You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January, 2007.
We are supposed to have our first big winter storm of the year (read: lots of ice with a tinge of snow). Just to let you know, our part of NC has puckered up and hibernated. We aren’t good at bad weather and there is no bread or milk to be found for at least eight counties east of us. I hate I haven’t gone grocery shopping in weeks and I guess Domin0’s won’t be delivering tomorrow. Olivia’s school has already cancelled school and daycare so I’m not sure what the day will hold for us but whatever it is, it’s going to be slick and probably end up involving lighting ye old logs for a warm, homey glow as we throw out some good wishes for continuous power.
So, in December I had blood work done to see if anything could be found to find out why I’ve been so sick so much over the past several months. Two days before Christmas they called and left a message for me to get my results. Well, when I called back all I could get out of them was “abnormal results.” It was just blood work, tell me what it was and if it’s really bad I’ll set an appointment otherwise I shouldn’t have to come in. My regular nurse had a medical emergency of her own and was out until after New Year’s and the back up nurse didn’t know her arse from a hole in the wall. O was due for her two year check up and I figured I’d get two appointments back to back so I only had to take one afternoon off work. It took forever but it finally happened.
Last Wednesday was O’s two year checkup. She is now 32″ tall and weighs 26 pounds. I can’t remember her head circumference, maybe 18″? Anyway, she’s on track and growing like she should and had the last of her immunizations (we re-immunized) until she starts kindergarten. She’s healthy as a small horse and showed off her many talents.
Me. One of the tests I had done was for mono. While the test showed positive, it’s not able to pinpoint when, just sometime over the past six months and she said it could be some residual effects. Another biggie was allergy testing, which can now be done via blood work. Woo-hoo! I know I have allergies and I know what some of my big triggers are: Cats, dust, pollen, perfumes, scented laundry detergents/dryer sheets and I get rashy and sometimes small hives with beer, mustard, ketchup, or spicy stuff. So, they run the “standard” panel of tests which covers your eggs, nuts, grains, cockroaches (eww), molds, grasses, etc. It said I’m allergic to egg whites. What? Other than being lactose intolerant and taking lactase enzymes with any dairy products, including low lactose items such as butter, I’ve never had any issues with eggs. At all. Heck, I didn’t even start eating them until 1999. While it’s debatable whether eggs are a culprit for LI or not, I don’t chance it and take my meds because scrambled eggs are usually mixed with milk and I like cheese in them. But, I’ve never had an allergic reaction. It could be a precursor for things to come.
The biggie: Dust mites. How dirty does that make one feel? This one I was off the charts on. So, some of the suggested solutions:
- all leather furniture
- special mattress and pillow covers
- special air filters
- someone to clean my house for me
- stay away from any room that has been cleaned for at least 20 minutes
- wear a dust mask
- stay away from dust
The special covers and air filters are no problem. I could probably swing Will on someone to clean the house but I doubt he’s going to get gung ho over buying all new furniture. Wearing a dust mask is out – claustrophobic. Stay away from dust? I work for a cabinet manufacturer. Not possible and 0ffice Dep0t doesn’t sell bubbles.
Here’s the kicker: In my view I’m way allergic to cats. If I’m in someone’s home who has one, I take my Zy rtec and I’m usually okay for a decent period of time as long as pretty kitties don’t climb on me and there’s not a lot of kitty hair (I know it’s usually the dander not the hair but I get itchy with kitty hair, too). If I don’t take medicine my eyes itch, my throat feels like it is closing up and I can’t breathe. I’ve also been known to get hives. This test tells me that I’m not allergic to them. At all. Not possible. I remember the first time I found out I had an allergy: I was a freshman in high school babysitting and they had cats. I had to call my mom to come get me and the kid because I felt like I was dying. Who knew. But, I’m not allergic. Hmmff. I say not worth the $800 they bill the insurance company but better than being stuck bunches of times.
In conclusion, Will says sit in the leather recliner we already have, buy the covers, he’ll take care of the filters, he raised an eyebrow at a cleaning lady and told me I can’t quit my job.
Saturday’s field trip was more fulfilling than I ever imagined. At the end of November I joined a group called Blue Star Mothers, but as a military spouse I’m called an associate member. This was the first meeting I attended and I had the pleasure of having lunch with some of the greatest women I’ve ever met. We had a great lunch and everyone loved Miss O and embraced us with open arms. Since there were several of us who are new members, we shared a little about ourselves and one thing I learned is this: there is no group that loves and supports their children more than military mothers. Will’s mom works with an Oklahoma chapter and I’ve heard her share stories about working to box up care packages, meet military members as they connect through the airport either on their way home or to a duty station somewhere and just talk to someone when they need a friend. Each woman spoke about their love for their children and as each one may have shed a tear, we all shed them. It took a long time for my feelings to feel validated when Will was deployed before but after this lunch, I will never question my feelings again. As a wife it was hard enough talking about my experiences of being alone while he was gone but listening to these mothers was even harder for me. My mom always told me I would never know how great a love a mother has for her child until she has one and she was right. I never imagined the kind of love I have for Olivia and to hear these proud mothers tell the accomplishments of their children, I saw that love more clearly than ever before.
This group is a nonprofit group with chapters throughout the country who band together to support one another and our troops from toothpaste and suckers to a grieving family who has lost a loved one. They rely on volunteers and donations for their success. At this luncheon, we all took bottled water for the USO at the Raleigh airport to hand out to military members who connect through. I’ve spoken with the USO at the Charlotte airport and will be working with them to give any support I can. The Charlotte USO opened in September and, if I’m not mistaken, by mid-January or so they had served 13,000+ service members.
Once again, I’ve added to the circle of my life and to watch it grow makes my soul feel good.
It always amazes me that on days I have an opportunity for a couple of extra hours of sleep, I manage to wake up at my workday time, which is something I can’t do during the week without hitting the snooze button at least 5 times. This morning I actually woke up 15 minutes before my workday time, which is two hours earlier than I had planned.
Will has guard duty this weekend so it’s just the girls. I’m an insomniac and have been for a long time and we’ve been having some issues of O sleeping through the night (she likes to wake up about 1 a.m. for an hour or so most nights) and while I enjoy running on four hours of sleep, I needed it so desperately, especially last night, because O and I are taking a field trip out of town this morning and I wanted to be well rested for the drive. Last night I strayed and O slept in my bed. I don’t know if it was because her beloved Pom Pom was here also but she slept all night long and so did I. This morning I woke up to see both my girls curled up snoozing away and it was a beautiful sight to see. O rolled over and woke up in a GREAT mood giving me her best early morning smile. However, we all know in the life of a two-year old it goes as quickly as it came. Who knew that because her pajama bottoms snap to the shirt her morning would be ruined. After that passed, she gave mommy “big love” and ventured off to potty with D0ra. If only Pom Pom would use the big-girl potty. Our yard is still sopping wet from the last bout of rain we had, which it had never dried out from the time before, so it’s a chore to get Pom Pom’s feet cleaned off before she comes back in the house. She won’t do boots and manages to shake out of the ghetto sandwich bag ones I make for her.
So, with a bowl of honey Cheeri0s, sippy cup and Ses ame Street, our day seems to be back on track.
Happy Saturday!
P.S. It took me one hour and 20 minutes to get this short post written.
Olivia is offically two as of Saturday and what a day it was. We had a house FULL of people – mainly so full because our house isn’t big. It was fun but I will be a better mother on the ball for next year and reserve (in July) a nifty little venue to hold Miss O’s big 3 event. Who knew so many kids were born in January not to mention the lack of places for a 2 year old party. The old homestead won out.
I convinced myself this would be a low key party. I made Olivia’s cake and promised me when I started out on the adventure that I.would.not.stress. (I normally stay up way late the night before a cake is due somewhere trying to “perfect” it and worry what everyone will think of it.) Besides, there was a 99.99% chance that no one would know what the cake was supposed to look like anyway. The only thing that was missing was Olivia’s name spelled out in cookies…the “v” broke and I was beyond going to heat up the oven and open another pack of sugar cookie dough for one cookie. Not to mention my neato looking little cookie cutters SUCK big time. I did try to salvage it by trying to “glue” it with icing and I even tried packing tape. No go and no name it was. Besides, everyone there knew who the party girl was. The “buffet” consisted of Cheese Nips, Chex mix and bagels and cream cheese with coffee, sodas or juice boxes. Easy-peasy. Those who know me know I stress over having a party big time and I remained calm…not one tear was shed nor one curse word spoken.
Shannon and her beau, Tony, came by…he’s so nice and they look way cute together. Shanny was sick and we missed her. Olivia’s little friends Li and Ally were also there. Li came home from China in April ‘06 and Ally October ‘06. My nieces, godchildren, and two little boys of some friends of ours were also little guests in the house. Zach was so cute – he asked his mom why Olivia got a whole cake for herself and everyone else only got one piece. Trust me, we gave Zach all the cake he could stand. I’m sure D&T were loving his sugar high that afternoon 
Since Olivia didn’t have a first birthday party where she was able to dig into her cake, she had her own this year. Here’s how it went down…my girl wouldn’t touch it with her hands. She waited for a fork. No cake icing everywhere and she remained clean, which is not the true tradition of the party cake but I sure was glad as that icing stains. Our guests were very gracious with their gifts and we appreciate them all. Aquadoodle rocks and I’m dying to check out the bathtub paints.
It was a great success and I’m glad my little birthday girl had a good time. She crashed hard after the party – as did Will and I. We still have cake left and are trying to figure out where to put all O’s treasures. I know, the playroom, right? Wish I could. Still not finished started. Sweet, huh? I’m sure I’m not the only one who has procrastinated doing this. It’s going to be a HUGE undertaking and I just haven’t felt that vibe.
Anyway, turning two was an easier transition for us me than I thought it would be. It makes me sad that she’s getting older but I’m so tickled to be able to hold a little conversation with her and watch her personality unfold more and more. It’s good stuff. Truly good stuff. Have I mentioned that I love being a mom?
Nothing spells lovin’ like a bug from the oven
O’s doctor left the practice about a month ago and the doctor who has replaced him is less than desirable so I was/am on the hunt for a new one. I called my friend J who has two kiddies and asked her who her ped was because she has always spoken so highly of him. I got the number and called. This is how it went:
Them: Blah, blah, blah office.
Me: Hi. This is Susan [insert new ped story here]. My daughter is adopted and I want to make sure Dr. XX is familiar with adopted children.
Them: Yes. (huff, sigh) he sees adopted children all the time.
Me: Great. I’d like to make an appointment to meet with him before I schedule her 2 year check up.
Them: Um. We don’t do that unless you are pregnant. They are the only ones who get to meet with a doctor before hand.
Me: You’re kidding, right?
Them: Um. No.
Me: Hmmm. (thinking I was being overly sensitive) Please set the appt. for xx/xx/07.
Conversation ends.
Now, for me to see a new doctor is okay b/c I’m a grown up and can make my own choices and am pretty much familiar with my ailments. O, on the other hand, is a different story. She’s my first kid and our current office calls us their “mascot,” which I’m not sure if it is a compliment or not. I do know they love O and the office staff is fantastic. I want a doctor who understands me as a first time mom and will treat me the way I think I need to be treated. Plain. Simple. Besides, it’s a hassle to move records and I don’t want to go through it unless I know I like the doctor. So I ran it past Will when I got home and a couple of other folks to see if I was being overly sensitive to Them’s comment about pregnant women. Now, let me start by saying that I’m overjoyed to have Olivia. I am not bitter, upset, down trodden or anything else about the way our family came about. Our family dynamic is great. I decided to sleep on it to see how I felt the next morning. I woke up and still miffed about what was said to me and I decided to cancel the appointment. I called up and spoke with an office gal and explained the whole situation to her and she gasped so much air I swear my hair went through the receiver. She was mortified. As, I think, she should be. She apologized profusely and promised to have a manager call me. Okay. That’s fine but still cancel the appointment. Them was my first contact with their office and I was way less than impressed with her.
Fast forward 3 hours later…office manager calls. I explain it to her again and she apologizes and tells me Them was kind of new so I tell her that if it was up to me, Them would be gone. Out. Finito. But, since it wasn’t up to me, I presumed she would have her apologize for what she said.
Normally I would have probably shrugged this off and chalked it up to pure stupidity and at $5.50 an hour, you get what you pay for but I just couldn’t – not this time. What if I was one of the women who was extremely sensitive to not having kids of her own? Words can cut deeper than hurt more than anything and they needed to know that.
After mulling over it, I’ve decided to leave O at our existing doctor’s office. Since we go to family practitioner, and I expressed my concern about the new doctor, mine was more than happy to take O on as a patient. We really do like them and we never dread going to see them as usually you are in and out in under an hour – maybe an hour and fifteen minutes if you have to have labs drawn. The same if we’re a work in. Why try to fix what isn’t completely broken, I guess.
There are going to be many steps to this but I want to write about the first one…
I saved an orphan.*
Last night I purposely kept my little porcelain China doll up past her bedtime so we could watch the follow up Paula Zahn show on CNN. I wanted little sprout to see that because her daddy and I were on a humanitarian mission and the first on our to-do list was rescue an orphan, she was in her warm home in the land of the free and not having to worry about turning to a life working in rice patties. No, that would never work. Because you see, we had our wheels turning during the process and we knew that we wanted a super smart, science minded kid who would one day make lots of money and we would charge her back the cost of the adoption plus 30 years of interest (at a rate not yet decided) and, thus, we would retire. Parenting, schmarenting. It’s quite simple, actually. She owed me. She will not have black lung from the smog and nasty filthy air she would otherwise breathe as she biked her way from her little shanty to her rice patty gig. Dentist visits will be had…braces, if need be, so she’ll always have that beautiful Chinese look she’s supposed to have – but she must know it will be at an additional cost. Besides, we didn’t want an ugly kid. I’ve already moved the silverware drawer to the bottom drawer in the kitchen. Hey, she’s two. Isn’t she old enough to do her part in unloading the dishwasher and earning her keep? Shhh! That’s behind closed doors. When we are out in public it’s a totally different story. We dress our little porcelain princess up in the knock-off silk dresses and matching shoes and parade her around town reminding everyone we meet that we saved an orphan. We brought this little destitute girl to the US to make us look good. Afterall, why would we want to spew forth kids on our own that would possibly be ugly or (gasp) stupid? No, too big of a risk. It was much easier to go through two sets of fingerprints, background checks, hound friends for letters of reference, show a couple of years tax returns and write a check. Much easier. The wait? Not a big deal at all because the end results outweighed everything else. Adopting an American kid was not an option for us. Nope…Chinese all the way. Same risks of having one of our own…ugly and dumb. Oh, throw in a crackhead baby momma – yes, sirree, that’s a recipe for disaster. Dim sum all the way for us. So the one we have knows to sit quietly with her hands folded in her lap and not speak until she is spoken to. For every dollar she receives as a gift, we take 75% of it for her cost of living with us. Hey, diapers are expensive.
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Okay, so hopefully all of you know that was all pure crap and nothing more. It’s sad that people actually have the mindset of the reasons people adopt from China. One of these days I’m going to jump in on Johnny’s post Why China? I’ve enjoyed reading everyone else’s posts on it and one day will share my own. I missed the original Paula Zahn disaster but I read the transcript and last night I made sure I watched the follow up. Unfortunately, it was as sickening as the clips they showed from the original. I know we can’t educate the world and what is the most disturbing to me is that the topic strayed so far and she never tried to bring it back to the correct level (at least that’s the impression I got). One apologized, one still shot crap from his pie hole and the one with all the “research” wasn’t even there. Who is she researching? Obviously not the 1000’s of people who sent in emails. It was sad to see Paula Zahn’s smug look as she tried to appease the masses who emailed her to try and save face gain more insight into the topic. She looked so much less amused than she did the first go round. Maybe not enough Chink and muslim jokes facts to hold her interest.
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*I swear it’s not the truth and please don’t leave negative comments or email me.
Incredible season but Ohio State didn’t win the national title.
Some days Olivia seems to dislike the last 10 minutes of our commute more than anything in this world. To keep me sane I will call Will and put him on speaker to talk to her. He asks her questions and she answers him. The other night I told her to tell Daddy what she wanted for dinner. She chimed in with “peesa.” Will thought I coached her. Nope. I was in the mood for tacos and taco night it was at the L household. Sorry, sweet pea. Last night we did have “peesa.” We ordered a large pizza (cut into 8 slices) and she ate two of them. Two! and then TWO cups of peach yogurt. I guess she’s getting ready for a growth spurt.
My little princess is turning 2 this coming Saturday. 2. Wow. We hit the terrible 2’s with a vengeance eons ago but now she’s actually going to be 2. For the past couple of weeks when someone asks me how old O is, I simply say “2.” I no longer give months. It’s just plain ‘ol 2.
On one hand it’s exciting because she’s learning so much new stuff and growing into her own little person and her personality is flourishing. On the other hand, it is sad because my baby is disappearing right before my eyes. I know she’ll always be my baby but she is growing into a little girl. It started off that she didn’t want to be rocked much anymore and I dealt with it. Then it came to the point she wanted Teddy and her blanket to snuggle with instead of me and I dealt with it. Then she decided she didn’t want to sleep in her crib anymore and it nearly killed me but I dealt/am dealing with it.
She is amazing to me and I watch her in wonder and awe most every day. My little whirling dervish cuts her eyes at us when she’s mad. Oh, does she ever get mad. But, no matter how many time outs she goes in, she always comes out with a hug and “sowrry.” She didn’t start it on her own but she knows when she comes out of time out, she needs to give a hug and say she’s sorry and we all keep on trucking. I want to make sure she understands and will have compassion and empathy for others when she grows up. I know – she’s only 2 but I firmly believe manners need to start early and it will become a good habit of hers as she continues to grow. She says “please” when she wants something and “thank you” when she gets it. It’s not always unprompted but it’s becoming more and more. We make it a habit to say please and thank you to her, too. She repeats EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, so we have to mind our Ps and Qs to make sure she only picks up good, clean words.
Potty training is going better than I could ever have imagined. She’s been hit and miss for several months but now but we are probably at 60%, if not more. On the weekends when she and I are together, she stays dry pretty much all day except for her nap. I think that’s great success and her teacher at school is really helping us stick to using the potty. She’s the only one in her class who even shows an interest. What’s really neato (if it can be called neato) is that she will tell us what her business is going to be – #1 or #2. Her daddy got the pleasure of taking her to the potty when they were out shopping last week. In his words “she exploded” but he handled it like a champ. She has only used her potty chair once in the past three months for more than just a resting place. The potty seat is what really started our success. So worth every penny we paid for it and some.
She loves to sing and her new fav that I hear “again” for over and over and over is “Lips of an Angel” by Hinder. Not sure what it is about it, but she loves that and anything by Nickelback. She’s pretty much blown Bon Jovi by the wayside. However, I’ll play it until my ears bleed if it makes our afternoon commute sail by. “Jingle Bells”, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “You are My Sunshine” are also three of her favorites. She’s so cute doing the hand motions for “Twinkle, Twinkle.” She sings with all her heart and soul.
She has pretty much sworn off vegetables – except fries. But, she eats her protein, lots of fruits and digs yogurt. She knows which drawers in the refrigerator house what. She goes in the bottom for cheese and the one above it for yogurt. Her self feeding is becoming less messy than it used to be. She still isn’t clean when she eats but manages to get most of the wet foods in her mouth. I still can’t go full blown on spaghetti yet so it’s usually just noodles with some butter. Just. can’t. do. it.with.sauce. She is obsessed with buttons and, for some unknown reason, the only way she will wear her Kipiis and dental bibs is if we tell her she has to wear buttons. For self-feeding yogurt, they are the best investment to date.
Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds is so observant of her surroundings. She loves to look up into the rain and feel it on her face and the wind makes her giggle. Her association and comprehension levels are incredible. We had our second post placement visit last week and our social worker was quite pleased with the way she interacts. She loves her “babies” and feeds them, wraps them up in blankets and rocks them to sleep. Her bedtime routine is hers now and she knows what to do and how to do it. Tooth brushing is probably our biggest nemesis but we manage to get it done.
I hate to see my baby grow up. She’s stubborn and I’m still somewhat sleep deprived but I love when she gives “big love” and to hear her growl when she gives big hugs. She loves PomPom more than anything and despite being an only child for 7 years, PomPom sits still for some lovin’. I guess she’s figured since O isn’t going anywhere, she might as well bond. That and Olivia adores giving her treats and PP has yet to turn down food. For all creatures it seems food is the way to one’s heart.
We have bad days, good days and great days. Naps are sometimes a chore and going to sleep at night can sometimes require a little negotiating but, for the most part, we are all doing well. We are learning what it’s like to have a toddler as head strong as the world’s toughest elephant and, at times, as meek as the tiniest mouse. We love it. Simply love it. I can’t tell you the number of times Will and I look at each other and tell one another just how beautiful she is. I don’t know if her mother thinks about her and wonders what kind of life she is living or if she is so much into her culture that she truly felt Olivia was “disposable” but I’m so grateful that she was matched with us as our daughter. No, we didn’t get to spend her first birthday with her but we ate cake in her honor and bought her a gift. Not spending that first birthday was hard for me and it doesn’t make our bond any less strong. She’s such a vibrant little girl who loves to walk between our legs and pretend we are riding on her shoulders. Her daddy, however, is hoping she gets out of this before she gets any taller. Heh. She still sees the wonder in empty boxes and it’s still something new every time she opens one up. Elmo has won a place in our hearts. I guess I knew it would come and it hasn’t been as bad as I had expected. However, only through the screen or in music. The furry ones freak her out so no stuffed Elmo’s in the L house. The only time he has disappeared without a trace is when she pushes the replay button on the read-aloud book her Auntie Amy gave her for Christmas and we listen to the same page over and over and over.
We just couldn’t imagine life any other way. Welcome to 2 baby girl.
Sparky is waiting for the call got the call. Pop on over and let her know you’re thinking about her tell her congrats!
Olivia has some new “tricks” that make me wonder if she is really a 9 year old boy tucked into her 32″ tall 2 year old frame.
- She has picked up the knowledge that if she holds her nostrils and sucks in when she lets her nose go her nostrils stay in. Cracks her up and, admittedly, it did me too.
- If I make a fist, she’ll go knuckle to knuckle with me when I tell her to give me some “soul sister.” Sometimes she’ll make her fist and tell me “sitter” to give her some. Heh.
- Nose picking is running rampant around her daycare. I got to her class to pick her up last week and she ran to me with her finger out chanting “Look. Boogie.” then proceeded to try and wipe it on MY pants. NO way sister.
- She has learned to blow her nose but doesn’t always use a tissue. She thinks it is hilarious to blow (without the tissue) and expect me to clean it up. Of course I do but it’s so not pleasant.
- She proudly announces when she’s passed gas with a big ‘ol “I poootayed.” I won’t tell you that if it’s going to be a “good” one she’ll sometimes cock a leg. She brings toxic to a whole other level.
My princess. My little pride and joy. I waited how many years to experience this?
Will is an avid OU fan. He always has been and stays true to his team even when they suck are having a rough season(s). They were in the Fiesta Bowl against the Boise State Girlscouts Broncos and and OU was favored to win. I normally don’t watch much football but I had this game on last night and I can’t tell you how sick I was of hearing “Can the little dogs hang with the big dogs? Well, it looks like they are and some. Har-dee-har-har.” So, with one eye open, I muddled through the game into OT to watch OU lose the game to Boise State. OU has been known to be a second half team pulling out a win and I thought they would do it this time but not so. Even I must say it was a good game – the last quarter of it, anyway.
Sorry Sooners….at least you’ve got the Big 12 title.
Well, our first Christmas with Olivia has come and gone and I must say it was a doozy. We had a blast. We spent Christmas Eve at my parent’s house arriving early for Mom’s special surprise…she and my dad renewed their vows after 40 years (41 in Feb. ‘07) and she knew nothing of it until the time arrived. My dad and I had been working together to pull it all together. I have a friend in the jewelry business who helped us in making sure he got a smashingly stunning ring for her and had it sized so I could get it with enough time to know we were safe. Two wedding bands later and my dad was all set; he chose a nice tri-color hand woven band. My brother stood up for my dad and I for my mom. My SIL, nieces and O were all up there with us, too. I picked up a two tier wedding cake. Will was the videographer using my new camcorder (which I love, love, love) and a wedding it was. One of the guys who works for the business is a preacher so he performed the double ring ceremony. It was sweet and my mom was shaking. I’m glad we were all able to be a part of it and pull it off without her knowing.
Over the Christmas holiday I earned my engineering degree from the prestigious SOSC (School of Santa Clausing). Holy crap. Who knew that one tiny cheap azz kitchen would come with so many freaking screws and directions that showed only the part with a letter assigned to it and arrows pointing to where a screw should go.
2 hours and 57 minutes after we started it was done. 9000 screws but only 7 stickers. All the pieces had to be broken off and had little jagged pieces of plastic so Will spent his time shaving them off so Olivia didn’t’ slice off a finger on the refrigerator door knob. I guess maybe the more money you spend on a toy the easier it is? Maybe? I was feeling kind of lame getting her the cheapo kitchen but in the end I’m glad we did because she’s so short she can barely reach the microwave on this one and some of the others stand so much taller I’m afraid she wouldn’t be able to reach it. Besides, it’s made to fit nicely in a corner in my office/playroom (which still isn’t completely transformed. Surprise.) Santa also brought her the Dora Volkswagen Beetle. That was a snap to put together. The directions had words, pictures, were boxed off so as to eliminate any confusion and included a to-scale picture of the screw to measure by to ensure we used the right one in the right place. Thanks Power Wheels! She also got a tool set (hey, we’re and equal opportunity kind of family) and Will pointed out I bought her a nicer tool box than he has. Heh.
What we left for Santa
What Santa left for us
Gotta wash those tools
Our little extended family now includes Bitty Baby, Dana, ‘Leah (Will’s mom gave her Aleah while we were visiting on vacation), Mike (I bought him while we were waiting and his birthday is one day before hers), and Yang.
G’ma and Papa outfitted her with stroller, pack-and-play and carry seat while Mommy and Daddy geared her up with some bottles to feed her little brood. She’s such a little hoot -I told her that the “juice” needs to be in the refrigerator until the babies are hungry and she went right to her little fridge and put it in. When the babies are done she puts it back. The big downer for us is that she has been sick.
She felt warm Christmas Eve but kept right on trucking but we didn’t think much of it. Monday afternoon she was pretty clingy and ran a temp of 102.9 for the remainder of our Christmas holiday on into mid-week. She has recovered nicely and I’m on the mend – again. I had blood work done a couple of weeks ago to see if there was something that could be found as to why I’ve been so sick so often and last week they called with “abnormal results” so it’s another trip to the doctor this week to see what it could possibly be…I’m sure not much of anything but we’ll see.
Other than that, we’re still moving on at the speed of life. New Year’s was pretty bland. We ate dinner out and came home in time to tuck the little princess in and Will and I said our nite-nites and were both snoring by 9:30. Gotta love getting older but boy do we love our sleep. As a little present to us, Olivia slept until 9:15 this morning. Woo hoo!
Happy New Year!
