Happy Birthday Miss Olivia

 Two years ago today Olivia Anne joined our family. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by and how complete Olivia has made our family. Olivia has always been so sweet and loving and I'm glad this hasn't changed. Its been interesting to see how different the girls are and how I interact with each differently. I have a hard time viewing Olivia as a toddler, in my eyes she's still my baby. I've enjoyed so much these past few weeks with her because she's really become more of a toddler. She amazes me with how smart she is! She is always finding a way to make something work for her. During speech therapy she was playing with some balls, she couldn't make them fit threw the holes of the toy she had and she grabbed a spoon and tried to use that to push them threw or help her get them out. Olivia is also a girly-girl. She loves to play dress-up and she LOVES wearing hats and necklaces around the house. She is all about the accessories. Olivia is still very obedient, she of course has her moments but she is very willing to listen the majority of the time which is very nice. She loves to be outside and she loves to dig in the dirt. She wants to do everything her big sister does which is sweet but can cause problems at times if the girls don't see eye to eye. Olivia loves reading books and watching movies. Her appetite has started to diminish just like Savannah's did around this age. Olivia still looks a lot like Jacob and she still has the blondest hair. She has the funniest laugh, it comes from deep in her and sounds so throaty and deep. Its just hilarious! She loves to sing and dance around the house, if she hears music she'll stop whatever she's doing and bust a move. She's started to try being a helper and wants to do things with me. She still loves to snuggle with her mommy and she will usually end up sitting with me while watching a show. She still likes me to carry her every once in awhile and she hates to sit in the shopping cart at stores. I am also happy to report that Olivia still has the bluest eyes I've ever seen, sometimes they're almost violet depending on what she's wearing. Like I mentioned earlier Olivia is in speech therapy and she also started occupational therapy and after 2 weeks we're already seeing such improvement and are excited to see how far she comes. She also loves going and will run to her therapist, she is typically very willing to do whatever they ask of her and she just gets the biggest smile on her face when we walk in the door. Olivia is a constant joy, I can count the number of times I've gotten mad at her on one hand. She always makes me smile and I love every minute I get to spend with her. She is always impressing me with new skills she learns and words she'll say. Olivia is also obsessed with animals! Dogs and cats are her favorite but any animal will do and she will start to yell out a constant high-pitched squeals to show her excitement and delight. Olivia is very content and almost always happy, she's mellow and loving. She's just plan old perfect and we love her more then words can describe. Happy Birthday my sweet Olivia, I couldn't imagine our lives without you.

Life

Life around here is busy. Busy is actually an understatement but it'll do. We are constantly doing something and amid all the packing and rearranging I have to do we've also had something every day this week. Olivia started Occupational and Speech Therapy last week and we're so excited she finally got in. We were on a  wait list for 6 months for occupational therapy. She's doing so well already and we have some good plans in place to help her progress even more. One of those plans is to go to occupational therapy twice a week and so far Olivia loves going but she's only been 3 times. Another exciting thing is Olivia will be 2 on Saturday!!! I don't know where the time went but I can't believe my baby will be 2. I'll post more about her on her birthday but all I can say is that these past two years with Olivia in our family have been wonderful and she is the sweetest thing in the whole world.
I've also been thinking about life. About where it takes us, the decisions we make, and the talents/personality traits we have. Life has most definitely thrown our little family some curve balls the last few weeks. These curve balls have made me happy to have certain talents/personality traits. When I think of talents I usually think of physical talents like singing, dancing, being athletic, you know things like that. Mine aren't like that and that's fine because I've learned that you can be talented in other things. Right now I'm thankful for my optimism. If you didn't know that about me I'm pretty optimistic. I really like that about myself. This optimism has really come in handy because our plans to move have been tweaked a bit and it totally sucks! Things didn't go as planned, decisions had to be made, and the outcome is not ideal. Jacob is still going to school but he'll be going to Arizona by himself at first. Once he's found a job and a place for us to live the girls and I will follow. It sucks right? We're hoping to follow Jacob in September but it could be as long as January. The thought of that almost brings me to tears and on occasion has. I know everything will work out, I know things happen for a reason, and I know I can't always see the good that will come from the path that I'm on. There are good and bad things to this decision, obviously being without Jacob is less then ideal or desired but Olivia can now continue with therapy a bit longer and get the help she's been needing. It will be nice to have Jacob in Arizona while looking for a place for us to live, it was very challenging to find a place while not living there. It will be an adjustment living with my in-laws, they come home on the 8th and the girls and I will continue to live in their home once they return. I also think this will be an oppertunity for Jacob and I as parents to learn and grow for the better. To learn to appreciate each other, our roles as parents, and our  little family even more.
So there you have it, that's my life right now. Our plans can change in a moment but we just need to adapt and make the best out of what's thrown at us. My days are still filled with packing but now I'm setting up a room for myself and rearranging our furniture to make room for my in-laws and the girls and I. My life is full of surprises and keeps me on my toes but its also a good life that I would never change.

Something I'll miss

My Life Right Now

This is my life right now. We're moving again, in 3 weeks actually and this is our biggest move yet. My in-laws are coming home from their 18 month mission to Zimbabwe, Africa on the 8th of August. By that day my little family and I will be in our new home in Arizona. You read right, Arizona. Right now my days are filled with going threw old boxes to see if after 14 months of living without these things if I really still need them. Some things I do but about half of it will not be making the trip with us. Then I have to get started packing everything else. Jacob's last day of work is August 3rd and we're packing our moving truck the 4th. Now why Arizona some may be asking? Well that just adds to our adventure. Jacob has worked for the past 7/8 years for a company that promised  a future but we came to realize it would never come to pass. His job couldn't give us what we wanted and needed and Jacob became more and more unhappy where he was at. He went from loving getting up and going to work to absolutely HATING it. I love how for the past year and a half or more he's continued to put everything he has into his job while feeling that he is unappreciated and undervalued so that he can continue to support us. About the time we moved into my in-laws Jacob started considering going to school. We both felt like this was a really good idea and Jacob took off with it, this act alone showed me how serious he was. If you know Jacob at all he always spouts off ideas of things he can do but that's all he does. With school it was different. He researched it, applied, found out all he needed to do to be prepared, and has just taken the lead which is usually what I do. Jacob decided he wanted to go to school to become a Gunsmith. When I tell people that I usually get a look that says oh really? Then I'm asked, "So what do you think about that?" I could actually care less what Jacob does for a living as long as it supports our family and allows me to be home with our children and depending on what career path he chooses in that field after he graduates he'll be more then capable of doing that. I don't have a sense of absolute dread or fear, I actually feel excited and at peace. So unless everything goes completely wrong in the next 3 weeks it looks like we'll soon become residents of the great state of Arizona for the foreseeable future. Most likely for the next 4 years while Jacob gets his Gunsmithing degree along with is Associates and after that who knows. Like I said its an adventure and as of now I have no idea where it will take us or how it will end.

4th of July 2012

So this 4th of July really was perfect!Jacob had to work in the morning so he got home a bit late. This changed some of our plans around but in the end the day was wonderful. Originally we were going to enjoy the annual parade with Jacob's cousin and his family but because Jacob ended up getting home so late we couldn't. They were sitting at the beginning of the paraded route so we needed to find a place at the end. We ended up sitting with Jacob's good friend Clayton and his family and our spot was awesome! We ended up on a side road that really no one was on. We could sit in the shade and our girls got TONS of candy!! Savannah and Olivia waved at almost every person to go by us and would shout out a chorus of "hello" and "happy 4th of July!".  Everyone in the parade would just smile at the girls and say how cute they are and would throw handfuls of candy at them.

I love the parade in Middleton because its just so fun, there are tons of horses, firetrucks, and of course tractors. There are usually people spraying you with water but luckily we didn't get wet. After the parade we headed over to a nearby park and walked around the car show and looked at some of the booths that were set up. Once we got home Olivia went down for a nap which is always a special treat and Savannah helped me get dinner ready.

We ended up with bacon-wrapped teriyaki chicken skewers and oven steak fries courtesy of Our Best Bites, a caesar salad, and lots of fruit.

To finish up our night we headed over to one of the elementary schools where they shoot off fireworks in town. It was a blast!!! The whole night Savannah kept asking if it was time to go. As soon as it started to get a little dark she announced very enthusiastically that it was dark now so it was time to go. Oh and that Jacob and I needed to put on our pajamas too so we could go watch the fireworks. Both the girls loved every minute of it and were so good. Olivia would run around our chairs but stay close to us while Savannah just sat on Jacob's lap and waited patiently for the show to begin. Middleton did a great job and Savannah is still talking about seeing the fireworks and asking if we're going again tonight. The funny thing is, is that once the show was over we asked Savannah what she thought and she told us she was a bit scared and it was a little too loud for her but all day today she's been telling me how awesome it was. Silly girl.

I really am so grateful to be born in this country and to have the freedoms that I do. I am grateful for those who fight for my freedoms and keep me and my family safe. What a wonderful country we live in, I truly am proud to be an American.