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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

playing catch-up

So it's been another long break between blog posts. I have noticed that the older Olivia gets the less I seem to blog. There is just too much going on day to day and not as much changing with Olivia. The good thing about so much time passing between posts is that I have tons of things to talk about when I do finally sit down to play catch-up.

Todd and I just got back from our first trip out of town without Olivia. We went to San Diego. I was attending a conference for work and my company was kind enough to pay for Todd to come along. We were sad to leave our little girl behind but we knew it was the best decision. She had too much going on last week and honestly, I did not feel like packing up the million extra things she would need for 5 days out of town. With all of the added stress our family was been dealing with lately we knew it was the perfect timing for a little getaway and we had a really nice time! It sounds as if Olivia had equally as good of a time. I will share all of the activities Olivia got to participate in while we were away in my next post. I do want to thank both of Todd's parents and my Mom for helping out so much with Olivia. We knew she was in good hands, which made leaving a little bit easier!

So San Diego...what a neat city! We arrived early in the afternoon on Wednesday and had the whole day free, so we thought it would be fun to go to the San Diego Zoo. This zoo is known for being one of the best in the country and I think we both agree. It was amazing! Even though we were tired from traveling we managed to spend most of the afternoon there. If there was one thing I wish we could have done with Olivia it would have been to take her to this zoo. She would have loved it! From the pandas to the koalas, the zoo was filled with one amazing animal after another. We will definitely go back some day and take Olivia with us.

I was busy with my conference most of Thursday and Friday so Todd was able to explore the city a bit. It was chilly while we were there but the sunshine sure was nice. We had lunch and dinner together each night in downtown San Diego and we ate at some amazing restaurants. The best part was that we did not have to pay for a thing! Our hotel was amazing too. It was a brand new Hilton, located right on the bay, which made for a great view. We used all of our free time to explore and site see, but it was nice to relax in the evenings, just the two of us.

The last day of my conference was on Saturday and I was done by 10am, so we had the whole day free. We decided to drive one hour north to an area called Temecula. It was an area filled with wineries...just beautiful! Visiting wineries is one of our favorite things to do so we decided to do some tasting and spend the afternoon in this beautiful area. Not only did we taste some great wines, but we saw some amazing scenery and had lunch at one of the beautiful wineries. It really was a nice afternoon and a great way to end our trip.

Even though we had a great time in San Diego we were super excited to get home and see our baby. I know...she is so far from being a baby, but I still refer to her in that way...I can't help it! She was thrilled to see us and I got one of the biggest hugs I have ever received from her. We got a great report from her Nana, (my Mom) and Todd's parents. They said that she was a perfect angel, 96% of the time. The other 4% consisted of a fit here and there. Those fits seemed to intensify once we got home. From the moment we got back to our house she immediately started acting out. I don't know if she was just expressing her feelings about us leaving her, or if she was having a bad day but her behavior was unlike anything I have ever seen. And I hate to say it, but it seems to be a phase because the behavior has continued on and off this week. She has been difficult and defiant which is completely out of character for her. I can't quite figure it out. Any moms out there care to share their thoughts? As Olivia's mom I am spoiled. She is almost always a well-mannered, sweet child, so when she does act out I don't quite know how to handle it. Needless to say, the past few days have been trying. My hope is that this is just a phase and my sweet little girl will return soon. Who knows, maybe it is growing pains! All I know is that when we left for our trip she was sweet and we seem to have returned to a monster. Considering my Mom was the one who spent the most time with her while we were away, I may have to blame this on her! (Just kidding, Mom!)

Aside from some stranger taking over my daughter's body, things have been going pretty well lately. Olivia is doing great at school. It is hard to believe that in a few short months she is going to be finished with her first year. We hope to be able to send her to summer camp at her school because I hate to think of her being away from her Montessori environment all summer long. The school has been doing some serious marketing lately, trying to increase enrollment for next year. They had TV cameras come into the school and shoot some footage for a commercial that was to air on PBS. We thought it would be great if Olivia made it into the commercial but we did not expect for it to actually happen. Well once we saw the commercial we were surprised to see her cute little face at the very end. Check out Olivia's cameo spot in the Three Rivers Montessori School commercial. She is wearing a brown shirt and she is shown in the last frame of the spot. Don't blink or you may miss her. As you can imagine she is super excited that she made it into the commercial. We taped it for her and she loves to watch it over and over again, squealing with delight when she sees herself appear on the screen.

Another recent change with Olivia is her hair. Oh...that hair! I am not quite sure how to describe it. All I can say is that it is totally out of control and there does not seem to be anything I can do to contain it. We often refer to her as "mop top" or " the mad scientist". It has a life of it's own and I have no idea what to do with it. It is in that middle stage where it is still fairly short but not long enough to be pulled back into a pony tail. I am dying for her hair to grow longer but for now it just sticks out like an enormous afro of frizzy curls. The first thing I do in the morning is comb it and pull it to the side with a barrette. Well, considering the fact that she is a toddler and spends most of the day running around like a crazy person, you can only imagine what she looks like at the end of the day. Here are a few pictures that show exactly what i am talking about.

If I think it is out of control now, just wait until summer humidity kicks in! I hope that it starts to grow so that I can pull it back and keep it out of her face. That hair is thick and it can make her quite warm. For now we just laugh every time she comes home for the day. It is quite funny!

The past month has been challenging. We have been struggling to find things to keep Olivia occupied as we wait for Spring to arrive. We did bust out the finger paints a few weeks ago. I know she does this at the babysitter's quite often but I had yet to be brave enough to try it at home. As you can see she enjoyed it but her interest lasted a whole five minutes I think. Ahhh...the attention span of a two year old!

We got our first taste of Spring this week. The weather has been really nice so Todd has taken Olivia to the park a couple of times. Needless to say she was very excited to be able to play on a playground once again. I have a feeling this is going to be a regular activity this season. She is so brave on the playground and could run around for hours if we left her. But all fun must come to an end and that is when Olivia's ugly side usually comes out. Regardless I am looking forward to spending lots of time with her outdoors this spring and summer.

So that is what has been going on with us lately. I am really going to try and blog a little more often. I am sure that once we start getting outside on a regular basis I will start making better use of my camera. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun spring!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend several days with Olivia. We had a great time, and enjoyed so many fun activities. She truly lives life to the fullest.
Nana

Anonymous said...

OK---so I'm trying to be a good blogger again..LOL..and I have to say that the picture of her hair in the paint shirt is HILARIOUS!!! I called Jake in right away so he could see it too. We definitely enjoyed a chuckle!! She is just too precious, and growing so quickly. Let your hair down, Mom, break out the playdoh and have some fun. It won't be long and she'll be moving on to "bigger and better" things...YIKES...LOL

Katie said...

she's 2. that's her change. cami has the same spurts. also, EVERY SINGLE TIME my girls stay away from us for a weekend, they come home an utter MESS. it's just the transition and change in attention. get used to it. :)

Anonymous said...

Your trip looked amazing, such fun I am so glad you made it to the zoo, it is wonderful...the wineries look great too....I am so happy for you. I know Miss Olivia had a great time. She is just too cute..I love the wild hair...so great.....Love Aunt Sue Sue