Botanical Gardens With Friends!!!

This past Wednesday we made a trip to the Botanical Gardens to visit the children's area with Andrea and Keily...it was so much fun! (for those of you that leave in St. Louis, Monday and Wednesday's are free and children under 3 are free everyday into the children's area). I had never been in the Children's area...it's HUGE with great things for kids to explore on...obviously Olivia just took it all in, but Keily was ALL OVER the place and LOVED it!

We will definitely be back to try this out with Olivia next year for sure!

Da-Da!

Yes, that's correct...Miss Olivia is now saying Da-Da! I got so excited that I think I scared her - ha!

Earlier today when I got home from being out, Chad said..."I think she said Da-Da..." my response, "really?" Chad, "Sounded like it..." So, when I heard her say it tonight (just me, Chad's at a dinner) I kept repeating it and she would say it right back to me...it was pretty comical...however I said it she would repeat it right back to me that same way, UNTIL I started getting too excited and then she looked at me like I was crazy!!!

Olivia is also VERY mobile this week...still not a full crawl, but her legs are flying everywhere and she pulls so hard with either her forearms or hands it's crazy. She definitely has the army crawling thing down for sure! I think Chad edited a video, if so, I'll post it.

Family Time In Naples

The past week we spent time down south with part of both sides of our family (My parents, Tyler, my Grandpa Kamman and Chad joined us for the weekend!) in Florida...we all had such a wonderful time!

Olivia LOVES pool time with the "Granny"...they're best buds!


O and Grandpa Vasel...he loves playing with Olivia in the pool!

Olivia's partner in crime...Uncle Ty!

Olivia has become quite the little swimmer....she puts her face in the water, kicks her legs and splashes...she prefers to be on her tummy versus her back AND she does NOT like the Gulf or the sand, but loves it on a sheet on the beach.

Kick, kick, kick! O:"Mom, are you getting this?!"

Nap time after pool time...she slept in her stroller poolside most afternoons...thank goodness for the breeze!

Playing with her new beach toys thanks to Target's $1 department!

Mommy and O on the beach

Daddy trying to talk her into going into the Gulf...not happening! He tried 3 times with the same result...upset Olivia!

Our little Beach Bunny!

Although I don't have photos (bad me!), we got to me Charlie Ritchey for the first time and he's the cutest little boy ever! Adrey is getting so big and he's a GREAT big brother...Leah, I'm so happy for your whole family and I'm so excited I got to see you all, Erin and FINALLY meet Jen! I'll be back in October!

Tyler and Chad had a great time together too...wrestling in the pool, working out in the morning and jet skiing in the afternoon. I have to say that Tyler is VERY good with Olivia and today,her first day not seeing him in a week, she missed him...either that, or she's not feeling very well! (ha! just kidding, Ty!). She spent the evening with him on the pullout couch in the den...Ty watching movies and Olivia playing on the bed....it was their ritual before she went to bed.

Me:"Guys, get together so we can get a nice photo for your mom" Result = This!

It was a wonderful week of fun in the sun...Ty, I'm so glad you got to "meet" Naples!

7 MONTHS OLD!!!

Sunday, the 18th, Olivia turned 7 months old...I can't believe how fast time is flying by! Olivia's so active...scooting (trying VERY hard to crawl), rolling everywhere, eating fruits and veggies now, trying to start a sippy cup, but it's not going too well (she doesn't quit grasp the concept). And, we have 8 teeth...I think there are more trying to break through!

The photo above is all three of us on Sunday in Naples...we had a blast with our little fish!

STL ZOO...HERE WE COME!

Yes, today was the first time CHAD & I took Olivia to the Zoo...I say that because the Granny (Grandma Vasel) has already taken her with her friends and grandson. We took off at 8am this morning to beat the crowd and HEAT! Of course, as we're getting off the highway Miss O is yawning and carrying on...I politely informed her, "no sleeping...we're almost there!"

We are so lucky to have the St. Louis Zoo...it's free to all, rated among the top Zoo's in the nation and it's so convenient!

We started out heading towards the cats, but ended up in the primate house...it was so early that there were hardly any visitors in that section yet, the monkeys were being fed and they were playing with each other...as we sat there and watched this one group of little guys, one decided he would sit down right in front of Olivia...hysterical!

Then we went on towards the cats, but they weren't out yet so we hit up the Camels and then the giraffes....

Olivia's favorite part was the penguins! She loved them! The zoo's penguin exhibit is set up to mock their natural environment, so it's SUPER cold in there....I mean, you can see your breath! You can get right up next to the glass wall where they can swim and two little guys dove right in where Olivia was and she LOVED it! She wanted to hop right in with her...she thought it was a giant bathtub just for her and her new little friend! It was too cute!

Our visit was cut a little short since I needed to go show a couple homes, but we'll be back...thanks to Granny and Grandpa Vasel we are Zoo members this year so we'll need to check out the train, children's zoo and much more throughout the rest of the summer and fall...I'll post updates on our next trips!

4th of July Weekend!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!


This Fourth of July weekend we spent with Chad's parents in Lebanon and had a great time! Miss O was able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa and Chad and I were able to catch up with Friends!


Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Wrinkle and Christina and Blaine Olivia had 2 FABULOUS outfits for the festivities, so we had to do 2 mini shoots with her!
Yes, we have a performer on our hands...this is the face we get when the camera goes up...eventually she gets tired of the camera looks at me like..."are you serious...put that thing down!"

Yes, she's on her hands and knees...she's trying VERY hard to crawl, but at this point either moves her hands and falls on her face because she forgets to move her legs OR moves her legs and forgets to move her hands and her butt ends up in the air above her head...hysterical!
Yes, she was a tad excited to be out of her carseat!


Grandma Wrinkle...I love this blanket!

Funny story for the weekend: Chad and I arrive to find a metal pot with a single, large "weed" growing out of it. Us: "Tyler, why is the weeding growing in the middle of the pot?" Tyler: "I don't know, I actually just noticed it the other day". Now, the conversations goes like this about 4 hours later with Cherita. Us: "Cherita, why are you all letting that "weed" grow in the middle of the pot...that's terrible!" Cherita: That's not a weed, that's a flower I planted...it's a holly hock (sp?)...Chad and I then proceed to laugh and tell her how we thought it was a weed. One hour later, taking photos of Olivia outside. Chad: "Oh my gosh...what happened to Mom's plant? It's not there." Tyler: "Dude, you said it was a weed, I pulled it". Cherita: "No, NO, NOOOO!" Tyler then proceeds to jump the barbed wire fence to find it, Cherita then replanted...it's NOT looking too good today...it was just too funny!

Tyler jumping back over the fence....

Cherita trying to save her flower...aka "weed"

It was a great weekend had by ALL...HAPPY 4TH!!!

Teeth Update!

Ok, just a little update on Miss O's number of teeth...on June 21st she had 4 teeth...since that time four more have popped up (more accurately put, broken through the skin) and we have a total of 8 - 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom...she's really been a trooper through the whole process...last week was a little rough with a load of shots on Monday and four teeth pushing through throughout the week.

Photo updates to come soon...busy, busy! Happy Fourth of July to all since I probably won't have time to post anything until after!