All I Want for Christmas...

Last week we went to the Gingerbread Bash at the Children's Museum.  It was such a fun night and the girls really enjoyed themselves.  At the end of the evening, the girls had their picture taken with Santa.  I didn't hear what Olivia asked for, but I think I know.  On Sunday afternoon, I noticed that Olivia had gotten her two front lower teeth!  I had just checked the day before, so I know that they came in after her time with Santa.  She must have asked for them in her very sweet way to receive them so quickly!

Here are some of Olivia's school pictures.  She is 6 1/2 months old in them.  Her teacher told me that Olivia smiled and laughed through the whole thing.  She is the happiest baby I have ever seen!

Something I Never Thought I would Do

A few weeks ago, as I picked up Emma from school, her teacher told me that she had just gone potty because she had a lot of water that afternoon.  Emma had been potty-trained for a while, so I didn't worry too much about it.  As we headed to the car, I asked her if she needed to go again and she said she didn't.  We made the drive to Pearland to pick Olivia up from daycare in about 30 minutes.  I asked Emma before we went to Olivia's room if she needed to go and she said no again.  We got Olivia's things together, and as soon as I got her buckled in her car seat Emma said that she needed to go potty.  We went to the restroom that is closest to the front of the school but had to wait because someone was already in there.  Emma started bouncing around saying she really needed to go, but by that time I thought it would be faster to wait than to walk to one of the other restrooms.  Little did I know how long the woman that was in there would take.  Emma kept telling me that it was urgent and I showed her how to cross her legs hoping that would help... but it didn't.  About 15 seconds before the woman opened the door, Emma started to whimper and I knew it was too late.  I still hurried into the restroom, but by that time her pants and shoes were soaked.  She sat on the potty and went some more so she really did have a lot of water in her.  I felt so bad that she had to put the wet clothes back on, pick up Olivia, and walk to the car.  We keep a bag with an extra set of Emma's clothes in the car, but naturally on this day I didn't have it.  So I stripped her down and buckled her into the car seat with just her shirt on...  Now onto the funny part of the story.

We had planned to meet Matt to eat out for dinner that night.  I was debating going home to get clean clothes for her or buying something for her to wear at Target since it is right next to the Chili's where we planned to eat.  When I called Matt, he said he was almost to Pearland, so I decided to wait for him in the Target parking lot and he could stay with the girls while I ran in to get something for Emma.  Now remember that Emma is naked from the waist down.  I unbuckle her so she can stand up in the back seat.  After a minute or two, she says that she needs to go potty.  I look through the car, but I don't even have a coat or blanket that I can wrap her in to take her into the store.  As I look back and forth from her to Olivia she says she really needs to go and I tell her to just wait for a few more minutes.  As I try to distract her, she tells me that "The pee pee is coming!"  I say just hold it and she starts bouncing and repeats, "I can't!  The pee pee is coming!"  So now what do I do?  Do I let her stand in the car and pee all over the back seat?  Not something that I want to clean up.  Do I try to get Olivia out of the car and get both girls into the restroom without exposing the fact that Emma doesn't have any clothes on?  That would take too long.  Or do I let Emma go in the Target parking lot?  I can't believe that I am even considering that.  Can I really let her do that???  When nothing brilliant comes to mind, I decide that is my only option.  I open my door and hers and set her on the ground between them.  Then I tell her to go.  She looks at me like I have gone crazy when I spread her legs and tell her to squat down a little bit.  Then she starts - and she pees a river.  As she keeps going and going, I am looking around hoping that no one walks by to see my shame.  How can I let my precious little girl do this?  As soon as she finishes, I quickly put her in the car and close our doors so that I can deny any part in the large puddle on the ground by our car.  Matt pulls up just about then and I run into the store to buy Emma a cute little dress because I feel so bad about what I just made her do.  We get her dressed and head to dinner. I am still in shock about what just happened, and Emma is happy to be in her new dress and forgotten the events that led to her getting the new dress.

So I learned a good lesson: there might come a time when you are forced to do something that you had previously thought was impossible.  And survive the event with nothing to show for it but a new dress.  :)

It's Started Already ~or~ Matt's in Trouble

Here is a conversation that Emma and I had as we drove in to work/school yesterday morning...

Emma: sniffing because of a runny nose

Me: Emma, do you need a tissue?

Emma: No... I need money.

Me: Silent while trying to determine if she really asked for money.

Emma: Mommy, do you have any money?

Now I am just trying to determine what she wanted the money for. Did she want to pick up a few more books at the school's book fair? Or did she want to do some shopping at Rice Village on her lunch break? Maybe one of her friends has a better lunch than her and she was thinking about trying to buy it? Or could there there be an underground poker club at her school?

On the way home yesterday she did say she wanted to go to the store. I asked her what she wanted to buy and she said eggs and coffee cream. But isn't that what every two year old wants to buy? I think she says that she wants to go to the store or out to eat almost every day. She is already turning into a social butterfly like her mommy and is happy to just be going anywhere. It is so cute when she says, "I want to go out to eat. I don't want to eat at home." or "I want to go to the store." in her cute little voice.

When we were on our way to my family reunion in July, one of our many potty stops (we had just started potty training Emma) was at a Buc-ee's type gas station so it had some random stuff for sale inside. As we were leaving, Emma was looking at all of the wonderful things at her eye level and she looked at me and said "I want to shop Mommy." When I told her that we needed to get back on the road her response was, "But I want to buy something." This is terribly cute at two, but I wonder if it will have the same effect when she is sixteen. Guess we will have to wait to find out.

Wait up guys!

We have been raising our Emma and now Olivia to be little world travelers. So far, we haven't made it farther than Hawaii, but they are experts when it comes to West Texas and the Texas Panhandle. At 6 months old, Olivia has already flown to Midland and Lubbock and she can't wait to go somewhere even more exciting than Hawaii so Emma can't rub that in anymore. Last weekend we flew to Lubbock for the baby showers of our precious baby girl niece that is due to arrive in November. (On a side note, we can't wait for the newest Thompson to get here!) We have learned that it is a bit more of a challenge to fly with two girls, two car seats, and all the items that are required to care for and entertain the same two girls. Thankfully, Emma, as always, is a big helper. She has decided that she can roll one of the suitcases all by herself. And I am not talking about a child-size suitcase - she has to roll one of our suitcases - all by herself. As we were going from baggage claim to our car, she took off with one of the bags that probably weighs almost as much as she does. Every little bit, she would stop to change hands and say "Wait up guys!" It was so cute. If we dared to ask if she needed help, she would get that independent look in her eyes and tell us "I got it!" Most of the time, it is so cute to see this self-reliant streak in her. Sometimes it drives me up the wall because she won't do what I need her to do. Or it makes me sad because she is growing up so fast. Either way, it is so amazing to see her grow into her own personality. I just wish it would go a little slower. Have you have seen the commercial with the dad talking to the little girl in the driver seat of the car about being a safe driver? Then they show the girl again and she is a teenager that is about to go for a drive by herself. I am not even sure what the commercial is for, but I feel like that is going to be me. Right now, 16 seems like it is forever away, but I also know that Emma will be 3 years old next month and it feels like yesterday that she was a newborn baby cuddled in my arms. And Olivia is not slowing down either - it doesn't seem possible that she is 6 months and 1 day old. I don't see any way to slow them down, so if you have any tips, let me know. :)

I Smack You!

Last night we were reminded that we have a parrot in the house. Olivia was eating carrots for the first time, and we were taking awhile. Matt had finished eating and Emma was eating some strawberries for desert. In between feeding Olivia bites, I started nibbling on a wonton. Matt looks at me with a completely innocent face, and says that I must be hungry. In shock, I ask him what he means because it sounds like he just called me a pig. He smiles and says again that I must be hungry. Hmmmph. So, my natural mature response is "You better watch out or I will smack you!" A second later, Emma smiles, looks at her dad, and says "I smack you!" Ooops! So now I am apologizing to Matt and Emma saying that wasn't a nice thing for me to say and that we shouldn't ever say that to anyone. The fact that I am having to bite me toungue to keep from laughing isn't helping things at all. Matt enjoyed the entire experience and my backtracking to convince Emma that it wasn't a nice thing to say entirely too much.

Now I am just hoping that Emma doesn't start telling her friends at school that she will smack them. Definitely don't want to have to explain that one to the teachers.

Lesson Learned

We are on our way home from my family reunion in Cleburne. This was my first time to go and we had a great time visiting with our Spelce family. Emma met her cousin Logan for the first time. They are almost the same age and they had a great time playing with each other. I will post some pictures after I load them onto the computer.

Now about the lesson learned... Yesterday afternoon we went to the hotel pool with Pa Spelce. I remembered Emma's swimsuit, but I didn't bring a swim diaper. Emma is potty training, so I didn't even think about needing something for the pool. I decided to put a Pull-up on her at the last minute. While we were at the pool, I noticed it was taking on A LOT of water. When we got back to the room, Matt started getting Emma ready for her shower while I drool care of Olivia. After a few minutes, he shouted "We are not doing this again!" I walked in to find Emma's suit half way down and she was covered in the gel that is supposed to be on the inside of the Pull-up. I can't believe how much of that stuff ther was - it was everywhere! Emma was a good sport while we worked to get it off of her and her swimsuit.

So lesson learned - never use a Pull-up in a pool!

Picture Time!

I haven't been doing a very good job of blogging so far, but I have been trying to keep new pictures in my Picasa gallery. Check out all the new ones that I added tonight.

I am going back to work next week, so I should have more time in front of a computer to catch up on the blog. And of course I am only talking about my lunch break... :)

Six weeks = Six hours

I can't believe that Olivia is already six weeks old - and she is growing so fast. I really treasure the time I am getting to spend with her right now. I am reminded daily of how blessed we are with our two precious little girls. Emma reminds me everyday of what a big girl she is. A few days ago she spilled a little bit of apple juice on her chair, so we took the cover off and washed it. I didn't get the chair put back together until yesterday while she was at school. When she came home she looked at her chair and said "My chair is all better. No more apple juice." It was so cute. And Olivia is getting much more alert. She will look at me when I talk to her and she will smile at me sometimes. I don't care what anyone says - it isn't just gas. :)

We are finally making some progress in the sleep department. She normally goes 2-3 hours between feedings at night - even though she goes 3-5 hours during the day. Well, about 3 nights ago, she decided to wait 6 hours between eating. I am not sure if it will last, but it is great timing since I was sick. Emma was sick on my birthday last week and I thought the rest of the family had escaped, but I started feeling bad on Saturday night. So Matt has been taking all the night feedings. I am better today, but I hope Olivia keeps up with the 6 hours. :)

Emma sporting her new cool shades - even upside down!

Precious peanut

6 weeks old

Birthday Freebies

This is a bit of a random post for me, but I just had to share some of my recent research. A few weeks ago, I was inspired by Extreme Couponing to try to find free things that I could get for my birthday. Here are the best sites that I found with lists of store and restaurant freebies. I want to give them all the credit for the work that they have done. :)

Hey! It's Free!
This site seems to be updated frequently.

The Frugal Girls
This site also has good non-birthday deals posted daily.

Good luck and let me know if you get any great deals!

Hospital pictures

These are the pictures that we had taken by the photographer in the hospital. When someone wants to sell you pictures of your newborn baby, it is hard to say no. Olivia was not in a good mood, so I am impressed that she was able to get some good pictures.

More pictures

I uploaded more pictures to Picasa. And here is one of my favorites.

Introducing Olivia Grace Thompson!

Matt and I are proud to anounce the birth of Olivia Grace Thompson!
Born April 4, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Weight 6 lbs 12 oz
Height 19.4 in

We are all doing great. I added some pictures to Picasa and will add more as soon as I can.

Right now, it is just Olivia and I in our room. It is quiet and peaceful, so I am just sitting here listening to her make newborn squeeking noises and feeling how extremely blessed I am. Thank you to everyone for your love, prayers, and support during this pregnancy.

We love you all,
Matt, J-J, Emma Ruth, & Olivia Grace

Emma's new best friends

Melissa came down last week so that we could meet her beautiful twin daughters. Madison and Rheagan were born February 3rd, which is the day that I went into the hospital and began my bed rest, so I had only seen them in pictures. They are precious! Emma enjoyed meeting her new friends and was very sweet and gentle with them. It was also good preparation for meeting her new baby sister next week. :)

Outside Fun

Emma loves being outside. Whether she is riding her bike to the park, playing with her sand, blowing bubbles, or helping Daddy, it is her favorite place to be. Here are a few pictures from this week. I uploaded more to my Picasa gallery.

Movin' on up!

Our big girl is growing up. Today was Emma's first day in the Two Year Old Room at her school, also known as the red room. She was excited to be going back to school after the Christmas break, but she wasn't very excited about Mommy taking her picture.

One thing she was excited about was her new lunch bags and backpack. In fact, she was so excited that she wanted to take all three to school with her. I was relieved that we didn't have a fight when it was time to leave and she only took one lunch bag with her. She is so precious and such a sweet little girl, but she definitely has a mind of her own. I don't know where she got that from. :)