Olivia Mae is here to stay!

Olivia Mae was born on Friday, April 17 at 7:49 am. My labor was fast and furious with no time for drugs or intervention :). I'm calling it my redemption birth! After Jacob's birth I was left wondering if my body even knew how to labor (it was not given the chance) and now after 7 hours of natural childbirth, I know that it can, I CAN! I pushed that baby out with no drugs, just the love and support of Matt and my wonderful Midwife.

Olivia was born with a head full of black hair. We wouldn't have expected anything less (can you say Heartburn???). She does look a lot like Jacob did, but I mostly see myself when I look at her. And YES, she's beautiful. Here are a few photos. I'll post more about Olivia once I get to know her more. For now, we are learning the ropes of parenting 2 kids.

OH BELLY!

I've had several requests for more pregnant pictures of myself. To be honest, I haven't even taken that many. With Jacob, I had a photo taken every 2 weeks at least. This time around...please, don't take my picture! But I've had Matt snap a few. Here is a photo of me at 38 weeks with Jacob and 36 weeks with this baby:

March Maddness

We made it through the dreadded month of March. I was truly dreading it because it is technically still a "winter" month around here. With each passing week, my body has grown more uncomfortable and my patience has been tested. I say this now, as I'm 38 weeks pregnant and finally feel that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it helps that now it's April. Due date: April 21. I think I will survive this pregnancy.

Jacob on the other hand, spent the month of March running circles around me. He's getting faster, smarter and more clever by the day. The childproof locks on the kitchen cabinets, no longer childproof, the windowsills have become platforms for his little feet, he's discovered how to take off his diapers (oh JOY) and the toilet is his new favorite toy (several times a day he runs into the bathroom, flushes the toilet and runs back out making a wooshing sound). I used to feel like I was always just a step or two ahead of him. Now I'm feeling like I'm 3 or 4 behind!

He's a happy little guy, but like most toddlers, wants HIS way. This means that I'm either on the ground crawling around like a "doggie" (what a funny looking dog I must be), giving the boy a "horsie" ride, or getting all of the crayons out so that Jacob can sit down and color for aprox. 2 seconds before saying "All Done".

Finally, I get to the "March Maddness". Jacob didn't watch much of the basketball tournament (except for when Matt had it on), but he had his own little TV tournament with Blue's Clues and Seaseme Street! I thought I'd be very opposed to letting my child watch TV, and for the most part I do try to use it sparingly (Jacob actually wouldn't watch TV until recently). However, the past month Jacob watched a fair amount of TV (1 hour max/day). Something I'm not particularly proud of, but it has done the trick. I'm not trying to be a perfect parent, no one is, but in order for me to survive this pregnancy (which I finally think I will), it's nice to know that I have something that will slow down the maddness. And here's the proof: