Thanksgiving Dinner

We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Nana's house! It was fun to gather for a relaxing evening meal with my family.

Here's Olivia showing off her standing skills for her grandparents.

Me and my sweet boy. Jacob had acquired a new talking cat app, so Owen was having a good time listening to it repeat what he was saying.

Olivia, the charmer.

There she goes!

So, we didn't get any pictures of the food or pretty table or even all those in attendance, but we did have a fun time and a yummy meal!

This year I am so grateful for my family. What a blessing they are in my life. I am also thankful for a year filled with many unexpected changes. I know there was and is a plan and I'm grateful for a husband who has worked so hard to make the transition as easy as possible on me and the littles. Looking forward to seeing what 2011 holds for us! One thing is certain-you never know!

Catching Up...

First thing, our visit with the dietitian/nutritionist concerning Olivia's weight issues went well. She wasn't overly concerned since she is gaining weight and growing. I recorded everything Olivia ate for 4 days and let her look at it. Katie (the dietitian) said her food intake looked great, so that was reassuring. She did suggest a few ways we could add some extra calories, so we've been doing that and hopefully little Miss will continue to grow and thrive. We'll check in with Olivia's pediatrician in a month or so to see how she's doing.

In other Olivia news, she started for real crawling the day after I posted her 7-month update. Oh, my-she's fast! She has also decided that crawling is fun, but pulling herself up is even better, so mama has been a little preoccupied the last couple weeks tracking the whereabouts of little sis. That girl sure keeps me on my toes!

Dee-da snapped this picture of Olivia after a feeding frenzy. She drinks out of a straw-it's the goofiest thing. I'm going to have to get it on video because sometimes she forgets she is the one controlling liquid intake. She'll take a long drink, then stop and take a big gasp of air like she forgot she could stop before she was out of breath.


Dee-da dressed her in this outfit and thought she was so cute it merited a photo shoot. Those are Owen's overalls and, I have to say, she did look sweet. They needed to be adjusted a little because, as you can see, she had a little "high water" action going on.

...on to Thanksgiving...my personal favorite...

We spent Thanksgiving lunch at Jacob's aunt Barbara's house. Every year for the past 28+ years (I don't know the exact number), the Hill family has gathered to eat and celebrate. They also take a group photo of everyone in attendance. It's so fun to look back through those pictures. In some of the pictures, Jacob's older female cousins are holding baby dolls and now they have children (some teenagers!) of their own!

Olivia was putting on a show for the family before lunch. It is quite a spectacle to watch her eat!

Olivia wasn't sure what the fuss was all about. I was amazed at her intense focus on the task at hand-not much distracts her when food is involved!

Here's me and Olivia and Papa after lunch. Turkey induced comas...

We had a fun Thanksgiving with the Hill's-Olivia's first! Owen is an old pro at his point-it was his third year to attend Thanksgiving. He thoroughly enjoyed the bread (his new favorite food), mashed potatoes, dressing and Meme's fudge, of course! He also enjoyed playing with/harassing the cousins.

We ate Thanksgiving dinner with Nana, Grandpa David, Cade, Grandpa Bruce, Gran, G'gpa and G'gma. I'll post a few pictures from that shindig tomorrow!

Olivia is 7 Months Old!

Olivia, you are so fun!

I wish I could say you were getting so big, but you look pretty much the same as your 6 month pictures! :)

Here's a picture of your first tooth!
Tooth #2 hasn't officially broken through, yet, but we can see it and are expecting it to arrive very soon. You have been drooling A LOT and we can tell your gums are bothering you.

Look at those basketball handling skills!
She's not quite ready to dribble out of a car window, Grandpa Bruce, but I bet it won't be long!
(Anyone watch Pistol Pete? Back in my glory days, I used to dribble out the car window on the way home from school.)

Look at that cutie-pa-tootie Razorback outfit! It started as a shirt that belonged to her brother. Mama bought the fabric which Gran sewed on as a skirt, so now it's a fun dress for sister!

Here's Olivia playing hide-and-seek with her dee-da.
She was delighted, as you can see!

Sweet, sweet, sister...

You are a teeny-tiny ball of fun and endless energy! Despite our best efforts, you only managed to gain 8 ounces last month (1 pound is average), so you now weigh a whopping 12 pounds 11 ounces. We have an appointment with a nutritionist on Monday, so we'll see if she has any advice for us. You currently eat cereal, fruits (pears, apples, prunes), vegetables (sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini) and protein (mostly chicken and turkey) and are still nursing. Mama is anxious to get to the bottom of your weight issues. You are happy and healthy and developmentally on track, but just aren't getting very round :) I'm hoping you have inherited all the tall, skinny genes from select family members and it's a non-issue (lucky you!), but we're going to investigate a little further.

You are constantly on the move. You have no interest in sitting in any type of swing or chair unless it is your highchair. You love your jumper and playing on the floor. You have perfected the army crawl and can move really fast. You also display intermittent crawling skills. You can crawl, but aren't quite as quick, so you usually revert back to pulling yourself along on the floor. Owen is enjoying you more and more as you display your mobility skills. Sometimes, he gets you in his room, or your room, and informs me that you and he are playing, then he closes the door (so you can't escape-ha!). It's usually parallel play, but it's so fun to watch you two "play" together. Owen will even go get your toys for you (that's mostly so you will leave his toys alone).

You are still very social and grin at everyone. When we were waiting in the Dr. office you were getting a little tired and fussy with mama, but when a nurse opened the door you flashed your biggest grin at her. I thought it was funny how you switched to "ON" mode so quickly. I call you my little charmer. You still prefer to be with mama or dee-da, but have let strangers keep you in the nursery through church and Sunday school a couple times, so we think that's a big deal!

You have started "talking" a lot more which is really funny. You have so much to say some days! Owen always asks, "Mama, what's Olivia saying to me?" I usually make up something to tell him (hope you don't mind :) ). Usually it's something like, "Olivia is telling you not to cry when you go to MDO because mama will be back to get you in a little while."

You are very ticklish in your neck and will giggle and giggle. Sometimes, when you are nursing, you will stop, throw your head back and grin at whoever is near. We can tell you know you are being funny and won't stop looking until you get a reaction. Those upside-down moments give mama a good chance to tickle you in your neck and I take full advantage!

We love you, silly girl, and hope we can watch you GROW in the next few months!

*I just looked back through these pictures and want you all to know that Olivia looks nothing like my baby pictures. One of the pictures looks like Jacob with a bow on his head! That's okay, her daddy is cute ;)

Time Flies!

I always hear people say, "Enjoy it, they grow up so fast!" So true! I think time must be moving at warp speed since adding Miss Olivia to the mix. She will be 7 months old next week! This past week FLEW by, but a few things happened and I don't want to forget them.

Olivia's first tooth made it's debut! We didn't really notice any extra fussiness, but last Tuesday she bit Jacob's finger and there it was. I can already see another one ready to peek through her gums. She'll have a mouthful before we know it!

In other Olivia news...I took her for her 6-month check-up a few weeks ago and discovered that she is not even on the growth chart for weight. I have to say, I wasn't shocked-girlfriend is teensy-tiny. We are going back for a weight check in about a week, so we'll see how she's doing. Her pediatrician suggested we start feeding her protein (apparently that's a new recommendation), so we've been shoveling in the chicken dinners (yuck!). Olivia can eat-anyone who has seen her in action can attest to that. I'm feeding her so much, but I'm not sure where she's storing it. :) She appears to be filling out a little more, but only the scale will tell us for certain. It's been funny to have kiddos on both extremes of the growth charts. Owen was always on the high end-very high end-of height and weight and Olivia has always been on the very low end-when she makes it on the chart, that is :).

Owen is officially "potty" trained. He actually has been since before his birthday, but I never made a formal announcement. However, I put the word, "potty" in quotations because he doesn't actually use the toilet. Owen likes to do all his business outside. Thankfully, most of the time he goes in the backyard, but occasionally he decides the front yard is better (oh, the embarrassment-for me-he doesn't seem to care at all-I mean, we are new in this neighborhood and I haven't actually met everyone, yet. 'Hi, my name is Katy and this is Owen...you've probably seen him before.'). Anyway, he's doing great and his bathroom stays pretty clean, so I can't really complain, but I wonder if he'll still be going outside even when winter arrives...we shall see! Goofball...

My grandparents arrived from MN last week. They spend the winters with my Dad and Sherrye and it's always fun to have them back in AR. It's even more fun this year because we are just a short drive away from them and will be able to check-in and visit much more frequently!

I suppose those are the highlights of life right now. Teeth and potty training...what my life has come to...but, truthfully, I can't imagine anything better. :) I'm trying to savor every moment, because I blink and another week has passed. Before long it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then Joe and Ams will be home, they will have a baby and Olivia will turn one! Crazy!

Fall Festival 2010

One of Owen's favorite books is Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann. It's a fun story about a mischievous gorilla who steals the keys from an unsuspecting zookeeper. The sneaky primate proceeds to unlock the cages of the other animals and they all follow the sleepy zookeeper home. That book and Olivia's costume (which I bought after Halloween last year at Wal-Mart for $1) provided the inspiration for Owen's zookeeper costume. Nana bought the snake and attached it to Owen's shirt and I ironed on the patch and letters. The hat is Grandpa David's-I wish I had a picture of Owen actually wearing it because he looked really cute. The lizard is Gran's and the keys belong to Mema and Papa. I didn't realize what a cooperative effort his costume was-ha!

Here's our little zookeeper getting ready to go to the Fall Festival at church.

Here's our little monkey/gorilla (with a pink bow, of course). Get it...a zookeeper and a monkey? Jacob said I should be the one dressed like a zookeeper-ha! How right he is...Anyway, our little ones looked pretty cute and we had fun at the Fall Festival. We didn't actually do any trick-or-treating, but somehow we ended up with a lot of candy!

Owen's Tent

I commissioned my mom to make Owen a tent for his birthday. She is exceptionally good at sewing, so I figured she was up for the challenge. So far, I have conned her into making Owen's bedding and curtains (pictured below) and all of Olivia's bedding including a rather intricate quilt which I LOVE. Anyway, her latest project definitely did not disappoint (I knew it wouldn't). Here is Owen's birthday present made by his Nana. Is it cool, or what? I can actually stand up in there and Owen can lay down on the floor and still be completely enclosed in his fort. It comes complete with a personalized flag, inside pockets to hide all his treasures and an overlapping door to keep out pesky sisters!


Thanks, Nana, for investing a lot of time and energy into making one very cool present for a little boy! We love you!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Owen!

We celebrated Owen's 3rd birthday today! Three years ago Jacob and I embarked on what has been the most challenging, humbling and hilarious adventure of our lives. Owen is such a joy and bright spot in our everyday. He is always making us laugh and constantly testing us to see if we actually mean what we say-ahh, the toddler years! We are so proud of Owen and love him just because he's Owen-it's an unconditional thing-I want him to know that more than anything.

We spent this morning at Papa and Meme's church, then had all the "Grands" and Uncle Cade over for a birthday lunch. Owen opened his presents first thing and has been busy playing with his new "mostruction" (some might say 'construction') toys and tent all afternoon. Jacob let me take a little nap this afternoon which I felt guilty about until I realized I had a tough day 3 years ago, so a little rest seemed extremely appropriate!

I can't believe Owen is three! We'll be celebrating little Miss Olivia's first birthday before we know it!