Jake, Amy, Ashlyn, & Olivia

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

San Juan Islands..Here we come!

2009-07-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

We went boating in the Islands and had a great time a few weekends back.

The ferries were fun to see. The girls could not get over how big they were.

One of our stops was for lunch in Friday Harbor.

Kindergarten Graduate!

2009-07-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

June 10, 2009 Ashlyn had her first of many graduations!

Here is the High School Graduation class of 2022!

Here is Ashlyn with her teacher Mrs. Avery.

Ashlyn finished with terrific grades and a true excitement for what learning has to offer. What a special day this was for her!

Ashlyn with Mrs. Tawes her classroom assistant and her reading group teacher.

Work on our backyard

2009-07-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

This was our backyard when we bought our house at the end of last summer

It needed some TLC!

This is what we have now........

Green grass and a vegetable garden that we started in the spring.

We have started raised beds in the back of the yard that will eventually be all around.

It is definatley a work in progress still, but it is improving.

Haircut for Summer

2009-07-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn had been begging to get her hair cut short. She was tired of the long do. So she finally got her way!

Mother's Day weekend Hike

2009-07-05T13:56:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day weekend went hiking at Bowman's Bay. I am way behind on posts so I wanted to be sure to add these to the blog.

Ultrasound

2009-05-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today we had our big ultrasound and found out that we are having a baby boy! What exciting news for our family. We are so thrilled to have a boy the third and final pregnancy because it will definately be different and new. Well I am pretty sure I am more than the half-way point now due to the fact I seem to always have my babies at 37 weeks. My scheduled C-Section will be the last week of September if I make it to that scheduled date.

Big Sisters!!!!!

2009-05-13T22:50:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn and Olivia can't wait to be big sisters!!!

Changing Rooms!

2009-05-13T22:44:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn and Olivia are now sharing a room in preparation for the new baby we will see in September. I picked out fun colors and involved the girls as much as possible with the new room. Thank you Mom for the generous gift of the beds and mattresses. The girls are having a blast.

Of course Olivia is on the bottom bunk and Ashlyn on the top.

Awana Awards - Sparks

2009-04-14T20:54:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn completed her 3rd year of Awana. This year she completed her entire book for 1st year!
Ashlyn at her awards ceremony

Ashlyn and Miss Jennifer (Ashlyn's table leader)

Olivia

2009-04-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

A nice lady from church took these pictures of Olivia on Easter Sunday, while she was in nursery. They turned out so cute!

If you look really close. It says potty me please.

Easter Sunday 2009

2009-04-14T20:41:00.001-07:00

Easter Surprises and for Ashlyn another visit from the toothfairy. Ashlyn lost her second bottom tooth.

Yummy, Candy before breakfast.

Cheese!!!

Olivia never sits still.

After church all the cousins were able to have an easter egg hunt!!

4th Annual Easter egg coloring party!

2009-04-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn, Kailey, Colby Olivia - Cousins are fun!!!!

The final product! Later turned into deviled eggs.

Family Visit

2009-04-09T19:42:00.001-07:00

We had to go out of town yesterday to visit Jake's grandma, who was in the hospital, while we were down vivisting we were able to visit with my grandma on my Dad's side. The girls had a great time playing at their great-grandma's house.

We went out to pizza with Jake's extended family and my dad and grandma were able to join us.

What a long day for us all!

Vegetable Garden

2009-04-07T21:24:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn and Jake worked very hard last Friday preping an area in our back yard for the vegetable garden I have wanted to grow since we bought our house at the end of August. Ashlyn did all the shoveling of the new dirt to the wheel barrow and Jake hauled each load. Ashlyn loves helping with projects around the house and is more help to Jake than I am.

Cute Girl!

2009-04-07T21:21:00.001-07:00

Olivia is growing so fast and is now potty trained! AMEN!!!! We only have pull-ups for night time and will be done before baby#3 comes. Very exciting for me!!!!

Toothfairy

2009-04-07T21:19:00.001-07:00

Look who had a visit from the toothfairy and is about to have another one. Ashlyn has lost her first tooth and is getting ready for the next to come out. She is very excited about the $1.00 the toothfairy leaves.

Big Hitters Baseball

2009-04-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn has officially started her third season of baseball. The last two were Tball now she has moved up to coach-pitch and I am coaching that team this year. We had our first game on Saturday and they did very well considering we only had one formal practice before.

By popular request here is the schedule:

04/04/09 at 2:00pm

04/11/09 at 10:15am

04/18/09 at 10:15am

04/25/09 at 11:30am

05/02/09 at 11:30am

05/09/09 at 9:00am

Jakes latest obsession

2009-04-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

Jake and the girls came home about a month ago with a 2007 Dodge Mega cab. Here it is!

Turbo and the girls

2009-04-07T21:06:00.001-07:00

Turbo, our family cat, has been part of our family since Jake and I first got married. She now loves Ashlyn now that Ashlyn is not a wild toddler. She really cannot stand Olivia, but maybe with time.

Ashlyn tells us that Turbo is her cat now.Olivia is banned from the cat because she doesn't get that the cat doesn't like to be stepped on, sat on or thrown.

Our expanding family.

2009-03-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, since I am just ready to start my second trimester we thought we should post a short note to let everyone else (who hasn't seen me) We are expecting our third baby. After a miscarriage in the fall we wanted lots of time before we spread the news about this pregnancy to absolutely everyone. Our doctor seems very confident that all is well and we have passed any uncertainty in his view. Everything is going very well so far and as long as every thing continues as planned I will have a scheduled C-section the last week or two in September. I have had 2 doctors visits and an ultrasound so far and the baby is right on track and seems to be doing great so far. What a blessing. Ashlyn was able to come with me to my ultrasound visit. She loved being included in this and will be able to come as we have more fun OB visits in the future. Stay tuned for our next update. We hope to find out what gender this little one is in about 8 weeks.

Father-Daughter Valentine's Ball 2009

2009-02-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

Jake took Ashlyn to a Father-Daughter Ball put on by MV Park and Rec.

Ashlyn and I had lots of fun getting her ready for the evening.
Nails, Hair, Dress and Crosage. She was set!

Jake and Ashlyn went on a double-date with Aaron and Kailey.

Cousins are great! They danced the night away!!! Jake is such and awesome daddy to our girls. Ashlyn will forever remember things like this as she gets older. What great memories to give her of her time with daddy!

2 cheers and a dance!

2009-02-03T05:49:00.000-08:00

MV Bulldog Cheerleader

2009-02-03T05:46:00.001-08:00

Ashlyn took part in the MV Bulldog Cheer Kiddie Camp. They performed last Friday at a Basketball game during half-time. She now thinks that cheerleading is her new passion.

Tired

2009-02-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn was so tired after dinner the other evening that she made a bed in her little rocking chair and fell asleep. Oh Boy Kindergarten just wipes you out!

Bowling

2009-02-03T05:41:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago Jake and I took the girls bowling and they had a blast. The pictures are a little dark but, I wanted to share them.

Look who is 2 years old!

2009-02-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

Olivia turned 2 on 12/27/08 and we had a great time celebrating her. She is such a smart little girl, full of mischeif and life. We love you Olivia!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Jake's family. As tradition we went to church then had clam chowder and opened gifts. The girls had a blast!

More Snow!

2008-12-21T18:32:00.001-08:00

Unbelievable amounts of Snow!

2008-12-21T15:06:00.001-08:00

We can't beleive the snow here! Way off in the distance Ashlyn was being pulled behind a quad.

Olivia hates the snow and refuses to play in it. We went out yesterday to play and she had to be in a backpack. She was still cold and very grumpy about the whole adventure.

Ashlyn loves the snow!

We had about 16 inches of snow yesterday and today we have at least 6-8 inches more.

Ashlyn helped Jake shovel snow the other night and enjoyed playing in the piles.

Pats vs Hawks - 12/07/08

2008-12-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

The raising of the 12th man flag!

We purchased tickets to the Hawks/Pats game this summer for Jake. He wanted to see his team play live and we finally got a chance since they came to Seattle.

Qwest field is amazing. The game was awesome to see live!!!

We were cold, but had a blast!! Now I want season tickets to see the games every week they are at home.

I was dressed in Seahawk clothes and Jake wore Patriot clothes. We sat in the Hawks nest about 12 rows from the end zone. The Pats did win, but not without a fight from the Hawks.

Crazy girl!

2008-12-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

Little Jeffrey Wayne Ogdon, Jr.

2008-12-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Leah and Jeff welcomed their first baby into the world on 11/25/08 at 1:58pm

He was 6lbs 5.5 oz and 19inches long.

I was there for the delivery and it was amazing! Congrats Jeff and Leah!

Little "O" is finally here!

Finding a Tree - 12/06/08

2008-12-21T14:20:00.001-08:00

Our tradition is to cut down a tree for our house.

The girls had a good time roaming the trees to help find one.

The final product. Ashlyn thought decorating the tree was the best. She told me after we were done decorating, " Mom this is the best day ever!" It was so cute.

Slumber Fun!!

2008-12-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn hosted a slumber party and invited her cousins Kailey and Megan.
Pizza, crafts and a movie was very fun!

They each made crowns with their names.

Of course Ashlyn and the girls included Olivia.

The next morning they all put make-up on and glitter in their hair.

Ashlyn's School Feast Video

2008-12-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn's Thanksgiving Feast

2008-12-21T14:02:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! We sure had a good evening.

The Jerry Springer Show

2008-10-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

Jake and I got a good laugh from watching Olivia the other morning. We thought she looked like a future guest on the Jerry Springer Show.

Olivia is learning to pick out clothes and get dressed. She handed Jake this tank top that is from one of the girls' build-a- bears and said "Put on." So he did. Needless to say this bear tank top was way too small!

Pumpkin Fun!

2008-10-27T16:56:00.001-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin patch today to get our pumpkins.
Ashlyn and Olivia picked out the pumkins for our family.

My mom and I went todat while Jake was at work. It gave us something fun to do.

Carving was fun too!

Happy almost Halloween!

Costume Party

2008-10-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn's bud Canaan had a costume party for his birthday. The girls got all dressed up in their Halloween gear.
Olivia is a New England Patriots Cheerleader
&
Ashlyn is Dorothy from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Happy birthday Canaan!

Ashlyn's Field Trip

2008-10-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn's Kindergarten class went on a filed trip yesterday to the pumpkin patch. I was able to chaperon. It was fun to see her with her classmates.

Ashlyn's first bus ride ever! She loved it.

Scary face!

Each child got to pick a pumpkin and an apple.

Once they got back to class they were able to wash their apple and have it for a snack.

Ashlyn's classroom was fun to explore

Hanley Farm Fun

2008-10-20T00:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks Carol, Donna and Kim for letting the girls see Jack the horse,

they talk about him all the time!!!

Olivia loves to eat the farm out of house and home......
Here is Ashlyn and Olivia with Jack

My BFFs baby shower

2008-10-20T00:41:00.001-07:00

I hosted a baby shower at my house on Saturday for my best friend Leah.

Leah and Jeff have been good friend's of Jake and I both since junior high. They are expecting a baby boy. We are so very excited for them about starting their family.

I had great fun planning with my mom.
Here is Leah!

More decorations.

Leah and Jeff got this awesome Tonka truck.

Horsey

2008-10-20T00:39:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn and Olivia love playing horsey with Daddy. They stopped long enough to let me take their picture.

How sweet are they?

More Paint

2008-10-20T00:35:00.000-07:00

Our Front entry area and stairs off of the sitting room

The sitting room.....We have had fun going room to room painting colors.
Jake has been a good sport with the colors I have chosen. He really likes bright white walls, so I have chosen colors that broaden his horizons :)

Olivia has bangs!

2008-10-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Jake and I decided to cut bangs on Olivia just to give her, her own hair style.
It turned out very cute!

Weekend Paint Job - We discovered color

2008-09-23T02:34:00.001-07:00

Dining Area Before

Dining Area After

Fireplace before

Fireplace after

The girls

2008-09-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn wanted to know what a curtsy was so I showed her. She thinks that it is fun to curtsy now when she wears a dress.
The girls!

Someone needs a haircut in this shot. We cut her bangs more pics to follow soon. Her new hair-do is cute.

Guess who is 5 now!

2008-09-23T02:23:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn Raine

09/08/08 Ashlyn turned 5 years old and was able to bring cupcakes to school for her class. After school she wanted to bake a cake for her dessert after her Red Robin Birthday Dinner.Here is Ashlyn at her party the Saturday following her B-day. Thank you everyone for coming and taking part in this special day. Ashlyn had a great time!

WOW!!! How 5 years had flown by. We love you Ash!

Daddy's Helper

2008-09-12T01:03:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn has been such a big girl. While Jake was working on his garage project she was able to earn some $$ heloing him. She loved every minute of it. Don't they look a like? I love it!

Sisters!

2008-09-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

These two just have so much fun together

Look who is a Kindergartner now!!!!!

2008-09-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today Ashlyn had her first day of Kindergarten. She picked out this new outfit from her Gma Jan(Amy's Mom) to wear on her big day.

Ashlyn turns 5 on Sept 8th and the Kindergarten cutoff was August 31st so challenged MV public schools age requirement by having Ashlyn take a placement test from the district psychologist to see if she was ready. She passed and was reccomended entrance.

I was doing so well with this whole "being a big girl" thing and not even ready to cry until I got a poem from her teacher after class.

This is what it said:

Your baby started school today

A first big milestone along the way

She's not a baby, oh no not she

As big as any in the class you see

Till now you've been her shining sun

Your influence has equaled to none

But now I'll share in her work and play

Thanks for lending me your child today

This little hand so small

Is starting school today

This little hand will learn,

With others to work and play

And I will try to train

This hand throughout the year

I wonder if this hand will belong

to a scientist, pilot, or engineer,

to a teacher, farmer, or financer

Affectionately,

Mrs Avery

Our Recent Purchase

2008-09-03T22:17:00.001-07:00

Specs: 3 Bedrm 2.5 bath 1580 Sq ft

So we have been waiting since May for this house. The sale seemed to take forever, but the house is now ours. We love it!Backyard

Kitchen

Kitchen
Dining Room

All appliances stayed with the house including these.

Front door entry

Front sitting room

Family room

Gas fireplace in family room

Dirty Munchkin

2008-09-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

Olivia loves dirt...She even eats it!

First vacation trip in 5 years!

2008-08-04T11:25:00.001-07:00

After almost 5 hours of driving ......

And napping........And Starbucks Coffee........And seeing lots of desert looking vegetation.........

We finally arrived to 97 degree weather at Lake Roosevelt in Grand Coulee, WA Our first vacation since all of Jake's back surgeries.
We were prepared to have fun for a week in the heat!

The girls had fun riding on Gpa's boat

Ashlyn has many talents. :)

Sand Castles!

More Vacation!

2008-08-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Sand,sand and more sand

Ash and Jake went behind the boat together and had a great time.

Ashlyn and her sand adventures

Chillin' with Gpa Matt

This is the view we had of Olivia all week....See that little person running away. We had to make chase all week long.

Zzzzzzzz

Jake driving his dad's boat

Ashlyn was full of sand every day from playing!

Olivia grew more comfortable with the sand in the water at the end of the week

Cousins: L to R, Oldest to youngest

Caleb, Megan, Kailey, Ashlyn, Jordan, Colby, and Olivia

Ashlyn loved the water for the most part. She would swim with her life jacket in the middle of the lake off the boat.

We showered at a luxurious spa :) $1.00 for 6 Minutes. Fun times!

Us on our last night in the heat.

On our way home the girls were so happy!

Woodland Park Zoo

2008-07-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

Olivia was ready to run!

Our tour guide letting us know where we are.

Ashlyn and Caleb fed the birds. They had fun!

Dad had to help to make sure Ashlyn did not drop the bird she was feeding.

Olivia was not happy about picture time!

We saw amazing animals.

Sidewalk chalk

2008-07-12T21:33:00.001-07:00

Summer Fun!!!!

Ashlyn's Riding Skills!

2008-07-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

When we first removed Ashlyn's training wheels she was not excited about it. Here is her first ride where she sounds like she is being murdered.

After few weeks of practice she is a normal, sane child.

Camping

2008-07-12T21:21:00.001-07:00

We went camping a few weeks ago for a few days and had a good time. Here are a few shots of the girls "roughing it."

No more training wheels!!!

2008-06-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn has learned how to ride with no training wheels.
Each day she gets better and better.

Hiking

2008-06-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we hiked around Bowman's Bay and had a great time.

Olivia was tired from riding on my back and fell asleep.

We even got to see an eagle while we were there.

New Hair

2008-05-13T13:13:00.001-07:00

I got my hair cut, again......I cannot decide whether to grow it out again or cut it...So I got it cut. Part of my Mother's day gift from Jake and the girls.

Divas

2008-05-13T13:09:00.001-07:00

Olivia "The Diva"

Ashlyn "The Diva"

The girls think dressing up is fun. Ashlyn puts on all her dress-up clothes and Olivia puts on all jewelry she can get her hands on.
Aren't they something?

Tricities Trip

2008-05-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Mid-April we went to Tricities on a business trip with Jake. I finally got around to loading these pictures and wanted to share. We loved the sun over there and then came home to snow. Go figure!

Olivia driving a hydro-plane and the park.
Ashlyn the crane operator.

"Could some one help me please my head is stuck!"

Ashlyn outside our hotel room back door.

The start of pigtails.

Sisters!

Ashlyn wanted a picture of us. Cute!

Skagit County's Global warming

2008-05-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

Gotta love global warming :) Snow in April!

Padilla Bay Field Trip

2008-04-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn's pre-school class had their last field trip for the school year today. We went to Padilla Bay because they are learning about estuaries in class. There was lots of fun things to see and do while we were there. Here are just a few pictures to share.

Here is her class along with the highschool helpers and her teacher. What a fun year she has had.

Children's Museum

2008-04-05T16:29:00.001-07:00

The Children's Museum moved to the Mall and today was their grand opening. It was such a popular place to be. After our game we went over there and were able to go through the museum.

Action!
Little Miss dress-up

Olivia loved the instruments, but did not like the dressing-up.

Poor Thing!

Little Big Hitter

2008-04-05T16:25:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn is doing TBall again this year and today was our first game. Ashlyn and the team did great. I am coaching this year with my sister-in-law.

Here we are after the game! The next 6 weeks will will be busy with practicing and games. Wish us luck!

Easter Sunday.

2008-03-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Cousin Line-up

Easter Egg Coloring Fun!

2008-03-23T18:02:00.001-07:00

Working Hard!

Good Friday

2008-03-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn made this craft at prek for the celebration of Good Friday and Easter.

Very confused bunny!

"Ready for prek Mom!"

" Yeah, I am ready too Mom!"

Motorcycle Mamas!

2008-03-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

Trampoline Time

2008-03-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

Jump.... Jump... Jump..
Bouncing!

Self Portrait

2008-03-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn drew a picture of herself at prek

Our little cupcake

2008-03-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

Being a toddler is fun one minute and frustrating the next.
She really wanted me to put the camera down so she could get out of her chair.

Rainy Day Gear

2008-03-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Living in Washington it is very important to be prepared for the wet weather. Ashlyn was able to wear her new rain gear the other day because it was very

rainy.

Skating Weather

2008-03-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn loves being outside in the sun. She worked on her skating skills today in the backyard. It was fun to watch.

Lunchtime!

2008-03-06T20:41:00.001-08:00

Ashlyn and Olivia love lunchtime. Here they are chowing down.

Super Hero Girls

2008-03-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn wanted the girls to be super heros one evening. She said her name was "Super Hero Girl" and Olivia was "Garbage Girl."

So here is what they looked like as super heros.
Ashlyn said she needed to eat cherries for her super hero energy.

Presidents Day at Mount Baker

2008-02-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

We followed the road signs to the mountain.

When you see these views you know you are there. It was a beautiful!

Ashlyn looks so grown up here. All suited up and ready to go!

She had to wait patiently for Jake to get ready.

On the first time at the top little bunny slope Ashlyn went down with a little push from Jake. We did not expect her to go all the way down, but she did, screeching the whole way in fear.

After that she was harnessed to Jake the rest of the day!

.......More Presidents Day at Mount Baker

2008-02-18T19:56:00.001-08:00

We bought a harness for Ashlyn to wear so Jake would not lose track of her.

Jake was sooo patient with Ashlyn. She did amazing and was begging to go on the lifts. We told her she needs to learn to turn better before she goes on the lifts.

Olivia wanted to run free!

All the hard work on the mountain paid off! They were exhausted.

Snowboard Practice

2008-02-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

We decided to spend President's Day at Mount Baker so Jake could work with Ashlyn on snowboarding. He really wants Ashlyn and Olivia to aquire his love for snowboarding.

We rented a board the day before and Jake was able to show her some basics and talk to her about what to expect.

Olivia wanted to go for a ride too!

Here is the official trying on of the gear.

Tricky Boots

2008-02-18T19:44:00.001-08:00

We bought Olivia new rain boots and a matching rain coat. She thought they were rather tricky boots that made her little legs have a hard time bending.

The boots have cute pink giraffes all over them

Here she is trying to master walking with them on.

Pajama Time

2008-02-18T19:37:00.001-08:00

These are Ashlyn's favorite pjs and robe. She would wear them every night if we would let her get away with not having them washed.

NERDS!

While we have fun Olivia is sacked out.

Super Bowl Sunday

2008-02-12T13:32:00.001-08:00

We had a few friends over and enjoyed the Superbowl watching the Patriots until about 1:35 left in the 4th Quarter when the Giants took the lead, and of course ended up defeating Jake's beloved Patriots. Jake was in mourning for about a week. Now he is sure his team will come back next year with a vengence and go undefeated all the way through the season.

Ashlyn and Dakota

Jeff and Leah

Eric, Mandy and their newborn Peyton.

Morning Fun

2008-02-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

Olivia loves to look through her legs at things. It is Funny!

Sisters and Snacks!

Olivia also learned how to climb in and out of the tub. Needless to say she is fearless around water, which makes me extremely nervous. We have to watch her like a hawk.

Video Fun!

2008-02-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here is Olivia having fun with our cat Turbo!

Ashlyn's New Skill

2008-01-28T21:03:00.001-08:00

We have been working with Ashlyn for about six months on tying her own shoes. Saturday she decided she could do it all be herself. We were so excited!

Finished Product!!

Tired Girl

2008-01-28T21:00:00.001-08:00

Olivia was very tired during lunch on Sunday. She pushed her plate out of her way and fell asleep on the table.

Olivia's Adventures

2008-01-24T19:50:00.001-08:00

Olivia is a very adventurous spirit. Always climbing and getting into everything. She makes me so nervous.
Today, Jake found her on top of the table in the girls' room. She used a stool to climb on top and this is how he found her.

Here is Olivia using a seat to try and get stuff off the kitchen table.

All dressed up and tired from a morning at church.

Here is her and her cool bike she explores the house with.

At the end of a long day she has a bath and Dad puts a mohawk in her hair.

Ashlyn Loves Her Cartoons

2008-01-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

I came out of my room the other morning after getting dressed and Ashlyn had decided to watch cartoons from the laundry basket. It was cute!

Olivia's Birthday Party!

2008-01-06T19:00:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Olivia's Birthday on Saturday the 29th of December. She was a little upset with me for double-booking her party on the night that the Patriots were playing for the 16-0 record. I failed to think about the date and time.

Here is Jake and Olivia watching the start of the Patriot game before the guests arrived.
Jake was multi-tasking.

Thanks to everyone for all of the great Birthday gifts! Olivia has really made out this year since she has a birthday right after Christmas.

Here is our Birthday Princess in her cake eating attire. Crown and sash just for her.

She loved that everyone sang to her. After I blew the candle out she grabbed the corner of the cake.

Olivia had a great time! So did we! The Patriots did end up winning the football game too and are now 16-0, a perfect regular season record. So Jake was also given a great gift and it wasn't even his party. Lucky him.

Let's all hope that the Seahawks and the Patriots face each other in the Superbowl. Go Hawks!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia!

2007-12-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

This Picture is Day 3 of Olivia's life at the hospital. The first 2 days she was not able to be held and live outside of an oxygen tent. In this picture she was about 5 lbs 12oz.

This is Olivia now right at 20 lbs. She is amazing!

Look who took her first step tonight! Olivia decided to humor us and take a step on her own a couple of times tonight. She was standing for a while and we were coaxing her along.

Trying to clap while standing is not an easy job for a new walker.

She decided she was all done for the night with the standing business.

Ashlyn taking Olivia on a ride. Of course this is Olivia's bike, but Ashlyn thinks it should belong to her.

First PBJ ever. She ate an entire sandwhich!

After a long day she had decided to go to bed before it was really bedtime. We cannot believe how far she has come in one year. We are so thankful.

A confused Seahawk fan!

2007-12-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

No wonder Seahawk's fans have a problem with their fan base.....They all seem very confused on who to root for. Maybe someone can give my Mom some help.

Jake is very loyal to his team, but they are the Patriots so you won't catch him sporting Steelers Gear.

Christmas Day with Amy's family

2007-12-25T22:39:00.001-08:00

Thank you Donna and Aunt Carol for the cute outfit for Olivia along with the other gifts. Olivia looked adorable in this.

Alicia (my sister), Jan (my mom), and Me

Daddy helping Olivia with some of her gifts

Jennifer (my sister's friend)

Mom and Brad

Brenda (my brother's friend) and Jim (my brother)

Family Picture

Christmas Eve with Jake's Family

2007-12-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

Uncle Steve and Auntie Melinda with Olivia

Ashlyn with her gift from the kids' name exchange. This year Olivia had Ashlyn's name.

Grandpa Matt reading the Christmas Story

Megan, Ashlyn, and Kailey listening to the story. Kailey was called on and answered right when asked why do we celebrate Christmas. Of course, because it is the celebration of Jesus' birth.

This turned our a little blurry, but is does say My First Christmas.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours

2007-12-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

Bag 'O Baby

2007-12-25T22:21:00.001-08:00