These are from last Saturday's events. Claire turned 25 and we celebrated at Tuscany's Coffee House with smoothies and chocolate cake. We also went to a going away party (Texas themed) for Chuck and Ambre and Jolie. A very fun, but sad occasion! We are going to miss them! I guess Houston, isn't too far away...

Claire the birthday girl and Olivia

Despite the amount of candles on the cake, Claire blew them out quickly!

Claire and Stew

Tuscany's has really big chairs and Olivia loved sitting in them

A family photo

Ambre and Jolie (4 months old)

Carla and Olivia

Bill, Heidi, Ambre, Chuck

Rainy Day

This was about a month ago, but I have to post it because it sums up what she looks like and does just about every day.
Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day.


What to do...
I think I'll bake something...

Next I need a pan...

I can't reach them all

Now what?

At least I got into something that makes noise

Headstands

Olivia has been busy climbing stairs and pushing her baby walker around. We got a new computer and are completely back online again! We've all been sick this week, but we're on the up and up.

I have an excuse

for the hiatus in blogging. Our computer is out of service (for good) and we're looking for a new one. I didn't realize how much I rely on having a laptop right in the kitchen, our hub of life around the house. I'm an Excel junkie and I use it for grocery lists, menu planning, Christmas shopping/spending lists, keeping track of what's in our freezer, everyone's addresses, you get the picture. So, we've had a great Christmas and New Year, and we celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 2nd. My cousin Laura came for the week and here are a few pictures. (More to come from Tifiny and Esteban's visit and our trip to WV for Christmas. We leave for WI on Wed. to visit my family.)

Grandview beach with Laura and Olivia

Laura babysat for us while we went out for our anniversary. Olivia is not liking baby food these days. Here is a rare smile while eating.

It was cold but we had fun.

Olivia is now 9 months old. We had her appt. today and she weighed in at 17 lbs 3 oz. She has finally made it into the 25th percentile for weight! Yea--good thing for Gerber baby foods:)


Some acquaintances of ours have sheep and they make me smile! Olivia wasn't impressed with their baa-ing skills.

This is taken at Mark and Jodee's home before Bill's staff Christmas Party Friday night.

Olivia is always excited to play with Ellie, Jackson, and her buddy Will (2 years old.)

Happy to hang with her dad.

Good Morning

We all got a great night of rest last night. Olivia had some apple Yobaby this morning and is currently down for a nap. I think we'll go to the library when she wakes up.

She loves her Elmo book and can't get enough attention from her dad.

She loves to sing pattycake and can do a few of the hand motions.

Daddy's home! She always gets a huge smile on her face when Bill walks in the door.

She loves her new Elmo goes to bed book--lots to chew on

She's into everything...

and so much fun!

We're hosting our community group Thanksgiving dinner tonight! I'm so excited to eat together! Last night I tried out a new recipe for pumpkin muffins, and it is my new favorite.

Although the muffins turned out great, the honey wheat bread pictured below is a sad story. And yes, what you are looking at is the final, baked product. Good thing Bill told me he likes "dense" breads.

Olivia has started to crawl on her hands and feet. It's really funny to watch, especially on the slippery floor.