Last Night

I just have to say how wonderful my children are. They were both sooooo good at church last night. Not a peep out of either one of them. Thanks to the help of her big cousin Marissa, Olivia sat and colored the entire time, stood and kneeled and prayed. It was so cute. She didn't make any noise. Everyone commented on how well behaved she was. Scott was awake the entire time as well and passed down and over the pews to everyone who wanted a turn to hold him. He didn't start crying until we were on our way out the door when we had to put him back in his seat. It was so awesome.

The mass was beautiful and very cleansing since there was not a dry eye in the church, but it felt good. We all went back to Pam's house after mass for coffee, cake etc. Scott was awake the whole time which was good, I thought. Since he had slept all day, I was hoping he would stay awake and then I could feed him at 10 when we got home and he would right to sleep. Well, we got home at 10, Miss Olivia went right to bed, no fights with that and we didn't hear from her again. I fed Scott and the terrible gas pain started again. He didn't go to sleep until 12:30! Ugh, it was horrible. I was about to put him in his carseat and drive around, that's how bad it was. I feel so bad for him because he seems to be in so much pain.

I am going to ask the doctor tomorrow what else I can do. Olivia has her 3 year check up tomorrow, right on her birthday, so hopefully the doctor can help me out with Scott's problems as well. I read up on gassy babies last night on line and found some homeopathic remedy called Colic Calm which helps gassy babies with using all natural ingredients and gripe water. All of the reviews from moms who have used this product were amazing, so hopefully it will work because we are on our 2nd bottle of Mylicon and it does absolutely nothing. I wish the Colic Calm was overnighted and here right now. I need it!!!

Out and About

Well, I braved the stores today with Aunt Laurie and Scott. It was Scott's first outing other than the doctors! I really didn't want to take him out so soon, but I had to get their Christmas outfits today because I am going to my in-laws tomorrow to get their Christmas pictures done for our cards. My in-laws are going to take a photo of Olivia, Scott and Sammy (my brother and sister in law's baby) -the 3 grandchildren - for their holiday cards and then they will take one of Olivia and Scott for mine and one of Sammy for Dave and Amanda. It should be fun! They took the one of Olivia last year and it came out awesome! I had done hers the first 2 years and they weren't so great. Her first year Christmas card doubled as her birth announcement and her 2nd year she wouldn't look at the camera, so I have a side profile of her, but her hand is on her hip, so that was just too funny! I still have to do Scott's birth announcement picture as well, maybe I will put the information on the Christmas card like I did for Olivia, but we will see.

Anyway, the stores were CRAZY. Doesn't anyone work anymore??? Kohl's was senior citizen day, so OMG, I won't even say anything more about that. Scott was so good, he slept the entire time!

I ended up getting Olivia a beautiful Christmas dress, but ended up with something I am not so crazy about for Scott. I might brave the stores again tomorrow morning with both kids in tow before we head off to my in-laws to try and find something else. I guess I just have to come to grips that boy clothes are just not as cute as little girl clothes. I couldn't believe how many infant dresses and Christmas outfits they had for girls and the boys were just hideous! Oh well, what can you do?

We have Arline's mass tonight. There is no wake or funeral since she is being cremated, so we are having a mass tonight at St. Marguerite's in Brookfield in honor of her. Erik and I are braving this together and bringing both kids! I know everyone wants to see them and hopefully they will lighten the mood a little bit, but I am so nervous.

Wish us luck!

Our Schedule...1 week

Ok, so it's been a week now of being parents of 2 kids. That is so weird to say. Anyway, we made the decision to keep Olivia in school full time. Partly because if we took her out & only sent her to the pre-school program on Tues & Thurs, she would lose her full time slot & she would have to go on a waiting list & I might have had a problem when I went back to work and partly because she loves it there & was begging to go back to school. She missed a week of school when Scott was born & she was soooo excited to go back yesterday. I was dreading yesterday morning of having to drop her off & taking both of them, getting them ready etc, but it went off without a hitch & I was so happy.

Here is the schedule I have Scott on & it's the same one I had Olivia on which makes everything run smoothly:

Wake at 6am, get Scott up, change him, feed him. Put him back down to sleep in his crib.

Straighten up from the night before, run dishwasher, make Olivia's lunch, pack her bag for school, have a cup of coffee, make her breakfast.

7am, wake Olivia up, give her breakfast, teeth brushed, potty, dressed, hair, coat on, get myself ready and bags by the front door, put Scott in his seat.

8am, drop Olivia off at school, back home by 8:30am, put Scott back down in his crib.

Then it's my time from 8:30-10am, check emails, put laundry in, empty dishwasher, make bottles for the day, take a shower etc.

10am, wake Scott, feed him, change him. Then I keep him awake from 10-2. Now of course he doesn't stay awake for the full 4 hours, but he does pretty good. I don't put him back down in his crib. If he sleeps, it is just a little cat nap in his seat etc.

2pm, feed Scott, change him, put him down in his crib for his nap until 6pm.

5:30pm, Olivia and Erik home (Erik is picking Olivia up from school). Get dinner ready, me, Erik and Olivia, eat, clean up, put on one of Olivia's shows for her.

6pm, wake Scott, feed him and change him. Now these next hours are the ones that I hate the most. We keep Scott awake until his next bottle at 10pm. He is quite cranky during these hours and Olivia wants us to play with her, it's crazy! These are the same hours that I had the baby blues when I had Olivia and would cry most nights during the evening hours for no reason, but that ended quickly.

7:30, bath for Olivia, teeth brushed, pj's, story and daddy will lay down with her. Now, in a perfect world, she will be asleep by 8pm, but so far she has been playing her games & getting out of bed & throwing the tantrums of all tantrums until she passes out on the floor, the couch or our bed and then we put her in her bed & she stays there until morning.

9/10pm, feed Scott, change him, put him down for the night.

2am, Scott up, feed him, change him, back down for the rest of the night.

6am, it all starts again!!!

It has all been great so far and hopefully we can stick to this schedule because it works and makes life run smoothly for our family. This schedule worked for Olivia and by 6 1/2 weeks she was sleeping through the night and we just cut out that 2am bottle and she slept from her 10pm bottle to her 6am bottle and went back down from 6am to 10am.

Scott had his 1 week visit yesterday and he is 8lbs 9oz, the same he weighed when he came home from the hospital. He hasn't lost anymore weight but hasn't gained anything either, but the doctor said that was fine, so we will go with that. I have changed his formula because he has been extremely gassy which makes him a little fussy, but not bad, so we will see if this helps. The doctor gave me tons of samples, so that is awesome and she said to try it for a week and see how he does. Hopefully it works, but what do I do with all of those cans of the other stuff that we have stocked on?!?!

I will post pictures of Scott later on when he wakes from his nap so everyone can see what he looks like now that he is a week and 1 day old!!

Arline

As most of you know, Arline, my stepfather Mark's mother, has been very ill. She passed away last night. Arline has been like my grandmother since I was 12 years old when my mom and Mark had gotten together. When my grandmother passed away Arline and I grew even closer and then when Olivia arrived into our lives, it truly brought our families closer. Olivia called her GiGi for great-grandmother. Olivia absolutely loved her Gigi and when Pam (Mark's sister) started watching Olivia once or twice a week, she got to see GiGi all that more often. She constantly talks about her and knows that she was sick and had to see the doctor. I am not sure how to approach this one with her.

Mark and his sisters were all together last night. It is extremely hard and so sad to say good bye to her. She was such a wonderful person and whenever I try to explain to people how wonderful she truly was, I tell the story about the day of my grandmother's funeral. When my grandmother passed away almost 5 years ago, it devastated our family, truly devastated. At the funeral we were hardly able to keep it together. (my grandmother passed away unexpectedly, so there was no preparation or warning).

Arline came up to me and put her arm around me & this is what she said to me:

Sherilyn, Gram knew how much you loved her, there was no doubt about that, so don't ever doubt that or feel badly about not being able to say good-bye. I will tell you how I know she knew you really loved her. On the night of her last birthday when we all got together and went out to dinner, you & Erik were leaving a little early and got up from the table and said your goodbyes and left. You walked out, but then came back in & went right over to Gram, kissed her on the cheek and said "I love you Gram" & then you turned and left. I said to Gram, "wow, that was really sweet of Sherilyn to do that." Gram said, "oh, Sherilyn? She always tells me how much she loves me and I will always get that from her".

Even though this story from Arline made me break down in tears, it made me feel so much better and truly opened my heart to Arline for her to remember this story and share it with me. That is how wonderful this woman was and she will be so missed by my family.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration at our house this year. I was so happy to be out of the hospital & home in time for Thanksgiving. My mom did all of the cooking which was awesome. My in laws came as well and brought Olivia with them b/c she had been with them since Monday when I went into labor. We had LOTS to be thankful for this year, so it was really a great day. My aunt Laura, Marissa, Chris, Doug, Lindsay and my stepfather Mark came later on for dessert.

Olivia had absolutely no interest AT ALL in her new little brother. It was a chore just to get her to look at him. We got her to hold him for about 2 seconds at the end of the evening, but that was about it. I was so exhausted by the end of the night & just felt horrible. I had a bout of the baby blues for a second & ended up having a meltdown with tears & all & asked my in laws to take Olivia back with them. I felt terrible about it, but Olivia made me feel better by actually wanting to go & was excited to go back with them. It's now Saturday & my heart is breaking that she is not hear. She is supposed to come back tomorrow so that we can settle back into our routine & go back to school on Monday, but I think Erik is going to to go get her this evening when he gets home from work because Daddy is REALLY missing his little munchiechi. So cute. I know she is doing great with her grandparents & loves being with them, we just miss her now & it's been a long time away from Mommy & Daddy. I think it has been harder on Erik than me which has been surprising to me, but I have this new little one that has been keeping my attention focused on something else this entire time. I can't wait for everything to be back to normal, if that is ever going to happen!!

Enjoy the few pics from Thanksgiving Day.

Correction

Oops, so I posted that Scott arrived on Monday 11/21, but it was really the 20th. Terrible mommy...I am tired, what can I say? I fixed it in the entry, but just didn't want any confusion!!!

Scott Michael Spiegel

He's here!! Just in time for Thanksgiving. He arrived on Monday 11/20 at 9:22pm weighing in at 9lbs 0oz, 20 1/4 inches, no hair, just some fuzz and blue eyes. He is just so precious. We arrived at the hospital just in time. I was already 7 1/2 centimeters dilated, so no drugs! YIKES! It was harder than I remember from Olivia, how come no one warned me about this. Just kidding! Enjoy the pics. My home email address is shezzbro1@aol.com. Email me there, not at work. We love you all!

Keep checking my blog b/c I am sure I will be updating daily with new pictures!

My Baby Shower

My mother-in-law through me a baby shower today. It was a small intimate gathering with a few friends and family. It was really nice and relaxing and enjoyable. It was my mother-in-law Signy, her 4 friends, Herta, Dorothy, Luann and Donna. Then my mom Linda, my Aunt Laura, my cousin Marissa, my cousin Doug's fiance Lindsay, my cousin Andrew's wife, Heidi, my cousin Michelle and her daughter Alexa, my cousin Mike's (Michelle's brother) wife Sarah and my friend Stefanie and her daughter Payton and ME!

Great food and a great time. Normally you don't have a shower for your 2nd baby, so it was unexpected and so sweet. My mother-in-law felt that since all I had was pink clothes at home from Olivia...we needed some blue! I definitely did. I also wanted a new stroller, the one that your toddler can sit or stand on the back rather than having a big bulky double stroller. My mom got me that, so I was so happy. I also got one of those baby papasan infant seats that are like the bouncer seat, but one that you can use from day one, which is really nice, my friend Stef got me that me along with a new diaper bag that is a back pack...for Erik!!! Target didn't take the infant seat off my registry, so I ended up getting 2, but the other one went back to Sarah b/c she is having a baby 2 weeks after me, so she needs one too!! They are great and I can't wait to try it out.

My aunt and Lindsay got me lots of goodies and the bedding too for his crib which is great because the bedding I have for the crib is girly and can't be used again for him.

My cousin Michelle made me a beautiful blanket. She made one for Olivia too when Olivia was born, so that is really special. My mother-in-law's friend also made a homemade blanket for him. It's nice to have those handmade things.

Then I got lots of clothes which we really needed and I truly appreciated!!

My mother-in-law got me a fantastic robe that I am going to live in. A nice gift for mommy.

Enjoy the pics from the shower. Guess I can't be shy anymore of showing off my huge belly! As you can see from the last couple of pics that little Miss Payton was REALLY enjoying herself!! Too funny!

Bedtime Woes

I just have to share my suffering with someone. Erik and I are at our wits end and I don't know what to do anymore with this bedtime issue we are having with Olivia. Nothing is working. I have read articles, websites etc to get ideas on how to keep this child in bed and NOTHING works. She just doesn't care and thinks it is absolutely hysterical. I have tried a sticker wall, if she stays in bed, she gets a sticker, if she gets out, it gets taken away, she doesn't care. We let her keep her door open with a night light, nope doesn't matter. She gets to pick out a special toy to sleep with, nope not that either. We have taken toys away as a punishment, doesn't work.

Her bedtime routine is the same as it always has been: Bath, pj's, teeth brushed, she gets to watch a special tv show of hers or a short movie while she relaxes, we read a bedtime story in her bed while mommy or daddy lay with her and then it's good night. She always stayed in bed and was asleep by 8 at the latest. Now she isn't going to sleep until 10:30. Last night was the best night in a LONG time and she feel asleep at 9:15 and that is b/c Erik and I took turns standing in her door way and putting her back in bed. How ridiculous is that!?!?! It gets tiring going up and down the stairs! Great workout, I guess.

Tonight we took away tv. The tv didn't get turned on until after she was put in bed. Sometimes when Erik gets home with her, he will let her watch a show of hers before dinner time and this takes place of her tv later in the night, but he didn't put the tv on at all and we had a quiet dinner and just read books and played after dinner before bedtime, so no tv. She complained, but it was explained to her that tv is a special treat and she can't watch it until she is a good girl and stays in her bed.

At first it was affecting me and I thought for sure I was going to go into early labor b/c of this and the stress, but now it is really affecting her. She is not having good days at school b/c she is so tired. The teachers had commented on this b/c they NEVER had any problems with her and she was always well behaved and in good moods and all of a sudden that has changed. They are the ones that brought it to my attention that she may be acting out because of the new baby. I thought perhaps it was the ear infection, but it's not like she is falling asleep and waking up in the middle of the night b/c she isn't feeling well, she just simply won't go to sleep. Once she is asleep, she doesn't wake up again so it's not because she is sick.

Maybe it's b/c of the new baby coming or something. I truly thought she didn't even really understand the fact that he will be here one day, but I guess I should give her more credit than that. Last night she wanted to be rocked like a baby and sleep in the crib. I was almost tempted to throw her in there b/c she can't get out!! Sad, I know. If Erik and I discipline her and tell her that she has to go to sleep, she just cries that she wants her grandma (my mother) or her Bestema (Erik's mother). It kills me, just kills me to hear that. I know she is just saying it b/c she is upset with us, but I just feel horrible. We tell her how much we love her and that going to sleep is important for her so she has energy and she feels good so she can play with her friends at school the next day. We tell her that it is her job to stay in bed and to show us that she can do a good job. Nothing works. I just don't get it. I know, I know, she is 3 and reasoning with a 3 year old is near impossible, but where did that little girl go that I never had problems with going to bed at night?? I need her back. How will we deal with this once the baby comes? Ugh!

Hopefully someone will read this and have some words of wisdom. It's now 8:50 and she has been out of her bed 9 times already. This started at 7:45. She is tired b/c she is yawning, but laughs hysterically every time I go up there and take her by the hand and put her back in bed. We aren't even yelling anymore, there is no emotion, just putting her back in bed. She was just down her telling me that she needed me to brush her doll's hair and put a clip in it. When I said "no, it's time to go to sleep" and took her by the hand to bring her upstairs again, she freaked, fell to floor and started rolling around crying, kicking and screaming. Who is this child?? Why won't she give up and get tired of this game???

HELP!

Another Ear Infection...So It Continues...

I took Olivia to the doctors today b/c she has had a bad cough for a couple of weeks with a runny nose. She has pretty much been sick since she started school in September. New kids...new germs. She did have an ear infection in September and they put her on Amox., but that never does anything, so it probably never went away. Poor kid. I think she is just so used to the ear pain that she doesn't know any different. She had been ear infection free since February all the way until September.

We changed doctors and today was the first time seeing the new doctor. They reviewed her medical records from the previous pediatrician and they want to see how she does through this winter with the ears and we may have to start with the ENT doctors again. She had seen an ENT back when she was getting ear infections every other month and they were on the fence about tubes but because she cleared up so quickly every time and never had fluid left over in her ears, it wasn't going to affect her hearing or speech, so we never did the tubes. We will see this season once again. I pray she doesn't need them because I don't want to go through that with her.

The picture today is from her after the doctors visit and when I asked her how she was feeling she made a sad face, so that's her impression of her sad face when she doesn't feel well. Then a couple of pics of her and her Uncle Doug cuddling on the couch. Too cute.

38 Week Visit

Two weeks to my due date! I had my 38 week visit today. I am 1cm dilated. Big Whoop! I was hoping for some bigger news, but not much to say. He is still head down, so that is good. I thought for sure with all of his movement lately that he was going to flip and put me into a panic. I tell him every day to stay put so we don't end up with a C-section!!! Pray for me. My next visit is next Monday for my 39 week visit. That is when I delivered with Olivia, exactly 39 weeks, one week early, so keep your fingers crossed. I am so ready. Well, at least ready to not be pregnant anymore since I am so uncomfortable, but I am not sure if I am ready yet for him to be here. It's going to be so strange!!! But we can't wait. More to come...

Under Construction

So as most of you know, my Aunt Laura's home is currently under construction. Her dream kitchen is now being constructed. My cousin Andrew is doing all of the construction and Doug is doing the electrical. The layout will be the new kitchen will be going in the former family room, the former kitchen will now be a formal dining room and then the old dining room and formal living room will become the family room.

As she is putting a damper on the holidays because the construction has begun and won't be complete until January...we are all very happy for her! Just kidding about the holidays, but as everyone knows, her home is the central meeting place for our entire family...what will we do!! LOL It's going to be awesome once it is done. She is currently using the kitchen downstairs that was Gram's. Pain in the neck, but it's better than nothing, right!

The first picture you see is a picture looking into the former kitchen from the hallway at the door that goes out to the deck. That door will soon be no more. That's Taz walking through.

The 2nd picture is a picture of the former family room looking in from the dining room. The big window has now been boarded up. That's Marissa posing for the camera...she is just so shy, can't you tell. Olivia is in the background , someone must be up on the latter or something.

The 3rd picture is looking into the former family room, you can see the sliders on the left that will be closed up a new french door will be put in to access the kitchen from the deck.

The 4th picture is looking into the former kitchen from the dining room, you can see the door that leads down to the basement on the left.

The 5th picture is looking into the former dining room from the kitchen. There is a make shift wall up right now because they are using the other side for their living room, to the left is the entrance to the old family room/new kitchen.

The 6th picture is looking into the hallway from the old kitchen. You can see the refrigerator plugged in where the desk was in the foyer.

The 7th picture is looking into the living room/dining room that will now become the new family room. The picture is being taken from where the fireplace is. This is just set up like this for now and will be rearranged once everything is done...with a new plasma TV above the fire place!

The 8th and last picture is looking out from the living room so you can see the great location of the refrigerator right now! Too much!

Well, I can't wait to see the finished product. Will keep you updated!

Jackson and Ryan

My very good friend Ryan and her new baby Jackson came to visit today. He was 4 weeks old yesterday. He is just absolutely precious! Boy, it's going to be strange getting used to a brand new baby again, but I can't wait!

Ryan and I have known each other since I was 3 and she was 2. Our mother's worked together when we were little and that is how we met. We have been friends ever since. We had the best childhood growing up together and practically spent every weekend together.

Ryan and her husband Larry met on our vacation that Ryan and I took cross country. We were on one of those Thelma and Louise "finding ourselves" vacations. We had just both gotten out of relationships and were just heart broken, so we left all of our worries and troubles behind and took off on a Wednesday night. By morning we were in Chicago! We didn't really have an agenda or any reservations anywhere, we just new we wanted to get to Vegas and New Orleans. The first night we stopped to actually sleep in a hotel was in Nebraska, woke in the morning and continue our drive. Most of our stops were in rest areas to freshen up. We stopped then in Denver, CO for lunch, yep, just for lunch. We got back in the car and continued our drive. We had a scare at night in Utah and almost ran out of gas. I wish I could go into the entire story b/c it is the most hysterical thing ever, but we ended up begging this lady to open her gas station b/c she just had closed up for the night and we were able to fill up and be on our way. We made it to Vegas at about 3am on Sunday. If you have never done it, I recommend driving into Vegas at night. It was the most BEAUTIFUL sight I have ever seen coming up over this mountain and seeing the lights of Vegas. I was so overwhelmed & stood out the sunroof to take a panoramic shot. AWESOME! We stayed a couple of days, got back in the car, drove to the Grand Canyon and camped out at the Grand Canyon. It was so hot during the day, but man does it get cold at night!!! We then drove off and our next stop was New Orleans. That's where we hung out with the marines for the night and one of them just happened to be Larry. New Orleans was definitely a trip. We had such a blast. Let's put it this way, we spent the night in the French Quarters right on Bourbon St. and at the end of the night, I said "hey, let's go to Bourbon St., I really want to go there". Everyone laughed and said, "Sher, that's where we have been ALL night". Ooops. What can I say, I was on vacation and had some drinking to do with my girl and our new friends!! After New Orleans, Ryan and I drove off to FL and spent a couple of days on the beaches of FL. We then left and the drive up the East Coast was a reality check that we were heading back to our lives. BLAH! But it was the best vacation of my life and it could never be duplicated!

Ryan and Larry stayed in touch and a few months later she packed up and moved to VA where Larry was based. They later got married and some time later moved to CT when Larry was out of the marines.

Now they live in Suffield with their beautiful baby boy Jackson!!

This was Olivia's first time holding a baby and she did great. Don't they look so cute! That's what she is going to look like with her baby brother.

Open House

Erik and I attended Olivia's open house tonight for her 3 year old preschool class at St. Joe's. It was nice to meet all of the other parents and see her classroom and see all of their projects. Very nice. They had an ice cream social afterwards for the kids and we got to sit and chat with the other parents.

Below is a poem that was included in the package of things that the school handed out. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, who knows, but it really touched me and brought tears to my eyes especially with everything we have been going through with Olivia at nighttime and how I seem to over react at times with her tantrums.

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

If children live with criticism,

they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility,

they learn to fight.

If children live with ridicule,

they learn to be shy.

If children live with tolerance,

they learn to be patient.

If children live with encouragement,

they learn confidence.

If children live with praise,

they learn to appreciate.

If children live with fairness,

they learn justice.

If children live with security,

they learn faith.

If children live with approval,

they learn to like themselves.

If children live with acceptance, and friendship,

they learn to find love in the world.

Author Unknown

They gave this fantastic handout which gave great ideas on how to end the bedtime battle. You better believe I will be reading through that tonight! They also gave great ideas for healthy foods for lunches and snacks for those picky eaters like our Olivia, so it will be nice to get some new ideas for foods! Lunchtime is the hardest with her and I am running out of ideas since I have to pack her a lunch every day.

Last night it took until 10:30 to get Olivia to sleep and it ended up with her crawling in bed with me and falling asleep within 2 minutes. I carried her to bed later on and she stayed there all night, but I wasn't happy about the fact that it took her falling asleep in our bed to actually go to sleep. We will see tonight. Wish me luck!!

The pics I added to this entry are just of Olivia outside the other day. I loved her outfit and thought she looked so cute, so I had to share. I want that sweater in my size!

I want to sleep in your bed Mommy & Daddy

So Erik and I have been having some tough times lately (all of a sudden) with Olivia at night going to bed. She plays the typical toddler routine, "I have to go potty", "I need a drink of water", "there's a spider in my room". We work through those and just keep putting her back in bed, but she just keeps getting out. She sits in the hallway and just cries and we go up a million times trying to get her back in and settled down. The other night we started her normal bedtime routine at 7:30 like usual and it took until 10:00 when she actually passed out on the couch and we carried her to bed. The next night she actually finally fell asleep in her own bed. Last night was a real battle and she just wanted to be in our bed, even though we weren't in there. I ended up letting her fall asleep in our bed because that is what she wanted and carried her to bed when we went up to bed. Then at 3am she came in and said she needed to sleep in our bed because she was scared.

Some may say, what's the harm, let her sleep with you. I don't really mind, but the biggest thing is that the new baby is going to be in our room for a while and I don't need her waking him when she comes in or I don't want her waking up when he wakes in the middle of the night to eat.

I have always been head strong about not letting my kids sleep with me. I am a firm believer of this. I know some don't agree with me, but I need my sleep and my own time away from them.

I feel like she now thinks this is a game and it's ok for her to keep doing this night after night. It's getting extremely aggravating because we are not used to this. She was always great at going to bed at night. We would just lay her in her crib awake, starting at like 6 months old and she would go to sleep. Ever since she moved into her big girl bed this summer, this new routine/game has started. She now has the freedom of getting in and out of the bed herself.

I feel like if I keep giving in to her and letting her in my bed, then she has won this battle. She needs to learn how to fall asleep in her own bed. I am ok with coming in to my room in the middle of the night because she had a bad dream and she needs comforting. I would never turn her away, but it's the whole bedtime thing that is really taking a toll on my nerves.

Any suggestions are welcome!!!

The pics I added of Olivia were just so sweet from when she passed out in the car ride from our house to my cousin Andrew and Heidi's house when we were going there this passed weekend for dinner. We could not wake her up and she just crashed on their couch. Everyone was trying to wake her up, but she wouldn't budge. I thought the pics were appropriate for this entry!! She also looks like she is 7 in these pics because of the angle I took them from!

37 Week Visit

I almost forgot...I had my 37 week visit today. I now go weekly. I was so excited to go for some reason and was hoping they were going to give me some sort of news. I actually lost 4 pounds and my doctor said it is an old wives' tale that when you start losing weight at the end of your pregnancy you will be going into labor shortly. YIPEE! But then she burst that bubble when she told me I wasn't dilated at all and I won't have this baby before Thanksgiving. Bummer. But they told me the same thing with Olivia. I never dilated with her or anything and my water broke a week early...so I am still hopeful!

The baby also flipped sides. He is still head down which is good and he BETTER stay that way, but he did flip over and his behind is now on the other side. Guess that's what all of the movement has been lately. He is so active, I can't believe it. She said it was fine just as long as he stays head down. Keep your fingers crossed.

My next weekly visit is next Tuesday, so hopefully more to come on that!

Baby Shower

My work is just too good to me! My team through me a surprise baby shower today. It was so nice and I had absolutely no idea and did not expect it at all. They brought in all sorts of goodies and gifts and the best thing ever...a gift card to my most favorite store of all...TARGET! They know me so well. I am going to miss everyone so much while I am out on maternity leave, but it will be a nice break too! :)

They are the best team to work with and I am just so grateful and thankful for each of them!

Olivia

Just one last entry for today and I think I will be all set! This is a quick update on my precious little Olivia.

She started preschool in September this year at St. Joe's. She absolutely loves it. She is there M-F full time at what they call "Little School" and then on Tuesday's and Thursday's, the teachers come over and get the 3 year olds to go to "Big School". They actually walk them over to the school and they have their own classroom where they have their preschool classes. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Johnson. There are 3 3 year old preschool classes.

She is doing so well. This passed summer was a major one for us with milestones because in order for Olivia to be able to attend this school, she had to be potty trained, 100%!!! That meant, knowing when she had to go, going on her own, pulling her own pants up and down, getting up and down on the potty herself and wiping! I was so scared and I couldn't believe that they didn't help her at all, but that's the way it was. We practiced and it took 3 days and she was completely potty trained. It was amazing. She does great and has had no accidents at school.

She also transitioned from her crib to big girl bed this summer. We also got rid of her pacifier this summer. I know, it was late, she almost 2 1/2, but she only had it at night when she was sleeping. She never asked for it again and she quit cold turkey, so I guess I should have done it sooner, but it was my own fault.

Prior to going to St. Joe's this September for pre-school, she was at a home daycare for a year and it was the most amazing place. I couldn't believe how much she changed in the first 2 weeks of being there. As everyone knows, my Aunt Laura took care of Olivia for the first year and half of her life when I went back to work. It was just about the time that Olivia really needed to be around other kids etc. I found this home daycare in Brookfield and it just so happened that I went to high school with the daycare providers husband, so it made me a little more comfortable with everything. She was amazing and actually was the one to inspire me to create this blog. She is a mother of 4 beautiful daughters and the newest one just arrived in September. She has closed the daycare of now and hopefully I will be able to send our little boy there once she re-opens!! I want him to be able to experience what Olivia did.

I am hoping to keep Olivia in this preschool for next year as well for the 4 year old program before she starts kindergarten the following year.

These pics I have posted of her are from her first day of school.

The Newest Spiegel Family Member

Nope, not our baby boy yet, but it is my new nephew!! My husband's brother, David and wife Amanda welcomed Samuel Anthony Spiegel 10 days early on Oct. 9th. He is just so beautiful! And just oh so tiny. I couldn't believe it. I just saw him last week for the first time since the hospital and he is still so tiny. Considering my doctors keep telling me how big my baby is going to be (YIKES), he is going to come out bigger than little Sam will be at that time.

Amanda, David and baby Sam are doing great. We welcome our little nephew and are excited for him to meet his new cousin upon his arrival!

Karen & KC's Wedding

For those that don't know, Karen and I became best friends our Freshman year of high school in Mr. Roger's English class. We have been inseparable since. We pretty much lived together during our high school years whether she was at my house with Gram or whether I was at her house. We just were always together!

We have been through sooooo much together, it's insane. I couldn't possibly put it all down in writing, so I will not. Karen and I know what those memories are and will never forget them.

Anywho...while living in New Haven, CT she met Kasey, the man of her dreams. They lived together in New Haven for a few years and have recently moved to FL where Karen is now working in a hospital as a nurse and Kasey is now a lawyer!!

Their wedding took place up here in CT in Southbury on the most perfect fall day that you could imagine.

I was Karen's matron of honor and Olivia took her 2nd shot at flower girl. She had her hair in curlers for the day and it just came out soooo cute.

Despite the fact that I was 8 months pregnant at my best friend's wedding, I had a blast. I was on the dance floor all night and certainly was a trooper hanging out with all of the drunkards until 1:00 am, but someone had to drive, right!! LOL

My entire family was at the wedding as well since we are Karen's surrogate family as you will notice from the pictures. I also got brave and added a picture of me on the dance floor, YIKES, a full frame picture of my 8 month pregnant belly. Oh well, I had to show proof that I did get up and dance!

The wedding was amazing and beautiful.

Enjoy some of the pics from the wedding. I wish I had the pics that took place outside with the beautiful landscape of Fall.

Doug and Lindsay

Doug is my other cousin who is more my brother than anything. He had been dating the sweetest girl that I think I have ever known, Lindsay. They just got engaged and are planning an 08 wedding! Yippee, no pregnancy for me for this wedding at least! They were living up in New Haven, CT, but have recently moved back to Brookfield, which is awesome to have them back in the area. Lindsay had been temping at my company which was great for us because she and I ended up becoming lunch buddies and really became close. She now got hired full time at another company, but it is right next door to my company, so we occasionally have lunch still, but not as often as we used to, but at least I still see her all the time.

It makes me happy that the 2 of them are so happy together and they are going to have a wonderful life together. Enjoy the pics of the newly engaged couple!

Andrew and Heidi's Wedding

As everyone knows, Andrew is my cousin, more like my brother. He met a wonderful girl while on vacation in Cancun. She is from Wisconsin. They kept in touch long distance, he moved there for a little while and got to know her family and friends. She then moved out here with him and we all just fell in love with her. They bought a house in Bethel, CT.

They got married in July 06. The wedding took place back in Heidi's home town in WI. Erik and I were both in the wedding and Olivia made her debut as a flower girl. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding. The ceremony was at her parents' home on the most beautiful property!

It was definitely a fairytale wedding if I have every seen one! Of course my little girl brought tears to my eyes as well when she actually walked down the aisle and dropped her little petal flowers the entire way down the aisle. I couldn't believe that she actually did it especially that 2 minutes before that she was having a meltdown about tic tacs and it was mine and Erik's turn to walk down the aisle, so I had to leave her.

We spent 4 days in WI for the wedding events and it was truly a great time for everyone and great to have our families together. I was 5 1/2 months pregnant at that time.

Erik and I flew out to WI with my cousin Doug (Andrew's brother) and his girlfriend Lindsay, and of course Olivia. Olivia did great on the plane despite the fact that it was the smallest plane I have ever been on in my life!!

Enjoy the pictures of the wedding.

Updates for 2006

My project for today is to have a few entries with updates that have happened in my family over the last year since we are almost in 2007. I was reading through my last entries from 2005 and early 2006 and noticed that I mentioned my cousin Andrew and his "fiance" Heidi, well they are now married, so I have to update you on that. Then I noticed I mentioned Doug and his "girlfriend" Lindsay, they are now engaged, so I have to update that. Last but CERTAINLY not least, I talked about Karen's wedding and nothing since, well the wedding took place 2 weeks ago!! I will have a few entries today with these updates and then everything should be updated and I can just concentrate on keeping this blog up to date as we move forward!

Pumpkin Carving Night & Halloween 06

Ok, since I hadn't written in so long, I thought I would get this blog updated as much as I could, so I wanted to post some pics from Pumpkin Carving Night and Halloween.

Every year we go up to my step dad's house for pumpkin carving night the night or 2 before Halloween to help in carving all of the pumpkins for his yard.

His neighborhood is unbelievable and everyone gets into Halloween. All of the yards are decorated, spooky music playing, hayrides, apple cider stands, hot chocolate. It's tons of fun. Just to get an idea, my step dad gets over 140 trick or treaters each year!

The pics are of the kids, my cousin's Marissa, Christopher, Christopher's friend Thomas, Olivia and my cousin's daughter Lindsey.

Anyway, my entire family went up on Halloween night, had our traditional taco dinner and then got ready to go out with the kids. Usually the guys stay behind to hand out the candy and the ladies take the kids around the neighborhood.

This year Olivia really had a good time and walked up to the houses on her own, said trick or treat and thank you. She was so cute!!!

Her first Halloween she was a bumble bee, she was 10 months old and we pushed her in the stroller, she crashed at the first house we got to.

Last year she was almost 2 and she was Ragedy Ann. She walked up to the houses, but got tired quickly.

This year she was Pocahantas. She actually wore the wig all night!!