Spring Break: Fishing Festival

Assistant blogger Little Robby:

We went to a fishing festival at Tempe Kiwanis Park on March 15th about 10am. We went to a little registration booth. I guy there gave us Easter baskets filled with miscellaneous stuff like a mini-fan, fishing lures, bobbers, Easter eggs, etc. Below, Miss Photogenic with her new sunglasses:

Then the man told us to go to the next booth. There we got a paper; we were supposed to go to the other booths and get it stamped. Once we got them all stamped, we came back. Then he gave us a coupon for a free hamburger at Outback Steakhouse. (They were catering there.)

Yummy hamburgers!

After that, we went to borrow some fishing poles. You could go catch fish in a tank or the lake.

Here's Jenna trying to catch a fish.

The tent Jenna was fishing in.

Then we went over to the mobile tent area where they were giving away prizes. There was one guy who had an iguana. It was as long as his leg. You can only see its head here.

I won a Lego Exo-force Aero Booster. At first, they tried to give me a very mean-looking Pirates of the Caribbean guy. Then they held out a purple bat-and-ball to me. Then I pointed to the Lego set and they handed it to me. The announcer guy made some comment like, "Some of the parents in this crowd are teaching good negotiation skills."

Mom's reaction when she saw my Lego set.

The main bot (sorry it's sideways).

The whole thing.

It was really fun. Jenna caught a fish but we couldn't get a picture of it.

More about Olivia

Time for an Olivia update...

I took her in a week ago for her 2 month well check and she measured (according to the nurse's very inaccurate measurements) 23 1/2 inches (90%) and weighed 10lb. 10oz. (the nurse didn't mess up the weight, but she did mess up on the percentile for weight which she told me was 80% - not really Olivia is more like the 45% for weight). Even so, she has grown considerably! She is no longer the petite little baby she was. I guess she decided she needed to get growing fast so she could catch up with Li'l Robby and Jenna.

Here are some cute pics...

I love the baby chub she is getting on her thighs.

I was lucky to catch her actually looking at the camera. Normally, she will avoid eye contact with the camera (I think it's because she knows it will flash in her face.)

This was taken at bedtime. I was so proud of her last night, she ate at 10:15pm and then slept till 7:15am! Woo hoo! Go Olivia! (Can you tell I love sleep?!)

I tried so hard to get her to look at the camera, but again she avoided it.

Things that are going on for her right now are:

• She gives great big smiles (mostly for Mom) usually right after she eats.
• She is already getting into girl talk and will coo back and forth with Mom.
• She has decided that she does not like to be left alone in the swing, carseat, or bouncy chair. If someone is in the room with her she is usually okay, but if you leave she will protest. She wants to be where the action is.
• She wants to stand now, and will arch her back and stretch out her legs until you hold her upright as if she was standing. She's still getting the hang of this, but the desire is definitely there.
• We got our our high chair (it has a reclining seat) and she was very pleased to sit in it the first time and be part of the family at dinner. She appeared to be very fascinated watching us eat our food.
• And last, we are pretty sure she is going to have blue eyes.

Princess Mama and other 2 year-old moments

The other day Jenna dressed up in one of her princess dresses and told us, "I'm a princess mama!"
Other funny things she has said recently are:

Conversation in the car:
Jenna - I'm a Jenna, I'm a girl.
Mom - That's right, you're a girl.
Jenna - No, I'm Robby, and I'm a boy.
Mom - You're not Robby, that's silly.
Jenna - No, I'm 39 cents!
Mom - Okay...? (I'm thinking that's random)

Said to me:
Jenna - Olivia's a big girl and I'm the baby.

The other day:
Li'l Robby - Mom, can I have a P-O-P-S-I-C-L-E?
(He was trying to be stealthy so that Jenna wouldn't know what he was asking.)
Mom - Sure.
Jenna (comes up to Mom) - Mom, can I have a P-S-I-C-L?
(She had no idea what a P-S-C-I-L was, but she figured that if Li'l Robby wanted one, it must be good.)

Jenna was hovering near me while I was putting on make-up one day:
Dad (sitting near-by) - Jenna, how old did Mommy say you have to be before you can wear make-up?
Jenna - 4 months

Li'l Robby and Mom came home the other day from karate and were showing Dad how they learned to use a stick in karate (a 4-5 ft staff that you use as a weapon.) Jenna wanted to participate, too, but we wouldn't let her use our stick (that would be dangerous!) Next thing we know she reappears in the room brandishing her princess wand swinging it wildly around like a mini stick. Don't mess with Jenna, she's our Princess Mama with a little pink belt!

At bedtime a week ago:
Dad was reading to Jenna from the Book of Mormon scriptures stories at bedtime. They were reading about Christ asking the 12 apostles what they wanted most, and about the three who asked for the same promise that was given to John the Beloved in the New Testament. To liken the scriptures to us, Dad decided to ask Jenna a related question.
Dad - If you could ask Jesus for anything, what would you ask for?
Jenna - A snack.

School Carnival Fun

About 2 1/2 weeks ago we had the fun of going to our local elementary school carnival. Little Robby used to go to this school until his new school opened in the district, and so we thought it would be fun to go and see a lot of our old friends. Big Robby was very busy with his school work, so this was my first solo outing with all three. Just getting out the door these days makes me feel like super-mom (I know there are many mothers with more children than me, but getting us all together and in the car just feels like a big accomplishment.)

When we got to the carnival, Li'l Robby promptly disappeared with his friends and only reappeared occasionally just long enough to get more tickets to do more activities. That was okay because Jenna, Olivia, and I enjoyed our girl time together. Here's what we did (or rather, what Jenna did)...

played in the bounce house a few times...

rode a motorized train...

and took a ride on the kiddie ferris wheel.

I think this was her favorite part.

Olivia is two months old!

Another month has passed so incredibly fast! You know it's funny how when you are a kid that time seems to pass so slowly, but now that I am adult, I just can't figure out what happens to the time! Has it really been two months already?! To commemorate today, we decided to take a few pics of two month old Olivia to share with everyone...

"No smiles for that silly camera of yours, Mom. Instead, I will stick out my tongue!"

(This was taken after about 4 not-so-flattering shots)
"Okay Mom, I've had enough of the camera!"

"Me and my friend teddy! I think teddy is shrinking, don't you?!"

"It's hard work being cute!"

Olivia made her church debut!

I was so excited to take Olivia to church for the first time today. We waited extra long to bring her to church because she was so petite when she was born, and because she had been very congested the last week and a half. I was so glad that her congestion cleared up because I kind of enjoy bringing my new babies to church for the first time. It was especially fun this time because I had one sister who I don't know that well very puzzled when she came up to me. She said, "Is she yours?" I said, "Yes, we adopted her 7 weeks ago." "Oh," she replied, "That makes me feel better because I was thinking I don't remember seeing you pregnant. How could you have been pregnant and I not noticed?!"

I also had a friend who came up and complimented me on looking so good for just having had a baby (she knew Olivia is adopted, but I did wonder if there was anyone within earshot that heard her and didn't know Olivia is adopted.) They did announce Olivia adoption in our ward the first week end after placement, but our ward is still so new that I don't think many people knew by name who we were.

Anyhow, it was so good to go back to my ward today!

Here is Olivia worn out from her adventures at church.

Flashback - For comparison, here is Olivia from our very first night with her. This was taken even before we left the LDSFS office. Hasn't she grown!

Back to today...

Jenna just can't resist a photo op with her sister.

This isn't a great picture (sorry about the shadows, that is me), but I took it so you can see how cute Olivia was in her first Sunday dress. I bought this dress the first week we had Olivia, and she couldn't even wear it then because she was so tiny. Today it fit perfectly. Too bad I know it won't fit for long!

BTW, this is my 200th blog post!

Science Fair

Li'l Robby and his team had the joy of winning 5th place in the team category of the school science fair! He was so excited to win something. I won't go into the whole story of science fair torture... oh, did I just say that? I mean science fair adventure. Let's just say that I am already thinking... And I have to suffer through this how many more times?! Three kids times how many science fair projects?! And I want more children, so it will be more than three kids times how many more science fair projects?! Actually we got the easy end of the stick because the boy pictured below is the one who assembled the display board with his mom till 1 in the morning. So a BIG thanks goes to Daniel and his mom! That was the silver lining to doing a group project. But to be honest, we would rather not do a group science fair project again so we don't have to coordinate with others to make it happen. I know we will have plenty group projects in the future. Anyway, I do want to wish Li'l Robby many congrats on his science fair success!

There was one other boy named Jeffery who was part of the team, but he was unable to attend the award ceremony.

The Olivia Update

Since I didn't get to post anything about Olivia last week I thought I would give a brief update and a picture for you to enjoy. She is a little angel! On Friday, I weighed her and she weighed 9lbs 11oz! She has almost gained 4lbs since birth! Wow! It's a good thing we don't keep up that growth rate through our whole lives or else we would all be massive! Although this is a sleeping picture, Olivia has been more and more alert during the day, and she even seems to complain now when she wants to be held. It's amazing how little babies learn to communicate their desires when they are so young. Olivia had been very congested in the last week and a half or so, but fortunately she seems to be over it now. Li'l Robby was sick from Sunday to Wednesday of this last week and he was forbidden to be anywhere near Olivia because I certainly don't want her sick with an upper resperitory illness. So far no one else has come down with it (not even Jenna who could not stay away from brother despite being warned over and over that she would get sick if she got too close!) Back to Olivia, she is doing pretty well with sleeping... at night we have reached the point that she will go about 5 hours between feedings during one period of the night. If I time things right, then she only wakes me once at night. It's so nice. (But, of course I have to admit that I am still looking forward to the day when she really sleeps through the night!) Well, enough talk, here's our little angel baby...

Tummy Time Exercises

Tummy time! Olivia actually doesn't complain to much when we put her down on her tummy. I think she likes to see the world from a new perspective.

Hello everyone!

We think it is funny that she lifts her feet when she is trying to lift her head. Very cute! She reminds me of a little airplane!

Grandpa and Grandma Come!

My mom and dad were very excited to come and visit us this last weekend and meet little Olivia for the first time. Here are some sweet moments from their visit.

Grandma gets to hold Olivia for the first time.

Can you tell that Olivia is loved by many?

Grandpa gets his turn to love on Olivia.

Olivia and Grandpa quickly found out that they are great napping buddies.

In fact, the second day Grandma and Grandpa were here I was surprised to see this...

All four of them were napping together (Jenna's the dark lump on the couch).

It's great being a grandpa.

Cuddle time with Grandma.

Everyone had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa.

We are excited to spend time with Robby's mom and dad and almost everyone in his family in a couple of months when his brother Tommy gets married. Olivia is excited to meet everyone, too!

Little Mommy

Evidence that I found that there is a "Little Mommy" running around...

A teddy bear in the car seat

A doll in the bouncer

Valentine's Day Suprises

The day before Valentine's we had a surprise delivery thanks to my dad. He sent a bouquet of roses to his Valentines in Arizona. (Actually the roses were mostly for my mom because my mom and dad were arriving for a visit on Valentine's Day, and he added the rest of the girls to the list.) We did enjoy the surprise!

Note to Jenna's future suitors: She LOVES roses!

The roses came with a box of chocolates and Li'l Robby added the "I Love You" made with candy hearts. We hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day like we did!

Olivia is one month old!

And what a fun month it has been. Last night we had some fun setting up our own photo studio right in our living room. One sheet, one lamp, and one camera (plus some photo editing on the computer afterwards.) So here are our one month old celebration pictures!

I think all children are angels dropped straight from heaven.

My first month

This is Olivia... I wanted to fill you in on my life thus far. Things have been quite nice over the last month. I have had plenty to eat and I get to sleep where ever and when ever I feel like sleeping. I am growing just like the doctor wants me to grow. In fact, Daddy says that I increased in weight by one third in the last month since I have gained over 2 lbs! Can you believe that?!

I must admit though, that this body does take some getting used to. Take using eyes for instance, my eyes seem to have minds of their own, and it takes all my concentration to get them to work together. It's getting easier, but occasionally one will still move where I don't want it to go and everything gets all blurry. Something I didn't expect about having a body was being jolted awake by cold wet things being wiped in very sensitive spots! Is it really necessary?! I don't like it at all. Sometimes I retaliate by emptying my bladder and making a mess. Mommy is getting fast enough that I don't usually catch her, but I still get Daddy often.

I am learning to like other things. Mommy and Daddy give me something called a tub bath. At first I really didn't like it at all. Getting wet made me cold, and I really hate having that wet cloth wiped across my face. Cold and wet are not my friends. Mommy has been perfecting her baby bathing techniques, and now tub baths aren't quite so bad. They are still not my favorite, though.

One thing is for sure, everyone here really likes holding me, especially my brother and sister. My big brother is very gentle and kind, and he likes to stroke my head (I really like that!). My sister likes to hold me, too, but I am glad that Mommy helps out because sister can be a little energetic at times. I wish I could move around like them. They can run and jump and dance. I can only erratically wave my arms and kick my legs. I haven't figured out how to coordinate my limbs yet. I've got a lot of growing to do, haven't I?!

Before I go I want to show you a few pictures. Mommy says that we are going to take pictures with my teddy bear every month. I am not sure that she got what she wanted, but I tried really hard. (Of course, the pictures would have been a lot cuter if Mom hadn't put a wrinkly sheet up behind me!)

She said that I would look really cute propped up on my teddy bear like this.

Do you know how hard it is to lift your head up when you are my size?!

Not only that, but Mom wanted me to lift my head, focus my eyes, and be cute all at the same time! That takes a lot of work!

Since I was struggling to do all three things at once, Mommy tried a different pose. I didn't think it was very flattering, and I told her so.

Is this cute?!

Hey! You can't say I didn't try!

Well, my eyelids are getting heavy, so I think that I will go have a snooze now. Hope to talk to you again soon.

Weekly Weigh In

Well, just had to do a new weigh in pic this week (We won't be able to do this much longer because she is going to outgrow our homemade baby scale). Olivia is growing fast! She is now about 8lbs. 2oz. (Give or take a baby kick, wiggle, or fidgit). This is probably the only time in her life that she won't care if we discuss her weight!

Actually what astounds me is that she is just now one ounce shy of Little Robby's birth weight. It's been a while since I held a baby this size. I was holding her today and thinking... is it really possible that a baby this size could have been in my tummy?! Amazing!