little time with Amelia, but I did miss my crazy toddler, that’s for sure. Christian seemed to enjoy his alone time with his daddy’s girl too. I just spent some time playing with Amelia, got some cleaning and dishes done, and once they got home, it was basically bed time.Here’s Amelia – pretty annoyed that I am, yet again, in her face with the camera!
Well, besides work and the usual chaos that involves, we took it pretty easy today. We’re all feeling slightly better, and hoping to be fully cured very soon. Amelia seems completely normal again, so I’m not even sure she was sick. I really do think she’s just teething, and those dang teeth just don’t want to pop through! One of the many benefits of breastfeeding at its finest, otherwise I’m positive she would have been just as bad as Olivia!I actually have a topic to write about today…There are reports coming out, debunking the original study that linked Autism to vaccines…and this makes me very happy. I know there are multiple reasons parents choose to skip/delay vaccinations in their children, but this supposed “link” always seemed to be the main. This always seemed absolutely ridiculous to me…to think that vaccinations, that EVERY child gets, could somehow cause a child to be autistic. I mean, I understand that it’s a heartbreaking, confusing disorder, and parents just want answers. But, sometimes there just aren’t answers. Look at cancer, there is no rhyme or reason to why one person gets cancer, and another person doesn’t. This is the same, there is no reason, and I wish that was better understood. Anyway, I’m hoping this will result in a rise in vaccinating families. Personally, like many others, I would LOVE to see the MMR vaccine split up, but that’s not going to stop me from protecting my children the best I can at this time.
Here’s a picture of Amelia, chilling in her chair!
We’re all still sick, BOO! Today I was about 10 times worse than yesterday, and would have LOVED a little time off, but things at work are way too crazy right now. So, I toughed it out and headed in. The girls seem to be doing a little better though, which is the most important thing.After work, I had a second wind of energy for some reason, and tackled the house. I got all of the party decorations down and packed away, finished washing the dishes and getting the kitchen back in order, and cleaned up the living room. I feel like the house is finally livable again! LOLWe are getting pretty excited because it’s no longer PITCH black anymore when we get to work, or when we leave work. I mean, it’s still “dark”, but not like before. It’s like you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s crazy to think that in about 2 months, the snow is going to start melting away, we’ll have a ton of daylight and we could possibly be able to get outside again!Here is a picture of Christian and Amelia; I just think it’s a super cute one.
It’s official…our entire house, is SICK. Olivia still has her horrible cough, and just seems out of sorts. Amelia has her super runny nose and a little cough herself (not nearly as bad as Olivia). My head is completely stuffed and Christian is just a mess. He says his whole body aches. He even left work early today to go home and rest, so you know it’s bad! So, we have a very sick household all of a sudden. It’s weird that we all have different things going on though!
My day was pretty typical. Not feeling well made for a pretty long day, but I got through it. Christian made us enchiladas for dinner with the leftover shredded chicken from Olivia’s party yesterday. YUM!!! He must have been feeling a tad better after taking a little nap, because he even cleaned up some of the decorations and dishes from the party. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home from work, that’s for sure! Other than that, we really didn’t do too much. Trying to take it easy. Olivia is all over the place. Again, I think she just doesn’t know what to do with herself when she isn’t feeling well, so it makes her act out. We did finally find some cough medicine that she can take, so hopefully that helps!
Our friend Tracy took pictures for us at the party yesterday; here are some of our favorites!
Our sweet Olivia Rose is 2! It’s hard to believe, it’s gone by so fast. It’s so hard to even imagine life before she came along.Olivia is the most entertaining little girl I’ve ever met in my life. She’s tough as nails, but sweet as sugar at the same time. She’s brave and strong and incredibly independent. She always has been. When she was a baby, she loved to be on her own…checking out the world around her, learning how to play with her toys and how to get around. She was always exploring and learning, laughing and smiling. She was just happy as can be, all the time.Olivia is the definition of a Daddy’s Girl. In one way, this makes me incredibly jealous. But, at the same time, it warms my heart to see them together and see how much she adores him. She is really warming up to being a big sister. She likes to track down paci’s, she gets very concerned when Amelia cries, she likes to show her toys and how they work (but, gets very upset if Amelia actually touches said toys)…she’s getting there, slowly but surely.Olivia amazes us every day with how much she learns and takes in on a daily basis. To think that 2 years ago, she barely existed, and now you can sit down and have actual conversations with her, just blows me away. She has great problems solving skills, and just LOVES to put on a show for anybody around. She’s rarely shy, and when she is, she quickly warms up. She hands out more hugs, kisses and “I Love You’s” than you can imagine, and is such a joy to be around. We count our lucky stars every day, and are so grateful that she is in our lives.Today we had Olivia’s [Golden] Birthday party, and it was so wonderful to have a house full of people who love and care about us. Olivia had the time of her life running around with all of the kids and ripping open her presents. Our friend Tracy even took pictures for us with her fancy camera. I asked her to come and do that after realizing we have pretty much NO good pictures from Olivia’s 1st birthday.I was off to Target as soon as we woke up to get the groceries and a few odds and ends. As soon as I got home, I was in the kitchen, making the pasta salad, cutting up fruit, cooking the chicken and getting the tables set and ready. Christian spent the morning watching after the girls, cleaning the bathroom (I am VERY grateful he happily takes on this duty) and picking up the party balloons. The guests started pouring in around 1:30, and it didn’t take long for the house to fill to the rim. The house ended up in a complete disaster, but it was WELL worth it. After some chatting and lunch, Olivia opened her presents, and had quite a blast doing so. Then, it was cake time! She seemed to be a bit freaked out by the singing, she didn’t want anything to do with blowing out her candle, and only took a tiny bite of her cupcake, but she still thought it was pretty cool. After cake and ice cream, the guests started heading out, one by one.Finally, we all just sat down, and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. The Holiday’s are over, the birthday party is over…we can finally just take a break, and life can slow waaaaay down. After a little more playing, it was finally time for Olivia to go to bed…and she passed out the second her head hit the pillow. Amelia and Christian were not far behind. I did a little final picking up, and joined the rest of the house in sweet slumber. Hopefully Amelia will be back to sleeping well tonight...fingers crossed!
Here we are…2011! Wow, that just seems crazy. 2011…we’re coming up on my 10 year high school reunion! Now, how can that even be possible?!? The first day of the year…filled with so much wonder, concern and high expectations. What will this year bring? In so many ways, I wish we could know…at least bits and pieces. The uncertainty of what is awaiting us in the coming months leaves me feeling uneasy. At the same time, the wonder and excitement of what’s to come is exciting.
I enjoy doing this blog. I wish I could actually get on and post daily, but life gets in the way! I usually just keep a running document on my desk top, otherwise there is NO way I could remember what’s happened day by day. Then, try to get on and actually post every week. I’ve decided to keep up with the blog because I truly do enjoy looking back and reading about all of our daily adventures. And, it’s just a great way to keep in touch with our friends and family and let them know what’s going on in our lives. So, here’s to Year 2 of the 365 Project!
Today was spent cleaning, cleaning and cleaning! Tomorrow is the big birthday party, and the house needed a lot of work. I spent most of the day downstairs, cleaning and doing laundry. The cats pretty much destroy the basement with the icky litter box smell, their hair, Rico’s constant hairball incidents and the get their food crumbs everywhere. Dang cats. So, I was dusting, vacuuming and organizing toys. Also, storing away the Christmas decorations and FINALLY Amelia’s newborn and 0-3 month clothes. That was a little sad…
Christian spent most of the day watching after the girls so I could get my list done, but he did get the entire upstairs vacuumed. After some family time, baths and the whole bedtime routine, we finished up some cleaning together. I attacked the kitchen and dining room, while Christian cleaned the entry and picked up around the living room. We got the gift bags for the party ready, and finally we both passed out from exhaustion! We’re this tired now, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like tomorrow!
Today's picture is poor Olivia...resting and watching some TV, cuddled up in mom and dad's bed, still feeling sick.
Well, it's here, New Years Eve. The final day of the year. A time to look back, and reflect on how we spent the year, what we accomplished, how our lives have changed throughout the year. For me, the first half of the year was spent trying to handing a just-turned-toddler child, while bring pregnant. Our biggest accomplishment is obviously bringing our little Amelia into the world, and adjusting to life as a family of four. I decided to put together a little recap of our year and a collection of my favorite photos from the year. So, here was our 2010…
January started off with a bang, celebrating Olivia’s first birthday! Such an amazing and emotional day, it was just wonderful. I also entered the 2nd trimester of Amelia’s pregnancy, and while a sense of relief took over, I was still pretty sick and having a rough time. We got plenty of snow throughout the month, so in turn, we spent a lot of time inside, having fun and destroying the house on a daily basis. We celebrated our final Christmas of “2009” after my Grandma Hartfiel was finally feeling well enough to do so after her heart attack. We spent the month cheering on our Vikings, who came SO CLOSE to the super bowl, but fell apart right at the end. I got to hear Amelia’s heartbeat for the first time…AMAZING! I chopped of 18 inches of hair, and donated it to Locks of Love! Not a highlight to some people, but it was emotional nonetheless!
February was pretty laid back. We started off the month replacing Olivia’s closet with bigger clothes, which was a sad day, and doing a major cleaning of the house getting ready for our super bowl party. We got A LOT more snow, and finally took Olivia out to play in it a few times. She was a little freaked out at first, but ended up thinking it was pretty awesome. We had a low key Valentine’s Day and again, spent most of the month hanging out inside, away from the cold. We took Olivia to the Children’s Museum for the first time, and she had a blast.
In March, I spent the month getting bigger and bigger, the snow started to melt away, and we saw little inklings of spring. I hit the halfway mark of my pregnancy, and was still pretty much in disbelief that #2 was really on the way. We were able to get out on a few walks, and spent the month debating whether or not we were going to find out Baby #2’s sex at the end of the month. We settled on NOT finding out, then changed our minds at the last minute and asked the ultrasound tech to tell us…only to find out that she couldn’t see! Christian and I went to see George Lopez (definitely a highlight of the year), and celebrated his golden birthday. We ended the month with lots of Easter celebrations. Coloring eggs, visiting the Easter Bunny and partying away – though Easter Day wasn’t until early April.
April brought us plenty of outdoor fun. We spent many days at the park and Olivia just loved being outside. And, we fired up the grill multiple times a week. We started collecting some outdoor toys, knowing that the first half of summer I’d be super pregnant and exhausted, and the second half we’d have a newborn to take care of. After starting to feel better, baby #2 started being WAY active, and was making me very sick again. This pretty much stuck around through the end of my pregnancy. Christian’s sister and her girls moved to California, and we were very sad to see them go. At the end of the month, we were finally able to find out that Baby #2 was in fact, a girl, and I entered the third and final trimester. The thought of two girls, so close in age, scared us quite a bit, but we soon realized it was just meant to be, and perfect for us. We started doing lots of yard work and gardening, pretty new to us!
May brought the start of storm season around here, so we had lots of thunderstorms and tornado sirens. Of course, Olivia didn’t blink an eye at any of it. We celebrated Mother’s Day, and I continued to get bigger, and BIGGER. But the end of the month, we had a bit of a heat wave going on, and Olivia got in plenty of pool time. We officially started up our 2010 Relay for Life team, and started collecting donations.
Throughout June, life got harder and harder for my super pregnant self. I toughed it out, most of the time, but chasing after Olivia was getting harder by the second! We took her to her first “Grand Ol Day” and I turned 27! AHHH. We took in a puppy, Chuy, knowing full well how crazy we were for doing so. We celebrated Father’s Day and spent lots of time watching Olivia and Chuy run around the yard and watched her fall more in love with him every day. We finally finished turning the “nursery” into a two kid’s room, after several reorganization attempts.
July started with some final yardwork tasks that we wanted to get done before the baby came. Olivia turned 18 months old and it was amazing to see how far she has come, and what a real “person” she was becoming. We took in lots of 4th of July celebrations and spent the month taking in as much family time as we could before life took a drastic turn. I had a few disappointing appointments and the fear of having a repeat c-section was seeming more like a reality. But, after daily, long walks, lots of playing with Olivia, and LOTS of hoping and praying, I went into labor on July 25, and checked into the hospital. On July 26, 2010, Amelia Grace entered our lives and changed our world. After a couple of days in the hospital, we were home and adjusting to this new life as a family of four.
I was home on maternity leave through August, and Christian was home with us for the first few weeks as well! Amelia changed quickly throughout the month, as all newborns do, but stayed teeny-tiny. We had a hard time adjusting to life with two kids, and an even harder time adjusting to the fact that Amelia was not the happy-go-lucky baby that Olivia was…it quickly became apparent that Amelia was going to need a lot more time and attention, and was going to give us a run for our money! Olivia was not really interested in this new person taking time away from her, but we tried to keep her busy and keep her life as “normal” as we could. We attended a few birthday parties throughout the month and took the girls to the State Fair, but really spent most of the month home, spending time together.
In September, Amelia was still a difficult baby, but she was smiling more and more throughout the month. I again spent the entire month home on maternity leave (YAY). The Vikings kicked off a new season (which we’d soon learn, was NOT a good one). Throughout the month, we really started getting the hang of things, and getting into more of a routine. We took a trip to the Apple Orchard, watched the girls get more and more interested in each other and celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary!
In October, I headed back to work. It quickly became apparent that life as a working mother of two was not going to be easy. Our schedules became overly exhausting, and we have yet to get used to that! Amelia was baptized and we turned Olivia’s car seat forward facing, reaffirming just how big she was getting! We took our family trip to Sever’s Corn Maze and finally determined that Amelia had acid reflux, which was causing her to be so difficult. We celebrated Halloween, complete with pumpkin carving, a Halloween festival and trick or treating.
In November, we were able to get in a few final play days outside, before the weather quickly turned. Amelia became happier and happier, and while her reflux was still in full swing, she was much easier to handle. She became quite the roller and the scooter, and Olivia became more and more interested in her. We even got our first full on belly laughs from Amelia. Once the weather turned, we spent most of our time indoors. Christian and I went on our first date in MONTHS, which was great. We celebrated Thanksgiving, I did some black Friday shopping, and we decorated the house for the Christmas season!
December was spent planning and getting ready for Christmas and Olivia’s 2nd [Golden] Birthday. Life in general went up and down throughout the month. We were busy, and it was chaotic, but somehow we made it through! Christmas was here before we knew it, and it was time for visiting Santa and celebrating all of our families!
Well, the day did not start off so great today. Mid-way through the morning Christian’s mom called to let him know Olivia seemed a little sick, and was running a fever. I hate to see our poor little girls sick, and right before her birthday too! She toughed it out through the day, I left work slightly early, and was pretty tired all night at home. We stocked up on some Tylenol and are just hoping she’s better by her party time!While at home, I put her in her highchair, in front of the TV, with some pasta while I went to feed Amelia and put her down. When I came back out, poor Olivia had fallen asleep in her highchair! She’s never done anything like that before, so you definitely know she’s not feeling well. So, off to her bed she went.We ordered some take out Chinese food, and Olivia actually ate pretty well for being sick. We just took it easy the rest of the night. Amelia has a runny nose going on as well, so we gave her some preemptive Tylenol. I have a feeling that both of them are teething, causing most of their issues, but we’ll see. Amelia has still been sleeping through the night, THANK GOD. But, if she is getting sick too, that’s not going to last much longer! We’ll be spending the next couple of days getting ready for Olivia’s big party! It’s hard to believe she’s going to be two in just a couple of days!
