The trip north (part 3)

This post could be titled, "The trip south," as that is what we did on Wednesday. Mom came over on Wednesday morning and helped with the kids while I got the car loaded and the last stuff packed. Leo took a two hour nap right off the bat, so we stopped for the first time near Bowling Green, Kentucky. The stops took almost an hour each time by the time I nursed Leo, got gas, used the restroom, changed Olivia's diaper, changed Leo's diaper, and got something out for Olivia to eat. But we didn't have any melt downs. Olivia watched A LOT of Dora on the iPad, but I tried not to feel guilty about that. Here are Olivia and Leo at our last stop about an hour north of Birmingham. It took about ten hours total to get from Elizabeth to Northport.



I dropped both kids off at MMO on Thursday and went home and got some unpacking done. Nicholas got back from Germany at about 6 o'clock that evening and were we glad to see him! He had a good time, too, but was pretty exhausted from the trip.

The trip north (part 2)

My dad graciously took me to the airport at 4 AM on June 8th and picked me up at 2 PM on June 10th. What a great dad I have! And poor Dad had to listen to emotional me on the way back from the airport. Love you, Dad!

On Monday, the kids and I met Grandpa Bill at the Louisville zoo. It threatened rain and did rain a little bit, but that kept things cooler and the crowds down, so it was actually a good thing. Olivia did great playing with Bill while I nursed Leo in the car. She and he fed ducks and looked around until we went into the zoo. She let Bill hold her up to see animals and talked quite a bit. We saw giraffes and grizzly bears, seals and elephants, among lots of others. We had hot dogs for lunch and Olivia loved the french fries. She actually ate the leftovers on the way back to Steph's house. Here are a few pictures.



That afternoon/evening we hung out at the farm. Mom helped me again because I was exhausted from going so much on so little sleep. The kids played more--Abby, Craig, and Olivia really play well together--and I got a little visiting time in with Stephanie.

On Tuesday, the kids and I met Mutti at the Louisville Science Center. There was a great KidsZone that Olivia really loved. She liked playing in the water, riding on the "bus", shopping for groceries, and building things with Mutti. Olivia seemed to like the music buttons she could push, too. While I nursed Leo in the "quiet room" they had set aside for such things, Mutti and Olivia played. Then we went out into the regular part of the museum to the sensory area. Olivia played music by covering up lights on the floor, she ran through a forest of pool noodles hanging from the ceiling, rolled a ball on little roller coaster, pushed a tissue through clear air vents, and built a castle from over sized blocks. After that we had lunch at Subway. Here are a couple of pictures.

The trip north (part 1)

On the 7th of June (Thursday), Nicholas, Olivia, Leo, and I drove up to Kentucky. We dropped Nicholas off at his mom's so that he could go to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, which he didn't end up making it to because he was exhausted. The kids and I drove on to Indiana to my sister Stephanie's place. We left at about 7:30 central time and arrived at Jane's at 4:30 eastern. The trip was pretty smooth, with Nicholas and Olivia hanging out while I nursed Leo in the car twice. Leo took one long nap, and and two short ones. Olivia slept for maybe 30 minutes. She is just not a good car sleeper and Leo kept waking her up. But, she had the iPad to watch Dora on, so she was happy most of the way.

On Friday, Nicholas flew from Louisville back to Alabama. Then, on Saturday, he flew to Germany for a conference for work. He was gone until the following Thursday. In the mean time...

After getting the kids settled in at Steph's, I left on Friday at 4 AM to fly to Cleveland for my friend's wedding. I had lots of expressed milk there for Leo, and Mom and Steph to take care of both kids in tandem. Looks like they had a great time!

Craig holding Leo on Sunday morning. He is such a great kid, and he is such a great big brother and cousin. He loves Abby and can hardly wait for Bratcher Baby #3 this fall!


Craig, Olivia, Abby, and Grandpop on my parents' deck just chillin'.


Olivia said, "This life jacket looks good on me." It does. Even though she had her swimmies with her, she must have wanted to be like the big kids.


After Abby's last baseball game. Olivia kept saying, "1, 2, 3, 6 hit!" and "That was awesome!" and "That's a cool trophy, Abby."


I cannot thank Stephanie and Mom (and Brandon and Craig and Abby) enough for taking care of my babies while I went to be in my friends wedding. I was gone almost 60 hours, and I was a total wreck by the time I got back because I missed them so badly. It was great to go and see my friends, help with the wedding, meet her family, and have my own bed, but I really got no rest because (1) weddings are so much work, and (2) my pump was my best friend. So, I actually came back more tired than when I left. But, I am so glad I had the opportunity to go and the family to take care of Olivia and Leo.

Getting so big!

Olivia and Leo had their two year and four-month well doctor visits yesterday. Here are the stats:

Olivia: 30 lbs, 36.25 inches tall, which is 75th and 95th percentile, respectively -- if what they say is true, her height potential is 6 feet, 1/2 inch! Whoa!

Leo: 16 lbs 10 ounces, 26.25 inches long, which is 75th and 90th percentile, respectively -- that's over a pound more than Olivia at the same time, but only .25 inches longer. My big boy! He is healthy as can be, it seems. Now if I could just get him to sleep through the night! Here is a picture of him with his band-aids from his shots. Olivia did not like her shot, but liked Leo getting shots even less, I think!


In other news, Leo and Olivia started school today for the summer. It was Leo's first school day ever, so here is a photo. He did great when I left because he is not old enough to know really that Mommy is leaving. He didn't nap much (20 minutes) or eat much (3 ounces), but I guess that will come. He took a super long nap this afternoon. Today was the only morning I really get to myself because I start back to work the next time they go. I was not a wreck like I was the first time I dropped off Olivia at Mom's Morning Out. Look how far I've come!

Loving these babies!

Olivia continues her language explosion. On Saturday morning, we had this conversation:

Olivia: What's that?
Me: That's sausage.
Olivia: For me?
Me: Yes, for you.
Olivia: Fantastico! (Obviously, Olivia is loving Dora the Explorer lately.)

Our evening routine has gotten so that I give Leo his bath and feed him while Nicholas gives Olivia her bath and reads to her. I probably haven't given Olivia bath for several weeks. This routine is so ingrained now that Olivia tells me to go check on Leo or fold clothes if I try to partake in the routine. She is loving Daddy so much these days. I'm not looking forward to the day, which I see quickly approaching, when she is purely Daddy's girl! But, I love that their bond has increased so much. Nicholas often reads to Olivia for upwards of 30 minutes every night. Olivia loves all the books we've been getting at the library every week. We try to get five to ten new ones--usually Dora, Diego, Max and Ruby, etc. She requests them and I try to find them.

Olivia has quite the imagination lately, too. I hear her playing with Daddy while she is in the bath tub. She called him "Doctor Daddy" tonight and she was "Doctor Olivia." Here's what I heard:

Olivia: What hurts, Doctor Daddy?
Nicholas: My ear hurts, Doctor Olivia.
Olivia: I can fix that for you. (moment) Woof! (When Olivia's pediatrician looks in Olivia's ears, she pretends that there is a cat or a dog in there.)
Olivia: All better now?
Nicholas: Yes, all better.

And here is Olivia reading to Leo in her crib the other morning. Can you spot the picture Olivia took?

This is Olivia at one of her friends' 2nd birthday party on Saturday. Olivia LOVED the cupcake icing! Several of the moms commented on Olivia's "amazing" vocabulary. One was floored that Olivia was counting (up to 15) as she ran around. I'm totally proud!

And Leo is continuing his solid foods. He went from one teaspoon of oatmeal last Saturday to one tablespoon plus some prunes this Sunday. I am still just doing one feeding a day. I'll work my way up. He's doing great! We are still struggling with the sleep, however. He just wants to nurse all night. And I have created a monster...actually two...because I bring him to bed and fall asleep when he nurses. Bad, bad, bad. But a hard habit to break.

And Nicholas had his annual beginning of the REU party here on Saturday. Here are Olivia and Leo pre-party. Notice that Olivia had some calls to make on her fake pink cell phone in the second picture:

Play time!

Olivia started using her Princess tent again just in time. I was thinking of taking it down as it takes up a lot of space in the living room. She is using it as her beauty shop. She says, "Play at my appointment!" Here are some pictures. She even dressed up Leo:

This one is for Grandpa Bill:

"Look, I'm sitting up!!"

"Look at that cute baby!!" (At CHOM in the baby pond.)

Olivia loves reading. I mean loves it. She "reads", and we read to her. The other day she chose staying home and reading over going to the playground. And she loves Dora books. We act them out at the pool and at home and on the go. Here she is at CHOM reading, in her mermaid crown, and dancing in "Mermaid Kingdom"--notice the paper fish on the floor. (My crafting skills are limited!)

And here is one of Leo sleeping on the floor after nursing. He is in a milk coma, I guess. He slept for 40 minutes like this. I was shocked!

Birthday pictures!

On Olivia's birthday blog post, I said that I was waiting on some pictures from my friend who had a one-month old. There are here and they are so fun and so much more than I was expecting! Susan brought her camera, and I asked her to take some pictures of Olivia blowing out her candle, and she got all these. Love them!