New position

Promoted up to director at the center....what did I get myself into? :)

Reminiscing

One of the girls I work with is enjoying her 4th in Vegas. It has been too long since Greg and I have had an "actual" vacation but Vegas was our last one...Enjoy some of my reminiscing!

Some June Pics

Swings!

Watching the Father's Day Kick Ball game.

Contemplating what to do next....I'm sure it is something she shouldn't do!

Olivia LOVES it when we let her eat from an adult chair. She is still a little on the short side but she doesn't seem to mind.


Her poor cousin....

I can't believe that we are already in July and that Lu is already 18 months old! She had her checkup this week and checked in at 32" and 24lb 1oz. 50-55th percentile for everything. She is such an active (spirited as her great grandmother calls her!) child. This past week has been eventful as she has finally begun using the potty! Last night I think she even surprised herself when she made poo in the potty. She had such a confused look on her face. I don't know that these recent events will lead to a fully potty trained child any time soon but it is still a pretty cool milestone. Greg says that she does something huge every 9 months: Was born after 9 months, walked at 9 months, used the potty at 18 months. He was pretty bummed when I told him there really isn't too many more 'physical' achievements and that from now on they would be more educational and social ;) We are both excited for what God has in store for our sweetheart!

Happy 4th

It is an odd night around our household. I have been up by myself for about 2 hours now. Olivia is asleep. Greg is asleep. I sit here bored. Nothing is on tv (I guess they assume everyone would be out enjoying the 4th). All the laundry is done. The house is basically clean (all other cleaning may involve waking of sleeping people). I can hear the music from the bands playing at our local park. I would love to take a walk down there but I don't want to wake Greg to let him know where I am going and either way I don't think he would like it that I went down there 'by myself'. I wish I had motivation to do some of those extra things like sewing and sorting. It is strange that when you do have the time you don't want to do that stuff. Anyways....I sit and wait to hear the fireworks from my living room. I am sure if I open the shades in the living room I'll even be able to see some. I hope everyone has an enjoyable 4th...even if it is a little less traditional than most ;)

He Still Makes Me Laugh...

"I think I should become a door-to-door salesman and
sell "No Soliciting" signs."

-Greg Mouser-

18...Are you kidding me?

Olivia is growing quickly. She is so smart, which sometimes gets her into lots of trouble. She is currently learning mama and papa's behavior expectations and what happens when we choose not to listen. There are certainly times where a battle of wills is at play. She is learning though that mama and papa are as stubborn as she is. It is an interesting line to walk with her right now because I want her to explore and be able to satisfy her curiosity but most of the time it seems like this leads her to getting hurt or ruining something. Speaking of getting hurt...you should see this girl's knees, I don't think they will be scrap free this entire summer at the rate we are going!

I have come to the conclusion that she needs more age appropriate toys. Being a January baby doesn't allow for many new gifts to come her way during the rest of the year so I am going to start keeping my eyes peeled for some good deals. She played tonight with one of her baby dolls and 2 wipes that never got used and have since dried out. It was so cute to see her use those dry wipes to clean the baby's face and to cover the baby as if they were blankets and then pat her to sleep. Seeing her pretend play is such a great experience for me as a mom. I want to get her a baby doll that she can work on putting clothes on and off of and just interact with more than the "plush" version she has right now. She kept asking me to take the baby's hat off. Little does she know that baby's hat is sewed on to her face to keep all her stuffing brains in tact. She may be highly disappointed if I were to actually get that hat off. Though...she may also be quite interested in the new play material.

We went to the children's museum today and it made me realize that I really need to get her a play kitchen set. She stood by one of the tables pretend mixing things in bowls and cups and then offering them to me. She also had so much fun putting fruits, veggies, and other things into her grocery basket.

It is so fun to look back on all her baby pictures and see how much she has advanced and grown in such a short 18 months! I have 2 new nephews now and I am so excited to see them grow up and someday play with Olivia. Based on what I have seen so far though...those boys better watch out because I am sure she will let them know who is in charge! (she might get a little bit of that from her mommy...but don't tell anyone!)

"The toddler age allows children to look at life in a whole new way."

Hello. My name is Jessica and I am a cereal snob.

That's right. I am a cereal snob, meaning, it's only brand name for me. I think it stems from trying a few 'off-brands' when I younger that just didn't compare in terms of taste. However, given the need to be within a budget I am attempting to explore some off brands and I have been surprised. I have tried a version of rice chex and frosted flakes and both, though not the same as the original, are a good enough compromise. And given that each box is about 2$ cheaper than the brand name I guess my taste buds can work through their issues. I am sure I will have weak moments while at the grocery store when I just can't resist real lucky charms but I think I am making steps in the right director to get over my addiction to brand name.

My Baby is 1!!!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Yesterday, Olivia celebrated her 1st. She was surrounded by her family and had a wonderful time seeing everyone, opening presents, and eating cake!




She did really well, only crying when she bumped her lip on the fireplace tile :( (no damage taken by the little one though!) and whenever someone came at her with the birthday hat. She really hated that hat!



The day went very smoothly considering how many people we crammed into the house. I am glad we had the party and made the memories but equally glad that it is done! :)

A Lesson...

Olivia has been trying her hand at walking backwards lately. This afternoon she learned that she should watch where she is walking or things like this may happen...

Almost....

My baby is almost a year! Crazy, I say! Here are a few pics from her first adventure in the snow. Soon I will be posting pics from her 1 year b-day party....sniff...smile. It truly is bittersweet.

You promise this will be fun, right? 'Cuz this is a lot of work....

Ummm...was that the yellow stuff because it sure didn't taste good?


This stuff really is not that bad...

October Fun

So I have not updated this site in a while so I thought I would post a few pics so you can all see the fun we had in October.

For Halloween Olivia went as a rock star...too cute!

We had a good time at the farm (even Grandpa got in on the fun)





Olivia had a chance to see the miniature horses at Great Grandma's. She was not so sure about the kisses the horse was trying to give to her neck!



After all the excitement we had a chance to just chill at home!

What caption would you put on this picture?

Miss Independent

I made Olivia vegetable soup with crackers for lunch today. I actually like to call it vegetable mush due to the immense number of crackers that I actually add. Well, she basically refused to eat it when I was spooning it to her. I managed to get a few spoonfuls in but that was about it. So I thought I'd try to see if it was the food that was the problem or if it was me. Obviously, it was me. And yes, a bath did follow!

The Weekend

We were able to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather this past weekend by taking Olivia to Lake Michigan for her first time. Now, I wasn't entirely prepared for how warm it really was but we still had fun and were able to cool off a little by putting our feet in the cool water. If she had her way she would have tried swimming. Her sense of fear has yet to develop. After the beach we headed out to a park that was on our way home and had a quick snack and went to the playground. Olivia enjoyed her swing, watching daddy try and do pull ups on the bars, and mommy hanging upside down on the bars (which she is getting way to old to do!)

Mmmm...Mac 'n Cheese

Daddy's Uh-Oh!

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Bigger and Bigger....sniffle

So I know that I am pressing my luck with trying to blog. Olivia is currently sleeping and has been for a hour and 15 minutes (gasp!). Any second I am sure I'll start to hear the cry...but in the mean time I'll try to get all of you some updates on the angel!

She has cut 4 teeth now, 2 top and 2 bottom. This made for one quite interesting nursing episode. Let's just say she ended up skipping a meal ;) She crawls all over the place and if you leave the room she is right on your heels. I tried to block her in the living room the other day by putting the port-a-crib in front of the entry and she tried crawling underneath it to escape. It was funny to see her bottom half wiggling as she tried army crawling under it. She made it about 1/2 way before she got mad and I had to rescue her. She loves to stand! She can pull herself up to a standing position without the aid of anything already. I know it won't be long before she will be walking all over the place.

She has the best smile in the whole world! She smiles with her whole face and sometimes her smile is so big I don't know how she can see out of her squinty eyes!

We are looking forward to sharing the next few holidays with her. It will be fun because she is old enough to get some fun out of them. We are currently deciding what to dress her up as for Halloween. We are going to a party that night so we actually need costume ideas for all 3 of us. Any suggestions??

Doubts & Paranoia

I have noticed that I have been using the phrase "I just get the vibe that..." a lot when in conversations (about other conversations) with Greg lately. It seems that I am in a phase that doesn't allow me to take what someone says to me at face value. I am constantly looking for their real intentions behind their words and what they are really thinking but not saying. I find that I am watching that person's actions and listening to their tone of voice and possibly pulling in some illegitimate feelings to the conversation. I am even doing this with Greg someone I know I can trust and would never do this to me. This is of course making me feel very doubtful of my roles and my relationships with people. I know this is all "in my head" because I go through these phases from time to time and the feelings will eventually fade and I am "normal" again. In the mean time....if you have a verse/passage that could help I would appreciate it!

Clothes, Clothes....Oh How I Would Love New Clothes!

Retailers do a great job of making me excited for the upcoming school year, but why does it matter to me? I don't go to school any more and I have no children that currently do. I think what I get excited about is all the new stuff that even "no-school" people end up thinking they have to have. The new clothes are the biggest and hardest thing to overcome for me. Especially with how I feel about my current wardrobe and how it "fits" my new mommy body. I try to be a good steward of the money God has allowed us but it always seems like there is some reason to go to the store and buy something. And do you want to know what the WORST show to watch is when you are feeling down about your clothes...TLC's What Not To Wear. I would love 5K to spend on new clothes!!! How fun would that be :)

One of those moments...

All women should be able to relate...
Don't you hate those moments when you realize that you have a stray piece of hair slip down your shirt only to securely end up hanging out in your bra. The perfect spot to tickle and annoy you. Of course, this always occurs at the most inconvenient times and places. For example, you notice you are a victim to the torturous hair while taking your daughter for a walk. You realize its presence when you come to a busy intersection that requires you to wait for the traffic to clear before continuing on. What to do? Pull open the top of your shirt and pull it out in front of all the traffic or wait for the clearing. Choices...choices....ok you need to pull that hair out now, no waiting for the "appropriate" time...it tickles!! Open the shirt, look down, grab the little...CRAP....it's a bug!