Pictures

Here are just a few pics of Olivia that show her love of video game cards. Hmm. . .wonder if she'll take after daddy and his love of video games?

Saturday, August 30, 2009 - Update

There they are!

Bubbles, please?

Not much to talk about today. Olivia has been extremely cranky the last few days. I'm hoping this isn't what two is going to be like. Wow. I'm thinking that she might be trying to get her cuspids as well. I've still enjoyed watching her do something new each day. She now feeds Elmo goldfish crackers. We've found goldfish crackers in some interesting places like my makeup drawer and inside the toilet paper roll. Lately, you just never know where you're going to find things or what is going to show up missing. I still have no idea what she did with the letter M or my eyeliner. Her communication is also really taking off!! Today, she grabbed her microwaveable Velveeta shells and cheese (which she LOVES) and handed it to daddy, said "beep, beep!" and signed "more." She knows that I put it in the microwave and when it goes "beep" then it's ready. Every day she seems to say new words and learn new things. She's one smart cookie! Now, if only we could get rid of this crankiness. . .

Clip, Clip, Clip

Olivia got her first haircut today. I knew it was going to go badly, but. . . I didn't expect it to go quite as badly as it did. Wow. . . .it was awful. Olivia goes crazy when she is constrained. I don't know how she's ever going to go to the dentist or do all of the other million things that you need to sit still for.

This is the best picture that we got.

Her new haircut (and new two year old attitude.) After a three hour nap, she is doing much better.

Friday, August 28, 2009 - Update

Olivia's birthday started out really rough for me. I think I was up until 4 am just crying. Crying because on August 27, 2007. . .I gave birth to two babies. Crying because I don't want Logan to think that I don't care that it's his birthday also. Crying because I don't want the fact that it's Logan's birthday to overshadow Olivia's birthday. Crying because I'm so happy that I have my little girl. There are so many mixed emotions surrounding Olivia's birthday that I don't know how to deal with them all. I thought I was going to be okay this year. Then, I started making the video for Olivia and it all came out of nowhere. Good thing that I cried it all out last night, so that I was ready to celebrate with Olivia when she woke up. We've sort of had a week long celebration since Ryan has a whole week of vacation this week.

Olivia spent the afternoon at her grandparents so that Ryan and I could shop for new phones. The other day, as we were driving home. . . .my diaper bag fell over, a half-empty bottle of milk spilled out and pooled into the stroller canopy and my camera and cell phone fell out into the pool of milk. Camera seems okay, but my cell phone was toast. We had been talking about getting iPhones for awhile (and actually looked at them earlier this week) but we decided to wait until next year. Well, it ended up happening sooner than we anticipated, but I gotta say. . .I LOVE the new thing!! Ryan and I were up until 1:30 am this morning adding apps and checking everything out. Of course, now it's almost 3 am and I'm still awake, but that's nothing new.

I hope Olivia has had a fun birthday week. She is going through another developmental "explosion." Pointing? Check. Pretend Play? Check. Saying new words? Check. Communicating? Check. Sweet as ever? Check, Check. Olivia and I have a favorite snack that we eat. . .Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites. Neither one of us can get enough of them. Sometimes we grab the carton and sit down on the floor for a snack. She will get so excited when I get them out of the freezer and she'll grab one out of the carton . .and put it in MY mouth. How unselfish and sweet is that? So, then we sit and feed each other cheesecake bites. Just one example of what an amazing, little girl she is.

And, on the agenda for tomorrow (er, today?) Olivia's first haircut!

Happy Birthday, Logan!

Olivia decided to visit some of the other babies in BabyLand.

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - Update

Notice anything different about me?

I'm in my new, big girl car seat!

I got to ride in it today across town to visit my great grandparents. Can you believe that they have been married for 67 years? I don't know how long that is, but mommy says it's a long time!


My great-grandpa fed me lots of snacks.


And, I showed them how smart I was. What a great day!

Speaking of great-grandparents, today is my other great grandma's birthday. Happy Birthday Great Grandma Glunt!

Monday, August 24, 2009 - Update

So, what have we been doing since Olivia's birthday party? Not a whole lot. Olivia and I have not been feeling too well. I think allergies are doing a number on both of us. The night of her party she was up coughing to the point that it made her throw up. Her eyes have been red and itchy and my throat is incredibly sore, so I hope hers isn't. We've stayed holed up in the house instead of risking the outdoor allergens making us worse. Olivia, however, has had plenty to play with and is enjoying all of her birthday presents.

Olivia has been showing off her newfound pointing skills.

There have been lots of rides on Fred.

And she finally ate some of her birthday cake.

Olivia's Birthday Party

Today, we had Olivia's birthday party. Her actual birthday is this Thursday. It was a GREAT party. Ever since Olivia was a baby, she has loved the song, "The Ants Go Marching." I still sing it to her almost every night to help her go to sleep. When I was trying to decide on a birthday theme, I knew I had to do a picnic theme, complete with red and white checkered tablecloths, sack lunches and ants, of course.

Every year, we have a cake for Logan since we also celebrate the day that he was born.

I just had to show off my watermelon cutting skills.


Here is my mom helping me get everything ready. What would I do without her?

Look at all of those presents!

I couldn't believe that all three of them actually sat at the little kids' table.

We even had outdoor seating to enjoy the beautiful day.

Katie's doll, Emmy, was enjoying the picnic.

And Izzy was enjoying Katie's doll, Emmy.

Here is Olivia in her new car, the #1 selling car in America. . .the Cozy Coupe.

She got an Elmo Live!

Elmo Live entertained us all. . .young and old. He was hilarious!

Here is Olivia giving her baby a kiss. . .

And holding her new baby for the first time.

Olivia's aunt, Kim, sketched this picture of Olivia. It is amazing!!!


Taking the one and only bite of her cupcake. . .

Olivia had to go for a ride on her new horse that we've named Fred!

Loving her baby with Grandma Mary

Playing with two of her favorite boys, Kaleb and Aidan.

Thank you to everyone for making this day so very special for all of us.

Friday, August 21, 2009 - Update

I hear that you guys are marching two by two to my birthday party!

It'll be so much fun!

I am just giddy about her party tomorrow. It's mainly a family party because with both of our families. . .that's about 25 people. I think my picnic idea is going to pan out because it's supposed to be gorgeous weather with highs in the mid-80s. Who would have thought for the end of August? Olivia is still coughing a bit and her eyes and nose have been itching (which makes it hard to wear glasses.) That makes me suspect allergies and since they are bothering me quite a bit right now, they might be bothering her as well. Hopefully, she'll feel okay for her party tomorrow because I'm so excited about it. Last year, at her first birthday, we were still unsure of the challenges ahead of her. She was not yet sitting up or using her arms to grab toys, etc. I am amazed at how far she has come! The big news of the week? She's pointing!!!! She has a word book and we sat for probably an hour this morning pointing to things in the book. When she saw the stroller, she went and found her stroller. . .when she saw the phone, she found our phone. When she sees the hair brush, she pretends to brush her hair and when she see shoes, she signs shoes. And. . . .when she goes poopoo? She comes up to me and says poopoo. (Remind self to delete that sentence before Olivia is old enough to read it.) We've seen amazing progress just in the past few weeks. Now, if only we could get back to 20 lbs. Sadly, we went back down to 19.5 lbs. If you could gain weight on peaches, grapes, cherries and mac and cheese. . .we'd be set. Anyway, can't wait to tell you all about her party!

Thursday, August 20, 2009 - Update

Okay, so I've been a bit lazy by posting pictures without actually blogging. It seems I have a million things to do at night before bed. Plus, I haven't felt too good today and sadly, it seems Olivia doesn't feel that well either. Tonight, she started coughing and sounded a bit congested. She hasn't quite been herself for the last few days. I really, really hope we're not all getting sick because her birthday party is Saturday! Keep your fingers crossed and send some prayers our way. Until today, however, we've had a pretty good week.

Olivia has been helping mom "organize."

We met daddy for lunch at Pizza Hut and Olivia had some seatsa (pizza.)

We went to the mall and I let Olivia play in the kid zone area. She loved it and ran around squealing. She actually didn't touch a single thing. . .just enjoyed looking at the floor and walking through the clubhouse. I sanitized her up pretty well afterwards, however.

And, we went to Build A Bear and bought a new outfit for William, the teddy bear. I think Olivia approved.

Olivia and Mommy

Outside Fun

Picture

I was so excited to get Olivia's pictures today. Joel did a fabulous job! More pics to come, but I thought I would share one of my favorites.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - Update

My cousin, Rebekah, let me borrow her dog this week.

I can't wait to see him when I wake up in the morning.

When we were over at Joel and Laura's house, Olivia loved this stuffed dog of Rebekah's. Being the kind and generous cousin that she is. . .she let Olivia spend the week with "Springer." The first thing that Olivia has done the past few mornings is say "Woof Woof" and run out to give Springer a kiss. I don't think she's entirely sure as to whether Springer is real or not. She pets him very cautiously like she does a real dog. I hope this doesn't mean that we're going to have to go out and buy her a Springer look-alike when the dog goes back home and she wonders where he is.

Olivia has said "mama" for some time now. She recently added "mom" into the mix and now. . .she says "mommy." It is the cutest, most adorable thing I have ever heard. Don't tell Olivia this, but all she has to say is mommy and I will pretty much do whatever she asks of me. I took a little video of her saying it that I will try to post sometime. It will absolutely melt your heart. She is just exploding with new words. You can ask her how old she is going to be and she says, "Two!" She is trying to mimic everything we say and it is so cute. I can't believe how much she is growing up!

Monday, August 17, 2009 - Update

Olivia and I went to Target today and while walking down one of the toy aisles, she called out, "Durda, Durda!" I looked around trying to figure out what she was talking about and found her grabbing for a Dora doll. Honestly, I didn't know that Olivia knew who Dora was. The only way she would know is because of a Dora doll that is at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Either that or kids just innately know about certain characters when they're born. Anyway, I gave the doll to her and she held on to her throughout the rest of our Target trip, (except when we had to pay for her) and for about 2 hours after. She loves Dora. Who knew?

Sunday, August 16, 2009 - Update

Making funny faces with Uncle Joel

Playing in Julia and Rebekah's cool under the stairs playhouse.

Tonight we went over to Joel and Laura's house to get Olivia's pictures taken. Joel is an awesome photographer and got some great pictures of Olivia who didn't give him a whole lot to work with. She was up and down and all around and I think she only smiled once. But, we got some inside and outside shots that turned out really well. We were also able to see their basement that they are finishing and the waterfall/babbling brook that they built in their backyard. Too cool! And, Olivia loved it too. I think she felt like she was on a grand adventure along the crooked little path. We had a great day today with family and are eagerly anticipating Olivia's birthday party next weekend.