Say What?!

Here's some stuff Livy said this week:

Livy was so into watching The Sound of Music with her cousins that when daddy came home from work, she hugged him quickly while glancing back at the movie.  She told him,  "I no wanna miss Maria."

"Your make-up is not working." She must have heard me say something like this before.  I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it.  But still, in that moment, I actually felt strangely comforted knowing (just in case my mom and sisters ever stop being brutally honest about how I look) I will have a daughter who will be looking out for me in the future.

"Mommy, you look pretty."  Needless to say, I love it when she tells me this out of the blue.  

When she got out of the bath and came downstairs in her pj's, she told daddy,  "Gorgeous!"

"I no like mommy.  go away."  Boo hoo.

"I had a baaad poopy." (she's been having some tummy issues since she's been sick).

Before putting Livy to bed, Kyle accidentally asked, "Okay, You ready to get in your crate now?"  Livy answered, Yea..aah...that's not a crate."

"I no wanna go home.  I wanna go to restaurant!"

She keeps saying, "What do you want?"  She doesn't care what we want...this is her prompt she's giving us to ask her what she wants. lol.  If we don't respond, she will answer herself.  "What do you want?  Ketchup!"

Livy's always asking questions like, "What's Livy got?"  She will especially ask this to draw attention when she's doing something she knows she's not supposed to do.  Again, this is very convenient if I happen to be in the other room.  I heard her say, "What's Livy doing?  Puttin' dog food in her mouth!?"

Ohio Trip!

We had a great trip to Ohio for a four day weekend over President's Day.  We left after dinner on Friday and Livy slept pretty much the whole way to Becky and Mark's house.  Every once in a while, she would wake up though, and ask in a meek little voice, "What's so funny?" or "What you talking about?" Then she would fall right back to sleep.  I thought we were being pretty quiet, but I guess not.  

It was so nice to see Becky, Mark and Grandma.  There really is something special about them and their house that makes it feel like Christmas no matter what time of year you go there.  It's all about family, fun, relaxation and pets!  Livy was especially excited about seeing Hallie doggie, but there were other fun Shelties to see as well, and Minky kitty too, of course.  

We left after lunch and Livy slept the whole way to Em and Logan's house.  She was so happy to see them when we got there.  She had a great time playing with Drew.  It is cute how she interacts with him, and copies what he is doing sometimes.  Like, when he started banging a drum with a block, Livy just had to do it too.  They had all kinds of fun together.  One popular activity for the weekend was shoulder back rides from Logan and Kyle.  Drew just loved it and Livy couldn't get enough of it either.    Drew is very good at sharing, and shared his cars and even his teething toys with Livy (we had to make sure it was a true Furler germ swap.)

Meg, Mike and Milo came for a visit on Sunday afternoon.  So great to see them, too!  Milo and Livy are both gentle spirits (though Livy is a bit more into the terrible twos).   They took a little while warming up but enjoyed some shy, awkward conversation followed by a nice bath together.  lol.  Yes, I can see how Meg and I will probably be really embarrassing moms someday!

Livy didn't want to cooperate for a group picture, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad!   On this trip, she might have gotten a C- in picture posing,  but she made up for it with her A+ in traveling.  We drove all the way home on Tuesday and Livy was pretty much a perfect angel the whole way, even though she wasn't feeling well.  I didn't even sit by her.  She just entertained herself reading books, coloring and eating snacks.   Plus, she talked about all the fun people we saw and things that we did.  I'm so glad Livy got to spend time with these special people.

Health Update:  Livy had a runny nose and upset tummy most of the trip that has since turned into a nasty cough and fever.  (Poor baby Drew has a fever now too.)

Snow and Crab Cakes

A couple weeks ago we decided to head down to Cape May with Grandpa while Grandma was still in Ohio.  Though it was only a high of about 38 degrees, it still felt like a vacation from the snow and ice covered streets of our town.  We all crammed into the Jeep and Grandpa sat next to Livy while Kyle drove and I sat in the passenger seat with Scooter on my lap.  Turns out a Grandpa is a very useful travel companion! Livy was perfectly content the whole way, while Grandpa read her the entire National Geographic Little Kids magazine aloud.  He read all about the different types of wild parrots, how a pond freezes, etc.  You really had to be there, but just ask Kyle, it was pretty hilarious hearing his loud, informative voice reading from the back seat.  Livy was hanging on his every word.  And Grandpa was very proud of his own ability to find the matching objects in an eye spy type of game!   Grandpa also did a pretty good job of convincing Livy to keep her socks and shoes on during car trips.  This has made our morning routine a little easier, as I haven't had to search for as many thrown socks and shoes in the back of the car before we get out.

We had a nice weekend with lots of good food.  The beach was freezing and there was snow on it, but Grandpa couldn't resist climbing to the top of the new sand dune that they are constructing.  Later, Kyle and I had a nice date night at the Mad Batter while Grandpa babysat.  The weekend was a nice little reprieve from our routine of work-sickness-work-snow and a good reminder of what we have to look forward to this summer if we can just make it through the winter.        

Like a Big Girl

Livy likes to do everything "like a big girl" these days.

"I wanna peel it like big girl." (clementines, soy beans etc.)
"I wanna walk like a big girl."
"I wanna eat it like a big girl." (a sandwich)
"I wanna get dressed like a big girl." (she can put her pants and socks on herself)
"I wanna wipe my hands like a big girl."
"I wanna hold it like a big girl."  (camera, cell phone, etc.)
"I wanna feed Scooter like a big girl."

And she really is looking like a big girl too.  Just look at her!

Lately she loves playing school.  She wants mommy or daddy to be the teacher and she pretends that her stuffed animals are the other kids in the class.  She likes carrying a notebook and a box of crayons around the house in her backpack that Grandma and Grandpa got her for Christmas.  She loves coloring and is really into drawing curlicues lately.  Here is one of her latest works of art:

  

Livy and I have had a lot of time at home together lately.  Unfortunately, its because we've both been sick.   Livy had a terrible virus last week that caused a high fever, coughing, runny nose, sore throat and ear infection.  Then Kyle and I ended up catching it (but Kyle got conjunctivitis while I got an ear infection).  

My mom has been in Ohio for baby Drew's dedication at church so my dad came over and babysat for a little while so I could go to the doctor.  I think that was the highlight of Livy's week.  She still giggles about Grandpa changing her diaper.  Apparently, she wasn't aware that Grandpa knew how to change diapers! 

Today Kyle and I both had snow days due to about a foot of snow that fell last night.  It was a much needed day to recover.  We're all sick of being sick around here and dreaming of spring.  

Daddy's Girl

I was listening in on their conversation tonight when Kyle was rocking Livy before bed.  It was just too cute, I have to write it down.  Of course, I don't remember it exactly word for word, but the part I heard went basically like this:

Daddy:  "Okay, so we're imagining a train.  It's a zoo train with animals on it."

Livy:  "Daddy on the train too."

Daddy:  "Oh, I'm on the train?  Is mommy on the train too?"

Livy:  No

Daddy:  Is Grandpa on the train?

Livy:  No

Daddy:  Is Grandpa taking pictures of the train?

Livy:  Yes!

Daddy:  Is Grandma on the train?

Livy: No

Daddy:  (kept asking about different family members and Livy kept answering "No."

Daddy:  So am I riding solo on this train?

Livy:  No.

Daddy:  Who's on the train with me?

Livy:  Santa Claus!!!

Daddy:  Oh, of course!

Workout Video #2

Snow day!!!   Livy played outside in the snow, but also had fun just dancing around the house.  We made sure daddy got plenty of exercise today, as if shoveling wasn't enough! 

Baby doll

Well, Kyle and I both came down with a terrible 24-hour stomach flu.  Thankfully, Kyle was on the mend by the time I came down with it, so we were able to trade off parenting duties.  But I have to say, Olivia is a pretty good little person to have around when you are sick.  Of course, being a toddler she has tons of energy and lots of needs and wants throughout the day, which is exhausting no matter what.  (And there is no way I would have been able to take care of her on my own the first day I was sick.)  But after being sick herself just recently, she does seem to have gained an understanding of what it means to be sick and how you should behave around a sick person.  When I was sick, she would say things like, "Mommy so tired." "Wanna snuggle with mommy." "Mommy need a drink."  She even brought me my Gatorade without spilling it, without me asking her to (in a glass that a toddler has no business carrying around the living room).

She was willing to watch a little too much Elmo when I was resting on the couch.  I noticed she even has some of the lines memorized.  At one point she said, "Elmo needs to get a grip!" right before an Elmo bat came on the screen and sure enough said, "Elmo needs to get a grip!"  That was my cue that it was time to turn it off.

She is able to play quietly by herself for at least half an hour with a few toys.  Today, when I was feeling better, I took a video of her playing.  It is kinda long at over 3 minutes, but I wanted to show how she will keep playing with the same toy over and over, practicing the same routine without getting tired of it.  She keeps rocking the dolly "a little bit longer."  Of course, that is the same thing she asks me to do for her every night. "Mommy, Rock me a little bit longer!"  It's pretty funny that she filled the bed with lots of small finger puppets and toys before putting the baby in there.  Also, I love how she rubs the doll's back just like I do for her.   I know this is a normal part of toddler development, but it is amazing to me how a little girl who seems to have been my newborn baby just yesterday, is already practicing her own mommying skills.  She needs to work on putting the baby in the bed a little more gently though.;)

Tonight as I was rocking her to sleep, Livy gave me a big hug and asked, "Mommy sick?" I told her, "No, mommy is all better now."  This reminds me of a prayer that Livy said after she got over her ear infection.  I don't think I ever mentioned it in the blog, but one day after we had started the antibiotics, when I was changing her diaper, I told her that tomorrow she could go back to school because she was all better.  She folded her little hands right there on the changer and said,  "Thank God all better now." There are no words to describe the feeling this gave me, which is probably why I never mentioned it before.