{indoor fun}

What do you do when it's cold outside?  You find a fun place to play inside.  The girls had a blast.

 

 

 

 

{b.i.f. nineteen}

Olivia is such a little cuddle-bug. I love that she happily cuddles up with her sisters. It makes my heart smile.  

{celebrating olivia}

Thankfully, this girl is pretty easy to please.  I asked her what kind of cake she wanted.  She responded with some babbling of sorts.  I'm pretty sure she said something along the lines of "Mom, I know you spend a lot of time around here doing all kinds of things.  How about you not spend a whole lot of time doing anything to my birthday cake.  I'm guessing that I'll ask for something extremely time consuming in the future, so why don't you do a simple cake this year with just my name and the number two?"  

I thought that sounded like an excellent idea. :)

She was completely mesmerized by her candles.  And she actually blew them out, although it took several tries.  

{winter memories}

Totally playing "catch up" with this post!  Even though it's officially spring, we're still in snowish weather.  Therefore, I feel completely justified in posting this snowy pic from January. :)

The girls had such a fun winter.  I'm pretty sure they played outside almost every time it snowed.  And they were so good about taking Olivia out with them.  

After her first trip out, it was borderline disastrous if she didn't get to go out with them each time.  Thankfully, they willingly took her often.  She loved it!!

{pyramids and piers}

Amelia loves to craft with Do A Dot Markers.  They come out about once a week.  This morning, she and Claire were working on a picture, and Amelia was directing the project.

She kept telling Claire to draw a pyramid.  So, Claire would draw one.  Amelia would get upset and tell her time and time again, "Claire!  That is not what a pyramid looks like!"  Claire would insist that it was correct, and I even looked at it and found it to be sufficient.

A few moments later, we again go through the whole pyramid ordeal.  Finally, Amelia says out of frustration, "That is NOT what a pyramid looks like!!  You know, a pyramid!  Like what Claire runs on and jumps into the lake...at Grandma and Grandpa's lake cottage!"

Me: Oh, you mean a pier?!

Amelia: Yeah.

Amelia then looks at Claire and says in a low voice {as not to embarrass her for getting it wrong}, "It's okay, Claire."

Claire and I laughed out loud!

{happy birthday olivia}

Friday was Olivia's 2nd birthday.  

Josh left for work at 6:30.  Claire set her alarm for 6:30 so that she and Meredith could wake up early and decorate the house for "Queen Olivia's" birthday.  

We woke up to this loveliness:

They had the balloons hid under their beds.  The sign was rolled up in the laundry room.  I have no idea about the yarn. :)

They had been awfully sneaky about me not looking under the bed for the last couple of months.  Yes, you read that right...the last couple of months.  Those balloons held up pretty well for two months under their beds!  

And, let's just say that a balloon may have slipped out from under the bed a time or two.  I may have known a surprise was coming. :)  

The girls wanted to make Olivia's birthday super special.  It really was heart-warming, and Olivia squealed and babbled on and on and on over the decorations.  They made her cards and gifts, and they taught her to say "two" when asked how old she is.  It actually sounds like "doo" but super cute nonetheless.  

Olivia: age 2

If this girl loves anything, it's books.  Each and every day, you can find her looking through books.  Books, books, books.  And she absolutely loves books with animals.  

What a sweetie.

 

Here she's sitting in our beanbag, but typically you can find her sitting in her bed with a bin full of books.  Love it.

She loves...

spending time with her sisters.

taking baths.

practicing "no Mommy" on an hourly basis, even if she's talking to herself.

eating bites of everyone else's desserts.

playing with the faucet as I brush my teeth.

touching my computer.

scribbling.

She learned how to climb out of her bed, so I put her railing down.  Even so, she rarely climbs out of her bed.  She typically just talks or fusses until someone gets her up.  She loves to get into the pantry, the dishwasher, and my lazy susan.  She's obsessed with bottles of soap.  

Livi Lu,

You are such a piece of sunshine in our lives.  You bring us smiles and laughs on a daily basis.  We love your cheesy smiles and your squeezy hugs.  They are the best!  We love you so much!

{no joke}

Meredith loves to make up jokes.  She probably tries at least 4-5 per week.  Some of them are pretty good, and they always make sense.

Amelia {who loves to be the center of attention} likes to get in on the action as well, but it doesn't quite pan out the way that she'd like.  She often embarrasses Claire in the process.

From Amelia:
What did the dishwasher say to the fish washer?

Play me a song on the fiddle!

Claire {whispers}: It's only funny because it doesn't make any sense.