2 Years, Month 3, Week 3

Hello, Lake Geneva!  The Banks are in town for a few days to enjoy some family time before school starts again.  We found a good deal on a resort that had both indoor and outdoor pools.  Double the swimming fun!

The night we arrived, we went into town to do a little exploring and have dinner.  We discovered Sprecher's.  They make Josh's favorite soda, so we were excited to try other things on their menu too.  Everything was so good!  Afterwards, we went down to the water and walked (someone ran) on the beach.  Capped off with ice cream at Kilwin's, it was a great day!

The next day, we were up bright and early thanks to someone who decided she did not want to sleep in her crib.  She conked out fairly early into our shopping trip at the local shops. (I think Josh would have liked to shop while sleeping in a stroller too.)

Later that day, it was back to the beach.  Livi had fun digging and building sandcastles with her daddy.  We were all very happy that he was able to be away from work for a few days and enjoy some family time.

After a day of fun in the sun, we needed to get cleaned up for another night on the town.  As we got dressed, Olivia insisted on wearing a necklace since I was wearing one.  What can I say, the girl knows how to rock accessories!   We headed out for dinner once again.  It took a few tries (let's just say one restaurant wasn't what it seemed based on their website), but we found a great Italian restaurant.  Have you ever seen a child so excited to be eating broccoli?

Sadly, the next day it was time to leave Lake Geneva.  We took in the view of Lake Como from the dining room at breakfast.  I think Livi may have eaten more than we did!  One of the funniest things was how excited Livi was when she noticed the Wal-Mart sign on the way out of town, "I wanna go Wal-Mart!"  Sigh, we traveled 260 miles and Olivia was excited about Wal-Mart.  I'm glad we didn't attempt Disney World this summer!

On our way back to Papa and Grandma's house (where Tinker was staying), we stopped by to see Uncle Artie.  It was so nice to see him again and Olivia warmed up to him right away.  We stayed and had dinner with some of the rest of the Lucchese gang. 

We bunked at Papa and Grandma's house (while they were visiting Uncle Drew and Aunt Lisa in Charlotte) that night.  The next day, Livi and Daddy went to check out the local bakery (Chuck's) while I did some shopping with my God daughter, Alyssa.  It was very fun to have lunch with two of my favorite girls!  Before we headed back to Fishers, Livi made sure to water her flowers at Papa and Grandma's.  I can't believe how big they are both getting!

2 Years, Month 3, Week 2

 The theme for this week was fun with friends.  We started off with Gymboree and lunch with the Abraham ladies. Livi created a new combo of spaghetti with ranch dressing (ACK!) at the restaurant.  At least she enjoyed it (although she wouldn't eat the leftovers the next day!)!  The weather has really been heating up this week.  So on Thursday, Miss Nichole and Izzy let us tag along on their membership to the Children's Museum so we could beat the heat. It was neat to see Livi have a playmate at so many of the exhibits we've been to before.  Clearly, Izzy is way more fun to run around the museum with than grown-ups.

For the weekend, we headed to Papa and Grandma's house and we had some friends with us, the Galyen Family!  It's a good thing they have a big house and don't mind noise!  On Friday night, Wendy, Carrie, and I went to a concert (NKOTB baby!) while the daddies and Papa and Grandma stayed home to babysit. I think everyone was up way past their bedtime that night!

The next day was the best kind of day, a beach day!  The weather and water were perfect.  The kids had so much fun building sand castles, digging holes, looking for rocks for Papa's train table, and splashing in the waves.  The grown-ups had a little bit of fun too chasing after them. 



We also went back to the beach the next day with Papa and Grandma.  This girl just can't get enough of the beach!

  

And look at what this monkey figured out she could do.  Sigh, I fear the crib is next!

2 Years, Month 3, Week 1

This has been a jam packed week of fun!  On our drive back from Papa and Grandma's, Olivia made up a new "game" in which she asked, "Mommy, where are you?" over and over and over.  Sigh, as long as was entertained!

When we (finally) made it home, we had to hit the ground running.  First up, pottery class!  I was bummed that I had to go to the dentist and miss this, but thankfully Daddy was able to re-arrange his schedule so he could take Livi.  He was probably a better choice anyway as he used to be quite the potter.

 Next up was dinner and a concert with our neighbors, the Patridges.  Their daughter, Brynn is a little bit younger than Olivia but they still have a blast playing together.  Olivia LOVED LOVED LOVED riding in Brynn's wagon.  Lately, we have been having some battles about riding (or should I say staying in) the stroller. But the wagon was a great option.

 

On Thursday, we caught up with the Galyens for lunch and Family Fun Time at the InterActive Academy.  Livi once again reminded me that she has no fear nor does she realize she is only two.  She headed straight for everything geared for the older kids.  She attacks everything full steam and never looks back (with her mother trailing behind her panicking!).  After all that fun, we had to go for some frozen yogurt to try and replenish some of that energy!

 
That night was also Target Family night at the Children's Museum.  After a much needed nap after our fun with the Galyens, Livi was ready to go again.  She rode the carousel with Daddy (she needed a little bit of prompting and encouragement to try it!), had a tea party with teddy bears, saw the doll house, made some new friends in Mr. Bear's Playhouse, and did a pretty good job rocking the replica boots from Avatar.

We've been so excited to have Daddy home with us on Fridays for the summer.  Since the weather has been so nice, we headed to the Indianapolis Zoo in the morning.  We spent a good part of our visit at the White River Gardens.  Livi loved seeing all the butterflies and flowers.  She also liked seeing the train running through the gardens.  We gave the Zoo's carousel a try as well and it went much better than our previous attempt at the Children's Museum.  She also knows the sounds most animals make, but if you ask her what sound Livi makes she will tell you, "Kisses!"

On Friday night, Josh's bosses hosted a party at Dave and Busters to thank their department for all of their hard work on a big project.  They had great food and gave everyone cards to use for the video games.  Livi was quite the winner.  She won enough tickets for two Hello Kitty stuffed animals!

On Saturday, we headed to the splash pad at Billericay Park. Unlike her mama, Livi has no problem running right into cold water!

Later that day, we also had a little splashing fun of our own at home.  There's just something about running through sprinklers that says summer to me.  It's no wonder after all the places we went this week, Livi now names Target, Starbucks ("The Coffee Store"), Menards, and Gymboree (Play and Music) when she sees their buildings/logos.  I'm not sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed!