no tricks, just treats

Halloween was a huge hit with Olivia! She had a blast! I was shocked by how much she got into the whole thing. I figured she would still be too young to have much of an interest. Boy, was I wrong!

Our Halloween celebration started earlier in the week with a trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo for their annual Great Zoo Halloween. Each year they cover the zoo with pumpkins and cool festive displays. There are about 10 candy stations that the kids can visit to collect their candy while they walk through the zoo. There aren't many animals out at this point because the zoo is closed for the year and it is usually too cold for some of the animals to be out. Even though it was a cool night there were some animals still out so Olivia was pleased. It was the perfect fall night to be out doing a little early trick-or-treating. Considering the fact that Olivia's costume was quite warm I was hoping that the weather would be cooler so she would not be uncomfortable while being stuffed in a big furry costume. She must have been snug as a bug because she did not complain one bit. In fact she really liked her costume and was more than happy to wear it.

We talked to Olivia about Halloween beforehand so she could possibly understand the whole thing. We told her that she was going to dress up and go around collecting candy. We also taught her exactly what to say if she wanted candy. Within a day she had it nailed. When people would ask her what she was going to be for Halloween she replied, "I be Elmo costume". Once we got to the zoo we explained to her that she had to hand a ticket to each person in order to get her candy. She caught onto that right away. She refused to say "trick-or-treat", but she said "thank-you" each time without fail. I was very proud of our big girl!

The trip to the zoo exhausted our Little Elmo. And luckily after giving her only one piece of candy she forgot about it all. She did manage to find some energy to run through the leaves on the way back to the car though. It was such a fun night, and it wasn't even Halloween yet!

Now you would think that the weather would stay fairly cool this time of year. Nope...it was 65 degrees on Friday! I was super worried about Olivia wearing that heavy costume on such an unseasonably warm day. Yes, she was warm...but once again she did not complain! We had a great night! We started out doing a little trick or treating in our neighborhood. We took the wagon so Olivia would not get overheated walking from door to door.

She did not hesitate walking right up to the houses and ringing the doorbell if necessary to get her candy. If allowed she preferred to pick out her own candy too...as if she knew what she was choosing! She always finished with a big "thank-you" before moving onto the next house. She had the routine down pat in no time. She was a trick-or-treating pro!

We visited some friends in the neighborhood and hit up a few other houses before packing up to go visit the grandparents! Next we headed off to Todd's parents and then to my Mom's. Everyone was dying to see Olivia all dressed up. At each stop I would pull Olivia's costume down around her waist so she could cool off a little. The poor thing was sweating like crazy underneath. I thought she would resist putting it back on time after time, but again...no complaints!

After one more stop we finally made our way out to final destination. We ended the evening with our friends Korrie & Tom and their two boys. It is becoming a tradition that after trick-or-treating is over we go over to their house for chili and a little relaxation. We arrived much later than we planned and we were all exhausted. It was way past Olivia's bed time but she was having so much fun. She refused to release her Elmo pail from her death grip all night but she only requested a few pieces of candy. I think she just wanted to hold onto her stash which could only be considered a huge accomplishment. The amount of candy this child collected was insane! Lucky for us she has since forgotten about it. Now it will be sitting in our house for the next month as we slowly eat it all.

Halloween was so much more fun than I expected it to be for Olivia. I never thought she would get so involved in the holiday! I can only imagine what the next few years will be like. Now from one big event to another. In just two short days Olivia will turn two years old! We thought she was excited about Halloween? She is even more excited about her birthday!

fall fun

The weather is changing, and changing fast! Just a few short weeks ago we were moving into our new house in 80 degree weather. Now we get all bundled up in the mornings to head off to school...brrrrrrr! Luckily the afternoons are still warm enough that we have been able to do some fun things. Olivia's babysitter is trying to maximize the nice weather too by letting the kids play outside as much as possible before they have to be couped up all winter. A few weeks ago I went to pick up Olivia and found her having fun outside with her friends. She loves running around with all of the kids at Mama Kay's house, regardless of their age.

We also went to a party for Todd's job recently. It was outdoors at Paige's Crossing in Columbia City. It was a little chilly but Olivia had a great time playing miniature golf for the first time. It was not the most organized round of golf but it was fun watching her try to smack the ball with the putter. They had a fun playground that she enjoyed but unfortunately she was too young to go on any of the rides. As you can imagine she was not happy about that!

We are loving our new house and our neighborhood. There are multiple ponds throughout the neighborhood and most of them are in walking distance from our house. A few weeks ago my Mom took Olivia for a walk to one of the ponds and they realized that the fish really like cheerios! Since then we have taken Olivia to the ponds many times so she can feed the fish her cheerios. They immediately rush to the surface to chomp on them. It is a fun thing for her to do and all we have to do is walk down the street. Of course she can't give all of her cheerios to the fishies. She must munch on a few too!

When it is too chilly to be outdoors Olivia enjoys snuggling up with her Daddy in our new BIG chair! It is the perfect size for both of them. This is usually what they do right before Olivia heads off to bed.

Speaking of bed, Olivia has started climbing out of her crib! Oh, I thought we were going to skip this stage. Up until now she has never attempted to get out. Last week, while she was supposed to be napping, I heard some noise coming from her room. I opened her door to find her sitting on the floor, looking through some books, with shoes on her feet and a paci in her mouth. The look on her face was priceless once she realized she was busted. I have no idea how she got out, but she obviously did not hurt herself. We had a talk about it and I asked that she not get out of her crib without help from me. She told me she would stay in her bed and she did...until this past Sunday. One week later, during nap time once again, she got out. It has only happened twice and so far she has stayed in her crib at night, but it soon may be time to transition to the toddler bed. I am not ready for her to move into a big girl bed yet, and I do not think she is completely ready yet either. We will just see how things go but it may be happening sooner rather than later.

In less than one week Olivia will turn two. Party plans are in the works! Olivia is acting more like a two year old each day. She has started calling me "Mom" now. For some reason she stopped saying "mommy" as much and now refers to me mostly as "Mom". One of her favorite things to say is, "hold on, Mom". She holds up her finger when she says it too. It is quite funny. She has also started to say, "I can't" whenever she has trouble doing something or simply does not want to do something. I try to explain to her that she is fully capable of doing most things and that if she is having trouble to simply ask us for help. It is amazing how much she can do on her own now. Attending Montessori school has made Olivia a very self-sufficient and independent little girl. She can put on her own shoes and is learning how to put on her coat by flipping it over her head. Remember learning to put on your coat by laying it on the floor, putting your arms in and flipping it over your head? It is funny how Olivia is learning to do things the same way we did when we were kids. Each day she amazes us with all that she is learning.

Finally, Olivia had picture day at school last week. This is the one day when we are asked to dress them up for school. Pictures are taken first thing so they can then change into their play clothes and go about their day. It gave me the opportunity to put Olivia in a very cute outfit that she does not get to wear very often. I snapped a few shots of my own before we left for school. She was more than happy to give me one of her big cheesy grins. When I picked her up that afternoon her teacher told me that picture day went great but that they had a heck of a time getting Olivia to smile. I guess she used them all up on me. I am anxious to see how her class picture turned out. I cannot imagine trying to get a large group of toddlers to sit still long enough to take a picture.

We have a fun weekend coming up. Friday is Halloween, of course. We are looking forward to taking Olivia trick-or-treating as she understands how it works a little better this year. We took her for a test drive in her costume tonight by taking her to the Zoo Halloween. It was a ton of fun and Olivia enjoyed collecting her candy. Not to mention the fact that she looked ADORABLE! Check back next week for a Halloween wrap-up. Until then I hope that everyone has a very safe and fun Halloween!

home, sweet home

I don't even know where to start. I guess the first thing to say is, "whew!". Moving is not fun, and we do not plan on doing it again anytime soon. In fact if we never do it again I will be happy. The move itself went great though. I think we had the best moving crew in history. Although it was a very long and tiring day, it went quite smooth with no major problems. All of our stuff arrived at our new house unharmed and in one piece. Well not really, most things had to be put back together again. (Another big pain associated with moving!). I have already thanked all of our amazing friends and family that helped us through that day, but I need to say one more big THANK YOU! You really helped to make the whole event much easier.

We have officially been in our new house one week and we love it! I took last week off of work so that I could unpack all of our stuff. The idea of living out of boxes made me crazy. After working non stop each day I was able to get the majority of our stuff put away. What a relief! I would take a break from time to time and hit a few stores to grab things for the new house. (That is the part I like.) I failed to take any pictures on moving day or the chaos of our house after all of the boxes were put in their appropriate rooms. But if you could have seen what things looked like the day after we moved, compared to what they looked like one week later you would be shocked. I know I was.

Olivia has adjusted to her new house amazingly well. I figured that she would, because she adapts to new situations very quickly, but I thought she would be confused for awhile and may not sleep well the first few nights in her new bedroom. Well I was wrong! This kid never ceases to amaze me. She has been sleeping great from the very first night and she loves to announce "Livie's new house!" when we pull into our driveway. Now Olivia's babysitter is next door to where we used to live. The first few days she asked why there were different people at her house, but since then she hasn't given her old house another look. We tried our best to explain the situation to her and I think she really understands. She now refers to each house as her "old house" and "new house". As always Olivia has been very busy with school, tap class and spending time with her grandparents, which is another reason the move has not had much of an effect on her. We took Olivia to her old house the day after we moved so she could see her room for the last time. She was very confused by the fact that the house was completely empty, but she was immediately fascinated with the fact that her voice echoed in each empty room. I had to take a few final pictures so we could remind her of her amazing first bedroom.

Now that we have a bigger house we are finding that we need more stuff to fill it up. Todd and I have been buying a few small pieces of furniture to fill in spaces here and there. Last week Todd was putting together an end table and Olivia decided that she wanted to help her daddy. She said, "daddy, I use screwdriver". So Todd handed her a screwdriver and she attempted to help him with the table. It was such a cute moment. She is so interested in everything these days and always wants to try things on her own. Being in Montessori school has really brought out her independence. She has always been independent but now I think she thinks she is ready to move out on her own!

After a very long and exhausting week Todd and I were able to get away and celebrate our 4 year anniversary which was last week. Last year my Mom gave us a gift certificate she won at a silent auction to a little bed and breakfast in Berne, Indiana called The Schug House. We thought this would be the perfect time to use it. I was dying to get away from all of the boxes and just relax in a quiet little town. The B&B was amazing! The house was so old and historic. It was also very private and quaint. Aside from being the furniture capital of Indiana, Berne does not have a great deal to offer in the way of dining or entertainment. We decided to drive into Decatur to try Marko's, which was highly recommended to us. We had a wonderful dinner and returned to the B&B for a full night's sleep. The next morning the innkeeper served us a very nice breakfast and we were able to talk with him about the house and it's history. It was the perfect getaway and I am so glad we went. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to get away from life's daily stresses and just enjoy some peace and quiet. Plus, how cute is this place?

So the past week has been a whirlwind, but we are slowly getting settled and falling into a routine at our wonderful new house. The next step is decorating. I am dying to get the rooms painted and designed. I know it will take awhile, but I have the whole winter ahead of me. The next thing we have to get ready for is Olivia's 2nd birthday. In a few short weeks we will be celebrating this milestone and throwing our very first party at the new house. Yikes! I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that our daughter is turning two! I have much more to update everyone on but I must put an end to this post. Now that we are settled I hope to fall back into a regular blogging routine. Thanks again, to everyone who helped us move and to those who have helped us get settled. We could not have done it without you. It is a nice feeling to be able to say "home, sweet home". Plus, the view is great!

chaos

Moving day is 3 days away and this is the chaos that we are living in right now! Yikes!

I can't believe the big day is almost here. The past few weeks have been a blur. We have been packing non-stop, making calls and signing papers. I don't think I have stopped moving long enough to actually realize that our time in this house is almost up. I just put Olivia to bed and it was hard to choke back the tears. We have been talking to her about the changes that will take place very soon. We also told her that she will have a new bed room that will have much more room for all of her toys. Now when we ask her if she is excited to move to her new house she says, "Yes, new bedroom!". I am still preparing for a freak-out the first few nights. But she will adjust quickly and start having a blast in her new house before we know it.

We have a lot of people helping us with the move this weekend. I want to thank them all in advance as I know it will be a long, hard day. It will be so nice when it is all over. I know we have a lot of work ahead of us but we are getting more excited each day. For now we will enjoy these final hours together in our first family home. So, as Olivia's says each morning as we leave for school, "Goodbye, Home!".

feeling sentimental

With the big move a little over one week away I am starting to feel a little sentimental about leaving our house. Don't get me wrong, we are SO excited to be moving to a bigger, more updated home but we have created a lot of memories here and it will be sad to leave them behind. I think the thing that is bothering me the most is the fact that we will be tearing Olivia away from the only home she has ever known. She has a beautiful nursery that was designed for her by her godmother and one of my closest friends, Korrie. As you can see Korrie is amazingly talented and created a room that fit Olivia perfectly, even though we did not know what we were having. If I could take the room with me to the new house, I would! But I think that this beautiful room was one of the strongest selling points of our house, which helped it sell so quickly. The family moving in has an eight month old little boy and I hear they just loved the room when they saw it for the first time!

There was so much time and effort put into this room and I felt so lucky to be able to provide my daughter with a gorgeous room that was all hers. She has enjoyed many hours of playing, reading and sleeping in this room. We have shared some late nights with Olivia in this room when she wasn't feeling well or would wake up in the middle of the night upset. We have spent many hours sitting in the rocking chair reading numerous books to her. We have had lots of fun rolling around on the floor and playing in her little "fantasy land" of a bedroom. I am not sure how she will react the first night she has to sleep in a new room that is MUCH larger than she is used to and just does not feel like "home" yet. I am prepared for a middle of the night freak-out. No fear, Olivia's godmother already has amazing ideas for her new bedroom and I am so anxious to see them come to life. In fact Olivia's bedroom will probably be one of the first rooms we focus on in the new house.

With only a short time remaining for Olivia to enjoy her beautiful bedroom I decided to take some pictures of her in her most comfortable space. I thought it would be nice to be able to show her what was created for her one day, since she will probably never remember what her room looked like. Oh, that makes me so sad.

This past Sunday we were hanging out with Olivia in her room while she played and she decided to sing us a few songs. I quickly grabbed my camera and tried to catch some of it on video. She starts off by singing one of her favorites, "Itsy-Bitsy Spider", but towards they end she switches gears and starts singing something that I am not familiar with. It is probably one of the many songs she sings at school that I do not know. It is great memories like these that we will take with us...

So thank you, Korrie for making Olivia' s first bedroom so special and memorable! I am looking forward to seeing what you create for her next. I am sure it will, once again, be something special that she will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

We did find some time to do some fun things as a family this past weekend. On Sunday we attended the opening festival of our neighborhood pumpkin patch. We took Olivia to the pumpkin patch last year and had fun picking out a few small pumpkins. We thought we would make it a tradition and allow her to pick out a few more this year too. I wanted her to be able to choose from pumpkins that were more her size. They have cute little names for the smaller pumpkins too, calling them "spookies" and "wee-be-little" pumpkins. Olivia was all about picking out a few "spookies" for herself. They even gave us some stickers to take home so that Olivia could decorate her pumpkins with funny faces.

They had pumpkins of all sizes at the patch and she was quite fascinated with the big ones. I was amazed at the size of some of them, but the bigger they were the less round and perfect they were too. Olivia was much happier with her small, perfectly round little pumpkins.

After buying our spookies we walked around the festival and enjoyed the beautiful day. I wanted to snap as many pictures outdoors as possible since I know these nice days will be ending soon. Later that afternoon we downtown to Headwaters Park to enjoy the Sunday in the Park with Jazz event hosted by NIPR, a local radio station. We went last year and relaxed in the park while listening to some nice music and we thought we would check it out again this year. We had a nice time and Olivia was thrilled to find a drawing table sponsored by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. We mainly just relaxed in the shade and enjoyed the nice weather. My Mom came along with us and her friend Cindy joined us as well. Some of the music was really nice and I just love how Olivia looks like she is really "feeling" the music in this picture...

It was a really nice day and I am so glad we were able to take part in these fun local events. Now it is crunch time. We have a busy weekend ahead with tons of packing to do. I am waiting until the last minute to start tearing apart Olivia's room. We have told her that we are moving and when I ask her what color she wants her new room to be she starts naming every color she knows. For now we are going to enjoy the final days in our house and get ready to start the next chapter in our new house! Chances are I won't be blogging again before the move so it may be awhile before you hear from me again. Stay tuned, I promise to update as soon as I can!