Time growing old teaches all things...

I've had a fit of insomnia these last few days, which my lack of sleep has afforded me the gift of time!! Goodness if I can only train myself to need a couple hours of sleep a day...the things I could accomplish!! Sorry to the family (without social media) for abandoning you these last months. I seem to become so reliant on the devil we call Facebook. I am so accustomed to that kind of communication that at times I forget that talking and seeing and hearing people is the preferred method of human interaction. But the temptations of being a voyeur to so many so easily has a strong pull on us all. Time moves so incredibly fast these days its hard to keep up with one moment to the next. For those of you that remember I am going to be 30 in a mere matter of weeks. 30 I say! Now for the better part of this last year I have not put much thought into this idea of being 30, it didn't feel like something to get anxious about, but now that its just about here I really only find myself kind of astonished that I don't feel like I thought I would feel.I thought that somehow there would be this moment when everything changed and I just felt, just knew I was a grown up. But the days just ticked off the calendar and the change was so slight I guess I didn't even notice but I grew up, I got older, I won't be in my twenties anymore. And the greatest of all is Im not unique in this. I am quite sure that there are dozens if not hundreds of 29 year olds that will no longer 29 be on june 8th. Something to celebrate I suppose which celebrating my own birthday has never been something I felt extremely comfortable doing.

Nothing of great importance has happened. Jeremy is still working oh so very hard and still attempting to settle in to the night shift. After talking about whether he should take a different shift or keep on keeping on, he decided that right now he prefers the hardship because he gets to be at home during the day with Olive. If he worked a normal 9-5 he feels like he would only get to see her a couple hours before her bedtime. So he's going to tough it out and enjoy this small amount of time when Olive is little. Which is great because we get to be with her during the day together. To experience her growing into herself together. I love being able to watch her do something goofy or new and be able to look over and see Jeremy seeing it too. Which is something that doesn't get to happen to often. I continue you go into work a couple days a week, I think I work about 12 hours a week which is just enough. Thankfully my office lets me do this. I finally graduated which to be honest I felt a little silly seeing how I am much older than the normal graduating student, but none the less finished. After doing some research it turns out I am much closer to getting my RN than I had thought so I am going to take a little break and then finish up the few classes and study for the boards. After getting out of the military I really thought I would never reenter the medical world. But like time does to most things, it changed my mind. We got the garden built and growing and are very eager to start enjoying the food. We also planted a great number of fruit bushes and trees although we really won't get much from those till next year. The city finally changed the regulations and we were able to get our chickens. I was very disappointed last year when they told us no, but its all good now. I don't think either one of us knew just how much of the farmer soul we had in us until we got out of the army and had the space.

Olive is the most unique little thing I have ever been in contact with. She will be 16 months next week. She's got this personality that is hard to describe. She has always been such a serious baby. And now I can see that is only because she is watching everything that goes on around her. She picks up on things so quick that it frightens me that I am unintentionally teaching her bad habits. Don't get me wrong she smiles and giggles and laughs, but she is far to determined for her own good. She climbs on just about everything. And I know your thinking sure babies crawl on stuff, but Olive MUST be on the very top of everything. And amazingly she does it. She is so strong. I will watch her and think there is no way she can get on top of that chair and I will look away and when I look back she went from the chair to the top of the table, or the headrest of the couch, the fireplace, the window seal, the tree in the back yard, the garden fence, the stairs (but mind you there is a gate blocking the stairs this is the outside little lip of stairs that comes off from the rail) and there is absolutely no way to stop her. It first started with her toys. She would pull out her big toy cars and stand on those so I put those up, then it was her little play table so I put that up, then it was another toy and another one till all she had left were books to play with (which she still stands on top of) but now that all her toys are up she's moved on to the stuff that I can't hide from her. At this point the most I can do is be there to catch her if she falls, which I guess is a good lesson in parenting in general. Her vocabulary is growing all the time last we counted she was up to about 20 words, her favorites being daddy, juice, and help. But she is constantly asking "whats that" its the first thing she says to you in the morning. Pointing at something like she's been thinking about it all night and ask whats that. She's more fun than I know what to do with!!!

I would say I will continue to update, but that might very well be a lie! I shall try!! Love you all!!!

 

Better late than never!!!

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it is mid November!! Seriously time seems to go by so quickly these days! It feels like I was just posting pictures for the to far away family, but that was two months ago!! Things here have been good and busy. After 6 months in the new house I can say for the most part we are all settled and moved in. Moving is by far the least fun thing to do so hopefully we won't be doing it again for a long while. I'm officially showing my age because I now drive a minivan!! But I am embracing it and actually its pretty darn nice and makes traveling so much easier, but it is a little funny that its just her chilling in the back!!

Olive reached a big milestone last month, she started walking. Although its not all that pretty at times it gets her around!! We started going to a play class where she gets to play around with other tykes her age and I think she enjoys showing off a bit!! Shes also is getting a mouthful of teeth. We are up to six now and shes figured out what they do so she makes sure to bite all her food with her little teeth like a rabbit. Its pretty scary to think that she is going to be one in just three short months!!! But in the meantime we have Grumps and Grams coming for Thanksgiving and of course our 1st Xmas!!

Olive is tugging on my hair as I type this and enticing me to go play with her. Sorry for the delayed posting. Ill do my best to do better for the family far and away!! Love you all!!

picutes pictures pictures

Hogging all the toys in class!!!

She was reading to us while we ate some dinner

At the RenFen

We were baking some cookies

Seriously not happy about these leaves!!

Lots-O-Ollie

Centuries have passed since I last wrote. Time seems to just be flying right out the window without a second thought. August!! Its August already!! Where the summer went I don't know nor do I really mind. The unnecessarily hot weather has worn out it's welcome. Olive is growing faster than I ever thought possible. She will be 7 months this month which just seems insane to me. As for the last couple months Jeremy and me haven't done a whole lot to talk about. Our trip to New York was a busy one, but it was fun 2 weeks. Olive loved being around all the people and her cousins. We enjoyed the time in the pool and being around that many friends and family was a nice change. We seem a bit lonely at times in Kansas City a little to far from family for our liking every now and then. We spent one day up in a place called Stony Brook, you can hike up a gorge, swim in the waterfalls, and just enjoy the mountains. Why I didn't bring my camera I don't know, but it was by far one of my favorite things we have done. We came home to Kansas City, but relaxation was not to be had. I came down with phenomena and was quite sickly. Jeremy was the next, he came down with the flu right about the time that I was starting to feel better, and poor little Olive was last getting a little stuffy. It was a strange thing having it be a million degrees outside and us inside with coughs and runny noises. But we are all better now and trying to make up for lost time. There is still much work to be done on the house. It just doesn't feel like home yet. Jeremy has big plans for the backyard replacing the deck, putting in a cement patio with a brick fireplace, finding a place for our big ole garden next year all exciting fun things. Ive still got some painting, refinishing, and decorating to do. Ive got too many ideas in my head and have been searching thrift stores and swap meets to find the things i need/want. But it will all come together soon enough when the time is found. For the longest time the center of everything I did essentially revolved around me, then I met Jeremy and it revolved around us, but I was still at the center of that circle with him. Now everything I do sleeping, showering, eating, exercising, reading, talking on the phone, writing an email, watching TV, spending time alone with Jeremy revolves around Olive. Its a crazy change that happens almost over night, but the craziest thing of all is that I don't even miss or really remember the way it was before. I mean what would be the alternative, no Olive? I can't even fathom. We are very lucky because Olive is such happy baby, so much so I'm hoping that we didn't use up all the happy baby genes on her. We took her out to a restaurant for the first time on Friday night. She did so good siting in the high chair and eating some beans and just enjoying looking around and staring at people, yes she stares like a crazy baby!! And she is quite the music lover!! Anytime a song comes on that she likes she stops whatever shes doing and stares at whatever the music is coming out of, the TV, radio, or my phone. She really digs deep voices shes a fan of Elvis, Johnny Cash and Tom Waits, but her favorite is the theme song to True Blood (no clue who sings it or what its called). Jeremy and I had got it from Netflix and as soon as she hears it she is memorized, its a thing to see!!

Sorry family for taking so long to update I will do better, but here are about a hundred pictures!!

Miss you all!!!

Her 1st time wearing shoes, they lasted about 3 mins!!

She crawls under and over and around everything!!!! Its craziness!! And shes already trying to stand up!!
Brocklee and her are the best friends ever!!

He really wants her to share her toys!!!!

He hasn't quite grasped the fact that she can't play fetch with him yet.

Grandpa put the towel on her head!!

Having fun at the store!!

Her favorite pass time, her bouncing chair

Way too many toys!!!! And yet of all the toys she seems to get the most pleasure in finding the things that shes not supposed to play with like power chords, shoes, the remote control, my phone anything and everything but her toys.

She loved the pool although it took 3 or 4 days to warm her up to it

She started on eating food!! So far sweet potatoes are her favorite. Shes not so picky but shes a messy one!!!

Beating up Jax!!!

Landon and Olive

Sitting in the airport!!

Her little hiking backpack!!

Go Huskers!!!!

Don't be fooled!!!!