Trick Or Treating 2008

Trick or Treating was this past weekend so we got Olivia dressed up and just took her up and down our street. There was more than enough candy for her just by going to a few houses. She wasn't too excited about being a cat until she actually had the costume on and finally knew what I had been talking about. The outfit was so cute on her and it was just a sweat suit I bought big enough to put a bunch of layers of clothes on underneath which was good because it was pretty cold already on Sunday. She had a good time but only said "trick or treat" in-between houses. She also enjoyed saying "meow, meow" a lot. When she got to a neighbors door and a strange person-or even a person she knew-came out she pretty much froze, other than keeping an eye on the candy they were putting in her bucket.
At one house a very scary costume came out of the door and really freaked her out. I was afraid there would be nightmares after that but she has been fine. She just didn't want to go anywhere near that house again.




This is her very sad attempt at being a vicious tiger. She didn't understand the concept of showing her claws like Jenny and I were trying to get her to do.
I guess we will just have to call her a playful kitty instead.

As we finished up after about 45 minutes of being out in the cold and wind I got a couple pictures in front of the house. You can read her mind in this one....."how long will these pictures take? I have to get this candy open!!"

(Oooops....the ears kept blowing off of her head and I just noticed Mom put them back on backwards...oh well, it's still cute.)

Kittens.....Kittens.....!!

On Friday we went with Grandma to see Aunt Nancy's new (5 week old) kittens. I think it was the first time Olivia ever held or played with such a small kitty. She was actually a little timid with them, maybe because we kept telling her to "be careful-be careful" "be gentle" and so on. A two year old can be a little clumsy stomping and falling around tiny kittens. She was pretty good at picking them up but sometimes held on a little too tight and if some claws come out she was a little rough trying to get away from them. She did have a great time watching them play, especially when they would meow when fighting with each other. She also got to watch them nurse on their mother.

She really liked the mother cat, Princess, I think because she is about the same size as Misty and didn't have to be so careful all the time.

There are five really cute kittens and we had a lot of fun with them. It's funny how they can play hard for just so long and then kind of collapse into a pile and start snoozing.

While they took a nap we had one of Olivia's favorite lunches.....pizza! She had been talking about having pizza since the day before we went. She was more excited about that I think because she wasn't sure about what playing with baby kittens meant until we got there.

Thanks Aunt Nancy!! We had a lot of fun and will have to come back soon to play some more before these cute babies turn in to cats.

This kitten was so funny. All of a sudden it just sat down and stared up at Olivia for the longest time. We took all kinds of pictures because it just sat there looking up. I think it was getting tired at this point and was kind of dopey but it sure was cute.

(No Nancy, I don't think it was trying to say he wanted to come home with Olivia!!)

Homecoming 2008

All last week were homecoming activities building up to the Friday football game and homecoming celebrations on Saturday. It was a very busy week and we are glad it is now over. They won their football game by a long shot so it was a lot of fun to watch and the weather has been so nice, I think we have been taking it for granted and I'm afraid we will get a winter wake up call any time now but we are enjoying it while we can.
Kyle went to dinner and the homecoming dance with a nice girl named Vicki. A group of the couples met at a parents house for pictures by the lake and then they all went out to dinner before the dance. I guess they all had a good time but as many of you with teenagers....especially boys...know, you never get much of an explanation or any details about anything so I guess we go along with the old saying, no news is good news and leave it at that.

Olivia was excited about having pictures taken until she saw the little dog that belonged to the parents where we met for pictures. I had to pull her attention away from their little ankle-biter just to get a couple shots with Kyle and Vicki.
It was cute though the way she kept following after the dog saying "Sugar, come!" Then we said goodbye to Sugar with a big hug and came back to our own pets.

Enjoy this beautiful Fall while it lasts!!

Amazing Animals

I'm always amazed at how animals can behave so much better around kids. Saturday was such a gorgeous day we decided to take Blazer for a walk. Of course, Olivia had to be in charge of walking him and holding on to the leash all by herself. I'm not sure who was leading who but Blazer was a very good boy.
Normally, when I walk Blazer he pulls and tugs and wants to go all over the place, trying to "hunt" through the tall grass, go toward the trees and always choosing the wrong way around the mailboxes so we get all tangled up.
This day, when Olivia had him he walked slowly and calmly and for the most part, in a straight line. He even went on the right side of the mailboxes for her. She loved it and thought she was pretty smart! I think Blazer enjoyed it too. She did fall after stumbling over her own feet twice and didn't know enough to let go of the leash when he kept walking but she didn't get hurt.
I've seen this with horses, dogs and even cats. They must know somehow to be careful around small children. Maybe they sense that the kids won't hurt them and they can run away easily if they need to. Blazer has always been the kind of dog you can trust around anyone. He has never tried to bite and never even growls at anything or anyone. Since Smokey has been gone he has become a most-of-the-time house dog and Olivia sits on him, gives him big hugs and he loves all of it. He is especially attentive at every meal time and waits pretty patiently until he hears Olivia say she is all done. He knows he gets to help clean up whatever is left. Every time she goes to bed she has to make sure she says "night-night Bazur" and gives him a hug. He has also started following me into her room when it is time for her to get up and if he doesn't come along she is asking me where he is.
They have become very close buddies and very attached. I think it is a good thing for kids to be around animals as young as possible to learn to respect them, take care of them and enjoy playing with them. She definitely gets that from Blazer and her kitty Misty too.

Girly Girl

After a bath I can comb and straighten out Olivia's wavy hair and see how long it is getting. Her hair has not been cut yet and it is getting long and is staying wavy. It is a lot of fun to do different things with it and she likes to sit still and let me braid it and try new things.
Her hair is so different from the more common black, straight Chinese hair. Even though it is very dark you can still see some streaks of brown running through it. And, instead of being straight it has a lot of wave to it. I envy her gorgeous hair.
Olivia is definitely all girly-girl. She likes to get dressed up and have her hair fixed. She would wear necklaces and jewelry if we would let her. She loves to pretend she is playing a piano, violin and now she has discovered drums.....she makes them out of her pots and pans. She also loves to play with her kitchen set and is now starting to hold baby dolls and feed them.



Of course, after a long morning of dressing up and having your picture taken, a princess has to just relax for a while with her favorite pillow.....