Shubba Dubba Dubba

When Kevin put Olive's headband on like this, we decided that she looked like Mia Michaels.  If you don't know who Mia Michael's is, shame on you.

Oh and do you remember this picture?  When I posted it on facebook, many people noted that Olive could be terrified of sewing machines in the future.

I am happy to announce that so far, this is not the case.  In fact, sometimes I set her down to play while I sew and she crawls over and stands herself up against the chair so I can pick her up.  She just likes to see what I'm doing.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...

If Olive were to articulate her feelings in song, "Daddy's Homecoming" would be sung on a daily basis.  As soon as she hears the the door unlock, she starts squealing.  As soon as she sees Kevin, she starts bouncing in her seat.  This isn't a new behavior, but it just never gets old.  Olive is definitely her daddy's girl.  I thought it was appropriate to share that for Father's Day.  Thanks for being such a great dad, Kev! 

I still cannot believe that Olive's birthday is in a couple of weeks.  It's hard to believe how much a baby grows in one year.

Ooh la la

Olive is a little singer already.  I love it.

She really loves Rodgers & Hammerstein, but one of her favorite songs at the moment is the Elmo Song.  She totally lights up whenever we play it for her.  It was stuck in my head the other day so as I was singing it, she started singing it too.  Quite often she will actually sing the "la la la" part with the right timing and everything.  Other times, she just goes on and on with the "la la la" part...

11 Months Old

My little sweetheart is eleven months old!  I can't believe it's almost time to have her first birthday. I am not really sure that she will walk before then. She pulls herself to stand on furniture and people though. Sometimes when she is propped up on furniture she will take a few steps sideways, holding onto the furniture. And she really tries to hop onto the bed.  (She did it once when I wasn't looking, so I'm not sure how she did it since she hasn't been able to do it since.) She doesn't like it when we hold onto her arms and try to help her to walk, though, so I'm really not sure what kind of time we are looking at. Things can change so quickly.

She learned to clap her hands. She has sort of been doing it for a few weeks but her little chubby hands were fisted and she would clap because she liked playing patty cake. She just figured out the other day to open her hands to do make sound with it.

She is so funny. Whenever I whip out the hairspray or a can of cooking spray, she makes this kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk static sort of sound to mimic the spray. She was making the sound the other day in the workroom and when I turned around she had found my can of basting spray. What a funny girl.

She also really likes playing peek-a-boo now.  She has always enjoyed it but now she joins in!  She will lift whatever she is holding over her head.  It's hilarious because she will hold something small up that doesn't cover her face at all but she still plays like it does. 

That's really all I can think of about her for now. I am staying busy just working on several projects for the blog and McCall's--including a cabinet we bought from goodwill to distress and house our television. Kevin did some of the glazing and all of the sanding. Doesn't it look awesome? I think Kevin sanded it better than I ever would have and made it look like something from Anthropologie. Oh and originally it was bolted onto this ugly black metal base but we just bought some legs and the clamps from Home Depot and gave it a classier look! Now, to figure out what other decorations will go with it and what overall look we want!

Crazy for Elmo

I have a testimony of Elmo.  Olive just loves him.  I found the "Elmo in Grouchland" movie to be especially invaluable on the four-hour plane ride Olive and I shared a couple of weeks ago.  It works like a charm.  

Oh and Aunt Shan and Uncle George got Olive her first Elmo doll.  My sleep-deprived child received it after a red-eye flight, and as you can see, Elmo has worked his magic again.  Thanks Aunt Shan and Uncle George!!! 

Oh and let's not forget the Elmo measuring cup toy that Granny Goertzen had for Olive during our visit to Utah.  I am going to have to invest in one of these! She loved it.

While I re-arranged the furniture, Olive was content to watch Sesame Street.  She kind of just stared at the program until the "Elmo's World" came on.

And who wouldn't love Elmo?  He is the cutest.  And if you haven't seen the celebrity lullaby with Ricky Gervais, you are definitely missing out.

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

Happy 29th, my darling birthday boy.  I love you. 

Unfortunately, I was out of town for Kevin's birthday last Friday.  We had a delicious birthday dinner a few days before, and his birthday present was a tasty little trip to NY, which you can read about here.  Still, I really hated to miss it. 

I thought I'd celebrate with a montage of some of my favorite pictures.  

  

xoxo

Mother's Day

 

Did I really give birth ten months ago?   

Sometimes I watch Olive play and just cannot believe that she was once a hurled mass--kicking and poking around inside my tummy.  I know that today is proclaimed "Mother's Day," but it will truly fall on July 7th for me.  Yes, in two more months, Olive will celebrate her first birthday.  She will most likely destroy a cake and consequently fight the afternoon nap.  And I will just sit back, smile, and beam over the day she made me a mom.

 Speaking of the little kicker...

Silly baby

Lately, Olive has had a really weird sleeping habit. She ends up doing this almost every single nap/sleeping occasion.  It's kind of ridiculous.  I mean how uncomfortable does it look?

I guess she is just trying to maintain that incredible flexibility!

Happy Easter

Water!

So maybe I am addicted to going to the pool lately. 

It feels like it's been about a million degrees with the humidity, so the pool is a nice respite from it all.  It's a great reason to get out of the house for a little while as well.  And it's conveniently located across the street at the school...what's not to love? 

Olive also loves the excuse to get out of the house.  (This picture is not a good representation of the rapture she feels when she's in the water.)  She squeals just about the whole time.  She is a water lover for sure.  She loves splashing and looks surprised every time she gets water in her face.  She loves to kick her legs in the water too.  We may have a future swimmer in our hands.

She is crawling and is most recently trying to pull herself up.  Sometimes I'll put her down for a nap and she'll be quiet for a while and then she'll start crying.  I peek in and find her on her knees (stuck apparently) in an attempt to get up.  She has no balance whatsoever and will not be walking anytime soon--so I think it's a frustrating stage for her.  She wants to go everywhere and her body isn't cooperating.

Eating has also been frustrating for her because she doesn't want us to feed her.  There is no point giving her a bowl and silverware yet (unless I would like to mop the floor and re-bathe her).  She has enjoyed [playing with and] eating cottage cheese.  I just slop a spoonful on her tray and she attempts to get it in her mouth.  She misses a lot.

 Oh and you should probably be jealous right about now.  Sunday evening we walked along the beach at sunset and the water was pretty dang warm.  Like bath water.  And it's April ya'll.  Woot woot!

9 Months Old!!!

 Nine months in the womb, nine months out.  And she just gets lovelier all the time!  She is such a happy and social baby.  At the grocery store she just eats up all the attention she gets from the old people and nice store employees.  Olive is SUCH a daddy's girl.  She babbles a lot, but most consistently says DAD.  DAD.  DAD.  We have our little comedy routine--I plead with her to say "Ma Ma" and she always says, "DAD."

At her most recent weigh-in, she came in at 19 lbs.  (Those clothes sure aren't fitting as well as they used to.)  She wears a 12-18 size...ha ha at least for now.  I caught some of her "babble" while she was going down for her nap.  I only captured a little snippet on video, but she was doing it a lot when the camera was turned off.

Kevin has been living at the law school library, but for the few minutes that he is home for food or sleep, he always finds time to play with Olive. And isn't she thrilled?!?!

Is it just me or does her scream sound like a police whistle?

Kevin's Birthday Trip

Kevin's birthday isn't until May, but I wanted to send him to New York for a couple of days for his birthday present.  Spring Break seemed to be the best time--especially since we don't know what he'll be doing for the summer.  Kevin has missed NY a lot--especially the delicious cuisine.  Here are some of the memorable meals he re-lived:

Burger and fries from Shake Shack.  It is a really rich-tasting burger.  (You can basically taste how bad it is for you.)  I have posted about their burgers before--I always get mine topped with a portobello mushroom that has been stuffed with cheese and deep-fried.  It is gooey deliciousness.  Thank heavens there is one in Miami!

Real ramen from Ippudo.  I think Kevin usually gets the garlic ramen that has pork and egg and in it.  You have never tasted anything like it before.  It is exquisite.  I am so jealous he got to eat there.

Cookies from Levain Bakery.  They are monstrous cookies (I can only usually eat half before I'm sick) that are TA-sty!

Hot and sour dumpling soup from Yunan Flavor Snack Shop in Brooklyn.  It was a couple blocks/avenues away from where we lived.  The food is incredibly inexpensive and delicious.  I probably miss this most and yearn for the recipe!

Pizza from Lucali's in Brooklyn.  The neighborhood it's located in is serene and beautiful--just how you imagine Brooklyn should be.  You must get fresh basil on the pizza--it's the best.  And the calzones are amazing too!

The chef at Lucali's makes the food out in the open, by candlelight, using a wine bottle as his rolling pin.  Talk about an incredible ambience with incredible food.

I am so glad we could send Kevin back for such a fun little trip.  He had a good time running around town with Andrew Veenstra.  (Thanks for putting him up during his stay!)  Someday, we will all go back for a little family trip!

And of course, no blog post would be complete without pictures of Olive.  Here she is with Daddy!