Christmas 2011- Arkansas

The 9 hour drive to Arkansas took us more like 12, due to having to finish up some last minute shopping along the way. Fortunately, Olivia did great in the car. We arrived at my mom's house around 9:00pm Friday night. After playing for a little while with Gram and Abby (and opening her Christmas present from Abby), we all went to bed. Olivia loved her present from Abby... a Cinderella kitchen! She played with it pretty much nonstop all week!

Christmas Eve was spent catching up with Gram, Abby, Mason, and Glen, as well as exchanging gifts with Amy.

With the Travel Bear Amy gave her:

Playing with the snow globe, just before she dropped and broke it:

With cousin Mason:

We let Abby and Mason go ahead and open their gifts from us:

On Christmas morning, Olivia was the only kid left at Gram's. (Abby and Mason went to Glen's for the night). I think she was surprised to find that Santa brought a few more gifts to Gram's house for her.

Playing with her new laptop:

Opening her stocking:

With Mommy on Christmas morning:

After seeing what Santa brought, we all got ready and met Glen and the kids at church. Afterwards, we tried to get some pictures of Olivia in her Christmas dress:

With Daddy:

Then, it was time to open presents!

Her cute new Razorback dress (I think the look is because she's tired of waiting so long for the bowl game! ha!)

On Monday, Jon and I took Olivia (along with Gram, Amy, and her mom) to the Enchanted Forest. Our parents took Amy and I there every year growing up. It's hard to explain exactly what it is, but basically it's an animated Christmas display.

Watching the train:



Looking in the igloo with Gram:

The next few days were focused on spending time together and visiting family and friends. Here are a few more pictures.

Kisses from Abby:

Cousins:


We had such a great trip! After we left, my mom said that Abby and Mason both said it was "the best Christmas EVER"... I'd have to agree. And, I think it's only going to get better from here.

Christmas 2011- Chicago

Christmas started a few days early this year. We exchanged gifts as a family before going to Arkansas, and Santa even delivered a few toys the night before we left!

Loving the kitchen Santa brought:



Opening presents from Grandma:

Cooking a hamburger in her new kitchen:


Opening presents from Aunt Jenny, Uncle Jeff, Luke and Jake:


Looking at the Elmo book Grandma sent:

After playing with her new toys for a little while, it was time to hit the road to Arkansas. I can tell that Christmas is only going to get more fun from here. The excitement and surprise on Olivia's face when she saw the toys and opened presents was priceless!

Merry Christmas!

We are off to Arkansas today to spend Christmas with my family. I was hoping to post about our family Christmas that we had yesterday, but I ran out of time. I'll have lots to update when we return... in about a week.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmastime Fun

Saturday was Jon's company Christmas party, so Emma came over to watch Olivia while we went. She (Olivia) was in a rotten mood, but thankfully that quickly turned around when she saw Emma. We stopped by Codrut and Emily's place on the way because they were also having a holiday party that they invited us to. It was a fun night, and as always, nice to have a little time with just the two of us.

We had brunch with our neighbors on Sunday morning and then I went Christmas shopping while Jon and Olivia spent the day together. I got back home in time for us to put up the Christmas tree... Better late than never, right?!? ;)

Seeing the Christmas tree light up for the first time:

Helping decorate:

Showing off the Santa pajamas Gram sent her:

Now that our shopping is done and the tree is up, this week will consist of lots of wrapping and packing for our trip to Arkansas... Can't wait!!

Picture with Santa- Take 2

Sandy and I took Olivia and Adelina back down to the Christkindlmarket this morning to attempt to get a picture of them with Santa. As you can see, this time didn't go any better.

Busy, Busy

I haven't updated in a couple of weeks because of a couple of reasons. 1) Jon has had the camera at work, and therefore, I haven't taken many pictures, and 2) We have been staying very busy. Since the last update, we've been to a Cookie Exchange, Book Exchange, Holiday Party at Dinkel's Bakery, Lincoln Square Christkindl Market, had pizza with a couple of different friends, and dinner out with friends. Those are just the things that I remember off the top of my head, and that is in addition to our regular playgroups.

At the market with Ady:

Insisting on wearing her coat(inside):

Best Friends:

First Christmas Present of the year:

At some point, I should probably find time to do a little Christmas shopping... I'm starting to run out of time!

Christkindlmarket

Today, Olivia and I met up with Sandy and Adelina and took the train downtown to the Christkindlmarket. Our plan was to get down there at around 9:30am and see Santa. Well, we didn't do our research very well... The market didn't open until 11, and Santa is only there on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We decided to make the most of the day since we were already downtown.

We had lunch at the market. The girls really enjoyed their bratwurst and potato pancakes:

Then, we walked over to State Street and did a little shopping:

We were hoping that Olivia and Adelina would nap while we were out, especially since Sandy was hosting an afternoon playgroup at her family's bakery. Unfortunately, that didn't happen- unless you count the 15 minutes Olivia slept as we were walking from the train station to the bakery.

Luckily, Santa stopped by our playgroup just as it was ending. I'm going to blame Olivia's reaction on the fact that she hadn't napped... although I figured that was how she would react. (See post below if you haven't seen her picture with Santa.)

Naughty or Nice?

18 Months Old

Olivia turned 18 months old last Friday. We had her 18 month doctor appointment yesterday. She is 32 1/2 inches long and 25lbs 9oz, which puts her in the 75th percentile for both. Dr. Egues said she's perfect, but we didn't need anyone to tell us that! :)

So, what is Olivia up to now?

- She still wears size 4 diapers
- Most of her clothes are 18months, but she can also wear some 2t
- She LOVES books! I bet we read 20 books a day.
- She is a good eater most days. She especially likes fruit of any kind, but she will also eat meat and vegetables.
- She says so many words that I've lost count. Jon and I estimated this weekend that it is well over 50, maybe even 100. I can understand most of them, but everyone might not be able to. ;)
- She loves "hiding", although most of the time it's in plain sight, but usually against a wall or something. As soon as I say, "Where's Olivia?", she runs to me.
- She likes giving "big hugs" and kisses.
- She enjoys playing with her babies. She pushes them in the stroller, swaddles them, and puts them in the cradle. She's also been known to give them milk and food when I'm not looking.
- She really likes doing puzzles and can do the ones we have fairly easily.
- She has gotten much better about not hitting and pushing at playgroup. Now, she is "nice" and "gentle" most of the time. (I put these in quotations because she says the words as she pets the other kids.)
- She LOVES playing with her friends. In fact, she says "Ady" and "Carter" many, many times every day. When we are at a playgroup, she immediately finds one of them. It's pretty cute!
- She has gotten really good at communicating what she wants.
- When I ask her to say her ABCs, she says, "A B C".
- When I ask her to count, she says, "One, Two, OneTwo". Occasionally she will get Three.
- She loves to talk to Daddy on the phone. In fact, she didn't want to tell him bye-bye tonight and she cried when I hung up the phone.
- She sleeps from about 7:30pm-7:30am.
- She takes one nap a day and it is always 2 hours, but occasionally a little longer.
- She enjoys "coloring".
- She likes stacking blocks and knocking them over.
- She loves playing catch, and gets excited when she catches the ball.

She is such a joy to be around. Although she can throw a fit, thankfully she rarely does. She is such an easy child. Let's hope she stays that way...

Early Christmas Present

Olivia got an early Christmas present in the mail last week. My mom sent her a cute little Pottery Barn chair with her name embroidered on it. She LOVES it! Thanks Gram!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Wisconsin. We drove up Thursday morning and arrived just in time for the turkey dinner. Olivia loved the meal, with her favorite being the mashed potatoes and stuffing (much like her mom! ha!) She wouldn't stand still long enough for a picture, so we had to settle for some action shots!



On Friday, we did a little shopping and watched the disappointing Razorback game. Fortunately, the weather was better than the game and Olivia and Grandpa played outside for a little while. She especially liked the bird feeder.




We drove farther north to Phillips, WI on Saturday to see some of the extended family and to listen to Jon's dad and uncle play music at the family resort that night. It was a good time, like usual. Unfortunately, we didn't take the camera.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Olivia really enjoyed her Grandma and Grandpa this time, and warmed up to them both right away. (She's even saying "Gramma" and "Grampa" now... in fact, I'm pretty sure she said "Grampa" at least a hundred times on the drive home! :) But, we wouldn't have it any other way.)