Friday, December 16, 2011

Mommy and Olly on e-Bay!

My items on eBay

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Our Trip to Saskatchewan December 2011


Olivia and I recently went on a trip to Saskatchewan to visit my mom's side of the family. I have so many aunts, uncles and cousins that I rarely see. I really wanted to spend some time with them and I wanted them to meet Olivia for the first time. We flew there and back from Vancouver. The plane ride there was pretty scary for Olivia. However, going back went much more smoothly. I had figured out how to set the tv to cartoons. She was thrilled!


Most of our trip was spent in a small town called Humboldt. We stayed with my Aunt Doris. She's a very kind woman. Being out in the country was so relaxing. It was so quiet and cozy. There was lots of snow on the ground and the sun shone everyday. We went for some day trips to the neighboring towns, had long afternoon naps and enjoyed lots of good meals. I did a lot of reading. Olivia was so well behaved the entire trip. She enjoyed meeting our relatives and they absolutely adored her.


I came back to Vancouver feeling refreshed and clear headed. Olivia was happy to be home as well.


My sister lives in Switzerland and would like us to come for a visit at some point. Olivia is an excellent travel companion. I think it would be an exciting adventure.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Fall of 2011 - Olivia the Great!

Miss. Olivia Ann is growing and changing daily. She is so tall, strong, agile and FAST!!! She started ballet this Fall. It's a lot of fun to watch. I particpate too! Which probably looks hilarious!

Olivia continues to love daycare. She loves her daycare friends the woman who runs the daycare. They do arts and crafts, play games, sing songs and have snacks, lunch and naps together.

Olivia goes for long stroller rides with grandma along the seawall regularly.
They talk, sing and stop to look at all of the dogs, birds, trains and squirells along the way.



Olivia continues to love books at nap time, bed time. She also loves our weekly trips to the library. Not only do they have books and DVD's but they also have a Thomas and Friends train table! Our local library has an excellent kid's sections with storytime, teddies, big cushy chairs and lots of large, colorful cushions.

Starting in January, I'd like to register Olivia for another dance or music class, and something athletic.

I'm looking forward to Christmas with Olivia, family and friends. I find I enjoy Christmas so much now that I'm a mother:)

Since becoming a mother, I find myself so excited about life. I've also become so much more focussed as a person. I plan ahead, I'm organized, I think things through. I love my life. Sometimes there are challenges, but I work on being positive. I thank God every night for my dear, sweet Olly. I am thankful that she is happy, healthy and safe.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Miss.Olivia - 2 years old!

I can hardly believe that my little girl is 2 years old already.
I remember the moment she was born and placed into my arms.
She was very quiet, but her eyes were very bright and wide open.
I said "hello there, welcome to the wolrd Olivia. You are so pretty!"
The doctors took her briefly to examine her and make sure she was okay...
she wasn't crying or making any sound. She was fine though, thankfully.
Perhaps she was just trying to take everything in. Her first cry came the following morning. Being a new, unexperienced mom, I wasn't sure what to do. The nurse suggested that naybe she needed a diaper change. Sure enough, she was right. I changed her little diaper and she went back to sleep. I barely slept the first few days after she was born. I kept hopping out of bed to gaze at her sleeping. I was so excited to bring her home from the hospital. I couldn't wait to start our new life together. I was glued to my dear Olivia at all times. I had lots of questions and lots of anxieties. Everything was so new. Family and friends were helpful in the baby wisdom department. As for the anxieties..I just had to face them. I was scared to drive with her...I was so afraid of a car accident. I didn't want to take her for walks in the stroller at first. Again, I had worries. But I got past all of that with practice. I'm still a big Mama Bear though.

Over the next two years we have swam together, gone on countless car,train, bus and stroller rodes. We have explored books and toys. We had a moving truck fire where we lost everything. But we built our home up again slowly.
We have gone camping, to playgroups, the beach, the library and recently, ballet lessons. She's grown to be a very strong, solid, expressive little girl who is loved by everyone she meets. I've grown as a person. The focus of my life is creating a good life for Olivia and myself. We are surrounded by terrific family, friends and neighbors.

It has been a good to years. The best two years of my life. As an added note, I finally lost all of my baby weight. It took 2 years, but I did it!
The first year I didn't really lose any weight. However, for the past year, I have been eating smaller portions, making smoothies, walking and chasing after my little boot camp instructor "Miss Olivia."



Sunday, June 26, 2011

Olly the Dolly - 21 Months

My baby Olivia is a ray of sunshine. I'm so blessed to have her. She learns so much every day. She's about 30lbs and she's quite tall and athletic. She likes to climb, swing, run, jump, dance, clap and kick the ball at the soccer field. Olivia needs activity, otherwise she lets me know that she's unhappy. She also enjoys going to the library. bed time stories, watching the ducks at the local lake and pretending she's taking on the phone. She enjoys watching Barney.

Olivia's Words:
Hi
Hello
Bye Bye
Soo-Soo (soother)
ba-ba (Bottle)
Shoes
Coat
hat
Streoller
Walkies (Walk)
Night Night
Mama
Baba (Grandma)
Car
Cat
Neigh-Neigh (Horse)
Moooooo (Cow)
Cheese
Potty
Barnie
Dora
Chair

I try to keep a bedtime routine with Olivia which is evolving. She's always been a pretty good sleeper. Though getting her to simmer down before bed takes a bit of creativty and routine. Before bed or nap time, we read a few stories together. Then the stories go "night night." I play relaxing nature sounds on my Ipod whcih really helps. If she's gets out of bed, I pick her up and place her back into her bed. Sometimes this takes 3 times, sometimes it takes 12 times. But it's coming along.

One big change with Olivia, is that she has become affectionate and I love it. She loves huhs and kisses and cuddle time.

I've been getting more time for exercise and relaxation which makes me a happier and more patient mommy.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Olivia-17 Months

My dear Olivia is growing so quickly. She's wearing size 5 diapers. For clothing, she's wearing 18-24 months; for shoes, she's into a size 5. She runs, dances, climbs and loves practicing going up and down stairs with mummy.

She nows says the following words:

Mama
Cat
Ok
Uh-oh
Mine!
Hi

She understands much of what she hears. If you ask her where her coat is, she will walk over to the closet and point. If you ask her where her "blanky" is, she will go to the bed, pick it up and bring it to me. She receives a lot of encouragement and seems very pleased with herself:)
She will point to her hair, teeth, tummy and toes when asked where they are.

After 17 labour-intenive months, I am starting to feel more rested and relaxed. Before I had a Olivia, I had zero concept of how hard parents work and how the first while is exhausting. I am fortunate to have some very supportive and loving people in my life who have guided me through this time. I am very thankful.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Olivia 15 Months

My dear, sweet Olivia is growing so quickly. She runs around,climbs,dances, plays "peek-a-boo" and practices doing sommersaults. She's also a big fan of creating enormous messes wherever she goes:)

She lets me know what she likes and doesn't like. For example, Olivia really enjoys going swimming. She shrieks and laughs and kicks her feet with delight. Olivia really doesn't enjoy getting her hair combed. She yells, tries to block the comb with her hands and tries to wriggle away from me.

She has started waking up at around 7:30 or 8:00am, which is great. For the past 3 or 4 months, she was waking up at 5:00am which was really hard for me. I'm not a morning person, regardless of when I go to bed the night before. So at the moment I sort of feel like a lady of luxury.

The holidays went really well. Olly was able to spend some time with her aunt and uncle from Switzerland. The forecast is calling for snow this evening. If so, I'll take her out in her new sled tomorrow.