Party animal

It was a pretty busy weekend and of course, I got sick again. I woke in the middle of the night on Friday with that horrible pain on the side of my face again, my teeth hurt so bad that they started to feel numb. I took some medicine and used the heating pad. I was up from 4am until almost 6 and then I finally started to feel a little better. I didn't get much sleep though because Liv woke up at 7. We had a birthday party on Saturday and Olivia had a blast. When we first got there, I had to wake her up and she didn't want me to put her down. I didn't want her to cling to me the whole time, I wanted her to have fun so I put her down and she cried for a few minutes but then she was fine. She was jumping with another little girl in the bounce house for a while, she loved it but then bunch of older kids ran in and they were being rowdy. They kept knocking Olivia over and two kids actually fell on top of her, she didn't seem to care but I was getting nervous. The bounce house ended up deflating, I was actually kind of glad because I think she would have gotten hurt if she stayed in there. They also had a little petting zoo and pony rides, of course Olivia went wild when she saw the animals. She was chasing them all around and trying to catch the chickens, she was even petting the sheep. At one point it got a little too close and she backed away very quickly, her face was priceless. She got to ride the pony twice and I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part, she kept saying more but there were a lot of other kids there. I didn't feel great all day but I stuck it out for Liv, it makes me happy to see her having such a good time. She was so exhausted when we got home that she went to bed at 6pm, so of course this morning she woke up at 6am. I was so beat, I had to take a nap when she did. After our nap, we all went out to lunch and then we took her to the park. It was so disgustingly hot outside that we couldn't stay for too long. She had fun on the swings though, she really loves playing in the sand too. We just relaxed for the rest of the night, I still don't feel great but definitely better than yesterday. I've been sick for so long that I feel like I'm never going to get better. This cough that I have is seriously brutal. At least Olivia is doing better, she doesn't seem like she's sick at all anymore. Back to our routine tomorrow, I have pretty long hours this week so I definitely need to get some rest tonight.

Mother's Day

I know Mother's Day was four days ago but things have been pretty hectic around here, I'll talk all about that in the next post. I woke up on Sunday with horrible pain on the right side of my face, I knew immediately that I had a sinus infection. I really wanted to avoid going to the doctor so I started doing all the home remedies that I've heard about. I actually took the advice of a friend and ran out to buy a Neti Pot. It was a little different than what I was expecting, definitely not a pleasant experience or feeling but it did help a little bit. What helped the most was using a heating pad on my face, the pain was almost gone and then I took some Tylenol which took care of it completely. We went out to lunch with my family, the restaurant was packed so were there for a few hours. Olivia was really good for the most part, she started to get antsy towards the end. After lunch, we stopped at a bakery and got some cookies, Olivia picked all the M&M's off and let me have the cookie part. It was a great day but when we got home, I started to feel sick again. I used the Neti Pot and heating pad for the second time and was able to fall asleep, I felt much better on Monday morning. Anyway, on Mother's Day I always feel very grateful. I've always felt lucky to have such an amazing mother who would go above and beyond for me and now I feel lucky because I have a daughter of my own. It's hard to understand the love your mother has for you until you have your own child but now I totally get it. I think having a baby has made my relationship with my mom stronger. I always look to her for advice and she is quick to help, whether it's to babysit, give me parenting tips or just listen to me while I vent. We are very close and I know not everyone has that type of relationship with their mom so I don't ever take it for granted. I hope all of you had a great Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, you showed me unconditional love

and I wouldn't be the mother I am today without you. I love you.

This little woman changed my life in the best way possible.

I am so proud to be her mother. No matter how many challenges

we face, it will always be worth it. I have so much love for her.

Being silly at the restaurant with her cousin.

Some serious venting

I haven't blogged in a while so I have a little catching up to do. I'll start with the bad, Thursday was seriously one of the worst days I've had in a really long time. I had an appointment about twenty minutes away and I had to bring Olivia with me. I left my house at 2pm, I didn't have to be there until 3 so I figured I would have plenty of time. About halfway there, we got stuck in a traffic jam. It wasn't just slow traffic, we were at a dead stop for a good fifteen minutes. I called and said that I would be late and they said that was fine. Another hour went by and we had barely moved. I tried taking four different detours and every single way was backed up with traffic. They called me back and told me that I would have to reschedule my appointment, I was so annoyed because I really didn't want to do that. Thursdays are my only day off so I had to reschedule a bunch of other things to fit it in, I'm so busy every Thursday for the next few months. Anyway, I turned around and started driving home and of course we hit traffic again. At this point, I started crying hysterically. I just couldn't deal with it anymore, the stress finally got to me and I just let it out. I could hear Olivia in the backseat doing her nervous laugh so I composed myself and told her that it was okay. When we got home, I went to grab her out of her seat and noticed that she threw up everywhere. This is the third time that she threw up within the span of a month. I called the doctor because I was starting to become concerned and he said that she most likely got motion sickness from the traffic. We didn't even get home till 5pm. So I basically wasted my entire afternoon driving for absolutely no reason at all. Three hours just sitting in the car, it makes me cringe even thinking about it now. Once we got home, I had to give Liv another bath (I already gave her one that morning), do her laundry and clean her car seat (not as easy task). On a good note, her therapy visit went really well. Her speech therapist said that she noticed some improvement with Olivia since she started daycare. She said that her attention span is better and that she was gesturing along more while they were singing songs. She has been doing great at daycare, she plays with the kids and even eats at the table with them. She still cries when I drop her off but most of the kids do. The teacher told me some interesting things too, she said that Olivia says a few words (that I haven't heard her say at home) while she's there, like "eat" and "ball". I wonder why she talks more at school than she does at home. I also heard that she has a little boyfriend, she kept kissing one of the boys in her class on the head. I told Paul about it and he wasn't too happy, I think it's cute though. Yesterday they had a Mother's Day brunch so I went with her and it was really sweet. The presents that she made me just melted my heart. When I had to leave, she got really upset but I knew that was going to happen. I've been sick all week, I don't know if it's just allergies kicking my butt or if I actually have a cold. Today has been spent mostly at home, we went to the store to pick up a few things and got some ice cream for dinner. For the first time ever, I ordered Olivia her own ice cream cone. She made a huge mess but she thoroughly enjoyed it. Tomorrow should be fun, we are going out to lunch with my family for Mother's Day, I just hope I feel a little better.

Totally worth the mess.

Good news.. kinda

I'm happy to report that Olivia hasn't thrown up since Friday. The bad news is that she still cries all day at daycare and barely eats or drinks anything. I'm wondering how long she is going to be stubborn for because it's been really stressful, on both of us. Luckily today was my day off so I took her to the park and then we went for a walk. She really loves being outside (except when she's at school) and she would stay out at all day if she could. There were a lot of kids at the park today (including some annoying teenagers). When I was pushing Liv on the swing, another little girl was laughing so Olivia started fake laughing. It was really funny, she just wanted to copy the girl. She's silly, she makes me so happy no matter how bad my day is going. I know I've been neglecting this blog a bit but I've been super busy. My job is absolutely exhausting and when I'm home, I like to spend as much time as possible with Liv. I have a lot I want to post though so hopefully I will have some time this weekend.

Happy Easter!

I wanted to post this yesterday but I just didn't have the energy, Easter was a lot of fun! When Olivia woke up in the morning, she got her basket from the Easter bunny. She took everything out and wanted to open it all immediately. She ate an entire (almost) chocolate bunny but she wouldn't try the Peeps, I'm sure she would love them but she was being stubborn. I wanted her to take a nap before we went to my aunt's house but she refused (too much chocolate). She played in her crib for over an hour and I finally gave up and got her out (otherwise we would have been late). I was slightly irritated because I knew that if she didn't nap, she would be cranky and it was going to be a long day. She fell asleep in the car (about ten minutes before we got there) and she was annoyed when we woke her up. As soon as she saw her cousins though, her mood changed back to happy! She gave them hugs and kept following them around, it's really cute how much she loves them. She also loved getting all of her baskets from everyone but she liked my nephews toy cars the best. She ate more food than I thought she would and I ate more food than I should have. It was raining out so we had to do the egg hunt in the basement, kind of a bummer because the pictures would have been much nicer outside. Olivia wasn't into it this year, she found one egg and then she just wanted to sit down and open it. She liked playing with the jelly beans inside and she was content with just one egg. All of the kids were running around and one of them accidently knocked Liv over and she fell backwards and hit her head on the floor. She was crying so loud and hugging me for a while but afterwards she seemed fine. She went right back to playing but after a while, she started to get fussy again. I knew it would happen but it took a little longer than I thought so by that time we were getting ready to leave anyway. I'm glad she didn't fall asleep on the way home, it's a long drive so I expected her to but she stayed awake. Once we got home, I gave her a quick snack and put her to bed. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, that rarely happens. She went to bed earlier than normal so this morning she woke up bright and early. I think I am going to stick to this new bedtime though because she didn't even fight her nap today. She fell asleep within minutes and it was awesome. I took so many pictures but if I put them all up, this post would be way too long so I'll just share a few of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter everyone!

End of the week fun

It got a little warmer out on Thursday afternoon so I brought Olivia outside and I pulled out some chalk from last year. I think I had more fun than she did, she kept handing me different colors to draw pictures for her. Then she went around and drew lines through all of my masterpieces. In true Olivia fashion, she wanted to hold all six pieces of chalk at once. By the time we were done, her pants were covered in chalk dust. Once Paul got home from work, we stayed outside for a while and then decided to go out for dinner. Liv got to sit next to me, they had a mini high chair that went right into the booth. She didn't eat much for lunch so she was hungry by the time we got to the restaurant. She kept doing the sign for eat and the food was taking a while so I let her have some goldfish. For dinner she got pizza and french fries (I know, super healthy), she was eating great until I got my food. Once she saw my salad, that's all she wanted and she didn't touch her food after that. As always, it was a little frustrating. I don't mind sharing with her but I also don't think that eating lettuce and tomatoes for dinner is very filling. I was too nervous about her choking to give her any of my steak. Anyway, despite her picky eating, it was a fun night.

Yesterday, Liv and I met up with my friend and her daughter (who is only three months younger than Liv) at a bounce house place. It was like Monkey Joe's but there wasn't an arcade area. There was a much bigger slide too and Olivia wanted to go on it about thirty times. I went with her a few times and that was a good workout. She went up by herself but I had to walk behind her and she was pretty slow. It was a little more work than it was worth. The last time she wanted to go, I just didn't have anymore energy so an older girl (around ten) said she would bring her up. I said okay but then I was so nervous, I kept saying "make sure she doesn't fall!", she did good though. Olivia loved running around and going in all the different bounce houses. She didn't want to leave, we will have to go back soon.

 Olivia kept hugging the dog, it was really cute.

High five for the Easter bunny

Over the weekend, we did lots of fun Easter stuff. On Friday, we dyed eggs. Well, I did most of the dying and Olivia added stickers and played with the eggs. She had more fun taking them out of the bowl and putting them back in over and over than actually making them look pretty. Then she learned how to break them, she started to take off pieces of the shell and that was the end of that. On Saturday we went to the mall to get her picture taken with the Easter bunny. I wasn't sure how she was going to react because Santa did not go well this year. She didn't cry with him but she just wanted to get off his lap immediately. The line was much shorter than it was for Santa, there were only two people ahead of us so I figured it would be quick. Nope, they wanted their infant son to smile and that wasn't happening so they kept trying but eventually gave up. It took almost ten minutes and it was finally our turn. Olivia did really well, she even smiled! She definitely liked the Easter bunny better than Santa. I kind of thought she would since she loves animals. After she got her picture taken, they gave her some jellybeans and she even gave the bunny a high five. When we were done with that, I brought her to the play area so she could run around for a while. She absolutely loved it, just like last time. Paul hates the play area because there's always a lot of kids and most of them are bigger than Olivia so he was getting pretty nervous. I don't worry because I've seen her get knocked down before, she gets right back up and continues to run around and have fun. We also took her to the pet store and she had a blast in there. She was going wild when she saw the rabbits, she wanted to hug one so bad, she was pressing her face up against the glass. The mall isn't my favorite place to go but it was a really fun day, I'm so glad we took her.

 

Major disaster

It's been a busy few days, I feel like I always say that but I guess that's just life with a toddler. On Friday, Paul & I were able to have a date night. We went out to dinner and it was so yummy, I ate way too much but it was nice to get out alone together, we rarely get to do that anymore. On Saturday we all went out to dinner with my family, it was a really fun night. I ate way too much again but I didn't even care, it was totally worth it. Olivia was excited to spend some time with her cousins, she kept hugging them over and over. I loved seeing how happy they all were to be playing together, it made my heart melt. Olivia definitely needs a sibling soon! It was funny though because at one point I looked around the table and all three of the kids were on our phones. It's nice to have something to keep them entertained at restaurants, Olivia gets antsy after a while and it's a huge help. Today we had an appointment in the morning to get Olivia's two year old pictures taken. It was a major disaster, she cried and screamed the entire time. I don't really know why she was so upset, she doesn't even cry that much at the doctors office. It might be because I had to wake her up this morning, maybe she was overtired. The photographer was very patient and I was thankful for that because it was a little embarrassing. Her eight month old pictures went much smoother, she didn't cry once. Somehow, we got a few good pictures and I ordered them so I am really excited but they wont be ready until next week. I'm glad we wont be taking professional pictures again until she's three and then once she's in school, I wont have to deal with it (good luck to them). Yeah, so that was exhausting. I finally got her to nap so I'm going to take advantage of this time and eat something (before she wakes up and starts destroying the house).

Kids these days.

Fighting naps and frozen yogurt

I have no idea what is going on lately but Olivia has been refusing to nap and even at night, she fights sleep. It takes her over an hour to finally fall asleep, she doesn't cry but it's frustrating because I know that she needs sleep. I also feel bad for her, she's sitting in her crib probably bored out of her mind (maybe not but I know I would be) and I just want to get her out but I know I shouldn't. I've tried skipping her nap a few times but by 4 or 5, she's falling asleep on the floor or in her high chair so taking a nap is still necessary for her. Today, I went against the rules and got her out and took her with me to run some errands (hoping that I would tire her out). After we did that, we stopped and got some frozen yogurt. I let her pick what she wanted (that was interesting), I don't think she really knew what anything was but it was still fun. We ended up getting vanilla and a little bit of coconut topped with gummy bears, caramel filled chocolate turtles, pineapples and a few cherries. It sounds a little crazy but it was actually really good, we finished it pretty quick (Liv ate most of it). It's so funny when she eats something she likes because after every bite, she says "mmmm". I started out feeding her but after a few spoons, she decided to take over. I'm not scared of a mess so I let her go for it, she actually did really well. She is becoming a pro at using a spoon, she only spilled a little bit once or twice. She is getting to be really independent when she wants to be, it's pretty stinkin cute. When we got home, we played for a while and then had some lunch. I know, we probably should have had lunch before the frozen yogurt but that's okay. She is napping now so I guess going out for a while was a good idea. I did a few things around the house that I have been meaning to do for a while now so I feel quite accomplished. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day/night so tonight we are going to keep it low key and probably just hang out at home.

Birthday party

We had Olivia's birthday party yesterday and it was really fun. The theme this year was Dora the Explorer (her favorite show). It was pretty time consuming setting up all the tables, chairs and decorations but my mom helped me and it looked great when we were finished. There was a snow storm on Saturday so the parking lot was not even plowed and the walkway wasn't shoveled either. Paul had to do it by himself and he did a good job, thankfully he got it done quick too. Olivia got a cold on Saturday so she wasn't feeling 100% yesterday morning but once she got to her party, she forgot all about being sick (until we got home). Unfortunately, due to the snow and all the bugs going around, not everyone could make it but it was still a great day! Olivia loved running around and chasing the other kids, it was awesome for me because they were keeping her entertained. I also brought a bubble machine (my mom's idea) and it was a huge hit. All the kids were super excited to pop all the bubbles and run into them. Olivia loved the bike that we got her, she wanted to get on it right away, she was even sitting on it today while watching TV. The party went perfect but cleaning up wasn't fun, my back is so sore today. Liv didn't eat much all day since she was too busy playing so I was a little stressed out about that. I tried to feed her when we got home but since she didn't take a nap, she was falling asleep in her high chair. It was a pretty exhausting day but it was all worth it and I'm so glad Olivia had fun. We both slept in this morning and just relaxed for most of the day.

Olivia is two!

Today is Olivia's second birthday and I still can't believe how quickly the years are going by. We had a really fun day, I took her to Monkey Joe's in the morning and she had a blast. She was running around as fast as she could, there were a lot of kids there because of the holiday. I love bringing her there because she always takes an epic nap once we get home. She woke up from her nap a little cranky so I let her watch a few episodes of Dora and then she was happy. We had pizza for dinner and then we sang Happy Birthday and had some cake, it was freakin delicious! Olivia isn't a huge fan of cake so she didn't have much but she devoured some M&M's. She technically isn't two yet since she was born at 11:45pm. I feel like this is my day too, I gave birth to her and that was not easy! I always think about that day and when I first saw her, she was such a tiny little thing and I instantly fell in love. We were looking through her baby book yesterday, she looks so different now. I started to get choked up looking at her newborn pictures and reading about all her firsts. It's so amazing to watch her grow up but it also makes me sad, It's bittersweet. When I was putting her to bed tonight, we just laid down together and hugged for a while. She didn't want to let go of me and I loved it, I will miss these moments so much when she is older.

Valetine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and of course it snowed. We were supposed to go out for dinner but we decided to go out for lunch instead. I ate way too much, I wasn't even hungry for the rest of the night. When we were leaving, the snow was really starting to come down so we were happy that we went early. After Olivia took her nap, I gave her a few little presents and she was super excited. Her favorite was the chocolate, she had M&M's for the first time and loved them. She would have ate the whole tube if I let her, she got mad at me when I took them away. She is getting really good at throwing tantrums lately, ugh. My mom gave her two balloons, she was running around with them and hugging them. It was cute, one of them was a monkey and she kept saying "oh oh ah ah ah". It was a really fun day but I was pretty exhausted by the end of it all. Happy Valentine's Day!

Figured it out

Have I mentioned that it's been snowing on and off pretty much all week? No, well just assume that it's always snowing here and I'm so over it. A little update on some stuff I've been posting about, the bottle situation is going much better (knock on wood). Olivia is so particular so I had to find a way that would work for her and I think I got it figured out. She will only drink milk if it's slightly warm, in an open cup, with a straw. That's how I've been giving it to her the last few days and she likes it again (no bottle necessary). I'm so glad she's been drinking it and I hope she continues. Thank goodness that I kept trying because I was so close to just giving up and giving her a bottle again. Oh, I still haven't found a job, that's been pretty stressful. If I cant find something by the end of the month then I'm going to just apply anywhere and everywhere, even if it's just temporary. On a better note, yesterday was a fun day! I took Olivia to my sisters house so she could play with her cousins. They had a good time, Olivia is obsessed with all the trucks and cars they have. Today we went to playgroup, Liv's favorite part is the bubbles. Actually, all the kids go wild when the teacher does bubbles, it's funny to watch. I'm exhausted, it's been a really long week (it seems that way at least). Tomorrow I'm going to the movies with my friend, I really need a break so I'm looking forward to it! Right now I have to go finish laundry and then it's off to bed.

Farmer Liv.

CHD awareness week

This week is CHD awareness week (February 7th-14th)! I find it interesting that Olivia was born just two days shy of that. In case you don't know, Olivia was born with three heart defects. I'm going to try to explain them as simply as I can, I'm not a doctor so I don't know all the correct terminology but I did listen (the best I could) when all of this was explained to me. Her first (and most critical) defect was* CoA (coarcation of the aorta), the main blood vessel was narrow which was causing her heart to pump harder to force the blood to flow through correctly. This is the reason why her heart was enlarged when they did an echocardiogram. She had surgery for her CoA at eleven days old, there is a chance that it could become narrow again but her last check up showed that it was open like it should be. Her cardiologist told me that if it was going to become narrow again, it would have happened by now. I am very happy about that, her surgeon was amazing! Olivia also has two other defects, an ASD (atrial septal defect) and a VSD (ventricular septal defect). Both of these were put on the back burner while we dealt with the CoA, during our last visit we talked about them a little more. Basically an ASD and VSD are holes in the heart, in Olivia's case they aren't very big. Her cardiologist told us that they can close on their own over time so we just have to wait it out and keep an eye on them. One of them is no longer an issue, the other one is smaller now but it hasn't closed completely. I struggle with this from time to time because we still don't know if she will need surgery to close it or not, we wont know for a few more years and it scares the hell out of me (to be completely honest). She was only eleven days old during her first surgery and while it was horrible and sad to see her go through, I know she wont remember it. She was too young to understand what was going on, too young to be scared. Knowing that surgery may be necessary when she is four or even five years old gets my mind racing. How would I even explain that to her? I don't know if I'll have the strength, I'm sure I will find it but it will really break me down. I know I always say I'm going to be positive and I try my hardest. I'm sorry if I contradict myself but that's exactly what my life is, it's a roller coaster. There are major ups and downs when it comes to Olivia's health. Most days I feel like "I can do this! She is perfectly fine and life is great!" and then every once in a while I just wallow in my sorrow. It's extremely difficult not to wonder "why her?!" but why any kid?! It's not fair in the slightest but life keeps moving and we try to adjust. The more time that goes by, the more "normal" it becomes. I just wanted to take some time to get my thoughts out during this week, it's an emotional time for me. I also wanted to raise awareness, I have to admit that I knew nothing about CHD before or during my pregnancy, I never gave it any thought. I worried about a ton of other stuff  that I read about (all the things that could go wrong) and it surprises me now, CHD is so common but it's not mentioned very often. If I had the choice, of course I would pick for Olivia to be perfectly healthy but that just isn't the hand we were dealt. I am so happy she is here, she has overcome so much and she is a beautiful, sassy, and strong little girl who amazes me time and time again.

*I used past tense because her CoA has been surgically repaired.

My beautiful little heart hero.

Our CHD experience: She has heart disease
Olivia's story of hope: Little Hearts
Facts about CHD: CHD facts

Blizzard or nah?

It snowed, again! It started on Monday and lasted until yesterday evening. It snowed probably a foot, maybe a little more. It was actually supposed to be a historic epic crazy blizzard but that didn't really happen. I'm not complaining though, I'm not a fan of the snow. It was way too windy out to let Olivia play outside so we just stayed in, I started to get a little stir crazy by the end of it. I wasn't able to go out looking for jobs so I just applied to a few places online. I'm hoping I can go this weekend but it's supposed to snow on Friday. Seriously, the snow needs to take a seat. The last few nights Olivia has been waking up in the middle of the night, ready to party. I'm pretty much exhausted right now but I have so much to do, all the little annoying things I haven't been able to get to because of the snow. This week/end it's time to catch up and cross everything off my list!

Party planning

This has been a busy/crazy kind of month. I've been trying to plan Liv's party, I still can't believe she will be two in less than a month! Her party is going to be Dora themed since she's obsessed. I found a ton of cool ideas on Pinterest but since Olivia's been sick and I've been busy that got pushed to the back burner. I ended up picking up some Dora stuff from the store so I don't have to do any DIY stuff this year (even though it was all so cute), maybe next year I'll have the time and energy. I really got the ball rolling this week and now I only have a few more things to do (order the food and make a couple more trips to the store for supplies). I'm also planning to do something special for her heart surgery anniversary, maybe I'll make her cupcakes or a cake. I got her a booboo buddy and a heart hero cape so I'll be giving her those on that day. I wish time would slow down a little, it makes me sad that my baby isn't really a baby anymore.. sigh.

2014 reflection tag

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year? Olivia's progress. Specifically, getting her to the 10% weight curve. Feeding her was/is a huge struggle for us and I am finally able to be slightly more relaxed about her calorie intake.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened? Definitely financial issues. It took me months to find a job and money was very tight for a while, especially with all of Olivia's medical bills piling up.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year? It's hard to pick just one thing. Every time Olivia reaches a new milestone, it's exciting for us. Seeing her unexpected reactions to something fun/new is awesome.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle? Taking Olivia to the ER when she hit her head. Being back there was scary but luckily everything turned out fine.

5. Pick three words to describe 2014. Challenging, exciting, overwhelming.

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2014 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you). Stressful, happy, exhausting.

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2014 (again, without asking). Different, an adjustment, exhilarating.

8. What were the best books you read this year? I Heart My Little A-holes, If I Stay.

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships? Olivia, Paul & My parents.

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year? Going from being a stay at home mom to working part time (and missing Olivia like crazy).

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally? Being a mom has made me grow emotionally, I love Olivia more and more every day. I've never been an overly emotional person but that has changed (when it comes to her).

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually? Honestly, I don't think I've changed much spiritually. My beliefs have always stayed the same thus far.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically? Well, I definitely could stand to lose a few pounds. I've been eating terrible (I plan on changing that). Although, baby number two might be in the works soon so maybe I'll put that off for a while.

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others? I've met a lot of awesome people at my job and gained some new friendships. My relationship with Paul has changed since we are both new parents and we have our own way of doing things (very different). I think we are doing a pretty good job of coming together and compromising when it comes to Olivia's best interest.

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)? Meeting new people (the nice ones).

16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)? Learning a whole new job. Adjusting to not seeing Olivia at night and missing her bedtime routine four days a week (sigh).

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year? Probably watching TV. I can admit that I get addicted to way too many shows. After I put Olivia to bed, I stay up till almost 3am catching up on shows (totally unnecessary). I think it's the main reason I ended up in this terrible sleep routine.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year? Bringing Olivia around other kids. Going to play group, the library, the playground, Monkey Joe's. She loves it and I think it's so important for her to socialize, we get a kick out of it too.

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year? Not to worry. I still do but so many things I worried about never amounted to anything. This is something I constantly struggle with, I like to have a solution before I even know that there is a problem. I am going to try my hardest to wait for a definite problem and then go from there.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2014 for you. Go with the flow and if you don't like something, change it.

Paul and Liv enjoyed the snow today while I stayed warm in the house.

See ya later 2014

On Monday I took Olivia to the aquarium, we met up with my sister and nephews. She loved it at first (especially the sharks and seals). After about an hour, she started to get antsy. It's an hour away and I think she was getting tired, she skipped her nap which is always a bad idea. It was still fun though, next time we will take a nap before we go.

 

Yesterday I took her to the doctor, she's had a cough for almost two weeks now and it just wont go away. She hasn't had a fever and she's been eating/acting okay so I wasn't too concerned but I figured I should get her checked out just to be on the safe side. There were so many kids in the waiting room, it was packed. I've never seen that many kids there, I know it's cold season but I was still surprised. The doctor said her chest sounded fine and her ears/throat looked good. Apparently there is a nasty cold/cough going around that is lasting around three weeks. I was told to give her another week to show some improvement and if she's still sick then I have to bring her back. I'm pretty sure she will get over it soon or at least I'm hoping she will. She also gave me her cough which I've had for about a week now. I'm really surprised that I've been catching everything she has, I never got sick before so I thought my immune system was strong but that's obviously not true.

Left: Happy to be wearing Mommy's Uggs.

Right: Not happy while waiting for the doctor.

 

Well, it's the last day of 2014 and like I always say, this year once again flew by. I thought time went by fast before, it's gone by even faster after having Olivia. It was a great year and I hope that 2015 is even better. Maybe Olivia will become a big sister, I guess we'll see! ;) I hope you all have a very Happy New Year! (I'll be working through it.)

Stensland family Christmas

I can't believe that Christmas came and went so fast. We spent Christmas Eve at my aunts house, we ate dinner, played games and opened presents. We didn't get home until after 11pm and I stayed up playing Santa. I couldn't even sleep because I was so excited to see Olivia's reaction in the morning. She was pretty excited but a little overwhelmed, I think Santa I may have gone a bit overboard this year. Every time she opened a present, she just wanted to play with it and she wasn't too interested in opening the next one. Next year I am going to try my best to keep it a bit more simple but it's very hard to control myself. After presents, we ate breakfast and went over my sisters house to spend the day. It was a lot of fun but it all went by so quick. I hope everyone had a great holiday and I'll leave you with some pictures.