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.
Wow. Where did the year go? It is just crazy to see how much a baby grows in a year.
At birth, Olive weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 inches long.
On her birthday, she weighed 20 lbs. and almost 30 inches!!
And she doesn't have any teeth yet. Amazing. I guess that means that the ones she get will be really good, right?
She has flown on an airplane for three different trips this year and will fly again next week. (We meet Grandma Rawson in Vegas to drive to Manassa for Pioneer Days!)
Olive recently discovered screaming. She will scream at super high pitch and hold it out. It's a pretty clear scream and I always think to myself that she will be an opera singer with notes like those. At least it's happy.
We threw a fiesta for her first birthday. Posting pictures soon.
Well, it is hotter than hell by now. Does hell have humidity?
Olive had quite the red-white-and-blue fashion show this week. Because she was due on July 2nd, we got a lot of stuff for the occasion. Here are just a couple of the pictures of her cute little outfits from the weekend!
For Independence Day, we were brave and ventured out to downtown Gulfport. We walked around and looked at some of the booths and a car show. We pushed Olive around in the stroller and had slathered her with sunscreen beforehand. I happened to glance at her and thought something was terribly wrong. She was quiet but looked like she had been crying. She had a blotchy rash all over her face. At first I was thinking heat rash, but then Kevin reminded me that she must have rubbed her eyes and gotten sunblock in them. I think he was right. By then we were all sweating profusely anyway, so we decided to head home.
Later, the school had a dinner and fireworks. We didn't quite make it for the fireworks at 9:00 because of Olive's bedtime but had a really good time! Kevin and I noted that Utah does indeed have the best celebration and were wishing we were at the Stadium of Fire.
Olive wears lots of headbands. She likes to pull down the one she is wearing so that it hangs around her neck like a necklace. Then, she tries to put it back on. Here are a couple of her special attempts. She always looks so special.
It almost always happens during a car ride. I go to get her out from the back and it is almost always what I find.
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.
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.
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!
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 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
