Happy Holidays!

It's taken me a long time to update the blog because it's taken me a week to recover from our trip to California. Erik and I had big plans to see friends and enjoy the sunshine with Olivia, but unfortunately we spent most of our time sick. Between three colds, two new teeth, two stomach bugs (actually it was 10 stomach bugs if you include the whole Adams/Mehringer family), and an ear infection we did manage to have a little fun.

Olivia loved playing with her cousins, aunts and uncles, and tutu and pops. She loved going to the park and walking on the beach. It was a lot more fun this time now that she can walk and enjoy everything. The one thing we managed to do a lot of even though we were sick was eat! Olivia had her first In-N-Out burger, but loved the fries more than the burger. Maybe next time she'll appreciate it a little more. She loved all the mexican food we ate. I think she could live off of rice, beans, and avocado.

It's always nice when Hanukkah and Christmas are around the same time. It makes it a little easier for us and we get to do a lot of celebrating for a week. We lit the candles and Olivia got a Hanukkah present each night. Her cousins were very happy to celebrate with her and check out her new toys! Erik and I missed all of Christmas Eve because of the stomach bug, but Christmas day was fun until a few other members of the family got sick. Olivia loved opening all of her gifts, but liked the wrapping paper and boxes better than what was inside. She got so excited when we walked downstairs and she saw all of the presents under the tree. She wanted to touch all of them!

I feel like she learned so much while we were away. She has so many new words like kitty, ball, baby, car, thank you, hot, and cracker. She signs for more, all done, please, milk, and points to everything. We're also amazed at everything she understands now. She understands directions and can be really helpful. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap the first thing she does is turn off her sound machine and says all done. She gets her coat and her shoes when it's time to go out. She's like a little person now not just a baby! I can't believe how fast it all happens!

We didn't take a ton of pictures because of all the sickness and staying home, but we managed to get a few.