oooh-la-la

I can't believe that it has been two weeks since my last post! Things have been hectic as of late. Well part hectic and part laziness. We are in that slow part of the winter where things just seem to drag on and Spring, although just a few months away, still seems so far off. We have been dealing with some family issues as well. Todd was recently laid off from his job which was totally unexpected. It has caused us to change gears and tighten the budget for the time being. Todd has been busy sharpening his resume and scheduling interviews. Luckily he is the one with the positive outlook on the situation. I tend to be a bit of a Debbie Downer, thinking primarily negative thoughts about the current state of things. He sees it as a reason to find a better, more rewarding job. I think that together we balance each other out and we are dealing with the situation as realistically as we can. The obvious bright spot in all of this is Miss Olivia. She is capable of changing your bad mood with one simple smile. Or in this case, one silly dance. Oh, what would we do without her?

Things are going very well for Olivia. She is loving school tremendously. We just had a parent/teacher conference with Olivia's teacher this week. It sounds as if Olivia is doing quite well in her development. She is progressing in all areas and her social skills are improving by leaps and bounds. She wakes up each morning with a smile on her face asking, "Where are we going today?" It makes me very happy that she is enjoying school and learning new skills. I hope that her love for learning only gets stronger as she gets older.

She enjoyed Valentine's Day too. We celebrated the day by making heart-shaped pancakes for brunch and surprising her with some jelly beans (currently her favorite treat). She wore her "love" shirt to school many times leading up to the holiday. I am not quite sure why the shirt is tucked into her pants here, which are pulled up above her belly button. She does strange things at times. Regardless she looks cute! Oh, and the hair! Olivia's hair! I am not quite sure how to explain her hair at this stage, except to say it is a mop top. We are trying to grow it longer and it is in that stage where it is hard to manage. It looks quite nice in the morning when we comb it and accessorize with a barrette, but by the end of the day she is left with a afro of curls that can only be explained as, out of control! Again...still cute!

The biggest news in Olivia's life right now is the transformation of her bedroom. As I have explained we are in the process of turning Olivia's bedroom into more of a "big girl" room. She has new furniture (well, my furniture from my old room as a kid), and a pretty pink color on her walls. The next step in the transformation was to have my pseudo-sister, Korrie, begin the murals that would decorate Olivia's grown-up room. Well a few weeks ago Korrie came over on a Sunday and spent the entire day making Olivia's room feel like a day in the park in Paris! Her pink walls are now decorated with a larger than life version of the Eiffel Tower and tons of beautiful flowers.

Korrie still has more that she wants to do in Livie's room. I am sure whatever she comes up with next will be as amazing as the work she has already done. I thought that nothing could top the beautiful designs she painted in Olivia's nursery at our first house. This is by far cooler than I could have ever imagined. It makes me smile knowing that Olivia has a bedroom that allows her to escape to another place anytime she wishes. I now that she will enjoy many, many years in that room. Thank you, Korrie for putting so much time and effort into this project, and you aren't even done yet! I think it is safe to say that Olivia LOVES her newly designed, "big girl" room!

So that more or less sums up what has been going on with us over the past few weeks. I hope to try and do better about posting and not let so much time go by before I share again. Olivia continues to be a very busy girl who is growing more and more each day. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. She is so special and we are so impressed by how much she knows at such a young age. She lifts our spirits every day and makes us smile through the good and difficult times. Now if I could just keep her at this age forever!