October 28-November 4

I meant to write this post on Saturday, but our plans changed suddenly.  I'll add words (and probably more pictures) during Olivia's nap on Monday or Tuesday.  Here are some pictures to hold you over in the meantime.  :)

Okay, here it is:

Last weekend, Olivia and I traveled up to see my parents while Bryan stayed home to give candy to trick-or-treaters.  We went to the regional cross-country meet and watched Jillian and Jacob run.  Olivia was just a little face all bundled up and sticking out of my coat.  :)  Since Jacob ran at 10:30 and Jillian ran at 2:30, we went with my family to an apple orchard in between races.  There were no apples to pick, but we did get to wander through the strangest little zoo ever: a llama, three goats, two mules, a pig, a calf, and an ostrich.  Olivia liked watching the ostrich and was excited when the calf licked her fingers.  James picked out a small pumpkin for Olivia when we left, which we took home with us so that Bryan could help with it.

Wednesday was supposed to be one of my days off, but Bryan's boss needed him for a project.  His boss felt bad, so he gave Bryan the morning off (without him having to use any of his time for it).  We made eire kuchen for breakfast and hung out in the house.  Olivia likes eire kuchen and she like applesauce, but she wouldn't eat them in the same mouthful.  At one, we took Bryan to work and went to run some errands.  At 2:50 I got a phone call...  Turns out the project he was supposed to help with wasn't ready for his particular part, so he got the rest of the day off, too.  Olivia and I picked Bryan up from work at 3 and headed home.  That evening we painted her pumpkin.  Pictures to come in their own post sometime.

Saturday we went to visit Bryan's parents.  He helped his dad fix the stair up to their attic and we all watched a lot of football.  Olivia and grandma played in Olivia's new kitchen (her favorite part? stirring in a bowl with her plastic wooden spoon).

An interesting phenomenon occurred when Olivia started walking: she got smaller.  Since birth, she's been growing and getting bigger.  She learned to play with toys, to sit up, roll over, crawl, and stand (she sounds a bit like a dog...).  With each accomplishment, she seemed to get bigger and we marveled at the strides she'd made in the past month/week/day.  And then Olivia started walking, and suddenly she seemed smaller again. Bryan thinks it's because she's "like a little person" now.  When she started walking like an adult, it became easier to see how tiny she still is.  :)

Pictures:

The rainbow we saw on the way to Michigan:

Playing with Oma's books:

Halloween at Oma and Opa's:

In her hat:

With one of her purses:

Daddy got so many gifts!

Much better.  :)

The two favorite stuffed animals: Beaver and Koala