Mini Mail - Pen Pals

Well It has been quite a while since I last updated this thing! I actually have several posts in the works that I never got around to finishing, and 2 posts that I actually finished but needed to add pictures, which was never done.  I have a post about my sweet 15 month old Olivia and what she is up to (Who is now a Nearly 20 month old Olivia, and another post about Vivian at 3 years (Who is now closing in on 3 1/2) Maybe one day I will get around to posting those, as well as more current updates. Anyhow.....

Meredith at http://www.thetichenorfamily.com/ posted an idea about doing mini pen pals last month! I thought it was a wonderful idea and new the girls would LOVE it! I decided to put the girls together and we were paired up with a little cutie named Jeremiah! I showed the girls pictures of Jeremiah from his mom's blog, which is found at http://creativeexpressionsbybrandy.blogspot.com/.  The girls (especially Vivian) were so excited to go shopping for their penpal! We picked out several things for Jeremiah and made sort of a Halloween hodge podge gift. The girls were most excited about a Diego Halloween book. Vivian also picked out a cute little monster t-shirt for him that I loved!  I didn't get a good picture of the stuff we sent, but did get a couple quick ones of Viv with the items right before we packaged them:

Vivian knew her package would be coming any day. So for 3 straight days the first thing Viv wanted to do when we got home from daycare was go check the mailbox! They were sooooo excited when the package arrived!  Jeremiah gave the girls all sorts of fun stuff! They got bubbles, colors and coloring books, glow sticks, pumpkin decorating kits, and several other fun items! I have to say Vivian's favorite thing was the Halloween pencils and erasers. Vivian Loves "things". Just any little things she can collect that are similar (cards, beads, lip stick tubes, ponytail holders, all sorts of crazy stuff! When she gets into a little collection of something she puts them in a little purse, or other sort of box and takes it with her EVERYWHERE! Well those pencils and erasers became her prized collection for the week. They went everywhere with her, even took them to bed! The girls also loved the glowsticks and couldn't wait to use them. So we turned off all the lights and played with them that night. They have been in the freezer since and are still maintaining a slight glow. The girls ask  to play with them again every couple days or so! :) Here are some photos of the girls opening their package:

Letter From Jeremiah (and his mom Brandy ;)

(pumpkin decorating kits)

Bubbles are always a hit!

The pencils before Viv got ahold of them!

Chessing next to a pic of Jeremiah

Elephant keychains to represent the University of Alabama (The girls had so much fun playing with these, I am not quite sure where they have gone to now, but I am sure they will turn up at some point, and they will have fun with them all over again!)

We cannot wait until next month to do this all over again!

Olivia Elizabeth's Birth Story

First of all.... let's pretend it is March 11 instead of April 11th.

(I totally planned on posting Olivia's birth story on the day of her actual birth, but life got in the way and I am just now getting around to posting this. So it's a month late, but here is the post I started last month!)

Well, it has taken me a year to get this thing finished. I wrote almost all of it immediately after Olivia was born, but just now got it completed. In light of my baby turning one a few weeks a month ago, I figured I might as well go ahead and post this! 

These memories are still so fresh in my mind. I keep refecting back on this time last year. Everything brings me back to how I felt a year ago:  it is the perfume I just recently started wearing again (which was given to me on my birthday last year), The new Spring weather, every event that is happening at school that I missed last year, my eyes often just feel with tears thinking how fast this year has gone. I just keep picturing those precious 6 weeks I spent with my girls,  not a worry in the world, just me and my girls, at home, enjoying just being together.

So here it is, the story of how my second precious miracle was brought into the world. ( I have a birth story for Vivian too, but it is about 5 times as long and not nearly as cheery as this one....that will be a post for another day! lol)


Olivia Elizabeth,


March 11, 2010 was a truly blessed day. It was the day of your birth. I had so many emotions leading up to this day: Anxious-just for the moment I would finally get to hold you, Excited-to get to see my beautiful girl, Nervous-about what this labor and delivery would be like ( I think I might have been more nervous this time, just because I knew what was going to happen. However I loved the birth experience with Vivian, so I was still excited to get to do it again) Sad-about the fact that my pregnancy and the special times we shared while you were in my belly were coming to an end. After Vivian was born, June 6, 2008 became the best day of my life. Well little one…Vivian will now have to share that spot in my heart with you!

6:00 AM

Your daddy and I arrived at Sugar Land Methodist Hospital. I was scheduled to be induced. We got to the front desk to check in and I gave them my name. The lady then told me that I was not on the schedule for that day and to go have a seat while they looked into it. Luckily one of the nurses found my name and said it had been erased. (I think what happened was that since I had gone to the hospital with contractions several days before, they must have thought I delivered and erased me from the system). I was then taken back to the labor/delivery room and told to just “chill” for awhile. They had several c-sections to prepare for that morning, and since my name had been erased they were not prepared for me. So we sat for probably an hour or so. I got changed into my gown and just hung out in the bed. Then the “charge” nurse, Laura came in. Since I had already been to the hospital the previous Monday, I had already gotten all of my info entered into the computer. The nurse then tried to adjust my bed, and what do you know, it was broken. She asked me to get out while she tried to fix it. It didn’t work so she ended up having to wheel that bed out of the room and bring in a new one. By this time I was getting pretty nervous about how things were going so far.

I then got back into the bed and not too long after my nurse , Judy, came in. Judy was the most amazing nurse and I loved having her there. The first thing she did was check my cervix. I was still the same as my previous doctor’s appointment (about 3 cm / 80% effaced). Laura then put my IV into my hand. I hated that part with Vivian and it wasn’t any better this time. Shortly after Judy told me it was time to start the pitocin. It didn’t take too long for the contractions to begin. Judy said I could get an epidural at any time since I was already dilated enough. I figured I would wait a little bit and see how things were going, but I didn’t want to wait too long. I did ask Judy if I could have some tums, as my heartburn /acid reflux was really bothering me. She said she would check with Dr. Haque. I must have made a face, because she then asked if I had any with me. I told her they were in my purse. She brought my purse over to me and let me have one! Judy also asked me if I had any special requests or expectations on how I wanted my delivery to go. I told her “NO Demerol” . She said they don’t even give Demerol anymore so not to worry. I also briefly talked with her about Vivian’s delivery and all of the problems I had. She said she was going to do her best to make this delivery go well for me. Over the next hour or so, my dad stopped by as well as my mom. I also spent most of the time texting my friends at work. Heather and I actually had a pretty lengthy conversation about some school “drama”. Doctor Haque showed up a little after 9. I believe I was about 4 cm at that time. It was then that she went ahead a broke my water. She got out the little hook and it took about a minute or so to break the water. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t really feel a gush or anything. Dr Haque told us the fluid was clear, which pleased me so much! (As Vivian’s had mecomium in it which made for the need for a neonatal team at her delivery).

My contractions were starting to get pretty painful , so I went ahead and told Judy I was ready for the epidural. It took a little while for the doctor to get in there, but she finally showed up around 10:00. It was much more difficult for me to get the epidural this time than it was with Vivian, because I was having pretty painful contractions, so it was harder to hold still. I sat on the edge of the bed, and held on to Judy’s hands very tightly as Dr Tabor administered the epidural. I just tried to be very still, quiet, and concentrate on not moving as she put it in. The anesthesiologist told me I was a great patient and made it very easy. Dr. Tabor told me she also gave me a spinal so it would take the pain away right away, but would probably wear off in about an hour.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. I didn’t have to do any of the crazy things that I had to do during Vivian’s delivery. Judy checked my cervix probably close to noon and I was 5 cm. She told me she wanted me to try to push to see if I could get to 6cm. So I pushed once, and sure enough she said I was now a good 6 cm. Judy did turn my bed into what looked like a huge chair and had me sit with me feet pressed together. She said this would help the baby move lower. I actually liked sitting like this and it was pretty comfortable. My mom spent a lot of time in the room over the next few hours. Brenda, Meredith, Ron, and my dad also stopped by several times. I continued to text my friends and update them on my progress. Troy left to go eat lunch with Ron. I was so hungry and didn’t want to think about the food they were eating.

I continued to sit up in the bed for the next couple of hours. Judy came in and was able to stretch me to 7/8 cm. During this time I was increasingly starting to feel more and more pain. Mostly on my right side. My left side was still quite numb. I was afraid the epidural was wearing off. I had been very hesitant to push the button, because I was afraid I would use the epidural all up, and it would be gone when I needed it the most! Haha. This was what happened to my friend Amy and it scared me. I finally told Judy I was feeling a lot of pain with each contraction. She said I shouldn’t be and called for the anesthesiologist to come back up to get the epidural fixed. This was at about 2:45. Judy told me that she needed to check me first before they did anything with the epidural. So my mom and dad (who had both been in the room) left. Judy checked me and I remember her saying “daddy look at this.” Apparently the reason I was feeling so much pain was because your head was already crowning! So….Change of plans. I no longer needed the anesthesiologist, I needed Dr. Haque to get her quickly to deliver this baby. Judy hurried out of the room to go get her and I texted my friends to let them know Olivia would be here very soon. Looking back I realized my friends knew I was about to have the baby, but my family in the waiting room didn’t. When my mom and dad left they just thought I was still about 7/8 cm and waiting for the anesthesiologist.

Dr. Haque showed up probably about 10 minutes later. Judy came back in, as well as 2 other nurses. One of them introduced herself as Amy, and said she was the nursery nurse. Dr. Haque got everything prepared for the delivery. They then had me lay back and try to grab my thighs. It was especially difficult to get my left leg back as it was so numb. It was time to push. I don’t quite recall how many pushes it took for Olivia to be born (maybe 2 or 3) but it was only maybe a couple of minutes before she was out! It was quite the contrast to Vivian’s delivery (which I pushed somewhere between 1-2 hours). I remember the final push that brought Olivia Elizabeth into this world. Judy told me to look down. I did, and that is when I first saw you. Dr. Haque was holding you. You were quiet and very purple. I noticed she was doing something, but didn’t quite understand what at that time. (Your daddy later told me she was unwrapping the cord from around your neck! He said she would unwrap it and you would move and get it right back wrapped around you). After maybe 30 seconds she placed you on me on top of a towel. I reached for you and tried to touch the best I could. I was just so overwhelmed at the time…that this moment is kind of a blur to me now. However, I know it was while you were on me that you let out your first LOUD cry! The nurses took you over to the warmer and begin checking you and getting you all cleaned up.

Dr. Haque continued to work on me. I knew I hadn’t had an episiotomy (which was one thing I was terribly afraid of having to have again, since my recovery was so awful from the one I had with Viv). I asked her if I tore. She said a little bit. I later heard her tell the nurse I had 2 2nd degree lacerations. While Dr. Haque was stitching me up. I was trying to watch Olivia on my left. They weighed you (7 pounds 9 ounces). Measured you (20 inches) and said your apgar scores were 9 and 9! I asked Troy what time you were born and he said 3:05. (This was the time that I told EVERYONE.....well, come to find out, when I was looking at you name tag in your bassinet later that night, you were actually born at 3:06. Your daddy just gave me an estimate from when he remembered looking at his watch!)

It was now time for Dr Haque to deliver the Placenta. Now this was by FAR the most painful part of my delivery with Vivian. It took nearly 30 minutes last time and I lost quite a lot of blood. It was also what caused me to have to get a shot of Demerol that left me completely “out of it” for HOURS after Vivian’s birth. I immediately became very scared, fearing a repeat of last time. Well, I didn’t even feel a thing and then Dr. Haque was standing up and cleaning everything up. I asked “Are you done?” She told me she was. I couldn’t believe it! How could something that had me writhing on the bed in pain, and fearing for my life due to blood loss last time, be so easy this time????

I was then handed my new miracle…Olivia Elizabeth, and I instantly fell in love. I remember looking at you and commenting about how dark you were. I didn’t associate it at them time as being swollen. But looking back at the pictures and video, you were SO incredibly swollen from the cord being wrapped around your neck. You looked like a giant blueberry! I remember your mouth and how big and wide I thought it was. I texted everyone to let them know you had been born. I sent out the text around 3:25….So nearly 20 minutes after you were born. (This just goes to show how great I felt following your birth. With Vivian I don’t believe I had enough energy to text my friends that she was born until nearly 3 hours later…and it took everything I had just to look at the screen and type. I actually think Troy may have sent the message to my friends for me, or at least read the replies).

Back in the waiting room our family still didn’t officially know Olivia had been born (I guess my friends knew this before the family…ooops!) But, my mom did tell me that a little after 3:00 they heard the “lullaby” the hospital plays when a new baby is born. She said they wondered if it could be for me...but of course thought it surely couldn’t be, as just 15 minutes earlier I was waiting for my epidural to be fixed. My mom said she thought she would go check so she walked down to the room. The door was closed so she stayed outside, but she said she heard a baby crying! She went back and told everyone that Olivia was here! Troy did make his way out to the waiting room to let them know that indeed she had been born. The family made their way back a few at a time to see sweet Olivia!

Around this time Judy brought back the menu and told me to order some lunch. OH MY! Did that menu look absolutely Heavenly to me! I ordered a turkey sandwich, and it was the absolute BEST turkey sandwich I had eaten in my life! I was soooo hungry! I continued to hold you and feed you over the next hour or so. You took to the bottle right away (again a vast difference from your sister).

My biggest anxiety during the afternoon was the meeting of my 2 precious daughters. I so badly wanted Vivian to love you. Until this day Vivian was our “baby” and at only 21 months old, she in great part, still was! I knew this was going to shake up her little world, but I knew my sweet Vivian would adore you! My dear friend Traci had agreed to pick Vivian up from daycare for me (as most of the family planned to be at the hospital) Vivian adores Traci and I knew she would be thrilled to be with her. Olivia fell asleep around 5:00 and I just sat and waited for Vivian’s arrival. Vivian probably got there around 5:30. Traci told me how scared she became when they got in the elevator. Troy met Vivian in the lobby and brought her in to me. I could tell how scared she was when he walked in the room. She had no idea where she was and why her mommy was lying in a bed hooked up to all of these crazy looking things. I remember her just reaching for me and the snuggling up next to me in the hospital bed. She saw Olivia and just stared and stared. I told her that was “Blah-Blah” (the name she had been calling Olivia for months) It took a few minutes, but I finally saw her mouth spread to a big smile, and I knew things were going to be fine. Vivian became very interested in the new little baby her mommy was holding. We took lots of sweet pictures and enjoyed our first moments as a family of 4! Then it was time for Vivian to head back home with my mom and stepdad. We wanted to keep things as normal as possible for her since she was so young. But, OH MY! This was rough! Vivian has ALWAYS been extremely attached to me, and it absolutely broke her heart to leave me that evening. I will never forget the way she looked as she reached back for me, yelling “mommy” as my mom took her out of the room. I was told that she was fighting to get away from my mom and screaming “mommy” the whole way to the car. I am honestly surprised nobody stopped them wondering why this some lady was carrying a baby screaming “mommy” out of a hospital! Lol Sometimes I regret not letting Viv stay with us at the hospital, but I really didn’t want to change her schedule, and I honestly wanted to be able to spend Olivia’s first days alone with her, I thought it was precious time to really bond with this new angel.

And…we did just that. The next couple of days in the hospital were wonderful! Lots of dear friends and family came by. I felt great and changed back into my regular clothes the morning after Olivia’s birth and was walking all over the hospital. I just couldn’t believe I could walk and felt so great (I could hardly walk across my house for a week after Vivian, and it was nearly a month before I felt even remotely back to normal) Olivia ended up with jaundice, and had to spend 12 hours under the phototherapy lights. We were discharged to go home on Saturday, March 13th around noon. However, UH was in the middle of a tournament b-ball game, so Troy wouldn’t leave yet. So here we are, free to get home, and we are sitting in the hospital room watching the Cougars! Olivia had better get used to it! Haha!

I felt so comfortable leaving this time. I actually KNEW what I was doing! I felt experienced and Olivia fit right into our lives. It instantly felt like she had always been around. Olivia was such a sweet baby, she had some trouble with keeping milk down early on (and EXTREME trouble with that starting around 6 weeks) but other than that she was a happy and easy baby. Words cannot express how in love I am with this sweet child. She has brought a joy and love into my heart and life that I could have never dreamt of. People always say they don’t know if they can ever love another child as much as their first, but You DEFINITELY can, and I DEFINITELY do!

Forever!

Mommy
                                                                         3/11/10

                                                                         
                                                                             3/11/11

2010 in Facebook Statuses

Okay, so I wanted to do a recap of 2010, and figured most of the important things, as well as the little things that I have probably already forgotten about, I wrote as a FB status. So, what better way to recap 2010 then just copy and paste all of those statuses on here (Didn't realize that would take me nearly an hour!)  I thought this did a pretty good job of summing up my year! To begin..Here is a photo of how my year started off...

And now to my FB statuses of 2010 (with added photos by me)

-Does anyone happen to know of someone who is a substitute in Fort Bend ISD who would be interested in a long term sub position????? I need to find one soon!

-Black

-Put vivian to sleep in her new "big girl" bed for the first time tonight. She did wonderfully! It was almost too easy! I cant believe how big she is getting! tear...

-So the doctor is concerned that myself and baby Olivia are measuring a little small. I have to go in for an ultrasound tomorrow. Praying everything is okay!!!
 
-So everything looked good at the ultrasound today. They actually estimated Olivia's weight to be right around 7 lbs (so now I am thinking that she could end up being pretty big) Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers and calls to check on us today. 3 weeks to go!!!

-Thanks to all of my sweet friends for the precious gifts for baby Olivia and Vivian. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life who show so much love for myself and my little girls! I Love all of You!!!!

-Trying to get everything ready for Olivia. She will be here in 11 days....or less!!!!

-By this time next week I will be holding my baby girl. Can't believe she will be here within the next week!

-Been up ALL NIGHT having contractions. Of course when I finally decided to go to the hospital, they stop! So I get back home and they start again and are stronger, go figure. Now waiting, trying to decided what to do????????

-so the contractions have pretty much completely stopped. Guess I am back to just patiently waiting for this little girl to decide to arrive...

-Just unpacked all of Olivia's diapers! Overwhelmed with everyone's generosity..23 bags/boxes of diapers...I think she is set for quite a while. Thanks everyone!!!!!!! (These were all diapers given to me by all of my co-workers. Thanks to Heather for setting up a "Diaper Drive" for me at work, even though I didn't want her to! lol)

-Today is my last day being a mother of 1....very bittersweet, but I can't wait to see my 2 girls together!  

 

(This is the last photo taken of Vivian as an only child. I think I will always remember this photo, as this is my last mental image of what she was like before I had Olivia :'(

-About to head to the hospital to have my precious Olivia! I will do my best to keep everyone updated today!

-Just had my water broken. Feeling pretty good so far.

-things are moving along. nearly 8 cm. hopefully it wont be much longer!

-Olivia Elizabeth was born at 3:05. 7 lbs 9oz. 20 inches long and just beautiful! (Olivia was actually born at 3:06. When I asked Troy what time she was born after her birth he told me 3:05. It wasn't until the next say when I was looking at her information card and saw 3:06. I asked why it said 3:06. He said "oh that may have been when she was born, I was just estimating." Men!)

-olivia has been under phototherapy for the last 12 hours for juandice. we are now waiting for her levels to be checked again. hopefully we will be able to go home soon!


-Olivia is ready to come home! 

-We are home enjoying our 2 beautiful baby girls. Vivian LOVES "blah blah". she is so happy to be a big sister!

-Thanks Everyone for all of the Birthday wishes! As well as all of the congratulations on our precious new addition to the family. It has truly been a very blessed week! :)

-I have to give away my first baby (My dog Gracie) this afternoon. It was a difficult decision, but something we just have to do. Thankfully it seems we found her a good home!

-Baby girl slept for a 6 hour stretch 2 nights ago, and 7 hours last night! WooHoo!!!! Way to go Olivia! :)

-Today is my first Full day Alone with the girls! This could be interesting! :)

-Already packing up Olivia's newborn clothes...why do they have to grow up so fast????

-Can't believe my baby girl is 1 month old today! she has already changed so much!

-It finally happened!!!! As I was tucking Vivian in for her nap she looked at me and clearly said " I Love you Mommy" BEST feeling EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Loved seeing my wonderful TWE family today! I have missed everyone so much!

-This is my last week of maternity leave. I am so not ready to leave my girls and go back to work. At least summer will only be 6 weeks away!

-Heading up to school with Vivian to watch my first graders in their musical performance!

-Heading to the Doctor's office with both girls. (This should be interesting) Olivia has to get her first set of shots.....I hate this :(

-At the hospital with a very large kidney stone. waiting to go into surgery for it. if anyone has ever wondered what is more painful...childbirth or kidney stones? It is kidney stones 100%! please pray!

-Still at the hospital. Missing my baby girls so much.

-is finally about to leave the hospital for today. I have to come back later this week for a 2nd operation to remove the kidney stone as it is too large for me to pass. Dr said most stones are 2 to 3 mm and mine is 7!

-At home trying to recover and enjoy my last day of maternity leave. Back to work tomorrow and a second operation later this week to remove the kidney stone!

-Surgery tomorrow morning! So ready for this pain to stop.

-At the hospital waiting to be called back for the surgery.

-So it took the Dr 3000 shocks to break up the stone (this is the max he could do) BAD NEWS IS.....he found 2 MORE stones the SAME SIZE!!!! In order to prevent them causing me pain like they 1 did over the weekend,he needs to remove them ASAP, so I now will have a second surgery next wednesday, and a third surgery the following Wednesday. This really stinks!

-Cannot believe I am still in so much pain tonight and probably will be for at least 2 more weeks. I really thought this would be over by tonight.

-Starting to have really bad pains again! Praying this doesn't turn into a repeat of last Saturday. :(

-Just ordered Viv's 2nd B-day party invitations!!!! Cannot believe she will be 2 in a month!

‎-2nd surgery to remove my 2nd kidney stone tomorrow...

-So I have convinvced myself that it was the.....OH...probably 500 Tums....That I took during my pregnancy for acid reflux that caused these Kidney Stones!!! And I am NOT exagerrating! :)

-Putting Olivia to sleep in her own crib in her own room tonight! I am going to miss just being a few feet away from her :(...Hoping she will continue to sleep through the night in her new bed!

-Just got the sweetest mothers day card from my brother. It made me cry!

-My sweet Olivia Elizabeth is 2 months old today! I am so in love with this precious little baby!

-Listening to Vivian count her toys! It is so cute! She always skips the number 6 though...

-I have my fourth and hopefully last surgery tomorrow! So ready to be through with this!

-Both girls are asleep by 7:30 tonight!!! I think this is a new record! Hopefully Olivia will still make it all night.....I am about to go to sleep myself, the anesthesia from today's surgery has really affected me and I am pretty out of it still. Just very glad to be through with surgery (hoepefully for a VERY long time)

-Our AC hasn't been working all day! You know it is bad when you have to go outside to cool off! It's miserable!

-Sooooo excited about Sex and the City tomorrow night with the Girls!!!!!!!!!

-Girls night out! It has been a long time since I have had a girls night! Dinner then Sex and the City 2!

-Packing up Olivia's 0 -3 month clothes today. I didn't move Viv out of 0-3 until she was about 6 or 7 months old. I swear these girls are gonna be the same size within a year! Lol

-Viv just walked to the door with her little bag and said "bye bye mommy!" I said "where are you going!" and she said "shopping, at Target!"

-Waiting at urgent care with Olivia. Poor baby has had an awful cough for weeks. Now she can't keep hardly any formula down. I think she is allergic to something in it.

-So, I am pretty sure Olivia has some serious Reflux or allergy problem. Back to the pediatrician tomorrow, to hopefully figure out something to help her. I hate watching her suffer! :(

-Olivia isn't doing too well tonight. I had no idea how awful reflux can be In babies. Poor thing has lost a pound in the last week!

-Vivian was sooooo excited to take her"cukcapes" to daycare today! How is it possible that I am going to have a 2 year old in 2 days?!?!?

-2 years ago today I became a Mommy by giving birth to the most precious 7 pound 2 ounce miracle! Happy Birthday Vivian Audrey!

‎-6:12 PM.....It's official, my baby is 2 years old! Still cannot believe it! The party was wonderful, thanks so much to all of our wonderful friends and family that celebrated with us! When you get a chance be sure to check on the photo montage from Viv's 2nd year I posted!

-So I am waiting to get an Xray taken. There are only 5 people in the waiting room and about 40 empty chairs. I am on the end and there are probably 15 empty chair around me. This lady comes in, sits in the chair right next to me, and puts her elbow on my chair and is leaning over so far she is nearly touching me! She is so close she can probably read this as I am typing! Lol! Some people are so strange!

-Olivia really laughed for the first time tonight during her bath. Most precious sound ever!

-Troy and I have been married 4 years today! It has been a very blessed 4 years!

-It seems like EVERYBODY who I know that is either pregnant or has given birth in 2010 has had a GIRL! Super excited to see if that trend continues and I will have a new little niece, or another nephew next week!

-Just finished editing Olivia's 3 month photos! I think they turned out really cute. I will post them later today!

-So I FINALLY jumped on the bandwagon and started a blog...go check it out:

-I may actually be good at this blog thing....2 posts in 2 days!!! After 2 years to get the first one written! HA

-Waiting to hear if I am going to have a new niece or a nephew!!!!

-Since it has been made "Facebook Official" now, I guess it is safe to say that I am having another Nephew!!! I guess I get the girls and she gets the boys!

-Toddler Time at the library!

-Vivian can now count to 10 in spanish! I guess all of that Dora she has been watching in order to keep her occupied so I can feed Olivia has paid off!

-Super excited about our POOL PARTY tomorrow! Viv and I made cupcakes for it today! :)

-Happy father's day to my wonderful dad! And also to Troy who is a great father to our girls!

-Day 3 of being a single mom. Hope Troy gets out of the hospital soon, we all miss him!!!(Troy ended up spending 5 days in the hospital with MRSA. It was very difficult for all of us. Olivia probably had one of her worst weeks as far as sleep goes. Troy wasn't responding well to medicine at all, and didn't appear to be getting better for several days. Plus, I was completely out of my mind paranoid that 1 of the girls was going to get it)

-Just now had to purchase my first box of diapers for Olivia! Thanks so much to eveyone at TWE who gave me diapers! And if my baby wasn't so chunky they would have lasted longer.... I still have 2 boxes and 3 bags I didn't even get to use!

-Excited to get out of town and go to Austin! Super excited to see Bryan!!!!

-So my 2 year old and my 3 Month Old are now in the same size diapers!!!!! I definitely didn't expect this to happen so soon, if Ever!! Crazy!!!

-Had a great night at Cheesecake Factory with the Girls!!!!! It feels great to get out and have Girl's Night! 

-Put Vivian to bed about 30 minutes ago...just walked into the bedroom and hear her on the monitor yell "NO Swiper, NO, NO, NO, No Swiping!!!!" Obviously she is still up and reading a Dora book! Too cute!

-Super Excited to celebrate Baby Avery at Brooke's Shower today!!!

-Olivia's 4 month checkup this morning. What was I thinking when I made an 8:30 appt?!?!?! That means I have to have all of us fed and ready to leave by 8!

-As I suspected, Olivia is HUGE! 97% for weight! She is the exact same weight Viv was at 9 months! It's hard to believe she is even able to gain so much weight, seeing as she spits up ALL DAY LONG! This reflux is wearing me out!

-Finally seeing Eclipse tonight with Amy and Traci!!!!

-Taking Brooke's Maternity photos this morning. Then packing for our trip to Austin and San Antonio!

-On our way to meet Kristen and Declan , then off to SEA WORLD!!!!! Viv is so excited!!!

-On our way home from Sea world! Had a lot of fun and it was great seeing the Fraley family! We have one exhausted little girl in the backseat!

-Just had a wonderful meal overlooking Lake Travis!

-Vivian just walked over to me, put her finger in front of my face and very sternly said "No Mam!!! Time out Now! Go to a Sad Seat" Then grabbed my arm and tried taking me to her "sad seat" spot! I had to explain to her that that's not how it works! lol ( I guess I know how I sound now! :)

-Today has been a fantastic day!!!! Got such an awesome and unexpected blessing this morning!!!!


-In regards to my status from this morning....No I am not pregnant again! We have had quite a few calls today! HA...I guess I should have worded that a little differently..it was related to work! :)

-Had a great time visiting with Shanila Mohammad and baby Arissa! SUch a precious baby..and Olivia is a giant compared to her! :)

-Troy and I went on our first date 9 years ago today! To a Deftones/Godsmack concert of all places! haha....that concert couldn't have been more opposite from the music I listened to back then!

(This was one of the earliest pictures of Troy and I together I could find! A few months after we started dating! LOL)

-So I think I have decided what my ultimate dream job is....I want to be a birth photographer!!!! ( I love childbirth..I love photography...perfect) Now...who wants to let me photograph them delivering a baby???? Anyone???? :)

-So excited that Avery will be here today! Good Luck Brooke and Glenn! We love ya'll!!!!

-So Happy...One of Olivia's future Best Friends was just born!!!! Can't wait to meet sweet little Avery! 

-On my way to meet baby Avery! Hope I don't catch the baby fever while I am there!

-My heart just melted...as Viv was hugging me goodnight she said "Mommy, Vivi, and The Blobber (her new nickname for Olivia) are Best Friends!" So sweet!

-Time to face reality...Summer is ENDING!!! Boo... Back to school team leader meeting. today. Thanks Helen for watching the girls for me! Love you!!!

-So frustrated!!! I registered for staff development classes today (or at least thought I did), made plans for babysitting, got online to double check my inffo, and it doesnt show me registered for anything!!!! Registration is now closed but both classes have like 20 spots open! It says no walk-ins, but I am going anyways, hoping they let me in! ugh!!!

-My precious Olivia is 5 months old today! And she decided today she no longer wants to be swaddled to sleep and wants to sleep on her tummy! Why does that still make me so nervous....Will probably be a restless night for me!

-Super Fun day today! Lunch with my Aunt and Cousin Rachel Troth then a playdate this afternoon with some wonderful Mamas and their beautiful little girls!!!!! :)

-Everyone's updates about having so much left to do in their classroom (after having been there most of the week) are really stressing me out! I'm going to be so overwhelmed! Of course Troy's 1 Sat a month to work is today(when the school is open) so I guess I will have about 7 hrs on wed to get my whole room ready before Meet The Teacher. Having 2 little ones sure doesn't allow you to get your classroom ready early!

-I'm Sad! I have had so much to do to prepare for school this week that I have hardly seen my girls! By the time I pick them up it is time for dinner then bed. Viv's teacher said she got her backpack and was waiting by the door right at 4:00 today and kept saying "Mommy will get me soon" (that is the time I usually come) Heartbreaking! :(

-Today was definitely the best first day of school I have had yet! I really like my group of kiddos this year!

-So Vivian has decided she is ready to potty train...again....she hasn't had an accident yet today, and the best part is, she is pretty much doing it completely on her own! Hopefully she will be out of diapers here in the next week, b/c if not her 5 month old sister is about to be in a bigger size diaper than her! Don't want that to happen!

-In the course of a DAY, Olivia has gone from being a wobbly sitter (I still needed to be right by her in case she fell-which was often) to sitting Perfectly (she sat for 10 minutes straight this afternoon!) She is soooo proud of her newly acquired skill and her new view of the world!

-Vivian just came down with a fever! Completely bummed we have to cancel our plans for the afternoon. I was so looking forward to seeing baby Avery! (and Brooke and Gleen too! ) :(

-‎6 months ago I kissed my Vivian goodnight and fell asleep for the last time as a mother of one......Cannot believe tomorrow will be 1/2 a year since I gave birth to my perfect little Olivia, it has gone by too fast!

‎-6 Months ago we welcomed our Olivia Elizabeth into the world. She has filled my heart with a love I didn't even know was possible! I am so thankful God chose me to be the mother of this precious little baby! Also, remembering 9/11 and all of those families who lost their loved ones today.

-We're ready for some football!!! Viv has on her Romo jersey, Liv is wearing her Texan onesie, and Troy has his Kolb jersey! Go Texans, Cowboys, and Kevin Kolb!!!!!

-How wierd would it be to live on the same street I grew up on??? I have fallen in LOVE with a house (of course we have to sell ours first) only it is on the same street I grew up on. Just may be a little too odd for me...hmmm....just love this house soooo much! :\

-Vivian was dancing and singing along to Justin Bieber "baby baby baby" (dont know the title) the whole way home in the car! I told her that was Justin bieber and now she keeps asking for "more bieber!" lol

-Well looks like we are really going to do this!... Our house is going on the market Monday! Now we just have to find someone to buy it!

-Vivian heard Troy screaming and ran over to me and said "Mommy Give me 5!" Texans!"

-Finally getting around to taking Olivia's 6 month photos! It is proving to be somewhat difficult as she does NOT want to take her hand out of her mouth! She is taking a photo break (nap) and I am editing.....:)

-Vivian found our wedding video and brought it to me and said "Can I watch the mommy and daddy movie." So I have spent the last hour watching our wedding video with my 2 girls! I always dreamed of watching this with my daughters (only they were a little older, :-) I LOVE having girls! And Vivian LOVES watching this...she is going crazy looking at all of the "pretty" stuff and seeing all of the people she knows!

‎-3rd and 46?!?!?! How is that even possible???

-Whoop!!!!!!! ;) (This was for Heather ;)

-Trying to finish editing sweet little Brooke's photosession from this morning...then going to Troy's family to celebrate his B-day!

-Love having Justin Bieber dance parties with the girls each night before dinner! Vivian sings along and dances...Sha cracks me up when Ludacris comes on and she yells "It's LUDA!"

-About to go photograph a wedding! It's going to be a long, but Fun day!!!

-It has been 5 years today since my Papa passed away. I miss him very much and so wish he would have been able to meet his great-granddaughters! He would have been crazy about them! :-)

-Looks like I should have a new little nephew by the end of the day!!!!!!!!

-Baby Zachary is here! Can't wait to meet me knew little nephew!

-Taking the girls to Dewberry Farm today! Vivian is sooooo excited!

-Olivia just waved to me and said "hhhhhhhhh" for the first time!!!

-‎22 days of work left until Thanksgiving break, and SIXTEEN of those are Jeans days! WOOHOO!!!!! Hopefully that will make it go by a little quicker! :)

-TWE fam-Can we wear jeans tomorrow???? Andrea and I are wondering. I may have made a mistake, we possibly may have 17 of the next 22 days as Jean days!!

-Ok..another change! 17out of the next 22 work days aren jeans days and 1 Pajama day!!!! Am I missing anything else??? (We love our jeans at TWE)

-Olivia can now wave and say "hi" and "bye"! It is so precious watching her and Vivian waving to each other and "talking" together! :)


-(So I never posted anything about Halloween, but I must include a picture of my babies in their costumes)

-Vivian is starting to talk with a very strong Jersey accent?!?!?!

-Olivia has started saying "MaMa" She has said it around me no less than 50 times tonight! Happy Day!!!

-Olivia has her first fever! :( I hate my baby being sick. I guess we will be headed to the pedi tomorrow. I think everyone I know who goes to her has been there in the past week, we might as well join the group! LOL

-So I stayed home from work today, and Olivia woke up with NO fever, and seems perfectly fine and happy! BUT it was all worth it because she finally crawled for the first time and I got to see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Backstreet Boys on Oprah! I feel like I am 16 again! LOL

-We have our family photos in the morning! So excited to be on the other side of the camera, and finally get some photos of our whole family! (pending the cooperation of my 2 year old ) Lol

-Nutcracker Market Today!!!!

-I am determined to get Vivian potty trained in the next week! (Pull-ups will be gone tomorrow - She is pretty much completely 'pee' potty trained, it's the other that she isn't ok with doing on the potty yet) Any tips or advice????? I would appreciate it!!

-Viv said Bye Bye to her pull-ups yesterday! We have only had 3 accidents all weekend. No pee accidents at all today!!! Yay...Troy is on potty training duty tomorrow!

-Only 1 more day until Thanksgiving Break, and I Cannot wait for Girl's Night at the Melting Pot tomorrow night!!!!!

-Melting pot tonight with the girls for Teacher Appreciation!

-I now have 1 child officially out of diapers!!!!! (except for during sleep). I highly recommend waiting until your child is 100% ready to potty train, this was SOOOO easy! She is already super inedependent, and wants to do it all on her own!

-Ok, so I have washed my hair 2 times and it smells like The Melting Pot from last night! Is this normal???? Ugh!

-So thankful that God blessed our family with this precious angel this year....

-Been working all morning trying to get the house ready for a showing! It looks sooooo great right now I am not so sure I want to move! :)

-On today's agenda: Breakfast with Santa, watching Santa come through the neighborhood on the fire truck, then Dinner with Santa!

-My Olivia is 9 months old today! That's 3/4 of a year! She will be 1 before I know it! She is also the oldest baby in her room at daycare, when she started at 6 weeks she was the youngest in the whole school! Time, please slow down!!!

-Guess whatever has been going around at school this past week finally caught up with me. Sick sick sick :(

-So my 9 month old Olivia officially weighs the same as Vivian did at her 2 year check up!!! I am betting that when she goes back in for her 12 month checkup she will have passed her up!

-Congrats to my cousin Rachel and Shane on their engagement! So happy I was there and able to capture some wonderful memories for you two!!! Photos to come soon!

-Can't wait to see my brother tonight!!! Viv has been asking me all morning where "My Bry-Bry" is. :)

-And we have pigtails !!!!!!!!

-Baking cookies for Santa with the girls. Vivian is sooo excited she can hardly contain herself! She keeps trying to put cookies on Santa's plate on set it by the fireplace. She doesn't quite understand the concept of "tomorrow night" yet! LOL

-Back from photographing a wedding...This weather made it super enjoyable! Lol

-Spending a simple New Year's Eve at home with the people I love the most! Looking forward to seeing what 2011 brings! Happy New Year everyone!

Here's to a Wonderful and Blessed 2011!!!