Boo!!

Happy Halloween!!

As previously mentioned, we had a full month of October and we took full advantage of dressing Livy up in all kinds of Halloween related things. The problem of course was getting those pictures on here (there's more but because of technical difficulties we're limited to 'only' the ones you see below...mind you, there's plenty to see so its not necessarily a bad thing that we had to limit them).

So, its a bit late in coming (sorry Grandma Helen but thanks for the reminder) but finally here are a few great shots of our Halloween month (since celebrating only one day isn't nearly enough - don't forget to click on the picture to make it larger).

During the month of October there are a number of fun things to do. One being the Stanley Park Ghost Train. Here are a few shots of us at the park and a few shots of the entertainment from the 'safety' of the train.

Family photo just before boarding the train.















Daddy and baby Giraffe (thanks uncle Mike).














Getting ready for the train ride.














Three headed dog (something or other in Roman mythology).














I'm going to hazard a guess and say its a Japanese demon.














A Hindu evil goddess...















Pagan devils...














And a tired little Giraffe at the end of it all...

These are a few of my favourite things...

I've been thinking about wanting to do this for a while and finally I'm getting around to it.

How many times in the last 3 months have I looked at Livy and found new reasons to smile and fall in love with her. So many little things that she does that I absolutely LOVE and swear that I will never forget. Of course, I know I will so I'm going to write them down so I'll always remember them.

So, here are a few of my favourite things that our darling Olivia does that makes me smile...
1. Grunts like a T-Rex (see September 10th video clip).

2. Coos on my chest after a feeding (she's doing it less and less now but it was something I loved when she was smaller and so I now cherish it when she's relaxed enough to settle down and tell me how content she is).

3. Stretches after a nap with her little bum out and arms stretched out (we're trying to get a picture of this before she stops doing it).

4. Flays her arms out and because her arms are so long, I call it her 'Albatross' pose.













5. Talks - yup, she's a little chatter box...another thing we're working on in the photo department.
6. Settles down from a crying spell with a foot massage. And yes, if I were to stop, she'd start crying again. At least something works!!














7. She easily falls asleep if I'm gently breathing on the top of her head (its a wonderful thing to put her to bed like this but it has the potential to have dire consequences...imagine a 10 year old needing someone to breath on the top of her head to sleep...)

There's so many more things, the above only being the ones I can remember off the top of my head. But we'll keep adding more as we remember them.

Loch Ness

This next entry pretty much speaks for itself and very little introduction is needed.

Its titled Loch Ness in part because our darling Livy is 'swimming' for the first time in this video and also because, as we've previously mentioned, the speed in which she is growing results in us often referring to her as a "Little Monster".

So here she is in her swimming debut:



Here's another shot which pretty much sums up our experience.

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we enjoyed 2 wonderful meals with family over the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Today we celebrated with members of Dwayne's family - Grandpa Frank, Grandma Shirley, Auntie Deanna and Uncle Mike.

A few shots to show off the evening (and a few new Livy outfits - yes, its size 6-9 months).


























Auntie Deanna putting me to sleep.

Testing the new camera - ouch!!

So Dwayne and I not too long ago bought a new camera. We've had fun testing it out (though we're still not doing the camera justice) and recently we've been trying out a loaner lens with the thought that we may or may not buy it (second hand lens).

Well this lens is possibly a bit too much for Dwayne to handle. It seems his lens is bigger than his eyes...if that makes sense. To put it another way when taking a few shots of Olivia he managed to wack her in the head with the lens.

Lets see if you can tell which picture has the bump on her head.




















































What a trooper. Even with a bump to the head she has a happy face for Mom and Dad!! (don't forget to click on the picture to enlarge it)

Halloween is coming!!

Hopefully during the month of October we'll have plenty of pictures to post that are both scary and fun to look at.

Since Halloween is so fun I've decided to commit to turning it into a whole month of fun stuff.

To break into the Halloween spirit we'll start with Livy's pumpkin debut.

Run For the Cure

Today we did came out for our (now) annual CIBC Run for the Cure walk. This marks our second year in a row attending the event and though it was a much slower pace this year, we enjoyed it all the same.

Rather than collecting donations this year I made it my mission to get more people involved in the actual event to raise awareness through participation rather than simple donations (and the registration money adds up for funds raised).

Thus, in our group we had 8 of us in attendance.

It took us a whopping 1 hr 50min to cross the finish line but it was also a beautiful October day in Vancouver. The perfect weather to stroll for a few hours.

The group starting off...














Here's Olivia learning to multi task. She's eating & hanging onto Auntie Deanna for dear life (with Auntie Kayreen trying to squeeze into every shot).



















The family at the finish line.

She's outta control!!

So, just some minor bad news today. No pics. Just a general update.

Livy is quickly becoming Oli.

When Dwayne and I decided on Olivia for a name we took careful consideration as to whether the name will fit her later in life.

A proper, well put together lady would suit Olivia.
A hottie (not that any parent wants to think of their child as a hottie) would suit Liv (thanks Liv Taylor).
A good girl next door suits Livy (which we of course have chosen to call her in the hopes that this one sticks).
Or, Oli, in the event that she's a burly, tomboy type girl.

Well, she's now officially burly and is quickly becoming an Oli.

Yesterday I started washing her next size up in clothes since many of her current clothes are getting small. Thankfully we had people with foresight give gifts of clothes from 6-9 months size. From here on in we're good for clothes up to 9 months (which we imagine will fit Olivia for another 2-3 (hopefully) ... *sigh*)

Ok, I simply couldn't post an update without a photo. Here's a pic of Olivia in her 6-9 months PJ's (from yesterday when she turned exactly 7 weeks old).













For additional viewing pleasure we went out of our way to 'stage' some shots.

Here's a picture of Livy and Me in our new Canada gear for the Olympics. Dwayne dragged us to The Bay the day the line was made available and we splurged on the 'matching' outfits. Dwayne didn't make this shot but we'll get him again next time around.













Here's a picture (I had to include) of Livy in her new pants. There weren't exactly a "hit" but they sure did look funny. They are meant for 6-12 so maybe a bit big (although they actually fit her ok) but we loved how they had the "Old Man Italian" look.