3 years and 2 months!

This month, Olivia had her first ballet class! Of course she was excited (though perhaps a little shy) but I have a feeling Chris and I were even more excited. I'm not saying that seeing my little girl with her pink ballet dress and tiny ballet slippers learning to point her feet in some approximation of first position was the fulfillment of my own childhood ballet dreams, but...it kinda was. I didn't have a lot of dreams or ideas about what my own children would be like when I was a kid, except for a wish that I might have a girl who loved ballet as much as I did. I even saved all of my recital dresses with their over-sized tutus and purple chiffon with the hope that I might be able to pass them.

But enough about me, we're here to talk about Olivia and her three-ness. This month it seems that Olivia's language skills have jumped up a notch. She's more expressive and even making jokes. She's also started telling stories that are more involved and include more people, usually a mommy, a daddy, a princess and a monster. Both Olivia and Elena talk about monsters a lot.

This month has also been all about the carousel at Janzen Beach. I'm not sure how this obsession took hold, but one day she said to me, "Can we go to the city and see the ponies?" I thought she was talking about heading down to the racetrack to lay down some cash. I finally figured out that she was asking to go to the carousel and for the past six weeks or so we've been going every week. Unfortunately, the speed (supposedly it's the fastest carousel in the country) makes me want to hurl, but Olivia and Chris love it. They buy unlimited rides and go for four or five rides at a time, picking different horses to ride each time. Now, she asks, "Can we go to the city to see the ponies so that I can ride the girl one?"

In other news, Olivia's more aware that her little sibling will be arriving in the future. As my belly roundness increases, it is easier for Olivia to believe that something is actually growing in there. She likes to say, "I like your baby," as she rubs my belly. I have no doubt that she's going to be an awesome big sister.

Who's the Boss?

My kid likes to tell me what to do. It's like I'm being chased around by a tiny drill sergeant all morning. She has a program and there can be NO deviation program. Her favorite game right now is "Daddy and Olivia Hide from the Dinosaur." We both, simultaneously, have to run to her bed and hide under the covers, concealing ourselves from a tiny plastic dinosaur that stands by the front door. When the dinosaur fails to attack, we have to get out of bed and check on its status. Repeat. Occasionally I'll make the mistake of trying to mix things up. "Let's hide on the couch" I'll suggest, or "I'll be the dinosaur and come to get you." No, that's not the way it works. We BOTH hide on the BED from the DINOSAUR. That's it!

I don't get on her case about the bossiness too much. I suppose it just comes with being three. Besides, her two biggest role models spend most of their time bossing her around. What do we expect her to do?

Having a nice tea party ("we're having a TEA SET," Olivia will correct me) seems to be a good way to channel all this bossy energy. Something about the protocol and propriety of a tea party makes it the perfect outlet. She can host the party, pour the tea, direct the action. Daddy just has to sit and say "Cheers!"

3! 3! 3!

Sorry for the late post--the third birthday post no less! Miss Olivia was feeling a little under the weather yesterday as evidenced by this photo taken at 10:00 a.m. on her birthday:


While I was in the kitchen doing dishes, she pulled a blanket over herself and went to sleep on the couch. Later, feeling better, we met up with family and friends at Mississippi Pizza and watched and danced to Mr. Ben and ate lots of pizza and cupcakes. A fine time was had by all.

By this morning, Olivia was feeling back to her old self. She even had a tea party with her new toys:

Three is a huge deal. There's so much more that Olivia can do and is interested in. She does a lot of imaginative play and I hear non-stop chatter in her room when she's "reading" and putting all of her babies to sleep. We find babies sleeping everywhere covered up with whatever she can find--scarves, dish towels, dirty socks...if it can lay flat, it can be a blanket.

Olivia experienced her first ballet when Grandma took all of the cousins to the Nutcracker on Sunday. She seemed to enjoy it for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep for the rest of the performance. Oh, well. In a few months, she's taking her first ballet class and I'm very excited for her to be able to twirl with abandon.

Three is a very good year!

Playtime

Our reenactment of the opening scene of "The Lion King" using dinosaurs instead of animals of the African savannah.

2 years and 11 months!

When I asked Chris what he might want to write for Olivia's 2 years & 11 months post, he said, "This kid is driving me crazy!"

Let's be honest folks, this is is a tough age. The desire to accomplish things far exceeds ability and parents' patience. Take for instance, shoes. She wants to put on her own shoes and socks but can't get her feet in either. The entire enterprise ends with screaming tears and thrown shoes and Mommy and Daddy looking on with absolutely no idea what to do. There were a few days where everything (and I do mean everything) caused Olivia to hit the closest thing possible in fits of frustrated rage. This prompted me to to establish three house rules, that would seem obvious to everyone but evidently not if you are 2.11 years old. The rules are: No hitting, no throwing, no yelling. Seems pretty easy to follow? Let's just say there were many time-outs and many repeats of our house mantra, no hitting, no throwing, no yelling...

On the other hand, Miss O can be such a love. How can you not love that sweet little face?! The other day she walked over to her dad who was bent over, putting on his shoes. She put her hand on his back and said, "You're a good guy." She's loving and considerate and calls every new kid she meets her "friend." She loves to sing the songs we've learned at story time, she likes to read her books and magazines, she'll invent dialog when the television is on mute or when she's set up a scene involving her dolls and critters. She even told me recently,"Mama, you are my best friend because you are very helpful snapping my shoe." In other words, she's a joy to behold when she's in a good mood.

I told Chris that I just think it's the terrible twos last hurrah.

God I hope so.

Halloween! (Use the Force!)

Olivia in the Princess Leia costume Chris and I made (Chris made the belt, I sewed the dress):

Darth Vader's evilness is softened by Princess Leia's presence:

Leaves and things we found outside to decorate the mantle:

Alisa's pumpkin:
Chris's wicked pumpkin:

Olivia's pumpkin:

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