Face the Facts

Yesterday, Will & Olivia spent a few hours at my Dad's house. It's been a year since they have seen each other and everyone was looking forward to spending time together.

They had a great time jumping on the trampoline, playing with his Cocker Spaniel, playing REAL drums and they even went over to the nearby elementary school to play on their jungle gym. While at the school, Will looked at my dad and said, "Your face is different than last time I saw you. I was really hoping it would have stayed the same."

That's an understatement

Amy's Dad is a hobby taxidermist. I remember hanging out in her basement surrounded by various stuffed creatures: deer, fox, bears, elk, moose, etc. Kind of creepy, yes, but also kind of cool - in a creepy way. Well, Papa Marshall has since built a shop next to their house for his hobby and moved all of his "acquisitions" to the shop. At one point, Olivia went into the shop with Grandpa, scanned the large building full of large, life-like animals and announced, "This is a weird room."

Grandpa's Little Helper

Last night we got to spend some time with my good friend Amy at her parent's house. Will & Olivia quickly made themselves right at home and made fast friends with all of the visiting cousins. They also adopted Amy's Dad as "Grandpa."

"I need a drink of juice, please," Will pestered.
"Oh, sorry. I don't think we have any juice," replied Amy's Dad.
"Yes, you do," insisted Will, "here, I'll show you." Will opened the door to the fridge and sure enough, there was some juice.
"See!" he said.
"Well, what do you know, I DO have juice!"
Amy's Dad poured Will a class of juice and handed it to him. Will took the class, smiled at him and said joyfully, "You can count on me - Grandpa!"

Little Miss Independent

Olivia is growing up right before my very eyes.

Yesterday, she climbed up to my mom's desk, started pushing keys on the computer and informed us, "I have some important work to do. Please be quiet while I do my work."

Today, she got on one of my mom's pianos. After I helped her get settled, she said, "Okay, go away. I need to play my special music."

A Hairy Tale

Today we took the kids to Bear World. While riding the train, I was sitting behind Olivia and dared to staighten out her hair.

"Stop it mommy! Stop it!"
"I'm just playing with your hair."
"Well, my hair is NOT a toy!"

Them's fightin' words

Tonight, while cuddling with Will & Olivia after a long day in the sun, both of them wanted to lay right by me in the exact same spot. I tried unsuccessfully to get them to compromise.

"Olivia, I really don't like you guys fighting over me like this."
"But mom, that's what kids do."

Photographic Memory

My mom has an engagement picture of Phil and I downstairs by her computer. When Will saw it he said, "I really need to draw a couple pictures of my dad, so I don't forget what he looks like."

What's in a Name?

While getting the kids in the car to take them to their next big adventure Will & Jessica had this exchange:

"Melissa, can you please buckle me in?"
"Sure, Jessica replied. "But my name is Jessica."
Will paused for just a second and came back with, "Well, Melissa is easier to say, so I'm just going to call you that."

Dream Weaver

This morning, Will woke up and told me about his dream:

"Mom - do you want to hear about my dream I had? It was about a ride. There was a big tree and bees and you blow on the bees to make them go away and then there is a slide and there's another tree at the bottom - but you just have to blow on it and then it goes away behind the door. And there are other bees and the only way you can get them to not buzz anymore is to blow on them. And it was a really cool ride."

Disney Mania

This morning, Will woke us up with:

"Wake up Dudes! It's time to go to DisneyLand!"

Olivia at 3

If you had been in our house this morning as Olivia opened her birthday presents, you might have heard:

"Oh my gosh! I am going to freak out!" (when I told her the big green present was from Daddy)

"Oh that is bea-u-tiful!"

"Thank you so much Mommy for getting me a Hello Kitty watch." (She told my friend Jana at church that her watch is fragile. Jana said to me, "What three year old knows what fragile is?!")

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"Oh! It's GORGEOUS!"

"Mommy, can I open the next present, please?"

"Look at how CUTE this is!"

"OH! MY! GOSH! I LOVE IT!"

There were also many GASPS! and "WHAT!'s"

Olivia's big present was a play vanity from Pottery Barn Kids. I assembled it late last night and snuck it into her room, complete with a huge pink bow. I was sure it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up and couldn't wait to hear her reaction. She came running into my room and exclaimed,

"Mom! You are never going to believe what is in my room! It's amazing!"

And so are you, sweet Olivia. Happy Birthday and we hope this year is your best yet!

Little Miss Sunshine

Today at the pool it was kind of chilly because clouds kept covering up the sun. Every once in a while we'd get a break in the clouds and were awash in the Sun's warmth.

As we were leaving the pool, there was once again a break in the cloud cover and Olivia was giddy.

"Oh! There you are Sun!" She tossed back her head, stretched out her arms, and with eyes closed began to sway back and forth in the sunshine. She looked like just a hippie child at Woodstock. I was once again reminded of how amazing it is to see the world through my children's eyes.

Oh how we do love to bask in your warmth, wonderful Sun.

So fresh and so clean clean

En route to the grocery store after Will's swim lesson:

Will: "Mom, can I please have a piece of gum?"
"No, not right now."
"But Mom! I need a piece of gum to make my breath fresh so that when we go to the grocery store all the people will see that I have fresh teeth."

It's a Miracle!

Last night when I got home from work, our babysitter Kathryn informed me that while they were on their walk, Olivia complained that her shoes were hurting her, so much so that Kathryn had to carry her for most of the walk, but towards the end of the walk, Olivia was "magically" able to walk the rest of the way on her own.

Today, Olivia told me the following while we were at the pool for Will's swim lesson:

"Mommy, yesterday when I was walking with Kathryn my feet were broken and she had to carry me....But then it was a miracle and my feet weren't broken anymore and I was able to walk on them. Yeah - it was a miracle."