Olivia's Second Christmas

Many apologies, our loyal readers, we have been so busy with holiday festivities and haven't posted forever! Hopefully a large post with many pictures will make up for it.

First up, at the beginning of December, Olivia turned 15 months and went in for a check-up at the doctor.  We love these visits, it's always fun to see exactly how tall she is, how much she weighs, and the course her development has taken.  She weighs 27 pounds and 15 ounces (off the charts), is 32 inches tall (91%), and has a 49.5 cm head (off the charts).  Overall, a very big girl!  The doctor is pleased with her great verbal skills and her mobile skills are moving along quite well.

Christmas suits Olivia very well. She loves lots of eating, playing with family members, and PRESENTS! She couldn't figure out what we were doing at first, but once she got into the swing of things, she placed ornaments on the tree and then looked baffled as they fell off.

Ta da!  The finished product.

Early in the Christmas season, Olivia and Henry got a present from Aunts Anna and Arla, a Christmas train to go around the tree! Olivia loved driving it around and making Santa shout, "Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" 

We want to make Christmas cookies as a family and Olivia was interested in cutting the dough until she realized what it was - food!  Then she shoveled dough in as fast as she could and was upset when we rolled out the rest without her.

She decorated several cookies, and did a pretty good job. However, eating the finished product was by far her favorite part!

Other holiday goings on - lots of parties!  Above Olivia is enjoying some festive punch (pink lemonade + water) and below Olivia is enjoying a slice of banana cream pie. And no, she doesn't need any help with that, thank you very much!

Hanging out with Aunt Dione at a party, she was too overwhelmed to see Santa (see below for her reaction to said red-suited man) so instead played around with an iPhone.

The night took a great uptick when Olivia was given a white elephant gift of a Yoda marshmallow head on a stick. She loved it, and don't worry, we didn't let her finish the whole thing!

Christmas morning! This is just one of the many piles of presents for the Henry and Olivia - they sure were spoiled this year.

Olivia got so many amazing things, but she nearly had a conniption when she opened this present from Aunt Heddy and found a three foot gummy worm.  She bit into it immediately and ran around screaming. Another favorite was this little piano. Aunt Anna kindly holds the music for her, but she prefers to write her own music. Some other great presents? Yo Gabba Gabba stuffed animals, a play kitchen, (Henry's) mini trampoline, and a table for her room (and too many more things to name!).

With Grandpa Chris and Grandma Christa in town from Washington D.C. and staying with us, there was a lot of fun activities and lots of playing (though not too many pictures, oops!).  One cold night, we went to the zoo where they had put lights over all the cages. The kids found it interesting and were bundled up tight! Can you even see Olivia in there?

Playing with one of Henry's new toys on a dog cushion. She thinks this is her personal couch.

En route to church - we love her dress coat!  

Heading out on a bike ride with Dad in the trailer.  They were silent and enthralled the whole time until Bob got going a little fast and Olivia screamed. (In glee? In terror? We're not sure, but he slowed down after that.)

Playing duets with Henry.  (Not an easy feat when the piano only has two octaves on it..)  Also, they're both endorsing Jiggy Sticks!

Aside from her fun holiday activities, Olivia has just been enjoying hanging out with friends and family. Above, she is leading a group of troublemakers trying to break into the basement.  Below, Olivia enjoying a game of Playstation with her Daddy. She gets mad when he turns it off!

We all celebrated New Year's together (a few hours early) with noisemakers, banging pots and pans, and Capri Suns! Olivia didn't quite get the pot banging, and instead was stirring soups.

Olivia's favorite new food is rice Chex. We're not sure why, but whenever she breaks into the pantry, the first food she goes for is this box of Chex. 

Olivia's hair has gotten so long and mullet-esque. One day, we tried to tame it into these two ponytails. She looked so cute, but after five minutes, she pulled out the elastic bands and handed them to Cassandra saying, "Mama!"

Lastly, a picture of Olivia trying to climb on the rocking chair while Henry's already sitting in it. This basically sums up Olivia's existence right now - squeezing two babies into one chair. She stole all of his interesting Christmas presents, and pushes him over when he gets too close to her or her toys. On the other hand, they giggle at each other when they're falling asleep at night, share food with each other, and play games with rules we don't understand. They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies - probably a preview of the years to come - but above all, they are siblings and they love each other.

Olivia had quite the holiday season. She had so much fun, played with friends new and old, and brought home quite a haul. After everyone finally left, she slept hard for days she was so tired from the fun. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!