Name and Date Please....

Okay, so I must have set some record in postings today! This is like my 6th post today! I had a lot to catch-up on!!!!

Many of you already know the name we have chosen for baby #2. But I wanted to make it official and announce it on our blog!!!!

It really didn't take us long to come to a decision, but we wanted to try it out before we committed to it. Anywho... his name will be Jack Michael! Jack is in honor of my dad, John, as Jack is a nickname for John. And Michael is in honor of Denny's brother Kevin, Michael was his middle name! Since this sweet boy will never get to personally know his grandfather or uncle, we wanted to be sure he always carried them with him! He has a lot to live up to! :)

We also wanted everyone to know that Jack will make his appearance into this world on August 7th! We finally have a date for our c-section! We had been planning on this date, but my doctor is a little conservative and wanted to make sure we had the "right date" before setting it in stone!

Yesterday we went to the doctor and had a sonogram and a well visit and everything went great! The sonogram was good, but we literally got zero pictures! The little stinker was facing my back so we didn't really get to see his sweet face! But we did get an estimate on his size, and he is looking pretty large! Thank goodness for c-sections!!!! :) He is already measuring almost 5 lbs! 4 lbs. 13 oz, to be exact. That is almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule! I guess that gave my dr. the confidence he needed to book our date! So in less than 7 weeks we will be "real" parents and have 2 little ones to contend with!!!! Denny and I are thrilled and just cannot wait to meet him! Please help us in praying for a safe delivery and a healthy baby boy! I'll be sure to keep you posted!!!!

Father's Day

I have to say that Denny and I were both blessed with amazing dads! Denny shares a very close relationship with his dad and I love him as a father as well! He has been there not only for Denny, but for me as well, and loves me despite my flaws, just like a real dad! :) We have been blessed to spend the last 2 Father's Days with him!!!

Although Father's Day has become a tough holiday for myself, I am so thankful for the time I had with my dad and the wonderful memories that I will forever cherish! He was one of the most caring and selfless humans I have ever known. Anyone who knew me when my dad was alive knows how close we were. We had a very special relationship that I pray Olivia will one day share with Denny! A father and daughter's relationship can be one of the most important in a girl's life. After all, it was my dad's wonderful example that led me to find love with a wonderful husband! If that trend continues I should have no worries about Olivia's future husband!

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures from Father's Day of Olivia with Denny. I was not feeling very well, and poor Denny, I really laid on the sofa all day! Some Father's Day for him! :) I vowed to make it up to him though!!!!

I did however get a very sweet picture of Olivia with her beloved Bumpa! I can't tell you how much this girl loves her Bumpa! He is so amazingly patient with her and will get down on the floor, or go outside and do just about anything with, and for her! She is so blessed by his love!

Here they are already outside, playing in the fort of her playset! As you can see, it is still early, as they are both in their pj's!

I hope that all of you dad's out there enjoyed your day!!!!!!

The New Playset!

Denny and Olivia have both been wanting a playset for our backyard for some time now. I have always been opposed because I forsaw Olivia begging me to play outside with her all day every day! I know, I am a bad and lazy mommy! But now, she can do so much on her own, like swing, most importantly, I thought it might not be a bad idea to have some sort of entertainment right outside our door! So, we took the plunge and bought one! Lucky for Olivia, it was delivered last Saturday and was set-up when we arrived home from her dance recital and lunch! Naturally that is the first thing she asked to do upon our walking in the door! She changed into her swimsuit and we filled up the wading pool, and off we went (except for Bumpa... he took a post-recital snooze... see entry below!)! :)

I made pina coladas for us to enjoy and Olivia wanted to drink hers appropriately out of her coconut cup!

Trying out the rock climbing wall
And of course the slide!

Of course, Olivia loves being outside on her new playset. And it has become a great way for her and her daddy to spend some QT together in the evenings! It is nice and shaded by that time of day! :) I have to say that I have really enjoyed having it out there too! We go out in the mornings sometimes before it gets dreadfully hot!

Olivia's Dance Recital

After Olivia's exciting week at VBS she was pooped come Saturday morning. Although it was wonderful she slept in for a change, we were a little rushed getting ready. But thankfully Gigi was there to help out!!! She really was a huge help and I know there is no way we would have been on time if it weren't for her being there!

Eating her breakfast while her hair "set"

Gigi aiding the process! One of the many ways she helped out!
Olivia had an especially big day last Saturday. Not only did she get to dance on-stage, we had a playset delivered! They arrived to set it up before we left, so she spent a lot of time in front of the windows watching it all come together and wishing she could go out there already and play on it!

BEWARE... Picture of a big pregnant lady ahead.... Why is it that dresses make pregnant women look like they are wearing tents?

Gigi and Bumpa with their girl!

Olivia did great at her recital! We were all very proud of her! And she was proud of the flowers that her daddy gave her and the unicorn ballerina Bumpa and Gigi gave her afterwards! Unfortunately that Kodak moment escaped me for some reason!!!!

After the recital we headed to Olivia's restaurant of choice... Chili's. She absolutely loves that place!


Apparently the recital was more taxing on Bumpa than it was the actual performer... While Olivia was outside playing on the playset, he decided to listen to her Disney Princess MyPod and take a snooze! I could not resist the photo op here! He really is alseep! Oh - and he is covered with a Hello Kitty blanket!

Dance Rehearsal

I took just a few pictures of Olivia's dance rehearsal last week. I didn't video it since I was buying the DVD of the actual recital (and I'm just lazy!) And the pictures aren't too good, they aren't very close, but you can get a general idea of what she looked like up there on recital day!

Liv is in the middle, if you squint real hard, you can see her! :)

2nd from left
Finishing pose! There are 2 other girls on stage... I don't know where they disappeared to?

The rehearsal was great, they were so organized, we were in and out in about 30 minutes! Recital pictures to come....

Vacation Bible School

Last week Olivia and I spent all week at VBS at our church! I was a teacher for 2nd grade and so Olivia got to go too! Since VBS is usually only open to school age children she was technically in childcare, but her age group really got to participate in a lot of the activities! I would see her every morning and afternoon in our rallies and it was the cutest and most inspiring thing ever! Just to see her get SO into it was moving, I actually had tears in my eyes the first day! (I know pregnancy hormones!!!!) But, she was singing, dancing, yelling and doing all the motions to the songs! It was great to see all of the kids get into it, but particularly exciting to see Olivia! The theme of VBS was Outrigger Island, so everything was island/beach themed, which is right up Liv's alley!

On our first day

Here is our best at crazy hair day... not very crazy I know... but it was the best I could do with the time we had and a somewhat unwilling child. She's not one to go too crazy with anything, much less her hair! :) By the way I just realized I up loaded a very boring picture of her hair... it was a little more exciting than the picture shows! Liv also thought it appropriate to make a silly face to go with her "crazy" hair!
On our last day I tried to capture her excitement and moves on the camera, but was not very successful... Her best friend Kennedy is taking a rest it appears! VBS can really wear a girl (and a mom) out!!!
Here is a decent picture of Olivia getting down!

Although it was a long and tiring week we both had a great time! It was my first time to ever work, much less "teach" at VBS, and I found it very rewarding! I had some really great kids in my class and will remember them forever! And Olivia absolutely loved it! I'm sure a lot of that had to do with the fact that Kennedy was in her class so they were together all day! But she had a lot of fun and keeps asking to go back! We are so thankful to be a part of such an amazing church and have met such wonderful friends!

Princess Belle and a birthday party

This was a weekend of birthday party fun for Olivia! On Saturday evening we went to our friend Ayva's birthday party at a local community pool! Somehow, I forgot my camera, so I have no proof of our fun, but it was a blast! The kids and adults all had a lot of fun!!!!

Then on Sunday afternoon we had Olivia's good friend Sawyer's birthday party! Sawyer had Belle from Beauty and The Beast come over for her party and all of the girls dressed up in their princess best! Last year we had Cinderella come for Olivia's 3rd birthday and she had so much fun, she was really looking forward to meeting Belle! Belle definitely did not disappoint!

Playing a game with a parachute. All of Liv's friends are grouped together in this picture!

(Maci, Liv, Emma, Sawyer)

Playing with bubbles....
Belle and Olivia
Olivia's curtsy
I love this picture of all of the girls watching Cinderella as she left!

The Splash Park!

Last Thursday, as the wind was whipping somewhere around 50 mph, we went up to a splash park close-by with some friends from church. Despite the hurrican force winds, we all had a great time! Olivia and Kennedy were a little unsure of the sprinklers at first, but by the end, we could not get them to leave!

Obviously I am no budding photographer... neither of the girls could open their eyes for the sun glaring in them! :)

An action shot of Liv once she got the hang of it! She must get that long, lean body from her dad!
Taking a break!
I'm not too sure what they are up to at that pole.....
This pictures says it all.... we had one tired and unhappy girl on our hands as we tried to leave!

Dance Recital Pictures

I am getting a little out of order here, but I just had to post these pictures, I couldn't wait! This morning Olivia had her pictures for her dance recital that is coming up next weekend! They are performing to Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid and their costumes are precious!!!!

Our Little Mermaid

Olivia with her classmates, aren't they adorable!?!?
Posing with their teacher (also adorable!) Miss Erin after receiving their medals for completing the year!

I am working on our pictures from Sea World, so stay tuned! I will try not to bog down the site with pictures!!! :)

The Last Day of School

May 22nd was Olivia's last day of school and thankfully she was there to be a part of the festivities! As I mentioned in my last post, when we came home from Houston, we came home with a sick Olivia. I thought she was on the mend after a great Monday, but over the next few days her fever kept spiking. So she missed her splash day at school on Tuesday which she had really been looking forward to! I think we both cried! I felt so sad for her!!! So, even though she was not 100% on Thursday I let her go to school. She had a great day and we are both sad the school year is over!

Olivia and her teacher, Mrs. Melissa

Sawyer and Olivia