Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas everyone! It ended up being a quiet but good Christmas in our new house. I had to work the morning show then came home to open up gifts with Amanda and Olivia before having to go back to work to do the noon newscast. This year, we also set up our webcam so my mom, dad, and sister could share in the experience of Olivia opening up her Christmas presents. It was actually my sister's idea, so I give Jennifer all the credit for it. They have a webcam too, so we were able to watch my niece and nephew open their gifts as well. Long distance Christmas in the 21st century! Here's a video of Olivia opening up some of her gifts from Santa!



She really likes her kitchen...except for the voice part of it. I put some tape over the speaker to muffle it and it works pretty well. Santa also got her some extra play food, so with plenty of food props and a vivid imagination, Olivia has been "cooking up a storm" for the last few days. As for Amanda and I, we pretty much considered the house being our big Christmas present to ourselves...and it's one of the best gifts we could have given ourselves.

A couple days before Christmas, Amanda had another ultrasound and everything is looking good! Amanda has been doing pretty well so far...although she has noticed a definite decrease in her energy level lately. Plus, her ability to get a good night of sleep is starting to drop off too. Amanda's efforts have been focused on getting the house is as good a shape as possible before April. I'm doing my best to help, but there's only so much I can do. In other words, Amanda wants it done and done HER WAY! So, I just do my best to stay out of harm's way. As for a name for our new little girl, there have been *brief* discussions about a name, but nothing in depth as of yet...so stay tuned. Here's one of those really cool 4D pictures of her.
Last weekend, we transitioned Olivia into her "big girl bed" and to this point, things have been going very well! The first couple nights were a bit rough, but she is sleeping through the night without any problems now. We also have our own built in alarm clock because when she gets up, she comes right into our bedroom to get us! Yay! Yes, that was a bit of sarcasm...but it's really not that bad. She sleeps usually until 8 o'clock, so we end up getting a decent amount of sleep. Here's a few other pictures of Olivia taken over the past few weeks. The last two pictures are definitely my new favorite pics of her. She's growing up so fast and looking so old! Sometimes you get a picture of her that solidifies that statement...and those are a couple of those pics. Enjoy this pictures and we wish the best to everyone in 2009!

Olivia opening up some of her Christmas presents

So happy to get snowman suckers in her stocking!

Check out the static effect!

Poor girl...she has dada's feet

My little angel from Heaven!

So adorable and looking so grown up!

Moving Stinks!!

Have I ever mentioned how much moving stinks?? The last month has been absolutely chaotic as we finally closed on our house a week and a half ago...and now we're in the laborious process of unpacking, sorting, adjusting, fixing, and tweaking...all the fun things you get to do once you move into a new house! We really like the new house though. It's bigger than the one we had down here in Amarillo our first time around. It's a prettier house too. It's got a huge kitchen, a good-sized living room, a big covered patio out back, a smaller but very nice covered porch in front, and Amanda's favorite...a water jet laden bathtub in the master bathroom. Olivia has adapted to the new house better than we could have ever imagined! She's sleeping completely through the night usually going to bed around 9 at night and getting up around 8:30 or 9 in the morning. We were waiting until we got into our new house before starting potty training and the transition to the "big girl bed", so those should be our next big tasks to tackle...after we get the rest of the boxes unpacked, sorted, and situated. So, if anyone needs our new mailing address, please drop me a line and I'll be sure to let you know.

The other big news is the day after we closed on our house down here, Amanda had a full-scale ultrasound and we found out that I am going to be severely outnumbered in my house. That's right! Baby number two is a girl!! That's cool with me though. At least we won't have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe and we can put both girls in the same room...which we already have plans to do. The due date is still slated for early to mid April (April 13th is the actual date), so while we have a good amount of time before our next little girl arrives, we also know the time will go by very fast...so with potty training, a bed transition, and plenty of unpacking to do, we know we don't have time to rest on our laurels.

Well, this is about all the time I have to update you. Amanda and Olivia are both still asleep, but I know they will be waking up soon and that's going to kick off another busy day in the new Swiatowy house. Here are a few recent pictures of us over the past few weeks.

Those are big shoes to fill!

The latest fashion statement: Upside down sunglasses!

Olivia the green sherbet monster!

Hiding out in the hippo!

Here's our wonderful new kitchen!

Halloween 2008

There's something to be said for being back in familiar surroundings...and it made for a very enjoyable Halloween experience yesterday evening. We took Olivia over to our old/new neighborhood (we will be closing on a house down here on the 20th of November) and spent the evening with our friends Amber and Randal and their two little boys Logan and Ian. For about the past month or so, Olivia had really been watching a lot of Halloween-related movies and cartoons. Dora, Diego, Charlie Brown, and Ichabod Crane all fueled the fire...and by the time Halloween actually came, she was as ready as ready could be! She knew all about going up to the door, knocking on it, and saying, "Trick or treat!!" Both her and Logan were dressed up very cute...Olivia as a spider and Logan as a dinosaur...and I think their combined cuteness led to an extra supply of candy being dished out to them. We...um, I mean...they made out like bandits! Well, there has to be a certain "parental surcharge" on the candy...especially if we don't want Olivia to prematurely lose her baby teeth. We are really looking forward to moving back into that neighborhood...and to another fun-filled Halloween with two kiddos next year.

A Few New Pics

I happened to catch Amanda and Olivia on a good day...a day in which both were dressed up and in good enough moods to have their picture taken. They're my two beautiful angels!!

I got in on the act as well on the day before with a couple nice pictures Amanda took of me and Olivia outside.

As you can probably guess, this is one of two new favorite pics. The other being the second picture of Amanda and Olivia posted above. Here are few other pictures taken in the past couple weeks. Enjoy!

Because Dad Asked

My dad sent me an email happy to see the ultrasounds for baby #2, but noted that there were no new pictures of Olivia. Well, allow me to rectify that situation! Olivia played in the sprinkler a little yesterday morning and I snapped a few pictures of her. Here are some of the good ones!

First Ultrasound for #2

Sorry it took me a week to get these posted. I had to go up to Michigan on a last-minute decision to get the appliances out of our house up there...appliances that I didn't feel like just giving away to the buyer of the house...whoever that may be. Don't let that statement fool you...our house hasn't sold yet. Yes, this is a very very frustrating situation...so if you would be so kind as to send up a prayer or 10 for the rapid sale of our house, that would be great!!

Anyway, Amanda had her first doctor's appointment last Thursday and everything looks good so far! There's only one "bun in the oven", so for at least this go round, the fact that Amanda's dad is a twin and twins tend to be an element that can transfer down the family line isn't a factor for this pregnancy.

We haven't really talked to Olivia about her being a big sister as of yet. When Amanda starts to show a little more, then we'll start talking to her about it. It should be a fun conversation once it's time. Here are a few images from the ultrasound...

Full front picture! You can see the head, body, two hands, and the right foot.

Side shot. All you can really make out is the head and body.

Top looking down shot. Only the head and hands are visible.

Olivia is Going to be....

...a BIG SISTER!! That's right!! The address for this blog finally means something again...there's a new Swiatowy on the way!! We officially found out a couple weeks ago but the first appointment isn't until mid September. Based on the initial calculation, the due date is April 13th. So far, Amanda is feeling okay...just fatigued. We haven't talked to Olivia about her soon-to-be sibling yet. We'll do our best to explain it to her when Amanda is showing a little more. More updates to follow!

New Videos

Here's a couple new videos from the past few weeks. Olivia finds it hilarious when I'm inflicted with the ill effects of eating coins...and having to regurgitate them back up for her. Then there's the ever-popular game "I'm gonna get you!". She loves it...you'll even hear her say it back to me because she wants me to keep chasing her. I love playing these little games with her...and I'm glad I've got 'em on video to capture these truly cherished moments in all her cuteness. Enjoy!

A Couple Cool Outings

There's a lot to update on this blog entry. We've had a couple opportunities to do some really fun stuff with Olivia (and others) over the past couple weeks with a bunch of new pictures to show as well! First, the weekend after the 4th of July, we met up with Damon, Laurie, and Elisabeth (our friends from Tulsa) in Oklahoma City to catch up, see how the kids are growing up, and also take a trek down to Norman to check out the old college campus. It's been 10 years since I've seen all the expansions and upgrades to the campus and it's just amazing to see all they've done to that place. The campus is as gorgeous as ever...it just has several more buildings and several more have been added to. Here's a few pictures from our time on the OU campus.

Olivia and Amanda at one of the fountains on campus

Me, Damon, and the girls in front of the Sooner Schooner

The group walking in front of the OU library

After touring the campus, we continued our walk down memory lane by going up to downtown OKC to have dinner and one our favorite restaurants. From there we walked to the "river walk" area and had Olivia feed Cheerios to some ducks and snap a few more pictures. After that, it was back to the hotel and probably the highlight of the trip from Olivia's viewpoint...fun in the pool!

Ducks, ducks, and more ducks!

Olivia and Elisabeth

Amanda and Olivia in the pool

All the girls in the pool

Olivia going for a ride with dada

Smile!

The soggy McIntosh family photo

The next day (Sunday), we had plans for the six of us to go to the OKC zoo. Well, Elisabeth did her best to disrupt those plans by not sleeping well at all Saturday night. So, Damon and Laurie decided to pack it in and head to Tulsa. Amanda, Olivia, and I pressed on and went on over to the zoo. Olivia had a good time wearing herself out and checking out the available animal displays (I really wouldn't recommend going to the OKC zoo for quite some time to come. They're in a big renovating phase right now and won't be done until 2011. That means there's a reduced number of animals out for display...no elephants either!). Still, Olivia enjoyed calling out the animals as she saw them.

My attempt at an "artistic" picture of Olivia in the butterfly garden

Olivia and dada checking out a bird exhibit

Ooooooohh...lion cubs are cool!

Olivia looking at a cat exhibit (but the tigers were nowhere to be seen)

Olivia and mama looking at the coyotes

Our second outing was much closer to home. This past weekend, we went to Wonderland Park here in Amarillo. It's an amusement park with roller coasters, water rides, and kiddie rides. The three of us went thinking Amanda and I could take Olivia on some of the "slightly bigger" rides, but she is still too small for them. So, we decided to just let Olivia have all the fun on this trip to the amusement park. We started her off with a ride on the mini train around the park...which despite the look in the picture, she really liked. Next was a ride on the carousel. She really enjoyed her time on the horse...so much so that we rode it two times in a row. As we were getting ready to leave, there was a kiddie boat ride that Olivia wanted to go on ("A boat! A boat!" she said). We were reluctant to put her on it because you couldn't ride with her and there weren't any sort of restraints on the ride. Well, we finally decided to let her have a go at it and she had a blast! After the boats, it was a similar ride with cars. Then it was over to the kiddie helicopter ride...but Amanda rode with her on that one. All in all, Olivia had a really good time once she got comfortable with being on the rides.

Olivia riding the train for the first time!

Olivia and mama on the carousel

Olivia and dada "horsing around" before riding the carousel

Enjoying the ride

Olivia riding a ride by herself for the first time!

Olivia taking the pink Mustang for a ride

Olivia and mama riding the helicopter ride

A couple of side notes...I want to wish my Grandpa Swiatowy a happy 97th birthday on Wednesday (the 23rd). 97!!! That's incredible! Also, a big congratulations goes out to our friends Amber and Randal Dovel on the birth of their second child, Ian, on Monday. I leave you with a few other "miscellaneous" pictures from the past couple weeks.

Olivia smiling in a big, inflatable bouncy

Smile!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy!