Pumpkin Carving!

This year was Olivia's first hands-on experience with pumpkin carving!

Last year she was just a couple months old so she just got to watch.  This year she got down and dirty and helped clean the pumpkin out!

 Daddy is pulling the insides out and Olivia is putting them back in!

 She kept sticking her hands in the eyes and mouth of the jack-o-lantern!

 My favorites!

I love Fall and the Halloween season!

Lake Weekend

We headed up to the Cabin this last weekend and on the way we drove into this beautiful Minnesota sunset....

Dan and his dad spent some time doing some winterizing stuff at the cabin...cleaning out the garden, taking the screens out, planting blueberry bushes, cutting down plants, etc.  

They stayed busy while Olivia, my mother-in-law and myself got some major playing done inside!

Every time we are at the cabin Dan's dad makes crepes which are always AMAZING! Usually I just give Olivia a plain crepe for breakfast.  This time I gave her a blueberry banana crepe and she loved it!  

Olivia loves being at the cabin.  The first morning we were there she slept until 8:30am! Which means I slept until 8:30am! Holy Cow. That. Never. Happens.  I totally took advantage!  

I love our weekends at the Lake!

Pumpkin Patch Recap

Last Thursday we went to the pumpkin patch! It was a little chilly but we still had fun!

Next year I want to go to the pumpkin patch earlier in the season when it is still somewhat warm, and I want to go on a Saturday morning so we can explore all day.

We played on the slide, went through the corn maze, played with a soccer ball, and ran around all over the place.   It was a bit too cold and too close to bedtime to go on the hayride or to explore anymore. 

It was a quick trip but we had fun!

She loves pumpkins...

My little witch

  Me and my girl!

 She found a soccer ball and wanted to play!

 My two favorites...

 We went through the Corn Maze!

Love List...

Just a few of the things I am loving right now...

1.  I know it's a little early for winter books but I just love these little snowmen stories - Olivia does too! We have three of the four books in the series - one doesn't come in a board book and that is a MUST these days.

2.  Olivia's Halloween costume! I can't wait to get her in it, it's so darn cute.  Our plan is to take her trick-or-treating in her little car around our neighborhood and of course hit a few of our friends houses in their too! Can't wait!

3.  The fact that we are FINALLY going to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow night! This will be my first time ever going to a pumpkin patch and I am so jacked.  I know I am going to wish that we had gone a little earlier in the season.... next year I guess.  I'm already excited for next year when Olivia will be able to partake in more of the activities they have there.

4.  This happy toothy face! Seriously lights up my life!

5.  Our town just got a Berry Blast (like a Cherry Berry) with all the different yogurt and toppings.  I went last week with my mother-in-law and we had an awesome time! I did a bunch of different toppings on my yogurt which was good and bad at the same time.  Next time I go I will definitely just go with one theme - like strawberry yogurt with fruit and whipped cream or something like that.

6.  I got a couple of crocheted winter hats for Olivia from Etsy and I just love them! They are so adorable!  I got one similar to this and of course we needed the football one too (in Vikings colors)!

Happy Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday

Instagram pictures from this week....

My bright girl!

 Double fisting her snack!

 Playing on her slide!

It's a Hard Knock Life...

Watching my husband and daughter together makes my heart so happy!

My Big Girl...

Olivia has really started 'talking' more and I LOVE IT!

She is just so darn cute with her facial expressions.  She really is turning into a little person - no more baby here!

Walking in Mama's Shoes...

Olivia thought it was the best thing ever to take a walk in my huge shoes! She did really well keeping them on her feet while she walked around. 

Of course, she freaked out when I took the shoes away because it was dinner time...

Wordless Wednesday

The girl just wouldn't let go of her two toy cookies.

No judgement here....I love me some chocolate chip cookies!

Weekend Recap

On Friday I posted my 'Weekend To Do List'... It was rather ambitious due to the husband being gone and it just being the baby and I.

Here was my list:

I did enjoy Chai Tea Lattes from my new Keurig - I am so glad that I got one.  I love it!

I FINALLY painted my toenails! They have been polish-less for about two months now.  They are now an orangey color with sparkles on top...Olivia thinks they are funny and keeps pointing at them!

We did go shopping with my mother-in-law.  We found snow pants, a winter jacket, and some other clothes for Olivia - score!

We did visit my brother and sister-in-law! Got to see their cute new house and had some lunch.  Olivia was so good and not afraid at all - my brother even got to hold her which is huge (she is still in the stranger danger phase and doesn't really like men).

I did make Olivia a fun Halloween shirt!

I made a couple headbands for Olivia as well...She tends to keep headbands on a little longer then clips and her hair is getting so long in front that we need to keep it out of her eyes! I bought some stretchy knit fabric that I am going to make a couple headbands out of that as well!

I did get some relaxing in as well - Olivia slept in until 8:20am on Sunday morning!! Usually she wake up right around 6:30am...this mama was extremely happy for the extra sleep. 

The only thing I wanted to do but didn't get to was making wood pumpkins for the front step...we just didn't make it to Lowe's to get the supplies.  Oh well, next time.  I would say that I did pretty good on that to do list!

And becuase we can't have a post without a picture of Olivia...she learned how to do TaDa this weekend!

Weekend Plans!

The husband is going to be gone this weekend pheasant hunting.  That means - Olivia and Mama's Weekend of Fun!

I always over plan on the weekends - especially when I am alone with the baby, but here is what I WANT to get done this weekend...

What are your weekend plans?

Who needs toys...

One of Olivia's FAVORITE things to do is play with the gourds that we have on the front step.... as soon as we go outside to play she runs straight for the steps!

Last night she was having fun carrying them around and throwing them on the grass.  Once she gets something in her head, that is all she wants to do... She did not want to go inside to get ready for bed - she wanted to keep playing!

 

 

Miss Independent...

Cupboard locks were invented because of this girl!

At our house we have them on everything and she will still pull and try to open every single drawer and cupboard.  At the lake we only have them on the necessary ones (ie: under the sink where the cleaning stuff is).  Of course Olivia discovered this right away!

She loves pulling out the pots and pans and playing drums with them!

 So innocent right?!

Kind of a trouble maker - but so cute.  She also has started throwing her dirty diapers in the garbage after we change her.... of course the changing her part is still a HUGE ordeal.  When do they get over that?

October

We spent this weekend up at the cabin. Alone.  Just myself, the husband and the baby.  Pure heaven.

The weather was cool and rainy, the colors on the trees are turning and beautiful, the weekend was perfect. 

We took Olivia out on the canoe to enjoy the lake and the trees.  She loved it!  She loves watching for birds and looking at the water and spent some time standing up in the canoe and looking around.  I love being able to offer her these other opportunities that I never had as a child.  I hope she grows up to be an outdoorsy person. 

Now if only we can get a house on a lake so we could enjoy this all the time!

She might be a Daddy's Girl!

Olivia adores her dad.  She loves playing with him, eating breakfast with him, when he reads to her... he can always make her laugh and smile. 

She goes back and forth between the two of us pretty evenly.  Some days all she wants is her mama and other days it's all about her daddy.  I truly love that she splits it up between us.  I feel awful when Dan wants to hold her and read to her but all she wants is me, so I am so happy it goes both ways. 

It's amazing watching her develop and grow and turn into this little girl with such a charismatic personality.   I cannot wait to see where our life together takes us.  I see big changes in the future, not entirely sure what they are though.

Wordless Wednesday

Because sometimes you need to take a break on the couch!