It's Olivia's 18 month "birthday" today and I'm sitting here on our couch tonight in awe of the fact that we're just six months away from having a two year old... UGH why does it go by so slowly when your nipples are bruised and you're covered in poop and sour milk and alone because your husband has to work and school and "adult", but go by SO quickly when you're trying to sneak in extra kisses from a wiggly toddler who just wants to run and play and cause mischief...?
Oh the pains of motherhood... ;)
Liv had a meltdown this morning, which... I mean, isn't unusual seeing as she's a toddler. Meltdowns and tantrums are kind of a daily companion now. I don't remember what started it, I think it was me doing her hair, then it was dad brushing his teeth, then it was me holding her, then it was me not holding her...you know, the usual, ha ha. I tried to get an 18 month old snapshot for posterity but these were all I got...
I'm kind of in love with them. If you can count on anything from a toddler, it's their authenticity, ha ha!
At 18 months old Olivia is literally such a joy. She is so funny, so smart, and just so content and peaceful. I mean, obviously she has her moments - we all do! - but overall I am daily in awe at how I ever deserved to have such a daughter. She sleeps 12-15 hours at night, eats basically everything I give her, plays SO nicely with other kids, is friendly and happy around new people, and is learning more and more each day. She understands basically everything I say and can follow simple directions (most of which I didn't even teach her) like "throw this in the trash", or "put your toys away", or "come sit in my lap".
I'm telling you, I could have sworn when I was younger that the newborn stage would be my favorite once I started having kids. As a teenager I basically craved newborns. Their smell, their lamb-y little cries and snorts, and they're basically the only kind of baby that you can snuggle for HOURS on end while they just contentedly sleep on your chest. UGH! Even writing about it is making my ovaries drool... But even as I'm writing and drooling about this, I have to say, this may be my favorite stage so far. Maybe blame it on the PPD, but I was miserable during Livee's newborn stage, and I still have my own issues to work through even now, but I just find myself having so much fun being her mom right now! I can grab my baskets of laundry and detergent, open the door, and yell for her to come along and she just toddles right behind me happy to go on an adventure. I can egg her on and make her laugh, and I can say words and she'll try to imitate them (I SWEAR yesterday I got her to say "I love you", my mom is my witness!!!!). She did so well today during her first day of nursery. I mean, I knew she would, but like I said... I'm constantly blown away by how amazing she is. Taylor said that when he went to pick her up (I was in primary) she didn't even notice him for a few minutes because she was having too much fun chasing the bubbles with her little friends. ;) We are just so dang grateful for our little munchkin. I know it's cliché but I really can't imagine my life without her. I've become one of those weepy moms who gets emotional thinking about what I'm going to do when she becomes a teenager and resents me, or goes away to college...sometimes I disgust myself with how much love for this tiny little monster consumes me daily...
...but it does, oh it does.
Life right now is pretty crazy. Some days I feel like I'm literally sitting around twiddling my thumbs and others I feel like I'm flying around in a mad dash. Poor Taylor is working his tail off. Right now as I write this he is simultaneously writing two huge papers and preparing for two huge 4 hour tests that'll allow him to start taking his teaching courses... Oh! Did I mention that our plans have slightly changed course? Well they have!
For various reasons that will take too long to get into and aren't overly important anyway, Taylor started a little bit of self reflecting about what path would be the best one to take with our family. Our original plan was to finish our two years here at Claremont and then move one to another school somewhere (we already knew we'd be applying to Santa Barbara and Salt Lake) for another four to five years completing his doctorate. Now, I was still fully in support of this plan, but once you have kids your life gets more complicated... It's a good complicated, but there are still concessions that need to be made. After lots of talking, thinking, and inquiring, we lined everything up so that after two more years here in California (three years total, one more than our original plan) Taylor would not only have an MA in Religious Studies but an MA in Education as well, opening him up to multiple different teaching opportunities once we move back to the valley (which is what we decided was important to us for our family). We want Olivia to grow up near her cousins and grandparents, and frankly... we miss our friends. We'll know more at the end of the summer but if Taylor can get a teaching job for the next Fall/Spring semesters then we'll also be able to save up some money to maybe buy a house when we get back...?!? It's counting a lot of chickens before they hatch but I'm just very excited at what the future holds for us.
Life is about to get even crazier, but it's honestly so good.
I'm kind of in love with them. If you can count on anything from a toddler, it's their authenticity, ha ha!
At 18 months old Olivia is literally such a joy. She is so funny, so smart, and just so content and peaceful. I mean, obviously she has her moments - we all do! - but overall I am daily in awe at how I ever deserved to have such a daughter. She sleeps 12-15 hours at night, eats basically everything I give her, plays SO nicely with other kids, is friendly and happy around new people, and is learning more and more each day. She understands basically everything I say and can follow simple directions (most of which I didn't even teach her) like "throw this in the trash", or "put your toys away", or "come sit in my lap".
I'm telling you, I could have sworn when I was younger that the newborn stage would be my favorite once I started having kids. As a teenager I basically craved newborns. Their smell, their lamb-y little cries and snorts, and they're basically the only kind of baby that you can snuggle for HOURS on end while they just contentedly sleep on your chest. UGH! Even writing about it is making my ovaries drool... But even as I'm writing and drooling about this, I have to say, this may be my favorite stage so far. Maybe blame it on the PPD, but I was miserable during Livee's newborn stage, and I still have my own issues to work through even now, but I just find myself having so much fun being her mom right now! I can grab my baskets of laundry and detergent, open the door, and yell for her to come along and she just toddles right behind me happy to go on an adventure. I can egg her on and make her laugh, and I can say words and she'll try to imitate them (I SWEAR yesterday I got her to say "I love you", my mom is my witness!!!!). She did so well today during her first day of nursery. I mean, I knew she would, but like I said... I'm constantly blown away by how amazing she is. Taylor said that when he went to pick her up (I was in primary) she didn't even notice him for a few minutes because she was having too much fun chasing the bubbles with her little friends. ;) We are just so dang grateful for our little munchkin. I know it's cliché but I really can't imagine my life without her. I've become one of those weepy moms who gets emotional thinking about what I'm going to do when she becomes a teenager and resents me, or goes away to college...sometimes I disgust myself with how much love for this tiny little monster consumes me daily...
...but it does, oh it does.
Life right now is pretty crazy. Some days I feel like I'm literally sitting around twiddling my thumbs and others I feel like I'm flying around in a mad dash. Poor Taylor is working his tail off. Right now as I write this he is simultaneously writing two huge papers and preparing for two huge 4 hour tests that'll allow him to start taking his teaching courses... Oh! Did I mention that our plans have slightly changed course? Well they have!
For various reasons that will take too long to get into and aren't overly important anyway, Taylor started a little bit of self reflecting about what path would be the best one to take with our family. Our original plan was to finish our two years here at Claremont and then move one to another school somewhere (we already knew we'd be applying to Santa Barbara and Salt Lake) for another four to five years completing his doctorate. Now, I was still fully in support of this plan, but once you have kids your life gets more complicated... It's a good complicated, but there are still concessions that need to be made. After lots of talking, thinking, and inquiring, we lined everything up so that after two more years here in California (three years total, one more than our original plan) Taylor would not only have an MA in Religious Studies but an MA in Education as well, opening him up to multiple different teaching opportunities once we move back to the valley (which is what we decided was important to us for our family). We want Olivia to grow up near her cousins and grandparents, and frankly... we miss our friends. We'll know more at the end of the summer but if Taylor can get a teaching job for the next Fall/Spring semesters then we'll also be able to save up some money to maybe buy a house when we get back...?!? It's counting a lot of chickens before they hatch but I'm just very excited at what the future holds for us.
Life is about to get even crazier, but it's honestly so good.
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