2 Years, Month 6, Weeks 2-3

Papa and Grandma are in the house!   Whenever they are in town one thing's for sure - spoiling will ensue (not that you hear any complaints from any one here!)!  Plus, the cookies they baked were delicious! Or as Livi would say, "Actually, they are very yummy!"

The main reason Papa and Grandma were in town was to attend the annual "Walk to End Alzheimer's".  This is a cause that's near and dear to our hearts as we lost one very special lady to this awful disease and we have another suffering from Parkinson's related dementia.  It's never too early to learn about raising awareness and helping others, so we raised money and participated in the walk through downtown Indy. 

Uh oh...Papa forgot his hat!  Looks like Livi will be cheering on the Hawks this week!

Time for another Daddy-Daughter Day!  It was Fall Break at UIndy, so Josh got to have a day off.  He and Livi made the most of the day by starting with breakfast at the Original Pancake House followed by burning off all that sugar at Jump N Play.  I was even lucky enough to get to have lunch with the dynamic duo!

I think we have a Martha Stewart in the making.  She loves to prepare meals to share in her kitchen and now she has upped her presentation skills.  She found a scrap of wrapping paper and used it as a place mat when she set her table.  Gorgeous!

The following weekend we headed north to attend a wedding of dear friends of the family.  We always love a reason to get dressed up, but were extra excited to be there with Papa and Grandma and Uncle Drew and Aunt Lisa.  The wedding and reception were gorgeous and Livi had so much fun dancing with Papa and running around checking everything out.

Time for a selfie!  While we were waiting for our dinner to be served, Livi and I attempted to take a picture of ourselves.  Of course she wanted to be the one to push the button.  I think she did a pretty good job!

The next day we got to have one more visit with Uncle Drew.  He's pretty good at playing with Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears!  Grandma and Livi also baked me a birthday cake.  It was very tasty!

2 Years, 5 months, Week 4 - 2 Years, 6 Months, Week 1

Fall is definitely in the air now!  It's that super time fun time of the year in Indiana when you have to dress in layers because it will be 50 degrees in the morning and 75 degrees in the afternoon.  Lucky for Livi, she just got a big box of new fashions from Grammy from the Gap and Old Navy!  Of course, maracas are in style no matter what the temperature!

We had a special visitor come to see us...Auntie Christi!  We were so glad to see her!  She came bearing many gifts including a Cinderella doll.  How did she know how popular Cinderella has become at our house?  She must have Auntie ESP (or two little girls of her own!). 

Daddy and Grampy continue their work on replacing the windows.  Livi and I are also helping by staying out of the way!  We are having lots of fun with our girls' day(s) out.  Gymboree, shopping and lunch have become our Saturday routine and we love it!  She melted my heart when she gave me a big hug and said, "I proud of you."

I'm singing in the rain!  Just singing in the rain!  I think Gene Kelly has a new fan in Miss Olivia.  We showed her a clip from "Singing in the Rain" after she was walking around outside with my umbrella and she loved it!  She keeps asking for the "Singing Rain" song.

Livi has decided she would like to dress up like Cinderella for Halloween.  We found her a dress and also some jewelry.  She was so excited when she put on the jewelry.  She took one look in the mirror and said, "I look stylish!"

It was homecoming at UIndy.  Every week, Olivia asks if we can go to the football game and we were happy there was finally a home game again.  I think she just likes eating in the Greyhound Club and running on the track!  Sometimes it's a little surreal to think that it wasn't that long ago (Okay, it really was a long time ago.  It just doesn't seem like it was that long ago!) that I was a UIndy student cheering on the Hounds and now I'm chasing my daughter around on campus.

Unfortunately, there was a lightening delay about half way through the game and we had to seek shelter in the ARC.  Although, I think Livi actually liked the delay as she had a blast checking out the indoor track and field facilities!

After about 30 minutes, it was back out to the field.  Livi shouted her favorite line, "Go Hounds!" right on cue!

Check out these long locks!  I can't believe how quickly her hair has grown!  Long hair and eyelashes, natural highlights...no wonder her Daddy is worried about her teenage years.

2 Years, 5 Months, Weeks 2 and 3

Our little reader has a thirst for knowledge!  She continues to love books and being read to!  After we read some books over and over and over again, she knows them by heart.  She's also more than happy to read it to you!  Grammy came with us on our recent trip to the library to get some new books. Livi found another copy of a book we had just returned and insisted on reading it for us.

Grammy was nice enough to come back again the next day so Josh and I could go to the Michael Buble concert (swoon!).  She and Livi had a lot of fun.  Grammy always teaches her important things.  She now knows that red means "stop", green means "go", and yellow means "sloooooow down."

After our long walk up to the library, it was time for a nap. But first, Livi had to make sure she got her friends all settled in and comfortable.  She's so considerate!

 

What's better than swinging?  A double swing at Gymboree of course!

The next weekend we headed to a fun fall event at the Gymboree store.  Livi decorated an owl with feathers on the eyes.  Not everyone is as blessed as she is to have such long eye lashes, but she's always full of helpful ideas.

Later that day, we headed to our good friend Isabella's 2nd birthday party.  The food was very yummy and Livi had a blast playing with one of her bffs.  Livi wasn't exactly cooperative when we tried to take some posed pics of the girls, but they did have an awful lot of fun playing together.

Who's ready for fall?  This girl!  She looked so cute dressed up for church in one of her new dresses that Grammy Banks made, that I have to admit even I'm ready watch the leaves change and brace for some cooler temps!

Who hasn't felt like this when they have woken up before?  Do you also ask to watch Cinderella?  If not, may be you should because it certainly seems to perk Livi right up!