I'm having one of those days....

It's one of those days where I am enjoying toys scattered across my living room floor and not so concerned with laundry, dishes, dirty bathrooms, etc. Part of this is out of necessity. My physical therapist worked me so hard yesterday that I can barely walk. Part of it is because of an email I received this morning. A friend was asking about adoption and what agency we used. As usual, I replied with a very long email about why we chose our agency and our experience. I am sure I supplied way more information than this person ever intended on receiving, but it was a reminder on where we have been and what we have been through to get where we are. Does that make sense? Too often I get caught up on the unimportant things -
"Is my house clean?"
"What laundry do I need to do today?"
"Are all the toys picked up and put in their assigned places?
Instead, I should be asking myself -
"Did I tickle Mia today until she screamed?"
"Did I play Barbies until I thought I would cry with boredom"
"Did I show Olivia how to build a tower only to knock it down?"
"Did I read the same book over and over and over again even though I had a filthy kitchen?"

You get the idea and probably know where I am coming from. My children are going to remember the fun stuff, not a spotlessly clean house or drawers filled with clean laundry. These years pass all to quickly and I need to remind myself daily of that. I can clean and do laundry later!!! Now, if you will excuse me. I have a daughter to tickle!

Ouch!

There is nothing like seeing a glowing, radiant expectant Mom with a cute, preggo belly and then hearing that her due date is what yours would have been. I have intentionally made myself forget what week I would have been to keep myself from constantly thinking, "What if....?" However, I don't think I will ever be able to forget the due date.

The best, and worst of having a cold

Hands down, the worst part of having a cold (for me) is the never-ending throat tickles that comes at the end of a cold that will last for weeks. You (I) have the urge to cough, but of course, it doesn't help. So you (I) cough for 5 - 10 minutes, accomplishing nothing unless you think peeing your pants is an accomplisment. Another lovely side effect of having been pregnant...no bladder control!!!

The best part of having a cold is when the congestion is FINALLY starting to go away and what's that....can I actually taste something???? It's ever so faint, I don't want to get my hopes up. But, yes...I think I can taste it and it is the best tasting thing I have ever had. Ok, the best thing in at least a week. Is it because the sense of smell and taste have a nice little siesta that everything is better??? Who knows. I am just going to enjoy tasting my coffee and smelling again. Correction...smelling everything around me. I hope I don't smell!!!! :) At least now I can tell. You're welcome.

It should be mentioned that Livi is also happy that I can smell again. No more sitting in poop waiting for her big sister to inform Mommy that Livi stinks.

Little Livi is growing...a little!

Livi had her 9 month check-up today and while she is growing, she is taking her sweet time. Here are her latest measurements:
Weight - 14.8 lbs. Length - 26 1/2 inches Head - 45 cm.

That puts her in the 5th percentile for weight, 25th for length and 95th for head!!!!! She may be tiny, but she's got brains.

Developmentally, she is right on target and perhaps, even a little ahead. Or perhaps, that's the proud Mama in me. At any rate, she is getting so big and it breaks just a little piece of my heart. Seriously, where does the time go? Even this week has flown by. Anyway, back to little bit. She is crawling, but of course, she has her own style. She sits on her bottom, puts her hands down and scoots. Not as fast as crawling, but she gets around. She is WAY more interested in walking and is "cruising" the furniture. Very scary!!! This is the stage Mia was in when she fell in our room and hit her head. Not a big deal, except she was 'asleep' within five minutes and not really stirring. You guessed it, off to the ER we went. Of course, she was awake and fine by the time we got there.

Ok, back to Livi. She has got the sweetest little voice and I will definitely have to post some video in the coming days. She isn't really saying anything other than "Da Da" and "Mmmma Mmmmma", but all her other little words are so cute. Of course, the best news is she is finally warming up to Evan. From day one, she has been Mama's girl and wanted very little to do with her Daddy. (That's what I get for wanting a Mama's boy!!!) Within the last month or so, she has really developed a love for him that has just melted him. She gets SO excited when he gets home from work. As soon as she hears his voice, she starts squealing and bouncing. Of course, none of this has gone unnoticed by the green-eyed monster in our house. She does her best to interfere. Evan, however, is about the happiest man alive. He loves "his" girls, as he calls us.

This is such a wonderful time in our lives. Yes, I am severely sleep deprived and a little irritated that I can't seem to keep my house clean. (Ok...a LOT irritated!!!) But I have to remind myself that the months and years are passing so quickly. I want to cherish this time that I longed for for so many years! I am so thankful for my family and especially thankful that I am able to stay at home with my girls. It's not always easy, but so worth it.

Well, on that sappy note. (Can you say HORMONAL????) Here are so recent pictures of Livi.



She looks so funny walking because she is so little!


Her version of crawling.