21 Months, Week 1

Love is in the air this week!  Livi has found a new way to show love...she has started to tickle people!  It's so funny to watch her move little her fingers under your chin and say, "Tickle, tickle!"  Her other favorite game to play is grabbing family pictures and then naming all the people in the picture.  She's so proud of herself that she knows so many people.

Grammy and Grampy stopped by last weekend for a visit and to bring us some valentine treats.  Livi had fun showing off her kitchen and cooking up some tasty treats.

Great Uncle Jimmy also stopped by later in the week to bring Livi some princess treats and a card she could card.  She loved both!

On Valentine's Day, I had the cutest delivery person around bring me some beautiful tulips to school. She also doubles as an assistant.  I wonder if I can get her to write some reports or score some protocols...

 Since she was so sweet to give us such nice presents, it was only fair to return the favor.  I'm sure there will come a time when socks, bubbles, and new plates won't cut it any more but this year they were a big hit!  She also loved her "magic" flower that blooms with the push of a button.  If only real gardening was that easy.

Going out for Valentine's Day is one of the many things that changes once you have a toddler.  After Gymboree, we went to Mark Pi's for Chinese food.  Their food really is very yummy and I think Josh and I were both thrilled to not be the ones cooking dinner!

And when Olivia is ready to go, she's always willing to help carry things to the car.  At home when she's decided she has been in the house too long, she'll often grab my purse and head for the garage door.  I really didn't think I'd have to worry about her borrowing my purses quite yet, but what can I say.  This girl has excellent style!

20 Months, Week 4 Continued

Oh to be inside the head of a toddler...I imagine it goes something like this, "Check me out!  I can jump up and down and watch myself in the mirror.  I'm very good at multitasking."  Olivia is getting very good at things that involve routines.  She knows when she comes in the house she is supposed to take off her shoes, hang up her jacket, and then head for the bathroom to wash her hands.  I'm not saying it goes perfectly or that she doesn't need some reminders, but she usually has a pretty good memory.  Since she also likes to be a helper, when it's nap time at daycare she not only sets her shoes neatly next to her cot but also her classmates' (who could care less about where their shoes end up) as well.

Although, Sassy-Pants sometimes disapproves of the shoe choice I have made for and will promptly tell me, "No!" as she's taking them off and grabbing a different pair. Good thing she can also put her shoes on by herself (and 9 times out of ten gets them on the correct feet). 

Grandpa Al came to visit us while Grandma Sue is in Florida with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Pigg. He volunteered to baby-sit (which Josh and I eagerly took him up on!) and he and Olivia whipped up some very tasty cookies!  From looking at the pictures, I'm not sure who had more fun!  I think it's best to just call it a tie.

Strike a pose!  During their night in, Grandpa also snapped some pics of Olivia modeling her very cute night gown made by Auntie Mary Ann.  It cracks me up when she grabs a phone and says, "'lo?"  She is still loving having stories read to her.  She especially likes picture books where you ask her to either find something or label the picture.  She is also lucky to have a spunky role model named "Olivia" in books and on TV.  After a long day out, she will often grab the remote and shout "Yivya?" as she tries to climb on the couch.  She doesn't watch for too long, but she gets so excited when the theme song plays.  But then again, what child wouldn't be excited to hear a whole song in which the only words are their name?

20 Months, Week 4

That's Miss Sassy Pants to you! Sassy seems to be the best way to describe Olivia these days.  She has picked up what I can only describe as an "evil laugh" that she typically uses when she is being told not to do something.  I also walked in my room the other morning and found her putting on my rings and watch (I then added some necklaces and bracelets).  It's a good thing she's cute!

 My how going out to dinner has changed. First of all, there has to be a minimum noise level so we don't stand out. Second, if there's more than a 10 minute wait we are probably going to have to go some where else. And third you have to be on the look out for a cute little hand stealing your French fries!

It looks like I'm not only one whose closet Olivia likes to raid!  It's no easy to feat to walk around in shoes/slippers that are three times bigger than your foot but Olivia makes it work.  Even if that means wearing the shoe backward!

20 Months, Weeks 2 and 3

So, it turns out Ferris actually was sick.  It just took a week before it really hit her.  We got a the dreaded phone call from daycare that Olivia had spiked a fever and was fairly lethargic (very un-Olivia).  We took her to see the doctor who determined she most likely had a sinus infection as she had been battling a cold since before Christmas.  Of course, this was on a weekend where we needed to be up in the Region.  We were going to celebrate the life of an amazing man who lost a hard fought battle with cancer.  Thankfully, after a good night's rest and steady regiment of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, Olivia was much better and able to make the trip.

While we are at Grandma and Grandpa's, someone found Grandma's jewelry box.  For such a little girl, she managed to put on quite a few accessories!  Have to love our little material girl!

By the time Olivia finished her antibiotics, she finally seemed to have kicked whatever bug she had.  It's really scary with how many different things are going around right now.  I'm just hoping and praying that our flu shots protect us from getting really sick.  Once Olivia was finally healthy, we were able to get together with our neighbors, the Patridge family.  Their daughter, Brynn, turned one last month and we were excited to have a belated birthday celebration.  The girls had fun at dinner and we are all looking forward to warmer weather so we can have some play dates at the park!

20 Months, Week 1

Happy 20 Month Birthday, Olivia Marie!  I can't even begin to think about the fact that in 4 months you will turn 2.  It's just not possible!  It seems like just yesterday, I was using my tummy as a snack tray while you rolled around inside.  You can't see her it all of her shirt in this picture, but it says, "Smart Cookie".  This week, she certainly proved that!

 Before we got back into the grove of work, daycare, etc. we enjoyed one last weekend of freedom as a family. We went out for dinner on Saturday night.  Olivia enjoyed her dessert and we burned off ours by chasing her around the restaurant afterwards!

On Sunday, we cheered on our Colts.  Although they had one of the cutest cheerleaders around cheering for them, it wasn't quite enough to get the win.  Oh well!  They had a great season and I'm sure Olivia will be rooting them on next year!

And check out my big helper!  She is still loving Gymboree (and we still love taking her, especially in the winter when it is too cold to play outside).  Afterwards, we had to make a quick Target run and Olivia wanted to give us a hand with the shopping.  She grabbed a basket and found some new shirts for herself.  At least they were on clearance and will be big enough for next year.

 Does this look like the face of someone who is sick? Someone decided that going to daycare four days in a row was enough for her and she deserved a three day weekend.  She started waking up a few times during the night (which usually only happens when she is sick) and so we scrambled the next morning to work out schedules so she could stay home (thanks for the speedy rescue Grandma Sue!).  When I called home to check on the patient, Josh informed me she was RUNNING around the house and playing.  Josh took her to story time at the library while we waited for Grandma Sue to arrive so Josh could finally head to work.  Well played Olivia, well played!

19 Months, Week 4

 Ah, home sweet home!  We had so, so much fun on our travels but it's always nice to come home and sleep in your own bed.  We also discovered Olivia had expanded her vocabulary. While I'm always happy to hear her say new words, I was a little less than thrilled to hear her say, "NO!" and "MY!"  It didn't help that she was also cutting another tooth.  Ah the joys of toddlerhood!

We were home just long enough to unload the car from our travels before Olivia and I were off again.  I was excited to start what I hope will be an annual tradition with the girls in our family.  Grandma Sue, Grammy Banks, Aunt Miranda, Amelia, Olivia, and I went for lunch the L.S. Ayres Tea Room at the Indiana State Museum.  It was very fun to get dressed up and enjoy a yummy lunch with just the ladies!

It also gave "the twins" a little more time to spend together.  All three kiddos played so well together, but it was really fun to watch the girls together!  You can definitely see the family resemblance when you look at the two of them.  Plus, Grammy Banks and I had a lot fun shopping for matching ensembles for them.  Thank you, Grammy Banks!

 Daddy and Grandpa also got the new kitchen Olivia received from Grampy and Grammy for Christmas assembled. It didn't take long to see how much she loves it!  So far, her specialties are alphabet soup and cookies.

Since I was off for the rest of the week, we also got to have a play date with Miss Nichole and Izzy.  We were hoping to get outside and play in the snow, but it was just too darn cold.  Instead we stayed inside and as usual they figured out how to cook up lots of fun!