One Lucky Girl!

Auntie Cori came all the way down from Milwaukee, just to visit the OG. Olivia felt very loved and special and was so excited about all the extra attention. Auntie Cori and the OG spent a fabulous weekend together, while I worked on cleaning up the house. One of their favorite things to do was to look at the picture of Uncle Travis and Uncle Huey on the fireplace mantle. Cori would ask “Where is Uncle Travis?” and the OG would point. Then, Cori would ask “Where is Uncle Huey?” and the OG would point to him, too.

The OG and Auntie Cori also played fashion show…with the OG as the supermodel and Cori as her fashion photographer. The OG was totally at ease walking around in high heels and carrying a Little Louis.

The OG and her Auntie Cori had so much fun…they even went on a beer run for Stephane (after he came back from the Cubs’ game) and a Diet Coke run for me!

How Old Are You Now?

The OG helped Ah-Ma celebrate her 29^th birthday (yet, again) over Labor Day weekend with a surprise birthday party at Bob Chinn’s Crabhouse and an extra special birthday cake and cupcakes. Olivia loved tasting everyone’s dishes and was very patient with me…even with the help of Cesar, our great waiter, who cracked most of my crab leg shells and removed the meat for me, I was still the very last person to finish lunch! Oops! Happy birthday to Ah-ma!

More Family Fun

After Labor Day, the OG’s grand-mère (we have yet to come up with a nickname that everyone can agree on) came for a week long visit. The OG was so excited to be able to spend so much time together. Everyday, from morning until bedtime, Olivia and Grandma ran around the house banging on Tupperware in the kitchen, reading one of the 80 books that Grandma brought with her (thanks!), and playing with the OG’s toy kitchen set. I’m exhausted just thinking about all that they did!

Wake up, Olivia

Olivia loves coming into our bedroom on a lazy weekend morning and playing in our bed. I took this picture this last weekend and it has become one of my favorites! As Auntie Lily said…this is exactly what it is like to open your eyes and see Olivia’s face, first thing in the morning!

Life Lessons to be Taught at an Early Age

The OG had been asking questions about why I suddenly became a single parent, so we (when Steph is home) have been trying to teach the OG about Stephane’s first, true (and, at times, only) love – Notre Dame football. For my part, I should have better negotiated our marriage contract - although I had always known that nothing comes between this man and his ND football season, I had assumed that once babies were involved, a re-prioritization would be required. Silly me! In any case, the OG doesn’t have a choice but to become an ND fan, and so we’ve been teaching her about the golden helmets, Charlie Weis and, of course, to say “Touchdown, Irish!” (complete with referee signal).

Mor’, Mor’

Make no mistake about it, the OG loves to eat (just check out that belly, below)! She is very curious about all and is willing to try everything. It isn’t a coincidence that in just about every blog post, there are multiple pictures of the OG eating her favorite foods. A recent discovery is the OG’s invention of her own sign language. Whenever she wants more of something (usually this is seen in the context of “more food,” but can also be used in other situations, as discussed below), she spreads the fingers of one hand wide (like she is showing the number five) and then uses the pointer finger of her other hand to point repeatedly to the palm of the first hand. This is all accompanied by the words “mor’ mor’ mor” and a wide-eyed look, wondering why she hasn’t received mor’ yet.

Macaroni and Chee-sh

Olivia loved this so much that she had multiple servings. After I refused to give her anymore…she picked up her plate, pushed her little nose against it (it was clear, so we could see what she was doing) and used her tongue to lick up the remaining chee-sh sauce from the plate. After that, she decided to wear her plate as a hat (hence the pieces of macaroni all over her head).

C is for Cookie…

…and chocolate…2 of the OG’s very favorit-est things to eat…all the better when they are combined into one sandwich cookie! Delicious!

Food Envy

There is no faster method to guarantee that the OG will want to eat something than to put it on your own plate and not on hers. Despite having a large piece of tender grilled chicken and French fries on her own plate, Olivia spied the ribs that her grand-mère had ordered and demanded a piece. She did love eating the meat off of the bone, at least for the first few bites, and then it all went where all food goes once the OG is tired of it…splat…onto the floor.

Mor’ Mor’ Mor’ Part II

The OG’s current favorite game is to play “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” at least 3 times in a row, row, row. She walks over, puts her hands in yours and then starts swaying back and forth (with feet planted in one place). If you don’t start immediately singing “Row, Row…” then she prompts you by saying “Ro’, Ro’, Ro’,” herself. And, even before you finish the line “…life is but a…” the OG is already pointing to her hand and asking for mor’, mor’.

No Mor’

Olivia has started to take swimming “lessons” at my old high school. She is in a class with about 6 other toddlers, ranging in age from 16 months (Olivia) to about 3 yrs. Our first lesson was quite interesting…the nano-second that the tip of her toe touched the water, the OG started screaming at the top of her lungs…and didn’t stop for 44 minutes. She wanted nothing to do with all the kicking and splashing and merriment in the pool. It was a total disaster…hopefully, by the end of the session, she will at least learn to enjoy the water.

[Update: we’ve since had a second swimming class…and this time she only cried for about 32 minutes of the lesson. She did pause to play in some of the games and especially seemed to enjoy when Stephane would jump up and down with her in the water. Most of the time, her legs were wrapped so tightly around Stephane’s chest that it looked like she would cut off his circulation. Despite her terror, she had moments of sweetness in the pool, too. Whenever one of the swimming assistants would come over and give her a water toy or try to entertain her, she would pause in her screaming to say “dank yoo” and/or blow a kiss, before she continued with the screaming. If she keeps up this improvement, it looks like it will take about 3-4 more lessons to get the OG to the point where she actually enjoys the water and isn’t so afraid…] Keep up the good work, Olivia!

How Revealing…

Little Hands caught the OG in some tender moments while she was playing in her classroom with a baby dolly. First, she gave the baby a sweet kiss on the head…

She helped to check the baby’s diaper…

And, she was very interested in teaching the baby how to eat a taco! Tapatio, anyone?

It sure seems like Olivia is ready to have a new baby in the house…which is a good thing…Let’s just hope that the OG remembers her gentle touches and doesn’t try to poke out the baby’s eyeballs!!!

GO IRISH!!!