Fall Update

     Fall has flown by and we are quickly approaching Christmas again! We have been doing great, keeping busy with work and chasing Olivia around. She is a very independent little girl... and although I may be biased, she is pretty smart too. She can identify a few letters, jibber jabbers all day long, loves to help with anything we are doing, like cooking, and has started to play in my shoes and wants to dress up. I am so excited for Christmas this year since she will be somewhat into opening her new presents. We are planning on converting our "junk room" into a playroom as a Christmas present and we also need to get the guest bedroom ready for the new little one. Im feeling a little overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list that I keep putting off!

    Speaking of a new little one.... I have held out long enough. We found out on October 16 that we will be having another GIRL!!! Her name will be Nora Jayne and we cant wait to meet her!! At our 18 week ultrasound she was growing perfectly. I am even more excited that she will fit in all of Olivia's clothes since there birth dates will be just a few weeks apart. I feel like I am bigger with this pregnancy but that's normal I suppose. I have been feeling her move for about a month now but just this week I have realized she is a mover just like Olivia was. I can see my belly moving all around, especially at night. With Olivia, I did not see movement like that until about 26 weeks ( I am 23 weeks right now). I have been feeling pretty good, just tired of course and I haven't been able to eat a lot of meat. It seriously makes me gag which is unfortunate because I really do want to eat it usually.

     So here are a few pictures from the last few months

23 weeks pregnant

Nora Jayne at 18 weeks

Olivia and me at Halloween!

22 weeks

Olivia's first pumpkin carving! She just wanted to eat the seeds:)



Almost 19 months!

    Well obviously I have been a slacker since I have not posted anything since June!! Olivia is a busy girl and into everything. She is so smart, of course, I am completely amazed everyday when I watch her do things. She climbs on everything... is beginning to jump off things and will begin to count (OK she says "1") right before she jumps... and oh yeah... she expects you to catch her. She babbles constantly but does say a lot of words very clearly. Over the last month or so she has become enthralled with Sesame Street and Elmo or "melmo" is her favorite. When the theme song for Elmo's World comes on she says "la la la" and dances. Ben and I took her to see Veggie Tales Live at church the other night and she LOVED it!!

    I was looking at my previous post and it is crazy how much she has grown in three months. She did not have an 18 month check up... the pediatrician said she could skip it and come back for her 2 year check up.... crazy to think that's not far off. So, since she hasn't been to the doctor in a few months I have no clue how much she weighs... I'm thinking around 24-25lbs?? I think the biggest change is her hair....she's finally growing some:) Still not enough for a bow, not that she would tolerate that, but definitely more than she had at the beginning of the summer. Next up on the agenda is finding a Halloween costume and start Christmas shopping!!

      In other news, we are very excited to announce that Olivia is going to be a big sister in March!!!! While there have been a few scares with this pregnancy we pray that God will protect this baby and we will welcome a new little one in the spring. We ask Olivia if she wants a baby brother or sister and she says "yeah." It's pretty funny... but she pretty much says "yeah" to everything we ask her. I bought her a big sister t-shirt but she really wont stay still long enough to get a picture of it on her... imagine that. However, that is how we announced the pregnancy to my family over my birthday last month.

                                                                 #2 Baby Hetzler 13 weeks

                                                              Livvi sporting her new ride

Swinging on the big swing with daddy   

15 (and a 1/2) Months

    Olivia turned 15 months on our first family vacation at the beach. Such a big girl... growing... growing and she is so smart! I can sit and watch her all day, but wait, I wouldn't be sitting because she rarely stops moving. She stays busy. We took her to the pediatrician yesterday and she weighs 21 lbs 7 oz and is 30 inches tall... 50%. She pointed at me the other day and clearly said Mommy!!!!!!!!!! It just melted my heart, I love hearing it:) Some of her other words... bye bye, hi, I, dada, and baby. She has her own version of Jax and Lilly, and sings "I, ee, I, ee, I ee" all day. Grandma Nancy built a swing set for Olivia in our backyard and she loves the swing.... I need to get pics on my camera instead of my phone though. Our backyard has become a pretty fun place with the swing set, a kiddie pool and a sandbox... which she still isn't sure about. She is starting to try to climb up on things and gets mad when she cant do it right away.  I also taught her to wink! Of course she does it with both eyes but it's the cutest thing. The other day she finally grasped where her nose is and now we are working on the mouth and ears. I love watching her learn!  

Happy 15 months Livvi!!

She found the books in her room.... and apparently books do not go on shelves according to her

Sitting in Liam's old chair at Aunt Chris's house

Playing in the pool



First Beach Trip!!

    A few weeks ago we went on our first family vacation!!! Ben and I took Olivia to Perdido Key, Florida which is right on the Florida/Alabama line, it was beautiful! This trip was the longest car ride she has had and she did awesome. I still can not believe that we only stopped once each way during an eight hour trip.... thank God for diapers:) Of course as soon as we got there Olivia tripped and fell in the parking lot which explains the big boo boo on her forehead in the pics... poor baby... goose egg and bloody nose in the first five minutes out of the car. After we unpacked and got groceries we stepped out onto the sand.... aaahhhhhh.. I absolutely love the beach. However, a certain little one year old did not feel the same way. As soon as we got near the sand she would hike those little legs farther up on my body and hold on for dear life. I will have to say I enjoyed the cuddling from her though, she usually doesn't stop long enough for that. Now, the ocean and the water was a different story..... she is a little fish!! Olivia did not want anything to do with the float and she kept trying to push us away, she wanted to do it herself. The first day we took our chairs, umbrella, a baby pool, sand toys, cooler, and snacks down to the beach and  laid out a big sheet so she could play on that. Well, that kept her entertained about five minutes. Mostly we stayed in the water and played and if we were out, it was snack time. The next few days we stuck to bringing the umbrella, drinks and snacks down.... everything else was useless for our little fish. During nap time Ben was sweet and would stay in the condo with her so I could get some quiet beach time to myself....which I loved. I could sit out on the beach all day and read and be perfectly happy. Midweek we went to The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo which was adorable and very small. We got to feed a lot of the animals and I even got to hold a baby kangaroo!!! The weather was perfect and we had the best time!!!! Here are a few snapshots.

Olivia's first seashell.... of course it must go in the mouth

first dip in the ocean.... i guess Ben thought it was cold:)

ummm.... mom... i really don't  like all this sand stuff

Happy Girl

Hi Mommy.... I'm swimming in the ocean!!

Dinner at LuLu's.... Olivia brought a friend that night

weeeeeeeee



14 Months!

   Again, I'm a little behind..... but Miss Busy Bee is 14 months old today! Olivia is such a happy girl... and changing everyday! She babbles constantly.... says a few words.... a version of mamamamama, dada, uh oh!, bubbles, and bye. Everything else is some version of her own language but she says the same sentence with the same inflections over and over again.... I just wish I knew what it was! Dancing is another favorite... she loves music... just bounces and bobs her head as soon as any sort of music comes on. Just this week she learned to spin in circles too while dancing.... I love it!!! Hmmm... what else... we introduced bubbles.. which she adores... loves to stand at the back door and point at the bubbles sitting on the shelf.  Livvi also has three new teeth... and loves to bite down if you stick your hand in her mouth:) Last weekend, Olivia learned which button to push on the TV remote turn it on.... I could not believe it.... I let her watch a few things on our Netflix list... and her absolute favorite is Blue's Clues. She just sits and stares at it the whole time.... so now I get to sing the silly songs in my head all the time. But I love every minute of it! Olivia is such a blessing and a joy and keeps us entertained daily!!

Silly Girl

                                     Sometimes Easter egg hunts are emotionally exhausting

Livvi' new Easter book

                                                                  Bubbles!!!!!!



First Birthday Party

    I am a little behind.... as in 2 weeks.... but we celebrated Olivia's First Birthday on

February 25, 2012!! It was a success and so much fun! Olivia had a great turn out for her party... so many family and friends to be thankful for. The theme was "You are my Sunshine." I sing this song to her all the time and she just smiles through the whole song. Such a happy girl.  I actually made it through the "Happy Birthday" song without crying.... because I practiced.... a lot. I seriously can not believe a whole year has gone by. Livvi was not too sure about the cake... she touched it and looked at me... then reached for the balloons attached to her highchair.... seriously.... she's my child... not eating the cake?? The cake and cupcakes were delicious.... thanks to Grandma Nancy who did such a wonderful job on them.... I loved it!! Opening presents was not Olivia's thing either... but I had a blast opening everything!!! All kinds of awesome new stuff... Olivia looked at a few things... then walked around to visit.... then came back to peek... and so on. I'm sure next year she will be more into it!! All in all.... she had a wonderful day!!

The Invite!

 the only crafty thing i have ever made:)

 mmm mmmm good!!!

Happy Birthday to You!!!!

Here Mommy..... you try it!

Present time!!!



Olivia Grace is One!!!!!!!

    Well here we are!! February 21, 2012.... I blinked and all of the sudden my newborn baby girl is a walking babbling little girl. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was anxiously awaiting her arrival and praying for a healthy baby. Wow.... I know I say it over and over..... but time really does fly. I am so very thankful for the perfect child that God had given me and I am so proud to be her mommy. I can not imagine life any other way and even during the difficult times I am grateful.

    Now, enough of the sappy stuff. Olivia is so independent now. She starting walking about three weeks ago... and is now trying to run! She has a shoe fetish.... but absolutely hates to have them on her feet.... she just carries them around and DOES NOT let go... pretty funny. Olivia has also been quite the conversationalist. Of course I do not understand a word she says.... but it sounds a lot like Chinese.... by baby must be bilingual!! Hehehe. Another thing Olivia has perfected is climbing the stairs (with me right behind her) She loves to be tickled, loves to dance, and just loves to smile at everyone.... and waves all the time.... even to the TV. So entertaining!

    Ben and I were both off work today so we had a wonderful family day!! These are few and far between! We went to lunch at Bahama Breeze with Ben's mom and then went to the Zoo!!! Olivia had such a good time looking at the animals and walking around on her own. I think she thought she was hot stuff because she got to walk all over outside while we followed her around. After we got home we all took a short nap and then went to dinner at our local Mexican place.... Olivia loves Mexican food.... it's her favorite!!!!! Especially guacamole.... she fits right in with our family:)

 Olivia, Jax and Lilly checking out her new presents

    She knows where her shoes are.... heads straight to this drawer every morning

Walking around the zoo

Ooooo..... it's MY Birthday!!!

First taste of ice cream!!! Cookies n Cream



      This weekend is her birthday party.... the theme is You are My Sunshine.... I can't wait to see her dig into the cake!

11 Months Already?!

    Olivia turned 11 months this past Saturday on the 21st! Mommy was out of town for a girl's getaway weekend but was pretty impressed to come home to find that Grandma and Daddy took care of the monthly picture! She is 19lbs 15 oz now... growing like a weed. We also found out this month that Olivia probably has allergies... just like her daddy. She had been coughing for several weeks and I finally took her to the pediatrician who told us to start her on Zyrtec daily.... that has helped tremendously!

 New this month:

• attempting to run with her push toy
• took 4 steps by herself!!!!!
• babbling mamamamamaama and dadadadada
• squishing up her nose when she laughs
• feeding the dogs most of her food... which she finds hilarious
• pointing at everything
• putting both arms in the air when music is on
• started to brush her teeth... she actually likes it

  I am starting to plan her first birthday party which is fun.... but also sad... I'm sure I will tear up on her birthday... I can not believe she is almost one!! Who knew that finding birthday invitations would be so hard.... mostly because I am indecisive. We are doing a You are My Sunshine theme and I am finding allll kinds of stuff that I want to buy for it.... but like Ben keeps reminding me.... she is not going to know the difference so save up for parties in the future:) I can totally understand how people spend tons of money on parties.... so very easy to do!! I'm going to try to reign it in though.

All Smiles at the window

Giggles.. and stealing the remote!



Olivia's First Christmas 2011

     Christmas has come and gone and I must say it was wonderful! This was the first Christmas that Ben and I spent together (one of us has always had to work) and we were so blessed to have our bundle of joy with us too! Olivia did not know quite what to do yet with the presents but she has enjoyed playing with all the toys since. Jax actually opened most of her presents.... he was showing Livvi the ropes. We spent Christmas Eve with Ben's dad, Bill, and Jan at the Christmas Eve service at Hope, such a wonderful service! On Christmas morning my mom, and Ben's mom, Lee and Aunt Beth came over for breakfast and mimosas and we opened presents. We really enjoyed spending the morning relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Although I really enjoyed the morning... I started feeling sick mid morning.... pretty sure I had the flu!! Seriously?? But yes, I felt so bad because I was useless. Ben, being the wonderful husband that he is, made the food to take to my mom's house. We spent the afternoon at mom's where my sister and her crew came. Of course there was alot of action there and they all kept Olivia busy! Finally, we went back home and dad and Deb came over and brought MORE presents. After it was all said and done we all crashed in bed! I'm sooo thankful that we were able to spend time with everyone we love.

Christmas Eve at Hope!

Yes, that is tissue paper on Jax... and Yes, that is Jax's toy in Olivia's hand

and yes, after alllll the new toys.... she still has Jax's new toy in her hand

celebrating Christmas is exhausting! especially since this was her first nap (at 6pm in the car)