Preschool, here I come!

Today was Olivia's first day of preschool! Olivia has been waiting for her turn for school since Will was there. She has made herself known, and all the teachers love her. (I'm not just saying that because she's mine, they've all told me so!) She was so excited to go today that she actually told me that I didn't have to drive her, she would just walk!



I know Olivia will do great there. She is super social, (big shocker, I know!) and loves learning and being around other kids. Her good friend Madi is in her class, (which she's so happy about!) and I know it won't be long before she knows everyone's name in her class. She will love it there as much as Will.

Today after I dropped Will off, we headed to preschool. True to form, Olivia posed for all the pictures I wanted to take and then she took off! She ran right in, and sat down like she'd been going there for years. I had to pick something up from the office, and I had to go back in through the room where she was. She saw me, and ran up to me looking totally worried. My first thought was "aww, she's sad!" That was short lived when she told me we forgot her name tag at home! So needless to say, she was thrilled to be there. (I realize she doesn't look too happy in this picture, but I think she was done with pictures and wanted to go!)

I left, and got teary. (again waited until I got to the parking lot, so she never knew!) Caroline and I went to run a couple of errands, and I kept my composure. After our errands, Caroline napped, and I actually sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee...I might be able to get used to this quiet house thing!



...Well maybe, I made Caroline promise she would not turn 4! ;)

4 is Fabulous!

Wow, so 10 days after celebrating my sweet baby's first birthday, we are celebrating another birthday. The princess is 4! I can't believe she is 4. 4 is so grown up! We are starting preschool in September, and dance lessons too! Can't you just see her in a little tutu? ;) It was actually right at this moment, 4 years ago that my water broke! That was the beginning of an exciting adventure. I will write about both girls' births in a different post, but I wanted to end with a letter for my Olivia.

To my beautiful Olivia:

You are such a precious gift from God. Your daddy and I are blessed to have you in our lives. From the beginning you have brought such joy to us. You radiate joy and happiness in all you do. Your laughter and smile are contagious. You have that mischievous little twinkle in your eye. I love that you are girly, and love to dress up and play pretend. But I also love that you can roughhouse with your daddy and brother. I have no doubt that you will be able to hold your own ground. You are so funny, and people are drawn to you. I know that you will be a leader. I love that wherever we go, you have at least one new "friend" that you have met by the time we leave. You may be small, but you can do so much!

You are beautiful. Never let anyone tell you differently. But you are just as beautiful inside. You have a sweet spirit, and compassion for those who are hurt. You try to take care of your baby sister, and you want to do what your big brother does. You adore your daddy, and I love to see you interact with each other.

You came into this world a tiny little thing, but I know that God has big plans for you. I am so thankful that He chose me to help you, and guide you through this life. I pray that I can be an earthly example of God's love for you, and a good example of a wife and mother that I can only hope you will strive to be like. I pray that you will have a husband like your daddy, and a rich God filled marriage.

You are truly one of God's greatest gifts, and I'm so thankful that He gave you to us. I love our relationship now, and I can only imagine it will get better as you grow. You fill my days with happiness, and our house with laughter, and squeals. I cannot imagine my life without you in it.

I love you Olivia!

Mommy

A day in the life...

...Of a 3 1/2 year old princess!

I'm Olivia, and I lead a charmed life! I wake up around 7:30 or 8, and my Mommy makes my hair pretty, and puts me in a cute outfit. I'm cute, and I know it. I'm super girly, and love to play pretend, dress up, and have my nails painted. I like to color and draw, (my favorite color is pink) and I'm learning how to write. I can write my name which makes me feel like big stuff. I'm a huge chatterbox, never running out of questions. I love to perform, and make people laugh. Mom & Dad think I will be an actress when I grow up. They say I'm a bit of a drama queen. I think I will be a chef and an astronaut when I grow up. Whatever I do, I'm sure I will have fun doing it! I am super happy most of the time, but watch out if I get mad! ("Pam" tends to come out when I get upset!) Mommy says that I can be a little bit sneaky sometimes, but it's only because she doesn't let me do fun things like drink her coffee, or fill up my tea pot with water in my room.

I have a big brother who is pretty cool most days! I adore him, and want to do what he does, which sometimes gets me in trouble. I have a baby sister too, and I LOVE her! I take being a big sister very seriously. I pick her up a lot, and try to feed her. For some reason Mommy usually yells at me when I do this, but that doesn't stop me!

After playing all day, Mommy & Daddy make me go to bed around 8. If it were up to me, I would stay up late! I might miss something exciting by going to bed!

Teeth Trouble

We took Olivia to her first dentist appointment back in January. It was supposed to be just a normal cleaning with nothing exciting to report. Well her dentist noticed her back teeth looked like they were breaking down. After feeling like the worst mom in the world, the dentist assured me that it was nothing I did or didn't do, she just had weak enamel on her teeth. They compared it to using chalk...the more you use it, the more it wears down. The dentist told me that it was just the way her teeth formed, and they are not sure why. Now this does not mean we will have the same problem with her permanent teeth. We then took her to a pediatric dentist, and they told us that we needed to have her teeth capped, and because of her age, she needed to be put out completely. We decided to have a second opinion because we weren't totally OK with that option. We went to a second dentist who told us the same thing except he gave us another option of doing it in the office where she would have two separate visits, and she'd be under a local anesthetic & laughing gas. We were pretty conflicted about what to do. After lots of prayer and discussion, we decided to put her under. We felt this was the best option because Olivia is almost always happy, but she definitely has a stubborn streak. The dentist's office called me and told me that our insurance didn't cover the hospital visit, (which is strange since I had three kids in a hospital!) so we'd have to do it in the office after all.

Her first appointment was awful. There were lots of tears and resistance. I had to physically hold her down and fight back tears myself. I was not looking forward to having to do that with her again, so I told Jason he had to do round 2 with her. Today we went back to the office for her second appointment. She chose me (again!) to go back with her, and I of course obliged. She did great! There were still tears, but no resistance at all! Olivia was so brave and we are so proud of her! She got some special presents from Mom & Dad, those really made her happy. You can't go

wrong with a Princess doll and chapstick! :)

It was really hard for me to sit there and see my child in pain and know that there was nothing I could do about it. I had to totally give it up to God, and know that she was being protected by Him.

It also really made me think of how God must have felt to watch His only child suffer and die for me. From the bottom of this mommy's heart, I thank God for his sacrifice, and also for keeping my baby safe today!