Beach Baby

Olivia had to try out her new swimming gear and swim suits she got for her birthday and baptism. We went to Crystal Lake beach by Beaver Dam today and she had a great time. She is not one bit afraid of the water and loves to splash around. We also put her in her new baby boat so she could float around and give my back a break. We had a great time.

We also went out for dinner Saturday night for Steve's birthday. She does so well at restaurants. Of course, she loves almost all food put in front of her and eats really well and shows off for the waitresses.

She was very squirmy at the church service this week and gives me quite a workout. No crying but gets a little loud with the babble, especially when we are singing. We will have to work on that. It is so hard to not laugh out loud at her. She can really be a lot of fun!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY OLIVIA !

Olivia turned one year old on Wednesday and she had a great day. She visited Grandma and got to see horses and have her first gator ride. She took a good nap and was ready for Grandma and Grandpa to come to her birthday dinner. She had another birthday cake to dig into and more presents. We gave her a "Johnny Jumper" to help strengthen all of her muscles and help her balance and coordination. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it but I'm sure she will get the hang of it soon.

She babbles more everyday but has no new words. We can also see her getting stronger all the time and she loves to toddle around, as long as she has fingers to hold on to. She has mastered eating finger foods by herself now and is "playing" with sippy cups and plastic spoons. The most fun is to make a big mess. She still loves her bottle though.

BAPTISM

Olivia was baptized yesterday at Bethany. Her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins came to the service which was really nice. Pastor Bauer did a really good job and it was a wonderful day. Since Kyle was in China while his classmates were confirmed, we also had him confirmed right after Olivia was baptized. Thank you to Aunts Lynn, Nancy and Cindie for being Olivia's sponsors. She is so lucky to have so many family members that love her sooo much.

We had a big crowd come back to the house for the party. After a much needed nap Olivia was ready to entertain again. She had many great presents to open and talked just about everyone in to taking a turn at walking her around by the fingers. She started to really open up later in the day and talked a lot of babble.

We also celebrated Olivia's first birthday which is this Wednesday, June 20. Thanks to Aunt Lynn, she had her first ice-cream cake and had fun getting full of ice cream and chocolate. She made a big fun mess smearing the cake everywhere.

Thanks to everyone that shared this special day with us. We had a great time and hope you all enjoyed yourselves too!

Party Time

More parties to get ready for. This weekend, on Father's Day, Olivia will be Baptized at Bethany Lutheran Church. She will be having everyone over to celebrate afterwards and we will also celebrate her one-year-old birthday which actually falls on June 20th. I hope she is as happy as when she gets done with her bath and gets to wear her bunny towel. As anxious as she is to get into the bath to play, she wants to get out as soon as she spots that towel. She loves to see herself in the mirrow with it on.

Thank you to my sisters Lynn and Nancy and sister-in-law Cindie. They will all three be sponsors for Olivia since I couldn't decide on just one of them to do it. I decided to include all three. They have been so supportive through this whole adoption and love Olivia so much I couldn't narrow it down. Also, thanks goes out to Grandma Manning who has also done and continues to do so much for us. Olivia is warming up to Grandma more every time they get together.

It Doesn't Get Any Better

Can It get any better than this? Sitting out on the lawn with all your toys on a warm Spring morning. The best part is knowing you have two big dogs to watch over you. Olivia really likes the dogs and would love to get her hands on the cat that keeps herself just out of reach......

More Cousins!

I think Olivia has met all of her cousins now (except Scott!-stop in sometime Scott) My teenage nieces love her and she latches on to them right away. It's nice at the family gatherings, I can actually visit since the girls grab Olivia and they just disappear to go play with her. She is usually a little shy at first but warms up fast. Even after getting immunization shots on Friday she did pretty well over the weekend with all the graduation and summer parties we attended with her. She is a lot of fun and is learning more everyday. She is now walking with us holding on to her hands. Still pretty shaky but she tries and is getting stronger.

Settling In

It has taken this whole week and a half to finally feel grounded and rested. The flights and two weeks in China really took a toll on all of us but we have settled into a routine now and things are much easier. Olivia is amazing. She learns so much everyday and gets stronger everyday. She can run around in a walker we borrowed and torment the cat. She can stand on her own but just for a few seconds. She has also learned that it is very funny to let herself fall backwards, when she knows Mom will always catch her. She just cracks herself up. We take time each day to try walking with her holding on to our hands. She gets a little better every day.

She is also loving the food here. Quite a change from sticky rice and steamed eggs. She chows down on baby food at breakfast, lunch and dinner and also likes to share our food too. She likes the meat, veggies, fruit, yogurt....you name it. If we are eating it, she wants it. The only thing that turned up her nose so far has been peaches. Otherwise she gets very excited when she see me getting her next meal ready.

Her vocabulary has expanded to Ma-Ma-Ma now which is added to ba-ba, Da-Da and na-na. She is still drinking formula from a bottle and I'm not in a hurry to change that. It feels good to hold and feed her before she goes to sleep. She likes walks in the stroller and playing with Kyle and Jenny. She has adjusted very well to her new home and family. She does so many funny, cute things I will have to get more pictures posted soon.