Olivia's New Favorite Place To Take A Nap...

Yes you are seeing this picture correctly, her new favorite place to take a nap is in the shower! She has done this twice before, the first time I though it was a fluke but then she did it again today.


I am sure you are wondering why I would lay my kid down to take a nap in our bathtub-let me explain. Olivia LOVES bath time, but actual baths can take some time (especially with her) so I have been trying to get her more accustomed to having a shower. Our shower is FABULOUS (not to be all braggy--but seriously IT IS!). Marcus did all of our plumbing himself and we designed the bathroom ourselves. We have this lovely 10 inch shower head that is directly ABOVE the tub, in the middle. It feels like you are taking a shower under a jungle waterfall, after two years of being here I still love it.

So for shower time I get in with her and have her sit on my lap and we lean against the back of the tub and I just let her get used to water hitting her legs and stuff. Normally the little splashes of water that hit her face start to irritate her after a while, so I sit her straight up so she can get used to water coming down softly on her head. Well both times this has happened she has been fussy about the downpour but when I move her directly under the water she stops crying, closes her eyes and puts her head down a little bit. She just stays like that, all zen, sitting straight up and then her head nods or she starts leaning and BOOM she is totally asleep. I knew for sure today b/c when Marcus, thinking surely she must be done came in to get her out, the noise kinda woke her up. She started crying like how she does when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she then leaned against me, eyes closed the whole time, and kept right on sleeping!! Marcus and I just stared and each other. He was like "Is she really asleep??" and dumbfounded I was like "Yeah, totally passed out!"


The last time I showered her she was sick. So when she fell asleep I chalked it up to "not feeling well". But today was crazy!! We just watched her for another 5 min or so. I even shampooed her hair and sudsed her all up while sleeping. When we figured the hot water would be running out soon Marcus went and put her binky in her mouth and then he turned off the water and I slowly passed her into his toweled arms. This is the crazy part---she stayed asleep through the dry off and half way through the lotioning!! I couldn't believe it! I was worried when she finally woke up that she would be super cranky from only having a power nap, but she woke up the HAPPIEST kid in the whole world. Even during putting her clothes on and everything. We were both just so amazed. It was like the most relaxing wonderful time of her life. Maybe when she grows up she will be into all kinds of spa treatments! I was just so happy Marcus was home so I had a witness to what was going on, I'm not sure if he would have believed something crazy like that if I just told him. So I see Olivia having a lot more showers in her future, now that I know how relaxing they can be for her!

This Was Me Last Night!

I had a dream last night. One of those kinds of dreams that feels totally real, like you are ACTUALLY living it. It was awful!

I dreamed that I was hanging out with Olivia and we were watching a friend of ours kid. They were playing around and before I knew it I couldn't hear Olivia. I found the little kid in the laundry room and no Olivia. The dryer was on and I opened the door and my little girl was inside! She wasn't breathing and she died from all the tumbling around. It wasn't like the kid put her in there b/c they are like the same age, but somehow it happened-it's a dream, it doesn't have to make sense....right?? Anyway I was horrified and devastated and sick to my stomach and woke up. I have never had a dream like THAT before, EVER!! I've had dreams where I was flying and it REALLY felt real and stuff like that, but never something so sad.

The upside to this yucky experience is that I totally CHERISHED my baby today. (That makes me sound like I ignore her the rest of the time--so more like cherished her EVEN MORE). I just hugged her every time I looked at her, cuddled her, laughed with her, showered her with kisses. Normally all this attention would drive her crazy-she totally loves her alone play time, everyone needs their space. But today she loved it and gave me hugs and laughs right back. I was worried how I was going to get through the day b/c that dream really kicked me in the gut. I just said a silent prayer that I would feel peaceful again and that the feeling of dread and doom would leave. I truly believe Olivia's actions today were the answer to my prayer. She smiled love down on me all day and I could really feel how much she loves me.

It just really reinforced to me how much love I have for my family. Not only that but how much love Heavenly Father has for me. He knew the best way for me to feel better, comforted and at peace was through the arms of my little angel. She let me feel that peace with every smile and twinkle in her eye. She would crawl up to me out of no where, laughing and giving me hugs and kisses. Even when I knew she was tired and ready for bed! So a day that started on a really bad note, ended with me having overflowing love to my child and feeling like I am equally as loved. So sorry to share something so yucky (the dream) but I just really wanted to share how from that dream my day changed into something truly special.

This mom has her sanity back!

So life has gotten back to normal! Olivia was sick for quite a while (2 weeks really sick and one final week of kinda sick). It seems that her being sick helped "reboot" her system so to speak. Once the runny nose was done she settled right into 11 (almost exactly to the minute) of sleep at night with 2 (yes- TWO) naps of about 1 hour to 1.5 hours morning and afternoon. I have been singing from the rooftops, glee full with my new found freedom. It has been AMAZING!

She also all of a sudden stopped being a baby and has become....... A little kid! She is laughing ALL the time and wanting to play games with me. She will laugh to get my attention then hurry and crawl away, turn to see if I am chasing her, then squeal with delight when I do. She has also started mimicking. Waving goodbye, blowing kisses, shaking her head no. The shaking no has been the funniest! Anytime we call her "Olivia" and not a nickname it is usually b/c she is getting into something she shouldn't, so as soon as she hears that she turns to you while shaking her head b/c that is what we are normally doing to HER! She also does it at random times IE "baby-girl, you have some pretty cool parents, right?".....shaking her head no. "Is it nap time??" shaking her head no. I know it's not b/c she UNDERSTANDS what we are saying, but her timing is comedic perfection!

All of these things have happened within the space of a week or so. It has been fun, exciting and less stressful in our neck of the woods. I was getting a little worried that she would never snap out of it, and then BOOM-she did!

Twas the Twilight Before Xmas

I know my last post was about Twilight but b/c it is so popular now there are a lot of really funny spoofs about it. This one had me laughing all day! I promise my next post will NOT be Twilight related!!!

Twilight-The Puppet Saga

This is such a moving rendition of Twilight I just felt I had to share it with the world!

The Verdict is IN!

So I am noticing BIG improvements today and have concluded that garlic DOES WORK!! I can deal with the temporary stinkage to be done with this dang-blasted cold faster. Everyone you have been warned that I reek so if you are sensitive to smells you might not want to drop by my house until the weekend-I should be stink free by then!

This is what I am RIGHT now!

Yes you heard me right-I am a big humungous stinky pile of garlic right now. I bet you are wondering how this is possible, have I been doing some crazy cooking, or magicked myself this way?? Well I tried really hard last night to "visualize" a healthy me, but dang it, I woke up feeling even more poopy! So I decided it was time to bust out the garlic. I'm a firm beleiver in "au naturale" ways to heal yourself, but there are some slight downsides.... The biggest one being that I REEK! I've been slicing up garlic cloves and putting it on toast and I have noticed improvements today. Garlic is supposed to do wonders for your system, and it has worked for me in the past.

So basically you can smell me before you see me. It is oozing out of my pores. Olivia wasen't too fond of being around me, I think I can hazard a guess why. Marcus being so kind and helpful just brought me home a plethora of cough medicines as a surprise to help me feel better. He isn't a fan of the garlic cleanse either.

Totally gettin festive!

So we totally got into the xmas spirit today and set up our christmas tree. I will post pictures later-our camera is fritzing out right now :(

It was so fun to bust out all of the lights and decorations-all five of them. I didn't want to put anything breakable on the tree (foreseeing a crazy baby pulling the tree over) which left us with all of five ornaments that were either wooden or made of felt. It still makes out house look magical!

We totally scored a fake tree from walmart (thanks for the idea Kaitlyn-you are my shopping hero!). It is prelit which was really nice-not having to take forever to string lights, and the tree like glows.

I also have this really cool little tree made out of metal that you put candles underneath of. The candles heat up the tree and makes it spin in a circle and it flashes light around the room-very mesmerizing! Olivia seemed not interested in them tonight, I think it was too close to her bedtime to think clearly-hopefully she has a better reception to it tomorrow.

Olivia's cold hit me full force today and I feel like my throat is made out of rusty metal- I will be so happy once this sickness is done sweeping through my house. We have all been getting it one at a time- I can't remember the last time we were all healthy, yuck! Maybe we should just stay quarantined through the rest of the winter?? No, I would go crazy- I got to have my human interaction, even if it means the occasional "throat is a dry desert, want to scratch my eyes out, coughing hurting to the core of my being, everything achy" mild cold. I am visualizing my body healing itself over night while I sleep, will keep you posted to my strategy of self healing.

What a bunch of Sicko's!!

We ate way too much food today! We had Thanksgiving at Marcus aunt & uncle's house (Ronda and Ed). It was a lot of fun and probably the best turkey that I have every had-ever!
Olivia has decided to spend her holiday's being sick. It's been coming on since Sunday but it really got bad today. It's the whole runny nose thing and coughing, deep chest coughs. She doesn't even cough if she can manage it b/c it hurts her, she winces when she does. It is heartbreaking as a mom to watch b/c you just want to fix it. She's not like critically ill or anything-just a bad cold, but this is probably the most sick I've seen her. It doesn't even bother me at all to be up with her because I know she would RATHER be sleeping, her throat just wakes her up. She's not even being that whiney, which really makes me think. I can be the biggest baby when I am sick, so if my "almost not a baby anymore" can take it like the best of them I could probably try not to be so wimpy the next time I am ill. Which honestly will probably be in the not to distant future. I can feel my throat getting sore and Marcus is starting to feel it too. It is nice when she will cuddle you and sit there still, when she is feeling good she's all about her independence. So I guess if there is one good thing you could pick out from her being sick is we get some serious bonding time in those late night hours. It brings me comfort to know that just by being with me it can calm her and make her feel at least a little bit better.

Best Day EVER!!!

So Saturday was pretty much the most fabulous fun filled day of this stressed out mommy's life! (slight exaggeration as my wedding day/having a child probably tops that list). Every single part of that day was fun and hilarious and EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED!!


The day started out with Jayme, Kaitlyn and I mini road tripping it to Lynwood-Awesome conversations abounded. We claimed out tickets, grabbed a snack and were totally the first people in line for our showing. Suzanne joined us followed by Kaitlyn' mom (Deanne). We didn't even care how nerdy it made us look- we rocked that waiting line. The people next to us in line were old enough to be my grandparents and it was a little weird to hear them talk about how much the LOVED the book.
Totally scored awesome seats and laughed a ton before the movie started. Even the previews were magical. We laughed as Kaitlyn was hollering at this lady who she thought was her mom, but wasn't. They totally showed the preview for Harry Potter and with all my excitement over Twilight and then seeing the Harry Potter trailer I totally broke out in applause. I also broke out in applause when the movie started, mind you I was not the only one that excited, there were many tweeners who were happy to join me and even a few from my group! Erin and Kim made it just in time for the start of the movie. I hooted when Edward first graced the screen (did I mention Jayme may never want to see a movie with me again with all my craziness? She was sitting right next to me, acting all embarrassed but I know deep down inside SHE LOVED IT).

After drooling over teenage vampires it was on to Claim Jumper. Sarah Y. joined us at dinner. Holy amazing food-ate way too much--onion rings--. There was the analyzing of the Fabulous movie and I totally bonded with another fellow avid reader, Erin I can't wait to hang out with you some more! After eating way more than any of our stomach's could hold it was time to head home.

But first we needed to make a stop at the outlet malls-really good deals @ The Children's Place. It was almost an emergency as SOMEONE drank way too much at dinner and almost peed themselves until we made an unforeseen stop at a Port of Subs. (SOMEONE being a certain curly haired girl who's first name starts with a V and rhymes with....... dang it nothing rhymes with my name but it would have been obvious it was me anyway).

Shopping was amazing-gotta love sweet deals- and after revealing WAY too much information about myself (you guys will still be my friends right????) we decided we had abandoned our families long enough. The ride home was the icing on the cake with more awesome conversation and laughter. I'm really not trying to bore anyone with the breakdown of my day, but writing it all out is kinda like reliving it and it was just SOOO MUCH FUN! I'm sorry if I have made anyone jealous by how truly euphoric this day was, but maybe it will inspire you to have a totally awesome girl day of your own.

A note about the movie: I really like it. I think what helped me to like it was A) I knew it was a small production company so I wasn't expecting amazing special effects. And B) It had been a while since I had read the books so I remembered all the main plots, but the more specific things were a little fuzzy so I wasn't analyzing that during the movie, I just took it all in.I am really going to practice that for when the Harry Potter movie comes out next. I have the tendency to want to read the book first and I think it ruins the movie a little bit for me.
So basically this day rocked and I just want to say it was so fun to be with those girls watching chick flicks, eating food and having a blast!!!

BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!

What a Week!

Isn't she so cute! She is getting better and better at her balancing, it is so fun to see her grow into a big little kid. She turned 11 months on Sunday so she has only one month left of being a "baby". I watched a little boy named Jonas this week, I watch him on and off, and Olivia had so much fun playing with him. She is still being a rascal about napping and such so having a distraction of a fun little baby to play with has been really nice. It totally distracted her from her crankiness b/c she just wanted to party with him.

It was so cute b/c Jonas would be IN the excersaucer playing with all the toys and Olivia would be standing on the OUTside of it. She would just walk in circles around and they would talk to each other in baby talk and press all the buttons and laugh at each other.

It's been a really challenging time with her lately. Especially so b/c I never really had to deal with this problem, I guess just a little spoiled with how well she slept, so it's like a whole new ballgame. It's like you know she will be happier if she just got her rest, but there is no way you can explain it to her. I implemented some new techniques this week and I'm starting to see a little improvement but it will be a while I think before she gets to a good point. (At least that's what I'm telling myself so I will be prepared for the long haul and if she gets it together sooner than I will just be pleasantly surprised).

So pretty much the fact that tomorrow is "Girl Day" couldn't have come at a more perfect time. It will be the longest I've ever been away from Liv. It will be a fun filled day of shopping (or in my case "look-see" which is like window shopping, or exactly the same as window shopping, "look-see" is just what I call it) and TWILIGHT!! Followed by yummy food at Claim Jumpers, I couldn't be more excited and whenever Liv has been especially "rascally" I just keep visualizing the fantastic time I will be having on Sat! Although I might have to plan something fun for every week if all this no-sleeping craziness continues ;)

Thankfully while my Mom has been gone I've some help so I can have breaks for my sanity. Marcus' aunt Helen hung out with me one morning so I could get some MUCH needed housework done. I've found it is surprisingly hard to clean your house when there is a baby following you from room to room screaming her head off! Also Kaitlyn watched her on Wed night so Marcus and I could have a date. We haven't been on a date since July! It was so nice, we had dinner and went to go see the new James Bond Movie. Also (drum roll please)...................

Marcus actually stayed awake for the WHOLE MOVIE! I couldn't believe it! He normally falls asleep anytime he is sitting for more than 5 min. We also got to see our new niece "Vienna Lou Becker", the cutest little baby of Candice and Steve! So basically it was a Fantastic night.

Well I think I've reached my thresh hold for how long I can let Olivia try to cry it out for nap time............It's Girl Day tomorrow, It's Girl Day tomorrow, It's Girl Day tomorrow, It's Girl Day tomorrow.

What Stinks??

So for Halloween we had to choose between two costumes-cow or skunk. My amazing friend Kaitlyn had a surplus of costumes that she totally let me bum off of her for Halloween-Thank you SOOO MUCH!

Blogger has been uploading them in opposite order lately, sorry! The skunk outfit was so "stinkin" cute! Even though it was last minute I managed to find her black tights and a long sleeved white shirt for underneath! Above she is trying to make a get away from the picture fest!

Here she is with Grandma Teri at her and Darrol's Ward Trick or Treat. I got off work early that night, it was totally dead (surprise, surprise) and I was able to make for the last little bit. Olivia loved spending time with Grandma-or maybe it was just Grandma's mesmerising flashlight?? It is so great to have so much family that lives close by and that will be a part of Liv's life. All of her Grandparents, near and FAR-Sunnyside-, are so loving and caring and always rooting for our little family. Getting married was so great b/c my family doubled (or more like tripled what with all the Radders, Ericksens, Scotts, more Radders and MORE RADDERS).

This ward used to be Marcus and I's first ward we attended as a married couple. It was so much fun to see people we hadn't seen in a little while, like the Froberg's and the Pratt's. I guess I just missed seeing Emily and little Reagan by a few minutes. The Pratt's always hold a special place in our hearts. Steve taught us out temple prep classes and both he and Stephanie were always so supportive of us! Steve has especially been a wonderful person in Marcus' life, they are a family we look up to in a very big way. I feel so grateful that through Marcus I was able to get to know them better.

Here she is hanging out with Mom before it's time to go to work. SO ADORABLE! Marcus had a heck of a time getting her buckled into her carseat with all this getup. He was even so nice as to swing by the Nuthouse so I could see her and show her off to the people I work with! It makes me excited for all the Halloween's to come and all the crazy things we will dress her in.

The sleeping thing started to level out after my last post-until today. She figured out that if she is in her crib she doesn't have to be laying down the whole time. She can crawl, stand, play with the window, throw her binkies on the ground and then scream and cry b/c she is SOOO TIRED! Heaven forbid she actually lay down and take a nap, not when her used to be peaceful sleeping place has now become PARTY CENTRAL!!

I immediately consulted BF Kaitlyn as I know Blaine went through a similar phase and I now know I just need to ride it out. That she will eventually figure out how to lay back down and get comfy for sleeping. Oh well, I'd rather everything happened at one time then get her back on track only for a little bit and then have a wrench thrown in the wheel. My new motto is BRING IT ON BABY! Baby being quite literal, as in MY baby, MY hard partying-dancing around in her crib- deliriously tired baby.

Someday I'll get to it

So I have pictures of Halloween to post, that I have been procrastinating. I know it doesn't take that long to download the pictures, it's just annoying. So everytime I think "I should post that.." I put it off. It's been a little trying here the past couple of weeks.
Olivia has decided she doesn't really care to take naps anymore-which is driving me CRAZY! I think it might be a combo of teething and the age she is at. I think she may be transitioning between 2 naps and 1 nap, she isn't quite tired enough for two naps but by the time the afternoon rolls around she is either over tired and cries forever without sleeping. Or she will conk out and wake up 20 min later ready to party. So I no sooner start a project and then I have to stop to keep an eye on her (she gets into everything). Plus there are just some things I can't do while she is awake, like mopping or laundry room things b.c she gets all into everything!
I know that phases can change fast so I am trying to get through it, but it is hard. I love being home with her and getting to see her explore her world everyday, but I relish her nap times. It is the time I get to do WHATEVER I want/need to do. I can read, clean up, vegetate in front of the TV, those breaks recharge me so I can tackle whatever comes up next in the day. With the teething she will be cranky about everything, so it can be hard to think of things to distract her or what will make her feel better. I know I am making her sound like a maniac, she really is a good baby, but this phase is just hitting a little hard. She is happier when she can just crawl around everywhere and explore-which makes it my full time job to make sure there is nothing I don't want her to get into, and that everyting is clean. As I am writing this she is flirting with herself in the mirror. She looks at herself smiles and turns away, then looks back quickly and smiles again-SO CUTE!
So, if anyone has any tips about how to keep on trucking-or get more zen, I am ALL EARS!

My little Bubushka

I just love her in this hat. My Auntie Rosalie made it for her and every time she wears it I think of little Scandinavian children. SO CUTE!!

I also love this denim dress of hers, I got it at a garage sale for like 20 cents, such a steal! She is down for her nap right now and I am relishing my quiet time.

Also just have to say I liked having my haircut short during the summer, but am missing the versatility of having it longer. I am going to grow it out. In future if you ever hear me say "I wish I had short sassy hair" or "I just want to chop it off", grab me and say "remember how much you mourned your hair the LAST time you chopped it?". At which point I will hug you and say, "Thank you for showing me the light, how could I have ever thought I wanted it that way?". Oh and................

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Thank Goodness!

I know-forever since my last post. There are three reasons why I am exclaiming "Thank Goodness!!" REASON 1: Olivia slept completely through the night last night!! Normally she will sleep fine and wake up around 4-5:30, after which I nurse her and she goes back to sleep. I have been longing for a straight through sleep (I know, I know... how much can a girl wish for? all the moms of troubled sleepers are probably wanting to exact revenge on my "goes to bed at seven and never hear a peep til early morning" baby) But she's getting bigger and I don't think that early morning is necessary. Without having to do any ferberizing techniques she slept straight until 8!! I was jumping for joy until she decided all that great slept meant she didn't feel like taking ANY NAPS today!

REASON 2: My amazing, wonderful, magnificent mother offered to watch her for a couple of hours tonight-feed her dinner and EVERYTHING! (OF course this was after I called her with the "what are you doing right now I am going to go crazy unless you watch my baby" conversation). I am really blessed to have such a loving Gramma right next door that loves having Olivia over to play! And not only that but an equally loving Grampa who will play with her for hours on the floor, talking to her, showing her toys, crawling around with her. He is her second favorite (right after Dada who is #1 favorite). She lights up every time she sees Grampa and cries if he doesn't pick her up right away, it is so cute! THANK YOU GRANDPARENTS!

REASON 3: A totally loving husband who doesn't mind in the least if I haven't got the house spic and span. A guy who is totally willing to do dinner time, bath time, diaper duty, just to give me some "alone" time. I wanted to take a nap on Sunday (it was like 5 pm) and he said "sure I got her" and before I knew it I had conked out and woke up by Marcus asking me if Olivia needed to be nursed before bed. He had done all the "feed dinner and get ready for bed" routine without so much as a single complaint. It was glorious to sleep so long!

Don't get me wrong, being Olivia's mom is the greatest blessing I could ever ask for! She amazes me every single day with her smile, her hugs, her laughs and squeals. It's just every once in a while this mom needs a break! So while I started the pasta water I got to thinking about how blessed I am by all the support I have in my life and figured I could squeeze in a quick post waiting for the water to boil. It is quiet in my house and I am looking forward to making home made mac and cheese without chasing a crawling speed demon around!

REUNION PICS!

My sister got her this really cute Piglet onesie to sleep in. She looks so adorable in it. It really helped to keep her warm b/c we were camping in September, and it was COLD at night!
Just trying out our camping chair-it will be so sad when she doesn't fit that outfit anymore :(
At Camp Hurlburt (the location of the reunion) they had this huge kitchen. The sinks were enormous and proved to be very useful when one little piggy needed to get all clean. These sinks were like baby hot tubs!
Her first taste of SPAGHETTI! The maniacal look on her face says "Now that I know how good big people food is, this is all I'm eating from now on!!" I try to save the really messy foods for dinner b/c after dinner it is straight to the BATHTUB!
This is her figuring out how to get Lady to pay attention to her. Sometimes she just holds her fist out with no food in it and just laughs to herself, "Take that dog, you never play with me and now you are jumping up hoping that I drop what I have in my hand when...PSYCH there is nothing in my hand to drop!". Although sometimes she does have a big chunk of bread or something in her hand and Lady does get it and then Liv is so sad she lost her piece of food. Every once in a while I have to ban Lady from the kitchen b/c Liv thinks it's great fun to throw her food to the dog. Lady has actually started playing with her nowadays and it's pretty fun to watch them.

Old Tag

So I was tagged on this a while ago (by more than one person, I think) so I thougt I should get to it. It's all about my Marcus!

Where we met: We first met through church (dances etc) and then when I was out on my own he moved into the same apartment complex as me and my roomate Lesha.

How long we dated before we got hitched: One year

How long have we been married: 4 years

What's my fav feature about him: I love the whole blond hair blue eyes thing ;) Very sexzy

What's my fav quality about him: He is a CRAZY hard worker. Like I thought I had a very intense work ethic (two jobs while in school, not to toot my own horn or anything;) but he puts me to shame! He works so hard for our family, at his job and when building our house for us!

What's his nickname for me: He likes to pick random names for me, the biggest one being Barbara. If it's a really tense situation or I am starting to get mad, with the straightest face he will look at me and say "Barbara, settle down.... or Calm down Barbara" Like it is my REAL name. It totally throws me off so then I start laughing and it diffuses the situation. He will also on purpose mispronounce my name (Voshtee, long a sound) when I am doing something to bug him.

His fav color: Red, as in the red button up shirt he has had from the seventh grade and refuses to part with it. I'm not sure as a sign of his frugality, or the fact a shirt can last that long, or as a heirloom he can pass off to any boys we might have so that THEY in turn can where it when they reach the seventh grade! He loves to wear it, you would never know it was that old (it is a very good shirt) You have probably seen it, he wears it at least once a week!

His fav food: Hawaiian Haystacks

His fav sport: FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who said the L word first: He did

First kiss, when and where: It was at my apartment while watching Beauty and the Beast or something like that and it was in late August.

Fav couple thing to do: We love to watch the Office and play with Olivia.

How many kids: Just one

His hidden talent: He's master of minutia. Like all the random facts of random things. He will amaze me by pulling out this statistic of knowledge of tons of different things. Like he would probably kick butt on Jeopardy. He gets most of them right whenever we watch it.

His age: 25

His fav music: Country

What I admire most about him: He is such an AMAZING Dada to our little Liv

His fav pastime: Anything outdoorsy, football, family time, football, swimming, football

Will he read this: yes

I TAG: KAITLYN, SUZANNE, EMILY

Here's the Proof

I think I can do it...
I'm going for it....
Break Time!
So we spent the weekend up in the motherland for my uncle's funeral. Funeral's are always sad, but not devastating like how it can be for some people. Being LDS means I believe my uncle is in a better place with people who have gone on before him, where none of his health problems ail him anymore, where he is whole. I love going to LDS funerals because you always leave with a feeling of peace and comfort. It is a celebration about the life of the individual and while I will miss Uncle "peaches" Pete dearly I know I will be able to see him again, that there will be somebody from my family waiting on the other side to welcome me in when it is my turn to return to my Heavenly Father. I was so grateful for the opportunity to go and be of support to my cousins and aunt.
While we were there I also figured out some stuff. Like every time I think Olivia has a cold-it's really been teething. Like a couple weeks ago I thought she had a cold and I felt in her mouth of Friday and one of her top teeth is all the way through. She also decided two more were going to start coming through while we were in Canada. They are almost to the surface and this has meant not a lot of sleep for the momma. The first night @ my aunt Rosalie's she was up the WHOLE NIGHT! I felt bad b/c everyone else in the house could hear her and woke up a lot too. But I have definitely pinpointed her signs for teething: runny nose WITH excessive drooling, diaper rash, rosy cheeks and NO SLEEPING. Runny nose without drooling is a cold.
I've also figured out that her little bum does not like Luvs diapers. She broke out with what I like to call teenage acne on her bum when I started using them. I switched to Pampers baby dry two days ago and her bum is almost back to normal! It's weird b/c her skin isn't sensitive or anything-just to the luvs. The rash from teething, the rash from the diaper (trust me I know for sure they are two separate things as they are in two separate areas) combined with the pain of teething my little bundle of joy has been the opposite of joyful. The end is in sight though b/c the longest it's lasted for is a week so hopefully it will be done by Friday. It'll be weird to see her with more teeth in her mouth, my little baby-sniff, sniff-is on her way to being a big girl!

Big News!! (I'm not Preggers in case that's what you think i mean by Big News)

So Olivia IS officially a crawler. She stared on Tuesday night, but we kinda pretended like it never happened so as not to jinx it. It's really slow and methodical and SOOOO cute! Marcus being the ever faithful coach/cheer section would chant "Livy, Livy, Livy" and she would rock back and forth with her hands in the air in a kinda victory dance. It would have been fine with me if she waited longer-cuz I know she's going to be getting into everything now-but Marcus has been very excited for this next step. He kept crawling around her to show her how, she just laughed at him like he was a crazy, and then he has been doing the Livy chant.
Whenever he comes home she is euphoric with excitement. He can get her laughing so hard that she is almost falling over, and tears streaming down her face (not an exaggeration, she literally will laugh so hard she cries). I try not to get bent out of shape about it, b/c it is seriously cute. I can make her laugh and we have cute times together, but me making her laugh is nothing compared to the party her and Marcus have together. when I make her laugh it will be for like a minute and Marcus gets her going for like 5 min. But seriously I'm glad they get to have that special time together. I get to see a lot of special things with her all day, and sometimes Marcus gets frustrated he can't be here for more of it. So when they do spend time together she is completely enchanted, it's really good for both of them. Plus she see's me ALL DAY LONG-I bet a change of personnel is fun for her. Like right now he is giving her a bath and I keep hearing uncontrollable mirth with intermittent squealing echoing down the hall, gotta run so I can watch some of it!

Way to be Neighborly

Olivia wouldn't take her morning nap, so we decided to go for a walk. We left our house on Everson Goshen and headed down Central. Sometimes we go down to the end of central, but there are a lot of dogs that bark (they are all fenced in so it's not scary or anything, just annoying). Every once in a while we turn by Butch and Patsy's to go down this dirt road that heads back almost to Fazon Lake. It's nice down there and no dogs! Plus it's nice to mix it up with different scenery. Now this road takes like 10 min to walk to the end of and gives access to like 7 or so acre plots, two of which are Butch and Patsy's-she gave me the idea to walk down there. The first house has started construction and I can see it straight across the pasture from our house. (This means lots of noise with the trucks dumping things and hammering).
So we are walking past the construction house (by we I mean Olivia in baby bjorn and our shitzu Lady) and this lady is walking down the driveway to us. The house is set back from the access road, it's not like I was walking right by her house or anything, here's the following conversation:
HER: What are you doing?
ME: Going on a walk (I thought that would have been obvious in my tennis shoes and work out clothes) I live right across the way, you can see my house..see?? (I'm pointing across the way)
HER: Well this is private property, you can't just walk back here. Especially during the construction phase we don't want just anybody back here while we aren't here to keep an eye on things.
Now I know I must have been very intimidating. My dog had on a bright hot pink collar and leash. Olivia was decked out in her cute pink hoodie, sucking her bright pink binkie and gooing at Lady. Meanwhile Lady is wagging her tail and laying down on the ground belling up for Ms Crank to pet her. I'm very impressed with her at this point for uncovering my plot to steal an air compressor and graffiti her house with the can of spray paint I have tucked in between my belly and Olivia.
ME: trying to be nice Well I didn't know I wasn't allowed (thinking in my head-her property might be off limits but this road isn't. After 900 feet a road is no longer private, it is a county road, therefore open to all including Mom's walking their babies and dogs. I know the 900 feet thing from our home construction). I'm just that green house right there pointing again we are practically neighbors and just thought I'd see how the construction was going, sorry.
HER: ignoring the fact I am still pointing behind her Well just don't come back here again, my parents will be building back here too and I KNOW they don't want just anybody back here. I just looked up and saw you and it startled me and I was like "holy cow where did she come from".
At this point I'm amazed she had no idea where I came from, there are houses everywhere, I guess my appearance was so alarming she must have thought I just materialized out of thin air
ME: Well you can get here from central, which was where I was on my walk, sorry again (I didn't want to fight with here about the legality of me being allowed to go on a walk, I'm still trying to be nice but getting annoyed and trying to back away, but she just won't stop!)
HER: Well it is private property
ME: OKAY!! Sheesh I get it!! (Kinda being rude-oops!)

Now I kinda pride myself on being a good neighbor. My two neighbors across the way love us, they leave us treats on our mailbox, we always talk when we run into each other in the grocery store. I had every intention of bringing her some cookies when they were all moved in beings how we have straight shot views of each others houses, but now I just feel like being "screw you", except in a Christian friendly neighborly way. I am determined to not have her hate me though (I know from experience what having a bad neighbor experience can do to you) so I might still bring her some goodies, maybe. Heavenly Father must be trying to teach me patience, and anger management, and turning the other check, not being hateful, smiling in the face of adversity, setting a good example to our offspring (which I was until the end), and forgiveness. It just sucks when it's a beautiful day and your in a good mood and then someone just dumps all over it. So in a effort to calm down, I put Olivia down for her nap. I made some cocoa, settled into my comfy couch, picked up my new book to read (thanks Kaitlyn). Then I took I calming breath and looked out my big gorgeous picture window to take in the view of Mt Baker, which is directly above the new construction house over the pasture. Maybe I'll have to try practicing all the good, Christian attributes tomorrow.

For Santaija

So my sister sent us a whole bunch of clothes when Olivia was first born, and I kept forgetting to get her the pictures of her in some of them. She checks this blog so I thought I would post some older pictures of Olivia in some of her cute clothes from her Auntie! The yoga pants in the first picture were my fav item of all time. I kept her in them until they were high waters on her. I've tried to find more of them so I can get them in bigger sizes to no avail. They were just the cutest looking pants ever!

So on a side note we were playing games with the Trevor and Kaitlyn last night and I am proud to say that I won @ phase 10. To some of you this might seem like a small feat, but for me it was ginormous. You see I am forever loosing, game of choice is usually Settlers of Catan. Not by choice-I really try to win and the only excuse I think I have is that I'm just not that good, not that I suck, the games are usually pretty close. There are times I come close, but I'm pretty sure I only won once in Catan once like 3 months ago. (I have won playing against other people, Trevor and Kaitlyn are just hardcore good). Normally I accept my defeat graciously, once in a while I get upset (can you blame me?? Week after week of getting my trash kicked!). One time I was so close to winning and out of nowhere Trevor (who prior to this was bringing up the rear) worked some crazy magic and won. This was not one of my gracious defeats-I kinda freaked-okay REALLY freaked. I was so close to victory I could taste it and then HE whips me! Ashamedly I through the tensiest TANTRUM, which to this day we call "going Catan". IE: "Wow- you really went Catan on that one!" or "Way to throw a Catan!". Needless to say I was pretty excited about my victory last night. That should be able to last me another few months until I can wrangle another win in.

FACT: The Office is BaCk Sept 25th!!

Oh how I missed you so!! I am so excited for the new season to start I can hardly stand it!! We have been DVR-ing the re runs on TBS and saving them (currently taking up 46% of the space on my DVR, I think it's like 45 episodes). We normally ending up watching one a night (which only takes like 15 min when you can fast forward through the commercials!). Marcus kept trying to get me to watch it and I didn't think I would like it, but after like 3 episodes I was HOOKED!! It is so hilarious and I still laugh at the reruns. It was much funnier when I went to the beginning and watch all of the older ones.
I love these two together! It's my secret wish that they will end up together in real life, the Casino Night is one of my favorite episodes!
"It's a real shame because studies have shown that more information gets passed through water cooler gossip than through official memos. Which puts me at a disadvantage, because I bring my own water to work. "

"Welcome to the 8th annual Dundees awards. Before we start, a few announcements. Keep your acceptance speeches short. I have wrap-it-up music and I’m not afraid to use it. "


"So you got the fax. So why didn’t you add it to the resume? What do you mean? Of course martial arts training is relevant. Oh excuse me! I know about a billion Asians that would beg to differ. Uh, yeah I get a little frustrated when I’m dealing with incompetence. Well you know what? You can go to hell too, and I’ll see you there, burning! Fine…oh wait, so you’ll let me know when you’ve made a decision? "

FACT: Dwight K. Shrute is my hErO!!

Last Week They had some of the original episode's of The Office on BBC America, and they too are hilarious!! I've only seen three but I might have to rent and watch all of these too!

So basically I can't wait for the new season to start and am counting down the days until I get my Office FiX!

FACT: I am "The Office" No.1 FAN

It's Heritage Time!!

This....Plus this....Equals THIS!!!!
So my dad is Cree Indian (Saskatchewan Cree, of the Big Bear Tribe, to be precise) with a little french mixed in and my mom is French. So I guess combine the two and you get a curly haired girl that could pass as Greek, Jewish, German etc. My younger sister Santaija looks the most Indian, darker skin that tans very quickly. She also has amazingly thick, gorgeous hair. She could totally be one of those native people in the movies with hair down to her bum (it's actually almost that long now!). When we were younger she always looked like the little native girl-so cute. I'm kinda the in between one and then Myriah is more fair skinned with lighter hair (when she was little it was blond, when she's in the sun it really lightens up!). Well now you know what it took to make me!! I'd be interested to know everyone else's background-let me know in the comments please ;)

We're Back!

So we just spent the week at the Potrie Family Reunion. My family from the Motherland. It was such a blast!! I will post pic's later, haven't had time to download them yet. We ended up coming back a day earlier than scheduled, a lot of people were sick. Some of the younger cousins were finishing up being sick when they got there and then it kinda flew through the group. A lot of people were hit with "rumbly tumbly" as I like to call it. Quite a few of us had almost all night vigil's at the restroom, or were frequently leaving the room to "look at the scenery". I did figure out that I can eat raw garlic, as long as it was diced up on some toast. My family are all about natural healing and my uncle Dan (one of the unfortunate souls making trips to the loo) told about how raw garlic really helps get rid of yucky bacteria you might have in your system. I was pretty sick of being bloat-city so I sucked it up and tried it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE GARLIC, but more like cooked, not raw. Dan said if you spread it over buttered toast it takes some of the sting out of it. The only garlic we had was my Grandpa's elephant garlic which I found out later is off the charts hot, the upside being since then any garlic I've had pales in comparison to the fire-fest in my mouth from that first sample. But it wasn't too bad, I liked it after I regained my sense of taste back and my ears stopped sweating. It worked so great- my stomach settled right down that night and I was even starting to get a cold and that completely backed off. I made sure to take a couple of doses over the next day, the heat is kinda like hot salsa, you get used to it. Luckily enough of us were eating garlic that we all hung out so we wouldn't stink anybody out. That garlic like sweats through your pores, a lot of people already think I may be Greek (curly hair, robust nose) and add that smell to it and boom, My Big Fat Family Reunion!! (I am not Greek, in case wondering, although I love Greek food--hello feta-- so it would have been a good fit if I was born into that kind of circumstance). After all this stink talk you would think the Reunion was lammo, that was just a small ripe part of it.

The reunion was a couple extra days longer than the usual, which was so great b/c we had more time to just talk and hang out by the campfire instead of sticking to a set schedule. Instead of a talent show we did a Roadshow, with all the topics being stories from when the aunt's and uncle's were little. The result was comedic genius!! Each sibling was in charge of their own skit and theme, and everyone remembers different stories differently so it was so funny to hear everyone Else's point of view. Some of the themes were: fave family dinner, fave FHE, fave hunting story, fave bear story. We had fave family dinner and my MOM did a variation of the Potrie Party Palace were Marcus and I were playing the romantic couple dining out. My mom was the waiter and she ended up doing a cross between a french/spanish accent "oui, oui, madame--fetch their food ondele, ondele--ci, ci" our menus were in code "chokum-bum=slice of cheese, loggers special=toothpick, mellow yellow=mustard" so we kept getting these ridiculous combinations on our plates that my mom made ahead of time. All the while we are getting sick of the lack of food, right when we are about to leave my mom AKA frenchy/mexico waiter insists we get take out, she rushes out with a cloth grocery bag with Olivia peeping out of the top in which case we exclaim "EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED!" I was very impressed with mom-mad skills in thinking up our skit, it was so fun!!

The auction was the most successful one I have ever bid in. Everyone has to pay for the camping, so to make it more fun everyone brings homemade items of fun that we bid on and the money goes to the camp. So you get to leave with a fun trinket, your paying the money anyway. I scored some awesome matching mom and daughter aprons (the smaller apron won't fit Olivia for while yet) made by aunt Laura. Then I also scored a Christmas book made by cousin Jackeileen which has a special story for everyday leading up to Xmas. One of these books were in the last auction and I got out bid, so I was so happy to get both the things I wanted!! They also had a silent auction which was new, they are trying to downsize some stuff at Grandma and Grandpa's. Instead of Goodwilling it they brought it to the Reunion for silent auction bidding. I got some old story books, another mini apron handmade by either Grandma Potrie or Grandma Zimmerman. The most precious being one of Grandma P's old edition Hymnals. In the old edition they have the Hymn "Come thou Fount" which for some reason is excluded from the hymnals' we have today. It is very well preserved and it felt so good to leaf through it's slightly yellowed pages. I've been playing hymns out of it every chance I get.

We played many ridiculous games by the fire, talked and laughed til it hurt. I was so glad we went!! Pictures to follow soon!!

PS- can anyone guess my ethnic heritage?? I'll give you a clue--I'm not Greek, as aforementioned, nor am I Jewish (another very common guess). If you already know, please keep quiet so as not to give it away. Guess on the comments!! Your reward will be the supreme awesomeness of knowing you are queen of ethnicityness!!

Managerie of Fun

So these are all different pictures that I liked, they don't really fit together so I thought I would do them all on one blog. I love this first one especially!! Olivia is taking a nap at Trevor and Kaitlyn's house on one of our first outings as a family. Her taking a nap isn't that big of a deal, it's the location.....she's in the cupboard under the stairs!! As being a die hard Harry Potter fan I got quite a kick out of this. She only slept for a few minutes, it probably would have been a better idea to put her upstairs in a real room but I was still in paranoid mom mode. I wonder if she will ever develop any magical abilities?? (Besides being amazingly cute) ;)
This is Marcus' version of babysitting. He has been caught many a time sleeping on the job. At home or at someone else's home or even at church. It's like as soon as he is in charge of her something elemental in his body decides it's the perfect time for napping and poof! narcolepsy here we come ;)
She just loves giving her Momma big huge smiles. Coincidentally right after my "Not a Cuddler" post she decided it was time to start giving me hugs every once in a while, I must say it is HEAVENLY! I've decided if there is anything else that is driving me nuts I will just post about it and maybe it will start going better. Like right now she is on a nursing strike--come on blog gods work your magic!
Marcus has surprisingly took some pretty fun pictures. He snuck this one of me and Liv taking a nap when she was just a wee babe. We are both totally lights out. I love it because I'm normally taking the pictures so it is fun to have some of me and her. It's nice too because Marcus thought it was precious enough to photograph. (That sounded a wee conceited, not that I think I Am so precious-more like the situation, although I am pretty amazing, JK). This co-napping thing ended when she was like 4 months. I don't know if she just wants to play or something if she knows we are near, but it's naps in the crib or no naps at all. She does sleep really well, which is nice, we just throw her in the crib with her 'blankie' on her and walk a way and it's lights out. (We actually don't THROW her in, more like LOVINGLY, GENTLY, LAY HER PRECIOUS SELF DOWN). Her fav blankie is one we got from Ellie Wall, she just loves it which is so cute. She also LOVES HER BINKIE, I forsee much heartache when it ever comes to getting rid of it. Hoped you enjoyed the random fun!

Where did the time go?

I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post. I have been very occupied for the past few weeks. I was working at the fair, going to my cousins wedding, camping with the Kaitlyn/Trevor Holman Clan, but must importantly..... WATCHING THE OLYMPICS.

I really hadn't planned on getting hooked on them, or even watching them for that matter, but Marcus decided to record the opening ceremonies and convinced me to watch them. THEY WERE AMAZING. So that was when they first got under my skin. NBC also has a tricky way of getting you hooked in. You watch the beginning parts and in those they start talking about some of the back stories of some of the atheletes. Well then you kinda feel like you know those athletes, so you decide to watch their competitions. During those competitions they do more spots on other atheletes and before you know it you have 43 hours of Olympics recorded on your DVR while you are fast forwarded through the commercials to watch the next turn of the marathon, or biting your nails and sitting on the edge of your couch when Jonathan Horton does his high bar routine AMAZINGLY to only get silver. OR ball your eyes out when Alicia Sacramone falls off the balance beam, or when Laura Wilkinson struggles through her last platform dives of her international career. And then there is the gripping your husbands hand so hard he is loosing circulation because Phelps is racing to get the eighth and final gold. My heart rate is actually going up just thinking about it. My DVR went form 8% available to 75% available and now I don't know what to do with myself. It was the most fantastical, drama filled weeks I could have ever hoped for and now I have to wait 2 years for the winter ones to come around.

It's probably for the best, the house needs to get back to former grandeur and I need to do something else besides whizz through 9 hours of TV a day. (Not that I sat on the couch for 9 hours, I would fast forward through the boring parts, IE table tennis and equestrian stuff, but I would have it on in the background while trying to do some chores). Plus my sleep schedule needs to get back on track, I couldn't help myself from staying up late to watch the finals--dang China being on exact opposite time schedule as us! I will miss trying to talk to Kaitlyn about this heat or that final only to have her say "wait I haven't watched that one yet", or having Jayme call me the day after a very drama filled night of finals to say "did you stay up late and watch--insert gymnastic event here--I bet you cried, didn't you?!". I've kinda had a hard time letting go, I called Jayme today to talk to her about gymnastics drama of certain allegedly underage Chinese girls. Who knew that you could get so hooked!! Olympics you were the best soap opera I ever had ;)