A Life Update

I feel like a lot has happened since I last posted and I've been missing this space. Sometimes when I try to sit down and think about what to type I lose my train of thought. SO, that's why I've been gone for so long. Most of the time we are so consumed with what is going on with Olivia, we don't have time for anything else. Not saying that's a bad thing, because thats how we like it, but every once in awhile, we need a little break.

So, here goes. I'll start with the little things.

Olivia got a school room in August! I've been wanting to repaint my old craft room for awhile. But, we weren't sure what to turn it into. Once we decided that Olivia would be homeschooled, we knew that she would need a space for school work. So, that's what we did. I might do a post later on and let you know where we got everything. I really love how it turned out.

We continued taking weekly trips to the library. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it has been having a library card. Olivia's really enjoyed it and I've actually managed to read about 4-5 books this year myself.

We went to Disney and they had all of their halloween and fall decorations up. Some friends of ours that we met a few years back on social media were there so we got to meet them in person. That made it a special trip. 

A dentist trip, an eye appointment, and a cold that didn't cause a flare also happened in August. We found out that Olivia wasn't getting a good check-up at her current ophthalmologist, so we had to get a new referral to one in Gainesville. Not that she's shown any signs of uveitis, but she hasn't had a thorough check-up since she was diagnosed. 

In September she officially started pre-k work. We dressed her up as Fancy Nancy and she had a cute little tea party. She was on a low fiber diet that day, so we tried to make it fun. She had a procedure like a colonoscopy two days after, which she had to fast for and she rocked it. We were super proud of her! The results from that procedure showed inflammation in her colon, which is why we have been doing other tests for IBD. Cdiff also came back a few weeks after her procedure and she had to start another round of vancomycin. We could tell that she wasn't feeling well because she had a low grade fever along with it.

We finished up September with some sleepovers, school crafts, and swimming at granny's. When she gets older, she says that she wants to be an artist. 

The benefits of doing school work at home is that we can take it to the park. The weather was gorgeous! Livi hid about six rocks and found two. 

Olivia's monthly check-ups have all been good lately with Rheumatology. We saw her GI doctor and discussed more testing for IBD. She had genetic testing done for IBD at the end of October and we've been checking her stool every 2-3 weeks for cliff and the calprotectin levels (which measures the inflammation in her stool.) IF she ends up being diagnosed with IBD, they will have to adjust her meds and maybe add another biologic. We're pretty sad about that. So, we're hoping her levels have just been raised because of the cdiff.

We did A LOT of yard work at my mother-in-laws house. It took a few weeks to get it all done because of all the rain. Poor Livi got eaten alive by the mosquitos. October 12th was World Arthritis Day, so we celebrated by getting some blue added to Olivia's hair because that's what she requested. She wore her arthritis shirt and we made a new video to help spread awareness.

The toy bribes have been crazy lately.  Trips to Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Five Below in Gainesville. All to bribe her so that she will use the stool catcher (TMI, I know!) Apparently, we need to make a treat box so that we have them on hand and don't have to run out every time. Look at her dino collection! Who knew the Dollar tree had such a big selection!

Of course we made it to the McIntosh Festival this year. We mainly just go for the food. But, it's been a family tradition since we moved here. October is one of our favorite months because of Halloween. We probably watched every Halloween movie and colored every Disney halloween page there was. She painted a pumpkin at the library with cousins, we picked out fall and halloween books, and we made it to festival at the airport. Which she got to dress up for and loved it! 

Rapunzel, Let down your hair!

We also took some photos at the market, got to spend halloween with friends and family, and took another mega fun trip to Disney!

Disney days are the best days, especially with family.

We're looking forward to the holidays and I can't wait to share that with you. <3

Fall Fun 2017

We really enjoy fall in this house. It's packed full of so many holidays that we love! The weather has been up and down. Since the leaves don't really change here, the cool weather is what we rely on to get us in the fall spirit. As soon as the temperatures drop, we break out our boots and sweaters, or at least that's what Olivia and I do. Olivia really enjoys decorating around the house, so we try and make it fun for her.

One of our favorite things to do is to go to the fall festival in McIntosh. It's turned into a family trip and we really enjoy going with others. We usually don't purchase much except food. This trip we got a pink tulle skirt with a hair bow for Olivia, a bag of kettle corn, and a bag of rocks to add to Livi's collection. Lemonade is always a favorite of ours and we stick to the cheap hot dogs that The Lions Club sells. By the time we got home, we were exhausted so we took a family nap. I'm pretty sure we ended our day at Cracker Barrel because we were too tired to make dinner. I really love the veggie/side plate there. It's soooo yummy!

Olivia requested to be Everest this year for Halloween. She let me paint her face, which I really enjoyed. We tried last year, but she was still too young and rubbed most of it off. She did pretty good this year, however, my face paint is another story. She would laugh every time I would scratch my nose and get paint everywhere. We decided to take her to a Trunk or Treat because it would be less walking for her. She had fun and that's all that matters. But, I think next year we will go house to house. The Trunk or Treat ended up being really unorganized and we waited in line for awhile.

The weather has been so nice in the evenings, which has allowed us to get some family time in outside. The time change has taken some getting used to since we were so accustomed to it getting dark later. But, now when Dannie gets home it's dark. Livi and I have made a few trips to Sholom Park. She found her first painted rock there and is now obsessed. We recently painted some and are going to hide them when we go back. She still doesn't 100% understand the concept of finding them and then re-hiding them for others, so we're going to practice a few times with friends.  It's so fun and really interesting when you find a rock that was painted a few states away. With fall coming to an end soon, we're definitely looking forward to Christmas and all of it's festivities. 

Usually, The Pickin Patch is something we try to go to as a family, but this year sickness struck. We didn't make it until the last day they were open. That meant missing out on the sunflowers, but since we went later the temps were cooler. I still call that a win! We don't purchase our pumpkins there because they are pretty expensive, but they have a corn maze and slides for the littles. I won't forget Poor little Peyton getting stuck in the kid corn maze because Livi wouldn't wait for her and Mallory and I trying to jump up on the hay bale. We did manage to record those, so we can look back and laugh later. 

We're still looking forward to Thanksgiving. It'll be the second time hosting it at our house. The plan is to switch things up this year and instead of cooking separately and then meeting up in the afternoon, we're going to cook and eat together this year! Hoping it's something we can continue to do each year after this. We only Black Friday shop from our couch, so no crazy crowds and line waiting for us. Can't wait to share Thanksgiving photos. 

Pickin Patch 2015

We recently took a trip to the pumpkin patch. The WHOLE family was able to make it!

The weather was p-e-r-f-e-c-t! It could have been about 10 degrees cooler, but other than that it was sunny skies. We took a ton of pictures. People probably thought we were crazy, but I can't wait to show Olivia pictures from our trips when she is older. There was a kid maze made out of hay. Her and Levi made it out before Gibson. We all enjoyed the tunnel made from gords because it was cooler in there. The kids LOVED the slide made from a big mountain of hay. Poor Olivia cried when we pulled her away.

Aren't the best photos candid ones? Olivia appears to be dancing, Gibson was on his way to sit next to her, and Levi was peeking at Granny & G-pa.

Three little munchkins! Haha. Check out Levi's scrunchy face in the bottom left photo. 

Sisters! <3

The sunflowers are always my favorite part, but there weren't too many left when we went. They are only usually bloom the first few weeks the pumpkin patch is open. 

I swear these two cuties have their own language. Olivia was standing next to him just babbling away about a little girl that walked up to her. 

Corn maze fun with my little mini me. How adorable are those boots and pumpkin hair bows? 

Silly girl! Yelling at the people walking by. 

Another family photo with everyone looking AND Gibson showing us his muscles.

My loves! We have a photo like this from last year. I think we will take one every year that we go ;)

This photo will have to be taken each year too so we can see how the babies have grown. The top photo is from last year. <3

Fall Fun!

September means it's one month closer to F-A-L-L! Here in Florida it doesn't feel a lot like fall. The leaves don't change here like they do up north and it's still 90 degrees out when we're trying to enjoy our fall fun. Instead of wearing boots and hoodies when we go to the pumpkin patch, we are still rocking shorts and flip-flops.

September - January is pretty busy for our family. There are so many birthdays and holidays to celebrate as well as different things we all enjoy doing together. Usually around the end of September the Pickin Patch opens up in Dunnellon. It's usually only $3 to get in and if you save your wrist band you can go back for free. This has been one of my favorites since I was pregnant. Not only can you get awesome photos out there, it's just a fun adventure for everyone. Sometimes we purchase pumpkins, but they have a corn maze (which we got lost in before), and they have a beautiful sunflower field. The sunflowers might be my favorite part! 

There are two different Arts & Craft festivals we go to every year. I can't remember when we even started going. It was too long ago! One of them is usually the weekend of Halloween in a little town called McIntosh. Not only are there cute little stores and buildings throughout the town, but the trees there are beautiful! I love going and looking at all the local artwork, but we mainly go for the FOOD! Funnel cake, gyro's, lemonade, and corn dogs! Those are just a few of our favorites! The second festival we go to is in another town called Micanopy. This festival lasts two days unlike the McIntosh. Again, adorable town. But, sadly we go for the food.....and family time.

What else do I enjoy during this time? Decorating our house for fall, pumpkin pie, mums, and of course pumpkin spice lattes. I am human like everyone else so I have to enjoy one or two during this season. Eventually, the weather will get cooler. I love driving with my windows down and being able to open our back sliders during this time. 

This year we are looking forward to doing a lot with Olivia. She couldn't walk last year, so she'll be able to do more at the Pumpkin Patch this year. Minnetonka moccasins, pumpkin carving, introducing her to pumpkin pie, Coon Hollo, and maybe some fall family pictures. Also, LOTS of trips to the park! :)

What are your favorite fall things to do? :)

McIntosh festival :)

Our little pumpkin last year.