It's what we do best...

Sweet baby...kisses for Nana!

Helllooo? Anyone there?

Getting started on the computer early!

Daddy went to Derrick's this morning to help with the garage, which allowed Mommy and Olivia to do two things we do best...eating and shopping! We met Nana, Paw Paw, Doc, Bev (Marc's parents) and Beth (step sister) for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, and boy did we have a great time. Olivia was so good as always and I never have to hesitate to take her to a restaurant for fear that she will act up or be so fussy that we would have to leave. I know I am a little bias, but she always does great. And, Nana was a big help too! You certainly can't tell from the pictures that she loves her Nana...sorry no pictures of the rest of the gang today for some reason!? After lunch, the girls went shopping and the boys headed back home. The girls were shopping for the big wedding day coming up in Florida (Adam/Sarah - step brother)!! We all had a great time, and it was a very successful shopping day! After we got back to Nana's, Daddy called and we met him at Derrick and Angie's, so we got to see Miss Stella again. She is definitely getting bigger as well, and it was great to get to spend some time with her. Miss Olivia did not want to sleep in the pack 'n play for some reason, so we couldn't stay too long. But, had fun nonetheless! It was quite a busy day and Olivia was exhausted!

Getting better!!

I took a few more pictures tonight of Olivia's eye..this is Day Four and it looks great! It has started looking a little more green, but hasn't even moved below her eye yet? Like I mentioned before, she looks like she's hurting, huh!?

More Funny Faces!

The partial look!

Cheesy lips!

Are you kidding me!?

Olivia was home with Mommy today and as she was eating lunch, I got the faces again! It had been a long time, so she was pretty excited about it!

The Big Day

We were up early this morning for Olivia's surgery. As you know, she was having the cyst removed from behind her ear today. We were lucky and had an early appointment, so hopefully we could get in and get out....didn't quite happen that way, but overall it went well. We left early, and tried to keep Olivia occupied cause she was going to have to skip breakfast this morning. As most of you know...she hasn't missed too many meals since she's been born! We bascially had the car packed up and ready to go before waking her up cause we wanted to get her in the car right away. We thought we might be the first ones there, but the place was packed when we got there. Apparently, we found out later there were 19 kids appointments that day! So, we checked in and then played the waiting game. We waited for about 45 minutes in the lobby, even before going into the prep room. So, we walked all over the place, played in the play room, went outside by the waterfall, and just about anything else we could think of to do. She didn't seem to be worried about not eating because she was so curious about everything else around her. One good benefit of being nosy like Mommy I guess! Once they called us back, we went to the prep room and that is where it finally hit her that something was going on. The nurse came in and wanted to measure her, take her temperature, get her in her gown, etc. and she didn't want any part of that. I started getting a little panicked that this wasn't going to be fun, and then all of a sudden another nurse came in with a lifesaver...bubbles!! She heard Olivia whining a little, and that saved the day. After that, she didn't care what the other lady did, as long as she kept the bubbles coming. So, once she was done, it was just the three of us for the next two hours...yes, two hours!!! However, lucky for us, it was about Olivia's usual nap time, so believe it or not, she slept for about an hour and a half!!! I was shocked and amazed...and thankful that she did so well. Not to mention, having her sleep in my arms for that amount of time was fabulous for Mommy too! The surgeon actually came in during that time too to talk with us and explain what was going to happen...and Olivia slept through that. He even marked on her head where he was going to cut, etc. It was crazy, but Mommy was glad he didn't come in and scare her! So, it was finally time and yet another nurse came to get her. She asked if I wanted to walk her down the hall...duh...of course I did! I did great until right about then...I had to pass her off to the nurse and did get a few tears at that time, but I was actually proud of myself. I didn't do too bad, and she didn't cry for me when we left cause the nurse occupied her with something! So far, so good. We went to the waiting room and to keep my mind busy, I made a few calls for work and shortly after it seemed, the doctor was out! He said everything went great and after seeing the cyst he was almost 99% sure that it was his original thought...a dermoid cyst. He didn't tell us much more than that, and it was all over. The actual procedure only took about a half hour, and it surprisingly seemed to go by quick! The nurse let us know she was in the recovery room, and that she was starting to wake up. It was only a few minutes and I was able to go back. Because they were so busy, Daddy wasn't able to come, but it was only a few more minutes and he came to the next room. As soon as I saw her, that's when the most tears came. I wasn't terrible, but just couldn't get her in my arms fast enough. She still had the IV in her foot, so I had to be careful, but just wanted to hold her. As I walked up, she had her little head on the nurse's shoulder and was just whining a little bit as she was waking up. She handed her over and all was well. She whined a little more, but just layed on my chest, which I absolutely needed. We were only there a few minutes and they wheeled us into the next room where Daddy was able to meet us. She started getting a little fussy again when the nurse was messing with her, but we were ready. We knew she was hungry so we had her food and drink ready to go. Boy, did that hit the spot. Daddy couldn't get it in fast enough, and even though the nurse had to remove the IV and take off the bandages, etc. she did good. As long as the food was in front of her at all times, she kept her mind off everything else that was going on. I wasn't quite sure what it was going to look like, but you could barely even tell anything happened. They put in the absorbable stitches, and covered it with a little strip and that was it. Her hair covered that, so you really did not see anything. It was amazing, and just like that was all over. It didn't bother her one little bit...she is so resilient. You could obviously tell she was exhausted, but it didn't phase her. We stayed there for a while before the nurses told us we could leave, and we were headed home. We got home about noon, fed her a little more and she took about a two hour nap. Then, she woke up and never skipped a beat...it was just like any other day! Amazing!!! What a little trooper!!!

Waiting, waiting, waiting

We went outside to walk around, just trying to pass the time. At this point, we hadn't even made it to the prep room (which is where we had to wait two hours)! There was a little waterfall which Olivia just loved. In fact, she loves being outside in general, as you can see from the pictures!

Big Chair

Let me out of here Mommy!

Bubbles..the miracle cure!

Keep 'em coming lady!

Get 'em Daddy!

Of course, she had to have some of her own!

As soon as we got into the prep room, Olivia was getting a little restless. She was tired and hungry so was starting to get a little annoyed with the nurses trying to measure her, poke her, attach stuff to her, etc. So, she started getting fussy and it didn't take long for one of the other nurses to come in and save the day...with bubbles! Who would have thought!? She blew them at her one time and that was it...she was hooked and didn't have a care in the world! So, we were pretty impressed with that!

Getting prepped..

She definitely didn't like them touching her and attaching things to her toes!

Let me first say that I asked the nurses about whether other Moms take pictures, and she said absolutely. So, I'm not the only crazy mother with a camera! This was a big day for Olivia..and Mommy..so we have to capture it on film! This was Olivia's attempt to make everyone feel sorry for her so she didn't have to go through with it! Look at that sweet little face!!

Trying to keep ourselves occupied

Peeking around the door at the nurses...who's out there!?

After her nap, we still had a few minutes to go, so we had to keep busy and not think about eating!!!

Post-surgery

This is not the most attractive picture of Miss Olivia, but this was how she looked immediately after surgery (this was actually the best one we got). They had taken her gown off and she had nothing on but her diaper and a warm blanket?? Not sure why they did that, but who am I to judge. The only thing she wanted at this time was to eat...and go home!!

Driving home...such a rough day!

Too tired to do anything...so sleepy!

Well, it's only Tuesday and boy have we had a rough couple of days! As you can see, Olivia was exhausted on the way home from the Surgery Center. Sweet Baby!!

Our first boo boo...

Excuse the slobber...but this was taken right after Olivia and Mommy got home. It was lunch time and as you can see, she wasn't thinking about anything else!

Can't you just tell how much pain she is in! :-)

This was at the doctor's...lunch was a little messy so we had to change clothes.

This was taken at dinner that night...notice again how bad she is hurting!

Well, ever since Olivia has learned to climb the stairs, we have been worried cause she hasn't learned to get back down them just yet. So, it was just a matter of time before she took a tumble...and today was that day! Kathy called me at work this morning right after it happened (unfortunately, I didn't get my voicemail until later), and just wanted me to be aware that she fell down a few steps, but seemed to be doing just fine. She had a bruise on her head immediately and a little goose egg, but otherwise it didn't seem to phase her. My first thought was that she would have cried so hard that she may have held her breath again...so, good thing that didn't happen too. Kathy may have asked that we don't bring her back! :-) She ate breakfast okay, and didn't seem to skip a beat. Then, just as usual, she went down for a nap just fine and Kathy said she checked on her every few minutes, just to be sure she seemed okay (we love that about her...very observant, and exactly what Mommy would do)! :-) So, when she got up from her nap, the swelling had moved from the bump down to her eye and it was about half swollen shut and already started to turn a little black and blue. So, Kathy started getting a little more worried about it and called again just to see if we could get the doctor to take a look. Not to mention she was scheduled for her surgery tomorrow, so we just wanted to make sure everything was still okay to proceed. So, I called the doctor on my way home and they were able to get her in. I was anticipating and bracing myself for seeing her with a swollen eye (her first big boo boo), and was pleasantly surprised. It was definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong...it was tough for Mommy to see...but I was expecting a lot worse. I was more worried about Kathy and making sure she was okay, cause as soon as I walked in, I knew Olivia was fine! It really didn't impact her at all...she was running and playing with the kids just as she does every day! So, I gave Kathy a big hug and made sure she was okay! :-) The fact that she was so worried and sincerely upset just reassured the fact that we love bringing Olivia there! She is certainly treated like one of her own kids, and we are so appreciative! I reassured her that Olivia has made it up a few steps before I could get to her at our house as well, so it was really just a matter of time. The doctor said she was just fine and had nothing to worry about. He did say it would look worse before it got better, so just be prepared for that. And so it begins..the first of many boo boo's!!! :-)

It's Official!

Olivia's first tooth actually broke the skin today! We knew it was right there and thought we flet it before, but it is official today! You can even hear it on the spoon when she eats! She has been drooling up a storm lately, and playing with it with her tongue. So, it is finally here. We're still debating whether it it both on the bottom or just the one. Yeah...hopefully she'll get all of them right away and we can be done with it! :-) Yeah..thumbs up Mommy!

What a nice day!

Let's go! Let's go!

This morning, the girls went to the Mothers of Multiples sale in Peoria this time and got a few more good deals. However, it was a lot more crowded and not as "nice." So, it wasn't the same and I wasn't about to fight the crazy mothers. So, we didn't stay too long and then we went to breakfast. Angie and I needed to talk about our Florida trip (sorry Shell), and we finally narrowed it down to three places. There are three couples (and the two babies) going to Destin, Florida in June and we are getting so excited. So, we are going to make some calls to get things finalized!!! After breakfast, I met up with Shane to get Olivia and headed to Aunt Shell's while the boys went golfing. Even though it was pouring down rain...they waited for it to end and then were on their way! Die hard!! Aunt Shell and I took advantage of the nice weather too. We went for a walk and went to play on the swings for a while! We had so much fun...and Kaleigh just loved it. She got to play in the sand at the lake and swing with Mommy! And, Olivia was able to swing with Mommy too!!!

You can tell the weather is turning...

Since it has been so nice out, the motorcycles are coming out of the woodwork. So, Daddy wanted to get his out tonight to get it started and "warmed up." I wasn't quite sure how Olivia would do with it being so loud, so I held her on the back deck and made sure she was watching from afar. As soon as he revved it up, she got a huge smile on her face and basically jumped out of my arms to run towards him. So, she wasn't scared at all and in fact, wanted him to pick her up! So, what a photo opportunity! She was having a great time with Daddy...I can't say we're going to go out and pick her up a helmet just yet, but if Daddy has his way (and Grandpa), it won't be too long! :-)

Teeth are coming!

Keep it coming Daddy!

As much as we thought Olivia had her first tooth a few weeks ago..this week has definitely been quite a bit different. So, they have to be close. She just loves these ice pops cause they feel so good on her gums!! She cannot get enough!

My first doll house...

So much to do...where do I begin?

Thanks Aunt Shell and Uncle Tim...I just love my doll house!!

Waiting for Daddy...

Where did that darn thing go??

There it is!!

Yeah.....Daddy got home from his trip tonight. It was definitely a long drive for Daddy, but it couldn't have been soon enough for Mommy and Olivia too! We sure did miss him. Mommy tried to keep herself busy cleaning all day, and Miss Olivia had fun with more of her new toys! This one she particularly loves...it was so funny to watch her look for the balls. As you can see, she had a hard time finding them!

Our little musician

While we were at Shell and Tim's tonight, Olivia couldn't stop playing the piano. She loved this thing, and it even had a seat for her to sit on! It was great..every time she started the music, she got up and started dancing! It was definitely a sight to see!!

Fun, fun, fun!

So many toys, so little time!

Come here Parker, look at this!

This could get dangerous!

Sweet Kaleigh was listening to her radio downstairs, and stopped to give me a smile!

Dina had called last night to see if there were any babysitting opportunities this weekend, so Mommy took advantage of the help! She didn't have anything on her agenda, but she took the opportunity to meet up with Aunt Shell and have lunch and do a little shopping!! I dropped her off this morning and then met Shell at Mom's. We had lunch there, but then went shopping for a while. It was another nice day so it was great to get out of the house. After shopping, I went to pick up Olivia and headed back home to stay with Winston for a little while. Then, we packed up again and went to Aunt Shell's for dinner. Uncle Tim cooked out on the grill, so that was fabulous! The kids played all night long...and of course, I had the camera close!

Nana and Paw Paws

We took advantage of Kaleigh actually wanting to pose for a picture. Both babies were in Paw Paw's chair, and she wanted to get up there too! So, you may not see this again for a while!

Olivia was helping Nana push the toy bin into the living room!

Olivia's thighs are so ticklish, and Nana was making her laugh so hard!!

Since Daddy is still out of town and Mommy doesn't want to be at home all week, we went to visit Nana and Paw Paw tonight. And, Aunt Shell and the kids came too! It only took a few seconds before the place was a disaster...as usual! Each of the grandkids have taken their turn get the toy bin out of the closet, so tonight it was Olivia's turn! We were only there for a few hours, but boy did it look like longer...the kids always manage to turn it upside down. But, they had fun and it was nice to get out of the house!!