A Rainbow Bath and a Big Girl Bed!

I'm still working on updating our pictures, but wanted to add this post in while it was current.  I'm hoping to get caught up over spring break next week.

I didn't want to buy Olivia candy for Easter so instead I got her some new art stuff, chalk, and bath art supplies.  She's never experienced bath crayons or the fizzy tablets that turn the water colors.  She thought they were the best thing ever!

Her beautiful art work...

 

I finally converted Olivia's crib into a toddler bed last night.  She of course ended up sleeping with us all night (she's cutting her two year molars) and didn't get to try it out.  So... I was very excited for her to try it out today.  She loves that she can climb in and out, jumping around.  She doesn't get out of it when she wakes up though.  Hopefully this is something that is not short lived...

3rd Anniversary (August 15, 2012)

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary at home together with the family.  We ordered take out and had a nice day.

The traditional anniversary gift for a 3rd anniversary is leather.  Zach got me a digital photo key chain and a Kindle Fire in a hot pink leather case.  I was SO excited!

I got Zach a leather watch case to hold all of his watches...

My mom won the award for the most creative gift.  She bought us a box of fruit leathers from Costco!

"Olivia" (August 2012)

My mom got Olivia this shirt for her birthday.  It is absolutely adorable...

Woodland Park Zoo (Augst 7, 2012)

The following Tuesday Olivia and I went to the zoo with the McCarrons.  It was Olivia's first trip to the zoo and she absolutely LOVED seeing all of the animals! 

First stop was the African Savannah.  We saw a giraffe, two ostriches, hippos, and the lions. 

Kade and Aidan stopped to pose on the hippo...

The male lion was absolutely amazing!  He was walking all around roaring so loudly.  Olivia was mesmerized...

Olivia was really good and spent most of the time in the backpack...

The orangutans, monkeys and gorillas were really funny too.  One of the orangutans kept covering himself with pieces of cloth.  If you look closely at the bottom right corner picture, there is a baby gorilla in the bottom left hand corner.  He was SO cute!

After a couple of hours we stopped for lunch...

I always love the flamingos!

 

Olivia's favorite was the penguins.  She could easily see them because they kept swimming right up to the glass, and their enclosure goes down to the walkway...

 



 

 Soon after the penguins she was down and out!  It was a fun and exciting day!

 

Camping in Cle Elum (August 2012)

Ok...so here goes nothing!!  My goal is to have all our pictures updated by the end of the month!!



The first weekend of August we headed over to Cle Elum for some more camping fun with the Allans, McCarrons and Brandy!  We weren't able to find campsites so we camped in Brandy's family's property.  The first night we were there the kids all cuddled up in the trailer to watch a movie... 

While Olivia decided to hang out by the campfire...

 

The next day the guys all went into town while the girls took the kids down to the river to play...

We had another campfire that evening and headed home the next day.  It was a great weekend!

July 2012 Camping at Steelhead Park

For the past couple of my dad and Patti have gifted us with a week of vacation together during the summer. This year we decided to head up to Steelhead park, just north of Concrete. The park was absolutely beautiful and couldn't have been more kid friendly.

We arrived on Sunday, July 22 (the day after we had celebrated Olivia's 1st birthday). It was a little crazy transitioning, but went well.

This post has been keeping me from updating my blog because I got started on it back in July and got the pictures all messed up. I've decided to just put a link to my sister's blog since she did a great job describing all the fun we had on this trip.  I know that's kind of cheating, but hey, sometimes mom's need a little help. :o)

July Camping at Steelhead Park (Days 1, 2, 3)

July Camping at Steelhead Park (Day 4)

July Camping at Steelhead Park (Days 5, 6, 7 & 8)

18 Months...

This is definitely not the best picture in the world.  I had to take it on my phone.  I turned on the camera this morning to snap a few shots of Olivia on her 18 month birthday only to discover it's not working.  It's in the shop and will hopefully be ready soon...

On to more important things, like our little girl is 18 months!!  WOW, where does the time go?!  She is so much fun!  She is such a happy and joyful kid.  She's absolutely hilarious and even cracks herself up!  Her vocabulary is growing.  She now says mom, dada, mama (pronounced mamo) for grandma, please, thank you, cheese (for the camera), milk, no, dog, this and that. She loves to give kisses and hugs and is such a loving kid.  She puckers her lips up like a little fish when she's ready to kiss.  I got a quick picture of her ready to kiss grandma (below).  She would play outside everyday all day if we let her.  She loves to run and run, and explore.  My mom takes her on walks everyday.  Her favorite place to walk is down to the end of the street to see the horses.  She loves animals.  They've also been going to story time at the library each week.  They have a good mix of stories, singing, dancing, and activities for the kids.  She also loves other kids, especially her cousins.  Her and Charlie are absolutely best buds and are quite the pair together.  She absolutely fills our lives with pure joy and happiness each and everyday!   

 

 

(I promise to finish getting our July-December 2012 pictures up soon!  Every spare minute I have is spent with this precious little girl, so it's hard to find time!)