Dear Olivia: 1 year old!!

Dear Olivia,

It is here.  You are no longer a baby, but a toddler.  I can't believe this year has flown by so fast!  The last month before you turned one, I found myself holding you for a little longer at night before bedtime.  Giving your more kisses than you probably want.  And in awe of the little girl you are becoming.

We are finding that you are going to be a handful!  You do not listen when we say no. You stop for a second and then go right back to whatever it was that you were not supposed to be doing. When we give you a stern look, you giggle.

You are starting to show interest in walking.  Trying to let go of objects and take a step.  Your little wobbly legs still aren't strong enough to hold you though.

You are still my sleepy baby.  I still can't believe the sleep differences between you and Tavin.  It's like night and day.

For the majority of the month, you still only had 2 teeth.  But right around your birthday, we noticed the 4 top teeth trying to pop through!  Surprisingly you slept fine and did not seem too bothered by them.

The only major event we had this past month, was Grandma's 65th Birthday bash!  You were a trooper being passed around and walking with whomever would walk with you!

We had your birthday party on your actual birthday since it fell on a Sunday.  You took a long morning nap so you were well prepared for the chaos!

We went with a sunshine theme.  I did this for monthly pictures

We did presents first.  You were more interested in the paper than the actual gifts.

Next was cake!  You looked at me funny when I showed you want to do with the candle.

Then we let you dig in.  Except you though it was a toy and just started playing with it...

So I showed you just what to do with it....

After that you were DIGGING in. ..

You got a whole lot messier than your brother did!

We did your first year pictures the day after your birthday.  You weren't the best subject but our amazing photographer captured some great pictures.

Grandma saved the dress from my first year pics.  So I thought it'd be fun to do the same for you:)

And not to forget--your monthly pics.

And the total recap!  It's so amazing to see how much you have grown!

Your favorite things are:

1.  your brother--you love to follow him around and play with whatever he is playing with.  He loves you to pieces too.  But he also loves to take away the toys you find to play with which results in mini tantrums--already!
2. The cats, especially Daisy.  You like to lay on her and give her "hugs".
3. Your thumb.  It's your comfort object (along with a little blanky) and while it's nice the first year, we will be cursing it later.
4. And eating!  You chomp down pretty much everything we put in front of you!

I still can't believe your first year of life is over.  You were honestly an easy baby and I could do it all over again if I knew the next would be as easy!

Love Always,

Mama

Spring Break Vacation: Twin Cities

Our daycare was off the week of March 30 so we decided to take a break too!  We went to the Twin Cities.

Thankfully the day we left it was supposed to get nice so we had planned to go to the zoo!  Nice was an understatement!  It ended up being close to 80!  Perfect day for a trip to the zoo!

After the zoo, we made a stop at Whole Foods and Ikea.  Whole Foods was awesome.  I got so lost in Ikea!

Then it was time for check in at our hotel.  Livie and I stayed in the room to take a nap, while Tavin and Shaun went to the pool!

After a little break we walked to get dinner at a local Mexican place.  It was still nice enough that we could enjoy it outside!  

The next day we went to the Children's Museum.  The kids enjoyed themselves.  I was exhausted after it!

We grabbed a bite to eat after this and then went back to the hotel for a nap.  After the nap we headed to the Mall.  We did the Sea Life which Tavin really enjoyed.

Then a ginormous meltdown ensued while we searched for somewhere to eat.  It's so hard for a toddler to understand that it's such a big place and it takes time to get to places!  When we finally found a place our waiter did not quite understand why my kids were so unruly.  He apparently has never seen the Snicker's commercials were the tag line is "You're not you when you're hungry!"

Unfortunately, we didn't get to make it to Nickelodeon so Tavin could do some rides.  Maybe next time!

We went back to the hotel and took a quick swim before bed.

The next day it was time to pack up and head back to Grandma's and Papa's.

On the way back home, we stopped in Hudson for a little playtime and lunch.  Our goal was to wear the kids out so they would sleep the 2 hours home.  Livie got the memo.  Tavin didn't :(

Saturday we took Tavin to do an Easter egg hunt.

They had prize eggs and Tavin was lucky enough to get one of them.  His prize-- a bat and baseball!

That afternoon Tavin colored eggs with Grandma and decorated cookies with me.

We went to early Easter church and then came back for breakfast.  Grandma had Tavin do a mini scavenger hunt for his basket.  He did really well!

Olivia also had a basket, which Tavin helped her find and "open".

When we got back to the house on Sunday night Tavin was so exhausted he went right to bed.  So the kids got Easter baskets at home on Monday when they got up.

Tavin's basket had a Buzz/Woody baseball hat, a Buzz alarm clock, and Toy Story jibbitz.

Olivia's had a hat, snack cups, and a little elephant toy.

It was a much better daycare break than in the past where I have tried to work the mornings with both kids and then go home. We will definitely be taking more mini-vacations whenever daycare does!