Oh Brother!!!

After we found out we were going to have a boy, we really dreaded telling Olivia. She has really had her heart set on a "stister"! Anytime I would even mention that it might be a boy, she would adamantly tell me, "No mommy, just a girl!" She would not even think about having a brother!!!!

While we were at our appointment, she had been playing at a friend's house. So we went by and picked her up, and on our way home we wanted to stop by Target to get a few things we needed. I thought it might be a good opportunity to let her shop for her new brother. I thought shopping might be theraputic for her, as it is for all women! :) So, we're on our way there and Denny and I are discussing how and when we should tell her and he's like, "I'll just tell her now". I really thought I might do a better job at breaking the news, but he went ahead and just turned around in his seat and said, "Hey Olivia, we went to the doctor today and found out if the baby was a boy or a girl." To which she excitedly responded, "What is it daddy a girl?!" He then proceeded to tell her it was a baby boy. Instant tears from Olivia, and this, "No daddy, I just want a stister!". It was seriously so sad!!! So I immediately chimed in with all the pluses of having a brother versus a sister. You'll be the only princess in the house, and you and mommy can do just girl things. And you won't have to share all your girly toys with your brother! (I know, not the best tactic for a 3 yr. old, but hey, I was desparate!!!) And finally, I told her I would need her help picking out some boy clothes because boys can't wear girl clothes, so he'll need all new clothes!!!! Finally she settled down and we headed into Target with a toddler on a mission. Below are some of the items she picked out! Once she got started, she didn't want to stop! She wanted to get shoes, socks, bibs, toys, you name it!!! So we let her pick out a few things and then had to cut her off! I will say that the outfit is probably not one I would have chosen, but that is not important! :) She had fun and it did help get her excited for a boy! I do love the shoes, those are just too cute!

In the days that have followed she will occasionally refer to the baby as a her, and I will correct her. She always asks, why is it a boy mommy? So, on Sunday she asked this very question. I told her that God gave us a boy because that is what he wanted us to have to complete our family. Just like when we had her, he wanted us to have a girl. Her response was this, word for word, "Um, next time mommy, we can have a girl..., when we get rid of the boy!" I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe! Then I gently told her that we would not be getting "rid" of her little brother! We will love him just as much as we love her! So now she thinks it's funny to say that we're going to get rid of the baby boy because she knows how it made me laugh the first time. She is too funny!

Will it be a Brother or a "Stister" for Olivia???

So I am a little slow at posting some exciting news! As you all know we are expecting another little one late this summer! August 7th to be exact! And last Thursday we went in for our first trimester screening. I really wanted to scan in the sonogram pictures and last time I tried the scanner it didn't work. So I was reluctant to try again. However, this time I was successful! I am really kind of proud of myself. I am NOT good with computers! But anywho, that is what has taken me so long to get this post up! That and we just have not been home much lately and I just haven't had the time to sit down and try it out. So I apologize to all out there who have been waiting very patiently!!!!

Now, back to the good stuff... Denny and I were very anxious for our appointment. For some reason we are much more so this time around. So it was very reassuring when the doctor told us that so far, everything looks good and the baby is measuring right on target with their due date.

Here are some sweet pictures of our little one! And a very telling last picture!

A sweet profile!

Another glimpse... it's amazing to me how much you can already see!

Those cute lips already pouting, just waiting to be kissed! And a cute button nose!!! I can hardly wait!
And now for the big news!!!! I know it's hard to see, especially on a scanned picture on a computer. But if you look right in the middle, you will see a round tushy and something potruding out between the legs from the tushy! That's right, it looks like we are going to have a little boy!!!!!! I am still in awe! I had a very strong feeling it was a boy, but I had that feeling with Olivia too, and look how that turned out! :) Just to see something inbetween the legs is so crazy to me (let's hope it's not the cord!). I guess I had better get used to it! I am really and truly so excited to experience a little boy! I had said that I would be happy either way. After trying for a year, truly all that is important to me (and Denny) is that we have a healthy baby! But when the doctor said boy, I was really overcome with emotion! I just instantly felt connected! Plus, now I get to shop for a whole new wardrobe and bedding! :) Everyone tells me that boys love their mommies, so that is certainly a perk! Obviously, it is still very early, I was only 12 weeks the day of the appointment, so hopefully our doctor knows what he's doing! He was pretty quick to give us an answer and the nurse said he is hardly ever wrong. But we go back in 4 weeks for another sonogram and hopefully it will still be a boy! :) After all, we went through the pain of telling Olivia she was having a brother and not a stister! That was not fun! I'll post more about that next!

Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet maybe???

The other day Olivia quietly got out her markers and paper and sat down to draw. This is one her favorite pastimes! She really loves to color, draw, practice writing, etc... If it involves markers, paper, glitter glue, or stickers, she's there! Anyway, I had no idea what she was doing until she came to me in the kitchen and said, "Mommy, look, I drew a picture of you!" I know it's not the most flattering portait, but I am very proud of my little artist! She has drawn "people" before, but not really to this degreee of detail. I know most of you are thinking, "detail", c'mon, this looks pretty simple. But I think for her age, she shows real potential! :) It is definitely something I'll always treasure!

Skippin' Rope

Olivia's favorite new game with her daddy is to play with his new jump rope! I think she uses it more than he does! :) They play this new game at least once a week and one day she woke-up from her nap saying, "Daddy, come get me, I'm ready to play jump rope"! Below are pictures from one of their latest "games", forgive the lack of clothing! And I wonder why she has a runny nose!

Christmas in Houston

The day after Christmas we headed down to Houston to share Christmas with Denny's family! I am so ashamed that I don't have not one photo of our trip down there! Olivia had called Bumpa and Gigi on the way and asked them if we could open gifts as soon as we arrived. Of course, like all good grandparents, they said okay! So we literally walked in the door and were opening gifts within 5 minutes! I didn't even have time to locate my camera in our pile that had just been brought in from the car! :) But Olivia was once again spoiled and we all had a great time!!!! We made our visit to Grandma Grace and Grandpa Al's house to say hello and so Grandma Grace could fix Olivia's lovey. Olivia was dying to help her and I'm sure she was an excellent help! She is really getting domesticated, something her future husband will one day love, I hope! :)

Olivia also had a swim in the spa again with Bumpa, and Daddy this time.

And on our last night there (a real photo op missed!) we went to the horse races! It was too cute! Olivia had so much fun, we let her bet on every race! Unfortunately she had an eye for the horses with literally the worst odds in the house and most of her ponies came in last! One time she actually said, "Look Mommy, there's my horse, he's at the end of the race!" She was so excited you would have thought her horse had beaten the others by a mile! She had different ways of picking her horses. Sometimes she picked them by color (purple her favorite!), other times it was the number, or the name! Her favorite horse was Blueberry Cat! He was one of the last place ponies! She always knew the number of the horse and would cheer for it as they rounded the track, and looked for it as they crossed the finish line! It really was a good time! Thank you Bumpa and Gigi for a great visit!!!! I just hate that I have no pictures to show for it!!!

Merry Christmas!

I just have a few pics from Christmas Day! I had the video camera rolling all morning, but didn't get many actual pictures! I don't know that Olivia knew what to think when she came down the stairs and saw everything Santa had left her. It was all stuff she had desperately wanted, but she didn't show much excitement. She must get that from me! :) But she played with everything literally ALL day, so I know she loved it all, despite her lack of enthusiasm!

Here are a few pictures of her opening her stocking!

A slinky!!!
Looking for more goods!

Getting Ready For SANTA!!!!!

We have a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve night, and that gift is always new pajamas. I hope Olivia will enjoy it as much as I did growing up!













This year she got a set of Strawberry Shortcake Christmas PJs!



















Daddy was low on pajamas himself, so I decided to go ahead and surprise him with a gift as well!














I just love this picture of the two of them!!!













After PJs, it was on to more exciting stuff...

This is the first year Olivia has really understood Santa, so needless to say she was beyond excited about his impending visit!! We got plates full of food for both Santa and his reindeer! Of course, Santa got cookies, and milk, and we made sure we had 9 carrots for each of his reindeer!

Olivia counting to make sure we had 9 carrots.


















Placing the milk and cookies... and carrots out!

Christmas Eve with Nana's Family

This year for Christmas with Nana's family we hosted dinner! We had Nana, my mom, Aunt Shar, Frankie, Bradley and his girlfriend, Shelly, and Madison! Since I love to entertain I really enjoyed it! We had quite a spread too! Turkey and dressing, ham, and all the things that go along with it! My mom brought over at least half a dozen of different desserts. We had a separate table (that was full) just for all the desserts. I wish I would have gotten a picture! As it goes, after dinner we headed to the tree for our 2nd Christmas of the season!

It seemed to be a Barbie Christmas for Olivia this year! She got a Barbie airplane, several Barbie dolls, including the Barbie Island Princess movie, dress-up, and the Princess and Prince!

Here she is with Ken and his main squeeze!

Another favorite, High School Musical dolls, Troy and Gabriella
Opening Ponyville Fashions Boutique, she'd been eying this gift for weeks!
Playing Ponyville with Nana

Christmas at Mimi's

On Sunday, the 23rd, we went down to Mimi's house to celebrate our family's Christmas with Ed, Mel and Chad and the kids, and Liz and Bryan and Presley! As always, it was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time playing together. Well, at least the girls! They tend to stick together!

Liv and Presley playing

All of Mimi's great-grandkids

Peyton opening Guitar Hero, making Denny jealous!

Grandma's House

I know it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything! We have been so busy with the holidays I just haven't had a chance to get on-line and upload all of our pictures! So get ready to be inundated with details of our Christmas holiday! :)

The Saturday before Christmas we all went over to my mom's new place to help her trim her tree. We enjoyed dinner together and then Olivia had a blast putting the ornaments on the tree!




Daddy helping Olivia reach the top of the tree.


Grandma and Olivia