The Balash Family

Emme and Livy wearing their matching dresses!

Jenn, Brian, Ryker, and Emersen came to visit on July 18th!  We were so excited they were visiting because Emersen and Olivia are three month apart and had not met each other yet.  Plus we have not seen Ryker in almost a year!  We were a little worried about how they would sleep since our house a little, but it worked extremely well.  After running into traffic in Virgina, they arrived with two passed out kids around 10:30p.m.  We were happily waiting with beers and smiles.

Yup-That is Jenn, Brian, and Laura!

On Monday we decided to visit the Maryland Zoo. The day was extremely hot and we were all a bit sweaty!  However the big kids managed to have a fun time at the zoo! The kids were wonderful and enjoyed the animals.  Ryker had a blast running from animal cage to animal cage.  I think his favorite part was either the giant slide or the train that drives through the zoo.  Emme was a precious baby and slept the first half of the visit.  The just hung out in the stroller watching the world go by! Olivia was extra cute this trip. We have taken two other trips, but this time she was able to see the animals and she loved the ducks the best.   In the afternoon we hung out and had a little happy hour!  Of course that evening, as the kids were passed out, we had to watch The Bachlorette.  I think that was Brian and Dan's favorite part of the day!

Kiddie Pool Fun with Ryker

Tuesday brought another hot day and we decided to have a water fun day in the backyard.  We played in the kiddie pool and had some sprinkler fun!  Tyler, my mom, and Kym visited for a bit and Ryker was all about playing with Tyler.  Brian was even able to stay cool with a little head dunk in the sprinkler.  Emme and Olivia had some time together in the pool, kicking around and laying on their stomachs. 

After a nice afternoon nap, we left to play at a local playground.   Again Ryker had a blast with the steering wheel, the slides, and running all around.  The girls went down a few slides, but they were not as active as Ryker.  On the way home we picked up some dinner.  During dinner,  Jenn and Brian decided that it was best to leave that evening and travel home while the kids were sleeping.  So we sadly helped them back up and they left on Tuesday night.

The three buddies and Grandma helping out too.

We have such a great time hanging out...if only we lived closer!

Beach Weekend in July

Loves the water and the sand!

Olivia fourth trip to the beach was quite the eventful one.  She had so many adventures I am not sure where to begin!  We arrived on Thursday and after a quick afternoon nap we headed over to the pool down the street from the Puryears.  Once again I forgot my camera, but Olivia adores the pool.  She loves to kick on her stomach and lay on her back.  We even went  under the water several times with her.  She is quickly turning into our little water baby! 

She kept licking the life jacket when it was on.

On Friday Livy had another first~she took her first boat ride.  Lee took us on a boat ride for over an hour. Olivia really seemed to like it.  She had a hard time keeping her eyes open when the boat was moving fast, so we turned her away from the wind and she wanted to touch the water in the back of the boat.  The life jacket was not her favorite because it did not fit perfectly, but she will have to get use to it!  We look forward to many more boat rides in the future.   That evening we also went out for an all you can eat crab feast!  We started dinner on the earlier side, so that hopefully Livy would last until we were done eating.  She was a little angel.  We were seated by the waiters station and she watch all the waiters walk back and forth, smiling and watching them all.  She was very interested in the food we were eating, so we gave  her corn off the cob to eat.  She was entertained by that too.  We all had plenty to eat and she did not even fuss!  It was a lot of fun and great to know she was content to sit in the high chair for over an hour.  

Hurley wanted in on the toy action!

Saturday was another adventure!  The plan was to wake up, eat breakfast, and head to the beach for as long as Olivia would last.  We packed up the car, the two beach bags, and headed out the door about nine o'clock.  As we pulled out of Ocean Pines the skies did not look so great, but we drove on.  When we arrived at the beach, Livy had fallen asleep in her car seat and the skies were dark.  We called back to the Puryears and talked to Laura, who informed us that it was raining back in Ocean Pines.  We decided to sit in the car for a few minutes to let her finish her nap and see if it would pass us by.  It held off until she woke up and we ran out to the beach for twenty minutes before the skies unleashed.  It ended up raining all day :(  So our plan was foiled.  The back up plan?  Head to the Outlets!  Jean babysat Olivia while we went out shopping with Laura.  Then we played some games that afternoon/evening.  It was another eventful day...just stunk that it rained.

Family photo opt down by the surf

When we woke up on Sunday the sun was shining and it was time to try the beach again.  We let Olivia take her morning nap at home and as soon as she awoke we were off to the beach!  We set up camp and were in the for long haul.  Olivia enjoyed playing with the water so much we had to fill it with fresh water because I was afraid she would get sick.  She splashed, knocked over, and dug in the water.  When she ate the sand too much we had to put her on a towel.  We did take her down to the water and really put her in the surf.  She LOVED it!  She was laughing and having a great time.  We definitely have a little beach bum in the works!  She then finished her bottle and ate some pears.  About one o'clock she was pretty exhausted so we crossed our fingers that she would sleep on the beach.  I held her until she was almost asleep and then we put in under the cabana and laid next to her.  We did have to soother her once when a loud person talking walked by and scared her.  It worked perfectly and she slept for a little over an hour!  YEAH! She also took her three o'clock bottle on the beach.  Life is good when you spend a day on the beach.  Dan and I were delighted that we have a little beach baby!

The weekend was wonderful and we were sad to leave.  We look forward to seeing Gram and Grandpa Puryear in a few weeks and heading back to the beach in August before school starts again!

Fourth of July 2010

Can I have that toy Grumpa?

Fourth of July weekend was a real bang this year! We hosted a impromptu Happy Hour with my parents, Tyler,  and Laura, the Original. The weather was beautiful and we hung outside in the backyard.  Olivia loved playing with all the guests, especially crawling all over Grumpa! She even ate her dinner in her highchair in the back porch.  Laura hung out for a while and played Rock Band that night.  It is great to be able to hang out even after Livy is in bed.  Dan is excited that even though he has a child he can still play video games! haha

Playing with Monica

On Saturday we had more guests over to celebrate.  Our friends Monica and Rob came over for a cookout/game night.  We roped them into walking up to the Catonsville Parade.  We are usually in Ocean City for the 4th and this year I really wanted to see the yearly parade that runs through our town.  So we walked the mile and a half to the parade route in the sweltering heat, watch the parade for about half an hour, then marched back the mile and a half!  Needless to say we were all hot and ready for a nice cold beverage and appetizers by the time we came home from the adventure!  I was really happy to see the parade and Olivia was wonderful!  She loved watching all the people and did not cry at all when the loud fire trucks drove by, sirens on.  Later that night we played several games and enjoyed the company.  It was great to spend time Monica and Rob before their wedding on July 16th.  As they left for the night we did walk out to the front yard and watch some of the Catonsville fireworks.  We are hoping that next year Olivia will be ready to stay up until ten to see fireworks. 

The cousins in the matching shirts.

The weekend came to an exciting close at my parents house on Sunday, the fourth.  First we had to have a photo shoot because Olivia and Tyler had on thier matching Old Navy shirts.  We had a ton of outtakes, but were able to keep a few good pictures.  I hope that the t-shirt thing will become a tradition, but we were all saying that Tyler will probably not want to match next year.  We had a cookout over there too and two special guests stopped by.  Blair and Gayle joined us for an afternoon play date!  Blair is six weeks older than Livy and the two of them were hilarious to watch. Olivia would be holding a toy and then Blair would reach out to grab it from her.  Blair would hold onto the toy for a few minutes then Olivia would grab it from her hands.  It was adorable.  We love getting together with Gayle and we are hoping to see them again soon. 

It was quite the busy weekend and so much fun with all the family and friends to celebrate. 

Playground Visit

Slowing, slowing, going down the slide

Climbing the rock wall

Olivia is a very observant child and loves daycare because she can watch all the kids play and Miss Sharon takes her outside and on trips daily.  Knowing she is an active child, we try to take her out of the house daily for some kind of activity.  Last week we took walks at parks, when it was over a hundred degrees we went to the mall, and the other day we visited the Meadowbrooke playground for her first trip to a playground.  I thought there would be swings, but there were not any so we made do with what they had!  So we started by walking the path around the playground and then we tried to play as much as we could.  I honestly think she had more fun watching all the kids running around!  She tired several slides, the rock climbing wall, the bridges, and her favorite the mirrored wall.  We set her down in front of it and she laughed and laughed at herself!  It was quite adorable!  Here are some of the hightlights:

oh yes, a mirror to check myself out in!

How can I do this myself?

After the playground we decided to grab something for dinner quickly and Red Robin was the perfect place.  This was our first dinner outing in several months and Olivia was wonderful.  She sat in the highchair and was fascinated by everything around her!   The Red Robin bird was visiting that night and she watch him walk all around the restaurant.  It was quite funny!

It was a fun little day and while I LOVE this stage, I do look forward to when she can run around the playground!

First Ear Infection and Pink Eye--Oh My!

What a beginning to the summer! The first week was great!  We basically hung out at home, going for walks, "swimming" the kiddie pool, and playing with all the Olivia's toys!  It was a nice relaxing start.  Finally on Sunday though we were ready to get out of the house, so Dan and I decided to head to see a movie with our friends Courtney and Kris.  Aunt Bethany was available to babysit and that was a huge help.

When we returned from the movie Miss Olivia was all happy and smiles, but we noticed greenish goop coming out from her eyes.  This happened before around Christmas time and the doctor explained it was probably because of her blocked tear duct she had at birth.  We did not think much of it and had a nice afternoon hanging out with Bethany, Courtney, and Kris.  About 4:00 she became fussy and nothing really made her happy unless she was being held.  We figured she was tired and missing her cat nap she usually takes in the car on the way home from school.  Well the little fussiness became full blown cries about 5:00 and we figured she was exhausted.   Usually when she is tired she can be consoled and cuddled, but this was different she was crying continuously.    We put her to bed around 6:00, assuming she would wake up.  She did not wake up and was a happy little girl in the morning and the green goop disappeared.  I called the doctor anyway in the morning. The office recommended I bring her in to get checked out.  As soon as Dr. Landcaster saw her she said, "Usually pink eye comes from an ear infection."  Sure enough she had an ear infection in her left ear and pink eye in her left eye.  So to the pharmacy we went to pick up her antibiotics.

Dan and I were laughing because she was in day care with other kids for months and the same week she is home with us she had her first illness.  I was glad she lasted almost eight moths!  I think it is all that milk I am feeding her, filled with antibodies!  haha

She is doing well now and is taking the medicine with out much of a fight!