Another Busy Week for the OG...

We had another busy week and weekend, but with so many extra hands around, I was also very productive. I am now only one and a half months behind on my to-do list (instead of the typical two months). I count that as a win.

It is so much fun, watching this little baby develop into a little person...right before our eyes! She still hasn't quite managed to crawl yet (thank goodness!), but she is getting closer and closer every day. She has figured out how to stick her butt up into the air and raise her body onto her hands and feet. We think it's only a matter of time before she becomes coordinated enough to move in this position! Vocally, the OG has learned how to squeal/screech like a dying cat. She spends hours every day, talking to me, to Ah-ma and to Stephane. She tells us all about her day, her dreams and most importantly, what she thinks Coach Weis needs to do to get the Irish back in line.

Sensory tubes:
This week, Olivia’s classroom hosted a parent activity – making sensory tubes. A sensory tube is part noisemaker/part visual stimulant. We made the sensory tubes by putting any combination of smaller objects into a tube (in our case, a water bottle). In our tube, we put glitter, rice, bells, colored pasta noodles and feathers. Olivia likes to listen to the rice move from end to end in the sensory tube; she also likes to watch all of the bells and glitter go back and forth, as we move the tube around. This is a good toy to keep her occupied in car, on our long drives back into the city.

The Cow Says “Mooooooo”:

Ah-Ma took the OG to the Lincoln Park Zoo last week. She’d never been to the zoo before, so this was a very exciting experience. They lunched at the farmer’s market, walked around the farm/petting zoo area and spent a leisurely afternoon enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Ah-Ma said that the OG’s favorite animal was the cow. She sat in her stroller, smiling and staring at the cows while they “moooo’ed” to her. Unfortunately, Ah-Ma didn’t have her camera with her…but, they plan on going back to the Zoo this week, so we’ll make sure to get a picture of the OG with her cow buddies soon!

“Fox Trot!”

We were planning on spending a quiet night at home on Friday…but the OG wasn’t having any of that. Bored out of her mind, she called Uncle Travis and Aunt Cori and convinced them to come to Chicago (from Milwaukee), one night earlier than they had planned. Not satisfied, she then called Auntie Tamra and Uncle Mike so that we could have a real party. When everyone arrived, she was all smiles. She laughed and played and, much like her father, loved to be the center of attention. So much so, in fact, that she refused to go to sleep. She didn’t whine, she didn’t fuss, she didn’t even act like she was tired…every time we would try to get her to lay down, she just kept popping her head up to see what everyone was doing. Finally, we gave in and let her stay up to play Cranium with us. It was all a lot of fun...but the OG's favorite-est part of the evening was when Uncle Mike had to get his team to guess "tofu," without using any words, only actions.
Amazingly...he did!

A Really Big Blowout:
On Saturday, we all witnessed a really big blowout. What started as a seemingly small fart, ended with 3 of us (Mom, Dad and Travis) cleaning up a VERY big, wet, smelly MESS. Somehow, Cori managed to slip out the front door before we made her help us. Smart cookie.

Stranger Danger No More:

After we were all cleaned up and changed, we went over to Uncle Huey’s for a barbeque. He had a lot of people over, so we were a little nervous about how the OG would react. She just loved it…and, quite frankly, she was a little flirt. She had hugs and smiles for everyone – especially the boys! The OG met her new boyfriend, Tom, at the party. As soon as we entered, she made eyes at Tom (who was unable to resist her charm) and soon they were attached at the hip. (Sorry, Molly!) Luckily, Tom and Molly only live a skip, hop and jump away, so the OG and Tom will likely be reunited shortly.

Bleggi was in town, visiting from Florida. Olivia was especially excited to meet Uncle Bleg because she was born a few short days after his wedding. He and the OG had on matching outfits, so they looked extra cute together.

Stephane made Olivia a sensory tube with an empty water bottle, some peanuts and a crumpled up napkin. Very creative!

Special Time with the Godfather:

On Sunday, Olivia woke up bright and early, in anticipation of another day of fun and games. She was very excited that Uncle Travis and Cori were still here, and she was even more excited to wear her new Urlacher jersey. The OG has saved a special place in her heart for her godfather. She has so much fun when Travis plays with her. She likes it when he holds her because he is so tall…and she can see a whole new world from up there. No matter how grumpy she is, Uncle Trav can always get her to smile at him (before she goes back to being grumpy). One time when Travis picked her up, she nuzzled her little face into his shoulder, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Emmy Night with Tom, Lins and Penny Lane:
To cap off the weekend, we spent Sunday night grilling out and watching the Emmys. The Emmys were boring, at best...thus, the highlight of the evening was the staring standoff between the OG and Penny Lane (resident canine baby of the household).

Exhausted!

The OG is exhausted from her busy weekend! She spent most of Monday catching up on her beauty sleep.