Happy 1st Birthday Olivia!

Since we are moving before Olivia turns 1 we decided to have a birthday celebration with our family and friends in Napa. We picked the Saturday before Easter but since we are packing we couldn't have it at our house. We decided to host it at the same park we've had Avery's birthday and cross our fingers for good weather. 

Unfortunately we did not make out on the weather, but what would a rainbow themed birthday party be without rain? Luckily it didn't rain too hard and the trees gave us pretty good cover. The kids enjoyed themselves splashing in the water and getting all wet.

A month in photos: February 2013

Faces of Olivia

Month in Photos: January 2013

8 months: A comparison

Everyone always wants to know if Avery and Olivia look alike. Honestly? I usually say yes they look very much alike... until I did this comparison. They definitely look like sisters, but they look less 'identical' than I thought. 

Zzzzzz

 Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby... except two sleeping babies.

Traditions

When I was a kid my grandma had a tradition of making her cookies for the grandkids to frost at Christmas time. Now she lives far away so I was left to carry on that tradition -- with a little twist. This year I invited some friends to join us in a Christmas cookie decorating party.

Avery had so much fun helping me make the cookies to get ready and even more fun at the party. Thanks to my friend Christina for the photos on party day. 

Instragram: October 2012

Here is a snapshot of our month of October.

Month in Photos: September 2012

My Girls: 4 months

People are always asking me how Olivia compares to Avery. Honestly I try not to compare them too much because they are different kids, but as I have been thinking about it lately I went back and looked at the photos we have of them at the same age. There are some big differences and some striking similarities. 

Avery weighed 13lbs 14.5oz and was 26.66in long at 4 months. 

Olivia weighs 15lbs 3oz and is 25.25in long at 4 months.

Avery was a sleeper. She would sleep all day if I'd let her. She would fall asleep within 2 minutes of being placed in the swing.

Olivia will sleep in the swing but it's not the magic bullet like with Avery. She also established a sleep pattern much earlier than Avery. At 4 months she consistently takes 3 naps per day and goes to bed around 6:30-7pm waking around 6:30-7. 

Avery took to a pacifier like a kid to candy. She took the first kind we offered and never looked back. She never even tried sucking her thumb or any other fingers.

Olivia is picky. It took us 4 or 5 different kinds of pacifiers to find one she would take halfway decently. And turns out it was the kind they usually offer in the hospital, but silly us didn't want to offer one that early to risk confusion for breastfeeding. She is also a big thumb sucker -- or rather a thumb chewer. She only actually takes the paci about 75% of the time. The other 25% of the time she is perfectly content chewing on her thumb. 

Avery hated the bath. Like I dreaded giving her a bath until she was about 6 months old when she began to enjoy it.

Olivia has loved the bath (or shower, rather) from day one. She loves the warm water and snuggling skin to skin with me. These days she even enjoys watching Avery splash around in the water that I let fill up in the bottom of the shower tray. 

Avery and Olivia both have matching "stork bite" birthmarks on the back of their heads on at the nape of their necks. They both have strawberry hemangiomas, but Avery's was on her forehead (and is now gone). Olivia's is on the top of her head and is significantly bigger than her sister's.

Summertime fun!

Ice cream and paint. What could be more fun? Swimming maybe, but I can't do that with both babies by myself, so ice cream and paint it is. And Avery doesn't mind. In fact she loves it.

Olivia and her hat

A good friend gave me this hat for Olivia. It looks so adorable on her I almost can't stand it. Thanks, Liz!

Avery's 2nd Birthday Party!

On Saturday we celebrated 2 years with Avery. It's hard to believe she is 2 years old. It feels like she just got here, but at the same time it also feels like she's always been here.

We celebrated with a monster-themed party at Yountville Community Park. We had lots of family and friends join us. Even with the unseasonably cool and windy weather we had a great time; Avery especially enjoyed herself.

4th of July 2012

Father's Day 2012: Pictures

This Father's Day was Justin's first Father's Day with two daughters. Aside from Avery not feeling 100% we made the best of it. It was such a fun day.

The many faces of Olivia

Some things never change

Month in Photos: December 2011

Ho Ho Ho

Yesterday was Christmas and I have to say while Avery only sort of understood the concept of presents and opening she was mostly overwhelmed with the gifts. By about half way through she decided she was done and wanted to eat her bacon instead, so Justin and I opened the rest of her gifts and she was more than happy to play with them all once they were out of the wrapping.

In the afternoon she got to play with her cousins from Alabama and thought they were pretty cool -- especially Tessa who is just about a year older than her. We only had one fight over a toy between the two of them and I think that was pretty successful.

All in all I think Christmas 2011 was a hit!

Christmas Tree 2011

Today we went to the Christmas tree farm and picked out our Christmas tree. We love this place because it's the only place around here that you can still cut down your own tree. We took Grandma Nunley with us and it was so fun! Once we got home Avery took a nap since she was exhausted while Justin and I put the tree up and got it all set with lights. Once she was up she alternated back and forth from helping me decorate and watching the football game with Daddy. After the tree was all set up Lola snuggled under it to take a nap.

.