Uh, uh, uh

Well. We will certainly and joyously have our hands full with this whole parenting thing. Many months ago, I was cautioned that I will have to choose my words carefully because Livy is smart (and ornery). I was reminded of Mendy's warning in the bathroom stall at Barnes and Noble last night. While I was standing in front of Olivia for quite some time, I played with the tag on her jacket. When she noticed this she scolded in a kind but serious way, "No, no, Momma." I took this as an opportunity to teach her about "No, no" - how mommies and daddies can tell this to their children because it's our job to take care of and teach them, how she can say this one day when she is a Mommy, and how it is not ok for her to tell her mommy or daddy "no, no" - yadda, yaddah, yadda. She simply looked at me and with the same tone of voice shook her head and said, "Uh, uh, uh, Momma." Boy, oh, boy, she makes it so HARD to keep a straight face sometimes.

On another note, I think it's time to buy one of these:

Because someone brought me a gallon of milk while I typed this post.

In other random news:

~I heard the phrase, "My mom is a lover" in the third grade classroom yesterday.

~Livy now tries to keep Daddy from tickling her when she's grumpy by saying, "I'm al-ready happy!"

~I am completely taking advantage of this inclement weather day by reading, cuddling, wearing sweats, and singing & dancing, all while wearing some comfy sweats (did I already mention that part?).

~One of the two most challenging kids I've ever taught (both are in the class I'm subbing in) was being completely rotten on Monday, stopped in his tracks, darted across the room to give me a HUGE bear hug, and returned to his spot to continue being horrible. We've made great strides in the past few weeks, and I can make it through this job under these conditions. :0)

~Olivia Saves the Circus and Olivia Forms a Band are keeping us entertained lately. These books are cute and random, and Olivia the Pig reminds me a bit of my own Olivia.


~And this weekend, we had so much fun watching Enchanted. When it was over, we (yes, both of us) put on our most twirly dresses, pulled out the tiaras and other dress-up gear, and sang and danced together all over the house. If you've seen the movie, you'll remember when Giselle pokes her head out the window and beckons all lovely and not-so-lovely creatures to aid her with her household duties by singing a series of "Ah"s. I couldn't possibly even begin to count the number of times I've heard, "Momma, sing 'Ah-ah-ah.'" I absolutely love it. I think I may have to break down and buy this movie for someone's birthday. I'm not big on buying movies. I really try to limit being "plugged in" to the t.v., but I'll make an exception for this one. (And for The Sound of Music. I don't feel as bad when it moves us to sing and dance.)

Getting ready to dance. I just love her room. Not that there's any kind of design element to it - I just think it's filled with sweetness.

Here we go!


So much fun!

Aw, she danced 'til she dropped.

Even Gracie got involved. She looks pretty happy, right?

I love her squinty-getting-ready-for-the-camera-flash look. (I don't love the double chin in the pic. However, I'm not quite motivated enough to do anything about it right now. Soon, maybe.)

Gracie's no longer speaking to me. Poor Gracie.

A walk in the park

Aaron's/Our Aunt Karla made a picture collage after we spent Christmas Day with them in OK. Poor Livy stayed up late on Christmas Eve, rode in the car for over three hours on Christmas morning and arrived at her great-grandmother's cozy house filled with 13 family members (9 she was meeting for the first time) right about nap time. She was kinda quiet and serious, but she handled it well and had a blast meeting her older second cousins. She found her second wind somewhere between the leaf pile and the Golden Retriever at the park where Aunt Karla took these shots. I love the collage she made and wanted to post it (even though I can't figure out how to post it right-side-up). More pics from our WONDERFUL December/Christmas celebrations may or may not be coming. :o)




P.S. Here is a list of fun Olivia moments from today:
1. When we made a trip to the girl's room at the mall today, she told me as I was taking my turn to 'go,' "Mama, work hard."
2. She stopped me at the curb before walking across the street and told me, "Mama, look both ways." Where would I be without her looking out for me?
3. While riding in the car, she was quiet for 5-10 minutes, then she dryly said, "This is fun."
4. At 10:19 pm, she knocked on her door from the inside. I opened it and found her light on, and she was wearing an adorable summer outfit from her off-season drawer, complete with big girl 'pannies.' She emphatically told me, "Mama! I had a GOOD nap!"