Happy 3rd Birthday to Olivia

Time flies!
Olivia turned 3 on March 11th!

A dress from Africa from Papa.

A special birthday breakfast.

A princess dress outfit from Grandma.

In the morning, I was going to make cupcakes for the neighbor kids, and Olivia politely told me she would rather have a cake. So, cake it was!

Tifiny and her nephew!
Bill and Belle!

Esteban, Tifiny and Belle got Gabe some new shades. He keeps them on.

Tia and her girls

Uncle Ecky and Gabriel

There is a really funny story behind this...

The girls love some bath time!

First Haircut

Olivia had her first haircut. This picture is a "before" picture.
My friend Meagan cuts hair and we receiced first-rate in-home service.

Olivia did great and sat still. I didn't even need to bribe her! I guess there is one advantage of not needing a haircut till the week before she turns three.

Almost done...

And, no, there isn't an "after" picture because I forgot to take one! I'll post soon with something recent and that will have to do.

Sitting up and Crawling

Gabe is growing fast! He's 6.5 months and such a joy! As long as he's not hungry, he's happy. I'll have his growth stats after this weeks' appointment.

He started crawling yesterday, and I captured it on video, but can't get it to upload.
He started to sit up right at 6 months. He's so proud! As you can see, he's not lacking in nutrients.

Painting

Our friend Becky is an artist and one rainy Saturday she brought her supplies over! She helped Olivia make a great collage. Cutting, gluing, painting, texture...she was in heaven!

I finally broke down and got her a little set of crayola, totally washable paints.

Daddy's helmet!

Determined.

When he's not on all fours, this is his usual perch.

Olivia likes to wear shirts/pants on her head while on the potty.

Last weekend, I was putting Olivia to bed, and Bill was feeding Gabe food about one foot from our window, and it just shattered. It sounded like a huge crash. We're still not sure why it broke...maybe a large bird? but it would have hit Bill and Gabe if our blinds hadn't been drawn. It was boarded up by 10pm and replaced the next morning.

Olivia watching a video in her "spot."

Happy on the floor.

About a month ago, we took the fam to Chuck E. Cheese's. We were celebrating Olivia taking a step to become a big girl: no more pacifier! Just shy of age 3, we decided it was time. It was a great experience...clean, vacant, and very cheap.
One of his last times in the bumbo. Those thighs just can't fit anymore!

Santa Monica

2 weeks ago we spent the afternoon and evening in Santa Monica with our friends Jesse and Missy. They live a few blocks from the beach, so we spent a little time at the ocean, and then had dinner.

Sunning himself.
Father and daughter.

Feet.

Missy

LOVE the beach!

Sand Castle.

Sunset.

Santa Monica Pier

Almost done.

Super sleepy.

Massive fun-loving Yuki, Olivia, Bill, and Jesse.

Missy and Gabe.