Friday, August 6, 2010

beach girl.

We have spent a lot of Saturday mornings at the beach this summer. This is our last full summer in Charleston, so we have decided to take in as much beach as we can handle.  It is a fun family outing and is
great entertainment for a busy toddler.
Olivia has no fear of the water.  She will even go out until the waves are crashing at her chest (with an adult, of course;)
The sand toys are also a big hit!

Ahhh, feel the breeze on your face!

And when you've had enough play, snuggle up with Mommy and let the sound of the crashing waves send you off to dreamland!
This is by far my favorite part of beach day.....

(all pictures from my phone, sorry for the poor quality)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

how did we not know about this?

The Children's Museum of the Lowcounty is an amazing treasure that I had no idea existed.  Well, I knew it was there, but I never knew how toddler friendly it was!  We had a great day with friends and will definitely be frequenting this venue again to explore, learn, and waste away an afternoon!

Olivia had fun watching...

climbing......


waiting her turn....
sliding.....
peeking and squatting.....
painting with water....
and squealing with delight!!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Sunday, August 1, 2010

sharing hats and the peanut game.

So we have a new face to our blog.  Our old one was expiring and I found this one in haste last night.  I am not sure my thoughts on it, but I am leaving it for now.  I do like that the text column is wider, but the birds in the top corner sort of creep me out.   Thoughts?

Okay, now on to some pictures.  Nana has been crying to me via email that she hasn't had enough Olivia updates lately, so prepare yourselves because I plan to appease her all this week ;)

Olivia had Sarah over to play the other day and she was gracious enough to share one of her hats.  Well, sort of....

A box arrived for Olivia earlier in the week with a fun birthday gift from the Steinforts.  However, the packing peanuts have been the real hit!
I give her a few small bowls, a measuring cup, or even a plastic baggie and she is entertained for a solid 30 minutes!
She likes to sort them between the bowls and then empty them back into the box.





Sometimes she gets so focused she won't even know I am there watching her!  I just love to watch her mind calculating and problem solving!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

a moment.

I went out for a run this evening. I waited for the sun to go down because the heat down here is almost unbearable.  It was a nice change from my morning runs pushing the baby stroller.  Tonight's run provided opportunity for some thinking.  And I had a moment.  The kind of moment where you think "is this really my life? How can I be so blessed?"

Actually the big moment came while I was reflecting on all of the little moments that made up our day today - Andy taking Olivia downstairs early this morning so I could get a little more sleep.  Making it to church (for the first time in a long while) and having the opportunity to sit in the pew holding Andy's hand while we prayed.  Hearing that Olivia had a great time playing in the nursery.  Enjoying lunch as a family at a cute little cafe downtown.  Olivia never fussing one bit - she simply sat in her highchair eating and making faces at us.  Sitting in the rocking chair, before putting Olivia to bed, with her snuggled on my lap while Andy sat across from us on the stool reading bedtime stories. Olivia going to bed without a peep for the third night in a row (without nursing!). Coming across an email that I had typed to my girlfriends explaining the day Andy proposed to me, as well as seeing the pictures of him on bended knee.  What an unexpected find in my email box!  It provided such a 'moment' because Andy and I read it together and let the email take us back to those feelings of fresh love and anticipation for the future.  Now we are in that future together and  my heart loves him and our life together even more than I thought possible. 

And now my heart is so full of thanks that I can't keep from smiling, and that is such a great state of mind to be in.  Looks like my run tonight was about much more than exercise!

p.s. I hear Andy pulling into the garage....he went out to get me ice cream!  Ahhh, now this will be a moment for sure!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I love my...

....blanket!


It doesn't matter if she riding her Mickey bus....
...or randomly snuggling on the floor...
...or playing around in her pj's...
....or trying to toddle away from the camera.
She just simply loves her muslin blankets!! (any of them, even though this post only reflects the red one. In reality she has 6 of them! ;)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Twelfth month recap.

Wow, this month flew by!  I feel we just celebrated her birthday and now she is already 13 months old! Time does fly when you are having fun!

Weight: 22 lbs
Height: ???

Napping: A morning and an afternoon nap.  She still cries and screams at times while falling asleep, but not always.  They are lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. Snuggles up with her blanket while sleeping and it is absolutely adorable! 

Night: Well, I had a moment in this department, and by "a moment" I mean that I decided that I would no longer go into her room if she cried out at night.  Soooo, she sleeps through the night (12 hours), but she still does cry out sometimes.  I take a peak at the monitor, but I ignore her and do not go in unless it is morning time.  Sometimes she cries out once or twice in the night (for anywhere from a few minutes to 30) and other nights she doesn't make a peep.  The buck had to stop somewhere and it happened in the twelfth month....
relaxing with her feet in the toy box while watching Mickey Mouse
Food: Olivia is a great eater.  She feeds completely feeds herself except for yogurt and oatmeal.  She doesn't over stuff her mouth like some toddlers, so I am thankful for that.  Some of her favorite foods right now include: scrambled eggs, turkey hot dogs, blueberries, strawberries, yogurt, and cheese.  She has decided that she no longer likes toast (weird - she used to love it!) and has become preferential with things that she wants.  For example, if she sees me start to make her a hot dog she will stop eating whatever is on her tray (even if she was shoveling it in!), throw her hands out, and fuss/scream until it is ready.  She loves to have her own utensils and dip it into the yogurt or cereal, which creates a mess but is great for her motor skills.
Nursing: Twice a day (morning and night).  She drinks whole milk throughout the day to supplement the missed nursings.  However, she is a milk snob and will only drink organic whole milk :)  She gets this honestly from me, so I cannot complain!

Skills: WALKS everywhere with impressive balance for just beginning (for my own record keeping this happened at 12 1/2 months).  Her falls are few and far between these days and she handles any surface (i.e., grass, gravel, cement) and can maneuver the steps into the house all by herself.   Squats from standing to pick up toys and stands back up without support.  Brushes her own teeth.  Climbs on and off of her riding toys.  Handles stairs (both up and down) independently.
Language: I still love this category best!
Receptive:  points to her belly, feet, and head when asked "where is your xxx?", follows simple verbal commands such as "go to your highchair so you can eat" or "put the book away", can correctly get her fish and her duck during bath time when asked, points to her head when we ask "where does a hat go" and to her feet when we ask "where do you put your shoes?"
Expressive: says 'that' and points to everything!, hasn't added many new words this month, but has increased her accuracy with her vocabulary (i.e., will point to a cat in a book and say 'cat' or to the dog and say 'da'), her favorite words are 'hi', 'hat', and 'that', signs 'please' and 'all done' appropriately.  Repeats simple words/phrases with the correct vocal pattern and syllable structure (e.g., car ride, outside, snack time)
Fun Facts:  wears size 3 diapers, size 4 shoes and size 12-18 month clothes, loves hats and wearing things around her neck, wants to eat anything that we are eating, likes riding in the car now that she is facing forward, still dances whenever she hears music or we say "do you year music?", will bring me her shoes, indicate she wants them on, and then walk to the door and point outside, gets very excited anytime we see other children, will put her hand to her mouth to blow a kiss but can't get the "launch" part down yet, loves to bring us our shoes and then carry them back to the back room again, loves to point at birds and airplanes flying in the sky, still throws a fit through most diaper changes, picks up the remote and points it to the TV when she wants to watch a DVD, "snuggles with Daddy" by laying her head on his chest when he asks her to, gives high fives, will flip the pages of a book and babble like she is reading it, her favorite books right now include Brown Bear Brown Bear, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and lift-the-flap books, prefers mommy most all of the time, loves on her baby by hugging her, is a happy smiling girl most all of the time (but she does have her moments;)!   It has been a fun twelfth month!