It's a new day!

Andy will kill me, but this was too cute.
Olivia had her first shower today with Dadand she just loved it!
She loves the water, we had lots of giggles and managed to get clean too!

See she will sleep for other people--Olivia loves Susan, our pastor's wife!
Don't be jealous Granny White.

Olivia in her travel swing at the Christmas party.

"Baby's first Christmas" outfit--it does have a cute beret that goes with it,
but Dad preferred this silly hat for his youth Christmas party.
Who will notice the hat with that smile?

Beautiful outfit, before she spit-up all over it.

Olivia in her wintery outfit for Sunday morning.
She is wearing her very own ugg type boots!
It was cold here, in case you didn't guess.

Olivia loves her Auntie Susan!

For all of you children of the 80's--
isn't that the cutest pink argyle sweater ever?

Olivia loves her new walker, a present from Auntie Susan...

...even though her feet don't quite reach the ground yet.

What is that face?

Olivia aka "Cupcake" and Auntie "Tia"
or Susan, Riyan's Girlfriend!

Olivia loves her tia!

Well, we have had a busy couple of weeks. We are eating better, but still have our battles. We are moving around a lot more, talking a lot, and way more fun! I am still working on videos to upload.

There is not a lot more to report. Things are going well. We are getting through our first Holiday season here and having a good time. Andy's ministry continues to grow and things in that arena are really a blessing. He is finished with school (gratefully) for the fall semester and won't have class again until February. I don't know what we are going to do with him to keep him busy until then.

Hugs and kisses for everyone!

Monday, December 17

Last week was an interesting one. We had our monthly doctor's appointment on Monday to get our four month old shots and to have our adoption form completed (only one more month of supervision--yay!). Olivia had only gained about 8 oz. in the last month, had not doubled her weight by four months, and was barely hitting a 2 lbs gain over the last two months. For the two weeks before our appointment her eating had dropped off to about 16 oz a day. She should have been eating 24 oz a day.

After discussing all of this with Dr. Davis, she doubled Olivia's reflux medication dose and the eating began. It still took her a few days to get over the shots, but she did. We were supposed to take her back to the doctor on Thursday if her eating had not improved, but by Thursday afternoon she was on the road to her second day of eating a full 24 oz. YAY! There have been lots of prayers going up as I was really concerned about heading towards a failure to thrive diagnosis.

Anyway, we have changed bottles to Dr. Brown's bottles. I highly recommend these to anyone who uses bottles! And our medication is working. We have been eating 24 oz a day for almost a week now. Praise God! Keep praying that Olivia will keep eating!

She's just growing too fast!

Olivia loves to stand-up! She wants to be constantly on the move. I think she will be walking in four or five months--just in time for our 18 hour flight to New Zealand. She is still having trouble eating her daily requirements. We try not to worry, but if we don't make a strong effort to feed her every three hours and stay with it until she has had 4 or 5 ounces, she won't eat. Yesterday Dad was watching her and she ended up with only 15 ounces for the day. She should be up to 28 ounces a day for her weight. She also won't eat away from home--like at church or at the store. Since she had so little yesterday I had to stay home today so we could concentrate on eating. Otherwise she would have skipped her feeding while she and I were at church. Oh boy. Well, whatever she eats--it doesn't keep her from standing up!

Holiday Preparations

I don't know why (hee hee) that the holiday seems to mean so much more this year! Somehow I have actually gotten ahead for once and I find myself waiting to start celebrating. My Christmas decorations are all out and my Christmas cards are sitting around waiting to be addressed and mailed. Here a few pictures of our new house at Christmas.

The front...it's better at night.

All of our bushes and the nativity light up!

Our pre-lit tree that we got for $7.50 at Wal-Mart
after Christmas last year!

I'm surprised there is room for Christmas with all of the baby stuff.
Our stockings hang over our faux fire place.

Not all Christmas--our new cross wall

Sorry for the delay...

Olivia in the sink at Granny Whites!
Granny gave her a bath everyday in that big sink.

Bubbles...

Who's that big girl?

Olivia loves to sit up!

Olivia with Papaw John

Olivia in her big girl high chair at Granny White's house!

I am so sorry that it has taken so long for me to update the blog. Things have been a little crazy. Andy and I both fell behind with school and had to play catch up, so much so that we ended up canceling our Alabama/Georgia trip to the Youth Specialties Conference. We were so sad, but had to face reality. With a new job, new baby, two of us in school, and the holiday last week--we just couldn't fit it all in.

The adoption is moving along swiftly. I will have to get a picture of our sweet little social worker. She is so kind and loving. I am so glad that we were able to move to Texas and be under the care of the Mission Home. Although we loved our social workers in Florida, this is just cheaper (part of our adoption fees) and nice because they are so helpful. We are at the four month mark, over half way until the finalization. We will have one more visit in December and then our final at home check in January. The first week of February, six months from the date of birth, Olivia will be all ours! It is so exciting! Every month we go to the doctor and get a health form filled out. We complete a written check of the month and turn all of that in with a picture of the baby. It has been kind of nice, but it is a lot to keep up with. We also found out that six months after the adoption is final (August 2008) we can start again! So we are saving our pennies.

We have been loosely in touch with Olivia's birth mother. Our social worker says it is unusual to still be in touch after three months. Generally the birth mothers are ready to move on by then. We continue to call every couple of weeks and leave messages, but haven't heard from her in over a month. I write her a letter once a month and send pictures through the agency. That way they put a copy in the file and then send it on to the birth mother. It's funny because we have been concerned that every time we call her there is a man there that she shooshes. Then during our last supervision visit at Granny's (the day before Thanksgiving) our social worker told us how a great deal of families come back to the program because their birth mothers have called them to say they are pregnant again. We have thought a lot about that and how nice it would be for Olivia to have a half-sibling in the house, but of course we pray constantly that her birth mother will be able to straighten her life out and move on. She has been pregnant every year for four years and I know she would like to make a change.

We had a great holiday at Granny Whites. I cooked so that I could make healthy foods for all us, but especially for Andy and I. We joined Weight Watchers (again) the week before Thanksgiving and wanted to do well, in spite of the holiday. Everything was low fat and low sugar or sugar free. And it was all surprisingly good! We did do well and lost weight our first week even with the holiday. I hope that continues this week. Yay!

Olivia is doing really well. She is growing so fast. She loves to sit-up and stand-up. She rolled over for the first time last Friday. She gets frustrated and bored (I think) because she wants to be moving and going all the time. Even though she is a real homebody who loves her routine, she did really well at Granny's with all of the noise and visitors. She has never been held so much and by so many different people. It drives Granny nuts that I don't mind anyone holding her--I just can't say no. So every now and then Mom would just step-in and take over. I didn't mind, because for the first time in three months Andy and I had three hours to ourselves and we went to the movies! We saw American Gangster and it was great! Then the next day I got to have an afternoon with my girlfriend Susan and we saw No Country for Old Men, also great!

Oh my gosh--I have to tell you about Susan (she reads this too and will probably kill me). A few months back I put her in touch with one of Andy's friends in Auckland New Zealand. He is a very nice and very bright young man named Riyan (Spelled just like that!). They hit it off immediately, short of a few language barriers, and fell in love. So Susan used her last 6 days of vacation for the year and flew to New Zealand to meet him. Now they are engaged! It is so sweet. I have never known two people who were more deserving of the kind of love they seem to have found in each other. If all goes well, she will be moving to New Zealand next year. Riyan is coming to visit in February and then Susan had already planned on going with us in July. That may be when she moves--if she can wait that long. Please say a little prayer for them when you think of it. Susan has been my best friend for 19 years and I have never seen her this happy. Relationships are hard enough when they aren't on opposite ends of the world.

We are still working on the baptismal video and we are trying to remember to make more. I will try to get those up before much longer. Everything is going well at church. Like all ministries it is a challenge, but we still feel so blessed to be here.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Lots of Photos!

This has been a very long two weeks. Olivia had her two month old shots a week ago Monday and was out of sorts for several days last week. By the time she started to get better my neck and shoulder went out. I couldn't lift her and the only relief I got was when lying down. Granny came to the rescue Sunday night and has been on Olivia duty. I am getting better after two visits to the chiropractor and lots of rest!

Andy is doing well in school and still just loves his job! We are gearing up for Fall Festival on Saturday and have been selling pumpkins to support the festival. Both events are huge! The local TV station came out last week to film us unloading the pumpkins and to advertise the event.

We still haven't worked on the baptism video, but until then you can enjoy these pictures!

Granny and her girls!

Daddy got a new "manly" sling!

Daddy and Olivia go to seminary!

Daddy is already wrapped around her little finger!

Olivia loves bath time! Her little tub fits right across our kitchen sink.

"Aww, Mom, no bath tub photos, please!"

We are all dressed up for church! This outfit came from our cousins in Christchurch New Zealand! Olivia loves to get dressed up and go to church--she loves the music!

Let's get this show on the road already!

Olivia told herself a joke!

Hanging out in the man cave with Dad.

Our Tia Susan (Aunt Susan) calls this hairstyle a faux hawk!
Granny loves it!

We were trying to get a smile...almost!

Olivia has a new BUMBO that helps babies as young as 3 mos sit up. Since she loves to sit up already we thought she would love this. It is made of stiff, yet soft rubber and we bought the tray as well. She can almost hold her head up enough to enjoy it now!

In a couple of weeks Olivia will really love her BUMBO!

Happy News and more Happy News!

Well, I can't believe it has been 12 days since I last posted. A lot has happened since then. Olivia had her upper GI and she did really well. She definitely has reflux and the doctor has put her on some medication that seems to help. We have also placed her mattress on an incline, feed her a wee bit of rice cereal with her bottle at night, feed her sitting up, and keep her sitting up afterwards. So, we have passed that little hurdle, no doubt due to all of your prayers.

This past Sunday (Sept. 30) Olivia was baptized with most of our Texas family present and her godmother, Susan (my best friend from high school). It was very nice. It was an amazing feeling to be standing up their with my daughter. I never could have imagined before how special these moments are. Sadly we didn't take any pictures, but we did video the event. So sometime this week (I hope) Daddy will get that video formatted and maybe we can add it to the blog.

Olivia is sleeping all night from 10:30 pm- 6 am. We are so blessed! She is a very happy baby. She is pushing up on her arms, holding her head (most of the time), kicking and scooting on her play mate, and trying to roll over. She even loves to stand-up! She is cooing, laughing, and making cute noises. She seems to be trying to talk back to us when we talk to her. It is so sweet. Of course, Daddy still thinks she is the most advanced baby in the world.

We had our pictures taken last week for the new church directory. We should get those back in about three weeks and we will be posting them and mailing some out. They were very nice, especially the ones of Olivia!

Andy and I are going to be attending a conference in Atlanta in November, so we will be heading up to Athens to see our friends. We are so excited about this trip! It will Olivia's first introduction to her Athens friends and family!

Everything at church is going well. Andy still loves his job and they love him. He is having his first parent's meeting on Monday and will be presenting his action plan and calendar. I am taking a women's Bible study class that starts tomorrow called Discerning the Voice of God. It is a morning class with other young women. I hope I can make some new friends!

We'll post more later. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Reflux?

Please say an extra prayer for Olivia. She has just not been herself the last couple of weeks and we are concerned that she has developed (or had all along) reflux. One of her biological brothers (also mixed race, as she is) was born with severe reflux. He is three now and still suffers from it.

She is still drinking her formula and her bowel movements have normalized, but now she is spitting up and/or vomiting sometimes as much as 4-6 times a day. She makes faces and fusses when she eats, she arches her back, has the hiccups once a day, and is even spitting up in her sleep--all symptoms of reflux. We had to see the doctor this week to complete a medical form for her first monthly visit from the Methodist Mission Home, so we had an opportunity to talk to the doctor about it. The Pedi has ordered an upper GI, to be done in the morning, to rule out any blockages.

We have lifted on side of Olivia's mattress, are feeding her sitting up, keeping her sitting for 20-30 minutes after eating, putting her to sleep on her stomach (to aid in digestion), and even giving her cereal in her formula once a day (it helps keeps the milk in her stomach). She seemed a little improved yesterday and this morning. She has only spit up once in 24 hours, but she was very fussy last night.

Please say a little prayer for Olivia that we can sort out these digestive troubles and that she will get through the upper GI in the morning without any trouble or discomfort. We'll let you know what happens.

Daddy has some fast moves!

We have some new pictures to post. There are several good shots--one is almost a smile. We promise that Olivia does smile. We just can't seem to get it on camera. One picture is very special, it exhibits the special talent Olivia has developed. It is called projectile poop. Daddy was changing a diaper today and had to do a special (Matrix) move to get out of the way as the poop shot about 3.5 feet from the changing table and hit the rocker and the car seat.

It's almost a smile!

What a sweet baby!

Olivia wants to sit up sooooooo bad!

Honey is not the least bit jealous!

From the changing table to the rocker and car seat!

The joys of parenthood!

"Mummy took lots of silly pictures!"

We can't believe that Olivia will be six weeks old on Friday. Time is going by too fast. She is already laying on her tummy, holding her head up, smiling, and trying to roll over. She stays awake for several hours a day and on most nights will sleep from midnight to 6 am (if she wakes up in the middle she lays there nicely and goes back to sleep!).

You'll notice from some of her comments that she is already developing a mixed accent of Kiwi and American. There is even a little Texan thrown in for good measure!

We are all doing well. Both Andy and I are completely swamped in school, but Andy loves every minute of his studies! The youth group is going well and keeps growing. He had five new kids come on Sunday night, friends of youth members and some said they would like to join the church. That makes his Sunday night group consistent between 45 and 50. He has about 20 middle school kids who come to "Merge" on Wednesday nights and two Senior High small groups that meet on Wednesday nights. All and all things are going really well here. The church wants Andy to preach every quarter or so. And there will be youth led worship on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

I completed my first newsletter this week, after lots of tears. I am thinking about not attempting to do it, but am really praying about it. The pastor has been so sweet and helpful (imagine that). He has made every possible concession, because he really wants to get us the extra income, encourage my creative side, and have a great product! He has offered to let me do just the two newsletters from home and the secretary will do all the printing and bulletins in the office. It is a sweet deal if I think I can handle it without going crazy. This morning I was ready to quit all together. We'll see!

Enjoy the pictures and know that we love and miss you all!

Daddy does the easy shots of her sleeping!

After hours of trying to get a picture of her holding her head up--
she finally did it! Now we just to need to get one of her smiling!

"Ya'll, someone should really tell her that she can't sing,
but I love her anyway!"

"Mum wants me to hold my head up for a picture...nah."

Olivia loves her froggy mat! "Hey, wow, there's my hand! Sweet as!"

"Did that binky fall out again?"

Olivia loves tummy time!

She's working on it--she's lifting her head up!

See-she can hold her head up for a few seconds!
Daddy thinks she is THE most advanced baby, isn't that sweet!