Party Time!

This past Saturday, Olivia and I attended Mallory's fifth birthday party. For those of you who don't know, Mallory is the daughter of my friend (and shopping/Bon Jovi/Disney/Olive Garden buddy), Anna. Mallory is always so nice and invites Olivia to her parties. This year, the party was held at Chick-fil-a. Olivia had such a wonderful time playing in the play area with all of the other children. This was the first party that Olivia has been to where she actually realized that there was a party going on. Here are some pictures of the birthday girl and of Olivia playing (and having a ball) on the indoor equipment.

To wake or not to wake... that is the question

Poor little Owen played so hard in his saucer yesterday that he fell asleep in it. This left Brian and I with the question of whether or not we should try to move him to his crib (with the risk of waking him up), or leave him to nap in this position? Of course, we had to move him- this just looks so uncomfortable. He did not wake up, thank goodness.



Things around our house have been busy, busy, busy lately. To start off with, I have received all three questions for my comprehensive exam. I have six weeks (well, five now) to write research papers answering each question. I have been working on this very diligently, and I am making good progress. Once I complete these essays, I will defend my responses before a committee. Passing the defense means that I can be declared an official doctoral candidate and that I can start working through the dissertation process.


Olivia's potty training is going well. We still have a ways to go before she is fully trained, but she continues to make good progress. She seems to do better going at daycare then at home- which leads me to some great news. Owen and Olivia's daycare has been taken over by the Ware BOE, and so it will not close. This takeover is on a trial basis until June. If it can turn a profit, then the takeover may be indefinite. This may or may not be a permanent fix, but Brian says (and I agree) that any extra amount of time that our kids are able to spend with the ladies at this daycare has to be viewed as a positive thing.

Sitting Around

Owen may have been a slow starter when it comes to moving (well slower than Olivia anyway), but he is definitely making up for lost time now. I am proud to report that he can roll in any direction that he wants to, and he is starting to scoot a little. His most impressive new feat, though, is his sitting ability. He can't get himself into a sitting position yet, but if he is put into one, he can stay in the sitting position for quite a while. I guess the days of him sitting passively in the bouncy chair are over. He wants to "sit"-not recline- in it, too.

Owen and Olivia News

A lot has been going on for Owen and Olivia lately. Owen is rolling really well now, and he has just begun to eat baby food. So far, he has tried cereal, peas, and green beans and has liked all three. He is also spending more time on the floor and in his saucer, and he is really enjoying that.

Olivia has been helping me out around the house a lot lately (whether I want her to or not). I suppose that it is only fitting that she help clean since she is the one who makes the most mess. I am also happy to report that she has moved up to the 2-year old room at daycare. In this room, children work on potty training. She has officially been potty training since Monday, and she is really catching on fast. She only wears diapers at night now, and has not had many accidents at all. I am so happy that my diaper responsibilities may soon be cut in half. Brian's wallet is also very happy about this development.

On a sadder note, we received notice last week that Owen and Olivia's daycare is scheduled to be shut down due to state budget cuts (the daycare is affiliated with a state-run college). This news has been very upsetting to us and to everyone who works at and sends their children to this wonderful place. I attended a two-hour meeting on Thursday night for concerned parents, but I feel that nothing came of it. The superintendent of schools in Ware County is trying to have the BOE pick up the services (his kids go there, too), but it is all in limbo right now. Olivia has been going to this daycare since she was 7 weeks old, and I do not think that she will take the change well. Hopefully this will all work out for the best.

Owen's Baptism

Owen is growing so quickly! He turned five months old this week, and this morning he was baptized at church. He slept through the entire ceremony. He didn't even wake up when the preacher put the water on his head. He looked like a little angel in the baptism gown that his granny bought for him. We almost waited too long to have him baptized. A few more weeks, and that gown would have been too small. He's such a big boy.

Here are some pictures of us with the preacher and of Owen with his granny and papa Charlie. You'll notice that Olivia is absent from these pictures. As usual, she refused to slow down for a single minute so that we could get a picture with her in it.

Tummy Time, A New 'Do, and A Winning Smile

Well, we are officially back into the swing of things around here, which means that Brian and I do not have a moment to breathe. One of my sisters told me last week that I needed to do a better job of keeping the blog updated, and I told her that the only thing I had to blog about lately was how hard I was working. That's not entirely true, though. There is a lot going on in the Sanders house. To begin with, Brian has just completed a total overhaul of the back storage area at work. He got pretty banged up during the process, but he is happy to have it done. My good news is that I have finally found a dissertation chair. This means that I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel (although the actual completion of my degree is still at least a year and a half away).


Owen is almost five months old now, and he is still not rolling over very well. Olivia was starting to pull up at five and a half months, so I have been a little concerned. Everyone keeps reassuring me that boys are generally slower to move than girls. He has rolled from front-to-back three or four times, and has rolled back-to-front once. I believe that he could do it if he wanted to. I just don't think that he is motivated at all. We are trying to give him as much tummy time as possible so that he will have the opportunity to practice.

Remy's news is that he has been professionally groomed and is looking good (for the first time in years). We usually groom him ourselves- which is probably why he has always looked so terrible. Lately, though, he has been acting ugly when we've tried to trim him up. So, we decided to let a professional try. The first place we took him wouldn't groom him because he was acting ugly there, too. However, we finally found someone who could handle him, and we are very happy with the results. I think that the haircut has improved his self-esteem, too. He seems a lot happier. It's like he knows that he looks good.

Olivia continues to be as sweet as she can be. We are having a family portrait made next week, so Olivia and I have been practicing our picture-taking skills. Olivia is notorious for squirming during pictures, so I feel that the extra practice is needed. She has gotten much better about staying still and looking at the camera. The only thing that we need

to work on now is her smile. When she smiles, she squints her eyes closed and shows all of her teeth. That smile is so ugly, that it's cute. Maybe for this family picture we'll use the "just look, don't smile" approach.

Update 8/17: Okay, so can you guess what happened after I posted yesterday that I was worried about Owen not rolling? That's right, he started rolling all over the place and has been doing so for the past 24 hours. Go figure! Maybe I should post that I'm afraid that I'll never win the lottery. Hmm...

Growing Like Weeds

Last week was our annual visit from the Quarnaccio clan. I always look forward to seeing my aunt, uncle, and cousins and to catching up on what is going on in their lives. As always, I am astounded by how Pam's and David's kids have grown. Not only are the kids growing, but the family itself is growing (as you can probably tell by the large number of small children in the first picture). Of course my Granny Walker was thrilled to have both of her children, her seven grandchildren, and all nine of her great-grandchildren together.