Busy Weekend

On Friday of last weekend, we drove up to Detroit to see my cousin, Mark. He was fishing in a tournament up there, so we decided to surprise him with some family support!

Waiting on Mark, Olivia posed by his truck:

Mark with one of the big smallmouth bass he caught:

We stopped for dinner in Toledo on the way home and called it a night pretty early.

We got up Saturday morning and went to the West Side Market for breakfast and shopping. After a picnic and playing at the playground (see post below), we headed home for naps. Later that afternoon, we went to the North Olmsted Homecoming Festival. We ran into Olivia's friend, Julia, and her mom and dad there. After the kids rode several rides, we joined them for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.

Olivia and Julia had fun on the rides:

After church and nap on Sunday, we went to the Lake Erie Crushers baseball game.

Needless to say, it was a busy weekend. But, we had SO much fun!!

Playround Fun

Trucks and Tractors

Olivia loves big trucks and heavy machinery right now. (I think this started when we stayed with her friend Carter in Chicago.) It is especially funny because she is such a girly girl. She gets especially excited over dump trucks and excavators. In fact, my mom bought her the book "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" when she was here.

Well, the Cleveland Metroparks was hosting "Touch a Truck" this weekend. Basically, any truck or tractor that they use in the Metroparks was on display for the kids to sit in, etc. We went for the last 30 minutes (which wasn't near enough time!), but Olivia LOVED it!! I forgot the camera, so I only have a few pictures from my phone.

Driving the dump truck:

I think she will want to get into every one of these that we see from now on...

1st Lollipop!

We went to the Olmsted Falls Heritage Days parade last week. I realized that if you want lots of candy at a parade, you just need to bring along a 2 year old! Olivia got SO much candy, so we decided to let her try a little for the first time. She liked the Smarties and lollipops.

Her first sucker:

It was pretty funny because she would lick the sucker with the side of her mouth and then rub it over her cheek because she didn't know what to do with it! Ha!

It was a very small town parade, but we had so much fun!

Gram's Visit

As I mentioned, my mom came to visit last week. She arrived on Friday and stayed until Wednesday. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was so nice having her here! After picking her up from the airport on Friday, we spent the remainder of the day playing, followed by dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

While Jon and I went away Saturday and Sunday, Gram and Olivia had lots of fun (besides the flat tire they had in my car! Oops!) They made jello, went for ice cream, read books, took walks and picked flowers. I'm sure there was plenty more, too!

One thing there was plenty of was kisses:

Because we didn't do much, I didn't take many pictures. Jon took some good ones on our walk during mom's last night here. Here are a few:

Mom- I'm so glad you came to visit! Thank you for keeping Olivia so that Jon and I could get away. We miss you already!!!!!!

Weekend Away

While my mom was visiting last weekend, Jon and I went to Pittsburgh. It was the first time leaving Olivia overnight, and it couldn't have gone any better. She was happy with her Gram, and I didn't worry at all. (Ok, maybe a little... but, not much :))

Ready to go:

Jon and I left Saturday morning. After lunch and exploring one neighborhood, we checked into the hotel and took a much needed nap. Afterwards, we just explored the city a little. We took this train up to Washington Mountain to get a good view of the city:

From the top:

Later, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of mussels and kobe beef... one of the best meals we have ever had!

We did a little more exploring, along with a yummy brunch before heading home on Sunday. It was a nice getaway, but it was good to be back home.

A little of everything

Ok, I'm going to do my best to get caught up with this post and start doing better with pictures and posts! (No promises, though!)

A few things that I want to remember: - About a month ago, Olivia learned my phone number and our address. It happened pretty randomly, as I was on the phone with someone and gave them my number. When I hung up, she said the first couple of numbers of it. I told her a few more times, and she had it memorized in no time! Crazy!

- She loves talking about who is a boy and who is a girl. Lately when we are doing that, I'll ask her what she is and she always says, "I'm a princess". I think I'm going to have my hands full...

- She definitely knows what she wants and doesn't want. In the past couple of weeks, she has started throwing a few fits here and there. Most are minor, but occasionally they involve foot stomping.

- Over the last few days, she has becoming increasingly sweet and cuddly. She LOVES giving me hugs and kisses. I always say, "I love you" and she says, "No, I love YOU". This goes on and on... :)

I don't think I've mentioned lately just how blessed I feel to be able to stay home with her. We are having so much fun right now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Speaking of having fun... Here's a little sampling of what we've been up to:

Having fun with daddy:

Eating ice cream:

Playing in the corn box with Theo:

The other day I had dinner in the stove. She went over to the stove and tried to open it. I said, "NO! That's HOT!". She replied, "But, it's okay... I'm wearing my oven mitts."

Seeing her first rainbow:

Taking a break at the playground:

Ready for dinner:

1st day of swim lessons (which she LOVES):

FINALLY facing forward in her car seat:

On a nature walk with Zavier:

"It's ok, Olivia"

Best Friends:

At the playground:

Ok, that catches us up! My mom is flying in on Friday and staying until Wednesday, so I'll update after that. Jon and I are going away for the night Saturday. It will be the first time I've left Olivia overnight...

Big Girl Haircut

Olivia has had several haircuts over the past couple of years, but last week she got one that makes her look a little older. Most of her baby curls are gone now and she has bangs.

Before:

After:

I can't get her hair into a ponytail or braids very well now, but at least it's staying out of her face a little better!

Splash Pad

We've been to the Splash Pad a few times this year.  Olivia hasn't been very interested in it.  Last week, we went with her friend Matthew and she played in the water a little more than usual.