Saturday, November 15, 2008 - Update

Just wanted to say hi! Mommy's sorry that she didn't get a post up today.

Friday, November 14, 2008 - Update

Look mama. . .I'm a scary spider!
Heehee. . . I'm so funny.

Doesn't she just put a smile on your face? Some days she really cracks me up. And. . .bless her heart. . .she has occasionally been sleeping in until 9 am!! It's as if she knows that I need more sleep. I tell ya, she's the best daughter in the world. I really needed that this morning as I woke up with a horrible headache. . .the likes of which I haven't seen in quite awhile. I'm not supposed to take Excedrin anymore (due to the caffeine and aspirin) so, I popped 3 Tylenol at 6 am. Nothing. Cold compress. Nothing. I took a warm shower around 7:30 am. Nothing. Fell back asleep until 9 am hoping that I'd wake without a headache. Nothing. At 10 am, I turned to my forbidden Excedrin. It didn't work wonders like it usually does, but it took the edge off. At least I'm functioning now.

My cleaning lady was supposed to start this morning, but had to cancel. That's probably for the best because I didn't feel like getting out of my pajamas. The sad thing is that I spent all day yesterday getting rid of clutter and my house actually looks better than it has in awhile. I don't think I need a cleaning lady. . .I just need the "threat" of a cleaning lady to whip myself into shape.

Thanks for the advice on the feeding issue. I think Suzanne is right. . .Olivia is showing her independence and doesn't want her bottle anymore. It's like I can almost hear her saying, "But, I'm not a baby anymore!" I can hardly get her to sit still long enough to drink it. She'll use her sippy cup, but only if it's filled with water. She'll drink water all day long, but doesn't want anything else in it. That doesn't help get her calories. I'm a water drinker too, so I think she takes after me. I'm going to try to move her on to more table foods, etc. and not worry as much about her bottle. We'll see how that goes. She is happy and healthy (not to mention the best daughter in the world) and that's what I'll try to focus on.

Thursday, November 13, 2008 - Update

Sometimes I'm crazy happy!

As a mother of an extremely premature baby, I always worry about the long term effects of everything that Olivia went through. You can understand how nice it was to read the following article that my dad sent to me:

Babies placed in incubators decrease risk of depression as adults

I'll take any bit of positive news that I can get. I know I worry too much about Olivia. For instance, right now she is refusing bottles and losing weight. As of 1 pm today, she has taken a whopping 4 oz! She seems interested in her bottle, but then takes 2-3 oz and she's done. She doesn't make up for it in baby food either. I don't know if she needs to have her Prevacid increased as they haven't ever weight adjusted it. Could it be her teeth are hurting her that bad? She takes her best bottle before bed and that's after a dose of Tylenol. I feel that all I've done lately is "remind" her to eat. She has done this before, but never for this long and she hasn't ever lost weight during it. I just wish that she would eat.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - Update

This is my new winter coat.
My mom was way more excited about it than I was.

Since the weather was half-way decent today, we went for a short walk down to the mailbox. I thought, however, that we should wear our coats. Olivia had other ideas, but isn't she adorable? The sleeves are still a big long, but it'll work.

Tonight I'm planning on a trip to Target. I've already started feeling the isolation of RSV season. The only time I get out is to go to the grocery store or to one of Olivia's appointments. I'm looking forward to a little "me" time to do a bit of Christmas shopping. Oh, how I'm already looking forward to Spring!

Olivia and Her Puzzle

Olivia loves her puzzle. Here she is playing with it before bed. What I find really funny is that her favorite puzzle piece is the guinea pig. She cries if she drops it and can't get to it. . .even though there are other pieces within her grasp. Does she know that she has guinea pigs? Check out her great hand-eye coordination and awesome grab and release skills. I'm beaming with pride.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - Update

Oooh, a magazine just my size!
Yum. . .
I'm sorry, were you reading this?

Olivia has gotten to be a pro at tearing up magazines (that has to be good for fine motor development.) She has attempted, however, to eat them so I have to watch her really close. I think for Christmas she'd be happy with just the wrapping paper. Hmm. . that's a way to save money.

Also, I wanted to say Happy Veteran's Day to all of those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. I found this website that is a tribute to all in uniform who give so much of themselves every day. Thank you!

http://www.greatamericans.com/

Monday, November 10, 2008 - Update

I had to start the day off with an eye doctor appointment.
I only cried a little. . .really.

Mom said that I was a pretty good girl.

Can you see one of my top teeth in this picture?

We received pretty good news at the eye doctor this morning. She still has some intermittent eye crossing, but not enough to be concerned about at this time. Of course, I wish the surgery would have completely corrected it, but I'm thankful for what it did do. The doc says no eye glasses at this time. He'll continue following her every few months for a couple years to watch how she progresses.

As a Christmas present, I was offered to have someone clean my house. It took me awhile to agree because as a stay-at-home mom, isn't that one of my duties? Because I've been lacking in energy, I want to concentrate all that I have on Olivia and not on that pesky cobweb in the corner. It's hard, though, when you have to stay in your house all winter and it's not squeaky clean. . .drives me insane. So, this is only going to be for a couple of months until I start feeling better and able to take on more myself. The lady came highly recommended and I met with her this morning. As we were walking around the house to determine what I want to have her do, I was going to play a little joke on her. With a straight face, I was going to walk downstairs into the guinea pig room and tell her how to clean the pens. . .and that their nails need to be trimmed every 6 weeks. . .along with Persephone's hair. I couldn't do that to someone. . .even as a joke. Turns out. . . she is a huge animal lover, so I don't think it would have been quite as horrifying anyway.

Sunday, November 9, 2008 - Update

I don't know why mommy didn't like her Soy Joy bar.
With a wrapper as exciting as this. . .

I think it would be yummy!

This Soy Joy wrapper was the most exciting toy that she had for quite awhile on Friday afternoon. Well, until she found a magazine. I thought of another great invention, by the way, as I was pushing Olivia around the house in her pony. Think of this. . .a ride on toy that doubles as a vacuum cleaner! So, you can entertain your little ones while also getting the house clean. I know. . .brilliant. And that's in my fatigued state of mind. . .just think of what I'll come up with in a few months. :) Well, never mind. . .it seems that my rideable vacuum cleaner has already been invented.

Olivia has another eye appointment tomorrow morning, so please be thinking of her. You know how much she hates those appointments. Hopefully, her eyes have continued to improve since her surgery.