Saturday, December 27, 2008 - Update

Olivia has been busy enjoying all of her presents. We thought that we were going to be able to try out her sled today, but the snow stopped. This Christmas was hard for me because we were unable to spend it with our extended family. Next year, we should be able to get all of the cousins together. My family, in particular, is going through a transitional phase which means our traditions are not staying the same. As long as I can remember, we spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house which doesn't happen anymore. I've also been going crazy with cabin fever this winter. It's increasingly difficult to keep Olivia at home when she's starting to explore everything. We really enjoyed spending the last two days out of the house with Olivia's two sets of grandparents. I think the festivities wore Olivia out because she slept until 9:40 am this morning!

Thanks, Izzy, for my learning chair!
I love my new wheels!

As I mentioned before, Olivia got a special gift from her Grandpa Glunt. When Ryan was a child, his dad would carve ornaments for the kids each year. He always made ornaments of their favorite toys or interests that year. When Ryan was about Olivia's age, he got an ornament of his favorite horse. I actually had a bucky horse just like it. Maybe some of you did too?

So, Olivia had to have one made of her pony (quite possibly the best toy ever made.)

Now, they'll hang side by side on the tree and I know it will be special for Olivia for years to come.

Christmas # 3

This afternoon we celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Glunt.
We had a wonderful meal. . .my favorite part was the cookie!

Good thing grandma had an extra shirt I could borrow. I was a mess!

So what if it no longer matches my shoes. I love my new Robeez, by the way.

My grandma!

My grandpa!

I liked this present.

I think I'll open it. . .or at least crawl over it.

So many presents. . .our house looks like Toys R Us. I'm very grateful for all of them and I hope everyone liked my gifts as well. I received a special gift from my grandpa. I'll have to show it to you tomorrow.

Christmas # 2

This afternoon we had Christmas over at Grandma and Grandpa Sailing's house. We even had a turkey dinner.

I was an angel, as usual.

Me and my grandma.

This was made just for me. It's me in my giraffe Halloween costume. It is so very very special for me, mom and dad.

Look at what I got! Mom and dad are going to be busy putting everything together and then finding places to store them. Good thing mama got a shelf organizer for my playroom.
My grandma read a story to me.

Dad was silly with me.

My mom still says I'm the best gift ever received.

Christmas # 1

We woke up this morning, went downstairs and found this! Olivia must have been a really good girl.
She even got a sled with her name on it!

Of course, she didn't care anything about opening presents. So, we put on Baby Signing Time and opened her presents for her. Silly girl. This is probably one of the few Christmases, however, that we will get away with not opening presents until 10 am. I hope all of you had a great Christmas morning!

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I'm crazy for Christmas!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - Update

Look at what I got from "aunt" Kerry!
A new riding toy!

My computer was on the fritz today. Every time I tried to use it, I got the dreaded blue screen of death. After working all day, my husband spent all night trying to fix it. I don't know what normal people do when they have computer problems. I mean, the Dell support people couldn't figure out what was wrong. Ryan fixes everything and before I met Ryan, my brother took care of things for me. My brilliant husband got it up and running again and I'm so grateful.

Olivia got an early Christmas present when Kerry came over to visit today. Her legs need to be a bit longer to make it go as fast as she'd like, but she loves it. Riding toys are the best thing ever! I got a chuckle when I read the box and it says, "Your child can walk behind it and when they're older, it converts to a ride on." Olivia must have it backwards because she has trouble walking behind things, but loves to ride on them.

It doesn't feel like tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We're not doing any celebrations with our family until later in the week, so it's just a normal day in our lives. I hope all of you have a blessed Christmas Eve.

What is Perfect?

In a perfect world, Olivia and Logan would be celebrating their first birthday on December 23rd. That was my due date. Instead, Olivia celebrates her birthday in the summer without her twin brother. I guess I shouldn't say "perfect" because a world that doesn't follow God's plan is far from perfect. It's easy, however, to trust in God's plan when it follows your own wants and desires. When it means not being able to watch your child grow up or enduring other tragedies. . .it can be difficult at times. Our idea of perfect is often different from God's. If it wasn't, God would have sent his son to be born in some royal palace instead of in a stable. That would have made more sense to our human minds, but that wasn't God's plan. His plan truly is perfect. That takes a lot for me to say given that my plan would have included raising Olivia and Logan as twins. But, He knows what is best. . .much more than I do.

So, as I celebrate Olivia's would-be birthday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. . .my prayer is to grow more accepting of God's plan in my life. . .whatever that may be. My prayer is for none of us to carry anger in our hearts about a life that doesn't seem fair or one that hasn't gone as planned. Trust that it has gone according to God's plan and that's something that is perfect.

My little girl is pretty perfect as well!

Cheese!

I'm. . .touching. . .the. . .tree. . .

Monday, December 22, 2008 - Update

I've been rather down lately. It's been almost 2 months since I started on supplements and medication for my adrenal fatigue/low cortisol levels and I have yet to see any improvement. You can't expect to see any drastic results on the supplements, but the steroids I'm on were supposed to make me feel better within a month. My doctors aren't quite sure why I'm not seeing more improvement, but they are augmenting my therapy with yet another medication. Now, my estimated six month use of hydrocortisone has been extended which has its own set of risks. Instead of feeling normal in 6 months. . .it may now be 1-2 years. I tell ya, stress is a killer!

To top it off, I didn't have a very good day yesterday. Olivia and I often take naps together in bed. I love that time together and I think she does too. We both get rest and she snuggles up next to me. Well, lately she has started to think it's funny to crawl over to the side of the bed and look down. She always looks back at me as if to say that she knows I don't like her to do that and I grab onto her and pull her back. She thinks that is just hilarious and scurries to the edge of the bed again. Well, yesterday she just crawled right off the bed. She didn't stop to look back at me and it happened so fast, that I couldn't grab her. It was awful. Amazingly, she doesn't have any bumps or bruises and after crying for a few minutes, she was back to her happy self. I beat myself up over it pretty bad, though. I mean, I put cushioned edges on the coffee table and fireplace, a gate on the stairs (that is mounted to the wall, by the way) and then I let her fall off the bed. It's the end of naps in bed and I'm guessing I won't be nabbing any nominations for mother of the year. Anyway, I'll leave you with a hilarious picture. . .be sure to look at it full size! My sweet Olivia. . .always makes me laugh.


***Thanks so much. . you have all made me feel much better. It seems all I'm saying these days is. . "Be careful, watch out, no no. . ." as Olivia gets into everything and rides her pony like a mad woman sometimes. (Although she can maneuver that thing better than some people drive cars.) Part of me is pleased and thankful for her newfound mobility, but I could have done without the bed incident. Later last night when we deemed Olivia okay, Ryan said, "Hey, I'm just glad it happened to you first and not me." Thanks honey.

Sunday, December 21, 2008 - Update

We now have a gate. . .thanks to my dad. It's almost impossible to put up a gate when you don't have walls on both sides. My dad, however, has an uncanny ability to find creative solutions to make anything work. Thanks dad! Now I don't worry about Olivia riding her pony down the stairs.

Now, I plan my escape!

Saturday, December 19, 2008 - Update

Today, I learned about Santa Claus. Do you know about Santa?
He gives you presents if you're nice, but doesn't give you presents if you're naughty.

I don't think I've been naughty, have I?
Nah. . . I'm silly sometimes, but not naughty.
I'm so excited!
Santa is coming to my house!

Friday, December 18, 2008 - Update

The reason that I don't have hardly any Christmas presents wrapped:

Mama, I help!

There have been so many instances lately where Olivia has just made my heart melt. She gives kisses now. If you tell her to give someone a kiss, she plants a big wet one on your cheek. The other day, I was reading her a story and she just leaned over and gave me a kiss. Earlier this week, she leaned over and gave her Glo-worm a kiss. It's just so sweet. Sometimes she wants to ride her pony, but she also wants to be with me, so she follows me everywhere on her pony. Then, she rides up to me and lifts up her arms so that I'll pick her up. It just makes me feel so very loved. She has such a sweet, loving disposition.

I am a little perplexed as to what happened to all of the snow. . .not that I'm complaining. I just don't understand how it can all be melted by 8 am. How does it melt overnight without the sun? It usually takes a week or so to melt the snow in our backyard on the north side of the house. I think the weather cleared up just so Carver would be sure to get his cochlear implants turned on today. It had to be cancelled earlier in the week due to the weather. I'm so excited to hear how that goes.

Thursday, December 18, 2008 - Update

(My shirt says Joy. . .not Jodi. I joked that someone would think that I was wearing a shirt with my name on it. . .leave it to Amanda. . .heehe)

Thank you all for making this blog so special to us. There wouldn't be a blog without my dear friend, Stacie. It was her idea after all. What started out as simply a means of sharing Olivia and Logan's progress has turned into so much more. I have reconnected with old friends and gained many new ones. I have been able to spread awareness about premature birth, infertility and infant loss. I quickly get ideas and advice from others going through similar situations. With one click of a button, I can inform people of important happenings and prayer requests. And, I can share the amazing progress of my sweet baby girl. Thank you so much.

Also, be sure to mark your calendars! The March of Dimes "March for Babies" is April 18, 2009. More info to come after the first of the year. Thanks Kerry for being so on the ball.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - Update

What started out as an odd phone call has turned a bit frightening. Yesterday around lunchtime, the phone rang. A name and number showed up on the caller id, so I picked it up (I often don't if there is no number or name listed.) A woman said that she was from Central Plains of KS (I believe) and someone had entered my name into a drawing to win $500 worth of gas and groceries. The drawing would be held on Dec 20th, but my name was drawn for a daily giveaway. I won a bag and a free carpet cleaning in a room of my choice. I should have asked more questions, but I was a little dumbfounded and was tending to Olivia. . .so, I was only half-listening. I didn't want to appear ungrateful. I think she mentioned something about being in my area on Wednesday. Later that day, I started thinking about the whole thing and it seemed really fishy. What a convenient way to get into someone's house! I tried to find something about it online, but was unsuccessful, so I decided to call the number back. It rings, pauses and then clicks off.

Well, my husband (the protector) called the police department about it today and they called me to file a report. It seemed really fishy to them as well. Who knows. . .maybe it's legit, but I'll gladly give up a carpet cleaning to be on the safe side. If someone shows up at my house that I don't know, I'm supposed to call 911 (so if I don't know you, today would probably not be a good day to visit. . .heehee.) Anyway, doors are locked, phone is in hand and I say. . .bring it on! Just don't come and wake us up during naptime.

***They did show up this afternoon. I didn't answer the door and they soon left and pulled into a neighbor's house. Hmm. . .did they win a daily drawing too? What are the odds. . haha. I did call the police about it. Jeremy, it sounds like you were right. . .Kirby vacuum salesmen. I mean, I understand door to door salesman, but don't lie and con your way into people's houses! The last thing I need is some high pressure salesman pushing something on me. I'm not good at saying no because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. . .that's what husbands are for, right? Oh, and guess who rang the doorbell right in the middle of naptime? The police following up on my report. Arghhh. Interesting day. I enjoyed dinner tonight, however, with my friends. Thanks ladies!

Flashback

Mommy

Me

Hmmm. . .and all my life I thought it was a dark navy outfit.

Christmas Tree Tour

Here it is. . .thank you for sending me pictures of all your beautiful decorations. I had planned on playing the traditional "O Tannenbaum." I changed my mind at the last minute. A few years ago, Ryan and I realized that we did not know all of the words to simple Christmas songs like Frosty the Snowman. That prompted us to pick a few songs each year and learn all of the verses. I have a problem with this thing called memory and I can't remember the ones I learn from the year before. . .but, anyway. . .I chose this song because it's one of the favorites that I've learned (and later forgotten.) I encourage you to look up all of the verses. . .what powerful lyrics!

So, on this chilly, snowy day (well, for those of you in my neck of the woods) grab some hot chocolate, snuggle up in a blanket and enjoy! Don't forget to scroll down on the left hand side and pause the music player before starting the slide show.

Monday, December 15, 2008 - Update

The problem with mobility. . .sometimes she gets too close to the camera. :)

Our appointments went well this morning. Olivia ended up getting one of her Christmas presents early because I figured that since it was 8 degrees outside, she could use her new fleece lined pants. We don't go back to see the neurologist until summer, but so far everything looks good. She does have some delays, but is making good progress. Of course, she never "performs" at any of her appointments nor does she grab at their toys (I still think it's because she knows they are not properly sanitized.) At home, she is quite the busy body and always has to have something in her hands. Ryan's endoscopy seemed to go well. Olivia is not the only one in the family with awful reflux. We figured it was time to have Ryan checked out. Luckily, there was no erosion in his esophagus, but there was some inflammation. They had to do a biopsy to test for bacteria. Looks like he'll continue taking Prilosec for most of his life.

So, I'm feeling like a bad guinea pig mom lately. The other night we completely forgot to give them their treats (which usually consists of veggies) until 11:30 pm. And, they were completely out of hay. At least we still buy them the expensive Oxbow hay because it's so much better than what you find in a pet store. Only the best for them. . .even though they don't get quite the attention anymore. We are supposed to cut their nails every 6 weeks and I think we've cut them 3 times since Olivia came home. One such nail-cutting was on Sunday and I decided to take some pictures of them during their mani-pedis.

Here's Persephone (Sephs) 5.5 years old. She also has to get haircuts.

Here's Taryn 5.5 years old (This is the best position for cutting their nails and carrots are the best distraction.)

Penelope (Penny P) 6+ years old (The Boss)

Harrison (Hare Bear) 5 years old. . .my lone boy. He'd prefer them not to be called mani pedis.