17.5 months

Who stole my little baby girl and replaced her with this toddler? In the blink of an eye you went from Mommy and Daddy's peanut to a big girl. Olivia you will always be Mommy's 7 lb baby girl who entered this world screaming "I AM HERE and I am about to change your world!" You sleep in a toddler bed now...no more crib! You are awesome and slept through the night the very first night we switched you over! Slept from 8:30-7am even though Daddy thought it may be a little too soon to get rid of the crib we proved him wrong! He's getting used to the fact that his girls are pretty much always right!

Changing leaves, crisp air, apple pie.....

It can only mean one thing. Mommy's favorite time of year is on the way! Fall. There is nothing better than fall in New England. The scents, the air, Halloween, and thanksgiving! Lots of time with family and friends. Mommy will be signing up to run the 5 Mile Feaster Five road race on Thanksgiving morning. Time to kick this running thing into high gear again!

We went apple picking on labor day weekend with Daddy, Grammy and Grandpa! It was so nice to have Daddy around not working for a couple of days. The only bad thing about fall is Auntie had to go back to school. She had her first day yesterday and you were so used to seeing her everyday that you went and sat outside her door yelling Aunnntiiie. We can't wait until Christmas time when baby boy Tremblay (AKA your new cousin) will be here! Auntie will be home on maternity leave for 6 weeks! We can't wait!

Hope you enjoy the pictures from apple picking the other day!

Today we are off to sign up for some swimming lessons at the YMCA in Andover!

Who ran a 5k?

Mommy did! My very first 5k. I've been waiting 3 months to write this blog entry! I ran the Yankee Homecoming race in Newburyport MA. The entire thing, not one break even for water. I had you my little pumpkin pie on the sidelines watching and coach Daddy on my side running with me. 4 months ago Mommy couldn't run more than 2 minutes. Now she was running a 5k in about a 30 minute time. Yeah, yeah that could use a little work, but hey I ran across that finish line! Just like I told you Mommy was having a makeover, she's lost 17 pounds so far! Next up, continue to healthfully lose this weight and run a 10k.

Here are a few pictures from race day.

Look who's walking!

16 1/2 months old and you started to walk on your own! You took about 8 steps from Daddy to Mommy the night before we left you with Grammy and Grandpa for the first overnight trip ever! Of course while we were gone you started full on walking! Thank god Grandpa got it all on video. About 2 days later you continued to walk, run, and dance! It's like you've been doing this walking thing your whole life!
While Mommy and Daddy went white water rafting in Maine, you slept over Grammy and Grandpas house for the first time. You were a good girl, and even slept for a little bit while you were there. We missed you a lot and were ready to come home to see you!
It's an amazing journey watching you grow. You are becoming so independent and want to do everything on your own. Now that you are walking you really are not a little baby anymore. As much as I miss the days of cuddling you in my arms nothing beats you running over to Mommy and Daddy to give us a kiss in the middle of playtime. Each stage in your life continues to bring us so much joy. There is no better gift we could have than waking up to you everyday and having you teach us how to love over and over.

Letters to my former self

Dear Lighthearted, Playful, Youthful Stephanie,
Enjoy being a child...spending long summer days in Harrison Maine at Grammy and Grandpas camp water skiing, boating, and swimming. Watching movies at the magic lantern and quick stops to the candy stores! Beautiful summer nights at Harrison Old Days even if they include slipping in puke after someone threw up on the pirate ship. You will never get these times back with your entire family. Mom, Dad, Jenny, Grandpa, Grammy, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. You will never forget weekends in Maine with everyone! Spend as many weekend as you can at Grammy's house on Revere beach. She loves when you spend the night and you both always have a blast! You will forever treasure those lunches with Grammy and trips to get a new book or crossword puzzle. Listen to the wisdom and stories your Grandparents have to share with you. When you are older you will never forget those stories. Enjoy every second of this time now and don't stop enjoying it when you get to become a teen and are too cool to hang out with your family.

Dear 16 Year Old Stephanie,
It's senior year of High School, enjoy every last second of it. You are going to grow up a lot quicker than you ever imagined you would. You will meet some lifetime friends who will go with you on this roller coaster of life. You will fall in love but he will probably tell you he is going to sign up to be come a United States Marine. At the time you don't realize how much it is going to influence your own life and future. Don't stop him though, it makes him the man he is today.

Dear Newly Engaged Stephanie,
Remember that boy I told you about in High School? Well, he went into the United States Marine Corps. He successfully completed boot camp, got stationed in Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina. He's deploying to Iraq in a couple of months...and guess what? You are going to marry him. You stayed home in Massachusetts while he was stationed in all different places. Let me just tell you long distance relationships are not fun. However, it will all be worth it in the end. Just a few weeks before he has to deploy you two will have an extravagant wedding. It will be perfect. Don't stress over anything. The atmosphere of that night will be like a fairytale. Everyone will have an amazing time. You will be blessed to be surrounded by everyone who loves you except for Grammy Charlene who was watching over everyone that night making it perfect!

Dear New Wife Stephanie,
Your married...and he's gone. Its not exactly the life of a newlywed you had dreamed about. You are married but he's deployed to Iraq for 7 very long months. He will be ok. He will make it home safely. Let your family and friends take you out places and spend time with you. Don't sit at home wondering if he is ok. Keeping yourself busy is the only way to make this time pass quickly. Before you know it you will be waiting for that bus to pull up to Camp lejeune North Carolina and there will be your Marine. It will be one of the greatest moments of your life. He is home now....for good. Now the life you imagined can begin.

Dear Pregnant Stephanie,
Morning sickness has gotten the best of you. Do your best to enjoy being pregnant. Other than the never ending all day month after month morning sickness you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby growing inside you. Be grateful for that. Don't bother fighting over boy names. It's a Girl! She will be perfect...She will be born one day after your due date so don't stress about going 2 weeks past and needing a c-section she will come when she is ready.

Dear New Mommy Stephanie,
She's here! She's perfect! You didn't know love until you held her in your arms. You had no idea what people meant about a mothers love until that very moment. You will see your husband in a whole new perspective. He is a better father than you could have ever imagined. He will take over while you are resting in the hospital, don't worry about a thing he has it all under control. Including changing the very 1st diaper and giving the first bath. Don't bother attempting to breast feed. It will send you on an emotional roller coaster when your milk never comes in. It's ok, formula is not poison. Just enjoy every second of you itty bitty tiny infant. Cliche or not she will grow up far too fast!

Dear Present Day Stephanie,
Life is good. You have a supporting family, great friends, a husband who adores you, and a daughter who makes you laugh smile and cry. Stop stressing about a spotless house. Chores will get done. Remember to take a few minutes to yourself each day. It makes you a better mother and Olivia deserves the best. Keep running, it relieves stress and you will get to that half marathon don't let little bumps in the road stop you. Live everyday like it is your last.

The older you get, the less time I can get on this computer!!

Ok, so I know I said I was going to get better with this blogging thing....well here I am. Updating on your life. Its 10 pm on a Friday night, your sound asleep, Daddy is at work and here is Mommy...Catching up on well everything! Lets see whats been going on....You are almost walking, actually you took about 3 steps the other day! yay. We were all so proud of you! Any day now I know you are just going to take off! Mommy's cousin Pete and his wife Becca and two kids Hannah and Ryan came for a visit from Texas! They were here for a week and you got to go visit with them on Plum Island. You loved playing with them, they are just a little but older than you are, Hannah is 4 and Ryan is 2. Here are some pictures of you with them. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!!

This year you were awake for a lot more of the festivities than last year. We had a BBQ at our house on Saturday (the 3rd) with Mommy and Daddy's friends. You stayed up and partied for a few hours and even had a friend your age Sophia there to play with! The next day on the 4th we went to Grammy and Grandpas camp in New Hampshire. We spent the day on the lake! You loved swimming in the water and watching all the people and boats go by. We can't wait to go back soon!