In 12 Months I've Learned. . . .

Yummm - Raspberry Cupcake!

....that in a blink of an eye a little toddler is all over your house, when it wasn't long ago a little newborn baby cried in your arms.

....how quickly a house with no toys (literally not one toy when she was born - Grandma had to go out to buy her a couple things when she visited newborn Olivia) becomes a house cluttered with toys & boxes & books & oatmeal containers - whatever baby likes. ;)

....to borrow baby things when you can - if it's unused at a friend's house it might as well be used in yours!
        ....that some items we should have just bought instead of borrowed since this is the first baby, but it does feel nice that these 'big' things don't have to stay or be stored here long term & can be returned.

...how necessary a cup or two of coffee is every morning.

...how quickly a baby can get into something, drop something, or pull something down.

...that time goes even more quickly once you have kids. 

...to stay on top of the baby book - take time every now & then to fill in as much as you can remember, because it's really hard to fill in even when it's fresh on your mind & recent.

...that the older Olivia gets the more fun she is - the more we can do together & fun activities too.

...the sayings 'don't touch' & 'no' really get old repeating them a hundred times every day.

...how sweet giggles & occasional hugs are the best parts of the day.

...that even though this is over a month late, it's still counts. ;)

Unwrapping presents makes me tired!

 Happy 1st Birthday Olivia!

We had a nice relaxed day at Aunt Heather & Uncle Ryan's house in D.C. - visiting your new baby cousin Landon, opening presents, and spending time together.  You also had presents waiting for you at home from the rest of the family that weren't around when we celebrated.  You've had so much fun with your new toys & books since then!! 

Pears & Raspberries are your favorite things to eat - string cheese too.  You love to share toys & bones with Cabrinha.  You're active & playing all the time - rarely taking time to sit still to read a book or cuddle.  Stuffed animals make you coo & smile as you pat them & give them a hug.  You sleep through the night 6:30ish to 7:30 on average!!  You love trying to walk & also going through the kitchen & bathroom drawers pulling everything out (but Daddy just recently installed some baby locks on a few of them) :)

1 year old!  Hard to get these pics. ;)

In 11 months I've learned. . .

I'm how old?!

. . . that some things get easier.
. . . and some things get harder!
. . . how much can happen in just one month.
. . . that sometimes you forget to even show baby things like waving and clapping & once you hit those milestones it's exciting to see what else they do & to practice what they've learned.
. . . that the shy head-on-the-shoulder move is super sweet.
. . . that even though baby cries at nursery and they come find you to get her (taking you away from the service), it's sweet that she's immediately quiet & calmer & loving on you as soon as you're there for her.  (sweet for now but not if it lasts for half a year or more) :)
. . . you need to go to story times & play dates if nothing else but for a change of scenery & new things to play with.
. . . that 11 months goes by so quickly.... I can barely remember all the little things about Olivia since she was born & looking over photos it's such a sweet memory.
. . . that you can never get enough pictures.  For as many pictures as I feel I do take, there are hundreds I wish I had - especially videos too!
. . . that love grows stronger & deeper as time passes.

This pumpkin has a creepy face on it...do y'all see that?  I've got my eye on you!

Mr. Giraffe - You are the one thing that does not belong with the others!

 

Gettin' into Everything!

Hi! I'm little O & I love checking out every nook and cranny of my house.  Come explore with me.

We can climb onto things.  Mommy moved this onto the carpet so it was a teeny bit safer.

We can climb on and off of our pack and play for a lot of fun!

What's in here? Any baby toys or other exciting things I can get into?

Obstacle Course!!  Climb over all of these & around the chairs.

I'm definitely a rockstar at this!

Weeee! Did you know this stuff just rolls off - What a good time!

Whatchu lookin' at Mom? :)

And sometimes, every once in awhile, at say 9:30p.m. when we've been out and about all day on vaca do I get so tuckered out that I'll finally take a little snooze.  :)

"In 11 months...." coming soon!

10 Months Old

In 10 Months I've learned. . . .

...that the active stage just keeps getting busier!
...that a sweet, head on the shoulder cuddle is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world!
...that little ones can get more cuddly as time goes on, even if it's mostly when she's tired & about to nap or go to sleep for the night. so so sweet.
...that cruising along the furniture must not get boring since that's what we do all day. every day.
...that food/eating can take up a large portion of the day when you combine all the meals and feedings.  much different than long stretches on the couch.
...that babies can outgrow diaper sizes quicker than you may think.
       ...or just that the time goes by faster than you imagine.
...that there is always a time you'll start to feel like you're getting the hang of it, and then something changes - a vacation, a growth spurt, a new schedule, or just time for things to change again!
...that babies will eat the darndest things - tissue boxes, books (of course!), granola bar wrappers, cardboard boxes, any random part or thing on the ground.... oh my.
...it's good to get out of the house once in awhile - even if just for a 15 minute story time at the library.
...that the most active little girl will sit still for those 15 minutes and be almost shy as she listens and sits in Mommy's lap.
...that having coffee ready to go the night before can make a morning start off nice!
...that I may not be a perfect parent, that I can always be better... but also that I'm OK!

We match!  Had to get a pic with a pair of my favorite PJ's.

Cheers!
-L-

Garage Sale & Adirondack's

Thinking about life!

Friday & Saturday we had a Garage Sale - Friday turned out to be the day to do it!! We sold about $250 worth of stuff and were busy by 7:45 am (early birds!) but Saturday there was barely anyone compared to Fri & despite opening an hour earlier we only sold about $70.  What a difference! 

On top of that we sold Dave's Adirondack Chairs - bittersweet.  It's great because it's extra $ to buy more tools, a real compliment to Dave's work, & exciting.  However, now we don't have our fun chairs out front to read with every night & it means it's another long process of building new ones. 

Pucker up for a kiss!  Just had roasted bananas and blueberries - yum!

D powerwashed the house outside & I was just plain exhausted & didn't do much. Was even in bed by 9:30 on Saturday which is just crazy for me.

Today's a light day at 'work' since D just has his yearly med checkup which they do the month of your Birthday & he doesn't have to fly afterwards. Not sure what exciting things we'll do this afternoon.

Playing the Recorder ;)

Laughing

Yesterday when Liv & I walked into the family room - she was smiling down at Dave reading some homework.  He said "Why are you looking at me so funny?" and she just CRACKED UP!  A complete belly LAUGH not just a giggle over and over.... I grabbed the camera & we tried it a few more times... this is the 3rd or 4th time of us 're-walking in' & replaying it. :) ha!   The first time was THE BEST! :)  ...and this is a good memory from that.

WI & MI Vacation

It's been a long time since an update.  We have been busy and, as you know, were just on a wonderful 2 week vacation up north.  Visiting with family & friends, green grass & thunderstorms, Lake Michigan & swimming in the pool - it was great!  Here's a quick recap & lots of pics:

Having fun with G&G 'Cini but I'm eyeing a big fun toy they brought for me! :)

Was very nervous about taking Liv in the plane as she is very squirmy, doesn't like being held for too long & is just an active little girl! The rides (3 plane rides each way - long trip!) turned out pretty good - nothing crazy as far as fussing or fits - and sleeping a bit too. Definitely a lot different from her first plane ride when she was less than 2 months old - she slept almost the entire time then & was a lot less stress & energy than now. Dave made sure I took a pic of her sleeping in his arms because she just never does that! It was really sweet.

  


Grandpa 'Cini picked us up from the airport along with Aunt Heather & Uncle Ryan who came in 20 minutes after us!  We had an hour drive to the house & spent the week in various Family Reunion activities.   Went down to 'town' for breakfast every day & Sunday D&I even went to the tiny little church for their service.

Mom & her 2 girls

Heather, Ryan, & "RJ"

Livi looooved her Auntie Heather & she was a *wonderful* helper in playing with Livi & even 'babysitting' when we went to breakfast sometimes too. I was excited to rub Heather's belly & see "RJ" for the first time as she's 7 months pregnant.





Dave's parents came a few days later, on Friday, in their motor home and finally were able to see about this little town on Lake Superior we've mentioned for so many years. Monday around noon we left with them and drove through the U.P. - camping one night - until we reached Kzoo Tuesday evening.

Livi with 2 of her older cousins - Saige & Orly

Spent a couple days in Grand Haven with everyone too - the cousins just loved Olivia & always wanted to hold her! We had fun going to the beach, swimming in the pool, & stopping by a craft fair during Coast Guard Fest.
 

We had several dinner with both sets of our parents which is always nice so everyone can see us (and now mostly just Olivia.) :) I made a big dinner one night for all the rents, Bill & Lindsay, & Grandma R. too!!


Time for bed after dinner!



Swimming with Daddy in the same pool he grew up in - tons of fun! Much bigger than the hot tub I swim in back home! :)


We left the following Tuesday from G.R. but after long delays with mechanical problems they couldn't get us out the same day & make it home... so my mom picked us up & we stayed at their house for another nice night until we left Kzoo the next morning. The ride home with O. was okay but she was a bit more fussy even though we managed to get her to sleep through the entire long flight :)


A few days prior to the trip she started waking up in the middle of the night once or twice & unfortunately, it was worse throughout the entire vacation. 1 to 3 times a night - and being with so many other people I certainly wasn't going to let her cry it out, so it made for an interesting time. 



Things are a bit back to normal around here now. Lots of laundry done, getting back into a work schedule for D, and we had our friends over for steaks & dinner to thank them for watching Cab - which was such a generous offer on their part for two weeks time - which also helped me get the house back in order a bit more too!





Lake Michigan *Unsalted* tshirts - we all have one! - on the Grand Haven beach.


We took a hot walk to the beach tonight before Liv's bedtime & have enjoyed the last several nights reading out on the porch. Made a pretty tasty pot roast for dinner last night which we had again tonight but now it's back to figuring out dinners too!

All for now!

Cheers!

-L-

Sunset on Superior