It's about time..

For an update on the Potter's! Ok, so I am completely aware that no one really reads this blog, but honestly it's ok, I have fun catching some of you up on current and not so current evens in our household. I have some exciting news, I have my own laptop thanks to my sis Claire (there's your shout out girl). Yes, yes I know the vast majority of the world own es one but knowing I can just walk around with this piece of machinery makes me feel, well....special;) I'm sure I will get over that enthusiastic feeling, but I told myself no excuses now, I promised myself I will keep up with this blog even if I feel like I don't have much to say. Enough ranting, let's get to the good stuff!

My dream of being a stay at home mama has come true, thanks to my husband and some minor rearrangements! Since Olivia was born, I wanted to stay at home with her and be able to watch most of the things I would miss if she was in daycare. Unfortunately it just wasn't something that we could do at the time. Then Andrew came along, it was a strong calling to really figure out a way to make me being at home happen! As you can guess, all worked out, and may I add beautifully. Now don't get me wrong, staying at home is no walk in the park and if someone tries to convince me otherwise, I know they are crazy. Like one of my wonderful ex co workers said (she too was a stay at home mama), I will have more good days than bad and so far she is right. Watching my two beautiful children play together, laugh, smile is all worth it...even if I haven't gotten around to the laundry, dishes or dinner. Hey, like I said it aint' easy, but beyond worth it.

Olivia is about to turn 4 in less than a week. What? She was just born! Now I have a sweet and sassy little/big girl who seems to act 15 sometimes getting older on me. Oh time, I have said it before and I will say it again: slow down! We are going to have a little birthday party for her the day after her big day. On her actually birthday it's just going to be Mike, her and I. We are hoping she is going to enjoy this alone time with mama and daddy. The plan is to take her to a movie, maybe Incredible Pizza and then let her pick a toy out of her choice. She is really into the movie Tangled and loves every character...um, let me rephrase that, she dislikes the evil wanna be mother that kidnapped her for her beautiful magical hair. I'll admit, I love the movie too. If you haven't had the chance to see it, I defiantly recommend it. You won't be disappointed. Olivia loves to play with her Andrew whenever she gets the chance. She loves to play in his room and he wants to play in hers. The other day she was trying desperately to sleep in as Andrew decided 6am was a good time to be up and play in sis's room. "Moooom, get Andrew out, Annnnndrew, get out, hes in my room. Ahhhh, and so it starts. Mike and I didn't anticipate it out be this early though. I will post some pictures of her special day soon.


Now for 10 month old Andrew. First off, he has 5 teeth as of now. Two top and three bottom. He eats as much as a full grown man, no joke. For example, his menu in the morning consists of a full cereal bar, 2 eggs, fresh fruit then 6 oz bottle. I can't keep up. I once worked with a lady that told me wait till hes a teenager, I will never be able to keep my fridge or pantry full. I better stock up now! He is crawling and pulling up as well as letting go. It seems any day now he will try to take that first step. His sweet words are mama (of course), dada, nana,gaga,buuuu and a lot of funny noises he enjoys to make. He is not much into napping and if he does, its short and sweet. This is something that need to be worked on asap because mama needs some down time too. Oh, and It's almost the little guys first birthday and I already know what theme and cake we are going to do and have a special hat, bib and shirt ordered! I love to plan first birthdays....who am I kidding, I just love to plan for event's. So chaotic, yet so much fun! We plan on having his special day at my parents place! I wonder if he is going to love the taste of cake. That's all I can think of as of now, it's late and I should be in bed. Mike is away playing at a Church camp for a week and I'm sure I will be summoned throughout the night. Until next time.....

Time is a theif.....

Wow, so I obviously haven't posted anything about the kiddos for a while now. Bad mama;). Now that little man is down for a nap, I think it's a great time for catch up.



So, sweet Andrew is 7 months old. He has the best personality, seriously. He is ALWAYS happy and smiling until he is hungry or tired. He is sitting up with no help at all and babbling away. He goes crazy in his jumper. It kinda scares me because it seems he is going to sky rocket out of it at any moment. I can tell he is growing impatient at times because he can't get going the way he wants to. I mean, he seems like he want to walk already. He is a lot like me, doesn't like to sit still. This can be a good and bad thing. He has two adorable bottom teeth, and man he bites hard! Patty cake grabs his attention pretty quick, he even claps along sometimes. And yes, he still adores his big sis Olivia. Lately she does this silly face and talks some weird gibberish to him and he eats it up. I love to see how his eyes light up when he sees his beautiful big sis. Olivia even has told me how to mommy him time to time! "Mama, Andrew is tired, you should give him a bottle. She helps me feed him and bathe him. Any moment she wants to help, I'm all for it. I think it really important that she feels she is a part of her brothers growing up.




Now moving on to Miss Princess Olivia. I love it when there are moments that children say and ask the craziest things. For example, Aunt Lizzie was over and was giving her a bath. Usually we have a big pitcher to rinse the shampoo and soap off, but it mysteriously disappeared. So, Lizzie ran to find Mike's big plastic green cup he loves. Olivia asked "Aunt Lizzie, did you ask daddy if you can use his cup"? Lizzie then told her yes (she really didn't ask)! Olivia's second question with a serious look of concern " did you REALLY Aunt Lizzie"? Busted! Lizzie cracked up and told her the truth. The other day she told me that she wished I had a ladder tall enough to reach the clouds because she wanted to sleep on them. Precious. I adore this girl. She is such an amazing daughter and sister. She is sensitive, funny and sometimes too outgoing. Everyday Mike and I see that she has grown up a little more. And as wonderful as it it, it's also very bittersweet knowing that she is going to be in her teens before we know it. So we try to cherish every moment with our two blessings as much as possible.

Catching up

Wow. I have fallen behind with everything that has been going on in the Potter household lately. I suppose I will start with all of the new, sweet things Andrew has been doing lately. As of yesterday he turned 4 months old. He looks like a 10 month old to me. He is huge, with a massive appetite. At the end of his 3rd month, he was eating cereal, applesauce and bananas. He never seems to get full! Giggling and smiling are always almost constant with the little big man. His temperament seems pretty layed back just like his daddy...thank goodness for that! I must say though, at this point in his life he is defiantly a mama's boy. Mike constantly tells me how it amazes him that I can calm him down, or when he hears my voice he lights up....he makes me feel so special:)

Sweet Olivia has been nothing but wonderful with Andrew. It amazes me to see the love she has for him. One day while in the shower, Andrew was napping peacefully...or so I thought! Olivia ran into the bathroom and said "mama, Andrew is awake and crying!" I wrapped up the shower in no time and realized Andrew was no longer crying. I went into the room and Olivia got a stool from her room and put the pacifier back into little brothers mouth. She is such a blessing. I can only hope that the two of them are close when they grow up. It seems they both have a very special bond at even this young tender age.

Ok, so now for Halloween. Miss O dressed up as Tinkerbell (it really was a precious tutu she got for her birthday) and some beautiful wings my mom got for her while he was in Mexico for a visit. She pronounced the was the magic fairy Tinkerbell with out missing a beat. Andrew was a pumpkin, which was actually Olivia's first costume for her first Halloween so it was very special that he wore it. But, he was not a happy pumpkin. He refused to pose with his Tinkerbelle and passed out while we went door to door for some sweet treats. Oh well, it made cute pictures...or so I though!

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was filled with great food and family. I love to be with family, especially during the holidays. Olivia and Andrew had fun with all of their grandparents, cousins, aunts and not to mention parents;) I will post some pictures of the day soon. We are all getting ready for Christmas. We have the tree and decorations up. I love this time of year, it is so magical and for a very special reason. I am going to try this year to send some Christmas cards out of the kiddos. It's a goal of mine since I never have done so in the past. So, if I fail to post until Christmas, I wish all of my family and friends a blessed day. With love, from the Potter familia.

As time fly's....

We all say it, where does the time go? This especially holds true when it comes to our own children, they grow up so fast right before our very eyes. The other day Olivia and I were in the car on our way to get Aunt Lizzie and she saw me apply my oh so necessary lip gloss. "Mommy, is that lipstick? I want to be a grown up just like you so I can were makeup!" Oh Lord, why would a child want to grow up so fast I though to myself....so much stress when you are a grown up! But then I remembered I was there too! So desperate to be an adult so I could do all the "cool" stuff adults did...you know, like were makeup (sarcasm), and pay bills and so forth! I quickly told Olivia there is NO rush and take your time honey, trust me you DON"T need makeup and you will so big before you know it! She gave me that odd confused look and then said: "OK, mama!" Man, I love my little girl!

So speaking again of time flying, Andrew is SO big! I look at his chunky beautiful face and think: how did you get so big, so fast....slow down mister! He has filled out quite nicely, especially in his cheeks! I had huge cheeks as a baby, so I'm pretty sure he got those from mama! He holds his head up very well and turns it from side to side with ease. He LOVES to eat.....he piratically feeds every 2-3 hours still. He is mostly a snacker, when it comes to feedings though, I think hes figured out that mama will hold him a lot more if he snacks versus finishing up a full feeding! As far as sleep goes, he usually takes a good morning nap (good for me so I can have my 2nd cup of coffee), and has slept pretty well during the night. Now, I know this is terrible of me, but with Olivia we put her in the crib at her 2nd month. With Andrew, he sleeps right next to me. He refuses to sleep in his bassinet and I'm not ready to put him in the crib yet! A lot of people have told me I am going to get him into a bad habit and I am aware of this, but I just LOVE having him next to me, and knowing he is safe! He is such a sweet, sweet boy! I can only hope he will have Mike's demeanor: calm, cool and collected. Oh yes, and good looking just like my man:) I have managed to get a smile out of him everyday ( they are sooo wonderful, they give me butterflies), and he is starting to coo a lot! Did I mention he is a wonderful baby....

Big sister Olivia still loves her little brother, but I can tell Andrew gets a bit annoyed with her at times! How you may ask? Well, Olivia will just hover over his head like she is going to kiss him, and he grunts at her if she continues to just stare at him and not make a move! It's hilarious! As I promised before, I wanted to update this blog on Olivia's 3rd birthday. We had the celebration at a place called The Little Gym that my mom was taking her to once a week . It's pretty much a gymnastics place for children and is a lot of fun to take and watch your kiddo just play and run around like crazy! So, we had some of our family, friends and their kids come to play and get them all tired out. Miss Olivia wore a big frilly tutu that Mike and I bought her for her big day! She of course loved it the moment she set eyes on it! Now, I bought the tutu a little big knowing she will grow into it (this thing was not cheap), so I was going to get my moneys worth! While she was jumping on this bouncy thing at her party, her tutu kept falling off...it was hilarious to watch her because she was determined to keep it on! The tutu would practically be on the floor once she got off the bouncy then she would just pull it back up and away she went! She has such a great personality! I do get a bit worried at times because I am way dorky and clumsy....and guess what? So it she! Mike always points that out and also adds he would have it no other way with his girls....well love, you don't have a choice!

Until next time......

Andrew Riley Potter-July 28,2010

Here is Andrew's birth story:



Wednesday, July 28 started off like any other regular day, I went to my 35 week Dr. appointment that morning. I was telling my doctor that I was having pretty regular contractions the day before so she decided to monitor me for a while. The results came back irregular false contractions so off I went to work. Again the contractions came on and off, but I though nothing of it really. Around 2:00pm I was getting more uncomfortable and noticed that they were getting a lot stronger and closer together. I kept ignoring it thinking false alarm, but the ladies I work with told me to call my Dr. I kept refusing after my manager timed them 3 minutes apart lasting 35 to 50 seconds. After what seemed like forever, my Dr. finally called and told me to come to L&D. "Oh no, not again I kept thinking". Olivia came exactly at the 35 week mark and I refused to believe Andrew would too.....after all I was told boys develop a lot slower than girls do. So the longer they are in mama's tummy the better. Andrew had other plans.....:)



My manager Ginger was sweet enough to get me to the hospital after we picked Olivia up from her daycare. I ran so quick inside to pick her up, I didn't want her to be stuck there just in case I did have Andrew that afternoon. Mike and his mom met me at the entrance of the hospital after we pulled up. Quickly I was escorted to L&D and monitored for what seemed like decades. I was nervous, annoyed, excited.....but mostly in denial. My mom, dad, and sister Claire left for North Carolina that morning so naturally I didn't want to have the baby while they were gone. Mike's mom was in the lobby caring for Olivia and was texting Mike to see what was going on. Mike sent her a picture of the monitor and she responded by saying "looks like someone is going to have a birthday today"! Sure enough, the nursed verified that I was going to have Andrew in a few hours. So, off I went to get prepped for surgery.



I was so scared but so anxious to meet this little miracle. Mike was so wonderful as usual. He was so supportive and telling me how excited he was while I had a handful of doubts. As he held my hand, I finally heard that long anticipated beautiful cry of life. "Is he ok?" I kept asking. Mike got up and confirmed he was perfect. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I set my eyes on his beautiful face.....my beautiful son. Thank you God. He IS perfect and beautiful....a dream. Mike stayed with him the whole time even when they took him to NICU to be on the safe side since he decided to arrive a little early. Andrews APGAR score was a perfect 10. The nurse who examined him told us that he never gave a baby a score that high. That brought a lot of peace to my mind.



Olivia, the new big sister finally met her little brother. She fell in love with him, she was so proud. She may be only 3, but she instivtivly knew to be gentle and care for him. "I'm a big sister", she happily pronounced to anyone that came to visit. I am so proud of her. It is amazing to see the love she has for Andrew. She kisses and hugs him any chance she can get. When he cries she asks if he is ok. She has been a tremendous help getting a diaper or blanket for mama when my hands are full! She is a natural nurturer.



So here we are! Andrew is almost a month old. Time has flown by so quickly. As he lay asleep so peaceful in his bassinet, I look at him wondering where time has gone. Before I know it, he will be 3 like his big sister. She too has grown up so fast. It saddens me a bit because I feel like life breezes by while I try to desperately capture and hold on to every minute I may have with my children and family. I'm sure I'm not the only parent that feels like this. All in all, I am so blessed and so happy I feel like I want to explode sometimes! Andrew of course sleeps mostly during the day and is a night owl at night. But, he will sometimes sleep for 4 hour stretches at night giving mama some much needed sleep!



I will try to later post about Olivia's 3rd birthday. I'm a little behind! Until then.....

Its been too long....5 more weeks to go!!

I have been horrible about blogging lately. My sister Claire asked me about 2 months ago when I was going to post another blog....well, better late than never right?

So whats new? Well, I am excited to say that we have 5 more weeks left till we get to meet our little man. Like everything, it has flown by. I am so excited and nervous. I ask myself how am I going to juggle an infant and a toddler? Then I have to reassure myself that mom's and dad's too have been doing it for ever! So that's somewhat reassuring. Olivia has been a tremendous help with helping mama get her baby brothers room ready. I have tried my best to include her in everything, from putting the cloths away, and helping decorate his room. She honestly seems excited about meeting his new little guy. Of course we tell her that baby Andrew is going to bring her a very special gift once he arrives, so naturally that excites her.

Mike too has been so involved in the whole process. Everyday he makes me feel so wonderful. He STILL tells me that I look beautiful when 99% of the time I don't feel like I do. He painted Andrews room and put his crib together, and even the bedding! He is amazing, and I know I am very lucky to have such an amazing husband.

I go tomorrow for my 34 week check, so hope all is well. I just can't belive that it is almost Aug. 18. Now, a part of me is fearful he will arrive early because Miss Olivia decided to make her appearance a month early. My doctor told me that I need to keep that though out of my head, but come on, how do I do that? So, I just keep remaining positive he will come right on time. We shall see. When we went in for our 30 week ultrasound the Dr. said she estimates he will be 8 pounds!! WHAT??? So Mike and I have this bet.....I say that that baby will be less than 8 (like 7 or 6 pounds) and Mike claims he will be 8 or over.

Ok, well not making any promises but I will try to be a better blogger when I find time (ha, what's that right?)

Suprise, suprise...it's a Potter BOY!!!

My heart was racing as the Dr. was checking measurements and the health of the baby. As I lay there looking at the screen, I see Mike's and my beautiful miracle moving around. As the Dr. made her way down the baby's body I knew any moment she was going to announce what the gender was going to be.....

I can't explain how nervous I was at that very moment, I even think baby felt it too. As the Dr. got to the "part" we were curious about, she typed so slowly: IT'S A BOY!!!! Wow, really, seriously? I just looked at the screen with my mouth wide open in disbelief. The only things I heard were Mike and my dad, mom and mama in law's excited gasps and cheers! I didn't even get to see Mike's expression. My dad said it was priceless. He was on cloud 9! I remember saying "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it"! All this time I was convinced we were going to have another girl. I too was on cloud 9 but in shock as well. It took me a good couple of days to let it sink in!

So Olivia is going to have a little brother! She has already Mike and I what she is going to teach him....you know, like how to play with her toys and so on! Adorable. We know that she is going to be a great big sister, but we also know that it is going to take a lot of adjusting for her too. We plan on involving her in a lot of things to help out with baby. She is moving pretty soon to the guest room (big girl room) with her new bed! I am a bit nervous to see how she does in her bed from the crib. That too will be a big adjustment. Mentally I am preparing myself for a lot of sleepless nights! But hey, that's just what comes with the territory when you are a parent!

So, it took Mike and I a lot of thinking for a name for our little baby boy and here it is: Andrew Riley Potter. I love it, it flows very nicely if I may say so myself. So now I get to do all that fun baby stuff again except this time for a boy! Stay tuned for more later.....