Happy Birthday Jesus

What are you thankful for?

Halloween

Strawberry Shortcake was one excited gal for Halloween.  There was a parade (which we were too late for), a pizza party, a reunion with her friend Katie and of course Trick-or-Treating!  Olivia had a blast and we could barely keep up with her!  I think this next picture pretty much sums it up.

When the girls were too tired to walk anymore, we loaded them up in the wagon and let them eat candy into oblivion.  This was actually only at 8:00, and by 8:30 they were both begging to go to bed!

Click Here for all Halloweeny Pics

Happy Fall Ya'll

Here's to my favorite time of year.  Fall rolls us into cooler weather and paves the way for Halloween, Olivia's birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.  All my favorites!

Llama Llama Red Pajama

This weekend we went to a Pediatric Cancer Research Fundraiser, also known as the annual "Cow Chip Festival."  You buy tickets which represent a square on a large field bingo board and hope the cow poops on your square!  Olivia loved this because she was able to have potty talk outside the bathroom.  She also got to pet a llama which was fun because some of her favorite books are the "Llama Llama Red Pajama" series.

She also got to ride a pony, and was pretty happy with herself.

Whirlwind Disney Trip

I was fortunate enough to have my company send me on a trip for a professional meeting in Orlando, FL. Neil and Olivia came with me so we could squeeze in some time with the big mouse when I wasn't in meetings. It was a whirlwind, but I am so glad we made the most of it.

Click here for all pictures!

Summer

I realized sometime mid July that I have neglected to post anything about what we've been up to this summer. Suddenly I am faced with pictures piled up on my camera and am overwhelmed to do much with them. Luckily, Kodak Gallery made it easy to make a video to share. So.....here is a summer video that includes: Katherine's 2nd birthday, Caroline's Dance recital, a trip to Lake Lure with Meema, Carl and Katie's wedding, NKOTB concert, & Landon and Neil's birthdays. The last 5 or so are from Olivia's budding photography skills. ;-)

Summer Slideshow!

We also drove down to Orlando 2 weeks ago for a Regional AAMD meeting I attended. Neil and Olivia came so we could sneak a visit in with the big mouse down south. I have those picture loaded, and once I caption them all, I will post them as well.

Here is a link to just the photos since there are a few missing from the video. There are definitely some good PHOTO BOOTH pictures that were not in the slide show from Carl and Katie's wedding.

Photos Only!



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We said we'd never do it again...

When we built our first house, we said we'd never do it again. But here we are, 7 years later...




...And we're really excited about it. I won't post lots of pictures on the blog, but here is a link to our Kodak Gallery Neil uploads pictures to almost daily. You can check on the progress at any given time if you want.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=569804992606%3A320696737&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top

"My Brains"

Olivia's new teachers love to do hair. All the girls have the cutest 'dos at the end of the day. After bath the other night Olivia touched the top of her head and started crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said "my brains!!" Worried she had a headache, I asked her to show me what hurt. She got really mad and yelled "YOU DID IT....YOU TOOK MY BRAINS OUT!!" Neil finally helped me understand that "brains" are actually braids. I haven't corrected her because its pretty hilarious to hear her ad-libs such as, "Mommy, Ms. Tameka fixed my brains today, but Katie wasn't there so she doesn't have any brains."

"A King"

Delayed July 4th

A little late posting.

Guess Who's Taking Swim Lessons?

Catching stuff!

What a haul for a 3 year old on a summer night.  3 fireflies and a frog!

Ocean Isle

This year, the Harris family took a vacation to Ocean Isle instead of Myrtle Beach. We spent the entire week on the beach, swimming in the pool, drinking, eating, reading, and relaxing! It was a great trip that I am still having trouble getting back to work from.

Olivia has always been, and is still VERY skeptical of water, and does not like going in, or anyone taking her in.

However, she did love that the beach had icy treats on the hot days.

Not everyone was as scared of the water.

Olivia did manage to conquer one of my greatest fears though...

For more pictures, click here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=197363432606%3A1715107626&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Fun Stuff

Recently we went to Wrightsville beach to "play with our friends" as Olivia would say. It was a great time of catching up with some of my favorite people and their kiddos. The kids played great together as we adults got to enjoy each other, sun and sand!

Here, Olivia and Mack (Armstrong) pose together before taking off to the next activity.

Here, Olivia and the Perryman girls, Abby and Harper, create a sand sculpture.

Last weekend, Olivia had the finale to her season of dance classes - the Recital! She surprised us by not being shy, and had a great time! She did such a good job, and was of course adorable.



She was most excited about getting flowers afterwards, and wanted to go back to dance class the next day. There are tons of pictures of these events, and others in these pictures, but I just don't have time to catch it all up!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=447075802606%3A1257951000&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Art

"Mommy giving me a BIIIIIIG hug."

And this one was very specific and consistent.

"Mommy, Daddy and me with striped shirts on, sticking together at Target, and with hair all of us." 

Nobody can argue that she has a serious imagination.

And some more...

"A Snunk" - she corrected me when I asked if she meant skunk..."No, you call then snunks mommy."

Artístá

Olivia has really gotten into drawing lately.  Her pictures often look like Picasso's, but they always mean something very specific to her.  I ask her when I pick her up what she drew in the pictures, and when I ask yet again hours later, they are consistently the same thing she said earlier.  I will try to post some of her art during this phase.  This first submission was from today.  A realistic piece if you will rather than abstract:

"This is Daddy when he was first born as a little boy."

Silly Sweetie

I was a bit down-and-out Monday evening, but luckily by yesterday afternoon it was over.  I still went to work yesterday, and when I picked Olivia up afterwards the first thing out of her mouth was,

"Are you feeling better Mommy??"

Me: Yes sweetie, thank you!

O: "Did you help yourself today?"

Me: (confused) Did I help myself...at work?

O: "Yes.  Did you help yourself while you were helping the sick people today?"

Sometimes her mind is quicker than mine....scary.

Plays well with others

I love that wherever Olivia goes, Benni follows with his toys too.  It is only a problem when he wants to sleep on the floor in her room, and she freaks out and yells at him to get out. Sweet of him, but he also knows he is last of command.

Copy Cat

I am embarrassed to say that she is better than me at Yoga.

When I grow up...

I want to be a ballerina...

Or maybe a bike mechanic...

She also told us the other day that she knows she goes to school while mommy helps sick people, and daddy builds houses. She then said that when you build something, you have to wear a special hat to keep you safe. She told us they are either yellow or white, but she wants a pink one when we build our house. She finished with letting us know when she grows up, she is going to build stuff like daddy.

Wherever your heart is at that time little girl, go for it.
Just make sure you get your pink hard hat.

St. Patty's

Happy St. Patty's Day from the green tinted river at the USNWWC. Olivia, say "CHEESE!"

Only O

Sometimes as a reward for being good while I cut her nails, I paint Olivia's fingernails. Tonight she had a very specific request. "Pink with blue polka dots!" When I was done, I told her those were so cool. She said, "they are dinosaur eggs."

When Neil was putting her to bed she reminded him that they were "T-Rex eggs, but they are not hatching." Maybe she's got a little Birdoo circus in there after all. Luckily, it is peel-off polish and typically comes off with the next bath.

Dino Dan

Anyone who has been around Olivia in the past 6 months knows that Olivia is obsessed with a new show, Dino Dan on Nick Jr. The girl is all about the dinosaurs, and Dan. Lately "Dan" hasn't been coming over as much; however, there was a time around Christmas that "Dan" came over often. The first time, I was reading to Olivia, and she told me to scoot over because "Dan" wanted to hear the book too. Neil walked in, and I told him "Dan" was here. He replied, "I know, I had to let him in the front door a few minutes ago." Dan helped us pick out a Christmas tree, and they would even get in fights sometimes because they were spending so much time together.

"Dan" hasn't been visiting as much lately, but Olivia's love of dinosaurs has truly blossomed. I've never been into dinos myself, so it's been a learning experience for me too. She keeps me on my toes though...

Chatterbox

Olivia talks....a lot. She has questions about everything, and always has something to say about it. I love it. (Except when she reprimands my driving, or for "talking mean to Daddy")

At daycare recently, the kids did one of their art projects and hung them on the staircase wall. Under it, they put the child's name, and what they said they made. It just cracked me up when I got to Olivia's.

"I made candy, hearts, squares and shiny things."

We are in trouble...

Let me preface this by saying I'm sure all parents feel this way about their child(ren). Sometimes though I do tell people stories about Olivia and they look at me like, yeah, that's not normal.

Olivia is stubborn. Olivia is sassy. Olivia is smart. Olivia is cute. Olivia is a diva. This totals to a lethal combination, that I'm sure will only get worse. Neil and I often look at each other and say...we are so screwed?! I can only hope that we are able to harness her power for good instead of evil. She will not be a follower, she will be a leader. I can only hope it is for something good and kind, not a drug ring or a cult. I am kidding of course...a little bit.

Yesterday, Olivia's teachers told me that their class was getting another Olivia today. I took this opportunity last night to talk to Olivia about being welcoming to a new person.

Me: Olivia, did you know you are getting a new friend in class tomorrow?
O: No
Me: Well, it is a girl, and her name is Olivia too!
O: My name is Olivia. (long pause) I will call her Lydia.
Me: There are other people named Olivia. Isn't that neat that you share the same name? What else could you share with her to make her feel welcome? Do you know what welcome means?
O: It means to make someone happy. (she then gets very enthusiastic) I can share my toys with her! I can share my computer time with her! I can show her where the potty is! (mild pause and SIGH) And....I guess I can share Satcher with her. (Satcher is Olivia's best BOY friend)
Me: Exactly Olivia! Those are such good ideas to make her feel welcome!
O: I'm still going to call her Lydia. (deadpan)

Today, after school, Neil had the following conversation with Olivia:

N: I heard you got a new friend today at school! Did you play with her?
O: No. I played with Satcher
N: You didn't play with her? But did you have good manners with her?
O: No.
N: Why not??
O: Because that's the way God made it!

We are in trouble.

I brought Olivia this outfit from Hawaii, obviously. I forgot to post a video of a hula dancer on here with my Hawaii pictures, but I think it is so cool. I will also post an Olivia hula dance video as well.

We are in trouble.

Aloha Ya'll!

Turning 30 really didn't bother me a few months ago. Maybe I'm already too old to care. Maybe it's not a big deal. Maybe I'm weird because I really think you're only as old as you think you are...in which case I'm still 12. Or maybe it's because I knew I was GOING TO HAWAII!! My best buds from waaaaay back in preschool, Hannah and Brandi, decided we should all get together for a communal 30th birthday celebration. Brandi lives in Ewa Beach on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. We decided this would be a good place to visit and hang out rather than Charlotte or Mocksville.



I think we made a good choice. I did feel a little guilty each time I called home, especially because it snowed something terrible (at least for NC standards). Each morning when I got up, it was lunch time in NC when I called. Both Monday and Tuesday I heard Neil AND Olivia meaning they had a snow day out of work/school. Neil told my friend Kim when she was helping take Olivia to dance that he was going to meet me at the airport with a case of beer under his arm and then disappear. Hey, at least I know they need me.

More Pictures Here!

Holiday Whirlwind.

That's what the holidays feel like - a giant tornado of family, fun, food, gifts, travel and sleeeeep. I haven't posted since Thanksgiving, so now I am really behind with all the pictures. Beware when you click on the links below because there are LOTS of them.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great. We followed our usual routine of going to Grandma's cabin with the Harris family on Thursday. The great-grandchildren count is still growing at 5, so we all tried to bring something to keep them occupied. By far, the child favorite was something Mom brought - play snow! I don't know what it really is, but you add a little water and it makes beautiful powdery snow that the kids had a ball playing in, hiding stuff, and surprisingly not eating.

We then go Friday to a "Wootering" as I like to call it. This is Neil's Mom's side of the family, which she hosted at her house. We had an untraditional Thanksgiving meal of everyone's favorite dishes, whether is was chicken stew, meatloaf, sweet potato casserole, stuffed mushrooms, etc. It was awesome!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THANKSGIVING PICTURES

All our weekends from Thanksgiving to Christmas were booked up except the first one, and Neil and I had a few extra vacation days to burn. We may have started a new tradition by taking a few days the weekend after Thanksgiving to go to Blowing Rock/Boone - just the 3 of us. We stayed at a little Inn in Blowing Rock, shopped, played at the park, saw some snow and fully intended to get a Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the snow came down pretty hard and we had to head back early and the parkway and pathway to the tree farms were shut down. We actually came back to Charlotte and got our tree, but I was happy to find they had been imported from a tree farm in Boone - so we came full circle. We still had an awesome time. There are more pictures lumped in with the Christmas ones.

Christmas

This Christmas we decided it was time for us to spend Christmas Eve at our house, so Olivia could wake up at home. We still went to all functions we would normally attend, but drove back to Charlotte. Sounds crazy, and it was a little, but we had a great Christmas morning and still made to Mocksville in time to wake Landon up! Our schedule went: Christmas Eve to Meena's house with immediate family, then Grandma's cabin for extended Harris family Christmas, then back to Charlotte, then Santa at our house Christmas morning, then to Mocksville for my family Christmas, then to Neil's Aunt Lisa's for extended family Christmas and finally back to Charlotte again. Olivia was exhausted from opening gifts if that is possible.
































I think my favorite part of Christmas was of course Olivia and her reaction to Santa. This is the first year she really "got it." It also posed new problems for me when I made sure she understood that Christmas really was about Jesus and how it was his birthday. She was really excited for the big guy's birthday, just as she is her own. I answered her questions as honestly as I could, which included the fact that Christmas is about giving. God gave us Jesus, and Jesus gave to others and gives us hope, and St. Nick gave to others in honor of Jesus, and we give to others to also honor the love of giving just as Jesus did and does. And then there was "Stanky" and "them deers."

"Stanky" is our Elf on the Shelf, or sink, or shoe, or TV or tree, etc. Olivia finally named him this year, and while original, I was corrected many times by her on my pronunciation. It was not "Stinky", but "Stanky" and actually more like "Stankaaaay." She liked the idea of him, but honestly could not have cared less if he did go back every night to tell Santa on her. On Christmas morning, Neil and I could hardly wait for her to see what Santa brought. Only Olivia...she walked in the living room, and immediately stopped dead in her tracks with a furrowed brow. She stood still surveying the room for at least 30 seconds. Very seriously, still furrowed, she walked over to the coffee table where Santa's goodies were (cookies, carrots and milk). She looked at it, and said, "Them deers made a mess, and Santa didn't eat all his cookies." We encouraged her to turn around and see what Santa brought her. She said she would after she finished his cookies. She did. When she saw all the stuff, she studied more. She went systematically left to right checking out, opening and playing with each item, one at a time. Like a typewriter. She really did love all her gifts, but that wasn't apparent until she was showing them to someone else. Basically, she was either trying to figure it all out, or was calling BS! It was hilarious, and totally not what either of us expected, which is what we should have expected from Olivia.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL DECEMBER PICTURES