Category Archives: Olivia

Jan26

My New Bestie

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My New Bestie

The terrible 2′s are at a peak in our house and it has been very difficult lately, especially for me.  OG is a very independent, smart, fun, little girl who never stops.  She runs around the house and talks non-stop from the moment she gets up to the time we put her top bed at night.

Before AK was born we were beginning to OG go from a baby who did everything she was told to an independent, it’s my way or a tantrum toddler.  Nate and I saw this chair in a store and we knew right away that we had to buy it for our home. 

We’ve always called OG our “social butterfly”, she loves to be the center of attention and love to interact with everyone.  So, the thought of being put in another room on her Time Out Chair is something that pushes her over the edge.  We’ve been getting a lot of use out of this chair lately but I have found out that I don’t necessarily have to put her on it but threaten to put her on it and it straightens her right out. 

This chair has made our life a little easier but OG still finds herself on it a couple of times a week if not more.

Nov15

Hey Daylight Savings Time…YOU SUCK!

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Hey Daylight Savings Time…YOU SUCK!

Ever since I had OG I have had people come up to me and ask me if I’ve been able to get any sleep with a baby.  I hate to brag about it but my kids are sleepers, ever since OG was born she has slept through the night.  The first week she was born I had to wake her up to eat. OG has always loved her naps and has slept at least 12 hours through the night, never waking up before 8am. 

When we had AK I was nervous that she was going to be the opposite of OG and we were going to experience all the horror stories we have heard from parents whose kids get their days and nights mixed up.  But, fortunately for us AK also slept through the night, almost every night.

Then came November 7th, 2010, Daylight Saving Time.  Both girls still love their naps and go down to bed at night with no problem between 8-9pm.  The problem is that OG is now getting up anywhere between 5:45-6:30am and AK is waking up around 6:30am.  Nate and I both love our sleep and I like being up early but not this early.  I even kept them up later a couple of nights to see if that would work and it didn’t.  I thought that it was only going to last a couple of nights but here we are 1 week later and nothing has changed.

The “fall back, you get another hour of sleep” saying is a big fat load of crap when you have children.  I just hope that the girls get used to this time change and they go back to sleeping in, for the sake of my sanity and their young precious lives.  If not, we will be moving to Arizona, Indiana or Hawaii ( I choose Hawaii) in order to get sleep all year round.

Nov10

Wordless Wednesday: Circus

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Wordless Wednesday: Circus

For Livie’s Birthday her Aunt Kati gave her front row tickets to the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Since we were considered to be ”Celebrity” guests we were able to sit in seats on the floor for most of the first half of the Circus.  Livie had a blast, she loved all the animals and thought the clowns were funny. It made me very happy to be able to share this special day with her.

Oct11

Birthday Girl

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Birthday Girl

My first-born, Miss Independent, the tiny person that owns 1/3 of my heart turned 2 last Saturday. I don’t know where the last 2 years have gone; one minute I was giving birth to her and the next she has become this beautiful, energetic toddler.

The birthday weekend started on Friday with a trip to the Victor bus garage with Grandpa Peter to see where he works. Livie loves school buses and she had a great time playing with the intercom, opening and closing the door and sitting in a seat like a big kid. (The first 4 pictures were taken on my camera phone so they aren’t the best quality.)

Then it was off to Auntie Kati’s house for a pizza party where there was a little bit of exercise for some of us, make-up for others and sleep for the baby.

Lulu had to get in the action too.

Then the big day arrived, Livie’s TinkerBell themed Birthday party.

First the girls had to make sure their homies were coming.

                                     Then Livie had to show off her “cute cute” outfit.

                                                   Aunt Kati and the birthday girl.

                                                      Aunt Kimmy and Aunt Linda.                                                           Aunt Greta and Lexi.

                                                          When is my birthday?

                                                      Gramma Nena and Lexi.

                                                               Mommy and Lexi.

                                                         Grandpa King and Lexi.

                                                             Me, Kati and Greta.

                                                                 Livie and Daddy.

Then, it was time to open presents.

                                                                  Cute, Cute!

                          Yippie, more stuff to color the walls with! (Thanks Aunt Greta)

                              Livie giving Sumo a hug for her TinkerBell play house.

                             Livie was trying to read her birthday card to everyone.

                                           Wow, this present is almost as big as me!

                                             She had no interest in the learning toys.

                                    Livie’s new trike that has a seat for her new baby.

                                                                     Cake time!

                                                              Where’s my piece?

                                         Grandpa Kelly sitting at the little kid’s table.

                                                      The frosting is the best part.

                        I think Aunt Kati was trying to steal some of Livie’s frosting.

                                                                       YUMMY!

After the party Gramma and Grandpa Deckert watched the girls while we went to dinner with my mom, Linda, David and Jackie.  It was nice to go out with them since we aren’t in the same town at the same time very often.

The weekend ended with family pictures taken at my Mother-In-Law’s house in Pittsford by Gregg.  Gregg photographed our wedding along with Livie’s 1st year pictures so, we knew we had to have Gregg photograph us with our new addition. I will let you know when the pictures are up on his website. Here is sneak peek of one of Livie’s cute, cute looks.

Livie’s Birthday weekend was fun and very busy.  I just wish the years would slow down just a little so we can enjoy the girls as babies a little longer.

Sep17

Poll

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Poll

Ever since Livie moved from her crib into her big girl bed she hasn’t been sleeping in past 6:30am.  When she was in her crib and couldn’t get out she would sleep in until 7:30-8:00am.  So, I was wondering if this has anything to do with us leaving her door open when she sleeps because when she wakes up she gets up and comes into our room. Please leave your answer and any suggestions on what I can do to get her to sleep longer.

Thank you.

Sep7

Lil’Camper

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Lil’Camper
A couple of weeks ago I received an email from my step-mother Donna who wanted to take Livie camping over Labor Day weekend.  I was a little apprehensive to say the least, if any of you know us then you would know how afraid Livie is of my Dad.  My Dad has never done anything to Livie except love her to pieces but she is afraid of his beard.
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Aug27

Potty Training

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Potty Training
In the beginning of February we decided to buy Livie a big girl potty to try to get her potty trained in time for the new baby’s arrival.  I was determined to not have two babies in diapers so I did a lot of research and studied all the reviews on pottys and purchased a BabyBjorn pink potty. 
 
Livie seemed excited about it and used it a couple of times.  She ran around naked most of the time so all she had to do was sit on the potty when she had to go and not have to worry about clothes.  This idea didn’t always work but she was happy being naked.  Eventually, the excitment of the pink potty wore off and so did my dreams of a diaper free toddler. 
So, months went by and the potty was used as a seat, a step stool and a toy.  Then a couple months before my due date the potty got exciting again, this time it was on her terms.  She was doing so well (I think the chocolate treats helped out a lot) that we celebrated by buying her big girl panties. 
Liv was pretty much potty trained except she would wear a diaper when she would nap or go down at night and then Miss Alexis Kate came along and Livie regressed and we had to go back to wearing diapers all the time just like the new baby did. 
Well that didn’t last long either now Livie is potty trained and wears her big girl panties all the time except for when she sleeps.  Livie doesn’t even want to use her pink potty anymore, she wants to use the “big” potty.  She is so independent that she won’t let Nate or myself in the bathroom with her, she has to do everything herself.
I am very happy to have only one baby in a diaper and I am very proud of Livie especially since she isn’t even two yet.
 
Aug21

Mama

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Mama
One of Livie’s first words was “mama” or so I wanted to believe she was saying mama, it was probably more like mamamamama.  Anyway, for the longest time I have been trying to get her to call me mama.  She can say it and if someone asks her where mama is she points to me but she has actually never called me by it.  She can say “dada” and will call Nate dada all day long.  What she does call me is “da” and I am not happy about it.  One of the best reasons of being a mother is the first time your child calls you mama.  Well, my time came yesterday and let me tell you it was one of the best moments of my life and it actually brought tears to my eyes. 
Nate and I were just sitting on the couch after he got home from work, Livie can up to us and Nate pointed to me and asked Livie who I was and the most perfect words ever spoken came out of her little mouth ”mama”.   Later that night I was in the bathroom and Nate and Livie were in the kitchen and I could hear her calling for me “mama” “mama”. 
Besides the birth of my two girls, yesterday was the best day of my life, I officially feel like a mother.
Aug19

The decision

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The decision
Livie was born during a time when there was a lot of controversy over immunizations and the link it might have to Autism.  When Livie started to receive her immunizations I was shocked at the amount that children receive these days.  When I was growing up we had around 10 immunizations by the time we started kindergarten and now kids have over 30. 
So, I did some research and found that the vaccine that was at the root of the most controversy was the MMR vaccine.  Children receive this vaccine at 12 months and it seems that after they receive this vaccine they start to show signs of Autism.  Now, I know the CDC has done a lot of research and they state that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and Autism but I believe it’s better to be safe than sorry.  I don’t know if I believe that the MMR vaccine is the cause of Autism but I do know that there are cases of Autism in 1 of every 150 children.  I believe that children need to be vaccinated but maybe we can hold off on some of them until their little bodies get bigger and can tolerate more.
So, our decision is to vaccinate our girls but hold off on the MMR until they are 2 years old instead of  12 months old.  We have discussed this with our Pediatrician and she is on board with our decision.  Do your research and make a decision that is best for your family. That is what we did and we are happy with our decision.
 
Aug12

Terrible 2′s

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Terrible 2′s
Terrible twos…I never really understood what that meant,  with the never pushing a baby out of my vagina thing before.  Well, I am full steam ahead on this terrible twos stage with Miss O and let me tell you I am willing to pay someone to take her for the next 6 months or so…any takers?  I didn’t think so. 
Livie has always been a very happy baby so it makes this stage a little harder to accept.  One minute she is her normal happy self and then the next…Linda Blair is in our house and she is on the floor kicking, screaming and crying because she just heard the word no.  I know that this is just a stage and she is testing her boundaries but having a newborn in the house while trying not to wake up the demon inside Livie is becoming a little difficult. 
Don’t get me wrong, I love my girls with everything that I am but I wish we could just skip this stage in life and go back to sugar and spice and everything nice.