Austin Trip

I found out a couple weeks ago that I would have to go to Austin for a conference for work. The conference was Monday-Wednesday so Olivia and I took advantage of the opportunity and decided to spend the weekend with my parents in Bellville at LexStone Ranch. On Friday afternoon Olivia and I flew to Austin where my mom and Amy picked us up from the airport. We spent the weekend with them and then I headed to Austin for the conference while Olivia is enjoying some extra time with her grandparents and Aunt Amy. I know that Olivia is having a great time and I'm really glad that she's getting the opportunity to spend more time alone with them. I'm enjoying the conference but it is definitely weird being all alone. I can't remember the last time I really was all alone, it must have been before Olivia was born while Mike was deployed.

This evening I sat with one of my colleagues from work and we watched Austin's famous Congress Street Bats. I'm staying at the Hyatt which is featured in the picture below.

I can't believe I did that!

I feel so incredibly lame, I can't believe I caught myself doing this. At this point we have our morning routine down to a fine science. I wake up and get ready for work while Olivia is still asleep. Once I'm all ready I wake Olivia up and get her dressed for school. When we go downstairs Olivia gets her coat (yes, you need a coat year around here in Washington) and her cup and we head to the car. Olivia loves it when we listen to music on the way to school. Even though it's only a 2 minute car ride she likes to clap and dance and the happier she is in the morning the easier it is to drop her off at school. The more obnoxious the music the better and Olivia loves "The Wiggles". This morning went as usual, I dropped Olivia off and got in the car to drive to work. I get more than half way into work, at least a full 15 minutes into my drive when I realize that I am still listening to the wiggles, in fact I'm doing more than listening, I'm full on jamming out, dancing and singing to the wiggles. By myself, in the car, no toddler in sight. When did I become so lame! Who doesn't love a little "Toot toot, chugga chugga, big red car" (to hear this moving song you can click on the wiggles link above).

Cell Phone Pictures (part III)

A new week means a new post with pictures from my old cell phone.

First we have a face only a mother could love. Olivia decided to fully immerse herself in the discovery of her new sandbox by tasting the dirt. She decided that it did not taste good and in trying to spit the dirt out of her mouth she ended up smearing it all over her face. As a mother I have definitely come to appreciate the dirt and the messes that come with having a child. It means she played hard, she had a good time, and hopefully she learned something. In this case Olivia learned that dirt does not taste good and since this day this past spring I have never seen her try to eat dirt again.

The second picture is of the above mentioned sandbox/water play table. I found this on clearance a Target and Olivia loves it!

It's finally happened...

I knew it was inevitable, I knew it would happen, well tonight was the night--my child has pooped in the tub. What's funny about the entire ordeal is that Olivia totally told me that it was about to happen, I just wasn't listening. First of all Olivia kept trying to stand up. She knows that she's not allowed to stand in the tub. She knows it so well that by this point the only time she ever stands up is when she's ready to climb out of the tub. Well tonight she kept trying to stand up and when I told her to sit down she would shake her head and say "boo boo." At this point Olivia is making new sounds every day so I didn't think anything of it when she said "boo boo". I thought she was just babbling. Then she did it again but this time it was very clearly "poo boo". I still didn't get it. I asked her if she was talking about "poo boo" her new book and I told her we'd read it when she got out of the tub. Finally she just shook her head again then she squatted in the tub and went "poo boo". Well that's certainly one way to tell me what she was trying to say. I responded with oh, you were saying poo poo to which Olivia very clearly replied, "ess" her word for yes.
How could you possibly be mad about that. The child told me she was going to go! Don't worry, I did not take pictures of this precious event but I just had to share.