Livi's First Halloween!

Happy Halloween from "Olivia" the Pig and the rest of the Nutleys! 

Little Miss MESSY!

Recently, I purchased a couple of books from the Little Miss series for Liv and we've been reading them before bed. She loves them but somehow seemed to discover one that I didn't purchase and has taken some major inspiration from it's title character. 

  

Livi has decided that she MUCH prefers to play with her food rather than eat it...Maybe she's trying to tell me she wanted to be Little Miss Messy for Halloween! Here is some pretty funny photo evidence:

 Beets and Sweet Potatoes became finger paints instead of lunch the other day...

and this morning's banana cereal became hair gel instead of breakfast! I suppose it didn't help that when she splattered some on Sean he gave up and started smearing it all over her too! lol! Oh well...at least we had a fun morning!

We're off to a friend's daughter's Birthday Party this afternoon and its a costume party too so we're looking forward to a lot of fun! Photos will be posted soon!

Happy (and Safe!) Halloween Weekend Everyone!

The Nutley Pumpkins!

Here is the BEFORE:

And...the AFTER! Don't they look great?! 

And here are the spooky pumpkins all lit up..."Daddy" is on the left, "Mommy" is on the right, the little "Livi" Pumpkin is in the middle and our "Nut-ley" pumpkins are the tiny ones at the front right.

Oh, and of course an adorable photo of Liv with the littlest pumpkin!

Happy (almost) Halloween everyone!
Stay tuned for Olivia's costume photos next week!

To the Pumpkin Patch we go...

We took Livi to visit her first Pumpkin Patch last night and she had a great time! We all did! We got to go on a hay ride, feed some goats and we each picked out a pumpkin to bring home. 

Here is the Patch we visited. Its right by Sean's work but VERY hard to find...stinkin TomTom took us on a ridiculous trip in a few circles before we evenutally found it even CLOSER to Carmanah than we had thought!

 Liv and Daddy on the Hay Ride having a great time!

Liv hanging out with the pumpkins...some of them were bigger than she was!

Mommy and Liv checking out the actual pumpkin patch. We ended up selecting a Daddy pumpkin, Mommy pumpkin and a Livi pumpkin and we're really looking forward to carving them this weekend! We'll post pictures once they're finished.

Milan Maternity: Saranoni Lush Blanket Review and Giveaway!

Milan Maternity: Saranoni Lush Blanket Review and Giveaway!: Livi would LOVE these cozy warm blankets!! I entered at the link above to win TWO! Check it out and enter for yourself!

Walk this Way

The Livster took her first few steps the other day. She was holding on to the couch while standing, turned around and walked over to the other couch with 2 shaky and wobbly steps. Not much of a walk but a very good start. We were able to recreate it once more after that by bribing her with an Xbox controller. We've tried it a few more times but we're not going to push it. We'll let her figure this out on her own.

She can easily walk alongside me holding one hand. Well maybe easily isn't the right word. It's not a very straight line and if she did that at a roadblock the VPD would have her in the back of a paddy-wagon. It is a lot of progress though.

Go Canucks!

The new Canucks season is only a few weeks away and we can't wait. Practice started up at Rogers Arena early Saturday morning and an invite was sent out to the fans to come to the stadium and watch. We took advantage of this opportunity to see the team and have some fun downtown. Livi loved it and actually clapped as the players came out.We all wore our Canucks gear and really had a great time. Here's hoping for another successful season.

Livi and Mommy

The Livster with Daddy

De la Dinde

If I still remember my Grade 11 French (which I don't), that is supposed to mean "the turkey". Our little girl is now a little carnivore. She has eaten turkey and sweet potato and apparently liked it. We're still waiting to see what it does to her diaper situation.

Livi also picked up clapping which she does when you call her "good girl". Most of the time she keeps one hand stationary and moves the other one. Still counts as a clap even though her tiny hands don't make any noise whatsoever.

Things are going good in the Nutley household. Keeping busy and having fun. That's all for now. Feel free to comment with any questions or requests.

You can reach right up and touch the sky

OK so it's been a while. a LONG while.

I've started a new job in the last month and Sam's been starting her own company. All that plus chasing around an 8 month old keeps us pretty busy.

It's been a busy summer. We had planned to keep it quiet and relax and for the most part that's what we've done. With the exception of our camping trip last month, we've stayed in Vancouver and just visited many of the wonderful things we have a available in our beautiful city.

Livi has definitely grown since my last update. Just looking at that post it mentions that she had just gotten teeth, is almost 100% on bottles and started babbling. Now at 8 months she has 8 fully protruded teeth, she is eating baby food, drinking bottles and even eating Cheerios and has moved past babbling.

Her front 8 teeth (4 top and 4 bottom) are all fully in. It has changed the look of her face and her facial expressions. She bites things (including fingers) so watch out. She even grinds them sometimes which seems to make some people queasy. Apparently it's just her "discovering" them and she'll grow out of it.

Olivia has a small list of fruits and vegetables that she eats very regularly and she seems to like them all. Peas, green beans, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, peaches, bananas are all on there. She usually make a face when she tries a fruit on it's own. She also eats Cheerios and puffs on her own when we put them on her tray in front of her. Her tiny little crab pinchers pick them up and 50% make it into her mouth. the other 50% is usually stuck to her lip or on the floor.

She's also started a very small list of words. "Uh-oh" is technically her first though since it's pretty much two noises, in my mind I'm going to go with "Daddy" as her first. Right now she's very close to getting "Good girl" although it's mor elik e"Ggggggoo Ghhhhhlll". Almost the same thing.

Camping last month was a lot of fun. Auntie Daryla nd Uncle Alex joined us for 3 nights at Nairn Falls which is roughly 20mins past Whistler. It was a nice quiet campground with lots of scenery to take in. We hiked up to the falls one day as seen in the pic below. Lvi was strapped to my chest and managed to fall asleep despite the rocky terrain.

On Sam's birthday, we took a trip to Whistler for the day where we met up with Grandad Paddy and Nana Nutley. The Livster did very well the whole time "roughing it". Keeping the mosquitoes away from her was the only real problem we seemed to have.

Other than that our summer as a family of three has been fully loaded with trips around the city and taking advantage of the great weather. We should still have another month before fall sets in so I'm sure we'll have more to do.

Mommy's New Business!

Many of you know that I (Sam) have been working hard lately to get my new graphic design business OliviaRees Design off the ground. Well, my hard work is starting to pay off and sales are starting to pick up! Check out the new advertisements that I designed and please share them with anyone that you think might be interested in getting some design work done. 

Oh and because I love my friends and family SO much, if you make a purchase from the site, use the discount code "FBLOVE" and receive 15% off your entire order.

Also, if those of you who are on Facebook could "like" my page there as well, that would help to spread the word outside of our circle of friends.

Thanks so much!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow it's been a long time. All three of us have been so busy that we haven't had any time to update this blog. I started a new job last week and Sam has been busy trying to get her new business off the ground. Good thing is that there's plenty to write about now though.

Teeth: Little Olivia has a starter set of chompers. Three on the top and one on the bottom! You would never know by her attitude though. We just looked closely one day and saw that her top two incisors (thank you Auntie Daryl) were poking through her gums. She didn't cry at all.

Bottles: Livi is 99% eating out of a bottle or a bowl now. She loves her formula and her rice cereal. We have tested both rice and oat cereal and even started on peas. She definitely doesn't like those yet. She is going to have to eat her vegetables so we keep trying. Butternut Squash is up next.

Babbling: Olivia does this constantly now. It's like she's talking and in her head it's perfect English and we're supposed to understand every word she says. To us she sounds like a mental patient.

We've got plenty of pictures and video so those will have to be updated too. I've got a Google Picasa account set up. The link is here:

Olivia

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I'll see about putting a permanent link on the page and keep things updated.

Oh Canada!

Livi's first Canada Day was a huge success! 

During the day we ventured out to Abbotsford to see one of Sam's favourite childhood performers - Charlotte Diamond in concert! It was a beautifully warm and sunny day so we laid in the grass and danced to the music. It was a great time! 

Then we headed home and met up with Livi's "uncles" (Sean and Sam's friends) who were playing soccer in the park. We ended up spending the  rest of the afternoon and night with them and even got to watch the fireworks. Surprisingly, Olivia slept right through them!

Here is a link to the rest of the day's photos on Facebook! Hope all of our Canadian family and friends had a wonderful Canada Day on Friday and Happy Fourth of July today to everyone we know and love in the States! 

Tandem Skydivers?

So we got a baby carrier for Livi's many upcoming adventures and we tested it out today...looks like Dad and Liv might just go for a tandem skydive! Either way, she loves it and should make for lots of mobile fun this summer! Here's hoping for some good weather so we can use it!

Fathers Day

My very first official Fathers Day. Last year we called it Fathers Day but she wasn't physically here yet. But now she is. And I'm her Dad.

The day before was more of a "Daddy-Daughter Day". Sam had her first wedding since Livi was born so I was on deck to take care of her for the day myself. It couldn't have gone any better. For the first time ever, she drank an entire bottle of formula. And then half an hour later she drank another one. We played with her toys together and she sang along as I played guitar. We also watched the Whitecaps beat Philadelphia together. Later at night, she ate her whole bowl of rice cereal without making too much of a mess. Then at around 8:30 I changed her into her pajamas and fed her a bottle of breast milk. She fell asleep before it was done and I put her to bed. She wouldn't wake up at all. A wonderful day.

Sam came home late at home to a sleeping family.It was a wonderful Fathers Day and my Sam got me a great present. A Ryan Kesler Canucks jersey. I can't wait to wear it.

Summertime Livin'

It's almost summer and Livi is almost 6 months old. The weather for Livi's first summer has been off and on here in Vancouver. Most of the spring was full of rain but in the last 2 weeks the temp has risen and the sun has come out pretty much every day. We've been spending lots of time outside taking Liv to lots of different places in our wonderful city. She's had a few trips downtown walking around busy Robson Street, through trendy Yaletown and seeing old Gastown. We've brought her to the Aquarium in Stanley Park and we plan to spend a day in the park soon too. We'll keep up with the pictures as much as we can and post as often as possible.

Go Canucks Go!!

Making a Mess

For the last week, we've been feeding Livi rice cereal with a spoon. She sits on the kitchen counter in her chair with the little white tray attachment and puts this food on and around her face. I'd say about 60% actually reaches her mouth. By the time she's done a serving this sticky substance is all over her face, her shirt, the chair, the counter and our hands. Most of it does actually end up in her belly though. It makes her sleep longer at night since she's more full. Good deal for us.


Olivia's Christening was a few weeks ago too. It was a wonderful day that started out with a 10am mass. Livi did great. She mostly stayed quiet and calm. After the service, we returned to our house and continued on with the party. The weather turned out to be great and everyone really had a great time. We'd like to thank everyone that came out for our little girl.

Livi's Favorite Song!

This song works like a charm if Livi is upset or bored so we thought we would share it with all of you as it seems to be her favorite at the moment!

5 months

Well it's been a little bit. Things have been busy for all three of us. Work wise and at home.

Little Olivia has surpassed the 5 month mark now. She's getting much bigger and so many new things have been going on.

• She has been rolling over regularly. Front to back, back to front. She can do it all. 
• She sits up as well. Once in a while if she leans for something she'll make a full faceplant like daddy after the bar. We can sit her up on the couch and play with her and for the most part she stays vertical.
• I think I mentioned grabbing before but now it's even more prevalent. My beard seems to be a big target.
• Laughing  is easily achievable now. Her cheeks are like a trigger for baby giggles. She also laughs when I make funny faces at her.

Other than that we've been following the Canucks playoff run and celebrating together as they made it to the finals. Livi usually wears her Nucks gear and waves her white towel on the goals.

Her Christening is going to be this weekend so it should be good to get everyone together and have a good time.

Mothers Day

First time Mom Samantha Nutley received the highest of accolades this weekend on the event known as "Mothers Day". Due to her tiring efforts attending to the beck-and-call of Miss Olivia Nutley, Samantha was awarded the coveted "Best Mommy" award. This prestigious prize included a bouquet of flowers, a singing card and various treats. It was presented along with a tray of a delectable breakfast made by Master Chef Seán Nutley and saucier Olivia Nutley. Most say she was a ringer for the trophy as her hard work all year had critics singing her praises.

Making Progress

Lots of progress in the world of Olivia in the last few weeks.

She's started rolling over from her front to her back. As seen in the video below, she's able to make the full flip and land facing up. It now means we have to be even more careful while she's laying down somewhere because she could roll right off of whatever she's on. Babies don't bounce.

She also grabs everything in her sight. Glasses off your face, hair off your head and even a nostril or two. Even walking by something she'll grab it and hold on. Most things go straight to her mouth such as toys, fingers and newspapers. She tried to eat the comics while I was reading them to her. Maybe her tongue is like a Silly Puddy and will take the impression of the paper. Probably shouldn't test that out.

She also took her bottle in her own hands and drank it. That one was a shock and probably just a rare moment. Pretty amazing to watch though.