Concert Fun

We went to a small outdoor concert on Sunday evening, and Olivia had fun dancing, eating popcorn and making new friends.

Beach Bum

Olivia has been talking about the beach a lot lately, so I took her last week. It was miserably hot that day (even for a southerner ;)) and I promised her ice cream after, so we didn't stay very long. She liked playing in the sand, but she didn't care about the water.

Overall, I'd say that the ice cream was definitely her favorite part... She must take after her mama! Ha!

Playing in the Rain

This is how we spent Father's Day afternoon! After these few pictures, I put the camera down and joined them. We walked around the block splashing in puddles and dancing in the rain, and Olivia couldn't have been happier about it!

Duct Tape Festival

If you're like me, you're probably wondering what in the world a Duct Tape Festival is. Well, last weekend, a nearby town was having their annual "Duct Tape Festival". The name was interesting enough for us to give it a try. Basically, they had anything and everything you can imagine, all made from duct tape. They had animals, clothes, jewelry... everything!

Some of the animals made from duct tape:

Olivia enjoyed the train ride:

And, she won her first carnival prize by picking ducks:

It was pretty much like any small town festival, with the exception of the duct tape emphasis. It was full of fair food, games, and rides... what more could you ask for?!? ;)

Playing in the River

After Olivia's first day of preschool (yes, that was a couple of weeks ago), we spent the afternoon at the MetroParks playing in the river:

She loved wading around in it and throwing rocks into it. It's definitely something that we will do more of this summer!

Chicago Trip, Take Two

Here are some of the pictures Kathleen took on our recent Chicago visit:

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Jon! I couldn't ask for a better daddy for Olivia. Thank you for all that you do for the both of us. We love you more than you'll ever know!

(This is the picture frame that we gave Jon for Father's Day.)

Also, Happy Father's Day to my father-in-law and my brother. They are two of the best dads I know.

Weekend in Chicago

Olivia and I went to Chicago last weekend. It was Ady's 2nd birthday party and I thought that was a good excuse to go back and visit, as well as to meet Sandy's newest little girl, Greta.

We arrived Thursday afternoon and went straight to Kathleen and Carter's house, where we were staying. After a yummy dinner and some playtime, I put Olivia down fairly early.

We joined our old friends for a playdate Friday morning at Michelle's. It was so nice seeing everyone, as well as the new babies that were born after we moved.

The rest of the weekend was spent with Carter teaching Olivia about dump trucks and excavators and Olivia teaching him about tea parties and baby dolls. We mixed in some mommy time, as well as catching up with other friends!

First face painting:

Watching "Thomas" with Leah and Carter:

Playing in the pool at Leah's:

All of these pictures were taken with my phone because I forgot my camera. Kathleen took more pictures.. And better quality, I'm sure. I'll post those when I get them. That's why I don't have any pictures of the birthday party.

We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and I'm already looking forward to the next trip!

1st Day of School!

Olivia started Preschool last week. She is going 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) for 1 1/2 hours each day. The main reason is to help with separation anxiety. Since I am with her 24/7 with very few interruptions, we thought it would be good to get her used to being away from me for just a little while.

Day 1 didn't go so well. She was excited to go and we talked about it all morning. She was fine on the way there, and even once we arrived. However, once we stepped foot in the classroom, she lost it. She began to cry (while all of the other parents were taking pictures of their happy kids on their first day of school!) I felt horrible! I just gave her the pink monkey that she has started playing with a lot over the past couple of weeks and walked out. Of course I was crying myself before I even got to my car! Thankfully, there is a tv monitor where you can watch the kids. Although I didn't look right away because I didn't really want to know if she was still crying, I went back and watched after about 30 minutes. She was still holding her monkey, but she wasn't crying... whew!

Day 2 went a little better. I handed her the monkey just before she started crying and it seemed to keep her from getting upset.

Hopefully, taking the monkey to school will be an easy habit to break. I started talking to her about leaving it at home, but I don't think I'm ready to try that just yet...