H-A-double L-O-double U-double E-N

just pictures....

Fall Fun

Penny told us about an amazing pumpkin patch;

their little faces say it best:

It was a child's magical place.

There was an excavation pile (where you can dig through sand and keep the prizes); a spooky hayride; planes, trains, trucks that you can play in; rides, slides; a petting zoo...etc.

Enjoy a few of our pictures:

our attempt at a family pict.

cleaning eye goobers
Cam, you may have a challenger for the throne

Olivia: 1 Month Old

[As of noon today, we are officially moved out of our old apartment (hurrah!!!) and now we can start the fun part of unpacking at the new place. It was hard moving! Now that it's done, Dustinn & I feel like kids who just finished the last day of school before summer break. We are ready for some fun!]

Olivia turned 1 month old on October 23rd. Here are just a few of our favorite things about this little missy:

• her (natural) fauxhawk
• her stretches --> when she first wakes up she stretches both arms high above her head and pouts her lips and pushes her chin out, all while her face turns red....it is just too cute
• she curls her fists up under her chin when she's sleeping
• cuddling with her in the early morning
• she raises her ears when she smiles
  
• the noises she has started making (one sounds kind of like a pirate's "Aar!")
  

A few of her nicknames:

• Principessa
• the Lady
• Livy
• Baby Cakes

Other tidbits:
When she was born, she was eating about 25 mL a feeding. Then we began filling up the bottle to 2 oz and seeing how much she'd take. Now she downs 4 oz every 3 hours.

Burping. It's become a family affair. (Bradshaw burps several of his toys regularly.) Although sometimes the 2nd, 3rd or 4th burps are really hard to come by...we have learned it makes the difference between a happy or unhappy girl. Our favorite burps are the Homer Simpson kind (ya know, the hollow sound when his lips vibrate?) Of course, the Olivia version is much cuter.
Olivia and Bradshaw have a special connection. If Bradshaw cries, Olivia will immediately burst into tears.
She's a really good sleeper (especially for a newborn.) She has a 4-6 hour stretch almost every night.She holds her head up like a champ.

We love her so much!

Bradshaw: 25 months

This lil' vignette sums up Bradshaw's personality quite well:

A few days ago, I needed to take Dustinn to a 6am morning meeting. Since it was hours before the kids normally wake up I intended to carry Bradshaw asleep to the car. However, when I stepped outside into the cold Bradshaw opened his eyes, just a crack, and spotted a squirrel "AH!" [dramatic gasp] then he spotted the playground "AHH!" [dramatic gasp #2] "YAAAY!" he cheers and does his shimmy-shake dance in my arms.
That is Bradshaw. Despite being tired, cold and on-the-move, he always knows that today is going to be the best day ever.

What else about this 2-year-old?
He has made the transition from one child to two children absolutely magical. We worried that Olivia waking up in the night would wake him up. Nope. He has slept 12-13 hours without a single peep every night. And he's still napping 3-4 hours a day. This gives me plenty of opportunities to get sufficient sleep. (Kisses Bradshaw! We'd saint you if we could.)


He is gentle and compassionate with his sister. There was one time we couldn't find Olivia's binky. He offered his. Since then the only binky she'll accept is his. You'd think it would be "the straw that breaks the camels back" and Bradshaw'd become possessive of his binkies, right??
On the contrary, he now has 2 on him at all times in case "sisser" needs a binky.

What else....what else?

He gets into the fridge all the time. This drives me crazy because he takes bites out of the block of cheese and out of sticks of butter and loves miracle whip. The other day he was walking around with an egg in his hand and I told him to go put it back. I forgot about it until I was making brownies (several days later) and panicked to think where in the apartment the stinking, rotting egg could be stashed but I pulled out the carton and it was a full dozen! He'd put it back.

If you ever see a child skipping and squealing down the aisles of the grocery store wearing a plastic construction hat and one green glove you can be certain that is Bradshaw. He loves these items (and his sunglasses) and rarely leaves the house without'm.

"Ah ha ha! Baby touched me!"

"She touched my cheek!"

"Pwayers"

Bradshaw loves saying prayers.

In fact, last summer, he convinced all the other little kiddos in the baby pool to get down on their knees in the water for "pwayers."

When little miss Olivia joined us for family prayer Bradshaw was over the moon. He wanted to teach Olivia how to do it. When we held her as if she was kneeling, Bradshaw beamed with big-brother pride.
Just too cute not to share:

we're back!

and SO HAPPY to announce...

Olivia Kate
September 23
9:36pm
7 lbs 1 oz, 20"

We're so grateful for Stefanie & Nic and their strength.
We got to spend three and a half weeks in Utah with many branches of our new family. We are now home again in the commonwealth.

Thank you everyone for your love and support! (Sorry about the blog silence, we've been busy with our new bundle of joy!)

Here are some of our favorite pictures:

beautiful healthy baby girltenacious right from birth
Stef & Nic

4 parents; 1 purpose very first bath...this girl loves getting her hair washed

We brought Bradshaw to visit the next day and (Stef is so thoughtful and kind and loving to us) she put Olivia in this onesie that says "I'm the little sister." It really touched our hearts.

this was right before placement....
adoption is most definitely about love

my first time holding Olivia as her mommy

with Loni :)

Bradshaw is so excited about Olivia and wants to help with everything

(note the hands)
best friends for life

Olivia's very first General Conference

We love this little girl with all our hearts