Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Party Girl

We had a little family celebration on the 8th!  We woke up and opened presents from the grandparents...

  
Gracias Abuelos!
Thank you so much Gramie for such a special doll hand-made in Peru!

How did you know I loved these?!:)

Thanks Nanni for my new book:)

...then ate her "favorite" Korean BBQ for dinner:)!



She loved the cartoons:)
The day ended with the whole Speicher clan plus Gramie singing happy birthday and watching her eat a jelly doughnut!  I think it was all a little tiring!

 But the real celebration happened on Saturday!

Menu: pulled pork, carrots and pita chips with hummus and watermelon (an Olivia favorite)
The past 12 months on display!



She enjoyed her sweet treat:)!

Cousin love!
Thanks Eliana for Spunk's twin:)...Olivia loves it!


A happy birthday girl:)
We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends (some of whom had driven a ways to attend)!
Gabriel, Gabriela and Mikaela from Baltimore
The Monroys from Virginia
Joey, Britta and Kira from Virginia
Thanks everyone who made this day special for our sweet pea!  We love you all!

Olivia Turns 1

Olivia is officially one year old!
We are so thankful for our little personality and all the joy that she brings to us and those she's around.
Some facts regarding our 1-year old.....
- she is crawling and can pull herself up now (big accomplishment since this recently happened!)
- first word copying us was "pa pa" but....
- first word used in context was "uh-oh," followed by "dye-dye" (translated as chau-chau or bye-bye.....depending on what language you hope she's speaking!)
- Her favorite...
.... game-  hide-and-seek....which means she puts her hand on top of her head and then "reveals" herself with a big smile:)
.... foods- black beans, prunes and graham crackers.  I'm telling you, she adores all 3 of these with equal enthusiasm!
.... book - Eres Mi Mama? board book (P. D. Eastman's Are You My Mother? translated and shortened...she LOVES it)
- she still enjoys kicking and making raspberries with her lips

Here's her growth throughout the first year shown by the "O" for Olivia (not a zero:)!)....

Month 1
Month 2

Month 3
Month 4


Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

Month 12


Thursday, January 8, 2015

6 months ago...

...Olivia was born!

It is crazy to think that she's only been alive (or at least outside of me:)!) for 1/2 a year!!
Already she has changed our lives for the better and we can't imagine it without her.

I had every intention to write monthly blogs about her personality and growth, but surprise, surprise, that didn't happen!
So instead, I thought I'd just share some highlights of her first 6 months of life and FINALLY showcase her monthly pictures that I did manage to take...my how she's grown!

Olivia is.....
- a great eater!  Her chunky cheeks and above average weight gain are evidences of this.
- a songbird! She constantly is "singing"....sometimes her voice is more like gurgled spit, high pitched shrills, or breathy guffaws, but it's music to our ears.
- going to be a soccer player...at least that's what her papi says about her constant kicking that could power a small city!

- a pacifer-thumb-finger-toe sucker!  She's not picky....anything that she can put into her mouth, she goes to town with it.
- always dreaming of the beach....or at least she sleeps like a sunbather with her hands tucked behind her head!

- pure joy!  I love how she smiles with her whole face and the sound of her laugh!

Esteban and I already feel so blessed, honored, and humbled that God would entrust this precious baby to us!  We pray that she would continue to grow in health as well as love for Jesus and others.

Happy 6 months sweetie!

Month 1...

Month 2...

Month 3....

Month 4...

Month 5....


Month 6....