Olivia's BFF

Do you remember your best friend when you were a kid? Do you remember writing notes in school and signing them, "Your BFF!" (Best-Friend-Forever). Do you remember wanting to be with your best friend constantly? Well, all of that is just getting started with Olivia...at the age of two (almost three). Yes, she has her very first BFF! Her name is Laurel and attends Three Rivers Montessori as well.

Olivia and Laurel met last year. They were in the same toddler classroom. They were quite young when they first met...not even two. At that age children really have no interest in making friends. They much rather play on their own and get quite annoyed when someone else tries to interfere. Towards the end of their first year of school they started spending more time together. Olivia would talk about Laurel and things they did in class. It was clear she was taking a liking to her. As the summer approached we talked to Laurel's parents about getting the kids together during the break. Well things came up and before we knew it the summer was over and we never made any plans. Both girls were moving up into new classrooms this year and I secretly hoped they would be in the same class. That did not happen, but we did finally make plans with Laurel's parents a few months ago and got the girls together.

They came over to our house for a cookout. The weather did not cooperate so we ended up staying inside all night. That did not matter to the girls because they were beyond excited to be playing together. I think they ran around and played with each other for two straight hours. There was a lot of high pitch screaming going on, as well as a ton of giggling! The best part was that they really seemed to enjoy spending time together. Both were exhausted by the end of the night, but the first thing out of Olivia's mouth when Laurel left was, "I want to play with Laurel again sometime!". We really hit it off with Laurel's parents too, so we knew that play dates would be happening on a regular basis.

Now that the school year is in full swing I am sort of glad that they are not in the same class. Many times each week they see each other on the playground and it makes their time together that much more special. I have a feeling that if they spent every day together in class they would quickly tire of one another. Now when Olivia sees Laurel at school she gets super excited and she can't wait to tell me when I pick her up. She usually tells me that Laurel is her "best friend". A few weeks ago we had another play date, this time at Laurel's house. It was a low key night of pizza and conversation. The girls were busy with toys and the adults were able to get a little bit of actual conversation in while occasionally checking to see what they were up to.

They get along quite well and aside from the occasional disagreement they play great with each other. They seem to be interested in the same things and have very little problem sharing toys. That is pretty good considering their age. I just love how much they laugh when they are together. They just seem to click. It is fascinating to me that they have picked each other out of all of the children at school. They have many other friends, but they seem to be drawn to each other more than anyone else. It just melts my heart. Laurel may be the first of many friends for Olivia , but she will always be Olivia's first BFF!

Olivia is enjoying school so much right now. She is thriving in her new classroom and seems to be learning quite a bit. I get occasional updates from her teacher, Ms. Laura, but I recently received an e-mail from her that made me beam with pride. Here is what she said...

"She is wonderful! She is very observant and pays the closest attention to new lessons! She works from the minute she leaves line until it is time to go outside! Truly a Montessori child!Thank you for sharing her with us!"

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to know how well she is doing. Each day she amazes me by sharing something with me I did not know she knew. Today in the car she informed me that she saw Asia and Europe on the map. Now I knew they were doing a unit on geography, but I had no idea she actually knew the names of some of the continents! She plays pretend school at home so I get an idea of how things work in her classroom. I am so impressed with how focused and into it she is. I hope that her love for learning continues. For now I am just grateful that I am able to send her to this school and give her this experience.

A few weeks ago they had school pictures. Now Olivia NEVER gets dressed up to go to school but that day was a special occasion. I hope that her pictures turned out well. If not I have these to look back on...

Finally, we have some big news to share. Olivia is officially sleeping in a "big girl" bed at home, and I am pleased to say that the transition was a piece of cake! I had a feeling it would be since she had been sleeping in a bed at my Mom's and the babysitters', but you just never know. Last weekend we picked up the bed from our family friend, Cindy. It is an antique bed that her daughter slept in as a child. Since it is no longer being used she thought it would look great in Olivia's room. I have to admit it fit the theme of her room perfectly!

We made a big deal out of going to bed on Sunday night with the hope that her fabulous sleeping habits would not go out the window now that the crib was gone. She piled as many stuffed animals as she could into the bed and plopped herself in the middle. Each night this week she has slept without a problem and so far has followed our "no getting out of bed" rule. We did not want her to think that she could just get out and walk around the house now that the crib rails were gone. She has stayed in the bed and called for us when she needs something. Once again I am so very proud of her and feel so grateful to have such an amazing child.

Next week Olivia and I will be flying to California to meet up with my Mom and stay with Olivia's Aunt Sue Sue. The sad part is that we will be leaving Todd at home. This will be the longest amount of time away from Olivia for him and I will be away during our 5 year anniversary. I know...bad wife, but it is the only time we could have take the trip. Olivia is super excited and I am super nervous about getting on a plane by myself with her. Pray for me!

fun family time

Wow...it has been awhile since I have blogged. With school in full swing for Olivia and all of our extracurricular activities it is hard to find the time to sit down and share my thoughts. But I love doing it, so here it goes.

We have been doing a ton of fun family things lately, squeezing every last bit out of this nice weather. I am stoked about Fall, it is my favorite time of year, but I am also sad that we won't be able to do our outdoor activities for much longer. Our summer was packed with one outdoor activity after another. I know that once it gets cold I am going to have to start getting creative in order to keep Miss Olivia from getting bored.

I think one of the last summer like days we had was during our annual church picnic, earlier this month. Each year Trinity English Lutheran Church holds their annual picnic at the Solomon Farm. Todd and I have been before but this was the first time we have taken Olivia. They have a ton of fun things for kids to do and I knew she would really get into it. I kindly volunteered to oversee the bouncy house for a short time during the picnic. I wasn't overly thrilled about watching over a bunch of little kids throw themselves into each other, but I wanted to help out. The plus was that Olivia got to spend most of my shift bouncing until she could not bounce any more. Do you think she liked it?

The other big hit was the huge inflatable slide. I thought there was no way she would climb to the top of that thing by herself. She is brave but there are some things that she is just not up for. Boy, was I wrong. I think she went down this slide at least four times. It is just another step towards Olivia becoming this independent child, no longer my little baby! I was just thrilled to see the joy on her face as she came flying down that slide.

The other big hit from the picnic was the face painting. I did not think that my Olivia would sit still long enough for something to be painted on her face, but I was wrong again! She was thrilled with the butterfly on her cheek, but not so thrilled once it rubbed off from more bouncing in the bouncy house. In fact, she was quite sad when it rubbed off. She took part in all of the activities the picnic had to offer until she wore herself out. Overall it was a fun, end of the summer day.

Next on our list of fun family time, was a visit from Olivia's Great Aunt Sue Sue. Olivia was anxiously awaiting her arrival and they bonded from the moment she arrived until she had to get back on her plane to California. Sue came to town so that she, my Mom and I could go away for a girls weekend to Indy. She received a birthday gift from her husband that allowed her to take us on a spa weekend. Nice, huh? Needless to say it was pretty great! I left Olivia with Daddy for the weekend, allowing them to do some father-daughter bonding, while we indulged in spa, shopping and food. It was nice to get away for some "girl time", but it was also nice to come home to my girl. Sue stayed in town for a few more days so she could spend some time with Olivia. They had a blast together and at the end of the visit Olivia asked if Sue Sue could come live with us. The good news is that we will be going out to California for a visit next month, so Olivia will get to see more of her Aunt Sue Sue again very soon.

The start of fall means that the zoo will soon be closing for the season. We have had such fun visiting the zoo this year. I lost track of how many times we have gone. We went again this past weekend knowing that it might be the last time we go before they close.

We made this visit extra special and let Olivia choose two rides as well as a treat to share. She picked the train and the log ride, and of course an ice cream treat. Luckily it was a pretty nice day on Sunday so ice cream was not an unreasonable request. Even though the zoo is closing we will be going back one last time for the annual Zoo Halloween. Such fun!

Now that it is starting to get chilly out I have been trying to think of activities that we can do indoors. This past weekend I came up with the idea of making our own pizzas for dinner. I had no idea Olivia would enjoy it so much. We cheated and bought our pizza crusts, already prepared. (Next time we will roll them out ourselves). We added our sauce, toppings and cheese to our own individual pizzas. Olivia loved being able to create her own pizza, although she tried to pile all of her topping into a huge heap in the middle of the dough. I helped her spread them out a bit and then we popped them in the oven. Within minutes they were ready for us to eat. I think Olivia had more fun making the pizzas than actually eating them, but it was a great family activity and not nearly as messy as I anticipated!

In other news...Olivia is doing great in school. I have more to share about that next time. Her vocabulary continues to amaze me. She tells me all about her day and things going on with her friends at school. She is still loving Spanish and I recently surprised her with a few new Spanish books. I love that she is so interested in another language, so we are taking advantage of the eagerness to learn. (I am learning too!). Her curiosity continues to grow and she loves asking questions. She hates being left out of conversations and constantly interrupts by saying, "What are you and Daddy talking about?" She is also getting very excited about her upcoming birthday. She has it all planned out in her head...who will be coming to her party, what kind of cake she wants, and of course...what she hopes to get for her birthday. She has only one request...Bendaroos.

Yes, my child has become a victim of commercialization. While watching the very educational PBS Sprout channel she has discovered a craft toy called, Bendaroos. They are these wax sticks that can be shaped into anything. For some reason she has developed an obsession for these things and asks daily if she can have them for her birthday. I hate buying things off the TV so we checked around and Todd found them at a craft store, so of course we grabbed them and put them away for her big day. I have no doubt she will be thrilled. Whether or not she will know what to do with them will remain to be seen. The look on her face when she gets them will no doubt be priceless. Now I need to get moving on the birthday party details. Is my child really about to turn 3???

I am sad that summer is over. We really had a lot of fun this year. But there are so many fun things coming up and I know that it will be a great fall/winter as well. The next big step is Olivia's move into her "big girl" bed. That should be happening this weekend, so stay tuned and wish us luck!

right before my eyes

I had to stop and think twice this week about how it is possible that my two year old is starting her second year of school already. Not only is she starting her second year at Three Rivers Montessori, but she is stepping into a whole new territory in a new classroom with new teachers and new friends. This year is going to be quite different for Olivia as she will no longer be in the toddler classroom, but spending the next 3-4 years in the Primary classroom with 3-6 year olds. It brought tears to my eyes as I looked back at her first day of school pictures from last year. I think about how much she has grown and changed during the past year and I am astonished and so very proud of her!

Olivia was looking forward to starting the new school year. Since we did the summer program it was not very difficult getting back into our school routine. The major difference this year is that she will be going all five mornings instead of just three mornings a week, like she did last year. I got her up and ready just like I do each and every morning and tried to snap a few pictures of her before we walked out the door. Big difference from last year, huh?

Olivia's first day was last Wednesday. The returning children came on Monday and Tuesday, by themselves. The new, younger children came Wednesday-Friday so they could get acclimated to their new classroom. This week the children are all together. It will be different for Olivia to be in a classroom with children that are not only her age but others that are close to five and six years old. I am sure many of you are wondering how they operate a classroom with kids from so many different age ranges. It is amazing really. The kids work together as well as independently. Lessons are given in a group and to individual children. The kids are allowed to work at their own pace, which gives the five year olds the ability to work at a more advanced level, while the younger children can work at a level that is more suitable for them. The older kids look out for the younger ones and even help to give lessons. It really is a neat dynamic and works quite well. My initial fear was that Olivia would be intimidated by the older kids, but I really don't think that will be the case. I actually think it will be good for Olivia to spend time with older children. Olivia tends to be a leader and can be a bit bossy at times. I highly doubt that the older kids will stand for much from a 2 year old, so this should help to tame that bossiness!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention how much I LOVE Olivia's new teacher, Ms. Laura. I secretly had my fingers crossed that she would be Olivia's teacher this year and my wish was granted! I am so confident knowing that for the next three years Olivia growth and development will be in Ms. Laura's hands!

Olivia fell back into the swing of things at school like a pro! I knew she would. Ms. Laura was kind enough to e-mail me some pictures of Olivia during her first day back at school. I think she wanted me to know that Olivia was OK. I knew she was, but it was nice to see just how happy she was in her new environment. Last year she was a little sad when I left her on the first day of school and this year she took off the second we stepped into the classroom and did not even look back. I just love know that Olivia is so comfortable at her school.

This week all of the kids are together and they are getting used to their new classroom dynamic. I am so excited for what this year has in store for Olivia. Being in this next level at her school will allow her to grow at her own pace and learn so many new and wonderful things. There are many fun events and activities planned for the school year so I will be sure to update you on occasion so you can hear all about Olivia's adventures.

up close and personal

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to take Olivia to a super cool place. There is an animal sanctuary about one hour from our house called the Black Pine Animal Park. One of my Mom's students from this past year, Kellie, is a volunteer at the park and invited us to come for a visit. We were able to get some behind the scene access to some of the coolest animals I have ever seen.

We started with a tour of the cat house. There were many indoor and outdoor cages filled with lions, tigers and leopards. One of the first animals to catch my eye was the male lion. He was large than life and so regal. I could not believe how close we were to this guy. I could have just stood and watched him for hours...very fascinating!

Then Kellie took us indoors to see where the cats go to cool off. We were able to get inches away from these animals. They are quite calm because they are captive and trained to be good with people. I was able to put my hand against the cage while one of the lions gave it a big lick. It was probably one of the bravest things I have ever done. If you have ever had a house cat lick your hand you know that their tongues are rough, like sandpaper. Well imagine that, but 100 times the size. Olivia was not interested in getting that close to a tiger, but I am glad I gave it a try.

Some of the bigger cats were a little intimidating to Olivia. Not surprising, considering how close we were to them. She was interested in the black bear though and even fed him a couple of marsh mellows. Kellie told us that this black bear did not have any teeth, only gums, so there was no reason to be afraid. I think this may be the only time in Olivia's life that she will have the opportunity to feed a black bear so I am glad that she did it. She probably will not remember doing it, but luckily I caught it on video. He was a sweet bear and we all took turns feeding him marsh mellows. He sure seemed to like them.

After the cat house we moved on to another area of the park. This area housed a lot of farm like animals. There were goats, donkeys, llamas, etc. We were introduced to a sweet little goat and his little horse friend, Mini. Kellie gave Olivia some food to give to them and she immediately became their best friend. Mini was the tiniest little horse I have ever seen. Olivia was not scared at all to hold out her hand and feed them. I think this was her favorite part of our visit.

Next we were introduced to Johnny, the camel. I never thought I would get this close to an animal that weighs close to 2,000 lbs! It was quite fascinating to stand face to face with such a large animal and look into his eyes. We all took turns feeding Johnny a snack and I even had my picture taken with him. What a sport he was! Although Olivia thought he was cool she quickly lost interest and headed back to see her goat and horse friends.

Our last stop was the monkey house. At this point Olivia was quite tired and was begging to go home. We were not going to leave without seeing everything so Todd stayed outside while Kellie took us in to see all of the monkey's in their cages. Monkey's are fascinating creatures because although they are quite smart they can be quite nasty to humans. We had to stay far away from the cages and only Kellie was allowed to touch them. There was one monkey in particular that grabbed my attention. I cannot remember what kind of monkey this is, but there is something about his face that is so interesting. Just look at this eyes!

This was such an awesome opportunity! Olivia is still talking about all of the animals she saw and the things she got to do. I really suggest taking a trip to the Black Pine Animal Park if you live in Fort Wayne. It is really worth the trip.

Well I think our summer is drawing to a close. Olivia starts school next week. We had a class picnic on Monday which allowed her to meet some of the other kids that will be in her new class. She is excited about starting a new year in a new classroom but I am a little nervous for her. She is going to be the youngest in her class and most of the kids are between the ages of 4-5. I know my Olivia and her personality and I have no doubt she will be able to hold her own. I just hope that the other kids welcome her and the other little ones into the class with loving arms. It will be an adjustment and a challenge for her, but Olivia loves nothing more than a good challenge and I think she will grow by leaps and bounds this year. I can't wait!