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Monday, May 05, 2008

a growing girl and the great outdoors

Yesterday was a special day. Olivia turned 18 months old! I can hardly believe that a year and a half has already passed with her. We have done so much and seen her change in so many ways in such a short amount of time. It has been an amazing year and a half and I am so proud of where Olivia is at developmentally. In some ways I expected her to still be more like a baby at 18 months, but instead she is a full blown little girl! She does and says more than I would have ever expected at this age and her independence is frightening at times. She definitely keeps us on our toes but it is all so much fun! Things have been even more exciting now that we are able to spend so much more time outdoors. And with the spring weather comes the beautiful flowers. Olivia enjoys the flowers as well but is much more concerned with tearing across the yard. Check out this beautiful tulip that I just had to cut to bring inside!

Last week Todd and I went shopping for outdoor toys. The big things on our list included a wagon and a slide. It was a hectic evening, as we ran from store to store trying and find exactly what we were looking for, but we were successful. We have only had the wagon one week and we have already gotten our money's worth out of it. Olivia loves it! It has little bucket seats with seat belts and a little bit of extra storage. Perfect for walks to the park or through the neighborhood. Before we had a chance to take it outside Olivia jumped right in while it was still in the living room. Needless to say she was beyond excited!

We also got her a climb and slide. She loves to go down slides and this was the perfect size for her to be able tackle all by herself. It was chilly the day after we bought it but we could not wait any longer to put it together for her. Todd had it assembled in minutes and before he was done Olivia was on her way up. She was a little nervous at first but after a few times she had it down pat. She can now climb up all by herself and slide down like a pro. One week later she is so good at it that I am afraid she is going to tire of it very easily and soon want something bigger and better. Well for now she is entertained and it is lots of fun watching her play. Watch the pro in action...

We take walks quite often. Olivia doesn't care if she is in her stroller or the wagon. As long as we are outdoors she is happy. Lately we have started taking her to playgrounds. Although she is still too small to master most of the playground equipment she definitely tries. And with a little bit of help she is able to enjoy most of it. A school close to us has an amazing play ground. We took a nice long walk there yesterday so Olivia could enjoy the beautiful sunshine. She has such a great time climbing, sliding and running around. We just have to watch her every second because if we blink she is half way up a ladder or trying to come down a slide. Although I am impressed with how coordinated she is.

Even though she is very brave she does get a little scared with the big slides (thank goodness!). As long as one of us goes down with her she is totally comfortable. She usually shows her excitement with a big "weeeeeeee" all the way down!

So as you can see we are enjoying every second of the great outdoors. I am looking forward to a fun spring and summer, but I think we still have a few chilly days ahead of us before that nice weather will be here to stay. So for now I am looking forward to a fun weekend. This Wednesday I turn 30! Yes, I know...I am getting old. I am not quite sure how I feel about this milestone. Ask me on Wednesday I guess. But I am excited to spend the weekend with lots of family. My aunt and uncle are flying in from California (my uncle shares my birthday). Their son (my cousin) is graduating from IU this weekend so he is driving up to see his parents and spend time with us. My grandmother and uncle are driving in from Michigan and it just so happens that my other uncle's birthday is this weekend too. On top of that it is Mother's Day and there will be lots of moms around. Needless to say we have a ton to celebrate and it will be great to see everyone! Now I must go mourn my 20's, which are about to come to an end!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like outside is the place to be!! Ready, set, GO!!! She knows what she's doing!! Haven't seen her for awhile. We're going to have to stop in and see the slide action for ourselves. OH---and don't sweat the 30 thing...I'll be 40 this summer and quite looking forward to it. You can't go backwords...so you have to enjoy moving on...life has many more surprises in store for both of us!!

Anonymous said...

My 30's I remember them well...just enjoy life like your beautiful little girl does. I love her sunglasses, such a Diva...Tell her Aunt Sue Sue comes tomorrow, I can't wait. See you soon, hopefully!!!
Love Aunt Sue Sue

Tiffany Leininger said...

Happy (early) birthday! Welcome to 30! It's not that bad, although I was really looking forward to getting to 30! Olivia looks like she is having so much fun outside! The sunglasses are too funny! Isn't it amazing how young they still are, yet they can do and say so much already? Everyday is something new and that is a wonderful feeling!

Tiffany

Wormie said...

Livie's got that slide all figured out!! She's so precious! I love watching her accomplishments on your blog!!

Don't mourn your 20s! Life starts are 40!! ;-) Have a great birthday! Can't wait to see you this weekend.

Love,
Aunt Delia