Prayers Needed

There is another micro-preemie that needs our prayers. Isabella Danielle was born on December 5th at 24 weeks. Please keep this family in your prayers. Today, I was looking through all of our old cards (yes, I kept them all) that I received after Logan and Olivia were born. All of your love and support really helped us get through such a difficult time. Please shower this family with support and prayers.

I also recently heard about another little baby girl born at 27 weeks whose family is also going through the NICU roller-coaster. It's such a hard thing to watch your precious, anxiously-awaited child so fragile while you stand around helpless. This holiday season, please think of all the babies still struggling for each breath. May they continue to grow healthier and stronger each day and soon learn what it's like to be home. There is not a day that goes by where I don't thank God for allowing me to take my precious little girl home.

Saturday, December 13, 2008 - Update

Ryan and his brother, Joel, always have an annual Christmas shopping day. They spend all day shopping. . .mostly for Laura and me. I think he's mostly done with me, so hopefully he doesn't go over the budget. Ryan and Joel always have a really good time. So, since Olivia and I were left home alone all day, Kerry came over to see us. She had not yet seen Olivia ride her pony and was amazed at all she has learned to do. Thanks Kerry for a great afternoon!

Friday, December 13, 2008 - Update

After mommy took pictures of me, she let me watch Baby Signing Times.

That silly Hopkins!

She loves that show. I have yet to see her do any signs, although I swear she might have done the sign for "brush teeth" as I was brushing mine. It's nice that she'll sit down and watch something instead of always wanting on pony. When she crawls (scoots rather) she goes straight to pony. When we walk with her, she walks straight to pony. She can't look at pony without wanting to ride the pony. Her face lights up with such a sense of accomplishment as she rides around the house. Everything Olivia loves. . .she loves to the extreme. Hopefully, she will someday learn to walk by herself and isn't riding the pony to kindergarten. She isn't yet able to stand unassisted. . .mostly because she doesn't stay still that long (she's gotta get to the pony, you know.) The pony may have to find a secret hiding spot, just occasionally. :-)

Quest For The Perfect Holiday Picture

Hold on. . .I think I have something in my teeth.
Ooops, I think I blinked.

Smile? Like this?

I don't want this dress on anymore!

I don't know why I can't just ride my pony.

Okay, but I will not smile!

Teehee. . .Fozzie Bear doesn't want his picture taken either!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - Update

12-10- 2007

12-10-2008

Today is a very special day. We brought Olivia home from the hospital on this day last year when she was 105 days old. I promised to keep her safe. I promised to keep her healthy. I promised that we would never spend another night apart (until her first sleepover, that is.) As she grows older, she will not only celebrate her birthday, but her homecoming day as well. It's a very special day for all of us. I am not sure how we're going to celebrate it this year, but I do know that she will be enjoying an oatmeal raisin cookie!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - Update

Oh, internet, sweet internet. . .hello again. I have my husband to thank. He stopped by Best Buy after work (on this blustery, snowy day) to pick up a new cable modem. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Of course, that was $80 that we could have held on to a bit longer this Christmas season.

Olivia is doing well. You wouldn't believe the maneuvering skills that she has on that pony! She steers, backs up, gets herself unstuck. . .it's amazing! My dad said it best. . ."She commands that pony." Sadly, her jumperoo has lost some of its appeal. She tries to get it to move and seems a bit disappointed to stay in one place. I also found out today that Olivia LOVES oatmeal raisin cookies. I've never seen her eat anything with such. . .gusto. She even made sure to get all of the crumbs left behind.

Internet Down

Our internet has been a bit flaky the last few days. Now it is only up for a few seconds to a minute at a time. So, I'm having trouble responding to emails, finishing Christmas projects or doing anything that involves the internet. I'm not sure what my posts will be until we get it fixed. We might need a new cable modem. . .don't know for sure. I've found that I'm addicted to my laptop and being without internet is pure torture!! It's my only connection to the outside world! :)

Monday, December 8, 2008 - Update

Spreading Christmas cheer!

Don't forget to send me your Christmas tree pictures! It looks like our tour is going to be a little bit. . . .short. You can also send me pictures of your other favorite Christmas decorations. For those who missed the previous post:

Some people go on holiday tours to see Christmas decorations of their friends and families. I thought. . . .why not have a tour right here on the blog? (Can you tell that I don't get out much?) Just email me a picture of your Christmas tree. My email can be found on the sidebar of the blog. Please include the state, territory or country you live in. You may also include your last name if you'd like. Try to get the pictures to me by Dec. 12th. Oh, this will be so much fun.

My Little Pony

Saturday, December 6, 2008 - Update

Me and my kitchen. . .this was my birthday present from the person who sent the anonymous Target gift card. I've always wanted to crawl through it.
My dad is so proud of me. Right back at ya, dad!

Now, let's see. . .how do I do this?

I've gotta pull really hard. . .

I made it!

To say that Olivia is blossoming would be an understatement. It's more like an explosion! She hasn't quite got up on her hands and knees to crawl, but she scoots herself all over the place. I left her in her room for a second and she was in her closet. She rides her pony everywhere! Sometimes she gets a little overly-ambitious and falls over when she turns. When she falls, however, she doesn't let go of the handlebars. . .so, the pony and her both go down. The other day, I left the lazy susan open in the kitchen and she found a bag of brown sugar that she thought she needed. The last week or so has just been amazing. She is in to everything and is becoming quite the handful. . .and I am loving every minute of it!

Twilight

Oh, that Edward Cullen. . .

My fellow Twilighters, Heather and Kerry

Yep, this afternoon I went and saw Twilight. It had been a long time since I went to a movie and it was great. Many thanks to Grandma Mary for watching Olivia so that I could have my little escape. I know. . .it's a teenage chick flick, but don't knock it until you've read the books. They are fantastic and kept me up many nights a few months ago. I had a great time, girls. Thanks again!

Never Say Never Again

I appreciate all of your emails and suggestions. Of course, I want Olivia to be a completely normal little girl. . .just like I wanted a completely normal pregnancy. But, I had issues that needed to be addressed and I felt like my concerns were shrugged off. I don't want Olivia to be shrugged off as well if she has issues that need to be evaluated further. We have not seen a GI specialist, but that is one piece of great advice that I've received. Ryan and I are looking into that. I just feel like everything the poor girl needs is deemed unnecessary and everything she enjoys is deemed harmful. For example:

Olivia loves her jumperoo. . . .but, jumperoos are bad.
As a baby, she loved to be cuddled and carried around. . . . .but, she needed more floor time.
She loves walking around the house holding onto your fingers. . . .but, that's bad for her shoulders.
She needs to be supplemented with Pediasure. . .but, only in a sippy cup that she can't drink from.
She loves her Mac-n-cheese. . . .so, take it away.
Olivia enjoys Gerber Puffs. . . but, don't feed them to her yourself or she'll become helpless.
She is a 23 weeker going into RSV season. . . so, don't give her a Synagis shot.
She has awful reflux. . .but, don't increase her Prevacid.

If anyone tells me that she can't ride her pony, I'm going to say, "You're fired." :-) However, that's why God made mothers. . .to take in all the advice and custom fit it to best meet the needs of their children.

Also, she does only eat her mac-n-cheese for lunch everyday. She has other foods for breakfast, snacks and dinner. Today, she fell in love with Multi-Grain Club crackers (one of my favorites that I'm not supposed to eat anymore. . .hohum.)

Thursday, December 4, 2008 - Update

Mother, can't you see that I'm busy? (This is her irritated look.)
I can't say what I'm working on. . .

but, it's very important.

Now, back to work I go.

I'm a bit frustrated today. I had called Olivia's doctor's office earlier in the week about her eating habits. The nurse talked to the doctor today and called me back. We moved Olivia on to the Next Step Lipil (that I add rice cereal to.) They also agreed that she should have additional Pediasure as well. However, they only want me to offer it in her sippy cup. Hello? She has not yet mastered the sippy cup. We try every single day with a cup and a straw. They also don't want her to have macaroni and cheese anymore. I do offer her other food as well. . .I would just rather her have macaroni and cheese than nothing. I don't feel that any of these suggestions address the reasons why she cries at every bottle. Sometimes I think they totally forget the fact that she was a 23 weeker. I feel like everyone (sometimes including myself) expects her to be farther along developmentally than she is. For instance, her physical therapist wanted her banging on things long before she did. I was told that feeding her Puffs (instead of her self-feeding) would contribute to "learned helplessness." Then, one day she started doing it herself and now she keeps one in each hand. They wanted her to start crawling long before she was interested in things around her. Now that she sees things that peak her interest, her natural desire is to get to them. She can get to my laptop in a flash from across the room. The thing about Olivia is that if she can do it herself, she doesn't want anyone's help. Sometimes she just isn't ready for certain things yet. I'm just frustrated, I guess. I'm having a big problem with insomnia again and haven't been getting to bed until 2 am or later. I just want people to be proud of what Olivia is doing and not try to advance her to levels that she has not yet reached.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 - Update

I don't know why I haven't had much to talk about the last few days. I've taken some new pictures and video, but we don't have enough room on our computer to get them off the camera. It seems all Ryan does is back up pictures to make room for more and yet we still run out of space. Move over Suri and Shiloh!! I think Olivia is the most photographed baby.

She is still riding her pony all over the house. Sometimes, however, she doesn't really "ride" it. It's more like she straddles it, lifts up on the handlebars and carries it around the house. I've tried to explain to her that she's making it a bit more difficult than it has to be. I'm learning, however, that Olivia likes to do things HER way with a stubborness that is second only to her daddy. I've gotta get some baby-proofing done. I'm having the hardest time finding a gate for our stairs, so I'm just using a barstool for now. Olivia has also discovered our little Christmas tree upstairs. She rides over to it on her pony and plays with the branches and ornaments. She is also perfecting the army crawl and can scoot around the house fairly well. Since Olivia has started becoming more mobile, I have felt a reassurance that she is going to be just fine. Every day it seems she is progressing more and more and is such a delight to be around.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - Update

Happy Birthday, Aunt Laura!
I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Monday, December 1, 2008 - Update

Why crawl when you can travel by pony?

Olivia has now learned (and is tall enough) to ride her pony all by herself. She rides all over the house on that silly pony. Today, I chased her on it and she squealed and laughed like it was the best game ever! She kept looking behind her and would get so excited the closer I got. Then, she would take off as fast as she could go. Milestones like these are some of the most rewarding.

Quick question for those of you who have children dealing with reflux. We have tried to move Olivia completely over to Next Step Lipil. She likes it a lot better than her Enfamil AR (that is thickened with rice cereal.) However, because the new formula is not as thick, it comes out too fast and she chokes. She has a really hard time drinking anything that's pure liquid and I can hear her refluxing. Can I continue thickening her new formula? Will I have to do this for a long time? Can I use rice or oatmeal (she loves her oatmeal)? Any ideas would be so appreciated.

More Thanksgiving Day Pics

For those keeping track, our counter is currently around 93,500. . .getting close to 100,000. These people are still in the running. . .one of them will win the Starbucks gift card.

Kim, Kerry, Erin, Kelley, Marty, Amanda, Becky, Heather, Cristi, Shanan, Angela

Saturday, November 29, 2008 - Update

Ryan's friend, Chris, was in town for Thanksgiving with his girlfriend, Kristy. I'm sure Kansas weather was a little less inviting than Florida's. We enjoyed visiting with them a bit this afternoon. It also gave us the little extra motivation we needed to get the rest of our Christmas decorations up.

I love decorating the Christmas tree each year and finding ornaments that I forgot I had. Olivia has quite the collection already. We put a candy cane on the tree for each Christmas we've spent together (we are now up to 8.) We also put a bell up for each year we've been married. My favorite one is the Tinkerbell bell we got the year we went to DisneyWorld. Christmas trees fascinate me. . .they are all as unique as the family that decorates them. I was going to post a picture of our tree, but then I thought, no, I have a better idea.

Some people go on holiday tours to see Christmas decorations of their friends and families. I thought. . . .why not have a tour right here on the blog? (Can you tell that I don't get out much?) Just email me a picture of your Christmas tree. My email can be found on the sidebar of the blog. Please include the state, territory or country you live in. You may also include your last name if you'd like. Try to get the pictures to me by Dec. 12th. Oh, this will be so much fun.

'Tis The Season

It's a tree just my size!
Mommy told me all about the nativity. She even said that I have one of my very own. I'll have to show that to you later.

I even got in the spirit of things!

We made more progress today than we thought we would considering the fact that Ryan threw his back out and we had Olivia to tend to. We don't have all the decorations up or our big Christmas tree yet completed. One of my favorite things to put out is my nativity set. I love the Willow Tree figurines and bought this a few years ago. You won't find another one exactly like it because my father-in-law handmade the stable for me. Last year, he made me a baby angel to add to the collection. This year, Olivia loves looking at all of the lights. I'm already looking forward to Christmas.

Thursday, November 27, 2008 - Update

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

It was a little disheartening that we couldn't spend Thanksgiving with our extended families this year. Being around so many people was just too much of a risk for us to take this year. I really missed it, though. We spent Thanksgiving just the three of us, however, we joined my family via webcam for a bit. The plus side is that we got leftovers from both sides of the family, so we're getting ready to have our Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Mmmm. . .Olivia is even going to join in!

It is customary for us to spend Black Friday putting up our Christmas decorations. Of course, you'd never catch me out shopping because

1) since when do I ever get up that early?

2) There's just too many people.

I hope you all have an enoyable weekend with friends and family. We can't wait until next year when Olivia gets to experience everything in full force!