Every person who voted that Olivia would say Dada first on the poll owes me a HUGE apology! There have been a couple of times that I have thought I heard Olivia murmur Mama. One time being the evening of the accident when Olivia was in the back seat of Anita's car, starving and sobbing. There have also been a couple of other times, but I really didn't think much of it. However, on Wednesday night, Olivia clearly said that one little word 3 times! Once while she was crying and crawling towards me (she just stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me and said "Mama" dropped her head back down and continued crying). The second and third time was when I had handed her to my mom (Grandma and Grandpa stopped by for a surprise visit) and I left the room. She looked towards where I was walking and said "Mama, Mama". Of course she has yet to say it again, but when I say "say mama" she looks at me and smiles.
So, Olivia can now give fives (to Kim, Aunt Stacy, Grandma, Grandpa, Chuck and myself) give kisses (to Grandma, Grandpa, Chuck and myself) wave bye-bye (to Kim, Grandma, Grandpa and myself) and say MAMA (of course to me)! Kim is working on blowing kisses.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
When It Rains, It Pours
What else can go wrong after Friday's accident fiasco, right? Well, in all actuality a lot can go wrong, but you get the gist of where I am going with this. To darken Chuck's already gloomy mood, he received a phone call at work from our neighbor last Wednesday afternoon telling him that a tree branch had fallen in our backyard. Not only had the branch fallen (stupid trees) but the branch fell on top of the phone line that connects to our house. Now, you are probably thinking "oh, a little tree branch is no big deal". Think again. This "little" tree branch was bigger than a lot of people's trees. In fact it was bigger than ALL of the trees in my parents yard. To top things off, our backyard already looked like a forest, as it hadn't been mowed in over a month and if it goes unmowed it literally starts to sprout trees, some of which are now up to my knees or higher (no, we are not white trash). And do you think we own a chain saw? My question is, why the heck are there HUGE branches falling out of my tree on an 80 degree, sunny, windless day?On to a brighter subject. . . . . . . .
Olivia has been able to crawl for some time now. However, in Chuck's words she now crawls like "someone has put a rocket in her diaper". All of this transpired in the span of one day. Saturday, she was putzing around. By Sunday afternoon she was everywhere and could get there fast. Whenever she wants me to pick her up and I am either busy or haven't picked her up in her alloted time frame, she will crawl over to me, grab my pants and start crawling up my leg. Olivia is still giving fives and has broaden her span of who is special enough to get them. She can also give kisses now and has even randomly leaned in and given me a couple unprompted. For the first time today, Olivia waved bye-bye to me when I left Kim's house for work and she waved bye-bye to Kim when we left this afternoon. Kim gets all of the credit on that one!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pictures from the accident
Here are some pictures of the accident our insurance guy sent me. Apparently, the car is repairable and is currently at the body shop. They are going to tear it down to assess how much internal damage there is.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Crash BOOM bang!
We decided to head to Dubuque this past weekend to see Jeff, Maureen and the kids (Jeff and Maureen are Olivia's Godparents and Jeff is Chuck's brother). Chuck got off early on Friday and we had the car filled with gas and packed with all the baby and doggy essentials (KB got to go on this trip too)! It was gloomy and raining, but that didn't dampen our spirits. At least not at first.
After making it through downtown and getting on I235 at the 6th street entrance heading east we were ready to go. By the time we made it to the SE 14th St. exit (two exits from where we got on) our trip had taken an unexpected turn. Traffic was slow due to rush hour, the rain and people just not being able to drive worth a crap. Who would have thought that it would be so slow that for some unknown reason the lane we were in, and ONLY the lane that we were in, came to an unexpected stop. The instant Chuck saw the tail lights in front of us, he hit the brakes. Unfortunately, we didn't stop. Instead, we pretty much hydroplained into the car in front of us. Stopping only after hearing a loud crash. I immediately thought of Olivia, who by the way only made one little cry, and was starting to take my seat belt off to turn around and check on her. However, something stopped me and I decided not to take my seat belt off just yet. Good thing, because within 5-8 seconds we were hit from behind with a BOOM! Olivia made a little longer of a cry this time, but it was more like an annoyed knock it off kind of cry.
To make an even longer story short, our hood was pushed into our windshield, the radiator pushed into something and that something pushed into the engine. Chuck's driver side door was jammed some and our Viking license plate thingy was destroyed (indicative of the Vikings season so far this year). Chuck, Olivia, KB and I were all perfectly fine. Poor KB probably got the worst end of the deal not being tethered down or anything. He has a hard head though. Needless to say our spirits were now dampened and we did not make it to Dubuque for the weekend.
With all the bad that happened with this car accident there were definitely miracles at work by God. First, we are all safe with not a scratch on us. Second, I knew buying the Cadillac of car seats was the right thing to do. Though, I had to purchase another Cadillac of a car seat after the accident on Friday night, as car seats are only built to withstand one accident. Third, I believe that God has a plan and does things for a reason. You know how sometimes your seat belt will just randomly lock on you for no reason and you feel like you are being strangled? Well, my passenger side belt has NEVER locked on me at random. However, just before we got on the entrance ramp to 235 my seat bealt locked. I pulled and tugged and honestly thought to myself "what is wrong with this stupid seat belt"? I feel that was God's way of saying "just making sure it works and I am keeping you safe". I also feel like God was the "something" that kept me from taking off my seatbelt before getting hit from behind. He truly works in mysterious ways.
Notice, I did not use bang in my blog. There really wasn't a bang but it sounded good in the title.
After making it through downtown and getting on I235 at the 6th street entrance heading east we were ready to go. By the time we made it to the SE 14th St. exit (two exits from where we got on) our trip had taken an unexpected turn. Traffic was slow due to rush hour, the rain and people just not being able to drive worth a crap. Who would have thought that it would be so slow that for some unknown reason the lane we were in, and ONLY the lane that we were in, came to an unexpected stop. The instant Chuck saw the tail lights in front of us, he hit the brakes. Unfortunately, we didn't stop. Instead, we pretty much hydroplained into the car in front of us. Stopping only after hearing a loud crash. I immediately thought of Olivia, who by the way only made one little cry, and was starting to take my seat belt off to turn around and check on her. However, something stopped me and I decided not to take my seat belt off just yet. Good thing, because within 5-8 seconds we were hit from behind with a BOOM! Olivia made a little longer of a cry this time, but it was more like an annoyed knock it off kind of cry.
To make an even longer story short, our hood was pushed into our windshield, the radiator pushed into something and that something pushed into the engine. Chuck's driver side door was jammed some and our Viking license plate thingy was destroyed (indicative of the Vikings season so far this year). Chuck, Olivia, KB and I were all perfectly fine. Poor KB probably got the worst end of the deal not being tethered down or anything. He has a hard head though. Needless to say our spirits were now dampened and we did not make it to Dubuque for the weekend.
With all the bad that happened with this car accident there were definitely miracles at work by God. First, we are all safe with not a scratch on us. Second, I knew buying the Cadillac of car seats was the right thing to do. Though, I had to purchase another Cadillac of a car seat after the accident on Friday night, as car seats are only built to withstand one accident. Third, I believe that God has a plan and does things for a reason. You know how sometimes your seat belt will just randomly lock on you for no reason and you feel like you are being strangled? Well, my passenger side belt has NEVER locked on me at random. However, just before we got on the entrance ramp to 235 my seat bealt locked. I pulled and tugged and honestly thought to myself "what is wrong with this stupid seat belt"? I feel that was God's way of saying "just making sure it works and I am keeping you safe". I also feel like God was the "something" that kept me from taking off my seatbelt before getting hit from behind. He truly works in mysterious ways.
Notice, I did not use bang in my blog. There really wasn't a bang but it sounded good in the title.
One Smart Cookie
Olivia is so stinkin smart! We worked hard yesterday learning how to give fives when someone puts out their hand and says "give me five". Olivia knew exactly what to do last night each time Chuck or I put out our hand. Of course, she would not follow suit when her proud mom took her over to the neighbors to show off. However, once again this morning she knew what to do when I asked her to give me a five. We tried to show Kim once we got to her house this morning, but Olivia found it more interesting to chew on the metal part of the diaper bag, as opposed to sharing her new skill. She did finally give me a five before I left for the day. She left Kim hanging though!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Go Vikings Let's Win This Game!
Too bad they lost. Olivia experienced her first ever Minnesota Vikings game (at least half of it) last night. She and Chuck were all decked out in their Vikings gear and were ready for a big win against the Packers. Maybe next time........
Monday, September 8, 2008
Poopy Pants and Other Stuff Too!
As I was taking Livy out of her highchair this morning at 7:39 I had a feeling that she had pooped. I was hoping this was the case because she had been constipated and pooping nothing but rabbit pellets that were as hard as rocks for the past 3 or 4 days. Even though I leave at 7:40 I thought I could quick change her and be on my way (you are welcome Kim, trust me). As I was making one last wipe of the butt, Olivia decided that she wasn't done just yet and proceeded to poop for the next 5 minutes while I held her legs out of the way and slid diapers under her rear. Needless to say, she is no longer constipated.
Well. Because Olivia weighs an arm and a leg (an adult arm and leg) I have made the executive decision that we are finished toting her around in her baby car seat. I decided that it was time to move up in the world of baby gear and purchased a Britax, Marathon convertible car seat. This is the Cadilac of car seats and WELL worth the money. I actually ordered and received the car seat over a week ago, but was hesitant to switch seats because a) I wasn't sure how Olivia would do in a front facing stroller (we still sit her car seat in the top portion of the stroller so she is facing the person who is pushing) and b) I knew Olivia didn't do so well in the store cart seats. However, Olivia experienced her first ride in a forward facing stroller about a week and a half ago and did marvelous (thank you Suzie). Then about a week ago, Olivia rode in the Target cart for at least 30-45 minutes without making a peep playing with Debbie. My decision was made. The new car seat was in that afternoon. Other than arching her back and screaming like a mad woman just about every time I put her in (she did that with the old car seat too), things are going well. She just recently learned that mommy has to take her arm out of the arm harness before she can reach up to me to get out. Believe it or not, she gets it and waits patiently every time we get out of the car. She's one smart cookie!
So, it is now 7:44 a.m. (who in their right mind would think that they can change a poopy diaper and be out of the house in a minute) and I am rushing to get out of the house. I am carrying Olivia around in my right arm and she is facing away from me. All of a sudden I feel this warm goo on my wrist and hand and I realize that she has puked, which more than likely means an outfit change for one of us. Chuck proceeded to clean my hand off, but I quickly found that her warm vomit had made its journey under my shirt sleeve and down (or is it up) my arm. Nice. Miraculously, that was the ONLY place the puke got. Nothing on Olivia and nowhere else on me. I decided that an outfit change was out of the question, rolled my sleeve part way up to let it air dry and was on my way. Mmm, the aroma of sour milk whenever my wrist and shirt sleeve made it close to my nose was wonderful.
Olivia has somewhere picked up the trait of making fishy lips. It is very entertaining. However, it is very difficult to get a picture of her doing it, as she always seems to stop when I am trying to get the picture. I did succeed a couple of times (see below).
Every night and nap time Olivia now sleeps with her pink giraffe (I say its a giraffe, but it has also been called a horse, zebra, dragon or dinosaur). This stuffed thing now has a name thanks to my niece Maddie, who so fittingly named her Debbie. Don't ask me where this came from, she just picked it up and said "Debbie". I laugh everytime I say the name. Not just because I think "why Debbie" but because it also makes me picture a chick from the 80's with big hair.
Well. Because Olivia weighs an arm and a leg (an adult arm and leg) I have made the executive decision that we are finished toting her around in her baby car seat. I decided that it was time to move up in the world of baby gear and purchased a Britax, Marathon convertible car seat. This is the Cadilac of car seats and WELL worth the money. I actually ordered and received the car seat over a week ago, but was hesitant to switch seats because a) I wasn't sure how Olivia would do in a front facing stroller (we still sit her car seat in the top portion of the stroller so she is facing the person who is pushing) and b) I knew Olivia didn't do so well in the store cart seats. However, Olivia experienced her first ride in a forward facing stroller about a week and a half ago and did marvelous (thank you Suzie). Then about a week ago, Olivia rode in the Target cart for at least 30-45 minutes without making a peep playing with Debbie. My decision was made. The new car seat was in that afternoon. Other than arching her back and screaming like a mad woman just about every time I put her in (she did that with the old car seat too), things are going well. She just recently learned that mommy has to take her arm out of the arm harness before she can reach up to me to get out. Believe it or not, she gets it and waits patiently every time we get out of the car. She's one smart cookie!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
