Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
9 months old
Olivia is 20 lbs, 3 ounces and 27 3/4" long, which makes her the smallest of my three babies. She has three teeth, all on the bottom, and a fourth trying to come in up top. Right now she is waking up around 6:45 in the morning and staying up til about 10. Then she usually sleeps from 10-12 and goes back down about 3:30 ish for around 45 minutes to an hour. Bedtime is about 8:00. She is down to only drinking 4 bottles a day and eating 3 meals, plus some baby puffs for a snack in the afternoon. Olivia is only drinking about 22 ounces of milk in a day, which seems very small to me, but is ok according to her doctor. She is growing, happy, and healthy so she is obviously getting what she needs.
Her favorite foods are apples and sweet potatoes, served separately. Olivia is not a big fan of the blended baby foods. She is okay with mixed fruits in her oatmeal, but the whole "chicken and apples" or "sweet potatoes and turkey" thing gags her. She does not like baby food meats AT ALL. She will spit them right back at you. However, she does a great job of eating any meats that I grind up and give to her. She will eat pretty much every single thing I put on her plate that comes off of my plate. If I am eating it, she is game to eat it too. I think she has figured out that we have the good stuff and the things in jars are pretty gross.
Princess Olivia, as we refer to her, is a master of mischief. She wants every single thing you don't want her to have. If we put her in the floor with ten baby toys, she wants to crawl away from them to try and find something she can climb onto and fall off of. Her current favorite activity is standing up, holding on the end tables, reaching for and dumping every single thing she can find into the floor or into her mouth. She is also incredibly fond of crawling to the kitchen table, pulling herself up on the chairs, and watching her mother fly across the room, tripping on toys, trying to grab her before she can slip and fall, bashing her face on the wooden chairs or her head on the hard floor. She thinks this is fantastic fun.
Olivia is sweet, funny, and loving. She loves books, musical toys, and baby dolls. She loves her brothers, her mommy and daddy, and her dog. I can't believe she is 9 months old already, but I also can't believe we ever lived a moment without her.
The election
the new VP of Student Council
Nicholas and Luke are new to their school this year. We are very happy with their school and they are settling in fantastically, but they are still the new kids. That is why when Nicholas got into the car a month ago and said "I'm running for Vice President" I was a little worried. My instincts as a mother are to protect! From pain, from disappointment, from danger, from heartache...How can he possibly win at a new school?
So, I mentioned to him that it was an honor just to win his class election, to not be disappointed if he didn't win the school election. I reminded him that he was new this year and didn't know many people yet. His response "Mom, I know people." Hmmm....ok. He's feeling good, but me? I'm worried.
He had to do 4 campaign posters. We worked really hard on them and tried to make them funny, relatable, and relevant. I thought they turned out were pretty great. My ideas, his dad's artistic ability, and both our time and energy. The letters took forever!
Next up, a speech. After much debating we decided to do the "candy bar" speech. We talked about what he wanted to say and here is what we came up with:
My name is Nicholas Best and I'm running for vice president. I'm not going to be like the candidates you see on tv that make promises and don't keep them. I'm going to tell you the truth about why you should vote for me.
Now, don't "SNICKER" but I'm the best man for the job. I'm honest, responsible, and hardworking. I always do what is right, even when it is hard. I'll do such a good job, you'll want to pay me "100 GRAND", but don't worry, I'll do it for free. Another thing you should know about me is that I'm a "SMARTIE" but I'm also kind and trustworthy. As vice president, it will be my job to support the president and I'll always help him "SKOR!"
So, if you want Porter Ridge to have "MOUNDS" of success, vote for Nicholas Best for vice president. My name says it all - just vote for the Best!
Then he had to practice the speech, holding up a candy bar every time he said a candy word, and give it on the morning announcement to over 600 people. I was there volunteering and got to watch from the copy room. He did a great job! He was the only one that knew his whole speech and looked into the camera instead of just reading it. I was so proud of him.
With that said, I didn't expect him to win. I thought the odds were pretty stacked against us, just because he is the new student and he was up against some tough competition.
Today I called the school to find out if the results were in. I managed to sweet talk the secretary into giving me the results so that I could prepare my "it was such an honor to be chosen by your class" and "you did a great job, you'll get 'em next year" speech ready.
Well.....HE WON! I am so proud of him! He worked really hard and he is such a kind boy. Nicholas is truly a kind person and he works so hard at everything he does. We love that boy so much, win or lose. I am so happy for him to have this moment to be the winner. I realize it is only elementary school student council, but hopefully, it will give him the reward of hard work paying off and the confidence to keep on shooting for the stars, even if you may miss.
Another lesson learned from my child.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Life Verses
Steve and I always choose a life verse for our children. We have chosen them for each child for different reasons, but each verse fits each child perfectly.
For Olivia we chose Psalms 37:4-7 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him."
For us, this verse says everything we want a daughter to know. Find joy in the things that are of God and He will grant you the desires of your heart. Make your way God's ways and trust Him. Be still and wait for Him, because His timing is perfect.
For Luke we chose Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
This verse suits Luke perfectly. It is Steve's favorite verse and a fairly common one, so I almost hesitated to use it. However, I could not find anything in the Bible that made more sense for Luke than that one. It suits Luke in 2 ways. Luke is very, very smart. Sometimes, he is so smart that he becomes a little smug. We wanted him to remember that all he accomplishes is through Christ, not through himself and to put his faith in Him. Also, Luke is very small. Physical things are sometimes challenging for him. Things that come easily to other boys, he has to work very hard just to catch up and sometimes he becomes overwhelmed and quits. We want him to always remember that he can do ANYTHING for God, that His grace and strength will always be sufficient to see him through.
For Nicholas we chose Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
This verse is one of my all-time favorites. Nicholas is like me; he worries. I chose this verse for him because I want him to always draw comfort from the fact that God already has a plan for him. A plan for good, a plan that will give him hope and a future. He doesn't need to stress or be overwhelmed because God is saying to him "I've got this. Don't despair over right now, you have a future and it is full of hope. Don't worry." We think this verse will serve Nicholas well throughout his life.
No one ever said being a parent would be easy, just that it would be worth it. I am so glad God gave us a book to guide not only us, but our children and their children as well.
For Olivia we chose Psalms 37:4-7 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him."
For us, this verse says everything we want a daughter to know. Find joy in the things that are of God and He will grant you the desires of your heart. Make your way God's ways and trust Him. Be still and wait for Him, because His timing is perfect.
For Luke we chose Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
This verse suits Luke perfectly. It is Steve's favorite verse and a fairly common one, so I almost hesitated to use it. However, I could not find anything in the Bible that made more sense for Luke than that one. It suits Luke in 2 ways. Luke is very, very smart. Sometimes, he is so smart that he becomes a little smug. We wanted him to remember that all he accomplishes is through Christ, not through himself and to put his faith in Him. Also, Luke is very small. Physical things are sometimes challenging for him. Things that come easily to other boys, he has to work very hard just to catch up and sometimes he becomes overwhelmed and quits. We want him to always remember that he can do ANYTHING for God, that His grace and strength will always be sufficient to see him through.
For Nicholas we chose Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
This verse is one of my all-time favorites. Nicholas is like me; he worries. I chose this verse for him because I want him to always draw comfort from the fact that God already has a plan for him. A plan for good, a plan that will give him hope and a future. He doesn't need to stress or be overwhelmed because God is saying to him "I've got this. Don't despair over right now, you have a future and it is full of hope. Don't worry." We think this verse will serve Nicholas well throughout his life.
No one ever said being a parent would be easy, just that it would be worth it. I am so glad God gave us a book to guide not only us, but our children and their children as well.
Monday, October 29, 2012
In this moment
In this moment....
Olivia is 8 months old! She is getting very busy. She loves to sing to her books that play music. She will sing and dance as the music plays. This can keep her busy for a very long time. When the song is done, she will clap her hands and say "YAY!" My heart melts with the cuteness.
Olivia is desperately trying to move. She can army crawl a little, get up on hands, get up on knees, and scoot herself forward. She just hasn't figured out how to get up on hands and knees simultaneously and scoot forward. She can roll any place she wants to go.
She is in love with the dog and the cat. If you say "here kitty, kitty" she will stop whatever she is doing to look for the cat. However, the cat has a strong sense of self-preservation and won't get anywhere near her. Olivia responds by calling (yelling) for the cat, very loudly. So far, the cat isn't buying it, but Olivia isn't giving up.
Olivia is quite the multi-tasker. She has to stop drinking her milk every few minutes to look around and investigate the room. If it isn't silent while she eats, she has to sit up to see what is happening and if it is quiet, she has to sit up and try to find everyone. She can play with ten toys at once. If you put her in her exer-saucer she works the entire thing in a circle and plays with every single toy.
She is always happy. It is amazing that she is such a sweet, good-natured, loving baby. People that spend tons of time with her have never heard her cry. If she is crying, something is wrong. If you say "Go Livie, go Livie, go!" she will jump up and down and pump her arms. It is crazy cute.
She LOVES her brothers! She loves Steve, but she is still a mama's girl. (YAY for me!) She doesn't understand when people come in the room and don't say hello to her. She is very social and loves to smile, coo, and charm people. We call her "the Princess" rather than "the baby". I think she might think that is her name.
When she wakes up, she doesn't cry. She just hangs out in her crib cooing and playing with her blankie until we come and get her. She has a lovie - it is a pink bunny blanket we call "snuggle bunny".
We are in love with her. I am sure I'm forgetting things, but this is all I can think of right now.
Luke is 7.5. He is doing really well in school and he is very happy in his new classroom. He is adjusting well to the move and seems very happy. He loves to swing and can spend hours outside doing things that scare me half to death on monkey bars and play equipment. He is reading like crazy and really loves books like Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He has an Action Bible that he loves to read because it is comic book form. He still loves to snuggle and cuddle and now that we have Olivia, alone time with him is very important to him. Luke still dislikes homework, but excels in school. He started cub scouts this year and he absolutely loves it so far. We are so glad that he is happy and has found something that is fun for him.
Nicholas is playing football right now. He is left defensive tackle. He is learning so much this year and loves the sport. He is doing well in school and he is learning a ton. I can't get over how much they are teaching him, especially in AIG. He is doing work a lot of high school students could not do. We are very pleased with the new school. He is running for VP of student council, much to my surprise. He is new this year and I thought maybe he should wait til he isn't the "new kid" but he is confident and happy and wanted to do it. He says he won't be sad if he doesn't win, that it was pretty cool to win the election in his classroom even if he doesn't win for the grade. His campaign has been pretty cool though and he has an awesome speech planned, so we will see. He is finishing football in a few weeks and gearing up for basketball. Steve is going to coach him this year and they are both looking forward to it.
In this moment life is hectic, but I love every minute of it.
Olivia is 8 months old! She is getting very busy. She loves to sing to her books that play music. She will sing and dance as the music plays. This can keep her busy for a very long time. When the song is done, she will clap her hands and say "YAY!" My heart melts with the cuteness.
Olivia is desperately trying to move. She can army crawl a little, get up on hands, get up on knees, and scoot herself forward. She just hasn't figured out how to get up on hands and knees simultaneously and scoot forward. She can roll any place she wants to go.
She is in love with the dog and the cat. If you say "here kitty, kitty" she will stop whatever she is doing to look for the cat. However, the cat has a strong sense of self-preservation and won't get anywhere near her. Olivia responds by calling (yelling) for the cat, very loudly. So far, the cat isn't buying it, but Olivia isn't giving up.
Olivia is quite the multi-tasker. She has to stop drinking her milk every few minutes to look around and investigate the room. If it isn't silent while she eats, she has to sit up to see what is happening and if it is quiet, she has to sit up and try to find everyone. She can play with ten toys at once. If you put her in her exer-saucer she works the entire thing in a circle and plays with every single toy.
She is always happy. It is amazing that she is such a sweet, good-natured, loving baby. People that spend tons of time with her have never heard her cry. If she is crying, something is wrong. If you say "Go Livie, go Livie, go!" she will jump up and down and pump her arms. It is crazy cute.
She LOVES her brothers! She loves Steve, but she is still a mama's girl. (YAY for me!) She doesn't understand when people come in the room and don't say hello to her. She is very social and loves to smile, coo, and charm people. We call her "the Princess" rather than "the baby". I think she might think that is her name.
When she wakes up, she doesn't cry. She just hangs out in her crib cooing and playing with her blankie until we come and get her. She has a lovie - it is a pink bunny blanket we call "snuggle bunny".
We are in love with her. I am sure I'm forgetting things, but this is all I can think of right now.
Luke is 7.5. He is doing really well in school and he is very happy in his new classroom. He is adjusting well to the move and seems very happy. He loves to swing and can spend hours outside doing things that scare me half to death on monkey bars and play equipment. He is reading like crazy and really loves books like Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He has an Action Bible that he loves to read because it is comic book form. He still loves to snuggle and cuddle and now that we have Olivia, alone time with him is very important to him. Luke still dislikes homework, but excels in school. He started cub scouts this year and he absolutely loves it so far. We are so glad that he is happy and has found something that is fun for him.
Nicholas is playing football right now. He is left defensive tackle. He is learning so much this year and loves the sport. He is doing well in school and he is learning a ton. I can't get over how much they are teaching him, especially in AIG. He is doing work a lot of high school students could not do. We are very pleased with the new school. He is running for VP of student council, much to my surprise. He is new this year and I thought maybe he should wait til he isn't the "new kid" but he is confident and happy and wanted to do it. He says he won't be sad if he doesn't win, that it was pretty cool to win the election in his classroom even if he doesn't win for the grade. His campaign has been pretty cool though and he has an awesome speech planned, so we will see. He is finishing football in a few weeks and gearing up for basketball. Steve is going to coach him this year and they are both looking forward to it.
In this moment life is hectic, but I love every minute of it.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
For my peeps in the north
I have gotten way off track in blogging. So much that I am getting phone calls from my relatives asking where I have been.
Since I ADORE my aunt and peeps in the north, I guess I'm back to it. Goodness knows that with three children and the madness that is my life these days I have no time to regularly call my family and keep them in the loop. I am sad to say that somehow, much of our families have ended up out of state and blogging helps me not only keep up with them, but to remember these hectic days.
Here is where we are:
- We are still living with Steve's family while we wait for our house to be finished. We love them, are grateful to them, but are very ready to be in our own home again.
- Nicholas is doing fantastic in 4th grade. He is a smart, sweet boy and I am beyond proud of him. Every day I am amazed at what a great kid he is. He spent his entire recess today helping out a friend instead of playing on the playground. Daily, he stands up to children that are mean to others. During football, he is like the mother hen...running around making sure everyone has water, misting them with his water bottle, helping them fasten their helmets, giving them a hand after a tackle to get back on their feet. I'm starting to wonder if he is mean enough for football. He is doing well, but I question if he is mean enough to really hit hard. He doesn't want to hurt anyone. (This is where my football mom friends groan and roll their eyes. I feel you ladies, but he really is a sweetheart and I'm not sure I want to rid him of that.)
- Luke is fantastic and has an amazing teacher this year. We are so lucky with both teachers our boys were assigned. Homeschooling was not the best fit for our family and we are so happy with how things are playing out. Luke is trying to find his place in our family, since he is no longer the baby. He has recently expressed an interest in joining scouts and we are so happy he's found something just for him.
- Olivia is the happiest, sweetest baby on earth. She smiles all the time. All the time. And when she smiles it is so big that you would think her face was going to crack in two. She has a smile that makes the entire room light up. She is 7 months old, about 19 lbs, 27 inches long, has two teeth, sits up, loves to eat, has recently found her voice and loves to scream for fun, talks constantly, adores her brothers and her parents, and is pretty much the prettiest, sweetest, most amazing baby on the planet. We love her a lot. She is sleeping much better now, sleeping from 8:30 ish to 6 or so, going back to sleep until around 8:30. I think we need to put her down earlier at night so we are working on that transition.
I think that about sums us up. Our time is spent on football, school, homework, checking out the house, volunteering at school, cooking, cleaning, therapy appointments for Luke, and I can't even think what else.
These days are frantic, amazing, wonderful, busy, and I wouldn't change a thing. Except the house thing. I would have us in our own house. But otherwise, I could not and would not ask for more.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Summertime
Their first 4th of July together!
This has been a very lazy summer for us. With Olivia being so tiny and unable to wear sunblock we have stayed in more than usual. We try to make it to the pool at least once per week, but little miss doesn't enjoy her float with a shade or her sunhat, so we can't keep her out long. The boys have been such good sports about things.
We've made a few trips to local parks and to the Discovery Place. The boys got to pet a real snake and watch a shark dissection. I say "eew!" to both, but they loved it. We've been to see movies; Spiderman and The Avengers were big hits over here.
Nicholas is gearing up for football. He has football camp this week and practices are about to start on August first. He is so excited! Luke is about to start piano lessons, but is holding off sports this fall. That is ok with us, we just want him to be happy.
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