Olivia's 2nd Birthday Party

Olivia has been looking forward to her birthday party for weeks. She has been talking about it to anyone who will listen- including Ms. Izzy and Ms. Tammy at daycare. All of her waiting finally ended this afternoon. Olivia had a wonderful second birthday party at her Gigi's house.






When I asked Olivia what kind of party she wanted, she told me that she wanted a "Dora" party. So, she had a Dora cake, decorations, and a Dora pinata. We were so happy to have so many friends and family attend the party. Brian's Aunt Pam and her husband, Don, from Mayo, Fl. even got to come.















Olivia, Ava, and Mallory all had a chance to whack the pinata. After two turns each, they did not even put a dent in it. My cousin Bailey stepped in to take Dora down, but Dora would not budge. Instead of busting open the pinata, the wooden stick broke in two. We ended up having to pull the strings on the pinata in order to get the candy out.

After opening her gifts (which included a table, art easel, baby stroller, DVDs, and lots of Dora toys), we took the girls on a hay ride. Unbeknownst to me, my dad had fixed up the tractor and trailer with bails of hay eariler in the day, and he drove us around the block. I am posting some hayride pictures. Unfortunately, most of the pictures that I took on the hayride didn't turn out because the tractor was shaking us so much. While on the ride, we sang songs like "Old McDonald" and looked at farm animals. All of the girls really seemed to enjoy that. It was late when the hayride ended, so everyone headed home. I am happy to say that the party was a success and that Olivia had a wonderful time.

Five Generations

This morning some of my family members and I threw a wedding shower for my cousin, Jessica. The bride-to-be received lots of nice things. Since we had so many family members together, we decided that this would be a great opportunity to take a new "5 generations" photo that included Owen. Pictured here are me, Owen, Granny Buie (standing), Granny Moore (my great-grandmother), Mama, and Olivia (you can see how thrilled she is to be having her picture made).

Granny Moore seemed to enjoy watching five of her great-great grandkids play, and she even held Owen for a while. Everyone is looking forward to getting together again in a few weeks for the wedding.

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.