A little more catch up!

So I'm sure since this show is in it's 2nd season most people are probably familiar with "Teen Mom" on MTV.  However, since I don't watch MTV hardly at all, I was just introduced to this show a few weeks ago.  On Saturdays when I'm home with just Livi if I see it on I have been trying to watch it a little bit because a few friends of mine are OBSESSED with this show so I wanted to see what it's all about.  So last Saturday, while watching the show, I watched this very young new mother of  twins be told that one of her twins may not only have spine problems, but  possible brain problems as well.  I saw her question herself and wonder "was it something I did to cause this?!?!"  My heart broke for her!

This particular episode made me realize how grateful, thankful, and blessed Aaron and I are to have such a healthy, happy baby girl!  Although Olivia's health is EXTREMELY important to us, its something that we take for granted.  When she gets an excellent check up at the doctor every few months, we should be rejoicing and praising God for his many blessings, because although we don't think much about it, it really is a huge deal!

Olivia is going on 7 months and to this day has only had 2 runny noses, and an 8 hour stomach bug that she smiled and slept right though!  No ear infections, no RSV, no colic, etc!  I like to think that my 3 months of struggling to produce enough milk for her are partly to thank, but really, I think we have just been very fortunate!

Olivia is now saying "mama" and "dada" very proficiently and will actually repeat them back to you at times!  She Can get up on her hands and knees and attempt to crawl, but usually drops her arms down and scoots arms style wherever she would like to go!  She is now eating stage 2 foods such as chicken and apples (her favorite!) as well as turkey, chicken noodle, mac and cheese, and some others!  She LOVES the YoBaby yogurt and usually eats this for lunch!  She is learning to use the sippy cup, but gets so exciting she ends up whacking herself in the head with it at times!  She is completely capable of holding her own bottle to feed herself; however, she tends to be on the lazy side and requests that we continue to hold it for her :)... which we happily do!  She does not have a single tooth!  We have said for 3 months now that we think she is teething, but still nothing!  And honestly, other than chewing on stuff (as most babies do) and the occasional drool, she really has no other signs of teething just yet.  Maybe she will get them in time for her to start kindergarten so I won't have to send a food processor with her in her back pack!

In other news, I'm in my 4th week at my new job and am still totally loving it!  I have had a hard time adjusting to waking up later and leaving later for work.... however.... this is definitely an adjustment I am HAPPY to make!  I can actually leave my house at 750 and still be at work by 8!  It's amazing!!!

Saturday Aaron and I are going to the Mennonite sale in Scottsville, KY and are really looking forward to it!  Aaron and his family have been before, but this will be a 1st for Livi and I.  I wasn't too sure it was something I wanted to do, but once Aaron started telling me about all of the food that was going to be there, I was sold!!  I have super cute little bonnet that I might dress Livi in so that she will fit in :)

Anywho, I'm ending with this final thought:  Aaron and I are trying to plan our 1st family vacation with Livi.  This summer is also our 5th wedding anniversary so we kinda want to do something big, but not too expensive.  I know Olivia won't remember whatever we decide to do, but I still want to do something that she will enjoy and we can watch her face light up with excitement about!  Several people have suggested Charleston, SC... others have said the beach.  Aaron really wants to go to D.C.  Any thoughts?

Thanks and have a great week!!

HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHYDAY OLIVIA!

Today is Olivia's 6th month birthday!!!!!  I can hardly believe 6 months has already come and gone!  It really feels like just yesterday she was rolling around in my belly!  She makes me the happiest Mama in the world and I can't wait to see what else she has in store for me!

I started off the day today going to work for a few hours.  I learned to do some new things today because the doctor I work for is out of town on a Mission's trip, so we didn't have any patients.  I felt like it was a pretty productive morning.  After I got off, I cam home, ate lunch with Aaron, and waited for Olivia to finish taking her nap.  Once she woke up, we played in the floor for a little while, then took her shopping, as any little girl would like to do for her (1/2)birthday!!  I bought her the most adorable little outfit from Carters with matching shoes that she is going to wear tomorrow for her 6 month pictures!

After we left the outlet mall, we stopped by the grocery store, then came home and cooked fajitas for dinner and ice cream cake for dessert!  Aaron's parents came over to eat and help us celebrate with Olivia!  I made Livi a super cute bow to match her outfit for tomorrow, and then we put her to bed.  She has had a runny nose here lately and got her 6 month shots yesterday so she has been a little under the weather :(

Yesterday at her doctor's appointment the doctor told Aaron that Olivia is in the 99 percentile in EVERY category!  She weighs 18lbs 13oz!  She's such a little chunky monkey!  The doctor also told Aaron that it's time she starts eating stage 2 foods (meat, pasta, etc.) and starts getting introduced to the sippy cup!  For lunch yesterday Aaron and his mom (along with Olivia, of course) met me and my co workers at Los Compadres for lunch after her doctor's appointment.  Aaron's mom told me that it was time she start learning how to use a sippy cup and I just about had a meltdown right there in the middle of the restaurant!  She's a baby!!!  And MY baby, to be exact!  I'm not handling her growing up very well at all :(

Tomorrow we are going to have family pictures taken by Whitney Hall and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it! She did my maternity pictures and did an absolutely wonderful job!  I can't wait to see how they turn out tomorrow!

A little bit about me!

Here are some little tidbits about me I'd like to share:

#1:  I love to dance!  Any kind of dance!  Ballet and Tap are probably my faves, but really I can dance to just about anything!  Since I have become a mommy, I like to dance around the house while holding Olivia singing and dancing to whatever pops in my head!  She thinks it's pretty fun!  And it's a way I can always make her smile!

#2:  I'm obsessed with crafts!  I have learned to make bows for Olivia, am currently working on 2 scrap books, learned to cover travel diaper wipes cases and decorate them, am learning to sew a little, and am constantly looking for fabrics, ribbon, beads, buttons, etc. that can jazz up anything I know how to make!  I'm hoping to learn to embroider later on!

#3:  I hate to cook!!!!  My husband does most of the cooking in our house.  If I'm cooking you can guess we are probably having spaghetti or some sort of casserole!  Or a "bag meal!"  Every now and then I get in the mood to cook something new, but its usually some sort of dessert!  My brother-in-law taught me how to make oreo balls around the holidays, so  I made them about 1-2 times a week!

#4:  I am obsessed with flip flops!  I really think they are the only shoe to wear in warm weather!  I wear them will anything and plan my outfits around which pair of flip flops I would like to wear!  I usually only wear the Old Navy flip flops, but last summer I found myself buying them from target as well!  I needed some "dressier" flip flops because my feet were too swollen (I was very pregnant!) to fit into any other shoes!  And while I'm on the shoe topic, I used to love to wear heels!  However, since pregnancy, I can't stand them!  They are uncomfortable and I'm already 6' tall!  Therefore, no heels for me!  At least, not very often!

#5:  I'm obsessed with my phone!  It's really a flaw I have.  It drives my husband crazy that I have my phone constantly in my hand and feel the need to check it every few minutes.  However, I'm an excellent multi-tasker so I used to not see the issue with texting and carrying on a conversation with him at the same time.  However, once he started doing it to me, I realized it was kind of annoying so I have tried to be better!  Aaron actually got me my current phone as my "push present" when i had Olivia.  The best part was, I didn't have to PUSH to get it!  :)

#6:  I'm OCD about the number 2.  I do everything in 2's!  Every night I make Aaron give me 2 hugs and 2 kisses goodnight.  I check to make sure the doors are locked twice, I only leave the volume on even numbers, and I have even found myself kissing Olivia in even numbers.  However, I'm going to try to not let her realize I have this obsession as she gets older because I really don't want it to rub off on her.

So, that's it for now!  Maybe I'll share some more later!

New diet, new job, new SEIZURES???

So, this past Sunday, as some of you have read on Facebook, I am pretty certain I had a seizure.  It was about 4pm (around about) and as I was getting off of the couch to get Olivia up from her nap, I only made it to just outside of her door when the incident happened.  It scared me to death!  However, luckily it didn't last long, and once my mother-in-law came over and checked me out, I started feeling better shortly.  Although I was ok, I have still been very worried that this type of thing might happen again when I was holding Olivia or even possibly driving.  And since I had never had one before, I decided I should probably call my neurologist.

So, after having the same horrible headache and feeling like the same thing was going to happen again on Monday while I was at work, I decided to leave work once all of our patients were there and go to the doctor.  My neurologist was out of the country so I was sent for a CT by my PCP, and then followed up with a different neuro. the next day.  CT checked out perfect, but after evaluating me, she decided I needed to have an EEG and an MRI of my brain.  She also witnessed that I have absolutely NO short term memory and deemed that I am WAY too stressed out.  She actually got very close to me, looked me in the eyes, and told me that I was way too young to have memory issues and that she really felt like I must be stressed.  My parents, who had came with me to the doctor, proceeded to tell her that I was leaving my current job, starting new job, and that I had recently become a semi-vegetarian.  She proceeded to tell me I needed to take the rest of the week off, and be careful as to what I was eating. 

So, after a little negotiation, she okay-ed me to finish my last 2 days at my current job, work the half a day I had committed to working at my new job, and then proceed with all of the testing, and in the meantime, NO DRIVING!  And that brings me to where I am now.  I was scheduled to have the EEG today at 2, and in order for them to perform this test I had to be sleep deprived.  So last night I only slept a few hours, then got up this morning and went in for my 1st day at my new job.  The scenario was set up as though my 1st day may be a disaster seeing as I was sleep deprived and stressed about all of this testing.  However, I couldn't have asked for a better day!  Everyone there was so nice and so welcoming and extremely helpful!  I had such a wonderful time and I really feel like at this point in my life I am exactly where I need to be!

Aaron picked me up at 12, brought Olivia inside to meet everyone, and then took me to my appointment.  I had probes stuck all over my head, lights flashed in my eyes, instructed to try make myself hyperventilate (more or less) and then told to take a nap, which I did!  When I woke up, I threw my goo-filled hair into a pony tail, hopped in the car with Aaron and Livi, went to Hermitage to buy some new scrubs, and went to dinner with some good friends.  And at dinner, I had BEEF enchiladas.  Yes, beef.

I had actually ordered chicken enchiladas, but with the poor service we had, I knew I would never be able to get them to switch them out.  So, I am now eating meat 1-2 times a week.  The neurologist felt like my diet could have a small affect on what all has been going on recently and encouraged me to make sure I was getting everything I need.  So, in an effort to try to eliminate anything that could possibly contribute to the episode I had on Sunday, I decided to end my diet a few days early.  Meat definitely doesn't taste the way I remember it.  I don't enjoy it the way I used to.  But hopefully I will be able to keep the amount I consume to a minimum.

Tomorrow I will work at my new job for a few hours in the morning, and then tomorrow afternoon I go for the MRI of my brain.  I really feel as if all of the tests I'm having are going to prove that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me, but there is still that tiny little bit of me that is a little nervous.  Through all of this, my husband and family have showed me once again just how wonderful they truly are as they drive me around anywhere I need to go, take wonderful care of Livi, and don't complain one bit.