1.10.2011

Having two kids has certainly been an adventure so far. There have been a few tears (mostly mine), a few time-outs (again, mostly mine), a lot of learning, and, lately, lots of laughing in this new territory of sibling-hood.

When Livia first came home Landon was mostly of the "maybe if we ignore her she'll go away" mindset. There were moments (or more like seconds) of tender big brother hand holding. Those moments gradually progressed to more frequent occurrences of big brother loving pets. Recently, however, life's gotten a lot more fun. They've started to play together. Now, there are squeals of delight, peek-a-boo's, and baby girl giggles. I love this. 

One of their favorite games to play is chase. This is especially fun when played with Landon's tunnel (thank you Melissa!). Landon crawls inside and peeks out the windows shouting "Livia!" (pronounced 
We ah wa) until she catches on and starts in after him. Then the chase begins. Round and round, in and out, laughing, screaming and squealing. Watching this is the best ever. 




12.29.2010

This One's For Aunt Linda

We've been busy traveling these past couple weeks in an attempt to visit as much family as possible over the holidays. It was exhausting but so much fun to be able to share Livia's first Christmas with so many people. Here's how we spent our holidays (so far)...


My parents came down to spend the week of Thanksgiving with us. The weather was beautiful so we beached it up, explored Gulf Shores National Park, and played in the backyard.

Livia started "officially" crawling on December 1st - just a few days after turning 6 months.

We spent a weekend baking and decorating sweet treats to share with friends, neighbors, and Andy's squadron.

Sugar Cookies #1

Gingerbread house #1

Bath time became a group activity. Both kids LOVE this. Landon asks for a Livia bath nightly, and as soon as she sees her brother in the tub, Livia gets so excited her little legs start kicking and she starts giggling.

We then headed north to visit Andy's family in Ohio. In addition to subjecting both kids to their first Clark Family Christmas Party we also...

went sledding
decorated gingerbread house #2

met Landon and Livia's new uncle, Calvin

Decorated sugar cookies #2

and sugar cookies #3


From Ohio we headed west to Colorado. Landon was sick the first few days we were there so that kept us house bound for a bit, but we still found time to...

Surprise Annalissa with an 18th birthday party

Help Mickenzie decorate her famous cupcakes for the Christmas Eve party

Play Christmas dress-up with Livia

(despite all my efforts to keep her bottom firmly planted on the floor, Livia decided 3 weeks of crawling was enough and starting pulling herself up a few days before Christmas)

Landon started feeling better just in time to see Santa

and visit the gingerbread house village at the Broadmoor

We packed a lot into our short 10 day trip. Our kids were spoiled rotten and great fun was had by all.

I'll try to be better about posting, Aunt Linda. We'll see how it goes.

11.16.2010

I'm so bad at this

Blogging that is.
Not ready to throw in the towel yet though, so here are some excerpts from life as we know it right now...

Andy finished his second marathon (this time in Denver) in mid-October.


Landon's room got a makeover.
(Chair rail, blue paint, shelves, toddler bed are all new)


Landon got his first black eye.

Andy built a sandbox in our backyard.


Livia, at 5 1/2 months old, gets on her hands & knees,

sits up,

and has two bottom teeth.
(They're in there - had a hard time getting a picture.
But gosh I love that little face!)


Landon has started paying more attention to his baby sister; his new favorite ways to interact with her include petting her head, "landon's petting weeva!" or forcing her to hold his hand, "landon's hoooolding her hand."
*why don't I have a picture of this???




9.14.2010

Livia at 3 1/2 months old




Some observations I've made. I'm not sure if they will be significant to everyone or if they are just significant to me because of how different she is from Landon. And because she's mine.

Every time I put her on her back she rolls to her belly and assumes a skydiver's back arched, hands and feet up position. It wears me out just looking at her. This is new to me. Landon was perfectly content to lay on his back until he was about 7 months old. I won't be surprised if she crawls at 6 months despite giving her my "I have babies who stay put until they're at least 10 months" lecture.

She wants to be with me all the time. She cries if I put her down and walk out of the room.

She's ticklish. Everywhere. Her belly, her feet, her neck. It's so fun.

She HATES the car. Screams- for- 40- minutes- straight- no- matter- what- I- do hates the car.

She likes to wear dresses so she can pull them up to her mouth and suck on them. She puts anything she can get her hands on into her mouth.

Blue eyes are a distinct possibility.

She hardly eats. Ever. But some how she manages to grow faster than I can believe.

She LOVES her brother. Every time she sees him her whole face lights up. It really is the cutest and most heart warming sight. I'm sure he'll feel the same way about her once she gets past her car issues.

She has us all wrapped around her tiny finger.

Mid roll - I tried to get a picture of her on her back but she's too quick

This is how she's happy


Dress in the mouth


Anything and everything in the mouth


9.02.2010

Now for the real story...




When Landon was born I asked Andy to write the blog about his birth because I thought it would be interesting to read his perspective on that day, so when Livia was born I thought we should continue that tradition. A few days after we got home from the hospital I asked him if he'd like to do it and he said that he would. Then work called and he got really busy...

He finally found a few minutes this past week. So here's his version. Or maybe it's Livia's version as dictated to Andy. Better late than never.

So my parents have probably told you the story about how I was born, but I asked them to wait to post about me on the family blog until I could become a little more verbal and dictate fully what the experience was like. If you haven’t met me yet, Hi, my name is Livia Anne and I was born on May the 27th. At first my parents were a little nervous about the date because everyone was born on the 3rd of a month except me, but I told them, “Hey, no sweat 27 is 3 cubed, so all is good, anyway back to the real topic.”

On that fateful morning, my Daddy woke up as per the norm at 6am and started getting ready for his work softball game. Just as he was about to leave for the day, my Mommy said “O husband dearest, I think you might want to stay home and pack the car, the little one is starting to come now.” Thankfully, Grandma had just arrived to stay with us the night before, because nobody really wanted to find out how my big brother would have fared at the hospital for the next two days. After taking approximately forever, my daddy was finally ready to take my mommy to the hospital to get things started.

Walking into the delivery ward was a little bit different this time for my parents since they were unprepared because I came when I was ready instead of when the Doc’s wanted me come, like big brother. The day at the hospital was going okay, I was taking my sweet time like all good princesses, I had to make a grand entrance you know, until my daddy drug a chair up on his almost completely healed toe and he got black toe again! Anyway back to me, I was taking my time trying on different outfits for the big reveal. I could not decide whether or not have my cord wrapped around my neck or my right arm. I kept checking in the mirror, the cord looked a little thin by itself and my arm looked a little thick up there next to my double chins, I just could not decide. I eventually decided that both together looked the best and that is how I came out, dressed to the nines, with my arm up around my neck holding my cord in place so it wouldn’t slip off. Mommy and Daddy were surprised to say the least that I came out with such good fashion sense, both immediately fell into tears at the sight of their precious new baby girl.

Next came weight and length, no girl discusses her weight, but this is a big event and all of you want to be in the know so just this once. I hide it very well, my weight that is, and all the nurses were guessing about 6 and half pounds, but not my daddy he was spot on saying that I would weigh 7lbs2oz (actually 7lbs2.6oz so the hospital rounded up to 3oz, but I still think he was right, after all they did weigh me before I had the chance to go potty, the nerve of some people). My length was completely average at 20.5 inches, I guess I don’t hide that very well or it just isn’t as important as weight as nobody was even guessing, but I think my mommy knew how long I was because she knew which size outfit to bring for me to wear home. After a well deserved meal I finally got some sleep and started to settle into my routine of feed, wake, sleep.

I am still mostly following that routine, but think I might start switching to a nap routine sometime here in the near future, I’ll have to get back to you on that as my mommy likes the sleep cycle I am currently on. Well my daddy says it’s time for me to go to bed as all princesses need their beauty rest and we have big plans tomorrow to go to bed, bath and beyond and maybe home depot, but he is not sure if there will be time.

Hope to see you all soon,
Love with hugs and kisses
Livia



5.18.2010

I'm Still Pregnant...

But that's about the only thing that hasn't changed in the last few months.

Sell a house in NJ. Check.
Buy a house in FL. Check.
Move everything out of our NJ house. Check.
Stay with friends for 3 weeks while we wait to move to FL. Check.
Say goodbye to all our wonderful friends in NJ. Check.
Visit Ohio to show off Landon and baby bump to Andy's family. Check.
Visit Colorado and have a wonderful baby shower. Check.
Get to FL just in time to close on house and move in household goods. Check.
Unpack, unpack, unpack. Check, check, check.
Build a fence so Landon can play in the backyard. Check.
Buy a bigger car to better fit a family of 4. Check.

We've been here about 4 weeks now. We're mostly settled in. We miss our friends a lot but we are enjoying all the space in our new home, and Landon especially loves his new backyard. We've also tried out the beach a few times... I think we could get used to this.

I'm due next Monday (May 24th). So far no big developments. My Dr. visits mostly go like this: You're still getting fatter; that's good. The baby's heart rate is about 150; that's good. Yep, you're still pregnant. See you in a week.

That's life for now. I'll update after Baby arrives.


Goodbye Old House


Hope to see you soon, NJ friends!


A wonderful baby shower!


My Jersey Boy is becoming a beach bum

1.11.2010

The One Where I Try to get Caught Up

I'm obviously really behind on my posts as I have now missed two major holidays, several Landon milestones, an ultrasound, a blizzard and various other blog-worthy events that I've now forgotten. So here goes my attempt to succinctly catch up in one post.

The Holidays:

Both were wonderful. Thanksgiving was hosted at our house for family that could make it. Andy successfully fried a turkey that I'm told was delicious, we made several trips to Manhattan to soak up all it's holiday goodness, and Landon was as cute and charming as ever.



Christmas was spent catching up with dear friends, enjoying traditions with loved ones, snowboarding, spoiling Landon, and focusing on quality time with each other before Andy headed off to 9 weeks of training in North Carolina and various other locations that as of yet are unknown.



The Move:

The AF gods have decided that 2 1/2 years is about as long as they'd like us to stay in any one place, and, as a result, Andy's been assigned to fly planes at Eglin, AFB near Pensacola, Florida. We'll be moving sometime this spring or early summer, depending on when our house sells. The fact that the baby's due in May has allowed us some leeway in the exact date of our move. Andy will be switching to a new plane (hence the training) but if you're interested in the details of the plane and the mission, you'll have to ask him. I've been slacking in my Air Force wifely duties lately so the farthest I got was, "How much will you be gone?" and "How dangerous is it?" before giving my thumbs up - whatever that's worth.

The past month or so we've been ridiculously busy getting our house in order (and keeping it in order - thanks Landon) to sell. It's currently on the market, and trying to sell a house in this economy has been an interesting experience and one that has left us seriously considering renting when we get to Florida.

The Boy:

Landon is proving to be a genius. I'm not one to brag, but this is an observation that I've heard many times over from strangers and friends alike and so I feel I'm allowed to say that I agree. Here's the evidence. At 17 months he could identify all his letters and numbers 1-10. At 17 1/2 months he could say the alphabet. At 18 months he can count to 13 and does so often and at random times. Clearly these abilities coupled with the fact that he finally stopped licking the outside of the toilet bowl indicate he has an IQ that is at least 3 standard deviations above the mean. Of course he also has the more elementary skills mastered, like naming colors and Sesame Street characters (Grover is the new favorite), but it's the numbers and letters that get people talking.

Other random facts about him: He's a human garbage disposal, just like his dad. He eats everything and stays a skinny little man. He repeats everything and if I were clever or had a good sense of humor I'd teach him witty things to say that would make people laugh. But since I'm not he's stuck with saying boring things like "fold socks".


The New Babe:

I'm now 21 weeks and feeling fine. We've decided to be surprised again this time. After posting my 20 week ultrasound pics on Facebook, I've already had various people assure me that based on the scans, they are certain they know what it is. The only trouble is some are "certain"it's a boy, while others are "certain" it's a girl. So the fun begins :) I'll post them below so you can decide what it certainly is for yourself.

Answers to FAQ:
1. Were you sicker this time?
I don't know. Andy insists that I was. I know I got physically sicker more this time but the general sense of hating food and always feeling carsick was prevalent for 17 weeks with both.

2. Are you more emotional this time?
Yes. I cry at most television commercials, some songs, and have to avoid watching The Notebook altogether.

3. Are you showing?
Yes. I've been showing since I was 6 weeks. But now everyone else agrees that I'm showing too. Except for a mom in Landon's play group. She thinks I look like I just ate a big meal.

4. Do you have names picked out?
No. Really, no.

Due date's May 24.