Party Time!

In true Olivia fashion, we had many birthday celebrations.
We kicked off her birthday in Elizabethton with a party at Granny's house.  She is set for our Disney trip!

 
 

Paige fell asleep on Lilo and stayed asleep through pictures and transfers, ha!

Needless to say, she was pretty happy!  After we left granny's we headed to Stoney Creek to Pal's house for dinner. 

Dad's friend has a baby donkey, so we went to visit them.  Olivia and Paige found an assortment of animals!

She had a great day!

Later that week, we let Olivia pick out her birthday present from us.
It's a boy!
Introducing "Little Red" Wexler:

She has been asking for a pet and almost convinced me to buy a bunny, but settled on a beta.  Her first beta, "Little Blue" didn't survive the ride home.  Fortunately, Pet Smart has a 14 day guarantee on fish.  We have grown to a 2 pet family, as Michael's parents brought Bodine to Dayton for us last weekend.  Sweet little Rambler had to be put down a few weeks ago after having uncontrollable seizures one day.  Bodine seems to be adjusting well- he goes from laying on his bed in the garage to laying on the front porch.  Great retirement home!  He has also claimed a spot on the couch when we feel sorry for him and let him inside:

Paige is demanding attention, we'll save the gymnastics party and first day of Kindergarten for the next post!

Five...

Five years ago tonight:

- we were touring the NICU
- we were scared about lung maturity
- I was having contractions that could only be stopped by medication
- we saw a 5 pound baby and couldn't believe how tiny it was
- I was scarfing down as much food as possible before my 12 a.m. cut-off (ha!)
- we were watching our baby's heartbeat on the monitor
- we were told our baby only weighed 3.5 pounds after an ultrasound
- we were packing up my room on the ante-partum side after a 2 week stay
- we were TERRIFIED

If I could go back to that night, I would tell us:

- your lives will never be richer
- your hearts will never be fuller
- the love for this child is immeasurable
- the joy she brings is indescribable
- you'll be OK

I would tell us that in 5 years, your heart will be breaking as you prepare to send your baby to Kindergarten. 

And despite your worries and fears, she is amazing.

She has her moments (naturally), but you would be hard pressed to find a more gentle soul.

And whatever you imagine life with a child is like, you're wrong.  It's better.

Your worries are misplaced, for this child is meant just for you.

 

She got the best parts of each of you.

 

 

Any insecurities about parenting disappear when she tells you she loves you.

There will be times when you KNOW you messed up.  That you said the wrong thing or lost your temper.  She'll forgive you.  Every time.

You will not believe what you will do to make her smile.

And you can't imagine the pain of seeing her cry.

I would tell us that this child is everything you wanted.

And even during the tantrums, whining, and tears, your love only gets stronger.

That you don't even remember life before she was here.

And watching her with her baby sister is enough to break your heart into a million pieces.

But most important of all, I would tell us that we are doing something right.  This child knows she is loved.  She knows that there are many, many people that would do anything for her.

And in the grand scheme of things, that's what really matters.

Happy 5th birthday, darling girl.  We absolutely adore you and love you so much!


*Slightly less sappy post about birthday parties coming soon!

Paige says:

"Olivia, you are hysterical!"

Is there anything cuter...

than matching sisters?  I'm guessing I don't have too much longer before Olivia puts a stop to this, so I am enjoying it now:

 

Paige celebrated her 7 month birthday:

I love that little chalk board and so does she.  I had to re-write "7 months" at least 5 times.  She gets sweeter every day:

She really doesn't have enough hair for a pony tail, but Olivia and I tried it anyway:

I'm still somewhat in denial (ha!), but Olivia is starting Kindergarten in 3 weeks.

She had her 5 year well visit a few weeks early.  41 inches and 34.5 pounds, around 20th percentile for both.  Still petite, but on the charts!  She only needed one shot to be up to date for school, but that one shot was enough to send her hiding behind a chair:

Is that not the most pitiful picture you've even seen?  Poor thing.  She was screaming, Paige was crying and it took 2 nurses and me to contain the madness in that room.  She was so hysterical, she didn't even realize when it was over.  Thank goodness she is finished with shots until 6th grade!

We moved all the toys downstairs and made a playroom for the girls.  Daddy decided that would be a good place for his drums.  We found out that Paige is a fan of the cymbal:

This video is from a few weeks ago.  We went to a local lake that has a "beach" area and stopped to eat on the way home.  This was the first time Paige sat in a high chair and she was pretty excited about it:

She did that the whole time and it was LOUD.  Luckily, the people around us thought it was funny!

July Happenings

Even though it was a rainy 4th of July, we still managed to have fun!  We invited our friends from Ooltewah and Olivia's friend Lexi and her parents over for a cookout. 

Can you say "diva?"

She is something else!

 

Michael and Brad have been friends since high school.  No way was a little rain going to stop their fireworks show!

 

That was during a break in the rain.  It eventually started pouring.  When it slacked to a drizzle, we all sat on the porch while the boys stood on the road with umbrellas and shot off the fireworks.  Fun!

The girls and I took off the next day to spend a night in Johnson City before heading to Pigeon Forge with Granny.  Olivia had been begging to see her cousins and we picked a great day to visit.  They were heading to the pool when we got there!  Olivia did great.  Watching Maggie and Aubrey swim helped ease some of her fears and she was going underwater by the time we left.  Uncle Brett helped her, too.

The next day, we headed to Lilo's for lunch.

 

We had planned a few weeks ago to spend 2 nights in Pigeon Forge with Mom and go to Dollywood.  We haven't been to Dollywood yet this year, so Olivia was VERY excited!  Unfortunately, she was still about 1/2 inch too short for the next set of rides (you have to be 42 inches.  She was measuring 41.5 wearing shoes with a THICK sole, ha!).  Maybe by the Fall she will be tall enough!
Still managed to ride her favorites, like the Shooting Star and Ferris Wheel:

  

It was the perfect day for Dollywood.  Not terribly hot and humid.  Paige did great!  There are a few nursing stations around Dollywood and we took a break for a nap in one. 

The next day, we headed into Gatlinburg and walked around for a bit:

 

It was a nice little getaway!

When Paige was born, our sweet neighbors across the cul-de-sac got Olivia a butterfly garden kit.  I finally remembered to order the caterpillars a few weeks ago.  It has been really neat watching them spin the cocoons and emerge.  We had 5 butterflies that Olivia set free today.

 

She already asked for more caterpillars!