August 26 - September 1, 2012

Sunday, August 26^th

Olivia loves trains! This Melissa & Doug train is from her cousins and she loves to play with it - in fact she loves most toys with wheels. I can't wait until Christmas when I can show her the Lionel train set at my parents' house!

Tonight Olivia helped me take of her turtleneck and created a lovely flowered turban. She looked so silly I couldn't resist asking Daddy to take a photo. I think Olivia is definitely developing a sense of humor, or at least a sense of what is absurd - like the shirt on her head, or her binky in my mouth. Funny girl!

Monday, August 27^th

Today Daddy had to work through lunch so Olivia & I brought him Wendy's. She got to help him with army paperwork. (I think some of the army red tape could've been written by Olivia or her peers!)

Tonight we tried a new hairstyle. Her hair is just long enough on top for a tiny bow! Now it will just be a matter of getting Olivia used to having her hair fussed with. 

Tuesday, August 28^th

This morning I helped out at the gardens - 60+ third graders got to hear my pond tour. I didn't think it would be fair to Olivia to bring her so my friend Jessica came over & watched Olivia at the house. She was very good for Jessica & took a nap with no fussing! Good girl Olivia.
Tonight we went to a meeting & Olivia and I voted in the Alaskan primaries. Time to introduce her to the democratic process and make it a fundamental part of her life. Exercise the franchise!!

Wednesday, August 29^th

Olivia is fearless! She stands up so easily now and maneuvers around the edges of her world. She is able to stand up and pick out toys from her toy bin while only holding on with a finger or two.

The toys she picked to play with this morning included a new puzzle. It has knobs that are just the right size, but the reason we liked this puzzle so much was because of the pictures. It reminds Adam & I of one of our favorite books/television series - All Creatures Great & Small - based on the James Herriot books. It has some of everything we like - animals, knitting & sheep dogs! Fun fun fun!

Olivia sat in her chair and read some books. She picked out two of her favorites - one with Lowly Worm by Richard Scarry and one by Dr. Seuss. Good choices Olivia! It's a heartwarming feeling - revisiting these beloved authors and building Olivia's library. It makes me so happy! I think Hop On Pop was one of the first books I learned to read. Maybe it will be one of Olivia's firsts too?

Tonight Olivia fed herself dinner. I blended up a mix of white potatoes, carrots & peas and fed her half a bowl and when she seemed to be finished I let the bowl get too close and WHOOSH she grabbed it - great handfuls of glop were being shoved into her mouth by the fistful. I guess she's ready to start feeding herself!

Thursday, August 30^th

Today Olivia earned the nickname Peachsleeves. While eating her delicious peach & sweet potato yogurt blend she kept gnawing on her sleeve. Feeding her has definitely become messier - even with a bib!
The rest of the day was spent waiting for maintenance to come work on our recirculating fan. That meant an awkward schedule for Olivia - since I didn't feel like nursing in front of the maintenance guy. Oh well. At least it was a beautiful day!

Friday, August 31^st

Today was a busy day! Sarah came over to spend the day with us while Jessica went to get an ultrasound to find out if they are having a boy or a girl. Sarah did not know yet that she was going to be a big sister, so we were helping to keep it a surprise! First we went to get some lunch at Wendy's. Then we all went to the library where we played in the Berry Room with the stuffed animals and picked out books to check out. Olivia made friends with a little white polar bear. Then we went to the craft store to get supplies for a special project - a library book bag! Once back at our house we painted the bag, applied some iron ons and made a pretty Halloween necklace. The news was...a girl! Sarah is going to have a little sister! She's been doing such a good job as Olivia's 'big sister' - good practice!

In the evening Olivia played in the kitchen. She explored the Tupperware cabinet and the LeapFrog farm magnet toy. She also learned that the kitchen floor is much harder than the carpeted living room floor. At one point she suddenly arched backwards to lay down and bonked her head pretty hard on the floor. Poor baby. We put a cuddly tiger ice pack on it and read some books on the couch. We have truly moved into the age of bumps & bruises.

Saturday, September 1^st

We had a nice slow start this Saturday. Olivia snuggled in bed with us and then went downstairs and played with Daddy. She loves her puppets! This one is from Uncle Grant and she loves when he pops out of the tree trunk to give her a kiss.
Soon, though, it was time to get started on our day. Olivia helped me pick out a barrette...or at least she enjoyed looking at all the colors in the plastic jar. We played a little more in her room and she read her eight month book from Aunty Lisa & Uncle Chris. It's by Mo Willems and is called "The Pigeon Has Feelings Too". Very cute.
We did our errands - Blueberry Baby for some extra diaper inserts & the farmers market for veggies. Olivia was such a peach the whole time - even though she had not taken a nap yet! (Hence her name today - Mrs. NoNap.)
In the evening she joined me at the piano. Her high chair is the perfect height for key pounding!