Dear Olivia, Month 5

Olivia,

Has it really been 5 months already?!?! Life is passing by at full speed these days. Work has been very busy lately so I feel like I'm running here & there & everywhere.  However, my most favorite time of each day is coming home to you and seeing your bright smiling face! It sure helps me unwind after constant busyness at work.  I love it when I first get home because Samuel is usually still napping and I get to spend some quality time with just you!

You have mastered eating carrots, sweet potatoes, and your most recent favorite - peas! You just started eating in the highchair which is so exciting. Your head barely is above the tray but you don't care...you love to eat and sit up. You will be sitting up on your own in no time at all!

One of your favorite things to do lately is to play in your exersaucer! You love to bounce & play with all the toys. You talk very loudly when you play with this (video to be posted soon).

I love this picture of you. It is a picture of you in your Great Great Grandfather's christening dress. I, too, wore this when I was your age.

Love,
Mommy

Olivia

Breckenridge

Every fall we do a day trip to somewhere in Colorado. Last year we went to Buena Vista and the year before that, Breckenridge. We enjoyed Breckenridge so much that we decided to go back this year & show Olivia how beautiful it is in the fall. It is so nice to live so close to amazing places like Breckenridge.  We wanted to go before the end of September this year so we could see more of the golden aspens before they were gone.

Once we arrived in town we strolled along Main Street and scoped out a place to eat. We decided on Quandary Grille and sat at a table that has spectacular views of Maggie Pond, the ski slopes of Breckenridge and a TV with College Football on (can't get too far away from the TV on a Saturday in the fall).  

After lunch we walked around Maggie Pond and Samuel enjoyed throwing rocks in it. Seriously we must have spent about an hour just walking around the pond. Once we successfully got Samuel to leave the pond and the rocks, we walked a bit more around town and found a cute little ice cream/coffee shop. 

 

 

On the way we drove through Hoosier Pass which is at the Continental Divide. I love the name of the pass...a little bit of Indiana here in Colorado. :)

Finally we just drove around town, came across an overlook spot and then left. It was a nice and relaxing fall day. The kids did great in the car. Olivia didn't make more than one peep the entire day in the car and Samuel enjoyed "Monsters" and "Cars".

Videos!

I'm a bit behind on uploading my videos. The first one is of Samuel counting before bedtime. He likes to count to 20. Of course, as soon as I got the video camera out he didn't want to count at all. He finally decided to count to 13 and then got distracted with a rock. Ah, the life of a 2 yr old...


Olivia rolling over! She is constantly rolling over these days. As soon as you put her on her back she almost instantly rolls to her stomach.

Here is of Samuel and his cousins (Kyra is next to him) from when Ben's family visited a month ago. Samuel enjoyed being the center of attention for a little bit.  

Here's an old one of Olivia talking which is just too darn cute not to put on here...

Dear Samuel, Month 32

Dear Samuel,

The past month was a month of firsts for you:
-You touched a snake at the zoo
-You rode your first water slide with Uncle Brad
-You rode your first roller coaster with Mommy

Here are some of your most common sayings lately:
-"Red means stop, Green go, yellow wait". You say this over & over during any car ride.
-"Wow, that was quick"
-"Play exercise" (Wii Fit Balance games)

-"That's crazy"

You love for us to repeat everything you say. I must admit it does get a bit annoying at times, but you like it. 

 Lately, I've been struggling with how you prefer to do things in a certain way and then get upset when something doesn't go exactly how you imagined or planned.  Somedays it bothers me more than others (interesting that this bothers me because I'm much the same at times). However, it would be wrong for me to tell you about this without telling you how much there is to love about you! You're so kind, loving & thoughful! When I picked you up at the sitter's house the other day, I heard you say to one of the little girls, "Thank you, Charlotte" (after she handed you your bag). No one prompted you, you just said it and really meant it. You always say "Bless you..."when anyone sneezes (or coughs - it's cute).  A few weeks ago Olivia was crying and you went upstairs got a binky for her and gave it to her - all on your own. You recognized that she was fussy knew that she'd like her binky and got it for her!


I'm excited to see more of your kindness as you grow. You have such a good heart!

Love,
Mommy

Labor Day Weekend

The kids & I spent Labor Day weekend with my family. My parents, brother & niece drove from St. Louis to visit us. We had a great time and crammed A LOT in just 2.5 days! (Ben spent the weekend in Vail with college friends)
Our first stop was the Focus On The Family Kid Center. Samuel & Addy enjoyed running around, climbing & playing with puppets!

Playing on the stage with Addy

Playing puppets with Papaw

 Then we went to the pool at my parents hotel. It had an indoor water slide! Samuel went down his first water slide with Uncle Brad! He LOVED it!! He isn't showing much fear about anything these days!

At the top of the slide!

At the bottom...check out his smile!

Saturday we went to the zoo. Samuel has been there many, many times but this time was neat - he got to do some things for the first time! He touched a ball python, got to hide snacks in the elephant exhibit & watched the elephants find them!

Ball Python

Hiding the snacks

Samuel hid one of his under this big stick

There is the elephant that found Samuel's hiding spot!

 We went to see the balanced rock at Garden of the Gods Saturday night.

 After we left Garden of the Gods, we headed to Manitou Springs to play at the Penny Arcade! Brad & dad really enjoyed playing old video games like Centipede! Samuel & Addy rode a bunch of the quarter kid rides!

Dad playing Centipede!

Sunday morning we went to The North Pole Amusement Park. Samuel & Addy enjoyed riding many rides & we did a bit, too!

You can barely see him, but Samuel is in the middle!

Samuel's 1st roller coaster ride!

It was super fun weekend! We were all exhausted by the end of it!

Dear Olivia, Month 4

Dear Olivia,

You are such a happy baby! You are always happy to see your daddy or I in the morning! You can almost roll over now. You can roll from your stomach to your back if you're in your crib using the sides of the crib to help. Unfortunately, you cannot roll from your back to your stomach so that means I often have to get up in the middle night a few times to put you back on your stomach and then you fall right back to sleep.I will be very happy when you are able to do this on your own so I don't have to make multiple trips up & down the stairs in the middle of the night! I cannot complain, though. You go to sleep at 7pm and sleep until 6am or later.

You love your play keys and other toys that you can put in your mouth! You recently discovered that your hands are attached to your body and love to play with your feet for long periods of time.

You have become very social these days.  If I leave you alone in your boppy seat or swing for only a few minutes in which you cannot see me, you fuss. As soon as you see me, your whole face lights up and you coo and giggle. All is well with the world again for you.

Can't believe it has been 4 months already!

Love,
Mommy