How to get the most out of pregnancy- tip #1

Come home from midwife appointment. Eat entire jar of green olives. Take nap.

Olivia's first real hair cut.

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Originally uploaded by Devona.

It was much needed.

Hair cut needed!

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Originally uploaded by Devona.

Look at that terrible flip of hair in the back! Ack!

This is why I cut Olivia's hair.

"I don't like diapers" said Olivia

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Originally uploaded by Devona.

Birthday books

I am getting 2 books with some money I got for my Birthday. They are:

You Can't Make Me (But I Can be Persuaded) I picked this book because Olivia is my daughter and I know what I was like when I was a kid. When they said, "I hope you have a child just like you," I believe that it will probably happen. This is my attempt at staying one step ahead of the game.

Le Morte D'Arthur Oh this is gonna be good reading. I can't wait to dive in.

If either of these books hit me the right way maybe I'll write a little about them. Maybe not. You can never tell when there's a toddler running around. For that matter, I might not even get a chance to start reading them!

Please Welcome Deacon Andrew Stager!

I just got a message from our friend Gus that Andy and Ellie had their beautiful boy this morning at 8:30!!!!

I don't have any details, but I wanted to spread the news in case anyone wants to get an update and they haven't been able to get to their blog.

Congrats!

Happy Birthing day Mom and Dad!!!!! We love you!

Time for an Olivia sized update

When I find the camera cord I'll load up some pictures of Olivia's last week in our apartment and take some more of our new house.

Other than that we'll talk about talking.

Olivia is in the mimicking stage and always does so with a ton of enthusiasm. Sometimes she gets it right, and sometimes she just says a ton of sounds but she always has the right number of syllables. She knows everyone in her family's name and we talk about you all at least weekly. Her most favorite relative is "Voufer" or Luther the Brazier's dog.

She can point to almost all of her body parts including elbow and heart. She can say: eye, nose, ears,teeth, mouth, elbow, heart, toes, feet, butt, bottom, belly and some others that I am forgetting.

She talks about the things she does all day. She picks things up and says, "ra-SH" which is, "this needs to be thrown in the trash." She uses "bolls" (bowls) "lates" (plates) "orks" (forks) "poons" (spoons). She eats "ap-pees" and "orns" (oranges). She loves to drink her "mil-K" and her "wa-wee." She wants to take a "bat-s" (bath) about every five minutes, and she LOVES to read "boo-ts" (not boots, books).

She takes her "nite-nite" and her "guk" (pacifier) with her to bed every night, but if she's not all the way asleep after we rock her and we say, "are you ready to lay in your crib," she politely kicks her legs and says, "No." If we try to put her in anyway she is no longer polite and cries, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

She likes to tell me whose clothes I'm folding, "daddy's" or "mommy's", sometimes it's "mine."

She tells me when it's time for "lunts" (Lunch) and "din-uh" (dinner) and she even helps cook by dangling between my knees.

She loves to play with her new toy stroller which I got for $6 at Biglots. She pushes her "doh-gees" and her "meow"s and sometimes she finds a "duh-KK" to push too. She cuddles her "baby-doll" and then puts her in the stroller for a "wah-k" around the living room.

Her animals are very expressive. They say, "neigh neigh," "woof woof," "meow," "kwa-K," "rrrooowl," "oik-K" (in a growly voice), and "MMOOOOOO!"

Her asks for books by name. We read, "Why-Lah" (Where the Wild Things Are), and "bye-dah" (The Very Busy Spider) every day, multiple times a day. Sometimes multiple times in a row.

ANd she says her prayers every night before bed and dinner. She says, "Gee-Sah!" and "Ah-ME!"

There is one word, though, that she keeps on saying, and I cannot put my finger on what it is. It's "bye-lah" and whatever it is it's in the kitchen. So when I figure that one out I'll let you know.

For your amusement

While we're busy moving this week you can reflect on all of our fun words:

Thanks Terrible Swede...

... for forcing me to post.

Four jobs I have had:

• Newspaper reporter
• Graphic designer
• Web designer
• Computer lab monitor

Four places I have lived (chronologically):

• Springfield, Virginia (just outside of D.C.)
  
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Wadsworth, Ohio
• Akron, Ohio

Four of my favorite foods:

• Chipotle burritos
• Reuben sandwiches
• Pad Thai
• Guinness (it's nearly a food, right?)

TV Shows that I like to watch:

• I haven't watched TV for years. I probably couldn't even name four current TV shows...
  

Four movies I could watch over and over:

• Bourne Identity/Bourne Supremacy
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• Lost In Translation
• Waking Ned Devine
  

Four places I would rather be:

• China; I could go for Hong Kong or the countryside
  
• Ireland; a small, crowded pub with a roaring fire
  
• Library or bookstore
• Playing guitar, piano or a Rhodes

Four websites I visit:

• Google
• 43folders
• Slashdot
• Wikipedia

Four people I would like to tag:

• My wife
• John H @ Confessing Evangelical
• Olivia
• Josh S @ Here We Stand