what day is it?

the last six weeks have been SO INSANE. i just finished a work project that had me literally up for 38 hours at a TIME and 2.0 definitely got pissy about it. High blood pressure, low amniotic fluid... YIKES.

i am happy GRATEFUL to report that things are looking good for our second kiddo despite my horrifying lack of care. sigh. here's a peek at our olivia look-a-like at our 18 week ultrasound:

they look like twins, don't they?? chubby cheeked goodness up in here! and a wave! we have to go back in two weeks to have another look at the fluid to make sure everything's ok there. seriously. what is UP with my kids and amniotic fluid? olivia nearly killed herself by pooping in hers and INHALING IT and this one? just decided, "ya know what? i'm all set w/o it." um, no, dear. you actually REALLY NEED IT. sigh.

and speaking of insanity, somehow, today i am TWENTY WEEKS PREGNANT. halfway through. already.

i don't know what's crazier... that i'm halfway through cooking this bean or that my shower curtain is STILL WRINKLY two-and-a-half years post-hanging.

we still don't know if this is a boy or girl... waiting till birth date! but we each have our guesses. i think it's a boy and tom thinks it's another girl. people assume we (or at least tom) WANTS a boy because we already have a girl, but honestly, we don't even care. sisters would be great. brother and sister? also great. we still don't have names picked out. not even a girl name. or a single thing done to prepare for this baby. i mean, we know which room will be the nursery, but it's still currently an office. it needs to be emptied, painted, furnished, etc.

we decided to leave olivia in her crib and get a new one for the baby. she's not currently showing any signs of wanting out and to be honest? i'd like to keep her safely tucked behind bars as long as she'll allow it. i'm sure the day after we set up this new crib and throw the receipt away, she'll scale her crib and escape. that's our girl.

OK, so this pregnancy vs. last one... in some ways they are very similar. and in some, totally different.

same: no morning sickness, i think i'm carrying very similarly, pubic bone separating agony.

not the same: no bleeding this time at all, WAY more tired in the second tri (but that is likely due to stress and ya know, a toddler), this baby is way less active than olivia was at this point, food aversions in the first tri (chicken = gag), with olivia i was all about mac n cheese... this baby wants BEEF. specifically cheeseburgers. olivia was mostly in the 160s for heart rate and this one varies: 140-160. not that it makes a bit of difference!

ahhh yes, i mentioned the pubic bone of doom. i think i made it to about 30 weeks before it was painful last time. i started having trouble walking/standing at 19 weeks this time. i have a physical therapy appointment scheduled for next week that i hope brings some relief, but we'll see.

ok, that's all for now. the beastie is sleeping. god, i hope this new kid takes after his/her sister in the sleep department. PLEASE!!!

me likey

first of all, i love this blog. let's just get that right out of the way. i hope i can muster up enough energy (courage???) to try about, oh, EVERYTHING she makes.

one of TDC's favorite tools is the silhouette cutter and omg i want one. you can make SO MUCH AWESOME STUFF.

and guess what? she's hosting a giveaway! i'm all over this... you should get up on it, too!

enter to win one (and if you win, i will die from jealousy).

and if you don't win, you'll still thank me for introducing you to thrifty decor chick. AWE. SOME.

more olivia

parent/teacher conferences were last week at olivia's school. i want to write this down so i don't forget (meaning so when i get around to FINALLY updating her baby book, i'll have this all in one place):

11/19/10 teacher comments:

olivia has given us such joy of the past months in our first steps classroom. it has been so much fun to watch her learn and watch her personality develop. olivia loves to help and tries to help wash the table , throw trash out or put toys away. she is always eager to try new sensory experiences, and her fine motor skills have really strengthened as she's enjoyed coloring with crayons and markers. she is growing into a very sweet, energetic toddler and we look forward to watching her master more new skills!

stuff she does:

• attempts new words (yeah, well, when you only have like four words, this is good)
• follows simple directions
• tries to sing
• waves and says bye-bye (she's just waving at this point. no bye-byes yet)
• points to named objects
• points to body parts (head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, belly, hands and feet)
• responds to "look" and "no" (um, what do you mean by RESPONDS? because when we say "no" she laughs and continues on her merry way. i guess that is a response.)
• puts simple puzzles together
• looks at pictures during story (girlfriend LOVES books. she will sit still for 10 books)
• shows hand preference (righty. boo.)
• builds block towers (and immediately smashes them with a fiendish laugh)
• enjoys new tactile experiences
• marks with crayon, marker or paintbrush
• responds to music (yeah, that's an understatement)
• marches and uses rhythm instruments
• sings along w/ adults (i have got to get this on video)
• recognizes loud and soft sounds (well until recently, it was only loud sounds, but i hope the tubes change this!)
• holds crayon/marker in fist
• eats with a spoon/fork (both)
• climbs (oh this is BRAND new... she can climb onto the couch. when will she escape from her crib? NEVER I HOPE)
• kneels
• kicks and rolls a ball (she loves balls. kicking is her fave. much to the delight of her soccer-obsessed father)
• stoops to pick up objects
• walks up and down stairs holding hands (i've never seen her walk downstairs even holding hands, but if school says she can, i will buy it)
• imitates adult actions (she copies our bedtime routing with her baby doll)
• carries and hugs doll or stuffed animal (baby and biggie, her pug, are the LOVES of her life. they get hugs, kisses, wrapped in blankies, naps, baths...)
• shows empathy (hugs crying friends)
• shows desire to help adults (loves to help clean up)
• recognizes animals (show me the dog, the pig, the cat, the duck)
• makes animal sounds (she can roar like a lion or dinosaur and moo so far. HEY I'M WORKING ON IT)
• plays with water
• smells flowers (this is new and SO FREAKIN CUTE)
• watches shadows
• attempts to put shoes on (and socks)
• pulls pants up (she TRIES)
• puts on hat (sometimes)
• feeds self
• throws trash away (if asked)
• knows own cubby (OMG, HOW ADORABLE IS THAT?)
• acknowledges new visitors in classroom (probably by crying and running for her teacher)
• finds self in mirro or picture

stuff she's NOT doing yet:

• speaks words clearly (there are a few)
• uses two word phrases (i guess signing "more, please" doesn't count)
• names items while pointing (are we seeing the trend here?)
• recognizes own artwork

smartie pants! or is it smarty?

lotsa stuff!

my poor little bean had tubes put in her ears yesterday. we had a rough morning and afternoon due to a pesky fever, but nothing a little motrin/tylenol couldn't wipe out. she's back to her old, crazy self today!


as is evidenced by the following photo. can i just say what a TROOPER my nephew is? he's nine and SO OVER going to see santa at the freaking mall, but he put up with it in an attempt to show olivia it was AWESOME AND COOL to get a picture with santa.

let's see how that all turned out:

she loved it. obvs. i can't stop laughing. over that OR this:

hunter had a little girlfriend (IN THIRD GRADE) and she broke up with him in the EVENT that justin beiber should show interest in her.

other cool things about olivia bean:

• she dances and points her finger
• she does the whole "i've got my eye on you" gesture with pointing to her eyes then your eyes and back again
• a new tooth! little jack-o-lantern
• has an "innocent" heart murmur. wtf? also, boo.
• says hi! bye! and ba-pa ba-pa (backpack! backpack!)
• keeps her shit together better for surgery than either of her parents.

second trimester!!!

hurrah! i'm officially, by all counts, in the second trimester. wow, i have to say, this pregnancy is going by a MILLION times faster than the bean's.

and to celebrate, blogger allowed me to upload a photo! enjoy my chubbeh belleh!

i have no idea if this is possible but...

i *think* i just felt the baby kick. CRAZYTOWN.

wow, regardless, i forgot how much i love this. i'm so f'ing lucky.


13w1d:

OK, well i WAS going to post a pic, but blogger is being a dick. oh well.

holiday card time!

we had olivia's photos taken a few weeks ago and i now have them in my hands... mwa, ha, haaaaaaaaaaa! which means, YAY! time to create our holiday card!! i had such a blast doing this last year (the quality was fantastic) and am excited to head back over to shutterfly for this year's designs!

have you SEEN the selection of holiday cards this year? i'm seriously giddy over these. i've already mocked up about ten different cards. it was SO difficult to choose; i can't wait to send out our favorite design!

and i'm hoping my sister-in-law hooks us up with another wall calendar at christmas... it's become a bit of a tradition and i love having them to look at throughout the year. i love seeing how olivia's grown over the past year.

and sigh... check out these christmas invitations... now if i can only find the time to host a party...

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

miss olivia has some things she'd like to share...

1. she's 16 months old!!! and freakin hilarious. she loves to gather objects in anything she can get her hands on... her halloween pumpkin, my LV clutch (which makes her daddy very nervous for her future taste in brands), shopping bags, shoe boxes... you name it, she's collecting.
2. she was baptised yesterday (and i cannot WAIT to show pictures. she was so adorable in her puffy white dress, i can't even take it. CANNOT!).
3. she's having surgery to put tubes in her ears in a couple of weeks. boo. but we think it's the best option at this point for her poor sweet ears.
4. she's going to be a big sister in may. ;)

olivia would like to introduce her little brother or sister, affectionately known as "carlos" (hello, hangover fans) due to arrive on may 18, 2011.  olivia is VERY excited.

 

so psyched

tomorrow we are picking THIS up for olivia:

YEAH!!! gotta love craig's list. no way would we shell out $500 for this, but i'll take it at a 75% discount, TYVM!

pumpkin picking later today and here is a sneaky sneak of the AMAZING pics we had taken of liviebeans a few weeks ago w/ crista acosta:

seriously... how could we NOT want to add to our family w/ that beautiful girl around? MORE MORE MORE!!!

Missing summer

already, but fall means....

TIGHTS!!!!!

still here

still cute...

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

after many months and an ebay transaction gone wrong, i finally have new bedding!

hello lovah....

(west elm links)

yum. can't wait for it to arrive!!!

because i am too lazy to find an actual pen

for the baby book... olivia is now taking steps! i mean, she's been walking holding our fingers for maybe two months? but she now stands up (without holding on to anything) and will take a few steps before collapsing into a heap.

which is sometimes followed by squeals of delight and clapping, others with a frustrated cry and much fist pounding (hello, daughter of mine) and still others with a little determined face and immediate re-try.

her usual is about two or three steps, but yesterday evening in the yard, she took EIGHT!

she is also officially OFF BOTTLES!!! it feels like a huge victory in theory. she's not even 13 months old and we transitioned pretty easily. yay! i get to put the dishwasher racks away! i get to store all the dr. browns bottles with their 90 million parts away into the basement! hurrah!

yet.

i've just swapped them for born free sippies. which have seven (SEVEN) parts per cup. and, if you keep track, that's ONE MORE PART PER DRINK CONTAINER THAN THE BOTTLE.

so i'm not really saving myself any effort, but still. she's a big girl now! woot! also, these sippies are fantastic. she is rough. like throwing them, banging them, flinging them, hanging them upside down... and they never EVER leak. i love them. eleventy billion parts and all. plus, they come with caps and not many of the sippies I've seen do. WHY!??!!?)

she has four teeth still. and i might be crazy, but my friend was visiting this weekend and mentioned that her top teeth look big (NOT in a jerk way) and i was like whoa. THEY ARE. the seem like grown-up big.

tom and i agreed that we'll provide any cosmetic dentistry necessary if the poor girl has freak teeth. god, i just hope they're straighter than mine were. four years of braces. hell.

things i don't want to forget

• olivia stood up all by herself without holding on to anything two days ago and has been doing it more and more every day! i think walking isn't too far off!
• tonight she fed herself some yogurt from a bowl WITH A SPOON!!!
• she can sign "more" and "all done"
• she points to the kitties and whispers "kee kee kee kee"
• i caved and did a version of sleep training.

she was just writhing around in the glider not falling asleep for hours and it had to stop. neither of us was enjoying it anymore, so i did our normal routine (bath, book, bottle) then rocked her for five minutes and put her in her crib. she immediately stood up and cried, so i'd lay her back down, rub her hair (or pat her back if she rolled over) for a minute and say goodnight and leave.

wait three minutes, go back in, wipe the tears, lay her down, rub her hair or her back, say goodnight and leave.

the first two nights i had to go in three times and the second night she wailed so much i thought she would throw up and *i* cried. but it's gotten easier and tonight, i just finished the bottle, gave her a cuddle and put her right to bed. she rolled over and snuggled her blankie and closed her eyes.

it's like a freakin miracle!

12 month debrief

liverbeans had her 12-month well-visit yesterday and she is right on track for growth and development! phew. we kept her safe for one whole year. only a lifetime to go!

stats for those who care about such things:

height: 29 3/4 inches 70th percentile (grew two inches since her nine month appointment)
weight: 21 lbs 15 oz 65th percentile (gained to pounds since her nine month appointment)

right where they want her to be.

she also had some SUPER AWESOME shots. ugh. the WORST.

MMR (was a bitch), hep a and one other i can't remember off the top of my head. after that, she had to get a lead test which involves pricking a finger and SQEEZING MASS AMOUNTS of blood out of it while she sat on my lap wailing and reaching out for her daddy, tears and sweat drenching her and me.

as soon as she saw the hello kitty band-aid on her finger, though, she was like OOOOH! and commenced to chewing on it. when we got home, she was clapping in her high chair and started to cry... her little bruised finger hurt when she clapped!

poor beaniepants.

wait, that was a YEAR?!?!

my sweet girl is one year old today. ONE.

i am too exhausted to talk about it but believe me. there is much to say.

a few quick notes:

she is almost switched over to cow's milk.

she is cruising along furniture so fast that it's only a short matter of time before IT'S ON.

she waves hi and bye bye.

she can feed herself (sippy, bottle and hand feeding. no utensils yet!)

the only "baby" food she has now is fruit mixed with her morning oatmeal. everything else is table food.

she loves veggie burgers.

she also loves herself some MEAT: deli turkey, ground turkey, seasoned chicken.

she has four teeth. two top fronts just busted through this week.

she is on the cusp of needing tubes for her ears. sigh.

she started in the "first steps" room at daycare today. BIG KID!

she loves the water. her tub time is golden.

oh cheerios. her kingdom for a cheerio.

she currently hates cheese. i KNOW. HOW is she related to me???

she now pulls her bows out and tries to re-place them on her head herself.

she also "brushes" her hair.

speaking of, we've got some hair now!

she loves her "kee kees" so much (the cats).

they? notsomuch on the loving her.

she loves books. reading them, eating them.

she gathers all her tub toys and places them in a bucket and then dumps them out. over and over.

she loves balloons.

she laughs the biggest and best laughs i have ever heard.

she hugs us now.

she sleeps on her belly, cuddling her blankie and sticks her little butt up in the air.

she makes life better every day than i ever, EVER thought it could be.

happy first birthday, my miracle. daddy and i love you AS BIG AS THE SKY.

a few olivia tidbits

• she threw a fit this morning. a full out FIT because her milk was too warm. i think? i mean, it's the same temp they give her at daycare, but usually she has room temp at home. i disrupted the routine of the princess by warming her milk. HOW DARE I?
• she points to things now: the cats, her binky, her bottle, the tv. cuteness.
• her hair is turning the slightest shade of auburn and i couldn't love it more. it's the teeniest little verification that yes, she's actually related to me. her little hint of donohue shining through.
• she can crawl up the stairs. all by herself!
• she still takes a good, long morning nap. which is why i can handle point one.

i know the cake looks funny daddy, but i sure tried

father's day was sunday. tom's first. i could have done a much better job celebrating him. i should have. but we were driving home from vermont (for five hours) after a long weekend away and the prep for that trip (and an overseas trip the week before) left me spent.

i left him with olivia at 5:55pm to rush to the grocery store down the street so i could pick up emergency paper towels and formula before they closed at 6.

rushing, rushing, rushing through the day.

as i was driving home, butterfly kisses came on the radio. of course it did. it was father's day for cryin out loud and i should have been expecting it.

i wasn't. i had to pull over, i cried so hard. listening to the words in a whole new way tangled up with all the still-raw emotion of losing my own father. i hadn't even thought of him ONCE that day until then.

i cried with shame that i had forgotten him and that i hadn't done more to celebrate tom. i cried with grief over the reminders of what i no longer have in my life. no more daddy's little girl. no one who remembers putting flowers in MY hair when i was small. no one waiting for me as i got ready to walk down the aisle thinking, "i just feel like i'm losing my baby girl."

and i cried with joy that my daughter, MY baby girl has that. she has someone who loves her more than anything else in his life. probably more than he loves me and that, honestly, is fine with me. someone who wants to keep her safe, to protect her, to teach her about everything in this world. someone who will make her a better person than she'd be without him.

and i forgive myself for forgetting for a minute. because i remember my father every day when i see his freckles looking back at me in the mirror, when i act like i can do everything on my own with no help which makes me INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING, when i get an excited text from my husband who has melted over the fact that our daughter waved goodbye to him at daycare drop off. i see how much he loves her and i remember.

15 years today. i still love and miss you, dad. i always will.

explosion!

• olivia is on the move. quite quickly, i might add. i was on the verge of worrying about her gross motor skills when all of a sudden.... she's a crab crawler!
• a week later she's crawling proper unless she's very anxious to get somewhere... then she's crab crawling like a bullet!
• on my birthday, i walked in to find her standing in her crib. like, "what? i've been doing this in secret for months."
• since then she's clamoring to hold your fingers so she can walk everywhere. every. where.
• about a week ago, she decided she will clap. now she claps all the time. happy? clap! tired? clap! want more dinner? clap and yell!
• speaking of explosions, she endured her first stomach bug last week. vomit! diarrhea! everywhere! for a week!
• RIP adorable light pink and white polka-dotted pb kids rug. you never saw that projectile puke coming. sigh.

well!

i didn't win the bento contest... BOO! ;) it's fine. i am getting SO many ideas from there and i'm making bentos for tom almost every day still. olivia, watch out. you are IN for it!!!

oh... speaking of olivia, she's TEN MONTHS OLD!! what thaaaa?? we are fareel planning her first birthday party. it's crazy. people who tell you "they grow so fast" are NOT joking. i feel like just yesterday she looked like this:

and now she looks like THIS:

crazy.

she's aaaalmost crawling. she scoots everywhere on her butt. then she'll get up on her hands and knees as if to crawl and most of the time she'll take it a step further and get from her knees to her feet as if she's going to stand up.... and we hold our breath... and she says eff it and sits back down and scoots.

...over to an outlet to try to electrocute herself. i tell her no, danger! and she does this: