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!  

Christmas at Grammy and Grampy's

And the holiday fun continues!  We were so excited to get to Columbia City so we could celebrate with Grammy and Grampy, Uncle Jordan, Uncle Paul, Aunt Miranda, Will, and Amelia.  It's a good thing Grammy and Grampy have such a big house because with that many people (plus 4 dogs) we certainly needed it!

The last time we saw the Kinter family was around Thanksgiving time last year.    I can't believe how big Will and Amelia have gotten.  It was so sweet to see all of the kids together once again!  Plus, they looked super cute in their matching PJs Aunt Miranda got them.  I only wish we all lived closer together so we have play dates more often.  Our entire visit was just cuteness overload!

And I was an auntie heaven!  It was too fun to get to play with my favorite niece and nephew (and of course Olivia).  The kids all played so well together!  We'll have to Skype again soon!

Opening presents on "Christmas morning" was so much fun.  Again, we were all blessed so many awesome gifts.  Olivia received her own kitchen plus lots of play food and dishes.  We have the perfect spot all picked out for it at home.

Since we aren't able to see each other in person as often as we would like, we were excited to have some family portraits taken.  The photographer had a very nice studio, but we also had a few pics taken outside while it was snowing.  They came out great!  They will be nice to have and remember what a fun visit we had!

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's

After the fun celebration at our house, we headed to Valparaiso to celebrate with the Szafarczyks.  As usual, Grandma and Grandpa planned lots of fun activities for us and even had Santa deliver some of Olivia's gifts to their house.  We also missed a pretty big snow storm that hit Fishers.  Who knew we would go to the land of lake effect snow and see very, very few flakes?!?

Christmas morning was lots of fun.  I was super excited to find the same set of PJs from last year for Olivia in a bigger size.  I'm sure there will come a time where it will be impossible to convince Olivia to wear matching PJs (it's hard enough to get Josh to do it!), so I'm loving it while it lasts.

Later that night, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Drew, Aunt Lisa, and their dog Charlotte also came over for Christmas dinner and to open more presents.  Olivia was an excellent helper.  She passed out the gifts and helped everyone open their gifts (whether they wanted her to or not!).  We were all very blessed by everyone's generosity and received some very nice gifts.

The next morning, Grandma and Grandpa gave us a very nice bonus gift...the gift of extra sleep!  They entertained Olivia (or perhaps she entertained them!) while Josh and I caught a few more winks.  I saw these pics afterwards and it looks like she had a lot of fun reading with Grandma, passing out candy (one of her favorite activities of this visit), rocking out with Elmo, chilling with Angus, and watching her favorite cartoon.

Once we were all feeling rested, we headed to Chicago for our now annual Christmas trip. Our first stop was the Shedd Aquarium.  Olivia loved looking at all the fishies and of course running as much as possible!

She also had fun meeting some new friends and playing in the camping area of the Great Lakes exhibit.  If Olivia wants to go camping in the future, I think that sounds like the perfect adventure for her to have with Josh.

And even though it was freezing outside, a very nice security guard took a family photo with a breath taking backdrop.  You just can't beat that skyline!

After our fun trip to the aquarium, it was time to head to our hotel for some yummy pizza and a good night's sleep.  The next day, our little fishie went for a swim in the hotel pool. I don't think you can beat a view like this for your morning swim!

After our swim (and a really good nap!) it was time to hit the Mag Mile for some shopping!  We were also excited that Uncle Drew and Aunt Lisa were able to join us as well.  Olivia was so well behaved!  It was a great trip and unlike our trip last Christmas, no ear infections!

The next day we had one more yummy breakfast and one last visit with everyone.  And check out the matching "Szafarczyk Racing Team" shirts.  I'm sure we will be invited to participate in the Indy 500 this spring. All in all an absolutely great trip to the Region!