Funny 'cause it's true

Well, I guess it was bound to happen. Yesterday was really nice and Baskin Robins was giving out 31 cent cones. Since we like bargains, we all headed over there after dinner to enjoy some ice cream. Olivia got a scoop of strawberry in a cone and ate the whole thing by herself, even finished before Annie did! After the ice cream we headed back home and spent some time in the back yard. I was chatting with Tim about something or other and looked over at Olivia…she was holding something in each hand. I wasn’t sure what it was….she raised one hand to her mouth…at that point I realized what it was…and then the world started moving in slow motion…I yelled out Ohhh-liiiiiv-eeee-aaaaa, Nooooo! And ran over there and shook her arms and two lumps of crusty old dried out dog do-do dropped to the grass. Now, if the poo actually made it into her mouth, I can’t say. We pried open her jaws and saw no residue so I don’t know…it’s still gross! I sanitized her hands and we decided to get on with the poop tester the vet gave us a few months back. From what I’ve read online (apparently this happens more than you would think) she should be fine. I am starting to wonder about her taste in food though. Last Sunday, we were out working in the garden and Annie found her little friends (the worms) again. She tried to bring them inside, I told her to put them back outside…she put them on the back porch step, where Olivia found them, and then Tim found them in Olivia's mouth. I’m starting to think we should enter her in some baby Fear Factor competition. What could they make her eat that is worse than worms and dog poo?

Oh yes, and to end on a positive note - Olivia said her first real word yesterday - "Bye-bye"

Weathering the Weather

We woke up this morning to almost 2" of snow on the ground...and still more snow falling at the time. It finally quit around lunch time and right now it is all melted! Crazy Colorado. Frankly, I'm tired of being cold, and good thing it is supposed to be 70 tomorrow.

So I guess it is safe to say that with two posts on the weather that there really isn't much going on with us. But here is a quick update on some things I've been meaning to post about but either forgot or....well, now I've forgotten why I didn't post them!

Olivia - she is super cute but we all know that. I am amazed at her curly hair and I really think she is looking more and more like how I remember Uncle Justin as a baby,. For some reason I can only picture Justin with a furrowed brow and I think he had curls as a baby too, but not sure. Anyways, Olivia also likes to sport the furrowed brow look, either because she doesn't want to try a food you offer her, or someone named Annie took away a toy. She also falls asleep with a furrowed brow.

She is working on using her brain more too. Just this morning she tired to put her own shoes on. She also brings me my shoes if she wants to go outside. If you ask her where is Dada, she will point to Dad, Where's Annie...she knows that one too. Where is Bailey? Points to the dog and says "Ba". Where is Momma!!! Blank stare....no brain activity. I personally thinks she does this because Olivia and I are so close that in Olivia's opinion, we are in fact one in the same. Olivia = Momma. The question just doesn't make sense to her. Why would they ask her where is Momma, when everyone knows the answer.

Annie - she is super fun lately. Always thinking....thinking of ways to try and gain the upper hand in every situation. Like if she doesn't want to pick something up after I ask her, she will lean away from it and reach out an arm, and claim that she can't reach it. Or she will "fall down" and won't be able to get up. Of course she's smart in an amusing way also. Over the weekend I told her a story of how a baby Robin flew down our chimney a few years ago and how Grandma caught it and threw it out to the worried Momma Robin. Her response to that was, "We should put a bird stop sign on our chimney so the birds don't go down there again." Brilliant!

Tim - he is trying to find time to study for the LEEDS exam. I'm not sure exactly what it is, some sort of green building exam for nerds. He's taking it while the girls and I are in Ohio for my Grandpa's 90th birthday and Bonnie's wedding shower.

Reynee - For some silly reason, I thought it would be a good idea to sign up to be part of a relay team for the Colfax Marathon. So I haven't seriously ran anywhere since the 8th grade when our Nazi gym teacher made us do the positive addition run. I'm not sure why they called it the positive addition race because really it kinda ruined running for me for the last 20 years....made it more of a negative thing. Anyways, I'm chugging along...slowly. I take Bailey out running with me sometimes. Well, what I should say is that I run while he walks. Show off!

Happy Earth Day!

Anyone who frequents the blog knows by now that I cannot resist a hot dog. So any story involving hot dogs must appear on the blog. Anyway, yesterday Tim told me that in honor of Earth Day his office building management was providing a hot dog lunch to all! Hot dogs in honor of Earth Day? Yes. When you think about it, I'm sure the hot dogs that the management will provide are not the 100% all natural all beef kosher dogs that I like. These are the ones that, well, cost $1 a pack and incorporate all parts of the pig/chicken/whatever and everything else, leaving no waste! Who would have thought that hot dogs are in fact earth friendly-ish! By the way, this amusing reasoning is courtisy of Mr. Tim. I have to give him credit because he is always claiming my good material as his own and if I don't give credit where credit is due, I can't give him the what for's next time he steals one of my jokes. Anyways, I'm in the mood to enjoy a nice Costco hot dog that is not quite as good as the ones from the Sam's Club Cafe (we recently switch over). Can you believe they call it a Cafe? I mean all they serve is hot dogs and pizza...well and churros too. What's a better way to celebrate Earth Day than heading out to the local warehouse superstore and spend way too much money stocking up in bulk on things you didn't realize you needed until you saw it.

Snowed in Again!

I took these photos this morning...April 18th! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since we are living in a State where it is sometimes normal to be 70 degrees on Christmas! Ok, maybe not Christmas, but it has been close to 70 degrees for a few Thanksgivings that I can remember. Anyways, it started snowing Friday morning and I don't think it has stopped since then and I don't think it is supposed to stop until late tonight. I think the real kicker is that there is over 3 feet of snow up in the mountains and most of the ski resorts are closing for the season tomorrow. Did I mention that my truck heater is not working just right? Who would have thought that that would be an issue at the end of April?

Parent Teacher Conference

Today we met with Annie's teacher Ms. Susie for her parent-teacher conferences. Apparently Annie is doing great in her new class (last month she moved up a level at her Montessori school), she's made a lot of new friends (except Paigie is not her friend - she is the bug-eyed chick who kept biting Annie when they were in Ms. Pearls class together). She knows all of her main colors but she can't always tell the difference between black and brown, weird. She can count consistently up to 20 and consistently skips the number 15. She really enjoys coloring and in fact everyday after finishing her breakfast will tell the teacher that they need more paper. One thing I was surprised to hear is that Annie is starting to learn how to read. I had asked about learning the letters of the alphabet and Ms. Susie said she doesn't teach letters. I guess they start with one set of sounds and the associated symbol (like it's not the letter F, it's the sound "ffff") and she has a box of little objects, like a toy fish. The kids have to match the first sound of the object to the sound card "fff'" which has the symbol F on it. And then eventually in a few months Annie will move onto the last sound fish makes and pick the SH (or "shhh") card, and then for some reason they learn to find the middle sound last. So hopefully by the middle of summer Annie will be sounding out F-I-SH all on her own! Crazy! Now if we can only get her to put her shoes on the right feet, she will be set.

Who you callin' Crazy?

Yesterday we stopped by the grocery store on the way home to pick up some milk. We normally get it delivered, but we seem to go through more milk than Olivia goes through diapers. So we stopped for more milk, and just happened to walk down the cake/brownie/frosting/all things good but bad aisle. It might have been on purpose, but I'll never admit it. Anyways, I saw that brownie mix was 2 for 1 and Annie saw that cupcake mixes were also right there for the taking. Since I didn't want her to call me out on snagging the brownies, I didn't say anything when she tossed a box of strawberry cake mix into the cart. What can I say? When we are both happy, then we're both happy! So since it is a Thursday night and we've got nothing better to do, we made the cupcakes. Or should I say I mixed up the batter and tried to get as much of it into the cupcake pan as I could before Annie ate it all. It started with an innocent little finger dipped into the batter, then turned into overflowing spoonfuls. I told her I hoped she wouldn't get a stomach ache and added that she was crazy. She turned right around and said, "Mamma, you're driving me crazy!" Well, at least we are all in the same boat. She drives me bonkers and I drive her crazy! It must run in the family, because we all know that Nana is crazy too! (XO Nana!)

What's up with Bav?

So for the last few days Olivia has been pooping all over the place, but mainly in her diaper....and it is a weird creamy white color. It has gotten better over the last few days, but I wonder what's up with that? She is also not very happy between the hours of 6:30 am and 7:30pm. Always crying about something...wrinkling her nose at any food I try to get her to eat...throwing fits when Annie tries to take a toy from her...the list could go on and on. I don't get it. I never realized how cute it can be to see a 12 month old roll onto her belly and start kicking her legs. I don't think Annie ever did that when she was this young! Once the clock strikes 7:30 and Annie heads upstairs for bed, Bav becomes a totally different baby. Maybe because she has one of us all to herself...who knows...but she is an absolute trip! Laughing, chatting on her cell phone to some pretend baby friends, throwing herself onto the couch pillows, playing crazy baby games. It is pretty amusing. And contrary to Tim's whining about me calling her Bav...well, I won't stop and I'm sorry that it confuses the dog (Bailey), he should grow some brains.

The Pack Rat - Update!

So my Pack Rat scheme seems to be working out perfectly, she puts her toys away when you remind her too...but she seems to have found a way to use it against me. I'm not sure if she realizes I am messing with her or not, but the other day she asked me if I knew what the Pack Porcupine was. I said no, what is it? She replied that it was a porcupine who came and took all your books and magazines away if you don't put them away yourself. She has also mentioned the Pack Buffalo - he takes things out of your car if you don't keep it clean (I thought to myself...no that is the Pack Tim), and the Pack Squirrel who takes away clothes that you leave on your bedroom floor. I guess I should have realized that Annie is a smart cookie and maybe been a little more straight forward with her and told her, look - you want your toys and I want them put away after your done...if I put them away, they are going far away, Okay? Now, as usual, we are back to our never ending power struggle. She thinks she is the boss of me...