The Three Musketeers

Ever since we have been home Avery and Olivia have been asking to hold Mason at least 5 times a day, including the first thing when they wake up. It's really cute, but I have to be able to do things and I can't just sit in bed all day to make sure they don't try and carry him around the house. We've limited it to twice a day so that Daddy or I can be around to supervise, but they can still get their snuggles in. Avery has been really good at teaching Olivia how to be a big sister. 

Holiday Cookies

Growing up my Grammy always made Christmas sugar cookies which all the grand kids would frost and eat. Well this ear we were planning on doing it when Grandma Denise and Grandpa Jim were here, so on the night before we had planned to do it Justin surprised me with my birthday gift... a new KITCHENAID MIXER! We had so much fun. And next year I'll note that a full batch is wayyyy too many cookies for just us. 

Big Changes

It's been a while since we've posted and some big changes have happened since then. We made a big move from California to Idaho for Justin's new job with Northwestern Mutual Financial and to be closer to Justin's brother and nieces. It all happened really quickly. It all started in February when we decided to start looking at making a move. We came to Idaho to visit and have Justin interview with a few companies during the first week of March and we left with Justin having accepted a position with Northwestern Mutual. 

After paperwork was finished, background check completed and a drug test passed we had exactly two weeks to plan, pack and move to Idaho. We left California on April 6, and with a stopover in Winnemucca, NV for the night arrived at our new home on April 7, 2013. 

Just before leaving our house in California for the last time. 

  

We stopped as we crossed into Idaho to commemorate our big move. 

 

It's been exactly a month since we arrived and we have had a blast here. We've been making friends, visiting new places and we even joined the local YMCA which is pretty dang cool. It even has a water slide and wading pool for the little kids. We can't wait to see what other fun stuff our new adventure has in store for us.

 

Happy Easter 2013!

Olivia's first Easter was a blast. I forgot to take any other pictures, but this is her enjoying the graham cracker bunnies from the eggs she found in her first egg hunt. 

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.

Daredevil

 

Look at this kid. She has no fear. At least she has a good reason. 

Mama's girls

Today the girls took naps at different times, but it was a great to spend some one on one with each of the girls individually. They sure are fun!

Olivia: 10 months

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• roll a ball to you as her social skills and interest in play continues to grow rolling and throwing!
• go from lying to sitting without any help Oh yea. She has been doing this for a couple weeks.
• show a desire to please you as she becomes even more attached to you—the trust, love and connection between your baby and you are continuing to grow She has started to show off. It's pretty cute!
• search for a toy after watching you hide it—your baby is beginning to understand that an object exists even when she cannot see it (object permanence) Oh yes. She realizes that things aren't gone even if she can't see it. It makes it difficult to distract her from something she shouldn't have... like crayons which she likes to chew on when Avery accidentally leaves them within her reach.
• resist being put to bed or left alone as her attachment to you grows I still nurse/rock her to sleep so I don't notice this, but I know she would be very upset if I left her alone to go to sleep. She does get quite clingy when I try to leave a room to do something else like cook dinner when she is playing.
• remember a favorite song and laugh and smile when it's played Not that I've noticed, but she does get calm when the Pandora lullaby station is on I think because the songs are familiar.
• express herself with gestures and sounds instead of cries She reaches and grunts to get what she wants. If I don't "get it" right away then she cries.
• use gibberish in a conversational way Not too often but I have noticed a couple times.

 

Peek a boo!

Olivia has learned a new trick. Peek a boo. It looks something like this. It's pretty hilarious.

A month in photos: February 2013

Trampolining.

 Our trampoline has been one of the best investments we have made for the kids so far. They love it and we have so much fun together as a family.

Balloons

Sundays are always good for an adventure. We found one this morning with these balloons. We chased them all the way from our house to Alston Park. Avery was so fascinated with their size and the fact that there were people in them. Olivia just wanted to run around but since she has just recently learned to walk she was not ready to tackle the hills. So daddy carried her, and she loved that too. 

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. 

Olivia: 8 months!

Weight: 22lbs 9.5oz

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• "rake" small objects toward her and pick them up as her coordination skills and dexterity continue to develop Yep! This is especially true of food. She is always hungry!
• clap and bang objects together as her muscle coordination improves Clapping is her favorite!
• use her arms to invite someone to pick her up She has recently started reaching for mama when she is being held by any one else. She is a real mama's girl.
• reach for the spoon when you feed her at mealtimes We usually offer to let her feed herself  so she has always been grabbing the spoon or my hand or whatever is holding the food.
• turn away when no longer hungry She definitely knows when she is done and will hit the spoon/food away or move her face away.
• babble random consonants: "di, ba, ma" Olivia has really blossomed with the sounds she makes. It's so cute! Words are to come soon.
• understand "no" (although your baby may understand the meanings of other words by now, the word "no" is key because she’ll also understand the actions she must take when hearing it) Oh yes. And she does not like being told no at all.
• understand a rough idea of "in" and "out" (the first instance of recognizing a spatial relationship) I'm not really sure actually. Maybe though.
• add tongue movement to change the sound of a word She really likes to make sounds with her tongue. Her favorite is making the kissing sound with the her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

Zzzzzz

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

Mmm food!

A lot of the time people ask me about Baby Led Weaning. Some people think it's some new-fangled way to transition your baby to eating solid food. Really, it's just coming back to the natural way. To me it just makes sense. Teach a baby to chew before you teach her to swallow. Since we started introducing solid food at 6 months Olivia has shown how much she really loves food. Here are some of her firsts.

 Cantaloupe

 Chicken

 Pizza

 Graham cracker

 

Cuties Oranges

 Pot Roast

Green Beans

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. 

Olivia meets Santa

I have never been fond of taking my kids to see some smelly old man dressed in a Santa costume who has nothing better to do the other 11 months of the year where he has time to sit all day at the mall for the month of December.

This year the Town of Yountville where Aunt Stacy works had one of the firemen (who happens to be a friend of Aunt Stacy) dress up and arrive at the tree lighting on a fire truck. While he may not be the most "authentic" looking Santa, the girls are young enough still not to notice and knowing the person dressing up made me a little more comfortable with letting my kids sit on Santa's lap.

Unfortunately Avery was not a fan. She wanted nothing to do with Santa other than to wave at him from a distance similar to those enforced by a restraining order. Olivia on the other hand was a ham. She loved his beard and looking at him. She was even accommodating in sitting on his lap for a photo op.