Happy 17th Birthday Kyle

Kyle turned 17 today and we had a nice dinner for him Sunday night. Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandpa Manning couldn't make this dinner this time. Grandma came down with the flu over the weekend and had to take a rain check. Olivia didn't know they had been planning on coming so she didn't know the difference anyway.

Kyle's choice for his birthday dinner was bacon wrapped tenderloins with baked potatoes and salad. Olivia can never think about eating a dinner when she knows there is chocolate cake with ice cream coming up. She also had to help blow out the candles of course.

It all turned out really good but does a teenager appreciate anything these days?? Pretty hard to tell. Oh well, guess we've got to face the fact that we have a lot of "teenage" years ahead of us. I'm guessing anyone out there with teenagers knows what I'm talking about.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Grandpa Manning's birthday is TODAY! But with so many things going on these days we celebrated yesterday. Olivia and I took a nice lunch over to Grandma and Grandpa's house (before the football games started). We also took cupcakes which Olivia helped me bake and frost the day before. She really loves to help me bake in the kitchen and it is fun for me too.
Although lunch was very good, Olivia didn't eat much because all she had on her mind were the cupcakes and blowing out the candles. Even though it was "Papa's" birthday she had to have her own candle to blow out too.
We had a really nice time and Olivia, as always, had a lot of fun. I think she has more energy every day. She is talking so much now too and can be so funny. We hope you enjoyed your lunch Grandma and Grandpa and had as much fun as we did!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!

(GO STEELERS GO!)

Play Dates

Olivia is acquiring a social life now. We had started getting together with Emma and her little brother Cody and Mom Joanna on Wednesday's a couple months ago. Then a playgroup started up at our church/school. Of course, they also scheduled their play days on Wednesdays. We all started going to this right before the holidays and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Both Olivia and Emma really seem to enjoy going to the school, meeting and playing with other kids and all the toys. Joanna and I both really felt the girls needed some socializing with other kids to learn sharing and getting along. They are both doing great and we enjoy visiting with the other mothers and the director of the playgroup too. It goes from 9:30 to 11:00 every Wednesday so it works out perfect for getting home for lunch and nap and Olivia is looking forward to it each week.
We also altered our days of just us getting together so on Monday's we will be switching off going to each others house so the girls get an extra day to play together. This week it was at our house and I think we can see a difference in the girls each time they get together. It has been really good for them. Since this has been such a difficult winter it is nice to have these activities when you don't spend any time outside. I'll try to get some pictures from the school playgroup and post them also. I have also set aside one morning each week for Olivia and I to bake something in the kitchen together. She loves to help and is very neat about everything so it is pretty fun. Last week we made a coffee cake and this week I think will be chocolate chip cookies (or tooties). I'll get some pictures of that too!

(Tea party with the tea set Santa brought for her.....thanks for the extra chair aunt Lynn--told you we would use it!!)

Happy New Year 2009!!

Happy New Year!!

We stayed home on New Year's Eve but spent the first day of 2009 at Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jody's house.

One more big party of the season. Olivia once again had a great time partying with everyone and came home exhausted again so it was a good way to start the year.

Now we can look forward to the days slowly getting longer and springtime in the future when we can come out of hibernation again.

Thanks Lynn for a great time at your house.

I've included these cute pictures from Christmas Day just for my record.

This was Olivia's favorite gift from Santa....her guitar.

Each year I am giving her ornaments to remember what she was into during the year. Tis year she really learned to like "The Wizard of OZ" movie, or as she puts is "Wiza Bops". So she got a Wiza Bops ornament for 2008.

We all wish everyone a happy, healthy and blessed 2009!!

More Family Christmas Celebrations

We spent Sunday afternoon celebrating Christmas with the Pitz side at Bob and Cindie's home.

Again, we had a great time, seeing everyone again, eating way too much food and catching up with everyone.

Olivia was only her shy self for about the first 10 to 15 minutes and then she was off again, grabbing whoever she could and having them take her downstairs to play or into the dining room where all the desserts were.
She hammed it up and ran from room to room and got along with everyone even though she doesn't see them very often. She enjoyed showing pictures to Grandma Pitz and was spoiled by her aunts, uncles and cousins.
She especially liked Bob and Cindie's two house dogs and kept them on their toes too.

Just like Christmas Day she filled up on chocolate, cookies and candy again and zonked out in her bed when we finally got home and put her to bed. That's exactly what is supposed to happen for the holidays right?

We have a couple days again to catch up on getting back into a routine, eating regular meals and getting caught up on sleep....just in time for the next party on New Year's Day!!

Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas to everyone. We had a wonderful day. Olivia woke up not quite remembering what was going on that day but soon got out to the living room to see the presents under the tree. She was a little overwhelmed at first but soon started ripping into her presents. Her favorite present was her guitar. Kyle and Jenny got the GuitarHero set with the guitar, drums and microphone so Olivia fits right in playing her rock and roll too. I'll be adding more pictures from Christmas morning at our house but for now am including the afternoon pictures from Aunt Nancy's house. There she was buried under just as many presents as what Santa had brought.
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncles for all the great gifts. She loves the toys and the clothes are so cute and much needed.


We all had a great time in the afternoon and into the night. Olivia was running all day and had so much fun. She finally zonked out on the way home and couldn't wake up even as I changed her clothes and diaper and put her to bed. She also woke up happy the next day.
We have a couple days now to relax and play-play-play, then on Sunday we do it all over again with the Pitz side. We will be heading over to Bob and Cindie's house on Sunday and I'll post pictures from that too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008!

Cwismas Tooties!

Translated that means Christmas Cookies!! Olivia "helped" me cut out and bake the Christmas cookies on Tuesday and she, Jenny and I decorated them today, Christmas Eve. She is kind of a neat freak and was really good about not making a big mess. For being 2 1/2 she was really good at getting the frosting on the cookies and then one big splot of sprinkles. Once in a while she would sneak a lick of the knife or just stick her finger right in the frosting for a taste.
She had a great time doing the cooking, cutting them out and decorating them. It was so funny when every few minutes she would stop what she was doing and say "I wuv make tooties wif Mama!"
Even Misty (with the sweet tooth) wanted to get into the picture.

It was hilarious and she genuinely had a lot of fun. At night we read "The Night Before Christmas" and set three cookies that she picked out on a plate for Santa with milk and....of course... a napkin to wipe his mouth. As I put her to bed she was talking nonstop about the cookies, milk, napkin, reindeer, party at Aunt Nancy's, and so on.
I'm not sure who is having more fun with this, me or Olivia.
Watch for more pictures from Christmas Day.




We hope everyone has a very blessed, happy and safe Christmas 2008!!

Merry Christmas!!