halloween - part 2

my word! halloween is a very tiring holiday. i can't say that i'm sad to see it go!! i guess i left off on thursday so i'll pick up with friday. o's sitter had a little party for the kids so i made cupcakes! they were nothing special but they tasted mighty good! after i picked her up we headed downtown to meet some friends for trick-or-treating at local businesses and then to dinner at sundown. i'd never really thought about it but one of the best places for kids in ruson is sundown. b/c it's such a laidback atmosphere (it's a bar, let's be honest) on the patio no one really cares if your kid runs around like crazy. and they provide sidewalk chalk for hours of entertainment. so, your kids are contained and happy while you visit and eat in peace. it's a win win!! we were not the only ones that had this idea friday night. the place was packed with tons of kids and they were all having a blast!

dressed all "halloweeny" for her party at the sitters!

davis, georgia, murphy, o

taking a break from playing - she was asleep within seconds of hitting her bed that night!

saturday started kinda rocky but ended well! o's had a cough for about 2 weeks now. it started as just a plain old cough with a clear runny nose. then the nose cleared up but the cough lingered. i thought it was allergies with this crazy hot/cold weather we've been having so i started her on zyrtec. the cough only worsened over the past week and at 11:30 on sat morning i decided it was time to consult someone more capable than me to diagnose her! i knew i couldn't make it to monroe by noon to see her regular dr so we went to quick care right after lunch. we left an hour later with scrips for an upper respritory and sinus infection. the np assured me she wasn't contagious b/c she hadn't been running any fever so we continued with our plans for the day. mom came over and we headed to counter culture for a humphrey - mom says that o loves them but i think that's just an excuse for her to get one too! sat night we headed to emery's for their neighborhood party. it was so fun!! TONS of kids! after that mom stayed with o and i went to an adult party at emily and matt's. it was also a lot of fun but i headed out kinda early b/c i'm also not feeling well. (i'm sure that o and i just keep passing this "crud" back and forth between each other - today i'm not doing so well as i have a low fever and feel like complete crap. so, now that she's on meds i'm pretty sure it's time for me to get some so we can both get better!)

the official 2010 photo - she's competing for the title of best costume at my dad's bank! she won last year so there's a lot to work for!! :)

LOVES to slide!

once the corn came out o was done. this is her FAVORITE fall activity. could do it for hours.

i picked up corn all over my house after this party!

maybe next year o will really "get" trick-or-treating. that will be so fun!!

halloween - part 1

i have been so busy this week that i haven't had a chance to post! monday we went to the kd meeting to help out a friend that was speaking/presenting and when we left olivia said "bye bye" for the first time! she said it to a room of 100 girls; how appropriate! tuesday we had kindermusik and then the tech/boise game. right after kindermusik we headed straight to ashley and grayson's for a little game watching party. we had a great time as there were several other kiddos there for olivia to play with! thanks for having us grayson and ashley!

supporting the dawgs at kindermusik!

on wednesday o started wearing her halloween themed clothes! i never thought i'd be that parent that dresses their kid for the holidays. i was wrong!! i love it! we had some mail and goodie to open after we got home so i took her outside for this. she LOVES sitting by the pumpkin. everytime we enter or leave the house she sits on the front step next to it and "pets" it.

thanks, reynolds, for the surprise treat!

thanks, gg, for the card and money!!

after that we were going to trinity's turnk-or-treat! this was the 1st annual and it was a hit! i thought olivia wouldn't handle it well with all the costumes and strangers but she did awesome! she totally got the concept of taking candy from strangers! piece by piece she would do it forever if we let her!

o and dev

getting some candy from cousin donna

and last night i made cupcakes for her to take to the sitters! this is her first real holiday that she's old enough to 1) take something and 2) actually enjoy it! hope the other kids enjoy them too!

pumpkin party

o attended her 1st of many halloween activities today. kd held a pumpkin party for local girl scout troops and alum's kids. the alumnae assoc helps with the event so i made the treat bags and loaded/unloaded 30 pumpkins in this october heat. i'm so glad to be a part of a chapter that loves to give back to the community through projects like these. i was helping a girl (upper elem / jr high age) and she had never carved a pumpkin. i got the lid cut out and off and told her to get after it and she looked at me and asked what she was suppose to do. i nearly cried.

rett brought olivia b/c it's his weekend with her. i'm glad he decided to bring her even though she only had an hour nap today and started getting pretty cranky towards the end! she had a blast painting her pumpkin, decorating her cookie (well, rett decorated it but she ate every bite), coloring and playing!

the cookie decorating table

she liked her cookie!

getting good at putting color to paper

getting some help from her dad

this is rare - us both looking AND smiling at the camera!

o and catherine williams - they were staring at a cookie rebecca was holding!

o and her masterpiece. she must have really loved it b/c she would NOT look up for this pic!

show us your life - nurseries

well, i've looked high and low and can't find a post i did on o's nursery. i found random tidbits about the nursery but no post dedicated to the whole room. so, b/c kelly at kelly's korner is hosting "kids rooms" this week i thought why not?!? olivia has several sentimental pieces in her room. her bed was my baby bed that we had refinished. her dresser was the first piece of furniture i bought when i moved out of the dorms in college. got it at a junk shop and i still love it! the shelf was part of a larger shelf that her dad's dad or granddad built. we cut it in half, painted it and put a top on it. the rocking chair was my grandparents - they bought it when jenny (my twin sister) and i were born so they'd have a rocker at their house when we visited. sorry you regulars have seen most of this. if you're new here, enjoy!

the olivia canvas came from nat kat designs and was the first thing i ordered/bought once i got the bedding in.

close up of olivia's canvas.

rachel at the peek a bootique did the monogram canvases and the pic frame with flower on top of the shelf

close up of shelf with pic frame. that lamp - yeah that was another impulse buy. all little girls need a little bling in their room!

my junk find dresser turned into olivia's changing table/dresser

close up of the bedding. i fell in love with this bedding the minute i saw it but then had reservations b/c i thought it'd be too busy. once i got it in i had NO regrets! and i still get giddy when i go in her room and see it!

jackie made olivia this bow holder and i LOVE it!! if you need one call her - she loves doing it!

belated.

SEVERAL weeks ago i headed to monroe to celebrate a friend's hubby's 30th bday! 30's a big deal so shelley had a party for her hubby, chad. we had a lot of fun at the warehouse sitting on the deck overlooking the river. it was still REALLY hot then (opposed to just hot, now) but the food didn't disappoint! it never does. thanks for inviting me shelley! had a blast!

me and emmy - it'd been TOO long since i'd seen her!

4 of the original "fab 5" and me. lindsey wasn't able to make it so i took her spot for the night! she's now safely back in the fab 5 but thanks for letting me "in the circle" for 1 night.

group shot

fun give away!

my friends at messy aprons are doing a fun give away! go check it out but you don't have to enter....it would take away from my chances of winning! :)

17 mths, tech homecoming and trinity fall festival

olivia was 17 mths old on friday! no official photo - my skills are slipping. a quick rundown of what she's up to: in addition to the words listed in her 16 mth post she will now attempt to say pumpkin, gg & pops. still eating really well. loves her new sitter, mrs. debbie. didn't cry at drop off in the church nursery today!! shelley (her eca teacher) told me today that she's been doing really well in sunday school (she said "mooo" today when asked what a cow says! she still won't do that for me!)

tech's homecoming was this weekend. o did great all day long after her first TWO spankings on sat morning. yes, 2 spankings before 10 am. i think we hit the terrible 2's this weekend. but anyway... friday night me and my friend hillary took o and her son reynolds to the pep rally. then on saturday we had lunch at sundown and then headed to the game after naptime. while tailgating we ran into rachel, amanda, & yitin. so good to see them! well, i see rachel all the time but it's still good to see a group of people! we also saw lindsey at the game and visited while in line for a smoothie (which o drank most of...note to self - next time get 2.)

then today we went to church and then after nap headed back up there for trinity's fall festival. this was my first time to attend this and they do an AWESOME job! o had her face painted for the first time, played in the corn dig, jumped in the jumpy, went on a hay ride, played the duck game, ate LOTS of ice and had her first hamburger and cheetos! big day for a little kid! not to dampen the mood but i had my first taste of being a single parent. we were in line for burgers and o spilled her ice. so, off to find napkins to clean that up. then, have you ever tried to hold a toddler, a hamburger plate, chips, diaper bag and drink all at once? i HUGE thank you to the nice lady that helped me! i'm sure there will be many more situations like this but it HIT today that i'm a single parent. as hard as it sometimes is i'm loving the one on one time and the memories we're making!

o had a fun-filled weekend and i'm so thankful that i got to spend it with her! making memories is what it's all about! she won't remember this but i'll be able to show her the pics and tell her all about it. i mean, what kid wouldn't want to do all this???

oh, just a funny story that i want to remember: when i went to the church nursery to pick her up after ss she was playing in the toy refridgerator. i watched her for a mintue or two and then called her name. she came running towards me and then stopped and turned around, headed back to the fridge. i looked at her worker like, what??? then o got to the fridge, shut the door and came running back to me! she had forgotten to shut the door! how cute is that!