September 2 - 8, 2012

Sunday, September 2^nd

We got up bright & early today to head to the garden for one of our final harvests. Fall is definitely in the air and with temperatures dipping down to near freezing at night, the growing season is at its close. What a great gardening summer for us! Time to pack away all this good food & think about the gardens in our future. We never could've done it without the tremendous support from the Georgeson Botanical Gardens & particularly Katie DiCristina. Thank you! Thank you!

The Abels came over this afternoon to choose some of the clothes that we put aside to pass along. We still have a lot to send to Jenny too! Olivia, how did you wear so many clothes?!

Daddy played with Olivia most of the evening so that I could put the finishing touches on a sweater I'm knitting for my friend Tamara. Her baby shower is tomorrow & I had to get these raglan sleeves finished! It was my first time trying raglan sleeves & I'm not sure which baby sweater pattern I prefer now.... I guess I'll just have to knit more to see!

 

My mother sent me copies of some of my 'brand new' baby pictures for a game at the baby shower. Here's a side-by-side comparison with 'brand new' Olivia.

Monday, September 3^rd

Today was Tamara's baby shower! It was so much fun & I hope she enjoyed it. She is such a lovely lady. Although this is her third baby, (the first boy), this was her first baby shower. She deserved to be spoiled so I'm glad there was a great bunch of ladies there to celebrate her. Olivia had a nice time, too! She got to play with her friend Cara and with the other little children. There was one child, a toddler, who clearly did not like Olivia and kept smacking her on the head and in the face. I was surprised when another mom first told me - I've never had to watch out for that before - and then I saw it happen a second time. After that I kept Olivia close to me. I'm not sure what to do in that kind of situation. I don't really know the other child's mother very well and it was in a big group. I suppose the only thing to do is to take control of that which I have control over - Olivia - and get her out of there. 

Daddy spent most of the morning canning up the garden bounty. It looks great! Good job Daddy!

Daddy missed Olivia after we'd been gone all morning/afternoon so they spent a lot of time playing upstairs and had a ton of fun during bath time! True love!

Tuesday, September 4^th

Olivia was very clingy today. I could barely set her down without her turning and grabbing my pant leg or crying. If I was holding her or playing with her she was perfectly happy. As a result, I didn't get many chores done today...but at least the upside was playing with Olivia. She did not want to take a nap today unless it was on Mommy. But that meant that naptime was abbreviated ... because eventually even the best mommy has to move a little.

I think Olivia put Daddy to sleep tonight. Tired duo!

Wednesday, September 5^th

We had another clingy day today. But look at what a big girl she's becoming! As long as I was in the room she was crawling everywhere, investigating the shelves, choosing toys & books. It's so nice to see her make her own choices instead of always being stuck with what I've chosen for her. (I know that's silly because I've chosen everything for her that she's choosing from, but you get my meaning.)

She's been very very hungry lately, so I decided it was time to have snacks available more of the day. I put some crackers & puffs in a small plastic bowl, which she immediately dumped on her head. I think it's time to look for some spill-proof cups.

It was another nap-on-mommy day. It's nice for me to know that Olivia still wants to snuggle with me. I had just been thinking about how much time we spent snuggled & sleeping together in those first weeks. It's as though she's reassuring me that even as she's growing & becoming more independent every day she still needs me. Sweet baby.

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and sat out on the front lawn. Olivia hasn't ever sat in the grass by herself and she seemed to enjoy pulling up the grass and trying to eat stray crunchy leaves.

Thursday, September 6^th

We had a fun visit from Tamara and her daughters, Jamie & Lina, today. We watched Beauty & the Beast, had many picnics on the living room floor and before we knew it the day was over. It's amazing how the time can fly when you're spending it with friends!

In the evening Olivia enjoyed one of her favorite pastimes - ripping up the Pottery Barn catalog! Some of the PlanToys that we ordered recently arrived today. Daddy tried to show her how to pound pegs in her new toy. She seemed to be most interested in the hammer...but not the hammering. We also got some new blocks.

Olivia really loves her Elmo book about the zoo. No matter where it is on the shelf she finds it and pulls it out. She's really developing her own preferences!

 

Friday, September 7^th

Olivia saw Oscar the Grouch for the first time as we watched Sesame Street this morning. Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward. She was captivated! I think he may be her favorite muppet so far. Today was a better day. Olivia was much less clingy. She took a nice nap in the afternoon and I was able to relax in the window seat with my library book...for about half an hour. But half an hour is better than none!

Tonight we went to Brianna Reagan's opening of her Word A Day exhibit. (At the intersection of Well & Good.) It was great! There was a nice turnout and the pieces were fantastic. We bought a piece - the word "Digress". She is a very nice woman and has been in touch with my sister, sharing tips on marketing, etc. I really can't say enough nice things about her and her art is amazing. I love her Highwayman series. Check it out!

Saturday, September 8^th

Olivia had a bad night's sleep last night - waking up and crying inconsolably - so much so that I had to sleep on her floor with her for a while. Poor baby. I think it's her teeth bothering her again.

In the morning we went to the garden to harvest some more. We took home the rest of the peas, the chives, the turnips, the cucumbers and much of the kale & chard. After the garden we went to Value Village and bought Olivia lots of books! We found a partial set of children's encyclopedias A - F and TUV, some old Highlights magazines; some other young reader versions of classics - Black Beauty, Tom Sawyer, and the like; a great paperback copy of Leo the Late Bloomer and more! We also got another partial set of the Melissa & Doug wooden train that we inherited from the triplets. Now we have a complete train, and more! A super train! We found a nice Frog & Toad puzzle and also a lightly used Candy Land. We made out like bandits.

Tonight Olivia started to say the letter "p" and she kept saying it as she looked into the dog kennel. It really seemed like she was trying to say "puppy". (video to come) Wouldn't that be an appropriate first word for our house?!