Back at work!

 I have been back at work now for three weeks but only at work two full weeks due to the Holiday. It has been fairly easy to slide back into work. It's amazing how quickly if can all come back to you and they were waiting for me and put me right to work. I got over 20 claim files assigned to me in 2 weeks. 

It has even a challenge to get the kids out the door in the mornings but has gotten easier. Olivia blessed me the first week of going back to work sleeping through the night until between 6 and 6:30 four out of the five days. She hadn't done that since two months. She began sleeping much better and now usually just gets up once a night usually in the early morning around 5:00 AM. I lay out the kids clothes now for the week all organized. I do the kids laundry on Saturday and ours on Sunday and usually a kids load during the week. Thank God we have a house keeper too who comes every other week.

I have to be at work by 8:30 and I usually am up at 7:00 at the latest. I get dressed and ready myself while Olivia sleeps or plays on my bed. Then I get her dressed and Brandon dressed and we go downstairs. Brandon watches one 20 minute show and eats breakfast. I make coffee and my breakfast and then eat it while nursing Olivia and then we are off usually by 8:10. I always pack my lunch the night before and have everything in the car ready to go. 

I pump in the morning at work and in the afternoon and spend my hour lunch break feeding and playing with Olivia at her daycare. I am so lucky because her daycare is so close to my work. It's really hard to leave Olivia and I miss her a lot . I feel like she is such a part of me. But she seems to be sdjusting well and is happy when I pick her up. The first week with the bottle was rough but now she is taking about 3 ounces twice a day and often has oatmeal there.

It has been a bit of an adjustment too for Brandon who was not used to sharing his school with his baby sister and who was used to shorter days when I was not at work but he is adjusting as well. It helped that I took mon and tues of Christmas week off and only had to with twice that week. It also helps that my mom is watching both of them on Thursdays and just Olivia on Fridays. Makes for a much shorter week for them and Olivia gets two days of cuddling and being held.

Brandon is three!

I can't believe my little boy is three now.  On his actual birthday, Sean took the day off from work.  He got to open up his presents from us first thing in the morning and was super excited to get a My Little Pony pack from us and a big fire truck.  He got some birthday money from his great grandmas and his great grandpa and we decided to let him go to Toys R Us and pick out something from the store with his money.  He picked out a Power Ranger Bike with training wheels and was excited about his big boy bike.  It was a little big on him but he rode it like a champ!  I baked him cupcakes (his request) and he blew out the candles and we sang Happy Birthday to him. 

Brandon's birthday cupcakes all lit

The birthday boy!

New bike!

Riding his new bike in the neighborhood

Brandon had his birthday party the following Saturday, December 7th.  He invited two of his good friends from school, Gavin and Andrew and Logan.  My parents and Sean's parents were unable to come up as planned due to a crazy 8 inch snow storm that they got in Eugen and Corvallis the day before.  But everyone else-the Mowerys, Rosie and Thomas, Ben, and Brendan were able to come.  We had mimosas for the adults and sparkling cider for the kids.  We made the theme a fire truck theme as Brandon loves fire trucks.  I also made ice cream cupcakes (an idea I got from Pinterest).  The kids got to whack on a fire truck pinata.  We had fire truck balloons and party favors.  The kids had a lot of fun playing together and Brandon loved opening his presents.  It was a very fun birthday.

So excited for his party

Logan and Brandon enjoying some snacks

Hitting the pinata

Yummy candy

Brandon's friend Andrew

Logan hitting the pinata

Andrew

Pinterest idea-Icecream cup cakes

So yummy looking!

Lighting the candles-one extra one to grow on

Blowing out the candles

Yum-we love cupcakes

Dinosaur!

Opening up presents while baby sister looks on

Such a yummy cone

Olivia is five months old!

I some how missed doing a blog post about when Olivia turned four months old.  I write this post, two days before I go back to work and on the eve of Brandon's third birthday party.  Olivia has changed so much in the past two months.  She is becoming much more of a person.  She loves to be held, loves attention, loves to be talked to.  She loves watching her big brother play and interact with her.  She loves being able to see what is going on with the rest of the family. 

4 months old!

Digging the hoodie!

Big hug from Brandon in their Duck gear

Touchdown!

 I began jogging with Olivia in my jogging stroller and she loves going on jogs with me.  It relaxes her and she enjoys looking around and sometimes even takes a nap.  Speaking of sleep, Olivia has not been a great sleeper like her brother.  She is extremely alert and aware of her surroundings.  This makes taking naps on the go like Brandon did extremely hard.  She also loves to be held during her naps which makes me getting anything done very hard and sometimes wakes up when we put her down.  She typically takes a 45 minute to one hour nap about two hours after she gets up and then usually a quick nap in the early afternoon around noonish usually for like 30 minutes to an hour.  Then she usually takes a nap from around 2-3 that is sometimes longer than an hour.  Bed time feeding begins around 7:45-8:00 and she is in her crib by 8:30.  We moved Olivia into her own room and her own crib at 4.5 months too.  After a few rough nights she appears to have gotten used to it and likes the space of her crib.  We still swaddle her with one arm to help her sleep longer.  Olivia usually gets up twice a night usually around 12:30-2:30 and then between 4 and 5.  I am hoping that she will begin to sleep longer.

Such a cute hat

All bundled up on a nap

 At her 4 month appointment Olivia was 14.5 lbs and 25.5 inches.  She was 70 percentile in weight and 90th in height.  Olivia at 5 months was 15 lbs and her height was not measured. She generally eats between 5-6 times a day.  This month was a big struggle to get Olivia to take a bottle.  She hates all things plastic and artificial including pacifers and does not appear to be a thumb sucker like Brandon.  Due to Olivia not taking the bottle well and me going back to work her pedetrician recommended me starting solids a bit earlier.  She has oatmeal cereal once a day mixed with breast milk and a fruit or veggies and has been eating well.  She likes to be a part of us while we eat dinner. 

First food and eating her bib

Yum oatmeal!

In the beginning of November we traveled to California and visited my Aunt Lael and my sisters Rachel and Tory in the Bay Area.  Olivia was great on the airplane but not so great in sleeping in new environments despite having her pack n play that she had been sleeping in.  We stayed at my Aunt Lael's for two nights and then with my sister Tory for one night.  The weather was awesome while we were there and it was really nice to visit them.  We also traveled to Eugene for Thanksgiving with Sean's side of the family.  Unfortunately Olivia came down with a fever the day before and it just got higher while we were in Eugene and she was very sick both nights and very hard to sleep with. We all had to sleep in one room too which made it challenging with a sick baby who refused to sleep any where but on us.  But we powered through it and got home and it took several days but we got Olivia back on her normal sleep schedule once again.  Brandon at this age had no problems sleeping any where and was sleeping 10 hours a night by this age without waking up.

Auntie Tory and Olivia

Olivia and my cousin Lauren

Thanksgiving 2013

Not feeling well and being held by Daddy

Olivia and her cousin Bianca who is three months younger than her

 Olivia learned how to roll over from her back to her belly right at four months.  She learned how to because she loves looking at her toys on her play mat and grabbing at them and playing with them.  She loves her play mat and can play under it entertained for 20-30 minutes.  She also loves her jumperoo and her exersaucer as she loves standing up and looking around.  She can sit almost with her hands down and my guess is she will be mastering that by the end of this month.  I have to go back to work in 2 days.  It has been so much fun being on maternity leave with Olivia all this time.  I am so sad to have to go back to work.  My mom is coming though and watching her twice a week so she only has to go to daycare three times a week. She is very social and I think she will like the excitement going on at school.

Such a cutie in her Christmas gear

Big hug from big brother

All dressed up in her reindeer dress

Brandon in his reindeer sweater and Olivia in her reindeer dress

What a sweet hug

Olivia and Addie at Brandon's birthday party

Future best friends?

So much fun playing under her play mat at 4.5 months

Exersaucer fun!