Pictures with Santa

Saturday we took Olivia for her Santa picture. Despite the look on her face the pictures went really well. She didn't cry at all and she actually gave him a hug when we were leaving. We talk about Santa a lot and I think she's really going to be excited for Christmas this year.

Let it Snow!!

It has snowed in Houston three out of the five years that I have lived here. Last week's snow was the best by far! Olivia and I skipped cooking class to enjoy the weather and Luis was actually sent home from work early! It was great while it lasted. Olivia loved playing outside. Every once in a while she would look out the window and say, "There's snowmen out there mom!" I think she's ready for her trip to Michigan this Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2009

Move Over Rachael Ray!

Olivia and I are taking a cooking class together. She is having so much fun! She already loves helping me in the kitchen. I also think the class is a good way to introduce different foods to picky eaters. So far she's made pizza cups, blueberry pancakes, strawberry banana smoothies, and some cookies are fruit decorated like turkeys. We'll have to see if I have an extra helper in the kitchen on Thanksgiving.

Halloween Part 2

Last Sunday we took Olivia to pick out her pumpkin. She wasn't as excited about it as I hoped she would be, but we managed to get a cute picture.
She helped Luis carve her pumpkin, but she was not crazy about sticking her hand inside!
On Halloween we went to our city Trick or Treat Trail. Afterwards we went Trick or Treating around our neighborhood. That was the best part of the night! Olivia had so much fun. It didn't take her long to catch on to what she was supposed to do.

Halloween Part 1

Last weekend we got to attend two Halloween parties. The first was hosted by someone from our playgroup. To say they love Halloween at their house is an understatement. I knew Olivia would be afraid of all of their scary decor, but we actually got to stay for longer than I had thought. She was by my side for most of the party, which was ok with me. What a difference a year makes! Last Halloween she would not have been phased by any of the spooky stuff.
Saturday we went to our neighbor's Halloween party. It was definitely Olivia's type of party. They had a ring toss game, dance contest, and pumpkin decorating. We are so happy to have met such nice people close to home. Having kids makes it easy to make friends!

Last Day of Tumbling

Friday was Olivia's last day of Tumble Buds. I thought she would have been burned out after taking a summer class and a short fall session, but we were both sad to see it come to an end. Hopefully we can take up the class again with baby sister in tow.

It only took the kids until the last day of class to learn that they had to take turns on the big trampoline!

Let's do the Zoo

Last weekend we took Olivia to the Houston Zoo. She was so excited to go I thought she was going to start bouncing off the walls. Her favorite animal is the giraffe. She had lots of fun and walked about the entire time. On our way out we took a train ride through Herman Park. Olivia had so much fun, she did not want to leave. Here are a few pics from our weekend.

Olivia's New Bed and Mom's Birthday

I celebrated my 30th birthday on September 29th. It was much more exciting than I had expected because I found out we are having another baby GIRL!! It made my day all the more special. Olivia and I ended it by sharing a piece of chocolate cake.

We recently transitioned Olivia from her crib to her toddler bed. I DO NOT like it. This next baby can stay in her crib until she is five. Olivia always went to bed so peacefully, but after lots of skipping naps and tantrum in her crib at bedtime we decided to make the switch. Now she insists that we lay on the floor next to her bed until she falls asleep. This is not comfortable at all. The first two nights she woke up during the night and came running to our room. The first time she did this she fell and hit her mouth on our nightstand. This scared us all to death and she ended up sleeping with us that night. Now I think she has learned her lesson because she waits in our doorway until she sees we are awake. I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but she has been doing pretty good sleeping through the night now. I am the one that is constantly waking up thinking she is going to get up at any minute. I guess it's better that we get this over with now, though. Olivia has also decided to take down her wallpaper border while she was still in her crib. This should have been our first sign that she wanted out!

San Antonio

We went to San Antonio earlier this month for our friends Jimmy & Julie's wedding. We stayed on the Riverwalk and had so much fun! It was too short of a trip, so we are planning on going back before the next baby gets here. Olivia did great. We were worried about how she would do so close to the water. She no longer likes to sit in a stroller and doesn't like to be carried. We ended up letting her wear a little monkey backpack that has a leash (I hate calling it that). Even though I said I would never use it, that thing worked great! We've actually used it a few times since we've been back because she likes wearing it so much. We also got to visit our cousin Helaina for the first time. Olivia was in a little bit of a mood, but Helaina still very excited to see her.

Spur of the Moment Fun

Saturday we took Olivia to Barnes & Noble for Storytime. It did not go so great. There are just too many other books for her to get excited about, and honestly the lady reading the story was not that enthusiastic. We hadn't been to the Pearland Town Center in a while, but of course Olivia remembered that they have a cool fountain for splashing. You can't put anything past her, so we stopped for a while to play in the water even though her momma was totally unprepared for getting wet.

Cool Down

The weather in Texas has finally started to cool down to the mid 80s so we decided to head back to some of our favorite parks with some friends. Olivia and I both needed some fresh air and a break for Dora.