Well, it's that time of year again.... As I mentioned in last year's 2017's letter, how quickly the time flies! We've had another very busy year, with our very busy little girl. She enjoys dress-up, tea parties, baking, playing Barbies and reading with Mommy. She shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so we can only imagine what 2019 will look like!
Here are some highlights from Olivia's year:
January-Olivia's first cough, cold, and stomach flu bug
February-Olivia's first visit to the Broekema's without Mommy or Daddy
March-Olivia starts using full sentences (3-4 words)
April-Olivia discovers Mommy's old Barbies and names them all! Mommy designs and builds Olivia a real Barbie house to keep them in.
May-Olivia helps in the garden and picks dandelions for Beppe at a penny a piece.
June-Olivia is potty trained and celebrates her 2nd birthday with a party in the backyard
July-Olivia goes swimming in the pool for the 1st time and goes on the Ferris wheel with Daddy at the Waterfront Festival
August-Olivia graduates to a big-girl bed
September-Olivia finally goes to the church nursery without Mommy
October-Olivia stops her afternoon nap and starts sleeping 11 hrs/night. Princess Olivia goes trick-or-treating for Halloween
November-Olivia starts bi-weekly play dates with new friend Jaylynn
Some family highlights:
Some family highlights:
Mommy is still at home full-time with Olivia. We enjoy our lunch dates at Grandpa Larry and Grandma's house.
We also like to visit Beppe next door several times a week.
We try to get together with the Broekema cousins as much as possible.
Aunt Bon also comes to see us every few months. Mommy and Olivia try to get together somewhat regularly with a couple close friends who also have young children.
We were extremely blessed to have use of our neighbours' pool all summer long. Olivia took to the water fairly quickly and enjoyed visiting our new friends, "Mr. Ron" and "Ms. Gayle."In July, we visited the Broekema family while they camped at Wesley Acres. In September, Mommy and Olivia enjoyed several beautiful days at the Dunes Beach, and a day at Outlet Beach with Grandpa Larry and Grandma.
Our new garden setup with four 5'x5' garden boxes was a success. We canned numerous jars of tomatoes, in addition to pickles, chili sauce, salsa, and relish.
Olivia was able to help Mommy pick strawberries and raspberries at the VanGrootheest farm. We made lots of jam, and also froze berries to enjoy in our smoothies this winter. Mommy's home business, The County Cupboard, enjoyed another successful year, selling homemade preserves and Christmas gift baskets. Daddy also had a busy year. In addition to working full time, he cut and split 8 cords of wood and helped Mommy in the garden. He also completed a variety of indoor and outdoor home maintenance projects. In September, Daddy started weight training, in addition to his daily walking routine.
In October, our friends, the Ryttersgaards, visited us from Barbados. We were able to catch up with Jon & Mel, and Olivia was able to have some play time with Max and Wade.
