Saturday, March 20, 2010 - Update

Oh, I love Birthdays!

Today, we celebrated my brother's birthday! Olivia heard us talking about ice cream AND cake and thought we said "ice cream cake." Olivia absolutely loves ice cream cake. She wasn't too disappointed because I gave her cake and ice cream in every bite. Maybe that's why she was so happy today. . .

Back In The Saddle Again

Olivia discovered how to ride a pony in a dress. . .

Friday, March 19, 2010 - Update

Pondering the weather

It was beautiful outside this morning. . .almost 60 degree weather and we were looking forward to some outside fun. After lunch we went outside and it was cold and windy. Now, we're expecting snow with highs barely above freezing. Crazy weather. It's probably for the best that we didn't go anywhere because Olivia crashed around 4:30. I think the sleepover wore her out. She just crawled into her bed and went to sleep. Olivia hardly ever naps anymore and if she does, I often have to force the issue. Not today. . .she was exhausted. But, it sounds like she had a great time with her cousins.

Thursday, March 18, 2010 - Update

Olivia had a busy day today. We spent the afternoon with cousin Izzy, Aunt Shelley and Grandma Sailing. Then, I dropped her off at her other grandparents for a sleepover with 6 of her cousins. Yes, I think Grandma Mary has gone crazy. I'm sure she thought she would never have ALL of them together on one night especially after Julia and Rebekah left for California. This is very special for everyone. Olivia is often referred to as everyone's favorite cousin, so I'm sure she's having a blast! Boy, the house sure is quiet with her gone. Ryan and I don't know what to do with ourselves. Autumn is soaking up all the extra attention and is a little irritated at me for being on the computer right now. Okay, now she has climbed up in my lap which makes typing very difficult. I hope my baby girl is having a good night. See ya tomorrow, sweetie!

All 7 of the cousins at their sleepover!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - Update

It's amazing to find out what makes your child tick. What kinds of things are they attached to? Out of all her stuffed animals, I would have never picked these two as the most special of them all: Lullaby Gloworm and Leap Frog Lily. Olivia takes them everywhere. We had a battle a few weeks ago because she didn't understand why she couldn't take a bath with them. Instead of Gloworm, Olivia always called him Gogum and the name kinda stuck. She can now almost say it correctly, but we still call him Gogum. We even brought them to her eye appt in hopes it would be easier for her, but that didn't work. For those that are wondering, Dr. W is the only pediatric ophthalmologist in town. There is a low vision doctor in town, but I don't know if that's what Olivia needs since her eyesight is okay. I may need to look into that further. I don't know if she would act like this regardless of the doctor or not. I just want to make it easier for her, especially because she will continue to have regular visits for quite a long time. I'll have to ask about the sedation or anything that would help calm her down.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 - Update

At her eye appointment. . .life was good until the eye doctor came in.

Well, Olivia's eye appt went just as bad or worse than usual. She was so happy when we got there, I thought maybe things would be different. However, the second the doctor walked into the room, she starting bawling. She hates eye appts (especially with dilation) and she doesn't care much for her eye doctor either. (This is why I've learned to bring my husband with me for dilations.) It breaks my heart every time. The news we got wasn't stellar either. He doesn't want to do a second strabismus surgery because he is unable to get adequate measurements because of Olivia's protests. She can't help it. . somehow it triggers really bad memories for her. Olivia's prescription has changed and she needs something a bit stronger, so she is getting new lenses. I suspicioned she would. She hasn't worn her glasses as well lately and I wondered if it was because her prescription changed. We also believe that she has problems with depth perception which is hampering her fine motor skills. We have basically accepted that, for now, her eyes are going to misalign. Our goal is to make sure they don't with her glasses on. Hopefully, we're doing all we can for her. No more eye appts for 2.5 months. . .whew.

Monday, March 15, 2010 - Update

Please be thinking of Olivia tomorrow. She has another eye exam with a dilation. These are just awful for her (and mommy too.) Thankfully, daddy is going with us and we're hoping for a good report. We've noticed, however, that her eyes are crossing even with her glasses on. Hopefully, that doesn't mean a second strabismus surgery is in the near future. I'm hoping to do something fun afterwards because I know how hard these exams are for her. Whatever we do, I'm sure I'll take lots of pictures because I can't seem to put my new camera down.

Almost Spring!

Happy Spring Break Everyone!

Sunday, March 14, 2010 - Update

Ryan and I went out and bought a new camera today. . .a Pentax digital SLR. We had some fun tonight trying to familiarize ourselves with it. We still have a lot to learn. Hopefully, there will be a lot of good pictures in the future. Here are just a few of my amazing family. . .

Super girl!

ROARRRR!

My sweet hubby

Me and my girl

My two favorite people in the world. . .

Can't forget Autumn. She was a part of the photo shoot as well.