Nate and Sara Olsen

Angels We Have Heard On High

2012-01-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

Liza loves to sing and learn new songs. She loves Angles We Have Heard On High. On Christmas Sunday they did a special musical number of it. When Liza realized what song it was she shouted, "Angels We Have Heard On High" at the top of her lungs! Everyone around us was laughing for the rest of the song.

Halloween

2012-01-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

While Liza was with my parents they got her a Halloween costume since things had been so crazy for us. My mom let Liza pick it out and she was very insistent that she wanted to be Snow White. The funny thing is we had no idea how she even knew who Snow White is. It was our first day being back together and unfortunately it was pouring rain. We went on base at Fort Lee and just went to three houses. Liza loved it!

New Hampshire

2011-12-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

We had to meet up somewhere to get Liza so I convinced my parents it was time to go to New Hampshire, where my dad is from. We had a blast! Jackie has such a fun house with a creek running through her backyard and a fun swing and lots of beautiful land. Granted it is a more enjoyable when it is warm and you don't hit a huge blizzard. We don't get to see our New Hampshire relatives often. It was their first time meeting Eliza. She quickly fell in love with them... and their pets :) We love you Aunt Jackie, Cousin Dave, Chasity, Jane and all the other family we were able to see!

Seattle II

2011-12-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

My mom posted those pictures from Seattle. I wasn't going to post mine too, but then I saw how cute they were and decided I needed to add them even if it was out of order. We sure had fun!!

Eliza's time in California

2011-12-15T15:00:00.001-08:00

My parents watched Liza in CA for a little over a week while Nate and I drove across the country. We sure missed, but were very glad she wasn't there! She had so much fun!!

Seattle

2011-12-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

While Nate and I drove across the country my parents watched Eliza. Thanks again!! Liza and I flew out to Seattle to make the drop off because my mom was visiting my brother, Dan's family. It was so fun to see them and meet cute Naomi!

Happy Birthday Nate and Gen!

2011-11-30T16:55:00.000-08:00

We were so grateful Gen and the kids bumped their trip up a day so Eliza could say goodbye to them. We celebrated both of their birthday and boy were the kids excited about the cake!

Piano

2011-11-30T16:50:00.001-08:00

Grandma Bailey gave us her piano! We are so excited! We can't wait to get to Arizona to put it to good use! Thank you Grandma Bailey (and Grandma Marianne for all you did to make it possible!)

Bed Time

2011-11-30T16:43:00.000-08:00

It is quite a process to get Eliza to bed sometimes...

Big Trouble!

2011-11-30T16:41:00.000-08:00

Goodbye to Cecily and Gilly

2011-11-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

We were able to go up to Logan shortly before we left to say goodbye to Cecily and Gilly. It was great fun to get to see them and meet their friends, but super hard to say goodbye! We love you both and miss you terribly!

Conference

2011-11-28T18:56:00.000-08:00

We spent October Conference with the Olsens. Liza loved all the attention!

Salt Lake

2011-11-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

Nate and I needed to meet with some people at Hill Airforce Base without Eliza. Aunt Michelle was so nice to let us spend the night, to watch Liza, and then spend the day with us in Salt Lake. We went and surprised Nate at work. Liza had so much fun yelling, "Surprise!"

Jordan and Eliza

2011-11-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

We went to a condo with Grandpa, Shirley, Aunt Michelle, Jordan, and the Olsens. Unfortunately I only got pictures of Jordan and Eliza, but at least they are super cute!

Utah State Fair

2011-11-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Grandma Marianne gets tickets to the state fair through her work. She let us come with her again. We sure had fun! They had a fabulous children's exhibit all about agriculture. Thanks Grandma Marianne and Grandpa Brad!

Farewell to Grandpa Richard

2011-11-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

My mom took these pictures while we were in San Diego saying goodbye to my grandpa. She even uploaded them for me, hence the reason this post is a little out of order.

Peach Days!

2011-11-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

We were able to go to peach days again! We missed having Whitney there, but It was sure fun having Jordan! Liza absolutely loves Jordan. It make me laugh to see what similar expressions they have in a lot of there pictures. It was fun getting to know Jordan better while we were both in Provo. It was so much fun to get to spend more time with Grandad, Shirley, and Aunt Michelle before we left.

What ta Happened?

2011-11-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

I love to see the temple

2011-11-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Liza loves it when people will play the piano with her and sing. It didn't take her long to put Cecily to work.

Church History Museum

2011-11-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

The church history museum in SLC had a great display for kids. We went with Timothy and Britta and had a great time. As usual we didn't have enough strollers so Timothy and Liza shared.

Family Pictures

2011-11-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

While in Saint George Mandy took some great family photos. Thanks Mandy!

PS Thanks to my cousin Brad, even though I don't think there is any chance you will ever see this, you saved the day because we couldn't get the lighting right and then I remembered the tutorial you gave me and we figured it out!

Saint George

2011-11-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

After Cecily came home the whole Olsen family went down to a condo for a week. We had so much fun, despite Eliza and lots of others getting a nasty stomach flu! We went to the Shakespeare Festival, the Saint George Temple, lots of parks,and lots of other fun places. Mostly we just had a great time being together after so long.

Welcome Home Cecily!!!

2011-11-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Cecily came home from her mission,in the German Alpine Mission, on July 28th 2011. We were so excited. I was in charge of getting the video when she first arrived, that is why there aren't pictures of her first arriving. There was a dog there when we were waiting. Liza was having the time of her life telling it, "NO barking doggie!" We love you Cecily!

Taylor Swift

2011-11-26T18:44:00.001-08:00

Liza's Aunt Gilly helped Liza fall in love with Taylor Swift. She could listen to this song all day long. I love Liza's little run. It cracks me up!

All lined up!

2011-11-26T18:39:00.000-08:00

One day I came in to get Liza out of her crib after her nap and all of her animals, well that's not true she sleeps with tons of them, all the pooh bear ones were lined up and covered with her blanket.

Packer-Racker-Cracker

2011-11-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

One of my companions, Laura Packer Bromberger (yes she is related to President Packer)came to visit us in Provo. We had so much fun together and so did our girls. Thanks for coming!!

Strawberry or Watermelon?

2011-11-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

I am unsure if this bathing suit is supposed to be a watermelon or a strawberry. I think strawberry...

Baptism Song

2011-11-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

When we read scriptures with Eliza we go through phases where she wants to read the same thing every day. For a long time we would read about the Saviors baptism and sing this song. It didn't take Liza long to pick it up.

Camping

2011-11-26T18:10:00.001-08:00

This last summer we went camping in Huntington. It was great fun! Liza loved the tent!

Grandma Cheryl's Trip to Utah

2011-11-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

You would never guess my mom was here from looking at this post because she isn't in any of the pictures. I guess that is because they are from her camera. She took them and uploaded them. We are sure loving it here in Charlottesville, but looking at these pictures makes me miss Provo.

Rain!

2011-11-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Liza slipped passed me when I was checking if the rain was letting up. Hence the reason she kept yelling "I came out!" She yell that every time it rains now.

Grandparents are wasted on the young

2011-11-19T08:59:00.000-08:00

This past summer my last grandparent passed away, my mother's father, Grandpa Richard. Of course it was a very sad time, but we were given a wonderful gift, we were able to say goodbye. The majority of the family was able to go out to San Diego and say goodbye while he was still feeling well. It was a heart wrenching, but beautiful experience. I wish it could have lasted for weeks, rather than days. We were able to hear stories that I am ashamed I never heard before, about my grandparents courtship, how my grandmother was brought back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in college, hilarious mission stories, and many others. It was also amazing to be all together with my family. We really haven't been together since my grandmother died over ten years ago. There really is some thing magical about extended family and how just being in the same room can be so comforting.
I feel too young to have no grandparents left. I have finally come to the age where I can begin to appreciate the wisdom that comes with age. Why are grandparents wasted on the young?

However, there are many things that fill me with peace. When I was saying goodbye to my grandpa he promised me he would be there for me on the other side helping me. Also my knowledge of the sealing power that can be found in the temples of our God brings great comfort in my life. I know that I will see my grandfather again.

Reilly!

2011-11-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

In Provo right across the way was another two year old, Reilly (I just realized I have no idea how to spell her name.) Liza and she became quick "friends", and by "friends" I mean the two year old definition- they are so excited to see each other every day, but fight like cats and dogs all, but a few minutes of the play time. These pictures were taken in one of those few rare moments where they were getting along.

Grandad and Grandma Shirley

2011-10-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Liza and I went to visit Grandad and Grandma Shirley. We went up for a craft fair with Aunt Michelle. We had a great time. Liza loves Grandad and Shirley so much! We are sure going to miss them!

They were so kind and made us dinner, but the entire time the burgers were grilling Liza kept yelling throughout the house "Hungry! More Eating!"

Hopping Like a Bunny

2011-10-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Liza loves to "hop" like a bunny. We think her hopping is hilarious which is why I am willing to put this up even though it looks like our house exploded. Oh well...

Birthday Cards

2011-08-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

For Liza's birthday she got two singing cards. She loved them! She still hasn't gotten tired of them yet. Isn't the dress cute too? She got it from her Aunt Michelle for her birthday! Thanks Aunt Michelle!

Birthday Part 2

2011-08-30T12:27:00.001-07:00

On Liza's actual birthday we had just a few neighbors over for pizza and cake and ice cream. Liza had a great time!

First Station and Liza's Birthday Part I

2011-08-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know we found out this week that the Army is going to send us to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. They originally told us Fort Drum NY which we were very excited about, but there are also great things about Arizona and we are getting super excited. Well anyways in about a month and a half we are going to head out to Virginia for training so my goal is to get caught up before we move. So...
Right before Liza's birthday we had a family reunion so we had a family birthday party for Eliza and her cousin Britta. We had a great time. For part of the part we did "Ra Ra" which is short for Ra Ra Rasputin.

Here is the link if anyone wants to try it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-xd0M6tRQ

Gilly made Liza this super cute dress

ABC's

2011-07-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

Liza loves to sing. Any one who knows me well knows that I have no musical talent, but fortunately Nate does! And I think Liza has inherited it. She love singing and learns songs so fast. This is from a week or so before her birthday.
Liza Loves to sing:
ABC's
The Baptism Song
Twinkle Twinkle
Book of Mormon Stories, (especially the verse about Ammon)
Baby in a Manger
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
The Iron Rod
I love to See the Temple
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Row Row Your Boat
We Three Kings
The Wheels on the Bus
Happy Birthday
The Winnie the Pooh Song

Liza and "Mi Mi"

2011-07-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

As a result of me usually being the photographer i don't have many pictures with Liza. The other day I set up our timer and took a few. We had a great time!

I like this one because we both look "Crazed" as Nate would say

Swimming

2011-06-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Our swimming pool opened the other day and Liza loved it so much. My cousin came over to swim laps so we were just going to go watch her because it was a little chilly, but Liza insisted on wearing her bathing suit. And I couldn't keep her away.

PS I know they are in the wrong order but I love to put my favorite at the top

One Lost Christmas Picture

2011-06-13T12:19:00.001-07:00

For some reason this picture didn't download last time. It said the file was corrupted, but fortunately it wasn't permanent. Anyways, I love this picture. If you can't tell Liza is trying to put baby Jesus in his bed. Liza loves all things involving nativities. We are in the primary and last Christmas we had to learn a song for a Christmas program. I played it often to try and learn the words and Liza fell madly in love with it. We have been singing it every night to her since (at her request.) She has it pretty much down now. I know it is June, but it is a beautiful song, so if yo would like to hear it here is a link-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMayoX4qSjE

PS If you or your child loves it and wants to listen to it all day long Sally Deford has a site where you can download this song and many others for free

http://www.defordmusic.com/

Neighbors

2011-06-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

We have two boys who live right next door to us and Eliza loves them so much! They are so sweet with her. She prays for them in every prayer!

The Temple

2011-06-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Right now we have church from 9am to noon. We are loving it so much! It works perfectly with Liza's nap schedule and we have time after her nap to enjoy the Sabbath. One of Liza's favorite things is going to the the Provo Temple. She loves the temple, the fountains, the gardens, well pretty much everything about it!

Baby Ada

2011-06-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

The Earls came down for a visit. We were so excited to see Ada (I am so sorry if I am spelling her name wrong), if you can't tell. She is such a sweet wonderful baby! We wish we could see her and the rest of the Earls more!

Crib Lover

2011-06-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Liza loves her crib! Often in the morning or after her nap it is a battle to get her out.

Congratulations Whitney!

2011-06-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

We got to be there when Nate's paternal cousin Whitney opened her mission call! It was so exciting. She was called to the Germany Berlin Mission which is so fun because both of her parents served in Germany along with Grandpa Brad and technically Aunt Cecily (her mission switched from the Zurich Switzerland Mission to the Alpine German Speaking Mission, I think thats the name.) Either way she has spent time in Germany. We are going to miss her, but she will have a blast!

PS Whit-Whit (Whitney) if you are reading this, Liza still prays for you. She will miss you a ton too!

The Bean Museum with Two Grandmas

2011-06-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well technically one grandma and one great-grandma. For Grandma Marianne's birthday we went to the Bean Museum on BYU campus. It is almost better than the zoo because it has all the same animals, but you can see them up really close and best of all it is free! We had such a great time. Thank you for taking us Grandma Marianne and letting us spend your birthday with you! Liza loves her grandma and great grandma!

Aunt Shell

2011-06-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Liza loves her Aunt Shell. A few days ago we were driving to the Bailey family reunion, Nate's mother's side of the family, and Liza said, "Aunt Shell be dere (there)?" Unfortunately Aunt Shell wasn't going to be "dere" because she is Nate's dad's sister. She was rather disappointed, but still had a fabulous time! (Tragically I forgot my camera so I have no pictures of the event.)
Aunt Shell teaches on a year round schedule so every few months she is off for a few weeks. She is so nice to come an play with us when she is off. We always have a blast with her. We love you Aunt Shell!

Flowers, no thanks. I'll take a stick.

2011-06-03T02:44:00.000-07:00

Who knew that sticks were the way to a woman's heart, well maybe not a woman's, but to a nearly two year olds' heart. The other day we went to the mail box and ran into one of Eliza's friends from the nursery, Alvin. He was also collecting sticks and gave one of the sticks he had worked long and hard to find to Eliza. It has probably been three months since the exchange and Liza still talks about it anytime we talk about Alvin or the nursery or sticks.

Mom and Dad's Bed

2011-06-01T02:31:00.000-07:00

When I was little my parents' bed seemed so big and majestic. It is strange for me to think that my bed is now in that category for Eliza. She loves our bed. With reason might I add, there are seven pillows on it, not the decorative type either. She pretends they are a huge slide. She climbs to the top, counts very quietly (I don't know what she is counting to because it is so quiet), and then tries to slide down. Who needs a gym when you have your parents bed?

Here she is counting before the big drop!

Aunt Teh

2011-05-29T02:03:00.000-07:00

Liza loves her Aunt "Teh" so much! They have so much fun together. We all have so much fun with her! We are going to miss her so much when she goes off to college

!

Who Needs An Easy Bake Oven?

2011-05-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

Liza shares my weakness for cookies. I let her help me make some the other day. Now every time I cook anything she drags her stool over and says, "Help, mi mi (thats what she calls me)." I love that she loves to help so much.

Play Dough

2011-05-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

One of the good things about my previous career is my vast knowledge of play dough. The other day I made some play dough for Liza and she loved it. Can anyone guess what she is making?

Strollers and Strawberries

2011-05-27T01:42:00.000-07:00

We were sure happy when the snow started melting. Liza loves to take her babies for walks.

Babies

2011-05-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

Liza loves babies both real and fake. The other day I was cooking dinner and came out to see why it was so quiet and Liza had lined up all of her babies on the wall. I think it was for a diaper change, but I am not quite sure.

Favorite Things

2011-05-26T05:34:00.000-07:00

One of Liza's favorite things is horses. We don't have any horses around here, but Liza makes the most of it...

Any time we ever lay down on the ground for any reason Liza jumps on us and neighs. Hence the reason I haven't done any sit ups or leg lifts for a long time.

The Wagon

2011-05-25T05:18:00.000-07:00

The Grandma and Grandpa Olsen gave Eliza a wagon for Christmas. Eliza and Timothy had so much fun riding in it. They were squealing and laughing. I wish I had captured it better.

Christmas Eve at the Olsens

2011-05-25T05:09:00.000-07:00

This year was great fun because it was the Becks turn to be at the Olsen's as well, so we had a Mary, Joseph, and technically a "baby Jesus" for our nativity, however "baby Jesus" was very hungry so she chose not to cooperate. Eliza and Timothy sure had fun! They mostly just liked riding on the donkey, Nate.

Christmas in May?

2011-05-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

Liza is young enough that we were able to have Christmas two times. We spent most of Christmas Eve at our house and had a mini Christmas morning so we wouldn't have to take all of our presents to the Olsen's. I think one of Liza's favorites was the cheap doll bottle I got her from the grocery store. I was really excited for the present I gave Nate because he had absolutely no idea what it was. You can't tell from the pictures, but it is a set of Bruce R McConkie's books on the Messiah. I am really sad that I didn't aim the pictures to have the tree in the background. It was beautiful. Well now I know for next year... I guess it makes the post less ridiculous in May?

More Triple Stroller

2011-05-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is overload. This is mostly for family. These are from our walk to the park later. They turned out cuter.

Photo Shoot with Cousins

2011-05-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Triple Stroller

2011-05-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Back in October my cute sister in law Gen came into town. Liza and I went to stay in draper so we could spend as much time with them as possible. One day we tried to make it to story time at the library. Unfortunately, we had three children under the age of two and only two strollers. So we called up a neighbor who lived a block or two away and borrowed their triple stroller. We had a blast and the kids loved it too!

Getting dressed

2011-05-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

For a long time Liza's favorite pastime was putting every item of clothing she could find on her legs. It makes me a little sad she can get her pants on by herself now.

Fishing

2011-05-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last summer we spent also every weekend at Utah Lake fishing for Catfish and got nothing. Finally in October we caught finally caught one. Everyone kept telling us it would be disgusting, but fortunately Nate's boss had told us a few weeks earlier that if you soak it in buttermilk overnight it would get rid of the nasty taste. She was right! I was amazing, well what I got to eat of it. We put a Cajun rub on it and Liza ate most of it!

Conference

2011-05-09T07:18:00.001-07:00

Well these are actually videos from last October Conference,oh well. I am really trying to catch up. I love them because you can hear Liza's adorable giggle.

Lovin' Lollipops

2011-03-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

This lollipop is actually from the peach days parade. Liza found it and was so excited about it I just didn't have the heart to take it away.

State Fair

2011-03-11T13:32:00.001-08:00

Sorry I am so far behind that it is ridiculous! Back in September Grandma Marianne got tickets to the State Fair and let us go with her. We had a blast Liza loves barnyard animals and she got to see so many! It was a great place to take her because there were so many of each animal that you could actually hear the noises they make. Sorry quite a few of the pictures didn't turn out, but we got a few good ones.

Mischief?

2011-01-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

The other day I was in the kitchen while Liza was in the living room. I got worried because it was a little too quite, but fortunately she wasn't pulling out all of the wipes, again, or coloring on books, again, but rather drinking her bottle and looking through our primary pictures of the Savior and other gospel related pictures. I was trying to be sneaky... which led to the pictures not being so great.

Peach Days!!

2010-12-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

Some of Nate's extended family lives in Brigham City. His family has been going to Peach Days for many years. We hadn't been able to go yet with them because of Law School and stuff, but we finally made it up this year. It was great fun, except for all of the emergency vehicle sirens. I have no idea clue who had that idea, but Liza sure didn't like it.

Family Home Evening

2010-12-21T00:16:00.000-08:00

Family Home Evening* is my favorite time of the week. I have always loved it. As proof see here. But it is even more fun with Eliza! Pretty much our goal is for her to love it as much as us and learn something about the gospel. We try to cater our activities to what she enjoys the most. Some of them have been:

-Blowing the blow dryer on her (on the cold setting) Her reaction is so funny

-Turning a sheet into a parachute (the preschool type) and shaking it over our heads

-Playing "Get the Momma"- which involves chasing me all over the house

-Going on walks, especially to 7-11 to get slurpies

-Making a fort

As you can tell from these pictures, that is what we chose to do this FHE. We had a great time. And, yes, I know this fort is pretty lame but we didn't have long until Liza's bedtime

*Family Home Evening is a program started by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which asks families to stay home on Monday nights to be with their family. Some elements that are usually included are a song (which Liza loves and sings along to,) prayers, a lesson about a gospel topic, an activity, and treats!!!

Crawling

2010-12-20T05:03:00.000-08:00

So at the Lake Abbie was asking me if I thought Liza would ever crawl. I told her my little brother went straight from scootching to crawling and I was pretty sure Liza would do the same thing.

The next day was Sunday and Nate and I were working on our lesson (we teach the 4-5s) when Liza made a bridge with her hands and her feet. We clapped for her and told her she was tricky. Then all of a sudden she took of crawling at full speed, faster than I have ever seen a baby crawl. It took four tries, but we finally got a movie of her crawling, not a great one though. Now she only scoots when she wants to carry something in her hand.

PS For all of you who are very worried about her crawling so late. We know what is wrong and worked/ are working to remedy it. Liza's hip and shoulders were out. All the way up until 13 or 14 months she wouldn't put any weight on her legs or pull herself up. One of my friends told me her baby was similar and she took him to her family chiropractor and he started crawling the next day. So we took Liza in and her put her hip and shoulders back in place and she started standing and pulling herself up immediately. We love our chiropractor!!!!

PSS My mom was having horrible shoulder problems and couldn't do much of anything and he fixed her up perfect in the weekend she was here.

Lake Something

2010-12-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

We went to a Lake (I can't remember its name for the life of me) with our friends the Earls and Christensens. (I grew up around the corner from Emily and Abbie.) It was a small man made lake down south. Liza loved the water. She kept trying to scootch out deeper and deeper to get to her daddy who was fishing on the other side of the lake. I had to keep pulling her back. Emily and/or Abbie took these amazing pictures.

PS I put them in backwards chronological order so the best ones could be at the top

Loopy Liza

2010-12-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

The same night we caught the fish Liza woke up teething at one or two in the morning. She was very loopy. Of course we had to get a video!

Fishing!

2010-12-18T05:11:00.000-08:00

Almost every weekend this last summer we went fishing with our friend Dave, who was tutoring us in the way of fishing. It wasn't until the very last time we went in August that we (well Dave) caught a fish, well two! Dave also taught us how to cook the fish and it turned out delicious!

Neighhhhh!

2010-12-17T05:51:00.000-08:00

One of Liza's favorite animals is a horse. She calls them "Neighhhh." She loves going to the Olsen's because they have a bouncy horse, a real one in the pasture behind their house, and this rocking horse. Liza loves all of them! She especially loves her Aunt Gilly (Teh) who helps her on the horse often!

Britta Too!

2010-12-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

Timothy has a little sister Britta who was born in May. Can you believe Liza has three cousins who were born within a year of her!? (Especially because she only has four cousins!) Liza and Timothy are kindred spirits, but Liza really loves Britta too!

Thanksgiving Point Farm w/ Timothy

2010-12-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

While Timothy was here we went to Thanksgiving Point with Grandma Bailey and Grandma Marianne. We had a blast. Timothy and Eliza's favorite part was cleaning up the blocks. They made a great team! You can tell in one of the pictures Timothy is singing the clean up song to keep them on task.

Eliza and Timothy!

2010-12-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

On both sides of the family Eliza has a cousin born within a few months of her. What a lucky girl! Timothy is on Nate's side of the family and has lived close much of Eliza's life (and when he hasn't lived close he still visits a lot.) Eliza loves Timothy so much and Timothy loves Eliza. It is so fun to watch them together because they get so excited to see each other and hug and kiss each other. These pictures are from their first visit back in August. We spent a couple of nights there to maximize our time together. These are some pictures of the two of them snuggling.

PS My sister in-law Genevieve made the eight hour drive all by herself with a twenty month old and a three moth old. Both Ways! She is amazing!

Lipstick!!

2010-11-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

The other day (well back in August) I was doing laundry. I was working on getting a tiny stain out of one of Liza's shirts, when I realize that Liza was being really quiet in our bedroom. I went in to find this...

I still have no idea how she got the lipstick. I hardly ever wear it. She sure is tricky!

Balloon on a String!

2010-11-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

"Balloon on a string,

Balloon on a string!

[Daddies] are a wonderful thing!"

-Buzzy's Balloon

If you haven't read Buzzy's Balloon yet,

you are missing out!

Here are some pictures of Eliza with her daddy.

I find it uncanny how in so many of them

they have the same expression.

She is looking at her daddy in this one. (I think she is pondering what a wonderful thing daddies are.)

I wish I could remember what they were looking at!

Thanksgiving Point Farm w/ Grandma

2010-11-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Anyways we sure had fun! Many of Liza's first words were animals sounds so we had great fun showing her all all of the real animals. By the way. If you or your child really love animals- the best place to go is the state fair (we will have a post later about it) because there are so many animals all smashed in one barn. It is great because they are all mooing/ baaing/ maaaing. We sure loved it!

Anybody who knows my mom knows just how many pictures she takes, and when you factor grandkids into the equation it multiplies! So sorry there are so many pictures. For you that are fait of heart you can skip this. However, for those of you who are single it may be worth persevering because my handsome younger brother is in a few of them. Just leave a comment if you want his number... :)

Confession Session

2010-10-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure Liza will take a bottle to college with her. Liza comes from two parents who are/ were rather picky eaters and she seems to have taken after us. It takes a lot convincing to get Liza to eat much of anything, except for a bottle of milk. She wants a bottle all day long; she loves her bottles so much. I will often catch her kissing them. I still don't have the heart to take them away from her. Also I don't really have a desire to because it is about the only time I get to snuggle her. Maybe at her 18 month check up the doctor will light a fire under me. We'll see...

Here are some pictures of Da Da snuggling Liza with a bottle

Draper Days

2010-10-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

In Draper in mid July they have a fun festival where they usually have some fun bands. It is so much fun. We went with Nate's parents and sister, but I am a little embarrassed to see that I only have pictures of Eliza. I need to do better about that. Perhaps it was because she was wearing the cute outfit that Aunt Michelle gave her... I think another reason was because it was Liza's first time on a horse (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) She loved it, as you can hopefully see. (It was rather hard taking pictures because of people in the way, bad shadows, the guy running telling me to move, and just the fact that they were in motion the whole time. So sorry some of them are pretty bad, but I put them up anyway.

Incidentally this was the first time Eliza said grandpa "bopa." Her grandpa was feeding her cherries and all of a sudden she switched saying "mo" (more) to "bopa." it took us a while, but then finally grandma figured out she was saying grandpa.

2010-10-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures we took on the same day as the last post. Sorry it is picture overload, but it is mostly for family.

Scooching and Balls

2010-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Eliza loves balls! Liza didn't crawl until recently so she would just scoot on her bum. I think this is one of the reasons she loves balls so much; she can throw them and chase after them while she is chasing after them. I love this first picture. It shows just how much fun she is having.

Payson Lake

2010-10-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

So as of a month or two ago, Payson Lake is by far my favorite place. (If I had more readers I would be worried about it being over run by me talking about it, but fortunately I have few readers and they are scattered all over so I need not fear.) We went up there a few months ago and it was just what we had been looking for, a small lake for our very small boat, that we miss dearly. I keep telling Nate that i think it is still sea worthy or at least Payson Lake worthy. It was a beautiful day when we went a little overcast and cool. There were cute baby ducks all over and fun all around. There was a great trail around the lakes, however, we weren't able to hike very long because someone didn't get a long nap. Anyways I hope we make it back soon!

PS I know these pictures at then end are really random, but i saw this huge blow-up thing on top of this car and decided it is one of my lifelong dreams to own one of these. It looks like even more fun than the blow up island we had growing up, if that is even possible. If any of you recognize this thing and know what it is called PLEASE let me know! I beg of you!

PSS I recently found another blow up island at a store and am so excited, but also a little nervous because I know it will be disappointing because it will not be as big as my 8 year old self remembers it.

Barbecued Chicken

2010-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

On the 4th we tried to make some barbecued chicken. However, most of the barbecues were being used. There was only one left which made us feel very fortunate until we realized there was a reason it was unused... We couldn't adjust the gage that would make the flame smaller. The only two settings were roaring bond fire or off. So long story short the chicken got charred on the outside and was raw on the inside. We had to take it inside and use our oven to finish cooking it. (This is all background so you can understand why the chicken Eliza is eating is so black.) Well anyways the next day (the actual 4th because we celebrated a day early) we were eating the leftovers when Eliza grabbed a hug piece of chicken and went to town on it.

PS We had a wonderful time on the forth with the Olsens here. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy cooking. Eliza loved the fireworks. She kept waving her arms and squealing excitedly.

Grass

2010-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

We have a grassy spot right outside of our apartment. It always takes her a few minutes to get used to it.

Red White and Blue

2010-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few days before the 4th of July Eliza and I decided to do something patriotic.

We, well mostly Eliza, finger-painted with yogurt with red and blue food coloring.

She loved it so much!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

2010-09-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Oh no, now those of you who know when Eliza's birthday is will know how far behind I am on the blog! Oh well, Eliza had a great first birthday. I am not sure what she thought of everything she seemed to be very thoughtful, taking everything in. She didn't like eating the cake with her own hands, but she really liked it when her daddy helped her out and fed it to her. I'll be honest, one my favorite parts was the cake I made... There is a member of our family who abhors butter, which makes it a little tricky baking. However, I found a recipe for a white cake that has heavy cream instead of butter that is incredible. I made a raspberry and lemon filling and put whipped cream frosting on it (frostings are also a little tricky without butter.) A couple of people have asked me for the recipe so here it is:

Cream Cake

2 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour a 9x9 square pan. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl until thick (it takes awhile.) Add sugar and vanilla beating well. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In three parts add the flour mixture alternately with the whipping cream to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

On a Walk

2010-09-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Liza loves her walks. I am wishing I was feeling better today so I could take her on one. (We both have a little cold.)

Grandpa Richard and Grandma Lyn

2010-09-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

May is always a great month. I always wished my birthday was in May and I was hoping Eliza's birthday would be in May (we were so close!) May 2010 ended wonderfully by having my one living grandparent, Grandpa Richard and his wife Lyn coming to visit. It was such a treat. We had such a marvelous time. Two of my cousins, Stefany and Luke, were able to come as well. It made me feel like a Utahan having so much family around :)

PS Thank you Lyn for getting my grandpa out here. Try and talk him into coming again sometime!

Oatmeal Head!

2010-09-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry this post isn't about a school yard taunt; it's about an actual "oatmeal head." Eliza and I were eating oatmeal sitting on the ground, (that is about one of the only ways I can get this girl to eat,) and Eliza tipped over and her head landed squarely in the bowl of oatmeal. She was unhurt, but very shocked. Nate and I tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle our laughs. However, Eliza's dismay shortly turned to joy as we had to put her in the bath to get all of the oatmeal out. Eliza loves her baths so much. Whenever we are talking about baths we need to spell it out of Eliza will insist on getting into the tub, and once she is in there I have the hardest time getting her out. Even after I drain the water I still have to drag her out kicking and screaming. She loves to do the washing herself. I give her a dollop of foaming soap and tell her where to wash. No matter where I tell her to wash she always goes straight to her tummy. And then I will tell her the place again and she will start washing the place I have specified. She has also started to splash a ton which means we can get a bath at the same time. Now you know why so many of the pictures I have of Eliza are in the bathtub.

Heber

2010-08-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

This May we went up to a girls camp in Heber with the Olsens. We had a great time. We all slept in a large Yurt shaped cabin. I have to admit i was pretty nervous about the sleeping situation with three babies, but it turned out pretty well. Amazingly. We had a great time canoeing and we went on a GIANT zip-line. It was fun to all be together before Trent and Mandy and Michael and Genevieve moved. Thanks for the great time Olsens!

PS You know I was having too much fun because I didn't get many pictures. Most of these are from before we left the Olsens' house, but I think they are hilarious.

Bathing Suit

2010-08-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Liza loves the water. Yesterday when we were in the pool there were some older kids in there splashing and Liza was having fun imitating them. Her arms were flailing about as fast as a hummingbird's and she drank about a gallon of water in the process.

Baby Britta!

2010-08-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late, but Eliza has another cousin! She has three cousins that were born within a year of her. She is one lucky girl! These are pictures of her and her cousins on the Olsen side and some other random pictures from the same day. It sure was hard to get a picture of the three babies (well Brittta did a great job!)We sure miss Timothy and Britta and can't wait to hopefully see them some time in October.

Pigtails!

2010-08-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

These are from one of the first times I put pigtails on Eliza. She was sitting on her rocking chair and loving every second of it! (She did not love getting her pigtails in; I am sure the neighbors think I am torturing her.) Sorry there are a lot of them.

In Memory of the Pequod

2010-08-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Just last Saturday one of our most prized possessions was destroyed tragically in an accident at Utah Lake. Fortunately all involved were unharmed. Fortunately we had gone up to Deer Creek a few months ago and got a few pictures of it. We are still devastated, but are on the look out for a new one. We will surely miss the Pequod. We are pretty sure we jinxed ourselves by naming it this. Next time we will have to name it after a more seaworthy craft. My friend, Emily got some adorable pictures of her son Weston feeding Eliza watermelon, but I am still attempting to get them. If I do I will post them on here because they are beyond adorable!

Graduation!!!

2010-07-09T11:45:00.001-07:00

Ok so I am finally going to post the pictures from graduation! Way to go Nate you did it! We survived. Those were three long years, especially the first two :) It's funny now that it is over we rather miss it, especially living in the village so close to many good friends. We also didn't realize how good we had it living so close to trax. We do like it here in Provo, but we surely miss Salt Lake too! Sorry these aren't in order, but I always like to put my best pictures first so I don't get stuck staring at a bad one forever. Eliza did great at the graduation. She clapped for all of the graduates, well until the people next to us screamed so loud it terrified her. Which unfortunately was right before Nate was on the stand. Luckily Grandpa Brad was able to get her calmed down while I took a picture.

P.S. Fortunately none of these shots show my shoes because I forgot my black shoes the night before and planned to change from my brown moccasins in the car, but completely forgot. I felt like a fool! I was also planning on doing my make-up in the car as well, but as you can tell that didn't happen either. There were a few other disasters that I would rather not disclose on here...