Special Birthday Week!

This year I had decided not to have a birthday, but my family and friends decided otherwise. We basically celebrated for a straight week.
Tuesday night, we celebrated my "Birthday Eve" with my family. We had a yummy dinner at Kona Ranch. We didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.

Auntie M, Mommy, Olive and Dano

Daddy, Olive and Mommy

Olive really enjoying her teddy grahams! Happy Birthday Mommy!

On my actual birthday, we had a delicious dinner at home and a yummy cake! I was so excited to open my present...

The rest of the pictures are taken with the new Canon Rebel!!
Stephen got my cake at Dara Marie's (points for him!)
There are 4 candles, one for each member of our family.

Make a wish!

Then on Friday at school, my wonderful team coordinated a special Good Morning Eisenhower in honor of my birthday. This was so thoughtful and special! Olive and Stephen came to school to be a part of it too!

Deanna, Molly and Grady came for the celebration too!

I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and family! Thank you for making this transition into a new decade a little easier! :)

3rd Annual Miss America Watch Party...with a twist!

Last Saturday night was the Miss America pageant. I am and have always been a HUGE Miss America fan. I remember watching it as a little girl and loving it! A couple of years ago, we started getting together to watch it. Our group grows a little every year! Here is a group shot of all of the "lovely contestants"! Well, little did I know that since I had refused to pick a day to celebrate my birthday (because I was entering a new decade) my sweet friends decided they would surprise me and we would celebrate at the Miss America party. The door bell rang and these two lovely ladies walked in with birthday tiaras for everyone and a cake!

Isn't this the cutest cake ever? I love it!
Other than the tiara, my favortie part was how small the number is :)

My little "Miss Oklahoma"

Getting ready for the pageant to begin, I was so excited!

I know I have mentioned before how amazing my friends are, but the really are!! I have been wanting a new camera that is a little pricey, so they got together and pitched in to help start my camera fund. How cute is the envelope?!

Mr. America

Sweet Grady came and of course had to wear a birthday crown.

Some of my faves!

We all fill out a ballot and get points for how many of the Top 10 we get correct, Top 5, etc. The winners were...

Third runner up...Mandy!!

Second runner up...Lindsay!!

First Runner up...Lauren!!

And Miss America for the second year in a row...Deanna!

Thank you ladies for such a fun night! You are so sweet to make my birthday special even though I was resisting it! I love you guys! Can't wait until next year!

Tea Time

Olive got a "Beauty and the Beast" tea set for Christmas from Pop. We have tea parties at least once a day.

Getting it all set up

Pouring the tea (she even makes a shhhhhh sound)

Pouring more tea

Then you have to stir

and enjoy!

Thank you Pop for the tea set! It has provided hours of fun at tea time!

Money, Money, Money! MONEY!

Olive has a new favorite thing...putting money in her piggy bank! Wouldn't Dave Ramsey be proud?! If she finds change or sees it anywhere, she will get it and run into her room to put it in her bank. For Christmas, Auntie M gave her a bag of change for this purpose!

She places each coin in so delicately!

I hope she never figures out that it can come out of there! :)

Piggies and Peek A Boo

Today, when I picked Olive up from Terri's she had pigtails! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen, she looked so big! When Stephen walked in, he asked who the big girl was. Later, I was sitting across the living room from her and she started her own game of peek a boo...


When did our little girl get so big?

Black Eyed Peas, Please!

So this year, in an effort to have better luck going forward, we tried the tradition of eating black eyed peas on New Years day. Ugh, is all I have to say about those yucky peas. Olive had the same opinion.

They didn't look so bad at first.

Then Daddy force fed her one and it was a pretty dramatic reaction!

He won her over again by showing her that by banging the side of the bowl with her spoon, she could make beautiful music!

Here's to good luck! Happy New Year!

2010 A Year In Review

2010-What a year! I am usually not a really "reflective" person, I tend to just keep my eyes on what is ahead and try not to focus much on what has happened. But this year is a little different! This was a year of big adjustments for all of us (especially Wrigley) as we settled into our new groove. Yes, it took us a solid 4 months to figure out that groove. It was also a year that provided a lot of closure for us. What a relief to have the month of February over! God carried us through, as he always does. Heaven got really lucky this year when it gained several wonderful new residents. Although we are sad to lose those individuals, we know they are so happy in heaven and can't wait to see them again. We also welcomed many new friends into the world this year and we are looking forward to adventures with each of them.
I have a hard time with resolutions, because I know that they are just something that you say knowing that you aren't going to actually do it. At least, that is my experience with resolutions. So I am setting a goal for myself, one that I hope I can achieve. My goal for 2011 is to live more in the present. I have a tendency to focus on what is next and be so busy planning, that I miss what is happening. Everyone told us that time flies when you have a child, but we didn't comprehend what they meant until this year. Our sweet baby girl is now a toddler who uses phrases (her favorite being "No Mama!") and tries to make her own decisions. It is incredible how quickly this ride is going! We are hanging on and can't wait to see what is next with our most precious blessing. Here is a little picture recap of some "highlights" of Olive's year...

First time to play in a bouncer

First time to see a Sooner bowl game

First time to celebrate Mommy's birthday

First time to eat at Freddy's

First time to eat vegetables!

First time to take a bath in the "big girl" tub

First Valentine's Day

First time to crawl!! And our lives haven't been the same since! :)

First time to be in a fashion show

First trip to the zoo

First opening day!

First Easter and the first time to wear shoes!
It was an Easter miracle that only lasted through church.

First picture in the tulips

First time to play in her front yard swing

First Mother's Day

First bike ride

First Cubbies game!

First time to be completely traumatized by Mommy (I am sure it won't be the last)

First time to swim in a big pool

First official celebration of living on the best street in Norman...our block party with all of the babies. Our sweet neighbor, Marie, who was the mastermind of the block party passed away in November and we are so thankful she started this tradition!

First haircut

First Father's Day

First time to celebrate Wrigley's birthday

First Fourth of July

First time to color

First steps!!

First time to visit Pops

Fun times at the splash pads!

First time to eat cake...I think she liked it!

First time to meet Papa

First time to meet an Olympic gold medalist

First Sooner football game

First time to have her piggies painted

First time to use her own silverware

First time to win a prize for best costume

First Jack-o-lantern

First time to pet a goat

Celebrating Daddy's birthdayFirst time to make cookies for Santa

What a wonderful year full of precious memories. We love you more than you know, Olive Kay and we can't wait for what the next year has in store!