What Has Been Keeping Auntie Rosie At The Office Until The Wee Hours of The Night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYTwh2HemjI

Like a Dog

Olivia spends most of her time outdoors eating snow. If you think that we devoured that little red face with kisses then you thought right. She is edible.

Occupying a Toddler, No Easy Task

The afternoons can be tricky - Liv is up from her nap, and I still have some work to do. So usually it's arts and crafts. Yesterday, it was the creation of a play-dough tower (Liv was not happy w/ the photography) and then on to Liv's "homework." She's been talking a lot about homework lately. Reading Miss Nelson is usually homework, either that or she calls it her report.

This and That

The other day Liv split her time between creating masterpieces and organizing her letters (her words, not mine). You can see how far she got with the letters.

Late Night

Here's our pint size prayer lady herself, heading to bed after a fun night out for Grammie's birthday.

Holy Roller

We had the pleasure of celebrating Grammie's birthday in the City tonight - an event Olivia has been looking forward to all week. On the way home, Steve and I heard a little voice in the back:

"Father, son, spirit, men. Thank you for the wonderful day. And pray for Mama and Dada, and all of those other people."

Once we got home, we had to tear Olivia away from the TV - she was really into "The Black Cat" with Boris Karlov. Steve promised to tape it so she could watch it tomorrow.

Animal Flashcards: A Photo Essay

Early days. Liv is mildly amused.

Confusion reigns over the similarities between a camel and a llama.

Liv gets the quiet hilarity of a fox playing a saxophone.

U is for butterfly. Or underwing.

Fear + grossness + a rat looking animal= Vole


Liv decides to conquer her fear and looks directly at the Vole without cringing.

Sketpicism over a wolf's athletic ability interceeds horror at seeing her "frenemy"

Ready or Not, St. Patrick's Day

Here we come.

Our Little Valentine

Liv loved her Strawberry Shortcake Valentine's Day balloons.

A Little R & R

After some serious puzzle work.

Onto the Next

Liv's favorite Christmas song is Rudolph. It stood in for a Valentine's day song, so we have heard it more than usual. Now, we're ready for St. Patrick's Day. One of my favorite holidays. Liv is too, who tells me often how much she loves shamrocks.

Like Beyonce. But different.

Lipstick and Sunglasses

Every toddler's favorite.

Little Miss Chatterbox

We've been seeing a flair for the dramatic lately with Olivia. Well, it's always been there, but it's becoming especially more pronounced as she dresses up and plays house. Here she is, on the phone (what else is new). Talking about how "she's so cute today." Thanks Liv.

She's Ready

Valentine's Day headband? Check. Feather boa? Check. Pink princess wings? Check.

What Have I Started...

Olivia wanted to wear her "dress" and glass slippers to Mrs. Durkins. Over her other outfit. I let her, and I was glad I did. When she walked in, all of her little friends gathered around and gave squeals of delight. Molly said: "Olivia, you look so cute!" At this Brady (3) sighed in frustration: "but Olivia IS cute."

This and That

Olivia has been hilarious lately. The things that she comes up with keep me laughing for days. Here are some random comments:

- Taking a walk the other day, I pointed out a shamrock and asked her if she saw it. Her answer: "I see it! That makes me feel better"
- Liv was in her crib, not sleeping. We keep the monitor on, more so to catch her misbehaving than anything. She was singing these exact words: "Oh danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling." I have been singing that song to her, and had no idea she picked it up!
- Liv told me she has a baby girl in her tummy. I'm sure she got the idea from seeing her pregnant Aunt Aimee.

Fashion, Stepmothers and Beer

Olivia is never one to shy away from playing dress-up. Tonight she was thrilled to wear an old top of mine, turned into a red-carpet-worthy dress. When Liv first put it on, she walked away, to "talk fashion." Then I put a scarf in her hair, and she turned into...an elderly Cinderella? I was "my child" and aparently needed a lot of taking care of. Taking a break from our fun, Liv went to grab her milk - and said "ahh, beer!" After our laughter, you can imagine the difficulty I had getting her out of the dress. I put her pajamas on to her cries of "no stepmother, you can't - I need to be beautiful!"

Cupcakes Turned Cake

Note: Look of pure enjoyment here.

I wanted to make Liv some Valentine's Day cupcakes to bring to Mrs. Durkin's house tomorrow, so we set about our task. We then realized that I had no cupcake liners, so we changed course and made a cake (easier, anyway). Olivia had a great time helping me, and an even better time eating the batter. Which I didn't know about until I heard "deeeelicious" and looked over and saw Liv, eyes closed, savoring the sweetness.

Kisses for Dinner

Pre-Bedtime Antics

And we wonder why Liv doesn't want to go to bed.

Arts and Crafts

What Could Be More Perfect

Then enjoying a heart-shaped treat with Little Pony friends in your vintage Strawberry Shortcake dress?

Dr. Olivia

Upon hearing that her cousin Esme was sick, Liv immediately set out to check on bitty baby. She's such a germ-o-phobe.

With These Two, It's Always a Tea Party

Knock Knock

This little bird flew into our door the other day. I took a picture to document it, as Liv was napping. She loves all animal related stories.

Sweetness

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some one-on-one time with Esme. We did a lot of cuddling, and even did some coloring. Esme did great, didn't eat any of the crayons. Although I know she wanted to.