18 Months, Week 3

It's a Livi doll! She is a one of a kind creation, not sold in stores!   Hours of fun for everyone!

Like any good shopper, Olivia was able to rally in time for Black Friday. Since she was feeling better we headed up to Columbia City for the rest of the weekend. Grampy and Grampy took us to see some of the holiday sights of Fort Wayne including the light up Santa and his reindeer. A real life Santa was also there and was nice enough to pose for pictures.

Grammy and Grampy also took us out for one of Olivia's favorite treats, frozen yogurt!  They had some very yummy flavors including peppermint.  Olivia usually prefers to sample from everyone else's bowl, except her own.  Of course, Grammy and Grampy were willing to share.

Although, she was feeling better she was still pretty tired from the bug she had.  It made for some pretty rough nights of sleep for all of us!  An afternoon nap on the couch was just the ticket!  Always the little sponge for what she sees and hears around her, she has starting to put her finger to her lips and say "shhhh!" when people are sleeping.

On Monday, Olivia had her 18 month well-visit.  She continues to do be doing well and thriving!  The pediatrician said she is tall and skinny.  She's in the 70th percentile for height and 50th for weight.

We also picked up our Christmas tree this week.  We always get it from the Boy Scouts at Marsh.  Olivia was pretty choosy and helped us pick out a great one!


 An absolute melt your heart moment happened during bedtime this week. As I was getting Olivia into her pjs after her bath, Olivia gave the sign for "Twinkle Stars" so I started singing for her. Shortly after, she joined in! It was so sweet!

18 Months, Week 2

Ok, I know I'm a little biased, but is this seriously not the most beautiful girl you have ever seen?  Those big blue eyes, long eyelashes, and pretty golden locks - what a knockout!  Last weekend, our good friend and professional photographer, Jackie Magdich took Olivia's 18 month pictures.  Jackie has taken pictures of our family since it was just Josh, Tink, and I.  We love her work and she always manages to capture great pictures of Olivia even when she is being less than cooperative!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we headed outside to Stonycreek Farms.  We had not been there before but will definitely go back!

I love these pictures because they really capture Olivia's spirit.  Even when she is also dressed up, she is still an animal and nature lover at heart.  After we did a quick ensemble change, we started to head to where the pine trees were planted so we could take some family photos.  As we were walking, Olivia spotted a barn with some animals and made a beeline for them.  She wanted so badly to give them hugs and pet them, but her nervous/overprotective mommy had to draw the line!

And it was no easy feat getting this busy girl to "sit" for many pictures!  She likes to be busy and on the move.

I just love our little family! It's amazing how someone so little can change your life so much!

Being that cute, certainly works up appetite!  After our photo session, it was off to dinner at Houlihan's.  She wasn't necessarily a big fan of the flower in her hair, but everyone else sure liked it!
 

On Wednesday, we were able to get in to see Dr. Patterson (the allergist).  Based on Olivia's medical history and pictures we took of  a her rash, he felt she is most likely allergic to penicillin.  He recommended she just avoid penicillin in the future because the testing for penicillin allergies is too invasive and can only be done at the Mayo Clinic (due to her age).  Sounds like an easy enough plan!

Unfortunately, this is how we spent our Thanksgiving day.  We had big plans to celebrate with Josh's side of the family; however, when we woke up on Thursday morning Olivia had a high fever and wasn't acting like her usual high energy self.  The ONLY good thing about when she is sick is that she is usually very cuddly.  While I would never wish for her to be sick, spending the day curled up in bed watching movies as a family was awfully nice!

Thanksgiving day or not, this little girl gives us so much to be thankful for every day!

18 Months, Week 1

Happy, happy birthday 18 month birthday Olivia Marie!  You have such a big personality and heart for such a little girl.  And you give the best hugs!  We love you so much!

Last weekend we went to visit Grammy and Grampy Banks. Unfortunately, I got food poisoning on the drive up to their house and was out of commission for most of the day on Saturday.  Luckily, Grammy and Grampy were happy to help entertain Olivia.  They even played beauty shop!

We also continued to enjoy some very warm November weather.  Olivia loved having Grampy push her up and down the street!  And when she got upset, it was Grampy who gave her big hugs and calmed her down.  She had so much fun that she slept the whole drive home!

17 Months, 4 Weeks (continued)

Let's go hounds!  The UIndy Greyhounds are having their best season to date.  I like to think it's because they have had one of the cutest cheerleaders around for two of their games.  Although, I'm not sure if she enjoyed watching the game as much as she liked running around and eating sandwiches in the Stadium Club.

After celebrating the Hounds victory it was time to head to the after party at the library (aka Josh's office). I can honestly say I don't think I spent many (read any) Saturday nights in the library when I was a student at UIndy.  But while we trying to get Olivia in her PJs, she had a "Girls Gone Wild" moment and was running down the hall in just her diaper.  Let's just hope this moment doesn't repeat itself in 17 years!


















 The next day we went to go shoe shopping with Grandma. Before we headed out, we stopped at one of Olivia's favorite restaurants, Noodles & Company, for some mac 'n cheese. It is so funny because now when we warn Olivia that her food is hot, she has started to blow on it to cool it off. She really is like a little sponge picking up new information!

Once we got to Stride Rite, we were on the hunt for a new pair of sneakers. Olivia decided if one pair of shoes was good, three was even better!  In the end, we found a great pair of sneakers that were also very cute.

Unfortunately as the week went on, Olivia developed a stomach bug on Wednesday night.  She and I stayed home on Thursday and she seemed to be on the mend.  That is until she woke up from her nap covered in hives!  We went to the doctor who wasn't quite sure what could be causing it since it looked similar to reaction she had to amoxicillin, but she hadn't been on amoxicillin in weeks.  He referred to us a pediatric allergist to try and find out what was causing it.

The nurse at the doctor's office suggested we take some pictures of the rash to take to the allergist.  Olivia was less than thrilled with having her picture taken at that moment and instead wanted to take my picture. Here's what she got, a shot of mommy with no make-up on, in sweats after staying home with a sick kiddo all day.  Ah, the things I will let that girlie get away with!

17 Months, Week 4

What happens at Grandma and Grandpa's, stays at Grandma and Grandpa's right?  Well, I'm sure there are some secrets the three of them are keeping but Grandma and Grandpa Szafarczyk were nice enough to take and share lots of pictures of Olivia's first solo over night stay.  They were also nice enough to Skype with us as we were driving so we could say goodnight to Olivia before she went to bed.  It looks like a good time was had by all!

 Olivia also got to dine at a very special table while she was at Grandma and Grandpa's.  This table belonged to Grandma Sue when she was a little girl.  I then used it in my "kitchen" when I was a little girl.  I have so many fond memories of having "coffee" and "cookies" at this table with my Nanny when I was little.  I can still remember her asking me, "Is this coffee Sanka?  It's delicious!"  But over the years, the table and chairs had started to show it's age.  So, Grandpa repainted it and Aunt Mary Ann recovered the seats on the chairs. Both did a great job; it came out perfect!  I am so excited that new memories will be made by this table and chairs!

After our fun weekend up North, it was time to head back to the grind.  It started with picture day at daycare.  This is one of those pictures that when I see it, I can't believe how grown-up she looks!

After all the warm-ups, the big night finally arrived - HALLOWEEN! Uncle Jimmy stopped by first with a special bag of goodies for Olivia. It was pretty cold outside, but that didn't stop Josh and Olivia!  For only going to a few houses, she still managed to bring home a pretty good haul!

She was pretty excited to show off her trick-or-treat basket when she got home.  She was even willing to share a few treats with me!