silly girl with boom box!

It is so much fun watching the girls get older week by week!  Audrey is 26 months old and Olivia 5 1/2.  I can still count half months with Olivia since she is still so small.

Olivia loves hanging out on her tummy for hours.  I can put her on the blanket and watcher her move around the room. She is not crawling, but the girl know how to get around!  Audrey wants to play with Olivia so badly.  It is fun watching her have "baby time" on Olivia's blanket.  Here is is playing on the blanket before school one morning, wearing her rain hat with her socks pulled up!  Joe and I were in stitches!

All About Olivia

Olivia is a very happy baby and she is always smiling. Lately she has begun laughing at us all of the time.  She also loves to girggle and make as much noise as possible.  This might be for fun and exploration.  But I also think she tries to bring as much attention to helself so we are always on the lookout for big sister Audrey. 
Audrey loves her little sister, Olivia consumes her life.  But Audrey also has a hard time understanding that Olivia is a baby and cannot defend herself.  Audrey's latest game is throw and catch!  "Here you go...throw"  I was hit in the mouth the other night with a teething ring, and Audrey got a 4 minute time out for that action. 
This entry is suppost to be about Olivia and like always Audrey tends to steal the limelight.

Olivia liked to be swaddled for the first few months.  I took this picture one morning, it was too funnny not to, but I did pick her up and attach the buckle afterwards, so there is no need to call child services!

I was determinded to breast feed Olivia, since I was never able to with Audrey.  I began attendinf a weekly breastfeeding suppirt group that was winderful.  Here Olivia is with two of her friends Mikya and Jackson.

 

I took this photo at the Huntington Gardens.  It was Olivia's fist experience on the grass

Auntie Carrie gave us this very cute outfit!  This picture was one of the first huge smiles that I got out of Olivia.  It also included a little giggle!  OMG!  I love her!

Olivia enjoyed playing with the little baby in the mirror at her 4 month check at the doctors office.  She weight in at 13 pounds and 24 3/4" long.  Perfectly at the 50th percentile!

Olivia posed with Joe to show off her outfit that Aunt Peggy gave her.  I love the cute plaid skirt and truquoise top.  It is the perfect outfit to end the summer with.

Olivia grew out of her swing at 4 months and we busted out the activity center.  As you can see from the grin on her face Olivia loves it!

These are just a few of my favorite pictues of Olivia that I wanted to share!

family photos... dammit

This morning we took our first real family photo with both girls. It is hard to get a nice picture of us especially since I am usually the one behind the camera. These two pictures are the only decent ones we have so far! It was a quick race to get everyone ready and out the door by 8:40am. While we were getting Audrey dressed she decided to be resistant and out came the word "dammit". Joe and I have been trying to censor ourselves around her, but sometimes it is very difficult. Joe is reminding me as I am typing that he did not teach her the phrase "one more time" or "something else", but he is willing to take credit for dammit!

Surprisingly we had success with the photos. We avoided all major breakdowns, came home and had a tasty lunch. We did not make any plans this weekend and it is wonderful right now to be home with Joe and the girls sitting around doing absolutely nothing! I LOVE IT!!!!

Splish Splash

This summer went by so quickly. The official start of fall was jut a few days ago but it is sill 100 degrees outside. I did not do many summer-ish activities this year. I was still trying to get into the groove of mothering 2 children. But I did muster up the courage to sign Audrey up for swim lessons in August. The pool at Pasadena Community college was awesome! We went four days a week for two weeks. It was so much fun to watch her enjoy herself. Audrey was a big girl this summer and went into the pool with the instructor on her own. Well... her friend Amelie was there too! The first few days Audrey cried for half of the lesson, but from day 3 and on she loved it. Cameras were not allowed in the pool area with the exception of the last day when the kids are taken on to the diving board! Audrey enjoyed every minute of it! I cannot wait to get her back into the pool soon. Audrey loves to show us how she blows bubbles underwater and how she floats on her back!

a virus with a rash ruled my week!

Audrey had fun playing with all our blankets this week. She began pulling all of them out and building a big comfy nest in front of the television.

This week has flown by so quickly! Audrey got sick early Monday morning and the rest of the week was a wash at that point. I am used to Audrey being sick now as she is already 2. The first time she got sick it was terrible and I was not ready for it. But now I feel like it is just another challenge in the world of motherhood. I am so lucky that Joe is such a wonderful husband and father. I am also blessed that we works from home most days and is assessable when an emergency arrives.
I needed to get out yesterday so Joe took the afternoon off and I took Olivia to her parent ed class at the Glendale community college. The two of us had so much fun singing (well I was really the only one singing) and spending some quality time together. This was so relaxing I did not want to return home.

Olivia hanging out at Parent Ed.

We had spent the morning at the doctors office only so they could tell me that Audrey has a virus with a fever, rash and sore throat. I could have told them that!
What do I want to remember from this week? Audrey began saying the phrase "something else" when she was restless and did not know what to do.
Joe went out to buy more children's Motrin and I begged him to get us a new movie for Audrey to watch. We needed to keep her still entertained so her body could fight the fever. So he bought the movie "over the hedge" aka raccoon movie. This is very ironic! The next night at 4 in the morning Audrey woke up with a fever of 103 again! Olivia then woke shortly after that and Tanner began barking outside repeatetly. I tried using the shock collar but it did not phase him at all. After some discussion: I sent Joe outside to calm tanner. Joe turned the corner by our garage and came face to face with a huge raccoon that tanner had pinned up in the grape vine on the fence. Joe stated that it may have been cute if the raccoon had not hissed at him. Luckily my smart husband was able to spray them both down with the hose and distract them to break up this stare down.
This morning Audrey's fever broke and I am in the process of putting our house back together after a whirlwind of a week. I am looking forward to her return to school tomorrow so I can get some grocery shopping done. Ahhh... the highlights of my week!

Welcoming Olivia Anne Ward

We welcomed Olivia Anne Ward into our lives Tuesday April 14th at 11:40 in the morning. She was a bit over 2 weeks early, not due until May 1st. I had been having terrible pre-labor pains for the previous 2 weeks and I could not wait to meet our new little girl. My labor began while making dinner for the family, I thought that is was just another bad stretch of the false labor. Nope!! My mother came over around 11 pm and Joe and I went off to the hospital. I was still convinced that they would send me home, but Joe thought otherwise. Joe and I were able to gt some rest once I was checked into the hospital and given a bed at 2am. My labor then stopped and we slept until 7am. My OB was on vacation in China!!! Her on call doctor was Dr. Jick, he is partners with my old neighbor Dr. Jennie Chang. I have since then met another woman in my moms club who also had Dr. Beth Julian Wang as her OB but she was yet again on vacation!
Dr. Jick got my labor going again and voila! Olivia was born just a few hours later, it was such a nice experience the second time around. I will never forget the excitement that I felt welcoming her into the world. I was so sick from a 14 hour labor with Audrey that I could not even hold her. I was so excited with Olivia that I had such a wonderful experience to remember. I will never forget the look in the interns face when the nurse checked my and said "oh my god! don't push!" It was fun to watch the staff scramble around turning on the baby warmer, looking at Joe and sharing our excitement. I had a wonderful epidural this time around that never gave me any grief!
After I was settled in my room Joe went home to see Audrey. Audrey had spent the day with Grandma and had her first happy meal from McDonalds. My mom said that all she really ate was the ranch dressing and her milk. The next few days feel like a whirlwind now that I am looking back. I remember holding Olivia, looking at her and studying her face. She did not look like Audrey at all. She had so much hair and the bluest eyes. I had the most wonderful time with Olivia bonding int he hospital. It was such a different experience than my first. Joe was needed at home with Audrey and this left me alone with Olivia for majority of the time.
Late in the afternoon on Olivia's birthday Joe brought Audrey in to meet her new little sister. Over the months leading up to Olivia's birth we told Audrey that she was going to be a big sister and that a new baby would be living in the house. I don't really think that she understood most of what was going on. But she was infatuated with her new sister. This was both good and bad. The funniest memory i can share is that for the next month Audrey would ask to hold the baby several times a day and them immediately as for her picture to be taken. It was so cute!!!!
Over the next few weeks we rescued Olivia from being smothered with toys and gifts that Audrey felt was appropriate to give her new young sister. This only lasted a while before her efforts were focused on how to get the attention she desired. "Mommy...hold baby" was her new motto when her wanted to crawl into Joe's lap. Rarely was it the other way around. But overall I have to say that when I brought Olivia home I moved up on Audrey's list. She was 100% daddy's girl. Now I have to say that we have evened out on her list.

E-Mail from Grandma

Dear Audrey,
Grandma Romo sent me this e mail a few days ago. I wanted to keep it and share it with you when you are older. My little girl you are growing up so fast! Your baby style is all gone and now I am faced with a true challenge of molding you into a confident, polite, and well mannered little lady.
Love you forever and back again! Love Mommy

"Jennifer, I just wanted to tell you what a joy Audrey was on Saturday evening. She never uttered a cry, was well-behaved, and helpful. She brought one of Olivia's outfits to me, and I asked her to return it as I didn't need it. She went back into the living room and put it back.
Donna said I should put that date on my calendar. It was a major milestone. Hopefully, she will continue to be happy when she visits Grandma and Grandpa. Mom"

San Diego Zoo

Last month we made a trip down to San Diego to visit some great friends; Cory, Rebecca & Julia who were out visiting from Michigan. We packed up the girls early Friday morning and drove down to the San Diego Zoo. It was so much work trying to get the girls packed up for a weekend away. But Cory is an old college friend of Joe's, so it was for a good cause.When I woke up at 5am in the morning I reminded myself that I used to get much less sleep in college and this trip would be worth it.It was a beautiful day at the San Diego Zoo. It was not too hot and everyone enjoyed themselves. Julia and Audrey has so much fun together.
The girls met last year when Audrey was 13 months and Julia 15 months. It was fun to see them together last year, but it was a blast last month! They are both so cute! And it was so much fun walking thru the zoo with good friends who also have a child our age! Wow, could we ask for more?
As I mentioned above, it was a perfect day at the zoo. It was not very crowded and the panda bear was posing for the camera.
Cory was also posing for the camera! Funny Guy...We had to wait our turn to take a picture on this scary bird...the girls don't looks so excited. But Frank is having a wonderful time with his granddaughter Julia.
Here I am with Audrey being silly for the camera. It was such a great day! Both girls took a nap in the "napping stroller" and we ended the day well.
Looking back at the day I wish I had taken more pictures or maybe some video. Julia loved the snake exhibit and sat on the floor next to the glass to get even closer to him.The new elephant exhibit was also open and is amazing, worth the trip alone. I suggest taking a beer/ nursing break by the elephants and you may get an extra surprise. On our way to the exit we stopped at the rhino exhibit and got to see them running around chasing one another.
We had such a great time we became members on our way out. We cannot wait to go back soon!

Olivia is Five Months Old

It has been five months since Olivia was born. Her birthday is April 14th and I have not yet begun a scrap book for her. I feel awful that she is the second child and will realize this her entire life. We have thousands of pictures of Audrey in her first five months. Hmm...I wonder how this will pan out in 5-10 years. I want to remember everything about my little girls. How cute their smiles are and how my heart grows to love them more each day. Recently I was giving Olivia a bath and I stopped for a moment while she was all bundled up in her towel as I was drying her off. I just stopped and looked at her in the hooded towel, telling both of us how I want to remember that moment forever. Now it is just a few weeks later and I have already lost most of that moment. The first few months as a mother of two was very difficult. I have wonderful friends who have helped me with this transition. But most of all Joe has been a lifesaver. He is so hands on with the girls and will be one of the best fathers that a girl could ask for.So now five months into my life as a mother of two, I am creating this blog to help me relive and remember how wonderful it is to be a mother of two girls; one 26 months old and the other only five.