Being the patriot that I am, I naturally love Independence Day. Belle and I decorated the house days beforehand and even made a 4th of July tree this year with red, white and blue lights. As luck had it, the holiday fell on a weekend so we enjoyed multiple days of festive activities. We celebrated with a delicious BBQ with our awesome friends, the Haleys, and played basketball, made sidewalk chalk pictures, ate yummy food and had way too much fun. (Notice the quality of the pictures...it pays to be tight with a photographer!) The next morning Jelly couldn't wait to ride her scooter she had carefully decorated in a patriotic parade at the church. We ate breakfast, visited with friends, watched all the kids in their parade and had fun playing water balloon games. With Ben's birthday coming up just a few days after and him being scheduled to be in NYC for business that week, we took the opportunity to celebrate him as well. Isabelle took him to Target to pick out a gift and they came home with a Wii. He also enjoyed some new summer clothes and several calls and texts from friends and family. Living in San Antonio and being surrounded (seriously, neighbors on both sides) by the many bases of the U.S. Military we are even more grateful than ever for the freedoms that we enjoy and those who risk their lives daily to protect us! God bless the U.S.A!
Little Livi the Brave (her superhero name) is nearly 5 months old already and no matter what we try and do to her, she just won't stop growing! She continues to master new skills everyday and loves being awake and upright...just like big sister! She rolls over CONSTANTLY and would probably be able to sleep, eat, get her diaper changed, bathe, etc, all much easier if she would JUST LIE STILL! Instead of lie on her back, she rolls to her tummy as soon as she hits the ground and pushes up until her arms are as stretched as they can be! She cannot wait to sit up by herself and I predict that she is less than a month away from succeeding. She loves to be in the jumper and has figured out how to get a pretty good work out bouncing up and down while I shower. Olivia has also started to grab anything she can get her little hands on and of course put it directly into her mouth, therefore we were now in need of fun mouth friendly objects. Isabelle was very excited when I finally let her get out the toy bin that had been in storage since she was a wee lady, filled with all sorts of toys for babies to explore and chew. The most exciting thing Livi has recently embarked on is eating solid foods! After her 4 month well check and only weighing in at 12lbs, her doctor encouraged us to start with some rice cereal in the evenings and then move on to the other grains and so on. Can you imagine how excited Belle was to feed Livi her first "real" food? I quickly took Isabelle to HEB and let her pick out some rubber spoons and a sippie cup special for her little sister and then the feast began. Olivia knew just what to do and opened her mouth wide for her first bite. She never really made a silly face and has eaten a bowl of cereal for dinner every night since. She also immediately grasped the sippie cup concept and enjoys a few drops of water every day now too which is nice since it is so terribly hot outside this summer. Olivia continues to be endless entertainment for Isabelle and shares in her sister's sometimes violent affection. Belle literally cannot contain her excitement when Livi does something new and is so proud of her little accomplishments. She often tells her little sister just how lucky she is to have such a wonderful big sister...and I think she is right!
Summer in San Antonio is red hot! To stay cool, we spend most days of the week at the swimming pool. Isabelle has always been pretty comfortable in the water but has never been able to swim without some floatation help...until now! With the addition of baby sister in the family, I felt more pressure this year to get Isabelle swimming on her own since my attention would now be divided. We had heard wonderful things about Mrs. Joni's swim class and we were thrilled when we enrolled in her first summer session set of classes with Isabelle's favorite friend, Audrey. Isabelle had lessons 4 days a week for a couple of weeks and even though she was tortured with an ear infection halfway through, she got braver and stronger with each class.
Now, we have created a 'swim monster.' She no longer is even willing to wear any floaties while we are at the pool swimming with our friends and since most days it is just she and I and Olivia, it has been even more of a challenge to keep my eye on both girls. Thankfully, Ben has rushed home whenever possible to meet us for a little swim time and it is at these moments that our little fish really gets to cruise. Isabelle is very proud to swim under water, dive to get things on the bottom, float on her back and jump in the deep end by herself! Of course Olivia has had her share of pool time too and loves to sit in the water and watch all of the kids play! She wonders how they can get their arms and legs to move like they do!
Thank goodness for swimming pools! It's the only way to enjoy this Texas heat!
My mom is not just an average sewer, she is what I would call a seamstress! She could make lots and lots of money if she wanted to making custom and handmade creations of all sorts and varieties. Luckily for me, she would rather share her talents spending hours on projects for my home and her grandchildren! My girls have loved many of Grammie's creations and Isabelle loves to go to the fabric store just so she can pick out some crazy fabric to have Grammie sew into something. (We were just at JoAnns last week where Belle purchased some Fancy Nancy fabric for a new slip...which is an entire different and much needed future post!) I do own a sewing machine but I am afraid that the natural sewing gene skipped right over me and landed from Tara to Alex! Both my sisters can and do sew things often and it was them who bought me my sewing machine trying to force the talent out of me. It's so silly that even when a button falls off Ben's suit coat Belle says, "We will have to ask Grammie to fix it!" As far as she is concerned, Grammie can sew ANYTHING! And I believe it just may be true!
When we were expecting baby Olivia I planned to buy a new crib bedding set since Grammie had graciously handmade Isabelle's set piecing together 8 different colorful fabrics that Ben actually designed on an Excel spreadsheet. It was a lot of work for her with many ruffles and bows and tucks and so I just assumed we would not go down that road again! Much to my surprise, when I mentioned to my mom that we should be looking for some fun crib bedding while we were out and about she quickly offered her services once again. And she also had a great idea...not only would she sew the baby a new crib set but she would make big sister Isabelle a matching duvet cover for her comforter and both girls adorable curtains for their new bedrooms! Off to the fabric store we went yet again! My mom, Isabelle, Alee and I spent quite a while looking and looking and not finding exactly what we had in mind. We wanted something fun and grown-up for Isabelle but also soft and delicate for Olivia. Finally after looking down every aisle many times, we spotted one bolt we must have missed and instantly fell in love! It was the perfect combination with swirly vines and flowers mixed with words like believe, sing and play! We then called multiple stores and bought all the Heidi Grace designed fabric that we could find. It was more money than Ben could believe and yards and yards of fabric for Grammie to become overwhelmed by! In just a few short weeks the rooms were complete! They turned out even cuter than we imagined and both girls love their handmade bedding! How fortunate to be blessed by so much hard work from Grammie and of course the sewing hasn't stopped there. She is constantly surrounded by stacks of fabrics and ideas of projects that everyone has for her! I guess when her children rallied and bought her a Serger it may have been slightly selfish!
Time has a way of flying by, but luckily I have remembered to grab the camera several times lately to catch some of these fun memories we call life! We have continued to keep our constant action lifestyle and have introduced Olivia to a few new Texas cities and long car rides!
We traveled to Dallas to bid Uncle Seth farewell as he left to serve a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Tahiti. Being the party planner that she is, Isabelle spent hours decorating the garage and turning it into an island paradise to celebrate Seth's departure. We sang and danced, played Wii, jumped on the trampoline, went mini-golfing, where Isabelle's first put ended in a hole-in-one and drove go-carts. It was a fun weekend spent with one of our favorite Uncles and we wish Seth much luck on his new adventure! (It's weird to think the next time he sees his nieces they will be 6 and 2 years old.)
We also traveled to Houston where Isabelle played "doctor" to Grandpa Elmo learning the correct way to give him his IV antibiotics and how to flush his port system. The real nurse even let Belle take his temperature, and Dr. Cosby was thrilled to wear her medical coat and took her job very serious. We were also able to celebrate Grammie's birthday with a Luau Texas-style! Isabelle once again decorated her heart out and we enjoyed the nice weather with a BBQ on the patio and lots and lots of bubble blowing!
Our days were also full with both girls getting well-checks and a total of 10 immunization shots between the two of them with fevers to follow, of course while Dad was out of town on business. We celebrated Mother's Day and joined Angelina Ballerina downtown at a Tea Party with the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet where Isabelle was served real tea in a ceramic tea cup and asked for hers with sugar and lemon! (She then tasted it and decided she wasn't much of a "real" tea fan!) We made the short trek to New Braunfels and cheered Aunt Alee on as she competed and finished her first Biathlon with energy to spare and we had fun swimming with Uncle Gordon on his birthday here at home over Memorial Day.
All the while, little Olivia continues to grow, although at two months she was just a wee 10lbs. She smiles and giggles and loves to coo and talk. She has rolled over both directions and is working on becoming a good napper. (We are hopeful she will do better at this than her big sister did.) She still is very agreeable in her carseat and loves to bathe especially with Isabelle.
Life is good when it is busy, but I can't help wishing that time would slow down just a little bit and let me thoroughly enjoy my girls at the exact ages that they are. Although sometimes it is tough, it is good to be SO loved!
On April 11, 2010 our sweet baby girl was blessed by her father and given the name of Olivia Cosby to be known by throughout her mortal life. At just 6 weeks old, Olivia was dressed in the blessing gown her Great Grandma Joan had made many years ago and carried on a long tradition as both myself, my sisters and her sister Isabelle were blessed in as well. She was a fun mix of both old and new as she wore a whisper pink fabric flower on her head that her Great Aunt Gloria, affectionately referred to as Grammie Glo, had made! Olivia was fortunate to be surrounded in circle by her father, Grandpa Elmo, Grandpa Van, Uncle Nick, Uncle Gordon, Bishop Hubert, Chris Venegas, Aaron Haley and Joseph Dunn. She was quiet long enough for Ben to begin but quickly realized she was not in her mom's arms anymore and cried her tiny soft cry throughout the rest of the prayer. Her Grandpa Elmo had to find her NUK afterwards as she had spit it out mid-prayer! Big sister Isabelle followed the group up to the front of the chapel as well and sat on the first row so that she was front and center with the perfect view of the special moment! We enjoyed lunch afterwards at home with all of our family members who had been able to travel to San Antonio for the celebration! We are so grateful that Olivia was born healthy and strong and are thrilled to have little Livi be a part of our family! **On a side note, my sister Alex and I both showed up at church with the same outfit on! She drove over from Houston early that morning and we never spoke until I walked into the chapel and saw what she was wearing. We even both wore the exact pair of fabulous fuchsia high heels!!! I guess great minds and sisters think alike!
