catch up!

So -- I haven't blogged in, like, forever.

Or a weekish.  Whatever.

Thanksgiving was good!  Fried turkey, my mom's potato casserole, green bean bundles, rolls -- what's not to like?  After we had lunch at my parents house, we headed down to Texas to see my mom's family and they all got to meet Christopher.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a camera.  Ugh... I was so mad at myself!  But we had a great time seeing family and eating leftovers and I'm looking forward to Christmas!

Stephen and I hung out at the house all day Saturday and had a wonderfully relaxing lazy day!  Sunday was church with my parents, Papas for lunch, and then my mom took C while I went and did grocery shopping, then we just hung out at her house for most of the afternoon.  He had the cutest little outfit on for church... but again, I forgot to take pictures.  I have GOT to get back into the habit of taking pictures of him!  Poor guy, he is probably going to have retina damage from flashes going off in his face all the time. Haha.

Today we had a special treat -- Christopher's Uncle Jim and Aunt Cristin (Stephen's brother and his wife) got to stop by on their way home (Fort Worth) from Eureka Springs/Branson.  They spent about an hour with him.  And no - I didn't take pictures.  UUUGH.

Lastly - tonight I was invited to go play Bunco with a big group of ladies who get together once a month to play.  I had tried playing with Stephen and his mom this summer but we just didn't really "get" it.  I learned how to play tonight and had SO much fun!  AND I won first place!  HA!  Beginners luck.  It is definitely a game that is best played with lots of people.  Christopher went with me and was passed around from lady to lady and he did so great - he is such a happy, perfect baby and I KNOW I am so very blessed.

My next post will have lots and lots of pictures.  I promise!

Gonna go glue the camera to my hand now...

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

I put up my Christmas tree last weekend and I LOVE IT!

I have always wanted a white tree, so last year when everything was like 75% off at WalMart, I grabbed a tree for cheap!  After I bought it, I started to get scared that maybe white wasn't going to be traditional enough.  So when I put it up this year, I decided to decorate it in red and green.  I went to WM and found these three ornaments for $1

 

 

Then I bought a box of red balls and a box of green balls and a few strands of red beads.

The result is beautiful!  I absolutely LOVE it.
I especially think the white tree with red and green accents looks great in my red kitchen!

And becauseI love Christmas so much, and because I have a lot of other more traditional ornaments that I didn't use on this tree, I am going to put up a green tree in my living room.  We will probably do that this weekend.

And because I hate posting without putting a picture of C on here...
here he is, blue eyes and all...

Yesterday I got my skills tested and kept our friends Jeff and Mel's baby, Tatelyn, for 2 hours.

I was really nervous about keeping two babies, but I decided to try.  And let me tell you something, I got skills!

Haha, not really.  Christopher fell asleep before Jeff brought Tatelyn over, and slept the WHOLE TIME she was here!  And Tatelyn basically did this the whole time:

just rolled around on the blanket either staring at me or the television.  Then she fell asleep and stayed asleep for about 30 minutes, until her Nana came to get here.  It was super easy and I was so relieved!

Here's a picture of my beautiful tree in the dark.  You can see our Christmas lights outside too!

Show Us Your Pets!

So -- today is "Show Us Your Pets" over at Kelly's Korner's weekly "Show Us Your Life" blog.
I usually don't participate (although I love reading other people's Show Us Your Life blogs) but of course I HAVE to blog about my puppy babies!

I'm sure most people who read this blog know about my Silky Terrier, Baxter. 

BUT, did you know that Stephen and I also have an American Eskimo named Kodi and a Boxer named Bella?  They're our outdoor dogs. Once upon a time, we had a Yorkie named Zoe... but after we brought Christopher home, she started acting out (peeing on the carpets, pulling out trash, chewing things, etc) and we decided that it was in her best interest to go live with her Nana (Stephen's mom).  She is the middle dog in the middle picture in the collage below.  We miss her, but she is much happier at Nana's house!



So -- these are our puppy babies!


Before I had Baxter, I had a beautiful, wonderful, precious Silky named Toby.  He was like a CHILD to me.  He was killed by another dog when he was just a year old.  It was a really rough for me when he died, so my ex-boyfriend bought me Baxter to help me cope.  Baxter is Toby's half-brother.  I will always miss him!

Three Months Old

**I am SO mad at myself for not getting this post in on the 18th.  Sad thing is I already had the blog written, I just needed to take his pictures and post everything.  Oh well -- here it is!**

Christopher,

You are THREE MONTHS OLD! It is so hard for me to believe that you are already 1/4 of the way through your first year of life. The last three months have been so wonderful, and I look forward to many, many more months with you!

I had a really hard time letting go of you last month when I had to go back to work. BUT your Daddy is an awesome man and saw how hard it was for me and how much it hurt me, and he decided that I needed a few more months off work, so I get to stay home with you for a little while longer. I have been off for one week now and absolutely LOVE it. I was definitely made to be a stay-at-home mom. We usually hang around the house in the mornings then in the afternoons we take a trip somewhere - to visit your dad at work or maybe to Granny or Nana's house, or depending on the weather we may take a walk.

You have been perfecting your smile - you smile with your whole face! It's so precious and perfect! You just light up all over when you're happy, and it's hard to be upset or mad about anything when you're smiling.

Some fun facts this month...

--You are wearing size 3 diapers as of TODAY!

--You are wearing 3-6 month clothing.

--You've developed a new sleeping pattern that I LOVE.  You've been going to sleep around 8pm and sleeping until about 8am.  You wake up a few times throughout the night for your paci, but that's it!  Then in the mornings after you nurse, we hang out for a few hours and you take a mid-morning nap that lasts for 1-2 hours.  Sometimes you nap in the afternoon, but it is usually for an hour or less.  Then back to bed around 8 or 8:30!  It's wonderful and I hope that you keep it up!

--You nurse in the morning after you wake up, then have a formula bottle before you take your nap.  You nurse after you wake up from your nap - then in the afternoons you usually have one or two formula bottles and nurse another one or two times.  I am SO thankful that you switch between formula & breastmilk AND bottle & breast so well!

--You LOVE to watch TV.  Sleep and TV... you are definitely an Olmstead!

--You can hold your weight on your legs with me just holding you for support!

--You are DROOLING everywhere!  It's hilarious and gross at the same time.

--You love to stick your fingers in your mouth!

--You've discovered your tongue, and are constantly moving it around.  You like to stick your fingers in your mouth then move your tongue all over them.  (Of course, drooling all over everything at the same time!

I LOVE YOU LITTLE MAN!!!!

this is a robbery... stick 'em up!

Can you believe that tomorrow my baby will be THREE MONTHS old?!?  Check in tomorrow for his 3 month post!

 So -- my mom and dad were out of town last weekend and my dad ran across a hat for Christopher...

is it not ADORABLE?!?!?

but wait... it gets better.

MITTENS!!!!

this picture cracks me up.  It's like I've pointed a gun at him and said "stick 'em up!"  Love it!

May I introduce to you Momma's Christopher's new best friend...

His Granny bought this for him when he was still about the size of a jelly bean...

okay, not that small... but she bought it for him (with lots of other great stuff, including a carseat, stroller, swing, the bassinet hiespent the first 8 weeks of his life sleeping in, and lots of toys) for a great price at a garage sale.

When I pulled it out a few days ago, I figured he was still a bit too small for it...

but he's not!  He just loves it!

Until, of course, he gets tired...

We are doing better.  I was sick for a few days - running fever, sore thoat, sneeeeezing and such.  Our favorite family practitioner diagnosed me with Strep throat, so I'm taking antibiotics for that.  C spent two nights with my mom while I was getting better.

We are (kind sorta maybe thinking about) looking at houses.  Just to see if we can find anything while they are still offering the "repeat home-owner" tax credit.  Lots of "depends-ons" for this... but we did look at a house today.  I liked the house and location and even the price tag wasn't too bad (except it needs a lot of new stuff - i.e. carpet, garage door [although I ♥ the fact that is has a garage] closet/bedroom doors, paint, soap and water, etc.) but I doubt it will be the one for us unless it's still on the market come February or March.  We'll see...

I'm officially on Personal Leave from WalMart.  I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with my family and not having to put up with rude people at work.  =)  To try to make up for some of the money we'll be missing out on while I'm away, I am going to be selling Scentsy products!  Follow the link to my Scentsy page or call me, email me, or leave a comment here if you'd like to know more about Scentsy, request a brochure, or throw a party!!!!  I'd love you forever for allowing me to stay home with Christopher for as long as possible!

Also -- for Mena peeps... I'm going to try to get a few houses to clean, so if you know of anyone looking for a well trained (just ask my Momma) housekeeper (I'm thinking 3 or 4 hour shifts, $10/hour, however many times a month you may need me) then let me know or give them my name and number!  Muchas gracias!

(more) sickness and prayers

Just something I want to remember...

First time Christopher spent the night away from Mommy -- November 9th, 2009

Stephen and I are both sick.  I am battling either a nasty cold or the flu.  (Fever, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, and headache.)  Stephen is still having stomach problems from the undercooked chicken, plus he felt like he might be getting flu-ish as well.  SOOOO we loaded up Little Man and took him to my parent's house.  I know that he will be just fine there, but I miss him so bad already! 

A few other things that have been weighing heavily on my mind and would appreciate prayers over...

**My milk production.  Like I mentioned in my post earlier today, going back to work got me all KINDS of messed up, and after much, much, much consideration and talking with Stephen, I am taking some personal time off work to stay home with Christopher.  I am figuring that I will be off through January or February, but I can take up to 1 year if I want.  I am praying that taking this time off helps me build my my milk production back up so that I can continue nursing for at least three more months.

**Also pray that this time away from Christopher (most of yesterday, tonight, and probably most of tomorrow) will not hurt my milk production.  =(  Not the best time to get sick.

**Since I am taking time off work (which -- no worries, we CAN afford, or I woudn't be doing it) we need to be extra-careful with our money!  Stephen and I need to really budget ourselves so that I can stay home with C as long as possible.  This is the most important thing to us right now.

**Lastly -- I have been reading Noah's Road since before I had Christopher.  It is the story of a precious, beautiful baby boy who was shaken by his daycare provider when he was 5 months old and now suffers from Shaken Baby Syndrome.  He has overcome SO much, but each day is still battle.  I thought that his story was awful when I first read about him - now that Christopher has been born, I find it SO incredibly heartbreaking.  I cannot even imagine what I would do if this happened to Christopher.  Would I survive?  I really don't know.  I pray for Noah and his family often - when I read their blog, or when I think of him randomly in the middle of the day.  When Christopher is sleepy or hungry and crying uncontrollably (which isn't often) and I pray for myself or Stephen to have patience - I think about Shaken Baby Syndrome, and I also pray for Noah.  Right now his parents are not updating on Noah's situation because they are going through some legal things, (court trials, I believe, with the woman who shook Noah) but if you have a few minutes, jump over to Noah's Road and read a little bit about his story and the other people who have been affected by his little life.  I also added a link to his site on my blog roll over there!  ------->
Check up on him every now and then and see how things are going and say a quick prayer for Noah and other babies suffering from SBS.  Christopher and I would appreciate it.  =)

This is what Stephen saw when he walked into our dining area today...

So interested in what Momma's doing!

Taking his afternoon nap. (He fell asleep during tummy time!)
Love him, love him, love him!

Happenings at the Olmstead House

This is just a random update...
here are a few things that have happened in the Olmstead household in the last week or so.


(1) We've started supplementing with formula.  This really pretty much just broke my heart.
Going back to work at walmart -- working 8 hour days -- just really messed up my body, and I wasn't able to provide enough milk for Christopher.  (It killed me to come home from work to a hungry boy and not be able to nurse him.  Sad, sad sad.) I hated having to do this, but I guess I couldn't let him starve.  And, I'm only supplementing -- I still nurse as often as I possibly can, and usually we mix formula with milk that I've pumped.

(2) The weather finally cooperated and we got to break out the stroller and go for a walk!  This was something I really looked forward to when I was pregnant.  We tried it once or twice after he was born, but he wasn't comfortable at the angle the carseat sat in he stroller.  Now that he is (almost 100%) control of his head, it was easier on him and so much fun!  We walked to Nana's house - but she wasn't there, so we walked back home!

(3)Stephen gave Christopher a bath!

Christopher L-O-V-E-S bathtime... so sweet and cute!

(Stephen politely "edited" this picture for Christopher's sake.)

(4)We made arrangements for TWO vacations!  Our first family vacation will be to Branson in December.  We are going with my family (Mom, Dad, Ty, and Britney) and Stephen's mom.  We will go to Silver Dollar City (which is beautiful during Christmas!) and do some shopping and get some FRESH HOT Krispy Kreme donuts.  YYYUUUUMMMM.  (That's pretty much all I care about doing! Ha!)

Then in JANUARY we are FLYING (EEEK!) to Utah to visit Stephen's dad and his wife and Stephen's paternal grandparents.  (C is their first great-grandchild!)  They have all only seen Christopher though pictures and I have never met Stephen's grandparents, so it will be a special time for all of us.  I am super excited about this but SO nervous too!  I have only flown one other time in my life (Little Rock to Orlando and back) and I am especially nervous about flying with a baby.  BUT, he is such a great baby and rarely fussy, so I think (and pray) that everything will be fine!

Baxter is upset about us leaving him for a week, but I think he will be just fine at his Granny's house!

(4) Had I taken this pic a few seconds sooner, you would have seen C's fingers in his mouth. I am seeing a lot of this now!  He pretty much sticks his fingers as far as he can and usually gags himself in the process. 

(5)And lastly - you'll thank me because I didn't get a picture of this - Stephen and I got salmonella poisoning from some undercooked chicken.  We were both pretty sick yesterday (me worse than him) but we are feeling a little better today, thank goodness!  That is NOT something I want to re-live!
(We had been given some breaded chicken that we thought was pre-cooked, so Stephen just threw it in the deep fryer for... well, obviously not long enough.  Then, I ate it in our extremely dim living room in the floor, drenching it in honey mustard and ranch.  After I had already eating about THREE pieces and Stephen was starting on his second or third piece, he realized it was not cooked all the way through.  It was gross, gross, gross!)

10 am and things that already have me upset.

**having to go to work tonight.
**my dogs getting out of the backyard and chasing some old man down the street while barking at him.
**people sticking their noses where they don't belong.
**my oven burning the tops of my biscuits.
**not being able to make my mom's (and granny's) homemade gravy after being taught over and over and OVER again.
**my house being messy AGAIN after i cleaned it day before yesterday!
**knowing that i am going to have to pick it up before going to work tonight.

Here are a few more pictures! It seems all I have time for now is to upload a few pics. I've started 3 or 4 different posts - only to have to get up and do something a few minutes later.
(For example - I started this post last night, but here I am, just now posting it over 12 hours later. Sad? Yes.)

Here is Christopher with Aunt B and Uncle Ty on Halloween.
(B was a pirate - Ty was "Tyler Speer." Ha!)


And here is C after church on Sunday. This is an outfit that his Aunt Cristin and Uncle Jim sent him.
Very warm and cuddly and so cute, cute, cute!
(Thanks Jim and Cristin!)

Happy Halloween!