Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm finally getting around to writing about our Thanksgiving weekend!  I'll start with the not-so-fun part of the week.  Last Monday, we came home from work and smelled the wonderful aroma of gas in our house....Awesome!  So, Lee called the gas company and I took Olivia over to Grandma and Grandpa's to feed her and hang out until we knew what was up.  Turns out, there was a leak in the furnace, and a possible leak in the hot water heater.....SO....they turned off the gas to those two appliances and put service calls in for both.  I put Olivia to bed and headed home to get our things to spend the night.  Lee stayed at the house that night.  We got up Tuesday morning and I dropped Olivia off at school and I went to work, same as usual!  When we got home from work Tuesday, it was rather chilly in the house, so we packed for the night and for the Wintergreen trip and we all went over to mom and dad's to spend the night.  We are very lucky to have mom and dad so close AND they are fully stocked up for an overnight with a baby!  Crib, tub, highchair, bottle warmer, bottle brush, exersaucer, etc. etc. etc......makes it so easy!!

Wednesday morning, we got up and Lee came home to pack up his stuff and take Farley to the vet where he would spend a few days while we went up to the mountain.  After dropping Farley off, he headed back to pick us up and we were on our way!  Wintergreen here we come!!  Last year was the first year since I was about 4 years old that I did not spend Thanksgiving on the mountain, so it was great to be back up there this year! 

It was a pretty easy drive with a little congestion in the Charlottesville area, but, all in all, uneventful!  Olivia was a great passenger with only 5 minutes of crying.  Perfect!  We got to the house and unpacked all the things we brought and settled in for the two day vacation!   We dressed Olivia in a new outfit with boots given to her from her BFF Vivien!  They were too small for Vivs, so Olivia benefited!

Ok, she's not happy, but she is stylish!

 The Thanksgiving festivities began when mom brought out our Thanksgiving gifts!  Yes, Thanksgiving gifts.  This was a tradition she started a few years back in order to give us ornaments and decorations we can enjoy for the whole holiday season!  I got a wonderful candle and ornament, but Olivia was spoiled with some Christmas PJs, Christmas socks and a wonderful recorded book, "Twas the Night Before Christmas", read by Grandpa and Grandma!  We have "read" it a few times and she is mesmerized by the voices of her grandparents.  She loves it!  Adam had gotten one read by Grandpa a while back and also received a Christmas one, "Frosty the Snowman", read by Grandpa and Grandma!  He LOVED it....particularly the "thumpity thump thump" part.  He listened to that a FEW times  :) 

Maureen and Andy prepared dinner Wednesday night.  Wonderful spaghetti and meatballs were enjoyed by all!  Adam even got in on that! 

Thanksgiving morning was typical....parade and all!  Maureen's favorite part of the day!  One difference this year was that Lee made the turkey!  He started brining it on Tuesday and it was good and ready to roast on Thursday morning.  So, he and mom were busy in the kitchen getting stuff ready to go in the oven while the kids were playing with Grandpa!

While Olivia was enjoying her lunch, the light was hitting her eyes just right, so Lee snapped a pic!

After lunch it was time to take the whole family up to the playground for some fun and pictures!  It was a little chilly out, so we didn't stay long, but we all had a blast!

The cold got to us all so we headed back to the house.  The smell of turkey was in the air!!  Almost time to eat!!

Adam is saying "Cheers" with his sippy cup!

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  Now, on to CHRISTMAS!!!

Harry Potter and Leah....

Saturday, Andrew and I headed out to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...the 7th, and last, in the Harry Potter series.  It has been a tradition to see the movies with my friend Leah.  She has been living in Saudi Arabia for about 6 months now and is home for a bit to visit family and friends before heading back in about a week.  Leah headed over to the house today and we went to the theater about an hour early.....um, nobody was there, we could have gotten there right at movie time and still gotten good seats!  Oh well, better safe than sorry!  The movie was great and we can't wait to see second part in July.  Of course, Andrew will be in Georgia and Leah will be back in Saudi Arabia, so I suppose I'll have to drag Lee out with me!

After the movie, we went back to the house so Leah could meet Olivia and have dinner.  We had pork chops, homemade Mac-'n-cheese, and steamed broccoli.  Great meal!!!  It was so nice to see Leah and hope she'll be back home soon to do it all over again!

 

Tarara!

Friday was a great day!  We had Veteran's Day off, so we decided to take Friday off to have a nice long weekend.  Friday was our Pre-Anniversary Date Day!  Since we went to wine country for our honeymoon, we thought we'd celebrate by heading out to Tarara for a day of tasting, eating and drinking.  It was wonderful!  On our way there, we stopped at Wegmans and bought some bread and brie along with a wonderful roast beef and roasted red pepper sandwich that we split for lunch. 

We did the regular tasting and met some really nice people as we sipped on some fabulous wines.  The very young guy who was our tasting guide was pouring very well.  The tastings turned into probably a whole bottle between the two of us when all was said and done.  Delicious! 

 

We bought a bottle of their Charval and headed out on the patio for lunch.

The brie and bread was fantastic and the sandwich was beyond delicious.  We enjoyed every bite!

 One of the couples we met inside during the tasting heard us talking to another woman about Wintergreen, so they came over to talk to us about it.  They had a place in the Highlands up on the mountain for about 9 years.  We got to talking to them outside and ended up staying there for about 2 hours longer than we had originally planned.  It was a great day with great conversation and awesome wine and food.  A great way to start out anniversary celebration! 

I LOVE to eat!!

Enjoying my oatmeal and squash!



Laughing with Daddy

Olivia loves playing with Daddy!

So BIG!

While Lee and I were at a wedding on Saturday, Olivia spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa.  Uncle Mark snapped this video of Olivia and her two new tricks!  (Pay no attention to Grandma's voice....has a bit of a cold!)

6 Months!

Half a year already?  Yep, it's true!  Olivia turned 6 months old on October 24th but we just got around to taking some pictures this afternoon.  She was in a fabulous mood, just laughing and carrying on, so Lee decided to set up some lights and snapped a few! 

One of the best parts of these pictures is the blanket she is sitting on.  A good friend of ours, Patty, knitted this blanket for Olivia.  What a sweet and thoughtful gift!  Patty's son Bryce benefited from one of my crocheted blankets when he was born almost 10 years ago.  It was one of my first projects.

Happy 6 Months Olivia!!!

Yay!!!

Olivia's new trick!!  I couldn't decide between these two videos, so I'm posting them both!

Food, Glorious Food!

Olivia is an eating champ!  Here is a current rundown of her loves, likes, tolerations (not a word, but you catch my drift), and dislikes:

LOVES
carrots
sweet potatoes

LIKES
peaches
oatmeal

TOLERATES
applesauce

DISLIKES
green beans

Today she is trying bananas and peas for the first time, so we'll see how that goes!!!  She is doing great with the eating and we have cut out one bottle and started putting her to bed an hour early.  We've only done that 2 days in a row, but it's working great!

You're Not the Boss Applesauce!

Saturday we started Olivia on some food.  She has been eating rice cereal for a few weeks now but mostly just in her bottle at night.  So, I was able to snap a video of her trying applesauce for the first time.  I gave her some right after she ate a bit of oatmeal for an afternoon snack.  I'm not sure she really likes applesauce, but I guess I would make these faces too if all I'd been eating for 6 months is breast milk, formula and rice cereal!

Sweet potatoes next!!!

6 Month Appointment

Olivia had her 6 month Dr. visit this morning and all is well!  She is definitely ready to start eating some solid foods!  We started her on rice cereal a couple weeks ago and it seems to be agreeing with her so we'll start her on oatmeal for a few days and then get started on some fruits and veggies!!  We are so excited for Olivia to try something with some flavor! 

Olivia's nurse is super pleased with her progress as far as her growth but wants to see her sitting up on her own soon.  We are working on it, so I know she'll be good to go in the next few weeks.

Her stats at 6 months old:

15 pounds 15 oz - 51st percentile - up 2 pounds from her 4 month appointment but down from 57th percentile

27 1/2 inches - 96th percentile - up 2 inches from her 4 month appointment and up from 90th percentile

43 cm head circumference - 67th percentile - up 1 cm but down from 78th percentile

I took some pictures of Olivia at the Dr. office but for some reason, they are no longer on my phone, so I have none to share!

I look forward to how much Olivia will grow over the next 3 months!  9 month appointment next!

Busy Sunday!

The past Sunday was a busy one!  Not only was it Olivia's 6 month birthday, it was my mother-in-law's 65th birthday!  So, we packed up and headed to Danielle and Eric's house for a surprise breakfast for Ruth.  She was definitely surprised.  The whole family was there to celebrate.  The only person missing was Jon.  He had to work so wasn't able to come up with Michelle, Staci and Courtney.  He was missed!  Olivia got to meet her Aunt Michelle and her cousins, Staci and Courtney.  She loved them lots!!

Olivia laughing with Miss Courtney

Olivia chillin' with Miss Staci

 After breakfast we all went outside (gorgeous by the way) and set up the camera on the tripod to get a picture of the whole family!!

Then the fun started!  We tried to get all the different family combinations since almost all of us were there!

Nana and the Grandchildren

Bob and Ruth with the kids

Bob and Ruth with the boys

Bob and Ruth with the girls

 The visit with everyone was so nice and Olivia was so great despite not having a nap!  Here are a few more shots from the day!



Andrew Chillin'



Olivia with Aunt Dani



Cole Bug!

After our visit, Lee, Olivia and I headed over to Bob and Ruth's to have some one-on-one time with them and watch a bit of the Skins game.  Olivia finally got her nap in!  Long day for Olivia, but she was a trooper!

Cousins!

Saturday, Olivia and I took a field trip out to Auntie 'Reen, Uncle Andy and Adam's house to visit with them and Grandma and Grandpa.  Olivia has been using an "Exersaucer" at school and Adam was nice enough to let Olivia borrow his, so we had her take it for a spin!  This is what happens when a 1 year old plays with a 6 month old.....

After we hung out at the house for a bit and watched the Hokies beat the Blue Devils, Mom, Maureen and I headed out to Kohl's for a little BSS (Birthday Shopping Spree) for me!  Olivia stayed at the house with Grandpa and Uncle Andy.  Grandma even bought Olivia her first Christmas dress!  Oh boy, it's absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to put her in it!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Sunday morning, we packed up and headed to Ticonderoga Farms to take pictures of Olivia and her BFF, Vivien.  Sarah called earlier in the week to see if we could get in without paying since the girls obviously wouldn't be partaking in pony rides, hay rides or burlap sack slides!  Since we were just going for pictures and pumpkins, we didn't have to pay.  Perfect! 

Ticonderoga is a local farm that has both pumpkins and cut-your-own Christmas trees.  I see this place being visited by the Diehrs and Wyshynskis for years to come. 

We walked back to one of their many patches and gathered a bunch of pumpkins to set up a mini-studio for the girls.  Since they can't quite sit up on their own, we had to prop them up with some pumpkins.  This is what we got!  We caught some smiles from Vivien, but I think she might have been a little tired.  Olivia was hamming it up, as usual!

After a while, the girls were a little over having their pictures taken, so we picked them up and headed back to the main area of the farm and had fun taking random pictures.

Vivien is watching Olivia to learn how to smile!  I know she knows how!!

Vivien is definitely not enjoying this little photo session!

 We look forward to making this a tradition!  Maybe next year the girls will be easier to photograph!