Our Family Tree Has Moved

For various reasons, I've had to move the blog to a new address. The old posts are all at the new place, and this one will stay up and running for the next few months in case you forget to save the address.

Here it is: http://ourvirtualscrapbook.blogspot.com/

It's a permanent move, so update your bookmarks!

Lookout World, Here She Comes

So I realize that I haven't updated this thing in two months, but there are two reasons for that:

1. Have you spent the day with a toddler lately? I haven't had a whole lot of free time to do things like sit, much less think and type things out on a computer.
2. What precious little free time I did have during May and half of June I spent with Becca and Aden. They have since moved to the Vancouver, British Columbia area, where my brother-in-law is busy working on some big name movies.
2b. After they left, I spent two solid weeks feeling very sorry for myself, which precluded cheerfully describing life without my sister and nephew.

But now that life is back to normal and we have reached another milestone, it's time to get back on the blogging wagon. I'll be posting some things from the last couple of months that I don't want to forget over the next couple of weeks, but right now, let's get a drum roll please... Olivia is walking!

This is a short clip from this morning -- she has been really hard to catch on camera so far.

Olivia Walks! from Liz Hall on Vimeo.

All that talk of Independence and Freedom for the fourth of July must have really resonated with Olivia, because she took her first solo steps on Monday, July 5th. We had a long weekend, which we spent at the beach with Gran and Pops, and C had a brilliant idea that led to Olivia's confidence. She's been cruising for 6 months and walking around holding my hand for at least the last 4 weeks but was afraid to let go. So C put his belt around her, underneath her arms, so she would feel supported. After a few tries, it worked! Then he started just holding onto her shirt, and on Monday night, he was able to let go and Olivia kept going for about 10 steps before she realized she was walking (and immediately sat down). So she's practiced all week, and today we went and bought her a new pair of shoes to celebrate.

I have to say, as excited as I am about the walking, it will take some getting used to. I've turned around no fewer than three times already today and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Olivia barreling towards me. She is so fast already, sometimes she is actually running!

It seems that walking has turned her tongue loose also, because her talking has increased exponentially in the last week. She can clearly say Hello, Bye, Baby, Dog, Momma, & Pappy and there are a couple of things that I understand (but aren't as clear) such as Bellybutton and Bath.

Let's Hear It For The Boy

Remember that we recently visited Aunt E and Uncle T? Well, while we were there, I recorded this gem below. I can't remember what made my Better Half break into this particular song, but he was so funny that we were all in tears laughing. I think that we Old Folks were trying to explain to the Younguns something related to Kevin Bacon or the 80s, neither of which they know anything about.

I would say that this is highly unusual for him which made it all the funnier, but that would be a lie. My husband routinely delights Olivia and I with this sort of performance, which is one of the many reasons that I love him and am married to him. Our house is so much fun!

Let's Hear It For The Boy from Liz Hall on Vimeo.

Our Gardener Isn't Afraid...

To get dirty! I have been working in our flowerbeds quite a bit this spring, trying to enjoy more time outdoors and improve the look of our yard. We purchased a fig tree and some blueberry bushes that are already old enough to produce fruit -- by the end of the summer, Olivia will be helping me to pick fruit in our own yard!

I've also been tending to our irises and adding some perennials to bring a little color to the yard. I usually try to get out in the garden during nap time, but occasionally Olivia works out there with me.
She is very serious about dirt work. She moved small piles of clay/dirt into the empty trays...

And then emptied them.

I also suspect that she was taste testing when my back was turned. Her face was smeared with a lovely mixture of spit, runny nose and mud.

No one will ever be able to say she's afraid to get her hands dirty.

Liz & Liv

I have no idea what we were doing or who even took these photos, but I figured I would post them. We are hot and sweaty, but were having a good time!

The Best Seat in the House

Spring Cuteness

We have friends who have three daughters, and they have been passing down the clothes that their little girls have long since outgrown to Olivia. It has been so much fun to have new, adorable outfits to wear without the guilt that comes with spending all of that money!

She also has enough fuzz sprouting on her head to clip a bow in there now. That's not to say she leaves it in there, but sometimes she doesn't mind accessorizing.


Now that she has started crawling around a bit (don't worry, she still mostly scoots), Olivia loves to play on the sofa. She dives and rolls and climbs and crawls, all the while squealing and laughing.

Visiting Aunt E & Uncle T

Shortly after Christmas, I told my sister to pick a weekend this spring and we would come visit. They live in Montgomery and have settled into a precious apartment and decent jobs since getting married last summer, and I wanted to see what life is like for them at home instead of making them drive to see us. So in late March we loaded up and headed to the Home Of The Nearest Red Robin.

We stayed up late talking, visited their church with them on Sunday morning, window shopped at the mall and went to see where both E & T work. It was a great weekend.


Of course, we didn't pull out the camera at all until Sunday afternoon before we left to drive home because we were too busy having fun.

I wasn't supposed to get the snowman in the picture, whoops. That was the only way we could get Olivia to look in the general direction of the camera. Uncle T was watching March Madness in the background, although he isn't actually looking at the TV in this photo.



We also ate very famous chilidogs somewhere downtown and enjoyed fabulously overpriced burgers at the aforementioned Red Robin. Can't wait to do it all again!

Best Buddies

Aw.

One.

Aden and Olivia, Sitting in a...

...Buggy. Shopping at Target and getting kinda huggy.

Aden is King of the Hug these days, and he loves to give them to Olivia. How cute are they?

The Bathroom Wrap Up

So, I guess most folks who read this were at Olivia's birthday party and saw the finished bathroom, but I wanted to tie up this loose end, especially since we are so proud of our finished product. I believe my last update left off at tiling the shower surround, so here you can see that completed. The tiles are a biscuit/ivory color, and the accent trim is a mosaic of taupes and one with just a hint of blue to it. (You can kind of see it in the close up of the wall cubby -- did C do an awesome job with those or what??)


We went Old School with the floor tiles -- they are small hexagons that are a blend of neutral browns.


Can you see the touch of blue? The wall color really brings it out and ties the whole thing together. I'd like to say that I realized that when I picked out these little glass tiles, but that would be a lie.

We also put up wainscot that was painted to match the biscuit tiles and our trim throughout the house. As you can see, the beadboard starts at the same level as the mosaic shower trim, providing a clean visual line in the final product.


C got to use the nail gun and air compressor he got for Christmas to finish this part of the project, which was a happy thing for everyone but Olivia. She was not a fan of the nail gun.

See how nice the lines look when they match? I did 90% of the painting in the bathroom, for two reasons: 1) I like to, and wasn't able to do any of our home painting while pregnant for Olivia and 2) I am home during the week.

Next we installed the vanity and commode. I was very particular about the vanity because this bathroom is tiny, making storage important. We found this cabinet with several drawers, and we can still store bath towels in the single cabinet.

And finally, here is the finished product. The mirror is a medicine cabinet, which also provides extra storage space, and matches all of the oiled bronze plumbing fixtures (which we have throughout the house).



So now that we have two working bathrooms again, you're all invited to come visit for a weekend!