Birthday, Twirling, Three

Happy Halloween, with Extra Happy

Apple Tree, Represent!

Iowa v. UNI, September 5, 2009

Wait, this isn't football. There's fun buried under that sand, and Papa's going to help those cousins find it.

At the Apple Orchard, September 11

Daddy thought that this was a very nice evening indeed.

Cousins, at Cousin Hannah's Baptism

Jack and Benjy can do no wrong, if you ask Olivia.

But she'll probably tell you if you spend any time with her.

Generations

A little generational picture, taken at Cousin Hannah's Baptism on September 19, 2009.

The fact that Great Grandma has her eyes open is something of a cabal in our family.

Behold!

The newest professional wrestling sensation:

Bucky Nijinsky - Cowgirl Ballerina!

Last night, Olivia was asking me about the last names of all her friends, family and cousins while she was getting ready to go to sleep.

She asks: "What is Santa Claus' last name?"

That one I could field.

"What is Dasher's last name?"

I told her it was Jones, and that Blitzen is a Gorodnik, from the old and well-respected Urkutsk Gorodnik reindeer family. You all are going to have to back me up on this.

If you can keep from laughing.

Which I couldn't.

Sibling Milestone August 15, 2009

On this date Olivia, for the first time, blames something on one of her siblings unjustly.

In the car, on the ride to Des Moines to see Uncle Rob, Aunt Pam and Baby Hannah:

"Mom, Henry took my blanket!"

Henry, at 5 weeks old, did nothing of the sort, and was mortified.

Audrey wisely remained out of the argument.

A Little Pre-Sibling Book Reading

In her natural habitat.

Some Changes

Big Sister Olivia, with Mom, holding sister Audrey while Mom holds brother Henry.

Born this morning, Olivia attempts to take in the various warnings, notifications and verbal preparations of the last year or so. All at once. She seems to be doing fairly well, while maintaining poddy training. At this point.

Also see:

http://henryandaudreysbusiness.blogspot.com/

Subject

Sometimes children are subjected to repeated photographic documentation.

And sometimes they are the perfect subjects. Like these.

More Visits: Oma and Opa

Grandparents Vande Berg came the same weekend as the Aalberts. Dutch conclave evidently. We may have had the votes to pass something procedural? Instead, we read books and played in a water heater box.

Owen

Early June brought some more visitors, including "Uncle" Joel and cousins Owen and Maya.
I really liked this picture of Olivia and Owen. Almost as if he's protecting her from the camera.

What a gentleman.

Hannah

Shortly before Henry was gone, cousin Hannah was born!

Olivia really enjoyed meeting her the following weekend, and especially holding her.

Aunt Pam and Uncle Rob are rightfully proud of this beautiful little girl.

Henry

Our longtime pet Henry, Olivia's good friend and frequently photographed dog on this blog, is no longer with us. He passed away on May28. These are a couple of the last photos of Olivia with him. We all appreciated his love and patience with Olivia, and all of us. Happy Swimming, Hank.

New Movie Camera

Got alot of help on this new Flip camera from Nana and Papa O'Donnell.
This and the stroller they helped with will get alot of action on the Twins to Come.
Here's what it will look like.

Home and Away

Lately this is how we find Olivia: exerting her personality. She has been wearing odd combinations of clothing of her own choosing to school, and performing interpretive dances based on those clothes. I love it.

And this photo below is how we find her at night, after we've tried putting her to bed, sometimes hours earlier. Just not quite ready for sleep, so she reads to her babies in the dark. I don't love this as much, but she's awake and reading, which is probably what I was doing myself at the time.

Sesame Street Comes to Des Moines...and Olivia

Tonight was Olivia's second annual Sesame Street Live show at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, thanks to her Aunt Pam, whose employer maintains box seats for just such occassions. She was entranced. Very concerned about the characters who were NOT on stage at that moment. Which you can hear in the first video. Thank you again Aunt Pam!

And in this one, she doesn't want to leave the theater. Good girl, that's the attitude you should have for performances. Always wait in case of an encore.

Question

Last week, Olivia asked me what my favorite color was.

"What's your fav'rite color, Daddy?"

I remain touched. What a step. I'm really honored.

I don't even know what my answer is.

A Very Nice Day

We had a very nice day today. Beautiful weather, lots of work around the house, but finally got Olivia outside for some running around in the yard. She loves ordering her doggies around, her new boots, the swings at the schoolyard, helping Daddy cook on the grill for a few minutes at a time.

Olivia gets Big Girl (Under)Pants

Shopping with Mommy for underwear. Daddy knows so little about it that he can only capture the moment. It must have also inspired Mouse, for she took a running leap from the hall to get back up on the bed and nearer to the big girl reading Curious George.

Big Girl Bed

Olivia's new bed was delivered today. Just like Mommy and Daddy's, just in her New Bedroom. Papa came down on Tuesday and painted the wonderful new yellow on the walls, we made room for more toys and books, and for the twins in LaLa's old bedroom. Sooner than we think. But she's fast asleep in the new bed right now, so maybe things will work out well. We worry that she'll be having alot of change handed to her with a bed and room change, poddy training, two new siblings and less attention. Of course she's not the first child to experience similar, but unfortunately for her, this will be the first time her Mommy and Daddy have had this much on their plate. As usual, these are probably more of a problem for us than she will ever know it to be. And if it gets too much, she's got tears, which really are useful for getting through frustration. Maybe I could learn something from that? And I suppose I won't be the first parent to learn more from my child than I teach?

As she went to sleep tonight and we talked about her day, she said: "I love my Daddy" repeatedly. And I love my Olivia. Very much.

The Northern Branch of the Vande Bergs Heads South

Visited by Uncle Eric, Aunt Jodi and cousins Jack, Benjy and Zoey last weekend (Feb. 14-15, Valentine's Day and IA v. MN Wrestling). Olivia talked of little else, before and after. Dad and Mom liked it alot as well. Thanks for making the trek, Vandes.

Nice Kitty

Olivia is finally quick enough to catch Martha. Poor thing.

Snow People

Today, it was almost 50 degrees. Outside. Which felt like 80 degrees to most of us. Including these snow persons, who started the day at 8 feet tall. Thanks for the suggestion Opa - the snow was perfect. Olivia spent the construction helping to pack snow on the sides, and asking about the button nose, eyes made out of coal, and where was the jolly happy soul. Seriously, these were her questions.

Winter Wonderland Postponed

Apple Tree rescheduled the pre-Christmas Winter Wonderland benefit program...to last week!

It was winter-wonderful! Thanks immensely to her teachers Stephanie and Allison. We can't wait for the Groundhog Day program.