Here I am again
It's been a bit since I blogged. I've really wanted to since it's a wonderful way to document my life, but time has just gotten away from me. I find that long breaks from my blog are a bit like running into a good friend you haven't seen in years. So many things have happened over those years like job changes, bearing children, moving to a different locations- but somehow when they ask you what you've been up to you just say "oh nothing." Meanwhile you always have something new to say to your sister that you talk to 20 times a day. So I'll do my best to treat this blog post like my sister and not the old friend because it's the small details in life that make it beautiful; the singular woven threads that seem to play such a small part but when you stand back, oh what a beautiful tapestry you've created.
Motherhood is such a roller coaster. I never feel too much animosity at the downs because oh how they make me cherish the ups. Yesterday was a hard day. Although I hate to complain when I think of the struggles of so many others, still I say to myself what I say to others who have the same comment- just because someone else is going through something really hard doesn't diminish the fact that what you are doing is hard for you. A couple days ago I was up late with Elijah because he would not let me put him down! I went to bed around 2 am. Olive woke up screaming at like 3ish, thankfully Kc went and took care of it, but then she woke up a few hours later screaming again (she normally gets up closer to 8 or 830.) I went and got her and pulled her into bed with us. Apparently being in bed with Mom and Dad is too much fun, so I decided to get up with her and start the day. I was so exhausted and I had a tired two year old. To make it worse little Elijah decided to not sleep all day unless I was holding him. It made for a frustrating morning that required a lot of caffeine (don't worry Elijah got my extra spare milk from downstairs, and not the spiked version.) Days like these are rare but hard none the less. It's difficult when I know the best way for my day to flow well- but I just can't quite get there! Sometimes I just can't get Olive to get dressed, and I can't put the baby down long enough to help her. Sometimes I can't get myself dressed and it's just hard to make it all come together. Often you just have to submit to the demands of life.
The next day however was a good one and put us back in our routine of getting out and about and feeling that we can conquer the world. I love going places with Olive, she makes my life so much more fun and interesting. In the morning we ran some errands and Olive's observations of her surroundings make even things like grocery shopping seem like a trip though the Safari. She is constantly gasping and pointing out things all over the place. Then we went home for some quiet time, and despite the fact that Olive couldn't quite bring herself to take a nap, it was ok because Elijah thought he would pay us back from the day before and sleep for a while so that Olive and I could make cookies together. I love having her in the kitchen with me, it's something I have really looked forward to, and while I can count on half the ingredients ending up on the floor I can't tell you how happy it makes the two of us to be cooking together. Olive gets so giddy and she puts her hands on her face and shakes with excitement when I let her dump things in the bowl. It's the best feeling.
I've been wanting to jot down my "Olive update" because she changes so much everyday and you think you can't forget those little things they do that are so special, but sadly sometimes you do! Olive has the same general ritual when we go to bed, but everyday there is some new twist to it. Generally after brushing her teeth (sometimes we also brush the teeth of various toys and stuffed animals,) we go in her room to read some books before bed. She gather her books and makes a neat stack by me, then she gathers her prefered animals for the night (most often the kangaroo or giraffe.) I sit on the floor and she lays with her head in my lap and hands me the books. I can NOT pick up the book, if I do she says "no" and grabs it out of my hand, sets it down, then picks it back up again to hand to me. Sometimes she is more into the ritual than the actual books and she gets up several times to rearrange the stack or gather new animals or instruct me on something or other. Recently she demands that I tickle her head or tummy with one hand while I read and she turns the pages for me. After we read Olive dumps a bunch of random things in her crib and we say prayers together. We give each other "kiss-o's" where she grabs my face with her two hands and plants one on my mouth, then she says "hugs" and we give each other a big hug and say "love you." It's a routine and ritual I will miss so much when she is older.
She has little phrases that she always says like "oh no, what happened" as she shakes her head (even if she caused "what happened.") She often asks me to "hold you (me)" or "help you (me,)" and she does sometimes correctly use me instead of you, but not always. She is always reading a book or playing with her animals in an animated fashion and she likes to make them fly and ride on each other's backs a lot. She likes to say no a lot, but is quite easily talked into whatever it is she said no to. She still has that beautiful hair and bright blue eyes and charms everyone no matter where she goes.
Elijah will start to get updates soon but for now he is a good baby most of the time. He likes to be held (like all babies) and is very contented when we pick him up. He sleeps pretty well through the nights with his feedings every 3 or 4 hours. I really try to get out with them in the morning if I can because he sleep so well on the go in the car or in the stroller, and when I bring him back home he tends to stay asleep in the car seat when he otherwise would want for me to hold him. He makes our lives complete and we are so happy to have him.
I pray that everyone is doing well this Christmas Season. Here is our Christmas card this year. We wish we could send it to everyone we know, but if you didn't get it know that we are thinking of you all.
Merry Christmas.
It's been a bit since I blogged. I've really wanted to since it's a wonderful way to document my life, but time has just gotten away from me. I find that long breaks from my blog are a bit like running into a good friend you haven't seen in years. So many things have happened over those years like job changes, bearing children, moving to a different locations- but somehow when they ask you what you've been up to you just say "oh nothing." Meanwhile you always have something new to say to your sister that you talk to 20 times a day. So I'll do my best to treat this blog post like my sister and not the old friend because it's the small details in life that make it beautiful; the singular woven threads that seem to play such a small part but when you stand back, oh what a beautiful tapestry you've created.
Motherhood is such a roller coaster. I never feel too much animosity at the downs because oh how they make me cherish the ups. Yesterday was a hard day. Although I hate to complain when I think of the struggles of so many others, still I say to myself what I say to others who have the same comment- just because someone else is going through something really hard doesn't diminish the fact that what you are doing is hard for you. A couple days ago I was up late with Elijah because he would not let me put him down! I went to bed around 2 am. Olive woke up screaming at like 3ish, thankfully Kc went and took care of it, but then she woke up a few hours later screaming again (she normally gets up closer to 8 or 830.) I went and got her and pulled her into bed with us. Apparently being in bed with Mom and Dad is too much fun, so I decided to get up with her and start the day. I was so exhausted and I had a tired two year old. To make it worse little Elijah decided to not sleep all day unless I was holding him. It made for a frustrating morning that required a lot of caffeine (don't worry Elijah got my extra spare milk from downstairs, and not the spiked version.) Days like these are rare but hard none the less. It's difficult when I know the best way for my day to flow well- but I just can't quite get there! Sometimes I just can't get Olive to get dressed, and I can't put the baby down long enough to help her. Sometimes I can't get myself dressed and it's just hard to make it all come together. Often you just have to submit to the demands of life.
The next day however was a good one and put us back in our routine of getting out and about and feeling that we can conquer the world. I love going places with Olive, she makes my life so much more fun and interesting. In the morning we ran some errands and Olive's observations of her surroundings make even things like grocery shopping seem like a trip though the Safari. She is constantly gasping and pointing out things all over the place. Then we went home for some quiet time, and despite the fact that Olive couldn't quite bring herself to take a nap, it was ok because Elijah thought he would pay us back from the day before and sleep for a while so that Olive and I could make cookies together. I love having her in the kitchen with me, it's something I have really looked forward to, and while I can count on half the ingredients ending up on the floor I can't tell you how happy it makes the two of us to be cooking together. Olive gets so giddy and she puts her hands on her face and shakes with excitement when I let her dump things in the bowl. It's the best feeling.
I've been wanting to jot down my "Olive update" because she changes so much everyday and you think you can't forget those little things they do that are so special, but sadly sometimes you do! Olive has the same general ritual when we go to bed, but everyday there is some new twist to it. Generally after brushing her teeth (sometimes we also brush the teeth of various toys and stuffed animals,) we go in her room to read some books before bed. She gather her books and makes a neat stack by me, then she gathers her prefered animals for the night (most often the kangaroo or giraffe.) I sit on the floor and she lays with her head in my lap and hands me the books. I can NOT pick up the book, if I do she says "no" and grabs it out of my hand, sets it down, then picks it back up again to hand to me. Sometimes she is more into the ritual than the actual books and she gets up several times to rearrange the stack or gather new animals or instruct me on something or other. Recently she demands that I tickle her head or tummy with one hand while I read and she turns the pages for me. After we read Olive dumps a bunch of random things in her crib and we say prayers together. We give each other "kiss-o's" where she grabs my face with her two hands and plants one on my mouth, then she says "hugs" and we give each other a big hug and say "love you." It's a routine and ritual I will miss so much when she is older.
She has little phrases that she always says like "oh no, what happened" as she shakes her head (even if she caused "what happened.") She often asks me to "hold you (me)" or "help you (me,)" and she does sometimes correctly use me instead of you, but not always. She is always reading a book or playing with her animals in an animated fashion and she likes to make them fly and ride on each other's backs a lot. She likes to say no a lot, but is quite easily talked into whatever it is she said no to. She still has that beautiful hair and bright blue eyes and charms everyone no matter where she goes.
Elijah will start to get updates soon but for now he is a good baby most of the time. He likes to be held (like all babies) and is very contented when we pick him up. He sleeps pretty well through the nights with his feedings every 3 or 4 hours. I really try to get out with them in the morning if I can because he sleep so well on the go in the car or in the stroller, and when I bring him back home he tends to stay asleep in the car seat when he otherwise would want for me to hold him. He makes our lives complete and we are so happy to have him.
I pray that everyone is doing well this Christmas Season. Here is our Christmas card this year. We wish we could send it to everyone we know, but if you didn't get it know that we are thinking of you all.
Merry Christmas.
