Miss Olive: 7 Months

Olive turned 7 months old a few days ago! Crazy! This month she celebrated her first Halloween, began sleeping (pretty much) through the night, and got her toe nails painted for the first time. We are so in love with her sweet personality and thankful she's in our lives!

Seven Months!

Height & Weight: 18 pounds 3 ounces and 27.2 inches long

Eating: Olive is doing great on baby food and also enjoying finger foods like cheerios, baby mum mums, canned green beans, and yogurt melts. She continues to nurse like a champ and loves her mommy milk. She can also drink water from a sippy cup by herself (though she makes a mess!). 

Sweet girl. 

Yes, sometimes things get messy at Chik-Fil-A. 

Getting ready for Halloween

Sleep: Two naps during the day and sometimes a cat nap at dinner time. She goes down awake and soothes herself to sleep. She is a great napper! We finally were able to do some night time sleep training with Olive and it has helped alot! With all the different houses we've lived in during her lifetime and the lack of routine and structure as we've moved from place to place, it was hard to get her a routine set up. Also, in our temporary apartment we're all sleeping in ONE room which makes it kind of hard to let her cry it out. However, I finally bit the bullet, bought some earplugs, and let her cry a few nights. Isaiah and Eloise did wake up from her crying but went back down. It took a few nights but she is sleeping much better and not eating at ALL at night! She goes to bed at 8 pm, I wake her up for a dreamfeed at 11, and then she sleeps through till 7/8 am. Sometimes she'll wake up during the night but will easily go back down without being nursed. Progress! =)

Who, me? Just pulling out the laundry to help Mommy out. 

Personality: Olive continues to be such a loving baby! She recently learned how to give kisses on command and loves to give big, slobbery, open mouthed kisses. She loves to cuddle and has become such a mama's girl. She does NOT like to be away from me these days! She is a very content baby. Honestly, she's not much work, and I'm grateful for a baby like this as my third!! She will play on her own, entertain herself or be entertained by her siblings for most of the day. 

                                                                         Clapping girl!

Seriously, the world's best shopper. She could go for hours and be content!

Milestones: This month Olive has become a lean, mean, crawling machine. She's been crawling since the latter part of 5 months old so she's an old pro by now! She is FAST! And she pulls herself up on anything and everything, even flat surfaces. She is even starting to let go and see if she can stand by herself! Crazy girl!!! This month she learned to clap her hands on command and loves doing it. She also got her first pedicure (Pink!) and celebrated her first Halloween. She was a cute little ladybug. 

Little Livy Ladybug!

Livy, the crawling and climbing machine. 

What could be sweeter than cute, pink baby toes?!?

Trying to stand on her own!

Isaiah and Eloise: Isaiah and Eloise love their baby sister, that's for sure! Isaiah is enjoying her even more these days as she's able to do more. He will often go up to her and jiggle her cheeks and say, "Hey there, Little Cutie." He interacts with her a lot! Eloise does too! Olive is her baby and she LOVES her baby!! We've begun talking about how in our new house Olive and Eloise are going to share a room and Eloise is very excited about that! Isaiah's a little bummed though! We told him he can sleep with the dog, though, and that seems to be enough for him. =) 

Happy 7 Months, Baby Girl! We're glad you're in our family!

Halloween with Iron Man, Cinderella, and a Ladybug

The Hutcheson household had a great Halloween this year! We had Iron Man Isaiah, CinderEloise, and Little Livy Ladybug at our house!

The day started out fun when we took the kids trick-or-treating at Drew's work. They were passing out candy at his office and the kids had a blast meeting everyone and getting lots of candy. Isaiah even got to meet the REAL Iron Man and he was beside himself!

Isaiah and the "REAL" Iron Man!

Iron Man and Cinderella

Then the day got even more fun when we went to a Halloween party at a local church and the kids got to play games, bounce in bouncy houses, ride a mechanical bull, dance to Let it Go, see a Transformer, and meet the REAL Cinderella!! =)

This Transformer was awesome!!! 

                                                      

Incredible Transformer costume!

Little Livy Ladybug!

Princess CinderEloise

Fun on the mechanical bull!

                                                      
        Isaiah rode the mechanical bull and actually stayed on quite a while! He wasn't too sure about it though...

                                                                             Drew didn't stay on quite as long. ;)

Grandpa and Mimi came for the fun too!

 

This was at the very end of the night. Eloise had not had a nap and was pretty much in Zombie mode. She couldn't pass up a chance to dance to Let it Go, though!

Eloise got to meet the "REAL" Cinderella!

We tried...

Happy Halloween!

Why Our Daughter is a Princess AND a Servant

Just like many little girls her age, Eloise is obsessed with princesses. Her current favorite is Elsa from Frozen (Ummmm hello? Isn't every little girl currently obsessed with Elsa!?). For Halloween she is going to be Cinderella (she's content being pretty much ANY princess). At the top of her lungs she points out any princess she sees. She loves to read princess story books and watch princess movies.

Sometimes she even thinks her name is Princess. The other day I watched a hilarious exchange between the kids and some complete strangers. The kids were out on our deck and were yelling out to some strangers in the parking lot (we currently live in an apartment building). Isaiah shouted, "Hey, my name is Isaiah!" and the strangers politely responded what their names were. Then he yelled out, "And this is my sister. Her name is Ellawee!" But Eloise was having none of that and she shouted, "NO I'm Princess!". And thus started a debate of the two kids yelling out to the poor, unsuspecting strangers, "Her name is Eloise" and "NO I'm Princess!" over and over again. I'm pretty sure those dazed strangers left without understanding a word of what was going on, just happy to get in their car and speed away from those crazy children. =)

We love that Eloise loves princesses and says that she is one. BUT we are very careful with how far we allow the whole princess attitude to go. We want her to grow in her understanding that her princess playtime is clearly fantasy and not something to truly aspire to.

I think there are some serious issues with kids growing up in our country these days. Since we're talking about girls I'll focus on them for now. Girls are growing up thinking they are not only princesses but QUEENS, needing to be served, having people (men) bend their wills to them, thinking they are in charge of life! Many parents are raising a generation of spoiled, rotten, brats (to put it frankly) who get what they want when they want it because they are "royalty"! Girls are fixated on looking perfect and are constantly searching for the newest thing to make them look more beautiful. And I think some of it starts at two years old with the princess mentality (though obviously not a complete and holistic source). Our girls are growing up from a young age thinking they rule the roost! They are the princess, the boss, the chief of command! (And please, if you don't believe me just watch the show Toddlers and Tiaras.) This is not the mentality that we want to instill in Eloise or any of our children. And it's not the example that Jesus set before us...

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

We need to be careful to set the example of Jesus before our girls, not the example of the world. Yes, Eloise can pretend to be a princess. She can be Cinderella for Halloween. She can dress up in princess dresses and read princess books, and have a princess themed room. {BUT} she is also a servant. She is a princess AND a servant. And if you ask her she will tell you that! (Hopefully.... we've been working for some time now to drill it into her). We want to teach Eloise that in order to be a great princess, she has to be a great servant. She needs to serve others, to look out for others above herself, not to expect everything to be handed to her but to be willing to put in hard work and effort. Not to live on a throne above the rest of society but to get her hands dirty digging in the dirt, taking care of herself, her family, and helping others. 

While being a princess sounds wonderful (beautiful, "saved" by a prince, rich, etc), it is not realistic. For most of us life does not provide (on a constant basis) a flood of lavish gifts, attention, and assistance in times of need. And we don't want our daughters growing up thinking that that is how life is supposed to be. I don’t want my daughters to expect to get everything they want; Drew and I hope to raise them to be thankful for getting the things they need.

The Bible speaks of a reputable woman as being a servant,

"She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?"
1 Timothy 5:10

And does the Proverbs 31 woman, the woman God calls "excellent", sound like a Disney princess to you? She is a princess for sure, but not the kind we think of. (Not all verses from the chapter are included)

15 She rises while it is yet night
    and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
16 
17 She dresses herself with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
18 
20 She opens her hand to the poor
    and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
26 
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.

And what does God say about this woman?

Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

This is the type of woman we want Eloise to be!

And we teach the same concept of servant hood to Isaiah. He is told by Drew often that, "In order to be a great leader, he must first be a great servant." And we will tell Olive the same things as she gets older.

Please, don't get me wrong. We want our kids to know how special and loved they are to us, others, and God. We want them to feel treasured. Eloise {IS} treasured. She is LOVED. She is special. She is priceless to us. And we want her future spouse to feel and treat her the same way. We want to give her the whole world and then some! But, more important than the things we WANT to give her is our overarching desire not to have her (or any of our children) grow up with a sense of entitlement in life. Thinking that they deserve more, better, the best out of life because of the priceless prince or princesses that they are.

We believe Eloise is a princess. But we remind her that she is also a servant. And she is for darn sure the cutest princess/servant I have ever seen!  

Pumpkin Patch 2014

Yesterday we made a little visit to a nearby pumpkin patch. It's a tradition of ours to take the kids to a pumpkin patch each fall and let them each pick out a pumpkin. Isaiah was so excited all day long... He couldn't WAIT for daddy to get home from work so we could go! Eloise caught onto Isaiah's excitement but I don't think she had any idea what a pumpkin patch was because she was too little to remember last year. But all the kids had a blast and we found some perfect pumpkins that we are going to work on carving sometime soon. =) Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home made for a perfect evening.

What fall traditions do you have for your family?

Let the pumpkin picking begin!

<3 The cuteness!!!! <3

I promise you, we TRIED to get a good picture... after about 10 shots, cheesy smiles, and silly gestures, we took what we could get. ;) 

So thankful for my family!

Leaving with pumpkins in hand! (Daddy carried the big one!) It was a fun evening!

Happy 2nd Gotcha Day, Eloise!

Today we are celebrating Eloise's 2nd Gotcha Day! Eloise's "Gotcha Day" is the day we brought her home from the orphanage and each year, on October 16th, we celebrate the day that she became a part of our family!! Can't believe she has been our daughter for TWO years!

I vividly remember October 16th, 2012. We had met Eloise at her orphanage almost a month and a half earlier and, since meeting her, had been finalizing the details in order to bring her home. I remember waking up that morning and thinking that it would be so cool if our baby girl could come home that day. Why? Well just because I'm all sentimental about dates and stuff and October 16th was Isaiah's due date (he was born three weeks early on September 25th). But still, I thought it would be kind of cool if our baby girl came home on the day our baby boy was scheduled to make his debut. =)

But the day wore on and we hadn't heard anything from our social worker. I remember that I decided to take a walk with Isaiah and go down to a store that I had seen earlier that sold used baby items to see if I could find anything for Eloise for whenever we did bring her home. It was about 5 o'clock at that point and I was sure that October 16th was {not} going to be the day our sweet baby came home. On our way back home I got a call from Drew with some of the most wonderful words I had ever heard, "Let's go get our baby girl!" The social worker had called him and said we were good to go! We could go right then and there and pick her up!

One and a half hours later we were at her orphanage and after signing paperwork and saying goodbyes we rode home with 6 month old Eloise Ann, the newest addition to our family. There was much much much more paperwork, hearings, documents, and other hoops to jump through to make her legally our daughter but on October 16th, 2012 Eloise became as much our daughter in our hearts as she would ever be to us.

I remember driving home with her and thinking, "This was crazy!!!!" Thankfully I had her room all set up already (UNLIKE Isaiah who, poor child, had to come home to a nursery with NO crib because it was on back order and he came three weeks earlier than expected!). I had also induced lactation and had been pumping for months so I had a huge supply of breastmilk stocked up for Eloise's bottles (although I didn't end up needing most of it because she learned to nurse after just a short time after she came home!). You can read more about how I induced lactation here. 

That night Eloise took forever to fall asleep. She cried and cried and cried.  For weeks she woke up every 20 minutes during the night. She smiled, but hesitantly. She was scared. You could see the questions in her eyes as they flooded with tears. You could hear the fear and sadness in her cry as she called out for the caretaker she was familiar with in her orphanage.

Eloise had experienced so much pain and loss in her short 6 months of life before us. First she lost a birth mother. Then she lost her caretaker. Now she was in a strange home with a family longing to love her as their own, but she had no idea who we were. Adoption is funny that way. Those months that we had been staring at her picture and falling in love with her were unknown to her. We had been visiting her every week but still she did not feel comfortable with us after just a few hours a day. We had a jump start on loving her but it didn't take her long to catch up... 

Oh what a turnaround this sweet baby girl has made! Eloise is such a sweet, happy 2 1/2 year old girl, always giggling and laughing. She has such a tender heart, concerned when others are hurting. She is a little snuggle bug and loves to give kisses. She is a beautiful girl inside and out. She has a strong will and knows what she wants... and she gets a fair amount of spankens! =)  Yet she has compassion and understands wrong. She is the most adoring big sister to her little Baby Olive and sweet to Isaiah as well. She brings joy to our household. 

Almost every night, when I put Eloise to bed, I whisper in her ear "Mommy loves you. Daddy loves you. We will never ever leave you. You are OUR girl forever. We will always take care of you, feed you, make sure you have what you need, and love you. We are never ever ever going to let you go." And then, because she loves it, I sing her a little song (to the tune of a song on Daniel Tiger), "Mommy will come back. Daddy will come back." You should see her face light up! She just delights in hearing me say that we will never "get rid" of her like others have done in the past. If we leave we will {ALWAYS} come back for her. We do all we can to make sure she knows that she is safe and secure with us and we are never going anywhere.

We know that adoption issues are going to pop up in her future. She has been through a lot and we are not niave to the struggles she may have as she grows in her understanding of how/why she is in our family. But for now we are enjoying our sweet little girl and trying to do all we can to strengthen her trust in us and fill her love tank!

We are so blessed that God chose us to parent this precious little girl! As I wrote here, Eloise is as much my own daughter as any baby girl I have will ever be. Two years ago we brought Eloise home through the miracle of adoption, one year ago we celebrated her First Gotcha Day, and today we celebrate that she has been in our family two great years!

Happy Gotcha Day, Eloise Ann!! We love you!

(Hope you enjoy the pictures I've posted below! It was fun taking a trip down memory lane as I looked through our pictures, trying to choose the ones that best represent our two years with Eloise. Remember, you can click on the photos to make them bigger and easier to scroll through!)

Visiting Eloise in the orphanage before we could bring her home. First picture of my two babies together. 

Kisses for baby sister in the orphanage.

Very first evening home. 

Oh the cuteness!

And I can't resist a picture of Olive in the same outfit. =)

Big Bro and Lil Sis!

7 months old

 
The day we went to court to obtain legal guardianship of our sweet girl!

And the picture we used to introduce her to the world once we received it!

In America!

 
12 months old

First Gotcha Day, October 16th, 2013

18 months old

2 years old!

<3

My three loves!

Always a ham. 2 1/2 years old. 

We love you, Eloise!