Family Picture

I really wish we took more family pictures, but for some reason it doesn't always happen. I really want to make it more of a priority. Today before we left for church, we had Brad take a picture of us. I am so glad we had Brad here this weekend before he left for Jerusalem.

Cereal Trail

While in the bathroom this morning, Olivia went into the pantry and found a bag of open cereal on a lower shelf. (Whoever put it on that shelf - shall remain nameless.) When I came out of the bathroom, there was a trail of cereal from the pantry to the bathroom. Olivia thought she was pretty funny. She also enjoyed eating the cereal and helping me sweep it up.

Easter Surprise

Baby #2 is due to arrive October 28th!

(Older posts talk about finding out, my fertility diet, telling our families and how I have been feeling.)

Easter with Grandma and Grandpa Hales

We went over to my parents house in the afternoon. My Dad was excited to take Olivia out to jump on the trampoline. He had just put it together that morning. Olivia had been on the tramp before last fall, but she loved it today.

Grandma set up a little Easter Egg Hunt for Olivia and Jensen. Olivia knew exactly what to do and grabbed the eggs and put them in her bag.

Grandma surprised Olivia with an Easter basket and a new outfit.  

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we went to our ward Easter Egg Hunt. Earlier in the week we put a few plastic eggs around the living room and had Olivia practice picking them up and putting them in her basket. She loved it and practiced over and over. When we got to the church Olivia spotted eggs in the grass and was trying to grab them. When we found out where the 5 and under spot was, we were sad to see that there were no eggs, just candy thrown on the grass. Olivia doesn't get a ton of candy so she didn't realize what it was.

Bob took her around as I took a few pictures. She spotted a section where there were some dum dum suckers and she was all about those.

We finished off the morning with breakfast. Olivia had a great time at her first Easter Egg Hunt, although I may have been more excited than her. 

17 Months

I feel like over the last few weeks Olivia has grown up a ton and I can finally say she isn't a baby anymore. Her vocabulary grows each day and I am amazed at the things she knows.

Some of her newest and most used words this month are:  lama, mama, two, three (we are working on one) eyes, ears, nose, bye-bye, toes, shoes, cheese, chair, all done, keys, milk, please, night-night, sleep, thank you, kiss, blue, and yellow.

We went to Mesa for a week and Olivia loved being able to walk in and out of the house whenever she pleased. While we were there she learned how to open up the screen door to get out. The first few days she was scared of the grass, but eventually she got used to it and was running all over. She loved the pool (hot tub) and was a little fish. She went to her first professional baseball game, (also Mom's, haha.) and enjoyed following her cousins Max and Ella around each day.

While we were there she got another tooth, her bottom right incisor finally broke through so she now has 11 teeth.

She got her first haircut this month and she no longer has a mullet. I think she looks a lot more grown up now.

Olivia loves to give kisses, and has finally decided to give them to people. She is professional at giving them to her toys already. Lately she has been giving us kisses goodnight and after she will say thank you. When we go to bed, she will now fold her arms for about 3 seconds when we say prayers and she says night - night. My favorite thing that she has learned to do this month is she will say "all done" when she is done eating, instead of throwing her food/plate on the floor.

Our schedule is still pretty consistent with what it has been the last few months. We both still enjoy her 2 naps a day. For a few days I tried doing 1, to see if that would help with her wake ups at night. She has been waking up between 11-1 each night and crying unconsolably. But changing to 1 nap didn't fix that, so back to 2 we went.

She stepped on the scale the other day in the bathroom and it said she weighed 19 pounds. She was fully clothed, but even so we will take it. I am excited to see how much she really does weigh next month at her appointment. She wears size 3 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.

Olivia still has a strong love for her binky. I am wanting to try and wean her from it next month, but I am nervous about it. We try to only let her use it during naps and bedtime. But if she finds one around the house, it's hard for her to give it up without a fight.

Foods she has been enjoying lately are yogurt, scrambled eggs with ketchup, baby food pouches, bananas, strawberries, cheese, cooked carrots, and any type of sugar. I am so proud of her because as of lately she has been drinking two sippy cups of milk a day. Which is really only about 8 - 10 ounces, but we are so glad she has progressed from 1 to 2.

12 Weeks

I have been feeling great these last few weeks. About week 9 my nausea went away and I have felt almost like my old self. The only lingering symptom is some serious fatigue. I don't know if its from pregnancy or just being a mom. I am so tired. I try to take at least one nap a day, and sometimes two. I feel like a dud on the couch. I am hoping this phase ends quickly. I am excited for summer and hope to get out each morning with Olivia. We can't wait for Seven Peaks and enjoy playing at the park. It's crazy that this will be our last summer as the two of us.

(I better clean the mirror before next months pictures! Notice it's pretty dirty at Olivia's height.)

Yogurt

Olivia is getting better at spoon feeding herself. She still isn't sure if she likes using her right or left hand better. If Bob is home, he makes sure to move the spoon to her right hand. Olivia and I love to have a bowl of yogurt for breakfast. Too bad for Olivia that she only gets about half of the amount I give her because the rest is on her face and body. (Yes those are bibs hanging behind her and no, she is not wearing one.)

A New Chair

Olivia was so lucky to be gifted a chair just her size. When we went down to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hales downstairs, Grandma surprised Olivia with this chair that I am sure I sat in when I was young. The first few times she used it, I had to help her into the chair and off. Once we brought it upstairs she started figuring things out and has been climbing on and off all day long. Today she was snacking on some animal crackers while sitting on it.

Shopping Cart Buddies

Today we went to Sam's Club with Grandma Sue and Jensen. Jensen and Olivia got buckled into the shopping cart and when they looked at each other they both had big smiles on their faces. They were so excited to see each other and to be sitting side by side.

Jensen is 6 months and Olivia is 17 months. We are so glad that Jensen lives close and can't wait until Jensen is crawling so they can play a little more.

Mesa Trip

A few weeks ago my cousin Emily called and asked if I would like to come spend a week in Arizonia with her at her parent's house and then help her drive back at the end. Her mom was driving her out but she needed another adult to make it home. Olivia and I jumped at the chance for a week in warmer weather with family and booked our flight to Mesa.

Last Friday my Mom picked Olivia and I up and dropped us off at the Provo Airport. It was fun to fly out from Provo, I loved that it was so close to our house. While we waited Olivia ran around talking to people and mooching treats and chips off a bunch of girls who didn't mind sharing with her. When we boarded the plane they announced that there were computer problems and that the seats were all up for grabs. I sat on the aisle of a row with 3 seats that was empty. I figured people would pick to sit by me because they could handle a kid. Two women who also had kids of their own (not with them) sat by me and were super nice and patient with Olivia. The lady in the middle did fall asleep and Olivia occasionally would get close to her face and yell "Hi". It was embarrassing and funny all at the same time.

Emily and Ella picked us up at the airport and we went back to the Carlson Mansion. That night Olivia, Ella, and Max stayed home with a babysitter while we went to a harp concert. It was a huge harp that they strung throughout the building. The guy who played the Harp was really good. There was also another woman harp player, a singer, guitarist, drummer, and violinist too. The rest of the band was a little crazy. The craziest being the singer who I thought had his own language and sign language, and when he didn't sing he was dancing by himself and clapping. There was a moment when Carrie and Emily couldn't stop laughing and then I couldn't stop. It was a fun night.

Olivia got her hair cut by Emily and she looks so good. I was sad about her having short hair, but her mullet wasn't that cute. It is a cute little bob type hair cut. 

Ella and Olivia would hang out when they were awake at the same time. Their nap schedules were a little different. Olivia would follow Ella everywhere and usually Ellla was following Max. Olivia was definitely not as fast and was usually 20 feet behind them. It was so cute. She was very timid the first few days playing outside. She was scared of the grass at first. But by the end of the trip she was super confident and loving life.

We went to a diamondbacks game. It was fun but also hard with Olivia. Definitely tiring but a fun experience.

The pool wasn't heated so we played in the hot tub. I'd play with Olivia by just walking around on the benches with her. Then we would jump in from the sides and she did really well at floating on her back. It made me so excited for this summer because she is such a water baby! 

We went to Ikea one day. When I went to the bathroom I noticed the best thing ever. In the big stall they had a little chair to put your toddler on, so you could go and not worry about your child crawling on the bathroom floors. I am sure they have these elsewhere, and maybe I have seen them before but I can't remember. I think all churches should get these in their bathrooms, it would make life so much easier! 

We ate so good while we were there. There was always tons of fresh fruit and lots of healthy options. Grandma Hales bought a jar of jelly beans from Sams Club and the kids went crazy. Olivia wouldn't listen to me saying 1 at a time and she had them stuck on all of her top teeth. It was pretty funny. It's safe to say she is obsessed with sugar.

So one morning Emily and I ran to Walmart real quick. Olivia stayed back at the house. When we got home, I found Olivia squatting in a corner with a ziplock bag in hand. She had found my bag of Easter candy in the diaper bag and had eaten all that was left. There were some Cadbury eggs, little butterfingers eggs and a Reeces egg. She was finishing the Reeces and had eaten it through the tin foil. When I picked her up she spit out all of the tin foil she had been saving in her mouth. I was dying! 

This last weekend was the big bike race that Ed, Kent, and Spencer were racing in. So they had 100 or so people over for a big pre meal race. Carrie is amazing she does so much! Luckily we didn't have to do any of the food and they had that catered. They had pizza, pasta, rolls, salad, cookies, and pop. It was all sooooo good. I definitely ate way too much. Olivia loved the pizza and ate 3 pieces and then finished it off with a cookie dipped in butter.

The drive home was long, but Olivia did surprising really well. We only stopped twice and made it home before dark.