weird...

I feel like I can't really post anything without my pictures! It's killin' me! BJ and I are barely starting, yes, starting our Christmas shopping today. I'm excited to go and get it done, though! Olivia is being so cute today running through the house and talking... and stinking up the house with her poop that she won't deposit in the toilet (argh!). However, she is being so funny lately. I can hardly stand it. I love this little girl. I was just thinking about it last night. She's been such a good thing in my life, and though I have rough days... a lot lately, the happiness she brings far outweighs the negative. Yesterday I turned around and she was sitting in the baby swing. I have no idea how she got in there because the lap toy was attached and everything, but there she was just chillin'. I had to laugh.

I went over my child development stuff from HS and College today, and was catching myself on things that I swore I'd never do, and also laughing at how naive I was--lol--ah, the wisdom that comes from experience. Not to say that I'm this all knowing mommy or anything, but I sure was stupid back in the day. It reminds me of this episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Amy says something mushy about love and marriage and after she and Robert walk out, Ray says, "Wow." and Debra looks and Ray and says, "Yeah. Remember when we were that stupid?" hahaha! Anyway, I'm grateful that I still have a lot of that literature. I just love my little Livi and was glad for the reminder that she is just being her age, and I am okay.

I've been having a lot of fun playing with Ethan lately, too. He's just getting really social and has the cutest giggle. He kind of reminds me of Spike's laugh on "The Land Before Time" when he is cooing. It's a very low and breathy talk. He's just so fun. I love it. He grips things for comfort and has quite the grip, so I end up with scratch marks and monkey bites on my arms all of the time, and I swear my hair looks super thin these days. I could do without that, but I guess that's a sacrifice I can make for love. :) I'm still trying to come up with a schedule that will work for all of us, and feel like I'm so far off base that I'll never catch up. Olivia used to go to bed at 6:30pm, no prob. Now that Ethan is here, I don't know what it is, but that keeps getting pushed back farther and farther. Any tips in this area would be greatly appreciated. I guess I'll stop now and do something a little more productive with my time.