It is fun to see how interested in the world Olive is. This isn't new--she has always wanted to see what Kevin and I are doing whether it be cooking, sewing, typing homework, etc. She has always loved to see what I am stirring in the kitchen. Sometimes this can make it difficult for me to cook because I am peeling shrimp, cutting chicken, or doing something that makes it difficult to pick her up so she can see.
Naturally, we invested in some IKEA pots, pans and vegetables and she has had a great time playing with them. Maybe someday we can get the IKEA kitchen for her. (Sigh.) I used to have a little kitchen when I was little and I loved organizing all the dishes in it...probably where my OCDish organization tendencies first became apparent.
Along these lines, Olive loves to see what is cooking in the oven. Anytime there is anything in the oven, she must watch it. She also is obsessed with the dishwasher (?) and speeds on over when she sees me open it. She mainly loves to play in the leftover water.
Have I mentioned that I am the primary chorister? Best calling ever. Anyway, the kids just did a talent show on Friday. It was really fun to see how excited the kids were to all take part in it. Before and after, Olive kept wandering over the piano. It's funny because I really want to jump on this tendency get her into lessons. What is a good age for this? Also, I really want a piano. I could totally teach her beginner lessons.
Oh and BUG UPDATE: Olive still freaks out at the sight of bugs if they are alive. (You must be thinking that our house is infested with all these bug sightings.) However, she will grab the nearest object (toy, flip-flop sandal, etc.) and throw it at the insect whether it is dead or alive. She has picked up this behavior from both Kevin and I. She is really trying to be brave.
I can't help but smile at this cute little "monkey see, monkey do" stage.
Lately Olive has been freaking out at the sight of insects. It started a couple of weeks ago when she was playing happily in the next room. All of the sudden, I hear a cry unlike any I have ever heard from Olive. I figure she has hurt herself badly. I come running around the corner and find her trying to frantically get away from a teeny moth. Seriously, Olive? Oh and this now happens like once a day.
Oh, and she beatboxes. I have had a really hard time capturing it on video, but finally got it! You can hear her a little bit in the beginning but much better around 0:43 seconds.
I love this time of year. It's still pretty muggy and hot, but I have hope that it will cool down soon! I don't know if you remember me talking about eating dinner out of a pumpkin last year, but I posted a tutorial on my craft blog here. We ate it for dinner last night and it is truly one of the most fun dinners!
Olive has outgrown her jeans. (She now has lots of capris.)
We went to Target and got her a couple pairs of pants. I loooooooooooove Target! They had some stretch skinny jeans so you know that I surely bought her a pair. They were a bit long, so we cuffed them (in the picture they look too short but believe me, they are plenty long.) They make her look so tall! She looks like a toddler! Eek!
On Labor Day, Kevin didn't have school or work, so we thought we would try to take Olive to a matinee. We bought tickets for the new Winnie the Pooh movie at the dollar theater. I packed plenty of snacks, brought her blankie companion, everything I could think of that could pacify her. She was very pleasant at the theater. A little too pleasant. The problem is, she wanted to jabber the whole time. She would turn around and try to talk to all the kids behind her. We made it 45/70 minutes before the "DAAAAAAAAAAAAD"s became a little too much. So Olive doesn't have proper movie etiquette. Don't worry, she will learn!
If you hadn't seen on facebook already, Olive took her first steps the other day. I can't believe I actually caught such a momentous occasion on video:
Kevin and I have been watching "Downton Abbey." I'm already dying for the next season but very grateful that such a thing even exists. I'm not used to good old masterpiece classic having seasons. Can't wait!!!
I have been really really bad at taking pictures of Olive lately. Sorry about that. She made a real mess with her mac-and-cheese-mixed-with-squash lunch. I thought she looked like a clown and took some pictures. Apparently I forgot to do her hair. Sorry about that. She does clean up quite nicely.
Check out those bumpy gums!
Yes, a dish towel makes the best bib ever! You can't tell me that some little "cute" bib is going to keep this baby clean.
That Olive sure is stubborn! For her birthday, we got her a cute little walker toy to push around and help her get walking. We would prop her up and try to show her what to do but she would plop back down on her bum and refuse to push it.
Then, as always is with babies, she just decided one day that she would do it. (See video below.) I love how she looks like an old person pushing it. The video is a couple of weeks old, so she is already better at pushing it around now. She'll be walking before we know it and I'll be cursing the day she learned.
She finally has a bottom tooth cutting. I kind of figured because she has been chewing her fingers like crazy on one side of her mouth and then one day I caught a peek while she was doing her demon baby impression.
Kevin started school this week and is also still working at the law firm. Needless to say, he is very very busy. I just sent in another quilt for McCall's and have some interest in another by Better Homes & Gardens. I'm also doing a fun little "sew-along" on my crafty blog for a Halloween table runner. I cannot wait for it to cool down. Fall and winter in Florida is so lovely.
I'm sorry, but I really hate counting Olive's age in months. Anyway, here she is, just a little over one years old! Check out all that hair!
There is enough to do pigtails technically; however, there just isn't enough hair in front to make it cute. It makes her look like she has a mullet. So for now, it's still just hair clips and headbands.
I made a fun little menu board for our kitchen. I had bought the frame at Ikea and wasn't sure what to do with it. At different moments, it had been destined for just about every room in the house. I distressed it by painting it brown, rubbing petroleum jelly where I wanted the brown to show, and then painted cream over the top. After the paint dried, I just rubbed it with a paper towel to wipe all of the petroleum jelly off. Then, I covered the cardboard frame insert with chalk board contact paper. Ta da!
I think it is slightly classier than the index card on our fridge.
It is so amazing how much Olive changes every day and the things she picks up. I couldn't resist taking a video of her playing with her little car from Grandma Rawson. It is amazing to see how much she understands when I ask her questions.
And here is a nice picture of her eating spaghetti. I think every child has a messy "eating" picture like this. And isn't it strange how she looks so much more like a toddler now?
I have been too swamped to really write much this week so I apologize.
On a better note, I made a tutorial for Fairfield's website on how to make bumper pads. On my Lella Boutique blog, I am giving away a free set of the Nu-Foam pads used in the tutorial.
I dyed my hair. It was just time for a change. Here is the before:
and the after:
And no, I don't do a photo shoot every time I change my hair. I got the opportunity to model some jewelry for an amazingly talented family friend. Here is her website, she has just absolutely gorgeous bling!
Well, I have been MIA for a couple of Sunday's now, so this blog is just a little behind! A couple of Saturday nights ago, I flew into Las Vegas with Olive. (Kevin had an upcoming final so he couldn't make it.) We spent a couple of nights at my brother's in Henderson before my mom came and picked us up. Olive had an absolutely fabulous time playing with her cousin Jace. He was so kind to share all of his cars and trains with her.
Jace was so funny. He really wanted Olive to chase him around and play even though she would get distracted along the way and forget what she was supposed to be doing. He had a really cool Hot Wheels set up in the bathtub and so he helped Olive play during bath time. He even decided that he was really really dirty and would need to take a bath after Olive. Such a cutie.
On the way to Colorado, my mom and I stopped at a few quilt shops to sell patterns. It was really nice for me to get to visit quilt shops since there aren't any out here. They are always so inspiring. Olive was a total gem. I couldn't help but snap a little picture of her sleeping in the car.
Once we got to Grandma's in Manassa, Olive was happy to be out of the car, to be sure. Thank goodness, Grandma had some really good toys like Mr. Potato Head and a telephone. I don't think Olive has actually seen a telephone like this before. Cell phones have become so flat that I had to teach her. She got good practice learning about it since I didn't get reception and had to talk to Kevin on my Grandma's land line. Olive shrieked every time she got to listen to Kevin on the phone.
The Manassa Pioneer Day celebration is like nothing you have ever seen. Even though the holiday was on a Sunday, the festivities took place all day Friday and Saturday. It begins each day around 6 am with what sounds like the boom of a cannon. I had forgotten about this tradition and was not very happy when them booms continued and woke up Olive.
There is a parade Friday and Saturday morning, and it runs twice in a row. It's so awesome. I don't think you could go anywhere else and see floats made by "Manassa 2nd Relief Society," or "Manassa 1st Primary." There were some amazing floats, but if I had to narrow it down, I love the "Popcorn Popping" float, and the boy scouts/den leader on their bikes and skateboards.
After the parade, there is a huge BBQ at the church, a carnival, 2 rodeos, and a demolition derby. Because Olive had gotten upset at the loud firetrucks in the parade, I thought it best to leave her with my mom while I went to the demolition derby with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Lowell, Aunt Sonia, Uncle Wendell, and my cousin, Justin. I was delighted to see last year's winner, "Kevin."
"Kevin" was in it again this year but did not win. In fact, the car died with flames coming out of the hood. I think it had to do with the fact that neither Kevin (Goertzen) nor Kevin (Fisher) were there to attend this year. Still, I love a good ol' demolition derby. There is something so redneck about it that is entertaining.
We took the red-eye back Sunday night and Olive slept on the first flight, but not the second. That left her with about 5 hours of sleep and me with 1. Thank goodness for naps.
So we are back and are soooooooo glad to be back with Papa!!! Kevin was so sweet and made me beef stroganoff for dinner and Mormon cupcakes for dessert. (Mormon cupcakes are chocolate batter with a cream cheese/chocolate chip filling. Yum!!!!)
I have been planning Olive's first birthday party in my head since she was about six months old. I don't think I have ever been so excited for anyone's birthday before. Planning kid parties is just fun.
I am a little bit obsessed about Olive's margarita cupcakes. I used a chocolate batter and squished mini milky way candy bars into the center prior to baking. After cooling the cupcakes, I dipped them (twice) in [heated] cream cheese frosting. After letting them dry for about five minutes, I rolled their edges in sprinkles. I popped them into a cute paper liner, and added a lime wedge and drink umbrella right before serving. They were reeeeeeeally tasty.
Kevin made sopapillas. Guests stuffed them with homemade beans, guacamole and salsa--all made by Kevin!! Yay for homemade guacamole.
And as usual, I made sugar cookies. I tinted whipped cream to look like guacamole and made a fresh fruit salsa from kiwis and strawberries to look like little faux chips and salsa hors d'oeuvres.
Olive loves horchata so we obviously had to make some. It turned out pretty yummy and it was easy and cheap!
We decorated with some little cacti and let the guests take them home as favors.
Olive got to destroy a mini "chocolate decadence" cake from our favorite Italian market Mazzaro's.
Oh and here is the 6 1/2-minute video if you want to see her eat it. It was also our friend Rebecca's birthday so we sang to her and presented her with a chocolate cake too.
Olive's friend Sofia came! Here is Sofia with her mom, Ana-Klara, and us, of course.
Olive was a very spoiled girl. This is her present pile before the guests arrived. Our friend Cal took a lot of pictures of the present opening event, so I will put those up later. Thanks to all those who came and gave so generously to Olive. She is enjoying her gifts immensely.
