where does the time go???

I thought I would share some pictures of O&O today. They have grown so much and I"ve enjoyed every second with these two amazing children. I would write more but I'm off to Seattle to participate in my very first triathlon!! So, excited! I only wish Eric was able to be here to join me..soon...maybe????

Mostly Just Pictures!!

I feel like I have been such a slacker when it comes to blogging. I love my blog but it seems like everyone is getting their updates on the kids and family via facebook! So, here is a brief update on life at the Schmick house.

Eric- Eric is doing great! Work has been busy for him so we haven't seen him much these past few weeks. He is ready for another deployment and even though we are not sure when he is going the kids seem to be picking up on the fact that he is gone a lot. Olivia misses him the most. She really is a daddy's girl. She is a lot more emotional then usual and I think that is probably why. Owen will get quiet and suck his thumb (which he almost never does) and when I ask him what is going on he just says "I miss my daddy". Life as a Navy family is tough but I can't complain because I know there are others who have their husbands and dads (or wives and moms) gone for months even a year. When Eric is on the submarine he is gone 3-4 months and home for 3 months then gone again. At least we have him home in between deployments.

Me- Eric and I decided that it would be best for me to stay home with the kids this year. Last year was very difficult, I taught all year and Eric was gone a lot! The kids suffered and I felt like I couldn't be the mom and teacher I wanted to be and something had to give. The obvious choice was my job! It was the best decision ever! I love being home with the kids and am having a ton of fun. It's the best job in the world!!! I've also had the opportunity to substitute at Olivia's preschool for another preschool class and a kindergarten class. I don't think I have ever had so much fun teaching before. My entire teaching career I've taught high school and jr. high and really had no desire to teach the little kids. Soooo much fun:) I am still volunteering for Love Without Boundaries. It's a rewarding experience. I feel so lucky to be apart of such an amazing organization.

Olivia- Olivia started preschool this year. I was really nervous because she is so shy that she would have a difficult time interacting with the other kids. However, she has proved me wrong. She loves school and is doing great. She turned 4 on the 14th and had a little birthday party at the gymnastics studio and loved it! It was great. Olivia also loves her role as a big sister! She does a great job telling Owen what to do and how to do it. She has no problem telling him when he is doing it wrong also. It's pretty funny to listen to my words come out of a 4 year old. It has taught me a lot about thinking before speaking....I'm working on it:)

Owen- Owen is a sweet 2 year old who loves to give his mom, dad and sisters "huggie" and kisses. He is pretty artistic and enjoys coloring. I've never seen him concentrate on anything like he does when he is coloring. I'm amazed at his ability at such a young age. He is really good at being 2 and has a bit of a stubborn streak going on. He is a great little brother. He loves his sister sooooo much and would do anything for her. I feel very blessed to have two kids who like playing with each other (most of the time).

Wow! I know I thought it was going to be brief however, those who really know me know I can never be brief and that I tend to ramble from time to time:)

I hope you enjoy the pictures of my babies:)

Jolly Mom Blog

I've recently started following this blog. She has a lot of fun and creative ideas. One thing Jolly Mom does is have contests where you could win really cool items by blogging about her blog.

I've just enetered one of her contests to win an Oreck Air Purifier. I am hoping I win this one because I think it will help with Owen's asthma! If your interseted in checking out the Jolly Mom blog, here is the link (or you can click on the Jolly Mom icon on the right).
http://www.jollymom.com/2009/10/advanced-oreck-proshield-air-purifier.html

3 years ago.....

I am sitting here watching my little girl sleep thinking about the day I first laid eyes on her beautiful face. We are coming up on our 3 year anniversary of our referral. I'll never forget the day we found out that we were going to be parents for real! I'll never forget getting that call. What an amazing day! What an emotional day. In some ways it feels just like yesterday and in other ways I can't even remember my life without Olivia. She has turned into such a sweet little girl, and a great big sister. She loves her My Little Ponies, short sleeve shirts only mom, shoes (my daughter is obsessed with shoes and other accessories), math, coloring, riding her bike, running (man can that girl run), ice cream, sleeping in, playing with Owen, reading stories, and snuggling with daddy and mommy!

This Tuesday, we will celebrate by going out for Chinese food and I will make our traditional Ladybug Cake for our little girl.

Thank you God for blessing us with two incredibly amazing children!!!

I'll post pictures later!!

DisneyWorld!

This past week we flew down to Orlando and spent a week with my family and of course went to Disney! It was so much fun. It was great to see everyone again. I hate being this far away from our family and it really comes to light when I have to say good bye.

First off, I don't think I could ever live there! My gosh was it HOT!!!! The first three days we were there it was a 110. My poor babies were sweating even before we left the house each morning. They didn't last long and we didn't push them but for the time we were it was fun!

Owen loved running around playing with all of his cousins, Aunts and Uncles and of course Grammie and Pappa! He has become the little fish and cried everytime we had to get out of the pool:( He has no fear. The kid would just jump into the pool and with his two little floaties on his arms and just go under water. This is the same little guy who two months ago I put into swimming lessons and clawed me as I tried to enter the pool with him. He never got into the pool. The entire 8 lessons he flipped out! I think he is showing off for his dad!! ha ha Whatever the reason, I am so happy to see that he loves the pool!

Olivia enjoyed seeing her favorite princesses (Princess Aurora and the Little Mermaid). She was in awe of everything and was so excited to be there. She really came out of her shell for the first time with my family. Normally, she is so quiet and doesn't interact too much with her cousins however, it warmed my heart to see her dancing and playing with them this visit!

Eric and I had so much fun with everyone. It was great for us to just get away after a long deployment (long in submarine terms anyways!).

An artist in the making!

Here are some pictures Olivia drew last night of her daddy. She has had a hard time these past few weeks and misses her dad a ton. Last night as I was putting her to bed she said "mom, daddy really needs to come home. It's too hard for me! I want my daddy." It broke my heart in one way but the other part of me was so proud of her for expressing her feelings. It seems like it took so long for her to really talk to us at all and now she is talking a lot and expressing her thoughts and ideas. I love it.

Yesterday, we were headed to the pet store to pick up some supplies for Charlie our fish and drove past a carnival. She said "mom, I want to go to the carnival but daddy took all of my money on the submarine!" It was pretty funny that she would blame her dad who has been gone for 3 months. It's amazing what some kids come up with.

Olivia and Owen are turning out to be great friends. I love watching them play together, dance and sing. They sure know how to make my heart happy!!!!

I'm Back.....

I've been inspired! I obviously haven't blogged in forever but now I'm back and feeling a bit creative. I was checking out my friend Alicia's blog www.islandalli.blogspot.com and noticed how nice her blog looked and I thought about it and decided I needed a blog makeover. It's not the greatest but I think I did an ok job and it was free which is nice.

So much has happened in the past few months that I have no idea where to begin. So, I'm just going to do a run down of our lives:

* January 15th we celebrated the anniversary of the first time we saw Owen's picture and instantly knew he was meant to be a part of our family. He has brought so much love and laughter into our family, I can't imagine life without him. He is wild, crazy, sweet, caring and he adores his big sister. Whenever Olivia wants something all she has to do is ask and Owen without missing a beat is running to get her what she wants. I'm sure this will not last forever but it's so sweet. We just love this little guy and are so blessed to be his parents!!

*February 12th...Happy 2nd Birthday Owen!

*February 28th...Happy 34th Birthday Eric!!

*March..We say good-bye to Eric once again as he boards the USS Kentucy for another deployment. We miss him so much and can't wait for him to come home!!!

*April 14th: Olivia turns 3 1/2. She has been talking so much. She has a great imagination and is so much fun to be around. She loves to be a big sister. I think she believes she is his mom at times. I actually have to remind her that she is not his mom!!

May: It's a crazy time of year. Eric has now been gone for what seems like forever and we just found out he will be out to sea a bit longer then we had anticipated which doesn't help. Olivia misses her dad so much and has been sad lately. Owen loves to point out things like "daddy's car, daddy's shirt, daddy's watch, Daddy's keys" Its his little way of showing all of us that he misses Eric and thinks of him all the time.

*May 12th: One year ago today we met our son. Thank you so much Owen for bringing so much love and laughter into our family!! We love you so much big guy!!

Upcoming events: June 18th....LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!! We are planning a trip to Florida in June to spend time with family. It will be a great time. I can't wait to get away for awhile.

Eric's brother Joe and his wife Laura are planning a trip to Washington. We can't wait to see them.

Grandma Schmick is also planning a visit. We can't wait to see her!!

It's going to be a good summer:)