Life's Blessings

Olivia is 3!!!

2011-04-02T08:01:00.006-04:00

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday we were at the hospital waiting for the arrival of our sweet angel. I blinked and now this baby of mine is 3! Here are some things about our big girl!

Her new name should be Princess because each day when she gets home from school, she puts on her Belle princess dress. She is obsessed with Beauty & The Beast (Belle) but will venture out and watch other Disney Princess movies.

She is almost fully potty trained! :) We are very proud of her and she is doing great!!

She is very independent and wants to do EVERYTHING by herself. "No, I do it!" is her favorite thing to say at times.

Besides her princesses, she still loves Toy Story and the gang. She loves to play with her babies, color, write, and have tea parties.

Dance is still a big part of her life. She has her first recital in May and we can't wait to see it! She only gives us a sneak peak at times. She will still dance around the house (especially when she is getting ready for the bath and has no clothes on!!).

She is a big talker once she warms up to people. She loves to talk at night after bedtime stories. After stories, she tries to start a conversation with me just so she doesn't have to go to sleep. She will say, "Talk Mommy!". Smart girl!

She still isn't the best eater. It is a hit or a miss when it comes to meal time. Oatmeal is always a hit no matter which meal.

Olivia still loves school and her teachers! We are so blessed to have a great school and teachers for her. She has many "boyfriends" there, but Foster D. is her main squeeze. :)

Olivia, you are such a special girl and we love you so much! You light up a room as soon as you enter it and you bring smiles to all! I have enjoyed every minute of watching you grow up. It is still so hard to believe that you are 3! You amaze me everyday and I look forward to the many years to come!

1 day Old

1 Year Old

2 Years Old!

3 Years Old!!

SNOW DAY 2011

2011-01-10T12:11:00.005-05:00

Check out the fun we had in the snow this morning! We didn't stay long because it was SO COLD! We don't have the right clothes for this type of weather, but we HAD to go out to make a snow angel and throw a snowball or two. Enjoy!

Heading out!

Olivia LOVED the snow!!

Look how deep!

Front and Back of our house!

Attempting to make snow angels!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T23:55:00.007-05:00

Christmas this year was a little crazy. Every year we say that we aren't going to travel too much. Each year as we get close, I always change my mind and try to figure out the easiest way for us to visit ALL of our families!! We did it again this year and had a great time at each visit! Since Olivia still didn't quite understand how Santa works, I thought that we could travel like we did. Looking back, I think we will stick around our house for Christmas Eve, then play it by ear. So here is our Christmas!

Part 1 ~ Cumming, Ga

Santa stopped by early to surprise Olivia. He had so many toys and stops to make, her knew we wouldn't be home on Christmas Eve so her dropped off her riding horse! Thanks Santa!! We wouldn't have had room in our car to bring him home!

We also went ahead and opened gifts from mommy and daddy so we could see what gifts we should take on our trips! Look at how excited Liv was to get her Woody doll! PRICELESS!!
Olivia also got this cool tent from her daddy! She made mommy go through the tunnel to get to the tent! So much fun! Just wish we had a play room to put it in.

Christmas Part 2~Columbia, SC

GaGa's house

We were in Columbia for Christmas Eve and Santa made ANOTHER stop for our sweet girl. She had a great time with her toys as well as the toys she received from GaGa. Of course, I don't have any other pictures of her playing with cousin Hannah or with GaGa Carter. I hope to get some from them!

Good Morning! Look what Santa brought!

We were supposed to stay until Sunday, but mother nature had other plans. We heard that bad weather (snow) was coming in, so at the last minute on Saturday night, we packed up ALL of our things and headed to Statesboro! I was determined to get at least one picture with GaGa before we left. Here is the best one we got! Thanks mom for having us! We love you!

Christmas Part 3~Statesboro, GA

Here is our one and ONLY family picture from the holidays. It was right before the Turner family arrived. NaNa had a wonderful meal ready for all of us! We had a great time at NaNa and GrandDaddy's house! Having cousin Will and Grayson there made it extra fun! Of course, I don't have any other pictures. I do have some video of the kids at Monkey Joe's. We went there while the crazy daddies played golf in the FREEZING cold!!

Here's Aunt Laurie with all the kiddos with their toys! We missed Cooper who was sick and Maddie who couldn't make it. Olivia is already ready to see her cousins!!

We also visited with PaPa Doc, MiMi, Aunt Sara, Uncle Dusty, and cousin August. Of course, there are no pictures, but we LOVED seeing ya'll!!

Thanks for having us! WE LOVE YA'LL!!

Christmas Part 4~ Beaufort, SC

Our final stop was at Pop Frank's! Olivia was so excited to see everyone (especially her cousins Gracie and Duncan)! As you will see, they always have tons of fun!!

Right after dinner at Pop's, we headed over to Uncle CoCo and Aunt Wendy's house! Gracie ad a blast dressing up Olivia. They had a fashion show for us! Duncan played with his new toys while the adults got to catch up and visit!

Olivia was sure to spread the love and give her Duncan a hug!

Mommy and Aunt Wendy had a chance to have a girls' lunch and even had time to walk around downtown without the kids. It was great catching up and enjoying our meal! That evening, Matt and I went out to celebrate our 9th Anniversary! We went to a delish new restaurant in Beaufort (Wren). CoCo and Wendy ended up being there too, so we all ate together and had a great evening with delicious food and great conversation!

The night before we left, we had to have some fried turkey and oysters at dad's (a tradition). The kids stayed inside (smart) while the adults froze and ate some wonderful oysters!

Silly girls!

Duncan had been up since 4 am because he and CoCo had gone hunting. He was a trooper and hung in there just to be with us before we left!

Thanks for having us! Love ya'll!! We had a great time!!

So as you can see, fun was had by all! We (Matt) drove a lot of miles, but they were worth it. Christmas is about being with the ones you love. I couldn't imagine sharing this special time with anyone else! We love all of you and look forward to our next visit. Happy New Year!!!

Pumpkin Patch ~Oct. 2010

2011-01-01T23:25:00.009-05:00

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkin, go for a hayride, and visit the local animals. Daddy had basketball, so it was just us girls. The weather was beautiful and the farm wasn't too crowded. We had a lot of fun!!

Olivia wasn't too sure of feeding the animals at first.

Then she got brave and fed one of the goats!

Time for our hayride around the farm! We even stopped at the dock to feed to HUGE catfish!
Look how beautiful the day was!!

MOM! I found my pumpkin!!

We got some yummy treats (apple cider, apple butter, apple bread, and popcorn for Liv), then loaded up and headed home!

Halloween 2010

2011-01-01T23:11:00.010-05:00

Yes, it is Jan. 1, 2011, but I am determined to post some more fall pictures before we begin the new year. So here it goes!!

Halloween

Olivia wanted to be a dragon princess for Halloween. She is in love with Pete's Dragon (a childhood movie of mine), so when I asked her about her costume, I gave her the choice of princess or dragon. She of course said, "Dragon Princess!". So here are some pictures of what we tried and what we ended up with!

Trying on the dragon costume and adding the princess details. Not loving it!

This is the princess outfit she wore to school for her parade!

Here is what we ended up with on Halloween! She loved it! She went Trick~or~Treating with her friends Jack and Caroline C. She had a blast!

Liv gave mommy her crown before she headed out! I LOVED hearing her use her manners when trick or treating!

After a few houses, she and Jack decided to ride in style! Smart kids!

Mountain Trip ~Sept. 2010

2010-11-01T19:35:00.004-04:00

We were so excited to meet up with NaNa and GrandDaddy at their cabin outside Helen! We LOVE visiting up there! That morning we headed out to a fun festival in a nearby town, then had a yummy lunch in Clarkesville! Of course, I don't have any pics from the afternoon, but we all had a great time! Mommy and NaNa got to go shopping while Livi and the men stayed home to nap!

Here is Livi monkeying around with her daddy!

It was really chilly the next morning when we decided to take pictures! It was so beautiful and relaxing.....mommy wanted to stay!!

Livi with NaNa, GrandDaddy, and Amber

Thanks for having us! We enjoyed it and look forward to our next visit!! Love ya'll!!

August 2010

2010-11-01T19:24:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures of what Olivia was up to in August. Not too much going on, but fun was had by all!

Here is my sweet girl on the First Day of School! I can't get over how grown she looks here!! Check out the bracelets!

Dressing up and giving us a fashion show! Sweet dreams my angel! Olivia still LOVES her books! We read 2-3 each night. As you can see, she also still LOVES her paci!

GaGa came to visit! We always had a blast with our GaGa!

Having fun at Monkey Joe's. One of Liv's favorite places! She calls it Jumpy Joe's!

Playing with her new stylin vanity. This was a present from daddy because "she wanted it and said please!" Somebody is a little spoiled!

It is pretty cute though!!

Yes....we are still here!

2010-11-01T19:23:00.002-04:00

We have been super busy since school has started. We enjoyed the end of summer and now we are having a great fall!! I plan to post a few things to catch everyone up!

28 months.....going on 13!!!

2010-08-01T22:04:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that Olivia is 28 months old. It is so hard to believe that she is already almost 2 1/2!! My new name for her at the moment is Sassy. This is because there is this new side of her. Don't get me wrong, she can still be my sweet angel that LOVES to snuggle. But there are times that she turns into this other little girl that is a little too big for her britches. She tends to put up her hand and say, "No Mommy!" and proceeds to talk back! It is all I can do not to laugh and to discipline her. This is an area that I am not good at at all!! We work on this daily!

I absolutely adore Miss Olivia's personality. The older she gets, the more I see this little person with such imagination, spunk, and joy emerge. Here are a few of Olivia/Sassy's happenings:

Big Girl Bed~

Well, it's in her room....... Has she slept in it for an entire night? NO!! We are still working on it, but being gone so much this summer didn't help. I am hoping that once we get back on a schedule with school, it will become part of our daily routine!

Little Mommy~

Olivia is a very good mommy to her dolls. She loves to carry them, push them around in the stroller, feed them, cover them up, and my favorite....read to them!

Fashion~

Olivia is very into her jewelry and shoes....I have taught her well! (Although this may get me in trouble later on.) Wherever she goes, she must have her bracelets and necklaces on. Now she has some dress up heels and would wear them all of the time if I let her! Needless to say, between her parents and grandmothers.......this little girl is STYLIN'!

Tiny Dancer~

As always, she continues to dance, dance, dance. Doesn't matter what type of music, this girl will dance! We recently practiced some new moves! I can't wait to sign her up for dance classes!! I am hoping she can start this fall!

Sports~

Although Olivia is very girly, she still loves her sports! Her favorite thing to do at the moment is go to the golf store with daddy to play! She will even sit and watch golf with her daddy! TOO CUTE!

I love you so much my sweet Olivia. You are growing into such a wonderful and loving little girl. You light up the room even with your sassiness!! You are such a blessing to everyone and we couldn't ask for more!

Olivia's Big Girl Room

2010-06-14T22:21:00.004-04:00

One of the things on my "To Do" list for the summer was to redo Olivia's room. I was planning on using our old double bed frame and go from there. After finding that the double bed mattresses were ruined.....I figured her room really wasn't big enough for it anyway.

So I decided to find a neat iron headboard or something like that. On a whim, I stopped by a new antique store, The Green Bean Exchange, and found this...

I was so excited because it was a steal!!! After I bought it, Livi and I made our 2nd trip of the week to Home Depot (one of my favorite stores) and purchased paint!

Since Matt was out of town, I had to do the refinishing during nap-time or after bedtime. I was going to paint flowers on it, but after I painted the trim, I liked it simple.

We then went searching for the right spread. I brought a couple home, but we both liked the flowers!! Here is Olivia testing the bed out before I had slats in it! :)

Now I have put the slats in, re-hung her alphabet picture, and hung the flowers above her bed. Now that I look at it, I will be tweaking a few things (flowers are too high), but wanted to share Olivia's new room!! We will add the boxspring later and I may even raise the bed. Now, we just need her to SLEEP in there. She is still in our bed, so pray that this will SOON end!! She is very excited about HER bed and room.....too bad she doesn't want to sleep in there!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-21T20:52:00.005-04:00

Olivia and I headed to Columbia for Mother's day this year. As always, it was a quick trip, but we had a great time! We had so much fun with GaGa and the rest of the Carter clan. We missed cousin Hannah (and the rest of the Ingram family), but we will see them soon! Here are some pictures from our trip!

Our first trip to Cupcake in the Vista. YUMMY!!! This was the best cupcake I ever had!! We all enjoyed our tasty treat. As we were leaving the shop, we had another treat. We ran into Aunt Karen and Uncle Sandy who were in town for graduation. Looking forward to seeing them this summer in Bluffton!!

After our cupcakes, we went to the park to swing and slide! Olivia LOVES to swing and is fearless sliding and climbing!!

After a busy day, Olivia enjoyed a picnic in GaGa's den!
Mother's Day and Jan's house. Olivia helped "Carter" open her gives. She calls my grandmother Carter instead of GaGa Carter. It is so sweet!

Mommy wants a dress or skirt to match her dress!!

Looking at pictures with Aunt Jan ans swinging

Showing Carter her pictures from her trip to Beaufort

Mommy & Livi

4 Generations

Carter, Olivia, Mommy, & GaGa!

What a special treat it was to spend Mother's Day with the wonderful women in our lives. We love each of you so much and thank you for everything you do for us. Love you all!!!

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-17T22:13:00.008-04:00

Olivia and I headed to S.C. to visit during our break. Our first stop was Columbia. We had a great time visiting our GaGa, GaGa Carter, cousins Hannah, Emilie, Annette, Aunt Jan, and Uncle Kirk!

Olivia had so much fun with Hannah. They played with their dolls and got to go to the park. Hannah isn't walking yet, but as soon as she is, these two will be all over the place. We can't wait to visit longer this summer!!

Sweet Cousins! Aunt Jan bought them matching outfits! They were so cute!!

Playing at the park!

One of Olivia's favorite things to do!

Hannah and Emilie!

Mommy, Livi, and GaGa!

Performing for her GaGa Carter. Olivia sat there and sang all of her songs! She was quite the performer! The cutest part was she kept calling GaGa C "Carter"! So sweet!

I LOVE this picture!!

After a few days in Columbia, we headed down to Beaufort! Olivia had a great time with her cousins Duncan and Grace. We didn't get enough pictures, but Pop got some good ones of the cousins when we all went out to dinner. Here a few of what we did while in Beaufort!

Olivia and I were so excited to finally get out on the water! Rain came in the night before, so it was chillier while we were out cruising. Pop got sandwiches and we had a cruise around Beaufort and a picnic on the boat. As you can see, Olivia was ready roll!

Showing mommy how to drive the boat!

Chillin with Pop Frank on the Miss Fripp!

Sitting with her cousin Grace on "My Time Out." Olivia was so sweet by taking a long nap inside while mommy got to get some sun (a little too much I might add, but I needed it!!). We had a great day relaxing on the boat! Nothing better than the fresh, salty air and sunshine to make you feel great!

Here are the girls getting ready to go to bed.....

Sweet angels......until they started jumping on the bed like little monkeys. Let's just say, they didn't end up sleeping together! I think we will have our hands full when these girls get older!!

Mom was able to come join us for a wedding for one of our friends. Olivia didn't take a nap all day and the wedding was at 2:30. I wasn't sure how she would do. She was great during the service, so that was a relief! She only made a sound when the music stopped by saying, "More!". It was too cute!!
Then once we got to the reception, we got a table next to the dance floor and this was where Olivia spent the rest of the night. Did I mention she never napped (except for 10 minutes in the car on the way to the ceremony)? This little girl was a DANCING QUEEN! She danced the entire night!! She finally slowed down about 8:30, so we headed home. Again, this makes me think that I am going to have my hands full! I sure did enjoy every minute with her though!!

Dancing with David!

Dancing with her GaGa! I will be signing her up for dance classes this summer!!

As you can see, we had a great time over Spring Break. Of course, it wasn't long enough and we didn't get to visit all of our friends. We can't wait for the summer so we can visit some more!! I know that we will have a great time no matter where we are or what we do! Olivia is such a joy and I am so thankful for her! The Lord has blessed me with this wonderful little girl. She is full of life and love! Each day with her brings more joy to my life!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-17T22:05:00.004-04:00

After church on Easter Sunday. It was a great service and Olivia was able to join us for the last hymn. She LOVES music!

Let's see what the Easter Bunny brought!

Her goodies!

Mmmmm! She liked her first peep!

Olivia's 2nd Birthday!!

2010-04-17T21:46:00.006-04:00

Here is the sweet birthday girl getting ready to head to her party!!

We had her party at the carousel at North Point! A few of Olivia's friends joined her to ride the carousel and have Chick-Fil-A and cake!

Olivia with GrandDaddy & NaNa

Olivia with Lucy and Davis waiting to ride the carousel!

Riding her favorite animal!

Not really into eating....wants to ride some more!

Sweet Chloe chillin with her shades!

Scout wearing her party favor crown!

Davis is ready for his nap!

Olivia didn't make it halfway home before she passed out!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!!

2010-04-01T20:32:00.009-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

March 31, 2008

March 31, 2010

I can't believe my sweet Olivia is 2 years old already! She is such a big girl now. I can't get over how smart and independent she is! I am stealing this post idea from my cousin Emilie. Her sweet Hannah just turned 1 and she wrote 12 things about Hannah. Here it goes...

24 Things About My 24 Month Old

1. She loves to dance!! We have dance parties all of the time!

2. She still loves her pacifier.

3. She is a picky eater.

4. She loves to go to Target because she knows she gets "special" milk (vanilla milk).

5. She is a great singer!

6. She can kick a soccer ball really well.

7. She uses her left hand most of the time.

8. Still loves ELMO!! (starting to like Dora and Yo gabba)

9. Favorite book is Courduory.

10. FINALLY has hair for bows!!

11. Has the longest legs!! Going to be taller than her mommy soon!

12. Musically inclined.

13. Her hair is curling more and it is so cute!

14. Loves cookies like her daddy!

15. Very vocal about what she likes, dislikes, or wants!

16. Has the sweetest voice.

17. Loves her dog Lolly (unless she is trying to take her snack).

18. She is tender hearted.

19. She is very curious.

20. She is very observant.

21. She is a great snuggler!!

22. She is a loving "mommy" to her dolls.

23. She loves to visit with our neighbor Miss Pat.

24. She loves to play outside (slide, swing, etc.)

I could go on and on!! Olivia, we love you so much and enjoy every minute with you! You continue to make us laugh and smile every day. We are so blessed!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Cheeks!!

Olivia's First Haircut!!

2010-03-20T22:02:00.004-04:00

We had a snow day in the middle of the week on Mrach 3rd, so I took Olivia to get her first haircut! I had been trying to get to her cut for a while. It has taken so long for her to grow hair that I was really hesitant to get her one. I thought about doing it myself because she really only needed a trim. I gave in and took her to Pigtails & Crewcuts (very cute place). She was really excited when she saw the cars and planes she could ride. All was good until they put the cape on her. She DID NOT like that! So, after bribing her with a lollipop and sitting on mommy's lap, she was good to go. She did great! The people there were so patient and were great!!

Ready to drive!

Likes this seat better!

You can see that she really needed her bangs trimmed!

Ta~Da!! Here is my big girl....with bangs!

Since we had it cut, it has gotten more curls in it and is so cute! I will be sure to get more pictures soon!

Birthdays, Birthdays!

2010-02-12T21:22:00.008-05:00

Olivia has been having a lot of fun at her friends' birthday parties!! Her friend Davis and Carson both turned 2! I can't believe that all of these babies are already 2!!! Time goes by so fast! We are still trying to decide whether or not to have a party for Olivia!!!

Here is Davis' party. It was at North Point Mall. This was so much fun for Olivia! It was her first time on a carousel. She wasn't too sure at first, but then she loved it!! All of her friends from school were there!

Hanging out with Connor and Lucy!

Ice Cream from Chick-Fil-A!!!

Riding the carousel for the first time with her buddy Lucy! Olivia wasn't quite ready for the moving horse at first.

After the first ride, she was ready to go again and rode a hippo! She loved it! I took a video (very carefully holding onto her while filming), but it wasn't the best, so I didn't post it.

Time for cake!!!

Here we are celebrating our friends Lori and Carson! Lori is my good friend and Carson is her son. We were pregnant together and have play dates with the little ones!

Olivia going in for a kiss and I'm not sure that Carson is into it!

Sweet Liv and the birthday boy Carson!

Curly Q

2010-02-12T21:19:00.004-05:00

After not having hair for so long...... Olivia's hair is growing!! Look at her sweet curls! Too bad they aren't there in the morning when she wakes up!

Catching Up

2010-02-06T10:47:00.015-05:00

I have been a blogger slacker! We have been busy in the Loveless house. Matt has officially started golf season and I am the co-chair for Relay for Life at my school! It has been either freezing cold or raining since January and we are READY for spring!! Olivia is busier than ever! She continues to talk more and more and she has become quite the little mother. She has many baby dolls that she cares for each day (rocking, bathing, feeding, and putting to bed). I hope to post more pictures of Olivia's happenings, but here is one for now!

Olivia's first official snow day (January)!! We had a great time watching her play "Ready, Set, Go" in the snow! It was a little too cold to stay out too long, but it was fun for that short 5 minutes!!

Livi's First Pigtails!!!

2010-01-12T15:31:00.004-05:00

So Sweet!

Christmas Visits

2010-01-07T19:11:00.010-05:00

Here are some pictures of our Christmas visits!

GaGa came to our house and we enjoyed having her for Christmas!!

First stop was Statesboro on the 26th. Olivia got a Bitty Baby from NaNa and Granddaddy.
Chillin' with Granddaddy
These were the only pictures that I have. It was such a quick visit and Matt was sick, so we didn't take any other pictures!!! I have a video or two and am going to try to post!

Next stop....Beaufort!

Olivia and I FINALLY got to meet my dear friend Hayes and his wife Carly's son, Kai. He is a cutie and Olivia had the best time playing with him!

Rocking at Pop's with my new Elmo from Santa!

Presents with Pop! Yes, more Elmo!

Olivia is getting to be an expert at unwrapping gifts!

Dancing with her cousin Duncan!

Olivia and Lolly bonding with Pop!

Checking out the shoes at Lipzitz where mommy used to get her shoes!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We had dinner at Christopher and Wendy's on New Years Eve.

Having oysters on our last night before we left. Olivia had a great time with her cousins!!!

We hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Blessed New Year!!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-07T18:50:00.007-05:00

We had a great time being at home for Christmas Eve this year. Over the years we have either been in Beaufort or Statesboro, so it was nice to be home for a change. (I did miss being at St. Helena's for the Christmas Eve Service.) Here are a few pictures of Olivia on the 24th and 25th. As you will see, she must have been a very good girl this year!

Reading with GaGa on Christmas Eve.

Night, night Daddy!

Looking for Santa.....

Looks like Santa came!!!!!!!

Now Olivia can help mommy!!

Olivia and her first piano concert! Look at that posture!

Ready to Roll!

I had so much fun watching Olivia exploring and enjoying her new toys. I was so excited the night before that I couldn't go to sleep. Experiencing life through the eyes of a child is amazing! Olivia continues to amaze me each and everyday and I am so thankful to have been blessed by her!

What a Difference a Year Makes!!

2009-12-13T21:46:00.009-05:00

Here are the pictures of my sweet Olivia for her first Christmas and one from her second Christmas. As you can see, she is still my happy little girl! She has finally gotten more hair so that she can wear her bows!!!

9 Months Old

20 Months Old

Christmas Card Pictures!!!

2009-12-13T21:31:00.008-05:00

So, I thought that I would try to take some additional pictures of Olivia for our family Christmas card. I had debated whether or not to get her pictures done professionally and use one of those pictures for our card. Well, I opted not to get any professional photos and to do them myself. BIG mistake!!

Here are some of the MANY pictures we took trying to get a decent picture for a card. Olivia has the funniest and sweetest personality and I wanted to capture that. Now I realize why I am not a professional photographer and why I should have gotten one to tackle this task. Lesson learned!

Okay....this last picture sums it up! I think we are going to go with one of the Santa pictures! These are very cute, but not what I was looking for for our Christmas card!

Santa Picture

2009-12-13T21:16:00.006-05:00

Every year, my school's PTA has "Evening with Santa." This year I volunteered to work and helped greet families as they arrived. My favorite part was to escort Santa himself in and take him to his post! Matt brought Olivia so that she could give him her list and try to get a picture.

I was excited that the same Santa was here from last year! Olivia had her picture taken with 2 different Santas last year. Her best picture was with this Santa. Now that she is older and is understanding things more, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Things were okay until we were in line and many of the other children were flipping out! She started to get this concerned look on her face, so I crossed my fingers and hoped we could get at least one picture. Here is how it went... (the pictures are the ones Matt took while the photographer took the other ones. The flash makes some of the pictures really bright).

Mommy....I don't think I want to talk to Santa anymore....

Hey...what's this toy? (the photographer is trying to distract her.......)

This isn't that bad..... I am NOT going to smile though....

I am still thinking about this and no I will NOT smile!! This is as good as it gets! Can we go now?

The last picture was the best of what Matt took. I hope the photographer got better ones. SO far, this will be the Christmas card picture (after is edited because of the brightness). Of course, after I picked her up out of Santa's lap, she was all smiles and even started talking to Santa. Oh well! It was fun and there weren't any tears!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T22:20:00.012-05:00

We went to Columbia for our Thanksgiving break and had a wonderful time. We shopped, ate, visited with family, shopped some more, ate more, and even got a quick visit with a dear friend of mine. Here are a few pictures from our visit. I am bummed that we didn't get one of our whole family though on Thanksgiving!

We had our Thanksgiving meal at my aunt and uncle's house. We had a great time being with cousins, grandmothers, and GaGa Carter. I am so Of course, I didn't get any of the cousins (Olivia and Hannah) with their grandmothers and great grandmother.

Daddy with the girls!

Having some yummy beans and sweet potatoes! Olivia is still not eating a lot of meat these days, so she didn't have any ham or turkey. Thanks Hannah for letting us borrow your high chair!

Olivia was out before we all finished our meal, so she and daddy went downstairs for a nap and some football.

Olivia had gotten this adorable shirt from her NaNa, so she had a wardrobe change after her nap. Here she is with (Great)Aunt Jan trying to put on Hannah's shoes. Yes, she LOVES to wear shoes!! Too bad these were too small. She loved them!
Olivia was the DJ while Hannah was going to practice her singing. This time next year, I can see these girls putting on a show together. They would need their other cousin Grace to help show them some great dance moves!

The next few pictures are of Olivia around mom's (GaGa) house. Olivia was a busy girl this past week!

Olivia decided one night to feed her mommy and GaGa instead of feeding herself. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!! Needless to say, there was a lot of food on us before dinner was over.
Shopping with her new shopping cart! She walked around and put everything in her cart. (This may be a bad habit that I am promoting....unless someone else pays for her future shopping sprees~hint, hint grandparents.)

Reading in her favorite chair at GaGa's! I love this picture!! We have so much fun reading together, but I love to see her take a book and go "read" to herself. Hopefully this will continue.

Here is Miss Priss out at dinner with Pop Frank. We were so glad that he and Phyllis were in town for the ballgame so we got to see them too. We went to a fabulous dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Thanks Pop! As you can see, she is writing for us ~ with her left hand. She uses that hand most of the time. I have more pictures from dinner, but my computer isn't cooperating....

Finally, here is one of our last visits while in Columbia. I was so glad that Olivia and I got to go see one of my oldest and dearest friends, Elizabeth and her boys. This was the best picture that I could get of our little ones (minus Stuart who was running an errand with his daddy). I didn't get a picture of Olivia trying to give the boys a kiss goodbye. It was too cute! We enjoyed our quick visit and look forward to seeing you all again soon!

As you can see, we had a great visit in Columbia. We are so very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We are truly thankful for these blessings. We only wish that we could have been with all of our family and friends. We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Special Delivery!

2009-11-15T15:39:00.009-05:00

Olivia received 2 packages yesterday from GaGa and NaNa. I of course was very excited with the goodies she got. Olivia was excited for a little while, but had more fun with the boxes! She is too funny!

Here are some other pictures of our silly girl around the house!

Yes! She is dancing again! I love it!!

My big girl!

Wearing Daddy's shoes!

Dance Party!

2009-11-08T20:35:00.006-05:00

Yes, we have dance parties at the Loveless house. Tonight Olivia got her groove thing on! Matt put the tv on the music station and she started twirling and jumping around. It has to be one of the cutest things I have ever seen. It reminds me of my sweet niece, Grace, when she would dance when she was a baby.

It is moments like this that I am so thankful for this little angel. She brings us so much joy and laughter. I hope to get a video of her dancing so everyone can see just how cute she is. I do believe she will be on a stage one day!

HALLOWEEN 2009

2009-11-06T20:05:00.011-05:00

Olivia had a great Halloween. She had her first Halloween Parade at her school and was a Georgia cheerleader. Too bad this didn't bring us any luck in the game the next day....

On Halloween we went over to the Coggins' to watch the GA/FL game and trick or treat! Olivia had a great time playing with Caroline and Jack while we watched the game. The girls even took a break from playing to watch the Dawgs play. Again...wish it would have brought them some luck!
After a great dinner, we got the kids dressed and headed out to Trick or Treat! Olivia had no idea what was going on at first, but she followed Jack (Thomas the Train). They rode in the wagon together and had a great time. I knew she was having fun when she kept taking the candy out of her pumpkin and started eating it (with the wrapper!). We only went to a few houses, but it was just enough for this little girl. I am already looking forward to next year!! I think she may have more of an opinion about what she will be!

Here are a few pictures that captured the fun time we had! Thanks again Coggin family for having us over!

Yes! It was raining a little! That is why our little ladybug had on a hat!

Olivia's first house! She was a pro!

I love this picture! Chillin while chewing on her first tootsie roll!

Decisions, Decisions

2009-11-02T21:00:00.005-05:00

As many of you know, I am terrible when it comes to making decisions. The older I get, the harder it is for me to make them. So you can imagine how hard it is for me to get this whole blog thing going. How to set it up, what to call it, etc.

Well, after much thought, I decided to go with Life's Blessings since this blog will mostly be devoted to Olivia and what she is up to. I look at everyday as a blessing because the Lord blessed us with her. We prayed for so long for her and after many years and much heartache, we were finally blessed with this angel. She makes every day so special. I am constantly reminded of God's love when I see her beautiful smile. He has so many wonderful things planned for her and I can't wait to watch and support her every step of the way.

Now......what do I need to do next for the blog?

Taking the Plunge

2009-10-31T22:23:00.001-04:00

Okay...so I am still trying to decide IF I am going to start blogging. I really don't have a lot of extra time to blog, but I love the idea of keeping track of Olivia's activities. I have a baby book for her and I write down her milestones. I also have a journal that I try to use to write down all of the extras (funny moments, school happenings, etc). When someone told me that I could have a blog and then send it off to be printed, I knew that I really needed to start a blog if only for that!

I love reading all of my friends' blogs and enjoy keeping up with them and their children through them. Hopefully I will be able to understand how this whole thing works and keep up with what's going on in our lives. We shall see....