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Every year, Allstate sponsors a “family day” in September – it’s a carnival, complete with yummy food (corn on the cob! Ice cream!), rides for adults and kiddies, a petting zoo and various other things.
Ah-ma and Ah-Gohng joined us at Family Day, as well as some family friends. Olivia had such a great time. We ate lunch near the bandstand, which had a large concrete “dance floor” in front of it. One guess who was the first (and only) person out on the dance floor. No, it was not Stephane…it was the OG! You couldn’t keep her off of it…she was literally the only person (large or small) on this huge dance floor and she was NOT afraid to shake it! Next thing you know, she'll have learned how to do the "chicken leg."
The OG also loved the Merry-go-Round (mo’ mo’ mo) and the car and airplane rides that took her around and around and up and down. She was a little small to go on the rides, and so I was nervous to have her go on them (I could just see her trying to stand up while the ride was in the air)…but, she stayed seated and loved every minute of it. We could hardly get her to climb out of the ride when it was over! Luckily, the lines were never too long, so we just went on all of the rides again and again and again…
When we finally convinced the OG that she had had enough of the rides and that we should go to the petting zoo. There, we saw an alligator, tut-tles (the OG’s current favorite word – everything is a tut-tle), a huge pig, ducks, goats, lamb, sheep, and best of all, little bunny foo-foo. The OG liked looking at all of the different animals that she’s seen so frequently in her books, but she was a bit apprehensive about touching them. She would put a death grip on Stephane (with her little legs and her arms) whenever an animal came too close. Maybe she’ll like them more next year...as a consolation, we went back for more kiddie rides.
The Grand Ol' Duke of York...
As previously noted, the OG’s first two swimming lessons were not quite as productive as we would have hoped. Well, by week 3, did all that turn around! The OG is well on her way to becoming a “fishy” (another one of her favorite words). We have had a few more lessons since then…and now she is comfortable just holding on to Stephane while he lets go of her, playing all of the games with the other kids and even “jumping” into the pool from the side. Next up, we are working on trying to teach her how to kick her feet to make big splashes. Last week, she was the only one who showed up at swimming class, so she had a private lesson. We made up some new games that she loved playing.
One in particular involved throwing a starfish toy into the pool. And then we would ask “Olivia, where is the starfish?” and she would look around and around until she located it, point to the toy and say “there” and then Stephane would ask “should we go get the star fish?” and she would say “yah, yah…” and then they’d splash their way over and bring the star fish back to the deck. A simple game…but, boy did she love playing it!
Ah-ma and Ah-Gohng joined us at Family Day, as well as some family friends. Olivia had such a great time. We ate lunch near the bandstand, which had a large concrete “dance floor” in front of it. One guess who was the first (and only) person out on the dance floor. No, it was not Stephane…it was the OG! You couldn’t keep her off of it…she was literally the only person (large or small) on this huge dance floor and she was NOT afraid to shake it! Next thing you know, she'll have learned how to do the "chicken leg."
The OG also loved the Merry-go-Round (mo’ mo’ mo) and the car and airplane rides that took her around and around and up and down. She was a little small to go on the rides, and so I was nervous to have her go on them (I could just see her trying to stand up while the ride was in the air)…but, she stayed seated and loved every minute of it. We could hardly get her to climb out of the ride when it was over! Luckily, the lines were never too long, so we just went on all of the rides again and again and again…
When we finally convinced the OG that she had had enough of the rides and that we should go to the petting zoo. There, we saw an alligator, tut-tles (the OG’s current favorite word – everything is a tut-tle), a huge pig, ducks, goats, lamb, sheep, and best of all, little bunny foo-foo. The OG liked looking at all of the different animals that she’s seen so frequently in her books, but she was a bit apprehensive about touching them. She would put a death grip on Stephane (with her little legs and her arms) whenever an animal came too close. Maybe she’ll like them more next year...as a consolation, we went back for more kiddie rides.
The Grand Ol' Duke of York...
As previously noted, the OG’s first two swimming lessons were not quite as productive as we would have hoped. Well, by week 3, did all that turn around! The OG is well on her way to becoming a “fishy” (another one of her favorite words). We have had a few more lessons since then…and now she is comfortable just holding on to Stephane while he lets go of her, playing all of the games with the other kids and even “jumping” into the pool from the side. Next up, we are working on trying to teach her how to kick her feet to make big splashes. Last week, she was the only one who showed up at swimming class, so she had a private lesson. We made up some new games that she loved playing.
One in particular involved throwing a starfish toy into the pool. And then we would ask “Olivia, where is the starfish?” and she would look around and around until she located it, point to the toy and say “there” and then Stephane would ask “should we go get the star fish?” and she would say “yah, yah…” and then they’d splash their way over and bring the star fish back to the deck. A simple game…but, boy did she love playing it!
Notre Dame Family Day
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A few weekends back(well, by the time I actually got around to uploading this post, it's now been a few MONTHS back), we made an impromptu family trip to South Bend, IN. We were graciously hosted by Coley, Patty, Elly & Ben – first, at their tailgate and then at their beautiful home. Brad, Mackenzie and their adorable baby girl Emerson (Emmy) were also in attendance. We had such a fabulous time! The OG loved schmoozing at the tailgate - she would walk up to just about anyone and start jibber-jabbering away. Emmy and the OG bonded over their new Notre Dame apparel and became fast friends.
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Back at Elly and Ben’s house, Elly showed (and shared) her pretty playroom with Olivia. Of course, they were not as interested in playing with Elly’s many, many toys as they were with those of Ben. Elly helped Olivia squeeze into Ben’s new reclining bouncer…she even helped “rock” Olivia up and down in the bouncer. The best part was that when Mom wasn’t watching, Elly used both her arms and pushed up and down as hard as she could... but, when Mom came back into the room, Elly would only gently and slowly rock Olivia. I guess by the age of 2, you know what you can and can’t do when Mama is around! So funny!
The Chicago Marathon
On Tuesday, we had a rare, but wonderful, treat…Auntie Tamra drove west 3 whole blocks and came to visit! Can you believe that Auntie Tamra hadn’t come to visit once, since moving a hop, skip and jump away? Terrible! While the primary reason was to hang with the OG, Auntie Tamra also wanted to paint signs for the Chicago Marathon this weekend. The OG immediately jumped on board and insisted on painting a sign for her Auntie Cori all by herself. She grabbed a paintbrush (one for each hand, naturally) and a poster board and went to town. The finished product was quite a master-piece! I think I can safely say that there will be no other sign like it at the marathon!
When she was finished with her painting, Auntie Tamra took her upstairs for a bath and some snuggly time. She picked a good day to come over because the OG was feeling very huggy. She just laid her head on Tam’s shoulder and they rocked and rocked in her chair. The OG must have felt very comfortable because she feel asleep just a few minutes after putting her into her crib.
On Marathon Morning, Bob, Keegan, Travis, Justin and the family started out on our mission - we were determined to see Cori, Heather and Ann run by in as many spots as possible. We got to Mile 3 early, to stake out a good spot. The OG was ready to cheer all the marathon runners on!
The OG was handing out "high-fives" left and right. In the earlier miles, many runners would come over to our side, just to high-five her.
We are so proud of Auntie Cori, Auntie Heather and Auntie Ann for finishing the marathon (despite the record heat that day). Way to go, girls!!!Curriculum Night
Every few months, Little Hands has a "family night" at the school. This particular night, each classroom was assigned an animal, and the students went around to the different classrooms to learn more about the animals through art projects and songs. As a special bonus, all the classrooms had yummy snacks, too. The OG loved making her sheep mask, but she loved eating her Bengal Tiger popcorn ball even more. No surprise there!
Arts and Crafts with Auntie Tam - Round 2
Apparently, not too put off by the big mess we made making marathon signs, Auntie Tam and Uncle Mikey came over for some dinner and pumpkin carving. First things first, though...a big CONGRATULATIONS to Tam and Mike on their engagement! As you might have suspected, the OG demanded to wear Auntie Tam's ring as soon as she walked through the door.
After we convinced the OG to give the diamonds back...we moved onto the serious portion of the evening - pumpkin carving and painting (for the OG). As you can see, no one was messing around here...
The OG just loved painting her pumpkin. In fact, most of the night, she had paintbrushes in both hands and worked them simultaneously. She's a very efficient girl, that Olivia!
Auntie Tam chose to carve a scary witch, while Uncle Mikey opted to further display his affection for Tam. (What a cheeseball!)
One Snack Size for You, Three Full Size for MeOlivia dressed up as a flower fairy (or something along those lines). There was a flower for her head and wings and tulle and tights and booties...I'm not entirely sure what it was supposed to be, but I do know that the OG loved wearing her costume.
This year, we took the OG trick or treating to a few of the neighborhood houses. Like last year, we only went to about 5 houses, yet she came home with an overflowing pumpkin filled with candy! Unlike last year, this time she understood what was going on...and kept trying to eat all of the candy before we could take it away. More than one candy bar had bite holes through the wrapping from her big ol' chompers.
The OG loves her some Uncle Trav...
FINALLY - done! Cross it off the LIST!!!
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