Great swim meet, Olivia

Wow!  What a meet! 

Olivia placed 1st place in both freestyle and backstroke last night!  How awesome is that!!?

But what I am most proud of is her courage to dive in the pool off the blocks.  She was so timid of that and has been practicing and has perfected her dive.  Determination and bravery.  That's our girl!

Olivia is proving to be such an athlete and team player.

Introducing our 1st grader

Here she is - Olivia Ruth (our soon to be 7 year old) and now a FIRST GRADER!

I am so excited for you!  You will soon begin a whole new adventure of school.  You will be gone for 8 hours a day. You will eat lunch at school.  You will give the bus a second chance in first grade knowing your brother, Jack will be on it with you.  You will be away from home nearly 40 hours a week.  You will also become a Titans Cheerleader for your school (with mom as the coach.). I know you are more than ready and I am so excited for you!

You had a great school year this year.  You learned how to read, you made new friends, and gained confidence and maturity!

You are ready for 1st grade!

I am so proud of you, Olivia!  You are becoming so independent that sometimes I have a hard time with it.  Growing up so fast and having so many opinions about your hair, clothes, your friends, ect.

Until next school year - we have a fun summer planned.....

Swim team, bible camp, cheer camp, swimming, golfing, bike riding, and planning your mermaid pool birthday party!

  It's going to be oh so exciting and positively fun!

Spring dance recital

What an amazing experience Olivia had this year in hip hop dance.  She learned teamwork, confidence and bravery (performing on stage!).  My heart literally exploded with JOY seeing her perform on stage today.  She was beaming with pride and stage presence!  And she had a full audience there - mom, dad, Jack, aunt peg, mimi and nana.  All equipped with flowers and a proud heart!

Way to go, Olivia.  You stepped out of your comfort zone and ROCKED it!  

Pinkalicious

What a fun day at school for Miss Liv!!!

It's RIGHT TO READ week at Saint Susanna.  

A celebration of literacy.  And we are also celebrating Olivia's new found skill and love for reading!  It's so remarkable as her mother to see her confidence soar in reading!  We are still a beginner - but she has mastered her leveled books and she reads often to her brothers!

Today the students are allowed to dress as their favorite book character.  Olivia was tickled pink…( No pun intended.)

 It was a no-brainer for her to be dressed as Pinkalicious. I am fairly certain we own every Pinkalicious book ever writen.

So here she is - our very own Pinkalicious! 💕

father daughter dance

Olivia and her Prince.

They are off to the ball.

Curled hair, roses on her corsage, new dress,

 new shoes that happen to be her first pair of high heals, and moms necklace.  

She is feeling Oh So Special.

As she should....

Tonight's YOUR night, Olivia Ruth.

You are on a very special date!

I had to take the chance to sneak in to have my picture taken with the princess.

mom aka her glam squad!

Olivia's dear friend, Kera who lives across the street. 

 These two will share in many memories together as classmates.

Great Basketball Season, Olivia

Best season of any sport yet!!!  Olivia played "up" with the 1st and 2nd graders and she had such a wonderful season!

I never had to argue with her once to go get ready for practice.  Sometimes that was an issue with other sports.  Not with basketball.  She woke up on Thursdays mornings excited that she had practice that night!

Being tall and probably the tallest on the team (and sometimes even on the entire court) helped her game tremendously.  She was able to rebound and post up often.  It always fell in her favor.

Olivia made several baskets this season on the 8 foot hoop and learned to dribble  with control.

I think a lot of basketball will be in her future.  The season is now over - and off to soccer we go.....

Justin and I feel very strongly about team sports!  It's a big commitment and eats up some weekends - but the outcome is always well worth it!

Words for the week

Sweet Olivia was doodling during Mass this morning and as I looked down at her paper I noticed sweet words of wisdom.  My 6 year old wrote down the following words and I am so impressed.  They are going to be the words of my focus this week in her honor...

God

Sacrifice 

Jesus

Brave

Pray

Love

Thanks, Olivia! I love your pure heart of gold!

Introducing.....

...Olivia Ruth's new look!

And with this new look - comes a whole new level of confidence, excitement and sass!

Change is always good for the soul!  And a little fresh new look with bangs is all it takes to perk up someone's sense of style!

Dance

Our Olivia is still finding so much JOY in dance!

Here she is with one of her best friends and classmates, Emme at practice! 

Pure joy, I tell ya!

Our STAR

Last night was an exciting evening for our special six year old little girl.

She has joined the STAR PERFORMANCE dance studio and has been learning "hip hop" with several of her little classmates/girlfriends.  She loves it.  She literally comes alive to the loud music in the dance studio.

After months of practice the girls performed in their first Dance Recital.  There was so much energy last night and lots of nerves brewing in their little tummies.  However, when the curtain opened they didn't show any nervousness.  

Olivia was so brave and had great stage presence!  She was so proud of herself after the show she couldn't wipe the grin off her face.  She amazed herself.

We celebrated HER the whole evening - leaving the boys behind with a babysitter so they couldn't share any of her spotlight.  We greeted her with flowers after the show.  We then dined at Deweys and treated our star to Graeters ice cream.  

Special night for our special girl.....

Right after the performance - nerves are settled and she is BEAMING!

Olivia

I love how much she LOVES school!!

Here she is waiting at the bus stop feeling very much like a big girl.

Today's a special day for her as I am coming in to her classroom to help with their Thanksgiving Craft!  It's always fun having your momma inside your classroom!  I remember....

Great season, Olivia

Olivia just finished her 7th season of soccer!  We love watching her play on Saturday mornings!  Especially on beautiful FALL days like today!

She earned her very first trophy today!  It's up on the family room mantle for bragging rights!

Great season, Liv!

Hip Hop Dance

You may feel MY excitement through this post. 

My daughter has stepped out of the box and has decided she wants to try something new.

And guess what?

I am so glad she did.

She has found a new passion, excitement and talent in DANCE.

 

 

That's right....DANCE.

Something I have overlooked for years.

 

 

 

I never danced, tumbled, cheered or did gymnastics as a kid.

It never crossed my mind she might be interested in this.

 

 

Yes, we will still play soccer and basketball.

But you know what?

It's FUN doing something NEW.

 

 

She has a natural flare for sass, entertaining, and creativity.

 

 

She entered this class LATE, yet she has been remarkably quick to pick up the routine.

Even her teacher, Miss Becca has commented on her rhythm.

 

 

 

I love WATCHING her in ALL OF HER GLORY with dance.

She has found her calling at 6 years old and I am so glad I am able to share in her JOY.