Christmas at Home

Before we headed out to travel over the river and through the woods to celebrate Christmas, we had a little celebration with just the three of us. We got dressed up, went to Mass, then Christmas at the Zoo, and on to dinner.

We also tried another visit with Santa. Let's just say it didn't go so well! But luckily Santa was very nice and suggested a family photo instead.  Apparently, it's okay to go by Santa as long as Mommy and Daddy are with you!

Olivia also had fun running around the inside of the Hibert Conservatory.  We even got enjoy their "beachy" set-up.

When we got home that night, we put out some of Olivia's favorite snacks for Santa.  We left him some string cheese, grapes, animals crackers, and a Danimal to wash it down with.  I hope he enjoyed the treats!

Santa was very good to Miss Olivia!  One of her favorite presents was a "Livi-sized" rocking chair.  She loved opening the rest of her presents and helping Josh and I open ours too.

This was the aftermath of the opening of the presents.  Clearly, we very blessed and fortunate this year!

After opening all those gifts, we had a little family craft time to make some special ornaments.  Olivia did a great job of mixing the ingredients together and rolling out the dough.  Thanks to Auntie Christi, Olivia and I had matching Mommy/Daughter aprons which I love!  Christmas has been so special so far and we can't wait to keep celebrating with the rest of our family!

19 Months, Week 2

And this is what our little shopper picks out when given the opportunity to make own her choices: a onesie that says "Daddy's Princess", a backpack, and princess underwear. I'm not really sure what goes on in that cute little head of hers, but sometimes all you can do it laugh!

Which is why this picture is also funny. Grammy and Grampy came for a visit over the weekend so Grampy could help Josh repair the kitchen floor. (The girls helped by staying away at the mall.) When I told Olivia I wanted to take her picture with Grammy and Grampy, she ran to pose in front of the door to the garage because this is often where we snap pictures of her in the morning.  Thankfully, they were good sports and we got some pretty cute shots.

On Sunday, we met up with our good friends the Galyen Family to exchange Christmas gifts and tour Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo.  We had a great time!  Olivia had fun seeing the reindeer, riding the train, and trying to pet the sharks.   

Olivia always has fun playing with Spencer and Isabelle.  She actually lets Spencer hold her hand and lead her around.  It will be very fun to watch them get older and see how their friendship grows.  Josh is already freaking out about a potential suitor for Olivia!

We also tried another visit with Santa this time at the library. Olivia was not a fan this time! Although, how classic is the picture of her on Santa's lap?!? Santa was very gracious and did not take Olivia's reaction too personally. She did have a blast seeing the dogs that were visiting as part of the Humane Society fundraiser. As usual, the girl knows what she likes!



And for our fellow Big Bang Theory fans...Olivia loves the theme song for the Big Bang Theory! I'm not sure if she likes the show or is just a Barenaked Ladies fan. My favorite is her big finish at the end!

You've got to love this girl's spunk!

19 Months, Week 1

She's making a list and checking it twice...Livi Claus is coming to town!  It's been so warm this week, it hardly feels like December.  Which means we will probably get twice as much snow as usual next week!   If you ask Olivia if she had a fun week, she will probably tell you, "Yeah!" (since that is her answer to pretty much every question these days!)   Olivia has also been loving the Christmas lights Josh put on the outside of the house.  She especially loves a light-up "Happy Holidays" sign with snowmen and a penguin.  She runs and gives it a big hug every time we come home.

Last weekend, Auntie Carrie and Sharla came for a visit and brought lots of nice presents. We had a good time visiting with them and the Galyen family. Although, we ran into some rather grumpy folks when we went out to dinner with everyone. Regardless what those people thought, the three toddlers at our table were very well behaved!

I have been loving one of Olivia's new favorite activities.  She has started bringing us books to read to her.  In the past, she would usually only listen to stories while drinking her milk at bedtime so it's nice to see that she is actually enjoying reading!  Granted she won't sit for very long, but if you read fast enough, you can usually make it through most board books.  And if Olivia the pig and Fancy Nancy have taught us anything, sometimes you just have make a Tuesday a little bit more sparkly.

Olivia also had her first trip to the dentist this week. Let's just say it's a good thing she only has to go every 6 months because I don't think my ears or heart can take that kind of screaming too often!  I'm not sure why because the hygienist and dentist were very nice and were great with her!  Her 12 teeth look good and even better she shouldn't have any more teeth coming in for a while.

We wrapped our week up with a trip downtown to see the lights on Monument Circle. As we were walking up to the Circle, Olivia tipped her head back and said, "Oooooh!" as she took in the tree.  She insisted (of course) on climbing the steps of the Monument by herself (which of course made me a nervous wreck). Santa was even there on his Harley!

18 Months, Week 4

We have officially kicked off the holiday season! It was a busy, busy week and it looks like the weeks between now and Christmas day will be just as busy and full of fun! We started off with a weekend in the Region to celebrate Great Grandma Szafarczyk's 90th birthday party. On the drive up, Olivia and I were watching "Elf" (one of my very favorite Christmas movies) and talking about Santa and just how nice he is.

The next morning, Olivia helped Grandma cook breakfast.  She scrambled the eggs and stirred them in the pan.  They were delicious!  She and Grandpa also read "Olivia Claus".  Grandpa is a very good narrator because he adds some very funny voices!

Before long, it was time to head to the restaurant for Great Grandma Szafarczyk's 90th birthday party.  90 years?  Wow!  It's always so much fun to be with family and that night was no exception.  Olivia had a great time playing with her cousin Zoey.  Zoey is going to be a big sister in a little over a month and did a great job of helping to take care of Olivia.

After one last pep talk from Daddy, it was to see the jolly guy in the red suit. While she didn't quite have the same smile as last year, she didn't panic too much.  Oddly enough, she calmed down once we gave her a coupon for a free dinner to hold (I guess Grandma Sue must have been giving her pep talks too!)

Once our visit with Santa was complete, we stopped to take a few more pictures around the North Pole. I have to admit that Bass Pro had by far one of the prettiest North Pole areas I have ever seen.

Of course, Olivia then insisted on climbing on one of the ATVs (in her dress shoes and all!) after bolting from the North Pole.  Sorry Livi, but I don't think Santa will be leaving one of these under the Christmas tree!

 We wrapped up the week with a trip to the Children's Museum for their Jolly Days exhibit. Olivia loved it! She had so much fun "fishing" with Josh, combing the reindeer's fur, playing with the trains, and having a pony ride.  She even got to give Peyton Manning a hug and make it snow!  A big highlight (at least for me) was going down the slide from the second floor of the museum.  I have the feeling this is going to be a very fun and memorable holiday season!