Olivia's first phrase!

I just heard Olivia utter her first words!

"Why Because"

No, I'm not asking why I heard them...those were the words! I swear it to be the truth. Well, okay it was a bunch of baby babbles that from across the room sounded exactly like "why because" but at least now we know she has the capability to say those words with meaning in the future...great!

Happy Bert-day to Kyle!

At least that is what Annie would have said...we forgot to call Kyle (Annie and Olivia's cousin) for his birthday, I really meant to because he is 3 now, and whenever Annie and Kyle talk on the phone it really is pretty funny. Oh well! We also forgot Kyle's brother Luke's birthday (we remembered it, but forgot to call!) So Happy Day to Luke too. At least we didn't forget to call on their mom Andrea's birthday...but we did forget to call to wish her and Eric a happy Anniversary...wait, that's tomorrow...i think...(Happy Anniversary A and E!). And while we are at it..Happy Birthday Dadda! Tomorrow Annie and Olivia's old man turns older...I think 32, but it could be 33. We are celebrating with a chocolate raspberry cake and Mexican fiesta! Aye-yay-yay August is crazy!

Anyways, today Tim and I toured a new daycare that opened up very close to our house. We originally scheduled the appointment without knowing how much tuition was...when we found out a few days ago how much it was going to be, well, I almost fell out of my chair with the giggles (translation...is mucho expensivo). Well, we already had the tour scheduled so we figured we would go just to see what made this place so special...maybe the walls were lined with silver and gold, or the floors overlaid with gummy bears to both cushion and flavor any falls. No, none of those things, but I still loved it! And what the original tuition quote forgot to mention was that the second kid gets 10% off, and the first month is 50% off...so of course being an engineer (with access to excel) I set up a little spreadsheet and figured out that...

1. We could have probably paid for at least 2 years at a decent college with the money we have already spent for daycare.

2. The new school would only cost a few hundred more a year than our current place.

3. We pay a lot of money for daycare.

So we have some deciding to do...I like our current school, but the new one is so new and shiny...

Long time no post...

I know! I don't know what we have been doing to keep me away from posting, but here is a little ditty for ya!

The other day we were getting ready to go to our friend Audrey’s first birthday party. Annie was all ready and itching to go so she headed out to the garage to climb into the truck…then she got distracted by a pile of books that I had just bought at a garage sale that were sitting on the floor of the car. A few seconds later I heard Annie crying in the garage…she had bonked her head on the corner of the car door…ouch! I ran out with Olivia in my arms to try and comfort her. Once Olivia saw that Annie was crying, she started bawling! I’ve never heard her cry like this before. It was almost a scared kind of cry, and it actually took longer to calm Olivia down than it took to get Annie back together. Poor babies! It used to be that Olivia would laugh her head off when Annie started to cry. Apparently she has since learned that it isn’t very nice to laugh at the pain of others. After that Annie walked back out to the truck and bonked her head again…other than that the birthday party was fun!

Olivia the charmer...

Olivia has begun to realize that she is super cute and she can get a nice reaction out of people if she smiles big for them. Usually the stranger will walk up and say something like "She is the most beautiful baby in the world!" (okay maybe I'm exaggerating here slightly, but either way they say something to me about Olive). Olivia takes that as her cue to start the show, and throws out her smile, toothless gums glittering in the light, a sparkle in her eye...Then the stranger will really go gaga over her and Olivia will smile bigger, maybe throw in a little laugh....it's really an endless cycle, but it is cute none the less.

Why you askin' me?

So the day we've been waiting for has finally reared it's ugly head...Annie has discovered that there may be a purpose to life, and other random things that go on during the day. Everything we say is now questioned by Annie and her constant quest for knowledge...why, why, why. Actually it is kind of convenient for us because what Annie actually says is "why-because" one word. When I hear her say that, I think to myself, "Exactly! You just answered your own question...good thinking Annie!" But then I realize that she would probably benefit in some sort of explanation other than the standard because answer. The other day I told her it was time for bed...here is how the conversation went:

Me - Annie, it's time for bed.
Annie - Why-because?
Me - (exactly!) Because it's getting dark and your getting tired.
Annie - Why-because?
M - Because we had a long day and we need some rest.
A - Why-because?
M - Because the earth rotates around the sun and it gets dark out and time marches on and we get sleepy from being awake all day
A - Why-because?
M- Because you can only be awake for so long before you go crazy.
A- Why-because?
M- Because I'm going crazy right now.
A - Why-because?
M - Because...because it's dark outside and we go to bed when it gets dark out.
A - Why-because the sun went to China?
M - Yes! Why-because didn't I think of that? (It's a very catchy word, this why-because...I've started to use it myself. Very effective method of keeping the humor alive while you are driving people crazy with questions)

Update!

Olivia and her hip are fine. We had her ultrasound done yesterday and she did not like it one bit and showed just how strong she really can be. The doctor said she was looking good and no signs of any hip problems. I was really prepared for the worst but was relieved to find that she wouldn't be confined to a brace for months. There is still the question of why her joints are cracking so much, and one leg is clearly fatter than the other but her Ped. thinks it is just part of her development, we are going to keep an eye on it for the moment.

Annie is making huge strides in her potty training (I think mainly because we just bought a huge box of diapers for her). Yesterday she woke up with a dry diaper and went to school in a new pair of undies and came home still dry! I'm so proud of her, she really is doing a great job...finally! Now if we could only rely on her to take care of changing Olivia's diapers...

ps. I meant to tell you earlier, Annie and Olivia are getting a new cousin named Faith, you can read all about Mark and Faith's adventures here...
http://nuetzeladoption.blogspot.com/

4 more months under her belt!

Can you believe Olivia is already 4 months old! We went to her checkup today and everything was going well, other than the long wait. Didn't think that would happen since we had the first appointment of the morning. But anyways...She is up to 14+ pounds, at 75% for weight and height and catching up to her big sister and her big head, stretching the measuring tape to 90% in head circumference. She's doing great developmentally, rolling over, putting things in her mouth and being a good baby. The doctor noticed some movement in her hip joints and we are going for an ultrasound on Wednesday to check if there is a need for her to wear a brace. I'm a little worried but if there is something to correct it is good that they discovered it early! Other than that she is doing great (well not so great tonight, the 3 shots they gave her pretty much knocked her out for the day and she has a little fever) but other than that I dare you to show us a better baby than our own pretty Baby-O.