A Football NYE

What an exciting end to 2009!!! We had GREAT tickets to the Texas Bowl where Navy defeated Missouri. Tim and a few other guys helped plan and coordinate a pretty ridiculous tailgater of over 50 people!! It was a lot of fun to have so many people together all cheering on Navy. Olivia also had a blast. She spent a good portion of her time practicing her walking by pushing around a chair!!


At the game, we sat with the Outtens. It was entertaining sitting near the brigade and so close to the field. The highlight of the game (for me) was getting a picture with Bill the Goat. I was walking around the concessions trying to get Olivia to sleep...when I see the Goat....and of course now Olivia was asleep. Some very nice random people took a picture of Olivia, the Goat and myself and emailed us the picture :)

After the victory we went to the Johnson's where we enjoyed some pizza and wings and a Virginia Tech win too!! We didn't quite make it to the New Year...as it had been a long day and the guys started "partying" at 10am. However, it was a great ending to a very good year!!!!

Clumsy

Baby Signs

WOW...our toddler is really starting to pick up on things. Olivia now knows how to do the signs for milk and eat!!!

milk


eat

My 30th Birthday

If today is any indication of how my 30's will be...then I'm definitely excited!!!

It started off with lunch downtown with the Johnsons and then off to Skydive Spaceland. Justin used to jump while in the Air Force and met up with his coach. While we were there we also found out that Virginia Tech is expected to win the National Collegiate Parachuting Championship...GO HOKIES! And guess who happened to be wearing their VT sweatshirt?!? Yup yup...I was there supporting the VT Skydiving Team :) It was very impressive to learn about this sport and the images were amazing. At one point, the sky had over fifteen parachutes...it was beautiful.

(this picture has 6 parachutes)

Afterwards, we went Go-Karting. I stayed with the kiddos while Tim, Justin and Tiff raced...and the results are in the pictures below :)

An absolute great day! Thank you sooo much to everyone for the phone calls, text messages, emails, and facebook comments!!

BOOTS!

Thank you Aunt Erin and Uncle Kevin for the boots!!
&
Thank you Grana and Grampa for my cute sweater!!

Bear

Bear came into our family 3 years ago. We went to Dave and Busters and spent over $100 on tokens...to play the games...to get the tickets...to buy Bear. We chose Bear because his coloring was similar to Jerry. That night when we came home, we gave Jerry (only 15 weeks old) Bear. Ever since then, they've been inseparable. Jerry carries around Bear, sleeps with Bear, plays with Bear, and eats with Bear. When you come to the home, 90% of the time, Jerry will have Bear to greet you with.

Bear has had multiple surgeries and fluff replacement...has lost his nose and mouth....but is still loved dearly.

only a couple weeks old...noticed how clean Bear is and how Jerry's nose is black
sleeping with Bear

Bear isn't normally allowed outside ... this was a special circumstance

notice baby Olivia in the background...Jerry greeted us at the door with Bear...when we brought O home from the hospital

Jerry and Bear watching O try to crawl

Trish pointed out in this picture how Jerry is in the background...with Bear :)

Merry Christmas!!!

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,
The gladness of Christmas give you hope,
The warmth of Christmas grant you love.
~unknown

Merry Christmas to all!!

Olivia enjoyed her first "repeat" holiday. This is her 2nd Christmas and it was a complete joy. By 8am Daddy and I were excited and woke up Miss O to start our morning. Olivia had a great time opening her gifts and thank you to everyone who helped crowd our tree.

This was our first Christmas we've ever spent alone and at our house....so we decided to start some of our own traditions. We ate breakfast all day and didn't get out of our PJs :) We all took two naps and played with our toys all day long. Even with all our relaxing ... we definitely missed having family with us.

Christmas Eve

Loving this holiday season. Today we attempted for the third time to get our picture taken with Santa...however, Mommy and Daddy refuse to wait for hours to get a simple picture. So this is as close as we got to our picture with Santa.

We then had a little photo session.

Took our annual self-timer Christmas photo.

Opened our Christmas Eve presents of new PJ's and wrote our letter to Santa.

Sweet Dreams Olivia...We are excited about tomorrow :)

1st Bikini

Yup Yup...Christmas has not even officially arrived...but here in Texas you have opportunity to buy bathing suits in December. And thus...that's how Olivia has come to receive her 1st bikini. I do recognize there will probably be a time in my life when I'm encouraging her to wear the full-piece-wet-suit style bathing suit...but right now I think she looks pretty darn cute in this little set. Now, in case you were wondering or worried...this bathing suit does have UPF 50+ (for the parts it covers).

SYTYCD

That's "So You Think You Can Dance" for all you rookies...
Personally...we think she has some of the best dance moves out there...but we may be a little biased.
Maybe she can try out in 17 years :)

Done & Done

We are finished with formula and bottles!
These are definitely a huge milestones.

I thought I was going to be really sad about giving up the bottle...but I realized that Olivia still enjoys snuggling while drinking her milk out of a sippy cup. That's what I wanted... our snuggle/cuddle time.

The transition from formula to whole milk is also done. She's done great with it and I'm loving the price tag of whole milk versus formula. She has about 3 ounces with breakfast, 4 ounces before her afternoon nap, and 4 ounces before bed.

the last bottle

?!?!?Toddler?!?!?

One Week Later:

My baby is a toddler????

No...not my baby...

But yup...crossing the one year mark officially takes her from being a baby to the toddler stage.

Oh my.


Special Quirks About Olivia (as a baby):
**never developed the "bald spot" on the back of her head

**did not like the cradle hold...preferred to be on her tummy, upright, on your chest or over your shoulder

**had an extremely visible pulsating soft spot

**really enjoyed to sleep on her tummy

**focused on the fan very frequently

**loved to stick her tongue out

**had extremely good head control and leg strength

**was an excellent nurser and eater

**loved mobiles

**spit up a lot

**petite
**bald

**overall ... a great sleeper

Blogging

My lovely sister found this shirt and promptly thought of me...and yes, I would agree...it fits.

So this daily blogging of mine is my scrapbook to my children. Using companies like blurb you can create a blogbook with all your posts.

Gummy Gums

and no teeth...

But that's okay. Tim and I have discussed that once she gets teeth...then we have to start brushing them. The doctor also said it's okay...less chance for them to rot. However, she also said that once they do come in, she'll probably get a mouthful really fast and it probably won't be fun.

I just have one of the longest teething babies EVER. I do believe, as early as three months, I've been saying O's teething.

Oh and her friend, Mr. Cameron (who is only three months old), just got his first tooth. And my good friend, Tara, also just informed me that her teeth came in later and in different order...

Just more proof that children
will develop at their own perfect pace.

Hair Bows

Guess who has enough hair for bows?!?!?

SOOOOOO fun!

Complete FIT!

The other day Olivia and I had our neighbor Stacey and two of her children over for morning coffee and a play date...

Olivia seemed a little clingy and then when Stacey's 14 month old daughter wanted to play with the same toy as Olivia...OLIVIA BROKE DOWN. I mean, complete hysterics-screaming-crying. It was a disaster. I would get her calmed down only to place her on the floor and Olivia start screaming again about something.

Guess we need to do A LOT more play dates!!

12 Month Appointment

Today was Olivia's 12 month "well-check" at the doctors. Everything is progressing well. We talked about O's spit-up. Although it has not completely ended, it's dramatically decreased... We also discussed her lack of teeth and appropriate food/milk ratio.

And for her stats:

weight 19 pounds 8 ounces - 25th percentile

height 29 inches - 50th percentile

head circumference 18.25 inches - 75th percentile

We Need a Bigger Car

We used to say "We Need A Bigger Car" only once every two months or so. Then Olivia came along and we started saying it more...once every month. And then..in the past four months...we've started saying it every week and recently I find myself saying every day. It's frustrating. And our small cars are annoying. Frequently I have to sit in the backseat so we can fit all our stuff in the front seat and trunk. If we go somewhere with Jerry...Jerry gets the front seat while I'm in the back with Olivia. Then there are the times when we want to buy things...we either have to borrow someones car or pay for shipping....for objects that aren't really all that big, but just can't fit in our cars.

We've found "the car" we both like!! Tim has added it to his wishpot...feel free to donate as much as you feel comfortable. Just click "contributions" :)

Drumroll please...

Lexus (yes...haha...a Lexus) GX 460. We know...it's extravagant. It's beautiful. It's luxurious. It's almost perfect. And it's kind-of expensive, especially when we want the NEW model coming out in January 2010.

But we LOVE it.

Our Car

Happy Birthday Olivia!!!

Today is Olivia's 12 month Birthday (aka ONE YEAR!). It's absolutely crazy to think that Olivia is one year old and we can't believe how much she has changed and how much we have changed...in just one year!

We spent the day together (as we always say) "as a family". And it was perfect. We started Olivia's day off with birthday waffles.

After breakfast she opened her present from us...TUNNELS and FORTS :) Yes, I believe all of us (including Jerry) have now crawled through and played in the structure.

Then we had dinner and cake and opened the rest of her presents!! Everyone was sooo generous and thoughtful. We really appreciate all the messages, calls and texts today.

This Past Month Olivia:

*makes a sweet lovin noise (aaaahhhh...) whenever she sees another baby or a picture of a baby or is holding a stuffed animal or kissing us :)
*dances to music
*does the sign for "more"

*attended her first book signing
*flew back East
*celebrated first thanksgiving

*definitely says doh-doh for dog

*loves to look at other kids and babies

*wears 9 month clothes

One Year Ago Tonight

Here's the birth story...and all the lovely details:
warning there are lots of details...if you don't want to know...don't read!

A year ago today I left school at Lyon Elementary for the last time. I was starting my maternity leave (my due date was one week later December 19th). It was an exhausting day trying to get everything put together and organized for my substitute. And, I was a little disappointed that I hadn't gone into labor that day. It was 12/12 (my favorite number) and it was the largest and closest full moon of the year (and you know what they say about women and going into labor on full moon nights...I was positive the gravitational pull was going to have an impact on our girl).

Later that night, Tim and I decided to eat at Brother's Pizza and then we headed to the Johnsons for a normal game night with the Outtens. Tiff mentioned later that night how I looked at peace about everything...and I agreed. Our little girl could come whenever she was ready. It was a good place to be in.

Around 11:30pm and I was beginning to not feel great. I was tired and ready to call it a night. I drove Tim and I home and looked at the clock in the car...12:03am. Sadly, I told Tim how my chances of having a baby on 12/12 was over. I also mentioned how I was really not feeling well and that I was uncomfortable driving.

We got into bed and Tim was already falling asleep when I asked him to get me some water...as I was still not feeling better. I started timing my episodes of not feeling great and it was about every 15 minutes. I joked with Tim that maybe he should drink some water and "sober-up" in case this was the real thing. After about 20 minutes, nothing was getting better...so I suggested we go on a walk. That is our "solution" to almost every Hertel Problem....go on a walk. And that's what we did. It was 1am and we grabbed Jerry...who was VERY confused...and bundled up because it was freezing out and went on a walk. Tim was wearing my pink athletic watch and was timing the start, end, duration of what started to appear to be contractions. It was still about every 15 minutes when I felt like complete crap. It was an extremely strong cramp. I couldn't walk or talk during it. I felt the best if I was doing the very slow and deep breathing that we practiced in our class. Tim at one point tried to massage my back...and we both agreed that was not the way to get through the contractions :)

We were about one mile away from our house when I immediately had to go to the bathroom....I mean, immediately. I looked ahead and saw a port-a-potty in a new housing area about 50 yards away. So I attempted to jog and make it to the potty...when I realized I wasn't going to make it...stopped and in the middle of this new construction area went to the bathroom.... Of course my lovely husband is cracking up, he thought my potty dance was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. It was at this point though that I'm realizing that I'm finish going to the bathroom...but that something was different. My water broke.

I think my stomach immediately dropped even further...just because of the reality of the situation. AND because I was going to have to walk a mile back home with nasty wet clothes. On the way home I remember Tim high-fiving me saying "this is it."

We got home and I encouraged Tim to eat food and drink (although to this day he claims that having a baby sobers you up faster than anything you've experienced). I took a shower because I felt absolutely disgusting...but later found out that it's not recommended to shower after your water breaks. And then I vacuumed the house...because I was nervous and it needed it. Lastly we took my last pregnant picture.

And then we left. It was 2:50am. HOLY FREAKIN MOLY!

My bag was already packed and we drove into the hospital. Along the way we called family to let them know. We arrived at the hospital where they confirmed that my water had broke and that my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. WHAT?! They were only 15 minutes apart...but the nurse informed me that all the small discomforts I was having in between the MASSIVE pains were also contractions. I had already dilated to 4 cm (I was 2 cm at my appointment earlier in the week).

The nurse that we had in the middle of the night...was not my favorite. And maybe I was a little grumpy...but I clearly remember saying to her at one point, "I recognize that you do this every day and this is nothing new to you...but it's not for me. So please help me!" lol...don't mess with a pregnant lady in labor :)

We finally got moved out of triage and into our room(4am). At this point I was asking for an epidural and my "not favorite nurse" would not give me a timeline of when I could expect it. So I asked if there was anything else she could give me (BIG MISTAKE). I was given some loopy drug and it made me very sleepy and completely out of it. I would start sentences and not be able to finish them. And only 10 minutes later, I received my epidural. HUGE relief! Olivia's heart rate dropped a couple of times...so they gave me oxygen and had me lay on my side.

Around 6:30am the nurses told Tim to relax and go have breakfast because I probably wasn't going to deliver until noonish. HOWEVER, to his surprise when he walked back in the door at 7am I was 10 centimeters and ready to start pushing. The nurses completely transformed my room and had me do a couple of practice pushes...when they realized I was done pushing and we needed the doctor (7:30). Unfortunately the doctor was not immediately available and I had to just wait. The nurse started to reassure me that she has delivered babies before....
when at 8:20 Dr. Young walks in.
8 minutes and one push later Olivia Marie Hertel was born.

Saturday, December 13, 2008 : 8:28am : 7lb 6 oz : 20 inches.

She came out crying and was immediately placed on my chest. Olivia received a 9/9 on both apgar tests ... losing a point for her color. Her eyes were a shade of blue...more of slate blue and had a bruise bum. The nurses explained to me that it's a Mongolian birthmark and happens frequently to women of Hispanic descent...at which point I explained I wasn't.

Looking back I can't believe how quickly everything progressed...Tim and I were both anticipating having to labor for a long time at home and that we would probably spend a day+ in labor. Our time in the hospital was a blur. We were absolutely exhausted since we had both been up since 5am on Friday morning. On Saturday both the Johnson and Outten families came to visit. Later that day a student and her mom also came to meet Olivia. Thankfully we were discharged Sunday around 3pm and were able to get home and start our lives together.

Wow...it's been a whole year!!!
Looking forward to celebrating with our daughter tomorrow :)

What A Day!

Today Tim stayed home and we decided to have an "Andrea & Tim" day. It started with a couples massage while a neighbor watched Olivia and then we had Rachel babysit for us while we saw The Blind Side (GREAT movie) and went to dinner at Rockfish. It was a wonderful day.

AND THEN...

I came home to a surprise 30th birthday party!!! All of our great friends were able to come. It was such a huge surprise...I had absolutely NO IDEA. Thank you so much to Chris, Tiff and Tim for organizing a fiesta for me and to everyone else who came. Of course our night was filled with food, drink, presents and even a cake with fondant icing and 30 pink candles...yikes!

Below are the girls that I'm always hanging out with. If I say I'm doing something ... it's with one of the girls below. You are all so awesome and I'm really grateful that you are in my life!!

from left to right (Erin, ME, Leslie, Stacey, Tiffini, Jude, Leah, Chris)

Our Current VERY Flexible Routine

7:30-9 wake - (yes...some mornings she sleeps in...others she wakes up early. If she wakes before 7:30...she stays in her crib. I wake up at 7am and I allow myself 30 minutes of me time. I LOVE the mornings when she sleeps until 9!) She will have about 3 oz milk from a sippy cup and then cereal or oatmeal

2-2.5 hours later (not before 10am) nap - the morning nap is generally longer (2 hours)

12:00 lunch - 2 stage 2 baby foods with water

2-3ish nap - before this nap Olivia has a sippy cup of milk (she'll sleep for around 1.5 hours)

4:30-5 wake - snack (puffs, yogurt melts, cheerios) and water

5:30-6 dinner - 2 stage 2 baby foods with water OR whatever we are eating.

8pm bedtime - with 6 ounce bottle. (if she wakes in the middle of the night we usually give her a bottle)

(all bottles are a mix of formula and whole milk...I'm hoping to have a complete switch by next week...)

Eyelashes!

Dishwasher

Yes Olivia - this is the dishwasher. Please rinse the dishes before putting them in, because I'm one of the those "you must clean the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher" people.

Looking forward to the day when we can do dishes together :)

Around what age does that happen?

Happy Birthday Uncle BJ

We hope you have a great day! You finally made it to 29!!!

BJ and I are the same age every year for three weeks...we are 11 months 1 week apart. I've always acknowledged that we are very close in age, but for the first time in my life I'm given a SLIGHT glimpse in what it must have been like for my mom.

Olivia is the age today...that I was when my younger brother BJ was born. WOW...it's never really sunk in before, because I've never had a child. Mom...I don't know how you did it....because 14 months later...you then had Erin. (I was only 25 months and 16 days....my brother was 14 months 6 days).

That's right...three kids...under 25 months.

You are amazing mom...I have absolutely no idea how you did it and yet I'm so grateful you did. Thank you for my two siblings who are so close in age that we always had a playmate....and that 29 years later are still some of my closest friends.

Elf on a Shelf

A new tradition for us. Samuel (our elf) has entered our household and will watch over us and report to Santa his findings (both good and not-so-good news) from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Every night Samuel moves to a new spot in our house and every morning we have to find him :) You can't touch him and he doesn't talk...but he listens very well and communicates with Santa about everything he sees and hears.

I bought the marketed verison Elf On A Shelf ... however, I think I could have just found a cute elf (or any stuffed animal) to do the job :)

C is for Cookie

O had her first cookie last night....and she wanted more :)

SNOW!

Today we had SNOW...in TEXAS!!! It was beautiful and lasted a good six hours!!! There was no accumulation in our area, but just south and west actually had measurable amounts. I read that this is the earliest snowfall for the Houston area and it definitely put us in the holiday spirit. Olivia enjoyed her first snow, although I think she could have done without all the clothes :) Our day got even better when Rice University canceled Tim's classes for Friday night...so Tim came home at 5pm on Friday to a beautiful sunset and dry roads without a flurry or raindrop in sight. Gotta love Houston Snow Days!

If you notice in the pictures...Olivia also received her first shiner today. She fell trying to walk from the couch to a coffee table...

Dear Santa,

I've been good and I want this...please....

Yes, it's a boy doll...he's cute :)

Sincerely,

Olivia

Fancy!

Tonight Olivia and I met up with the lovely Johnson girls and had a "Fancy Nancy" evening. The author (Jane O'Connor) and illustrator (Robin Glasser) of the Fancy Nancy books were at our local Barnes and Noble for a book signing. Tiff was uber prepared. She had our wristbands and books and arrived at the bookstore early enough that we only had to wait five minutes till our books were signed. PERFECT!

Afterwards we headed to the mall for dinner when....we ran into SANTA! He was just sitting in Picture People. We walked in and the girls got to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Olivia was doing well with him until Mommy came in to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas...guess Olivia wanted him all to herself???

Finally we grabbed a bite to eat and then a rode on the carousel. The Johnson girls are big enough to ride alone (gasp) so Tiff got to play photographer while the rest of us rode around, and around, and around...find focal point....and around, and around....grind teeth, fake smile, ....and around.