Happy 2nd Birthday Olivia!

Olivia turned two years old today!  Our birthday celebrations began yesterday evening and continued into today.  Yesterday, our weekly Sunday potlucks with our seminary friends served as Olivia's official birthday dinner complete with all of her favorite foods: chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole and a fresh fruit salad.  Before dinner we went outside to blow bubbles and play a balloon game. After dinner and Olivia's bath, she opened presents.  We had a marvelous evening.

Apple Tree Cake

 A note about the cake: Olivia wanted a carrot cake with marshmallows.  (Sounds strange, but that is what she told me.)  We have M&M's in the house because she is potty training.  Which by the way, is going swimmingly.  She has been on a recent apple kick.  She loves to eat them and say the word.  So the idea of an apple tree cake was born.  I wanted to write "Happy Birthday Olivia The Apple of Our Eye."  Dennis wanted me to write "Happy Birthday Olivia The Fruit of Our Loins."  So what you see is the compromise.  Ha!

Birthday Table

The budding artist.

Fresh air.

Getting ready for the balloon game.

Ready for dinner.

Family picture.

Good cake, great frosting!

Wow!

Today, we continued the birthday festivities by going to the zoo in the morning and feeding the ducks at a local park in the afternoon.  Olivia received many phone calls on her birthday.  Of special note was a call from her friend James in North Dakota.  She was also able to Skype with some of the relatives.  She had a wonderful Missouri birthday.

A ride on the carousel.

Feeding the ducks.

Sharing our bread.

Quack, quack.

Happy 2nd Birthday Olivia!

Interview with Olivia

The recent video clips of Olivia have received rave reviews.  This encouraged me to add this clip to the blog.  Although Olivia does the talking, Ethan provides some entertainment doing what he does best--being himself.  This interview was conducted on Thursday, February 2, 2012.

Big Girl Bed

On Wednesday, February 8, Olivia did not get a wink of sleep during her afternoon nap, she was too busy planning and executing her escape from the crib.  I heard a loud thud and then cries coming from her room.  I instantly realized what had happened.  After her tears were dried she excitedly chattered away about anything and everything.  She was obviously quite proud of her accomplishment.  I was a bit astonished.  That night Dennis removed the front side of her crib to convert it into a toddler bed.  This is Olivia overjoyed at the look of her "big girl bed".

While digging through my video clips I came across this one.  I felt it was an appropriate time to reminisce on little Olivia in her crib.  Olivia is around 8 months old at the time of this video.  She had just started pulling herself up and being able to stand in her crib.  Shortly after this was taken Dennis lowered the crib mattress to its lowest setting.  I know it sounds cliche, but they do grow up so fast.

Thank You Dinner

At the beginning of February, Dennis and I had the privilege of hosting dinner for Dr. and Mrs. Biermann at our home.  Dennis has had Dr. Biermann for six classes at the Seminary including one this quarter.  He greatly admires Dr. Biermann.  Back in September Dennis and I sat in on a marriage class he was teaching at a local Lutheran church.  We were both very excited (and nervous) to have them over to show our appreciation for the work they do for God's Kingdom.

I paired a salad of greens with a deliciously filling lasagna and topped the meal off with homemade blueberry pie served with vanilla ice cream.  We had a wonderful evening filled with thought provoking conversation.  After Olivia was tucked in for the night, Ethan woke up from a long evening nap just in time to take his picture with the couple.

Dr. Joel and Mrs. Jeannalee Biermann with Ethan Charles
(2/3/12)

Two days later we received a delightful thank you card from Mrs. Biermann along with a box full of Valentine Day cookies.  We all enjoyed reading the note, remembering the evening and eating the cookies.

Happy Valentine's Day

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Here are a couple thousand words for you this Valentine's Day.

Cookies and Cards

In preparation of Valentine's Day the Matyas household was busy making cards and decorating cookies.  The cards were a brain child borrowed from another stay at home mom's blog.  A cardboard toilet paper tube was supposed to serve a stencil.  I quickly realized that Olivia would be better at free hand painting and I could use a heart shaped cookie carter as a stamp.  Some of you received them in the mail, if you didn't get one through the post know that our Valentine's well wishes are meant for you as well.

Gathering supplies and interest.

Wardrobe change to prevent unnecessary stains.

The young artist at work.

A work in progress.

Ta-da!

On Sunday night Kristen and some of our other girlfriends decorated Valentine Day cookies for her students.  Later we got a little creative with semi-heart shaped cookies.  Edible underwear?!  How scandalously sweet.

Women at work.

Cookies for Kristen's preschoolers.

Valentine cookies for the Matyas family.

Whoot-whoot!

Ethan at 3 Months

Ethan is 3 months old today.  To celebrate this momentous milestone he decided to sleep through the night.  We tucked him in at 8 PM and we didn't hear a peep until 4 AM!  Ethan is an easy-going little guy.  He loves to laugh and coo as much as we love to hear him.  He has a bright smile and an agreeable personality.  This is Ethan with Bearemy.  It is a joy and blessing to have Ethan in our family.

3 months