Getting ready for Halloween

Mother's Day

This was my third Mother's Day. I got lots of cards, phone calls and texts telling me how loved I am and encouraging me to keep on keeping on. It was a high tech day; not only did I receive text greetings for probably the first MD in my experience but I also decided that I am going to document them with video so that I can enjoy them for as long as I can work my way around a computer. I'm kinda sentimental like that.

It was the most relaxing day that I've had in a long time. Chris made a brunch that was out of this world for my mom and me. The omelettes were light and full of flavor and the pancakes were strawberry-licious! And speaking of pancakes watch the video to see how Liv feels about syrup.

The evening ended with me spending some girl time with my favorite ladies knitting and chatting.

Talented from head to toe

Olivia's creativity is without a doubt one of her greatest assets. She is an avid dancer, singer, story teller and artist.

A few months ago while I was on maternity leave I noticed a drawing on her chalk board. I assumed Chris had helped her draw it. A few days passed as Chris and I were both deeply involved in Violet's feedings, diaper changes, medication and doctor visits. I kept looking up and seeing that drawing on the chalkboard and finally found myself in the same room with Chris for a few moments. I asked him if he'd helped Liv with the picture on the chalkboard. He said no; he thought that I'd helped her with it. When we realized that neither of us had helped her we were both in awe and got up to get a closer look at her work. She'd drawn a nicely shaped circle and filled it in with straight and diagonal lines that impressively stayed within the circle.

A few days ago she painted two pictures of Mickey Mouse. And it looked just like the Mickey Mouse icon that you see at the beginning of Walt Disney movies. First of all, it's amazing that she remembered what Mickey Mouse looks like. We don't let her watch much television and she doesn't see many movies. I think she has seen maybe one half hour episode of a Mickey Mouse cartoon and a few other times we've pointed out pictures of Mickey to her. The pictures she drew had one large circle in the middle of the paper and two slightly smaller circles on the top left and top right of the large one. They were mostly black with some red and green. The first one she drew had one of the ears touching the head. Neither Chris, Christine or I said anything about that but as she showed her work to Grandpa Jim she noted that she'd made a mistake and pointed to that spot.

Olivia sings a lot. She makes up her own lyrics to familiar tunes but also makes up her own songs entirely. And most of her dancing routines have a fantastic finale of her on the floor in some kind of spinning move ending with a leg lifted in the air. One of the cutest things I've seen her do is to slap her tambourine on her hip while dancing. That girl's got some moves I tell ya!

This morning while sitting at the table she pointed to the fourth seat that didn't have any oatmeal or smoothie and said "What about Emily?" I said "Emily who?" She said "Emily, Clifford's girl." Her imagination is powerful. Chris and I have even learned how to use it to our advantage too. When she asks for something that we don't have (or don't want to give her), like a cookie, expensive phone or camera, we'll pretend like we're giving it to her. And you'd be surprised how often she says "Thanks" and pretends to take it from our hands without skipping a beat. Of course this can backfire. Like tonight when I was in a rush and needed her to wash her hands. I said "Liv, where's your stool?" She reached an empty hand to me and said "Here it is!" I think the theater is in this girl's future.

A few funny quotes from Olivia

After eating 5 pancakes at Grammy's house Olivia turned to Grammy and said "I don't really like pancakes."

While painting rocks to look like ladybugs she said to Mommy "Don't make your mistake face."

After sneezing on her library card she said to Mommy "I bless youd on my card."

Playdate!

We had lots of fun while I was on maternity leave after Violet's birth. One of the best memories was of our standing Wednesday afternoon playdate with Amy and her daughter Lucy. They made soup in Livy's kitchen, drew chalk pictures on the easel and played like it was bed time. They would lay in the bed, tell Amy and me "goodnight", pull the covers over their heads and giggle. Lucy loved to sketch on Liv's magnetic sketch pad. She would cover the whole pad with squiggly lines and say "Olivia, is that enough?" Liv would barely stop what she was doing to say "No." Lucy would continue drawing squiggles and asking if it was enough. At some magical point that was only known to Liv she would decide that there were enough squiggles and she would respond with "Yes." At that time they were both satisfied with Lucy's sketch and moved on to other games.

Growth spurt!

Last night Violet slept from 7pm until 5am! She ate then went back to sleep until 7. Woke again for more food and then went back to bed by the time I left for work at 8:45am. Right now she's big enough to wear clothes for 6-12 months. And her feet are quite big. She is also very long which makes it hard to keep her in footed pajamas for more than a few months.

Violet has the sweetest disposition. She hardly ever cries. In fact I don't think I've heard her cry in weeks. She fusses at us when she's tired or hungry but rarely goes into a full crying spell. She's such an easy girl to put to bed as well. I just swaddle her and lay her in bed, give her a kiss and walk out the door. She will look at herself in the mirror, smile and coo until she falls asleep. Easy!

An interesting case of Iwannabea Ladybugitis

Olivia was inspired by the rocks we painted to look like ladybugs. So she took the Sharpie pen and put spots on her belly. When Chris came out to the front porch she hid under the table and said "Dad will be so upset!" Of course he wasn't mad but he turned to me and said "Are you nuts?" Perhaps a little.

Violet turns over for the first time

Violet turned over to her tummy for the first time yesterday morning while cuddling on the bed with me and Chris. I think it took her by surprise; first she started to laugh. And when she laughs it is a full body laugh. Her smile takes over her face. Her eyes change shape and her dimple appears. Then she turns her head to the left and raises her shoulders up toward her ears. And then her whole body makes a "c" shape. It really is quite charming. So it was in the middle of this smile, when her body made a "c" that she rolled over to her left side. She lingered there for a while and then she squirmed around enough that she made it all the way onto her tummy. It was so great that both Chris and I were there to see it happen together.

I am long overdue for writing Violet's birth story. I think it's time that I write it before the hard work of a full time job and taking care of 2 kids under the age of 3 turns my brain to total mush.
Violet almost came into the world early, around 32 weeks, so I was ordered to go on bed rest. That seemed to convince her to hang out in utero a little longer. Christmas was approaching and I was dilated 2 cm. The doctor thought that I would deliver the week she was on vacation. But no, little Violet hung on. Then she was almost induced on New Year's Eve. We were pretty excited at the possibility of having the first baby of 2010 but then my doctor realized that the 31st was a Sunday and her office was closed. So the birth day was moved to January 3rd and we were set to start the induction at 7 am. Violet wasn't due until January 8th but I was in a lot of pain and it looked like she was going to be a big girl so Dr. Oliver decided we could induce before the 8th. I was more than happy to comply.
So on the morning of January 3rd Chris and I woke up at 6 am. Grammy came to the house at 6:45 to watch Livy. We thought she would sleep through our departure but she stumbled out of her room rubbing her eyes. We told her we were going to the hospital to have baby Violet but her primary concern was getting Grammy to read her new Charlie and Lola book to her.
Once at the hospital things happened pretty quickly. I was hooked up to the IV and they started the pitocin drip. I could feel the contractions and I could also see them on the monitor. There was a monitor for Violet's heartbeat too. I found it very reassuring to listen to her heart beating. After a few hours I got an epidural and whew that was not a pleasant experience. I had a spinal block with Liv and that was so much better. The epidural made my hips and legs so numb that I had no control over them until late that evening. Anyway the contractions continued and I felt nothing.
At 11:50 the nurse checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. She called the doctor and the other nurses to get them ready. Dr. Oliver came in to check on me. She told me that Violet would certainly be born by 2; things were going very well. As she and the nurse left for a quick lunch she said to push the nurse's button if I felt any pressure that made it feel like I needed to push. Ten minutes later I told Chris he'd better push the nurse button because I was feeling a lot of pressure. And for good reason; I was a full 10 cm dilated and the nurse could see the hair on Violet's head!
The nurse told me not to push; I needed to wait a bit for my doctor and nurse. I didn't have to wait long though. As soon as they arrived the pushing began. On the third contraction "little baby Violet" came into the world looking absolutely beautiful. It was 12:42 pm and she weighed 7 lb 15 oz. She was 20 inches long and had lovely dark brown hair. She had enough hair that the nurses that bathed her spiked it up. Too bad we didn't get any pictures of her first hair do.

I have not yet had a chance to post about Violet's birth and a lot of other noteworthy events in our lives. For now please enjoy these photos that I took during story time yesterday afternoon.

Liv is a generous young girl. Last week I wanted to use one of her pink barrettes in my hair. I asked her if I could borrow her barrette and her first response was "No" while she took it out of my hand and hugged it to her chest. I promised to bring it back at the end of the day, but she wasn't convinced. I said okay and went into the kitchen to prepare my lunch. About five minutes later she came out of her room with the barrette and held it out to me. She said "Here Mommy. Bring it back?" I said thank you and promised again that I would bring it back to her. I knelt down and put the barrette in my hair and showed it to her. She got a big smile on her face and said "So pretty Mommy!"

The first day of preschool was a big, BIG success! I took her to school on my way to work and we arrived at school early. So we played on the play ground and then looked at the anemones and clown fish ("Nemo") in the fish tank. When the teachers let us in the classroom we washed our hands and then she was off to play with the toys, crayons and paper. I headed to the door and she started to run in my direction. The teacher, assuming Liv was running to me, said "One more kiss for Mommy?" But no, Liv ran right by me to the bulletin board with her and her class mates pictures so she could move her picture from "out" to "in". Liv was so excited to be there that she didn't even notice when I left the building. It was the best I could have hoped for.

Before this people would ask me how I was going to cope with leaving her at preschool. It was a perfectly appropriate question but one that I had not considered before. I've been leaving Liv with her dad every work day since Liv was about 3 months old. So I did all of my crying and worrying a long time ago. Leaving her at preschool was a transition that we were all looking forward to. It's been obvious for several months now that Liv has not been stimulated enough at home and we have been hoping that 2 half days at school would remedy that problem. I think it has and we are all much happier.

Now I should say that a certain someone in Liv's life had a difficult time that day but it wasn't me. This person (whom I won't mention his name, wink, wink) confided in me that he felt unusually stressed all morning and realized it was because Liv wasn't there for him like she usually is. I think someone missed her very much!

School is starting just in time for my little Liv who has started showing an interest in "going to work with mommy". It all started last Monday when Liv went to work with my mom while Daddy and I went to have a sonogram of the new baby. She had a blast visiting new people and raiding office supplies. So now every day as I'm about to walk out the door she rushes around the house in her diaper or pajamas gathering her "work" and yelling "I coming mommy. Wait, I coming to work with you." It breaks my heart to leave her because I would love to bring her with me and let her play all day. Lately we've been telling her that she is going to work with Daddy (which means running photography errands with him) and distracting her with books. This morning she had a purse, sunglasses and diaper on and was ready to walk out the door with me.
This makes me even more excited about Liv starting preschool. Next Thursday I'll be able to say "Okay Liv, you are going to work today at your own school and you are riding with me!" I can't wait to see her eyes get big and bright as she runs and screams around the house about going to work.
And the sonogram showed that we have a healthy and very, very active little girl to look forward to this winter. We could not be more excited and happy. She will make the perfect holiday package.

Proud moment for dad
Olivia starts preschool next week and so we've spent the past few week-ends engaging in the ritual "back to school" events...shopping for shoes, clothes, backpack, lunch box and school supplies. Today we went with Liv to her school to meet her teachers and fill out paperwork. It took her a while to feel comfortable enough to enter the classroom but once she did she didn't want to leave. She liked her teachers and as soon as we got out of the building she said "come back to school".
After meeting the teachers we decided to take her to our local hip toy shop to pick out her own lunch box. I'd scoped out the lunch boxes a few days ago and knew they had a selection that would please her. We walked in the door and there they were..the old-fashioned tin lunch boxes with Smurfs, cowboys and horses, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Hello Kitty, sock monkeys, dogs, you name it. And the first box she picked up was Spiderman! We led her to all the aisles that had lunch boxes so she could make an informed decision. At one point she had 5 of them on the floor. We asked her which one was her favorite and she picked Spiderman again. Her Daddy was so proud! And I couldn't have planned the next thing that happened any better. As I wandered off to look at art supplies a man approached her Daddy and said "Did she pick that out all by herself?" and her Daddy said yes, to which the man replied "Wow, she's going to be the coolest kid ever!". Daddy smiled all the way home.

Here's a funny story. I took Liv to the Family Connections library where we borrow books and toys. For the first time I let her pick out her own toys. I hadn't done this before because we can only borrow 3 toys at a time and I didn't think she could handle that limit. I was wrong; she handled it quite well. If she picked out more than 3 I asked her if she would like the blocks or the farm animals. Each time she chose the farm animals. The next morning I was getting ready for work and Chris got my attention to come look into Liv's room. She was riding the 6 inch plastic horse. It was such a funny site! You could barely see the horse under her thick cloth diaper; and I think she was completely supporting her own weight with her thighs. But she really was getting a kick out of riding that horse.

Olivia had a wonderful July 4th at the coast. Even before we arrived she talked incessantly about waves, sandcastles, and seashells. When we got to the beach she could not stop squealing while she was knocked off balance by waves. At one point her daddy headed farther than she could go. She cried until he came back with seashells and then she told him to go back.And for the sandcastles, her idea of building them is to let someone else try their hands at construction while she destroys it. And she really loved the fireworks. I thought that she might be scared of the noise, but she embraced it. She would hear the pops and say "I see them, I see them" before the lights were even up in the sky.
Over a week later she is still talking about the trip.

Olivia is now two years old!
A few months ago I tried to list all of the words she uses and after a few days I realized that I was fighting a losing battle. Every day I would go home and hear at least 2-3 new words from her. Her vocabulary is expanding exponentially and she surprises each of us on a regular basis. Either Chris or I will turn to the other and say "Did she just say that?!".
She still loves to read and one of her favorite places to go is the library. And she knows to be quiet in the library because we've been reading her the Charlie and Lola book about borrowing books from libraries and how you have to be quiet when you are there. When we're reading books to her at home she will hum along with us mimicing our speach. Then at the last few words she'll chime in with the correct words. When she looks at the books by herself she flips through the pages (careful not to skip any) and mentions several words or phrases from the book.
Her other favorite place to go is the pool. We either ride our bikes or drive (if it's too hot like it has been lately) but either way she loves it. If we don't move quick enough to get her from the car to the pool she says "Come on guys, pool!" She likes to stand on the edge and try to jump in while holding our hands. She also loves to play with the other little kids on the steps. She enjoys kicking her legs and splashing her arms while we hold her on her belly. She also likes to blow bubbles.
We can usually keep her entertained at home with music cds like the Biscuit Brothers or just singing Twinkle, Twinkle little star. She loves to sing along and knows many songs like Row your Boat, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Frere Jacques and the abc's.
Her favorite foods are fruit (except peaches). The other day she ate a kiwi and when she cleaned her plate she raised her arms and said "Yay kiwi". We got her another kiwi! Bananas, pineapple, apple and strawberries are also at the top of her list. In the morning she likes to sit in my lap and eat cereal with me. And for dinner she sits at her own little table with a plate and a big girl glass of milk. And she loves to help set the table. She puts a napkin at each person's place, then puts the forks on top of the napkin. She's a very organized young girl.
I will post pictures from her 2nd birthday soon!

You can't tell here but she's had her first hair cut. We took her to Bird's on Burnet road in either January or February. She sat in my lap and was very still while the stylist cut her bangs and trimmed the back. Chris took some great pictures. I'll try to get them uploaded soon.

Chris passed this picture on to me. I couldn't remember when it was taken but he did. This was from July 4th 2008. We woke up early and made our way over to the neighborhood parade. You can tell that Liv was still pretty sleepy. Her hair isn't curly but it kinda looks like it is here.