Firsts

Dear Olive,

Lots of firsts this week. We took you in the pool for the first time on Friday. You loved it and it was sooo much fun. We took a video but I'm not going to post it because I'm hanging out all over the place in my tiny bikini that no longer fits me. If you want to watch it though, you can. You laughed and kicked and it was great.

We also took you to the mountains for the first time. You loved the pine tree fresh air, and we put you in the ergo the whole time we hiked around. You were so happy!

You also got your first cold this week too. I am pretty sure it started a week ago and gradually got worse. Tonight seems to be the peak of it, you are having a lot of trouble sleeping because you're coughing and have a stuffy nose :( It pretty much means no sleep for either of us. I wasn't quite sure you were sick at first because you didn't' have symptoms, you were just a bit more irritable than usual. But now I know for sure. Poor baby girl.

Hope you feel better soon...

Bad Mom Bad Friend

(written yesterday)

Dear Olive,

I am not perfect. So someday when I tell you I am, you can refer back to this post and remind me of what happened today.

It was a long day, but you were a happy girl while I worked at Kamie's, and even at Lori's. But then we went to Kristine's house because she (as well as Tracey and Amanda) have offered to watch you so I can get in some yoga now and then.

I tried to feed you, I really did, but you fell asleep. So I left to you enjoy the relaxing home of a good friend who loves you.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize how hungry you were going to be, and boy did you ever give poor Kristine a run for her money. Apparently you were screaming the entire time I was gone practically. Why? Because I didn't leave you any food! What was I thinking? I don't normally leave you places without me so I guess I just didn't realize.

I felt like such a bad friend AND a bad mom, but both of you seemed to forgive me...

I just can't believe how lucky we are Olive. We have these caring clients who don't mind when I have to haul you around with me to work, friends who will watch you so I can maintain a little sanity in my life, and grandma's o'plenty to hold you everywhere in between. Oh, and a daddy who plays with you every chance he gets, even when I tell him not to.

It's challenging at times, that's true. Things take me a lot longer, and the days fly by way too fast, we're a busy family... but at least I'm with you. And we're blessed with a good life. What did I do to deserve such blessings? It makes me worried it will come crashing down. But those are fears I always struggle with, and for once I'd like to just be at peace.

*Thank you to all my amazing friends who have so graciously offered to watch baby Olive while I go the gym. Thank you to the people I work with who hold Olive while she's fussy so I can keep plugging away at work. Thank you to our family members who let me come get away and do laundry and have food made for me. Thank you to my husband who works so hard and never complains. Thank you God.

The Great Aunt Eve

Happy Birthday Aunt Eve...

I say "The Great" because not only was she my great aunt, but she was a great woman. And she was full of great quotes.

She was there through all my dating disasters... One saying I loved, "Let them go, they'll either prove themselves or hang." She was definitely my favorite person to talk to and vent to. She was always open minded and liked thinking about things in new ways. She was always reading philosophical and psychological books and learning about why we are the way we are.

She loved when I played guitar and sang, and she was forgiving.

I'm so glad that Luke got to meet Aunt Eve. Sometimes I forget she is gone and I think about all the things I want to tell her about what's going on in life. I get fleeting thoughts like, "Oh Aunt Eve's going to love the name we choose for our baby!" and I get so disappointed I can't share important moments with her.

It's really not everyday I meet someone who is capable of leaving such a positive impression on me. She's moved me in many ways, I miss her incredibly.

I found this post from September 2007, and I thought since nothings changed in all these years, I'd repost it to celebrate her amazingness.

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that matter, it's the life in your years" -Abraham Lincoln

Oh honest Abe, maybe not even as wise as my Grandma Carey's 9th sibling Aunt EVe. She is 88 years old now. She is the most wonderful person that I know and the way she expresses knowledge is indescribable. Her open mindedness and fun approach to life makes her an island of peace in my mind's stormy waters.

We talked about living life to its fullest, about cancer, about life and death, love, friendships... all things we talk about on a regular basis yet never seem to run out of new topics within these.

Here's a picture of Aunt Eve feeding me when I was a baby in my giant diaper. I look about Olive's age. <3