So Thankful!

We have so much to be thankful for this year! It has been the most amazing year of our lives...watching Olivia grow. As we stop to reflect on all of the wonderful things we have to be thankful for, the one that tops the list is family. And this Thanksgiving, as always, we were surrounded by lots of family...making it another Thanksgiving to remember!

Aunt Susan and her family flew in from California. Her son Ryan, who is a Senior at IU picked them up in Indy and they headed to the Fort. Grandma Cleo and Uncle John drove down from Michigan as well. Since we no longer have any spare rooms at our house they all stayed with my Mom. She had quite a house full!

For Thanksgiving dinner there were 10 of us all together...so there was a lot of turkey! Last year Olivia was only a few weeks old and Todd and I will still adjusting to being new parents. We were not able to relax and enjoy the holiday like normal, since we were stressed and sleep deprived. Well it's one year later, and things are much easier! Olivia was even able to partake in most of the yummy dishes this year...making it much more fun for her! We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed a long weekend of good food, good drinks and good company! Here is Olivia enjoying her first official Thanksgiving meal...

Feed Me! (Notice her shirt?)
Ohhhh...that's good!

Since Aunt Sue and her family live so far away now we only get to see them a few times a year. That being said, she gets quite excited to spend time with little Livie. Now it always takes Olivia a little while to warm up to people she is not used to, but within minutes of Aunt Sue Sue's arrival Olivia had a new best friend. They spent a ton of time together over the weekend and in a matter of a few days Aunt Sue had taught Livie a new trick...how to say "NO-NO!" Oh my goodness Sue, what have you done?

It was all very innocent really. She was just teaching her the song about the monkeys jumping on the bed. At the end of the song you say, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!", and you shake your finger. Well Olivia caught on to this very quickly and all weekend she was shaking her head and finger while saying "NO-NO!" Although it is very cute she is now using her new phase on a regular basis....usually to tell me that she doesn't want something. It is amazing how they figure out what certain things mean and what context to use them. My biggest challenge is keeping a straight face and not letting her think it is funny for her to tell me NO. Oh, what is in store for us!!!! Here are some pictures from our fun weekend...

Taking steps...

Four Generations...

Belated B-day present...

Worn Out!

It was a fun weekend and we were sad to see everyone go. We will be spending Christmas with Grandma Cleo and Uncle John, but we do not know when we will get to see Aunt Sue Sue again. It could be awhile. That makes me sad...especially seeing how much Olivia enjoys her. But we were thankful to be able to spend Thanksgiving with everyone. Now the holidays are in full swing! This is our favorite time of year. We are excited to start some Christmas traditions with Olivia and watch as she enjoys all of the excitement this time of year brings. There is just so much to do....