Tiny Dancer

After seeing those ballerinas at the Children's Festival, Miss O has been very interested in ballet, so I decided to sign her up for a class on Saturday mornings.  I was slightly apprehensive because this is not a mommy-and-me class (the only kind of class we have ever taken)!  This is a big girl class where she goes in by herself and I stand outside and watch.  So, I prepped her for months, but she handled it like a champ!  And, truth be told, they do not enforce the "no mommies" rule at all, so I have stayed inside for a few classes to watch her.  I actually think she does better when I'm not in there because she is constantly looking at me for approval and to confirm that she should actually do what her teacher is telling her to do.  But, the good part of sitting in on a class is being able to take these adorable pictures of her.  I mean....is there anything cuter than little girls in tutus?!

And a few videos of our little ballerina...

Big Girl Bed

For a while, Matt and I have been discussing when we would move Olivia to a big girl bed.  A few of my friends proactively moved their kids to big beds, with varying degrees of success.  Other friends had told me to wait until she climbed out before making the move.  Over the Christmas break, we went to a little dinner party with a bunch of parents of kids in her class and all of them were in big beds.

But, before we could make any decisions, Olivia decided for us by climbing out herself.  As I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised, Olivia has been leading Matt and I her whole life....before I could move her to solid food, she simply refused baby food; before I could wean her off the bottle, she would only drink out of a cup; before I could move her down to 1 nap/day, she moved herself.  There are countless, good examples of her successfully leading us over the past 2 years, so we decided to follow her on this one too.  And, as she has with other changes, she handled it like a champ!

She was absolutely THRILLED when she saw the "big girl bed"!

We had one day when she kept coming out of the bed during naptime, but after we threatened her with going back to a "baby crib," she quickly stopped doing that.  And since, then, its been great.  She stays in her bed all nap/night long and then calls us to come get her once she wakes up.

I love hitting all these new, big milestones, but wish time would slow down just a little bit.  Where did my baby go?!

Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas this year.  Olivia woke up to many presents under the tree.

Her first concern, however, was the cookies we left out..

She was very excited for all her presents.

The car was the big hit of the day!

But a close second was Niva, who sings Ring Around The Rosy when you hold her hands

Olivia is really into pillows and blankets ("bacies" as she calls them) recently, so she was thrilled for a new pillow and some bacies...which also coincidentally worked out well for her new big-girl bed..

And of course she was thrilled with the other loot she got...

Like last year, we opened presents at our house on Christmas morning.  It was so nice this year to be able to let her open presents and enjoy them at home for a while.  And, this year, Miss O was feeling a bit under the weather, so we let her get a good morning nap in.

And then once she woke up, we headed to my parents' house where there were many more presents + the allure of her wonderful and silly family...

It was a wonderful Christmas and we were so happy to share it with our sweet girl!

Christmas Eve

Forgive the delay in blogging -- we've been dealing with some crazy schedules and crazy lives over here.  But, remembering what a wonderful Christmas season we had has been a nice way to spend the afternoon.

We spent the day with Pop-O & Tutu.  Olivia was thrilled to receive so many wonderful presents

The  slinky and stamps from Pop-O & Tutu were a big hit!

As was the singing, reading dog Violet from Uncle Drew and Aunt Jenny

This was also the day Olivia decided to try crawling out of her crib.  Consequently, she took no nap (and more on that later...).  However, for no nap and the excitement of the day, she was an absolutely doll.

We went to Jasper's for an early DELICIOUS dinner and she was great!  It was decorated so nicely that we got some great, festive photos.

Then we came home and put out cookies and milk for Santa and Mrs. Claus

And then it was off to bed to wait for Ol' Saint Nick!

Breakfast with Santa (Part 2) and Ranch Weekend

Continuing the crazy December schedule, we went to (another!) breakfast with Santa at the Woodlands Children's Museum with the Born family.  We got there a bit early and were able to snap these great pictures!  (It is very rare these days that Olivia will (1) stand still; (2) actually look at the camera for any extended period of time; (3) smile).  To get these happy shots, really was a Christmas miracle!! :)

Olivia had already informed me ahead of time that she was NOT sitting on Santa's lap.  I told her that was fine, which I think lifted a weight off her shoulders.  Instead, she had a great time eating pancakes and playing with her friends!  

The following weekend we headed down to Bryan to spend the weekend at the ranch of our dear friends the McGuires.   It was very cold that weekend, so we bundled up (and hugged!) to stay warm! 

 

We went on a golf cart tour around the property in search of cows.

We then made our own pizzas for dinner.  While the moms cooked, the babies enjoyed rides in the box and eating cheese!

All three of us absolutely adore this family -I think that spending time with them is food for our soul - I always notice that both Matt and I come back from our visits feeling relaxed and happy.  So blessed to have them in our life!