mommy's helper

olivia loves to help me unload the dishwasher. and she loves to help me out with the cupboards!

new orleans

for my birthday we went to new orleans for the weekend. the weather was perfect and we had a blast! there is so much to do and see there. it is one of the coolest cities ever. it feels like you're in another country completely down in the french quarter. the garden district is so beautiful and the houses are amazing. we went down magazine street, there was 6 miles of shopping - so cool! we did a city tour and they took us down to the lower 9th ward where hurricane katrina completely devastated the area. it was so sad. it is still in really bad shape. there are houses falling apart and dilapidated all over and empty lots where houses once were.

the culture is amazing there and we had a great time. olivia was such a champ. she rode in the backpack and made friends with everyone. we bought a trolley pass and every trolley we got on she made friends with someone.

thank you blake for such a great birthday!

Pumpkin Patch

Here are the photos from the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day!

Halloween

For Halloween this year we carved pumpkins as a family. Olivia decided to help, but she didn't enjoy the feeling of pumpkin guts on her sweet little fingers. We also went to a pumpkin patch they had by our house to find these pumpkins. Our ward put on a really fun trunk-or-treat before Halloween. Some of the trunks were decorated so awesome!

catch up

i have been the world's worst blogger, but i am determined to be better! we have been very busy around here. blake has switched careers and is now in the information warfare school for the navy here in pensacola. he is very busy. they made him a division officer.

i have been busy with my distance education courses from byu. i'm slowly getting there!

olivia is busy as can be. she started crawling a couple days before she turned 6 months and she is cruising the furniture like crazy! she always has some bump or bruise from tumbling down. she was 15 lbs 13 oz. at her 6 month check up and 25.5 inches long.

olivia is eating her fruits and veggies like a pro. she was pretty uninterested in food until the last week. she loves sweet potatoes the very best, but will eat anything we give her. her favorite treat is the honey whole wheat pretzels that blake gives her.

they put me in the young womens presidency. so now i am the ward choir pianist, the 2nd counselor in yw, and i take care of the monthly service project in relief society.

Brandon

Thank you everyone for all your love and support during this difficult time. The outpouring from friends and family has been incredible. Losing my brother has been the most difficult thing that I have ever experienced, but with all of your prayers we are all keeping on. Brandon was the funniest, sweetest, most musically talented person I have ever met and he is missed dearly.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day we went to the Naval Air Museum and the beach on base. Afterwards we went swimming in the pool at our complex with some friends and barequed. It was nice to have one day with Blake before he started API.

Idaho

We made a recent trip to Idaho to visit family. It was a hard trip, but we did enjoy the time with family. Olivia was a gem and behaved so well on the long flights there and back. She learned to roll over onto her tummy while we were there so now she is rolling all over the place and scooting like crazy. She is very busy! She had her four month check up and she is now 13 lbs 7 oz and 25 inches long.

Tummy Time

Liv just being cute.

Liv

You'll have to excuse my embarrassing baby talk. But she's just so dang cute I had to post them.

Bath Time

Liv loves bath time. Every night before bed, either Blake or I (usually Blake) give Liv her bedtime bath. She loves to splash and kick and play in the tub. She is always sad to get out. Blake is really good about bathing her and giving me a few minutes to do my own thing. He's hoping she'll be a swimmer. We'll see!

Two Month Check up

Our little Liv is growing like a weed! She had her two month check up and she weighed 11 lbs. She was two weeks late though for her appointment. She is also 23 and 1/4 inches and growing! She can roll from her stomach to back, she talks like crazy and even giggles on occasion. She is turning into a good little sleeper. She will sleep from 9:00 p.m. until about 3:00 or 4:00 and then she falls right back to sleep until about 6:00 a.m. She likes to sleep with us on the second shift, which I don't mind at all. I miss her when she's in her crib.

She is the sweetest little baby and is so happy. We are so happy to have her. We have checked out the beach a few times. It's always really fun to go. We are getting involved in our new ward. Everyone is so nice and friendly.

We're back in business!

Well, we had a blog and then I deleted it. And now I regret it so I'm back! So much has happened in the last few months. Blake got back from being gone for 3 months to OCS in Newport, Rhode Island, our little Olivia Mae was born on January 16th, and we moved to Pensacola, Florida a few weeks ago. It's been so crazy, but we are finally settled (kinda) and back in to the swing of things. Olivia is two months old and such a good baby. She had RSV and was in the hospital for 3 days in Driggs. She had to have an IV put in and was on oxygen for a week. She is healthy now and back to being our easy going baby.

We are in our new apartment and I'm almost done decorating. It is so nice having our own place again. We live right next to a Target which is nice! There are lots of college kids and young single people living here so lots of crazy party at nights. Especially up above us! It drives me crazy. They party until 4 and 5 in the morning. I'm just so glad Liv is too young to know what's going on.

Our ward is great here in Pensacola and everyone is very inviting. They have a girls night out on Thursdays and it is so much fun! The women here are so great.

Here are some pictures to catch everyone up!