a glimpse into our busy lives...

Photo Friday

2012-01-13T15:33:00.000-05:00

I’ve decided to start something new…we’ll see how long I can keep it up! Today is the first Photo Friday for my blog. I’ve taken some pictures throughout the day so you can see what our family is up to at the end of this January week.

The Christmas tree is finally out of our house and ready for the village to turn it into mulch!

The dining room curtains, keeping out the cold winter's breeze.

Olivia at breakfast - no we haven't brushed her hair yet this morning!

Dexter at breakfast - enjoying his cereal and applesauce!

Dexter seems to have been fighting a cold this past week, Olivia is trying to be a great big sister, and Chris and I are trying to sort out what lies ahead in 2012. For now, it seems like things are going well. We are trusting in the Lord to guide and direct us.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hello 2012!

2012-01-01T15:06:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe 2011 is gone! There were so many days when I said to myself, "I really should get online and blog".....but I just couldn't get myself to sit down and do it. I have several excuses that I could give, but the bottom line is that there just wasn't enough time to get everything done I wanted to do!

Our family closed out 2011 with many blessings. We are all four healthy, Chris is hard at work as an architect and an insurance agent, I am home with our two (for the most part) happy children, and we are ready to take on the challenges that 2012 has in store for us.

Chris has stayed busy with architecture lately and you can check out some of his work on his blog: http://chriskannelarchitect.blogspot.com/. I stayed busy leading up to the holidays with lots of crafting and sewing. I prepared to have a booth at a local craft show in November and then opened an Etsy shop with some of the remaining projects. You can take a look at the items for sale at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kannelkraft. I am frequently adding new items, so check back later for new things! I also spent my free time (what little bit there is when the kids are sleeping) sewing projects for my nephews, around the house, and gifts for friends. From Thanksgiving through Christmas I completed:
1 Christmas tree skirt
4 stockings with personalized names
3 super hero capes
1 set of capital and lower case felt letters
1 dress up fireman's jacket
2 dinosaur tails
2 10-page activity/quiet books
2 fleece sweatshirts (without patterns)
1 decoupaged puzzle
1 paper/pencil holder/art studio-to-go

That doesn't seem like a lot, but it sure kept my hopping! I also sewed three sets of curtains for our house in an effort to keep out the cold. Oh, and I made two door draft stoppers and one couch draft stopper (for under the front of the couch where the cold air comes out and blows across the living room floor). My sewing machine could use a nice tune-up right about now! I still have another set of curtains for the living room to finish, and I still have a pile of projects that is waiting to be done "whenever I have time to get to them." I have some fabric to make curtains for the kitchen and pantry, but my husband and father-in-law are scheming about kitchen remodeling possibilities....so perhaps I'll wait until they make up their minds to begin working on the kitchen curtains.

I have a few outfits to make for Olivia for spring/summer, a few crafts for her in the pile, and I really want to make something for Dexter since I haven't made anything for him at all yet. But, as Olivia gets older her nap time gets smaller; which means my personal time during the day is dwindling! Dexter likes to help me sew, but if you can imagine, he's not very helpful! He crawls all over the fabric that's laid out on the floor, he likes to try to grab the shiny scissors, and he's very attracted to the sharp pins. So, I've cut out our sewing time together and gone back to simply playing with toys and reading books with him!

I'm leading a new Bible Study with a small group of ladies. We will be going through "Fearless" by Max Lucado and we'll start that next Sunday. Olivia is in gymnastics once a week and absolutely loves the activity. Chris is leading a Bible Study on Saturday mornings, he is leading the Wednesday night class at our church, and he continues to be involved with several groups throughout the community.

We pray 2012 will be another filled with blessings for us, but we also know that God will be with us regardless of the situations that lie ahead.

I'll post pictures of some of my projects soon, but I didn't take pictures of everything. After a while, I wrapped the gifts as soon as they were finished so I could move on to the next...that left no time to take a picture!

Hope your Christmas merry and full of joy for the gift of Jesus, and hope your New Year has started off on the right foot!

A Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:23:00.000-04:00

Thank you to my friends and family for making today a wonderful Mother's Day. I also wanted to send extra Mother's Day love to my mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and grandmothers-in-law. I truly appreciate each one of you in your own special way!

Today I celebrated my 3rd year or being a mother, and I'm wishing my mother a happy 30th year of being my mother!

2011

2010

2009

What's In A Name?

2011-04-05T21:33:00.000-04:00

Dexter Aaron Kannel

Dexter:

Meaning - Dexterous

Perfect for the son of an architect who loves to draw, paint, design and write.

Perfect for the son of a mother who loves to sew and craft.

Aaron:

Meaning: Mountain of Strength

The brother of Moses - Moses' spokesman

Scripture Reference - Exodus 15:2

"The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God and I will praise him,

my father's God, and I will exalt him."

(Moses and the Israelites singing to the Lord)

Welcome to the World!!!

2011-03-27T22:05:00.010-04:00

We are happy to announce the safe and blessed arrival of our new little son, Dexter Aaron Kannel. He was born on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 10:08am. He weighed 8lbs exactly and was 19.25" long. He looked pretty chunky at first, but after many dirty diapers, lost over 1/2 lb before leaving the hospital. He is now skinny and bony, much like his older sister was at birth.

Olivia is doing well with the addition to the household. She likes to 'pet' his head, show him her toys, and pat his belly when he cries. Chris has been amazing since we've been home. He plays with Olivia when I am busy or sleeping, he helps care for Dexter in the night, he helped my mom do the dishes and put away groceries....he is a great husband and father. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

Dexter is a little ball of cuteness! Of course, as his mother, I'm completely biased...but I at least wanted to throw my opinion out there! Below are some pictures for you: some from the hospital and some from home. For more pictures, check out my Picasa website. Enjoy!

Staying Busy...

2011-03-23T13:37:00.009-04:00

I've been trying to stay busy to keep my mind off of the fact that I have no idea when this baby will arrive! I've been spending time outside with Olivia if the weather is permitting. Last week, we picked up sticks in Grandma and Grandpa's yard and then we went to Great Granny's yard to pick up sticks there too. Olivia likes the task and I didn't mind the exercise. Bending over became tougher after a while though! After we picked up sticks at both of those houses, we moved out to Great Grandma and Grandpa Kannel's house. Chris' Dad said sticks needed picked up in their yard too.....but they weren't really 'sticks.' :) When I started to pull the first one through the yard, Olivia said, "Mommy, that's a whole tree!" And she was absolutely right! We've seen trees smaller than that 'stick.' But, we took our time and got the job done. I didn't feel overworked, it was nice to get outside, and I thought the exercise might help bring Baby Kannel along. Guess not! It was still a lot of fun.

Here are some pics from the past few days:

40 weeks in and getting loved on by my toddler

Studies Show....

2011-03-19T21:27:00.004-04:00

Studies show that babies in the womb can hear noises and distinguish different voices before they are ever born. I'm not writing an essay about this, so I don't have any quotes or sources. Just a personal experience....

Today my father-in-law was at our house helping us install the door and door frame into the laundry room (pictures to come later). I was sitting near them watching while they were doing the work. Chris used the nail gun, which has a pretty high powered sound if you aren't prepared for the noise that it will make. Well, he shot the gun and it startled me! I wasn't expecting it to make me react that way because I was watching him, I knew what he was going to do, and I knew the sound the gun would make. I was baffled about how much the sound made me jump and pondering why I reacted that way when he shot the gun three more times. It was only then that I realized it wasn't me reacting - it was the baby in my belly! Each time he shot it, the baby kicked and jumped as if he were startled. I then understood why it felt like I jumped the first time...because my insides literally leaped. While it wasn't me reacting, it was still something within my body. It was definitely weird not have my emotions (calm and knowing) match my body gestures (jumpy). But, it was very cool to know that this little guy has the ability to hear and react. Hopefully I'll meet him soon!

What's in a Name?

2011-03-16T11:34:00.004-04:00

*You look miserable!
*You look great!
*I bet you're ready!
*You're carrying so high.
*You've dropped.
*Any day now?
*Two weeks left, right?

These comments have all come to me within the past 3 days. Granted, I'm 39 weeks 3 days pregnant - but why does everyone have to judge how I feel based upon how they think I look instead of asking me how I feel? I'm not offended by any of these comments - but rather baffled about some of the things people openly say!

I truly appreciate the people who have asked how I feel or asked how I feel I am carrying this baby before passing judgement - that shows me they care about me instead of making sure their opinion is heard. For now, I'll keep taking comments with a grain of salt!

When will I get to meet this little guy? Only God knows for sure - but I at least know the answer is SOON!

A Kannel Family Weekend

2011-03-13T21:37:00.005-04:00

A few pictures from our weekend:

Walking to the covered bridge at the fairgrounds

The main man in her life

Her favorite pancake ever...see the fish on it? It was totally a coincidence, but Olivia was convinced that it was Nemo!

10 Days and Counting...

2011-03-09T20:33:00.005-05:00

So, my due date is in 10 days...but I'm hanging in there!

Although it's hard to roll over in bed at night and it takes me longer than usual to get up off the floor, I'm not completely miserable! I truly enjoy being pregnant. Today while Olivia was taking a bath, I decided to use the step ladder to touch up the paint where the ceiling and the walls meet in the bathroom. Why not kill two birds with one stone, right? Well, I carefully climbed up on the ladder, was enjoying painting, and Olivia said to me, "careful Mommy, don't break the ladder!" My feelings weren't too hurt because I know she wasn't implying that I'm a behemoth! Later when we were reading stories together she pointed to the mommy elephant in the zoo book and said, "this is you, Mommy!" I know deep down that she wasn't insulting me - but it seems like I can't catch a break. Even last night when I put on a regular/non-maternity t-shirt and climbed into bed, Chris said, "careful, don't rip the shirt!" Despite all of these silly and crazy comments from the two people I love most in the world...I still enjoy being pregnant!

This thought has been on my heart and mind a lot lately, and I'm feeling the need to get it out by writing about it. Being pregnant truly is a blessing. I've always wanted to be pregnant and always wanted to be a Mommy. I truly feel blessed that God has allowed me both of those gifts. My heart truly goes out to those women who won't be able to experience the miracle of being pregnant and/or won't get the chance to be a mother...especially if these are things they truly desire.

In fact, I have a good friend whom I used with joke with about being the carrier of her baby for her if it ever turned out that she wouldn't be able to do this herself. See, she has a health condition that may cause her body to fail at carrying a pregnancy to full-term. So, we always said, "don't worry...Michelle will be pregnant for you." Although we half-way said this in a joking manner in the past...I now know that I truly was serious about this. I haven't talked to this friend about this particular topic in quite a while and this thought was weighing so heavily on my heart last week, so I decided to send her a message. I wanted her to know that I truly am serious about this offer and that if she can conceive but not carry her own children, I'm willing to do it for her. Does that sound crazy? Me carrying around my friend's fertilized egg inside my womb? Kind of!

But, maybe that means I'm crazy! (My husband says it means I'm 'sick and twisted.') I want this friend to be able to experience motherhood if she can, even though her body wouldn't be able to handle the pregnancy. If it turns out she is healthy enough to do this, then I guess I'm off the hook! (Either that or I open up the offer to some other friend!)

For me, being pregnant is a blessing - and despite the aches and pains, painful kicks from within and the frequent trips to the bathroom...I would love to do it again! I'm giving all the glory to God in this situation and praising him for allowing me to be pregnant.

Which brings me to a reality that will definitely be happening soon....not being pregnant anymore! I'm 10 days away from my due date, so technically this little guy could come at any time. I'm not anxious or nervous about giving birth or having a second child in the home - I'm just curious to meet him! And, I'm curious about the process. Some second labors go quicker than the first, some take longer. Will my labor start in the middle of the night like it did with Olivia, or will it happen while Chris is at work? What will he look like? Will he be healthy? Is Olivia ready for this? Is Chris ready for this? So many questions are swirling through my mind...and the only word I have to describe myself is curious.

Well...I'm off to go be curious some more now...

A Proud Wife

2011-03-08T13:21:00.004-05:00

Perhaps I shouldn't be posting this because it's not my news to post...but I'm going to anyway!

I'm very proud of Chris and won't say much...except link you to a few things of his.

His Blog explaining a recent published Magazine cover/article.

A link to the magazine's website where you can read the article online. (Westchester Cottages & Gardens Magazine)

The image gallery with more pictures of the beautiful architecture and interior renovation.

If you have comments, don't leave them here - please leave them on his blog.

Many Many Things

2011-03-06T17:26:00.009-05:00

I’ve been meaning to write for a few days…and just haven’t done it. It’s not that I’ve been lazy, I’ve been busy. The bathroom is complete upstairs (well, as complete as it will get for quite a while), and I have to admit that it looks great. My father-in-law even came over to our house over the weekend to finish putting the final coat of polyurethane on the floor for us while we were out of town. It looks amazing!

New bathroom floor (don't mind the blue painter's tape - we just haven't taken it off yet.)

Olivia has been doing well with potty training and I’m really glad we decided to tackle that before the baby arrived. I'm expecting a little regression after her brother comes, but that's normal. Otherwise, it's been great scratch diapers off the grocery list!

Olivia is also doing well with her scripture memorization. She now knows Philippians 4:13 and Colossians 3:20. The best part of her learning the Colossians verse is that she is learning it in context and can tell me what is means when she is struggling to listen to Mommy or Daddy. She is slowly learning how God wants her to behave - and that her listening is not just because we are asking her to be a good girl.

We are continuing our weekly Bible study with a group from a church in a nearby community. This study has been a very in-depth look at the prophecy in the book of Daniel. It's been very deep, but eye-opening at the same time. On top of this study, Chris continues to meet with a group of 6 men on Saturday mornings and I'm meeting with a group of 6 ladies on Thursday evenings. These separate Bible studies have really helped us to learn and grow in God's words...as well as provided us with an outlet for communication with other young Christians. We also started going to church on Wednesday nights and it's possible that Chris will begin to teach a young-adults (our age) class at church on Sunday evenings. We have a lot on our plates, but feel that we are growing closer to the Lord through all of these commitments.

On top of all of the above named things in our schedule, Chris is also staying busy with some community projects. He is working on a park shelter for the Montpelier Rotary Club, he's mildly involved in the Montpelier Investment Corporation to help brainstorm a possible new business within the community, he's a new member of the Montpelier Planning Commission, he's involved with the new building design for the Westchester Church of Christ (church we attended in New York), he's doing some side architecture for a client in Wasseon, he's working on another not-public-yet project that requires computer/architecture time in the evenings, and he's still working at the office, meddling in insurance, storage and real estate. He's a busy guy! Please pray for him that he will be able to manage his time appropriately and not overwork himself. He has a tendency to over commit and stress himself out - and that's just not healthy for him at all. (Not to mention that we have a newborn coming soon and that might add a few more things into his schedule!)

Speaking of the newborn, I had a doctor's appointment last Tuesday (March 1st). The doctor said everything seemed healthy and on target so far. My due date is still somewhere between March 19th and 21st, and I was already dilated 1cm at that point. He estimated that I wouldn't go past my due date, but that was just a guess. Women have stayed at 1cm for a while before beginning the official labor process. I was even at 2cm for a week before labor began with Olivia. So, I'm not holding my breath. I'm just waiting patiently on the little guy to get the sign from God that it's time to come and meet me! I go to the doctor again this Tuesday, so I'll keep you posted if anything new develops.

We spent the weekend with my family in Covington. My sister-in-law turns 30 soon and my brother threw her a surprise party to celebrate. She was completely overwhelmed and surprised, so it was good to see them in that setting! We spent some down time with them on Sunday, which was much needed. We usually have a schedule while we visit, between us being there, them working, us leaving, etc...so we don't get much time to just sit and enjoy each other's company. This weekend was a welcomed change!

Plus, we started talking about my crazy Mexican food cravings that I've been having throughout my pregnancy. My brother and sister-in-law agreed with me that the taco pizzas we were served in high school were delicious and it's a shame we haven't been able to find them anywhere. Chris rolled his eyes at this entire conversation! Well, thanks to Angie (my sister-in-law) taking initiative, searching online and making a phone call...we found them! The good thing: the store was on the way home from my parents' house. The not so great thing: we had to buy them in quantities of 96...that's right, 96! :) Too bad I'm so far along in my pregnancy...those could have really come in handy about 3 months ago. But, none-the-less, my eye-rolling husband stopped at the store and we bought a case. We're going to split the case with my brother, but that means we still have 48 taco pizzas at our house! You know I don't need to eat them all, so if anyone wants some...we paid about $0.65 per pizza...so let me know how many you want!

Taco pizzas overtaking the bottom shelf of our deep-freezer.

I feel like I'm constantly trying to make sure the house is ready for us to have a baby. My parents will most likely come up and stay at our house while we're in the hospital, so I want to make sure the place is clean and ready for them. Olivia will stay with Chris' parents, so I want to make sure that her bag is packed and ready to go as well. My bag is definitely packed and ready to go - except for a few last minute things like the camera & video camera. I just have this feeling of....I'm not sure exactly what it is. I'm not anxious, I'm not nervous, I really want to meet this little guy, and I have no idea when labor will start! It's just a perpetual feeling of...wait...I guess. Is that a feeling? :)

I'm off to go 'wait' some more now! Here's the latest picture of me, taken today after lunch. I'm 38 weeks along today, so we'll see if I make it to next Monday to take another picture! I'll keep you posted!

38 weeks

Taking Advantage...

2011-02-22T22:17:00.011-05:00

Remember that huge mountain of snow that we had on our front yard last week? Chris made Olivia a slide out of the mini-mountain. Well, the weather warmed up enough at the end of last week that the entire mountain melted, seeped through the ground, and flooded our basement! So, on Saturday after we had our basement drain lines cleaned out, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather. The temperature was somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees, which felt amazing compared to the single digits and wind that we had the week before.

We gathered up Olivia, the stroller, and the grandparents and headed to the Toledo Zoo. Olivia has only been to the Bronx Zoo before, so we were excited for her to see one that was a little different. She loves animals (in person, in books, and as toys/stuffed animals), so it was the perfect outing for her to enjoy her surroundings.

The highlight of the zoo.....seeing Nemo in the tank!

As for the rest of us in the Kannel household, we're hanging in there. I hit the 36-week mark yesterday and have been feeling great. The baby is active as ever and my doctor said today that he seems to be right on track - not too big and not too small. Chris is busy with work and extra work, as always...but he's enjoying keeping his feet wet both in architecture and insurance.

Oh, and just as the weather was turning nice again, in came the storm! :) We had some rain/sleet/snow come in on Sunday...all day. So the ground was covered in a layer of ice, followed by about 5 inches of snow. So far this week, 2 of our Bible studies as well as Olivia's gymnastics class were canceled. It finally stopped snowing sometime this morning, but the weather reports say more freezing rain is headed our way. We already have nice snow mound in our front yard again...so I imagine this week we'll build another slide or house out of it - which ever our toddler requests!

And potty training keeps getting easier as it goes along...so if you have a toddler and you think he/she's ready...I say go for it! It's frustrating at first, but you'll be glad you did!

Stay warm!

Productivity

2011-02-21T09:35:00.003-05:00

On January 24, I posted the following things as being on my rolling to-do list, and have (so far) successfully accomplished several items.

Blog more often - doing
Catch up in Olivia's scrapbook - done
Start the new baby's baby book - done
Start the new baby's scrapbook
Catch up in Chris' professional scrapbook - done
Laminate several newspaper articles for Chris - done
Hang up picture frames in Olivia's room -done
Hang up family pictures in the living room
Make meals to freeze in the deep-freeze - done
Wash hand-me-down baby clothes and put them away - done
Switch Olivia's dresser to the baby's room - done
Get new dresser into Olivia's room - done
Catch up in Olivia's journal - done
Start a journal for Chris - done
Continue with my Bible Studies - doing

On top of all of those things, I've also been able to paint the bathroom floor, take Olivia to the library more, catch up in Olivia's travel scrapbook, make a Velcro calendar for Olivia to learn numbers, days of the week and months (thanks for the idea, Carrington!), and pack my bag for the hospital! I feel extremely productive lately! Maybe this post is mostly for me and not for you....for me to see in writing what all I have accomplished, because most of you probably don't care! But, none-the-less, the Kannel household is looking more ready for a baby! There aren't so many things looming on the to-do list, and I'm not feeling stressed out at all! (...Yet)

More Nesting...

2011-02-11T16:59:00.008-05:00

I've been doing lots more nesting lately. I'm about 5 weeks out from my due date...and time is winding down! I've been feeling the urge to nest lately, but it's probably not the typical-pregnant-lady nesting. I'm making lists of things for my husband to do that I can't do myself (hanging curtain rods, taking heavy boxes to the basement, digging out totes of toys, etc.). I'm also tackling things on my to-do list like crazy...but it includes painting floors, painting walls, catching up on scrapbooks, putting away piles of papers, getting all the tax information ready to go...and the list goes on. Not much of it has to do with the baby right now...but it all has to do with getting the house (and my state of mind) ready to go! It feels great to see the to-do list getting smaller! I'm not sure why I get such satisfaction out of seeing things get crossed off!

Olivia and I spent time completing one of the projects on the list the the other day. We have some words to hang up in her room, but they were all different colors. We sat down together and painted them all bright green. The color contrasts the pink walls in her room well and we are trying to help her get her room all settled before baby arrives.

We've been potty training for the past few weeks and it's going very well. We had a few rough days in the beginning, but Olivia is really getting the hang of it. She is initiating trips to the potty now without me setting the timer. She has been announcing her trip to the bathroom, but yesterday she starting just going by herself and requesting that we stay out of the bathroom while she goes. We haven't tackled nap time or bedtime yet, she still wears pull-ups then. But, she's been waking up dryer each day, so we'll probably tackle that soon. We still have some diapers in the closet, but Olivia knows that "diapers are for babies," so we're trying not to use those anymore. She is set on being a big girl and likes using the potty.

The only bad thing about potty training is that I can't stop dreaming about it! If I'm not dreaming about potty training in some way, I'm dreaming about childbirth! My nights aren't so comfortable anymore...not because I'm physically uncomfortable, but because these crazy dreams wake me up several times a night!

We took Olivia to a sibling class at the hospital on Monday evening. She got to diaper a baby doll and carry it around the birthing center with us when we went on a tour. She saw the bed that mommy will sleep in, as well as the bed daddy will sleep in. She got to play with the toys and games in the waiting area, and she even got to color a t-shirt for her little brother to wear after he is born. She was really excited to go to the hospital and even thought it was time for her to go to the hospital to meet her baby brother! Not yet, Olivia...not yet!

Speaking about the baby and giving birth...I'm ready! Not because I'm sick of being pregnant and am extremely uncomfortable, but because I really want to meet this little guy! He is super active and I'm so curious to see who he is! I think I'm not as anxious about giving birth this time because I know a little more what to expect. I have a 'bring it on' attitude right now and I'm hoping that I can keep that up until he's born!

Olivia has been memorizing a verse of scripture and knows it very well. Chris and I want to instill the word of God in her at a young age, so on top of praying at meals and at bedtime, we take her to church and are having her memorize scripture. The first one we started with is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." We have her recite it at times when she starts to get upset and begins to whine, "I can't....." We feel the application is important for her, even though she's only two years old. So, we want her to know that she doesn't need to say "can't" and that she really can do things with the help of Christ's strength.

The next scripture we are going to focus on is Exodus 20:12: "Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." It's a long one, and I've considered just having her memorize the first part of the verse, but I don't want to confuse her later when she learns that there is more to the scripture. Application is important with this one as well. When Olivia begins to disobey, we want to have her say this scripture and learn to understand what God is truly saying. I'll keep you posted as to how that goes....

Chris has been busy lately. He's working in the office during the day and is doing some architecture as well. Then, he's doing more architecture in his free time in the evenings and on the weekends. He started a blog to let people know about his work and to show some of his visuals. If you'd like to check it out, here's the address: http://www.chriskannelarchitect.blogspot.com/

I need to go get some more things accomplished now. I'm trying to take it easy because I seem to have low iron right now and have been exhausted lately. So, I'll get some things accomplished, but will still take it easy (so as to not overwhelm myself, and so as to appease my husband!). :)

Nesting in the Kannel House

2011-02-05T09:59:00.009-05:00

I keep vacillating back and forth between having this great urge to nest, and having this great urge to do absolutely nothing! During nesting periods, I'm extremely productive! The baby's room is painted and the furniture is in place (thanks to my parents for help with that!). I sorted through clothes, washed, dried and folded them all to put them in drawers. (Thanks to my sister-in-law and friend for borrowed boy clothes!) I had Chris pull out the baby gear storage bins so now I know everything is in the basement instead of out at the storage unit. I even put together the baby swing this week. (Olivia likes to put her baby in it and push him. I haven't shown her yet that is plugs in and swings by itself!)

But, this morning I feel completely exhausted. It was a busy week with shoveling snow, traveling for a continuing education class, making meals for the freezer, having guests for dinner, and playing catch up around the house. But, it's Saturday, it's snowing, and we don't have any plans for the weekend. I should feel relaxed and thankful that we aren't driving to New York today (as originally planned). But, I still feel overwhelmed by looking at my to-do list. One of Chris' cousins said to me on facebook this morning that I should rest while I can. I truly appreciate that and will try to put that into action...it just depends how much the guilt overrides the relaxation!

I'm about 6 weeks from my due date, with no telling when this little guy will actually arrive. But, all-in-all, we're ready for him. Olivia understands as much as she can about having a baby brother and keeps talking about how her baby doll came out of her belly. So, I'm excited to see her reaction to this little fella living here with us! We finally decided upon a name and are confident that this is the name God wants us to give our son. The car seat is in the car so Olivia can get used to riding in a new spot, as well as seeing a second car seat in the car with her. We didn't want to just throw it in there at the last minute and expect her to deal with the sudden changes.

What's next? Waiting, I guess! We're doing things as a family to spend a little extra time with Olivia. Last weekend we finally hung pictures up in Olivia's room and we let her help. Today, Chris told his dad he would help shovel/snow blow walks at some of his rental houses. So, we're heading over there with them to 'help' and then we'll go sledding after we're done. I'm trying to get some things done that have been on the to-do list for a while. I know once I have a baby that they won't get done! So, I've printed some pictures for Olivia's scrapbook, for the baby's baby book, and for Olivia's baby book. Now, I need the energy to cut them out and to sit down to put the pages together.

I'll keep you posted on what I actually end up doing: resting vs. accomplishing. I'm not even sure which way to head right now!

It isn't much to see, but you can check out my nesting so far if you want.....

The rocking chair, hamper, and a random baby gate donated to us by a family at church.The crib my parents bought for Olivia - only we didn't have room for it in our bedroom in NY. So, this baby gets to try it out!

The matching changing table/dresser that is packed with borrowed baby clothes.

Me at 33 weeks pregnant.

Before Breakfast

2011-02-02T15:33:00.012-05:00

The storm rolled in yesterday afternoon…and it’s still coming! It started as pretty forceful snow, then it snowed sideways, it turned to sleet right at bedtime, all while accompanied by some extremely strong winds. This morning when we woke up, it was beautiful outside!

It is hard to tell exactly how much snow we got in the night due to all the snow drifts. It was piled high in places and almost bare in others. But, when we went out to shovel this morning, I’d guess we had at least 10 inches on the ground. It was snowing pretty steadily then, but without the wind. It was a nice, peaceful snow.

By the time we headed inside for breakfast, the sidewalks we had just shoveled were already covered in at least a half an inch of snow, if not more. It’s been snowing off and on most of the day so far, more on than off. But it’s been light snow followed by heavy snow, and back to light again – very unpredictable! The news/radio people say it’s supposed to snow until 7pm this evening.

I don’t mind the snow at all, as long as it isn’t windy and I’m not headed anywhere far away. I’m actually looking forward to this evening….after dinner we’ll probably get our snow gear back on and take Olivia sledding! She truly loves being out in the snow…which is why we took her out this morning.

Don’t think we are bad parents and forced our two year old to go out and shovel with us! Daddy was going out to use the snow blower and she absolutely wanted to go too. So, she used her little shovel (and a little bit bigger shovel from grandpa), I used our snow shovel, and Chris used the snow blower. We cleaned off our porch, steps, front sidewalk, the neighbor’s porch, steps and front sidewalk, the area where we park our car, Chris’ parents’ sidewalks, and then helped Grandpa dig out the back door from the snow drift. Olivia disappeared after a few snow angels and some shoveling to go eat French toast with grandma…but the rest of us were hard at work!

Shoveling snow at 7 ½ months pregnant is hard work! I’m exhausted and actually just woke up from a nap! My back really hurts now and I’m wishing the chiropractor didn’t close his office today – I could have really used that appointment this afternoon! Since most of the town is closed down, it’s a pretty lazy day around our house. We see the constant snow when we look out the window, and hear the constant sound of diggers, backhoes, and trucks outside pushing and collecting snow. I’ll probably plan on something nice and warm for dinner tonight…perhaps some type of soup – that sounds super yummy after a day outside in the snow!

Stay warm – and I’ll keep you posted about the stormy hours that lie ahead.

Walking on the freshly plowed sidewalk. The snow is up to her thighs...almost to her waist! Stuck in the front yard!

Sitting with Daddy in the snow drift outside our garage.Olivia by herself in the snow drift outside of our garage.

Trying to use Mommy's show shovel...but having some difficulties!Grandpa found this shovel in his workshop. It used to be Daddy's when he was a little boy! It was a much better size than Mommy's and a little more useful than Olivia's!

Do plumbers work outside? This little one does! She refused to change her pull-up before we went outside, so it was pretty soggy and droopy. Thus, when she bent over to pick up her snow shovel....this popped out!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-01T21:22:00.002-05:00

Many Memories Heart Valentine's Day Card

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day in our family, but Shutterly had a coupon code for one free card. So, I took the time to create a card for Christopher...don't tell!

Our Little Snow Bunny

2011-01-29T11:52:00.002-05:00

Olivia loves to play in the snow and likes to shovel with her own little shovel. Despite her cold cheeks and the snot running out of her nose, she always cries when we bring her back inside. Taking off her coat, snow pants and shoes usually results in a complete melt-down! We offer to make her 'warm chocolate' and that usually makes her feel better!

Photo Friday

2011-01-28T10:25:00.003-05:00

A peaceful picture for you at the end of this week.....

Long Overdue Pictures

2011-01-26T14:32:00.017-05:00

Some highlights from the past few months......

Olivia is "helping" Daddy and Grandpa drywall the ceiling in the kitchen.

Our first real Christmas Tree - and our first Christmas tree over 12 inches tall!

Family Pic in front of our tree. After 2 1/2 years, Olivia has figured out how to become friends with our cat...by feeding her all the treats in the drawer and by finding all the toys with catnip in them!

Playing dress up with her new princess dress, wand, and high heels!

Loving her new butterfly wings!

New Year...New Traditions (I hope)

2011-01-24T18:17:00.004-05:00

With this new year, I certainly hope to blog more often. But, I also hope to do a lot of things....
Catch up in Olivia's scrapbook
Start the new baby's baby book
Start the new baby's scrapbook
Catch up in Chris' professional scrapbook
Laminate several newspaper articles for Chris
Hang up picture frames in Olivia's room
Hang up family pictures in the living room
Make meals to freeze in the deep-freeze
Wash hand-me-down baby clothes and put them away
Switch Olivia's dresser to the baby's room
Get new dresser into Olivia's room
Catch up in Olivia's journal
Start a journal for Chris
Continue with my Bible Studies.......

The list seems to keep on going! With the Lord's help, I'll be able to get some of those things accomplished! Oh, and on top of all of that, I want to get Olivia potty trained before new baby Kannel arrives! It doesn't seem like that much to do, but when you add in every day routine items like cooking, playing with Olivia, keeping the house tidy-ish, etc....it adds up pretty quick!

I guess all I can do is take one thing at a time, and be completely content with only crossing off one thing on the list at a time!

It's been a while since I've posted and a lot has happened throughout the past several months. It was definitely a blessing to be in Ohio for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and not have to travel back and forth from New York. We were less stressed, were able to spend more time with family, and spent less money on gas! We were able to celebrate both holidays with both sides of our family, so we racked up lots of grandparent/cousin/sibling time for all of us. I'll post some pictures in the next few days to document our past few months.

Olivia and I traveled to the west side of Chicago to visit one of my dear friends last weekend. She (along with her husband and three kids) moved out of New York about two months after we did and settled in Chicago. So, it was such a blessing to see her again, and it's great to have her semi-close by. Olivia did great traveling and had a blast playing with her three kids.

This past weekend, my parents came up to visit. They stayed with us instead of at a hotel, so it was nice to see them a lot. They were extremely helpful and donated their time to help paint the baby's room. My dad also helped Chris get lots of furniture and bins from our storage unit so we can start to set up the baby's room now that it's painted.

So, the room is painted, the furniture is here, the clothes/baby items are here in bins.....now comes the sorting, washing, arranging and putting into place! I'm eight weeks out from my due date....so we'll see when the little guy decides to make his appearance!

I should get going now and tackle something from my ginormous to-do list!

Christmas Card Sneak Peek

2010-12-13T21:30:00.003-05:00

Here is a sneak peak at our Christmas card this year (created on Shutterfly.com).

Peppermint Dots Christmas Card

Personalize the christmas season with Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Snail Mail Picture Cards

2010-12-13T10:26:00.006-05:00

At our house, we truly enjoy receiving Christmas cards from all of our friends and family members. We hang up the cards around the door frame in the dining room and use them as decorations throughout the holiday season.

When Christmas time passes and it's time to take them down, I pull out all of the picture cards and place them in a scrapbook. I have a scrapbook compiled starting in 2005 (the year we got married), and have many extra pages to continue to expand our collection.

We enjoy sending photo cards of our family out as well so that our friends and loved ones can see our family grow and expand, but also so that our smiling faces might possibly bring a smile to someone else. Usually Chris likes to create, print and cut our own cards...but that takes a lot of time! To save time this year (pluse it's way more convenient), we plan to use Shutterfly to create our cards. We plan to use a card with two pictures on it, similar to one of these found at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/christmas-photo-cards.

We plan to include a picture of the three of us, along with a picture of the little tyke who is on the way! Chris loves to manipulate photos, so stay tuned to see what our card will actually look like!

Olivia is very photogenic, so I'm excited to see what her face will look like on our Christmas card. I also look forward to seeing smiling faces come in the mail so we can hang them up, then add them to our scrapbook at the end of December.

This year we also plan to give other photo gifts for our parents. I don't want to post exactly what I've picked out so far (because my mother and mother-in-law might read this), but I'll tell you what we've done in the past! We have created personalized calendars for our parents to see the grandkids throughout the entire year. We made them at http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars. It was relatively easy to upload and insert pictures and I highly recommend this - especially if you and your kids live far away from grandparents. There's nothing better then your mom or dad being able to see their smiling faces every day!

I am currently pregnant and expect to deliver sometime in March. When this happens, Chris will use his talents to create a birth announcement that we will most likely create at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/birth-announcements. March seems so far away, but I'm sure the time will pass before we know it!

Look for our card in the mail...and I'll look for yours!

Changes, Helping, and the Williams County Fair!

2010-09-16T22:26:00.014-04:00

Life in the Midwest has definitely brought change for the Kannel family throughout the past four months! The house we have been renting is a huge blessing to us and it's amazing to think that we moved from a one bedroom apartment to a three bedroom house! Even more amazing...we had so much furniture crammed into that tiny apartment and in our storage units that our new, big house is already overflowing with furniture! Olivia loves to play in the back yard and likes to look for frogs and toads with her daddy.

She also likes to spend time helping us pull weeds and enjoys riding on the lawn mower with Chris. It seems like these are simple, mundane tasks...but when you haven't had to do it in about ten years, it's kind of nice to get back outside and take care of a yard. Things like that are often taken for granted, but we lived in a place for six years that had no yard and no garden...so seeing the fresh green grass out back is quite refreshing every day.

Olivia's "helping" doesn't always end up being so helpful, and in fact, this time it actually gave Chris a little bit more work to do since he could only use one hand!

Yes, she's asleep!

Olivia turned two on August 26 and we had an Olivia the pig birthday party with friends and family. She was very excited about her piggy cake! (I accidentally scraped off one of the nostrils on the top of the fridge...I promise it started with two!)

Chris and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on August 27...my how time flies! We celebrated by going to the drive-in movie....it's been so long since we'd been to a drive in, and it was a lot of fun!

5 year anniversay picture

More changes? After we have the house unpacked and everything seems to have a nice little home....we're planning to move again! We're making a few changes and moving across town in mid-October. So, everything will get packed away again and we'll make a new home some place else!

More, you ask? Baby Kannel #2 is due in March! I'm 16 weeks pregnant, have an expanding waistline, and am feeling great! Olivia likes to poke her finger in my belly button to tickle the baby who is "hiding inside from Olivia!" :)

12 Week Sonogram

Chris is working full time for his dad at the insurance office and is also working on some architectural projects on the side. He is still involved with the church building project in New York where we attended, and was also involved in a major project with the firm he worked for in New York. He traveled back to New York twice in September to attend some very important meetings and make presentations to councils for his projects. And, he's headed back again several times within the next few months!

A side note...check out the new website Chris designed for the family business: http://www.kannelinsurance.com/.

Three generations at Kannel Superior Agency, Inc.

He is also doing some architecture work for a few organizations here in town and is trying his best to get his name out as a local architect. If you know of someone who needs an architect, send him/her our way!

We haven't found a church home yet and we are constantly still searching. We've visited several and have ruled some out. But we just haven't been able to put our finger on the right one yet. We're praying that God lead us to the right decision so that we may grow in Christ and also teach our kids about God and His sacrifice for us. We'll find the right one eventually.

Montpelier hosted the Williams County Fair in September! Because it was right here in town, I decided to buy a weekly pass and we went to the fair almost every day. Olivia really enjoyed walking around, riding in the stroller, seeing the animals, watching the rides, and looking at all the people. It's been a great outing for us all week, either going in the morning before lunch or after nap time....and sometimes both!

This is the goat that wouldn't stop eating her pants! The next time we went to see it, it ate her stroller!

She cried/screamed through the first two laps of the pony ride...but then sat happily and (mostly) enjoyed herself after that.

Olivia is slurping down the last few drops of her daddy's Dairy Producers Chocolate Milkshake...don't miss a drop!

Stay tuned as we prepare to move again, remodel a house, decorate, and make more changes to our lives! It seems never-ending!

A Whirlwind!

2010-08-14T08:49:00.001-04:00

The last several months seemed to be a whirlwind for Chris, Olivia, and me. I went back to work three days a week in October, and although I loved my job, it was very hectic! I was working part time but had a full time caseload. Needless to say, when I got home from work in the evenings, I had just enough energy to fix dinner, play with Olivia, and spend a little time with Chris before heading to bed. I then spend one day a week with a mother’s group (Westchester MOPS) and one day a week playing catch up!

Work was supposed to be a three month commitment while another lady was out on maternity leave. However, things changed and I ended up being there for seven months! Olivia attended day care while I was at work – and this was a great experience for her. She was able to learn to interact with peers, and had the opportunity to learn so much more in this amazing environment. There were 10 kids ranging in age from 15 months to 4 years old. So, while the older kids were learning from a preschool curriculum, Olivia picked up the information like a sponge! She can say her ABC’s, count to 20, and knows her shapes and colors. She also has a variety of songs and signs memorized. She never ceases to amaze us!

Meanwhile, Chris was still working on the new building design for our church family, the Westchester Church of Christ, and I was heavily involved with the moms and kids at our local MOPS group, Westchester MOPS. These two groups/organizations were huge blessings to us and made an everlasting impression on our hearts.

The Lord blessed us with selling our apartment in New York in May, and we moved back to Ohio in June. We’d been working on a selling arrangement since last October, so we when winter ended and spring rolled around, we began to wonder what the Lord truly had in store for our future. But, alas the sale went through and both of our families helped us relocate to Ohio.

We’ve been in Ohio for about 7 weeks, and it’s been quite an adjustment period! The way of life is definitely different, the cost of living is less, the income is different, the pace is slower…but it’s home! It is such a blessing to be making new friends, to have a roof over our heads, to have family nearby, and to be content with our new situation.

An Overwhelming Month!

2009-10-13T19:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, where has time gone? I’ve said to myself several times that I would sit down and update my blog, yet it never got done. Here it is, halfway through October and I completely missed September. September was a busy month in the Kannel household. We flew to Ohio to celebrate Chris’ 30th birthday with his family. While we were in the celebrating mood, we also had a late celebration for Olivia’s 1st birthday. It was very nice to get to celebrate those two special occasions with our family. Of course, we couldn’t be in Chris’ hometown during fair week and not visit the famous Williams County Fair….so we took Olivia and strolled around the fair for an afternoon while we were there. (My sister-in-law took this picture - thanks Amy!)

The rest of September was spent making important decisions about our future. The place where I worked before Olivia was born called and asked me to come back and fill in for someone while she is out on maternity leave. This seamed like a good idea on the surface, but there are so many things to take into consideration. I really have enjoyed being at home with Olivia throughout the past 14 months, but I also really liked my job. I wish Olivia had kids to interact with daily, but there aren’t any kids that live nearby and our Mothers of Preschoolers group only gets together about twice a month. So, we thought this might be an opportunity for her to interact with other kids in a day care setting. Plus, as much as I love staying at home with Olivia, I also have been yearning to have more adult interaction during the day. It’s also important for me to keep my professional life active if I plan to run a private practice once we move back to Ohio.

So, after taking all of this into consideration, and after lots of prayer, we decided that it would be a good opportunity for me to take the job offer. However, we decided that doing it part time would be best…not only for me, but for Olivia as well. This way, she will still get to spend time with me during the week days, but she’ll get a chance to interact with others too. Plus, I’m not sure how I would do going back to work full time after being at home with her for 14 months! I’ll start work on October 27 and will work 2 days a week at first. The hope is that I will eventually pick up a third day, allowing us to bring in a little more income, and allowing Olivia to be with kids 3 days a week instead of 2.

The hardest part in this entire decision making process was finding day care for Olivia. I said when I was pregnant with her that I was glad I didn’t have to search for day care because that task just seemed way too daunting…not to mention expensive! Between the Yellow Pages, internet searches, verbal recommendations, and tips from Westchester County’s Child Care Council, I had 40 different providers to look into – that’s right, 40! I was able to cross some of them off the list based upon their location. Some were too far south and some weren’t close to either one of our work places. I called quite a few of them before attempting to visit and the majority of the locations don’t take kids who are under 18 months. That was very frustrating for me to understand, so I’m glad I wasn’t searching for a place for her to stay when she was 3 months old – I’m not sure what I would have found! I visited a lot of places, I can’t even remember how many! It surprised me at the huge differences in places that I found. Some were super clean, some super dirty. Some places were over run with kids and some keeping the numbers small on purpose. All the places were licensed by several different agencies/departments, but it was obvious that the different licenses require different amounts of attention to detail. The rates for each place were slightly different, and unfortunately something we had to take into consideration. We don’t want all of my new paychecks to have to go toward childcare!

After much consideration and several visits, we finally picked a place that we feel extremely comfortable with. It’s close to Chris’ work, so I’ll drop her off in the mornings and he’ll pick her up in the evenings. The staff members are super nice, caring, and devoted to helping the kids grow and learn. There are only 10 kids at this place, with 5 staff members around to help. The kids range from 14 months to 4 years old, so Olivia will have the chance to interact with kids of different ages. The lady who runs this day care out of her basement is very supportive and we are very happy with our choice. The price is somewhat depressing though. We’re paying 5 times what my brother is paying for daycare in Ohio! But, there aren’t any other options for us out here! Some of the mother in my MOPS group volunteered to watch her for a discounted rate, but they all live 35 minutes away – which means driving 35 minutes in the morning to pick her up, 35 minutes back to work, and doing the same after work. That’s just too much! Plus, someone at church offered to watch her as well, but her house is not close to either one of our offices, plus we feel Olivia is just too fast and too active for the lady to keep up with her! So, daycare it is!

Meanwhile, our apartment listing expired and we haven’t decided what to do about that. We’ve been praying so much for God to lead us in the direction that he sees fit. We have done our best to put our futures in God’s hands, letting go of the control ourselves. It’s easier to say but harder to actually believe that what God wants is what we want. Please pray for continued guidance for us…that we may follow the path laid out for us, regardless of our own plans for our future.

As we wait patiently for directions, we watch time pass by. Olivia turned 1, Chris turned 30, my grandma just turned 90, and Chris’ grandma is celebrating her 81st birthday today. Time will continue to pass, Olivia will start daycare and I’ll go back to work. Hopefully God will help us understand, and if it’s in His will, we’ll be able to move back to Ohio shortly after the New Year.

I’ll do my best not to get overwhelmed with what lies ahead, that way you can stay up to date on what’s happening in our lives!

Being Creative

2009-09-01T13:39:00.003-04:00

Lately, when we've wanted to send cards to family or friends, we've decided to get a little creative. Chris has been drawing and painting in his spare time a lot, so he decided that he wanted to try creating his own cards. He has been doing this since the beginning of May and has really enjoyed his creations. We've even been brainstorming together about possible fronts of cards that he can create to submit to greeting card companies.

He recently put together a portfolio of several of his designs to submit to a company, and now we're waiting to hear back. So, if you get a card in the mail from us, chances are that Chris made it himself - just look for his initials with the year hidden somewhere in the drawing.

This is one he made for me for our anniversary. I said to him a few months ago, "you are always creating things for everyone else, but you've never made anything for me!" So, he surprised me on our anniversary with this card!

And, as an added bonus, here is a picture of Olivia at the park yesterday!

Four Years and Counting!

2009-08-28T08:06:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was our 4th Anniversary. It doesn’t seem like four whole years ago that we were gathered in my in-law’s back yard with all of our family and friends celebrating our new life together. The past year, especially, has flown by extremely fast.

We are so blessed to have this time together and we pray that God will grant us many more anniversaries to come.

We don’t have a lot of people around us who can babysit, so we celebrated as a family last evening. Thinking about it ahead of time, we were kind of happy to celebrate it with all three of us. Olivia is a huge part of our life now and she helped make this past year together extremely happy. Of course, there was also frustration, tiredness, and down times…but all-in-all, since our last anniversary in the hospital, Olivia has blessed us in so many ways. It was nice to go out to dinner with the three of us, celebrate her birthday and our anniversary, have her sit patiently in the high chair, eat her own kids’ meal, and only throw minimal amounts of food on the floor! So, we celebrated together not only because we had to, but because we wanted to!

May God grant us the love, patience, and understanding to get through many more years together. I love you, Christopher!

August 27, 2005 - Our Wedding Day - At the Reception

August 27, 2006 - On a Paddle Boat at Montauk, Long Island

August 27, 2007 - At the Eifel Tower in Paris, France

August 27, 2008 - Montefeiore Hospital in the Bronx, NY

August 27, 2008 - Home Sweet Home in Tuckahoe, NY

Happy 1st Birthday, Olivia!

2009-08-27T11:41:00.023-04:00

The Birthday Girl!

Olivia is officially a one-year-old now! It doesn’t seem like that long ago that we brought her home from the hospital. She has changed so much and has completely developed her own personality.

The day we brought her home from the hospital...

One Year Old

We are so blessed to have her in our lives. Here are some pictures from her birthday celebrations.

Our pathetic attempt at a homemade birthday cake

Birthday Party at Church - attempting to eat cake

She begged for a fork instead of using her hands.

After finally sticking her hand in, she was amazed by the feeling of the sticky icing.

Making a mess...

Yummy!

Playing with her first birthday gift...musical maracas!

Opening a gift from Great Granny

Tearing paper off puzzles from Grandma Carol & Papaw Ray

Playing with her new Fridge Phonics

(Daddy spelled her name New York style)

Opening a gift from a lady at church

Playing with her gift from Mommy & Daddy

Eating cake again on her birthday - a little messier than she was at church

Notice the left piggy tail - she got icing in her hair and it made the piggy tail stand straight out!

She loved squeezing the icing in between her fingers over and over again!

This is the fastest we've ever seen her eat!

Happy 1st Birthday, Olivia Grace!

She's Accomplished A Lot!

2009-08-25T08:54:00.013-04:00

Wow! It’s been over two months since I posted on here. In that time period we’ve had some ups and downs, traveled to see family and friends several times, and watched Olivia grow and develop immensely!

Olivia is pulling herself up on anything she can possibly find. She is growing taller too because she can now reach shelves that were once safely out of her reach! She stands up in the middle of the floor without holding on to anything and we can tell she desperately wants to walk, she just hasn’t figured that out quite yet. She pulls herself along objects and she does well walking if she’s holding on to our hands. She even feels comfortable doing it while holding on with one hand…I’m sure she’ll be walking before we know it! She likes to climb on things like sewing boxes, cardboard boxes…pretty much anything that represents a step. She also climbs inside of her exersaucer and sits there to play with toys.

Her hair is getting longer so I either put it in a ponytail, piggy tails, or a barrette every day. It’s really long on top and won’t stay out of her eyes. In the back, she still has a mess of little curls that are quite unruly and hard to put into a ponytail.

She loves feeding herself from a fork too. We put the food on the fork, give it to her, and she puts it in her mouth. She does really well with it and only flings food on the floor if she’s getting full.

It’s hard to believe that she will be one year old tomorrow. My, my how time flies! I promise I’ll post pictures on Thursday of her with her birthday celebration.

While we were traveling with family, Olivia experienced many new ‘firsts.’ She played on a big trampoline, met extended family members, went for a wagon ride, played in the sprinkler, climbed up one step, stood by herself, cruised along a coffee table (walking), went tubing, rode a jet ski, went down a water slide, slept on a houseboat, learned how to blow a kiss, and stayed the weekend alone with her Grandma Carol. She is such an easy-going baby and really enjoyed spending time with her cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents.

Here are some updated pictures……
(you can also look at more pictures at my Picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/cincychelle)

Chris' cousin, Diana took this picture - then several people took turns editing the colors.

This is Olivia playing in the sprinkler in Ohio.

My sister-in-law, Amy, took this great picture of Olivia when we visited them in Tennessee.

Olivia is doing 'so big' after finally making a mess in her early birthday cake.

She belongs in Hollywood!

She loved swimming in the lake - this was a very happy week for her!

This is her first day with a ponytail, and she just happened to be standing on her own as well.

This doesn't look like a very good picture - but she is blowing me a kiss!

I just thought this was a cute picture!

This is Olivia's first water slide ride into the lake....Daddy tries to 'pass' her to Grandpa, but Olivia goes flying through the air instead. Surprisingly, she didn't scream or throw a fit!

A Day in the Life of Olivia....

2009-06-15T20:40:00.006-04:00

If you lived with us (other than there being not very much room in the apartment), you would get to know Olivia very well. But, since most people who read this are so terribly far away, I thought I would share some of her quirks with you.

Olivia.....

*Now has 6 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 4 on the top

*Grinds her teeth together when she is really tired or seemingly bored

*Enjoys drinking out of a sippy cup and doesn't dribble too much of it on the front of her shirt

*Sits with her legs crossed when she plays with toys on the floor

*Hides her toys under the couch and tries to get them out again

*Crawls all over the place and loves to follow Chris and me around the apartment

*Stands on her feet with her hands on floor and her tush in the air

*Goes from sitting to lying down to crawling to sitting, etc....over and over and over again

*Enjoys finding every electrical cord in the apartment to play with
*Chases the cat (much to the cat's dismay)
*Loves yogurt and would eat it for every meal if we let her
*Likes leaning sideways and turning her head parallel to the floor to look at you (hoping you'll do it back)
*Crawls across the room to see us then kisses our legs when she gets to us (as much of a baby kiss as you can get)

Hmmm...that's all I can think of to share with you right now. It's so amazing to watch her learn and grow. We feel so blessed to have her as our daughter.

So Much in One Month!

2009-05-19T11:24:00.008-04:00

Olivia is truly growing and changing every day. Within the past month, here's what she's accomplished:

*She sprouted two teeth

*Still scoots around the apartment backwards

*Tries to crawl by getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth

*Enjoys screaming as loud as she can for as long as she can (in a happy way)

*Loves to feed herself and drink from a sippy cup

*Her best friend is the cat

*She loves looking at, playing with, and talking to other little kids

*She hugs you back when you give her a squeeze

*Sleeping through the night every night

*Completely weaned and doing great with it

*Loves fruits, vegetables that aren't green, steak :), and chicken

*She gets out every toy she can possibly find and spreads them around the apartment

*Loves to look at pictures of famiy members - but loves pictures of herself more!

See her teeth?

Mother's Day

She is super excited about seeing a picture of herself!

Ohio/Indiana Trip (3/9-3/16)

2009-04-23T13:35:00.004-04:00

In the car seat, ready to go see family

Dressed up as a bunny on Easter - this used to be Daddy's bunny suit!

Hanging out with Grandma Marion - not feeling very well

Still not feeling well, but playing with Bradley

Family Visit to NY (3/27-4/1)

2009-04-23T13:28:00.005-04:00

Learning to share toys with cousin, Elijah

Diaper Days with Elijah

Photo op at Rockefeller Center

Updated Family Photo

Trip to Boston (3/12-3/15)

2009-04-23T13:05:00.006-04:00

Sitting on the window ledge, tapping the window, looking out at the hotel

Checking out the jelly fish exhibit at the New England Aquarium

Watching the penguins

Ready for a nap - but Mommy wanted to watch the sea lions!

Before her first swim in a pool at the hotel

After her first swim in a pool (it was nap time!)

First Trip to Ohio (3/6-3/11)

2009-04-23T12:31:00.008-04:00

Olivia's first ride on an airplane (LaGuardia to Detroit)

She did very well!

Olivia watching kids play at her cousin Corey's 4th Birthday Party

Olivia's first ride down a slide

Riding on the police bike with her cousin, Bradley

My Mom, Dad, Maternal grandparents, brother and our kids
(Chris and Angie couldn't be there - otherwise they would be in the picture too)

Cousin-love

This is on our layover in Washington DC on the way back to New York.
If you look closely, you can see the Washington Monument in the background, just to the left of the plane!

Here I Am!

2009-04-23T12:11:00.003-04:00

Wow - the past 6 weeks have completely flown by. We've made a trip to Ohio, made a trip to Boston, had family visit for 7 days, made a trip to Ohio via Indiana...and now we're finally back home settling into a routine again. We've been blessed to have safe travels, although we had two canceled flights, an unscheduled layover and a delay...we still made it to and from all of our destinations safely.

Olivia even spent the weekend away from Mom and Dad for the first time...and we all did great! :) The worst part (and this had nothing to do with being away from us) was that she got sick when we saw her again and spent several days unable to keep any food or milk down. It was sad to see her to lethargic and sick, but it only lasted a few days and now she has all of her energy back.

She'll be 8 months old on Sunday - my how time flies! In fact, just yesterday, I noticed her first tooth start to pop through the gums. It's on the bottom, and so cute...I keep looking at it! :)

She sits up by herself and is trying real hard to lean over and crawl, but just can't quite get a handle on it and always falls over. She eats lots of fruits and vegetables now, along with cereal and has started to hold both her sippy cup and her bottle by herself. She loves waving at people and makes mouth noises while Chris and I are eating. It's such a blessing to have her in our lives! I'll post some pictures so you can see her throughout the past six weeks.

Fun with Prunes

2009-03-06T10:10:00.004-05:00

This is Olivia enjoying prunes. She does this after every bite of food now and we're not too sure what it means....

Adventures in Eating

2009-03-06T09:10:00.008-05:00

Olivia has mastered applesauce and prunes. She usually has one for breakfast and one for dinner, which seems to make her happy. Of course she gets a lot of it on her face, as most babies do...and her favorite thing to do during a meal is talk with her mouth full. The video below is of Chris feeding her applesauce at church this past Sunday. Needless to say, his good suit needed dry cleaned after the meal was over.

6 Months Already?

2009-02-24T22:04:00.003-05:00

Have 6 months really gone by since Olivia was born? It's hard to believe that she will be 6 months old on Thursday. These past several months have been a bit challenging for Chris and me, but they have definitely been full of blessings.

We went to get her 6 months pictures taken this past weekend, and the pictures are pretty cute. She just woke up from a nap right before the session, so her smiles aren't the biggest...but she's still cute!

She's doing well with eating cereal and after her doctor's visit this Friday, we'll probably start adding fruit to her diet as well. She loves to watch us eat and often smacks her lips together and sticks out her tongue while we're eating.

She's started waving bye bye and hello, even though her hand is not always out in front of her. It's pretty cute to watch and it's nice to see her recognize you when you walk into the room - not only does she smile, but now she waves too.

We're headed to Ohio for a visit next week and we are all very excited. Family hasn't seen Olivia since Christmas/New Year's, so it will be good for them to spend some time with Olivia in person instead of through pictures and videos online.

We had another Open House for our apartment but not too many people came by to see it. The weather wasn't that great, so we're attributing the low visitation to that. We have several people who have said they are interested, but their finances don't quite fit with type of buyer we need.

Chris started his position on the Planning Board this evening. He is enjoying being part of the community and it is a great experience for him to be involved with.

I'm constantly looking for things to do, whether it's going to the library for Mother Goose Time, taking walks when I catch a glimpse of nice weather, or even running an errand just to get out of the house. I love staying home with Olivia, but it's definitely bothersome at times because I have no one to talk to except her. Baby conversations are great and I always find myself telling her exactly what I'm doing just so I can talk to someone. But it's not he same as living by close friends or family, having people to go to lunch with, or even going over to someone else's house for an afternoon. I'm definitely struggling right now and yearn so much to move back closer to friends and family. We're being patient and waiting for God to open the door for us and show us when the time is right...but being patient is not always easy. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to follow the path He has laid for us.

Next week will be busy as we prepare for our trip to Ohio. This will be Olivia's first time in an airplane, which means going through security at the airport gets a little more interesting for us! I'll try to post again before we leave. Until then, God Bless!

An update on the three of us

2009-01-30T12:37:00.003-05:00

Olivia's Latest Accomplishments

She sits up with support all the time and loves to be in the upright position. She prefers to sit up on the couch and play with toys rather than lay on her stomach or back. She can sit up for a tiny bit on her own without any support, but quickly falls forward and ends up sucking on her toes.

Speaking of toes, she loves to grab them now and often puts them in her mouth. I especially like to dress her in outfits that have cute things on the feet, that way she has something to look at when she's interacting with her toes.

She has also been talking a lot more lately. She has started using a very quiet voice when talking to her toys, but continues to use a louder voice when talking to me or Chris.

Olivia constantly chews on her index fingers. She usually has one or the other in the side of her mouth and chomps down on it until her heart is content. When she pulls her hand away from her face, her finger is bright red, but she's as happy as can be. She's also been sucking on the backside of her hand lately, and yesterday I actually caught her sucking her thumb!

She seems to like the cereal we've been giving her. She's had it three times now and is getting better at swallowing while sitting up. She likes to stick her hand in her mouth with the spoon though, which leaves a nice sticky hand to be smeared over everything it touches during the feeding. She also tries to talk while the spoon is going in, so she blows bubbles in the cereal and it flies everywhere. Sunday evening she blew it all over Chris' face!

She still doesn't have any teeth and we can't see that any are ready to come through - so we'll just wait patiently.

She's rolling over from time to time, but isn't that interested in the process.

Michelle's Dilemma

I went to the place I used to work this week just to visit and say hello to everyone. Low and behold, there is a social work position available and it seems as if everyone wants me to return. While I completely loved the work I did and enjoyed going to work each day, I also love being at home with Olivia. I enjoy watching her grow and develop each day, I like being able to do things for Chris while he's at work during the day, and I like the quality time that I get to spend with my daughter. God has blessed us greatly with allowing me to stay home. However, it does get lonely and I yearn for adult interactions on a daily basis. I know my colleagues enjoyed having me at work, as did the administration...and I enjoyed being there. But the thought of having to find (and pay for) day care out here seems daunting. We don't really have any family friends who she could stay with all day, so that's not an option either. Plus, we're still hoping to move in June (if we sell our apartment by then) so if I did go back to work, it would only be for four months - and that's not very fair to the agency or the kids I would be working with. I keep going back and forth between my options...and I just seems to confuse myself even more. I'm praying about it so that God can grant me the wisdom to see His plan for me, but if you could pray for me too, that would be great.

Chris' Achievement

Chris and I have been attending town meetings where we live to discuss parking arrangements in front of our apartment building. Chris (my over-achiever husband) drew sketches of the streets, buildings and parking spaces to show the village committees his thoughts and possible solutions to the problem. Well, in doing this, the Mayor took a liking to him and personally asked him to the join the Village Planning Board. This is a Board of professionals in several different fields who get together and make decisions about Village projects and proposals. These board members are appointed by the Mayor and chosen specifically because of their talents and expertise in the areas in which they work. I'm very proud of him for getting a personal invitation from the Mayor to do this!

Two Weeks Full of Photos

2009-01-27T10:41:00.022-05:00

This will be another photo update, along with brief explanations to let you know what the three of us have been up to.

This is Olivia trying to sit up on her own. She loves to try but hasn't completely mastered it yet.

Having some tummy time - trying to get those arms nice and strong.

Happy Girl I'm usually the one taking pictures, so I don't have many pictures of Mommy and Baby.
She's reaching out to touch our faces a lot lately. She likes Daddy's fuzzy face.
21 Weeks Old - 1.20.09

She loves sitting by herself and playing with toys.

She can now reach her feet and likes to lick her toes!

Just a cute picture.

Headed outside in her snowsuit - bundle up tight!
Trying cereal for the first time...
Cereal all over her face!

A video of Olivia eating cereal

More fun with tummy time and a colorful outfit - Five Months Old Today!
Watching Mommy eat a pear

Stay tuned for more.......

A Huge Update

2009-01-13T14:20:00.019-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated the blog. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed to fly by quickly with shopping, making gifts, and packing. Then all of December flew by with family situations, the possibility of having a buyer for our apartment, and being away from home for two weeks. Now we're finally back and getting settled into our routines again. Here are some picture updates for those who are interested to see how Olivia is growing...

1st time in a booster seat

The Family at Rockefeller Center (Olivia's 1st time on a train and her first trip to Manhattan)

Olivia's 1st Christmas Tree

Olivia's 1st time lying in the snow Opening presents on Christmas Morning Hanging out in her cousin's rocking chair

Ready for church on Sunday morning after

Hanging out with Daddy in her Christmas dress

Watching UC play in the Orange Bowl on tv

Happy girl after just rolling over for the first time Sporting her camouflage dress - ready to go hunting with her cousins

Kissing Great Grandpa Marion's reindeer
Eating Chicken Legs

Playing with all of her toys

Twenty Weeks Old - 1.13.09

A Busy Week In NY

2008-11-21T11:03:00.006-05:00

Olivia is twelve weeks old this week...soon approaching the 3-month mark. It's hard to believe that almost three months have passed since she was born. The past three months have been great though. I love being a mom - and I love the feeling of knowing that she needs me every day.

She has been spending more time awake during the days, so I have been spending more time with her lately. She still hasn't rolled over yet, but she's pretty close. I bought her a mirror this week and she has enjoyed spending time looking at herself in that. She is getting more comfortable with tummy time and doesn't get frustrated so easily.

While she naps, I've been busy sewing. I finished a Christmas present for one of my nephews this week...and I have to admit that it's pretty darn cute! I've also been donating my time to sew a quilt for a local church. One of our family friends told me that they are creating 9 quilts for a halfway house in Yonkers, but they don't have enough help to complete them all. So, I've been spending my time sewing squares together for them so they can complete their project on time. I would rather be sewing more Christmas presents, but it's also nice to donate time to others as well. My next project is another Christmas present for another nephew. Then a project for my grandparents, then finally I'll make something for Olivia!

Chris has been at meetings almost every night this week. I've barely seen him at all. Yesterday, Olivia had a rough day around here and was pretty cranky. Chris had a business meeting at church...and he is such a great husband that he offered to take her with him so that I could have the night off. It was nice to be able to sew and do the dishes without being interrupted! And it was nice to know that I could trust Christopher to take Olivia with him to the meeting...and everything would be just fine. Sorry ladies...but I have the best husband of all! :)

11 Weeks Old

2008-11-16T13:44:00.005-05:00

Over eleven weeks have passed since this cute little bundle of joy has arrived. Our lives have changed immensely since she was born and we feel so very blessed. She is babbling so much more, especially to Chris and me. Her favorite two words now are "Goo" and "Ga" - typical baby sounds. Her face lights up with a beautiful smile when she sees us, and she loves interacting.

She is still at the point where she doesn't mind if other people hold her, so she is getting to know other faces at church, as well as when we have guests over or get together with friends.

She tries really hard to roll over but hasn't quite mastered that skill yet. She can push herself up while on her stomach, but quickly gets annoyed and bored that there isn't anything to look at underneath her except a blanket. I'm looking forward to borrowing my sister-in-law's activity gym so she can have something to entertain her while she is lying on her stomach and on her back.

Olivia really likes to be in the sitting position lately too. If we put her in her Bobby pillow laying down, she tries really hard to sit up, almost like she's doing stomach crunches. As soon as you sit her up, she is happy as a clam and will sit like that for quite a long time (propped up or our our laps of course).

She hasn't started laughing or giggling yet, but we can definitely tell she is getting close. She makes a funny noise that we think will turn into a laugh eventually, but she's still just smiling a whole lot.

She is really getting long too. Her 0-3 month clothing is finally getting to small because her legs poke out the bottom of the pant legs. I think she gets her height from my dad and brother. She'll probably be tall and skinny like her cousin..but only time will tell.

We are looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving so that our families can see how much she is changing. We will spend 1.5 days with my family and 1.5 days with Chris' family. It's not exactly ideal, but we are just thankful for the time we do have with them instead of sad about how little time we have.

I'll post her 12 week picture later this week - and maybe by that time she will be rolling over - so I'll have a video to post too!

Three Shots and a Princess

2008-10-31T17:16:00.008-04:00

Olivia went to the doctor today to get her first set of shots. To make the day seem a little more happier, I decided to dress her in a costume. (Perhaps more happier for me than for her!) None-the-less, she was Daddy's Little Princess for the day. I even made Ellie an outfit to match! Surprisingly, she didn't mind wearing it at all. She actually purred when I put it on her and she let me take several pictures without running away. Now we have two little princesses in the house!

Overall, Olivia did really well at the doctor's office. She was tired when we got there, so she didn't mind just lying still through the exam part of the visit. She even fell asleep in my arms while we waited for the nurse to come back in and give her the shots. She got three shots, two of which were a combination for several different things. I felt so bad for her though - she was sleeping soundly in my arms and suddenly the nurse stuck her with the first needle. Her eyes opened wide, then they shut and the tears poured out the sides. She took a deep breath in and waited about 10 seconds before letting out the ear-piercing scream. Her face turned bright red and she screamed even louder as the nurse gave her the next two shots. Thankfully she let me hug and cuddle her and she was then able to calm down. But the look in her eyes still said, "Mommy, why did you let that happen to me?." I know it's best for her, but it still breaks my heart to see her in pain. I did decide to take pictures of her before and after the shots so that we could remember the moments though. (Before=Above, After=Right) She is weighing in at 10 pounds, 9 ounce and she is 22.5 inches long. According to the charts, she is between the 25th and 50th percentiles...which means she is healthy and strong!

October is almost gone

2008-10-30T15:30:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that October is almost over! The past several weeks have flown by way too fast. However, I feel like we have accomplished a lot as a family. Our trip to Ohio was great - we were blessed with the chance to see lots of family and friends, as well as spend extended time with family. It was more than just a quick trip which allowed us to be able to relax a little while we were away from home.

Olivia is growing quickly and has more personality every day. Chris and I are so happy to spend time with her and we are truly enjoying parenthood. Sure, it's tiring getting up to feed her in the night, and it takes longer to load the car when we go out...but the pros of being parents far outweighs those things.

She smiles at us all the time and it completely melts our hearts each time. Seeing her gummy baby smile never gets old. She's headed to the doctor tomorrow for her first round of shots....so we'll see how many smiles she has for me tomorrow...probably not that many! Keep us in your prayers!

6 Weeks Old

2008-10-09T14:58:00.002-04:00

Olivia turned six weeks old on Tuesday. Time continues to fly by so quickly! As I look at her weekly pictures, I see differences in her that I don't necessarily notice on a daily basis. I'm glad we are in the digital age where we can take so many pictures and not have to constantly pay to develop them all!

This afternoon we will take a road trip to Ohio...again. This time around, Olivia will get to meet so many new people. Her journey starts in Columbus with Neil and Melissa, a couple that lived in New York and went to our church, but recently moved back to Ohio. Then she'll get to meet all of our friends in Cincinnati (and see a few that she's already met). Plus, she'll get to experience the Homecoming parade and her first football game! She'll get to spend some more time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephews. She'll get to meet her three great grandparents on my side of the family, plus meet a few of my high school friends. Then, she'll travel with me to Montpelier where she'll get to meet her three great grandparents on Chris' side of the family. She'll take her first trip to Michigan to pick up Daddy at the airport and she will meet Uncle Steven, Aunt Amy, and Cousin Elijah. She'll also get to meet a few of her paternal cousins, aunts and uncles. Then she'll get to meet ALL of Chris' maternal family. Everyone will be in town for Granny's 80th birthday, so she will get the chance to meet aunts, uncles and cousins.

It will be a big week for all 3 of us - Olivia and I in Ohio with our family, and Chris in New York all by himself! Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as we embark upon this journey! We'll definitely document it with lots of pictures - we'll keep you posted!

2008-10-03T11:00:00.003-04:00

One thing I keep telling myself is, "it's not about me." It has definitely taken me a while to get used to the fact that my daily to-do list doesn't matter when Olivia needs something. I can have 20 things on my list that need done, but if she needs fed, I need to take care of her. If she is awake, I take the time to interact with her instead of sitting her in the swing to be entertained while I work on my own things. I've come to understand that the list will get accomplished eventually - but everything on the list combined isn't as important to me as Olivia.

It's a lot different than being at work, having a schedule, sticking to that schedule, accomplishing tasks, and going home. Being a stay-at-home-mom is taking a while to get used to. But I love being able to be there when Olivia wakes up from her naps, I love feeding her, and I love going on daily outings with her - taking her to experience new things (even though she has no idea what we are doing!).

Something else I enjoy about motherhood is getting the chance to see Chris with our baby girl. He is an amazing father and loves to spend time with Olivia. He's actually going to Ohio this weekend, so he won't get to see her for two days. My guess is that he will definitely take pictures of her home with him not only to show to family members, but to show to EVERYONE he comes in contact with. He is such a proud father. When we go to church, he is usually the one who holds her and several ladies commented to me that it seems like I never hold her! Seeing him interact with her makes me feel more in love with him each time. I thank God all the time for blessing me with such a wonderful family.

One Month Old...Already!

2008-09-26T14:50:00.004-04:00

Time really is flying by! It's hard to believe that it has already been one month since I gave birth to sweet Olivia. Where did the time go? But, when I look at her, it definitely looks like she is a month old. She is already a different baby than we brought home from the hospital. She is more alert, is starting to stay awake more, and her features have changed so much.

We went to the doctor today and she weighed in at 8lbs, 6.5oz. She's also grown over two inches since we brought her home from the hospital. The doctor said that she is very healthy right now...so her next appointment will be to get her 2-month shots...that should be a fun visit!

This picture was taken on Tuesday when she was four weeks old. From week to week she changes just a little bit. It's definitely hard to tell just by looking at her, but we can see the difference in her weekly photos. To see her weekly pictures, you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/cincychelle and click on the Weekly Photos album. There are also other new pictures in the Olivia - Month One album. Starting today, I'll post new pictures in a Month Two album.

She is starting to sleep a little better at night now. Although, she still cries after about 20 minutes of sleeping alone in her crib. But, that at least gives us SOME time to stretch out in the bed by ourselves without feeling like we are sleeping on pins and needles with a baby in the bed! Monday and Tuesday this week were really rough and she just wasn't sleeping well at all during the day or night. Things have calmed back down now though and she's back to her semi-schedule of sleeping for 3ish hours at a time.

**Big Sigh**

Now we're jumping into month number two. This month we have lots of things to look forward to with Olivia. She'll travel to Ohio with us again to watch the UC Homecoming game and meet a lot of our friends. She'll spend the week with me at my parents' house and get the chance to meet her great grandparents. Then we'll drive to Montpelier to spend with with the other great grandparents. She'll go to Michigan to pick up Chris at the airport and then will get to meet A LOT (if not all) of her extended family on Chris' side. She'll get to go apple and pumpkin picking with us at Stewart Farm and then end the month with vaccinations. Off we go...

We will be sure to post pictures on Picasa, Facebook, or MySpace. Check back for updates!

Like Mother-Like Daughter

2008-09-19T12:07:00.003-04:00

I definitely think that Olivia gets her sense of wanting to be cuddled ALL THE TIME from me. She sleeps so soundly if she's in your arms or on your lap. She sleeps 4 & 5 hours at a time during the night if she is in the bed between us. But she wakes up within 5 minutes of us putting her in her crib. I can't tell if we are spoiling her by holding her so much, or if it's too early in her life for her to get used to that.

We are still trying to figure her out and we are still learning her signs of being sleepy and her signs of trying to go back to sleep on her own. The books all seem to have different opinions, as do people...so we're just trying to learn about our daughter on our own...we'll see how far it gets us!

Baby Blues

2008-09-16T19:01:00.002-04:00

...not that I have the Baby Blues...but that I love taking time to just look into Olivia's big, baby blue eyes. She loves to take in her surroundings and just watches everything going on around her. When she gets tired, she lies in my arms and just looks at me. It is such a blessing to look down at her, talk to her, and know that I'm her mommy. Her soft skin is so kissable and I spend part of the day just cuddling with her.

It's hard to believe that she is already three weeks old. Time sure does fly when you become a parent!

It's already going so quickly

2008-09-14T12:15:00.004-04:00

I completely agree with the sentiment that time flies as you get older. I'm not sure where the past 20 days have gone! It doesn't seem like it's been that long already since Olivia was born. She is already growing (6lbs 14oz at the doctor last week), and she seems to be more alert to everything going on around her.

In the past 2 1/2 weeks, Olivia has already accomplished so much! She's traveled to Ohio and back, been to a wedding, went on two boat trips, spent four nights in a hotel and had a 'playdate' with five other babies. She is a great baby and I can't wait to see how our family grows together.

I'm a Mommy!

2008-08-31T12:21:00.003-04:00

A lot has changed since my last post! Olivia Grace was definitely worth the wait! Labor pains started around 1:30am on Tuesday August 26 and Olivia arrived at 9:17am.

Childbirth was a surreal experience and Chris was an amazing and supportive husband throughout the entire process.

Olivia is a great (not to mention adorable) baby so far and we feel truly blessed to finally have her outside of my tummy!

She has blond hair, big blue eyes, and a cute little baby smile. She is already a snuggler - she must get that from me. But Christopher eats up all the snuggle time possible with her.

She had her first sponge bath yesterday, her maternal grandparents have come to visit/help, and her first pediatrician's appointment went very well.

We are off to a great start - so please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Making the most of it

2008-08-24T08:49:00.003-04:00

Well, it's Sunday already, three days past the estimated due date, and this little lady is giving no signs that she wants to come out. That's okay though, because I'm still enjoying being pregnant. Yeah, it's annoying to need Chris' help to get up off the couch, and rolling over in bed is no easy feat - but feeling the little baby continue to move inside me is such a blessing.

Chris and I are trying to make the most of our time together (just the two of us) before she arrives. We went on a 'last date for a while' several weeks ago...and still have all this time to ourselves! Yesterday we went to a cute town in New Jersey along the Hudson River and walked around for most of the afternoon. It was nice to be able to talk, enjoy each other's company, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

So, we're doing our best to keep ourselves occupied, that way we don't spend all of our time wondering when the baby will arrive.

We have done our fair share of trying to induce labor naturally - but we've decided that my body just isn't ready, so we're not pushing it. This baby will come when God decides its time.

2008-08-22T13:41:00.003-04:00

Although my estimated due date has come and gone, I'm not worried. I'm counting it as a blessing to have the opportunity to be pregnancy more than 40 weeks. After all, not many of my family members have had the opportunity to go into the 41st week of pregnancy! :)

The baby is moving around a lot, which the doctor says might be leading up to the impending labor...but I think it's because of all the sugar in the ice cream I've been eating! I was dilated 1 1/2 centimeters this morning at the doctor's office...although I think she just gave me the extra 1/2 to not make me feel bad about still being at a 1!

I have several options for ways to naturally make myself go into labor, but so far none of those have worked. I'm not trying them because I'm anxious to get this baby out - I'm trying them because I would rather not have to attend the scheduled induction at the hospital for Wednesday night. I would much rather it happen naturally than artificially.

Besides, feeling this baby move inside of me is an amazing experience. Last night, Chris was talking to her, then he'd kiss my belly, and she responded right away by pushing her foot out. They did that three times and it brought a huge smile to both of our faces. She's constantly moving, and constantly reminding me what a blessing it is to be pregnant. Thankfully, this has been a great pregnancy and I'm not extremely miserable waiting on her to arrive. Anxious, yes. Miserable, no.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to wait patiently. We are very excited about being parents - and can't wait to meet our little girl.

ESTIMATED Due Date

2008-08-21T12:01:00.003-04:00

When Chris and I had our first doctor's appointment back in January and the doctor established the estimated due date, we knew it was just an estimate. We didn't get completely attached to the date, althought we knew we would be having a baby roughly around that time. Well, as of today, all of you who thought the baby would arrive before the due date are wrong! We still have 12 hours left in the day to have a baby before those of you who thought we would give birth on the due date are wrong. The only option that will be left come midnight will be to deliver after the due date.

While it is still extremely anxiety provoking for me, Chris, and all of our family members...the doctor has assured us that the baby is healthy, just not quite ready to make her entrance into the world! I went to the doctor yesterday, and I'm headed back tomorrow, just so she can keep a close eye on me.

If nothing else, the doctor plans to induce next week so that the baby doesn't get too big. This isn't the best option and we all prefer to allow me to go into labor on my own. So, please keep me, Chris, and this little baby in your thoughts and prayers as we venture into the 41st week of pregnancy! Hopefully we will have good news for everyone soon and we will be able to share her with the world. For now, she is certainly teaching her father and mother a lesson about patience!

Still no change - but no concerns

2008-08-20T11:38:00.002-04:00

I went to the doctor today for a Fetal Non-Stress Test. She monitored the baby's heart rate, my uterine contractions, and then checked the fluid in my uterus. Everything is normal and seems exceptionally healthy. I'm still 1 cm dilated, so that hasn't changed at all.

The doctor isn't concerned about anything, but she's getting anxious too! Only God knows when this little girl will arrive, so the rest of us will just keep waiting!

Nothing has changed

2008-08-18T10:42:00.005-04:00

Here is my picture from yesterday. 39.5 weeks pregnant

After my doctor's appointment today, she said that I am still 1 centimeter dilated. Nothing has changed since Friday. There are several appointments in store for me throughout the next week - pending I don't go into labor. So, check back for an update later in the week!

1 centimeter - but waiting patiently

2008-08-17T13:37:00.002-04:00

When I went to the doctor on Friday, she said I have dilated 1 centimeter. While that seems exciting.....I'm still waiting patiently on the other 9! I told Chris, "if getting to one centimeter was this easy, I can only hope that getting through the other nine will be this easy too!"

Still no real contractions, no pains, no hint that a baby will be arriving soon. I think this is the cause of my anxiety lately - that I have no idea when anything will happen. Will my water break first? Will contractions start? When? Where will I be? Will Chris be with me? I just don't know - only God has the answers. So, I'm doing my best to wait patiently.

Chris on the other hand, is waiting not-so-patiently! He's anxious to see how he can help me through labor - already anticipating that he will feel hopeless. So, keep us both in your prayers as we journey into the days ahead.

No action yet...

2008-08-14T10:34:00.002-04:00

While this baby seems to be moving around tremendously inside me, there is no evidence that I will go into labor any time soon. We'll see what the doctor has to say at tomorrow's visit, but for now I'm just relaxing and enjoying my free time off work.

Everyone seems anxious for me to give birth - including my husband. I think so many people are just ready to meet this little girl. I guess we will all just have to continue to be patient!

My body is preparing...

2008-08-12T19:32:00.002-04:00

It seems as if pregnancy is beginning to catch up with me. So far, it's been really great and I haven't had any complications. Now that my due date is just around the corner, my body is getting very tired. I even seem to have a head-cold now, complete with a stuffy nose, sneezing, and watery eyes. I thought it was a cold at first (although I've never had one in August before) - but I'm beginning to think that my body is just getting tired of being pregnant! Any thoughts?

Two more days of work!

2008-08-11T08:11:00.003-04:00

It feels really good to only have two more days left of work. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I would make it to the end because I thought I might go into labor before the last day arrived. Unless something happens today or tomorrow morning, it looks like I'll make it to the end!

It has been great to work here and I feel truly blessed by the opportunity I have had. I am going to miss working with the kids and communicating with my coworkers on a daily basis - but I'm leaving it all to stay at home with my new baby girl. It's nice to know that in the near future, if I would like to go back part time or even full time, my boss will welcome me back. But for now, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to stay at home with the new baby.

These two days should be pretty stress-free, as all I have to do is meet with my coworker to transfer the cases back to her. I also need to clean out my office and say goodbyes, but I'm completely caught up on paperwork and have no loose ends to tie up. It's a pretty good feeling!

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as these next two days come to a close!

Everyone has opinions...

2008-08-03T16:38:00.002-04:00

Everyone seems to have an opinion about how soon I will be delivering this baby. Some say, "any day now" some say, "you're not big enough yet" some say, "wait until I return from vacation"....the list goes on. I was warned early in my pregnancy about people wanting to give their advice to you...but I didn't think it would go so far as to them picking when I should deliver! I guess you never know what people are going to say!

It's a start

2008-08-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

I started this blog in hopes that I will keep it updated regularly - that way my friends and family can see/read what I have been up to. Truthfully, I haven't been too good about updating posts in the past simply because I've been a) too busy or b) too lazy. Hopefully this one will be a little bit different. I feel so far away from everyone I love (except my husband) and it's so hard to regularly email everyone. With our little girl due to arrive within the next few weeks, I'm hoping to update everyone on her progress as well. Help remind me to post regularly!