savona family

leighton's 1st birthday

2012-01-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

1 years old! wahoo! we had a fun day with family celebrating our little girl. it has been an adjustment being home with 2 rambunctious little ones and i am learning more and more everyday...and drinking more and more. drinking coffee that is, what did you think i meant?! ;)

the birthday girl with her daddy

we started the day with some football outside

then we went to papa and nanny's house (jonathan's parents) where leighton looked for something pretty to put on.

time for presents!!!

helping hands from eager cousins

ollie opened most of her gifts:)

can you see how sweaty he is and his rosy cheeks? he loves running around with his cousins.

oooh, a purse and some accessories! her favorite!

hmm... i think i need a few more necklaces

that's better

showing off her look

the aftermath

cake time:)

we sang happy birthday. even ollie, who has always cried during this song and yelled at everyone to stop singing, even when it wasn't his birthday. he told us he would go in the other room when we sang to leighton, but i guess the desire for a cupcake overtook his dislike of "happy birthday."

i think she ate the whole thing in about 30 seconds:) think she liked it?

happy birthday leighton!!! we love you!!!

"...hey wait are those my new necklaces?!?!"

monthly photo..with ollie

2012-01-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

this is what goes on when we do leighton's monthly photo...usually ollie is just out of frame;)

peek-a-boo!

love these two!

12 months....1 year!

2012-01-16T16:54:00.000-08:00

here's a look back at our monthly photos:)

one silly goose

2012-01-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

somewhere along the line, Leighton acquired the nickname, goose. and she truly is a silly goose. in honor of her 1st birthday on saturday, here are some of my favorite photos.

always sticking her tongue out

"hey guys! i'm up!"

"do i have something on my face?"

"what's going on? i can't see over this table!"

we called this, her lady gaga phase.

so smiley;)

"just keep swimming, just keep swimming."

"s'up!"

"christmas!!!! i love my antlers!!!"

enjoying some yoga

girl loves her accessories

again...loving some bedazzled button accessories.

seriously...she has a flair for accessorizing

her favorite spot

"it's like i'm on stage!!"

really...she does this daily.

we love you goosey!

christmas: part 3

2012-01-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

yes, we were on christmas overload...but is there really such a thing? i think not. i love christmas:) this year was the year for christmas with jonathan's side of the family. so that means fun times for the 9 grandkids!!!

here we all are at church for christmas eve!

it was great to get to see everyone and spend a week watching ollie & leighton enjoy running around with their cousins.

some of the boys.

the girls.

trey & leighton

eagerly awaiting for present opening

logan & ollie love their cars

ollie tends to open one gift and play with it...you have to remind him to open the rest:)

helping papa open his present

helping leighton open her present

"i don't need help. i got this one guys."

leighton, me and tessa;)

ollie refused to be in our picture. he gets so stubborn sometimes...i wonder where he gets that from

it was a very merry christmas indeed! we are truly blessed to have been able to celebrate with both our families and enjoy the holiday season.

christmas: part 2

2012-01-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

christmas morning the four of us celebrated our own little family christmas with a few presents and stocking stuffers. poor leighton really only got a book. but she was unexpectedly really excited about it. it was so cute. she probably only would have been happier if it was food. (she is always hungry, yet still so small...lucky girl)

ollie is not a morning person, so waking up was difficult. he had no interest in his presents or getting up. so like any good parent we started without him;) he decided to join us- eventually.

"what's in my stocking?"

"a toothbrush?!?" he was actually excited because it was a "buzzing" one

ok, maybe leighton was a little sad she only got a book...she was jealous of ollie's cars;)

stay tuned for part 3! yes there's more.... :)

christmas: part 1

2012-01-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

we had 2 christmases this year. the first was with my side of the family. vanessa, devin & hadley came down and we spent the weekend at my parents. it was a first christmas for both leighton and hadley.

ollie was good at helping unwrap presents.

"what did you get, ollie?" says leighotn

"PLAY-DOH" says ollie

hadley likes her play bag of groceries i got her;)

watching ollie

"hey ollie! that's MY toy!"

happy first christmas!!!

presents!

vanessa & hadley

ollie trying to catch uncle devin

watching his new train

leighton;)

these kids love a christmas tree

the best 2 ornaments on the tree

stay tuned for part 2....

11 months

2011-12-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

wow! almost one year! here are our monthly pictures. leighton is wearing her christmas dress i am making for her:) i was fitting it to her, when my scatterbrain remembered to do her photo. don't look close or you'll see an unfinished hem. what would the judges on project runway say! yikes;)

now back to it- hem the dress and trim the sleeves...i think they are a little to fluttery.

unless of course i get distracted again.

Ollie's Christmas Program and a case of stage fright

2011-12-14T15:00:00.001-08:00

today was ollie's Christmas program at preschool. the last time I went to his school (for the harvest party) he freaked out and cried and refused to partake in all the fun activities. so jonathan, leighton & I had set our expectations low.
the kids started to come into the chapel. ollie walked in holding the hands of one of the aids. he was looking very concerned, probably wondering why the chapel was filled with grown-ups, when it is normally empty. have I mentioned this kid does not deal with change or new things very well? the kids started singing and our fun-loving, enthusiastic Ollie, who has been singing all these songs at home, stood there like a statue, about ready to burst into tears. classic stage fright. little miss Leighton on the other hand started smiling and waving her hands and "singing" along. when it was over we gave him big hugs and he started to whine... Leighton seemed to cheer him up a bit and of course there's nothing a cookie can't cure. fun times were had by all.

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-28T10:58:00.001-08:00

so much to be thankful for...

like these little munchkins for example;)

cousins! oliver, hadley & leighton.

"is this all we get for thanksgiving dinner?!"

"hadley, let me fix your headband." says leighton, who loves to accessorize.

"hey hadley, look at grammy's awesome vintage bangles!" seriously- this girl loves her accessories!

"ollie! you're squeezing me too tight!"

thankful for time with family this holiday season!

10 months

2011-11-16T10:36:00.001-08:00

attempt no. 2 on our 10 month photos...

ten months

2011-11-14T12:40:00.001-08:00

we attempted to take 10 month photos today... someone would NOT sit still. we will make another attempt later, but I am not making any promises;)

happy Halloween

2011-11-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

ollie changed his mind a few times when it came to the deciding on a halloween costume...school bus, dinosaur, pirate, before finally landing a superhero theme- for the whole family:)

he was excited about the "clark kent" spin on superman- mainly because that is what we picked out for daddy and ollie likes wearing a tie.

he kind of just reminds me of harry potter:)

the glasses got a bit annoying for him, so we made a cape. besides, with the cape he could fly- of course.

and we can't forget his trusty sidekick, ever at his side- super leighton:)

off to save the day!

even superheros and their ninja cousins take time off to trick or treat:)

happy halloween!

pumpkins

2011-11-01T13:26:00.001-07:00

our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!

can you tell ollie just liked climbing all over the pumpkins?:)

halloween sneak peek

2011-10-26T14:06:00.001-07:00

note: costumes are subject to change depending on how Ollie feels;)

nine months

2011-10-21T11:10:00.001-07:00

at nine months this little girl is 18 pounds and just over 28 inches long AND walking! if she really wants to get someplace quick, or away from someone, who shall remain nameless, she will still crawl. but she is walking more and more each day. She is silly, observant and curious, with a little mischief in her eyes- just like her brother. oh, boy!

train tracks

2011-10-14T14:35:00.001-07:00

it's a daily battle. I set up ollie's train tracks- which is a painstaking task to begin with, only to have him crash them moments later. if that doesn't happen, miss Leighton will inevitably come over and grab a track off the table, resulting in Ollie getting mad and shoving his sister to the ground. so today, I flipped the mat that goes on his train table over and drew a nice little track ad some roads. crisis averted for the time being:)

mud pie, anyone? yum.

2011-09-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

so what do we do when leighton is asleep?

get down and dirty and make good ol' fashioned mud pies.

"try some! it's good, i promise." ;)

first day of preschool

2011-09-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

since ollie is quit the active little guy and he tends to get bored at home, we put him in preschool 2 days a week. don't let that excited face fool you. he looks that way until we park the car, then he puts up a fight. oh well, hopefully the theatrics wont last too much longer:)

"let's go back to the car, mom."

7 & 8 months

2011-09-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

little leighty is 8 months old already! or 9 months if you ask jonathan. "she was born in january- the first month. it's september, the ninth month, so she is 9 months."

umm, no. i tried to tell him his math was wrong, but the debate ensues.

photos have been a bit more tricky to take, since this little girl is quite the little mover.

computer fixed...almost

2011-09-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

we finally fixed the ol' mac! wahoo...but still need to reinstall photo editing software to go through my pictures. and so many pictures to go through. yikes! be on the lookout for ollie's 3rd birthday, leighton's 7 month photo, our trip to texas and ollie's first day of preschool! whew.

for now i leave you with this sweet girl- nothing cuter (or is it more cute?) than a sleeping baby, snuggled up to a teddy bear, sucking her thumb;)

computer busted:( no blogging till we get a new one, or fix the old one...

2011-07-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

fun at the zoo

2011-07-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

ollie, leighton & i went to the zoo with 2 cousins- logan & tessa, and nana & papa. it was a fun and exhausting day;)

6 months

2011-07-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

you've come a long way baby!

you are quite the little traveler- two trips to san francisco (1 by air, 1 by car), a road trip to san luis obispo, a visit to boston and an upcoming trip to houston.
you are also quite the little traveler in terms of moving on your own!
you rolled over early. 2 or 3 months i think. you can sit all by yourself- since about 4 months.
you can not only crawl, but you can climb and will plow over any obstacle in your path.

you love to go over to the fireplace and pull yourself up to stand and try to "walk" along side it. you have even bumped you head a few times on the brick, but still go right for it, determined to stand up and walk. after 2 weeks of crawling, are you ready to move on to walking?! calm down girlie! you are only 6 months old!

you have begun to eat solid food- loving avocado, carrots and banana. rice cereal? not so much, but i don't blame you on that one.

you LOVE your big brother, even though he sits on your head. and he loves you...even though he sits on your head;)

you are so fun and we love you lots and lots!!!

happy half birthday little leighty!!!

make it work

2011-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

in honor of project runway (which starts july 28th on lifetime- anyone else excited?!) ollie & i had our own little challenge. we went shopping in my scraps of fabric and had to come up with a design and make it before leighton woke up from her nap- so we had about 2 hours. ollie helped me pick out the fabric and which way the stripes went. he also likes to push the pedal of my sewing machine. here is our result. i think we made it work.

ollie & seersucker

2011-07-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

i have been making onesies, baby shoes, skirts and dresses. ollie, luckily likes to help and he asked me to make something for him. so here ya go, this post is just for him!

i love seersucker and summer is perfect for it. i was inspired by dana of MADE. she always has such great ideas and tutorials. you can find her pants tutorial here. they really are super easy. ollie loves the pockets.

leighton had to sneak in, too:)

quick, say "cheese!"

2011-07-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

ollie & leighton were both wearing some of my "originals" and i wanted to get a few photos. we set out to do a little photo shoot during a commercial break of "phineas & ferb." with ollie you have to be fast and make it a game, "let's see how many photos we can take until phineas & ferb are back on!"
here is my favorite photo sequence...that boy is such a good big brother;)

and some black & whites...

2011-06-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

while i was working on this little number...

ollie was working on this one...

i think we are both equally proud of our own creations, but not particularly thrilled with each others.

legos!

2011-06-27T07:37:00.001-07:00

we went to legoland and had a fun day. ollie only made it on a few rides- either he was too short or the lines were too long- he is rather impatient.

ollie driving his daddy on safari

ollie gave us this face when we told him to smile- it's the "ok, but i am hot, want to go play in the water and my lip is busted so this is the best i can do" smile

hey, look! i have my own steel company!

New York!

san francisco. where are vanessa, devin and hadley?
on the boats- ollie kept trying to drive. let me just say if you are ever on a boat with him, do not let him drive;)

since lines were long ollie was happy just to sit in this little car and "drive"...have you noticed he likes to drive. yes, he always asks to drive whenever we go someplace. 13 more years ollie.

driving the train. although he cried the entire time. he didn't like being by himself:(

ollie loved the aquarium. we named this guy ollie octopus.

"hey look he's waving at me!"shark swimming by

leighton had fun too- can't you tell:)

monthly photos- round2

2011-06-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

some color monthly pictures since 3 months

3 months

4 months
5 monthsshe's so cute

5 months

2011-06-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

5 months already!

lots to say....

2011-06-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

lots to say and share, just not right now;) life has been busy with 2 little ones. look forward to some future posts about a trip to boston and other fun stuff...but for now i leave you with this.

@ 4months

2011-05-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

we took leighton to the dr for her 4 month check-up today. she weighs 14 lbs and is 24 3/4 inches long...
to compare Ollie was 14 lbs and 23 1/2 inches at 2 months;)

4 months

2011-05-16T08:23:00.001-07:00

4 months already! she loves to suck her thumb and is rolling all over the place. she gets really frustrated because you can see she wants to move, just like ollie, we might have another early crawler/walker on our hands!

mother's day 2011

2011-05-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

love these two

speaking of mother's day...ollie was looking through the photos on jonathan's phone and i saw this one for the first time. it is right after we checked into the hospital the day leighton was born. i wish you could see the baby bump more. i remember walking out of the bathroom trying to hold up my belly because it felt like she was going to come out right then and there...she was born very shortly after this photo was taken;)

2011-05-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

ollie & me

leighty & me

easter and a birthday

2011-04-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

happy easter and a happy birthday

last thursday my lovely little niece, hadley quinn, was born!!! she is so cute and perfect and i am not just saying that because she is my niece and we share a name;)
after a whirlwind weekend trip up to san francisco to welcome little hadley into the world, we had a relaxing low key easter at my parents house.

we did have an easter egg hunt. ollie loved finding a few eggs...and then promptly re-hiding them;)
i missed having an easter basket, but my mom did hide a couple eggs for jonathan & me;)it has been a great few days, although sunday night i was exhausted and fell asleep at 8 o'clock;)

monthly photo outtakes

2011-04-18T08:37:00.001-07:00

ollie trying to help & get "sister" to smile...
leighton trying to punch ollie saying, "get off me!"

"who me? i didn't do anything..." :)

3 months

2011-04-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

daily life

2011-04-11T13:53:00.001-07:00

EVERYBODY WAKE UP!

and the award for best bed head goes to...

MORNING PLAYTIME...

leighton: "umm...i have a feeling ollie is up to something"

"yup, i was right"
and he's off to run circles around his sister
AFTERNOON PLAYTIME
leighton watching ollie play in their room. love the drool;)
"what's he doing?"
are we done yet, mom?

life at 30

2011-03-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

for my birthday i did a mini photo shoot with the kiddos with the help of mr. tripod and the self-timer!

life is good;)

a new decade

2011-03-29T11:25:00.001-07:00

yup...that's right i turned 30!!!!

a san francisco treat

2011-03-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

my mom, leighton and i flew up to san francisco last weekend to attend a couple of baby showers in honor of my sister. can't wait to meet baby poolman!
and it's not a trip to visit my sister without a walk down the street to stand in line at tartine for a morning bun. yum!

leighton & me for her first trip
ollie & vanessa for his first trip

play time

2011-03-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

...the blur is ollie, of course:)

2 months

2011-03-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

happy 2 month's birthday leighton!

ollie & leighton

2011-02-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

i love watching these 2 interact...

ollie trying to mae leighton laugh
ollie using leighton to practice his hurdles-
we always say he is going to be a trackstar because he runs so much
ollie tires her out

a little love...

2011-02-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

happy one month birthday

2011-02-14T12:24:00.000-08:00

she actually looks bigger at 1 week, but i know she is bigger now because she is getting too tall for the "newborn" clothes and fitting into some of her bigger sizes:)

one week

2011-01-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

leighton & ollie- each at about 1 week

leighton

ollie
leighton
ollie

little leighton

2011-01-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

well she is finally here! and we are loving having a little girl and watching ollie with his baby sister.
my due date was 1/11/11...but she missed that date. the dr said she didn't want to wait long to induce me, so she scheduled us for friday 1/14/11 at 6:45am. i was nervous about it and hoped i would go into labor naturally. thursday night came around and still nothing. so i went to bed and prayed that i would go into labor that night- specifically i prayed, "lord, it would be great if i go into labor tonight, like at 2am and then we wait a little and go in and then i don't have to be induced. further along in my prayer i said, "maybe not 2am..4am would be a little better, so i could get some more sleep"
be careful what you pray for because just about 2am (1:56am) i felt my first contraction and i thought to myself, "this feels like the real deal." sure enough 3 minutes later another one came along...they were about 30 seconds long so we waited a little while. watched a rerun of jimmy fallon and every time i laughed i thought the baby was going to come out, so i thought it was time to go...
at about 4am came the 40 minute ride to the hospital came and i felt every bump and turn! we got to the hospital and everyone was calm and taking their time...until the nurse checked me and said i was dilated to 8 already! and said we better get this show on the road if want epidural. then things really picked up and then about 2 hours and 5 pushes later she was born at 6:51am!!!! 6 minutes after we were scheduled to come in for my induction.
she was 8 pounds 3 oz and 20 3/4 inches long! big girl! i say it was all the yummy treats i ate over the holidays:)
it went perfectly! praise the lord for answered prayers...even if god didn't take my revised time into account:)

meeting my daughter

meeting daddy
she likes to stick her tongue out a lot
mommy, daddy and leighton

ollie meeting his sister. love that smile:)

she's here!

2011-01-17T19:29:00.000-08:00

introducing leighton genevieve savona

born on 14th of january

more to come later...life is busy with 2 kids:)

on the run

2011-01-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

i love this picture my sister took on our annual christmas day walk. it is how i spend most of my days:) always running after ollie or racing with him, trying to get him to follow me. here, i think we are playing "red light, green light" trying to get ollie to come back home:)

it's amazing this baby hasn't come yet with all the running and walking i do!

1/11/11

2011-01-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

will today be her birthday....???

love you little savvy girl:) see you soon!

"daddy?"

2011-01-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

ollie will use "girl" and "boy" or "kids" for other children, but he often says, "daddy" and "mommy" instead of "man" or "woman." especially, if the man is young and wearing a suit and tie.
however, there have been a few times when he has seen the same person and said "daddy" nearly every time and seems to actually mean it. for example:

nate berkus- nearly everytime i watch his show, ollie at some point will look up and say, "daddy on the TB" (TB is ollie for TV)

ryan gosling- i watched the notebook once when it was on tv and ollie kept asking where daddy went when he wasn't in the scene. then today he was on ellen and ollie got excited and said, "DADDY! lookit, daddy!" and even as i was looking up a photo of him, ollie said, "look at all the daddy pictures..there's daddy and there's daddy and there's daddy..."

and my favorite- bert :)every time we would read "grover's guide to good manners" ollie would see bert and say, "daddy!" or is "is that daddy?" and nearly every time he saw him on sesame street he would say "daddy" too:)

i think jonathan is in pretty good company:)

and if you are wondering, he does do this with "mommy," as well. basically, every time he sees a lady with red hair:)

waiting....

2011-01-03T15:17:00.000-08:00

but really little savvy girl, anytime is fine with me. you don't need to wait one more week...nor do you need to be like your big brother and wait a whole extra week. i know it's getting cramped in there- my muscles and skin are stretched to their max. it is becoming more and more difficult for both of us to move around and when a piece of dry toast gives you heartburn- it's time! let's get this show on the road!

2 weeks to go...give or take

2010-12-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

excited to meet our baby girl soon

more merriment

2010-12-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

spending christmas eve with jonathan's side of the family. ollie LOVES his cousins:)

so excited!! ollie has enjoyed riding his "plamsa car" in our backyard:)

christmas day at my parents house

love you aunt nessy:)

playing with new toys

decorating cookies- such concentration!

...happy holidays:)

christmas morning

2010-12-27T14:22:00.001-08:00

this year we decided to spend christmas morning together in our own house and have a little family christmas, before heading over to my parents house. ollie isn't always a morning person and was NOT into opening presents...we put on some cartoons and gave him a treat for breakfast while jonathan & i exchanged gifts

jonathan's amazing gift wrapping skills:) we tend to use brown bags and newspaper a lot in out house.

as you can see ollie was way more into cartoons, picking his nose and eating a cookie than opening presents...
he finally agreed to look in his stocking and open the 3 little gifts we got him

merry christmas

'tis the season

2010-12-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

...'tis the season for decorating cookies and trees:)

fun family (of 3) day

2010-12-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

the time is soon approaching when it will no longer be just the 3 of us. i tried to get us to take a vacation before baby comes, but that didn't work out:( so i thought the least we could do is make a trip to "the happiest place on earth" as a fun adventure for just the 3 of us...ollie probably won't remember, but we will and he loved it...and i am savoring these days of just hanging out with ollie...tantrums and all:)

visiting ollie's favorite "CARS"...mater and lightening mcqueen

bumper cars with daddy...expectant mothers not permitted:)

mickey!!!

studying the map deciding where to go

snack time

finally a ride i could go on! ollie loves going in circles with the elephants...we also rode the teacups together...loved that one too:)

goofy!!! always my favorite.

hopefully the one and only time this kid is in jail...

he loves to play the piano

another ride i couldn't go on:( i wish you could see his face. he begged to go on it, then got off and said, "no like the fast train!"

ollie recognized the golden gate bridge- thanks to aunt nessy for lots of san francisco books:)

just the 3 of us...plus one dude with awesome hair. this could be my favorite family photo:)

costumes & candy day

2010-11-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

aka halloween

ollie loves the UPS truck and gets really excited whenever we see one. so i thought this was a good costume for him- and it was easy to make:) today we saw a line of those famous brown trucks on the freeway and ollie said, "look at all the ups trucks!....trick-or-treat!"

"savvy girl" was a pumpkin:)

off to trick-or-treat

ollie loved trick-or-treating and getting candy...i have enjoyed eating it all;)

pumpkins!

2010-10-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

i have said it before and i will say it again- i love this time of year and all that comes with it...like pumpkins!

here are some photos of our trip to the pumpkin patch.

counting all the pumpkins... ollie really wanted to take home "a big one!"

so many pumpkins....

ollie got really excited when he saw this mickey mouse scarecrow...kind of creepy, but he liked it

ollie had a so much fun and didn't want to leave...he had a much better time this year, than his first trip to the pumpkin patch:)

we bought a house!!!

2010-10-19T17:14:00.001-07:00

here are some family photos standing outside our new (to us) house!

more photos to come as we make some improvements...like new paint:)

growing baby bump

2010-09-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

pop-pop beans

2010-09-27T17:14:00.001-07:00

sometimes getting a 2 year old to eat veggies can be tricky. ollie goes through phases of being a picky eater, lately he's enjoyed "pop-pop beans" or aka soy beans or edamame. he likes making them "pop" out of the pod and into his mouth...or sometimes across the room.
good for you and a fun time all in one little green package:)

little savvy baby

2010-09-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

sorry for my lack of posts, but i have been pretty exhausted lately. i spend most of my day chasing ollie around and dealing with the daily tantrums that define the "terrible 2's!" not to mention, we are expecting a little baby girl in january. yay!!! so here are the first few pictures of our little savvy girl.

i am about 21 weeks here. you can see the top of ollie's head and his little hand pointing to his baby sister:) and you can see i really need to clean my mirror- sorry for the spots:)
sorry this is sideways, but i couldn't rotate it for some reason.

more to come...and no, we are not naming her "savvy savona" it's just what i call her for now:)

nothing like an inflatable pool!

2010-08-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

summer is always good for splashing and playing in a good ol' fashioned inflatable pool:)

ollie turns 2...a look at his special day

2010-08-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

remember your 2nd birthday? if not here's a look at ollie's special day!
after waking up early to take a special trip to the airport to drop off grammy and papa, we (mainly ollie) made pancakes. this kid loves to cook!

mmm...mickey mouse pancake!

jonathan came home and we measured ollie's height.
present time!!!cake time!!! ollie helped make the cake too. we only had one small disaster during the frosting phase, but it all turned out ok. and tasted yummy:)
i think he enjoyed his day:) happy birthday ollie!

ollie turns 2...the photo shoot

2010-08-01T16:05:00.001-07:00

golden gate bridge

2010-07-30T16:25:00.001-07:00

some photos i took on our bus tour across the bridge.

weekend in san francisco

2010-07-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

we flew up to visit vanessa and devin in san francisco! my mom, dad and uncle were there too, so we played tourist took a tour bus ride across the bridge. ollie was really excited to ride on the big red bus!

ollie & aunt nessy

excited to ride the bus...and to eat a cookie:)

ollie took the next two pictures of daddy...with a little help from mommy.

chasing birds

a day full of cookies, yogurt candy and lollipops!

ollie helping to make dinner

walking the streets of san francisco

we found a bulldozer- ollie was really excited!

thanks to vanessa & devin for hosting a fun weekend! can't wait until next time!

all dressed up

2010-07-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

We were all dressed up for a wedding, so here are our attempts at a family portrait:)

the beautiful bride & groom in the background. congrats buddy & christine!

a boy and his balloon

2010-07-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

enjoying the great outdoors

2010-06-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

not too much to report. we've been busy, spending most of our time running around outside. taking walks, playing at the park and exploring- ollie is quite the little adventurer:)

mom & dad's dc

2010-04-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

my mom grew up in maryland, near DC and both she and my dad went to college in DC- it's where they met:) on our trip we got to see some of their old stomping grounds. our hotel was one block down from where the school and dorms used to be. here is the street:

here is treasury dept. where they used to work

thanks for the stories and the tour mom & dad!

washington DC

2010-04-14T14:47:00.001-07:00

my mom, dad, sister, ollie & i went back east to dc and to introduce ollie to his great granny hilda! it was a quick trip, thursday-sunday, and ollie was sick:( but all things considered he did a great job traveling and it was a fun trip!

hello mr. president!

you can see ollie is not too thrilled, perhaps he is a republican.

almost asleep...
he finally passed out; too much excitement for him

he was not too happy when he woke up.

a burst of energy when he saw the water.more pep in his step after another dose of tylenolarlington national cemetery. there were signs everywhere that said, "silence and respect"...ollie did not read the signs:)

PART TWO: Meeting Great-Granny Hilda

ollie really looks like my mom in these photos:)

i am so glad we got to spend time with my mom's family. it was great to see them and introduce them to ollie:)

cleaning up the courtyard

easter egg hunt 2010

2010-04-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

on good friday, we attended a big easter egg hunt. ollie was a pro at finding, and re-hiding eggs. after all, hide-n-seek is his favorite game:)

water + a few buckets & cups = hours of free fun!

2010-03-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

ollie is a busy boy, so sometimes it is difficult to keep him entertained...luckily he is obsessed with water and being outside. here's a look at one of his favorite activities.

snacktime, "mommy fish?" so nice to share:)

then ollie said, "fish, go wattu!"

translation: fish go in the water!

grandpa wally 1914-2010

2010-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

this post is in honor of my grandpa wally (my dad's dad.)
though he lived across the country in new york and i didn't get to see him often, i will still miss him and it is good to know he is with the lord in heaven.
i am unable to make it back east for the funeral, but we are remembering him here in san diego. there are many things i loved about my grandpa- from him often wearing a bow tie, to the inspiration he was praying for all of us by name everyday and continuing to memorizing scripture at the age of 95, to the simple fact that his name was "wally," (one of the many waldens in our family, including oliver walden.)
thank you grandpa for all your prayers:)

grandpa wally & grandma mary in 2007.

ollie wally paying tribute with a bow tie:)

happy st. patrick's day

2010-03-17T15:29:00.001-07:00

it's not st. patrick's day without some dyed green food.

fun. family. fallbrook.

2010-03-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

my sister recently came down for a visit. ollie really enjoys the avocado grove at my parents house...

out for a walk in the grove.

ollie did not like dirt in his sandals.

helping papa pick avocados.

we also went to the aqaurium...look we're on tv:)

ollie LOVED this little water and boat exhibit:)

dadun..dadun....SHARK!

more rainy days...

2010-02-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

these photos are more from some fantastic downpours we have seen this year. we don't get much weather here in san diego, so it is exciting when it rains.

out our front door.

our "backyard"

it could almost be snow...

i have loved all the rain we have had and ollie has learned to love the puddles it leaves behind.

san diego zoo

2010-02-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

last week my mom, ollie & i went to the zoo. ollie loved just being outside, able to run around and look at all the animals. he is learning names of animals, so it was fun to show him the real ones:)

at first, ollie wasn't too sure about these gorilla statues. we asked him where the gorilla's nose was, since ollie likes to name body parts, he continued on to point to say "nose, lips, arms, toes..."

and then with great pride and what seemed to be much louder he said "BUTT" as he pointed to the statue's rear end. it was a great moment:)

by popular demand

2010-02-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

and now for a quick update:

age: 1.5
weight: 25-26 pounds
height: 34-ish inches
(approx. measurements due to a squirmy boy at the dr's office)
favorite things: hide-n-seek, planes, trains and automobiles, not to mention "cycles" aka motocycles, books, drawing, being outside, water, sticks, rocks, throwing and kicking any object, running in circles, climbing on furniture and creating mischief...
most unfavorite thing: sleeping
words: too many to count...and repeats a lot of what we say.
one word to describe oliver: enthusiastic!

and for those of you who wanted more photos of ollie...enjoy:)

gotta love this kid...and his shaggy hair:)

rain, rain go away...

2010-01-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

i LOVE the rain...but if you know ollie, you know he LOVES being outside...poor guy.

fun friday night with daddy

2010-01-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

i documented ollie & jonathan hanging out friday night...i love my boys:)

holiday merriment

2010-01-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

our week between christmas and new year was crazy! we went to newport, irvine, thousand oaks, glendale, oceanside, fallbrook, yucipa and knott's berry farm and spent time with about 100 relatives!

a few snapshots of our fun times...

merry christmas!!!!!

2009-12-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

things i love about christmas...

christmas decorations- lights, tinsel, glitter and all that sparkles. as a kid (and even now) i always loved driving around and looking at all the houses, trying to find the house with the most lights.

christmas music- i love o, holy night and as much as it is my favorite, nothing says the holidays to me more than my good ol' mariah carey cd (i upgraded to the cd a few years ago from my original cassette, and now i have it on my itunes too)

christmas movies & specials- i love 'em all! christmas vacation, elf, charlie brown, home alone 2: lost in new york...even the lame made for tv movies on lifetime and abc family!

yummy food- sugar cookies, see's candy, candy, canes, white fudge covered oreos, apple cider, hot chocolate. on christmas day we would have brunch- cheese strata, chips, salsa, guacamole, sooo good and for dinner was ham and potato casserole with cornflakes on top (i am a fan of ham on christmas- we just had turkey & stuffing on thanksgiving!)

i do love all the commercialism of christmas- i admit it. i think it's fun and festive. i like giving gifts and getting gifts, i like all the music decorations and events. but as charlie brown says, "i won't let all this commercialism ruin my christmas!" and as much as i love all that, i never forget the reason we celebrate- the birth of jesus. and i am always amazed and grateful.
now that i have my own little boy, i wonder more about mary & joseph and what jesus was like as a toddler- did he cry or have tantrums, or was he perfect even then? did he walk or talk early? i imagine being the son of god had it's advantages in the development area. was he a picky eater? what were his favorite toys? it's hard to wrap my brain around it all. when i look at ollie, it is truly amazing to think that god came to earth and for a time, was a little boy, just like him.

i hope everyone has a truly magical christmas! enjoy the lights & sparkle, a cup of cider, and take a moment to remember why we celebrate and what it's all about.

Merry Christmas

morning playtime

2009-12-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

nothing better than playing with your cars and trucks while wearing your cars & trucks pajamas:)

update

2009-11-24T15:24:00.001-08:00

ollie is much better:) the last few weeks have been a little rough, though. he pretty much slept for a week, then for another week he was really cranky and clingy and did not have quite as much energy as usual. and now it seems he has about 4 teeth coming in at once...so sleep has been a lost art. but he seems more cheerful and back to his crazy self!
sick and cranky or healthy and happy- either way i am thankful for him this thanksgiving! and i am looking forward to a fun holiday weekend with my family!
happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

ollie's er adventure

2009-11-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

well it was bound to happen. ollie has been healthy for 15 months so we are lucky he made it this long without getting sick. but he sure has made up for it this week!
sunday afternoon i thought he felt a little warm. i didn't worry too much about it, because he wasn't acting sick and he had his 15 month check-up in the morning, i thought i would ask the dr about it then.
he still felt warm when he woke up and by the time we got to the dr his temp was just over 102. the dr was surprised because he was acting so normal. then she looked in his ear and was even more surprised when she found a nasty ear infection. which is odd because he had not been acting sick at all- no ear tugging, he wasn't fussy, the plane ride didn't even bother him! and he was had played and ran around like usual all weekend.
we went home with antibiotics and orders to rest. that afternoon, he finally started acting like he didn't feel well. maybe it was mental- hearing that he was sick:) he woke up from his nap and just wanted to lay on my lap and didn't want to move for the rest of the day. and if you know ollie, that is not normal.
then it happened around 1 am monday night, one of the most scariest moments of my life. i woke up to ollie convulsing and not responding; having what i thought was a febrile seizure. after it ended, he was pretty of out of it, so we ended up in the er all night to have him checked out to make sure it wasn't something else. it was a long night, but ollie was a trooper and thankfully the dr confirmed my suspicion and said it was most likely a febrile seizure, which is fairly common in kids when they have a fever and not too serious. and by then ollie had a little spunk back in him and had no other symptoms, so our worries began to subside.
so we have been home, trying to rest- ha! keeping an eye on him, giving him tylenol and antibiotics- which is not fun. his fever has gone down, but he is still cranky and not quite back to his energetic self yet.
we are thankful for our normally healthy boy and that it was nothing more serious. we hope and pray he will be running around again soon. we will keep you updated!

the most wonderful time of the year...

2009-11-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

i love, love, love this time of year! i think "the holidays" start off with halloween. the pumpkins, the candy, the costumes, so fun. it ushers in the season and thanksgiving and christmas are not far behind.
this year we were in phoenix with our friends from college, cameron and megan, who have a sweet little 1 year old girl, marissa. we had a great time hanging out and of course enjoying the fall festivities- even in the warm desert air:)

ollie & marissa at the pumpkin patch.

ollie meeting the cow.

ollie kicking and throwing the "balls" or pumpkins as you may call them.

getting lost in the maze.

ollie of course got down and dirty.

HALLOWEEN!
rock star ollie and his punk-kin:)

ollie and his ladybug groupie, marissa:)

ollie & marissa got along well and ollie really loved to share, as you can tell:)

family portrait

2009-10-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

i don't have much to say, i just like this photo:)

impromtu mommy & me photo shoot

2009-10-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

call me vain, but i like having photos of me, especially of me with my family and friends, but i often seem to be behind the lens, or too busy chasing ollie around! so here are a few photos of ollie and me, during our reading time... with the help of my tripod and my long arms:)

i just love his face..."mom you are so weird! are we done with all these pictures yet?"

the life of a kid...

2009-09-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

last week i made some oatmeal & applesauce cookies- yum:) i gave one to ollie and after a few minutes, i admit i was envious. cookie in hand (and mouth) sitting on the floor watching a cartoon. i thought to myself: what a life! to be a kid again- carefree, just enjoying some cookies and watching a silly cartoon...then i realized that i was doing the exact same thing!

happiest place on earth

2009-09-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

last month i got to go to disneyland with jill, my mother-in-law! i love disneyland! although it was extremely hot, crowded and the rides all shut down for about an hour the day we were there, it is true what they say: a bad day at disneyland is still a good day:)
we took ollie in at the end of the day and watched part of the parade and rode pirates of the caribbean- it was too crowded to do much else with him. i look forward to the day i can ride all the big rides with him. here are a few pictures from the day.

the ever-evolving, elusive nap

2009-08-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

ollie's naps have been unpredictable and unconventional from the very beginning. i tried to keep him on some kind of schedule where he takes a nap around the same time each day- give or take and hour. and if you are one of those parents who can mange to get their kids to eat and sleep at the same time each day, i don't know how you do it! i am impressed!

somedays, like today, he just seems to be an endless ball of energy. i don't know why i even attempt to put him down for a nap on days like today, because he is not fussy until i try to stop him from playing and then he gets mad and i mean mad! he has quite a little temper and stubborn streak. i don't know where it comes from:) i figure if he is playing well and happy, why force it?

after a few hours of trying to get him to calm down and sleep, i let him be and he pleasantly played with his toys and books...then around 3:30, ollie was laying on the floor playing with one of his cars and i notice it got quiet...i look over and this is what i saw:

ollie sleeping, car still in hand.

ollie's favorite things to say and do

2009-08-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

"words"

botty or bottu = bottle, or water

tsss = toes

shss = shoes

dada = dada:)

he is a really good mimic and it often sounds like he repeats a word if you say it to him, but those 4 words are the ones he is pretty consistent on, especially "bottu" he will ask you for it!

favorite things:

being outside, running, playing with his cousins, watching planes, helicopters or anything flying in the air, cars/trucks, his soccer ball, books, and golf clubs, taking all his toys/books and everything out of our kitchen cabinets, flushing the toilet, swimming...i could go on. can you tell he is one active 1 year old:)

the nap

2009-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

i think these photos speak for themselves:)

more birthday fun

2009-08-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

we had a little party sunday to celebrate ollie turning 1!! it was a great time with family, friends, pool, presents, and cupcakes:) not sure why the pictures keep uploading so fuzzy, the look clear elsewhere...oh well.

mmm...cupcakes

my homemade banner
ollie does not like the happy birthay song.
i think he cried when we sang for jonathan's birthday too.
so far ollie has just picked at his cupcake treats
gotta love frosting in the hair:)
we had ollie's dedication at the evening service after the party. i think the sign on stage says it all:)