There's a First Time for Lots-a-things!

Hi, everyone.  It's me, Olive.  It's been an exciting months of "firsts" for me, and I can't wait to tell you all about it.  But first things first (pun totally intended).  I turned 6 months old!  On my six-month birthday, We had a cookout and my Great Grandparents Gilland came to visit me.  Cousin Caroline never left my side.  

  

Here I am blowing bubbles for my Dad.  I will definitely be ready for a candle in 6 months:

Here are a couple pictures from my six-month photo shoot:

At my six-month check-up,  Dr. A. said he wanted to see me sitting up all by myself soon.  I'd been practicing in this funny chair Emily lent us called a bumbo.

Mom went home and got on the internet to look for ideas to help me sit up on my own.  She read that letting me play in a blanket-lined box with a few toys would help, so...

A wise man once said, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner," and I admit, I was skeptical, but after two days I could sit all by myself.  I know what you're thinking... "I hope they at least poked some holes in the box."  No, silly!  She didn't leave me in a box for two days.  Just for a few minutes at a time (in an open box) did the trick.

Here I am showing off my new skills. 

But sometimes even the mighty must fall:

I was humbled.

But now I'm a total pro:

Sitting up by myself meant I was ready for solid foods.  Here I am trying rice cereal for the first time:

I got pretty bored with rice cereal, so onto bigger and better things- CARROTS!

But I wasn't so sure about them...

So, in honor of my first Cinco de Mayo, I tried tacos:

Just kidding!  Those were Mom's.

Of course I know that eating right isn't the only way to stay healthy.  I'm also vigilant about maintaining a rigorous exercise regime.  Here I am getting my favorite workout on the jumperoo:

Another great way to stay fit as a fiddle?  Dance!  I attended my first ballet recital to watch my cousin Caroline, and I brought her this pretty balloon.  I can't wait until I'm big enough to go to ballet class.  Mom says she'll sure miss my shapely legs, though.

I got my first pair of fancy jeans to show off these curves.  Dad thought they were so cute on me that he  asked mom to send my picture to the jeans company.  What can I say?  I did showcase the pant, here:

Here I am telling my dad all about it.  You can see where I get my model-esque looks.  I got the genes to fill the jeans.

What's next?  Well, I met Mom's friend Katy for the first time.  They went to high school and college together.  She thought I was pretty great.

I voted for the first time.  Well, I tagged along, anyway.  

I wore my special patriotic outfit.  

It turned out to be a pretty sad day in North Carolina history, but I won't get into all that.  After voting, I met my Dad and my Uncle Bailey for a fancy lunch in downtown Charlotte (No, not at Hooters... that was next door, and Mom didn't see it when she was taking this picture).  He's not my actual uncle, but Bailey is one of Mom and Dad's oldest friends.  In fact, he was Daddy's roommate when my parents started dating 10 years ago... That's right- 10 YEARS! 

And finally, we celebrated our first Mother's Day as a family of three.  Unfortunately, Mom and I both had nasty colds, but this picture was taken just a few days before.  Mom loves kissing my head.  I'd estimate that I get about 78 head-kisses a day.  She sure does love me a lot. 

In fact, no one can make me laugh quite like my mom, as you can see in this video:

 


As you can see, all these "firsts" have transformed me from a sweet, shy baby into the cool, confident woman you see today.

Lots of love,

Olive

Don't You Want Some-Bunny to Love?

Hi everyone- It's me, Olive! I hope you all had a lovely Easter. My mom wanted to do one of her crazy over-zealous photo shoots with lots of props and silliness, but the last few weeks have been so busy, she never got around to it. She did manage to run into Target and buy some bunny ears from the dollar section up front and take one picture on the un-made bed of our hotel room Easter morning. Granted, it turned out pretty darn cute, but look at her subject. How could it not?

Why did we wake up Easter morning in a hotel, you ask? Because Jesus wasn't the only one having a big day! I guess he doesn't mind sharing with a saint... a Latter Day Saint, that is... (Just a little humor for my Mormon Crowd.) My Great Grammy turned 80 years old on Easter Sunday! Lots of members from Mom's family came to Culpeper, Virginia to celebrate. Mom meant to take tons of pictures, but we all were having so much fun, she forgot to pull out the camera from time to time. Here I am with Grammy wishing her the very best birthday ever! Grammy's a little banged up right now, but nothing a little blue painter's tape can't fix. We love you so much, Grammy!

As soon as we arrived to Grammy and Grandad's, Uncle Graham saw me and said, "Trade, Trade!" He got me doing some exercises while Mom snuggled my baby cousin, Curren. I sure wish she'd taken some pictures of Curren because he's pretty cute, too.

Here's my Grandad snuggling me to sleep. I think he's got the magic touch. Grandad loves me a WHOLE LOT!

It was a short visit, but we had a blast. Granna brought a bounce house for all the kids and there was a huge egg hunt. I just supervised. Afterwards, Granna and Monkey Cam came to visit me in Huntersville. Somehow Granna managed to escape any and all photo ops, but Monkey Cam was happy to be in a few. Cam and I finally warmed up to each other, and pretty soon we were fast friends, as you can see below.

The only reason I look mortified in this next shot is because my mom put me in an outfit that was clearly way too small. She just gets a little sad about me growing up so fast sometimes, and crams me into her favorites for one final hoo-rah. I got her back by doing a blowout in public that could not be contained by my diaper. Mom says I was so pleased with myself, I looked like I'd been crowned Prom Queen.

While they were visiting, the new sleepsack Mom ordered me from Zulily arrived. She ordered the 6 months size. Monkey Cam (who is almost 12) was kind enough to model it.

Auntie Brie suggested we turn it into a maternity jumper when Mom decides I need a new brother or sister.

While there is no pictorial evidence, suffice to say that Granna and I love each other very much. This lady will do just about anything to keep me happy. One morning, she came and got me early and let my mom sleep in for an extra two hours. Mom says she woke up feeling like a new woman. See, I enjoy my mom's company so much, I like to hang out with her all night. This explains the permanent bags under her eyes.

Now that the weather is warming up, I get to show off my spring wardrobe. Here are just a few of my favorites. I apologize in advance for the barrage of pictures, but sometimes there are just too many good ones to choose from. I figure you wouldn't be following my blog if you were bothered my "too many" Olive photos. This first outfit was from my Auntie Brooke:

We all agree that blue is my color:

These next pictures in yellow were taken on my 5-month birthday. I had to change my hair bow a couple times to find just the right one:

Here are some with Dad and Mom:

"CHEESE!"

So what else is new with me? Well, I recently made a friend that just so happens to take baths at the same time is me. We like to splash each other pretty good, but we're pretty evenly matched.

I enjoy playing in the exersaucer from time to time:

Posing for my glamour shots here (I call this first one my "Zoolander" face):

This next one really accentuates my curves (or rolls, whichever term you prefer):

In fact, Mom is so jealous of my shapely thighs, we've decided to become running buddies. Mom likes to joke that we really push each other, except she's the one doing all the real pushing. We love our jogging stroller, B.O.B.

I also recently discovered that toes are even more fun to suck than fingers. Mom snuck up and caught me in the act in this next sequence:

Here's where I realize I'm cold-busted:

What? You'd probably do it too if you could!

And finally, my new most favorite thing to do is drool. Constantly. And I give big drooly kisses. Here I am going in for one right now!

On to the cousins. We love playing together every day, as always. Caroline and James always take great care of me. They just got some really exciting news.... The new baby will be a brother! (For some great videos of Auntie Brie breaking the news, go to www.rockabyesweetbabyj.blogspot.com) I'll admit that at first I was disappointed since I wanted another girl cousin... But then I realized I just secured my spot as Caroline's maid-of-honor in about 20 years, give or take! Here's Caroline practicing for her big day:

Caroline: You have my solemn promise that I will not try to upstage you with my stunning beauty on your wedding day. I'll just get a really funny hair-do, or something:

Caroline and I love putting on matching outfits for a night out on the town:

But we aren't the only ones who enjoy coordinating our outfits:

Mom took several pictures, but Jamie is sticking his finger in his ear for all of them. Just another bit of evidence that he falls more on the Leggat side of the family tree.

Well, that about covers the last few weeks for me. With Spring in the air, I'm sure I'll have lots of new things to blog about soon. Love to all- Olive