Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve 2010 began with quite a bit of cooking....everything always takes twice as long as I think it's going to take in my head! My mom and stepdad arrived early afternon. We opened presents, went to Christmas Eve service at our church, went out for dinner (after searching for an open restaurant), drove around and looked at lights, then came home and had an early mini birthday celebration for my stepdad. We crammed a lot into the one evening!

I believe this was technically Christmas Eve Eve, but I wanted to share as she was SO happy!

Another candid moment (although it was on Christmas Eve). This is proof that O's babies need diapers of their own! She had gotten one of her diapers for each of her babies. I'm tired of having to diaper 4-5 baby dolls in size 5 diapers! (Santa purchased a pack of newborn diapers for the babies...and she has loved them).

Opening presents with Nana and Papaw.
Wonder what's in the big one???

The baby bed has bedding to match Olivia's room. So cute! Thanks Nana! We love it!
My mom makes Scrabble oranaments. I think the way it works is you pick your own letters and she charges by the word. They've been really popular where she lives. She made Olivia one for her tree (although here's Olivia hanging it on the big tree).

One of the gifts from my sister....The Bee Bop Band....THANKS A MILLION for this super quiet toy!!! HA! It actually is really cute. She knew immediately what to do with those drum sticks. It also came with some other band pieces that are stored inside of the drum when not being used. Pretty cute!

Nana, it's time to open the big one please!

Nana got Olivia a little starter kitchen, and she loves it.

Hard at work.

Unfortunately, I never got any pics of us dressed for church or Olivia in her Christmas dress, but she's worn it several times before....she even wore it to church last week AND on Christmas Eve....**GASP**! Ha!

We ended the evening with a birthday party for Walter, who's birthday is actually on Christmas Day. I figured it would be best to celebrate the day before since our house was going to be really full on his actual birthday. Happy Birthday Walter/Papaw!

2010 Christmas Card

I had a local photographer take some pictures of Olivia for me in her Christmas dress. My camera was in the shop for a couple of weeks and I wasn't totally sure I'd be able to get any decent pictures. Anyway, we met at a local park. As I pulled into the parking lot, Olivia began vomitting in her car seat. JUST OUR LUCK!!! I had not dressed her yet, but needless to say I was still a bit flustered! I got her out of the seat, cleaned her up, and decided we'd give the pictures a try anyway. Needless to say we didn't get any fabulous pics, but we got a few decent ones. Poor, poor baby!

I made the cards on Shutterfly.

23 Months Old

You'll be 2 years old in just one month! Oh my goodness, that breaks my heart! You are becoming such a big girl! This weekend you began calling me "mommy". You still refer to me as mama, but mommy has become very popular in the last couple of days.

You say a lot of phrases regularly, including these:
"I get it"
"C'mon mama" (or dada...whoever you are needing)
"I wub wu"
"I don't know"
"I help"
"Where'd he go?" often followed by "I don't know" (whenever someone leaves the room)

I know there many more, as you are starting to talk quite a bit, but I can't possibly list everything you know!

You are wearing 18-24 month clothes, although 24 month pants are still really big. I don't think you are short, but maybe you just have short legs and a longer torso. I just know you are at an awkward stage and it's hard buying you clothes, so you've been wearing a lot more dresses/leggings.

You still love your babies. This weekend I caught you taking the rectal temperature of one of them. I died laughing. You also use the nasal aspirator and "suck" your babies' noses. You change their diapers and waste your wipes on them. You are a great little mommy!

You love to help.

You like to do artwork.

You like to cook.

You enjoy puzzles.

I suppose this will be our last "monthly" update. Instead, I'll post what you are doing at 2, 2 1/2, 3, etc. At this age, you are just changing SO MUCH from month to month that it's impossible to keep up with all of the things you are doing!

We love you SOOOOOO much....."tis much" as you would say (with your arms stretched out wide open).

Christmas Cookies

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD! I just caught some really priceless expressions today and had to share so they'd be preserved!

I think it's SO important to spend quality time with your children. As a working mom, it's sometimes difficult to find time and to remember to slow down. Weeknights are busy eating dinner, taking baths and going to bed, but we try to make sure we reserve book time and a little play time as well. I also try to utilize bathtime as a time to sit, talk and play games. Weekends are busy doing all the things we can't do during the week, like grocery shopping, cleaning house, washing clothes, etc.; however, I have learned to set aside some of those things in order to spend time with my daughter. Life will go on and be ok if the house isn't super clean. Kids grow to fast to get caught up in those little things!

So, today Olivia and I decided to make cookies. It's 5 days before Christmas and I have company coming, but I have faith everything will get done! I've wanted to make cookies with Olivia for the last few weekends and I finally decided to just do it! This was a first for us. I wasn't sure how she'd do or if she would listen to me, but she was awesome! She totally understood everything. When we were low on flour and our rolling pin was sticking, she'd tell me to put on "mo" flour. She cut a lot of the cookies herself. She was 100% into it.

The pictures pretty much speak for themselves....she LOVED making cookies!

Making icing.

She doesn't like having her hands dirty. Daddy told her to like it off. She was pretty hesitant at first, but once she started tasting it, she cleaned off those little fingers!

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Yes, those white globs are Frosty the Snowman. Really. They are.

I think I'll be working on Olivia's birthday cookies by myself this year! Shhhhh....don't tell her. She'd be heartbroken!

Saturday Night

We had a pretty low key weekend. Jason stayed home with Olivia on Friday and took her to the doctor. She has a double ear infection and both of her tubes are out, so it looks like we'll most likely have to get tubes again. BIG BOO!

On Saturday morning, the three of us went to brunch at Mimi's Cafe. We came home, had nice long naps, then went to my mother-in-law's (Gram E) house to visit and eat dinner.

This is Olivia and Lucy at Gram E's house. She likes to give Lucy hugs and kisses.

This "moose" (I put in quotes as that's what I THINK it is) belonged to Jason when he was a little boy. It was given to Olivia last night. Lucky us! Gram E apparently loves really large stuffed animals, as she's bought Olivia a couple and has wanted to buy her many more! I try to put my foot down as much as possible. These things take up a lot of space! (and yes, she reads my blog, but I think she knows I'm just messing with her!)

*HUGS*

LOVED this expression.....at this moment, she was not real keen on the idea of Mr.Moose sitting with her in that chair.

Please tell me this won't last forever!

Tonight was suppose to have been Olivia's 1st Christmas program.

Tomorrow was suppose to have been Olivia's Christmas party at school.

Too bad a temperature of 103.9 ruins all the fun!!!

I was near tears when I found out she was sick when I picked her up from school. I was looking so forward to their school program. I know her part was going to be very small, but they've been practicing every day and I just wanted her to be able to be a part of it. It made me sad for her that she was going to miss it. Jason had the video camera charged and ready to go. I had Olivia's clothes ready and had a whole plan of how we were going to get home, eat, take a bath, get ready and get back up to school by 6:45pm. Well, so much for all of that!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh how I wish our family could all be well for at least a week! Between Olivia and I, we stay sick 98% of the time. BOO!

Santa - Take 2

I'm not sure whether or not I mentioned our first Santa attempt, but it didn't go well at all. So, we decided to give it a try again this weekend. My in-laws country club was having a children's brunch with Santa on Sunday. They had all kinds of activities for the kids, including ring tosses, face painting, arts & crafts, cookie decorating, etc.

We were #22 in line to see Santa (when we left, they were calling #'s in the 70's I think, so we were glad to have gotten there early). When Olivia first saw him, her little legs got tight around me, and I just knew it wasn't going to happen. We had to wait about 30 minutes or so before we made our way to the front of the line. During the wait, she had plenty of time to watch other kids sitting in Santa's lap. I asked her if she was also going to it in his lap, and she gave me a definitive "Yes!". I just kept thinking "yeah, we'll see". When it came her turn, she walked up like a big girl and sat in his lap. There weren't any smiles, but that's ok because there also weren't any tears! I was so very proud of my big girl!!!

Doing some art - she LOVES artwork. When I do it with her at home, she never wants to quit!

Gram E bought her this little Santa purse. She never sat it down. Such a priss!

One of our many failed attempts at a family picture. She just refuses to "pose" for a picture.

Hey, at least she isn't crying in this one!
(and isn't my hubby cute?)

Stomach Bug - Yuck!

Yes, I'm still alive and well....ok, well, maybe I'm not well. The stomach bug has made its way into my body and it's been a pretty miserable week! It began Monday and I'm just finally starting to feel better today, although I'm definitely not well. So far, Jason and Olivia haven't gotten it, and I'm just praying they don't!

Let me think back to last weekend....we didn't do a whole lot. Saturday night, we took Olivia to watch the town Christmas tree lighting and fireworks. It just so happened that a cold front blew in right about the time of the event. She spent most of the time with her face burried in my chest (I suppose keeping the wind off). She looked up for the fireworks for a coupe of minutes, but her facial expression never changed. It was as if she sees them daily. Oh well...so much for that! :)

On Sunday, we went to see Santa at the mall. We've been playing up Santa for 2-3 weeks now. She loves all the Santas around the house and says "Ho Ho Ho!" everytime she sees one. So I thought we were ready for the big event. I was wrong. We weren't even within 20 feet of him and she wrapped her legs tight around me and started crying. When we got about 5 feet from him (no lines), she screamed bloody murder. We watched a couple of other kids sit on his lap thinking that may change her mind, but it didn't. So maybe we'll try again another day!


Here are a few pictures from the week. None of them are too great. My good camera is still in the shop (hope to get it tomorrow..yeah!) and it's really tough getting a decent picture with a regular little digital. They are just too slow!

Olivia with her tree in her room....she says "don't touch" when we turn on the lights.

Olivia with Bebe (aka Bentley)

I was trying to get some pics outside one evening, but didn't have much luck...

She just wanted to go inside.

Don't have to worry about this one breaking the lights from stepping on them! She took her biggest step to get over them. That's my sweet baby girl!

Thanksgiving 2010

As I mentioned in a previous post, Olivia and I were both sick for Thanksgiving. I didn't take one single picture from Thanksgiving Day! I was so disappointed with myself after I realized it, so maybe my Granddaddy will be able to email me some that he took! My good camera is in the shop, so all I had was my little one and it's just much more difficult to get decent pictures with it!

Anyway, back on topic.....we went to East Texas for Thanksgiving weekend with my side of the family, which we had not done in years. I just wish my sister and her family could have been with us too!!!

Gotta love these little legs....

Mom taught her to say "Tissss much!" and to open her arms wide in response to the question "How much do you love me?". It's soooooo cute!

Playing outside at Nana's house

Olivia with Papaw (I believe she pronounced it "Papo").

Bad Hair Day

Daddy is responsible for dressing and getting Olivia to school every day (as I leave the house while she's still sleeping). I typically lay out her clothes for him, along with her shoes. One day this past week, he put her shirt on backwards! I about died when I picked her up from school! The teachers thought it was quite amusing and decided to leave it! A couple of days after the shirt incident, I picked her up and this is what her hair looked like. Poor, poor Olivia!

The never ending story...

We've been sick at our house again...well, pretty much for the past month! Olivia has had a stomach virus and now has a cold. If history proves to repeat itself, she'll soon have an ear infection, but we're hoping for the best! I've had a cold/cough for about 3-4 weeks now. It seems to get better but then gets worse again before I recover 100%. I pretty much lost most of my voice over the Thanksgiving holidays, but I'm finally starting to feel better. This could be a LONG winter for our family!

This little girl was enjoying watching TV in mommy's bed. We've done a lot of cuddling the last couple of weeks!

22 months old

Well, I'm a couple of days late, but Olivia is 22 months old! I would venture to say our monthly update is probably going to be pretty similar to last months as I swear I JUST wrote it! Her vocabulary continues to grow daily and she continues to crack us up. She is such a joy to be around. She loves to give big bear hugs now and is giving kisses more freely than she used to.

She seems to have the sweetest little heart. A couple of weeks ago she was sitting on the couch and yelled "Mama!". I said "what?", and she responded "I wub wu"! That was the first time she said it without me saying it first....talk about melting my heart!

She hates bugs. She loves babies. She loves snacks and pretty much lives on them against my better judgment. One of her favorite snacks is "pish" (goldfish). She loves to eat cereal with "nilk" (milk). She loves her dada and her poodles ("Gacie" and "Bebe"). She loves books. She dislikes socks. She loves to wear her bracelets. She loves to pat the couch and tell me to "sit!". She's kind of bossy that way! But of course, I oblige.

While I know that I owe it to Olivia to discipline her so that she turns into a well-rounded, well-behaved little girl, I probably couldn't be wrapped around her little finger any tighter! Just ask Nana......

Bittersweet Visit

Pure exhaustion.....that's how I'm feeling this week! So, please forgive me in advance if I don't make tons of sense! I've been sick for about a week. Luckily, I seem to finally be getting over it, but I'm just feeling super tired!

This weekend was very bittersweet for me. I was lucky enough to get to see my sister and her family who live in Wisconsin, but under very bad circumstances. My sister's stepdaughter was killed in a car accident last week. Charles, Lindsey and the girls arrived in Texas on Thursday. My nieces Ally and MacKenzie stayed with us thru Sunday while Lindsey and Charles stayed in Dallas preparing for the services. For once, I guess I can say I'm really at a loss for words. What can you say to someone who has lost a child? Last night after the funeral, I cried every time I looked at Olivia. The thought of anything ever happening to her is just too much to bear. To my sister and brother-in-law, I can't express how sorry I am for your loss.


On a lighter note, we really enjoyed being able to spend some time with the girls. Ally is turning into a little teenager against everyone's wishes!!! I think we all wish we could make her 5 again and just make time stand still! MacKenzie just turned 7 and is a mess! She's super funny and did really good at my house being that it was the first time away from her parents. She is a bit scared of dogs, and well....we have BIG dogs, but she did so good with them. They were all BFF before the weekend was over!

We were TERRIBLE with getting pictures of the girls this weekend. We didn't get one single picture that was decent of the three of them!

Shelby came to visit one day while they were here. We went and rode the train, which Olivia could have cared less about!

When the camera comes out, Olivia tries to run away. It's getting really hard to get pictures!