I’m A Big Girl Now!

This is Olivia.
Olivia thinks she’s a big girl.

I think it’s the jeggings.
Jeggings have the power to make anyone feel like a big girl.

It started out innocently enough.
She carefully pulled herself up onto Riker’s step stool.

Once she mastered the stool, she set her sights on the couch.

And tonight, she used her bitty baby muscles to scale her crib.

Gah! Those little stretchy pants kill me.
I bought multiple pairs and I’m so glad I did.

“Look mom! Only one hand!”

She continually amazes me every day by what she is capable of doing.
Almost all of her big milestones (sitting, crawling, climbing) have been a month sooner than Riker did…so it always surprises me to see what new trick she’s mastering.

Family Pictures

The last time we took family pictures, Riker was 6 months old.
We figured it was time for some updated pictures and I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from Christie Knight Photography.

The timing might not have been perfect…
mid-June in Arizona is pretty hot.
But we survived with lots of water and mini fans, and somehow Christie made us look less hot and sweaty than we actually were!

I love how they turned out and I cannot wait to get some printed to hang in our house.
And maybe the next time I decide we need family pictures, it won’t be in the middle of summer!

Fabulous Fourth

This was a great fourth of July.
It started out with a lake trip…in the rain.
We didn’t plan for it to be in the rain, but it was.
Luckily the water was warm and the rain eased up on us for a while so we could enjoy a couple of hours in the water.

(see those dark, stormy clouds…!)

(note Riker’s pink life jacket…that’s what happens when the oldest cousin is a girl. We buy pink first and the boys get all her hand me downs!)

After the lake, we headed back to my parent’s house where the adults rested, the kiddos swam in the pool, and eventually we barbequed and set off some fireworks.

(TJ’s marinated hot dogs are my favorite…and this time, we spiral cut them so they were extra cool!)

(so grateful that fireworks are legal in Gilbert now…we don’t have to fight the crowds to see them!)

Easy, low-key, relaxing, fun.
The perfect fourth of July!

7 Months

My baby is 7 months old today!
And what a cute 7 month old she is!

Facts and tidbits about Olivia at 7 months:

*sleep habits have returned to normal and she will sleep in until at least 8am (though its usually 9-9:30) every morning
*still only two teeth, but with the chewing (and some fussing) she’s been doing lately I won’t be surprised if another one pops out soon
*loves chewing on her toes, especially when I’m trying to feed her some pureed goodness
*mastered the army crawl and has even started crawling on her hands and knees (though army crawling is still the fastest method!)
*thinks her brother is the greatest thing ever…she literally follows him around the house and cannot focus on anything except him when they are in the same room
*her hair is still just super fluffy and sticks straight up (but at least she has hair!)

Cutest bug ever!

35 Things To Do: Update

Try one new recipe a week:
*baked sweet & sour chicken…I completely regret waiting so long to try this recipe. It was amazing and will be added to our regular dinner rotation!
*cream cheese enchiladas…seriously so good. Quite possibly my new favorite enchilada recipe.
*honey glazed carrots…good, but not amazing. I wanted them sweeter. And since they were done in the crock pot, they lacked any carmalization which I missed.
*crack potatoes…not as good as funeral potatoes, but there was bacon in it and bacon is good.

Read 30 books:
*Two Truths and a Lie…book #3 in the Lying Game series (I started the series so I might as well finish it!)
*Beautiful Days…book #2 in Bright Young Things series. Not as good as the first, as sequels tend to be.

Have family pictures taken:
We did it! It was hot and we were sweaty, but we did it! My cousin Christie, as in Christie Knight Photography, took our pictures just a few days ago. Once she gets done doing her magic (and hopefully making me look skinny and fabulous through the miracles of photoshop!) I will be sure to share them with you!

Make homemade baby food:
I am so proud of myself for this one…there was something so rewarding about making baby food for Olivia. I am by no means an “organic-whole foods-green living” kind of person, but I love the money I’m saving by doing this! I've made butternut squash, carrots, peas, zucchini, peaches, bananas, and pears. So much easier than I ever thought it would be.

I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to this month, but I am proud of the progress I have made so far! The year is exactly half over and I think I’ve made a pretty good dent in my list!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

It’s no surprise that we LOVE going to Diamondback Games.
Anytime someone has extra tickets, we are quick to jump at the chance to go!
And thanks to TJ’s office, we have already attended 4 games since we’ve been back in Arizona.
This past Saturday, TJ once again had tickets to the game and we decided to take the kids with us.
Riker loves sports so we thought he’d love it…but he’s also two, so we thought there was no way he’d sit through even one inning.

We were right, Riker loved it.
His eyes were huge when we walked in to the ballpark…all the lights and noise and people!
Even now, days later, Riker keeps talking about the fun he had at the game.
”It was SO loud! There were SO MANY people!”

Olivia was less excited about all the noise.
Whenever there was loud cheering, she got pretty nervous and would bury her face into my shoulder.
Also, she is so squirmy and does not like to sit still so holding her for longer than 2 minutes is not so much fun.

We left during the 5th inning.
Not because the kiddos were done…Riker would have been content to stay for the whole game!
But we left at 9pm so the kiddos could get to bed…especially since we had church at 8:30 the next morning!
I know we will be attending more games this season, and I’m sure Riker will beg to go to every one!

6 Month Check Up

Olivia recently turned 6 months old, so it was time for her check up with the pediatrician.

weight: 17 pounds, 10 oz (66%)
length: 26.5 inches (71%)

I’m always surprised at Olivia’s weigh ins.
Compared to other babies her age, she seems so petite…yet she’s always in the upper percentiles!

The pediatric office that we visited today was recommended to us by a lot of our friends
(of the 14 responses we received, 8 of our friends recommended it!)
but I was actually pretty disappointed with it.

Our pediatrician in Ohio was the best…always willing to talk with us about concerns/answer any questions/offer advice.
The office I went to today felt very much like a business.
We didn’t get to see a doctor (we saw a nurse practitioner instead) and found out that we’d probably see someone different every time we went in.
There weren’t any pleasantries exchanged, no “hi, welcome to our practice”, no “tell me about your kids!”, nothing.
All business, all the time.

And while that atmosphere might work for some people, it isn’t the kind of office I had hoped for.
So we probably won’t be back to that practice and will continue our search for a pediatrician that we love.
Recommendations are welcome. Tell me why you love your ped!

Life Lately

Ever since we made the move back to AZ, we’ve been working on adjusting to our new lives…hence, the blog has been slightly neglected.
So here is an overload of pictures, depicting our lives over the last few weeks.

Dback tickets are a perk of TJ’s job!

(you KNOW this picture will be shown at his wedding!)

Dancing at Duper!

Eating sweet potatoes like a champ

Livvy really wanted to eat that burger…and I don’t blame her!

Celebrating the purchase of our new mattress (finally!) with some In-N-Out

Pretending to be dad

The happiest girl ever!

Riker asks to hold Olivia, but she’s much too wiggly these days!

Driving the car with buddy Eli

We’ve been in arizona for over 3 weeks now.
Some days it feels like we’ve been here much longer than that.
Other days, I feel like we just barely got back.
Slowly yet surely we are getting into a groove and adapting to our new life.
so far, it seems like we are going to like it!