Olivia is a YEAR OLD!

Can you believe it, this girl is a whole year old!

At one year old, she has 8 lovely teeth (with a huge gap between the two front ones!) and says Mama, Dada, Please (but only for her mom), and Hi.

She has blondish reddish brownish hair and bluish greenish eyes. Her skin is milky white, but she did pick up a little tan this summer. The rolls of fat on her arms have tan lines!

She is incredibly affectionate.  She loves hugging, giving kisses, and being cuddled.  But of course only on her schedule.  If you try and hug her when she doesn't want it, she will let you know right away you're bugging her.

She weighs 26 pounds, 8 ounces and is 31.5 inches long, totally off the charts!

Olivia loves danger.  Her dad is her favorite as he is always the one to dangle her upside down, play blast-off, bed spaz and other wild games of their own making.  Her giggle is so precious.

We love our beautiful baby girl and can't believe how fast this past year has flown by!

To celebrate Olivia's great one year, we threw her a Teddy Bear Picnic party.  She loves stuffed animals, especially her giant teddy bear, so it seemed especially appropriate.

Olivia saw lots of friends and people she hadn't seen in a while.

She was very spoiled, everyone gave her lots of presents.  She made sure to give them all a hug, even this pair of pants.

She was not all that interested in her personal giant cupcake, she would prefer the gummy bear on top of Papa's cupcake!

On her actual birthday, she had a special dinner with her favorite foods (meat, berries - she's like a bear!) and opened a few more presents.  She had finally got the hang of the present-opening.  Henry wanted to play too!

All of the festivities made Olivia tired.  It's a good thing birthdays only come once a year!

Over Labor Day we went on a scenic drive and hike with the Hulsbergs (not pictured, Cassandra and Henry).  Olivia and Grant, buddies forever!

This week, we had to say goodbye to some of our favorite family members!  Uncle Carter set off for his mission in Tonga.  See you in two years!

Grandpa Chris and Grandma Christa also headed out this week to Washington D.C.  We'll miss you!

Olivia Has a Surgery :(

Olivia's been having lots of ear infections this summer, and the specialist we saw recommended that she get tubes put in her ears to help her out.  It was very sad, but we took Olivia to the hospital this week and sent her into her first surgery!  The nurses and doctors were all super nice to her, and she got her own surgery dolly and blanket.  She was very brave and everything went very well.  She looked so cute in her little hospital gown, but we were glad to have it all over and to get her home and happy!

A couple of weeks ago, we needed a couple's weekend alone so we sent the kids off for a sleepover at Nana and Papa's house!  They had a great time, but we were very glad to go and pick them up at the end of the weekend.

Henry and Olivia had a blast.  They jumped on the tramp, splashed in the pool, played with the dogs and chickens, and Olivia bossed everyone around!

Uncle Chet taught her how to play the guitar.

Olivia rode around with Papa on Great-Grandpa Owen's 4-wheeler.

Olivia likes her second cousins, but doesn't like riding scary horses with them!

Olivia has mastered Dada and Mama, and usually uses them appropriately.

She is looking forward to her first birthday!  She hasn't yet mastered the art of sharing, and she'll be glad to have a party all to herself.

Olivia is obsessed with all electronic things.  Here she is trying to grab the camera, but she's equally as fascinated with computers, phones, remotes, and anything with a button or screen!

Here is a beautiful picture that she took on a cell phone.  Such artistic talent at a young age.

She still loves eating anything and everything she can find.  Here she is eating her first sushi!  That California roll is super great.

We are also still enjoying the good weather!  Olivia enjoyed going on a hike (according to Grant) around the lake with some of her buddies.

Olivia in front, Avery in the rear.  Olivia?  Less than thrilled for some reason.  The whole enterprise was bugging her.