San Diego: Day #2

SEA WORLD!!

The racing of the flamingos... :) They literally ran down the street being herded by 3 or 4 workers. It reminded me of preschoolers on a field trip.

My roommate from college: Delinda & her little girl Lola (1 month younger than Aidan)...My mom bought Olivia & Lola matching outfits for our trip. Unfortunatly, the girls were less than thrilled at our attempts to try and get a picture of them together! We had to settle for a Mommy & girls shot...worth it!

No, this is not a trick mirror. I really am that skinny.

Old Town Mexican Cafe...Olivia was soooo tired at this point and dinner was NOT pretty. But at least she got a sweet hat! :)

San Diego: Day #1

We headed out early to the airport and enjoyed some special treats in the terminal while waiting for our plane. Olivia loved walking (read: running) down the moving walkways.

We boarded the plane and set next to a very nice woman with a sweet little baby. Olivia was more than happy to oblige with a picture... or not. :)

Our rental car: a Chevy Cobalt. It did us good for a few days!

We got to our hotel room and I had a VERY tired little girl on my hands. It took some (read: A LOT) of convincing, but she finally took a nap. She was sooo tired! Luckily, her crabby wake-up mood was lifted by an afternoon swim!

We then headed down to Seaport Village to meet my mom, her friend Glinda, Delinda, and Natalie for dinner. Olivia enjoyed looking at the ducks in the pond and playing Strawberry Shortcake with Natalie & Delinda.

Outside!

My baby LOVES being outside!

My cuties...

Saying good-bye to Booga this morning! He left with Mucka today while Olivia & I will be going to San Diego tomorrow!! Aidan kept saying "cheeese"!

One year ago today...

Here we were.

Where are we today? I guess "full circle" would be a good term. Although, I'm certainly dealing with things much better.

Last year, Aidan was 2 1/2 months old. This year, Aidan is 14 1/2 months old. He's going on an hour and a half of his nap right now.

Yes..... Last year, Olivia was 24 1/2 months old. This year, she's 36 1/2 months old. She's been sleeping for 30 minutes. And it took her an hour to fall asleep. And this is her first nap in a week, but it's church night and she HAS to. Most days only consist of quiet time, but you know what? I'll take what I can get!!

Who wouldn't want their kids to nap everyday?? But I've conceded to the fact that she's on the fast track off of her naps and quiet time most days is a blessing. There's a little part of me that can't let go in hopes that the warm weather and many hours outside will bring naps on again in full force..but here's to hoping!! She's sleeping great at night (always has) and so I can't complain.
I am so thrilled that spring has sprung here and almost can't wait for the kids to wake up so we can get back outside!!

Aidan plopped himself down to join Olivia for her morning video :)

Olivia's 3rd Birthday

My little girl is almost 3 years and 1 week old. Man. Besides Aidan catching Olivia's pink eye (from earlier in the week) and an ear infection to top it off and having to cancel a playdate, Olivia's birthday was a success!

We started the day with our tradition of breakfast as a family, meaning Daddy comes home from work to join us. Usually we do homemade waffles for our birthday breakfast, but this 3 year old LOVES bacon, eggs & toast, so that was her breakfast of choice! We just stayed home and played all morning (read: contagious pink eye), and after an entire week of not napping, Olivia slept for 2 1/2 hours! We ate dinner at The Pine Brook (Olivia's request...she had the mini corn dogs) and returned to our house for cake & presents.

Here's Olivia's princess cake:

And the birthday girl with her most prized possessions! :) She also received a kids digital camera from my dad, which she also loves. Her photography skills leave room for improvement, but it's so fun to watch her play around with it! And a suitcase from Mucka for her trip to San Diego! And a jewelry box filled with jewelry from Grammi!

She was so excited from the day (and probably riled up from the 2 1/2 hour nap) that she didn't fall asleep until 10 pm...and she slept with her princesses. :)

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Logic?: A DRAMAtic performance of a 3 year old

Olivia: Mom, can you come downstairs with me?
Me: Not yet honey, Mommy's cleaning up...the house is so messy!
Olivia: I can help!
Me: Great! You can pick up your princesses and pick up the animals on the floor.
Olivia: (Wailing...) Nooooooo, I caaaaannnn't.... I'M SCAAAARRREED!
Me: Why are you scared of that?
Olivia: Becaaauuuse!
Me: Okay, well what do you need to do when you are scared?
Olivia: (Composed now) Pray. Dear Jesus, help me to not be scared. Amen.
Me: Okay, now you can pick up your animals.
Olivia: (Wailing....) Nooooo, I'm SCAAARREDD!!!

The bad, the ugly, and the good

The bad: Olivia has taken only 2 naps in the past 10 days.

The ugly: Olivia...from 4 pm on...

The good: Both kids in bed by 7 pm every night!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

My baby girl is 3 today! Please leave her a birthday message!

The day before...

It was a regular Saturday. You know the type (or if you have kids...you REMEMBER the type): sleeping in, lazy breakfast, a little cleaning, a little reading, some good cuddle time with the hubby.

It was snowing. It was beautiful.

It was also an anniversary. Two friends had been lost 10 years previous. Best friends to Ryan (not that we knew each other), friends of mine.

I was pregnant. VERY pregnant. 9 months, 3 days before my due date, pregnant. Very much enjoying pregnancy, but ready to meet our little baby. What would it be?? A boy? A girl?

We took a nap. A blessed 2 hour nap. One of the last 2 hour naps I've taken in the past 3 years!

I awoke feeling "funny". I couldn't really put my finger on anything. Just felt different.

We went grocery shopping. I noticed I was having a lot of contractions. Got a little crabby grocery shopping...my hubby and brother in law were taking their time. Didn't they know I was having contractions?? No...I hadn't said anything yet.

We stopped by Ryan's work on the way home. "Honey?...I'm having contractions 5 min. apart...and I have been for an hour." "What!?! Are you serious? Why didn't you say anything?" "I was just waiting to see..."

Back home. Ryan makes me a sandwich and tucks me into bed...6:30 pm. He goes to snow-blow at the mini storage. Promises he'll answer his cell. I watch Oprah's special on her school in Africa...cry. Contractions are starting to hurt.

8 pm. "You better come home".

9 pm. So this is labor... call the hospital. Load the car. "Is this really happening?" It's snowing hard. "Drive careful, please miss those bumps. It hurts."

10:30 pm. Admitted and walking the halls. Call our parents.

And the journey begins.

Tomorrow is Olivia's 3rd birthday. Amazing.