Dallas Arboretum...& more pumpkins!

We met the Luceros and the Morgans at the Dallas Arboretum today. It was a gorgeous day to be outside! I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to go, as I had a lot of stuff to do around the house, but I'm glad we went! Olivia and I really enjoyed spending time with our friends today....too bad Daddy had to work!

Hudson is cruising around and will be walking soon!


Hudson riding on his daddy's shoulders

Olivia was ALL about the leaves on the ground today. Everytime I set her down to take a picture, she would just grab whatever leaf was sitting in front of her. Here she is showing her leaves to Maggie.

And here she is eating a leaf.

LOVE the following pictures. I think Maggie was showing her how to dance.

3/4 of a Year Old!

Olivia is 9 months old today! I just cannot believe how fast time passes. I think I mention this every month but it holds true every month!

• Weight: 18 pounds 13 ounces (a little over 50th percentile)

• Length: 28 3/4 inches (90th percentile)

• Her doctor said she was long and lean. She clearly has not seen her thighs! HA!

• She's wearing 6-9 month clothes, which are hard to find, so she's having to wear some 6-12 month or 12 month (which are too big, but what do you do?!).

• Her favorite word is "mama" and I LOVE IT! For about the past month, she has only said mama when she was upset, which was sweet, but now that she says it all the time, it's the best! There is no doubt what she is saying! I hope she always loves her mama and isn't a bad little teenager! :) She also says dada and her version of bye-bye.

• She LOVES her daddy and lights up when he gets home every day.

• She waves hi and bye. She does it nearly every day at daycare, but only occasionally upon command. She doesn't like to be on display! :)

• She claps at everything. We clap a lot in the car. I think she likes music! When I say "yea!" and clap, she'll make a noise (sounds like her version of "yea") and claps with me. SO CUTE.

• She has started to drop things on purpose and waits for us to pick them up. When we don't, she'll often give a look of disapproval (see previous post) and often a squeal to go along with it!

• She prefers to drink from a regular cup than her sippy cup. We are still working on loving the sippy cup.

• She has started eating some finger foods, even though I'm totally paranoid that she is going to choke! She LOVES her Puffs (similar to Cheerios) and Yogurt Melts. She has also had little green peas, avocado, strawberries, cheese and bananas. The only thing she seemed to not hate was the cheese. She enjoyed mashing the peas, but wasn't real big on the taste. She's never been a big eater, so I'm sure we'll just have to keep trying new things until she finally gives in and eats them!
  

Her daddy and I love her SO MUCH and have had a great, but FAST first 9 months!

Here are some pics from her 9 month birthday

BEFORE BATH, DURING BATH & AFTER BATH

Her Daddy came home while she was taking a bath. She was so happy to see him (and surprised)!

Big Splashes

Found her paci on the floor in her room (she often throws them out of the bed)

O loves the pumpkins

Elizabeth (Gram E) and I tried to find a pumpkin patch Saturday. We didn't have too much luck, but we went to a plant nursery that had a small set-up for picture taking. Everything was 50% off that day, and I think some things had been taken out of their set-up...it was kind of sparse! Olivia loves the pumpkins, and we bought some for our porch. I tried getting some pictures of her on the porch, but she's just too interested in the pumpkins for me to get any decent pictures!

She wanted her baby pumpkin from the first pumpkin patch we went to. It's "hidden" in the flowers :)

She was flirting with an elderly man . What a mess!

She was very interested in the hay.

If you're happy and you know it...

Olivia's new favorite thing to do is clap, and it's just so cute. Whenever I say "yea!", she responds by clapping. She'll also just randomly clap while watching her movies, or while playing...she just likes to do it! I love watching her get excited...so sweet.

On another note, she had ANOTHER busted ear drum last night...so back to the doctor yet again today. She is now having her 5th ear infection. Her pediatrician recommended we go to an ear, nose & throat specialist since the last 2 have been fast, severe and have also been so close together. She said they'll just get worse over the winter. I hate the thought of having to put tubes in her ears (even though it's a common procedure), but I think I'll hate it more if she has to live thru numerous ear infections and suffer that pain!

If Looks Could Kill...

This child is a MESS! Since birth she has given funny looks, but her new one tops them all....and it's very much a look of disapproval (and I often get a little verbal disapproval with it as well...ha!). Anytime I do something she doesn't like, whether it's taking something from her or not getting dinner to her fast enough, she throws these looks at me. She's very serious about it, but she'll often smile when she's done, as if to say "just kidding mom"....but I know better!

"the look" turning into a smile

Notice how light her hair is getting? We recently found a picture of me when I was about 2, and my hair was nearly blonde. None of us really remember it being that light, but it definitely was....will be interested to find out what hers ends up being. It's already a BIG change from the jet black hair she had at birth!

FALL HAS ARRIVED!

Clancy and I took the girls to a little Fall festival this weekend. They had pony rides, a petting zoo, hay rides and pumpkin decorating. Olivia and I did not participate in the pumpkin decorating, but she (we) did pick out a little pumpkin for her. She loved it and pitched just a little fit when I took it from her and put it in the stroller! After we got home, I gave the pumpkin to her again, and she just grinned from ear to ear. She's so so so so sweet (when she's not pitching those small fits - HA!).

Did I mention how chilly it was...mid-50's, breezy and 100% cloudy.

This pic below is one of my favorites...LOVE IT

Clancy and Maggie watching the sheep get shaved. Seems like they would have let him keep his wool for the winter...maybe he'll grow it back by then!

Maggie trying to hold Olivia's hand while we waited in line for the pumpkins.

Sweet little hands.

This was her little pumpkin.

Maggie got to ride on a pony. It'll be your turn next year, Olivia (maybe)!

Have I mentioned before how difficult it is to take pictures of more than 1 child???

Family Reunion

This weekend we met my mom in Grand Saline for a family reunion. It was about a 2 hour drive for us, so not too bad! We just went down for the day and visited for a while before heading back to our rainy city!

Shelby and Bob. I believe they were discussing the tattoo that she will NOT be getting! HA!!

Salt mines run thru Grand Saline. We went to the little museum. Mom said when they were younger and visited, they were able to go down into the salt mines, but apparently they don't do that anymore.

Two mounds of salt. Jason chipped some off and ate it. Yuck!