May 2 - 3, 2012

Wednesday, May 2nd

This morning Olivia was very cheerful. She spent a lot of time 'talking' to me while we were getting ready for the day. Our morning routine has become a very pleasant one. It's been kind of chilly the past couple of days and we took the pink insulating cover off of the car seat, so I'm actually dressing her as warm (or warmer) than during the winter! But we're definitely spending a lot more time outside now, so it makes sense...sort of. Olivia decided to wear her new light brown corduroy pants and a floral turtleneck - they are a set and the pants have flowers & bows to match the top. So sweet! It's another outfit that Daddy picked out. That Daddy, he has such good fashion sense!

This morning we met Jessica for a pedicure. Olivia was very sociable and investigated everything - from the curious bubbling water to the strange things the pedicurist was doing to my feet. For fun we dabbed a little paint on her toes - more the toe than the nails since she was very wiggly.  After our 'piggies' were dry we went home. Olivia stayed to nap & play with Daddy while Jessica & I went shopping. My major purchases for the day were a bathing suit & flip-flops for Olivia! They were so cute, I couldn't resist!! When I got home I took the rest of the nail polish off of Olivia's toes and we all relaxed at home. It was salmon, broccoli & couscous for dinner tonight with a side of The Muppet Show. A pleasant end to a lovely day.

But the best news was last to come - we found out that our friend Kadyn's tumor was benign and although he still has a long road of treatment ahead of him, at least this was a positive result! We're praying for you K-bug and love you!

 Thursday, May 3rd

This morning Olivia slept in a little bit, which was nice. She stayed in bed until after Adam & I had breakfast, well until after I made my breakfast but before I got to finish eating it (of course). At the breakfast table we were watching her on the monitor as she looked around her crib and wiggled about. She would start to roll over (back to front!) and then roll the other direction. She only does this when we're not watching. I went upstairs to try and catch her 'in the act' but once she saw me the jig was up.

During the day Olivia has gone back to eating (on average) every two hours. So when she wakes up...the day gets very Olivia-centric. This morning we started a new game eponymously called "Arms Up, Arms Down". It was a very big hit. Today's adventure was a trip to the Botanic Gardens so for our outfit we wore a pale green sweater with crewel-work flowers. After getting dressed we played and sang in the nursery. At about 10:15 Olivia started to fuss. This seems to be her chosen nap-time. Well, it would be her nap time if she would go to sleep! It takes about 45 minutes of convincing her that she's sleepy to get her to drop off.

Unfortunately this meant that she was only asleep for about twenty minutes when Adam got home. And then it was time to get up and go! At least Olivia was happy when we transferred her to the car seat. We put her pea pod hat on to inspire us as we learned more about our vegetable garden & thought about our future crops. She was very content for the whole time that we were at the Gardens. We got to see where our 20'x20' plot will be and the type of drip irrigation system that we'll be using. Katie gave us a list of seeds that they have for us to use and we'll begin planting in the greenhouse next week! We're very excited!

After the Garden we went to Gulliver's Books to see if they had the John Jeavons book that Katie recommended we get - How to Grow More Vegetables. They didn't, but they did have two other books that looked exciting - Free-Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom and Mini Farming: Self-sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Brett L. Markham. The cashier at Gulliver's was very encouraging about our endeavors and even happier when I shared an article from Colleen's blog "this little lark" which talked about how a bacteria found in soil reacts with the brain like Prozac. As if we needed another reason to get out in the dirt!

Next we stopped in The Enchanted Forest Toy Store. It was delightful! Full of the most wonderful, high-quality toys! I wanted to get Olivia one of everything. We tried to be restrained and only got her two paper birds (made from recycled paper) to hang in her room, a box of Alphabet Garden Fairies wall cards and a teensy weensy glass figurine. Whenever my mother took me to the Botanic Gardens in Chicago I was always allowed to pick out a small ceramic figurine at the gift shop, so this felt like carrying on a tradition.


We were on our way home when I realized that I'd missed a phone call from a woman in Fairbanks who is selling her Starck upright piano. Once we got home, had a snack and took care of Olivia, I returned her call and set up a time to see the piano. It turned out to be a nice, well-used but well-cared for piano. I promised to give it a good home and the deal was struck. Looks like we'll be getting a piano tomorrow evening! How wonderful!! Olivia had fun laying on Adam's back tonight and sitting on his lap - he was a very snuggly 'jungle gym'.

Olivia is taking a little longer than usual to settle down tonight, so Adam & I are sticking close to the nursery. He is designing our vegetable bed and I am reading about the history of the Georgeson Gardens. It has been a very good day!