Our first blizzard!

So, we got the huge storm the meteorologists were predicting. Nothing like the blizzards they had here 2 years ago, but quite a bit of snow. Here's the progression:

12:00 pm (it started snowing around 8:00 am):



2:00 pm



4:30 pm



Michael got home from work around 4:30 and this is what he got to do:



Bodine playing in the path the snow blower made on the driveway:



Here's who I felt sorry for yesterday. Rambler is a corgi (well part corgi!) and has short stubby legs. Michael cleared him a path on the deck when it finally quit snowing this morning.



Bodine on the other hand, loved it!



7:30 pm



And here's what we woke up to at 9:00 am:



You know I took pictures of Olivia in the snow! Our little snow bunny:



Here she's sitting in the path Michael shoveled for the dogs:



Looking thrilled:





Our pond is still running!



I took this picture in a snow drift, so it's not entirely accurate. We have more like 12-15 inches depending on where you measure.



One more of Rambler with his short legs:



That's our excitement for now! How's your spring going?

Bounce with me, bounce with me...

She finally figured out her jumper! She "got it" at her My Gym class, so when we got home, I hung up the one we got for her. She was in a different one at My Gym and had a little easier time. I'll get a video of her later, it's pretty cute!



(Yes, she's jumping in the bathroom. The only doors downstairs that have frames are the bathroom and laundry room.)

As you know, we've struggled with sleep (or lack thereof) since we came home from the hospital. I've tried several different ways of getting her to sleep on her own, but none have worked. My newest strategy is napping in her crib. I put her down when she's really sleepy and pray. The first day, I laid her down and went back after a few minutes to check on her. This is what I found:



I straightened her out and left again. 2 minutes later, she was crying and ended up sleeping in our bed, as usual. Her pediatrician told me she'll let us know when she's ready to sleep alone. I'm just hoping it's before high school.

Saturday I was trying my best to feed her breakfast (pears mixed with rice cereal). This is what kept happening:





What held her attention more than food?



The vacuum cleaner.

Sarah (next door) and I have been making hair bows and I finally figured out how to make the korker bows (it involves an oven!):



Hmmm, I think her head needs to grow before she wears this one in public!

Her 7 month picture (a little late):

Not too exciting...

That pretty much sums it up around here. We've been busy enjoying the warm weather before the next cold front (tomorrow). Michael's birthday was Saturday and we went to dinner with some friends. Nice to get out and we sat across from a couple with 11 month old triplets. Put a few things in perspective, even though Olivia was the only one that cried during the meal!



That would be prunes covering her mouth. You only give a baby prunes for one reason. I hope it works tonight! Poor baby.



Her shirt says "My heart belongs to Daddy." She's pretty attached to Mommy and Daddy right now. I left her in the nursery at the gym Friday (remember she did really well last time). She was fine when I left, but after 35 minutes on the elliptical, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and ask if I was Olivia's mom. Not what you want to hear! She was fine, except for the uncontrollable crying. We'll try it again in a few days. She LOVED her My Gym class and they do a short separation time, where the leaders basically play with the babies with the moms out of sight. I'm hoping this will help! She didn't realize I wasn't the one sitting behind her last week.

If only she was always this happy:



Not a fan of green beans:



More later!

A new friend

Look at this adorable sock monkey my friend Mandi sent Olivia! Her name is Fifi and Livi loves her!





She especially loves chewing on her tail:



She likes Fifi much better than Pooh, whom she tries to strangle:



If you want to read an interesting, fun blog, Mandi's is the best! She is very crafty and is nice enough to share it with the rest of us. She has two adorable boys that keep her busy! Thanks again!

We are hopefully on the other side of our "sick" days! Olivia is the only one that's healthy right now! I'm sure this crazy weather doesn't help. Remember my post about our warm weather? When I woke up this morning, the temperature was 12 and it was snowing. Lovely March weather!
Olivia and I are starting a class Thursday at My Gym. My Gym caters to kids 6 weeks to 13 years old with age appropriate games and activities. We are in the "Tiny Tykes" class (6-13 months). I'm really excited to get her involved in something with other kids. She and Avry (the other baby I watch during the week) have just started noticing each other and "talking." They also like to take off each other's socks. It's pretty funny to watch them together. I'll keep you posted about the class!

I really love using cloth diapers. The only downside is they are super "fluffy" and some of Olivia's cute clothes wouldn't go over her fluffy bum. BUT, I finally found one that works with her jeans! Yes, this is very exciting to me. :)
It's an OBB Marathon diaper (they're all hand-made).

Look at that fit!



The best part! Her jeans fit (well, they're a little long)!



Showing off her standing:




Hope you have a good week!

Warm Weather

It's been unseasonably warm here the past few days. We're not complaining! Olivia loves to be outside. We went on a walk with Sarah, Liza, and Landon (next door) yesterday and stopped by a park. I put her in a swing and she loved it! She liked swinging on my lap better (probably because she was a little small for the "infant" swing!). Not a huge surprise that she likes to swing:





We're moving right along with solids. Of all the vegetables I thought she'd like, peas was not one of them. She loooooves peas. Not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, though. We'll try green beans tomorrow (have to make them tonight!).



I belong to an online parenting forum that's been really helpful. There are lots of mama's with good advice. We recently did a "swap" and exchanged items to pamper mommy's. One of the things I received was this cute bag. Livi fit right in it!





We carried her around for 10 minutes taking pictures. She never made a sound!

Still working on sitting up:



Note the drool on her shirt. Still no signs of a tooth yet, though.
This is the "How many times can Mommy catch me?" game.



Don't be too jealous of the warm weather! It's supposed to snow Saturday. March is the second snowiest month here, so we'll see... hopefully not this year!