Thanksgiving - What? No Pictures of Olivia

We had 18 people and 10 pies - you gotta love those odds!

Just a few pictures from Thanksgiving - I didn't take many and by the time I started taking them, Olivia was already covered with beet juice. She spent the remainder of the day in only a diaper, which only rarely makes for good photos (see below).

The day was great - Thanksgiving is so much easier now that I have learned to share the cooking responsibilities. The food was amazing and the day was a lot of fun despite a massive amount of dishes.

Olivia had a late night - at 9:30 I looked at the clock and realized it was WAY passed bedtime. So, I put an end to the Apples To Apples game and everyone took that as a cue to pack up leftovers and hit the road.

Thanksgiving Thankful Thursday

Lots and lots of things floating through my mind to be thankful for but the one that most stands out is this little description:

Olivia and Daddy are usually home by the time I get home from work. Most often they are in the kitchen cooking dinner or having a snack. As a result, they can hear the garage door go up as I pull up and in. When I get out of the car, through the kitchen door, I hear "Moooommmmmmiiiieeeeeee" repeated several times in a glee filled voice. Then I open the door and find a very happy, adorable little girl waiting to hug me.

I am thankful for that absolutely amazing moment that happens most days.

I am thankful that today my house will be filled with family. I love Thanksgiving because I get to prepare and share a wonderful meal with loved ones.

I am thankful for all my friends, irl and online. You all mean the world to me.

Picasso in Diapers

A very busy couple weeks has let to an unexpected break in blogging. Since there were too many thought swirling through my head to make a coherent post about anything but the obvious, I opted for the "sure thing".

Olivia and I watched Mae's vlog entry about her girls painting while daddy was in charge, and I laughed myself silly once again. Olivia then immediately went to her paints to give it a try! You can see the wonderful results. And, I LOVE the Melissa and Doug easel and paints. We used the paints on her birthday (11/2) and not again until today. I had only put a tiny bit in each cup. I figured they would be totally dried out. Not so, I just added a bit of water, gave them a stir and we were good to go!

More About the Scarf

 

 

 

 

I assisted with a craft class at work last week and learned how to make the scarf. It was so fun and so easy, I decided to make a few for Christmas gifts. And, I learned to make the hat as well.

Tonight, Michael, Olivia and I set to work on our project. There are others that we made that are not pictured, but this is a sampling of our efforts. It was a lot of fun. The only downside was Olivia falling off a chair and sustaining a nasty scrape/cut on her back.

Around the House

From around the house

Help with vacuuming - she was absolutely insistent that she do it!

From around the house

Playing with new birthday toys.

From around the house

Getting ready to go outside

From around the house

Hanging with my friend Addy

From around the house

Outside on a cold day

From around the house

Why Mommy found a new gray hair today.



I put them in a slide show because I didn't like the size of them above! Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday - Joy and Sleep

Each and every day, something that Olivia does is just so cute or funny that I can't help but feeling such joy that she is in our lives. For example:

- Last night I was with her in her room listening/dancing to music. I was on the floor and I picked up Clyde a small stuffed horse (no more than 12 inches tall, 10 inches long) and had him "dancing". Olivia took him from me, put him between her legs and proceed to "ride" this little horse around the room. It was so funny to watch.

- We have converted the crib to a toddler bed. That means that while not in use for sleeping, the bed has many, many other uses, especially trampoline and climbing apparatus. She especially likes climbing on the side rail and standing on it on one foot while doing some ballet like moves. Sometimes she straddles the rail, but it never lasts long, because it must be uncomfortable. How do I know? Well, last night she started to straddle the rail, stopped, grabbed two blankets, placed each one over the rail then climbed on. Much more comfortable with a makeshift saddle.

- She has two pumpkins with faces painted on them (thanks Grandma Jeri). A couple days ago, she had them in front of her on the dining room table. She was on a chair with a bowl and spoon feeding them.

As to sleep - we have once again made progress. I am so thankful that Olivia is sleeping better and going to bed without much issue. After weeks of crying and screaming and more, each night lately has gotten a little better. Last night she fussed just a tiny bit before I put her in bed, but waved and said "bye" as I left the room and slept well all night.

What An Amazing Day!!!

It is 75 degrees on November 5th, 2008 and we have Barack Obama as our President-elect. I am so excited that my daughter can see that it was the will of her fellow citizens to see beyond race and elect a member of a racial minority as their leader. While she will never be afforded the same opportunity, at least she will know that it is possible for someone other than a white male to be President of the United States of America.

Years ago, I had a newspaper clipping of Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech on my wall. Today, on this amazing day, a day like no other, these words have come a little bit closer to becoming a reality:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I have this same dream for my daughter and for all of the children of this country. Today, we are one step closer.

Olivia's 2nd Birthday

Today we celebrated Olivia's birthday! We started the day with breakfast and a few presents. As we got ready for the party, I lit a special candle to honor the woman in China who gave birth to Olivia two years ago.

At 11:00am we headed out to the park to set up - who would have thought that having an outdoor party in Nov. in Missouri would mean temperatures in the 70's? We were quite prepared for cool weather, but it was unnecessary. It was an amazing day to be outside.

The party was great, Olivia had an amazing time and every one else seemed to enjoy themselves too. (Okay - there is a problem with some of the pictures, but if you click on it, you should be able to see the whole thing.)

Trick or Treating (and a few others)