A Perfect Ten

Hey, ya'll.  It's me, Olive!  I recently turned ten months old, and to celebrate, I thought I'd include TEN pictures from my TEN month photo shoot.  Mom tried to take my picture outside in the natural light, but I kept eating the grass, so we went ahead on inside.  Please enjoy:

I have the reflexes of a jungle cat, ready to pounce at any moment!

See my ruffle-bum?  

For those who have said I can't take a bad picture...

Showing off my new chompers

Meditating Olive-style

Did I mention I started crawling?

"O" is for Olive

The back of my outfit may be as cute as the front

Mom suggested we take a picture without me chewing on my O...  I didn't like that idea

Literally two seconds later.  I was still mad.


While me turning 10 months old is a pretty big deal, it pales in comparison to some of the other exciting things that have been happening around here.  First, Mom's friend Colleen had my new friend, Carson.  

It's hard to believe, but I used to be this tiny, too

Carson and Colleen even came to see us at our house a few weeks later:

Carson is four weeks old, here!

...and not so sure about me, just yet

But guess who else went ahead and finally got here? HENRY!  My new cousin!  Mom got to meet him when he was just one hour old:

This is Henry's first close-up... Well, the first one that's Auntie Brie-approved, at least.

Doesn't my Auntie look ridiculously beautiful after having a baby?  Fine, Aunt Joyce, you're probably right.

Monkey Cam and Grandad came for a visit under the ruse of meeting Henry, but I know they just can't stand to be away from me. 

Aunt Muihri also made the trip to Huntersville last month, and as always, we love hanging out. 

In case you can't tell, I'm a pretty big fan of this music table.  I show all my house guests how cool it is.  Future DJ?  

 Since Aunt Muihri and I coordinated our outfits on her last day, Mom had to snap a few more pics.  

This is my signature "Whuut?" face

We may look happy here, but I won't lie- tears were shed.  Mostly by mom and Aunt Muihri, but still.

So what else is new of me, you ask?  Oh?  You didn't?  Well, how 'bout I tell you anyway?  It is my blog, you know.  I no longer eat pureed baby food.  Whatever the folks are eating, so am I.

Mom says this picture reminds her of Matt Foley, the motivational speaker...  This is me "getting back on the fast track!"

(I can't say I care for the comparison...)

I loved the fresh Wahoo Daddy caught on his fishing trip

Not sure why I didn't get the fancy-shamsey presentation.  I guess I'm just chopped liver.

 If you can believe it, I get even messier at mealtimes than before.  Fortunately, I still love a good soak in the tub, as evidenced by the following sequence:

I guess you could say it's how a girl unwinds.

I also started crawling this month.  This is my first day, and I stopped every few feet to give myself a big round of applause.  Now I'm very fast and mom spends the day chasing me around taking away toys that aren't really toys and I'm not supposed to play with.  It's called baby-proofing lady.  Get with the program.

*Just a reminder, folks:  You will not be able to see my cute videos if you only look at the email version of the blog.  Be sure to visit www.theporterlyreport.blogspot.com to see how truly charming I really am.  Thanks!  

So what's going on with the folks?  Oh, nothing much.  I'm still the apple of their eyes.  Here I am with my Mom.

Speaking of eyes, mine may be Daddy's color, but Mom's shape all the way!  Do we look related, yet?

 In the past, my dad has been described as... How do I say this?  Subdued?  Aloof?  Cool as a cucumber?  The truth is, you just have to find what the guy is passionate about if you want to see him get excited.  Things like fishing, Tarheel basketball, and apparently swing sets, get a pretty animated reaction from him:

We definitely look related.

Well, that about covers the last month.  Check in next time to see our new house.  We'll be living right next to my buddy Connor, soon!  

Love,

Olive

Life's a Beach!

Hello, folks!  It's me, Olive.  I'm 9-months-old, now.  Can you even believe it?!  Since I'm getting so old and cool, I decided on a sassy photo shoot in the jeans diapers Aunt Muihri got me before I was even born.  

This is how you can look cool and still pee your pants at the same time

 Mom insisted on some traditional shots afterwards, but I was in no mood to cooperate.  I've been getting a lot more mobile, and while I'm not exactly crawling yet, I do not hold still for a second.  This made taking my picture particularly difficult for my mom.

Yay!  The money shot!

I can be good

see?

Are we done yet?

No more pictures!

 We started the month with a visit from my Grandad.  He took me to a restaurant and let me order anything I wanted.

However, as evidenced by the following picture, solids are still a work in progress.  I've moved on to finger foods, but they generally end up in my high chair and diaper.

What?

My mom turned 30 this month and Daddy and I decided to take her to the beach to celebrate.  Fortunately, we've got connections.  Uncle Steve and Aunt Katie live in Kure Beach, and they were happy to let us come for a visit.   Here are some pictures from our visit:

Katie and I really like each other.  I let her hold me while Mom ate the awesome breakfast Katie made.

I told you it was awesome

Then, Steve and Katie packed up this great beach buggy and we were ready for some fun in the sun!


Of course, my slacker parents forgot to bring me any beach toys...  I guess this water bottle will have to do.

Dad and I decided to take a little nap.  Nothing like the sound of the ocean to induce great sleep.


Uncle Steve took me down for a closer look at the water.  I was a little scared at first, but can you imagine any safer arms than these?  


Here's a montage from Mom's perfect last day of her 20's

The next morning, I woke Mom up bright and early to remind her it was her birthday.  Aren't you glad we got to share a room again for a couple nights, Mom?  Right?  

Then we got ready for another day at the beach.

I like to look my best, even at the beach! 

Are you guys ready yet? 

 Me and my Mom on her birthday.  

After spending a beautiful morning at the ocean, we packed up the car and headed back to Huntersville for dinner and ice cream with the cousins.  Few people look cuter eating ice cream than Jamie and Caroline:

Exhibit A:

 Exhibit B:

 While it was great to be back, I missed the ocean like crazy, so we made our own little slice of paradise on the back porch:

But how to recreate the wind blowing through my hair?  On a swing set, of course!

It was a distant second, but had to do in a pinch.  I can't wait to go back for another visit!

That's all for this post.  Until next time-

Love,

Olive