Another outfit

Off to another Christmas party (#9 of the season!) looking appropriate
for hanging out with her Norwegian- heritage relatives :)

Paul

In the Jones household, we are fans of Newman's Own products, specifically the peach salsa. Recently we tried the regular salsa, which wasn't nearly as tasty as the flavored ones. I also bought cheese dip last month which was flat-out disgusting (Evan didn't mind it), but overall, we love the products, thanks mostly to the exposure they get at our family gatherings.

As with all the other pre-made stuff we eat, Olivia is very interested in the packaging. The cereal boxes, syrup labels or pictures on jars are often the subject of conversation while we eat (which is usually just the two of us at lunch).

A few weeks ago, she asked me about the guy on the salsa and I told her it was Paul Newman. I told her he was an actor and then a philanthropist (new word!) and was now dead. That was about the extent of our conversation. She mostly enjoyed looking at his funny hat on the label. Last weekend, Evan was home for lunch and we had the salsa out. He, not knowing about our previous conversations, was a little surprised when Olivia said, "Can I see Paul Newman?"

Outfits, continued

Christmas Eve dress

Snuggly Christmas morning jammies

New Christmas Day matching outfits! Thanks Uncle Chris!
Olivia with big cousin from whom  she gets 90% of her clothes :)

Christmas Day outfit #2 - celebrating with Daddy's side of the family

Snow globe shirt! Off to an indoor park with Daddy who is home for the week.

Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Outfits, continued

Sure, it's just a plain white t-shirt, but check out those awesome Christmas patchwork jeans!
(For gingerbread building at her Grandma GJ's house)

Christmas Eve Eve Eve (Thursday) - sporting red velvet and feathers (at her other Grandma's house).
Are you still finding red feathers at your house, Mom?


By the way, this is our 100th post! 13 months and 100 Olivia moments documented - thanks for reading!  :)

12 Outfits, continued

Jammies so cute it's a shame they're just for sleeping!

The 12 (or so) Outfits of Christmas

We were given an insane amount of hand-me-down clothes from our very stylish, now 5-year-old niece. As I pulled out the 2T winter stuff, I was shocked by the number of Christmas themed/colored outfits. Since I can't count on this stuff fitting Olivia next year, I have been making an extra effort to get her in each of these outfits and jammies at least once this holiday season. Here are the days we have so far - stayed tuned to see the others :)

"Cheese!" in her big girl bed

Candy Cane!

Modeling on the potty chair/step-stool

Snuggle Bunny, indeed.

Eating cooked spinach, out of a shot glass, in adorable jammies. Not something you see everyday...
(BTW, she loves the spinach - this is not a force-feed scenario!)

Hoping that at least one of those presents are for her... 

Tu-tu cute!

It's a...

We had the ultrasound today. I was shocked by the gender results! Evan and Olivia were right all along - what does Mommy know, anyway? Everything looks great so far and we meet with the doctor next week to officially go over the results. So fun to celebrate the halfway mark with seeing our baby!

"Does Chobani have gluten in it?" is not a question, I have to think, that most two-year-old would ask.

Since learning of my Celiac disease in September, I've cut gluten entirely from my diet.  At first, I didn't say anything about my change of eating habits to Olivia. I would simply and politely decline her offers to share her mac and cheese or graham cracker. After several weeks, I fessed up that I just couldn't eat some of the food she could. I'd say, "Mommy can't eat that" if she wanted to share an off-limits food with me.  I'm not sure why I didn't tell her right away. I guess I didn't want her to think there was something wrong with me or that I was different, even though, to some extent, both of those things are true.

Earlier this week, I introduced the word "gluten." I didn't really explain what it was, just that it was in some foods and I couldn't have it, but she and Daddy could. That conversation almost immediately turned to gluten-sluething on Olivia's part. "Do pears have gluten? Does cheese have gluten? Do eggs have gluten?" and so on. A few days ago, she and I were eating lunch - soup, Chobani greek yogurt, GF breadsticks (thanks, Nicki!) and milk, and out of nowhere, Olivia asks, "Does Chobani have gluten in it?" and I had to laugh. She already knows more about Celiac than many adults! Of course, the answer was, "No, it doesn't. That's why Mommy can eat it (duh! ha ha)," but I love that she is aware and that future conversations about this will be easier. 

If you want to learn more about Celiac and it's symptoms, you can find a link by clicking here.

I haven't done a very good job updating this blog to reflect what's actually going on with the Joneses, as the blog title suggests. So, here's a status update:
I'm pregnant - due April 30.
Olivia celebrates her one-week anniversary of sleeping in a big girl bed tonight. We bought a new bed and mattress set so gave her our old bedroom set. She is now sleeping in a queen-size, low, white Ikea bed. She looks like a tiny newborn baby in a crib again. Evan and I feel like big kids, too, in our super high "grown-up" bed. Right now, Olivia's room looks like a teenager's so I'm thinking of ways to make it look like a two-year-old. Meanwhile, Olivia's crib and furniture went to the baby's room (former office). It's all set up in there, waiting for the gender reveal next Wednesday after which the room will be decorated and possibly painted. The office furniture went across the hall to the former guest room. It's a smaller room so we're in the midst of paper-purging. All four rooms got a makeover and we lost a guest room which is a huge loss - not. We've had one guest in the past seven months. We'll make it work.
Downstairs, we've ordered a new couch and ottoman for the living room. Both are scheduled to arrive before Christmas. I'm super anxious to get the couch so I can get a rug, end tables, and window treatments. I'm sure the neighbors will miss the "Live from the Joneses" show they get each night after sundown, but they'll live. I might be able to decide on a light fixture for the dining room at some point now, too.
On the food front, I'm strictly adhering to my gluten-free diet. It isn't fun and I'm usually hungry. All in the name of health, right?
Now, wasn't that fun? Consider yourself updated.