May 12-19

When our friends the Kleins had their second baby, they mentioned that Eva looks like a giant.  I've decided that while Olivia does look rather large compared to Gretchen, she doesn't seem really any bigger than usual.  She does, however, look OLDER to me.  Overnight she turned from a baby to a little kid.

Gretchen seems calmer than I remember Olivia being.  This could be because Olivia never got a chance to prove how calm she was because we were able to pick her up anytime she started fussing.  Or it could be because the Olivia that is at the forefront of my memory these days is a whirlwind of toddler activity, which is pretty much the definition of "not calm."  OR, it could be because Gretchen has quickly learned that she should make as little noise as possible lest she incur the tender ministrations of the aforementioned whirlwind.  Whatever the reason, Gretchen seems like a very agreeable and easily placated baby, for which I am grateful.  :)

I've updated my bracelet to include Gretchen.  :)  April is a pretty boring month as birthstones go, but I added a crystal birthstone bead (because diamonds don't come at knock-off prices) and a letter G.  Also, sparkly bracelets don't apparently take very good pictures.  Especially when the camera is really a phone.  Oh well.



There's a building near our house that recently got demolished.  It was a nice enough building, so Bryan and I assume that someone bought the property and wanted to put something else there.  Regardless, the machinery was out and the building is now gone.  This construction site is along one of the paths I normally take when walking with the girls, so we've seen various types of machinery out every day.  It turns out that Olivia is very excited to see the big trucks.  We stood on the sidewalk and just watched them work for about 20 minutes one day.  That was the day the excavators were out (I was calling them backhoes, but they didn't have the plow part), clearing the rubble and putting it in dump trucks.  Another day we saw bulldozers and road rollers (I think they were tandem rollers) pushing dirt into the hole where the building had been and smoothing it down.  As you can see, I've been researching my construction machinery.  Who knew I'd need that knowledge with girls?!

For Mothers' Day this year, Bryan added himself to our family.  A couple of years ago he got me a willow tree figurine of a mother holding a child.  For Fathers' Day that year I looked for a dad to add to our mantle, but couldn't find a male without a child attached.  Now that we have Gretchen, though, we need another child anyway.  :)  Bryan and Olivia picked out the Father and Daughter figure to add to our little family group.  The bad news?  I need to think of another gift for Fathers' Day...


Pictures and Video:
Olivia looking particularly grown up.  Also, you can check out her new haircut:

The egg hunt.  Those are not pajamas she's wearing; those are the clothes she picked out to wear for the day.

Dyeing Easter eggs.  Also playing with stickers.

The matching game that comes with an egg dyeing kit.  Olivia's pretty good if you play with the pieces all right-side up.

Gretchen.  She was being peaceful on my lap, but every time the camera flash went off, she made a face...

Some pictures from the weekend at my parents' house (taken by Donna):

Olivia feeds Daddy Cheerios:

More Gretchen: