Saturday, January 30, 2010 - Update

Today, we celebrated my birthday with family. Yes, it's true. . .on Monday I will be a year older. Ugghh. . .

Olivia waiting for her ice cream cake.

My little helpers.

Me and my wrapping paper bonnet. Somewhere there's a picture of Ryan wearing it too. :)

How embarrassing. My mom switched the numbers around. That should say 23. . .yes, I'm only 23. If I say it, it must be true, right? :)

Blowing out the candles.

Playing their rendition of Happy Birthday!

We leave tomorrow for Kansas City. It will be the first time that we've left Olivia with her grandparents and gone out of town. I'm really nervous about it and will miss her so much. It will be nice, however, to have some time alone with my husband.

Tactile Defensiveness

I've been a bit worried lately. Some of Olivia's sensory issues (especially tactile defensiveness)seem to be getting worse. . .either that or she is just able to communicate her frustration a bit better. While at the Thunder game last week, I saw children about Olivia's age who were getting their faces painted. It seems like a normal childhood thing to do, but it would be devastating for Olivia. Certain things, like face painting, we can just avoid, but others we can't. She can barely stand to have her teeth and hair brushed. I'm scared to death to take her in for another haircut because it was so awful for her. Olivia can't stand to wear certain clothes and some days I change her multiple times to find something that doesn't cause big tears. And, it is hard for her to show physical affection. She is often very resistant to touch. I think this is also contributing to her reluctance to eat many types of food.

I guess I'm worried because I don't know if I'm doing all that I can for her. I don't know everything that I can be doing for her. I worry about how this will affect her as she gets older. . . . especially if I don't get her the treatments that she needs. It's hard to explain my concerns to people. Olivia's doctor acted as if she was just an anxious child and I don't believe that. There is much more to it. If anyone has any resources on this, please let me know. I feel like I need to be doing more to help her.

***To answer some of your questions (and to thank you for all of your comments) Olivia is seen by Rainbows, but her primary teacher is a speech pathologist. She has had an OT eval done which identified her as having some sensory difficulties. I was given a few suggestions, but I'm still unsure of other things to try. She sees a developmental ped, but doesn't go back until summer. I think that there are OT therapists available there. . .maybe I will check into that. I know she is doing fabulously, but I don't want this to be overlooked and I truly appreciate all of your help.

Tea for Two

Olivia and Izzy

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - Update

Me and Susan (plus Madison and Olivia)
Her son, J.J. is not pictured.

I met with an old friend of mine today. We went to high school and college together, but she currently lives in Wisconsin. I hadn't seen her for many years. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with her and our kids had fun playing together. We had a lot of catching up to do and hopefully another 10 years doesn't pass before we get together again.

March for Babies.

Olivia at her first March for Babies - 2008

Please be thinking about whether you would like to join the Olivia and Logan 2010 team and/or donate to the March of Dimes. The walk is April 17, 2010. We would be very honored to have your support. You will see a banner on my sidebar that will direct you to where you need to go to donate or sign up on our team. More details to come in the near future.

I'N GONNA GIT YOU!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Saturday, January 23, 2010 - Update

Tonight, Ryan and I let Olivia spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Sailing and headed to the Thunder hockey game. It was their first game in our city's brand new Intrust Bank Arena. I used to go to Thunder games back in high school and college, but Ryan and I have never gone together. It was a sold out crowd and Phil Stacey was there to perform as well. We had a great night, but it's nice to be home in bed. I'm not used to being out past 8 pm.

Ryan had to get a picture of one of the many fights. I'm still not sure if hockey players fight because people want them to or if they have an overdose of testosterone and adrenaline. Maybe it's a bit of both. The highlight of my night, however, was when I got to meet Phil Stacey.

For those of you who don't know, Phil Stacey was an American Idol finalist and is a Wichita native. Very nice, personable guy, although I couldn't think of anything to say to him.

I left with an autographed CD and forgot for a second, that I was at a hockey game. Thanks to my hubby for a great night!

Friday, January 22, 2010 - Olivia and Madison

Gimme some sugar. . .

I don't know if Madison just grabbed them from Olivia or if Olivia is planning to grab them from Madison.

Doing what they do best. . .making a mess.


Let's Dance!

Ugh. . .I don't like math.

Two precious little girls!

One making herself at home.

How To Make Me Happy

Heather made a neat list over at her blog titled How to Make Me Happy. Not only would it tell you a little more about me, but it is a good way to look at the positives in life. So, here are a few fun ones of mine. . .in no particular order.

1. A good, long nap without a long list of to-do's on your mind.

2. A massage

3. Feeling organized

4. Going to the movies. . .and getting popcorn

5. Going out to eat at a favorite restaurant

6. Olivia's laugh and love of life.

7. A long weekend spent with my husband and daughter

8. Shopping spree. . .with gift cards.

9. A pizza party

10. A clean house

11. Being reminded of God's love.

12. Animals

I'm sure there are lots more, but these are what came to mind. What would be on your list?

Early Morning Ramblings. . .

Nothing like being up all night/morning with a headache. I've discovered recently that tea makes them more frequent and severe. I haven't had one in awhile, so I don't know where this one came from. Why am I telling you this? I don't know. . .there are not many people to talk to at 3:30 in the morning. I read that tannins in tea are migraine triggers for some people. Chocolate also contains tannins, which would explain why that gives me headaches too. I hate having headaches. I talked to a doctor about them and was basically told to keep a food diary to discover any possible triggers, which is how I discovered tea, chocolate, soy and vinegar. But, I'll still get one out of nowhere and nothing helps them. . .they just run their course. . .sometimes for over 48 hours. And, Olivia doesn't understand when mommy has a headache and that breaks my heart. But, sometimes I think she sort of understands and "takes it easy" on me. :) She is doing fabulous, by the way. She loves her big girl bed and has done great the past few nights. Go Olivia!


Well, I think I'll try to go back to sleep. Wish me luck or tomorrow is going to be a rough day!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - Update

Olivia with a few of her closest friends.

Monday, January 18, 2010 - Update

Ryan was feeling adventurous today, so we went out and bought a wok and decided to try something different. HuHot (Mongolian barbecue) is one of our favorite restaurants, so we set out to make what we called HuHot at Home. Ryan's parents were our guinea pigs and we spent quite a bit of time this afternoon preparing and cooking all of the ingredients.

Our selection of meat and vegetables

Grandpa and Olivia were busy cooking up a dish of their own. Olivia called it "graham crackers."

Stirring it up

The finished product. . .yum.

There were few things that we would change for the next time, but I think it was pretty good for a first try. My husband, who used to be a strictly meat and potatoes guy, has now become a wok master. Who would have thought?

Monday, January 18, 2010 - Update

Now you see it. . .

Now you don't!

Olivia's so proud of her big girl bed!

She did amazing last night in her toddler bed! We didn't hear a peep out of her until she woke up this morning. We are so proud of her and can't believe she's growing up. I look around and see a little girl's room and no longer a baby's room. Hopefully, this transitiion will continue to go well. Next, we're trying to get her completely off the bottle. Currently, she only takes one per day, but she gets a lot of good calories with it. Some of the hardest things about parenting are all of these changes and transitions that children go through. I'm sure potty training will be a fun one!

Sunday, January 17, 2010 - Update

Did you see my new playhouse?

I love it!

Wanna play with me?

Okay, so I had to redo this post. I did something to the html code and it moved my sidebar items to the bottom of my screen. I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I just deleted the whole post and started over. Anyway, who would have thought you could cut a hole in a box and it would magically transform into a playhouse? Olivia loves it and I love watching her imagination develop.

Saturday, January 16, 2009 - Update

Yummy food

Say cheese!

We celebrated my grandma's birthday today. I feel so blessed to know that Olivia has had the opportunity to get to know her great-grandparents. Happy Birthday Grandma (or Great-Grandma Wanda, as Olivia calls her.)

Jazzercise

Well, the halftime show was a success. I didn't mess up, although I was concentrating so hard that I kinda forgot to smile. What can I say. . .I'm more of a "behind the scenes" kinda person and I haven't danced in front of an audience since 4th grade's Baby Buggy Boogie. Anyway, you can see the video over on Shelley's blog. I prefer it over Ryan's video. . .less close ups of me. LOL !

Funny Story

I thought I would share a short, funny story with you. We have these long, wooden back scratchers that we got years ago. Olivia likes to play with them and finds many ingenious ways to do so. Today, she was running gleefully from bathroom to bathroom with the back scratcher saying, "Yay!" I sort of already knew what she was doing. I peeked in on her as she ran into our bathroom and I saw her stick the back scratcher into the toilet and say, "Clean, clean." I guess she has seen me use the toilet bowl scrubber one too many times. Hmm. . .now what do we do with the back scratcher?

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 - Update

Lunch with her buddies.

Yesterday, Olivia and I went to a playgroup with about 7 other kids and their moms. It was nice and I appreciated Shelley hosting it. Moms need things like that and I love watching Olivia socialize with other kids. Other than that, not too much going on. I was going to share a video of Olivia laughing hysterically while playing with a box, but Olivia erased it from my camera. Yes, she erased it. Olivia likes to watch it and she knows to push the button to play it again. She sometimes, however, pushes the button that says Erase? and after pushing the button again. . .it's erased. She erased multiple pictures too, silly girl. Too smart for her own good. She must be getting tips from Izzy who is a pro with the camera.

We met with her Rainbows therapist today. Olivia is progressing very well and we're not even sure she will qualify for services through the school district when she turns 3. How often does that happen with a 23 weeker? It's just a miracle. . .Olivia is a miracle growing right before my eyes. Just your typical 2 year old who wears glasses and is small for her age. You'd never know all that she went through. What a miracle and one I'm eternally grateful for.

Monday, January 11, 2010 - Update

Woah. . .that's a big tiger!

Mmmm. . .refreshments. . .

Since today was a balmy 40-50 degree day (in comparison to the single digit and teen temperatures we've been having lately) Olivia and I went to the zoo. We met up with grandma, Aunt Kim, Aidan and Kaleb along with a few hungry ducks. It was nice to soak up some vitamin D. . .even if it was in a heavy winter coat. It was also nice to see Olivia interested in the animals. She even fed the ducks for the first time. . .every other time, she has just tried to eat the duck's food herself. She even requested to see the tigers.

The day ended with a nice surprise. I found out that my husband booked us a room at the Chateau Avalon for my birthday. I LOVE this place, but we've only been there once before. I'm so excited to have a nice weekend getaway just the two of us! This will be the first getaway of any kind for probably 4 years. I'm so excited!!

Olivia's Letters

Her room is coming together. We're still not quite ready to move her to a toddler bed as she does so well in her crib. . .except when she tries to climb into it (but, she hasn't ever tried to climb out.) I still have a few more things to finish and then I'll show you the final product. I'm still so grateful to Amanda for making Olivia's letters. It made her room so special.