Sundays and the crunch-crunch of my favorite season.

We are enjoying some very warm days around here this September. Although mid-80s is a bit high for my liking, I am enjoying the cool evenings. Our one huge backyard tree, a maple, is rapidly losing its leaves due to the dry weather and the cool nights, but this has led to a rather pleasing familiar sound that always reminds us of the cooler days of Fall.

This is Olivia's first experience with the crunch-crunch of the leaves, and since she is now extremely confident in her walking skills (to the point of almost running) we had some fun yesterday playing with her in the backyard. She was tromping around in high-kneed baby style, randomly turning this way and that while exploring all corners of our backyard. The ground is a bit uneven, so she did take a few dives into the leaves, always coming up with a handful that went straight to her mouth. I will be glad when that leaf-eating stage is over!

Yesterday was a pretty fabulous family day. Because of our busy schedules and my husband's work responsibilities, it is rare that we have a weekend that is entirely our own. This weekend was, though, and the weather cooperated nicely.

Sunday was what I believe Sundays were meant to be...a day of rest and spending time with family. We headed out to Church early because Olivia was SOOO tired. We anticipated that she'd fall asleep on the drive and then we'd park by the river and read until it was time for Mass so Olivia could finish her nap in the car.

Our church, and old German parish that was established in what was once a rowdy river town, sits just one block away from the Ohio River.

So we went forward with our plan, and Olivia did sleep in the car for about a half-hour. We still had some time left before Mass was to begin, so we took in the cool morning breeze and the views of the river.




After Church, we went home for lunch and Olivia's nap, and then we headed out to our local state park for a free patriotic concert at their amphitheater. The concert wasn't great, but Olivia enjoyed the outing anyway. She really loves being outdoors.

We capped off the day by grilling out and playing in the crunchy backyard. A perfectly relaxing Sunday. This week, we are expecting a shift to seasonably cooler temperatures. Bring on the jackets! Olivia and I are looking forward to crisp fall days and playing in the yard.

Nicknames

When we selected Olivia's name, I wondered how her name would end up being shortened into a nickname. Let's face it...four syllables is a lot. It's such a beautiful name, but I figured people would start calling her Liv or Livy or Ollie Rose (perish the thought!) or something.

So far, none of the obvious nicknames have caught on. In the meantime, though, we've developed a few rather odd nicknames.

First to emerge were "precious" and "sweet baby". These were what we called her in the hospital. Then we got her home, sleep deprivation set in, and "precious" quickly dropped off the list. Soon to replace it, though, was "Sweet Pea". This one has stuck for me and I still fall back on it from time to time.

She's been called "Rotten" when she's doing stuff she knows she's not supposed to do. She's also been referred to as "Stinky" when she's, well, stinky. "Little Butt" is another favorite of mine because her little hiney is too small to hold up most pants that are the right length.

But by far the most ridiculous nickname she has acquired so far is "Smooshie".

Don't ask me how this started or why, but somewhere along the line I started calling her Smooshie. I'm also the only one who does. I think it may have originated when she first started smiling because she smiles with her whole face, and I guess I got it from the way her nose wrinkles or gets smooshed up when she grins. Anyway, I think she is starting to RESPOND to this nickname. She absolutely knows her real name, but I just hope that when she starts to come up with her own version of her name, she uses her given name. If she starts saying things like "Ee-bah do it" (translation: I/Olivia will do it), it will be easy to explain to people that she is referring to herself. It might be a little more difficult if she says "Ooshie do it". Because there's no way you are getting "Olivia" out of "ooshie".

What strange nicknames do your kids have?

Cutting expenses

I've been working and reworking our budget, trying to squeeze some more money out of it so we accomplish more of the goals on our financial wish list (like stashing away more in college and retirement funds, save for #2, etc.). I'm trying to find ways to cut some expenses so we can do this more easily.

So I thought I'd ask the internet about it.

First, we are thinking of cutting cable out of our life. We watch entirely too much TV as it is, and 90 percent of what we watch (during primetime hours anyway) is network TV, so if we get an adequate antenna we should be covered there. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good antenna? Has it worked well for you? I have friends who get by with bunny ears on top of their TV (they live in the city, but still), so I figure we should be able to get good reception with a good outdoor antenna and booster.

Second, our biggest controllable expenditure is communications...cell phones, home phones, internet. Now, I'm NOT suggesting that we cut internet. I'm not sure either of us could handle that. My husband uses it for working at home (and often), and as for me, well it's my LIFELINE, people. It is my connection to the outside world.

I could, however, live without a home phone line. We hardly use it at all. I'm not sure how much it would save us, but it is a thought.

Also, we're considering a switch with our cell phones when our contract is up (November). We're with A*T*T*, and we're considering switching to TM*bile. Perhaps keeping one line on contract and doing the second line as a pay-as-you-go line. That way we have it in case it is needed, but we could use the contract line mostly. Does anyone have any experience/suggestions/recommendations to offer?

And here's the girl for whose college fund we would sacrifice cable and communications.

Peace

I have a little more peace about the second adoption thing after doing some research and talking to another adoptive mom friend of mine. We have a pretty good idea about what our next plan of action will be, and although the timeline might be a little less predictable, I feel good about it. After all, Olivia came to us through no effort of our own. The whole match completely fell in our laps, and I can't explain it except to say that God just handed it to us. After thinking it through, I started to think that maybe the "business" of adoption isn't where we need to focus our energies. In other words, we don't need to pay the big bucks to ensure more control over the timeline and other details. Instead, we are going to trust God and go with our intuition, which is leading us to another agency. This agency specializes not only in adoption services, but also pregnancy counseling for women in crisis. They help empower women to choose life for their babies, regardless of whether they intend to parent or place for adoption. That makes me feel good. It may take longer to get a placement, but I think I'm OK with that.

Olivia is starting to get over her cold. She's not nearly as grumpy these days, and that's a VERY good thing. She's been working hard this week to improve her walking skills, and also to find new ways to get into trouble.


Yes, those are her diapers scattered all over the floor. She is fascinated by stacks of diapers, and I think it is because she knows she's not supposed to play with them. She has become an expert at finding things she's not supposed to play with. Like the lazy susan (the only think in the kitchen that hasn't yet been childproofed). And the window blinds. And the decorative jug that holds sparkly twigs and sits BEHIND a chest full of blankets so she won't bother it. She has started squeezing past the chest or trying to climb over it to get to the forbidden jug. *Sigh*

Yesterday, when we weren't looking, Olivia climbed the dining room chair and into her space-saver high chair (straps onto the dining room chair) and was just standing there looking all proud of herself. We had to remove the high chair to keep her from continuing to climb it. Sheesh.

Olivia has also mastered the art of the temper tantrum. At ten months. Boy are we in for a fun ride when she gets to be two!

Her new skills far outweigh the new challenges those skills present. Despite the fact that I have to physically remove her from the lazy susan at least 20 times a day, it's so fun to watch her show her little personality. And to know that in the midst of all her mischief, what she really wants is to get Mom's attention. I have to remember that when I get frustrated. It's rather flattering to be held in such high esteem, even by such a tiny person.

Ambiguous

I'm always a little taken aback when we come across a stranger in the grocery store who says "What a cute little boy". Particularly when Olivia is wearing pink. What is up with that?

Granted, she was wearing purple yesterday (with FLOWERS on her pants, ahem), and sometimes various colors of purple look rather blue, but even so. When an old man walked by and said, "Well aren't you a good little boy" I almost cringed. It's just so OBVIOUS that she's a girl! Or maybe that's just a mother's perspective.

I always thought that kids with curls (girls or boys) tend to get labeled as girls, but I've noticed that some people (especially old men) think all little kids are boys. I saw an old man call my niece a little boy once, and she has long, curly hair. So I guess it really doesn't matter how I dress her, or for that matter, whether strangers think she's a boy or girl. That is, until they realize their mistake and get all embarrassed for calling her a boy. That has happened too.

On the topic of ambiguity (huge subject change here), I've uncovered some information that makes our adoption path for baby #2 a lot less defined. We had talked about going with a certain agency in our state that we had considered before Olivia fell into our laps. Well, I just popped over to their site today to see if they had any new information since I'd last checked, and I found a few things that were rather disturbing. I called their office to confirm and, sure enough, their fees have gone up. WAY UP. Like more than $6,000 up. That's a huge chunk of change, particularly when our preliminary calculations for adoption #2 were going to be a financial stretch, even after factoring in tax credit for our first adoption.

SOOOO...I guess this means that I need to do more research. Perhaps we'll go with a different agency, or research other options for independent referrals. It seems like it will not be as neat and tidy as I had hoped. Time to let God take the wheel again, because obviously I don't have much control over The Plan.

OK, so SOME of her clothes are a little more gender-neutral than others.

Walking, grumpily

Olivia has a cold. This one seems to be fairly minor, but is has increased the whine factor a great deal. She is just so clingy when she has a cold, which would be fine if holding her would calm her down, but she isn't satisfied with being held or not being held. She is just grumpy.

Despite the cold, she is toddling all around the house like a drunken college student. She takes quite a few falls, but she also manages to get to her chosen destination while remaining upright a good portion of the time. It's just so amazing to watch her walking. I still can't believe how fast babies grow into toddlers. *Sniff*

Ike passed through and left us with AMAZING weather. Today's temperatures are in the mid-60s, and it is breezy and slightly overcast. It is the perfect kind of weather to welcome Autumn. I love Fall, and even though I don't care for cold weather, the cooling temps in the 50s and 60s are always welcome.

Olivia and I are going to get out today and enjoy the weather. Maybe it will distract her from her grumpiness.

Ike Strikes

I'm ready for Church, Mom!

Today, the remnants (HA!) of Ike hit our area of the country. We've received rain and effects from hurricanes and tropical storms before, but by the time it reaches us in the center of the country, it is usually just a lot of leftover rain.

Not today. Today we didn't get a drop. We did, however, get 50-60 MPH wind gusts for a good portion of the day. Lost some shingles and a lot of branches. There was extensive damage in nearby cities...we were lucky.

We arrived for Mass just about the time the wind really started to pick up. It was brutal...so hard that it was difficult to walk against it. At one point on our short walk from the car to the church, I looked back at my husband, who was carrying Olivia. I saw that she had wrapped her arm around his neck and was burying her head in his shoulder, eyes closed tight. The wind didn't scare her at all...she was just protecting herself against it by using Daddy's shoulder. It was sweet.

In other news, Olivia is a walker now. She's not entirely steady, but today she walked from the living room to our bedroom...a good 30 steps for her...without falling, so I'd say that classifies her as a walker. In a week or two, she should be as steady as any toddler because she is practicing all the time. She seems to be very proud of her new walking skills.

Look, no hands!