It's Begining To Look a Lot Like Christmas

Can you believe it is that time of year again already? I was looking at pictures from last Christmas, with my cute baby bump and thinking "only 3 more months" and now I am so excited to celebrate Olivia's 1st Christmas and am thinking, can she be a year already in "only 3 more months"?

If you havn't met her, you must! She is the most amazing little thing, and if I havn't meantioned it before, hands down the funniest human on this earth!

We have been busy babyproofing our house. When OJ first learned to crawl she was just so amazed to be moving she didn't take a big interst in the tables, stairs or any single thing in our home that can now turn into a death trap. I have put a gate on the stairs and corner bumpers on the tables. If you came to my house, you would know just by looking around I am a mother to a crawling baby.

I have totally been slacking at updating Olivia's blog, and do you want to know why? Facebook. I am totally obsessed with it, and can't stop. So I deeply apologize, that my new obsession is causing a lack in these precious Olivia memories.

Now for what you are waiting for...New Pictures! Enjoy! And if I don't get back to you before the holidays, have a blessed Christmas & a Safe & Happy New Year! XOXO

November Fun

I have to say, life is busy & I have been so lax at updating Olivia's Blog! We have been having a great fall! Olivia is crawling like a maniac and we keep thinking she is getting close to walking, but she really has no interest in it. She just loves to stand up on everything!

It has been a busy month! We had our last Kindermusik class a few weeks back, and quickly started into swimming lessons with Olivia & Brody. The first day she was VERY skeptical (in her Juicy swim suit - From Uncle Drew) of the water, with clenched fists and a very serious face! The second week, she eased up a little and was even smiling at the other babies and the third week she was splashing, tring to blow bubbles, kicking her feet & drinking the water! Her & Brody have so much fun splashing around together in the water. I have some very cute pics of the two I need to get from Cassie, hopefully soon! Next week we are all going to stay for open swim after her lesson & I think her Papa Brian is even going to come over for a dip!

We went up to the Northshore to visit Corey's Aunt & Unc for Thanksgiving! We drove up on Wednesday afternoon with Olivia & Corey's Grandma. It was a long drive for us all, Olivia actually did great! About 40 mins from Jan & Larry's she decided enough was enough & let us have it all the way from Duluth to their house (South of Superior, Wi). Jan even lined up a babysitter (Olivia's first stranger babysitter) and we went out & hit up the lumberjack bars. It was great fun!

I am not feeling my creative writing skills flowing today, so I will stop here & just start posting pics (which is what you are here for anyway, right?). Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful for everyone that keeps up on our goings-on.

Pumpkin Patch!

We took Olivia to the cutest pumpkin patch a few weekends back! We had so much fun! They have an apple orchard, honey farm & grow pumpkins. And they grow Honeycrisp Apples (my favorite!), but we were too late in the season to get any. So next year we will go back earlier.

Happy Halloween from the Artic

Halloween came & went with no snow! My birthday came & went with NO BLIZZARDS...which to me proves global warming. Since I was a little girl, all my birthday parties were RUINED by snow. Maybe not ALL of them, but a lot of them. And the past few years...no snow. I know we say every winter it keeps getting colder & colder...but it seems as though Fall is gracing us with its presence for a greater length of time!

Our Halloween was a blast! We dressed Olivia up in the most non-car seat friendly costume, that she supprisingly didn't mind. And looked so darn cute! The princess costume in past pics was her 'pre-halloween' costume to go with Brody's dragon (like the fairytales).

Here is a glimpse at our halloween! Happy Fall everyone!

*More pics to come!

Caringbridge Vs. Google Blogger

I recently met the cutest little girl at Olivia's daycare named Paityn. She is 3 months old and has the same liver disease, Biliary Artesia, as our little buddy Jace! And when I met her, and Barb (our daycare Momma) was telling me some of her story, the first thing I thought of was...'Does she have a caringbridge site?'. And I went home and added her to our prayer list, and as I was rocking Olivia to bed saying our prayers that night I thought...how lucky we are that we don't have a caringbridge site...and how thankful we are that Olivia is so healthy.

I look back at some of my postings on what a stressful time I am having because I don't have enough time to clean my house, wash my clothes or paint my nails...all because I choose to spend time with my dear Olivia playing dolls or crawling around...and then I think about these Mom's who are SO STRONG and they don't have a choice of when they can clean their homes or paint their nails because they spend all their time (happily) juggling between hospitals & appointments to try to keep their babies happy & loved and I just have to take a deep breath and thank the Lord for the life I live and that maybe, just maybe I am a little too dramatic about things that really don't matter.

For all you Momma Bloggers out there, take a minute to count your blessings and say a little prayer for all the Momma 'caringbridge' Bloggers and all the daily heartaches they have to deal with.

I am posting a list of the Caringbridge Sites we keep up on and say prayers for. If you are looking for a 'prayer buddy' please keep anyone of these dear families in mind, prayers have given these families the power & strength to get through & keep going when times have really been tough.

There are times when I can't find the words to give justice to the circumstances that these families are going through, and I found this prayer, and on the days when I don't know what to say or pray for I use this:

Prayer for the Sick
Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the sick, we turn to you in this time of illness. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. Dear God, we place our worries in your hands. We place our sick under your care and humbly ask that you restore your servant to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge your will and know that whatever you do, you do for the love of us. Amen.

Cute Pics! Olivia's First TuTu

My Mom & I went 'used' baby clothes shopping the other day and found lots of great deals! Tons of cute dresses for the winter & happened to have stumbbled upon a TuTu in the costume section! So cute!

New Kodakgallery Pics

Here is a link to some new pics I posted on Kodak. Enjoy!

Kodak Gallery Pics

Laugh Your Way

Happy Monday!

I have something I would like to share, and what better way than to share it with my favorite Olivia Groupies : )

Confrence Review:

This past weekend Corey & I and my Cousin Cassie & her Hubby Joe went to a marriage confrence at Bethel Church called "Laugh your way to a healthy marriage" Speaker: Mark Gunger. I can't explain to you what a great, great, great speaker Mark is and how he enlightened Corey & I that some of the things we worry and fret most about in our marriage is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I was thinking he had a longer tour than he really does (or should I say more stops) but he is coming back our way, to Bismarck, ND on January 30th & 31st and will also be in Westin, WI (which is outside of Milwaukee) for anyone that may be interested!

I would absolutely push this confrence on to any married couple I know. It was so much fun & so good for us. This is every age appropriate! For couples that have been married 1, 5, 10, 15...40+ years!

You can check him out at:

Mark Gunger also filled us in that he does a 'radio broadcast' on their website every Tuesday Morning, couples call in for advice & wisdom, so you can catch him live at the above link. Yes this was a 'religion based' affair, but not a 'bible pushing' affair. So for those of you that are not into the whole church scene, he tries to keep it to a minimum to keep reeling in all denominations of couples (even those with none) and at the same time, for those of us that are into the church scene you know where he is coming from with all he talks about!

We definately 'Laughed our Way' through this confrence. My tummy was sore yesterday from all the laughing we did. I am so greatful for my time spent listening to Mark. What a blessing he has had on our lives, and what a wonderful person.

The "Funny" Continues

Ok, so I decided to venture out last night & went to a jewelry party, got suckered into buying some super cute earrings and got to chat with some girlfriends, while SuperDad stayed home to take care of my sweet Olivia.

When I get home (around 9) Corey tells me he has a funny story to tell me (which I am giggling as I write about) and it goes something like this: When he put Olivia to bed (at 7:30) she fell right to sleep on her tummy with her cute little bootie in the air. He then went upstairs to read on the couch, but the baby monitor was low on batteries so he plugged it in across the living room. As he is reading he hears Olivia start to cry...which is not abnormal and usually she will go back to sleep on her own...but he doesn't check the video monitor because it is accross the room. Well then he hears the music tune of her crib mobile (ah-ha yes! she is standing in the crib again) and he giggles to himself what a funny little girl...and then he hears CRASH & baby crying. She pulled the mobile down and from the momentum of her grasp when crashing back into her crib. Maybe this story is only funny in the heart of a Mommy of a baby who just started standing...but let me tell you again, this girl is the most funny person I have ever met.

Going back to work was really hard when she was 8 weeks old...but I am finding it harder & harder as her personality is coming out & she is more aware of the world around her. As soon as she cries for me when I leave her at daycare in the mornings I am done, you hear that hun? Ok, just kidding, but seriously my heart breaks everyday I leave her these past few weeks.

More funny stories to come! Have a great weekend everyone!

6 Month Pics!

October is falling...

Happy October everyone! I am hoping as the days go by, my days are less full & I can start blogging like I once had intended...ya right, I have a 6 month old at home ya'll...well actually 7 months on the 21st! Oh how time flies!

Work for both Corey & I has been insane. If you hadn't heard, Corey & his Dad just hired their first employee! Bev! I hear she is keeping them organized & it is sure nice to call their office & hear such a sweet voice. My company just celebrated our 80th Anniversary, which went out with a bang last week. We held 2 trade shows (one in Grand Forks & one in Fargo)...you think after planning such a huge wedding, or graduating with a degree in Travel & Tourism & Event Planning, I would have excelled a putting together such an event...yet I didn't. I am still recovering & trying to step out of this downward spiral of emotions. But the party was a huge success! I am working on putting together a really great portfolio so in 5 years when we plan the next bash, I will be the most organized gal on the block!

I bet you are waiting to hear about Olivia? What has she been up to? Well for starters she is absolutely the most hilarious person I have ever met. Just thinking about her makes me giggle. You know when people say that babies between the ages of 5+ months is their 'favorite age'...well I can officially say (for now) that this is my favorite age. She is just a hoot. We are still sitting on 6 teeth...and if she keeps grinding them like she does, we might actually start going backwards. It is so gross & funny, it sends chills down your spine to hear her grind those cute little teeth. Olivia did start crawling! Up to this point she was doing the army-belly crawl across the floor, but as of last Wednesday she is up on all fours traveling miles. My Mom wants to invent a dusting suit to put on her when she is at her house, to clean her hardwood floors - LOL.

Funniest Story of the Year: So I have been telling this story and it still makes my heart melt & puts a funny grin on my face. The other night we put Olivia to bed and about an hour later she woke up crying (poor baby) so we flip on the monitor (which is a video monitor) and watch to see if she is 'really' crying or is just making noise and will go back to sleep...I realize when I spot her starting to sit up that she needs some Momma snuggles and start heading for her room...by the time I get there she is standing up - IN HER CRIB! - AND she sees me and throws her head into her hands and cries even harder. It was the funniest sight to see my little baby standing in her crib like - HELLO!? Where is everyone? Needless to say, we will be lowering her mattress down this weekend.

Here are a few pics of the past few weeks! Hope you enjoy!


Belle get out of my carseat!

Olivia's Busy Fall

Happy Wednesday everyone! I am popping in quick to give you some new Olivia updates!

This Fall has opened some exciting opportunities for Olivia, Corey & I! We started going to a group called "Kindermusic" on Monday evenings, and we had SO much fun! For all you Mom's out there, this is worth every penny! It is only 30 mins every Monday for 8 weeks, and costs $100 but I can't explain to you how much fun we had. There are 8 babies in our class & we sing music, dance & learn different musical instruments (last week was the Drums). I have so been yearning to join a play group, being a full time working Momma very much hinders my doing any of this sort of activity with Olivia, so for the sake of my broken heart, this was just what the Dr. ordered! Last week Libby was busy checking out all the other babies and I am so excited for next week to see how she reacts & gets more comfortable with the group!

I am also happy to say we enrolled her in Swimming lessons starting in November! I am of course so excited for this as well. We are going to swimming with her cousin Brody (My cousin Cassie's little boy), it should be lots of fun. We are hoping this will get the kids accustom to the water in hopes they will love the lakes next summer!

We just had our 6 month check up last week and Olivia now weighs 16.2 lbs! She is growing like a weed! And has 6 teeth! (Have I mentioned that before?) Corey ADORES her cute little teeth. He just can't get enough of her smiles. They are going to be cute baby teeth w/ a big space in the front like her Uncle Brady's were, I just love it, they are truly so cute!

I promised Corey I would mention...last weekend my good friend Stacie & her 3 year old Daughter Makenna came up to visit us so on Saturday night Cassie called to see if we would mind babysitting Brody for the night and of course we said 'YES YES YES'! Well Corey offered to stay home with all the kids (after they were all in bed) while the Momma's went out to play. What a nice husband? He has been so great helping with Olivia, and I feel so grateful that I have a 'hands on' husband who truly enjoys being with Olivia and knowing how to parent her.


Well that is all I have today, here are a few pictures from the past week or so! Ciao for now, Love, Trish

Pray & 'Hope' for baby Hope

I wanted to post a quick note to remind everyone to keep beautiful baby Hope in your thoughts & prayers. I have mentioned before that Hope has a long road ahead of her & Jeremy & Emily have been so strong and have been able to use their strength to help Hope continue her fight. The power of the strength God gives us in times of need is truly a miracle. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Don't forget to check out Hope's Caringbridge Site @ http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/photoMainView.do

Camping Adventures

Over labor day weekend we decided to fend the wilderness & take Libby camping. We didn't go far, to Itasca State Park (home of the Mississippi River Headwaters). Next year I think we will shoot for the North Shore she did such a great job! We had a nice little walk in site (50 yards from our car LOL), set up camp & had a blast! The first day at the park we just hung around the campsite, walked around the lake & got our tent & necessities all in order. Miss Olivia was in bed by 8, so mommy & daddy could have a bon fire & some grown up beverages :) and then woke up at 3am for a party. Not scared, or crabby just happy as a clam, drank her bottle & told us a few stories. I have such a hard time shutting her down when she is so darn happy & cute. But about an hour later I said, OK babe time for sleep. We shut off the lights & let her bunk in on the air mattress, which she hogged & I loved it!



The next day we decided to take the 'wilderness trail' on our bikes. This is a 17 mile bike ride, which I thought sounds good we have gone a few 13 mile treks in town, and knowing this would be harder because of the hills I was ready for a challenge. Well about 5 miles in I was about ready to spat on my husband for talking me into it, but at the same time loving every second. Olivia loved the ride, she now fits in her buggy w/out her car seat & enjoys the ride. I figure, in Weight Wathers Terms, I gained about 15 pts that day for my hard work. What a beautiful ride it really was. My bike needs a little fine tuning but I would definitely do this all over again.

Here are a few pics of the trip. Besides everyone telling us we shouldn't bring a baby camping, and how she will get too cold (I think she got too hot) and came home w/ a fever, missing 3 days of daycare and my Mom saying "I told you so"...We had so much fun, and are planning on reserving a spot for our camping trip next Labor Day soon!

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Miss Us?

I am guessing (or hoping) we have been missed as I have not updated Olivia's blog IN AGES! It has been such a crazy hectic month. Work has been nuts, in a good way...and home time, well is very limited with a baby on a schedule of bedtime at 7:15-7:30...It is amazing how fast you can accomplish your nightly chores, routines, etc...when you are only dealing with a 2 hour gap. It is all a huge struggle trying to decide if being a working Mom is worth the 'rush of life' pace we are living, or if going to a part time position would be better for me, or just working 4 days a week to help my family get on top of all the things I rush to do after work & never finish...all very good questions to ponder, that I will never do anything to change anytime soon.

Well what is new with us? Miss. Olivia is near crawling...she is on her hands & knees rocking, but so far no forward motion. She has 5 TEETH! Which I hear is a lot for a little (almost) 6 month old. We broke 3 last week, thank god, that were driving her nuts. Her first 2 we didn't even know she was teething, but these last 3 she was a bear, her poor gums were so swollen & red and she had every other 'symptom' of teething: Runny diapers, fever, crabbiness...you get the picture. All I can say Mom's is: Those 'weird' feeders they sell at Target that are mesh & you can put for example bananas in for the baby to suck through the netting work wonderful for baby to suck & chew on Ice cubes to help heal their aching gums.

I have a few more updates I am going to try to post today, so hold on folks, I am hoping to say 'I'm Back'. Love, Trish

Wedding & a Baptism

Last weekend we had Shawn & Whitney's wedding & Baby Brody's Baptism. The wedding was so fun, Olivia came with us and we danced & had a great time. All the ladies from church were there going ga-ga over how big she is getting!

Then Sunday we had Cassie's little boy Brody's baptism...and I was one of the god-mommas. I just adore that little guy! And he just loves Olivia, every time he looks at her he grins from ear to ear...on the other hand snotty Olivia snubs him any chance she gets. When he smiles at her, she turns her cheek...we will have to work on that!

Solids!

We have officially started giving Olivia solid foods! Mmmm....she loves them! She does NOT like bananas. She threw A TOTAL FIT when I had her try the bananas. But so far she really loves her rice cereal, peaches, applesauce & pears!

Pics to tide you over!

It has been so long since I have had a even a minute to post anything up to Olivia's site. What have we been up to you may ask? Well, as we were watching TV the other weekend a Sherwin Williams commercial comes on and tells us of this great promotion they are having until Sunday at 4pm only for 25% off! So we decide, better now then never to paint the outside of our house! So for the past week and a half, Corey has been painting like a crazy man and me...well I have been part time painter & full time nanny to Olivia. I told Corey it is really too bad I didn't feel better & the weather was better this spring so we could have painted while Olivia was in her "baby" phase. I would have been a lot more help with sleeping baby. But now we have demanding baby...which is so fun, but hard for both of us to get anything done. Which while nannying my baby full time, my house work has gone down in the dumps...anyone want to come help me fold 6 loads of laundry tonight? Ha, what am I saying, for any of you that know me, know I could care less how long laundry sits in baskets after coming out of the dryer...and yes this drives my husband crazy.

I posted a few more videos yesterday, more to come but I just don't have the patience this week to wait for YouTube to upload...

Belle!

Have you met our Baby Belle? My Mom was giving me a very VERY hard time that poor Belle has not made a debut on to Olivia's Blog...which I responded this is Olivia's Blog, not Belle's.

But I agree...she does need a few pics posted. I recently had Belle into the groomers & she put purple highlights in her tail & ears, so cute!

Belle is such an amazing dog & just love kids. But she is has gotten so neglected since Olivia's birth. I feel just terrible for her, but I do what I can & try to keep extra bones on hand for treats. She is still mostly a pretty great dog...

Daycare Openings?

I just thought I would throw this out there, I know a couple of gals that are in need of daycare. 1 has two little boys ages 1 (will be 2 in OCT) and 3 looking for fulltime daycare ASAP! The other has a 3 month old baby boy just looking for daycare around 3 days a week (Mon, Tues, Wens). If you know of anyone, or your daycare maybe has an opening please give me a shout.

I checked around to a few places & so far no luck!

I have some great pics to post but just havn't had time! I promise by weeks end I will get them up for you!

Chommpers!

Hey Ya'll

Just wanted to post a quick not to let you know, OJ'S FIRST TOOTH BROKE THROUGH YESTERDAY!

Very exciting!!!

That's all for now, XOXO Trish

Weekend of the "First's"

Be ready to be wowed at how we over-stimulated, over-fed, & over-sunned Miss. Olivia. Ok, ok, I didn't allow her to really be over-sunned but she was out in the sun for a few minutes to win her a 'sun kissed' glow.

We has such a crazy, fun, busy weekend! Olivia had 3 new 'first's' this weekend. 1. Her first day swimming in the lake, 2. Her first boat ride and 3. Attended her first wedding!

She did not care so much for her first dip in the lake. I bought her this super cute 'crab' floaty toy that I thought she would really enjoy...instead she cried the entire time. The neighbors at the lake were asking what we were doing to poor Olivia as they have never heard her cry. Oops! Bad Mommy!



We also took Olivia on her first boat ride, which she seemed to really enjoy! She slept the entire time. It was so much fun to go out on the lake, and she didn't even seem to mind her life jacket. Can't wait to go back out with her!



And then we took her to her first wedding. Yes, all in the same day. As you can imagine we had a very tired baby by 9pm Saturday night. My cousin Nicki Williams got married in Detroit Lakes on Saturday afternoon. We got to see Nana & Cassie & Brody & all of our cousins & Aunts & Uncles. Brody was very excited to see Olivia but she snubbed him and wouldn't even look his way. Snotty baby. For those of you who don't know, Cassie is my closest cousin and best friend. We have been such great friends from the minute we met. And it has been such a blessing and so much fun that our babies are only 3 weeks apart! We also took her over to Big Floyd lake to visit the Rick's between the reception & the wedding!