Today, I woke up my mom. It was the 4th time I woke her up since she made me go to sleep last night. Obviously she doesn't understand that sleep is optional, a gift given by a selfless son like me on nights when I feel generous.
This time when I woke her up, I made sure to make little whiny sighs, like I do when I'm not really upset yet, but I want her attention. (She always falls for the whiny sighs.) After a few minutes, I realized that I might need to bring out the big guns, so I started to cry. She got out of bed and picked me up. ;) After cuddling me for a bit, she brought me to one of my favorite places in the world- my Changing Table!
Oh, my changing table. You represent everything good in the world. You are the gift that keeps on giving. I love looking in the mirror next to my changing table, and making sounds at my friend, the funny looking baby on the other side. (What does he do all day when I'm not there to play with him?) Sometimes, I can see my mom in the mirror. It's so funny, all I have to do is smile, and my mom goes crazy. I love making her smile, so I do what I can.
Donning a fresh, dry diaper, I headed back to Mom's room to play. To thank me for the segments of sleep I gave her, she started playing with me. We did our morning exercise with Mom moving my arms and legs, while tickling my tummy. Seriously, I don't understand why she thinks tickling is necessary. I kept smiling because it's so funny to watch her reaction each time. She makes all of these funny noises and faces, and all I have to do is smile.
After a while, Mom and I got so noisy that Dad woke up. He's just like Mom, so when he started talking and making all of his funny noises, I smiled at him too. Mom and Dad always argue about who I smile at the most, so I like to change it up every now and then, just trying to keep things lively.
After our morning exercise, I decided that I was tired, so I went back to sleep. Sometimes, I'm not sure if I really want to go back to sleep though, so it takes me a while to decide. During this time, I expect Mom to hold me and be patient. Ultimately, I usually decide that a nap sounds good, so there's that.
After I woke up, I ate again. Eating is another favorite of mine. Mom knows that I don't have much patience when it comes to my food. When I want my food, she is expected to give it to me right away. Sometimes she tells me that I need to wait while she gets my bottle ready. I'm not sure why she didn't just think of that before I was hungry. (What else does she have going on, anyway?) I let her know that her lack of preparation should not mean that I have to suffer by screaming as loudly as possible. This usually helps her to understand that in the future, she needs to be prepared and not take so long getting my bottle ready.
After eating, I had to burp. Burping is an art. Sometimes, I like to burp loudly and abruptly. Sometimes, I like to take a long time before burping, just to build the suspense. Burps come in a variety of different mediums. Sometimes they are more solid, sometimes they are more watery. I often like to choose a specific target on which to bestow my artwork. These targets often include Mom's clean outfit, Dad's shoulder and down his back, or all over myself. It really just depends on the day. Sometimes Mom tries to hinder my creative talent by placing a "burp cloth" in the way. But I usually make my burps unpredictable enough that she doesn't get there in time.
Well basically, that's my day. Just repeat all of the things I mentioned above about 7 times, and you'll have it.
Overall, I'd say my life is pretty good. I have two parents who would do anything for me, especially if I smile. I have a comfy bed, and an awesome changing table (Shout out to my homeboy, mirror friend!). Hopefully, soon I'll be able to grab stuff like Mom's hair and eat baby food (which I've heard can also be quite the art).
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Kinda Everything
Isn't it funny how you always want to write a blog post at those times when you have a million other things you really need to be doing?
But I'm using it as an excuse! I have about 27+ pages to write over the next week, so I figure writing a blog post is just a way of getting into the writing mode.
I thought I'd just give a general update of the goings on in the Olive household since I haven't done that in a while.
Isaac and I are doing well. It's definitely an adjustment having a baby, much more than we thought it would be. With both of us in school, him working, me doing therapy stuff, and two church callings a piece, we're busy people. Everyone always asks us how we're doing it, but to us it's just life. All of the things we are doing right now are great things, and we chose to do them, so it wouldn't make much sense to complain about them.
We'll both be finishing this semester over the next couple of weeks and we're really excited. Tech gives us a month for Christmas break, and we plan to have a fun, productive month. We get to spend Christmas with both of our families this year, and we're really looking forward to being with everyone.
Sam is doing wonderfully. I'm constantly in awe about how good he is. I've been around a fair share of babies in my life, so I know the mellow ones vs the stubborn, attitude ones. Sam is about as mellow as you get. As long as his needs are met, he is perfectly happy. I can't remember a single instance where Sam's needs have been met and he cried anyway. He's just a happy boy. Isaac and I feel very blessed to have such an easy-going baby, especially right now. He's perfect for what we needed, and we're very grateful.
For me, as a mother, this baby business has been a difficult adjustment. I love Sam with all of my heart, and it surprises me how much I completely adore him. He really is the best, easiest baby that I could imagine having. That being said, having a baby is hard.
I find that things that used to be easy are now a lot more complicated. My morning routine, for instance, used to take me around 45 minutes to an hour (including showing, hair, make-up, and breakfast). But now, it takes me close to 3 hours because everything is broken up around Sam's needs. My house never gets clean, because by the time I'm finally ready for the day, I need to do homework or head to class. Sleep, of course, is a whole other ball game. Sam's sleep schedule is still somewhat sporadic, and that makes getting things done difficult as well. Beyond that, I'm constantly trying to juggle school and other things, trying to determine what it's ok to bring him to, and what I need to get a sitter for.
But the thing is, none of that stuff matters. After hours of conversation with Isaac about how frustrated I am at my "lack of productivity," he has helped me realize something. It's never going to be the same as it was before. I'm never going to get everything done on my list, because there's something much more important going on. I've learned over the last little while, that by choosing to go to grad school and have a baby, I chose to let other things go. I can't do it all, no matter how much I want to, and that's ok. Sam makes up for everything I feel like I've lost by having him. In fact, he far exceeds everything I used to have. Him being in my life is the biggest blessing imaginable. After long nights where he woke up every 1-2 hours, I sit with him in the morning and still marvel that he is in my life. He smiles at me, and I say a silent prayer in thanksgiving to God for this amazing gift. Getting ready for the day, I stare at my new body in the mirror, and convince myself that those marks are the marks of motherhood, of beauty and selflessness, and that makes everything seem so much better.
I know that this has been kind of a long blog post, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. I think I felt like I was failing if I couldn't accomplish all of the things that I wanted to and be a good mom at the same time. But that's not true. Sam won't remember if my kitchen was spotless, or if he always had the cutest, cleanest clothes. He won't care if he had to spend extra hours with Daddy because Mommy was at school or doing therapy. In fact, he'll like that time spent with Daddy. For now, it's all about perspective. This school thing won't last forever, and then I'll be done. I'll be able to invest full-time at home and get the things done there that I want to. Until then, I need to keep the perspective that Isaac and I chose both of these blessings. We chose to go to school and have Sam. So I should feel blessed that we are able to do so, and stop worrying so much about all of the trivial things.
Overall our family is doing really well. We feel very blessed by all that we have been given and continue to enjoy our lives. I'm so excited about the Christmas season, it's definitely my favorite time of year.
(About 4 weeks ago)This is my favorite time of day. It's the first time I talk to Sam in the morning. We don't usually talk to him at night so he gets super excited each morning when we do. This makes everything so worth it.
But I'm using it as an excuse! I have about 27+ pages to write over the next week, so I figure writing a blog post is just a way of getting into the writing mode.
I thought I'd just give a general update of the goings on in the Olive household since I haven't done that in a while.
Isaac and I are doing well. It's definitely an adjustment having a baby, much more than we thought it would be. With both of us in school, him working, me doing therapy stuff, and two church callings a piece, we're busy people. Everyone always asks us how we're doing it, but to us it's just life. All of the things we are doing right now are great things, and we chose to do them, so it wouldn't make much sense to complain about them.
We'll both be finishing this semester over the next couple of weeks and we're really excited. Tech gives us a month for Christmas break, and we plan to have a fun, productive month. We get to spend Christmas with both of our families this year, and we're really looking forward to being with everyone.
Sam is doing wonderfully. I'm constantly in awe about how good he is. I've been around a fair share of babies in my life, so I know the mellow ones vs the stubborn, attitude ones. Sam is about as mellow as you get. As long as his needs are met, he is perfectly happy. I can't remember a single instance where Sam's needs have been met and he cried anyway. He's just a happy boy. Isaac and I feel very blessed to have such an easy-going baby, especially right now. He's perfect for what we needed, and we're very grateful.
For me, as a mother, this baby business has been a difficult adjustment. I love Sam with all of my heart, and it surprises me how much I completely adore him. He really is the best, easiest baby that I could imagine having. That being said, having a baby is hard.
I find that things that used to be easy are now a lot more complicated. My morning routine, for instance, used to take me around 45 minutes to an hour (including showing, hair, make-up, and breakfast). But now, it takes me close to 3 hours because everything is broken up around Sam's needs. My house never gets clean, because by the time I'm finally ready for the day, I need to do homework or head to class. Sleep, of course, is a whole other ball game. Sam's sleep schedule is still somewhat sporadic, and that makes getting things done difficult as well. Beyond that, I'm constantly trying to juggle school and other things, trying to determine what it's ok to bring him to, and what I need to get a sitter for.
But the thing is, none of that stuff matters. After hours of conversation with Isaac about how frustrated I am at my "lack of productivity," he has helped me realize something. It's never going to be the same as it was before. I'm never going to get everything done on my list, because there's something much more important going on. I've learned over the last little while, that by choosing to go to grad school and have a baby, I chose to let other things go. I can't do it all, no matter how much I want to, and that's ok. Sam makes up for everything I feel like I've lost by having him. In fact, he far exceeds everything I used to have. Him being in my life is the biggest blessing imaginable. After long nights where he woke up every 1-2 hours, I sit with him in the morning and still marvel that he is in my life. He smiles at me, and I say a silent prayer in thanksgiving to God for this amazing gift. Getting ready for the day, I stare at my new body in the mirror, and convince myself that those marks are the marks of motherhood, of beauty and selflessness, and that makes everything seem so much better.
I know that this has been kind of a long blog post, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. I think I felt like I was failing if I couldn't accomplish all of the things that I wanted to and be a good mom at the same time. But that's not true. Sam won't remember if my kitchen was spotless, or if he always had the cutest, cleanest clothes. He won't care if he had to spend extra hours with Daddy because Mommy was at school or doing therapy. In fact, he'll like that time spent with Daddy. For now, it's all about perspective. This school thing won't last forever, and then I'll be done. I'll be able to invest full-time at home and get the things done there that I want to. Until then, I need to keep the perspective that Isaac and I chose both of these blessings. We chose to go to school and have Sam. So I should feel blessed that we are able to do so, and stop worrying so much about all of the trivial things.
Overall our family is doing really well. We feel very blessed by all that we have been given and continue to enjoy our lives. I'm so excited about the Christmas season, it's definitely my favorite time of year.
(About 4 weeks ago)This is my favorite time of day. It's the first time I talk to Sam in the morning. We don't usually talk to him at night so he gets super excited each morning when we do. This makes everything so worth it.
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