Bottle-less

For the past few weeks, Olivia has successfully kicked her bottle habit.  There was some resistance to taking milk in the sippy, even though she guzzles water from them.  But we are now completely bottle-less and totally on the sippy cup for all beverages.  Such a big girl.

Somebody figured out how to use Photo Booth on my mac....

(Whenever I wonder where Liv gets her goofy personality, things like this easily remind me.)

Summer Fun

The Life of a City Kid

This is our "yard."  Sadly we only have a small patch of common grass at our condo, so Olivia does much of her playing outside on our front porch.  Between the water table, baby pool, sidewalk chalk and countless buckets and shovels, it's the best we can do until we one day move to suburbia.  For now, Olivia seems pretty happy with the set-up.

Lasting Words

Three years ago today my dad passed away.  Some days it's hard to believe how long it's been and how life changes in a short amount of time (for example, there are three more grandbabies in the family since then!)  Even though it's easy to focus on the sadness associated with today, I generally try to think about all the good times and laughs that my dad provided in my life.  Not only did my dad provide humor and jokes, he was like no other man I've ever met in his accomplishments and varied interests. Usually around this time of year, I like to read through some of his poetry books.  It reminds me that we're left with the rare gift of his words that we'll be able to cherish forever.  I think that makes us pretty lucky.  Below is one of my favorite poems dad wrote and a picture that always make me think of it.

"Three Children"

by G.E. Murray

Three children rocking on a porch of Sundays,
A vacation wind quickening them
Into blue nudes. By the pact of midday sun,
They resemble the instant
Before lightening splits an elm in pieces.

No, thank you, they resemble nothing
But warming domes on the afternoon dreamless
As sand in their play shoes. They doubt
Any animal they ride could pretend
Beyond lessons of exquisite balance
Or sure pastimes of transport. They remain
Lotions pouring everywhere.

As if from time to time they sit at the center
Of running lights, in some boat, gathering
Smiles in a spray of unearthly attention,
This scene is curtained, kept moving

Finally by the beacon of a single train
Their father once saw rumble
Through a childhood far away.  They are
Young sleepers on that train,
Sharing a preferred berth between stations,
Bearing down, gusting like a blast from air brakes,
Too soon to vanish.

A jay flies up to where they were just rocking.
It knows we are like them.

The Budding Artist

3rd Annual Talent Show

The opening act....
"Bieber Fever" by the kids


Basketball passing by Brendan and Finn


Cheerleading by Ellie


Hockey Playing by Seamus


"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" by Saoirse and Colin (with a little help)


Balloon Animals by Aunt Meg


"Lucky Dogs" by Nana and the kiddos

Lake Geneva

Daddys and Daughters

Happy Father's Day to all the daddys out there,

especially those with little ladies.

I'm thinking lots about my own dad today and remembering all the great life lessons that he passed along to me. Hopefully Sam and I will be able to do the same with our children and form the lasting memories that I cherish.

Three!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to my wonderful husband!

Our love and life together is everything I dreamed it would ever be. Saying our life is blessed is an understatement. May the next year bring us continued love, happiness and joy!

Doodle Bug

What's in a nickname? We have tons for our little Olivia. It all started with Liv, which we immediately decided we would call her when we committed to naming her Olivia. I've always liked the idea of a formal name and then a shorter version (Megan-Meg, Samuel-Sam, Caitlin-Cate, Michael-Mike, Olivia-Liv, you get the idea.)

From Liv came Livie.
And from there, the names just keep coming....
Livie Doo. Livie Doodle. Doodle. Doodle Bug. Bug. Love Bug. Bug-a-boo. Butter. Buttercup. Peanut. Peanut Butter. Baby Girl. Sweet Pea. Sugar Plum. Livie Lou. Liverpool. Livster.

Sleeping Beauty

Ever since Olivia could roll over, she's chosen to sleep on her tummy. Within seconds of putting her in her crib, she immediately turns over and pushes her tush to the sky. So we've become accustomed to seeing her sleep in that adorable position. But lately, Liv has started to sleep on her back with her arms propped behind her head. Pretty cute.

Mini Marilyn Monroe

Olivia is loving the air vents in our house now that the air conditioning is on.

LaGrange Pet Parade

And after a hot day at the parade, everybody deserved a popsicle!

14 Months Old!

Happy 14 months of life to my wonderful little Olivia!

Despite her limited vocabulary, Liv really understands so much of what we say and responds appropriately. At music class, she has started to remember the motions and movements for particular songs and shakes her hips to the music. In the past few weeks, she's really taken a liking to Penny and loves sneaking up on her and pulling her tail. Good thing Penny is patient and rewarded by getting all of Olivia's food scraps. It's quite a friendship/deal they've developed.
Her favorite new activities are climbing on everything and attempting to lift heavy objects. She has started to throw her leg up to try to get on things like chairs, couches or ledges. This does not bode well for my hopes to keep her in the crib for months to come. And she thinks she's superwoman when she carries around boxes of diapers, her rocking horse and daddy's work bag. She even tried to pick up the ottoman last week.

Favorite Foods: Pizza, Watermelon, Pirates Booty

Favorite Book: "On The Night You Were Born"

Teeth: Still just the three on the bottom (although I am convinced I see glimmers of the top two coming in)