Life With the Links

Fourth Annual Miss America Watch Party

2012-01-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on blogging. I blame it on January, it is just a slow month. We had the fourth annual Miss America watch party a few weeks ago and it was a fun time! I am still a little shocked that the Irish River dancing, "Milk It Really Does Do A Body Good", small town, good ol' girl from Oklahoma didn't win. And she was BEAUTIFUL! I guess first runner up isn't terrible, but she should have won.

Here is the whole group of beauty queens!

Every year we fill out ballots and each section is worth a certain number of points. The points are tallied at the end to determine who is our Miss America.

Second runner up, a newbie to our party...Miranda!

First Runner Up (who isn't afraid to show she is disappointed)...Misty!

And our Miss America...Anna!

Congratulations ladies! Can't wait for next year!

Gymnastics Update

2012-01-19T12:56:00.000-08:00

Our little gymnast has been loving gymnastics lately! I had to share a few videos I took at class on Tuesday. She is so proud of her new skills!

Let's Play

2012-01-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

January has been full of playing, playing, playing!

Playing with new bathtub crayons...

And playing with trains...

and playing with blocks...

and being silly...

and playing at the park...

and playing with markers, sometimes the wrong way...

and fluttering around like a butterfly...

Hope your January has been filled with fun too!

Gigi

2012-01-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

We started out the New Year saying goodbye to my sweet Granny. She had lived a wonderful 89 years and was ready to be reunited with her parents, my Grandaddy and my Dad. I love visualizing her running through the pearly gates and meeting them on the other side! We laughed that they asked her what took her so long and what she was making for supper. She was such a sweet and spunky lady. I loved listening to her tell stories. My favorite story she told was about when they would go to visit her grandparents for Christmas. She said that they would load up in their Model T Ford and that Mama Kate (her mom) would warm bricks up in the stove for Granny and Dessie to put under their feet to keep their feet warm. My Dad used to talk about how Granny was always cautious and looked out for them. When they would have to go to the storm shelter during a storm, she would make Dad and his brother wear their football helmets outside so they wouldn't get hit in the head with giant hail! My all time favorite story was when my Dad was in the first grade. Pink eye was going around and the rumor at school was that you got it from looking at someone who had it. Dad came down with it and he told Granny that was how he got it. She made him wear sunglasses around until they went to the doctor to keep anyone else from getting it! Everytime Dad told this story, he would laugh until he cried! Not only was Granny a cautious and wonderful mother, she was a great example of faith to all around her. She was such a special lady. In July, she went into a nursing home and Olive and I went to see her every Thursday. We only missed one Thursday because Olive was sick. I know she really looked forward to those visits, but we did too. Olive loved going to see Gigi. Every week, we would load her up in the wheelchair and go on a little walk. Olive knows how to lock the wheelchair wheels, how to help Gigi up and how to push. These were such special times and I am so thankful that Olive will forever have these memories. We know she is better off and so happy in heaven, but you can't help but miss her!

Happy "Noon" Year!

2011-12-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

Today we decided to ring in the new year kid style! We had a Happy Noon Year's party and counted down until 12! It started off with a little wii dance party!

Grady was too cool to dance, so he watched from the sidelines!

No new years party is complete without fancy hats, so we moved in to make party hats!

I love the concentration on their faces!

They were so proud of their hats! Somehow I didn't get a picture of Campbell in her hat, but here are the rest:
Grady man

Avery

Molly

Olive

Luke

Eleanor

Lillian

Then it was time to decorate their noise makers! More concentration...

During lunch, they suddenly noticed the balloons on the ceiling and kept pointing to them.

After lunch, they did a little cookie decorating! YUM!

And what noon year party is complete without a balloon drop at 12?!

Thank you to our fun friends for helping us ring in the new year! Hoping 2012 is the best yet!

Campbell, Grady, Molly, Eleanor, Olive

Avery and Luke (Lil opted out of the picture)

As they were leaving I told them to see who could take the most balloons home...Luke won!

Happy New Year!

Big Girl Bed

2011-12-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

After a recent incident involving Olive escaping from her crib and ending up stuck in her hamper, we decided it was time to start talking to her about a big girl bed. We were going to move her straight into a full size bed, but we don't have the rails so we have to wait for them. We decided to go ahead and make it into a toddler bed and just see how it goes. We had been talking about it for a few days, but we decided to make the switch before nap time on Monday. Daddy worked on the bed while Olive and I ran a few errands. When we got home, he told her he had a surprise for her. She was pretty excited!

"Whoa! I can climb in by myself!"

Then it was time to start putting all of her stuff back in. Stephen was across the room and was tossing the stuff to her which she thought was hysterical. I love these pictures! First came Bob the monkey.

Then Stella. And yes, she is naked. No comment.

And pillow pet...

and glow worm...

and Sleep Sheep...

And last but not least, her Grammy blanket.She got it all situated and then said "Mommy, you come in my bed?"

She did great her first nap in the big girl bed and later we realized that she had done it without her pacifier! That night when she was going to bed she asked for it and I told her that it was in her baby bed and it was gone. She simply replied "oh, that's right." She has asked for it ever since, but has never broken down or cried. It is a miracle! I couldn't figure out how we were going to ever win that battle and it ends up, we didn't have to! She slept great her first night too and didn't get up that we know of. We talked a lot about how big girls stay in their bed and they don't get out until Mommy or Daddy come in the room. The next day, during her nap time I heard her up and went in and she had toys in her bed. I explained that if she got toys, I would have to take them away. By the tenth time I went in her room during that 1.5 hour period, these were all of the items that were removed from the bed...
Yes, that would include her laundry hamper and a baby doll stroller. She would just smile at me and calmly watch me carry them out of the room. At one point, she handed me something else and said "take this too, Mommy." I guess she knew she couldn't be trusted. I declared nap time over when I opened the door and immediately smelled Desitin, only to find her, baby Stella and the pillow pet COVERED in it. And for the record, it doesn't come out of fabric, imagine my excitement. The next morning when Stephen went in to get her, as soon as he opened the door she said "Uh oh! Mommy have to take my toys away" and this is what he found with her sitting in the middle...My favorite part of this picture is the boppy pillow! She dug it out of her closet the first night and uses it as a pillow! I guess she likes to be elevated! :) We obviously have a long way to go in learning not to hoard things in our bed, but she is sleeping great and loves her new found independence! I just can't believe she is so big!

Donuts With Daddy

2011-12-28T14:02:00.001-08:00

Olive and Stephen go to the donut shop every Saturday morning. So when Stephen was shopping and saw this donut maker, he knew he had to get it for Olive for Christmas!

Monday morning Stephen gathered up the ingredients they needed and they got to work!

Watching it mix!

And helping a little.

Waiting for the light to turn green!

Poking the Dough Boy's belly...Whoo hoo!

Don't these look so yummy?!

Glazing the donuts with some delicious ganache.

And sprinkles!

YUM!Taking the first bite...

This picture completely sums up how wonderful the donuts were! Chocolate everywhere and her eyes closed in pure bliss!

This was a pretty messy process, but she was SO HAPPY!

Daddy taught her to lick her fingers to take care of the mess.

The donuts were so yummy and they had a messy blast making them! Thanks Daddy!

Christmas morning!

2011-12-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning Olive woke up to not only a note from the big man himself...

but a thank you and goodbye note from Jovie.

She was sad for a minute until someone mentioned opening presents and then she was good to go!

After her Santa presents, she helped pass out gifts to everyone else for awhile. "Here go, Gigi"

Being Santa's helper is such hard work, it made her really thirsty!

Sweet little ballerina got so excited about her new dump truck!

Then she had to change costumes before digging into her stocking!

After the stockings were finished, Honey carried out 2 big black boxes to Mica and I. This was a project she had been working on for awhile.

Inside the boxes there are all kinds of things from my Dad that are meaningful to us. In my box, she put his bicycle jerseys and socks since I rode bikes with him. I also got his "Ropes Eagles" sweatshirt from first grade that I have always loved! The box is full of wonderful treasures and memories! It was such a special gift and it means so much to have these special things that remind me of special times with my Dad.

Olive couldn't wait to try out her new car in the kitchen. We laughed that of all of the toys, she played with the littlest one the longest!

Giving Daddy some Christmas love!
Christmas was definetly not the same this year without Dad, but it was good as it could have been. We feel so blessed! Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve we went to the candle light service at Honey's church. It was really hard for us to be in that service without Dano. We went to his favorite restaurant, Los Amigos, after the service. Olive wanted to ride the "horses" that were actually saddles in the bar.

When we got back to Honey's it was necessary to make cookies to leave for Santa. She is becoming an expert at decorating cookies!

She asked Honey to help her with the decorating.

Daddy got to help too!

She grabbed one of the big cookies and took a bite. Then she realized it was for Santa and she started giggling! She took the cookie out of her mouth and put it back down to decorate. I am sure Santa really enjoyed that one!

Before bed, we had to say goodbye to Jovie. I knew she was going to be really sad when she woke up and Jovie was gone. This has been such a fun part of our day everyday during December.

"Bye Jovie! I love you!"

We couldn't wait to wake up the next morning!

Santa Visit #1...Christmas Eve Morning

2011-12-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

Olive must have been really good this year, because Santa came to see her twice! He came a day early to our house and delivered some special things! She was so relieved to see that Jovie was still at our house.

I thought it was so funny that there was this huge present in the middle of the room and she grabbed the smallest present under the tree to open first.

Dora books!

And still ignoring the big present and opening another book...

Finally after some coaxing, she chose to open the big one!

A trampoline! She hopped on and screamed "Thank you Santa!"

I wish you could hear the squeals that were happening during these pictures!

She was so sweet to want Stephen to open presents, she kept taking them to him.

And only after a lot of pleading from Daddy did she bring one to Mommy! :)

So excited to make donuts with Daddy with her new donut maker!

Then it was stocking time, which of course, took place on the trampoline!

Biggest hit of the day...the $3 "lip glop" from TJ Maxx! She puts on every color one at a time.

Then she had to do a little coloring with her Minnie markers in her new notepad.

And she made Daddy's Christmas when she said "I make OU." and she really had!

There were 2 more presents to open that we had saved for last!She was so excited! She squealed "my train! a train!"

After she opened the set, I went out and got the "train trundle" that Stephen and I made for the train to go on. We originally were going to make a small square to fit on her window seat because we don't have space for a train table, but they don't make train tracks very small. So instead, we made this "train trundle" that we are going to put under her bed to pull out when she wants to play with it. I think it turned out perfect!

She loved it! We had a wonderful Christmas eve morning and were looking forward to more celebrating with family!

Christmas Eve Eve with Pop

2011-12-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve eve was our first Christmas celebration! Pop came over to open presents and have dinner with us. We had a great time! Olive LOVED helping Pop open his presents!

Almost as much as she loved opening her own presents!

The hit gift of the night was the "Just Dance 4 Kids" for the Wii!
You should see the moves this girl has!

She loved it! Thanks Pop for the wonderful presents and for spending time with us! We had so much fun!

6 Months

2011-12-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

6 months. I can hardly believe that 6 long months have flown by since the day we were standing in the ICU watching the nurses do CPR. 6 months since the day that we stood there completely helpless staring at them doing their job but with a spirit of peace in the room. 6 months since the day that we knew Dad had flown away to enjoy eternity with Jesus.
A lot of things happen when you lose someone close to you. Unfortunately, we have a lot of experience with loss in our little family. Losing 10 people near and dear to our hearts between September 2010 and June 2011, not including the tragic loss we experienced in 2007, gives a lot of perspective on loss. It is interesting that you do the same thing when you lose someone you love. You remember. You remember the good times most of all, but some of the bad. You remember what they taught you. You remember what they said to you. You remember their spirit. You remember how they made you feel. You remember how they treated other people. You remember how funny they were. You remember how they looked. You remember so much and you cling to every single memory because it is what will live on with you until the day you are reunited. I have been remembering a lot about my Dad the last few weeks. I think that is why I have maybe been a little grumpy. (Just ask Stephen) Not wanting to really feel the sadness that is heavy on my heart due to him being gone. Not wanting to admit that he was sick and has gone to heaven. Not wanting to show that I am not as strong as I appear to be.
So, I remember...
*the sound of his keys when he would jingle them.
*the way he would say "clean your ceiling" when he would tuck me in at night.
*the way he "whispered" in church, but it was loud because he couldn't hear very well.
*the way he coughed every winter.
*the perfectionism that was present in absolutely everything he did.
*the unbelievable creativity that he had and that luckily I got a part of that gene!
*the way he played with Olive.
*the Donald Duck voice he could talk in perfectly.
*the basketball goal he built for Mica and I for Christmas one year.
*the way he would pester us.
*the tickle monster fights.
*the sound of his voice.
*talking to him every morning on my drive to school the last 6 months of his life.
*listening to him laugh at laffy taffy jokes.
*going on the donut ride with him on Saturday mornings.
*watching him literally roll across the water the first time we went tubing at the lake.
*hearing him mispronounce things that used to drive me crazy, but now make me smile. Like "ski-do" instead of "sea do".
*watching him hold Olive for the first time and that special look in his eyes.
*the plaid shirts he wore.
*his strict rules.
*his impatience with long explanatory answers. "just yes or no, that is all I need to know."
*him helping me with my science fair projects.
*how proud he was the day I got married.
*how helpful he always was.
*his servant's heart.
This list could go on and on...
Most of all I remember that I want to live my life in a way that would make him proud.

Yukon Christmas Lights

2011-12-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday night we went to Yukon to see their Christmas display with Honey and Mica and Isaac. Olive said on the way there "Honey ride the back wiff me." Of course, Honey was thrilled to ride in the back with her!

"Look at the lights Honey!"

They have a cute little train that you can ride through the park to see the lights and Olive was so excited to get to ride it!

"I hold Honey's hand."

Ready to ride!

Mica and Honey enjoying the ride!

Isaac, Mommy and Olive

Cheese!

After the train ride, we loaded back up in the car and finished driving through the display! Olive loved pointing out everything she saw. "Look Santa! Look a reindeer! Look a snowman!" Then we went to eat at Steak and Shake.
Daddy gave her a quarter to buy something from the vending machine in the doorway and she and Isaac had a great time playing bouncy ball with the container it came in!

We had such a fun time looking at the lights! Good idea Honey!

The Gingerbread House

2011-12-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today Olive woke up with a very runny nose and a puffy swollen face. We decided that staying home from church was probably the best plan to avoid passing this along to any of her friends. Her advent calendar activity was to build a gingerbread house. I headed over to Homeland and picked up a kit. I know that there are so many fabulous people out there who bake their own and blah, blah, blah, but I buy the kit. It started out pretty well, with Olive carefully placing candies on the house.

And then she realized there were M&M's and I think she ate her weight in them...

Back to decorating.

Wrigley was so sweet to sit nearby and help if anything fell off of the table.

After a while she started pouring all of the candy from one container to another. She thought this was great fun!

It didn't take long for her to want to help with the icing, which she was very good at!

The finished product! Not bad for our first attempt!

The North Pole

2011-12-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the week, we went to the mall to have our picture taken with Santa. Knowing that Olive would freak, we again went prepared for a family picture. We were rushed getting there and it was almost time for Santa's dinner break so everyone was in a hurry. Olive freaked (as suspected) and we took the WORST family Christmas picture ever. Olive looks scared out of her mind, Santa looks goofy, Stephen looks awkward and I look scary. (Like so scary that I told Stephen if that is what I look like, I want plastic surgery for Christmas)

Sooooo, we had to try again. We went to the Bass Pro Shop this morning because we had heard great things. It was great. Olive still wouldn't sit in Santa's lap, but she did give him a high five and she talked to him! This was huge! Still not the greatest picture ever, but so much better than the first one!

And a little walk down memory lane...2009-Olive's first Christmas!

Maybe next year, she will sit in his lap!

Seven Years Ago Today

2011-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

Seven years ago today, we walked arm and arm out of our wedding ceremony excited and anticipating all that married life would have in store for us! I am so thankful that while it hasn't been easy, I married the person that God set aside for me before I was born! There have been a lot of things happen in the past 7 years and luckily we have been able to be there for one another through it all. I thank God daily for blessing me with Stephen to share all of life's experiences with. Happy Anniversary Stephen! I love you the most!

Norman Christmas Parade

2011-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Today was the annual Norman Christmas Parade! We had never been before, but we were very excited to get to experience it! Eleanor and her family came down to go with us. We couldn't just pull them in a boring wagon, so I had to "fancify" it a little and it became the Joy Wagon complete with bells that jingled! :)

They both look a little scared at this point...

Misty and I were definitely the Mom-a-razzi, so we had to document that too!

These two girls LOVE firetrucks, so you can imagine the excitement when there was one so close!

They even got Jr. Firefighter stickers!

And they got to look inside!

Rick Kringle getting in on the Christmas spirit!

Sweet Lorelei was so sweet and content the whole time! I would be too if I got to be so cozy!

We had the perfect spot. Right at the beginning of the route, so we were the first ones to see each float.

The girls were very impressed with the parade, particularly the people who gave out candy.

Misty got them the cutest little cups to drink hot chocolate from!

Eventually they wanted out of the wagon. The only rule was they had to touch the wagon. At one point, Eleanor was leaning down with her belly on it so that she would still be touching it! Such a rule follower! Olive on the other hand, was jumping down the sidewalk...

We lured them back into the wagon by giving them donuts! After about an hour, they had had enough so we headed home. The day wouldn't be complete without a little "extravaganza-lorious" dancing.

Thanks Thompson's for the fun time! Can't wait for next year, maybe the joy wagon will look like a sleigh!

The "Best" Christmas Program Ever

2011-12-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night was our Children's Christmas Program at church. The 2 year old's were to wear these precious little sheep costumes and they were responsible for learning 2 songs: "Away in a Manger" and "10 Little Angels". Olive had been practicing her songs for weeks and knew every word. Hearing "Away in a Manger" in her sweet little voice is the most precious sound! We had a very rough time at dress rehearsal and Olive had refused to put on the costume, so I was shocked when Sunday afternoon, she put it on! Isn't she the sweetest little lamb?

But when it was time for the program, she wouldn't even consider putting it on. And so here are the pictures of the program and Olive's "part" in it...

She was completely oblivious to the program going on on the stage. She thought she was just there to check out the stairs. Going back up...

Nope! Back down...

And back up, "Hi Grady!"...

and back down...

Luckily, then she found the side of the risers and the rest of her "performance" took place to the side so she wasn't a total distraction to everyone.

Then she spotted Daddy and the camera and did a little pose.

Bless her two year old little heart, she has no idea that she wasn't doing the right thing. When we were leaving she said "I a good singer." Hmmmm....Maybe next year.

Felt Board Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

For Olive's birthday, our sweet friend Mrs. Lecia at church, made her the coolest felt board with all of the alphabet letters! It is one of Olive's favorite things to play with. So, when I saw an idea for making a Christmas tree felt board I knew I needed to make one! I used the felt board from her bedroom as a background to put the tree on and cut out some lights and ornaments. She was so excited!

Hmmm...Where should I put the next one?

Right here looks good!She would get them all up there, say "It is beautiful!" and then pull them all off and start again!

Doesn't a felt board take you back to the days of Sunday School lessons as kid? For me it was sitting in that big room downstairs at Western Oaks Church of the Nazarene listening to Mrs. Reba tell the story...I love it!

Slumber Party! on the floor...

2011-12-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

I was changing Olive's sheets today and had gotten everything out of her bed. She proceeded to carry it all into the kitchen and then she yelled "Mommy! Come cover us up!" Priceless!

I love this one! It is almost like she is doing roll call.

Baby Ash? GloWorm? Bob? Stella? check! Pillow pet? Angel? Gardenia? check!

And yes, all of these sleep in her bed with her and sometimes a few more.

Happy December! Let the Traditions Begin!

2011-12-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

Every year growing up, we had an advent calendar that helped us countdown the days until Christmas. I remember having the ones with doors that you popped chocolate out of and then my parents got super creative and we had special boxes on the tree with our initials that we got to open. Then as we got older, we had "advent bags" and every day there was a special something in our bag. This was one of my favorite family traditions we had. This tradition stayed alive even when I didn't live at home because my sweet Mom wrapped it all and sent it home with me. I mean advent was serious business for the Young family! In fact, the first year that my sister and I were married at Christmas, we were DEVASTATED to find out that we weren't going to have advent anymore. Mom said it was our job now. I made this little advent calendar from a muffin tin the year Olive was born, but we hadn't actually used it until this year!

I made some little cards with special activities on them to go in some of the spots. The other spots have little things like smarties and stickers.

I also found these awesome scripture cards on Pinterest and I put one in each place.

This morning, first thing, I got the calendar down and explained to Olive that we get to open one every single day until Christmas. (Do you notice who is sitting next to her on the floor? Baby Jesus has been sleeping with her every night since we got her nativity out and when she gets out of bed, she puts him back. He hadn't made it back to the manger yet today)

Day 1: Stickers!

I am so excited to keep this tradition alive! I have so many wonderful memories of advent and can't wait to help Olive develop some too!

I had heard about this idea several years ago from a friend and I was excited to start this year! I wrapped up 24 Christmas/Winter books (luckily my whole classroom is in the basement, so I had these on hand) and each night she will get to unwrap one for us to read as a family.

She told Stephen "I only open one". I guess she caught on from this morning!

Then out of nowhere, Mommy found a special movie for Olive to watch called "An Elf's Story"

She loved every second of it! And then just like in the movie, the doorbell rang and there was a package waiting on our front porch! Our very own Elf on the Shelf! I thought we would wait another year before trying this, but the movie does such a great job helping to explain everything that we are giving it a go. I am just hoping it cuts down on the laying on the floor screaming fits that have been going on around here!

We asked Olive what she wanted to name our elf (who is a girl with a skirt!) and the first option was Princess. I asked if she had any other ideas and she said "Her name is Jovie!" This made this Buddy the Elf lover so proud! So we made it official by writing her name in the book! I can feel the Christmas magic in the air! I am so excited to spend this whole month celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus! Merry December!

So Much To Be Thankful For!

2011-11-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving remembering and being grateful for all that we have.

We are thankful for this little lady who brings sunshine into the darkest days!

We are thankful that Auntie M taught Olive how to "smash" eggs to get them ready for deviled eggs, or angel eggs, whatever name you prefer!

We are thankful for Dragon Tales and that no one got hurt! (Mom will hate me for this, but it is just too funny! Olive was sitting so sweetly in Dad's chair, so we told Mom to peek around the corner. She was in the middle of peeling potatoes and leaned around the corner with the knife in her hand! When I looked at the picture, I couldn't stop laughing because all you see is her hand and the knife! Mica of course joined in until Mom got annoyed with both of us and made us leave the kitchen.)We are thankful for time in the kitchen with Honey learning all of her secrets!

We are thankful to have PROOF that Mommy won the wishbone contest fair and square.
(and this should serve as proof that I always win fair and square)

We are thankful that even though Gigi wasn't up to joining us for lunch, we were still able to spend time with her and make her feel special. We are thankful for Olive's personal chariot...

We are thankful that Daddy taught Olive how to place an ornament precisely where it belongs.

We are thankful for little chairs to sit in to admire Honey's Christmas tree...

We are thankful for nighttime Bible stories with the ones we love!

We are so thankful!

November projects

2011-11-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

I have always had a thing for fall decorating. It is really close to being as great as Christmas decorating for me. I love the colors, the textures, the smells, all of it. This year Olive and I worked on a few extra projects to add to the decorations.

A paperbag turkey, painting made with leaves and a simple square turkey were made with pride.

We also made this cute "Thanks" banner to hang on the mantle. Everywhere I look, banners and buntings are such a big deal, so we made our own. I bought chip board letters and covered them with scrapbook paper. Olive got to paint and glitter some simple fall wooden shapes. She was so proud! Anytime someone came over, she would tell them "I made it!" and point to the pumpkin.

My favorite project is one that will become a family tradition. I know lots of people do different ways to record what they are thankful for. We made a blessing board from a cheap framed picture. We took the picture out, put scrap book paper in and glued on leaves that Olive had painted. Every night before bed we would sit down and talk about the things we are most thankful for and then we would pray and thank God for these blessings. Most nights, the same things emerged, but we ended up with a pretty good list. I loved her honest answers about what she was thankful for!

It was a little sad to take down these special projects today, but knowing what comes next, it makes it okay! On to some Christmas projects!

Kids-Giving!

2011-11-23T14:27:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over today for a "Kids-Giving" and they had a great time! We started out by creating "costumes". They got to choose if they wanted to make a pilgrim hat or a Native American head piece. And since most of them had no clue what we were talking about, the feathers did the convincing and that was the most popular choice. Olive and Avery diligently working on their headpieces.Eleanor and Cora adding the shapes!

Our single male warrior, Luke, feathering his head piece!And sweet Lil representing the pilgrims with pride, adding her shapes.

It was so funny after they were all finished, they went into the bathroom to look at themselves in the mirror! Avery would help them stand on the stool to see themselves!
Next it was time to make fancy bread for our sandwiches. They used milk with food coloring in it to paint on the bread and then we toasted it to make sandwiches.

Such lovely birds!

Dig in!

We made another craft using feathers and egg cartons. The feathers were hard to stick in. Avery and Olive proudly displaying their finished birds. Cora and Eleanor stuck the feathers in and then pulled them right back out, so they ended up with bald turkeys. I guess theirs were ready to be cooked! We are so thankful for special friends and making special memories!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

We wanted to make Stephen feel extra special today so we started out by surprising him with breakfast before church! He also got to open his presents and special card.
Olive proudly displaying the special picture we made for him. She keeps pointing to it and saying "my feetsies!"

Showing Daddy some birthday love before church!This morning Olive would say "Happy Birthday Daddy! You should bring us some cake!" Apparently she thinks the birthday person is responsible for the cake. We got to it and made his favorite, and it was made with love!

We are so thankful that my Mom volunteered to come watch Olive so we could have a date for Stephen's birthday! We haven't had a date night in a super long time, so this was a huge blessing! When we got home from dinner, we got to enjoy the special cake. I can tell you that Olive was definitely the most excited about this! Helping blow out the candles!

Yum!

Happy Birthday Stephen! We hope you had a great day and that you know how much you mean to us! We love you the most!

Leaf Pile!

2011-11-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we loaded up and went to the donut shop. I was actually allowed to go on this special day because it was Daddy's Birthday Eve and we were celebrating. When we got home, we made a big pile of leaves in the front yard to play in. Olive had a BLAST! At first she only wanted to jump in if I held her hand, but by the end, she was running from across the yard and jumping in! We were so lucky to have a warm day so she could play outside and in short sleeves! I have to warn you, this is a super long post with tons of pictures, but they are some of the favorite pics I have ever captured of her "in action"! When she woke up from her nap, she immediately asked to go back to play in the pile. Here is hoping for more warm days so we can leaf jump!
(Side note about the butterfly shirt, in case anyone has noticed that every post from a Saturday she is wearing it. She wore this butterfly shirt ONE time to the donut shop and it has since become her "donut shop uniform". She refuses to wear anything but this shirt on Saturday mornings. Silly girl!)

Window Seat

2011-11-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Before Olive was born, we commissioned my Dad to create a window seat/toy box for Olive's room. Up until today, it had just been a used storage chest, Christmas tree holder and laundry folding spot. This morning, it got quiet, so I went looking for Olive and this is what I found...Happily utilizing the window seat and watching a little Dragon Tales.

Sweet piggies...

I see many days of sitting on the window seat to come!

Do You Know The Muffin Ma'am?

2011-11-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

I have a little baker on my hands! Which is funny because if you know me well, you know that I am not exactly Susie Homemaker, especially when it comes to cooking. But, I have been trying a lot more lately and Olive insists on helping when I do. She had asked to make brownies the other day and I told her we would bake this week. I decided today was the day and since there was a can of pumpkin in the pantry SCREAMING to be used, we made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Now, my Mom makes the BEST pumpkin bread in the whole entire world (best chocolate chip cookies, too) but she was at work so I couldn't ask her for the recipe. And I tore my kitchen apart looking for it with no luck. So, what did I do? Turned to pinterest, of course! I found this recipe at http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/09/delicious-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html. They are good, not as good as Mom's, but very tasty. Olive wanted to do everything herself which made this a very interesting and messy day. And all of these pics were taken on my phone because I only had one hand!

First you add the flour.
Olive tip: "Shake the measuring cup to get it all out"

Then a couple of steps later, you add the cinnamon.
Olive tip: I am not sure why my Mommy says cinnamon, it is more fun to say "cimma-meeeen"

And then you violently shake the pumpkin can to try to get it out.

Olive tip: If this doesn't work, have your Mom help you scrape it outThen it was time to add the chocolate chips.

Olive tip: When your Mommy goes to open the bag a little more, sneak a few chocolate chips. Olive tip: And then get some out of the bag! I promise, it is good stuff! Then it was time to mix it all together. I tried to give Olive a spoon, but she preferred to use the tsp. it was more her size.Next you add the mix to the muffin tins.

Olive tip: Don't sling it around, your Mommy won't like having pumpkin goo all over the cabinets.

I let her fill most of them by herself. She could not have been more proud of herself. Happy little baker!

They turned out delicious!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

We decided to have a special treat before trick or treating...Smores! This may be because we want to start a fun tradition and it may also have something to do with Mommy loving smores so much. Not really sure which is more important! Daddy got the fire going and everything ready for us. Olive worked hard to make sure her marshmallow was on just right.

Then Daddy showed her how to warm it up. and blow it out!

I am sure there is someone out there who is just dying to know...did she wear her Buddy costume? No...but in one last ditch effort, we did turn on Elf before getting ready just to help put the thought in her mind. It didn't work. I tried to snap a few pictures on the porch, but she wasn't having it because she saw her friends Knox and Elly across the street. "I go see them?!!"

Sweet Knox giving Olive her first piece of candy of the night!

We went to several houses with Knox and Elly and then they decided to call it quits, so we went down the rest of the street just the 3 of us! Olive didn't quite understand to say "trick or treat" usually when we say "what do you say?" the response is "thank you" so that was her phrase! They would open the door and she would hold out her bucket and say "thank you!" It was sweet to say the least. "Come on Daddy, stop chatting with the neighbors, there is more candy to get!"Our next stop was Pop's house. We went inside to relax for a minute. Then she was ready to keep going!

Our last stop was our sweet neighbors Bob and Dean's house. Their yard is where Olive collects acorns, so convincing her to leave the acorns alone and go to the door was a little bit of a challenge! We had a great night trick or treating. And the Buddy costume is hanging nicely in the closet, ready for next year! (I HOPE!)

Pre-Halloween Festivities

2011-11-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun activities leading up to Halloween. And God gave me the biggest lesson of motherhood so far, how to let go...and I am still not learning this lesson very gracefully. I had the idea for Olive to be Buddy the Elf and I spent so much time making her costume. I bought my first ever pattern and sewed a jacket from felt and then decorated it to look like Buddy. I was so excited about it and couldn't wait to see her in it. We introduced her to the movie and she loved Buddy, so I knew she would love her costume...WRONG! She wouldn't even put it on. Pure heartbreak.
We went to our church Fall Fest and I fully expected her to wear it. After her laying in the parking lot SCREAMING "I no like it. No Buddy jacket" and me pinning her to the ground trying to force it onto her, I realized my Halloween dreams were about to be shattered. Luckily, we had thrown Ming Ming in the back of the car and Stephen got it out and she put it on no problem. And she looked adorable.

But because of my unwillingness to "let go" instead of admiring how precious she looked, I was just down right bitter that she didn't wear the "right" costume. Silly me, wasting valuable minutes worrying about something so stupid, but I still worried about it. She had a blast at the festival. The first people we ran into were her favorite friends Evan and Emma! She couldn't have been happier to see them!Then we went inside to play some fun games...

and did a little trunk or treating...She didn't understand the concept of candy going into her bucket. She would grab it out and try to eat it. She enjoyed her first Nerds (well technically this was one of the few "foods" i could eat when I was pregnant with her because everything else made me sick, but it was the first time she actually physically ate them herself.)

And she enjoyed her first sucker!

She had a great time and the proof was all over her mouth at the end of the night!

The next pre-Halloween event was her school party on Friday! We took special treats to her teachers and bat brownies for her class.
I was excited to get to see her interact with her friends. They wore their costumes to school that morning and did a parade around to all of the other classrooms. She wore her Ming Ming tights under her costume (which are a bit small and hang down really low in the middle) I sent a jean skirt for them to put on over the tights when she took her costume off. When I got there, bless her heart she was in her t-shirt and only her tights...let me tell you she looked special! Her jean skirt had gotten lost in the shuffle of the morning and stuck in her cubbie. :) She didn't care one single bit!

She had a lot of fun with her friends! Saturday afternoon, we decided it was time to carve our Jack-o-lantern. Daddy showing her the inside of the pumpkin. Eeew!

Starting to cut...Concentrating

The final product! We had so many fun things leading up to Halloween, we couldn't wait for the big day to finally arrive! (And Mommy was hoping that by some small chance she would wear her Buddy costume to trick or treat!)

Storybook Forest

2011-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

We ventured up to Arcadia to the Storybook Forest we had been hearing so much about. It had originally started as a grand plan of going with all of our favorite friends, but life happened and we went just the 3 of us and had a great time. Luckily we had been prepared for the hour long wait in the car just to get in (and we got there fairly early) and then the long lines to get into the forest.

"Hey Olive, are you ready to go to the forest? They might give you treats!"

"Treats! Let's go!"

I have had my camera for almost a year and have never taken the time to learn how to use it. Knowing that it was getting dark, I assumed the "night portrait" setting would be my best bet, apparently that wasn't a good choice and the majority of pics are blurry until I set it to "auto" and they became perfectly clear. Oh well, I will know for trick or treat!

Olive was so excited about running around and jumping while we waited in line, that she became "hot" and took her jacket off. It stayed off the rest of the night. Please do not turn us in, we were not being negligent, she wouldn't put it on. She kept saying "no, I hot." Stephen and I were cold, hence the heavy coat and layers.

The Little Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe!

"Who is next?"

The Itsy Bitsy Spider!Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater!

"Who else?"

The Three Little Pigs! She wanted to go in that door so badly, she couldn't figure out why it wouldn't open.

When we were finished seeing all of the characters, we went to play some fun games. And to see Clifford! She was so excited to see him, but not so excited to be so close to him. Waiting in line for the hayride, keeping herself warm by jumping off of hay bales. Snuggling with Daddy before the hayride! We had a great time and can't wait to go back next year!

Happy Birthday Granny!

2011-10-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

My sweet Granny turned 89 last Wednesday! We couldn't wait to celebrate with her! Last Sunday, we had a little birthday lunch at my Mom's complete with cake. Olive doesn't believe that you can have a birthday without cake. When we pulled up to Mom's, Olive yelled "Yeah! Gigi's birthday! CAKE!"

Apparently someone enjoyed the cake! Look at that frosting mustache!

Olive had to help Gigi open her cards. By helping, it means doing it for her.

On her actual birthday, we surprised her at the nursing home with a special present! We asked our friends and family to send birthday cards to us and we bound them together as a special book for her to look through. We got 90 cards! I know that she will love looking at all of the cards over and over again!

Granny's little sister, Dessie and her daughter, Sharla came into town to help celebrate the big day! We took Gigi to supper and by the time it was over, she was all celebrated out. Happy Birthday Granny! We were so happy to get to celebrate this big day with you!

A Halloween Tradition

2011-10-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

We love the street we live on! We were so blessed to have 5 babies born within 6 weeks of each other. Olive is the youngest of the original 5. We started a tradition their first Halloween of taking a group picture in their costumes. Let's take a walk down Halloween memory lane...

2009:
Liam, Cora, Knox, Avery and Olive

On the porch!
Liam, Cora
Olive, Knox and Avery

Our friend Avery moved during the next year, but we still had 4 to get together.

2010
Liam, Olive
Cora and Knox

During the last year, 2 additional blessings joined our street! Elly, last December and baby Claire in September! And yes, Olive is wearing the same costume because she continues to refuse to wear her new one.

2011:
Olive, Cora, Knox
Liam, Claire and Elly

All of the parents were standing in the yard making the most ridiculous noises trying to get them to smile! It is so fun for Olive to have so many friends who are so close! Happy Halloween!

Some Girls Are Born With Glitter In Their Veins...

2011-10-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today we were making birthday cards for Gigi (shhh, don't tell her) and I decided to let Olive put glitter on her's. Why did I not realize this was going to be a new obsession? She was so excited for many reasons: 1. squeezing glue 2. SPARKLY! 3. Crazy shake. We ended up making 4 more glitter pictures before I shut it down.
Look at the tongue out concentration...this is serious business.

One just isn't enough!

Hope you have a sparkly day!

Pumpkin Fun!

2011-10-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Olive has 4 little pumpkins that we were ready to decorate. She had been asking to paint them, so yesterday we got out the paint and she went to town!

Today we were ready to make their faces. I had cut out shapes from black cardstock for her to mod podge on. I was shocked at how much she liked this because her hands stayed pretty goopy the whole time!
Pick up the shape...

Stick it on...

And cover it with mod podge to make it stick!

Notice the paper clip in her hair? We had gone to the basement to get something and she spotted my container of colored paper clips. She grabbed one, ripped her bow out and said "My new bow!" Well, okay.

They turned out pretty cute!

We had a ton of left over shapes and she kept asking for another pumpkin, so we glued the rest to a paper pumpkin.

She would point to where she wanted the glue...

and then stick on the shape!

Admiring her work

Proudly displayed on the refrigerator!

Aviation Festival

2011-10-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday after Stephen and Olive go to the donut shop, they drive through the airport to see the airplanes. Most Saturdays, they get out of the truck and stand at the fence to look at them. So imagine how excited we were when we found out the Aviation festival was this weekend! We knew Olive would be so pumped! We were walking by the airplanes which she was so excited about and then she saw one of her favorite things in the whole wide world...A FIRETRUCK! I don't think I have ever seen her run toward something so fast! She knows where every single fire station is in Norman and will request certain routes home so that we can pass the fire station. After seeing if the doors are closed or open, she has to call Stephen to give him the full report. It usually sounds something like this "Daddy! The firetrucks! 2 open, 1 closed! I see red, yellow!" This is what she says even if it isn't accurate. She is always so devastated if all of the doors are closed and usually replies "OH MAN! THEY CLOSED!" with disgust in her voice. Getting to see one up close was so great! The nice fire chief even offered to take a family pic!

She got to check out all of the equipment...

A very happy little girl!

Next we checked out the "Mobile Command Unit" which is an all purpose computer and meeting center with a weather center inside on wheels. It was pretty impressive. Olive wanted to "drive" and use the radio.

Next she got to check out the helicopters!

And the airplanes!

Maybe someday she will be a pilot, or the fire chief, who knows?!
She and Daddy raced to the car when we were finished. She kept saying "run Daddy! faster!"