She likes to move it, move it...

Olivia is doing her best to try and keep up with Isabelle and reach every milestone long before we are ready for her to. Just like Belle, it was just days after she turned 5 months old that Livi began sitting up all by herself and I am not sure who has enjoyed her being up-right and able to "play" more, Olivia or Isabelle. At her 6month well check, she weighed in at a wee 14.4lbs but continues to grow and develop as quickly as she can. She is very proud to hold a MumMum and feed herself a snack and loves jumping in her jumper each morning while I shower.

So far there are still no teeth in sight but again if she is on Belle's track we won't have to worry about those for a few more months. Olivia is moments from crawling and can get up on all fours and rock back and forth before she falls to her tummy. Isabelle can't wait for the day when her little sister can chase her around the house, but I am less excited about the "baby proofing" stage and constantly having to watch the stairs. Livi says MAMAMAMAMA although I am not sure she yet knows what it means but she has started waving bye bye occasionally after we encourage her. Isabelle and I are left wondering what we did all day before little Olivia joined the party?!

Just tonight I gathered up a few things around the house, namely the Bumbo, Boppy, Swing, etc, that we no longer use every day to place back into the closet for use in some other life. It is astonishing how much a little spirit can learn in such a short amount of time and like all good mother's out there, I am left wishing my baby would stay my baby for a bit longer!


*I forgot I needed to hold my camera right side up for videos! Why is it immpossible to flip them once they are uploaded?

Phone

I recently bought a new smart phone, which so far seems a lot smarter than me, but before I could say goodbye to my previous cell phone, I had to quickly download over 100 photos that I couldn't bear to lose. It always seems like the best pictures are the ones you capture when you aren't actually prepared with your nice camera, but rather grab your phone out of your pocket and shoot. It was amazing to see how much both my little girls had grown up over the last few months and for journaling purposes I wanted to post some of my favorite candid shots!

Hot Summer Nights...

was the theme for the 2010 Salem Days, although for us it was a break from the never-ending scorching heat of South Texas. Like years past, Isabelle waited all summer for our visit to her Great Grandma Joan's house and had talked about all the fun she would have in Salem long enough that we even convinced Ben to take a few days off work to join in the celebration. Lucky for us too, Aunt Alee and Uncle Nick headed that direction for a Vernon Family Reunion at the same time so we got to enjoy the Hot Summer Nights with even more family than usual.

Both Isabelle and Olivia travelled like champs yet after a delayed flight and a long day for both girls, we were all glad when we finally arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house Friday evening. Isabelle woke up early the first morning excited to play on the soft Utah grass, but after opening the door she quickly ran back inside screaming that it was FREEZING! She actually claimed that it may even snow! Of course, it was only 60 degrees, but to her bare arms and legs, it may well have been winter. We spent an entire week playing with my cousins little girls, riding grandpa's 4 wheelers, walking to Fast Gas, jogging around Salem, playing Chicken Foot with grandma, "harvesting" in grandpa's garden, meeting extended family for lunch dates, celebrating Grandma Joan's birthday and so on. We all couldn't get enough of the beautiful weather and little Olivia smiled from ear to ear each time we placed her in her stroller for a stroll.

Salem Days soon began and after reading about the Baby Contest in the newspaper we spontaneously entered sweet Olivia in the contest! The contest was judged by Miss Salem and her Attendants and Isabelle was so proud of her little sister as she talked and coo'd at the "queens." There were multiple categories that Livi had to be judged in and after she made her rounds and posed for a photo, we were off with a giant bottle of bubbles and a balloon! Isabelle was thrilled to decorate scooters and bikes with her cousin Zoey and participated in the Children's Parade down Center Street. We were surprised when we heard someone yell to Ben as he helped Belle down the parade route and found our sister-in-law Heather's parents who were new Salem residents cheering Belle on. It's always fun to see someone you know and they got to meet little Olivia even before her Uncle Sam and Aunt Heather, who live in Boston. The parade ended at the park and Belle and Zoey were excited for a popsicle as their reward for making it on their bikes. Under a tent they were announcing the Baby Contest winners and when they called Olivia's name we were shocked. She won the title of Biggest Flirt, or what I like to call Miss Personality or as Isabelle likes to say...She won the smiling contest! We were presented with an 8x10 of her winning photograph as well as a gift basket with hugs/kisses, a toothbrush for her smile, a picture frame, a hairbow, etc. She was invited to ride on the Baby Contest Winner Float in the big parade on Saturday, but we decided it would be more fun to watch the parade and cheered instead when the float went by with her name on the side!

The Family Fun Run began at 7:30am Saturday morning and of course it would be the one morning of the trip that I had to wake both girls in order to get us all dressed and at the starting line in time. After her 7th place finish in the 1 mile last year, Isabelle was determined to get a medal this time and was lucky to have her dad registered for the mile race with her. When Officer James sounded the siren, Isabelle's legs were off running around the Salem Pond as fast as they could carry her. The last few tenths of the race were up hill and Ben was shocked at Jelly's competitive spirit when she pushed it even harder on the incline to pass a few more racers. She crossed the finish line at just over the 12 and a half minute mark taking over a minute off her last year's finish time. When I ran to congratulate her on her amazing race I could tell she may have pushed it a bit too much as her little body was dry heaving from exhaustion as well as the elevation change. (Running in the dry mountains is much different than the humid Texas plains.) By the time she made it through the shoots with all the other tired runners she was back to her old self and was thrilled when they handed her her time card which revealed she had earned the SILVER MEDAL! She placed 2nd in the Age 5 and under category and was so proud of her accomplishment when they called her name and placed the medal around her tiny neck! Grandma, Alee, Nick and I all ran the 5k next and again cheered for Grammie when she too won a medal! Afterwards we enjoyed a pancake breakfast in the park served to us by the Mayor, just like Curious George, and then rushed to shower before the big parade. Isabelle loved gathering up all the candy that was tossed her way with all the other kids and to this day has still only seen two parades in her lifetime...Salem Day and Walt Disney World. (From one extreme to the other.)


Our Hot Summer Nights vacation ended too quickly like usual and it was soon time to board that airplane and head back home to the real heat again. Like years past, we greatly enjoyed the break from our fast paced lifestyle and really took in the easy going living of Grandma and Grandpa's quiet home. I am sure Belle will talk about the fun all year long and when summer time rolls around again, we will buy some more airfare for a break in our own little City of Peace.

Flower Child

Remember shortly after Olivia was born we gave Isabelle hundreds of flower seeds and let her plant them willy-nilly all over our backyard and under the trees? She loved watering Great Grandma Joan's flowers with her when she visited Salem, UT last summer, so when the blooming season was done Grandma gathered up envelopes of the tiny seeds out of her garden and mailed them to Isabelle. Isabelle raked and "foo'd" for hours one spring morning and filled the ground with seeds.

Fast forward a few months and we are overcome with marigolds and zinnias growing all over the backyard and some nearly as tall as Isabelle. We have had so much fun watching the little seeds turn from tiny green leaves to large beautiful flowers and have enjoyed the wild flower garden out our back windows all summer long. It was Ben and I who were skeptical that the seeds would actually bloom, not our little gardener. She had the faith that if she planted those seeds, watered them and gave them plenty of sun, of course they would bloom. And she was right!

The swaddle

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

This poem always hung in my childhood home and ironically hangs in the guest room now that I always stay in when visiting my parents. I find myself reciting it in my head several times a week lately.

Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657

Things have been a little busy around the Cosby home since, well for as long as I can remember, and we were in need of a little quiet time. We contemplated going far from home, like usual, but with airplane plans for all of us in August, September and October, we thought maybe something a little closer might do the trick. Ben and I thought we would head south to Port Aransas like years past but instead discovered a special little hide-away just 70 miles north near the city of Marble Falls.

Along the shores of Lake LBJ lies a bay in the shape of a horseshoe. It's surrounded by the Texas Hill Country and is a treasure for many with huge weekend homes dotting the water. Fortunately for us, Mr. Marriott was smart and snuck in a 4-star hotel along the lake line which allows his guests temporary membership to all the small resort town has to offer. We spent the week drinking fruity drinks at the swimming pools, building sand castles on the beach, playing games on the hotel lawn, exploring the exotic animals on-site and mostly just having fun as a family.

Isabelle especially was catered to as the resort had daily kid activities almost every hour. She took her turn on the slip-n-slide, played bean bag games, painted her own sailboat, petted birds and turtles, made a "home" for bugs with a jar, ate snow cones at the pool and so on. Although we were only an hour from home, Jelly thought we were in paradise.

Olivia participated as well dipping her toes in the sand and swimming with her sister. She and I both enjoyed the break from "normal life" and even took a nap together one afternoon.

The first night we were there, Isabelle quickly made friends with another little girl in the pool from Dallas named Emma. She was visiting Horseshoe Bay with her parents and little brother as well as her grandma and grandpa. They made the trip down for some fun in the sun every summer and were the nicest and most "Texas" friendly people. We made it a date to meet at the pool each late afternoon and the girls played and swam together like old friends. The sweet Grandma even included enough snacks for Belle in her beachbag and was so excited to see Olivia every day. It was fun to have some friends to chat and enjoy the resort with and on our last night when Belle said goodbye, Emma begged her mom to let her invite Belle over to her house to play. Unfortunately we live several hours away but if we had lived in the same neighborhood, I think we would have all been good friends.

One day for lunch we snuck into the city of Marble Falls for lunch at the infamous Bluebonnet Cafe. It was some good old fashion Texas food and we all left happy and full...and with the Bluebonnet Cafe Recipe Book!

Our little family getaway was just what the doctor ordered and all four of us were disappointed to see the time go by so quickly. What a fun week we all shared! We can't wait to visit the Horseshoe Bay again!