Happy New Year

Olivia has grown a lot this past year and has accomplished so much.  This past year, she not only started OT therapy, but preschool and gymnastics as well.  These have all been very good for her.  Currently, she loves her Gogums and Lily and her “banklet.”  She enjoys jumping on her trampoline, playing with her trains, watching Dora and Leapfrog DVDs, drawing, reading books, singing and listening to music.  Every day, she has a new “favorite” that she’ll play with  nonstop for days.   She’ll talk your leg off and always make you smile.  I’m so proud of all that she has accomplished this year and I look forward to the many blessings ahead in 2011.  May you all have a very happy and healthy New Year!

Happy Birthday Kaleb

Olivia was so excited to celebrate her cousin Kaleb’s 3rd birthday today. 

Olivia and Grandma

Our little ball of energy sitting still for a quick picture.

The awesome Lego cake with Kaleb’s “guys.”

Kaleb and Olivia. . .best buddies.

Julia and Alex engrossed in a game. LOL.

Here is Kaleb opening one of his many awesome gifts. 

What a great party!!  Hope you had a great birthday, Kaleb!

Bubbles

I thought I’d share one of my Christmas gifts. . .bubbles for the laundry room.  Ever since we painted it green over a year ago, I’ve wanted these circles!  I finally got my wish and spent the day creating bubbles in the laundry room (but, unfortunately not the kind that clean your clothes.)  We finished about half of the room and ran out of circles, so it looks like we’ll need to get more.  But, it’s turning out just as I envisioned it. 

Christmas #3

Today, we celebrated Christmas with Ryan’s family.  The best part of the day was being able to spend time with Ryan’s sister and family who recently moved to Arkansas.  It was great to see them again.  I could tell that Olivia has really missed seeing them.  She doesn’t quite understand why she doesn’t see them as frequently anymore.  Thanks everyone for a great afternoon!

Have you ever seen so many presents?

Olivia’s first present that she opened. . .her very own Arkansas Razorbacks t-shirt.

She had to take time out to read her new book.

And among her favorites was her new scooter!  I thought it might take her awhile to get the hang of it, but I was wrong.  She picked right up on it and away she went! 

Christmas Through The Years

Merry Christmas

We woke up this morning around 8:15 am (our usual time) and found that Santa had visited our house last night!

I think Olivia would have been content with just the items in her stocking.  She was in no rush to open presents.  In fact, it took us 3 hours to get all of them open.

She opened each one and wanted to play with it.  So, it was a very laid back, enjoyable morning in our house as we casually opened and enjoyed each present. 

And, we had to stop for a chocolate milk break.

By the end of the morning, however, even the cats were exhausted.

And so was one certain little girl.  She laid down for about 2 minutes and then she was ready to play again.  LOL.

One of her favorites was the art easel that she got.  She has already made some great masterpieces.

Around 1 pm, we headed over to my parents for a turkey dinner. 

Here is Olivia enjoying her present from her Great Great Aunt Mary.

Olivia and Great Great Aunt Mary

Olivia and Grandma Sailing

I wish I could say the rest of the day went great, but this afternoon we got a call that my grandpa was being taken to the hospital.  His blood sugar was high, his blood pressure was low and he had a 104 temp.  He is currently resting in the hospital with possible dehydration and an infection.  Please say a little prayer for him. . .that’s just not a call that you want to receive any day. . .especially on Christmas. 

But, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Christmas #1

We were so excited for the first of three Christmas celebrations!

Olivia’s cousin Izzy

We celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa Sailing’s house.

Olivia was excited to open presents.

So was Izzy.

Her Dora microphone was among her favorites.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas Eve. 

Merry Christmas

On this eve of Christmas Eve, I sit here amazed at my many blessings.  I don’t know where I’d be in life without my husband by my side.   Olivia is a joy and such a miracle in our lives.  I’ve truly never met anyone who is as happy as she is and with such a zest for life.  She inspires me every day.  And, I have some of the best family and friends in the world.  I know our sweet Logan is celebrating Christmas from heaven again this year and what a celebration that must be!  From our blessed family to yours. . . have a very Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I’ve learned a lot about potty training in the last two days.  What has surprised me the most is the amount of bonding that takes place between the two of you.  Maybe it’s because your entire schedule is blocked off and it’s just the two of you focused on each other.  What an amazing two days it has been!  We even snuggled up on the couch and took a nap.  For those of you who know Olivia. . .you know that she’s not always a snuggler so it will be a very cherished memory.  We’ve had some successes (dry diapers overnight and during nap, pee pee  in the potty) and some setbacks, but I’m trying to make it a pleasant experience for both of us.  Some might think Olivia is certainly old enough, but they don’t understand that developmentally, she’s still a bit behind.  She struggles with the fine motor skills that would allow her to dress and undress by herself.   She still does not have all the readiness signs of potty training. . .even though her age would suggest otherwise.  But, she’s doing a fabulous job and I’m super proud of her.   I don’t believe in forcing a child to be potty trained whenever society says they should be ready, but when they are truly ready.  As a mother, I’m taking her cues and responding to them the best I can.  She’s always done everything on her own timetable, after all.   Great job today, Olivia!  Mommy and daddy are so proud!

Autumn and Tobey

Awwww. . . .

Potty Training

Olivia with Grandpa and Grandma Sailing (found this picture from Thanksgiving that I never posted.)

Well, after 6+ hours, I think we’re done potty training for the day.  We had 3 accidents and no successes, but we’re not giving up.  Olivia just wanted to take a nap, so I put her back in a diaper.  Olivia seems sooo ready in some areas and not ready at all in others.  I am exhausted. . .we went every 15 minutes from 8:30 – 12:30 and then every 20-30 minutes.  I know it takes awhile for some kids and she’ll do it when she’s ready.  This potty training stuff is hard!!  And messy!  

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Here are some pictures of Olivia getting ready this morning.

She loves to brush her teeth.  I don’t know how good of a job she does (so I still do it for her at night) but she brushes them multiple times throughout the day.

Today, I also curled Olivia’s hair for the first time.  She looked so adorable. 

And look at those beautiful teeth! LOL.  Gorgeous!

Tomorrow, we are hitting the potty training pretty hard.  Olivia refuses to wear diapers (insists on pull-ups) and will no longer lay down for a diaper change.  She’s sooo ready. . .she just doesn’t quite know it yet.  Wish us luck!!

Rudolph

I got this craft idea from Stacie’s blog.  I am a sucker for anything that uses my child’s handprint, so I thought we’d try it today.  First, trace and cut out your child’s shoe.  Then, trace and cut out their hands.

Assemble the hands as antlers and the shoe as Rudolph’s face.

Here is where you can get creative.  Olivia didn’t feel much like doing a craft today, so I took the easy route and added eyes and a pom pom nose.

Do NOT use a pom pom if that happens to be your cat’s favorite toy. LOL.  My construction paper was a little flimsy, so I pasted it to a green sheet of paper.

I traced it in black marker and hung it on the fridge for all to see and to remember how big her hands and feet were!

And here’s my sweet girl hanging out at home today.  Hope you all are having a wonderful day!