Sweet Whit

I know I am posting a lot but I had a ton to catch up on. I wanted to share a sweet pic of my sweet Whit from the weekend. Isn't he just beautiful? He is becoming more and more of a person lately. I'll catch him smiling and cooing at me when I am not even paying attention. Of course, I then drop everything and oohhh and cooo back. He is at such a fun stage! Why does that happen right before you go back to work? I am in my last week of maternity leave. It is bitter sweet. Part of me is ready to get back to normal life and the rest of me wants this to last forever. I found a good balance when I went back after I had Kennedy so at least I know I can make it this time!

21 Months!

She is getting close to the big 2! I am amazed at the difference in her since her birthday. She has grown up so much! My baby turned into a little girl too fast!

At 21 months:

*You are playing pretend so much! You cook, you clean, you take care of your babies....the list is endless. And most of the things you do are what I do. So sweet!

*You have a new word or phrase almost everyday! Today it is OK! I think you have said it 30 times already. Yesterday was, Cute!

* You love your brother with your whole heart. I can see the relationship forming already. You are so protective of him when other kids are around. Sometimes you get a little mean and shove your friends if they get too close. We are working on that!

*You are still obsessed with yogurt raisins. You ask for them 20 times a day. I am beginning to question why I ever gave them to you.

*You love your DaDa more now than ever. You have started crying when he leaves in the morning. You often beg to go wherever he is going. This is a new adjustment for him but I think it is sweet! You love DaDa!

*You are working on using the potty. You fully understand what the potty is about, you have gone in it a handful of times, but you still are uninterested in trying this full time. We are not pressuring you...just taking you when you ask. You also like to read a book or talk to someone forever while you are on the potty. Who have you been watching?

*Your joy is contagious. When we are around you we can't help but smile. It might be something you said, they way you were dancing, or the way you look at us, but you are always bringing joy to our house!

* And let's not forget those sweet almost 2 year old fits! Here is a nice example of what they look like! You spend a little of your time throwing these fits. You also spend some time in your time out spot. It is by the door and you even put yourself in there sometimes. You are in mid fit and yell, "Door!" and go sit down to finish. Aaahhh my sweet child I have a lot to look forward to I feel!

Happy "HOT" 30 to me!

Well, my big 30th birthday turned out to be quite nice! My friend Michelle named it "HOT 30" and I like that. It makes it sound better! :) I started off the day with a nice cup of coffee. That is the best way to start off a day! Greg gave me a beautiful diamond and Sapphire ring. It was so special! Then we had a little playtime with all the kiddos. I bought Kennedy some Elmo slippers thinking she would love them. She hates them. She refuses to put them on. So we gave them to Drew. He appreciated them as you can see! I think they are cute! She also was very attached to scary baby today. You miss scary baby don't you Wookie?

Drew's 2nd birthday party was also on my big day so we went next door and spent the afternoon partying it up with all the kids. My babies wore their first matching outfits! Oh, that brought me great joy! Aren't they cute? We actually got a family photo that looks decent. That is also a great gift!

The night was topped off with a few friends over for a little grown up time. We left all the kids at home and had grown up talk. It turned out to be mostly about our kids! :) I did so enjoy to hang out with my friends as just us for a while. Thank you so much for sharing it with me guys!

So, really 30 is not so bad for those of you approaching it soon. I don't look 30 do I? :) We are all still young at heart I say! And if we are getting older I kind of like it. I enjoy the stage I'm in. I sure don't want to go back and be 21 and start all over again that is for sure! I think Jonathan is next in the hot 30 club. I will post pics of that when the blessed event happens!

Farewell my dear twenties...you have been so good to me!

Well today is my last official day of being twenty something. It is a strange feeling thinking I will be 30 tomorrow! Part of me thinks that it sounds so old, but the rest of me realizes I am not that old anyways! And what does it matter how old you are? I thought I should take some time to reflect on my twenties. Man they were a good decade to me! :) So here is my top 20 favorite things about my 20's...in no particular order!

1. COLLEGE! My mom told me they would be the best years of my life and man were they! Sleep late, stay up late, having nothing to do but spend endless hours with my friends...aaahhhh the life!
2. Friends: I have huge list of new friendships that were formed in my twenties. I won't go into a listing or anything but I will say that some of those friendships have carried me through so much and for that I will always be grateful!
3. Old friends: my mom also told me that it is hard to stay in touch with those childhood friends. It is hard, but I am so thankful to still have my anna and my cindy in my life. Though the miles separate us our hearts are always together!
4. Greg: I started dating Greg 9 years ago this October! I did not want to date him at first. I thought he was too nice. I liked the "bad" boys I guess! I finally caved and we started dating right after I turned 21 and have been together ever since. We didn't even take a "break" ever!
5. Our wedding day: Marrying Greg was one of the best days of my life. I will never forget a single moment of how perfect that entire day was. From the flowers, to the friends, to rain and thunder, to the tears on my sweet husband's face, to the laughter when I almost fell on my face, to that sweet first kiss as husband and wife, it was all just perfect. Absolutely perfect.
6. Greg's 21st birthday: You remember that one? Ummmmm....I will reflect on a few things for those of you that were there.....popcorn on the floor, Katie making drinks, rides home by sweet Eugene, turning at street lights....that was a good night wasn't it?
7. SS Willow #79: This is the name of our ghetto college apartment. We will never disclose what the SS stood for. That is top secret. Our rent was only $150 a month! I had so many good memories will all my roomies there. Times in the Willow are priceless!
8. Greg's truck prank: Good memory too isn't it? We put feminine products all over Greg's truck one night. He was SO mad! He and Brad tried to find out who did it for years. They even tracked footprints in the mud! We told him it was us a few years later. He was mad again!
9. Riley: back when I loved her. We went to pick her out of a trailer full of dachshunds and she ran up to me and rolled over. I fell in love with her in an instant. She was my sanity when we went through hard times. She never left my side. Maybe I should be nicer to her these days..
10. My 25th birthday: for some reason I remember this one the most. We were going to have a party at my house then I decided we should go out. We went to archibald's and had so much fun. Jen was mad because she wasn't 21 yet. The party went back to the barn and lasted forever. Fun times!
11. Europe trips: I spent 3 summers in a row in Europe on mission trips. Each brought such change to my life. I will forever cherish the impact we had there and the things I learned.
12. The barn: many of you have good memories of our barn! It was the place Greg and I started our lives together and I will always be thankful of where we chose to start it. We had so many good parties with friends, wonderful landlords that adopted us, and just a perfect place to live! The day we left Greg and I went back in when it was completely empty and I cried so hard! It was like I was leaving the beginning behind. It only got better...
13. Buying our first house! We moved in around Christmas and I felt like such a grown up! We had our own house! There are faults with our perfect new house but I wouldn't change moving here!
14. Living in a compound with the Prosser's: We did not plan it this way, believe it or not! We found this house and I think it was my 26th birthday (maybe 27th) Chad and Jen came over and we told them where we found a house. Jen looked at me and said, "oh my gosh, Chad has been looking for a lot in Middleground!" It went from there to them buying the lot next door and the rest is history. It is SO wonderful being next door to your best friends!
15. Our struggles to have babies: It might sound weird that this is in my top 20 but I wouldn't be who I am today had I not gone through all that I did. It gave me an insight that not everyone has. I will always be thankful for that.
16. Finding out I was pregnant with both Kennedy and Whit. With Kennedy I had just had my appendix out the week before where they told me they were sorry but I was definitely not pregnant. Man was I surprised to find out I was! Then with Whit I thought maybe I am pregnant......tested....OH MY GOSH! I was!
17. The day I became a mom! The minute I held my sweet Kennedy my life changed forever. It was like I realized now what life was about. She forever changed me and for that I am so thankful!
18: The day I held my son for the first time: I was so worried I couldn't love another baby the way I loved Kennedy. The moment the Dr. placed him on my chest I knew I could. He is such a blessing!
19. Las Vegas! My friends will agree....that is place to have a good time! :) We had fun going this year and I look forward to a return visit.
20. Each and every day! Not every day was happy, but each had a reason. I learned a lot in my 20's. I grew up from a kid in college, to a fiance, to a wife, then to a mom. That is a lot of change for a decade! I have realized life flies by when you are older. I can't slow it down, but I can enjoy the roller coaster. As I step into my 30's tomorrow I hope that they can be as full and meaningful as my 20's have been. If that happens I will truly be blessed. Thanks to all of you who have taken the ride with me! It's been fun hasn't it? We need to make our 30's just as good! There are a LOT of you right at my heals on this 30 thing....don't forget that!

Our growing boy!

Whit had his 2 month check up today! The fun part is finding out how much he weighs and the AWFUL part is the shots! He was a true champ and took them like a man...with a little crying involved! He weighs 12lbs 5 ounces and is 24 inches long! I was surprised because there really is no fat on this baby at all. He is just so long and lean. He got a clean bill of health and bonus points for being breastfed and big! When we got home I took a quick video of him. He was in such a good mood! So here is my little boy all smiles after he came home from his first day of shots at the doctor. By the way, K told Whit this morning that the doctor was nice (I promted this comment) and then she remembered she hates the doctor and told him, "doctor, cry!"

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Moments like these...

The cool fall air......playtime outside.....my daughter running through the yard.......my son smiling at me over nothing at all......may I never forget moments like these!

Not all smiles all the time!

We went for a walk Monday night and Kennedy came home with 4 mosquito bites. No one else had any. She woke up yesterday morning looking something like this! Eyes all swollen and red. She looked like she had on make up! I called the dr and they said to just give her benadryl and it would get better. How in the world my daughter could be this allergic to mosquitoes I do not know! She looks pitiful doesn't she? Greg was calling her his little basset hound.....

poor thing! She does look a little better today. We are going to be covered in bug spray from now on!

I love this weather!

Kennedy wanted to go outside this morning and when we went out it was cold! She had to come back in and put on her new jacket from Aunt Wookie! She was really enjoying it. She kept patting her stomach and saying jacket! I tried to catch the excitement on video and this is what you get Wookie!

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A best friend birthday shout out!

Happy Birthday from Kennedy!

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Happy Birthday Drewbie!!

Today is a big day at the Prosser/Olliff compound! Drewbie turns 2 today!!! WOW that flew by! It seems like yesterday Kittie called and said Jen's water broke and she was in the hospital. I will never forget just sitting there thinking, "What do I do?" (like it was about me!) I thought it would be fun to see what a difference a year makes! Here are our sweet babies one year ago! My how they have changed!


Kennedy and Drew have a love hate relationship. They are growing up much more like siblings than friends. I think we are providing them something not everyone has, a friend from the very beginning! They truly care about each other and I look forward to watching them grow together. I would honestly do anything for this sweet little boy. I feel like he is part mine. You can count on Aunt Katie and Uncle Greg, Drewbie! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Whit's Dedication

Whit was dedicated at church yesterday. It was a sweet day for my little Whit. He wore the same gown that Kennedy wore for hers. He did so well! He was awake for the whole thing and didn't cry a bit! I got a little teary before we brought him up on the stage. I wonder if I will cry at everything my children do in life. I hope I can get over some of this crying! :) We came home and celebrated with friends and family. We had a ton of people in our house which meant a lot to me. There is lots of love in this family for our little boy! I am still amazed that he is here. I was telling Greg the other night that it is so different for me this time. We prayed and prayed and cried and cried for years to get Kennedy. Whit was just given to me without any tears when I least expected him. In a way I fell honored that God chose to give us this special gift. I never would have planned it this way and now I wouldn't change it for anything! It is how it is supposed to be and it is just perfect! So my little Whit, I pray God's blessings on your life. He gave us you and we will try our best to raise you in a way that pleases Him. You and your sister are our greatest blessings and we promise to take care of you both! We love you!

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2 months old and smiling about it!

Well, my little Whit you have survived 2 whole months in our house! Congratulations! And look at you, you seem to enjoy it! I am still in amazement that you look more like a Sartin than an Olliff. I never would have thought that! I am more and more in love with you each day. You have brought so much joy to our family. You were the piece we were missing. You've made us feel like a whole family! Boy, sometimes it seems like there are a lot of us! :)
At 2 months
*You take two official naps during the day. You have lots of cat naps in addition to those
* You sleep from 8PM to 3AM (in YOUR crib!) almost every night, wake up for a feeding and sleep (in MY bed!) until about 7 every morning! Yay!
*You spend your days smiling and cooing at us. We are waiting on that laugh to come out!
*You endure lots of abuse from that big sis of yours. You don't seem to care much. You just enjoy the company I think!
*You rarely ever cry but if you do you better watch out! You will let us know when something is wrong!
*You LOVE a paci. I mean LOVE it. Paci in, happy baby, paci falls out, the neighbors down the street call to see if you are ok! :)
*You go to bed awake and fall asleep on your own (with the paci of course) This is a wonderful thing. Keep that up!
*You make us smile every single day. I love you!

Whit and Kennedy tonight.....Kennedy was enjoying holding Whit. Whit...not so excited. Shortly after this pic we here, "DONE!" which means grab him fast she is on the move!

Some Mommy time....Do we look alike?

Napping in his crib today.....so sweet isn't it? I had to wake both of them up this afternoon at 4! My house was nice and quiet!!

Around here lately...

I know I have been a bad blogger lately. We have not been busy here at all! :) Here are some pics from the week. Drew and Kennedy took some time out from hitting each other and fighting over toys for a little togetherness over a bag of "raisies."
Greg and Whit had a little nap time together on Saturday. Greg went hunting for the big opening day of bow hunting. What a redneck I married! We all got up REALLY early because when he left I guess he woke up K and she started crying. I had to put her in my bed. Whit was on one side and K on the other. They both fell fast asleep and I was wide awake! Maybe Greg should hunt in the afternoon....

We had some more pool time on Sunday with our Sunday School class. We had a family pool cook-out and it was fun! It was HOT so the pool felt very nice. Kennedy had a big time! The weather has actually fallen from the 90's around here. Maybe fall is coming! I hope so!

I know, I know

I should be better about blogging while on maternity leave! I have been busy! :) I am too tired to blog tonight but I did want to document that tonight at 8:15 both of our babies were in their respective cribs fast asleep. I looked at Greg and said, "It is only 8:15!" His comment was that it could all go down hill later. I hope not! For now, my house is nice and quiet. I LOVE it!

What a week! I'm glad I survived!!

I have had two statements in the past few weeks that stuck with me. I will not include names. One was a phone call in which the caller said, "Hi katie, how are you and your perfect blog life?" and then the next was, "I stopped reading what your write. It is too sappy. I just look at the pictures." Hmmmmm....... so what if I am happy? And it is MY blog and I can write about whatever I want isn't it? I do get very sappy and sentimental about my children because they are just so special to me! I will admit that it does seem as though my life is peachy happy when you read it, which leads me to the story of this week. It started out nice. This is K and Whit on Monday having some quality cuddle time! Sweet isn't it?

My friend Michelle had a baby four weeks after Whit was born. He is so cute! :) They came by for a visit on Monday. Whit enjoyed his time with baby Jay! My favorite thing is Jay's hair. It sticks up everywhere! So cute and so different from my balding baby. They might be embarrassed someday that we had them all snuggled up together but we think it is cute!

Kennedy woke up from her nap to the greatest surprise you could give her, another baby! She was super excited to meet Jay. She would point to their heads and say their names. This little girl really was born to be a big sister. She's like me in that respect. I always wanted someone to take care of. Poor Patrick....

Monday night I had a baby shower here for a girl in our Sunday school class and it was really nice. Tuesday was normal. Then came Wednesday....

I woke up not feeling like myself. Greg left early that day so I had both of the kiddos. I really felt like I had a fever and the thermometer did not agree. I took K to Michelle's and by the time I got back I had a 101 fever. I knew what I had...mastitis strikes again. What did I do to deserve this? You should not be punished for the choice to nurse your baby! Aaahhhh!!! This sickness is worse than any flu you can get because on top of the horrible flu like symptoms you have a newborn to take care of! Whit was so sweet and slept a lot of the day. I wouldn't have made it if he hadn't. Thursday I was expecting to feel better. I did for a little while until the fever spiked back up. Aaahhh!! I woke up today feeling like myself again so hopefully my antibiotic has kicked in. This is really ridiculous! I am going to wake up everyday and pray I never get this again!

I did have the energy yesterday morning to drag out the camera as Greg left with Kennedy. She chose her shoes, put them on herself and then asked for her backpack. She never wears it herself. She put that thing on, grabbed her baby and sippy cup, and out the door she went! Bye Mommy! Not to mention she was in her pajamas (Miss Michelle's is pajama friendly. I love that!). She is getting way too grown up!

In the midst of my pain, little Whit was being really cute. He found his thumb yesterday! I know I should not be excited about it, but I am! I am not a paci fan. They fall out in the night. Thumbs and fingers do not. This means more sleep for me! I am probably a bad mother for saying that but I do not care!

So here we are and it is Friday. Another week of maternity leave behind me and I couldn't really enjoy it at all! So my perfect sappy life is not so perfect all the time! It still is really nice though! At least most of the time....

My picky eater?

Kennedy is such a picky eater! We try and try new things everyday. I have started not offering her anything other than what we are eating unless it is something she will absolutely not eat like a steak and a salad. Why she doesn't like steak I do not know! I will say she has started to eat more and more things. She at least will try something most nights. A lot of times it ends up getting spit out but at least she tasted it! Tonight we had ribs and corn on the cob. She LOVED it! This is her second time eating it. We were all done and cleaning up and she asked for more! So of course we got out the camera to document our crazy little girl!

Still asleep?

I would just like to document that for the past two hours my house has been filled with sleeping babies! They have both been asleep for over 2 hours and are STILL sleeping! And I thought this was going to be hard! :) I have spent my free time on ebay like crazy. Did you know you can get some GREAT deals on hair bows on ebay? Really, Sandi you need to check this out! I am trying to find the best one to order from. I should learn how to make bows, but ebay is so much easier!! And it will save me a fortune! Bows get very expensive! That's all for now....Greg will read this and tell me I need to go back to work. He says I spend more money when I am at home. What is he talking about? I am saving us money! :)

My Beautiful Boy at 7 Weeks!

They say you fall in love in an instant. You hear that and think it might be true. Then you meet them and fall in love, in an instant! It still amazes me as I look at my children how life is created. God is truly wonderful! Whit is now 7 weeks old! That scares me a little...it means I have less time off than he is old now! I don't like that at all! I do have a peace about going back to work. At least I know I will survive and I will still get to see my babies! I do have full 4 more weeks left so I am going to enjoy them the best I can!

Greg and Kennedy are off at the SHS football game tonight so I took Whit out for a little photo shoot. He did really well. I tried so hard for that smile and he was just not having it tonight. So instead you get these oh so precious pics of my little boy. My sweet little girl stole my heart the instant I met her and this little boy has melted it in a second. Have a great weekend! Don't get caught by any of these hurricanes coming at us!

Mmmmm....Is that fall I feel?

Ok, so those of you who live in South Georgia are probably saying I am crazy. I walked outside yesterday morning and felt a cool breeze. Mmmmmm...it did feel like a bit of fall and I got excited! It is September which many of you know is my birthday month. This September marks a big year for me, the big 30! Ughhh!! I have decided I am ok with it. I am still young right? :) And look at all that I have in my 30 years! I was always so excited when I felt fall outside because it meant my birthday was coming up! When we moved to GA I had to adjust to the fact that my birthday meant 90 degree weather and shorts instead of my cute new fall clothes when I was growing up. All this to say, that I have decided September will be my fall no matter what the weather. So yesterday I got out all of my fall decorations and put them around the house. Kennedy was super excited about the scarecrow on the table. It is like she is seeing things for the first time. Last year she was so young. I think Christmas is going to be a lot of fun around here this year! If you are debating whether to get out your fall decorations, I say go ahead! You get to enjoy them longer and it is my birthday month so I make all decisions!

There is also a lot going on around the Olliff household lately. Whit is turning into such a little person. He smiles at me everyday which is so sweet. He was under the play gym this morning and Kennedy was putting her baby, Bobby, under it and laughing so hard that Whit got into it. He starting smiling at his sister. It was the first time he has really interacted with her. So sweet!

Whit is also napping in his crib for the past few days. I have had him out napping in the living room just because I like to see him but I decided it was time. He deserves to spend some time in his room away from the craziness of my house. He seems to do really well with it. Kennedy is still doing great with him. She loves being a big sister. We tried to get a picture of them together yesterday and this is what we got, a pic of her doing her sisterly duties. (paci patrol)

Whit is still working on that smiling! I still can't catch a good pic because he keeps smiling at me and I don't get to my camera fast enough! He is also really busy learning to use his hands and feet. They are in constant motion, just waving them around. He looks at them like, "what are these things doing?"

And let's not forget our "big" kids! Drew and Kennedy enjoyed a nice holiday breakfast together on Monday in the "big girl" chairs. They were so proud of themselves! Life might have changed around here, but only for the better. Everyone is enjoying have a new one around and we can't wait to meet little Lorelei! Whit and Lorelei will have to sit at the little kid table I am sure. :)