"Lolly Joy and Puppy"

I would like to introduce you to my sweet 2 year old niece, Carra. Many of you may not know that my amazing wife not only takes care of our 15 month old daughter and 8 week old son, but she also watches Carra 5 days a week. Wow! Carra and Madelynn have become the best of friends and it is hilarious to watch them play, fight, laugh, and scream together. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment in the Oliver house.
Carra, like Madelynn, is full of personality and honestly almost never stops talking! This becomes a patience builder as well as a sweet reminder of her intelligence and personality. For some reason she has always called Maddie Joy, "Lolly Joy". This nickname for Madelynn has stuck and is her official name as far as Carra is concerned. Kelli and I often laugh as Carra calls for "Lolly Joy" or kisses "Lolly Joy" on the head and tells her "I lub you so much, Lolly Joy". No doubt these two will be best cousins for life.
As many of you know, we welcomed Nehemiah Taylor into this world in September. He is beginning to show some personality and has started smiling and cooing! I am so blessed. Madelynn first began calling her little brother "NehNehyaya", but soon found "Bubby" to be a little easier to say. She loves her brother and kisses him each chance she gets. Once day I was holding Nehemiah and said, "Daddy loves his little Bubby". Well, Carra walks up to us and kisses Nehemiah on the head and says, "I lub you Puppy". As sweet as that sounded, I attempted to correct her by repeating, "BuBuBuBubby" emphasizing the "B", but she in return over emphasized the "P" as she repeated "PuPuPuPuppy". So that's it, "Lolly Joy and Puppy" are the nicknames assigned to my children by my beautiful niece, Carra. Could she be any cuter? Like I said, "Never a dull moment".

The Oliver Family is Growing

Who would have known that 2 1/2 years ago, Kelli and I were not sure that we would be able to have children? Now we have 2! God is awesome. On Monday September 22, Kelli and I welcomed our little boy Nehemiah Taylor into this world. He was 6lbs 12oz and 19 inches (a little guy, needless to say). We now have a son, and Madelynn has a little brother! Kelli had an amazing labor and delivery and we are suddenly now a family of 4! Wow! Thanks for your prayers and I look forward to sharing more of what is happening in the Oliver home soon. Praise God for His faithfulness!

Birthday Princess

Last Saturday, we celebrated Madelynn's 1st birthday. There were approx. 50 people total that came to her princess party and we had a great time. Our sweet baby is getting so big. She got lots of great little gifts and, of course, her own cake....which she demolished and ate at least 3/4 of !! I think that she might have her Daddy's sweet tooth, but I may just be speculating.

Anyway, after the cake we began to play with one of her favorite gifts, or should I say my favorite... that's right, her very own bubble maker!


(We didn't have bubble makers like this when I was young.) What a memory! Thank you Lord for our little bundle of Madelynn Joy.

My Sweet One Year Old

Can you believe it? Madelynn Joy turned one on Monday! My sweet little baby is growing up so fast. For several months Maddie has been the world's fastest crawler, and on her first birthday she began to walk! She holds her sweet little arms in the air as she waddles across the room. I am so blessed! Little Nehemiah Taylor will be here in a few weeks and I am awestruck that our great God would bless my amazing wife and I with our wonderful life and our beautiful children.

This is a picture of Madelynn and I at a park called Rock Glenn in Canada. We have had a busy summer and it is quickly coming to a close. Blogging is again in my vocabulary! I am excited to share all the Lord has been doing lately in our lives. Kelli and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on August 14th! I am the luckiest man in the world. Thank you Lord for your goodness.

Be Joyful Always

How is it that my little baby girl can get so sick and still be so sweet and fun? Maddie Joy has had a double ear infection and tonsillitis for the past couple of days. She has had a fever anywhere from 101 to 103.9, and yet she still smiles, laughs, and attempts to act normal in spite of how she feels. I never thought that my little girl would begin to set an example for her daddy at such a young age. Whenever I get sick, I complain and need 100% of everyone's help and attention to get me through the time that I am sick. I guess the question is, "Who is really the baby?" Anyway, Madelynn is doing fine today and I praise God for healing her little body. 1 Thess. 5: 16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God will for you in Christ Jesus." The last thing I am is joyful when I do not feel good, but I have been challenged this week by my sweet baby girl's smile during her sickness, to be more aware of my attitude. God is good!

The Love of My Life

I know for several months I have shared and bragged on 2 of the many things that I love in my life: Madelynn Joy and my little Italian sports cars. Please don't be mistaken...Kelli, my wife, is truly the love of my life. Sometimes I just want to pinch myself to make sure that I am not in a dream. This August, Kelli and I will have been married for 4 years! However, I have known her for over 15 years! I remember telling my cousin when I first saw Kelli and her sisters, "Wow, Kelli is definitely the most beautiful." Who would have known that 12 years later she would be my bride? I am so blessed!
I have the most amazing wife in the world. She is the most fun, easy-going, lovable, and exciting person to be around. She loves the Lord and is full of life! Her joy is obvious, and her smile is the most beautiful I have seen. You can get lost in her big blue eyes, and her laugh is contagious. She never meets a stranger and loves each person she meets. She is truly one-of-a-kind, and I have the privilege of spending my life with her! God is so good. I love you Kelli! Thanks for putting up with me and for being the most incredible wife, mother, and friend a man could ever ask for.

Go-Go-Gadget Arms

It is hard to believe that our sweet baby girl is already crawling, pulling up on things to stand, and getting into anything and everything she can reach or grab. Wow, do babies grow up fast! Madelynn Joy is the fastest crawler I have ever seen. You can blink and she is already across the room. She also has what I call a "Go-Go-Gadget reach". This little girl can reach just about anything if she twists her body a certain way. Kelli and I are really gonna have to child-proof the house soon. For example, Kelli found Madelynn behind the TV a couple days ago! It seems like she stays under our coffee table, or most recently, stands holding the side of it grabbing everything she can reach. How do you help but smile when you see her sweet expression as she has accomplished reaching everything on the coffee table?
Last night, I took Kelli out to dinner for Mother's Day. We took the first available seating and were blessed after a few minutes to be seated in a booth. The only problem was that they do not allow high chairs beside the booth for traffic reasons, so Maddie Joy had to sit in her first booster seat. We barely secured her little body, but we successfully made it through dinner with no major spills or catastrophes. Until...I was holding her in the booth as Kelli was getting her things ready to leave...and then...it happened...Madelynn's Go-Go-gadget arms reached past me and grabbed my 3/4 full cup of coffee and spilled it all over us! It was not scolding hot, but it was pretty warm as it soaked my left leg, the bottom of my shirt, the table, and of course, Madelynn's left leg and tennis shoe. Thankfully, we were not burned! It was a little embarrassing walking out of a nice restaurant soaked with coffee, but I was still a proud Daddy carrying my baby girl with the same leg also soaked with the same coffee.