Colaluca Family Vacation 2009

Family Vacation with the Colaluca's is always a great time. This year we went to Florida and stayed in a condo, all 9 of us; 6 adults, 2, 2 year-olds and an infant. We had an awsome time even though Jacob ended up getting sick half way through vacation. Note to self: do not allow toddler to travel through airports and public places with a Nookie, this could result in sickness.

Our trip was filled with eating great food, visiting family and friends, eating more great food, swimming and being together as a family. It was a good time. Here are some photos from our trip.

The Big Bite

Jacob loves Olivia. He waited months and months to have his own baby sister. He has adjusted very well to her arrival and doesn't seem to mind having her around at all. In fact, he likes to keep tabs on her at all times. If he wants to know where she, he says, "Baby, See?" If she cries, he says "Oh, No, Baby Cry". When she's eating he says "Baby, Milk". When he wants to hold her he says, "Baby, Jacob, Lap", and when she's sleeping he says "Baby, Sleep" right before he yells "Wake Up!"

The other day, I was home with both kids and Olivia was in her bouncy seat (a place where I put her to keep her safe and out of harms way). Jacob likes to see the baby, and he was climbing up on the chair to get a peek of her. Thankfully, Jacob is very obvious about what he's doing and says "Baby, See". I had to drop what I was doing and run in to make sure that the baby wasn't catapulted into the next room. Jacob said, "Hi baby" and got Olivia to smile pretty easily. She loves him so much! Then Jacob put his finger into her mouth and pretended to cry while saying, "Oh NO!". I tried not to laugh too hard because he was so serious about it. I then explained to Jacob that Olivia can't bite him because she has no teeth.

I think that his little act was pretty clever!

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful Boy

The song Beautiful Boy is on Jacob's bedtime CD. He has been listening to this CD before every nap and bedtime since he was 3 or 4 months old. Song #8 is Beautiful Boy and I think it may have come true. My boy is Beautiful. He looks at me with these big blue eyes and I can hardly believe he's mine. I know you aren't supposed to talk about how good looking your own children are...but I am! Certianly, I think other people have beautiful children too, but I just thought everyone should know that my boy is a Beautiful Boy.

Mother of Two

4 weeks old already. I can hardly believe that Olivia is 4 weeks old. She is now, 11 pounds, 4 oz. and 22 inches long. Way to GROW Olivia!

Here is a short list of my new Mommy skills. Just some things that I learned how to do as a new mother of 2 kids under the age of 2.

-I can breastfeed standing up...yeah me!

-I can survive a 12 hour day home alone with the kids

-I can have a toddler slap me on the leg with a poopie hand and not freak out.

-I can run much faster than anyone would think with an infant strapped to me.

-I can leave the park, or any public setting in a matter of seconds...know when to leave!

-I can carry both children up and down the stairs (Jacob, 32 pounds; Olivia, 11 pounds)

-I can have 2 children at the Dr.'s office, both screaming and not loose my cool!

Most importantly, I have learned that my heart does have the capacity to love Olivia as much as I love Jacob. I love them both, more than I ever thought possible and it's the most wonderful feeling to be the mother of 2, healthy and happy children.

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: