Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was a fun holiday for us this year with Olivia. We had discussed it with her for several weeks prior to the day, so by the time it arrived she was beyond excited. Joe bought Olivia her very first rose (which she has to smell at least a dozen times a day) and a box of chocolates. We then had a special Olivia dinner of make- your-own pizzas and ice cream sundaes. Olivia loved assembling her pizza (with a minimal amount of help from Joe) but then was a bit confused when we took it away from her to bake it. At least that only took 8 minutes! Below is a picture of Joe giving Olivia her rose. Unfortunately my camera angle was terrible at capturing her reaction to the moment, but Joe's face says it all for his excitement.


The blizzard that hit Springfield on February 12-13 almost halted Valentine's Day for everyone, but luckily we were able to continue with all of our plans. Our special dinner with Olivia was actually on February 13, as Joe and I enjoyed a nice Valentine's night out to a favorite restaurant and then to watch the musical "The Producers" at Sangamon Auditorium. Springfield calculated 11.2 inches of snow, the 4th largest amount ever for the town. This picture was taken about halfway through the snowstorm to show the ever growing snowdrift that prevented us from opening our front door.

Earlier in February Olivia and I attended a PBS Kids day in Springfield where she was able to meet Curious George and Clifford. It took a lot of strength to pull her away from these two characters to allow another child a chance to say hello. It was a fun morning of crafts, activities, and basically running around the building to look at everything.

This is how Olivia spends the majority of her days lately - in a dress with her tutu and crown on. She ALWAYS has to have on a hat from the moment she wakes up until bedtime. Luckily she easily obeys the rule of no hats or other costume outside of the house. Her favorites at the moment are her crown and pirate hat. While she doesn't look too happy in this particular picture, she would be a lot unhappier if I tried to take this outfit off of her!

A final picture of bathtime fun. Joe is now in charge of giving Olivia her baths in preparation for Ethan's arrival. Sometimes I will walk by the door and hear loud laughter and splashing that stops when I open the door to peek in. At least she walks out of the bathroom clean!