To My Little Ray of Sunshine

I was going to try to write everyday.  Yeah, not going to happen.  Things get busy, especially with a full time job, a one year old, and daily things to do.  However, I do have a few things I wrote down so I would not forget.  They are little, but even so, things like these are what guarantees a smile everyday.  Honestly, a one year old is the biggest ray of sunshine you ever did meet.



So, to Olivia, My Little Ray of Sunshine:

I love the way you grab the blanket with both hands and pull it up just past your waste with a big smile.  Generally this is the cutest when we put the blanket over you lap in your car seat, but it happens often at other times too.

I love the way you want to join in our games on Sundays at Grandma and Grandpa Wests.  Specifically when we have dice in a cup.  This was a first last Sunday.  You would shake the cup anyway you could to make noise, this usually caused the dice to go flying.  You would pick each one up individually, put them back in the cup, and repeat.

I love the way you love other kids.  When you first meet an adult you are generally so quiet and cling go Mom.  However, when a kid walks into the room, especially when they are playing, you talk and point and want to join in.  Then usually you will follow them around.

I love the way you dance.  And it doesn't take much.  Life is simple to you.  Every little noise; a shopping cart, someone tapping, country music, slow music, fast music.  Anything.  You dance to it. It is adorable.

I love the way you help wash your hair when I am giving you a bath.  As soon as I get your hair wet your hands are up there scrubbing away.

I love the way you eat smarties.  You eat them nibble by nibble.  One small bite at a time.  You think it would be easier to just put it all in your mouth.  But I guess that takes the fun out of it.

I love they way you walk through the mall (a first this week).  You run into the glass windows.  Stare at the lights.  Look at all the people.   Fall down.  Run away from Mom and Dad, no worries if you almost run into every person you pass.  One man even said you looked drunk as you ran in front of him.

I love the way you are learning to throw things.  Your current favorite is taking something small from the ground and throwing whatever it is into the air (it barely passes your head when you throw it, and it usually goes behind you).  You do this over and over again.

And as mentioned another day, I love the way you tease.  This week I was working on my puzzle.  You were playing by me, but then you quietly walked away down the hall to my room.  I followed.  You had a puzzle piece and some gum I had previously gotten from you (gum is a favorite of yours).  As soon as you knew that I knew what you had you ran and giggled.  And later that night, it happened again.  You sure know what you are doing.
Then earlier today Daddy was asleep on the ground with the remote right by him.  You quietly got it and giggled as you walked away.  You knew you usually can't have the remote and you thought you were so clever. Too bad Mom , Grandma, and Uncle Nate all saw you.  We get a good laugh out of all the teasing you do.

Trying on (playing with) Moms ring.

Playing with the bucket.

You love jerky (with close supervision)

You love sitting on the counter in the bathroom.  This particular time you worked your way to the sink.

We love you Olivia, more than you will ever know.
Love, Mom (and I am sure Dad would agree)

On another note, today was Olivia's one year appointment (quite a few days after she really turned one).  Everything looks great and Dr Lindgren is amazed at the things she can do for her age.  She had three shots and cried for all of them.   The flu one was out, so we will probably need to go back in next week. Last time she took it like a champ, so going in again for it should not be too bad at least.

Amilton showing Olivia the fish.

Waiting for the nurse to give her shots.

And waiting...

And just thought I would mention.  Movies prices.  You want to change me $6.50 for my one year old to see a movie?  Mind you she will probably watch 5 whole minutes of it and take up a whole 0 seats.  No thank you.  Frozen will have to wait for the dollar movies.

"Painting" with water. 

She enjoyed spilling the water and trying to eat the paper more though.

Until next time...

Hugs, Kisses, and Smiles

Since Olivia is already to bed, today calls for an early bed time for me.  This will be short.

For todays little gems of life:

1.  Mentioning a busy day, it is always nice to have something to look forward to when I get home.  One of my favorite parts of the day is when I walk in the door and have a smiley baby walk up to me with smiles and arms outreached.  Upon picking her up I am greeted with the biggest hug a little one can give, kisses, and more smiles.  On most days she will then promptly begin to tell me about her day in her own special language.  :)

2.  Olivia has recently discovered the art of teasing.  Often times she will start to hand you an object you have asked for, and just when you are about to grab it (or in a lot cases you already have it in your hand) she will quickly take it back towards her with the biggest grin on her face and a little giggle.  

And last but not least... 

3.  I love seeing my baby learn and master new things.  For instance: Today while at the computer Olivia was finding things around me to play with. Two of which items were a thing of tape and a little bottle of lotion.  In my eyes she is so clever. She kept sticking the lid end of the lotion into the little hole on the thing of tape.  Over the last few weeks she has started to discover more and more how one object can go inside of another object.  It is so funny sometimes to see what she comes up with for that. 

Life is good :)

As an end note: I realize not everyone will find these little things amusing, so I won't feel bad if you don't want to read it all. I am just horrible at writing in my journal, so I am hoping I can be a little more consistent with this to record precious moments like these. 

And We're Back!

(1/2/14)

Yes, I know and realize it has been over two years. Yes, lots has happened in that two plus years. So, as I hopefully keep up here over the next year I will try and catch everyone up on what we have been up to.

 First up, We had a baby! Yes, old news for most. But this is the main reason I decided to start this whole blogging thing up again. I have so much I want to tell everyone about Olivia, but frankly, it would be overwhelming for all to hear about the first YEAR of our babies life all at once. So, that being said, I will add a little each entry. Her Birthday is December 23rd, 2012. That whole story will be saved for another time. She has been the center of our lives since that day though.

Olivia!

Christmas Eve 2012- Leaving the hospital

 Next, We live in Salt Lake, UT. Old news for most. We have lived in 2 different apartments in Salt Lake over the last almost 2 years. I (Elizabeth)am working with RHA in their Day Program as a Supervisor. Not anything new really, considering I have been in the same field for about 5 years now. I work with mentally disabled individuals. Hard work sometimes, but fun others.

 Amilton is working for the LDS church in the custodial department. He currently works in the Triad buildings in Salt Lake. He is also working on perusing his dream of running his own business. More on that to follow...

 Getting to something many will find more interesting. Some may notice I changed the name of my blog . Anyhow, there is a reason for that. I should have done this over a year ago. I deeply regret not recording every little amazing thing Olivia does on a daily basis. Maybe things only me as her mom could appreciate (or Amilton as her dad) But it truly is mind blowing to me. Talk about miraculous. Something only god himself could make happen after only a year on earth. So with that being said, I have three of life's little gems to share from today.

 1. Being super tired after work and needing to watch Olivia still (she had just woke up from her nap when I got home, bummer) I laid on the ground as she played in her room half whining, half happy. Little finger puppets were all over the ground from earlier play as well as a learning stuffed animal dog. I was half asleep the whole time as she kept crawling over me from one side to the other and over and over again. After maybe 20 minutes she was done with that and insisted I wake up and we do something else. Much to my surprise, when I stood up the room seemed cleaner. It was then that I noticed she had a reason for crawling all over me. Olivia had collected each finger puppet and the dog, one at a time, and piled them onto her little couch she had gotten for her birthday. How cute is that? Especially when this was a first.

 2. I am not really teaching much American Sign Language, she already has a lot to learn with Amilton only speaking to her in Portuguese, and me speaking to her in English. However, I do try to use a few words in ASL such as more and no. So, I was eating my dinner and she had her bottle as we watched a TV show. She has been a picky eater lately so I have not forced our food on to her too much. I had only given her a few bites of mine up to this point. It just melted my heart when I looked up from watching the TV at one particular moment to see my little baby sign "more". Usually it is halfhearted, not convincing. But it was for real this time. And of course, she got more. It amazes me how smart Olivia shows she is when she really wants something. It is really funny how she refuses to do it at other times though when I want her to.

3. Often times when Olivia gets her fingers messy with something yummy (such as ice cream) I lick her fingers off. She finds this amusing. Today, while I was pouring milk into her bottle, she stuck her finger into the bottle until she reached the milk. She then took her finger out and promptly stuck it in my mouth laughing the whole time. I guess it is a game to her; She then repeated this several times. Good thing I don't mind sharing. :)

Birthday Present from Maritza

Fun and Pinetop

Favorite Christmas Gift