A Week Away

Olivia and I recently returned from a week-long journey through Tennessee and Kentucky. The original plan was for Alisa to come along, but work and school got in the way and she had to cancel. And so I found myself as Olivia's primary provider and protector through sixteen hours of air travel, four hours of driving and six days worth of visiting with relatives back east.

Flying with a two-year-old is difficult, to say the least. Olivia was not satisfied to sit in her seat for more than ten minutes at a time. Usually this was fine as I could sit her in my lap or walk her down to the restroom. It was when the seatbelt sign was on and I couldn't let her out of her seat that the fun really began. I don't believe I've ever heard a child howl quite as loudly as Olivia did on that plane trip. It was non-stop, blood-boiling rage for what seemed like hours. My dad jumping up to offer gum. My brother getting up, squinting with discomfort, to recommend I check her car seat for the next leg of the flight. The passengers sitting around me closing their eyes and going far, far away inside themselves. Oh, and the flight back was just as bad. All in all, an experience I would sooner forget.

Our time spent in Tennessee by comparison was pure bliss. A quiet cabin in the woods outside Townsend, TN. Entire days spent lazing around in the hot tub. I got to meet a quieter, more self reliant Olivia than I was accustomed to. At home I usually don't get to spend time with her until late afternoon when she's tired and a bit cranky. At the cabin I sat by while she quietly entertained herself with books and drawing for hours. She got to ride a pony, pet puppies and feed goats. I spent almost every moment by her side for five days and we couldn't have been happier.

Here's to spending more time with your kids. I'm already looking forward to our next trip, though i think we may try to avoid air travel this time around.

--

Chris

2 years and 10 months!

Miss Olivia has had many adventures this month, the biggest being her trip with her dad, Granddad, Nona, Uncle Ian, Auntie Helen and Gus to visit the Paynter clan in Kentucky and Tennessee. It was quite the tour of the Smoky Mountains and her granddad's hometown of Middlesboro, KY. Here's a picture of Olivia with her Granddad seeing the fall colors of the Smokies:

Life around the house has been sometimes challenging, but most of the time very fun. There is singing and dancing and even repeating of favorite movie lines. She gets a very serious face, puts her hands on her hips and says the line from Tangled: "I'm the lost princess. Aren't I?!"

And speaking of magical thinking, Olivia has started talking about monsters and dragons and being afraid of them, though she'll soon talk herself out of being afraid by saying, "it's just a little tiny dragon." We like to go on walks in the afternoon to look for neighborhood cats that we can pet, though the walk usually ends up a journey to find monsters and big, big leaves.


She's also showing her compassionate side much more. A little boy at the park was calling out for his mother and Olivia heard him from the other side of the play structure and kept asking him if he was alright. Finally she walked up and over stairs and stood right beside him. "Are you ok?" she asked. "Don't worry, we'll find your mommy." She likes when people or her dolls hug. She says, "They love their 'chothers."

One of her favorite games is hiding, and here she is in her "nest" aka a very large basket:


She is also a fan of her numbers and letters:

She's my little cutie pie.

2 years and 9 months

"She wants her babies." It's 6am and Olivia is crouching in front of the fireplace in the living room.

"What babies?" I ask.

Olivia lowers her chin and looks up at me with an expression that says she's about to tell me something very serious and factual. "Shovel babies," she says.

"Ahh." I realize she's talking about the brass fireplace shovel that is leaning against the mantel. Last night as I tried to build a fire she had shown a lot of interest in it. This morning it is a mommy shovel with babies.

As it happens, there are a couple of little plastic shovels in the toy box. I dig them out and present them as the missing babies. Olivia is satisfied with this and proceeds to arrange the baby shovels around their mommy, speaking softly to them in a reassuring tone.

Olivia is starting to do a lot of this kind of pretend play. Her toys talk to each other. She changes the pitch of her voice to give each one a distinct personality. The toys ask about each other's wellbeing. They discuss their relationships. Usually these relationships are of the parent/child sort. The toys have needs. Usually they want their mommies and daddies. Sometimes they want their babies.

Sometimes there's danger. Olivia has invented a game called "Hide from the Dragon" wherein she yells "Here comes the dragon!" and we have to hide under a blanket until it's gone. When did she hear about dragons? When was the last time we watched or read anything having to do with dragons?

This is the kind of thing that amazes me. The way she collects information autonomously. I realize I've been taking it for granted that she only retains the information we consciously pass on to her. She's actually pulling this stuff in from everywhere, processing it, turning it into things I never could have expected. Like shovel babies.

This is a very sad-faced picture of her, but it's the most recent one I have. Her face was so full of pathos I couldn't resist taking the shot. She's actually a pretty happy kid, but this shot is still 100% Olivia.

--

Chris

Sculpture

This is what Olivia spent a good deal of time on yesterday: an assemblage of Brain Quest cards, coasters, a magic wand, and broken a green necklace. She called it her sculpture and that the green necklace was keeping the magic wand warm.

2 years and 8 months!

(Chris wanted to write this month's update, but he's out of town for work so I'm giving him a pass. This time.)

This month has been full of sunshine (finally!). Chris and I had our four year wedding anniversary and celebrated with a kid-free night at Salishan. On our actual anniversary on the 18th, a Thursday, we three had burritos at Taco del Mar, a walk around a super cute neighborhood in southeast, and then ice cream at Pix. Pretty much a perfect date.

As for Olivia, she's been enjoying her social life filled with lots of other friends, both known and unknown. She really loves her cousin Isabel and they even got to have a sleep over last weekend at Granddad's. She also loves her other cousin Elena, though, they are so similar in age and therefore so similar in what aggravates each other that tears are shed in equal numbers with hugs. Chris thinks it will be a good thing to get her into a preschool when she turns three, so stay tuned for news about that.

Olivia also loves her favorite game, "go to sleep," which is pretty nice for me when I just want to relax. She brings all of her stuffed animals from her bed and piles them up around me, covers my toes with a blanket, and reads me a story. She also sings a lot, including a selection of songs from "Tangled" which is also her favorite movie. What's funny is that she sings at the top of her lungs with pure joy and gusto, "And at last I see the light!" And she mimics the way the singers get quiet or loud. Chris and I get a kick out of hearing her sing and hope she'll continue.

As for potty training, I dare say we're done! We're not using diapers during the day or night. A few weeks ago, she said she didn't want to have diapers on at night, so Chris came up with the brilliant idea of putting a potty in her room. Now, if she has to pee at night or during her nap, she'll get up, pee into her little potty, and get back into bed. Incredible!

One last thing: Olivia is very polite. I'm not sure where it comes from. When someone gives her a compliment, she'll say, "Thank you very much!" And when we were getting ready to go to our friend's house last night, she looked at my dress and said, "Mama, you look wonderful."

Love this kid.

Ecentricities and things I don't want to forget

Olivia is entering what I hope is a never ending eccentric phase. She's so interested in dress-up, imaginary creatures, and creative play.

Here she is reading her "newspaper" in her swimsuit (it's actually a publication I wrote for the Oregon Arts Commission):

Trying on Mommy's sparkly high heels with a twirly skirt:


Putting Daddy to bed with a parasol and every other toy in the room. Also note the lucite heels she's teetering on:

She calls her braids "parades" because she loves parades and thinks she looks especially beautiful with her hair done this way:

Trying to get the hang of sunglasses:

Where are we going today?

That's a question I hear approximately one million times a day.