From the eyes of a grandchild

My Grandfather passed away Sunday October 19th, 2014. We drove up for the funeral a few days later and I was honored to be able to write something from my heart to say at the funeral. I know all the grammar isn't correct, but this is what I typed out to read and I would like to share it.

Grandpa’s house: from the eyes of a grandchild

Going to Grandpa's house has always been a great experience with many fond memories for us grandkids.  As a small child, Grandpas house felt so large you could go explore and feel like you could do lots of different things without any of the adults around.  You could play in different areas of the living room, dining room, the different bedrooms downstairs - (my favorite one was Uncle Kelley’s old room with all of the horses and… some halloween decorations[?]), and go sliding up and down the hallway in our socks to see who could go further, and play outside taking walks in the woods making booby traps for the adults to fall into - (well mainly Uncle Tracy and sometimes uncle Kelley because the other adults would either get mad at us for making them fall into a hole or just wouldn't participate in our antics), and play in the front yard collecting flowers or catching fire flies or playing football…. And many times all the cousins would get lots of blankets to make pallets on the floor of the living room to watch movies and Grandpa would even let us invade his space in his bedroom to watch movies there too.  

Us grandkids always thought Grandpa was so technologically advanced and had the coolest stuff.  He had that huge projection tv - the kind with the three color lights shining on the screen… we thought that was so cool….. and of course used it to make shadow puppets.  

 The landing on the stairs where you can look out the window, was a favorite spot.  We would play there and we would also run there to look out the window whenever someone would come down the driveway and the loud chimes would let everyone in the house know that someone new was there…. or that someone was just using the drive way to turn around - that was always disappointing.  

Us grandkids loved Grandpa’s house… always a great experience.  We loved our Grandpa too.  He was always so funny, using his dry humor telling jokes, letting us ride with him in his truck or the conversion van with the TV and Nintendo 64... so awesome.  And sometimes we would go through the drive-through to get a hamburger… for Benji (the dog).  Grandpa always seemed relaxed and calm surrounded by his family… even if things were crazy- you know... with all of us grandkids running around.

Christmas was always an experience too - Whether it was getting one hundred one dollar bills or the year Grandpa pulled into the driveway with a truck bed full of gifts.  But more importantly, Christmas was filled with family. Family is and was always important.  

When I got a little older, in high school and college…. things would get a little too loud and crazy for me in the house during our Christmas get-togethers and I would need to find a spot to get away from it.  I would walk out side, stand on the front walkway, look up, and...  ***take in a deep breath and let it out***  breath in the cold air, see my warm breath and the beautiful stars, and be in the quiet; but still hearing the sounds from everyone still in the house.  And I would appreciate my wonderful crazy family, where I was in life at the moment, and just appreciate life.  It was always nice to have those few minutes to just ponder on things… and then go back into the crazy.



Last night after coming back from the funeral home, seeing most of my family there, the kids were so crazy.  My youngest was just exhausted because he is still a baby and it was past his bedtime.  My middle was having a break down over anything that wasn't exactly the way she wanted it, even though she probably didn't know how she wanted it because she is two.  And my oldest ran to the stairs to look out the window because the loud chimes let everyone in the house know that someone new was there... and she fell and busted her lip.  After we got them settled down, and into bed, and some of the other people left….  I needed to take a moment from the crazy.   So I walked outside, stood on the front walkway, looked up, and…  ***take in a deep breath and let it out***  The air was cool and the stars were beautiful… and I appreciate my wonderful crazy family, and where I am in my life right now…. and just life.

We Love you and miss you Grandpa

New Big Kid and New Kids!

Allene Drue (Alle) is now officially two years old!  She is such a sweet little girl and now a 'big kid.'

Alle has had a lot of changes in her life over the past year with moving and getting a new baby brother and we wanted her to feel special.  We went to McDonald's with my mom on her birthday to get her first happy meal, and had a small party for her at our house with her family and friends.

One week ago we went up to north Georgia to pick up Ritzy (our milking goat) and her two boy babies (kids).  They were a surprise for the girls and I think they love them!  We named them Ruff and Tuff.

Olivia and Alle loved showing off their goats and new baby kids to their friends at Alle's party.  Alle enjoyed things being all about her for a change... I think she will be a good addition to the 'big kid club'!

Change

Yesterday was a wonderful day.  I could not be happier for my brother-in-law Drew and Megan getting married.  She is a wonderful addition to the Fleetwood family.  She is fun, crazy, classy, loves family, and loves Drew.  Alle woke up early and did not nap which made for an interesting and challenging afternoon and evening.  But both of my girls were wonderful and precious flower girls.  Olivia was pretty much the most perfect little flower girl.  She walked slowly down the isle throwing down small bunches of flowers as she went.  She walked all the way down to her daddy (officiating the wedding) and he bent down to tell her she did great and to go sit next to her Granny.  Alle looked a little nervous at first and hesitant to go down, but then she saw me and her granny and ran down the isle dragging her basket of flowers behind her.
Clint officiated his first wedding which was special, and it was his brother's wedding.  He did a great job and was very honored to be able to do that for his brother.  Drew and Megan were so sweet during the ceremony.  They were both beaming with joy, both wrote their own vows, and both cried at some point.  We are so happy they found each other and had their special day.

The reception was great too.  The Square had their first debut honoring Drew and Megan.  The food was great, the music was great, the place looked great.  It was definitely worth the work of everyone in the family putting in time on a daily basis the last couple of weeks to get it finished.  Simply beautiful.  I know that years down the road, Drew and Megan will love the memory of having their reception at The Square with all of their friends and family around to celebrate with them.

Olivia and Alle both got to dance with their daddy.  Olivia even danced with her cousin for a long time.  Towards the beginning of the music during a jazzy little song, Olivia started dancing and shaking.  She told me 'It's making me dance!'  She walked around like she owned the place talking to different people, stealing flowers to hold and give away, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, and of course, dancing.  Alle had a great time too, as long as someone was holding her.  She got pretty tired and fussy at the end and was ready to get home!

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Now that all of that is completed, I am ready to concentrate on MY big change!  Five days left to go till due date.  I think I'm ready to have this one early.  With Alle I didn't feel ready for the change (although it was a wonderful change!); but with all the change we have had already, I'm ready to add one more so I can get our lives going and adjusting to being a family of Five.  I've got bags packed, contraction app downloaded, easy food in the fridge and freezer, and family support lined up for whenever Mark Edward decides the time is right.  I just hope it is sooner than later... I'm ready!

Potato Head Quiet Book

While I was exploring the internet for different ideas for quiet books, I came across a felt Mr Potato Head called My Spud Bud advertised on Etsy.  It looked super cute and I thought to myself... "I can do that!"  Most of Olivia's and Alle's toys beep, talk, or make some kind of noise and I though this would be a fun and quiet thing to play with.  My best friend moved to Japan last week and she has a little girl who just turned two so I decided to make this for 'baby Daisy' as a birthday present thinking it will be fun for her to play with on the plane ride as well.  For some reason I always like to try out new things on other people... new brownie recipe, cooking macaroni and cheese in milk (did not turn out very good!)... so why not this too!

It took a lot longer than I had planned but I think it turned out pretty good!

It opens and there is a pocket on the left hand side with all of the pieces in it.  The body of the potato head is hand sewn on the right side.  There are eyes, mouths, teeth, noses, mustache, glasses, ears, and shoes.

I sewed on Velcro to keep the book closes and also to close the pocket

Olivia wanted to slow off the book by holding in front of her face!

I think it turned out pretty good.  Olivia wanted me to make her one so I did but it is a little bit different.  I sewed her potato head onto felt but then put that onto regular fabric for the cover and handles.

Here is the center and the pieces that I made for hers

Having fun with making some potatoes.

God is with you!

Olivia came to me one day and asked "Can I watch this movie?"  Pointing to the movie case she said "that is the mean guy...  I like that part."  "you do?" I asked her.  She said "I'm not afraid of it anymore."  "Why not" I asked.  And she said "Because God is with me!"  After a a minute she said "You can watch it with me... but don't be afraid because God is with you"

I lover her little heart.  She has been saying these kinds of things a lot lately.  I think she first started when she participated in some vacation bible school activities and she learned that God is with you.

One time she even ran out of the room during a 'scary' part of veggie tales then stopped and said "Oh yeah... God is with me, I don't have to be afraid" and ran back to finish her movie.

Here is a video of her explaining to me why she isn't afraid anymore and why I don't have to be afraid either.

After our bible study on September 30, I was telling Clint we should have praise report/ prayer request time during the first part of our meeting time and Olivia called out "I want to do it!"  So i asked her if she had any prayer requests: anything she wanted us to pray for.  She said Jesus... She wants Jesus in her heart.  So I took her and baby sister over to Clint and we all sat on the couch.  Clint told her that she can pray.  At first she didn't want to but I told her that she can pray and Jesus likes it when little girls talk to him.  Clint told her to repeat what he was saying.  This is the prayer that she whispered:

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Dear Jesus. Please come into my heart, and be with me always. Amen.

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Making some bug food

I made my own baby food yesterday... well not for me but for our little Alle bug!  She has been eating baby food for about 6 to 8 weeks now but I wanted to her to eat the store bought at first because the consistency tends to be smoother than when I make it.  But now that she is almost seven months old she can handle some texture in her foods if I don't make it as smooth.

Some of the baby foods that she has been eating are things such as bananas, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash.  So I went to Packer Produce to get some veggies for us (it is a great farmers market!) and they have a a 1/2 off table in the back.  On the table was a butternut squash with a tinny brown spot on the end.  I paid about $1.50 for it and brought it home to cook it up for Alle bug.

First I peeled it with a vegetable peeler and sliced it long ways and then in about one inch cubes.  There are several different ways you can cook a butternut squash but I choose to put the pieces on the stove to steam.

I let them cook for about 10 minutes until they were soft with a fork.  Then I put them in my food processor. I had to add a little bit of the liquid from my steamer pot to get them to puree properly but you don't want them to be too runny if you are going to freeze them.  I used my ice cube trays and spooned my squash into them.

I was able to fill two ice cube trays!  I put them into our deep freezer and when they were solid I popped them out and but them into a freezer bag with a description and the date.

I have already used three servings and still have a full bag in the freezer.  To thaw you can either put it in the refrigerator for few hours, leave some in a container on the counter for about an hour, or add a small amount of water and microwave if you need to use it immediately (you will have to be careful of hot spots and let it cool before serving).  Once thawed you can adjust the consistency by adding water or adding some baby oatmeal or rice cereal to thicken.

A jar of stage 2 baby food is about $.89 depending on what brand you buy.  I made the entire baggie of squash in about 20 minutes and $1.50.  I think the savings are definitely worth it and I will continue to make this and other kinds of baby food as well.

I hope this encourages someone else to do this too.  Even if you only have time once or twice a month to make and freeze one batch, you will still be saving money and feel good about doing it yourself to feed your baby some healthy foods!

And by the way... She loved it!

Olivia is Three!

Olivia is growing up!  She had a wonderful 3rd birthday this year with her family and friends.  Her birthday came right at the end of the school year with all of those activities going on.  Olivia's birthday was the week after the last day of school so she had her pre-school birthday party a week early.  She was all decked out in the tutu and crown that her Granny and Granddaddy gave to her.

When I asked her what she wanted for her pre-school party she said cupcakes and balloons.  I think she will always be happy if she has those two things!

Olivia got two special things for her birthday.  The first was a handmade birthday outfit with an 'O' for Olivia made by my cousin.  She is very talented and french!  I think it turned out wonderfully.  She also makes all kinds of other things that you can check out at her Etsy store.

The second special thing she got was a necklace from her daddy.  For months she has been asking for a heart necklace just like mommy's necklace.  She will hold it and say 'I like your necklace. I want a necklace like yours.'  And then she would go to her daddy and say in the sweetest voice 'Daddy, will you get me a necklace like mommy's for my birthday?'  Come on now... how can you resist such a sweet little girl with such a sweet request?  So Clint went to Claire's and picked out a necklace that looked like mine and gave it to Olivia the morning on her party so she could wear it with her birthday outfit.

The theme for Olivia's birthday party was 'Olivia The Pig'!  I love that show.  I think it comes on Nick Jr although I'm not sure because we don't have satellite or cable.  My friend Erin was the first to introduce us to the show.  She mailed us a DVD when Olivia was probably about 6 months old and we have been hooked ever since.  Olivia has two of the DVDs and several books (mostly from her friend Jojo).

We were able to have the party and Beans and strings and the decorations were pretty awesome.  I made signs for Olivia's rule's of life such as 'Never miss a very important party' and 'Red is the very best color for absolutely, positively everything.'  So of course EVERYTHING had to be RED!  Twizzlers, red m&m's, strawberries, red grapes, peppermints, peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches, and homemade cupcakes with red sprinkles on top!  I also made homemade play dough for the party favors. 

Olivia had a great time at her party.  She had a lot of her family there, some friends, cupcakes, and red balloons... All of the things to make her happy.

That afternoon we played on the back porch with her bubbles and with her new dress up box.

Her actually birthday was a few days later so we let her choose where she wanted to have her birthday lunch.  'Chickalay' is her favorite place so we met up there with Nana for some lunch.  She took her birthday money to Walmart and picked out a 'BIIIIG'(with the hand motions) bouncy ball and a miniature Rapunzel doll.  Olivia's gift from us was the movie Tangled and a popcorn that pops on the stove.  She already had the larger Rapunzel doll and purple dress from Christmas so we had a princess night watching her new movie.

I cant believe she is already three years old and is becoming a little lady.  Before she turned three, whenever anyone would say something about her growing up she would get upset and say "I'm not growin up.  My mommy wants me to stay little!"  But now she tells me "I'm going to grow up, but I'll still be Olivia."  I guess I need to be reminded of that sometimes.

Two Year Old Pre-school Program

It's been a while since I posted.  I guess having a toddler who is out of school and a baby at home takes up more time than I thought.  I have a lot of catching up to do. We have had several end of school year activities, a big "3" birthday party, some experimenting in jam making and canning, and several summer activities.  Plus Alle is growing up quickly!

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Olivia has been in Two year old pre-school all year.  She has learned so much and has loved it.  The pre-school only had a 2 year old and 3 year old class for this past year.  They are adding a 4 year old class next year that I am excited about because Olivia can go all three years to the same preschool.  Also Olivia's 2 yr old teacher is moving up to the 3 yr old room for next year.  We all love Mrs Dedi!  :)

Olivia loves Mrs Dedi!

For the program all of the kids had something to say in the microphone.  Olivia's part in the program was to be the first one up to the microphone and say "welcome to our program".  I struggled to get her to practice saying her lines for about a month and she would only say then a few times.  I was nervous that she just wouldn't want to say them.  But I was wrong!  Mrs Dedi called her up to the microphone and she said in her cute Olivia voice "welcome to our program".  I was so proud of her!  But the unfortunate thing is that Clint recorded up to the point of her walking to the microphone and then it stopped!  We don't know what happened but we will be getting the official video from her Granny soon and hopefully you can see and hear her on that.  

Before she got called up to do her part all the kids walked in the chapel holding hands and sat on the mini-bleachers up front.  A few seconds later Olivia saw us sitting a few rows back and yelled "Mommy! Daddy!" while running to give us hugs.  That started the mutiny as all of the other children yelled and ran to their parents in the audience!

They sang some songs, Olivia chewed on her dress, each child had something to say, Olivia and her friend almost got into a cat fight, they got up to wander around and run to parents throughout the program, ... All the fun things you would expect from two and three year old pre-k! At the end each child said their name into the microphone, got a diploma, and went to their parents.  Olivia did a great job saying her name but then ran to the wrong parents before she found us!  It's not like she hadn't ran to us several different times during the program.  Clint and I laughed pretty much the entire time!

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Video highlights: The entrance and the mutiny, Olivia almost saying her part, stomping, the fight, running to the wrong parents:

Allene Drue: baby dedication (on earth day)

Today is April 22nd, Earth Day.  Television commercials, celebrates, and news stories are talking about the environment telling us we need to plant a tree, take shorter showers, and use less plastic.  But I just look back at Genesis one.  God gives us dominion over all birds, fish and every living thing that moves over the earth and has given us every plant yielding seed and every tree yielding fruit with seed.  In the middle of all that, God made man in his image.  So perhaps Earth day should be less about using reusable bags and wearing the color green and more about our relationship with God, the responsibilities he has given us here on earth, and being good stewards of what he has given us.

That is why we planned on this earth day (although I didn't know it was earth day when I set the date!) to have Alle's baby dedication.  For different reasons we chose to have it at my parents home with our families and close friends.  We ended up having 16 adults and 12 children join us in the dedication of our baby to the Lord.  The weather was great and there was something special about having everyone stand around while we had the mini-ceremony.

Here is a transcript of what was said at the dedication:

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Psalm 127:3-5:
Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

This passage shows us that Children are a gift and blessing from the Lord. As with all the gifts from God, some people are given more, some are given less. Some appreciate and adore the gift and some reject or abuse the gift. Our response as christian parents should be thankful for these gifts, love and adore them. Cherish and take care of them and give them the training and teaching that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Proverbs 22:6 says:
Start children off on the way they should go, 

and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Anna and I are making a public declaration today, in front of our friends and family, that we will do what the Proverb 22 passage speaks of:

::We commit to loving, protecting, and when necessary disciplining Alle as she grows up.

::We commit to teaching Alle the value and importance of Family by loving being actively involved in our extended families.

::We commit to to teaching Alle the value of having Christian friends by having and sharing our lives with our Christian friends.

::We commit to teaching Alle the importance of being a part of the body of Christ by actively loving and serving in and among our church family.

::We commit to teaching Alle the value and importance of the marriage relationship by, as her parents, loving and serving each other as long as we both live.

::Most importantly We commit to teaching Alle the scripture and training her up in the ways of the Lord, and understanding that while we are given stewardship over her for a season, she ultimately belongs to the Lord.

Now we ask you as our family and friends to help us maintain these commitments. If you agree with the previously spoken statements and you agree to holding Anna and Myself accountable, but also assisting us whenever it is within your power, to help us follow through with these things, would you signify by say “We Will”

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We also asked the grandfathers to say a prayer or a blessing over Allene Drue

After the ceremony we all enjoyed a meal together and visiting with our family and our friends.  It was a lovely thing to have this dedication service to be with the people who mean the most in our lives.  

On a side note.... Olivia and Alle wore dresses that used to be mine when I was a little girl and they were supper cute! 

Field trip: Farm Life

I was able to take Olivia on a field trip with her pre-school.  We went to pick fresh strawberries then to someone's home to feed goats.  The strawberry patch was pretty awesome.  We are going to go back again with Clint this time and get some more.  Olivia did really well following the rules.  She checked each one and turned it around to make sure it was red before she picked it.

The other place had goats, donkeys, dogs, cats, and a blind cow.  Olivia held out her piece of bread at different parts of the fence for about 20 minutes without the goats taking it.  It was a little sad.  All the other kids were giving out bread like candy. 

While I was watching Olivia being cute, I was also holding Alle.  It was a little windy that day so I dressed Alle in a long sleeve sleeper.  She was getting a little fussy because she had a dirty diaper and  was starting to get hungry but we were away from the car so I was just bouncing her.  However, one of the children's grandmother didn't think I was being a good mother and decided to tell me about it. She said things like "It is too cold out here for that baby.  You should always keep a hat on her.  Now she is going to get an ear infection.  I should know because I have 4 kids, 12 grandkids, and there 9 nurses in my family.  You need to get a blanket for that baby because she is going to get an ear infection."  She kept on going on.  What did she want me to say?  My goodness...  Some people will just say anything.  I just said OK and tried to ignore most of it because if the middle of all that... The goat finally eat from Olivia's hand!  She did so good and didn't flinch.  

Praise ye the Lord!

Tonight Olivia spent at least 30 minutes singing 'Praise ye the Lord'.  Every time the song got to the part where you yell the lyrics, she would through her balloon up in the air and yell as loud as she could!  We were both laughing and giggling and yelling Hallelujah!

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah,
Praise ye the Lord!
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah,
Praise ye the Lord!
Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,
Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,
Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,
Praise ye the Lord!

My Girls

Allene has been a great baby and Olivia had been a great big sister.  I couldn't ask for any better kids.  They are both smart, beautiful, loving, sweet, kind, well-behaved girls.  Well... Alle is as much as we can tell at 7 weeks old!  I can already tell they re going to be best friends as they grow up.  Here are a few pictures of them being awesome the last few weeks.

Family Adventure

Last week we went to Wild Adventures as a family.  We left right after church and eat sandwiches in the car. Olivia was able to ride her first ride by herself!  It's hard to believe my little girl is growing up!

Alle did really well and actually slept most of the time except for when she was hungry.  She loves riding in her stroller!  She is such a little baby doll.

Olivia brought her toy camera with her so that she could take pictures of the animals.  It was so cute.  Olivia and her daddy sat together and Olivia got out her camera.  We would point out an animal and she would gasp and say 'I'll take a picture!'  She is so adorable and has such a big imagination  :)

We had so much fun... I love my crazy family!

Imagination

Kids and be so imaginative.  Olivia's Auntie Carrie wrote this on her facebook wall... (this is a good look into what we get to experience everyday with Olivia!)

"Little kids are the most entertaining people on the planet. I just watched my 2-year-old niece pull imaginary sticky tape out of her imaginary bag to fix her imaginary fishing pole that an imaginary bear broke. All while her imaginary monkey stood on her foot, she explained."

If you can't tell what she is referring to... she has been watching a lot of Dora the Explorer lately.  She she had a permanent, imaginary backpack on her back filled with things like sticky tape and cookies. And she has been carrying Dora and Boots the money with her at all times to play with her.  She is such a silly girl  :)

For God!

I have some pretty awesome children.  Olivia drew a picture of her self that looked kinda crazy (shes only two!).  She explained everything to Clint showing him the eyes, hair, legs, etc.  She said that she didn't draw ears... She didn't need them.  So Clint took that little opportunity for an anatomy lesson and asked Olivia what ears are for.  Olivia said "God!  To listen for God!"  She has such a tender heart.  Who knew that we would learn a little something by Olivia's crazy drawing

Daddy Date!

1/20/2012

For several days Clint has been talking to Olivia about having a Daddy Date to see get a special drink from the coffee shop and see Star Wars in 3D.  He told her that they would have this special date when we got home from the hospital and that it is something that only Olivia and he could do because Alle is just a baby.

So today is the day.  Olivia has been so excited.  Every day she says she is ready for her date with daddy!  Olivia said she wanted a cheese taco so Clint went to get gas in the car, cash for the movie, and cheese roll-up from Taco Bell.  He met us at Beans and Strings to let Olivia pick out whatever 'pecial' drink she wanted.  She took Clint into the bathroom to show him the poster of smoothies.

Olivia gave be a hug bye bye and left with her daddy!  I'm so excited for her.  I know they will both have a great time.  Since they are gone, Alle and I have the night to ourselves.  We are chillin, watching Hulu, catching up on this blog, and just enjoying each others company.

I think it is so great that I have such a wonderful husband and he is such a great father.  He has been so sweet to our girls this past week.  He has been spending extra time with Olivia and holding Alle when she cries.  She always calms down when she is in her daddy's arms and he sings to her.  I'm looking forward to seeing our new little family evolve and grow together.

First Day as a Family

2/18/2012

Olivia came home today.  She had been staying with her Granny and Granddaddy and then with Nana and Granddad.  We saw her everyday but just for a visit.  I was a little nervous about her coming home.

When she came to visit yesterday and the day before it was odd.  Olivia seemed distant and wanting to leave.  It was like she was feeling I was someone else's mommy now - which I guess I am.  I just wasn't feeling like I was being a good mother to her and felt guilty enjoying alone time with Alle.  I knelt down to talk to her and sat on a pillow for only a few minutes but I was in pain for a couple of hours afterwards from doing that.  If I can't even sit on the floor for a few minutes then how will I be able to read to her and play with her?

Well it was time for my mom to drop her off at our house.  She didn't stay long because we were running late for Alle's pictures at Auntie Carrie's studio.  Olivia went with us and was a pretty good girl.  She didn't want to be in any of the pics but Auntie Carrie snuck a few anyways.  Olivia brought her little bunny rabbit with her and fed it to the dinosaur.  it was pretty funny when Clint went in and say some bunny feet hanging from the dinos mouth.

Alle's first outing!

We want to make sure Olivia feels special and not left out so we let her pick out where she wanted to eat for lunch.  She said she wanted 2 BIG cheeseburgers.  So we took our four day old baby and our almost three year old to Wendys.  I'm glad that we aren't super paranoid over stuff like taking our baby out before 2 months old.

I was able to take a nap with both of my little girls watching Tangled.  It was awesome to just enjoy watching the two of them sleeping.  We bought Olivia a special gift.  We got her a baby doll with a diaper bag filled with a paci, a bottle, extra clothes, etc.  She played with it during the afternoon.  She put the baby in the bouncer, and fed her, and rocked her.  It is her baby.  I didn't want to spend the evening telling Olivia to 'go play' or sitting her in front of a movie, so we decided to bake cookies.

Olivia stood in a chair and helped stir all the ingredients.  She was actually helping and stayed the entire time to help.  I had to go feed Alle so Olivia and her daddy rolled the dough into balls.  They also made a gingerbread man and when Clint asked her what else she wanted to make, she said a cow.  So they made a funky looking cow that when it was in the oven, turned into a big blob along with with gingerbread man.  It was so sweet listening to the two of them talking about how to make the man and the cow and what shapes they needed to add next.  We all sat down and had milk and cookies.

When Olivia went to bed she asked to sleep in teh bed with me.  I told her she couldn't so she said 'I will go to your bed in the mornin time ok'.  A few minutes after I left her room Alle started to cry and we heard Olivia yell out 'baby crying!'  She is already a good big sister and it will be awesome to see them grow up together.

Night night baby sissy!