Two Peas in a Pod

Owen is pretty crazy about his little sister. Today, he leaned over her and whispered, "I love you." Insert "Awwww" here. I've already said he gives her zillions of kisses a day-sometimes that gets him in trouble because he gives her kisses when he's not supposed to (like when she's sleeping soundly). Anyway, here's a couple pictures to document the brother/sister bond they share. 

Sleeping Beauty and Owen

I put Olivia in Owen's bed while I was getting him dressed one morning. He thought that was tons of fun and wanted to lay down with her. He also thought they needed a blanket-so thoughtful. :) Anyway, here's the moment I captured. I love that Olivia is completely oblivious (much like her mother would be-we're pretty sound sleepers).

Bathing Beauties

Bathtime was twice as fun on this particular night! I'm a multi-tasker, what can I say? I think Owen enjoyed the company, but her tub definitely took up quite a bit of his play space. 

Before Owen was born, my brother told me I needed to sit Owen in a chair each month and document how he grew his first year. I thought that was a great idea, but never followed through. Since he's two and a half, I believe that boat has officially sailed. I decided I would try with Olivia. I can already see that there are going to be WAY fewer photos of her because, well, I'm busy, so I figure at least I can take her picture once a month-ha! Anyway, the above photo is one attempt, but then I realized I needed to zoom out so you could see her size compared to the chair (sometimes I'm a little slow-perhaps that's why the documentation never materialized for Owen). The photo below was the best from the photo shoot, so here is Olivia in all her one-month glory. She's still so tiny, but getting chubbier every day! Can't wait to watch her grow!

By the way, our internet is back (obviously). Glad to be blogging again! I know I'm going to be glad I have all these memories preserved somewhere. Everyone always tells me to enjoy this time because it goes so fast. I have certainly found that to be true with Owen and time seems to be flying by even faster with Olivia. I am definitely trying to savor every sweet moment with my little ones...making the days count. 

Technical Difficulties

We have been having trouble with our internet provider. We canceled our service and are waiting for our new provider to get us connected. Sorry for the absence. Hopefully we'll be blogging again soon!

Olivia is One Month Old

Olivia,

You are one month old today! So far, you sleep a lot and you eat a lot. We usually call you Miss Piggy because you snort when you get hungry. Sometimes you don't like to sleep by yourself, but pass out when mom holds you. Your mom likes it when you sleep with your hands next to your face. You tend to get real fussy at night. Your brother HAS to kiss you ALL of the time. You are still very jumpy at every little sound. Sometimes you wake up and look around. I try to get in your line of sight, but you always look away. I know that you usually fall asleep around 11:30. I think you usually wake up around 3:30 and when I go to work in the mornings you are sleeping or sleep-eating. You are sweet as can be and I am already crazy about you.

Love,

Dee-da

Photo Shoot

Here are a few pictures from the photo shoot we had a few weeks ago.
Paige took some really cute shots!

I love this picture! Olivia is laying on a pillow my mom made for her. This pose is exactly what she looks like when she is asleep most of the time-she usually has her hands by her face.

This picture is too funny because it is exactly what Owen does when Olivia cries-he kisses her! He says, "Kiss Olivia," then he says, "Okay, okay, okay..." It's his way of comforting her.
Sweet big brother.

Sweet baby face.

She's so tiny, but getting bigger everyday!

Mama and Olivia.

Family portrait

Another family portrait.
Look at my precious boy! He's so cute. :)

Paige Mobbs is an aspiring photographer in the Cabot area. She takes all kinds of pictures including bridal portraits, family pictures, and newborn portraits. If you are looking for a photographer and would like her information, send me an e-mail at hill.katy@yahoo.com and I would be happy to give you her phone number and price list. She was really easy to work with and did an exceptional job with a one-week old Olivia. She's a mom to two cutie girls, so she's great with kids. We hope you enjoy our pictures-we like them!

Olivia's Weigh-In

We took Olivia for a weight check on Tuesday afternoon and she is gaining like a champ.
She now weighs 7 pounds, 3 ounces- she gained 19 ounces in 13 days!

Our girl is now able to wear some of her "newborn" clothes.
I had to snap a picture of her in this cute summer outfit.

I snapped these pictures with Jacob's iPhone. We have so many pictures of Owen when he was a newborn-things are so different with two kids! I don't even know where our camera is half the time and the other half I don't have time to think about taking pictures! I'm going to try to do better, but first I have to find the camera...

What a Weekend!

We took Olivia on her first road trip this weekend to meet her family in Pope county. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we had a great time and it ended with a pleasant surprise-read on to find out what I got for Mother's Day. :)

On Friday night, Jacob, Owen, Olivia and I went to a Halbrook family get-together.
Olivia and I enjoyed the cool weather and watched Owen play in the dirt.

Aunt Jeanne had great dirt at her house.
Owen was covered in a thin film of dust by the time we left.

On Saturday, Olivia met her great-grandma Jean Hill.
Grandma Jean seemed pretty tickled to meet this little girl.
I think Olivia looks like her-she is definitely a Hill baby!

On Saturday night, my mom, David, and Cade came to the farm to visit.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.
BUT, mom did bring Olivia's quilt, so I'll post a picture of that soon-it is SO cute and colorful!

On Sunday, we went to church with Meme and Papa, ate lunch with the McAlister's, then went to Decoration. Decoration is a time to honor family that has passed away. The above picture is of Jacob's grandmother and grand-daddy's monument-isn't it beautiful? It has a picture of their farm etched into the marble-Owen loved looking at the tractor and cows in the picture.

And here it is-my Mother's Day present! Just kidding, but this is Jacob's new (to us) car. He found it on Craigslist and he and his dad drove to Bentonville Sunday evening to pick it up. We are so excited! Jacob sold his truck about a month ago and he wanted to find something bigger for our expanding family. This was our first vehicle to purchase after becoming debt free and we were thrilled to pay cash for a car. Jacob really searched and searched and found a great deal. It was a pretty great weekend, I must say!

The First Four Days

I'm four days into my first week as a stay-at-home mom of two children. Overall, it's been a good week. We have all had to make some adjustments, but I think we're settling into our new set-up pretty well. Monday was great, Tuesday and Wednesday were good except Owen refused to nap which means no nap for mom, either. You always hear people say "Sleep when the baby sleeps, " but you can't do that when you have a toddler at home. However, Olivia and I have been sleeping pretty well, so I haven't been a walking zombie-mom or anything. Even though we are doing well I have decided to enact the "One Grand-a-Week" program meaning I'm inviting one grandparent to come down one day each week and shower Owen with some undivided attention. I know he will love that and it will give me a chance to focus on this sweet girl for a day. Owen and I are able to get some good quality time in when Olivia is sleeping, but I'm nursing her which requires some special QT time for her and Owen isn't always thrilled with sharing his mama. Anyway, the grands are excited and so am I!

Here's a rundown of what we've been doing today.

We went for a walk to see the men working on a road in a new subdivision a few blocks from our house. We then meandered back home and by "meandered" I mean walked really slowly. You see, Owen never leaves home without a truck and some type of heavy equipment. He's always prepared for a good pile of dirt and there were many such piles on the way home. In the above picture, Owen is scooping dirt and happy as a...boy playing in dirt.

After our walk (which lasted an hour and a half...did I mention the many piles of dirt), we headed to the park. We've been there 3 out of the last 4 days. Owen has impressed me with his climbing skills. This little ladder in the picture above makes me nervous because there are big, gaping holes perfect for allowing a small child to slip through. I hovered the first few times, but I don't want to be the mom hovering over her kid at the playground, so I backed off. He is a pro-he doesn't need me repeatedly telling him to "Be careful, Owen." It's fun to watch your "baby" grow up and master skills-a little nerve-wracking, but so fun.

Okay, this was a little too much for this hover-er. Fortunately, he decided on his own that head first may not be all that fun. *Sigh*

Much better.
No trip to the emergency room today.

If you are wondering what Olivia did while we were walking forever and playing at the park, here it is. She was sleeping. It's a good thing she's okay with being toted around a little. Isn't she cute in her flower headband? It's so funny to haul Owen around to see trucks and tractors and watch him practically roll around in sand and dirt and then look at this tiny girl with the pink flower in her hair. Yesterday, Owen had sand stuck to his cheek-really. He literally put his face in the sand and then left it there as if it was a facial treatment. Boys...but, I figure it won't be long before Olivia grabs a truck and gives herself a sand facial, too. I'll enjoy the flower headband while I can. :)

I think Owen is actually napping, so this mama is running for the shower and bed!

We Survived!

Today was my first unassisted day as a stay-at-home mom of TWO children. I'm certain there will be difficult days, but today was excellent! All three of us woke up after a surprisingly good night of sleep and got ready for a little outing. My main goal for the morning was to encourage Owen to play hard enough so he would be happy to take a nap-it's been a little tricky since the move to the toddler bed. My plan included a trip to the park-ambitious, I know, but we have a park less than a mile from our house. There are never any kids there, so I figured if Olivia had a meltdown (or I had one) there wouldn't be any witnesses. Anyway, I successfully loaded both children in the car and realized we needed gas. We made a quick stop at the gas station and then took a little detour by the doughnut shop (Owen and I needed a treat) before heading to the park. We had fun at the park for a good 45 minutes-1 hour until Olivia spit-up everywhere, so we retreated to the house. Owen played in the backyard until Jacob came home for lunch, then Owen and I took a walk around the block while Jacob watched Olivia. My plan worked because Owen went down for a nap with minimal shenanigans. Olivia napped, I showered (and did a happy dance) and then I was able to take a little nap (and do another happy dance when I woke up). Jacob came home, we had our dinner delivered to us (Thanks Jon, Kristin and Jake!) and Owen and I went for another walk. Bath and bed followed for Owen and I was able to sit down for a little while and relax with Jacob and Olivia. All in all, a good day. I'm sure you all are really thrilled to be reading about my rather unremarkable day, but if you knew how anxious I was about being on my own with two children, you would appreciate it's mediocrity. I just needed to record it for me, so when I have a difficult day I will know there have been and will be other good days like today. :)

Lately...

Olivia is two weeks old today. Our big news is that she now weighs a whopping 6 pounds! We had a weight check on Wednesday and found out she had gained 9 ounces in 7 days! She is still only able to wear her preemie clothes, but I bet she'll be sporting those newborn outfits pretty soon.

Our sweet little 6-pounder

While Olivia has been busy eating, her brother has been busy feeding his cows. Owen spotted a clump of grass that looked like a nice bale of hay and quickly gathered his cattle so they could enjoy its deliciousness.

We had a fun week filled with visits from Nana, Gran, Aunt Marinelle and Meme and Papa. Owen is not going to know what to do next week when he realizes his only playmates are me and Olivia. :)