The Blessing of the Children

Today at church, we dropped Olivia off in her infant nursery and then went and found a seat for the service. We left little Olivia crying as the nursery attendant pried her out of Daddy's arms. Anyway, after the opening greeting and welcome, the minister asked the elders and all the young children to come forward for The Blessing of the Children (done every year at the beginning of the school year). As babies and infants were being brought forward, my heart sank thinking that Olivia wouldn't be able to participate since I left her in the nursery. I kept thinking that I never remembered this being mentioned in last week's service because had I known, Olivia would've been with me. I was then extremely surprised and pleased when Peter nudged me and pointed out our sweet Olivia being carried forward by a nursery worker. I lost track of her when everyone huddled around for the blessing, but after the blessing, as everyone walked down the center aisle and the congregation sang, "Jesus Loves the Little Children," I spotted Olivia, heading back to the nursery. For the record, she didn't appear to be crying or upset, but was watching the congregation. I also think she had a wooden toy in her hand.

Relaxing Sunday afternoon after her post-church nap

She's a Sponge!

It amazes me at how much Olivia already knows. Even though she only says a handful of words and many of them are still "baby babble words," she definitely is absorbing everything like a sponge. Among other things, she reads and looks at books, gives hugs and kisses, claps her hands in delight, waves hello and bye bye, recognizes family members, and can bring us specific toys when asked. Here, Daddy asked her to "find Grandma & Grandpa". She has performed this task before with me during the day, and also showed Aunt Lindsay & Daddy on Friday evening. This video was taken yesterday morning as she was asked once more to "perform".

On the last page of her book, "When Grandma and Grandpa visited Alaska they..." there are two photos of Grandma & Grandpa Ackerman from their recent trip to Alaska. Watch as Olivia points them out!

Photo Shoot

Tonight we finally had Olivia's 1-year photos taken. I didn't schedule an appointment early enough in August, and we were so busy with her birthday parties that it kept getting pushed back on my list of things to do. Anyway, I guess this photo session would technically be her 13 month shots (two days away), but who's counting?!? We had her photos taken by Megan Wierenga based on a recommendation from Aunt Lindsay. Olivia took awhile to warm up as usual, but once she became comfortable, she had fun at the park getting all the attention! Samples of the photos will be posted here as soon as we get them. I can't wait!!

Well, here are the sample photos. They arrived Saturday morning on Olivia's 13 month birthday and are also posted on our facebook pages! I LOVE them, and now I am excited to see the rest!

Impatience

I guess I just don't work fast enough. For each meal I prepare, it's never fast enough for my little Olivia. I know she's a growing girl, but why doesn't she understand that food just doesn't appear instantly and that sometimes it needs to cool before being eaten? Anyway, these are pictures from lunch today. I made Olivia a grilled ham & cheese sandwich and placed it in the middle of the table to cool (she can now reach things off the edge of the kitchen table). This is what unfolded...

It turns out Olivia is quite the climber! She pulled herself onto the kitchen chair all by herself.

She had a little difficulty since the chair was pushed under the table.

I sat her in another chair, and she immediately stood up to get closer to the delectable meal. I had to stop her when she put her knee onto the table intending to pull herself up. I guess I need to teach her that patience is a virtue.

Fruitport

Since Mom & Dad were in town visiting Grandma & Grandpa Ackerman, we met up with everyone in Fruitport after church today. We all went to Carino's for lunch, but Grandpa, unfortunately, had to watch us all eat as he was on a clear-diet in preparation for his colonoscopy. This didn't stop some of the party from mentioning how great the food tasted; he handled it well, though, probably better than I would have.

Olivia with her Great-Grandma Ackerman

Climbing onto Great Grandma Ackerman's ottoman was a huge hit with Olivia!

Four Generations with Grandpa Ackerman

Four Generations with Grandma Ackerman

Visiting with Grandma

Today, Olivia learned about turquoise and diamonds...Olivia loves Grandma's jewelry!

Summer in September?

When you live in Michigan, anything's possible! This summer has been extremely crazy weather-wise. I think we only had one week that the temperature was in the high 80s and possibly reached 90 degrees; otherwise, it's been extremely mild, rainy and cool. However, yesterday the weather surprised us once again. It was the perfect day to take a trip to the beach...Olivia's first!

Kneeling in the sand at Lake Michigan's edge

"What is this strange substance?"

Lake Michigan creeping up on Olivia

Our Fearless Water Bug!

In true Olivia form, she swam right into Lake Michigan after being placed at the water's edge. Don't fear, though, Daddy was there to grab her...maybe Daddy drew her into the water?!?

Soaking in the last bits of summer sun with Aunt Lindsay!

Pure Enjoyment

As expected, Olivia loved swimming! The water was a little cool, but very refreshing and warmer than Mullett Lake (we did have the benefit of walking in gradually, though).

She's a WILD one!

This is why I have Daddy hold onto her when she swims.

Being Friendly

Olivia waved at EVERYONE at the beach. I guess she got her Aunt Lindsay into it too.

Beach Crawler
Olivia would crawl to Daddy, who was sitting by our gear in the sand, and then back to Aunt Lindsay and me while we sat at the water's edge.

She then took her Daddy on an exploration of the beach, crawling ALL OVER, even into others' beach areas.

Beautiful Beach Girl

Handprints in the Sand

...was here!

Olivia with her Aunt Lindsay

Temptations...You can't go to Grand Haven without getting ice cream!

This is what I was told, anyway...

The beach really wears a girl out!

Chores

Anyone need a dishwasher? Saturday morning, Olivia helped us with the dishes. Our dishwasher ran it's final wash awhile ago, and we are still in the process of looking for a new one. So, for the time being, we've put our 1 year old to work! It's good to give kids chores at an early age, right? She did start out in her pajamas, but after soaking her shirt and pj pants, Daddy stripped her down to her diaper. Olivia started by just putting her hands in the water and throwing in tupperware, but then she gradually progressed to emerging her feet until she wanted to take a bath with the dishes. Needless to say, she had her own bath upstairs in the tub immediately following these photos. We also made sure the dishes were completed and cleaned to our standards before we let our little helper off the hook...we're teaching responsibility and a sense of accomplishment!!!