O's First Trip to the Beach

While we were in Delaware, we made a day trip to Bethany Beach. Olivia had never been to the beach before, so this was a special trip. The weather was perfect- sunny, but not hot. There was a pleasant breeze which kept us comfortable in the sun. We lathered Olivia down with sunscreen; we couldn't find a hat so we even put sunscreen in her hair (notice the faux-hawk). After she was adequately protected from the sun, we let her go to town-and go to town she did.

Olivia was crawling all over the beach in no time. Of course, she was always crawling away from the towels that we had layed out so we were having to go retrieve her every so often. She had a lot of people watching after her, so we let her do a little bit of exploring.

One thing that I noticed about the sand on this beach in Delaware is that it is a lot softer than the sand in the northeast part of Florida (where we usually go). There was not a lot of shell in the sand, and it was cool- even at noon. This made it perfect for Olivia to play in.

The water was still a little chilly, so we did not go swimming in the ocean. We did put our feet in a little- but not for too long (brrr....cold). We spent most of our time playing with Olivia on the beach. One of her favorite things was to have her daddy fly her around. It was a very fun day, of course. Is there even such a thing as a bad day at the beach? I don't think so.

A Trip to Grandpa's

At the beginning of June, we took a road trip up to Delaware to visit Olivia's Grandpa and Nana. We were very excited to see them. This was the first time that we had been able to go see them since Olivia was born, and we knew that we were going to have to make some modifications to the way we traveled. Instead of leaving Blackshear at 8 o'clock in the morning like we usually do, we left at around 2 a.m. Olivia slept most of the way up there (and back), so we were able to make the trip in about twelve hours.

As you can see, Olivia managed to keep herself occupied in the carseat (although I'm not sure if I approve of her sucking on her foot).

We had a very good visit with Brian's family. Olivia was definitley entertained the whole time. Gary and Katie were home for the summer, and it was really good to see them. Olivia did not spit up on her Uncle Gary this time- so we are making progress in that area.

We were also able to go visit my Uncle Mike and Aunt Connie and see their beautiful new house while we were in Delaware. The house was so... nice. I really liked a lot of things about it- especially Aunt Connie's research library!

Overall, it was a very good trip, and we were really fortunate to be able to go see family.

Easter

Here are a few pictures from Easter this year. Easter started off with a bang when Olivia got a toy hammer in her basket. This toy was very appropriate because she really likes to pound on things. After checking out the contents of her basket, we got ready for church. Olivia looked so cute in her white Easter dress! After church, we went to mama's house for lunch. Olivia and Ava both received bunny ears, which they wore for all of five minutes (but those ears were cute for those five mintues).

We hid eggs for Ava and Olivia to hunt on Sunday afternoon. Olivia didn't quite catch on to what was going on, but Ava turned out to be an egg-hunting machine. She would zero in on an egg, go get it (or at least point toward it), and put it in her basket like a pro. It will be exciting to see these two hunt for eggs in coming years.

Chattanooga, TN

The first week of April was my Spring Break from school, so we decided to take a short trip to Chattanooga, TN. We left on Saturday and made a brief stop in Atlanta to meet up with my sister, Cassie, and to see the Titanic exhibit. The Titanic exhibit was really interesting. Upon entering, we were assigned the identity of a real passenger aboard the Titanic. My identity was that of a pregnant teenager in second class, and Brian was a poor third-class man traveling with friends and family. At the end of the exhibit, they had a wall with the names of all passengers and their fates listed on it. I survived, but Brian did not.

Some of the more interesting things that we saw in this exhibit were a large section of the hull, recovered china and artifacts from the ship, and perfume samples that you could still smell. They even had a part of the Titanic available for you to touch- which everyone (including Olivia) did. Cassie had already seen the exhibit, so she walked around with Olivia while Brian and I took the audiotour. Olivia's favorite part of the exhibit was the big iceberg that was there for you to touch in order to get a better idea of how cold the water was. When we left, her hands were still cold from touching it so much.

On Sunday, we went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. This is probably the nicest Aquarium that I have been to. I was surprised by how interested Olivia seemed to be. She especially liked the big tank because there was a lot of action and movement. We saw all sorts of marine life.


At the top on one of the Aquarium buildings there was a butterfly garden. Brian was able to catch a butterfly for Olivia. Olivia likes to put things in her mouth, so I was a little concerned for the butterfly's safety. But, everything turned out okay.

One of the exhibits that Olivia took the most interest was the giant crab exhibit. Those things were as big as she was!

On Monday morning, we rode the Inclined Railroad and visited Ruby Falls. The Inclined Railroad offered great views of Chattanooga, but it was really crowded. Ruby Falls was far more interesting. At Ruby Falls, we went into the heart of Lookout Mountain, walked for about twenty minutes , and ended up in a cavern with a 145 ft. waterfall. It was a really neat experience.


On Monday afternoon we took a tour of Chattanooga on the "Ducks", which are ex-military amphibious vehicules. We rode around downtown Chattagoona for awhile and then plunged into the Tennessee river to finish our tour. The captain of our boat even let some of the passengers drive the vehicle in the water- which Brian and Olivia did.

On Tuesday, we "Saw Rock City". I thought it was going to be a cheesy tourist trap- and there were some cheesy things about it. But, it was much better than I thought it would be. The views from the top of "Lover's Leap" were really good. They would have been even better had it not been so cloudy.

One interest that Brian and I share is that we both love extreme activities. We will try almost anything once. Therefore, we were very excited to learn that Chattanooga was a good destination for hang gliding. We immediatley signed up to recieve tandem training. The glider was towed to 2,000 ft. by an airplane and then released. We glided down with the help of an instructor. Of all of the "extreme" adventures that we've had- this was one of my favorites. It was very peaceful. You really felt like a bird soaring above the mountains. I would definitely do this again!

All-in-all, our trip to Chattonooga was exciting and wonderful. Chattanooga is definitely a kid-friendly destination, which was important to us. I would certainly like to go back one day.

Olivia's Baptism

We had Olivia baptised in the first part of February. She did very well- even when the preacher put water on her head. After church, we went to Mama's house and had a cookout. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the baptism because Brian and I were also participating in the ceremony. However, here is a picture of Olivia with her Granny Mel and Papa Charlie in her beautiful baptism dress.

Christmas 2006

Santa Claus came to town, and he made a stop at the Sanders' home this year. I guess that Olivia was a good girl because she got quite a bit. The present that I was most excited about was the wooden, cedar-lined toy box that had her name engraved on it. She, however, was more excited about the toys.

Olivia was not the only one to get a visit from old St. Nick. Brian got a TiVo system and I got the vacuum cleaner that I had been wanting. Even Remy got a surprise in his stocking- a new stuffed frog.


The best part about Christmas, though, is being with family. We were able to visit with my family and with Brian's mom this year. We were even surprised by a visit from Brian's brother, Gary, and Gary's girlfriend, Katie. They were both very impressed with Olivia. Gary seemed a little hesitant to hold Olivia at first, but he warmed up to her- and then she spit up all over him. Oh well, that must be her way of telling you that she likes you.

Olivia's First Halloween

I knew that since Olivia was due in late September, the first major holiday that she would get to experience would be Halloween. Before she was born I ordered her a very cute elephant costume off the Internet. I imagined all of the cute pictures that I would take of her in her costume.

Yeah, right. I have posted the only picture of her in her costume where she is not screaming her head off. All of the other pictures look like the the Jack-O-Lantern picture that I've posted below.

We still had a good Halloween despite the fact that Olivia hated her costume and only kept it on for twenty minutes. We passed out candy at our house and then went trick-or-treating at Granny Buie's. Olivia received a hat and a few stuffed toys instead of candy. This bummed me out a bit because I was looking forward to eating her candy for her.

Brian and Remy also joined in the fun by dressing up. Brian dressed as Julius Ceasar while Remy wore the tiger costume that I bought him last year. Remy spent most of the night trying to make like Houdini. Let's just say that Olivia was not the only one who hated her costume.

Remy and Olivia

Before bringing Olivia home, Brian and I were concerned about how Remy, our 4-year Maltese, would handle having Olivia in our family. If you've ever been to our house then you know that Remy does not do well around unfamiliar people (he barks his head off). Before her arrival, Remy had been our "baby" and the king of the house. We did not know how he would handle having someone new steal his thunder.

As it turned out, we were worried for no reason. Not only did Remy immediatly accept Oliva, he seemed very curious about her. He even let her touch him- which is not something that he lets just anyone do.

Olivia is also very curious about Remy. When she was really small, she liked to sit in her bouncy chair and watch him. Now that she is a little older, she likes to crawl around and chase him or play "peek-a-boo" with him.


Remy has a habit of wanting to be wherever Olivia is. It is not unusual to find Remy laying beside Olivia's crib or pack-n-play when she is asleep. These two really do keep each other entertained.

Introducing...Olivia Dawn Sanders

After much anticipation, Olivia Dawn Sanders arrived on October 9th, 2006 at 5:43 pm. She weighed 7lbs. 1oz. and was 20.5 inches long. She had many visitors at the hospital. Everyone was so excited to finally see her. She has blue eyes and blonde hair. I think she looks like her daddy, but I can also see a bit of Walker in her. Everyone thinks that she will do- especially her grandparents. Of course, life has not been the same since Olivia's arrival. I never realized how much free time I used to have until Olivia came. I wouldn't trade her for anything, though.

The Sanders Family Blog

Well- I have finally found the opportunity to sit down and begin this blog. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while, but finding the time has been tricky. I am hoping that this blog will serve as a means for keeping up with family and friends across the country and around the world. The most exciting thing that has happened to Brian and I lately has been the birth of our daughter, Olivia. She is eight months old now, but the first few posts in this blog will be from when she was younger. I hope that y'all enjoy the Sanders Family Blog!