Monday, June 30, 2008

Places Olivia Sits


We had a great day yesterday as a family! Jeff was home and not overloaded with work! We stayed home in the morning, went to the shop in the early afternoon and then took a nice walk over to the Alameda Golf Course for a late lunch & so Jeff could hit some balls at the driving range.

In the crib, watching her Buggy Mobile (ladybug, butterfly, etc...) She loves to talk and wave her feet at them... one of the top 10 cutest things she does this week!


We've brought Olivia to the table in her new high-chair/ booster seat. She joins me while I have my breakfast and sometimes at dinner (if she's not already in bed!) It's nice to have her there instead of on the floor... and getting all of us into the habit of family dinners! :)


Here she's helping me fold laundry! (actually, I had stepped away and Daddy thought this was a great joke!)


Livvy in her stroller as we ate lunch.


Jeff's got an appointment with a golf-pro this week... so he was firmly establishing his swing, before he goes to get it fixed... I guess that makes sense...?


It was a lovely day, and we feel very fortunate.

Funny side note: we were walking on the beach bike path and ran into one of our friend/customers who was out walking with his 3 month old baby (3 weeks younger than Olivia) and as we stopped and chatted another customer and his wife came up with their 3 month old baby (3 weeks older than Olivia). TOO FUNNY!! We totally live in baby-ville!!!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Where has Jeff been?

I have been traveling around the West coast working for Covanta Energy. My primary role is to perform boiler inspections and find any problems. There are 15 boilers in my region that I try to inspect twice a year. The challenge is not only in finding the need for repairs but to work with the management team to fix outside of the budget or plan for the next fiscal year. The plan is to reduce tube failures and unscheduled downtime by 20% this year. Tube failures cost about $50,000 per day not to mention the safety aspect of such a high energy release.


Some areas of the boilers are more accesible then others. They are all confined spaces though. I need to wear a respirator due to the fine ash everywhere. The picture below is one of the most challenging inspections due to the amount of ash on the tube surface. It is these tubes that if get thin enough can rupture and take the boiler down.


Most of the inspections are performed during the Fall and the Spring. Summer is peak power months and the plants have an incentive to run 100% during the summer. I will start traveling quite a bit again after Labor Day.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

WebCam!


Olivia's Grandparents got us this great webcam, so that we can "video conference" and they get a chance to see Livvy from across the country. it took a couple tries to get the bugs out... but now that we have, it's a terrific opportunity to see and hear each other!

Here are a couple images from our chats. The images are small and kind of fuzzy, but so cute... because Olivia is just fascinated with the camera lens (it looks (quite creepily) like an eyeball) so she looks right at it!






Sending Grins & Hugs!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Olivia is 3 months old

HI THERE!!!
Livvy is 3 Months Old, Now!

She's doing really well... we all are! She seems interested and happy in most things.

She's developing her vocal range: volume, vowel sounds, and patterns. May she always be so comfortable giving voice to her feelings.

She's developing physically as well, of course! She's reaching and grasping (still working on the coordination bit though). She likes to sit (accompanied for support and stability) to play with both hands. Can spend extended minutes on her tummy before complaining. She's getting fatter, too! I'm watching her develop little fatty bits on her wrists and fingers.




Guard-Donkey, Eeyore, keeping a vigil while Livvy takes a cat-nap break from playing.


Mrs. Sanders made us this great quilt ... perfect for play-time
Chatting...Butting-heads... apparently they didn't agree on everything...

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Daddy and O'Cam

Pretty Hilarious Video.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

how we relaxed today...

Settling down for nap time.



Thanks Aunty Jody for the cuddly Pooh blanket.

playing on the floor...


Had a super fun tubby time! kicking! kicking! splashing, splashing! moving too much to get a good photo...



(tried to upload a video... but i can't make it work... maybe later... sorry.)

Monday, June 2, 2008

We're Back! And Bigger than Ever!

HI !!!
We've missed you!!!

A lot (or nothing) has changed since last time.
Olivia smiles socially (and I think with pleasure, too!) (But, still no sense of humor. go figure.) Her eyes are still Blue! She's weighing in over 11 pounds at 2 months and just shy of 2 feet tall! She may be starting to grasp at things... and I think she rolled herself over today - probably not on purpose and maybe not even repeatable... but hey! we're claiming it! :) She doesn't cry much and will watch us as we move around the room. But she can let me know with an attention getting "ENH" when she's not totally stoked on a situation. (bored, tired, can't see 'cause her hat fell over her eyes... you know, that same stuff that would make me less than thrilled.)
OK. Yeah, I'm wrapped around her finger. oh well... really, tho' ... Didn't we all see that coming?

~~~
Here's some more photos from the past month:
Super Cute Outfit from Aunt Kathy & family! Thanks!!
Tummy Time!



SLEEPY BABY:




Play Time with Daddy:

Winding down ...

Olivia's 2 months old and hangin' with the big girls!
Lovely to visit with Katy - so glad she and Derick stopped by.
love to all.

...