personal space

this week i was messing around with my camera and started taking pictures really up close of silas. i kept pushing the camera up as close as it could focus on his face, and was captivated by the up-close details caught on the camera.

kind of funny, but seeing pictures of him so up close, he almost seems like a different baby. little details i don't really notice when i'm simply looking at him just pop on such a close-up shot.

the drool bubbles, the wispy hair, the flaking baby skin, those speckles in his enormous blue eyes..

..so i took some of olive and myself too.

they almost hurt to look at, and i think the reason i have that reaction to them
is because we rarely if ever get so close to other people's faces, or allow
others to get so close to ours.
it just kind of comes naturally to us humans to protect our "personal space"
and only let those we trust most of all be there.

Improptu Party

The other night we were at my in-laws' house and my mother in law mentioned she was going to a party. Olive's ears perked up like antennas and immediately started asking questions about this party and whether or not she could go. When we told her she couldn't go, she was quite upset, and for the next day or two kept asking me when she could go to a party.

I've been sick (still - ugh) and we didn't have anywhere to go this weekend, so Matt and I decided to throw Olive an improptu, "just because" party. We ran to Target this morning for party hats, bought a new game that Olive could play with us, ordered out for pizza for dinner and made a fun evening out of it.

oh deer

We spent last weekend at Pipestem State Park in WV.

Someone made a new friend, while we were there.

The drive was long, and the kids didn't travel too well.

And our room was tiny and none of us got much sleep.

But the park was beautiful, the weather glorious and we enjoyed seeing some 

family members there that we haven't seen in a while.

Weightless

I love this picture of Olive,

floating in air.

glowing with joy.

Sillies

my kids are ridiculously silly.

and ridiculously cute.

i love them!

Resurrection Sunday

Happy Easter! We are enjoying the day quietly at home. Since Grandma does Easter baskets for the kids every year, (we'll wait to do those next weekend when cousins are in town,) we made Olive a little gift bag with things to dress up with, books and crayons. She was excited. :)

My little sweetieheart didn't get a gift bag, but he did get a lot of cuddling time with mommy last night and this morning. What a eater this boy is! Which is a good thing, since I'm having a horrible time with engorgement. (Yowwwch!) Can't wait for things to normalize.

thoughts

we're well into february - hard to believe! can't believe baby boy will be here possibly next month! 


some friends from church threw me and the boy a sweet little shower. it was a lovely evening of fellowship, homemade gluten free treats, and some sweet presents. (it's still so strange receiving boy items. i guess we'll get used to it soon!)


i know it's not a common occurence, but i've been enjoying my third trimester so much more than the first and second combined. i've felt relaxed, i've been enjoying feeling the baby move, and i am even quite fond of my giant belly. i feel lucky that i've gained very little weight this pregnancy (all credit must go to the long period of horrible morning sickness and the stress of having matt in the hospital in december. i eat way more sugar these days than is good for me,) and i can tell that it's made a difference in how i feel this third trimester in comparison to my third trimester with olive, where every step and movement seemed to hurt. i'm grateful to still be fairly active, flexible, and comfortable. i have even been sleeping pretty well, and as long as i'm careful not to eat anything too late in the evening, have had very little heartburn. God is good.


that being said, i am really looking forward to getting the delivery and readjusting to a newborn over with. i'm anxious to get re-settled so i can get our lives organized and orderly again and get back to doing the things i love to do, (blogging, photography, day trips, projects with olive, etc.) things have been just too distracting lately to do much with olive out of the house, and i'm not counting on them getting any less distracting until this baby gets here.


speaking of olive, she's been giving us some worry lately. last monday she woke up covered in hives, and they're still plaguing her a full week later. she's been to three different doctors, and is taking way too much medicine for my comfort, but i'm at my wits end to keep the hives at bay. she's been so miserable. i don't think i hate anything quite so much as seeing my family sick. it makes me feel very helpless. it was bad seeing matt go through surgery and recovery in december, but funny enough, it's 10 times WORSE seeing olive go through these hives, which aren't life threatening. she goes back to the doctor tomorrow, and i am hoping he will give us some good information as to what our course of action will be. 


i've hardly been on the computer at all the last few weeks, because i've gotten completely absorbed in Suzanne Collins' books, "The Hunger Games." it's easy, silly young adult fiction, but very addicting and i've been enjoying getting absorbed in reading again. i used to read all the time, but since olive was born i can probably count the number of books i've read on one hand. it's pretty bad.


i'm also hooked on "Downton Abbey." i had started it when it first came out a long time ago, and stopped watching halfway through the first episode. (the gay scene turned me off, and i lost interest.) since then, though, several good friends have encouraged us to pick it up again, promising the series gets much better, and i'm glad i took their recommendation. it's a really well done, very absorbing series. looking forward to watching the latest episode on PBS's website tomorrow night!

olive sings her favorite songs..

in case you need some assistance in identifying her songs..

video one: (in order)
1. part of Jesus Loves Me
2. Jesus Loves the Little Children

video two:
1. twinkle twinkle little star
2. baa baa black sheep
3. the abc's
4. Jesus Loves Me

is there anything cuter than an olive in overalls?

i think not!

'round we go

our own pool!

and it's a perfect week for it, too. high 90's all week. :(

this week in i-phone pictures

tiny dancer

strawberry fields

no pants

olive has a very unique sense of what is beautiful. it keeps us in stitches. for example? we caught her running around like this last night. no pants. mom's shoes. tiger hat. feeling lovely.

i love this kid.