Family Pictures

A week before Lucas made his grand arrival we took some family pictures.  First off, I would like to say that I will never again, hopefully, take family pictures when I am 9 months prego.  I'm not sure how people take maternity pictures; I just don't feel attractive when I am "large with child."  Now, you might be thinking that it should've been a no brainer for me on not taking family pictures at 9 months prego.  However, the reason why we ended up taking family pictures is a funny story of mis-communication.

A while ago Erik and I had talked about getting pictures of Olivia once her helmet came off.  After OJ got her helmet off in April I asked Erik if he wanted to get pictures of just Olivia or wait until Lucas came and do newborn pics at the same time.  What I understood was Erik stating that he thought we should take family pictures with just Olivia.  So, I understood that Erik wanted to get family pictures with just Olivia before Lucas came into our family.  Now, Erik thought I was asking if we should take family pictures with just Olivia or wait until Lucas came.  Neither Erik nor I were super excited to take family pictures, but we were willing to do it b/c  we thought the other one wanted them.  Oh the things we'll do for the ones we love.  We did not realize our little mis-communication until after we took the pictures.  Such is life.  However, I am glad we have a few family pictures with just Olivia.

This post might seem like a picture overload, but I wanted to share some of the pictures.  Let me know any that you really, really like... I want to frame one of the family and one of Olivia for our home.

Olivia Jane at 1 year old, or at least she was a week away from being 1 year old:

She loves to point!

Olivia Jane

OJ will lift one leg in the air if her toes touch grass.  A little silly if you ask me.  

Love her eyes!

The Guderian Family as of May 5, 2012:

I love OJ's smile.

I'm sure Erik said something that was oh so funny!

A little candid shot.  Again, I think OJ looks cute.  

OJ showing off her pointing skills; she loves pointing at trees. 

Our little daredevil loves to be tossed in the air.  

Directions

Olivia has always loved books, but she recently has taken it to another level.  After eating Olivia will point to her books and want to read as many stories as we will let her before bed.  While playing throughout the day Olivia can be found laying on her back holding a book above her or laying on her tummy flipping the pages of a book.  She absolutely loves books, and I couldn't be happier.  I truly hope her love for books continues throughout her life.

To say we own a lot of book is an understatement.  We own a ton of books, and there are a vast number of kids books.  I LOVE children's literature.  We have so many books that we have different books upstairs and downstairs.  It makes our life a little easier, and it gives OJ variety when we are in the different locations.  Last night, we were getting the kids ready for bed.  Erik was working with Lucas, and I was with Olivia.  Olivia had had her bath, bottle, and we were now reading a couple stories before bed.  While we were reading Fancy Nancy Erik called out from Lucas' room for some help.  Lucas had a projectile vomit all over Erik.  It was disgusting, and there was A LOT of it.  We've been having a few issues with Lucas and eating; I hope we can figure things out relatively quickly.  It is less than ideal.  I immediately placed OJ on the floor near all of her books and ran into Lucas' room to help clean up.  By the time I made it back to Olivia's room (I was gone for a bit of time) Olivia had the biggest wide mouthed grin on her face.  The books were everywhere, and we had one happy little girl.  I was okay with the books being scattered b/c I had a happy baby/toddler who can entertain herself.  Olivia truly is a fabulous baby!

One of the books we have downstairs is Feely Bugs; it is a fabulous book for babies/kids that love different textures.  It is a great concept book.  Olivia loves feeling the fuzzy bugs, bristly bugs, feathery bugs, and all of the other "bugs" found in this great book.  There is one page/bug that is Olivia's absolute favorite; she loves the sticky bugs.  These bugs have a little sticky feel to them.  When we first got the book there were stickers on top of the bugs round bodies that said "peel me."  OJ, being the good little girl she is, loves to follow directions... most of the time.  Olivia absolutely LOVED peeling the stickers; they did tell her to peel them and she followed the directions.  When we first got the book OJ would peel a sticker and hand it to me; I felt this was a good situation.  The stickers stayed on the bugs and with the book for a decent amount of time.  However, OJ has begun to get a little more adventurous.  Lately, OJ would peel the sticker and immediately attempt to stick the sticker in her mouth.  Usually I am quick enough to snag the sticker before it made it the mouth.  Unfortunately, usually doesn't mean I was/am 100% successful.  We have officially had another first, or at least it is a first as far as I know.  Olivia has swallowed her first non-food item.  One day while reading the book Olivia peeled the green sticker and stuck it in her mouth at lightning speed.  Olivia was able to swallow or at least hide the sticker in her mouth somewhere.  I was unable to retrieve the sticker, and declared Olivia the winner of our little game.

Apparently, the green sticker was just the start of eating anything and everything.  If you notice, all of the "peel me" stickers are now missing from the sticky bugs.  Besides the stickers, Olivia has been trying to eat a lot of non-food items.  I'm assuming this "eat everything in site" is a stage she grows out of sooner rather than later.  Please tell me it doesn't last too long.  

I guess the adventures with a toddler are just beginning.  So fun!  

Fun in the Sun

Olivia Jane got a pool for her birthday.  With the hot weather it has been perfect to pull it out and fill it up.  The pool is approximately five to six feet wide; however, OJ uses only one square foot of the pool.  It's too bad they don't sell smaller pools.  However, the lawn does get a pretty good watering once we empty the pool.

The first time we used the pool Erik filled the pool and I got OJ ready.  The minute I began putting OJ's swimsuit on she started to get excited; OJ knew the swimsuit meant a pool and  she loves the pool.  We quickly placed her in the pool and gave her a toy.  The soccer ball was fun to play with, but splashing in the water was just as fun.  Olivia absolutely loved playing in her pool, and she has enjoyed all of her pool time since.  We are all pretty excited for more pool fun in the sun this summer.  Speaking of pool fun this summer, OJ and I are signed up for a parent and tot swim class.  I think OJ will have a blast, and I am hoping we will learn a little bit as well.  It starts in a a couple of weeks so we will keep you posted.

After we play in the pool Olivia gets to lounge in her chair, tan her already tan legs, and watch her parents clean up.  Though, OJ loves her chair and loves to watch us work I sure hope she isn't getting too comfortable lounging while her parents work; that won't always be the case.  Enjoy it while it lasts!

If you look closely you can see how ridiculously tan OJ's legs are; we call that top of the leg tan and nothing else tan a "stroller tan."  OJ's top of the legs are quite dark but under the legs are still white like the rest of her.  If you can't quite see the her significantly tan legs you can just believe me that they are.  Erik and I can both tan well, but we really should be better about putting sunscreen on her legs.  Yesterday, we actually had a Home Depot employee comment on Olivia's tan legs.  It is clear that OJ has spent some significant time in the stroller, and it is quite clear that her parents stink with putting sunscreen on.  I'm not sure why putting sunscreen on is so difficult for us.  We will either get better or our children will be tan; only time will tell.  

Grandmas' to the Rescue

During the first two weeks of Lucas' life we were lucky enough to have some much needed help from both grandmas.  My mother flew down the day Lucas was born, and Erik's mom lives nearby.  While my mother was here she not only helped with the cooking so we didn't have to think about that, but she had plenty of newborn cuddling time.  My mom also got to spend time with Olivia doing something they both love.  Little Miss Olivia is a big fan of walks.  Before Lucas was born OJ and I took a walk pretty much every day.  We both had a lot of fun on the walk.  However, since Lucas' arrival and the lack of sleep it was hard to take OJ on walks.  My mom helped fill the walk gap; every morning my mom and Olivia would go for a walk.  They both came back from the walk hot and tired but with smiles on their face.  Evidently, they both had a pretty great time walking, and we were glad OJ could still go for a walk.  I was grateful for my mom's help during the beginning week of Lucas' life.  It is nice to have an extra hand around to hold a baby or play with a one year old.

Erik's mom, Grandma Guderian/Elaine, lives close by, and we are lucky enough to have a grandma who wants to help and see her grand babies often.  Gma Guderian comes over most Wednesday's and other days as well to watch Olivia, and now Lucas, as well as sew and hang out with me.  It's a lot of fun to have her over, and it makes running to the grocery store or other errands a lot easier.  This last week Gma G was nice enough to help me out at Olivia's 1 year and Lucas' 2 week doctor appointment.  Yes, I scheduled them at the same time.  I thought it would be convenient, but I didn't think how difficult it would be for me.  Let me just say that Gma G came to the rescue.  Weighing both babies, shots for Olivia, and dealing with two tired and grumpy babies b/c I had to wake them both from a nap made for an eventful appointment.  The doc appointment would've been even more eventful if Elaine hadn't been there to hold one baby while I was asking questions and completing all of the appointment foof with the other baby.  There would've been even more crying had Gma hadn't been there.  Thank you grandma for coming to my rescue!  For some reason I again schedule Lucas and OJ's appointments together; hopefully, older babies will make the appointments a bit easier to handle one on two.

Speaking of the doctor appointment of craziness on Thursday we found out we have some lightweight babies.  Lucas is up to 6lbs 7 oz, which is light for a baby but good for him.  Olivia is also light, apparently a bit too light.  We had weighed OJ last Sunday and she was 20 lbs, or at least we thought she was.  However, the doctor weighed her in at 17lbs 9oz;  this is less than she weighed about a month and half ago at the doctor's office.  At OJ's 9 month appointment her weight was in the 25%, but she is now weighing in at less than the 5%.  Her drastic drop in weight actually concerns the doctor a bit, and we have to take OJ for a weight check in a month.  I promise we feed her, but apparently she is skinny and tall.

We are grateful our grandmas can come and spend time with us and help us out.  Thank you!  

Irish Twins

Lucas and Olivia are officially "Irish Twins;" Irish Twins are babies born a year or less apart.  Life with Irish Twins, aka two babies that are both quite needy, is busy and exhausting.  It has been a challenge, and it's no where near to being accomplished, to try and take care of both babies.  It's a challenge learning how to survive and hopefully eventually thrive when you are outnumbered.  

When I first came home with Lucas Olivia was a little jealous.  She wanted me to hold her, and she wasn't a fan of not being the center of attention.  I'm sure this is normal for all siblings.  It has been a balancing act to spend time with both of them one on one; and I'm going to be performing this balancing act for the rest of their lives.  I want to make sure I have a relationship with each child.  Olivia's jealousy is getting better, but it is currently still there a bit.

There have been good times and bad times when it comes to taking care of both Lucas and Olivia.  The good times are when we are all happy and playing.  We have had those good times.  Olivia has become more comfortable with Lucas, and she seems to want to go to him whenever she can.  She wants to touch his feet, head, mouth, eyes, and pull his arms and legs.  We are working on "soft" and "nice" with her.  She doesn't realize that poking his eye or pulling his mouth can make him sad and start to cry.  She doesn't realize that pulling his arms and legs hard is not fun for him.  She doesn't realize that it would hurt him if she steamrolled him.  Olivia is still a baby and there is a lot she doesn't know when it comes to a newborn.  However, I'm happy that she has an interest in him and wants to be near him.  I'm also happy that Lucas takes it all in stride right now.  We have had times where we are all happy; I'm a big fan of those times.

We have our good  times, and I'm glad that the good times make up for the tough times.  Lucas is only two weeks old and we have had a fair number of tough times in the last two weeks.  It is unfortunate, but there have been times when I have Lucas on one side of me and Olivia on the other side of me and they are both crying.  Sometimes they are both crying for different reasons, but there have been times when Lucas is crying and Olivia starts to cry b/c Lucas is crying.  Kids seem to feed off each other or empathize with each other.   However, it's hard when they are both crying.  I'm not sure but I'm thinking I might need to get more comfortable with kids crying and not being able to solve the problems right away.  There have more times than I would like when both OJ and Lucas are crying, and I can only help/calm one at a time.

Besides empathizing and crying for one another we have begun to have a few instances of temper tantrums with Olivia.  I know this is normal for her age, the situation with the new sibling, and she is learning.  However, they are hard for me as well as for her.  I hate to see OJ upset and not herself.  I think that has been the hardest thing for me lately.  Olivia hasn't been quite Olivia.  I think it's partly due to sibling rivalry, but I think teething and not feeling well has had an impact as well.  Before Lucas was born we had Olivia standing, while holding onto to something, as well as crawling on all fours with assistance.  However, since Lucas' birth she has shown no desire, and actually resisted standing or crawling. She seems to have reverted back to being more baby like.  The temper tantrums have been since Lucas' birth, and they seem to be the worst when I am feeding Lucas.  I have tried to feed Lucas and still play with Olivia at the same time, but the tantrum has still occurred.  We are definitely working on this; I am not a fan of tantrums. Olivia will eventually learn and/or realize that I have to spend time with both she and her brother alone and together.

The doctor yesterday said Olivia and Lucas will be more involved in one another's life when they are older b/c they are so close in age.  I am sure it'll even be a lot of fun for them in a year or so when they have a constant playmate.  However, this first little bit might be tough for all of us, but we will survive.  It might not always be pretty, but we will all learn a few things along the way.

Oh the good, bad, and the ugly of having Irish Twins.  Let the adventure begin b/c we will be just dandy!

Lucas John

Lucas John has been with us for 12 days now, and I love how he already has personality and little Lucasisms.  Babies truly come with their own personalities; it's fun to see who they are and all of their little quirks.  In the past 12 days we have definitely seen what makes Lucas Lucas.

Lucas is one sleepy guy.  I know that is the case for many newborns, but Olivia was never this sleepy.  He is impossible to try and wake up.  Lucas will fall asleep mid feeding and has no desire to eat any more.  He will have hardly eaten anything, but eating is a chore to him so he doesn't care.  Lucas definitely does not eat b/c he loves food; he eats b/c he has to.  However, once he has had just a tiny bit of food he would prefer to stop and sleep again.  I on the other hand want him to get good and full; therefore, I want/need him to really eat.  This is where we have our struggles and our little guy will show his stubbornness.  If Lucas doesn't want to eat more he will purse his lips and deny the bottle getting into his mouth.  However, you might think that being bigger and wiser you can get that bottle into his mouth.  You might try the techniques of rubbing the nipple on his lips or stroking his cheek.  That does not work on this guy.  All of the techniques I've been taught to get a newborn to open his mouth to eat do not work on Lucas.  However, let's say you actually do get the bottle in his mouth; don't think he is actually going to eat.  Lucas will just sit there with the bottle in his mouth, but he will not move his jaw and suck at all.  If his eyes are opened he will just look at you with this look of "Really? You think I'm actually going to do what you want me to do?"  Lucas is sleepy and stubborn, but he is a cuddler.  We all love cuddling and holding this little guy.  He is one cute kid, and we are so glad he is in our family.

I did tell you Lucas is sleepy.  He seems to sleep when we are doing tummy time, when you are attempting to burp him or feed him, and he will even sleep through diaper changes.  He knows how to sleep, but it isn't always when I want him to be sleeping.  Lucas seems to be pretty awake come 7-930pm.  We are still working on getting him on a schedule; I'm sure he'll get there eventually, but I would like it to be sooner rather than later.  In regards to sleeping at night Lucas currently is waking every 3-5 hours to eat.  I realize this is pretty good for a little skinny and young guy, but I would really love to have him sleeping through the night already.  Baby steps I guess.

Even with the broken up sleep and the stubborn feedings there are still so many things I've already come to love about this little guy.  I love that I haven't been peed on yet.  I love that he purses his lips to show his stubbornness.  I love that he will give us little smiles when you are cuddling with him.  I love that he loves to gnaw and suck on his hands.  I love that he seems to get his hands out of every swaddle.  I love that he has ridiculously skinny arms and legs.  I love that he doesn't mind tummy time.  I love that he doesn't get too upset when Olivia tries to grab his face or arms out of love.  I'm pretty sure we all love all of these things about Lucas.  We just love Lucas!  

12 Months= 1 Year Old!

12 Months Old

As of Sunday the 13th of May Olivia Jane turned 12 months old, aka 1 year old.  She has grown so much in this past year.  I really can't believe I have a 1 year old, and she has definitely become much more active as soon as she hit that 1 year mark.

Olivia is so big and has so much personality; I'm so glad she is a part of our family.  I love the above picture b/c it shows how OJ has grown and how she can make the cheesy smile when a camera is pulled out.  I made the collage to show how much Olivia has grown in the past 12 months.

Olivia Jane at 12 months Old:

Weight: 17 lbs 9 oz at the dpc office
less than 5%
20 lbs (on the home scale)

about 25%

18 lbs last month

Height: 29.5 in 

about 50%

Head Circumference: 17.25 in 

25%

Sleeping: 

- Olivia is a fabulous sleeper!

- She is transitioning to one nap (all on her own accord)

- OJ can sleep through her crying baby brother... yay!

Eating: 

- She'll eat anything that is on our plates including spicy and/or sour foods. 

- Absolutely loves watermelon and cookies

- Will eat avocados now, but she still hates bananas

- OJ still hates to get her hands dirty or sticky, but she has no problem with a messy face. 

- Takes three bottles a day with food as well as one snack of finger foods

Strength/Movement: 

- Olivia is very capable of getting on her hands and knees and even standing, but she is stubborn and doesn't want to.

-She rolls like there is no tomorrow; you've never seen a baby roll like she does  

- Since Lucas' birth OJ will not practice crawling or standing :(  

- She will even lift her legs straight in front of her to avoid standing.  She has impressive abs to be able to hold them straight out in front of her for prolonged periods of time

- She can pick up a large ball with both hands 

- She is mastering rolling with large objects like books and balls to move them places. 

- OJ impressively has a good arm when she throws things.  

Playing: 

- Olivia plays well by herself, but she loves playing with mom, dad, or anyone that will play with her

- We are working on playing "soft" and "nice" with Lucas

- Loves playing with balls, books, and her stacking cups

Reading: 

-OJ absolutely loves reading and being read to  

- She loves turning pages

- Has begun to ask for specific books to be read to.  She is becoming quite opinionated. 

- Her favorite book right now is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie 

Talking: 

- Olivia is quite verbal and talkative.  

- She will talk to anyone and everyone now

- Olivia will babble entire conversations with you and expects you to converse with her

- She is very good at pointing and talking about where she wants to go and what she wants to see. 

- OJ is amazing with imitating sounds; she watches your mouth and quickly imitates the sound.  

- Loves to snort like a pig, trumpet like an elephant, and babble like a monkey.

- Will copy sounds and words we make and repetitively say to her.  

For Fun: 

- Olivia loves to play in her new baby pool.  She is becoming a splashing master.

- OJ makes herself laugh.  She'll do/say something and then laugh

Overall: 

We still think that Olivia is pretty much the greatest, smartest, funniest, and even most stubborn little girl.  We love every aspect of her fun personality.  Though she may frustrate us with her stubbornness we love that she has an opinion and sticks with what she wants.  We absolutely love Olivia; we can't imagine our life and family without her.  We also think she will be a really good big sister.

Happy 12 months old Olivia Jane!