Splish Splash!

Olivia really enjoys baths. She is a wiggling wave-maker when she gets into the water. We took video of her "swimming," sans clothing, but since this is a G-rated blog we couldn't post the footage. We decided her bathtime behavior was too cute not to share, so we grabbed her swimsuit and took some family friendly film for your viewing pleasure.

Can you resist this bathing beauty?

Here she is splishing, splashing and having a grand time!

Olivia's Bow of the Day

Isn't she cute? I try to keep bows on Olivia when we go anywhere because it's hard to deny she's a girl with that big flower on her head-even when she's wearing yellow and green :)

We have an official close date on our house-August 11th. We have some painting to do and flooring to install before we actually move in, but within a month we should be in our new home!

Olivia is 3 Months Old!

Olivia,

You are such a sweet baby! This past month you moved away from your home, went on a LONG road trip and spent 2 weeks in Minnesota. You are incredibly laid back and have endured all this craziness like a champ. I attribute that to answered prayers and your generally peaceful disposition. These days you are fascinated by your hands which you study intently and enjoy putting in your mouth. You are quite the babbler carrying on cute conversations with anyone who talks to you. You are getting pretty strong, so holding your head up and following objects, voices and people are a regular part of your day. You have the most precious smile and love to show it off-you are a charmer, for sure. You have a regular schedule which includes 6-7 feedings each day and you are very close to sleeping through the night. I won't say you are doing that all the time, but you did sleep 7-8 hours last night and it seems you are making that transition well. I have said you are generally happy, but when mama is slow to respond to your hungry tummy or you are sleepy, watch out! You go from happy to mad in nanoseconds! You continue to endure kisses from your brother and he is enjoying you even more now that you seem to respond to him. You two are going to have fun times together! You are just beginning to wear your 0-3 month clothes, so it's been fun dressing you up in something other than onesies.

I whole-heartedly believe God has ushered us through this hectic time and allowed us to have an easy baby because He knew this mama could only handle so much. So, we give Him the praise for you, our sweet baby girl.

And, for your 3 month birthday, we bought a new house which comes with a bigger room and a walk-in closet for you! Happy 3 month birthday! :)

Forgive Me, Please

I am bummed about my lack of posting, but life right now is chaotic-very chaotic. We got home from Minnesota on Monday after 21 straight hours in the car (yes, you read that correctly). We all survived and maybe Owen and Olivia have perfected their ability to sleep in the car. My favorite thing about the trip has been hearing Owen tell people about his adventure. We were in gorgeous Grand Marais seeing Lake Superior everyday, but here's what he tells people, "We saw lots of things at the gas station." True story. We stopped at a gas station in Missouri at 2am and there was a shop across the parking lot selling large, garden variety (as in people put them in their gardens) ceramic statues. There were pigs painted every color of the rainbow, angels, horses-you name it, they had it-and it was open 24 hours. I'm not making this up. So, if you just couldn't wait to purchase your lovely garden gnome, you could buy it any time. This store also sold mattress sets. Really. Obviously it left quite an impression on me, too, so I can see why it was a highlight of Owen's trip.

Back to the chaos. We are living with Grandpa and Gran (my dad and Sherrye). Actually, we are currently occupying their house and they have moved into the apartment where my grandparents live in the winter (they are snowbirds from MN). All of our furniture, etc. is being kept in a storage unit and Jacob's parents' garage and house. We close on our house today, so by this afternoon we are officially homeless. However, after a search today, I think we may have found a house! We actually made an offer and are waiting to hear some news. We are anxiously awaiting to hear something, but know if it doesn't work out, then it wasn't meant to be.

I'll work on getting this thing caught up eventually, but sleep and laundry are my top priorities right now :)

By the way, Olivia is precious and Owen is way too funny. We stayed with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Chuck for a few days and after a delicious meal prepared by my aunt, Owen said, "You are a good cooker." She thought that was pretty cute and was flattered, of course!

Minnesota Adventures

We are still in Grand Marais enjoying the mild temperatures and beautiful scenery. I am looking forward to going home (we are all missing Jacob terribly!), but I am dreading the hot and sticky weather we will encounter back in Arkansas. Here's a peak at what we've been doing while we've been away.

Owen and his grandpa have been making regular trips to the Lake in the morning and/or evening. He could spend hours throwing rocks into the clear, blue water. Grandpa spends his time carving or looking for agates (aka "treasure rocks") and Owen spends his time throwing grandpa's treasure rocks back into the lake!

Here's a view of the little town of Grand Marais from the shoreline. There are shops and restaurants dotting the curved land of the harbor forming a kind of semi-circle encompassing a small portion of the Great Lake.

Owen loves trucks, tractors and constuction equipment, so we were thrilled to find a local business that had some heavy equipment on display like a Bob the Builder petting zoo-ha! Owen was pretty excited about our find!

Here's Owen checking out the backhoe. You can see some of the other vehicles lined up in the background.

Here's Olivia enduring yet another kiss from me. You can kind of see our little cabin in this picture. It's super cute on the outside-a little less cute on the inside :) We are, however, thoroughly enjoying our proximity to the Lake which we can see from our windows (happy sigh).

Here's a crooked grin from a sweet girl for all you grand's we left behind in Arkansas. I know you are missing us, but we'll be home very soon. Hope these pictures can tide you over until we get there!

We have had a wonderful trip, but I am exhausted! Having two children is a lot of work and traveling with them is even trickier! Of course, I have two extremely helpful grandparents, but being away from familiar places and routines has been difficult for all of us. I'm looking forward to getting back to normal...although our "normal" is going to look a little different when we return to AR :)

Lake Superior

Thank you, Jacob, for that lovely picture :/ Owen, Olivia, Grandpa Bruce, Gran and I made it to the beautiful town of Grand Marais, MN a few days ago. It took us 20 hours and a couple days to get here, but it was 65 degrees when we rolled into town-totally worth it. My parents were both born and raised in picturesque towns along Lake Superior and most of my extended family still resides in these small towns just hours from the Canadian border. I have spent most summers enjoying the cooler temperatures and frigid waters of Lake Superior. I am thrilled to be here exposing my two children to my 'home away from home.' I am a Southern girl for sure, but these are my roots and I love it up here. Owen is having a blast throwing as many rocks into Lake Superior as his little arm can manage. The above picture is my little guy by the lake.

Gone to the North Shore

..edit..

What Katy was trying to say with this post, is that they are in a place with no internet access. She's having some withdrawals, so I am finishing her post. They are having a Great Time in MN, while I'm here working. She'll post again as soon as she gets back.