Izzy's Birthday Party

Today was Izzy's birthday party.
She got her mommy and daddy messy too!

Look at her dig in.

I had some frosting and icecream.

More more mommy. . .give me more!

That was delightful!

Olivia went to her very first birthday party today. . .cousin Izzy's!! It was a kitty party. Hopefully, Izzy gave Olivia some pointers on how to be an adorable birthday girl. I hope Izzy enjoys all of her fun, new toys and has a GREAT birthday on Wednesday.

Friday, August 15, 2008 - Update

I like to watch the Olympics in my favorite chair.
Go USA!

It's pretty fun to watch.

This race is a real nail-biter!

I can't believe it!

Another world record!

Is There A Place In Your Heart?

For a baby rat like me?

I'm asking because a lady I know (fellow rat lover) was contacted by PetSmart because someone left two female rats in a shopping cart. Because she is so kind-hearted, she took both of them only to find out that one of them is pregnant. She is unable to keep the babies because she has already tried to save more than she can comfortably take care of. If she is unable to find homes for the babies, they will have to be euthanized. I would take them if I could, but we just can't right now. I told her I could surely find homes for them.

I cannot tell you enough positive things about pet rats. My two girls are amazing pets. I could go on and on about them. They bond very deeply with their owner. If you decide you'd like to have one (I would recommend getting two, however, because they are very social) you would be able to hand pick them out. The mama is ready to give birth any day!

Still haven't decided? This site has a lot of information and pictures about pet rats. Remember, they are as different from wild rats as dogs are from wolves. Anyway, if you are interested. . . .just email me and I will get you her number. When the baby rats are here, she will be bringing them to my vet's office in hopes to find them homes. Maybe they could come home with you??

Thursday, August 14, 2008 - Update

Asleep in the Jeep

Hmmm. . .I remember when she was too small to fit in this stroller. Look at her now. We had a much better night last night. I gave her some Motrin instead of Tylenol. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it or not, but she slept all night long. The storm woke Ryan and I up, but Olivia slept right through it.

I can't write too much at the moment. Olivia is sleeping and I need to get myself something to eat. Eating. . .that is such a problem for Ryan and I. You know how everyone always complains about hospital food? I always enjoy it. If only we could get that kind of service at home. They could come to your door with a covered dish and you would lift the lid with anticipation. "What am I having tonight?" I'm not too picky. Then, you could just set your empty plate outside your door and someone would come pick it up. Oh, me and my crazy ideas.

Ryan and I hate wondering what to fix every night (he cooks just as much as I do.) Food remains our biggest obstacle. During the day, I find it hard to eat with Olivia and she doesn't like to wait on me while I cook something. Sometimes she doesn't like to let me eat. If I feed her when I eat, I end up not eating much myself. I call it the Olivia diet. (She's eating her baby food better, by the way.) Speaking of eating. . .I'd better do that before she wakes up.

Oh, What A Night

Last night, I kept muttering to myself. . "Are you kidding me?" as sleep continued to elude me. Here is how the night went:

9:00 pm Olivia is sleeping peacefully in her crib.

9:15 pm Olivia wakes up. Daddy goes in, picks her up, we put on some lullaby music and she goes back to sleep.

9:30 pm Ryan and I enjoy the Olympic games.

11:30 pm Decide that the Olympics is on way too late. We turn off the t.v. and go to bed.

11:45 pm Olivia wakes up crying. I get up and rock with her.

Midnight Olivia is back to sleep. I crawl back into bed.

12:15 am Olivia wakes up crying. I get up and rock with her.

12:25 am I am still rocking her and she falls back to sleep. Then, the SMOKE ALARM goes off!! I jump out of the chair, Olivia wakes up and I run in to get Ryan. He checks everything out. No fire or smoke.

12:45 am I decided just to sleep with Olivia on the floor in her room. I'm a little worried that there is a fire somewhere that we don't know about. I want to make sure that I can get to Olivia. Olivia goes back to sleep and I am almost to sleep.

1:00 am The smoke alarm goes off again!! Wakes everybody up. . .can you see a pattern here? It went off yet again a few hours later.

In the morning, I realized that I'm too old to sleep on the floor. Ryan changed the batteries in the smoke detectors over the weekend and they seem to beep more often everytime the batteries are changed. But, I don't ever remember them going off in the middle of the night. We are now missing a smoke detector and Ryan's going to go to Home Depot after work. Oh, what a night!

Go For The Gold, Baby!

How about playing the piano with my feet? Is that an Olympic sport? No?
Rolling over? No?

How about just being cute? Could I get a gold medal for that?

Only Stacie will find the humor in the title of my post. :) Anyway, I love the Olympics and look forward to watching it every 2 years. . .summer or winter, I love them both. I'm always so disappointed when they're over. Of course I missed the big 4 X 100m men's relay race where the USA took the gold. Ryan and I were probably cleaning up vomit. Olivia has thrown up the past two nights. We had gone weeks without any vomit. I'm not sure if it's due to her teething, her increase in bottles, decrease in baby food or the fact that she tried some baby yogurt on Sunday (and loved it.) So, we're back to dealing with that again along with the teething. . poor baby girl.

I just thought I'd mention the Olympics so that I could bring up Ian Thorpe and how disappointed I am that he retired. Was it wrong to cheer for an Australian in the 2004 Olympics? I enjoy watching Michael Phelps claim gold after gold and I like the synchronized diving and the gymnastics too. It makes you wonder about the potential of the human body. If all of those athletes can push their bodies to such extreme limits, you'd think I'd be able to run down to the mailbox without getting winded.

Thanks to my dad for helping me with a few things today and to my uncle Chris D. (I have two uncle Chris's) for your generous help as well. I really appreciate it.

Monday, August 11, 2008 - Update

None of us have been getting much sleep at night. We can barely get Olivia to bed before 11 pm, she's up multiple times at night and awakes at around 6 am. Today, Aunt Kimmy found two bottom teeth trying to poke through. I've been suspecting teeth for quite some time, but this whole teething thing keeps dragging on and on. Olivia went over to Grandma and Grandpa Glunt's today because Great-Grandma was in town. She probably thinks her great-granddaughter is a crabby baby. . .she's really not. We came home and I gave her some Tylenol and orajel. We're doing a little bit better. Let's hope these teeth are a little kinder to us all.

Sunday, August 10, 2008 - Update

I'm so happy I could burst!!

Olivia has this amazing ability to take my pain away. One smile, one laugh and my heart just skips a beat. She is the most amazing person I have ever met. Lately it seems that her development is just exploding! She rolls over all of the time, she tries to crawl up and over my shoulder when I'm holding her and she talks all of the time. I think she has her first word. Yes, it's. . . . .dadadadaddydadada. I know, all day I say, "Mama this and mama that and her first word is dad. . .go figure.

She worked so hard to make it over 15 lbs and finally did around the beginning of August. She is now 15 lbs 10 oz. No wonder she is outgrowing her clothes. She is also starting to use her arms more. Sometimes it's to pinch my nose. . .other times it's to see what's in her diaper. . .I'm just thrilled she's using them. And, she's mad that I'm not playing with her right now. So, better go.

We also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JOEL!!! Hope it was a great one.