Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Olivia Geraldine
	October 17th 12:41 pm 7 lbs 4 oz

9/18/06 11 months old

8/28/06 10 months old

7/17/06 9 months old

6/11/06 8 months

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10/17/06
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wow! Olivia is a 1 year old little girl! She is just as cute as a button and so happy. She smiles easily and loves all the exctitment around her. Sh can stand all by herself and is quite pleased with herself whe she does. She knows her feet should move, but has yet to figure out how to move them. She points and stare at them, yells at them, but they stick to the ground and she face plants. She says "hi" and waves, she has and ear drum shattering scream that she uses if we don't get food in front of her fast enough. She looks a lot like Emma did at her age. She is itty bitty and just does not look like a one year old! She still only has 4 teeth, but uses them well and eats our food not baby food so much. She has her one year check up on Friday- I'll edit in her stats then.

10/3/06 In this her 11th month (yes yes I know I am way late and she is commign upon 1 year!!!) Olivia isstill a peanut. SHe is growing thogh- she is finally fitting into 9 month clothes! She loves to say "hi" and "bye"- which incedently also sounds like "Hi". SHe is still sporting just 4 teeth, not sign at all of any new ones. She pulls to a stand often and in this last week has figured out how to let go and stand very briefly. Just today she stood up on her own with out pulling up on anything, She will be a real toddler soon. She totally adores her brothers and sisterss- and they all seem to feel the same about her. They all call her "Miss Cootsie Pie" and she is just that, a total cootsie patootsie. In less than two weeks she will have her first birthday and parktake in the right of passage known as cake. I'm sure she will think she is in heaven!

8/28/06 We have a mean pink crawling machine! Well that just doesn't quite have the right ring to it- but you know what I mean! Olivia is crawling around like a little fiend allthe time now. We desparately have to figure out how to block the stairs- since she has recently discovered them and now that is all whe wants to do! She has 4 teeth now- the top two came in a couple of weeks ago. She is showing signs of having a similar fructose intolerance as Evan- though hers does not seem as severe, we have had to eliminate apples and pears so far. I am loving her gigles and smiles, and really hating her screeches when I can't get the food into her mouth fast enough! She sleeps from 8 or 9 pm until somewhere between 3 & 5 am, an she just wnats to nurse at that point, so whe gets inwith us and we'll all sleep until 6 or 7 am , so most nights I actually get somewhat decent sleep. I can not believe she will be a year old in a mere 2 months!!!!!!!!!!!!

7/26/06 9 Months old
What a doll baby! She now does a sort of 3 pointcrawl on her hands and knees. She gets all over the house. I have no idea how we are going to keep her off the stairs. She eats just about anything, but still mostly from the jars, but she is chewing. She is still only a two tooth wonder.She is still happier than she is cranky or mad, just a little happy stinker, easts sleeps and needs to be changed. Though she is quite the mama's girl, doesn't want me to put her down much,but even that is getting a tad better. She is still a petite little monkey, I'm guessing about 16 lbs. I love that she is staying so small- kind of like prolonging her baby-ness.

6/26/06- 8 months old and here's what she can do....
*she has two teeth
*she is "army crawling"
*she loves cheerios and and any other food that i"ll allow her to pick up
*she is only 15 lbs and 3 oz
*she loves to be held- especially by me.
*she enjoys watching her sibs play and laugh
*she laughs and smiles easily
*she is bouncing to music

5/28/06- 7 months old! She is starting to try and push herself around, mostly she ends up tipping over and rolling all over the place, but her feet are sure trying to push! She is sitting unassited very well, but still forgets and turns into a weeble wobble. Sinve our floors are tiled and we don't have a carpet pad under the rug yet I don't put her in a sit unless we are upstairs or if I am right behind her. She is eating most all the veggies now, and she's had some chicken. She is loving to eat, just like her sibs all did (do). She can eat cheerios and other melty foods and she really loves that. I think her first tooth should be coming any time now, I can see them just under the surface on the bottom.

4/26/06 6 months old!!! amazing how fast she is growing and changing. SHe had her 6 month chckup a few days ago- nothing less than perfect! she is 13 lbs 13 oz, up a pound and 10 oz from her 4 month weigh in. SHe attempts to sit but still has that weeble wooble thing going! she flips over from her back on to her belly as soon as I set her down, makes diaper changing so fun. we stated solids a wekk or so ago. I first thought that I might have a fussy eater for the first time. After a week of funny faces and spitting it out, she is now scarfing down food like a champ. Honestly if you don't eat what's on your plate in this house someone else will, so I'm glad she's decided it is good. She is grabbing at anything and everything and wants to get moving I think. she spins herlsf in circles right now, so I think the army crawl will happen soon. We are moving to our new house this weekend, need to get some rugs in on the first floor so she has a soft spot to hangout. (it is all tile). She is also quite the blabby baby- she talks all the time. Oh nad she is sleeping through the night more and more often. YAY!

3/23/06- 5 months old! She can now roll over almost purposly. She loves to be on her belly playing with somethng- anything. It is so funny when she spots her foot or hand and tries to grab at it and it goes flying out of reach! When she is excited or really happy her right arm starts flapping all over the place. She is in love with her siblings- honestly she is. And they just dote on her back- typical baby of the family I guess. She is drooling up a storm these days- but no sign of any teeth yet. she chews onnd drools all day long though. She is mostly sleeping through the night these days- if she wakes she is sweet and polite about it- hardly bothering me at all! SHe can sit with support these days as well.

3/1/06---Well I'm late with this entry- I started it a week ago & got pulled away from the computer and it was lost. Our little Liv is really a joy. she wakes up with a smile every day. even if she is crying, she'll almost always stop once she see's me or which ever kid gets in the room first. She loves to loaugh- it is just too cute. SHe does not have any teeth poking through yet- but drools up a storm. she was 12.5 lbs at her 4 month check up, which puts her in the 25 percentile. her height & head circ were in the 50-60th range. so she's a skinny little thing, but no one's worried, I think she's just petite, there's nothing wrong with her appetite. SHe is doing a lot of accidental rollovers these days, belly to back, and she will push her self around on her back, but I don't think she really likes that method of mobility. All three of the big kids just love her to pieces and are so good to her. She really loves to watch them play too.

1/17/06 3 months old
The little peanut is doing well. She is so tiny! She can hold her head up very well- actually she's been doing that for a while now. She smiles and laughs and sleeps well most nights. Heck she sleeps well most days too. she is just a happy, fairly easy baby. Owen is always telling me how he wishes that Olivia could stay a baby forever. He also has told me he wants me to have 700,000 more babies. LOL! Not even one more is what I tell him! ANy how Liv has gotten to the point wehre I have to strap her in her swing or she'll scooch out of it- she is very wiggley when she is awake. she is able to almost roll over from back to front, but I'm not sure she sees any need to.

1/4/06
I just have to make sure and write this- Olivia giggled lastnight- she is always smiling these days but last night it was a real laugh. She was laughing at me as I moved her arms up and down and if I gave her a little tickle squeeze she'd laugh as well. it is too too cute! Two more weeks and she's 3 months! omgosh!

12/29/05Gee I'm off to a great start here huh? WEll I guess at the 2 month mark there's still not much to report. After that first smile they continued on and she is a real charmer now. SHe really is just the sweetest baby ever. she is just so mellow. She sleeps oftn and whe she is awake she is usually happy and soooo alert! her eyes are big saucers! I got caust up in making stuff for Christmas so I haven't had a chance to make a 2 month scrapbook page- but I took lots of pictures on her 2 month bday. At her dr. appointment she weighed in at 9lbs 13 oz, so she's up 2 lbs and her height was 22 inches I think. she's in the 25% in both. She performed beautifully for the doc, just as Dr.G was going to ask me if she did something (smile, lift her head, track with eyes etc) she would do it! is that a smart kiddo or what? THe kids are still loving her- they are really good with her. Christmas was good to all of us, Santa was a little over the top but it was fun. Not sure where we're going to put all the new stuff- but we're working on it. We'll be deciding on a house soon- do we buy or rent???? we'll have to decided soon. I hope the New Year brings a lot of joy to all and I'll really try to get on topof things here! I do write more often in my blog- I'm trying to limit this to Olivia for now- the blog is more day to day and homeschool stuff. Feel free to comment in there too! I am enjoying writing in it. The site I use is a bit more concervitive/religious than we really are- but since we do hold Christian beliefs I figure it is a good focused site since it is for homeschoolers. If you've not been over there click on the link (the homeschool one on this site) and have a read. I havedn't posted there in a week or so though. I'll be there later today or tomorrow I hope. Well, Olivia is waking from her nap----- I'm off.

She smiled at me today!! A real awake -look at me - smile!

November 17-
Hard to believe one month has already gone by since Olivia's amazing entrance into the world. SHe has for the most part been a dream baby. SHe's had some bouts of gas off and on lately that kee me (and Ben) up for an hour or mor some nights, but often she'll fall asleep between 9 & midnight and sleep though till 6 or 7 am. SHe is giving us lots of sleepy smiles, not when whe's awak yet. She seems to have pretty good head control at times for such a small peanut. Her eyes are still a dark blue- for some reason I feel like they too will change. Evan now has green eyes as does Owen. I think Evan's will be hazel or very green. Owen's will probably stay the green/blue that they now are. I also think Olivia will have similar skin color to Emma. She seem much darker than the boys. Maybe her hair will stay dark too? Emma's is the darkest by far, but even then it is not all that dark. Evan is our blondie. Olivia also seems to take after Emma in her elimination patterns. As an infant Emma had a bowl movement once every 5-10 days. We'd "help" her once she started to seem uncomfortable. I had to help Olivia last night- it had been 5 days and her belly was distended and she just seemed uncomfortable. Nothing more on her own today- so we'll see how she does. Makes for easy cloth diapering once I'm ready to go that route. (I tried with Evan but that kid poos all the time to this day- He's seeing a GI doctor tomorrow as a matter of fact for that very reason! Anyhowy Hope I get a chance to upload some pictues I took of her today. I'm downloading them right now- but I've got some work to do so I"m not sure that I'll get anything up tonight.

10/19- The Story: On Thursday 10/13 I had my 38 week appointment with my midwife Susan. I started having contractions about every 5 minutes or so when I was on my way to the appt. I also lost bit of my mucus plug that morning. So I asked Susan if she would check me. She did and found that I was 2cm and 60% effaced. YAY! I thought! She guessed I would progress and have the baby anytime inthe next couple of days. I continued to have mild ctx about every 5 min for the rest of the day. By bedtime they started slowing down and I was able to easily sleep through the night. Friday Ben's mom came over to spend the night- I was having the same ctx but the intervals were a little random at times and at other times they'd go 5 min apart for a couple hours. Saturday my parents came down along with Ben's stepdad and Rita (Ben's brother's girlfriend). So we all just waited for something to happen. and we waited and waited! The contractions would get regular for a while then taper off, it was frustrating to say the least. I also continued to lose my plug this whole time so I knew the ctx were doing something, just not enough. My parents stayed over Saturday and spent Sunday with us. Sunday I made Ben take me to Caiote Pizza Cafe so I could get the "THE Salad". It is is Studio City and the dresing on THE Salad is supposed to kick start labor. Since I was already in early laor I figured it couldn't hurt. There was one other preggo mom there due any minute. We got it to go and went into a candle/scent shop next door. I bought some lavender oil and a small heart shaped piece of green soapstone that had small swirls carved. I had not planned that purchase but we didn't have cash and to use my card I had to spent a bit more than the oil cost. The cool thing about the stone was that I could put the oil on the stone and it would absorb the scent so I planned on using that to smell as sort of aromatherapy to help me relax during labor. The other cool thing about it is that the swirls have a special meaning to both Ben & I. When I went to New Zealand before we got engaged, one of the gifts I bought for him was a small wood carving made from th Kauri tree and it was a swirl. The Maori's consider th swirl a symbol of new life or new beginings- the Silver Fern unferls from a swirl and that is the national plant there. So the little swirls on the stone made me think of the new life about to start so it seemed very approriate to hold and focus on during labor. I went home and ate my salad- really it is the dressing that reportated helps out- so I made sure to eat every last drop. After dinner my parents left for home. All day long my contractions had been minimal. after dinner they started to pick up again, but were still only about 5 minutes apart. so thinking that nothing more was going to happen we sent my parents home and went to bed. A storm came in that night and we had a lot of thunder and lightening. the dogs were a mess and slept on the bed with us - which they NEVER do!! So between midnight and 6am I really didn't get much sleep- part of it was all the noise - the other part was that my ctx were uncomfortable enough to keep me up- which different than the previous two nights. So I got up at 6:30 and told Ben that I though he should stay home with me at least for the morning- I wanted to see if the ctx were going to drop off again. I called my parents to let them know that I thought I might be going to the hospital that day but I'd call back in a hour or so to let them know. By 9 I knew that they were getting stronger so we sent the kids next door- told my mom she could leave work to come down and got ready. I still didn't want to go to the hospital, they just weren't intense enough, but I was havig to focus on them. with the kids gone it was easier for me to relax through them. what I would do is as soon as I felt one coming on was turn on my music (I had Ben's ipod), and I would breath in the smell of lavender from my soapstone. The main song I listened to was Best of You by the Foo Fighters. If you've never heard it I highly recomend it. The video is amazing as well. It is sung with such emotion and passion that it is easy to get lost in the song. for me the pain of labor has always gotten the best of me- I've always had medicated births- yet I've always strived to go with out. One of the lines that I really responded to was "It's real, the pain you feel you trust you must confess- Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you." I was really able to take what was being sung- and answer it with a big NO! I was really determined to not let the pain get the best of me. At the same time I was listening - talking myself through the pain I had my lavender smelling stone under my nose. That really helped my breath long slow breaths- which in turn helped me relax my body through the contraction. Ben finally said that he had some paperwork to drop off at the hospital so we could go do that first then head to L&D. I said ok- though I still kind of wanted to stay home. We left the house sometime after 10:30 am. By the time we got to L&D it was probably sometime between 11 &11:30- neither of us thought to look at the time- I wasn't timing ctx- I knew they were about 4-5 min apart. Every time a contraction hit I'd tell Ben or the nurse or whom ever I was talking to that I would "Be right back - time to check out for a minute" Once it was over I'd turn off the music and go back to the conversation. It was really amazing to me how easily I could relax between the contractions. When first arriving to the hospital you have to go to an area where they evaluate you to see if you should be admitted or sent home. We got there and the attending on came to check me after about 15 minutes or so. He found that I was 5-6 cm and fully effaced. Being this was number 4 I figured we'd move on to the birthing center sooner rather than later- but it really seemed like everyone was taking there time. I was GBS+ which means I needed antibiotics. We let the Dr know that I wanted the Midwife on to do the delivery- my midwife had clinic and couldn't be there, but she let Nancy know that I was there and to take care of me. The Dr. came over to tell me that they were too short handed on nurses to let me go over to the birthing center. Over there you do both labor and delivery in the same room. In the L&D area they have small labor rooms and a central delivery room. I really did not want to deliver there- it is the room where they do all the C-sections and it is just not a comfortable homey type place. Not that the birthing center feels like home, but the rooms are large and there are no operating room lights and instruments hanging around. so I was very dissappointed to say the least. Susan (my midwife) called over and found out that they wouldn't open the birthing center so she called Nancy and let her know- nancy in turn fought for me and got the dr to open it up. unfortunatly as they were taking me to one of the labor rooms to get my IV started (then I would head to the birhting center) another Mama came in who needed a section further limiting the nursing staff so I had to no choice but to stay in the sterile L&D. The nurse finally comes to get my IV going (It took maybe 45 minutes from when we arrived). Fortunatley the nurse I had was pro unmedicated births. I was very happy to hear that- more support for me. I forgot to mention that while in the "holding" area the dr asked me what pain meds I wanted I told him none. he then proceeded to let me know that for an epidural it was now or never. It kind of annoyed me given that this was my 4th time in L&D- I kinda know a little bit at this point and I was very clear that I didn't want anything. Ben later told me that he talked to him and reinforced how much I wanted to do this unmedicated. So anyway, I they put the first of two doses of antibiotics up and start it. I'm doing ok at this point but they ctx are starting to come a little closer together and a little more painfully. I finally at one point ask Ben to go get my birthing ball from the car. I knew from Evan's birth that it would help me with the ctx. He takes off and I sit up and ask to be off the monitors so I can move around a bit. or at least change positions. The nurse is awsome and happy to let me. I stayed seated on the bed and all of a sudden my next contraction hurts- it was much more intense than anything else. I commented that to the nurse then another one hits - so they were less than 2 minutes apart. The next one hits as Ben is coming through the door with my suitcase and the ball. He told me later that as he was coming back from the car crossing the pedestrian bridge he just got a feeling that he'd better run- and he took off through the halls to the room. as he came in the door I was hitting the peak of the ctx and I had the urge to push. That got everyone's attention fast. the nurse had me lay back so she could check me and I was nearly 10 cm. So as she is moving my IV and getting ready to transport me and the bed to the delivery room I really wanted to get up but she wanted me to stay on the bed to move me more quickly. I had one foot on the floor was half standing when my water broke. She quick cleaned it up, I sat down- but was in a lot of pain- just wnated to move and be in a different position- though not sure what. as they are rolling me through the halls we passed the nurses station another on hits and the urge to push is overwhelming. at this point I know I was telling everyone I need to to push they're all telling me not to, and I am anyway becasue I figure I'm on a bed, the baby's not gong to hit the floor or anything so I do what my body is telling me to do. I can feel the baby crowning and as we go throught he door let out sort of a primal scream! Once in Nancy helps me focus by telling me to blow out. this helps- somewhere along the way I put down or dropped my stone- sadly it was not found. So blowing out really helped me. I asked if I could squat- the bed was very narrow and not equipped for that delivery position. there must have beeen a minute or so between ctx's because Nancy asked me if all the kids had been born in that positon and I had time enought to quickly tell her that I had trouble delivering all 3 all the various positons exept with Evan when I tried squatting and he came out right away. so I was just fearful of that happening again. she came over and looked at me and said that the head was already almost out and that all I needed to do was relax and the head would come out on its own. I was almost in a squat as they transported me so that must have helped. So that is what I did. I completely relaxed my body and next thing I know the head is out. She then told me one good push for the shoulders- so I did and out she came. She came out clean and pink and beautiful. Nancy threw a blanket on my chest and immedeatly put her on me. Just then Susan (my midwife) came in. she ran over as soon as her last patient - who was super late- left. had that patient not been late Susan would have been there for the delivery. Nancy was awsome though and really did a great job helping me focus. Ben was great as well, right by my side talking to me. I was so happy that I got to hold her right after the birth. That didn't happen with Evan and really bothered me. Another great thing is that I had no need for stiches. It was really truely a great birth! my guess is that from the first urge to push to the birth was maybe 6-7 contractions. It was so fast. Ben was bummed becasue he wanted to get some pictures of me through out the process (not the birth but up until and just after, but it was so fast and almost frantic that he never had a chance to get the camera out of the bag. I also never even finished the first dose of antibiotics. So I finally got my unmedicated birth- I know some think I'm crazy for even wanting it- but this has been so important to me. Just a personal need. We are both in love with our newest addition. She has been an angel so far- sleeping and eating very well- crying has been minimal. The kids are also quite in love with her. Even Evan, who I was a little worried about gets very excited to see her and is happy to look at her. He is always saying "baby! baby!" when he lookes at her. Owen wants to hold her all the time and Emma just loves to look at her and say how pretty she is. Our family is now complete. I could not ask for anything more.

9/28- I realized after I was done yesterday that I forgot one big event. Ben officially has a position in Ventura as of July 2006! We are so excited to be moving home!! He will be with a private group that is well respected in the community. So this is pretty big news for us. We hope to move back in May or June.

September 27th, 2005

Well Number 4 is almost ready to join us. I can hardly believe it! I am between 36 & 37 weeks- I was given two due dates- theone the midwife is going with is the 27th but I think I am closer to the 19th. I have started showing signs of early labor. But this stage can go on for ever so I'm trying to keep myspirits up. I have contractions quite frequently-anywhere from 6-15 min apart. SOme are mildly uncomfortable, most are still brazton hicks type. I have also had nausea for the last 5 days- This is making me feel awful. If I only had the contractions I wouldn't mind this stage taking ages. If I go with the 27th due date then (following previous birth patterns) I won't deliver until at least October 5th- if that happens and I am nauseated that whole time- UGH!! We don't know the gender of this little one- I'm hoping girl mainly for logistical reasons- it would be nice when we move into a larger house for the boys to share one room and the girls another. We are also rock solid on a girls name but still trying to figure out a boy name- we have a few that we like- just not sure which way we want to go. On to the other kids-

Emaa & Owen have both been doing gymnastics since I think February. THey bothe started out in the 3-4 year old class- even though Emma was 5, I wanted her to get used to the format and be in a smaller settign. they both love it. Starting this month Emma has moved up to the 5-7 year old group. It is a little bit overwhelming in that there are more kids and thy practic in a large gym, with 3 other groups at the same time (the "big" kids). SHe does very well skill wise and is right where she should be. SHe does get a little "lost" every so often though. she'll start watching one to the other groups and sort of focus in on them instea of what she should be doing. There is a lot more indivdual attention in the 3-4 year old class and that really helped keep her on task. SHe is quite strong though and seems tobe adjusting well. we go twice a week as well- before we only went once a week. Owen takes his class at the same time- though his is 1 in shorter. He totally loves it. He has some natural ability too so it is fun to watch him. His teachers are always being surprised at his abilities. He can do some skills that they don't teach until the 5-7 group and even then it is a taught skill- and he just sort of does it. Sadly for him we will be moving when he turns 5 so he won't get to move up in this program. But we will likely jump right into a new program in the Ventura area. Especially if they still love it as they do now. School wise we are sort of approaching it with the "unschooling" philosophy right now. I dont' sit and do "school" with them , though we do work on things- just no set schedule. We plan to buy a curriculum in the next few months- I'd like to start that in January. With this baby now, then the holidays- I think it will be tough to follow any set plan ridgidly. They are still learning at an alrming rate however so I am not concerned in the least. We do have "school" stuff all over and available for them to use at thier leisure. Evan- wow Evan- he is, to say the least, a ball of fire. He trys very hard to do everything his big brother and sister can do- and what is scary is how often he is successful. His speech is phenomenal- after two late talkers it is almost scary to have an early talker. He has probably betwee 80-100 words and he is just 17 months. His comprehension is just as scary. He also has great balance and physical ability- we go to a mommy & me gymnastics and the teacher there (Emma & Owen's first teacher and the director of the program) was shocked at some of his abilities. Like I said- he is just a litttle scary. He also has quite a temper and is very strong willed. At the same time he is very loving and sooooo cute it is hard to feel frustrated with him for too long. Well- I have a stinky diaper to change now- Time for me to get back into writng here monthly as this bayb will hopefully be here reallly soon.

5/22/05 I can't believe that I missed Evan's 1 year update!! In my defense the day after his birthday started a 2 week span of illness here. I wrote about it to an online group I participate on so I'll C&P it here:

Imagine a pack and play......

filled to the top with clean, unfolded laundry.

That is what I am looking at right now, along with a sink full of dishes, floors that need to be swept (again), a kids craft table that you can't even see the table anymore. oh and so much more.

Since Sunday April 24 (& I only know the date because it was the day after Evans 1st birthday) I have been sick, along with every other member of the family except the dogs. here's how it all went down:

*Sunday Monday Tuesday & Wednesday I live on saltines & gatorade, losing 4 pounds and spending much of my time sitting in the bathroom.

*Wednesday Emma has a fever towds evening- seemingly out of the blue. That same night Evan has a "croupy" cough and is having trouble breathing. Owen is also coughing in his room but to a much lesser extent.

*Thursday we go to Evan's 1 year check up & I get Emma in too, since she is still feverish and now also very congested. Dr say's Evan sounds like it may be croup- tells us what to do if it gets worse, orders a urinalisis for Emma to rule out UTI and doesnt' give Evan any shots.

*Friday both Ben & I start to get some congestion. Emma doesn't have a UTI, she still has major congestion and a cough, Evan and Owen appear to be on the mend though both are still coughing and have runny noses.

*Saturday I am still congested, but think I'm ok, Ben is at a course for work all day so we drive up to my mom's for the day- all of us halfway between well and sick.

*By Saturday night (when I get home) I am wiped out. Ben has fever and congestion, but still has to go in for a test on Sunday.

*Sunday we are both pretty wiped out, but Ben is worse. Emma is still congested, boys are still with runny noses but over all much better.

* Monday Ben stays home from work (I don't think he has ever done that) I take Owen to gymnastics since he's been fine all weekend. In the last 5 min of class he has a coughing fit, cries then throws up. Fortunatley one of the moms had a workout towel (we go to the YMCA) and it went in there. it was mostly just spit, but still gross. We all spend the rest of the day laying around, none of us feeling too hot except maybe Evan. Emma insting all day that "I'm all better now, I go to gymnastics". poor thing.

*Tuesday Ben is better, goes to work. I am much worse, try to call in sick but darned if there is no one on call for SAHM's. I literally have to lay down all day- on the couch and a few time on the front lawn so that the kids can play outside for a bit. Emma is still blowing green out her nose, but is in high spirits and has good enrgy and no pain.

*Wednesday morning I wake with severe pain in my left ear, both ears pop when I blow my nose and I have a very chesty cough. my jaw hurts on the same side when I open my mouth to eat. I let Ben know, he calls in a script for me. I plan to get it Thursday since we will be at the Hospital anyway for Emma's speech therapy.

*Thursday the pain has subsided a bit & I rejoice thinking that I dont' need the RX now, I get a yeast infection every time I take antibiotics. I regreat not picking them up late that night. I hardly sleep all night long, the pain in my nose and eyebrow is so bad. I've taken all the drugs I am allowed to take with no relief.

* Friday as soon as we've had breakfast and everyone is dressed- we truck on down to get my RX- I start it right away.

*all day my ears pop, my nose & eye hurt and I have a never ending need to blow the crud out of my nose. Oh and I am coughing too. I go to sleep Friday night hoping for a good nights sleep with little to no pain

*It would appear that I am going to get that only to wake to my german shepard barking a very deep and low warning bark. I get up to shush her thinking there's a cat on our porch. It is 1:30 in the morning. We have a front door with full lengths of glass in it and an ugly security door (the black wrought iron kind) we have a roman shade coveing the windows in the door- not too long ago we were dog sitting and the dog tore a square out of the bottom corner, we havent gotten around to fixing it yet - thank God.

* Daisy (my shepard) is standing alert looking at the front door. through the hole I see white sneakers and black pants. We have 3 mailboxs on our porch there are 2 for the apartments behind us and ours. my first thought was that it was a neighbor getting thier mail.

* I look at my watch realize the time and also realize that the shoes are facing my door and they are right at my door, not towards the mailboxes.

* I go back and wake Ben- he comes out and we wake the other dog (a lab shepard x) we encourage them to bark at the guy. He doesn't move.

* I am scared and won't let Ben look out to see the guy. the guy starts to walk away then sits on our porch.

* We call 911

*the police come and talk to the guy. apparently he has had one 12 pack too many and is at the wrong house

* The guy walks off one way down the street, must have turned up someones house, the police follow him with thier car and a light, once they think he has gone home they leave.

*A few minutes later as I am looking out the front window, shaking still and making sure it is locked, they guy walks the other way down the street, never once looking up at our house. Who knows where the guy really lives but it wasn't where he told the police. (we couldn't hear the guy talking, just the police. they were speaking in both english and spanish).

*It takes me until after 2:30 to finally fall asleep.

*Today- Saturday, I still have pain in my nose, less congestion , some coughing and some anger and fear.

So that is my excuse for not staying on top of things here!! We have essentially all been healthy these last 2 weeks. Emma made it to gymnastics so she was happy! We are just starting to get hit with heat- I am actually happy for it- I am so tired of rain and havingto stay inside- we were sick far too often these last few months. at the time of Evan's birthday he was standing on his own and could take 2-4 steps. Just these las few days he has really been working hard at becoming a toddler. He can walk 10+ steps on his own, but he is a speed crawler, so he'll drop down quick if he needs to! He talks a lot, has probalby 6-7 words, but his favorite is "mommy"- to him that is the multipurpose word for everything- more, food, daddy, up- what ever- he just starts yelling it as he decides he needs something. He is sleeping much better now- he might occasionally wake before 5am, but I just tell him to go to sleep and give him his pacifier.

I am now 18 or so weeks- I feel pretty good- look preggo and eat all the time. We had an ultra sound last week, but we are not finding out gender. I see my midwife June 9th so I assume that if I don't hear anthing before that all is well with the baby.

Ben is finishing up his 2nd year at Kaiser- 2 down 1 to go----- we can hardly wait!! We hope to move back to Ventura next year. He is looking forward to his 3rd year- mostly to it being over, but he does enjoy a few of his co workers and he loves what he is doing overall.

Emma & Owen are both really doing well. Owen is a social butterfly- he loves going to our homeschool park days and is not a bit shy about going up to kids and playing with them. Emma is more of an independant- she won't go up to anyone, but if someone comes to her she'll play. She is happy to sit and color and write in her notebook under the trees on the blanket. Her language is really growing too- she's in speech therapy once a week and does very well. It is really fun to see how different they are. They get along very well and are really the best of friends. they both paly well with Evan and he is trying very hard to keep up with them!!

3/31/05
Evan has started doing some free standing. he has stood without any assitance for almost 10 seconds every so often. He is a speed crawler though so I still don't see him walking any time real soon- but who knows. He does like to push toys around the yard and walk behind them so maybe just maybe it will be in the next month. I think I'm in trouble!! He has picked up some new words as well- he says "gig a boo" (peek-a-boo), he will also go for something he shouldn't (my garden) and say "no no no". He also says Mama, and Emma. he can sort of say "dog", but it isn't really all that clear so maybe not.

Emma has her glasses- again- but she is doing very well this time. This is the longest they've ever lasted, and she has been taking great care of them. I thing she finally can "see" the difference and she wants to wear them. Now the challenge is keeping Evan from taking them!! She has also raduated out of PT, her physical therapist said that she is doing great and her community activities (gymnastics) is more than enough PT for her. So we are happy.

Owen- well he is doing well- he is impressing his gymnasics teacher with how strong he is- and he is loving the classes. I am so glad we have finally gotten them into classes! His type A personality is starting to come out- he discovered coloring books (we've always just had blank paper around) and he has to color exactly inside the lines or he freaks. I'm trying to curb that a bit and let him know it is ok if he goes outside the lines sometimes. At the same time he takes a lot of pride in his work and works very hard, so I try help him find a balance.

we bought a new car- a Kia Sedona 2002. It is forest green and we will all fit once baby gets here.

That's all for now- I can't believe Evan will be one.......

Honestly one of these months I will do this on the 23rd!!!

Evan is now 10 and a half months. For the most part not much has changed in the last month. Little things are happening, like he is getting better at independant play- he really enjoys wating Emma & Owen run around and play, he follows them to what ever room they are in and they have learned that they are not allowed to shut him out!!! They've also learned that somethings need to be up too high for Evan (cups, markers, food, small objects). Evan will also play on his won without the others or me. He loves to push cars around and he actually makes growling noises while doing it! Speaking of growling that is a favorite sound of his in general lately. If you grrrrrrr at him, he'll usually do it right back at you. He also like to climb up on Emma's bed (she is on the bottom trundle). He's funny though, he climbs up then backs down. I worked with him initally on going down feet first on his belly- that's what he practices now!! he's getting braver and braver by crawling further on to the bed before scooting himself back off. He'll do this action over and over again! It is very funny to watch. He also is sleeping longer *YAY!!!!*. he'll go until 4 or 5 am before waking. We have discovered that he is very sensitive to milk- not sure if I've written about that yet- but I've suspected it for months, and it continues to be true. He maily will have problems with it at night though. so if I give him a few bits of mac & cheese at lunch- not too big of a deal, but if I do the same amount at dinner time, he'll likely not sleep well at all, crying and writhing about. So I am just trying to be very aware of what goes in and when.

Emma has made progress in speech, they are very happy with her. She is also doing pt once a month- with us doing a home program inbetween. We've enrolled both Emma & Owen in gymnastics, so that will be a great addition to it. they both love it too!

Owen is also doing speech, mainly for articulation- until he gets his own therapist, he is going in for half of Emma's, since she spends half her time working on the same sounds he needs work on.

The baby in my belly is growing- we got to see the heart beat last week. I go back in about 3 weeks for one more measurement to try & pin down a date- but essentially I'm due mid October. We'll be getting a bigger car sometime this summer I guess! I'm still tired, sometimes sick, (well nauseated anyway) and sometimes have to force myself to eat, but other days I can't eat enough so it sort of evens out.

Really I'll try hard to get his 11 month update closer to his 11 month birthday.

He is such a cutie (when he's not crying) and really very sweet- I can't wait to see how he grows and changes.

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