All the girls together

Here is a short video of all of the granddaughters together on Thanksgiving day with Grandma and PaPa! WARNING: It may be loud, as it usually is when they are all together!! I don't have sound on my computer so I don't know how loud the video is!!! But it will give you some idea as to how loud our Thanksgiving day was and God knows how thankful we all are to be blessed with such healthy, beautiful girls!!! But let us all remember to give thanks to God at all times, every day, not just now during the holiday season, for what we all have is precious!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18

The day before our Thanksgiving dinner

So the holidays have begun, and are going by so fast! Where do the years go? Olivia is already two and it seems like only yesterday that I brought home such a teeny, tiny little baby! Although this Thanksgiving was a lot different than that first year. Olivia's first Thanksgiving we had to spend at home due to her being a preemie and having to be isolated her first few months home because it was RSV season, but that's another story altogether. This Thanksgiving however we went out to Grandma's house the day before to help Grandma cook, or so we thought! Now I asked Grandma when she first mentioned helping her cook exactly how much cooking she thought we would get done with Miss "bossy pants" Olivia there, she said it didn't matter, so we went to help! We showed up around 11:00 or so and all we managed to get accomplished that morning was the sucessful burning of chocolate chip cookies (Which Uncle Jerred whined about for hours, but still ate the cookies!) and some Mexican casserole cooked for lunch! Then Aunt Julie and Stacia made it, and we thought alright, we have some more help! Little did we know that Olivia had other plans for Aunt Julie!!! The moment she saw her, Olivia had Julie carrying her all over the place, pointing and telling her where to go. Then she decided that carrying her around all over had made her Aunt Julie tired so she made Julie lay down on the couch with her baby doll and everytime Julie would get up Olivia would come and drag her back over to the couch and point and tell her "Lay down!" We all of course lauged and thought this was very entertaining until Grandma and I realized that Julie finally took her serious and was over on the couch sleeping!!! So much for the help there!!! I did learn that Julie may not be the best baby sitter as when the two year old tells you to lay down and take a nap, she really does it!!!! (just kidding, we love you Aunt Julie!) Of course I'm sure it did wear her down playing as she hasn't had to do that is some time. As you can see from the picture Stacia is now 8, so it has been some time since Julie has had to keep up with a two year old!!!

Coloring!!!

Olivia loves to play with markers, she of course loves to mark on herself more than the coloring books, but what two-year old doesn't. The good thing is that I managed to find washable markers that are indeed washable, it comes off with a wet wipe. They don't require major scrubbing, at least they haven't so far!!! Thank goodness because she always ends up with marks all over her face and in her mouth!!!!!

Fall Leafs

I have always loved fall, especially when all the leafs fall off of the tree. I had to get Olivia involved in it this year. It took a little coaxing but after convincing her it was alright and getting her to help Daddy rake up some leaves, we finally managed to get her to play in them and she loved it!!! She had more fun throwing leaves on Momma (thanks to daddy showing her that fun game) than she did just playing in them.

First Nap in the Big Girl Bed!

This is Olivia taking her first nap in the Big Girl Toddler bed and as you can see even the babies have their very own bed! She got it thanks to the curtiosy of Shanna! The pillows were the greatest garage sale find ever for me, 10 cents each and I guess they are the most comfortable pillows she has ever had, she has to sleep with them every night. The blanket was made for me by Grandma, but guess who took it over! I've only got to use it once and that was only until she saw I had it and took it away. She loves the bed or at least to play in it anyways!!! The only reason she is in asleep in the bed here is because she went to sleep in my lap and I carried her in there and put her in her bed!!! Which by the way is not as easy as it used to be, now she still is small for her age but I remember carrying this teensy tiny baby that you barely felt like you were holding and now here she is a big Two Year old with her own Toddler bed. My how fast they grow up!!

A big kiss!!!!!

Here's a big kiss from Olivia to you!! Please excuse the messy face, just got done eating dinner!!!!

Olivia and NaNa

My grandmother, Grace (dad's mom), turned 94 this year! She absolutely adores Olivia and Olivia is very fond of NaNa. I think we have to take their picture together almost everytime we go down there. This one was taken shortly after Olivia turned 2. I just thought I would share this picture with you all. Not very many of us make it to see 94, most of do well to see half of that age now a days.

No such thing as a small bite...

It's no wonder that our baby girl is finally starting to put on some weight. We have always fed her well, but now that she is big enough to feed herself I don't think there is such a thing as a small bite!!! She piles it high on the spoon and usually manages to get it all in her mouth!!! She also offers anyone around a bite of whatever it is that she is eating too, what a generous little baby bug!

More dress up pics

She's just now getting into the dress up stage...but we have what fun we can with it!

Putting on some weight!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Had a busy summer but that's a story all it's own. I'll update as bet I can later, but for now I had to share these pics and let everyone see how big Olivia is getting. She turned two last month and is finally starting to put on some weight. She was in the bath last night having tons of fun (as usual) and I jumped at the chance to snap some pics so everyone could see how much weight she has put on. Note the rolls that are finally starting to form (didn't know if we'd ever see those on our baby)!!! They grow so fast, I can't believe it's already been two years. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago when I held her for the first time!!!!!!

Potty Training Time?

Boy, oh boy, did I learn a new lesson as a first time mom yesterday! I think it is officially time to start potty training. Olivia was wearing a dress, no shorts to hold the diaper on (she has known for some time now how to get that off). She was over amongst her toys playing and I didn't think anything about it, until I smelled that all too familiar smell of a dirty diaper. I went and picked up her to change her diaper only to find out, low and behold, she had taken off her diaper and pooped in the floor!!! That explains why she was squatting and playing quietly for so long. I thought it was just she was tired (we had been to the dentist) and was playing quietly because she didn't have her full energy. Oh well, so begins a new adventure. POTTY TRAINING!!!!

Playing Dress Up

Olivia and I were playing dress up last night. She looked two cute but didn't leave it on for long. I knew she wouldn't that's why I had the camera on and ready when we first started! She has started sawing 3 new words this week and they become more clear every day. Her new words are "ought-oh", "hello" and "thankyou"! It's hard to believe that she is almost two, although some of the things she says and does I almost think she is older at times. She is very smart for her age, which could become dangerous for us as she gets older. In no time she'll know exactly how to outsmart us!!!!

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22

I just had to add my testimony of the power of prayer in here. As you all know Olivia was diagnosed with OI and when she was born her leg bones where bowed. We have prayed continuously since the day she was born for God to heal her and take care of her. I believe he is doing just that. We got copies of her xrays from her Ortho doctor. The xray taken in March 2007 you can clearly see the bowing of all four of her leg bones. The xray taken in January 2008, not even a full year later, both of her tibias (lower leg) and her left femur (upper leg)are straight. There is still a little curving in the right femur but we will continue to pray and beleive that God is the ultimate healer. He alone straightened her bones. She has not been on any treatments, taken any medications or supplements or had any straightening rods put in. She has strong leg muscles and good strong bones! We thank and Praise God for his healing power!!!!

How to make Grandma cry

Grandma and PaPa stopped by the other night to see Olivia before they went to work in Davis. Olivia has a baby doll that she absolutely loves and carries with her everywhere. She feeds it a bottle, kisses it, pats it, plays with it and puts it to sleep. Well when grandma was here she was sitting in grandma's lap holding her baby and patting her. Grandma sang "rock-a-bye baby" to Olivia and her baby. When she got done Olivia proceeded to sing a song very lightly and gently which sounded much like the song grandma just sang to her own baby!!! It put grandma in tears!! It was just too precious. Those are the moment when you wish you had a video camera.

Ellie's birthday party

We went to Ellie Kate's 4th birthday party this weekend. The theme was Princesses and I'm telling you there were plenty of pretty little princesses running around! Olivia was not the youngest but was almost the smallest. She had a blast running around with all the girls, no matter how much smaller she is than them. She fits in there just fine. She wore her princess crown, ate cake and ice cream, played in the pool and sprinkler and played in the girls room. She wanted to hold Chloe of course and didn't think that anyone else was supposed to hold Chloe without holding her as well. She had a blast and can't wait to do it again I'm sure.

Olivia and Chloe

Olivia has been taken with Chloe from the moment she first saw her. Chloe of course is almost as big as Olivia, but that doesn't bother her. I don't think Olivia knows how small she is in size. She still wants to hold the baby and feed the baby! She had found a toy baby bottle out at Grandma's house and was determined to feed it to Chloe. Tamatha kept telling Olivia "no, Chloe doesn't need that bottle." Olivia would just give her a look like she was crazy and try to feed it to her anyways. She knows that babies take bottles. Well, most babies that is!!! What is she going to do when Chloe outgrows her?

Diaper Scale

I thought I would share this thought I had the other night while changing a dirty diaper. It was one of those nights when the weather was bad and I was thinking about the scales we have for determining how bad a tornado or hurricane is. I determine how bad the diaper I'm changing is by how many wipes I have to use during the cleaning process of the diaper change!!!! And to think I used to make fun of Tamatha when she would talk about diaper contents!!!!! I never knew how different your thought process could be until I had my own child!

Olivia and her new glasses

Olivia got her glasses last week. She is doing well with them considering that she isn't even two yet! She looks so cute in them. She will wear them for a little while (she wears them the longest when she's busy), and then want them off! Which is fine, we take them off for a while and try again later. She loves to see herself in the mirror with them on. She just laughs at herself!

PaPa and Grandma

PaPa and Grandma have got to be two of the greatest people! I don't know who is taken up with who more, them with her or her with them. Of course we live close so that is a major plus for all of them. I don't think Grandma or Papa can drive through town without stopping by to see Olivia. They have spoiled her rotten but that's what grandparents are supposed to do. She loves it when they come over, but it's when they are leaving that the fun really begins! They tell her bye-bye and she immeadeatly runs over to them and wants to be picked up. They pick her up and walk over to the do or and when she thinks or sees me coming that way she will start laughing and squealing and kicking her legs (like she is running), trying to get them to hurry up and get out the door. She has to get all the way out to the vehicle, get in and drive for a minute or two before she will ever come back in the house with me!!! She would go with them everytime if we'd let her. They love her very much as she does them as well. We are very thankful for Grandma and Papa and everthing they have done for us. May God bless you both!!! We love you!!

Great Grandma turned 94!

Grace Turner, my dad's mom, my grandma, and Olivia's great grandma turned 94 this year. She is very proud of her tiny little great grandbaby and Olivia loves going down to see her. She only lives a block away so it is easy to go by and check on her. Every time we go in there Olivia's first objective is to get the puppies off of the back of the couch. Then proceed to see what else she can find to get into to!

Great Grandma had a fall the week before her birthday and ended up in the nursing home while the fracture in her back heals. So we celebrated the big 94 there. Olivia had a blast, running up and down the halls of the nursing home. Of course all of the people there enjoyed it also. It was an uplifting change from their regular routines! I don't know how many people were laughing at the rotten little girl running so excitedly down their halls. She was a visitor unlike any others I'm sure!!!

Big Red Shoes

Olivia is getting to the stage where she likes to try on every one's shoes and walk around. Most shoes are too heavy for her still but on this occasion she put on Lindsey's red clogs. They were just right for her to walk around in. She had a blast and still thinks she has to put them on and walk around every time Lindsey wears them to our house. They look like big clown shoes on her but she doesn't care!

Like a fish to water

Olivia has always enjoyed taking baths. She loves the water no matter where it is, a bath, a pool, or a mud puddle!! If she finds water you can bet she is going to get in it and be soaking wet from head to toe before she is done. Here are some pics of her in the bathtub. You can tell as she get bigger she loves bubbles, the more the better. Don't worry the water isn't deep just the bubbles!!!

Olivia's smiles!!

Olivia has always been a happy baby! She is definately a girl of many smiles and expressions. One little smile or giggle out of her can make you whole day better, it seems to make all of your petty little worries disappear! She is our shining star! Here are a few for you to see!