Before and After

BEFORE – Pic from 2004

AFTER

I think it looks more sophisticated. LOL!  They still have some more painting to do, put guttering back on, etc. but you get the idea.  It feels like coming home to a new house. 

Our Scars

A few weeks ago, Olivia first noticed her scars.  Before that day, I don’t think she even saw them.  We were in her bathroom when she asked, “Why did the cats scratch me?” 

In disbelief and anger I asked, “What? When did they scratch you?” 

She pointed to the scars on her arm. And I had to explain that it wasn’t from the cats. 

Her skin was so underdeveloped at birth that even the slightest touch could damage her skin.  The leads connected to her body that helped save her life also ripped off her skin.  She has scars on her arms, hands, chest, stomach and legs.  But, not a single one on her face. 

You know, I’ve spent the last few years hoping that they’d fade. I showed her my “Logan” scar, a huge vertical scar down my stomach from my emergency c-section.  But, as I was talking to her about scars, I was overwhelmed with emotion.  Scars should not be something that you are ashamed of or embarrassed about.  Scars represent the human spirit. . .that you can go through the worst and come out healed.  They show that even the most fragile of us are stronger than you can imagine. 

I hope she grows up proud of her scars and uses them as a testament to how far she’s come and what a miracle she is. 

Busy Weekend

Friday night, we celebrated my niece’s 12th birthday!  When I met Ryan, she had just turned 1.  Crazy!  She’ll always be my little flower girl!

Jamming on her new acoustic guitar!

Encore! Encore!

Then, Saturday evening was a bumpy night.  In Kansas, I read that we average 57 tornadoes per year.  Saturday night, we had 97 tornadoes!  In one night!  We had a slumber party in the basement because of it and were up until almost midnight.  Olivia thought it was great fun. . .especially because she got to bring all her favorite toys downstairs with her.  Our town was hit, but we live just west of it and the tornado hit the southeast side.  My friends and family all seem to be safe.  What a night, though. 

No Girly Girl

She wants nothing to do with Barbies or baby dolls or bows or princesses or dress up.  Give her a bucket and a shovel and she’ll play in the sand all day.  She’s a sucker for stuffed animals, Squinkies, Littlest Pet Shop animals and trains.  Her favorite show is currently Curious George.  She LOVES Curious George and sometimes pretends to be a monkey.  She loves science and learning about the planets, animals, bugs and how her body works.  I can’t tell you how much I enjoy watching her grow into  who she’s meant to be. 

**The other day I took her to the store to spend her Easter money and she told me she wanted this Ariel doll.  I thought, “Wow, she actually wants a princess doll?” Nope.  She just wanted it because it had a little Flounder in it.  That’s what she wanted.  She ended up buying a stuffed animal and a train.  LOL. 

Big News

Well, big news in our household anyway.  Today, Olivia put on a pair of jeans that she wears quite often and we could barely get them snapped.  I’m pretty sure that has never happened as we’re usually cinching her pants as tight as possible to keep them from falling off.  (Thank goodness for adjustable waist.)  I got out her old scale (and put new batteries in it) and she weighed 30.3 lbs!!!  We FINALLY made it past the 30 lb mark!  This is just huge to me!  She weighed 28.5 lbs at the end of February and had been there for several months.  For those that know me. . .you know I constantly worry about her growth.  I think it’s something most micro-preemie moms can relate to.  You want to see your child flourish and grow and be healthy. . .especially after seeing them so sick as a baby.  I recently got her some Omegalicious Chews that have DHA and EPA and Vitamic C, I think.  She actually eats them.  There are only 4 in a package and 41 calories.  I love anything that adds calories AND is healthy for her.

She has just been blossoming lately.  On Saturday, Ryan and I took her to see the Lorax.  The last time I took her to a movie, we had to sit in the cry room because she was unable to sit in her seat.  This time, she sat and watched the entire movie. . .okay, she stood for a short time and sat in my lap some too, but I was sooo proud of her!  She just amazes me every day!

 

Conversations With A Four Year Old

The other night, Olivia and I had a “slumber party” in her room.  I didn’t think she’d ever go to bed.

Olivia: Let’s play that one game.

Me: What game?

Olivia: The one where you think of all the animals.

Me: Okay.  You go first.

Olivia: Peacock

Me: Elephant

Olivia: Camel

Me: Alligator

Olivia: Rooster

Me: Goat

Olivia: Pig

Me: Sheep

Olivia: Rooster

Me: You already said rooster.

Olivia: Giggle giggle

Me: Let’s do underwater creatures.

Olivia: Okay.  Dolphin

Me: Shark

Olivia: Jellyfish

Me: Clownfish

Olivia: Rooster.

Me: In the ocean??

Olivia: Giggle giggle.  Let’s do things in our house.

Me: Door

Olivia: Dresser

Me: Mirror

Olivia: Rooster. . .Giggle giggle.

________________

Me: Are you sure you want to sleep with your arm underneath me?

Olivia: Why?

Me: Well, it might fall asleep.

Olivia: My arm will fall asleep? Giggle giggle.  How does my arm fall asleep?  But I’m awake?  Giggle giggle.  Mom, why can’t I stop laughing??

Me: Be careful or that water is going to come out of your nose.

Olivia: Out my nose?? Giggle giggle.  Why would it come out of my nose?  Giggle giggle.  Mom, why do you throw up?

Me: Don’t ask me that question while I’m laying in bed with you.

Olivia: Giggle giggle.

_____________

The next morning. . .

Olivia: Mom, what did you dream about?

Me: I don’t remember.

Olivia: I dreamed about. . . .a rooster.  Giggle giggle.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

He Is Risen

We had a wonderful Easter this year.  It made my heart smile this morning when Olivia could talk about how Jesus died on the cross and then how HE came back to life!  I realized we never even mentioned the Easter bunny this year.  She received an Easter basket this morning, but we never really told her who it was from.  I don’t mind if she believes in the Easter bunny, but we’ve tried really hard this year to really stress to her what Easter is about.  And in doing so. . .the Easter bunny never came up. 

Of course, the first thing she pulled out of her Easter basket was her stuffed animal. 

Looking beautiful in her Easter dress.

Precious.

Getting ready to go on an Easter Egg Hunt with her cousins, Julia and Rebekah.  (And, yes, that is Julia. . .my little flower girl who will turn 12 this week!!)   After they were finished, THEY hid the eggs and the adults had to find them.  Man, they can be cruel and I don’t think we even found them all.  LOL!  We really missed Ryan because  he was at home sick.  Hoping he feels better soon!

Easter also fell on Grandma Glunt’s birthday (which won’t happen again for about 80 years or so, I guess.)  So Happy Happy Birthday!!  And I wish you all a Happy Easter!!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Almost every day Olivia says something that cracks me up.  Unfortunately I can’t seem to remember them all if I don’t write them down.  Today, however, we were outside playing with the soccer ball.  Her favorite thing to do is stand on the porch and I throw the ball up to her from the sidewalk.  She then kicks it back to me and we continue like that for some time.  Today, she said, “Hey mama!  I’m the kicker and you’re the throw up girl!”

Yesterday I was picking her up from school and we always notice the trees on the schoolyard.  During the winter, we noted that they didn’t have any leaves.  She’s been so excited for spring so that the tree can grow leaves.  Yesterday, I pointed to the leaves growing on the tree and she exclaimed, “Yay!!! Now the giraffes will have something to eat!”  That brought smiles to everyone around her.  I love that girl!!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Against my better judgment, I let Olivia take Peacock (her favorite Squinkie) to the park with her today.  We decided to take a walk around the park and Olivia later discovered that she no longer had Peacock in her hand.  I had one heartbroken little girl on my hands.  I almost called for a search party!  She was yelling for Peacock and telling him that she loved him and he was her best friend and that she would find him.  We retraced and retraced our steps for about 45 minutes!  I didn’t know how we would leave the park without Peacock.   And, honestly, I prayed that we would find him.  Then, I spotted him on the side of the road in the gravel.

She was so happy, I almost cried.  LOL!  She’ll accept no replacements. . .even if it is the exact same thing.  It must be HER Peacock with the broken wings and body that has been super glued back together about 10 times.  I guess he’s one in a million. 

And notice she had her first wipeout during recess and skinned up her elbows, knees and forehead.  I’m sure they’ll be many more to come. . .oh, the joys of childhood.  I remember continuously having scraped up knees.  LOL. 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Heading to the zoo!

Olivia loved watching the ducks! 

She was even more thrilled to see THREE peacocks.  That always makes her day.  I was thrilled to find out that Nurse Holli (who took care of Olivia in the NICU) was also at the zoo today. 

Olivia, me and Holli’s little boy, Logan.  He’s a very sweet, charming little guy!  Holli will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

Early Easter Celebration

We celebrated Easter with my family today.  Olivia and Izzy loved their Easter baskets and hunting for Easter eggs. 

What cuties!!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

I spent the afternoon at this lovely lady’s baby shower.  Lindsay is due with her baby girl at the end of May. 

While I was gone, daddy and Olivia went to Botanica with grandma and grandpa.  They had a great time. 

Feeding the fish.

Although. . .Olivia told me how she fell in the pond!!  What??? Thankfully, she was okay.  Of course the change of clothes that I carry was in my car. . .with me.  So, Olivia told me how she made footprints with her shoes the entire time. 

And here’s where she slipped.  She talked about it all night. 

Despite being soaked, she had a great time!! (And daddy gave her a nice bath afterwards.)

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Okay, is she not the cutest thing ever?  How adorable does she look in her helmet?  The problem is that she doesn’t use the pedals. . .she just “walks” the tricycle.  So essentially, she is wearing a helmet to walk. 

http://youtu.be/SKPwmeFtKeM

But, we are working really really hard at pedaling. The tricycle is still almost a bit too big for her to reach which is making pedaling more difficult.  We’ll get it!!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

This little girl has lots of questions about her twin brother and many of them I do not know how to answer.

Why don’t I have a brother that I can play with?

Can we go to the flower place (cemetery) to see him?

Why doesn’t he live with us?

Can I die and go to heaven so that I can see Logan?

Does he miss me?

I pray that I find the right words to explain things to her in a way that she can understand.  You can tell, even at 4 1/2, that she misses her twin brother and a big part of her life was taken from her.  And my heart breaks all over again. 

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I ordered Olivia’s preschool class picture this year and I’m so glad that I did!  How cute is she? 

Over the weekend, I bought Olivia a nightgown with “Lily” on it.  She has NEVER wanted to wear nightgowns before so I didn’t know if she’d even wear it!  She loves it!  She told me they were the only pajamas that she is going to wear ever again. . .hmm, that should be interesting. Oh, and the band aid is just for looks. LOL.

Sunday, March 25, 2011

We had a great time celebrating Ryan’s birthday this weekend.  We went out Friday night to dinner and to a comedy club while Olivia had a slumber party at grandma and grandpa’s with her cousins.  She had a blast and Ryan and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  He had the best birthday in years, which brought a huge smile to my face. 

Today, we celebrated Ryan’s birthday at my parents’ house. 

Olivia’s expression in the next picture is just too funny.  It was actually the best picture that we got though.