lol...literally

Olivia has just started laughing...a chuckle here and a giggle there. I love that every once in a while, she’ll startle herself with a little laugh that just erupts out of her. Two nights ago though…we were in our hotel room and Ethan would drop down next to us on the bed and it apparently tickled little Olivia’s funny bone! She couldn’t stop it and it just came bursting out!

San Antonio

We always go to San Antonio the day after Christmas - or relatively soon there-after! Seriously, San Antonio in December is magical...the Riverwalk is all lit up with lights hanging from every tree and Christmas music is playing everywhere! SeaWorld itself is all Christmassy too with scuba-diving santas, giant Christmas trees and again, Christmas music playing from every corner of the park!!!

This year, was a bit different from last year…one more kid added to the mix makes a a bit of a difference! And the FREEZING cold weather definitely was a change! Last year we did SeaWorld in shorts and flip flops…this year we were bundled up in layer after layer…hats and gloves and coat galore! Last year we even swam in the hotel’s outdoor pool…this year, we hurried the kids from place to place with umbrellas and coats bundled on!

We went to the Shamu show and it was PACKED since 'due to technical difficulties' the previous show had been cancelled! We had seats right down in front…perfect…except for the fact that we were in the splash-zone! Here’s the video that Steve shot…talk about perfect timing! Steve and Garrett got soaked. Ethan miraculously stayed pretty dry and the rest of the group didn’t even get a splash! Olivia and I were dry as well…especially since we squeezed in a few rows up…well out of harm’s way! :)



We had a great time...from waiting in line for rides (and then having E chicken out and flat-out REFUSE to go on it!), to catching the shows (LOVED the 4D Polar Express...though maybe i really liked it because it gave us a chance to warm up a bit!), to visiting with friends, and watching my little ones grow up before my very eyes. We all had a blast and had a wonderful time just being together!

Edited to add...more pictures are coming...this is just all I had time for right now! :)

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

wishing...

don't ask me why...but we were looking at cars the other day online and came across this beauty...

seriously, this is one of my dream cars!  (i know, i'm crazy!) but one day, it will be mine!  maybe if we lived somewhere where there were mountains (or a hill of any sort) my dream of owning this car would come sooner rather than later!  or maybe i could convince Steve that this would be a logical commuter car for him???  hmmm, somehow i don't see that conversation working out to my advantage!

the children were nestled all snug in their beds

I got home from the grocery store tonight (yes, I fully prefer to shop w/o the kids...especially amidst all the crazy holiday crowds!) and Garrett starts calling my name from his 'already tucked in' state in his bedroom. I go up there (after it is evident that he wouldn't stop calling for either one of us if Steve or I  didn't go up and see what he wanted.)  Cute little boy that he is, just wanted to say goodnight to his Mom who had been gone off and on for most of the day...awww, so sweet!  Of course though in his calling throughout the house for me, he got his brother in the next room in on the action. "Mom...Dad...Moooooom....Daaaaad" - you know the sound...as our names get longer and longer with each call!  So, I make a trip up to his room too...and as I open the door, this is the conversation we have:

E: Tan I pweez have a tweenex? (Can I please have a kleenex?)

Me: Okay. (grabbing one off the shelf) Here you go.  Now go to sleep okay?

E: Mom?  Gar yewwing for you too.  (Garrett yelling for you too)

        Sweet that he's concerned for his brother's late night conversations!

Me:  I know...I already went and talked to Garrett.

E: Dat's funny.  We all just yewwing for each udder. (We're all just yelling for each other!)

This kid is sooo funny....I love the constant commentary of our lives through his eyes.  Never a dull moment when he's around...even when he's stating the obvious to a very tired mommy who would rather not make another trip upstairs at bedtime!  I love these kiddos!

oops...spoke too soon

So in our house, (as it is in most houses, I'm sure) potty-training is pretty big deal. And no...we are not even close to that delightful milestone in Ethan's life, but the idea is out there and we at least talk about it...OFTEN!

Some may not agree with me, but I am willing to throw a little incentive his way...he can pick out any toy he wants as soon as he is completely potty-trained. That's what we did with Garrett and I figured it worked well enough that we'd try it with Ethan. I figure a $20 toy is worth it if it means that I don't have to buy $20 boxes of diapers CONSTANTLY! :)

So the other day, Ethan saw an advertisement for a lego set in a magazine and asked in his cute way if he could have it..."pweez me have dat? pweez me have doz yegos?" I jumped all over it! "Of course E! There all yours...as soon as you go potty in the toilet all the time! When you don't wear diapers at all anymore, those legos are yours!" I was actually pretty excited that we had set up the incentive...maybe this would give him the encouragement he needs in this whole endeavor! We ripped the picture out of the magazine and it now resides on the refrigerator where he can see it!

Fast forward a week or so, when I am perusing the lego section online while finishing up my Christmas shopping. I see our 'prized' set and click on it to read the reviews and low an behold, I notice the price tag for this set...$75. Yep that's right. I had just agreed to spend $75 on a toy for my kid...all in the name of bribery! AAAAHHHHH! This is soooo against my nature...I am the most frugal shopper alive. Needless to say, I'm already trying to figure a way out of this one!

boo

All night tonight Ethan kept telling me "you yook shcary mommy! (translation: you look scary mommy!)   Not quite the compliment I usually strive for, but whatever!

I blame the glasses for the comment, but the truth is now out there...apparently I frighten my children!  

twilight zone

I love my children...completely. That being said...motherhood is hard! Hard, but wonderful, hilarious, silly, amazing and so much fun...and hard - did I mention that?!?!

But, there are moments when I catch a glimpse of heaven. When all the stars align and everything runs smoothly for a moment or two! I LOVE those times!

Like Monday, I was trying extra hard to be the mother that a certain 2 year old deserves. Not to name names...but this two year old is a complete contradiction! He is sweet and thoughtful...and stubborn as all get-out! Needless to say, there are times that require some extra patience...and most of those times have been all wrapped up into the past few weeks! Got to love the age...mixed in with the lack of sleep for mommy!!! AAAHHHHH! :)

Anyways...that day something clicked in the precious child and we had the most sublime evening imaginable! Phrases such as "Mom, can I set the table for you?", "Please", "Thank You so much!", "Mom, can I help you?" or even "Mom, can you please change my diaper" That is usually a HUGE struggle but for some reason, after he asked so nicely, he proceeded to get the diaper and wipes out and lay down...ready and waiting for me. :) The boys played together amazingly well, upstairs I might add! Olivia was content....and sleepy - a nice long nap during dinner making time!

Not to make my children sound like little monsters...they really are pretty well-behaved for the most part.  All these phrases aren't too out of the ordinary...but the politeness that night was refreshing!  Seriously, all was well in our little corner of Texas!

And I have to admit...it even has trickled down to today. As I got Ethan dressed this morning (in an outfit that he flat-out refused to wear two days ago (and actually cried for 1/2 hour about) he actually said "Mom, tan you pweeze div me a job" (can you please give me a job?)  Of course, dear child, you may do your chores!  :)

All I can say is...Christmas Miracle!  :)

in love

Happy Holidays - Lego Style!

It's the day after Thanksgiving and this is the scene in our house...

Me: "Hey kids! Should we decorate for Christmas?!?!?!?"

Ethan: "Yeah!!!!!!" (as he starts dancing around in circles in excitement!)

Garrett: "Oooohhhh yeah! I know just what to do!" (you can almost see the lightbulb over his head as he runs up the stairs)

15 minutes or so later this is how he decorates...and I must admit, it's a whole lot easier than pulling down the bins from the attic and sorting through all the actual decorations! Not to mention, the re-usability and chageability (yes, my own made up words!) of his choice of decor! Maybe we should just go with it...just drape a few strands of lights around the legos and call it good! :)

Santa and his reindeer - complete with Rudolph's red nose! Especially designed for the reindeer to be flying (notice that their feet don't touch the ground!!!)

Music note and star

Christmas tree and gift

Gift #2 and candy cane!

So Merry Christmas, from our lego-style house to yours! May your decor be a little more dignified and classy! :)

Pictures

Here are my favorite funny pictures of the weekend...

Got to love Daddy's head!

My Boys!

Anything for the sticks...

Every picture of Ethan...he has to sing and dance for...so here he is, mid-disco fever...

And proof that little Olivia was included in the fun...

Garrett's Senior Picture

Total senior picture pose!

Although the collection of sticks that he carried around the lake is more of a 6-year-old thing I think! :)

dance party

not that i am promoting GAP at all...but my boys LOVED this commercial.

they made steve rewind it over and over and over this evening (what did we do pre-dvr's?)...then I found it on YouTube and the requests to replay it started all over again!

watch for the little baby throughout...that was garrett's favorite part! That, and the guy who grunts when he jumps! Ethan just danced around everytime and he had moves that were almost as good as theirs!

All night, Garrett would jump up with some spastic move and say "Remember that dance move?"

Too funny! So Merry Christmas to all...and Happy Thanksgiving too!

Dash - Incredible's Style

"Oh! Tool Mommy!!! You yook yike Dash!!!"

(Translation: Oh, cool Mommy! You look like Dash!)

Apparently Ethan was pleased with my outfit choices this morning...and I have to admit it...he's right. I look like an Incredible! Maybe I should find a mask and just go with it - I could definitely use some superpowers today!

heaven help us

Leaving a store, Ethan LOVES to open the automatic doors (meaning he wants to be the one to activate the sensor for the doors to fly open!). No problem...I usually grant him the pleasure, since I really don't get all that excited about the doors magically whooshing open in front of me. But today, Ethan decides that he wants to make the doors CLOSE, not just open. Hmmm...when you're standing there...those doors just won't close! Not that I could convince him of that! So, I have a bag in one hand, Olivia's carseat in the other hand, and I'm trying to coax my 'sweet' 2 year old out the door. HA! He decides right then and there that if he can't make those doors close, he's not going anywhere. He plops right down in the doorway, with poor shoppers having to dodge him, sits there and does his little "I'm not going anywhere till I get my way!" grunt. He even completes his stubborn look with a firm arm folding over his chest! (Seriously, where does he learn this?!?!?) I try to no avail to convince him that "if we go out the doors...they will close behind us!" Does he get up and follow me...nope, he proceeds to remove his shoes...just another gesture of his defiance! So I bend down, put his shoes on (luckily an easy slip-on style!), gather up my things (Ethan included) and rush out of the store...all before I double over laughing!

The best part of all this (during the nap that never happened), I was trying to answer a few emails...and saw an article online titled something like "Study shows personality traits in 3 year olds that lead to lives of criminal activity". SOOOOO not what I needed to see on a day where I feel like the world's worst mom and wondering where my son's crazy antics are coming from! aaaaahhhhhh....I love my life!

olivia and daddy

Here is Olivia...adoring her Daddy! Too cute!

uh oh...

Ethan and I were playing this morning and this is what we found...

All E is saying now (over and over and over) is,

"Uh oh! Him head don!!! Fine it Mommy! Fine it!!!"

(translation: Uh Oh! His head is gone! Find it Mommy! Find it!)

Apparently this is almost as traumatic for Ethan as it is for the poor headless policeman.

Here's to hoping your morning is much less eventful and that your toy box doesn't eat the body parts of your poor toys!!!

true love

you know you love your child when they ask if you want to do a puzzle that they've just made...and you actually do it - no matter how teeny-tiny they've cut up the pieces!

needless to say, i set some ground rules when Garrett told me he he was going to make one for Ethan next!

Funny Homework

Here's another Garrett Original...I love this kid!!! :)

First of all, a confession...Garrett and I usually go through his homework folder everyday right after school...but yesterday, things were way off (I think I was feeding Olivia when he got home) and as a result, I just glanced through it quickly, but we didn't look through it like usual. So today, I'm glancing through his homework- which he did all on his own. (And yes, he usually uses normal sized, non-colorful paper...but apparently he thought it would be fun to use his new little notebook that day...his poor teacher!)

Anyway, his assignment was to make a list of things that you push and pull. I don't know if anyone else would find it funny...but here is Garrett's list of things (which is so typically Garrett)! You can click on the picture to read it more easily if you'd like...and my translation and comments are below...

PULL:
Wagon - okay, makes sense
Blanket - cute that he thought of that...
Oven Door - whoa, whoa, whoa!!! do not call CPS...my children do not open and close hot oven doors!!!
Car - wow...strong kid!
Kid - kinda violent...but funny since Garrett, being the most passive/non-intrusive kid would never physically pull a kid - unless that kid were his little brother...then that would totally make sense!
Drawer
Chair
Worm from Ground - gross, but so typical Garrett...he loves to play with worms!
Flower
Weed - yeah right...i've tried getting this kid to help weed the flower beds!
Hair - again, slightly violent
Tag off of Clothes - Garrett is such a sensory kid...he CANNOT have any tags on his clothing at all!!!
String
Furniture - HA!!! i'm surprised this is on the 'PULL' list...usually we just save our furniture for jumping on!!!
Box
Leaves off Trees - uh yeah, we've talked about this one before...no pulling leaves off the trees! :)


PUSH:
Button (Elevator Button) - I love that he specified elevator buttons...my kids were in heaven with the number of elevator buttons they got to push when we'd go visit Olivia in the hospital!!! Apparently, it left an impression on him! :)
Toy car - at least this time he specified toy car...a little more feasible than the 'real' car listed above!
Car - oh wait...here it is again!
Oven Door - again...a total no-no in our house! in fact, my kids are sufficiently afraid of the oven since i warn them all the time about getting burned!
Kid - again with the kid...i don't know where this violent streak is coming from!
Drawer
Chair
Pedal - again funny, since he is still very hesitant about riding his bike. he can totally do it, but is still petrified of starting and stopping! don't worry, we're working on that one too!

And the funny thing is, he told me that he had filled a second page too...but thought he did too much so he was just turning in the first page! I'll have to search the recycle box to see if I can find the extended version!

purple people eater

Garrett listens to all sorts of music in his PE and Music classes at school. He always comes home singing something new and we usually have to find it on-line (thank you YouTube!) and we then we proceed to rock out. :) He came downstairs the other day with his latest art masterpiece and this is what he had drawn...

Apparently, this song was part of the monster/Halloween montage! Got to love those catchy tunes! He was humming 'Ghostbusters' all weekend too as well as doing the Hand Jive to 'I Want Candy'...funny boy!

ironic

Glad we sprung for the net enclosure! Go figure! But hey, at least they're getting their money's worth out of the 99 cent swim noodle...the most logical item to play with on the trampoline! :)

Honestly, these boys can keep themselves entertained for hours with the most random things!!! I love their creativity!

Olivia Update

I have a million things to blog about...but first, an update on our little one!

Olivia is 3 1/2 months old now, but really, she's only about a 1 month. She is absolutely huge now - weighing in at 8 pounds 13 ounces (as of a few days ago). And though she was smaller than most of the brand-new babies in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office, we're proud of each and every pound! She is quickly becoming very aware of what is going on around her and is fascinated to watch (and hear) her crazy brothers as they run around her! She is smiling all the time now...the real smiles that light up her whole face! She also has found her voice and loves to coo right along with all the other noises in our house! Her eyes are turning a deeper blue color and are so cute!

I was convinced that having a girl was completely for Steve...he needed his little girl. And while I know she will be a complete daddy's girl, I am so completely smitten with this baby...I cannot get enough of her. So while I thought I was completely prepared for and actually wanted all boys, I'm glad that a loving Father in Heaven knew better how to even out our family! We needed this little girl and all the sweetness that comes along with her - remind me of this when she starts dating though!!!

Here are a few pics of her lately...

Reasons

Reason #49 for not blogging...lack of sleep!

My brain just can't seem to put two coherent thoughts together - not that this blog has ever been very logical or coherent, so I don't know why that should stop me now! But seriously, if I had known the toll that 3 kids takes on your sleep schedule...I might have thought a little more seriously about the whole thing! :) hehehe...totally kidding!

Maybe I'll try again to write after nap-time - the kids naps...not mine!!! Let's get serious here! :) There is a lot to catch up on!

funny boy

Ethan loves to pray. He says every prayer in our house these days and if you forget to let him pray first...he'll just pray right along with you, adding in his own sweet words as well mimicking yours! It really is funny and sweet! Tonight though, I asked the boys to fold their arms and get ready to bless the food. Ethan jumps right in and starts in on his prayer. He gets a few sentences in, and without a single pause, informs me that I forgot to put cups on the table for dinner, and then continued on to ask for blessings on Olivia (who is still Weewa in his words), prays for Garrett and Daddy and all his friends...and then ends his prayer. Funny little boy...guess we need to work on closing our eyes during prayers and not assessing what is and what isn't on the table at the moment!

Stormy Day

I love days like today! Unbelievably windy and rain pouring down in torrents every once in a while! The funny thing is, I took Ethan and Olivia on a walk to our favorite nearby fountain since it was beautiful outside and slightly cooler than it has been the past few days. I knew the rain was coming (at least according to the trusty weathermen on the morning news!) but it was great outside at the time! But within 2 minutes of coming inside, the rain started POURING! I think we'll stay tucked away inside now! And if it weren't still 90 degrees outside, I'd want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate! Oh well, you can't have it all!

about time

we finally did it...and are loving it! the boys couldn't be happier...which means we couldn't be happier either! :)

Oh...and don't worry! We have the safety net on it now! These pics were taken before the assembly was quite finished! :)

whatcha thinking about???

I often ask my boys what they're thinking about. You know, in those random moments that they are quiet and obviously off in their own little world! It's funny to hear what they say. Lately, I've been asking Ethan...and this is what he's said over the past week...

Me - E? What are you thinking about?

Ethan - Elephants.

Me - Elephants? What about elephants?

Ethan - Yea, elephants. Elephants so big!

Me - Ethan, what did you dream about during naptime?

Ethan - Books?

Me - Really, books? That's a good dream!

Ethan - Yeah...I like books!

and today while riding home in the car...

Me - E? What are you thinking about?

Ethan - (looking a bit sheepish) You!

Me - (not knowing if I heard him right) What...did you say me???

Ethan - (now sporting his little embarrassed grin) Yep...you Mom!

Man, I love that kid!

siblings

The boys completely adore their sister. Not to say that we don't have our issues when Mommy can't help when help is needed...but those times are very few and far between - thankfully!!!

Ethan is especially concerned with and attentive to his "WeeWa" - as he calls her. He is quick to run to the fridge to get a bottle any time she cries...not so helpful when I'm trying to nurse her, but his heart is in the right place! He also is convinced that the music button on Olivia's swing solves any problem. He is known to turn on the tunes at the slightest little squeak! It's pretty cute...loud and annoying...but cute!

Garrett is adoring in his own way, and really is very helpful. He hops in the car everyday after school, slides up next to her carseat and just peers in at her with the adoration evident in his cute face! I'll walk into a room and find him just sitting next to her and staring at her contentedly...and she just stares right back!!! Soooo cute!

It's funny how different they are with her...but it is completely true to their personalities. Like the other day, I asked Garrett to wipe up Olivia's chin when she had just spit up. True to his perfectionist personality...he refuses to do anything until he has been properly trained on the ins and outs and whys of every situation! Once he knows he can do it, he'll do anything...but I hadn't ever 'shown' him how to wipe a chin, so he wad completely freaked to do it! :) While all this was playing out though, Ethan had walked by Olivia's swing, seen the spit up, grabbed a napkin from the counter and was over her in an instant, wiping her chin, all the while, soothing her in his high-pitched 'soothe the baby' voice. It was priceless!

Cute baby girl!

Crazy Boys!

Ethan, on watch duty!

Surprise!! Pictures

So I was looking at our blog the other day and noticed that we haven't posted photos of our little girl in a long time. So, in case you were thinking that we don't like our little Olivia, here are some photos of the little cutie!

She has been home for just over 2 weeks and is still doing well. She is probably around the 6 pound range but we haven't weighed her for over a week. We are trying to figure out how to get our sleep...although I sleep through the night just fine, Dani claims that she is up with Olivia every 2 hours to feed her.

it's all in the wording...Ethan style

Side-out = inside out

(I learned this one as we were getting jammies on tonight. Ethan was running around, waving his pajamas, yelling "SIDE-OUT! SIDE-OUT!" all because he had managed to twist his shirt inside-out while trying to get dressed)

Side-wards = sideways

(This one was as he managed to get his shirt on, but it was sideways and he couldn't find the arm holes!)

Tiny-lots = a whole bunch!!!

(This one I figured out as I handed him a bunch of stuff and he shouted out "Whoa...dat's lots...tiny-lots! I figured it meant a lot!)

Liddle-hot (meaning little hot!) = COLD!

(This is what Ethan exclaimed as he took his first sip of his smoothie today. Nothing like frozen fruit and ice to inspire a new vocabulary!!!)

Biss one...bat one - this one or that one

Dantin - napkin (always said in a high-pitched squeal with sticky fingers held out in front of him)

WeeWa or Weeva - all words for Olivia! (always said very excitedly)

And not really a word...but just something cute. Ethan was playing with the Leapfrog ABC Magnets on the fridge the other day as I was making dinner. He put the K in and it told him the sound and then started it's song...'The K says 'kuh' (imagine the K sound...I don't know how to type it without using my useful phonetic alphabet from college!!!) But cute little Ethan is singing along, very passionately, "The tay says 'tuh'...the tay says 'tuh'." It was pretty cute! Most other letters he can say...but that tricky K is out to get him!

Also, not a word, but whenever you say yes to Ethan or tell him something he approves of...he responds with a little 'Yea!!!' either under his breath as he is off to his next thing or a huge "YEA!!!" at the top of his little lungs! Luckily it was the quiet version today as he asked during church if he could have his fruit snacks! Well, as quiet as Ethan gets! :)

patience

Patience is an ever-going process in our house! I will be the first to admit that I have a LONG way to go until I reach that perfectly patient state that I am striving! But I see that same flaw in my boys...but in a comical way lately!

Ethan's little brain is spinning a million miles a minute and he has started stuttering as a result. The poor kid is just thinking too fast for his mouth to catch up! It's actually pretty cute! The funny part is watching Garrett wait for Ethan to (finally) finish his thoughts! His patience wears so thin and you can almost see the steam come out of his ears!!! This is probably only because Ethan is ALWAYS talking, so it is a constant irritation for him!!! The only reason this is so funny to me is the fact that Garrett (at the exact same age as Ethan) stuttered in the exact same way and was the same chatty little boy...always having something to say...almost never even stopping to take a breath!!! Funny how things come full circle!

Evasive Methods

"I want to clean too...I want to clean too...I want to clean too!"

This is what I'm listening to right now...coming from Ethan's bedroom as he is supposed to be taking his nap!

After I tucked him in, I told him I had to go straighten up downstairs. He jumped at the chance to be Mr. Helpful and dove right off his bed and ran for the door saying that he wanted to come clean! He even made it halfway down the stairs before I could catch up to him - mainly because I was laughing too hard! While he is a very helpful little boy, I knew this was just another ploy to put off taking his nap or skip it all together!!! Sneaky little guy! So now, I get to clean (and blog) to the chanting about cleaning...over and over and over and over!!! :)

Casserole

Garrett - "Mom...after I eat my pears, can I have a casserole?"

Me - "What??? You just ate dinner...you want casserole?"

Garrett - "Oh! I did it again...I mean cinnamon roll!"

How do you mix those two up??? :) Funny boy!!!

By the way...if this for some reason sparks a cinnamon roll craving...check out this post.

AMEN!

Today I was reading stories to Ethan and ended with the usual 'the end' as we finished one of the stories. Ethan continued to look at the pictures on the last page. As he closed the book and started carrying it back to the shelf, I heard him say 'amen'. When I asked what he said, he replied, 'AMEN' and then you could see the recognition in his face as he realized that he said 'amen' instead of 'the end'! He then got his embarrassed look, and the broke into fits of laughter. I love this kid and his funny sense of humor!

Going Home!!!

We are in Olivia's hospital room...for the last time (at least for now). She has now gone 7 days without a brady and so she is coming home. We are just waiting for the nurse to finish a few last things then we'll get her in the car seat and go home. It has been a little over 7 weeks since Olivia joined our family. In some ways in seems like it was just yesterday and in other ways it feels like it has been years that we have been driving down to this hospital. She has doubled in weight, now at 5lbs 6 oz.

We can't wait to introduce her to everyone...starting with Ethan who is more than anxious to meet his little sister for the first time!

update

Olivia is still on track! She's supposed to go for 7 days without any bradycardia episodes, and she's on day 4 right now! Hopefully we'll be going home this weekend! Of course, maybe I shouldn't say that...maybe it will jinx everything! Or maybe I just shouldn't be getting my hopes up again! Oh well, it's fun to think about her coming home...whenever that may be!

To the point...

Steve was teasing me and said that I couldn't do a post without going on in my wordy style for pages and pages...so here's my update for the day:

Looks like Olivia gets to prolong her NICU stay for another week. Peace out.

Almost there...okay, just kidding!

Just an update: (without pic's...I'm here at the hospital and can't download any pictures...sorry!)

We were 100% sure we were going to be bringing Olivia home this past Friday. The doctors had signed the orders, there was one more signature needed (mine!), I had her room all packed up and we were headed out the door...after one last feeding so we could make the drive home. Steve was 5 minutes away from being here to pick us up...and my perfect little girl decided she wanted to stay with all her friends at the hospital. She had a pretty significant bradycardiac episode (her heart rate dropped) while eating and they decided to monitor her over the weekend. Of course I knew that was best...but my heart still felt like it had been ripped out and stepped on and then crammed back in my chest and I was expected to go on as normal. (I think the fact that I had hardly slept the night before, been up since before anyone should be that morning, and not eaten a normal meal in quite some time had something to do with my crazy emotions the rest of the day!) I was honestly fine with it...if it's what is best for Olivia, of course I will do whatever...but I still couldn't help shedding a few tears every now and again that day. What a roller coaster!

She's been okay over the weekend..a few more bradys and stuff...so we'll see what happens this week. Maybe she'll come home tomorrow...maybe they'll want to monitor her a bit more. We'll just wait and see and enjoy/tolerate the remainder of our NICU stay! :) We are still just so grateful for the amazing care she has received. Her doctors and nurses have all been great!

freedom

The other day, I walked in to see Olivia and they had taken out her feeding tube! It was so great to see her cute face - free of everything that has been attached to it over these past few months!

We went from this...

to this...

I happen to think she is the cutest thing ever...even with the tubes and all, but I actually teared up to see her beautiful face when I walked the other day. Cheesy, I know!

Countdown...

The end of our hospital stay is drawing near!!! Olivia is doing so great and we're hoping we may be able to bring her home as early as Friday. She still has a few things to work through, so it may be later in the weekend or early next week...but it is soooooo nice to know that we're getting closer!

Just wanted to update everyone...sorry for the lack of posting lately - life is just too busy to fit in the blog too sometimes! :) I have some cute pictures though...so I'll post again soon.

Week 5

I can't believe it has been 5 weeks now since that CRAZY night that Olivia was born!

Just a quick update...she is still doing so well! She is up to 4 bottle feeds, as of yesterday. She is doing great with those! I got to feed her yesterday and it is just so fun to hold her as she eats...totally beats pumping - which is what I feel like I do 24/7!!! She is up to 4 pounds 9 ounces...so she's growing quickly! Yesterday as I held her, I noticed that she had a little more meat on her bones!!! She's still super scrawny, but it was fun to notice her filling out a little bit! That can only help with the whole temperature regulation thing...so bring on the extra layers! I think this is the only time that I'd be so excited for visible fat layers on my children!!!! :)

Really, Olivia is doing amazing/miraculously well! We're anxious to get through these last few milestones and then get her home! I don't know how much longer we can keep up this crazy schedule!!! We all need life to calm down a bit...the boys especially! They are such troopers and I will forever be grateful that they are being so patient through all of this!!!

I just love this picture!

Maybe it's because her shirt declares her love for her mommy??? What a smart girl!!!

Sessel??? I mean Wrestle???

The boys are so into wrestling (or any sort of rough-housing) right now. Ethan can be heard all day long saying "Mommy, sessel?" or "Gar, sessel?" Can you guess who gives into him more??? Let's just say that Garrett is going to be sorely missed by us all when he goes back to school!