Fall is upon us!

(Finished and Published on Tuesday, October 6)

Fall is finally here, and it is definitely starting to feel like it. As a result, Mom now insists on bundling me up for our morning jogs, which makes it more difficult to soak myself while drinking my water - formally one of my favorite things to do while enjoying the once sweltering ride. Mom, and the crazy weather people, says it is just going to get colder, and I am not looking forward to the chill; although, I imagine that I probably look pretty good in Uggs and ear muffs.

The Saturday before last, Grandma came and spent the evening with me while Mom and Dad went out to dinner. Grandma brought me a bunch of new toys that Aunt Marsha passed down from when Haley was little. I really like the chair that is just my size, from which I practiced my touchdown move, but my absolute favorite is the doctor's kit. Instead of taking Opie's temperature, I like to hit him with the thermometer; it is so funny. Thank you, Aunt Marsha and Miss Haley; maybe, next time I won't scream when Dr. Silverman listens to my heart. Last Sunday was a lovely day spent shopping and eating in Decatur with Mom, Aunt Stephanie, and Mrs. Sharon. Mom supposedly got me some trendy birthday gifts of which I know nothing. Aunt Stephanie and Mrs. Sharon spoiled me, as always, with a sock monkey, a multi-shaker tambourine that breaks up into individual noisemakers, and a mini pink maraca. I am officially a one-woman band. However, the highlight of the afternoon was the dessert waffle that Aunt Stephanie ordered at lunch. It was topped with homemade whipped cream and chocolate; I was immediately transformed into a whipped cream junky. Mom could not get it to my mouth fast enough; I was tempted to eat the entire spoon. I finally had to grab Mom's hand and show her how it is done. It was amazing! Aunt Stephanie is definitely the authority on sweets. Instead of taking a nap at Aunt Stephanie's, probably due to the sugar rush from the waffle, I decided to tear her house apart; it was in dire need of a little Olivia makeover. You can thank me later, Aunt Stephanie. While we enjoyed our girls' day out, Dad and Uncle Ian attended the Tour Championship Golf Tournament. We decided to go ahead and grace them with our presence for a little early dinner after the tournament at Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Ian's favorite neighborhood joint, The Porter. It was a really spectacular Sunday.

Last Monday, Dad had to go out of town on business for 6 whole days! I desperately attempted to stow away in his suitcase, but alas, I was unsuccessful; therefore, Mom and I had to amuse ourselves all week without him. Since Opie is my main entertainment at home, I patiently waited at the door for him whenever he went outside, which is his constant desire. The weekly grocery visit was the best ever! The flower lady gave me a balloon with which to play, and the lady in the bakery gave me a cookie. I was in heaven! All of my Publix friends have a special place in my heart, especially the cookie lady. During the long week without Dad, I caught up on some reading and flaunted my heart breaker status in my new self-proclamation onesie. To Mom's dismay, I also decided to mess with my sleep schedule. I have decided that 6:45 is a wonderful time to wake up; therefore, Mom tried to cut out my second nap, which left us both crying during dinner on Wednesday night. Oh, we were a pitiful sight of sheer exhaustion. I guess I'm not ready to drop the second nap yet. Mom thinks that the medicine I am taking for my ear infections is causing me to be really tired during the day, which is causing me to sleep a lot during the afternoon and, consequently, to wake up earlier in the morning . Mom and I are both hoping that things go back to normal after I am done with the medicine; I can't handle this messed up schedule anymore than Mom can. One positive is that I really like my medicine now, so I find that there is no need to struggle against taking it anymore, as long as I get a little applause for my cooperation. To abate the loneliness while Dad was away, Mom and I spent the night at Grandma's this past Friday. Mom went out with her friends while Grandma let me rule the roost; she did complain that I was exceptionally grumpy, but in my defense, I cut another tooth Sunday morning. That makes five for those of you who are counting. Sorry, Grandma. On Saturday, Mom and I helped Grandma with her not-so-successful garage sale. Since we weren't terribly busy, Grandma and Aunt Mallory entertained me with the best toy combination ever, a box and playing cards. Forget the fancy-schmantzy toys; a box and some playing cards are all I need in life! After the garage sale, Aunt Stephanie came over, and we all went to Mom's cousin Cameron's football game. He tackled a bunch of kids, and he scored the only touchdown for his team! He is a really good football player. Aunt Stephanie and I both wore our polka dotted sun hats, and I cheered along with the cheerleaders for good measure. The game was pretty fun, but Cameron's birthday cake after the game was so much better; it was made of ice cream - who woulda thunk it!? Ice cream and cake all in one is a brilliant invention; whoever came up with it deserves the next Nobel Peace Prize for I am sure that a little ice cream cake could solve most any international dispute. We had a little celebration for Cameron at Aunt Marsha's. Charlie and Oscar took advantage of me by licking my face every two seconds. In fact, while everyone's back was turned taking pictures, Charlie and Oscar got me down on the ground and gave me a doggy bath. It was gross but, apparently, hilarious to those not being bathed by dog spit! Cameron was so much fun; he helped me climb the stairs and let me play with his birthday gift of gummy eyeballs, brains, and fingers. Oh, only one more week, and it will be my birthday gifts with which I am playing!!! Happy Birthday, Cameron!

This past Sunday was the best day though! When I woke up, Dad was home, and he spent the entire morning playing with me. In the afternoon, Dad, Mom, and I went out to lunch, where I learned the art of coloring, and I believe that I am the next Picasso. We then went up to Dawsonville to visit Burt's Pumpkin Farm. There were pumpkins everywhere - little ones, big ones, bumpy ones, green ones, white ones, striped ones...you get the idea. I got to play amongst the pumpkins until it started sprinkling, and then we went on a hayride. Mom was really disappointed because her camera died, which was a first, and I could have cared less to be on a hayride; however, I had a blast eating yogurt blends and playing with hay as we toured the farm. I was impressed by the big singing pumpkins that we stopped and watched along the way. I picked out a bunch of awesome pumpkins, all of which we got to bring home. I made sure to take my pumpkin-picking-out job very seriously and inspect each pumpkin carefully before making my final decisions. We got green pumpkins, carving pumpkins, baking pumpkins, flat pumpkins, and even a pumpkin that is bigger than me, by a lot! The rents let me sit on the huge pumpkin when we got home; I truly felt like the pumpkin patch princess. You should have seen Mom and Dad lug that sucker out of the car, probably the most entertaining portion of the day. Dad says that we are going to carve one of them for Halloween. I don't really remember what Halloween is about from last year, but if this is how you prepare, it can't be half bad. Yay for Burt's Pumpkin Farm, and yay for Dad's being home, and hopefully, he won't have to go out of town again for awhile.

This week is going to be spent getting ready for my big day; however, I had a little down time on Monday, so I decided to explore the pots and pans cabinet. It was all fun and games until someone got hurt, and that someone just happened to be me. While trying to get out of the cabinet, I fell and hit my face on the side. I currently have a bruise on my forehead and a cut on my nose, perfect for my birthday pictures. I suppose that I should probably get used to bumps and bruises because guess what! Have you guessed yet? On Monday, I started walking, and when I say walking, I mean really walking now. I started out taking a few steps here and there on Monday, but today, I was able to traverse half the kitchen, the laundry room, and the space between the couch and the chair several times. Of course, Mom waited until almost bedtime to get a video, so by that point, I was getting a little wobbly. As long as Mom and Dad keep cheering, I will keep walking. I told you that I would be walking by my birthday, and I am proving true to my word. I showed off a little snipet of my newfound independence at the Moms' lunch today. I was so happy to see Lucas; we hadn't seen each other for like a month. We fought over the singing chair but loved every minute of it. He also showered me with hugs and kisses; oh, I didn't realize how much I had really been missing him until I actually saw him. It was also good to see Selena and Jackson; they are both getting so close to jumping in on the action. The Moms' group had a new recruit this week, Alisha and Tyler. Tyler is only 10 days younger than me, and we met while getting our birthday pictures taken by Mrs. Allison. I think that they are both going to be great additions to the chaos!

The next time you hear from me, I will be a full year old!