A Vegas Toddler

Over President's Day weekend we went to Las Vegas to visit Mark's parents. It ended up being exactly what we needed, a weekend away from our overly busy lives. Olive had a great time being showered with attention from Grandma, Grandpa, Paboo, Aunt Mary Ellen, cousin Taylor, and Cee Lo.

The first day we were there we went to visit the new house Bill and Teddie just bought. It is gorgeous, and I can't wait to go back once they are moved in and the weather is warmer to have Olive swim in the pool. She had a great time chasing golf balls around on the putting green.

After visiting the new house we went to the Hoover Dam. Unfortunately Olive was suffering from some jet lag combined with a little virus, and she fussed the whole time. We joked that if she ever wants to visit the Hoover Dam when she gets older we are going to tell her that she is not allowed to go, since clearly she hates the Hoover Dam.

Olive was a little sick our first couple of days. She just didn't seem to be feeling very good, and after her fussy Hoover Dam trip she took a long afternoon nap that turned into a long night's sleep. She was running a bit of a fever too. Luckily it only lasted around 24 hours, and she was back to her energetic self.

On Sunday we went down and walked the strip we were trying to show Olive some animals, but it turns out the MGM is moving the lions off site, and we were too late to see the animals at Sigfried and Roys. We did see a duck swimming in a fountain. I think Olive still had fun riding in the stroller and seeing all the people, and big buildings.

And then as we were getting ready to board our flight back to Atlanta there was Cee Lo Green on our flight. As we walked past him when we were boarding he said, "Hi Baby!" to Olive. So now they are BFF's.

Someone was not feeling well.  Luckily Granpa was there to snuggle with her.

First bubble bath, she wasn't sure what to do with the bubbles, so she started eating them.

Spending time outside with Grandma in the beautiful Vegas weather.

Drinking some water with her Paboo.

I wonder if she gets free meals?

She finally got to meet Aunt Mary Ellen.

She loves her Paboo.

First try with Birthday cake.  She wasn't sure what to do with it, and then each time she put it in her mouth she spit it out.

Bye bye Vegas.

11 months old on Valentine's Day

Small disclaimer: I

wrote this post yesterday, but did not have time to finish it. I don,t feel like going through and changing all the " todays" to yesterdays.
I can't believe Olive is 11 months old today. Time really does fly by. I was talking to one of the other moms at daycare today, her daughter is three months old. The woman was standing there holding this tiny 3 month old in her arms (literally tiny, the baby weighs as much at 3 months as Olive did when she was born) and I couldn't help but think about what a difference 8 months makes. She is the mother of this tiny baby, and I don't have a little baby anymore, I have a toddler.

I really do have a toddler. Before having a baby I thought of toddlers as older babies, but at Olive,s daycare they identify toddlers as babies that are just starting to walk or, "toddle.". If by definition a toddler is one who riddles, then Olive is a toddler. Two weeks ago Olive started to purposely stand on her own. Not just let go of whatever she was holding onto and balancing for a second or two; but going from sitting to standing without holding on to anything. The standing led directly to a couple of steps here and there. Now she can go about 10+ steps before she falls down. I of course love watching her walk. She walks with her hands in the air as if to say, " look no hands!".It is adorable.

Another recent development is her pointing. She is able to point her index finger at things, mostly she likes to point at the pages in books when we read each night at bedtime. She is also doing more babbling, doorways she is more of a talker than others. She also finally figured out how to tilt a bottle or cup when she is drinking out of it so she doesn't, have to be laying down to drink.

One of the biggest developments recently is her personality. She is such a ham, she loves active silly to get your attention and make you laugh. She is also a complete daredevil, climbing on and off of everything she can. She loves to shriek and growl, and thinks it is extra funny if you growl back at her. I am loving this stage of her development so much; I wish I could freeze time so we could stay here awhile.