14 months

Today Olivia is 14 months old! I can't believe another month has passed! I must say that August has gone quickly. It is so hard to know that your child is growing and changing so quickly ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. I know that we will travel and get her when we are suppose to, but come on! I think bringing her home at this point is going to be beyond surreal. Here are all of our pics. of her changing over the last 6 months since we first saw our daughter.

Some updates around the Parker's

So, I have wanted to blog since last Friday because I got home and logged on to my email only to find some updated pictures of Miss Olivia. How exciting!!! She has changed quite a bit! My mom stopped by Friday night to drop off some flowers for a baby shower I was having on Saturday (yay Traci) and I pulled the pictures up. She has gotten into reading a lot of blogs with Korean cuties so her immediate comment was, "well who is that?" I let her look a few minutes and then said, "um...your granddaughter!" She couldn't believe it!!! It was a nice surprise because I didn't know that we would get anymore pictures. Well, here they are!!!!










I can pretty much tell you anything about these pictures! I have looked at them so much. Everytime we get updates I get excited, scared, nervous, sad, and excited again. How about that outfit??? Yeah, you see it! Poor thing! Why doesn't she have on that cute smocked dress I got her? This brings me to my next topic....

"Retail therepy" is what we like to call it. I can't hold her, hear her, or touch her, and this has seemed to be the only thing that is soothing to me. Hey, don't knock it until you have been in my shoes people. :) After such a long wait to have a child, I can't help but buy stuff! John has been great and hasn't said much. I have gotten great deals, but I know that once she gets home and new season stuff comes out that I will buy a few more pieces. After the Encores and More sale we decided that it was time to be done shopping for a while. (I still need hot pink shoes and black ones.) We have really buckled down on saving right now, but it is so hard not to go buy for her. This is a picture of her closet currently.



So, a few weeks ago we went to get her toddler bed at Pottery Barn Kids. I went over to the Brighton store just to browse. I designed a charm bracelet for Olivia's foster mom and then found out that they are giving one away each week from each store. I left the bracelet just to see if I would win, and figured I could go back and redesign it closer to travel time. On Sunday they called to tell me that I WON THE BRACELET!! It was a free bracelet with $100 worth of charms on it!!! My dad and I went to pick it up yesterday, and here it is!



The bracelet has gold on it since I have noticed that her foster mom has a gold watch. It also has Olivia's birthstone on it, a Y for her birth name, little girl feet and a little girl charm.

The next new thing around here is that Olivia's furniture was delivered yesterday! (Tuesday) It is so hard to find SOLID wood furniture, but we finally found some. I think it looks really good in her room. It is so strange to see stuff in there after it being empty for so long. It is going to take me a while to get use to it, but I do like it. I think the room is almost done once we hang the mirror. We still have to have her bedding and window treatment made, but we are getting closer. Oh, we would really like the cute little girl in there to complete the room! Please excuse the mess in there!!!







I mentioned above about a baby shower for Traci. I am posting this picture to tell these girls thank you for being there for me. (add in a few others that aren't pictured :)) I have not been the best person to be around during this process, but they have stood by me daily still loving and encouraging me. My family and friends have unfortunately endured my ever changing moods with all of this. I have been happy, angry, sad, and any other emotion that you can think of. The days are unpredictiable. I thank God daily for my family and friends. I have noticed that some days I get upset with a situation and then realize that it wasn't even the situation. It was me being sad/angry/anxious about Olivia coming home and the amount of wait time that we still have. Thanks guys. I love you all so much!!!!
My mom has been reading a forum and also noticed several moms recently posted that this wait and everything has also caused them to be the same way as far as mood and emotion. I wonder why it does that to us??? I think it is the unknown of them being on the other side of the world???





**side note....I got all of my post done (and it probably sounded better) and published it only to find that it didn't save. Ugh, technology. So, this is the best it can get after already working an hour on it the first time. :)**

"Sibling Rivalry"

Well, the jealousy begins...or should I say, it started the day we decided we were ready to expand our family. Poor Oscar is so jealous. I have been in Olivia's room folding clothes and rearranging toys tonight and he just got more jealous by the minute. I came out to sit down and write a couple of thank you notes and asked John where Oscar had gone. Then we heard his little feet hit the floor. I told John to run up and see if he did anything since a couple of weeks ago when we had been working in Olivia's room he did, but I thought maybe he had an upset tummy or something then??? I am not joking, this little fellow is not happy. He DOES NOT go to the bathroom in our house. GROSS!!!! I think he went twice as a puppy in the house and learned quickly that that was not a good idea.
I know he is going to love her, but he does not like sharing the spot light right now. He loves kids. When Annelyn was a baby, he would nap with her and sit on her in her car seat. He goes nuts the minute a kid enters the house. They make him so happy (usually)!
As I cleaned up upstairs, I really felt sad for him. John had thrown him out after fussing at him (which Oscar was fussing back the whole time)and his little white face stared back at us through the front door. When he came back in he stood at the base of the stairs and just looked up. Normally he would run up as fast as he could, but he knew he shouldn't.
Well, he has moved from the ottoman and is now trying to snuggle with John. He can't stand for us to be upset with him. He is a love. John now has taken him back upstairs for a 'manly talk' and they have apparently made up. They are both heading outside.

On a different note, we finally got a piece of furniture for Olivia's room!!! Mom bought her toddler bed at PBKids over the weekend. John has put one of my blankets from the den on it since Oscar immediately jumped on it when we all went in to look at it. So, here are a few pictures of the bed and of Oscar doing his BEST trick, which is to be cute.