Olivia's First Easter

We had gotten this giant basket a few months ago, and I knew I had to turn it into some sort of photo shoot. Then the idea to make it into a large Easter basket with Olivia being the sleeping Easter Bunny came to mind and I couldn't resist. We warmed up the house, and got her all sleepy, then I started shooting my very first "photo shoot." I tried to copy my sis in law, Cheri. I think they turned out pretty good for a novice.

 Easter morning, all ready for church, holding the egg I colored for her.

 All my beautiful children after church. I am such a proud momma.

We

Track and Field Star

In his first track meet of 8th grade, Brian took home 1st in disc, 2nd in shot put, and his medley team also took 1st.  He through the disc 111 ft, and shot 36 ft 1 inch. Great Job, B!

Idaho State Cheer and Dance Competition 2012

March 17, 2012 MHS cheerleaders competed in the state championship and took home 2nd in Sideline,  4th in pom, and 6th in show, respectively. Overall they were 3rd in the state for the 5A division. We are so proud of their hard work throughout the year!

The Second Month

One of Olivia's favorite things is taking a shower with her dad.

During the day, she likes to play on her mat and stare off into space. She actually rolled over at 5 weeks old when we had her on her stomach for tummy time. It was an accident, but she kept doing it.

 Here is my favorite outfit. She looks so pretty in this color.  I love the look on her face.

She finally started to like being in her swing, but only for about 15 minutes at a time. That gave me just enough time to get some breakfast in before she would start to cry.

She smiled at me for the first time on March 12, just shy of being 2 months old. This made all the sleepless nights all worth it.

Caitlyn's Sweet 16

For Caitlyn's sweet 16, we wanted to do something special. We did not tell her any of our plans, but we picked her up from cheer in a limo with her friends Sahara, Lexi and Cheryl already inside. We took them to dinner, then dessert, then to a movie: The Vow. 

 After the movie, we came back to the house for raspberry cheesecake blizzard cake from Dairy Queen and opened presents. I think she was very surprised, and had a great time.

 I can't believe she is 16 already. Where does the time go?

Olivia's Blessing Day

March 4, 2012 we were fortunate to have our little Olivia blessed. It was a beautiful blessing given by her dad, and even her big brother Brian was in the circle, holding the microphone. I was worried she would cry or grunt through the whole thing, but she did very well, and stayed nice and quiet, listening to all the blessings from her Heavenly Father.

 The Priesthood that stood in the circle were, Grandpa Paul Arnett, Grandpa Jim Owings, Brian Owings, Great Grandpa Chet Abbott, Uncle Chris Steed, and friend Johnny Bergloff. We are thankful for the Priesthood power in our lives.

 Our little family

 So many family members came out to share Olivia's special day.

 Great Grandpa and Grandma Abbott came all the way from San Diego, California to meet Olivia, and be there for her blessing.

 Happy parents!

Mom for a Weekend

For her parenting and child development class, Caitlyn had to bring home an electronic baby. This baby required constant care. She had to wear a bracelet and whenever the baby would cry, she would have to swipe the bracelet over the baby so it could recognize that she was responding to the babies needs. She never knew if the baby was hungry, needed a diaper change, needed burping, or was just fussy. This baby cried, cooed, made noised when it ate, and even burped. He came with his own car seat and diaper bag too. Her first night was so funny because every time she would try to do something the baby would cry. Her baby, and Olivia were on the same schedule. One would cry, and the other would join in. One would eat, and the other had to eat too. She got so frustrated with him. Caitlyn had to wake up in the middle of the night and take care of the baby, and had to take it with her if she went somewhere.  She even had to take him to church which she ended up spending all her time out in the foyer. I think it really made her appreciate all the hard work it takes to take care of a baby. 

 Olivia and Landon

 Me playing grandma! Thank goodness I have awhile before I will really be a grandma.

District III Cheer Competition

MHS wins 1st place in all three categories (show, pom, and sideline) and qualifies for the Idaho State Competition in March

 Show cheer routine (above)

 Caitlyn during show cheer

Nadia during show cheer

 pom routine (above, and below)

 sideline routine (below)

 Pretty excited girls

The Formal Pictures

My very sweet, and talented Sister-in-law, Cheri came up from Utah and took newborn pictures of Olivia as a gift for me. I am so thankful for these amazing pictures. 

 Love the two opposite looks. 

I love, love, love all the pictures.

The First Month

Even though, Brian's favorite football team, The Pittsburg Steelers, didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, he still had to show off his little munchkin wearing her Troy Polamalu jersey. He is determined to make her a tomboy.

Here Olivia is taking her first real bath. Her belly button stump had fallen off finally, and I couldn't wait to put her in the water. She liked it.

Still looking a little yellow from the jaundice, this is one of my favorite onesies because of the color. She looks so good in the color green. 

So sleeping was an issue this first month. She started the first two weeks sleeping only in her bouncy chair. Whenever we put her in the crib on her back she would grunt and cry like he was in pain. I had no idea that there was something wrong, until I finally took her to the doctor, and they told me she had reflux. They prescribed her some Zantac which started working a little bit, then Prevacid which worked even better. While we waited for the reflux medicine to start working, she would only sleep on our chest. Brian and I took turns sleeping on the couch so the other could get some sleep. She woke up every 2 hours for a meal, and we were exhausted.

For the record, Anakin, the dog, doesn't like Olivia and the fact that he is so close is really just him starving for a little attention from me. I guess when you're desperate, anything will do.

Here is Olivia in our bed sleeping on her side which is one of her favorite positions because the reflux isn't as bad this way; however, she flails about and ends up on her back which wakes her up. Then it's back to square one. At this time, she hated being swaddled. She would kick and wiggle her way out of every blanket we tried.

We were blessed to have Grandma Linda come visit us in our 3rd week. She enjoyed spending time with Olivia, and allowed me to take some much needed naps during the day. 

Cheer Champs Competition

The girls had their very first high school cheer competition on this month held at Brian's old high school, Capital in  Boise, Idaho. They were pretty nervous, but they both did great.

 The squad took 1st in Show Cheer, and 2nd in Pom. Great job MHS!