Chicken Noodle (9 months)

I LOVE THIS BOY!

Owen at 8 months

Time flys when you are having fun! Seriously can Owen really be 9 months old already?!? Olivia grew up fast, but not even close to how fast Owen has seemed to grow up. There are days I miss my little infant, but I love watching him grow his little personality, play and love on his big sister and have his set of "firsts." First Christmas was fun, now he had his first Valentines day, first time playing in the snow, first word ("da da" of course) and first fever. Oh and he had a third the other day.. finally his third tooth broke through! :)

My first fever :(

Owen is my little lap baby. Everyone told me boys are more cuddly than girls. Owen can be cuddly but mostly he just loves to sit on my lap and face out. He likes to play from there, read from there, relax from there, etc. He really doesn't like to be left alone, so especially if Olivia is napping or something you can find Owen in my lap or hanging on my leg. I enjoy Olivia's nap time with Owen. I was so concerned about before he was born about not having any one on one time with him. Since he naps in the morning he goes down for a nap later than Olivia (usually about 10 minutes before she wakes up), so I usually have a good two hours of just Owen/Mommy time. It is nice to just play with him and read him books or even let him play by himself while I work nearby (if he will) for a while. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I would pay a pretty penny for them to nap at exactly the same time so I could have a lengthy break, but most of the time I just enjoy to one on one moments that don't come the rest of the day. The good thing is he really, really loves Olivia (despite her efforts to use him for her personal pony.) Olivia can even tell this. When she comes up to him to play or when Owen and I get her up in the morning she always grabs his hand as he smiles really big at her and says "I THINK HE LIKES ME!" They love to play together and with the exception of monitoring some safety and Olivia taking everything from him they play independently. It is so cute to watch them when they don't know that I am watching. Makes my heart melt. He also is so protective of her already. When she gets put in time out all he wants to do is crawl over to her and sit by her when she is in trouble. Even if she is in time out for being mean to him.

I am happiest when... I'm playing with my sissy.

Some other things about Owen... he is finally starting to babble some constants. He said "dada" and "mama" and "nah nah" and I swear he said "more" the other day. He is also doing some signs (mostly more and up and maybe all done) and holding his own sippy cup. These are all big milestones to "mama".

All about Owen:

Favorites:

food: MEAT! (steak, chicken, turkey), graham crackers, oatmeal with fruit, bananas, and mashed potatoes

books: doesn't seem to have strong preferences like Olivia did, but he likes the book with kitten pictures, peek a boo baby and whatever I'm reading to Olivia.

things to do: play with Olivia, dance with mommy, crawl (really fast!), play chase or follow, play in the kids kitchen, suck on his paci, sit on someone's lap, Bath time

toys: shoes (he loves to look at them and try to chew on them), barnyard magnet toy, fisher price kitchen and usually just whatever olivia is playing with.

Dislikes:

getting diaper changed or changing clothes, getting nose wiped, being left alone in a room, being put in my exersaucer unless I'm in a REAL good mood, things that move fast in front of my face (dogs, balloons), loud noises (vaccum, hair drying, blender), most vegetables

Some of my favorite Owen moments: Dance dance parties we have in the kitchen with Olivia and Daddy. He smiles so big and laughs as I hold him and we dance to music.

Another bittersweet moment was when he was sick he was the snuggliest little snuggle bear in the world and I soaked up every moment of it.

Watching him dance while sitting on the ground bouncing his butt up and down... so funny

Watching him play and laugh with Olivia.

when he picks up things, puts them in his mouth and then crawls to where he wants to be.. example a sock or a toy he wants to move somewhere else.

Owen's nicknames right now: chicken noodle, Owen chicken noodle, handsome man, snuggle bear (olivia is snuggle bug), Owie, mister mister and Bubby.

The Not So Terrible Twos

Olivia 2 days old
Olivia 1 year oldOlivia 2 years old


Olivia is TWO!! Can you believe it?!?! I can't. Two years ago today I had just brought my brand new baby girl home from the hospital and life has never been the same. Olivia was born February 8, 2009 weighing 7lbs 12oz and 20inches long. She was the most precious thing I had ever laid eyes on. Seriously! These past two years have challenged me, changed me, helped me grow spiritually and uplifted me more than I probably did the in the previous 10 years.
Olivia today is a beautiful, smart, happy, hilarious and wild little girl. She has the vocabulary of a10 year old and says some pretty funny stuff. (Example today.. "Mommy, I have my green froggy boots on, I go jump in the rain.. (while jumping) ribbit, ribbit") Also she has started singing more and more and every now and then busts out an Olivia rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday or Sunny Days (Sesame Street.) It is a definite favorite Olivia moment when she is singing something. Olivia is a high energy child and is always getting into something. The beginning of the winter was really tough because when the weather is nice(r) we are usually always outside for a part of the day and with winter here we have been inside without the space for running and burning off some energy. She is starting to adjust to this better though. The beginning of the winter I swore I was going to find her hanging off the ceiling fan if I didn't get her outside for a little bit. I have struggled this winter finding appropriate gross motor activities for her to do that are age appropriate. Indoor play lands/playgrounds are too big for her to navigate independently. We have gone over to the church gym just to run around some and that has helped. She likes to push Owen in the stroller. Speaking of Owen... Olivia and Owen are really playing together great these days. This makes me soooo happy. The other day I actually sat on the couch in the playroom and read a magazine while they played in the ballpit and the kitchen together. It was amazing! I think I only had to intervene a couple time to tell Olivia to quit sitting on her brother and "No Owen is not a horsey, please get off his back."
Another milestone Olivia has accomplished (not by her choice) is the paci is gone as of last week. Olivia was chewing large holes in them and trying to eat the plastic so it had to go.. cold turkey. It has been tough, but not as bad as it could have gone I suppose. We have had a couple of really bad evenings and then other evenings she asks for it, crys for a minute and then gets over it. Someone said on my facebook wall today that she thinks bedtime is going to be tough till they go to college and don't sleep anymore and you know what.. I think she is right. I think bedtime is tough for some kids more than others and my kids seem to have a particular aversion to sleep, so bedtime will probably always be tough. The sooner I accept this, it probably won't be so tough anymore because I just know.. it is going to be tough. (Did that make any sense.. it did to me in my head anyways)
Well, Olivia's birthday was Tuesday and we celebrated by putting on her birthday dress and going to Flap Jacks (this is what we did last year too). She ordered pancakes of course, but for a special treat I let her get strawberry pancakes! She loved them, but still wanted "surpert" (syrup) too. Then we (Sam, me, Olivia and Owen) went to Buy Buy Baby and bought her a new bathing suit. She came home and wanted to put it on, but then was very upset we weren't going swimming. That evening we (Me, Olivia and Owen) hung out with her Grand Poo-Bah (Great Grandpa Kindler) because he had fallen in his house and needed some company that night. Then Aunt Jan stopped by before bed and brought a little cake, so we had that for a bedtime snack.
Here are some more Olivia fun facts I want to remember about her at the age of two: Favorite cartoon- Sesame Street, favorite character.. she says Bert, but it is probably actually Elmo. She likes "Super Grover" too. Favorite foods: cheese, yogurt, milk, graham crackers, apples, bananas, oatmeal, pancakes. Favorite toys: kitchen(bringing you food), ball pit, hats, shoes and dressing up, coloring, play-doh and her roll and play game. Favorite comfort item: Up until last week the paci, now her stuffed monkey and stuffed polar bear Favorite books: Grouchy LadyBug, Monster at the End of the Book, Olivia books, When Will Spring Be Here, and Wonder Pets book.

Happy Birthday to my Princess, Peanut, Pumpkin Pie!
More on Owen next time!

2010 is in the Books

I welcome 2011 with open arms! I have been so blessed the past few years and Sam and I have had MANY MANY life changes. In the past five years we have been engaged, I have finished my masters, we got married, moved to Texas, moved to Georgia, moved back to Indiana, both of us have gotten new careers, we have had two beautiful babies, and bought a house. Although these are wonderful years I kinda hope this year is "boring." (As boring as it can be with two babies/toddlers in the house.) I have made some New Years Goals this year. I'm calling them goals because its a work in progress and not something like "quitting smoking" where you either do or you don't. I also have some ideas about how I'm going to achieve these goals.
New Year's Goals: 1. To eat less process, packaged and pre-made food. - Cook ahead and freeze meals so when I don't have time to cook I have some stuff to eat that isn't a bag o meal, or take out. - Expand and devote more attention to my garden this year. - Have a couple good "go to meals" with supplies that are usually on hand at home. 2. To challenge and inspire my children. - Follow a better schedule to their day - Be more patient with them (especially Olivia) - Provide an environment that encourages creativity. - Minimize the time the television is on during the day especially on my days off. 3. Make more money then we spend this year. - Follow a budget - Attend and learn from FDU - Research ways to cut costs - Don't buy stuff we don't need, if we do need it can it be bought used. -Discovery Toys business I'm writing these down and telling the blogging world because with that comes some accountability. Now on to the kiddos.. this blog is really about them anyways. :) Olivia (23 months!!)
I really can't believe I almost have a two year old! HOLY COW! I remember vividly the day (moment) I realized I didn't have a baby anymore I had a toddler and about a week and a half ago I realized she really isn't a toddler anymore she is a two year old! Olivia is doing so great. She is so incredibly smart and amazes me everyday with her sponge of a brain and the stuff she picks up. Some of my favorite things about her right now is her hilariousness (is that even a word.) Seriously she is so funny. She says the craziest stuff. For instance... today at my parents house she picked up a cat toy and was holding in front of my parent's door saying "her kitty, come play with this" (you may not see the humor in this, but my parents have the meanest cat EVER and there wasn't a chance in heck that cat was going to be fooled into playing with that cat toy). Also last night Sam asked her if she like daddy's beard and she says " I don't know, It's your choice." She loved Christmas this year. Every time we past lights while driving she would say "look mommy.. lights!" (over and over again like it was the first time she had seen them) She cried about only being able to do the advent calendar once every single day. She sat on Santa's lap with a bunch of hesitation and only a couple tears. On Christmas morning when we were opening presents she was say "WHAT IS IT??? LET'S CHECK IT OUT!" All in all, it was a really great December and she really makes Christmas fun. The pure and innocent excitement that she brings just melts your heart. Some other Olivia tid bits to remember... She is potty training right now.. it is going OK. I'm not really pushing it and I really hate potty training. It is so annoying. I'll be in the middle of feeding Owen, she says she has to go. I take her and in the processes make him mad and then she doesn't go. So far least favorite "parenthood" task by far. She loves music and know a bunch of songs. The other day I found her singing "Wheels on the Bus" to herself in her bedroom mirror. So cute. Also she will just start blurting out "SUNNY DAYS..." out of no where. (She is on a Sesame Street kick right now and I'm not complaining.. so much better than most of those Nick Jr. cartoons). Owen (7 1/2 months)
Owen's first Christmas was kinda a bummer. He started puking everywhere Saturday afternoon. It resided a little bit and then started back up that evening. It was pretty scary for Mommy since Sam was at work and he wasn't keeping anything down. He finally started keeping some PediLight down 1/2 ounce at a time and mommy slept on his bedroom floor. We left early from two Christmas' and didn't go to one of them. We also spread our germs around the family a little bit too. :( Luckily though he bounced back quickly. Owen was kinda oblivious to the whole Christmas routine, but is enjoying his new toys. He did like the tree and lights too. I think he knew it was a fun and exciting time, but adding not feeling well to the whole mix he just stayed pretty close to my lap and watched. Some new things Owen is doing are some cruising on the couch, turning pages of a book, imitating things like I bang on a lid then he bangs on a lid, bouncing and rocking when something is playing music and I THINK he is waving bye bye. (That is kinda hit or miss). He isn't saying much yet, no constants, just vowels but overall he is a quieter baby than Olivia ever was. He is pretty attached to me and likes to just sit on my lap and observe the world as it goes by. :)
It has been so nice to be home with them the past two weeks, but he may have a rough week with me headed back to work. We also have a new babysitter starting on Thursday afternoons. So 2011 begins with lots of new changes, but I can't wait to see what the year brings. All I ask for is health and happiness!

Milestones (Olivia 21 months, Owen 6 months)

Happy Turkey Day!



I haven't really been in the blogging mood recently, but I figured I better get some things written down before
A. I forget
B. The holidays come and there is so much to write I feel overwhelmed

I'm not sure why I haven't been in the blogging mood.. there has been so much to document! Lots of milestones have been met in the past month and a half, especially for Owen. Let's start with him this time.

Owen 6 months 17lbs 4.5oz
Owen is now mobile. He started sitting up on his own and crawling at 5 1/2 month (on the same day)!! Yikes I was NOT ready for two mobile kids. Olivia sat up for awhile before she crawled so I was in shock when those things both happened on the same day. I am back to having to sweep daily because he is moving from room to room now and putting everything in his mouth of course. Today he got the paper to a crayon. (Olivia immediately pulls the paper off every crayon for some reason) On top of that he has officially as of today two teeth. I keep hoping this means he will start sleeping better at night, but I'm not holding my breath. His sleeping habits right now consist of to bed around 8:30 or 9:00, up at 11:25, up between 2 and 3 and up at 5:45 then up for the morning around 8:00. I have been trying to limit my feeding of him to the 2am and the 5:45, but lately he wants to eat at 11:45 too. He just gets so mad and even if he goes back to sleep if I haven't fed him then he is up a half and hour later anyways. It just isn't worth a battle at this point. Owen has also started eating solid foods.. some he has tried.. rice cereal, peas, carrots, green beans, butternut squash. He wasn't really a fan of the green beans, but everything else he seems to like. He really just wants whatever you are eating and crawls FAST to get it. We have had a Owen attack on Olivia's eggs and toast and another attack on Sam and my wings. :) Here are some other fun facts about Owen.
Likes:
to be with mommy and to be carried
his sister making him laugh
when I smell he feet and say "shoo!" (this was a laughing fit that me laugh so hard I cried!)
Baby Mum Mums
waking up in the morning (I know when he is ready to be up for good because he wakes up so happy then.)
pulling hair
paci

Dislikes:
Being left alone in a room
green beans
not being fed when he wakes up at night
getting his nose wiped or sucked

Favorite Owen moments:
*when he wakes up from a nap or in the morning he peers his eyes over the edge of his bumper in the crib and it is just so gosh darn cute. I play peek a boo with him and he thinks it is so funny! Playing our good morning peek-a-boo game Look mommy I can pull up too!

*taking a nap together on the couch
*watching him play with his sister

Olivia (21 months)
Olivia has hit some milestones too. She now has all her baby teeth. She also has started Operation Phase out Paci. This is a huge step because she is pretty attached to her pacifier. Step one is just to limit her paci to her bed and the car. She has done pretty well with this. We catch her sometimes hiding out with one she has stolen from Owen or her secret stash around the house.
Olivia is also talking up a storm and absorbing everything she sees and hears. It amazes me sometimes the things she knows. She is talking up a storm in full sentences and about 70% intelligibility. Funny story, in church on Sunday she was talking the nursery workers and they were amazed at the clarity of her speech. She was telling them "I want music" "I want to play" etc. Well one of the nursery workers asked the other one if they knew how old she was and Olivia answered "20 month". Clear as day. They asked if I had taught her that and I had not. I guess she just picked up on it, but how funny is that! 20 months. ha! (She is a month off though.. I wont tell her.) She knows her animals, some letters, some counting (I think she has counting to three down since she hears me count to three with her about a hundred times a day.) Our biggest struggle with her is behavior. She just does not listen yet or follow much direction. Things like drumsticks have to be hidden because she is still in this hitting phase too. We try and be consistent with time outs, but she gets up a lot and sometimes I just can't keep on it with Owen needing my attention or fed or cared for, so she gets put in her crib for a time out. I really would rather not use that for discipline, but at times I just have no choice. I swapped a book Toddlerwise that a friend recommended so I hope that helps me with some consistent approaches with her. Another struggle with her is independent playing. She really requires me to be playing with her a lot. There are days she does better than others, but some days it is full on melt down if I have other things to do around the house or have to take care of Owen "put Owa down Mommy" and can't play with her. I enjoy playing with her, especially now that we can branch out from some of the "baby" toys and do things like color or play pretend kitchen. One final milestone is Olivia has begun potty training. When I say begun I mean if she requests it we take her there and let her try and if she does she gets candy corn. She asks maybe once a day, usually because she wants candy corn.
Some things about Olivia
Likes:
coloring
bath/shower time
running- She has the funniest, cutest little run ever! You should see her butt wiggle!
mac and cheese "Bawee I love mac and cheese"
Hats
candy corn
breakfast
pretending to sleep- this is a daily game
Olivia tooting on the toilet and telling Sam that she pooped and wanted candy corn! (if this is TMI sorry.. but it is too cute not to write down and remember)
Olivia <3's Bathtime "go swimming"
Dislikes:
getting ready to go anywhere- its a long process to get her dressed and out of the house because she runs away from you after each step of the process
getting her paci taken away
having to play by herself
having to eat anything besides whatever she likes best on the plate

We seem to be settling into a routine over here and the craziness of the summer has subsided a little bit. I don't really know how the people out there who have clean houses and their kids are always dressed nicely and they are always dressed nicely and they are on time to everything do it. As I was packing the kids in the car today to go out I realized Olivia had Owen's paci and Owen had Olivia's paci and Owen's socks didn't match at all and I was sure I had forgotten something critical. Oh well..

My Little People

Olivia (20 months) I can't believe Olivia is going to be 2 in four months! WOW! Seriously that's crazy! She is getting so big and smart. (And with smart comes sneaky!) She is everywhere and into everything. Nothing is safe! :) As a matter of fact if you leave a pen for her to find within minutes she will have written all over the bottoms of her feet, maybe legs and arms too if they are exposed and any paper or solid object near by. She is also a climber so on top of the table or desk is NOT a safe place. Other things that are not safe around her are 90% full bottles of garlic salt. This will become a self created, in house "sand table" for her to play in until someone notices. She is also repeating everything you say these days so also not safe is any language you wouldn't want her to repeat in her christian based PDO class. HA! The ability for Olivia to communicate is a blessing and a added challenge. Her frustration level most of the time is decreased because she can let us know exactly what she wants (and it is an exactly), but if she can't have it.. well lets just say we have our fair share of "meltdowns" around here. (They are kinda funny at times though.. she puts on some good shows.) Other than that we are working on saying "please" and "thank you" rather that "I want that" or "I want juice" or "I want moose" (a.ka. cartoons). She also always wants "meeks" (music) on in the car. Her music, the Toddler Tunes CD or Laurie Berkner on my IPOD. I miss listening to my station, but I figure it will only get worse so enjoy "kookaburra" while I can. All in all, Olivia is doing great. She knows who is in her family, her colors, animals and is beginning to learn songs. I can start singing Mary had a... and she will sing the rest of the line and so on.
Olivia's Favorites:
Books
- If You Give A Mouse a Cookie ("mouse cookie")
-Olivia series ("EEAA")
-At the Zoo Sesame Street
-Hug Book
Songs
-I'm going to Catch You ("I chech you")
-Mary Had A Little Lamb ("mary went")
Food
-cheese
-animal cookies
-Cheerios (O's)
Favorite Nickname of the Moment: Livy Lou
She also loves to hug, be rocked, play with Owen, play outside, kick balls, play with her dolls and take whatever Owen might be interested in at the moment. I figure that last one will be a long term thing.
Love this little girl, she makes me laugh every day and some days makes me a little crazy too!


Owen (5 months) My little man is trying to crawl! Can you believe that?!?! He is up on all fours and rocking away. He scoots and rolls around the room. I am soooo not prepared to have two mobile children in the house. Some of Olivia's smaller toys may need to be put up for awhile. He still doesn't have those graded movements you need to sit up by yourself. He tend to jerk himself back when I'm holding him sitting up. He does like his exersaucer for short periods of time. I have started giving him some rice cereal most evenings. He seems pretty apathetic about it. He will eat it, but it isn't with the intention and desire that Olivia displayed when she was first introduced to food other than milk. Owen's ability to sleep at night has regressed! When he was two months old he was getting up once at night around 3. Now he goes to sleep about 9, gets up at midnight, 2:30 and 5:30 and then for good around 7:30 or 8:00. There are even times when he likes to have a party around 5:00am. I'm not a fan of these parties. :/ Someone needs to let him know that at 5 months he is welcome to start sleeping through the night. (Although Olivia was 13 months before she started to somewhat consistently sleep through the night) Owen for the most part is a happy little baby except.. when he is in the car. That boy HATES the carseat, the car and everything in between. Poor little man. We may try and get him a different car seat to see if it helps, but I really think he hates being semi reclined. I think it is that in between laying down and sitting up proprioceptive feeling of falling. He can't seem to get use to it and realize he is ok and relax. In the tub he is semi reclined and he doesn't freak out like in the car seat, but he is always still trying to sit up. (Little guy doesn't realize he can't sit up by himself yet apparently). He and Olivia are getting along great. He thinks she is the cat's pajamas and can really do no wrong. She will waller him to the point I'm afraid she is hurting him and he just laughs and laughs. He can not wait to be able to "play" with her!
Owen's Favorites:
tummy time with some toys to put in his mouth
Olivia's attention
Being talked to
Being carried my me in his sling
laying in bed with mommy in the morning
Owen's Dislikes:
Car seat/car
Being left alone in a room
Clothes being pulled over his head
Olivia's bath time (that goes along with being left alone)
Nickname of the moment: "Mister Mister"

So grateful and blessed for my two happy, healthy children! The pictures on this page were taken by my dear friend Holly (www.olliefern.com). I know this post is 5 months and 20 months, but the pictures are actually 4 months and 19 months. Just so ya know. :)

Owen Goes on Vacation

Not many four month old kiddos can say they have had dinner on Bourbon St. We hope he isn't bragging about it at the nursery in church. :) Owen had his first (and like I told him probably only) vacation with only mom, dad and him.
Sam had a buddy getting married down in Lafayette, Louisiana so we decided to head down there for the big day and then make a little mini vacay out of it and go see New Orleans. The thought of having two kids at this evening full catholic mass wedding was just not logical, so we made the tough decision to leave Olivia at home with Mamu and Papu. (More to come on this adventure in a later blog). This was a very hard decision for me. Olivia stayed with them when Owen was born and one other random overnighter, but otherwise has stuck close to home. Looking back it was the right decision and worked out just fine, but I missed her like crazy and I don't want to go on anymore vacations without her for a while. Sooo.. we dropped her off Wednesday night at bedtime and I cried all the way home because as I left she was crying "go home" "go home". (Per my mom this lasted like 30 seconds and then was distracted by going on a yard walk with my dad, but still.. the last thing you see and hear...) Thursday morning we were up bright and early to go catch our plane. I was nervous to fly with Owen. Olivia flew when she was about 8 months old and I'm pretty sure the girl that sat next to us on our first flight has that on her top 5 worst flights ever list. Owen did GREAT! Seriously, best baby ever award for him.
We flew to Memphis and then on to Lafayette and he slept on both flights. Nursing him on the plane was a bit of a challenge because he can't stand when I put a cover over his head when he is nursing, but I sat next to the window and oh well.. people will get over it, the baby has to eat. When we got to Lafayette and got in our hotel we went to get some lunch (PoBoy sandwiches), buy a wedding present and then take a much needed nap. Owen is along for the ride whatever we do.
Our one and really only major challenge with him is he HATES the carseat. Seriously I thought babies were suppose to sleep in the car. Not him, he screams. So whenever we are out to eat or in a store I carry him in my sling or we hold him. I got a new sling before this trip and let me tell you. I LOVE IT! Sweet Pea Ring Sling in case anyone is interested. I liked my moby, but this is so much easier and better. Owen likes it better too. He doesn't even mind that it is purple. :)
That night was the rehearsal dinner. This was a long event and eventually Owen and I just had to leave it because it was getting too late. Sam stayed and went out with his buddy. Owen and I had some relaxing hotel time, I read my book and late to bed for both Owen and I. Hanging out in the hotel room after the rehearsal dinner

Friday was wedding day, but like I mentioned earlier the wedding wasn't until 7:00. So we had all day of nothingness. It was so nice! We had a relaxing breakfast, read our books, workout, took naps, went out to lunch and checked out an "oldtime" village. It has been a LONG time since I could just lay around all day, read a book of choice and relax. That does not happen in our house anymore for some obvious reasons. I think Owen was jet lagged because he took three long naps that day. The wedding was nice. Beautiful little campus church, LONG catholic mass (Owen and I watched from another room) and nice reception. We danced with Owen in his sling while he slept. Even through the loud music. In my "Sunday Best" for the wedding... finding cute little boy clothes for the wedding was hard!

Saturday we headed to New Orleans. I have never been there. Sam went there to watch a Saints game when he was stationed in Louisiana getting ready to deploy to Iraq. I didn't know what to expect with Katrina and an oil spill in the news. Honestly I was pleasantly surprised that A. the only sign of Katrina I saw was miles of dead trees trunks as we were driving in and no obvious damage from an oil spill.
B. No one talked about either one except for a few "FUBP" shirts for sale.
We got right to the sight seeing and went to ACME Oyster house for lunch (Janelle vs. Food) and the WWII museum. I walked all over New Orleans with Owen in his sling and he loved it. I hated all the smoking though. Everyone was smoking everywhere, even in restaurants. YUCK. For dinner we ate on a second story balcony restaurant overlooking Bourbon St. Food.. ok. View.. interesting. I ordered BBQ ed shrimp. It was THE WHOLE SHRIMP.. eyeballs and all. I was pretty grossed out by it and I tried to get over it, but I just couldn't. Owen liked the lemon we let him suck on. Riding in the trolley, watching the scene, on our way to the WWII museum

Sunday I was really home sick and wished our flight didn't leave so late. Not to mention we were going to miss the Colts game while we were flying. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do about it so we opted for the late check out and went out in search of beignets. We walked forever and it was super super hot. I had to take Owen out of the sling it was so hot. When we got there (Cafe du Mode) there was a long line in the sun. My thought was this is ridiculous, but we had walked so far to get there. The line moved fast and let me tell you.. it was SO worth it! Those were the best pastry I have ever had. DELICIOUS! I wouldn't go to New Orleans without going there. Owen wasn't too thrilled when we got there (he was hot), but we gave him some water and then when we were done there was a park across the street and we walked over there and I fed him. All better now! Giving Owen some water at Cafe du Mode... we were all TOO hot!

We did some shopping and bought Olivia a "chomp chomp" (alligator). This is her new favorite toy to chase the cats around the house with now. We checked out of our hotel, but still had some time to kill so we ate a nice lunch and headed to the airport to watch some football. Unfortunately the New Orleans airport stinks and there was nowhere to watch the game. Owen had also developed a bit of a cold and the first airplane ride was a little rough. He wanted to nurse, but he couldn't breathe and the pressure from taking off was hurting his ears, but then he fell asleep and literally didn't wake up until we were back in Indiana (including sleeping through the Atlanta airport. I was too afraid to move him so I held him for about 4 straight hours. (Too good of an arm workout).
That night I went to sleep about 1:30, Olivia woke up around 2:15 and was up until about 3:30. Owen woke up at 4:00 and my alarm went off at 5:30 to go to work on Monday.
Overall, a nice little vacation, but glad to be home.
Napping at the airport before we head home. Not feeling too hot. My little man has a cold. :(

My Great Privilege

Well we have an almost 19 month old and a 3 1/2 month old in the house now. Things are slowly but surely getting easier.. I think. I'm starting to get into a zone while I'm taking care of them especially during busy times like meals and bedtime. The other day I cut my toe pretty bad and didn't even realize it until about a half and hour later when I saw it was bleeding because I was so focused on making dinner, getting Olivia fed and keeping Owen happy in the process. Now that is concentration because once I realized I had cut my toe and it was bleeding.. DANG did it hurt.
I have started back at work part time again. Right now I am working 2 to 2 1/2 days a week. It has been a little easier going back to work with Owen than it was with Olivia I think for a couple of reasons. #1 He was 4 weeks older than Olivia was when I had to go back #2 He is an easier baby for the most part, so I don't feel like I'm leaving someone else to watch over my screaming, not sleeping child (Love you Olivia but you were a hand full in those early months for sure!) #3 Sam has moved to a four 10 hour shift so he is home all day with them on Mondays. Don't get me wrong.. it was still hard and I miss both of them like crazy when I'm gone, but luckily or unluckily work has been so crazy busy I really haven't had time to think about much except how am I going to squeeze in a chance to pump today.
So Sam is home with them all day on Monday. This is going well I think. He really has some special bond with both the kids and I contribute his Mr. Mom duties to some of that. (Not that he wouldn't if he didn't stay home with them, but I think it has been great for them, him and for me.) Olivia really only wants Daddy in the mornings because they have their little routine (juice and cartoons on the couch) and Sam is the best at getting Owen to smile.
Here is a little bit about each kiddo in the past month or so:
Olivia (1 week shy of 19 months) Olivia is doing well. She has started a PDO program once a week. My hope for this was to get her out of the house and exposed to some more kids, music, games and help with the separation anxiety that we encountered weekly at church in the nursery. She better than I thought she would on her first day. I did get a phone call about her being upset around lunch time, but they were able to pull her through with a paci, blanket and some adult attention. I am MOST impressed that she napped unrestrained though! Getting her to sleep out of her crib or car seat is quite an impressive victory. I think this will be really good for her. I sat around for a couple hours just waiting and wanting to go pick her up until I finally decided to go walk around Wal-mart with Owen just to keep myself from going crazy. This was a big letting go moment for me as much as it was for her. I prayed and prayed and talked and talked about if this was the right decision for her (to go or not to go), but I think it will be good. It is just weird for her to be with people I don't know and not really know what she is doing all day. Some other funnys about Olivia recently. She is referring to herself and "you." I'm guessing because we are always saying "It's you" or "I love YOU". If she sees a picture of herself and you ask her who it is she says "you." I think this is too funny and cute but to avoid years of speech therapy I have started correcting her. (But this is a really hard concept for kids I think). Also one thing that has just blossomed over the past couple months is her pretend play. She is always taking care of her babies. One really funny story is one day I was rocking Owen in the rocking chair in her room and she was in there playing with her babies and not really paying attention to me at all. She had recently fallen and busted up her chin so I had some of this Burts Bees stuff out I put on her scraps to help them heal. She had found the stick of ointment and was saying "boo boo.. boo boo" and rubbing it on her babies head. I though.. ohhh how sweet is THAT! Then... she took her baby by the foot and beat the baby doll against the wall a couple times then said "boo boo... boo boo" and proceeded to rub the ointment on the dolls head again. I about fell out of the chair silently laughing because I didn't want her to know I was watching her. Oh Olivia.. you my child are something else! Olivia in nutshell: Olivia likes... music (singing EIEIO a hundred times a day along with Laurie Berkner) dolls, playing outside, bubbles, cookies, Nick Jr (especially the Moose), Elmo, fruit (especially blueberries and bananas), cheese, chasing the cats, being naked, neigh neigh rides on daddy's back and jumping. Olivia dislikes... coming inside from playing outside, time out, things ending, being left somewhere (aka nursery), getting her diaper changed and pickles.
Owen (3 1/2 months) Owen is doing great. He is sweet happy little boy. He really isn't at the stage where you have funny stories yet, but he loves to watch Olivia and be in the action. My day with him usually involves a lot of feeding, snuggling, tummy time, and naps. (If I'm REALLY lucky they nap at the same time or at least overlap for a hour or so.) He is getting use to being watched by other people. Since I was home with him all summer this is been a bit challenging. I think he gave my grandma a run for her money the other day. Day times are the best for him and after 6 don't plan on putting him down and after 8 be prepared for lots of rocking. This can vary depending on how he has slept that day. One day he takes great naps and then next he struggles with it. He is generally taking a morning and afternoon nap and then a quick evening one. When he wakes up after the evening on he is generally pretty demanding until bed time. He hasn't been weighed recently so I'm looking forward to his four month appointment to see exactly how much he weighs. Owen in a nutshell: Owen likes... to be held facing out so he can see the world, tummy time with his toys (this is the best way to put him down), boobs and bottles (he likes to eat!), peek-a-boo, black and white pictures (or other highly contrasting images), Olivia (he loves to watch her), sitting up, bumbo seat, being carried in the Moby Wrap. Owen dislikes... the car seat (he HATES it.. this makes for some long car rides), pacifiers (despite my best efforts and purchasing of every different kind I could find), napping sometimes, being left alone in a room, anything that semi reclines him.. he really wants to sit up all the time, milk in mommy's diet (still), and loud noises.
Well, this is the latest update from our household. At church on Sunday the preacher said something that I have heard before in different forms, but really always sticks with me and I like to be reminded... "Great privilege has great responsibility" and I truly believe that it is a great privilege to be given these children and I am embracing this GREAT responsibility of raising them.