Birthday Outfit Sneak

I went searching for the perfect birthday outfit for Olivia and just wasn't finding what I was envisioning....So instead of purchasing something I was on the fence about - I went and made my own!

I found a cute tank top that I liked and a ruffled pink skirt (both from Target) and found some perfect pink sparkly fabric to create the ONE.  I love how it turned out and can't wait for her to wear it at her party!

My Silly Olivia...

I purchased these fake kids glasses a couple months ago for a photo shoot for Olivia.  They ended up being way to big so we couldn't use them.... bummer!

Olivia found them on the shelf this weekend and wanted to wear her glasses just like mama!

Friday finally...

It's finally Friday and I can't help but think about last week... when we were already up in Northern Minnesota fishing....

Oh, if I could just live up there life would be great! It is just SO beautiful I can hardly stand it.  The lakes are great, the fishing is great, it isn't city-ish (if that makes sense). 

Instead of fishing, this weekend will be spent at a great friends baby shower (yay!) and getting the house cleaned up for Olivia's 1st Birthday Party which is already next weekend! What.  The.  Heck.  How did that happen so fast!?

My accident prone girl....

This little girl decided to take a digger on the stairs at daycare yesterday.... and has this beautiful rug-burned eye to show for it!

I am afraid she might be taking after her daddy who got into everything and was always bruised up!

Anyway - here is her "tough" face! So cute!

Some Much Needed Inspiration...

For when it is only Tuesday but feels like Friday....

For when I am feeling a little down but not sure why....

For when I want to take a deep breath and clear out that negativity...

Our Weekend

We headed up to Northern Minnesota and enjoyed water sports, fishing, boating, cards and fun!

Olivia did FANTASTIC with Grandma and Grandpa - no fussing at all. There were even some family members that she didn't know and she was good with it.  I am so proud of how she did (and how I did without her!) We are currently thinking about doing a Boundary Waters trip next summer and am much more comfortable with that idea now that I know she handles well without us!

 

11 Month Update!

Olivia turned 11 months old about 2 weeks ago - and here is the update finally!

Last month was a big one for little Olivia!

She started standing for longer periods of time and started standing up from nothing (instead of using the edge of the couch or table). 

She loves playing the game "chase" where Mommy or Daddy crawl around and try to get her!

She started walking!

She started talking more.... saying DaDa, MaMa and a bunch of other sounds which are equally adorable!

Can point things out (literally, she loves pointing!)  If you ask her where the fan or light is, she will look and point.

Is over eating any sort of baby food.  New favorite foods include: Avocado, Tomatoes, Lunch Meat, Hot Dogs, Chicken, Pizza and any sort of Fruit. She does well with veggies also which is great. Her new favorite game is feed Mommy or Daddy (whoever is feeding her at the time).  She will grab a green bean off her tray and offer it to us. Depending on what it is and how smashed it is I will sometimes eat it - kind of gross but she loves it!

She is weighing in at a cool 22 pounds and is wearing some 12 month clothes - but is mainly in 18 month now. 

She is such a joy.  I love watching her grow - it is seriously the best!

Sick Girl and Weekend Worries...

This week we have had a sick little girl on our hands.  On Monday we spent some quality time in Urgent Care.  All day long she was lethargic, didn't want to eat or drink, and only wanted to lay on my chest.

Doc said she probably has some sort of virus and she had an ear infection.  On top of that she is cutting her top teeth finally and it is really taking a toll on her!

Daddy stayed home with her the next day and yesterday she went to daycare.

Each day she is getting a little better, a little more like her fun self.  Which is good! This weekend is going to be a baby free weekend fishing up North with some friends for Dan and I.  Our first weekend alone together since she was born - so about a year ago.  Wow.  I am very excited but also a little sad and worried.

I worry that she is going to be a handful for Grandma, that she won't sleep well without us, that she won't eat very good, that she will be in a somewhat strange place without her parents, that she will be scared and won't have us to provide comfort.

It's possible that I am not on board with leaving the baby for the whole weekend! She will be fine and I know it is something that eventually needs to be done. It just so hard leaving my baby!

Dare you not to smile...

We were having a good time at dinner the other night!

There is nothing better than a laughing baby - so fricking cute! Enjoy!

Fun at the Park...

We had some fun times at the park the other night. 

Olivia is really starting to get into playing at the park.  She loves the swings and the slides!
She even went down a little slide by herself quite a few times! She loves it!

We are gearing up for her 1st birthday party and a little birdie told me that Grandma and Grandpa are going to be getting her a climbing slide Little Tykes thing so it will be perfect!

What a Beautiful Night

Yesterday afternoon we went and watched a little softball.  The weather was HOT but we sat in the shade and there was a slight breeze which made it so nice!

Olivia got to play with her friend Gavin who is 10 days older than her.  He did end up putting the moves on her....he grabbed her face and gave her a smooch! So cute!

 

We stayed out past Olivia's bedtime so she was super tired this morning.  Too tired to wake up when I picked her up out of her crib....

Talk about creepy.....

So last night went as normal... get home, play with baby, feed baby, play with baby, put baby to sleep.  Then commences the clean-up.  I like to put everything back into it's respective place so A) I don't freak out over the clutter and B) so Olivia can start from square one the next day.

She goes down about 7:15pm so I have a couple hours before I go to bed.  Last night I wrapped some of her birthday presents, cleaned up the house and started on some of her birthday decoration crafts.

I get ready for bed and am almost sleeping (by myself, Dan had a late softball game) and what jolts me awake? A song from Olivia's walker which is currently sitting right up next to the wall and hasn't been touched in hours.

FREAK. ME. OUT.

The next twenty minutes or so was spent with me staring at the door making sure I wasn't hearing any other sounds.  I wouldn't actually get out of bed to look at the darn thing because I was too freaked out.
 

Olivia is so tiny here! Where does the time go? I think she was about 6 months old.

What's the lesson here? Turn off the toys when putting them away!

4th of July Weekend!

We had a great 4th of July Weekend! We spent the weekend up at the cabin with some of Olivia's cousins (4 years old & 2 years old) so we were busy!

We spent a lot of time on the boat, floating in the lake and playing at the beach.  The weather was perfect!

Olivia has been perfecting her walking and she thinks she is a pro (you know, because she has been doing it a week now!) With the other two girls walking it may have helped her see she could walk all the time.  She is still a bit wobbly but she balances herself really well. 

One thing learned from this weekend is that we need to work on sharing! Olivia loved taking toys away from the other girls.  She also got really jealous every time I would play with another baby/kid. Pretty hilarious if you ask me!

 

Watch out world...

This little girl decided it was about time to start walking!

She has been entertaining the idea for a while with just holding on to one finger or just by hanging on my shorts.  Yesterday she took off!

It is so adorable to watch her figure it out - video to come!