13 Months, 3 Weeks

Fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me!  Especially in my new super fast sneakers (thanks Grandma!).  This week I weighed 20 pounds, 13 ounces.

Last weekend we were up in Valpo visiting and doing a little shoe shopping for Miss Olivia. On Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa Szafarczyk had a barbeque.  We got to spend some time with Great Grandpa Pigg, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Artie and his friend Christine, and the Lucchese family.

Olivia was thrilled that along w/getting to play with her cousins, Megan and Molly, they also brought their puppy, Winnie!  She loves Westies and had a great time playing with a dog her size.

We were all happy to see Great Grandpa Pigg again.  Olivia certainly enjoyed snuggling  up with Grandpa (and I think he was pretty smitten with her too).

Our little fishy also got a chance to go swimming in her own private backyard pool.  She tried to convince Angus to jump in with her, but he seemed pretty content just lounging in the grass!

Also, in the Region this weekend were our good friends, the Fosters!  They live in Philly and we are always happy when we get a chance to see them.  They always seem so much bigger each time we see them.

On our way back home, we stopped to see Grammy and Grampy at their house.  Olivia had a great time running around their backyard and sitting with Grampy on the swing.  The next day, Grammy came to our house.  During the day, we went shopping and that night Grammy and Uncle Jordan baby-sat so Josh and I could go out for dinner for our anniversary (7 years, woo-hoo!).  We are very lucky that after a year, we have only had family as night time baby-sitters. 


















Ever gotten yourself into something you couldn't quite figure out how to get out of? Olivia was pretty insistent that she wanted to sit in her Bumbo, but was pretty confused and ticked off when she couldn't easily get out of it!


















Looks like somebody is ready for the fourth of July! Although, I doubt those shades will stay on for very long. For some reason, Olivia no longer wants anything to do with hats, hair bows, or sunglasses. What happened to my child who loved to accessorize?

13 Months, Week 2 - Happy Father's Day!

Hello, kiwi! Where have you been the last 13 months? You are delicious! And you match my outfit (always a bonus).

Last weekend, we celebrated Father's Day! Olivia insisted on making Josh's presents (aka I spent way too much time on Pinterest and got way too many ideas!). She and I had a great time making her projects and only had to make one call to poison control (fyi - cement used for making stepping stones is apparently safe to ingest in small amounts).

Look at these little hands!  So cute!  The card says, "I Love You this much!

She also painted a picture for Josh.  Believe it or not some of the paint actually ended up on the paper.

We also got to celebrate with some of our favorite grand dads and Godfathers. Great-Grandpa Pigg from Florida and Uncle Drew (along with Aunt Lis) from Charlotte were even here! (Grandpa Szafarczyk and Uncle Jimmy had a slightly shorter commute to join in the fun.) It was such a fun way to spend the day with so many people we love!



The rest of week we laid pretty low because poor Olivia was battling a viral infection. We actually took her to the urgent care at Community North on Saturday night because she had a fever and was lethargic (which if you know Olivia Banks, lethargic is not a word we typically use to describe her!). A little Motrin and she was in much better spirits! The hard part was when the ibuprofen wore off and she couldn't have another dose for several hours. The only silver lining was that she was much more snuggly than usual.

She has also become quite the dancer. Perhaps it is all of the fabulous dancing I have been modeling for her that inspired her to get down with her bad self.



While we were at home, Olivia decided she was going to help out with some chores.  Watch my little helper assisting with her laundry.





Today, we headed to Valpo to spend the weekend visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Szafarczyk and Great Grandpa Pigg who is still vacationing from Florida. Grandma Sue made one her specialties for dinner, spaghetti. I think Olivia is a fan!

13 Months, Week 1

We're just wrapping up the end of my third week of summer vacation.  It was a fun, busy, and (at times) trying week.  Let's just say Olivia can occasionally be a "spirited" child.  There's a lot of sass in that 20 pound, 10 ounce girl! 

Auntie Carrie came to visit us last weekend!  While she was in town, the Galyen family hosted a BBQ  and pool party at their house.  It was so much fun!  Especially when the dads were on duty with the kiddos in the pool!  Look at those cuties in their swim suits, hats, and SPF 60 sunscreen!

Olivia kicked off her shenanigans on Monday. (Perhaps it was my fault for dressing her in a shirt that says "Daddy's Busy Bee.") One of her new favorite games/toys is Tinker's water dish. She does love to splash so it should be no surprise that when there is a bowl full of water on the floor it probably looks like a pool to a toddler. Olivia had dumped the bowl over yet again, so I put her in "Time Out" (aka her Pack N Play) while I cleaned it up. I should have know she was up to something when I didn't hear her screaming while in Time Out. She had reached up and grabbed a package of wipes and proceeded to pull every one of them out of the package and onto the floor. So much for time out!














Later that day, our next door neighbors, Corey, Angie and Brynn stopped by to visit and bring Olivia a birthday gift. Brynn is about 6 months younger than Olivia but I know they are going to have fun playing as they get older!

Ah, Tuesday. Tuesday will forever be one of those days that at the end of it you think, "Well, that didn't really go like I thought it would!" Olivia was up early, a little less than cooperative while we were working on Josh's Father's Day gift, and refused to take an afternoon nap. We took a break in the afternoon to meet our friends, Nichole and Isabella, at Starbucks before I lost my mind.  (Miss Nichole, I think you may have just saved my sanity with our Starbucks date!) When we got home, we were playing in the backyard while we waited for Josh to get home from work. While I was opening a new bottle of bubbles, Olivia turned around and made a beeline for her pool. That's right, a fully clothed, shoes on, no ear plugs in dip her pool.  Sigh, what else can you do but laugh?  (It's probably not an effective form of discipline to laugh and take pictures of your child while she is misbehaving is it?)

On Thursday, we tried out a "Play and Learn Class" at Gymboree. Olivia really seemed to like climbing on the equipment, singing songs, and the parachute. Although, her favorite part had to be the "mystery box." After sifting through all the toys she found her favorite...a phone! Although, these days pretty much anything can be a phone; remotes, shoes, computer mouse, etc.

"A Toddler’s Perception of Household Objects by Graph Jam." I love this poster because it is so true!

We wrapped up our week at Zoolapalooza at the Indianapolis Zoo with the Galyen clan.  It was hot, hot, hot! Nothing hits the spot after a warm evening out like a big bowl of pasta!  Everybody had a blast including the matchy-matchy twins (Seriously, Carters I think we have some very cute models for you!)