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For my birthday, my mom babysat the girls so I could go out shopping with Steve.  It was a cold, rainy day, but it was fun.  When I got home they surprised me with special birthday decorations, cupcakes, and presents (including a special bracelet that Hannah made herself).  So sweet.  We also had friends over for a game night play one of my presents: Qwirkle.  It was a great birthday.  Thirty-three is going to be the best year yet!

 

 

 

 

Faulkner's Pumpkin Patch with Grandma

We tried out a new pumpkin patch that was closer to our house (15 min) and had half-price admission after 3:00.  It was perfect for after nap time.  Faulkner's is a smaller pumpkin patch, so we had plenty of time to do everything before dinner.  It was a beautiful afternoon.

feeding the goats
 

 

 

 

Olive's favorite was the bucket horse
 

 Hannah's 2nd favorite was the pedal car

 

 And her favorite was, of course, the zipline.  It was an extra charge, but worth it. 

 

Olive Stats- 2 1/2 years

Olive turned 2 1/2 on October 14.  She is now 28 pounds and 36 inches tall.  Here are her 2 year stats.  We are right in the middle of the terrible twos with a very strong-willed little girl.  Potty-training is about 50%, with Hannah giving her m&ms and lots of encouragement.  There are almost daily battles about wearing weather-appropriate clothing instead of tutus.  Olive requires a lot of patience and every parenting trick I know.  She is also super sweet giving spontaneous hugs and "I wuv oo"s to everyone.  She has a great sense of humor and likes making people laugh.  It's not so much what she says, but the way she says it and her face as she says it.  She loves reading.  Every night her bed is packed with books and stuffed animals.  She has a long attention span for listening to books that really for older kids.  She can count to 15, say her ABCs, recognizes about half of the letters, and knows how to write a few.  Her sister is her favorite playmate, but she is also very independent and plays by herself. Olive's favorite thing to do is dress up in a "down skirt" (a long skirt) and be a princess or "ballereenie."

Olive's Favorites:
color: purple
animals: owl, cats
foods: rice, chicken, meatballs, black beans, and all fruits
drinks: apple juice, chocolate milk
restaurant: Freddy's
song: ABC song, Happy Birthday song
books: Pinkalicious series
TV shows: Team Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies
toys: tricycle, Magna Doodle, blocks, iPad, Pipeworks, doll stroller
activities: DRESS UP, building with blocks, reading, playing in the sand box, drawing with dry erase markers
saying: "None of them" (when given a choice between two options)

dislikes: DOGS, having her hair brushed

Halloween Craft

Painting the inside (or outside if you are Olive) of a glass vase...

then taping on some black shapes to make jack-o-lanterns.  Hannah cut out the shapes herself.  I cut out a bunch and Olive chose the ones she wanted for a face.
 

Olive's First Time Bowling

We tried Toddler Bowling- one game, shoes, and a drink for just $3.  Once we got there, Olive took one look at the bowling bowl and refused to pick it up.  I had to bribe her with the lemonade to at least try bowling.  Then she was fine.  Arg.  That girl.  She has fun...but there has to be a battle first. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some Hannah pictures so she doesn't feel left out... 

"Princess Ballereenie" Olive

 

5 year Blogiversary

Don't get excited.  There is no giveaway involved.  Well, I could send you some hairbows or tutus.  I have way too many of those.

Steve and I started this blog five years ago.  I was pregnant and we wanted to share sonogram news (and eventual baby pictures) with everyone.  We thought it might get obnoxious to constantly email people.  We weren't on Facebook.  Who else but our mothers cared about my morning sickness anyway?  So we started blogging mostly for our immediate family and a few close friends.  With both of our parents two hours away, we knew they would appreciate seeing pictures of their grandkid. Maybe other people wanted to check in on our life, too?  But if they didn't, that was okay.

We both wrote posts.  I wrote about pregnancy, holidays, and the house.  Steve wrote about bikes and savings plans.  Steve lost interest, and now it's just me.  Why am I still here?  

While I started writing for family and friends (and now family of friends and friends of family), I continued blogging for me.  I liked looking back and remembering what we did last Christmas and what Hannah looked like when she was 6 months old.  The current state of my mommy brain means I often have to look up things like: What was Hannah's Halloween costume two years ago?  Nobody but the blog knows.  True story.

But now I am really blogging for the girls.  My mom's dad died when she was just four years old and she doesn't have that many memories of him.  It is weird to think that if something happened to me tomorrow, Hannah wouldn't remember much of our time together, and Olive might not remember anything.  Those girls changed my life and I have a billion memories of them (you know, except for Halloween costumes).  I want to share that with them.  So through this blog they will get a glimpse their silly parents, family trips, our friends, all their firsts, and (most of all) how much they are loved.

Hannah Art

Kerr Family: Mama, Hannah, Olive, Dada

Boats

Owl
 

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
 

 

Big Girl Bed

After she slept in the twin bed in the caboose, Olive wanted a big girl bed at home.  Yes, she was still sleeping in a crib at 2.5 years old.  She never tried to climb out, so why change something that works?  But when she asked (and since she started showing an interest in potty training), we converted the crib to a toddler bed and braced ourselves for her running wild and never going to bed.  It turns out she is more like Hannah than we thought.  She never got out at all.  Every morning she would wait for me to come get her as if she was in the crib.  Now weeks later, she only gets out of bed to use the bathroom. What a big girl!

 

 

Gnome Homes

We saw the gnome homes on Ollie and Penny's blog and as a national news story, too.  So we went for a bike/stroller ride on the trail to explore.

 

Fortunately the "Woodland Emergency Management Agency" set up some temporary housing for a gnome whose house was destroyed.

 

And then we needed to make a home for our own backyard gnome.