Olivia's 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday, Olivia!!! We had a GREAT day! We started the day with her waking up to a room full of balloons. We covered her floor in balloons before we went to bed last night and she was so excited this morning. She initially thought it was "lots of balls", but she was surprised and happy to learn that they were balloons.

After the excitement of her Sesame Street decorations, more balloons, and seeing her cupcakes, we had a pancake breakfast made by Daddy. Then, we headed out to start our day of fun. First on the agenda? A Day with Thomas. One of the local trains was decorated as Thomas the Train and had lots of activities to go along with it this weekend. We played and rode the train, which Olivia absolutely loved!

After lunch and ice cream, we headed home for a nap. When Olivia woke up, it was time to open presents and eat cupcakes. I don't know if I've ever seen a child get so excited to open presents, whether it is clothes, toys, socks, etc... she loves ALL presents!

The cupcakes I made for her:

It was a perfect day and she enjoyed every second of it! Here's to another enjoyable year!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

WOW... Olivia turns 2 today. I can't even believe it. She has brought a joy to our lives that Jon and I could never have imagined. She is so sweet, funny, and feisty all at the same time. I love everything about her. I love the way she talks to her baby every morning, the songs she sings all day every day, the hugs and kisses she gives, the wonder in her eyes when she sees something new, the way she soaks everything in, her HUGE heart, her silliness, and so many other things. I am so blessed to be her mother and although I hate the idea of her growing up so quickly, I look forward to seeing her grow.

So, what exactly is Olivia up to at 2 years?
- She wears mostly size 2t
- She occasionally pee pees on the potty, but not with any regularity. If I leave her naked on the bottom, she will consistently use the potty.
- She is an excellent eater. Her favorite foods are fruit of any kind, cheese, smoothies... Basically whatever she is eating at the moment!
- She loves playing with her babies! She puts them in the high chair and feeds them. She sets them near her quite often and says, "Watch this, baby." She rocks them and sings to them. She takes them on walks.
- She also loves being outside. She enjoys walks in her "bicycle", playing with her water table and pool, the playground, the nature center, etc.
- She makes sure that we say our "eating prayer" before meals and our "night night prayer" before bedtime.
- Books are still a favorite of hers. Right now, she especially likes "Llama Llama Red Pajama", most Dr. Seuss books, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and many others.
- She communicates very well, and talks consistently in 4-5 word sentences.
- She can say her ABCs and count to 16 (but always skips 12). Ha!
- She can identify all of the letters of the alphabet.
- She correctly identifies the basic colors... finally!
- She loves "family dinners". And, it is so nice that we are able to have those regularly with Jon's new job.
- She knows her birthday.
- She says she lives in Ohio. She also knows that Ady, Carter, etc live in Chicago and that Gram lives in AR where they say, "Hey y'all"! (We're working on WI for Grandma and Grandpa.)
- She LOVES singing. She spends most of the day singing songs. Her favorites include "Jesus Loves Me", "Where is Thumbkin", "Shake Your Sillies Out", "Old Macdonald", and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".
- Her favorite saying is "It's not up for debate".
- She says "I love you to the moon and back" and "I love you mostest" every night before bed.
- She enjoys cooking in her kitchen, as well as helping in the real kitchen.
- She asks for things by saying, "May I have some___ please?"... Sometimes after a gentle reminder. :)
- She is really into pretend play. She loves to say she's leaving. She walks to the door, comes back and says, "I'm back!" I ask where she went and she usually responds with "to the nature center", "grocery shopping", or "to the zoo".

I am loving this age. Her personality and imagination are so big! I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are entering the "Terrific Twos"!! :)

Jon took off today and we have a fun day planned. I'll post pictures soon!

Memphis Kiddie Park

We went to Memphis Kiddie Park on Wednesday with our neighbor and her granddaughter. It's a small amusement park specifically for younger kids that has been around for 60 years! I believe you have to be under 50 inches to ride any of the rides. I wasn't sure how Olivia would like it. Much to my surprise, she loved it! She rode all of the rides with her new friend, Julia, while I watched.

Fun in the Sun

We've had some really great weather this week, so we've been taking advantage of it as much as possible!

Eating ice cream with Daddy at the zoo last weekend:

On Monday, we (ahem, I) blew up the tiger pool and let her play in it. She had a blast!

On Tuesday, we went to the zoo with some friends. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Wednesday we went to Memphis Kiddie Park... I'll do another post on that. And, today, we have been playing outside again.

I let her eat her pizza outside and I think the dogs were hoping to get some:

And, this is what I got when I asked her to smile:

I hope you all have been able to enjoy the weather where you are as well!

Mother's Day 2012

I was so blessed to have my mom here for Mother's Day this year. It made the day that much more special to be able to spend it with the person who has had the greatest impact on my life and has set the bar so incredibly high on what a good mother is. Mom- Thank You for all that you have done and given for me over the years. I appreciate it and love you more than you will ever know!

My favorite part of the day was when Olivia brought me flowers and said, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy". It melted my heart and still does, as she is still saying that to me a week later :).

I guess this is how she really feels about us... Ha!

Gram's First Visit to Cleveland

My mom came to visit last Friday and stayed until Wednesday. She took the Greyhound bus up here... what a trooper!! After resting the majority of the first day, we made the most of her stay. She spent lots of time playing with Olivia, we did a little sightseeing, and she even kept Olivia so that Jon and I could have a date night and I could do some shopping one day. It was such a nice visit and ended way too soon!

While she was here, Gram bought Olivia's birthday present. She got her a water table, which she absolutely LOVES! It was cool on the day she got it, but we let her play with it for a little while anyway.

When I ask Olivia what she wants to do, 90% of the time she says, "Take a nature walk." It was no different when Gram was visiting, so we took Gram to the nature center for a walk.

More fun included blowing dandelions, making clover bracelets, and just playing outside. They also picked lots of "flowers for Mommy", which was especially sweet!

Luckily, the weather warmed up before Gram left and Olivia got to really enjoy her water table! In fact, I left to go shopping while they played and mom said they stayed out there for 2 hours and Olivia was SOAKED when they finally came in!

We had such a fun time with Mom. As always, it was extremely hard to see her leave. We are already looking forward to the next visit!!