finishing out 2009

it has been so long since i have updated this thing that i need to start in mid dec and just do a huge "finish out 2009" post. so bare with me.

here is olive just looking precious!

loving time on her daddy's shoulders.

she has figured out that music comes out of this box and it is the discovery of the century.

it amazes her. we started playing little tree and nathaniel the grublet that her aunt abbie gave her and she is always entranced. olive loves the stories and songs.

while olive hates tummy time and doesn't seem to be interested in crawling, she loves developing her leg strength and practice standing.

on our 5 year anniversary we all got dressed up and went out to eat. olive wore a dress her great Grandma and Grandaddy gave her.

 a little play time with dad before departure.

and some pics of the happy family.

olive loved my necklace: kids dancing around a maypole.

it has been an amazing 5 years. God has gifted us with such a happy marriage, a home, and now a beautiful little lady. i am so very blessed!

working on her standing again.

boy, it sure is great having dad home on christmas break.

he makes us all so happy.

daddy showing olive something on noggin. "wow dad!"

there is something about my rain boots...every time i wear them olive can't keep her eyes off of them. i think because they are shiny and she loves light. whatever it is, she is obsessed.

me and my little butterbean at 7 months.

for christmas eve our pastor invited us over to his house for dinner along with some other families from the church. he knew our families were far away. we had a great time. olive had lots of mashed potatoes and conked out on the way home. we have never seen her so hard asleep these days outside of her crib.

christmas day.

we had so many gifts for olive on her first christmas due to the generosities of family and friends who lavished her with presents.

she had fun ripping through the paper and the ribbon and lasted about 15 min before she was rubbing her eyes, ready for a nap.

we opened the rest of her presents while she slept and when she got up she got to play with them all. olive thought christmas was pretty great!

watching a bit of the winter olympics with dear ol dad.

oh man....looking so beautiful in an outfit my mom bought her and a headband we bought her.

olive is the most beautiful little girl ever!

this walker is a gift from great Grandma and Grandaddy. she was too short for her feet to reach when we got it, so her daddy fixed it so it would be closer to the ground.

she hasn't quite figured out how to work it yet, but thinks it is pretty neat.

"hey mom, watcha doin?"

do you need a finger in your eye while you do it?

i can help you read that. i just read a book about farm animals.

watching a quick cartoon.

this year has been amazing. and it has brought us closer together as a family. that is what happens when you have a baby- living on zero sleep, a wing and a prayer. olive has gone from a little jumper in my belly to this amazing creature only God himself could have hand-designed. we love her so much and can't wait to see what the future holds for her or us.