Wow...it's hard to believe that Olivia has turned a month older already! 2 years and 10 months today! In honor of her turning another month older, I've uploaded a couple new videos! The first of which is Olivia singing along (and doing all the fun physical stuff too) to "The Wheels on the Bus". The second video is of Olivia demonstrating her newly-developed computer skills. Pretty impressive computer skills...with a nice added cuteness value.Two major feats have been accomplished in the past month: Olivia is sleeping in her "big girl bed" now...and for the most part, she's sleeping through the night. We've had a few minor issues with things like fingers and elbows not being covered by blankets (yeah, best not to ask) and the more typical issue of a mild fear of the dark. There was one semi-major meltdown in the middle of the night earlier this week and Amanda handled that with a certain middle-of-the-night, she's-in-the-third-trimester-of-her-pregnancy sternness that only she can do.The other major accomplishment is Olivia is for the most part potty trained! We started right after Christmas and within two weeks, Olivia would verbalize her need to use the potty every time! The only exceptions that still remain are the sleeping situations. I know boys and girls are different when it comes to potty training, but given what my mom has told me about how much of a pain in the butt I was getting potty trained, Amanda and I are both really happy Olivia picked it up so quickly.Things are going well with baby #2 as well (we haven't decided on a name yet...obviously). We just had another ultrasound and the baby is currently breech, meaning she's "head up" in Amanda's belly. Amanda can definitely attest to having the baby head up with the top of the baby's head pushing up into Amanda's ribs in a rather painful sort of way. But the baby is healthy and developing well. Amanda is starting to get really worn out very quickly, so I'm doing my best to help her as she get things finalized before the baby joins us in this world. The bast way I can do that is to keep Olivia entertained, which any parent will tell you, keeping up with an-almost three year old is draining all by itself. Here are some pics!
Look at that cute nose and mouth!
She has her hand up by her face.
The ultrasound technician used a buzzing device to get her to move. Instead, it made her cry.
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!
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!
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.
Look at that cute nose and mouth!
She has her hand up by her face.
The ultrasound technician used a buzzing device to get her to move. Instead, it made her cry.
