All Smiles

Charlie's Best Smile Yet!!
He loves bath time.

Hang On!

So today Olivia was playing Barbies and this is what she told me they were doing.

"So Rapunzel (the wife) and Pete (the husband) and their kids Ariel and Cinderella were going to their cabin in Elk River. Rapunzel had to drive (who is big because she has a baby in her tummy)...well...Pete is 21 so he can drink beer so now Rapunzel has to drive."

Well I look over a little later and this is what I saw...Olivia just said "well...Pete ended up driving"

By the looks of the Barbies, I think that Rapunzel should have been the one driving, what do you think?








Also notice that Ariel and Cinderella could not sit next to each other because "Ariel (the little one) could not keep her hands off of her big sister."

You have to be very careful of what you say around Olivia...she doesn't miss a thing!!!
We were at a party on Saturday night and Jesse had a couple of beers, so I had to drive. He drove to the party, so she expected him to drive home. Yesterday we were with some of Jesse's cousins, and his cousin Pete was there. I am assuming that is why the husband's name is Pete :)

"Charlie Man"

It is finally time for an update on Charlie. He doesn't do much other that Eat, Sleep, and Dirty his diaper at this point, so there hasn't been much to update with him.

Charlie has been growing like a weed. We went to the doctor this morning and he weighs 12 pounds 11 ounces and is six weeks old. That puts him pretty high on the percentage charts. We went to the doctor because he has been having some congestion problems at night. He seems to do just fine with it, but it is very scary for Jesse and I. The doctor is concerned that his adenoids are enlarged. We need to take him to an Ear, Nose and Throat Pediatrician to have him looked at. They possibly will do a sleep study on him to make sure that he doesn't have infant sleep apnea. We are crossing our fingers and praying that everything will go fine. The doctor seems pretty confident that whatever is causing the problem, he will grow out of it. If it is his adenoids, they may need to be removed. While we were there they also checked his heart. He has had a mild heart murmur since he was born and it still seems to be there. Once again, the doctor seems to think that he will eventually grow out of it, but since it has not gone away, he wants to check it out. So, we are also going to have an Echocardiogram done on his heart to make sure that there isn't anything to be concerned about. I am anxiously waiting for the nurse to call me to find out the dates in which we have to have these done. They are hoping to get me into the St. Cloud Hospital otherwise we will have to take him to Children's in the citites. I will make sure to keep everyone posted.

His new trick is smiling :) We don't get a ton of smiles out of him yet, but they are coming. Here are a couple of pictures. They aren't the best, but the smiles are a little tough to catch right now.





Other than that, things have been going pretty well. Tomorrow will be his first day at daycare. I have to go to work for the day. We getting some things organized for the upcoming school year. He will be in good hands, but I am just not excited about being away from my baby for a full day. There will be lots of hugs and kisses at 3:00 tomorrow when I get to pick him up. Olivia is very excited to finally have her little brother tag along with her at daycare, and I am sure she will try and be a big helper tomorrow (well...at least I hope she is helpful).

This Sunday he is going to be baptised. Olivia is very excited about this and keeps talking about it. I am not sure she entirely understands what it is all about. We have been taking out her things from when she was baptised and trying to explain. We'll see how she does on Sunday. It wouldn't surprise me if she tries to make her way to the front of the church during the ceremony. She doesn't like to be seperated from him.

Here are some randoms of our little guy.


He loves his swing...


...and playing on the floor...


...and of course the TWINS!!!!

Arts and Crafts!!

Olivia loves doing arts and crafts, and pretending that she is in school. Today we sat down and worked on cutting, coloring, and writing. (By the way...this was her first time using scissors since they were taken away a few weeks ago after she cut her hair and used the "Stupid Kindergarten Teacher" comment).

She decided that she wanted to send pictures to Owen and Ava. Owen gets a lot of of her art projects, or at least she always says that they are for Owen.

After she finished Owen's picture, she decided that it should be for Owen and Ezra and she had to make a girl one for Ava.

So Ava got a tiger with 'pink' ears


Owen and Ezra got a picture of a tree.


After she finished her pictures, we decided that it would be fun to send them in the mail. Olivia loves getting mail, so we thought that Owen, Ava, and Ezra would also. So Olivia told me what she wanted her letter to say, and I wrote it for her. She added the 'Love You' (with an exclamation mark...her new favorite thing to say and write) and her name.



Then we addressed it
And of course we couldn't forget to lick the envelope.



And finally ventured out to the post office to send the letter.



I hope they enjoy getting their mail tomorrow :)
(Hopefully they get their surprise mail before checking our blog).

And just so our little man doesn't get left out of another entry...
here is what he was doing the whole time.

Doctor Appointment Gone Bad!!

Yesterday Olivia had her 4 year Well Child check. She has been looking forward to this appointment since Charlie had his 2 week appointment. She was kind of a little stinker at his appointment, because she wanted the attention on her. So we have been telling her that she will have her day soon.

Well..yesterday was the day... (bad thing #1) the nurse had just called us back and Olivia tripped over her feet and fell face first into the carpet. After a quick hug and look to make sure everything was alright we headed back.

The doctor said Olivia looks good and Olivia had tons of questions for her doctor. Like "Why do you wear glasses?" "Do mosquitoes ever bite you?" "What do you use that for" and so on...I think the doctor was getting a little questioned out. She used to be this shy little girl that would never say anything to anyone she didn't know...until Charlie arrived. Now...she will talk (and question) anyone that will give her a minute of her time. At the end of the appointment it turned from this...


...to this...


(Bad Thing #2) Before we left home, I had told her that she was not going to get any shots. Then the doctor recommended doing her 'Kindergarten' shots now. He said that they can be given any time between 4 and 6 and the younger the better. He said most kids just dread coming to the doctor to get their shorts and so the best thing to do is do them now when she is not expecting them. I felt so bad having to tell her that she was going to get shots. She started crying right away and asked if she could get the shots in her nose. (She didn't mind the flu shot this year because they could give her the nasal mist). When I told her they had to give them to her in her legs, the tears started running down a little harder. The nurse came in with four colorful band-aids and four not-so-colorful syringes. It was horrible holding her down and listening to her scream (I am sure everyone else in the clinic heard her as well). I held her hand and kissed her cheek and before we knew it, it was over. I assured her that she was going to be ok and I told her that Charlie will get his shots in a few weeks at his 2 month appointment. Now that she knows what to do, she can hold his hand while he gets his shots.



We left the room with a few tears and limps and everything was all better...until...we were walking out of the clinic. Olivia was into watching what everyone else was doing and not looking in front of her and she walked right into the corner of the door, so once again she was in tears (Bad Thing #3).

After all of that I took her to McDonalds to get a Strawberry-Banana smoothie. Her new favorite treat. I think that it was well deserved :).

Charlie

Charlie is already one month old today!! Wow...time goes by fast. He has already changed so much. And he looks so much like his daddy. He is a very good little boy. He typically goes to bed around 10:00 and gets up between 1:30 and 2:30 then around 6:00 am. Not bad...hopefully he continues to let me sleep. Olivia was 11 weeks old when she started sleeping through the night. It would be nice if he could beat Olivia's time, but only time will time.

He is such a busy little guy. He is constantly moving when he is awake. He already rolls over from his tummy to back. He started this at just 12 days old...his doctor was shocked!! I had to take a video of him doing it or I thought that no one would believe me.



Here are a few pictures of him from the past month.

Charlie after his first bath with his Big Sister!!


Daddy enjoying some cuddle time with his kids.


Just taking a snooze!


Hanging out with his sister.


Bathtime!!

Olivia's Birthday

Yesterday was a very busy day for little Miss Olivia. She loves her swing that we gave her. She would swing all day long if she could. In the morning we had pictures taken. Olivia and Charlie did such a great job with them. I can't wait to see them. After that we brought Olivia to McDonalds to get a Strawberry Banana smoothie. She loves them :) Then we came home to get ready for the big party. Thank you to all of you that were able to make it and thanks for the great stuff. It is so nice that Olivia had so many grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends to share her special day with. She had so much fun and it was nice seeing everyone. The only downside is that I was so busy with food and everything else, that I hardly got to talk to anyone.

We have been talking up her birthday so much this year because she really needed an "Olivia Day" with all that has changed in her life the last month. It is not easy being a big sister...so, yesterday Jesse and I promised Olivia that she did not have to go to bed at her usual 8:00 bedtime. We said that she could stay up as late as she wants just this one time. I think that this was a mistake on our part. She stayed up really late, but it was fun for her. Our neighbors came over and she played with their two boys until 12:30!!! Luckily, she went right to bed when they left and slept until 9:30 this morning and is now napping again because she is so tired.

Here are a few pictures of her special day :)

Birthday Girl!!!

Tomorrow my baby girl is going to be 4. I cannot believe how fast the last four years have gone. It is hard to believe that four years ago today I was at the hospital getting ready to have my first baby. My water broke at about 9:30 pm and Olivia was born the next morning at 6:55. The last four years have been filled with great memories, love, laughs, and of course challenges. Here are some of my favorite memories of Olivia the past four years.

**Olivia's First Word: "Jack"
**Olivia singing "rock-a-baby"
**Olivia telling Jesse and I that she was moving out to St. Cloud
**Olivia writing on our bedroom wall and saying "I just drew people mommy"
**Olivia's First Day of Preschool

**Olivia becoming a "Big Sister"


A not so good moment...last week Olivia was playing with a scissors and she started running around with them. I took them from her and placed them on the table. I told her that she can only use a scissors when she is sitting at the table. She looked at me and said "You Stupid Kindergarten Teacher." Now I was not a very happy person. She immediately had to go up to her room and go to bed (it was nap time) and had to apologize. I must say that Jesse and I were very disappointed in her, but we both had to laugh. She is one smart cookie to be able to put that connection together.

Here are some pictures of Olivia on her previous birthdays.


The Day We Welcomed Olivia to the World

8 lbs. 13 oz.
21 3/4 inches



Olivia's First Birthday...

Olivia's Second Birthday...


Olivia's Third Birthday...



This is the first year that Olivia really gets the whole birthday thing. She is so excited and cannot wait for tomorrow to come. Everyday this week she has been waking up and asking how many days until her birthday. Tomorrow is going to be a fun filled day. We have promised her that as soon as she wakes up she can get her present from us (shh...it is a swing and swinging is her favorite thing to do). After that we are having family pictures and then it is time to get everything ready for all of the people coming to celebrate her birthday. I will post pictures soon.

So I am Going to Give Blogging a Try

Alright...I am not going to make any promises that I am going to keep this up, but I am going to try. I am not planning on posting on a daily basis, but hopefully once or twice a week. We will see how it goes, and if I can find a free minute or two. So I hope you enjoy...