Sweating at the Zoo

Since we were on the other side of town on Saturday, we decided to take advantage and go to the zoo.  Apparently, EVERY OTHER SINGLE PERSON in Columbus decided to do the same thing.  Holy Cow!  I'm sure most of the people were at Zoombezi Bay (water park), but it is the same parking lot and it was packed!

There is a new part that just opened a month or two ago.  It is the Heart of Africa.  They brought back the giraffes and zebras and added a few other new exhibits.  I wanted to check it out with Michael, so we had yet to go.  Plus, this was Logan's official first time at the zoo.

It was so hot.  I knew we weren't going to be there long, so I wanted to head right to the new part.

I knew Logan would not last in the ergo.  And instead of trying to push our beast of a double stroller through the crazy crowds, Michael just wore Olivia in the ergo.  She is just about at the weight limit, but it worked out.

And this chunky monkey was as happy as can be hanging out in his stroller

Playing the drums

Checking out the  cheetah.

Honestly I didn't take many pictures.  I was too hot to even think.  I was wiping Logan down with a damp burp cloth and trying to coax Olivia into drinking water. But we did see most of the Africa exhibit.

From there we headed to the (air conditioned!) Aquarium.  We knew Olivia would love it, and we planned to leave afterwards.

Just as we expected, she loved it.

What I didn't expect was how much Logan would love it.  I took him out of the stroller.  As soon as we turned the corner to the big aquarium he went crazy!  His arms and legs started pumping and he started making all these excited noises.  It caught me off guard and cracked me up.

Anytime a big fish would swim by he'd let out a burst of excitement!

Michael took a video, but the background noise is pretty loud.  He was so cute though!

Now I really want to take them both the the big aquarium in Cincinnati.  They would love it!

We headed home after that.  The joys of having a Zoo pass is that it doesn't matter if you only stay for a couple of hours.  We were all hot and tired, but Olivia was happy to have gone.  She thanked us multiple times on Sunday and kept telling us how she had so much fun.  Logan will enjoy it more each time we go, I'm sure.

Strawberry Picking

We barely squeaked this in.  We had plans to go the first weekend of the month, which was the beginning of the picking season. But the day we set out to go was the same day we went to the turtle lady.  It ended up not working out.  The next few weekends were full of special events--anniversary, Father's Day, a birthday.  This past weekend was pretty much the end of the season.  The place closest to us was picked over, so we had to travel a little ways.  We went to the same farm where we had gone on one of our pumpkin picking adventures.  I had actually picked strawberries there with Little Man in the past.

This was Olivia's first time picking strawberries.  She seemingly knew just what to do.

The fields were a little picked over, so we had to search a little bit. But there was still plenty for us.

Michael showed Olivia the difference between a good strawberry and a bad one.  She caught on quick.

There were a few thistles in the patch, so we had to be a little careful.

She had a blast!

This little guy started out in the ergo.  He only lasted about 5 minutes before he got to be super fussy.  So I just held him.

She kept saying, "This looks like a good one!"

It was pretty hot, so we only picked one of the smaller containers.  We were probably out there about a half an hour.

We used some of our new strawberries in a smoothie at dinner.

3 year interview

What is your name? Olivia

How old are you? Three

What is your favorite color? purple

What is your favorite animal? Hallie 
(Me: "The hippo?" (from Doc)  Olivia: "Yes, because the hippos are purple")

What is your favorite book? My favorite book is Frozen

What is your favorite show? Doc McStuffins
 What is your favorite movie? Frozen

Who do you sleep with? Rapunzel

What is your favorite inside toy? Ariel and Skipper (Barbies)

What is your favorite outside toy? A ball

What is your favorite breakfast food? Sandwiches 
(Me: "No, breakfast" Olivia: "Oh, right". Me: asked the question again Olivia: "Eggs" Me:laughing, because she hardly eats eggs for breakfast and hasn't been eating them lately when I do make them for her.  She eats dry cereal almost every day so she can sit downstairs and watch her show.)

What is your favorite snack? pretzels

What is your favorite food? mac and cheese

What is your favorite thing to do with Boppa? play with him

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? play with her
What makes you happy? I don't know
What is something scary? the wall that I'm scared of
(this has something to do with a dream and her shadow--she's been talking about it for a few days but we aren't quite sure what it's all about)
 

What is something you are good at? reading

Who is your best friend? Mommy and Boppa and Logan

What is your favorite song? Do you want to build a snowman?

Where is your favorite place to go? outside

What is your favorite drink? milk and water

What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know

 

Libraries and Lists

Disclaimer:  I spent far too long trying to upload pictures from my phone onto my computer.  It is just not working, so this post is going to be a little weak in the picture department.  Forgive me.

I got brave the other morning and decided we should do something to get out of the house.  I chose a trip to the library.  Our books were almost due and we had summer reading logs to turn in.  I set about my morning getting things ready.  Story time for Olivia's age didn't start until 11:30, so my plan was to go early, take care of all of the summer reading stuff, pick out new books, and then attend the story time.  Yeah... it didn't go anything like that.

First, Logan took a ridiculously long nap. (In his swing. Don't judge).  So that threw things off.  He finally started to stir and I just went ahead and woke him the rest of the way.  We still had a half hour to get to the library, which gave us about a 15 minute cushion.  I got him changed, in his car seat, and read to go.  Then I went to put Olivia's shoes on.  She was sitting on the couch, so I tried to put them on there.  She thinks she needs to be sitting on the stairs when this task happens.  Every single time.  I didn't let her go to the stairs and that led to a full on meltdown.  Yes.  She had a meltdown because I put her shoes on while she sat on the couch as opposed to sitting on the steps. Mmhmm.  Once you do something one way, she believes is must be done the same exact way every time after. Ugh.

I loaded the car and was ready to put her in her seat when she decided she urgently needed to use the bathroom.  I obliged, even though she did not need to use the bathroom.  It was just a way for her to control the out of control (in her world) situation.  Fun times.

We arrived at the story time 5 minutes late.  That's right.  I started planning our day around 8 and we still showed up to the 11:30 story time five minutes late.  That's just a glimpse into why most days it's easier for me to stay home. ;)

Olivia hasn't been to a story time in months and we moved up to the 3 to 6 year old session, so she was really hesitant.  She sat in the back with me and most of the time just hugged and kissed on Logan instead of participating.  We are going to have to start attending more regularly.  Logan, on the other hand, did great.

From there we went to take care of the summer reading program.

You are suppose to turn it in in stages, but what they require for the little kids is so easy.  We probably had it done in the first two days.  Both Olivia and Logan got a coupon sheet, a highlights magazine, and to pick out a book to keep.

Olivia returned her old library books and picked out a few new ones.

Showing off the book she chose as her reading prize.  (I couldn't get her to hold up the front, but it's all purple!)

Then she helped me check out her books.

I actually turned in part of my summer reading log too!  I got a book when we were at the library last time and read the entire 473 pages!  That is a huge deal these days.  I can't remember the last time I finished a book.  I did it more because I wanted to read the book than to participate in the program, but I'll take the free coupons and get entered into the drawing! 

One down. Ten to go.

3 Year Check Up

We had Olivia's 3 year check up yesterday.  

She is in the 97th % for height, 95th % for weight, and the 97th % for head circumference.  If nothing else, she is consistent! :)

Everything checked out well.  She got a giggle out of the fact that they were using a real stethoscope on her.  The nurse even let her listen to her own heartbeat.  She also told the NP when she was looking in her ears, "They are very clean!".  Then she said, "Alright.  Time to check my eyes!"

My doctor's office has us fill out an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) before we get there.  Then they take that information, add up the scores, and discuss it with you during your appointment.  Not surprisingly, Olivia is very below average on gross motor skills and a little below average on fine motor skills.  This has been the same thing we have been dealing with since she was born.  But now we are at the point where it is going to start to matter.  We recently stopped going to the Little Gym because it's just so far away.  We had intentions of finding a place closer.  The NP strongly suggests we get her back in to some sort of gymnastics class to continue to help with her gross motor skills.  I plan on being a little more deliberate with our fine motor practice as well.

Then it was time to discuss any concerns I may have had.  I had two.

Our doctor in Texas told us that around age 3 is when we would have to either fix her W sitting/pigeon toed walking/hips turned in, or live with the permanent damage.  The NP suggested we do OMT to see if anything can be done to her hips to help out. If we don't fix it now, it will likely be a permanent issue and can lead toe dragging, knee knocking, etc.  Her right foot is worse than her left.  We are still paying off Logan's OMT visits, so we will see.

The other thing is her apparent OCD.  I know I joke about it sometimes, but I feel like it is a little more than the normal toddler thing.  I told the doctor that I know all toddlers go through wanting to be controlling and wanting things to be "just so", but I needed to know where to draw the line between just being a toddler and being a problem.  She asked for examples.  After giving her some, she agreed that it was more than just "normal toddler behavior".  But it's not out of control yet, and Olivia is too young for a referral for official testing.  So for right now we are just going to keep on doing what we are doing.  Changing things up for her, and forcing her to adjust.   She also wants me to document things to see if there is a pattern.  My guess is that it will just be a mild thing that she will have to grow into and learn to adapt.  Both Michael and I like order, organization, routine, etc. So it's not completely crazy for her to be the same way.  Oh the joys of parenting! :)

Olivia's Birthday, Take 2

Even though we celebrated Olivia's birthday a day early, I wanted to make sure that her actual day was a little special.  I didn't want to do anything crazy, but she definitely knew that her birthday was on Monday but that we were celebrating on Sunday.

She slept in until 9.  We heard her on the monitor and went up.  I had hung a few streamers on her door, and we kicked in balloons as we went in singing.

She just kept saying that she couldn't believe it was finally her birthday!

Part of Olivia's gift from Michael's mom was a dress up storage unit for all of her dresses.  Michael didn't have time to put it together before her party.  He put it together Sunday night after she went to bed.  It ended up working out perfect.  She walked out of her room, down the stairs, and saw it.  She took a look, checked herself out in the mirror on the side, and took another look.

Obviously it's going to go in her room, but it is sitting in our living room at the moment.  All her necklaces, dress up shoes, and any other accessories that are floating around are going to go in it.

I asked Olivia ahead of time what she wanted to eat for her birthday.  Her list included nothing but carbs! :)  I got her a special birthday donut.  It had pink, purple and green sprinkles on it, including chocolate icing.  She blew out candles too.

Drinking milk out of her special birthday mug.

She loved her special breakfast!

She spent her morning trying on her other dresses, running around entertaining everyone, and playing with her dolls.

Checking out the pictures of herself on Gigi's camera.

I didn't get many pictures the rest of the day.  My mom and grandma wanted to take us out to lunch and shopping.  Olivia wanted pancakes for lunch, so we headed to Bob Evans.  She got pancakes with chocolate chips, which was a special treat. She loved it.

From there we went to Target.  My grandma wanted to get her a few things, but wanted to let her pick them out. Olivia got a purple glittery skirt and matching shirt.  Purple is her favorite color, you know?! :)  She also got a bicycle helmet, which is something she needed.  My mom found an Elsa Barbie (which is always sold out) and got that for her.  They also got her a few items from the dollar spot.  She loves Target and wandering the princess aisle is a favorite.

Grandma and Gigi hadn't seen Frozen, so we spent the afternoon watching it before they left.  Olivia played with them during the showing, so I'm not sure if they got it all but they got the gist of it.

By dinner time Michael and I were a little worn out from the weekend.  Olivia wanted mac n cheese, so that's what she got.  Michael and I just ate leftovers.  She got to watch The Little Mermaid after dinner, which was also her request.

By bedtime it was clear that she was pretty worn out.  She had a great few days.  She's already played with almost all of the toys, puzzles, dolls, and dresses multiple times.  She loves everything she got!

Olivia's Birthday

Since we haven't been involved in MOPS or preschool yet, Olivia didn't have a ton of friends to invite to a party.  So instead we just had a little grandma and Miss Laurie get together to celebrate Olivia's birthday.  We decided to do it on Sunday afternoon since some people had to work on Monday.  People started arriving a little before 3.  I was just getting Olivia up from her rest time.  She hadn't seen the decorations yet.

She came right down and went running to look at the table.  She was with me when I was looking for a table cloth and banner.  She chose Doc McStuffins.  I was trying to go with a princess theme, but she really wanted Doc.  So we had a princess/doc party.  The nice thing is that the colors in Doc's tablecloth matched all the plates,etc from Olivia's first birthday.  Which is what we used. :)

Seeing her banner for the first time.  That's really all I bought.  A tablecloth, banner and a few balloons.  It was just enough to make our little gathering special for her!

To add to the decor, Michael brought in the cake.  She hadn't seen it yet, and her response was priceless.  She screamed "Anna!"... followed Michael to the table with it, and then said, "Can I have a spoon?!"  Which got a good laugh from everyone.

Let me tell you about this cake!!  Originally I was just going to buy a cake from Gigi's.  I was suppose to work at an event until 1 in the morning the night before, so I was going to go with easy.  Then Olivia asked if we could make her cake together.  So I was going to make a Barbie cake.  I even went to the store looking for this exact doll and couldn't find it.  She saw a picture of a Frozen cake from Gigi's and then decided it was what she wanted.  Although making her cake together would have been fun, I knew I wasn't going to be up for it.  So getting a cake from Gigi's sounded perfect to me.  I told my friend Stacy that I was going to order the Frozen cake she had showed me.  It was just a round cake with the Frozen characters drawn on.  I got to work on Friday night and all on her own she had found the Anna doll and decided we would make a doll cake. I  hadn't even told her about my plan to make a doll cake.  It is EXACTLY what I wanted!!  Y'all, I have amazing friends! Everyone LOVED it, too.

But before we had cake, Olivia opened her presents.

She has recently taken an interest in Ariel from The Little Mermaid, but had never seen the movie.  She was thrilled to get the DVD from my mom.  My mom also got her a beach towel and is paying for some swimming lessons.

Miss Laurie lent the practical hand, and with my suggestion got some (Frozen!) underwear and princess pajamas in the next size up.  Olivia is pretty particular about her jammies and since Miss Laurie has put her to bed a few times before, she knew just what to get. Love.

I have been collecting things for her birthday for months.  I got her a Frozen bow at a consignment sale a few months ago.  (They sell new bows at those types of things.  It's not used. :)  It happened to match the Frozen t-shirt I got her perfectly, and I didn't even plan it.

Realizing the big box she just opened was her Anna dress and doll.

We also got her a Sofia the first dress, some puzzles, and a princess magnetic doll set.  Logan got her a new Rapunzel placemat and a Sofia cup.

We were having a hard time finding an Elsa dress.  The one we could find had terrible reviews for being scratchy and giving people rashes.  So instead, Michael's mom bought  Olivia this handmade one from Etsy.  It is really well made and by far Olivia's favorite out of all her dresses.  She also got her a Rapunzel dress and a Doc McStuffins doctor's coat.

She also got her a bubble mower for outside, some magnetic dolls, an Elsa doll and Uno Moo.

Aunt Jenny sent her a card and some stickers, and got her this giant floor puzzle.  We are trying to move from baby puzzles to more difficult puzzles, so this will be perfect.

"Grandma Kathi" got her a bag to carry her library books home in and a few activity books.  Perfect for Olivia!

Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake!

I had a cupcake from work the night before, so I put the candles in there.  She did pretty good at blowing them out.  Boppa might have helped a little bit. ;)

A few more pictures with the cake before it was cut.  Can you tell she was excited? 

I didn't get any pictures of her eating, but she had cake and pink ice cream just as she requested.

She spent the rest of the afternoon modeling her dresses and playing with her new toys. 

 In true Olivia fashion, the more we asked her to stop and take a picture the more she ran around like crazy trying to not take a picture.  So... 

Wearing her Anna dress, while holding her Anna Barbie, next to her Anna toddler doll.

Giving Elsa a check up

We had pizza for dinner and kept the party going with a showing of The Little Mermaid.  She was hyped up from all the sugar and attention! She had a great day celebrating.

We made her actual birthday special too, but there are just too many pictures so that will have to come tomorrow.