My Girl

(I was pretty tempted to call this post 'That's what she said,' but I decided against it.)

Here's the lingo at our house. An almost-three-year-old says some pretty cute things.

Chick-a-fla and NickDonald's are her favorite places to play. Well, those and 'The R,' also known as the mall - The Rave is at our mall, so she recognizes the giant R on the building, thus the name.

Buhfly = Butterfly

Sursizing = Exercising

Tootats = Tatoos (She is fascinated by these. The more ink on the guy or gal, the more she wants to noisily point it out!)

Corn Horsey = Unicorn

Big milk - If she's had lots of milk already and wants more, I tell her, "OK, but just a little bit." Now she specifies how much she wants every time. "Momma, can I have BIG milk?"

Often, she will clear her throat very daintily while holding a little closed fist up to her lips. She follows it with a polite little, "Scuse me."

When someone asks if she's about to be three, she adamantly replies, "I'm gonna be two FIRST!"

The other night, I was hoping to tire her out and took her to play at Chick-fil-a (or Chick-a-fla, depending on who you ask). She wanted juice with her meal but it was too late for so much sugar, so I told her she could drink water and have the juice for tomorrow. She was fine with this until it was time to leave. She spent the whole ride home being overcome with woe over the stinkin' juice box. I actually almost caved (but I held strong!) when she pitifully said, "Mommy - sometimes, I just want juice forEVer."

I hope three is just as cute at two! We'll soon find out.

Random Update

People say when it rains, it pours, and it sure feels that way sometimes. But when the storm clears, and life starts to get back to normal, everything sure feels blissful. That's where it feels like we're getting!

Olivia got sick in the middle of April and stayed sick for about two months. She had two positive Strep tests. Ran a fever off and on (got pretty high at times). Went through three rounds of antibiotics. Had four doctor visits. Took WAY more Childrin's Motrin than I feel comfortable giving her, though never more than the box said to. Woke up during the night crying, sometimes hourly, always nightly with fever, sore throat, and (I think) body aches. Thank God for her feeling better for over a week now! She is running around like a mad hooligan, eating like a piggie, and sleeping like a baby. I couldn't be happier!

Our water heater went kaput on us, ruined flooring in two rooms of our house, and brought a mold problem. Lovely thing to happen as one income disappears for the summer and Aaron's new job is just beginning. But now, thanks to my parents and their trusty plumber/handyman/friend, we have hot water available for our every need! Having a water heater that's not 70's brown is just an added bonus! :o)

Losing a job when your company goes bankrupt is a tough obstacle, especially in this economy. Three months w/o a paycheck is rough when the household income was modest to begin with! Aaron is about a month and a half into his new job and absolutely loves it!!! Income is better, more professional environment, competent and caring management, friendly coworkers, and more enjoyable work. I'm proud of my husband for working so hard to find a great job, being a great stay at home dad during that time, and doing so well in school. Only EIGHT more weeks until you're finished with your Bachelor's, Babe. Though there's no doubt in my mind you'll continue your education, now it will be on your own timetable - no more weekly deadlines looming over you!

After working full-time as a sub last year, I was offered a job teaching third grade (my favorite!) with the wonderful team I spent the last two months of the school year teaching with. I couldn't be happier. I'd be lying if I said it's not hard to be officially going back to work full-time with a precious little girl at home, but I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to stay home with her for more than a year, for Aaron's time to be at home with her, for our summers we'll spend together, and for her excellent preschool. Working as a full time teacher totally beats working as a full time sub, especially on pay day!

Another great thing is that I was able to join a fitness camp offered (for free) at my church. I've done it for two weeks and love it! I have more energy than I've had in the past three years and eight months. For a while, I've wanted to work towards a healthier me, and this is the perfect opportunity. Still all ??? pounds of me are here, but they sure feel great. I love it! Did I say that already?

Aaron is on a similar road to physical fitness. He's about to be playing softball two-three nights per week and is exercising additionally to prepare.

We have so much to be thankful for, now more than ever - a loving family, a precious little girl who's about to turn three, a happy home, our health, our needs being provided for, and a God who loves us and gives us all these things and more.

Since I can't finish a post without a cute Olivia story, here we go:

(Boy, I hope I didn't already type this. I think I'm already getting old. Is it possible to sweat off brain cells?)

One morning last week, Livy Lu did her dramatic sob while Daddy was getting ready for work. When he asked what was wrong, she said, "I don't wanna go to wowk, Daddy. Beeecause I wanna Daddy stay hewe." Five minutes later, she exclaimed, "You'we SO hansome, Daddy!" I had to get the mop out because Aaron turned into a big pile of goo.

Curiosity and Conversations

**Warning. Go on and skip this post. I'm babbling. Using this little blog thing as my journal entry and trying to record a couple cute Livy tidbits. Please don't read on.**

*OK, but don't blame me if you're bored. You can't say I didn't warn ya.*

Little Livy Lulu spends NINE hours at her wonderful preschool center each day. I know she's in great hands, but I feel such a void knowing there is a big aspect of her life I'm not a part of.

I want to know how she interacts with her teachers and friends. How they interact with her. What kind of mood she's in. If she pigs out on the fried foods offered that her mean mommy deprives her of. Does she play nicely with her friends? Does she know the other kids' names and is she building relationships with them? What cute, sweet, and funny moments am I missing out on? Kinda drives me crazy not knowing the details of such a big part of her day. (Actually, it REALLY drives me crazy. I'm just committed to staying upbeat about it all.)

One day, I will HAVE to cut that umbilical cord. But I'm not ready for that yet.

So, I try to get her to fill me in on everything I can.

"Livy, what did you do today?" I ask.

"Play," or "School," she answers. (That is, IF she answers.)

"Did you play with 'Mica?' 'Hannah?' 'Emily?'" Mommy implores.

A very brief, soft, monotone, "Mm."

*Sigh*

But today, I went through my list of questions, and she was in a bit more of a talkative mood. When I asked, "Did you play with 'Gunner?'" she gave me more than a single-syllable response!

"Yeah! He not hit me anynore!!!" She sounded so genuinely excited.

OK, so Gunner hits, I'm guessing. Well, that's fine. It'll help her learn what it feels like when someone hits you. We may refer back to this experience in the future.

I was so happy to get some detail about her day. Though from now on, I'll have a new question on my list..."Did Gunner hit anyone today, Honey?"

Ah, I was able to get some more info about her day. She was happy to tell me about her pirate hat and treasure chest she made. They were adorned with gold coins and precious jewels. She was totally pumped about that.

Then when we went to play at the mall tonight, a little girl came in, and Olivia ran up to her and called her by name. This was a little girl in ANOTHER class at the same preschool. And Livy recognized her AND knew her name AND was excited to run up to her and play with her. So, it looks like she is building friendships with her peers. Phew! Very reassuring.

So that sums up my thoughts on our daily conversations at pick-up time. Now on to the topic of curiosity... (It's a good thing no boys ever read this!)

Olivia the milkaholic has been VERY interested in the process of babies getting milk from their mommies. Probably because we've spent time with precious little friends and cousins, and she's noticed how they take in their milk. When she found out about this new source for milk, she. wanted. on. board. We've had several conversations about how that source is NOT available for her anymore.

Doesn't stop her from trying.

She has stopped me as I've gotten out of the shower a couple times in the past few weeks, and she does not make eye contact as she stares at me. Once she flat out tried to milk me. Whoa, kid. Don't think so.

The other time, she just watched, her wheels obviously turning. "Momma...You have mmmm-ILK?"

"No, Baby. You're not a baby anymore. Now we get your milk from the store. Remember, we get it from cows?"

"Oh." Disappointment fades into a flicker of hope... "You got www-ATER?"

Seriously. What am I, a soda fountain?

All Better Now

Livy is just getting over her second run-in with Strep in the last two months, and while my poor baby was miserable, puny, and needy as a newborn, I'll always treasure these past few days.

My girl is quite independent and, while I wish she didn't feel awful and run a 104 fever, I love how much she wanted to cuddle with her mommy. She even wanted me to smother her, sleep next to her, and told me on Friday when I came home from work, "I'm so glad you're here wis me, Mommy." I will always treasure that sweet little statement of appreciation that was accompanied by a melt-together-kind-of-hug.

Also, here are a few pics from a Mother's Day get-together:


Olivia just HAS to kiss her little cousin, Jackson!


With that face, can you blame her?


A quick cuddle with (Great) Granbetty

Oh, and during bedtime prayers the other night, she wanted to tell God thank you for "all the ABCs." That girl. Makes me laugh and smile all the time.

I'd like to thank...

Thank you, Jaime. You made my night. HA!-larious.

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=2nP1qbgvEwmGZaSwmO61aDE0NTIyNzYy&referred_by=16899562-sMVhQ.x

Daddy-Daughter Days

With Aaron's return to work today (PHEW!!!), last week marked the end of his stay-at-home-dad time. He couldn't close the doors to this era without a big party, so he took his Olivia to Chuck E. Cheese one day and to the zoo for another. Side note - FW Zoo has half-price Wednesdays, and children two and under are free!

I wanted to update about it earlier, but after looking through the 150+ pictures, I could only narrow my favorites down to about 137. Olivia had so much fun and was showing off all her teeth in most of the pics as she flashed some huge, cheesy grins. Here are a couple favorites:






She's quite a beauty and he's pretty cute, too, if I do say so myself!

A note from Aaron to remember...

Hey Babe,

I just wanted to thank you for all that you did to make sure that Olivia and I had a great last day together. Mother's day is this weekend and you're more concerned about us; what a great Mom you are! Waking up to a nice clean house, and our clothes laid out for us, wow, I feel like I'm at a 5 star hotel! You also got us all packed up so we could leave without worrying about it! You truly are the world's greatest Mom and Wife!

Thanks for the great day!

Olivia and Aaron

P.S. Olivia says thanks for the note and that she wishes you could come with us, in her sweet little voice. She just adores you. We both love you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!

Happy Birthday, Love!

I hope your birthday was amazing for you. We love you so much, and Olivia wanted to tell you somepin.

Love,
Olivia and Jenny