Olivia: Goodbye daycare!! Hello school!!

Yesterday was Olivia's last day at daycare. She really liked her "old school" but could not wait to go to her "new school".

We (I) picked out her first day of school outfit last night and had it all ready for today. She helped pack up her back pack and really could not wait to go to school. She has been looking forward to this since she went for the "play date" (admissions testing). Her teacher said she had a great first day. When I took her into the school this morning, she walked in so proud with her back pack on. It's almost as big as she is but she wanted to carry it. Here's a few pictures....

The End of Week 1.....

Well, Thursday was Addie's appointment for her one year old pictures. We were worried that she wouldn't do well since she was having serious separation anxiety at daycare this week which also carried over to home. But, despite our concerns, she did great!! She played with the props and smiled for the camera. She had fun with the photographer and her husband who is there to help with Addie while I was behind the photographer trying to get Addie to smile and look towards the camera. I cannot wait to see the proofs!!

Friday, it was back to daycare and another day that I cried. Some of you reading this will think it's silly but it was heartbreaking to give Addie to her teacher and watch try to break free of the teacher's hold, red-faced and screaming, with her arms outstretched. As I walked out of the main door of the daycare, I could still hear her screaming. I just pictured her crying all day like she did on Wednesday. I made it outside but then fell apart. I called to check on her in the morning and they said she was having a better day. She played and participated in activities and was only tearful a little. Hopefully the worst is over. Tomorrow starts week 2.

Back to Day Care & Work

I know it's only Wednesday but I have to say, this has been a rough week for all of us. Bill headed back to work on Monday which meant the girls are both back at daycare. We sent Liv back last week to get her back in the swing of things first. She loves being in the "Bee" room and has fun with her friends but has had a few tough days. This morning I learned that she woke up from her nap pretty grumpy yesterday (which is unusual for her). When a teacher asked her what was wrong, she said she missed her Daddy. She really wasn't herself when I picked her up yesterday and she had a rough evening (not listening, refusing to eat, etc.).

Addie had been at daycare for about 6 months before we pulled her out to be home w/ Bill. When we pulled her out, she was just starting to crawl. Now, she's walking (running) and climbing and is a totally different child. She doesn't remember being at daycare and since she's in a new classroom with new teachers, there really isn't anything familiar to her. She's in with a lot of the same kids but they have also changed a lot.

Monday, she looked at me a little strange when I walked out of her "Chipmunk" room. I was proud of myself for being able to leave her there without crying as I left. I saved the tears for the drive to work. The teachers said she had a pretty good day. She didn't want to sleep on the mat at nap time and cried a few times through out the day. When I got there to pick her up, the teacher was changing another child's diaper. Addie was standing in front of the changing table with her arms up, looking at the teacher and crying. It broke my heart. She looked exhausted and seemed very tired. I hoped she would sleep on the way home but didn't. She was tired at home but was happy and played like normal.

Tuesday wasn't as easy. Addie is a smart little girl. She knew what was going to happen when I put her down. She started to cry as I left. I stood outside the room to make sure the teachers would give her some comfort. I wasn't totally impressed with them but they did seem to get her to stop crying. She was still tearful throughout the day at times but slept better than on Monday. When I picked her up, she was not crying but started to cry and ran to me when she saw me. At home, she again seemed herself.....tired, but still herself.

Today is Wednesday. Third day there...it has to be better, right? Well, Addie would not let me out of arms reach this morning when we got to her classroom. One of the teachers who knows both Liv and Addie very well was in the Chipmunk room in the morning. She took Addie from me when I had to leave and focused her attention on something other than me leaving. She seemed to calm down pretty quickly and I was so hopeful that she would have a better day. Well, I was wrong. When I picked her up today, she was an absolute mess. Her daily sheet said she slept but she looked exhausted. She just cried and clutched onto me. If she wasn't in my arms, like when I put her down to sign her out and get her daily sheet, she would cry. We got in the car and I cried. Again I hoped she would sleep in the car but she didn't. At home, she could not be away from me. If she wasn't touching me or being held by me, she was crying. She wouldn't even go to Billy. She's normally fun loving and easy going and very easy to get to sleep. Tonight, she hardly played and had a really tough time getting to sleep. We started putting her to bed earlier (which was good because we had a tough time getting her to not be crying in her crib) and we hope she gets some good sleep.

Tomorrow we have an appointment to have her pictures taken. I'm not really confident that we will get any pictures taken. I'm hoping that a good night sleep and not being at daycare tomorrow will do her well.

Liv is up and is crying that she can't sleep and she wants her mommy. I'm off to hopefully get her to sleep.

Billy is adjusting to being back at work but is having a difficult time now that he's back to hardly seeing the girls and because they are both wanting me all the time. I know it will get better as they all get used to being where they are but I don't know that I'm going to survive it!

Addie's 1st Birthday Party

Addie turned ONE on July 23rd but we didn't have her birthday party until August 2nd. We were going to have it the weekend right after her birthday but we were afraid the furniture we ordered wouldn't be here in time. For those of you who don't know the story of our furniture trauma, I'll give you the short version......we looked at the dimensions of a ton of couches and measured our space and then went to the store and picked out a couch. We bought it and brought it home and realized that it must have been the only couch the store sold that we didn't measure. So, we (I) was really unhappy with it and we returned it. We found furniture at another store but it had to be ordered. So, for a few weeks we had nothing but a love seat in our living room. Not enough seating for the party so we decided to be on the safe side and push the party back a week. (Yes, that really was the short version of the story.)

Anyway, back to the party. It was a big success!! It was great to get our families together and Addie (and Liv) had a great time at the party. The theme was "the Backyardigans". Addie lights up every time the show comes on and she hears the theme song. It's so great to see....and it doesn't hurt that Liv also loves the Backyardigans. We also learned that Addie's new baby cousin loves the Backyardigans too. She watched a show or 2 with her grandpa and had a great time!

It rained in the morning but it cleared up. I was nervous about the weather but not completely spastic! It ended up being a hot but still very nice day and I think everyone (except the little boy from the neighborhood who threw up) had a great time. I know Addie won't remember her birthday party but celebrating her first birthday and a year of having her in our lives was important for Billy and me (probably more me, I admit). We appreciate everyone traveling as far as they did to celebrate with us.

Usually the big first birthday questions are about the cake. Did she eat it? Did she like it? Did she make a mess? Well, she had her own cake and played with it a little but really wasn't overly thrilled about it. She really isn't a big fan of sweets. She did manage to get herself covered in the cake but played more than she ate. Here are some photos from the day..........

Ok so she didn't love the little tiara. I'm not sure she loved the singing either....

At first she wasn't sure of what to do with the cake.........

But after a little sample, she got the hang of it..........

Oh, and how could I forget, the Backyardigans masks were a big hit with the little and big kids.....

First Trip To The Beach

Day trip #2 was a trip to the beach. Neither of the girls had been to the beach. Addie obviously was a newborn this time last year. We didn't rush to take Liv to the beach before now because we figured she would be afraid of or not like the sand. Remember, she was the kiddo who was afraid of grass touching her skin for an entire summer. Now that she's older, we figured she would have fun building sandcastles and hopefully have fun in the ocean water. Well, I'm 1/2 right.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Olivia was so excited to play in the sand and build sandcastles. We set up the blanket, rented an umbrella, slathered sunblock on the girls, and got some lunch. After that, it was time to hit the water. Bill and I grabbed the girls and headed down to the water. Olivia stood there amazed as she looked at the ocean but was afraid of the waves coming in, touching her feet and washing the sand from beneath her feet. The waves were a little strong and the water a little cool from recent storms but she wouldn't even give it a try. Addie, on the other hand, loved it. I would hold her and wait for the wave to come in and then dip her toes in it. She giggled and squealed each time!

We kept trying to get Liv to give it a try but she made sure to stand back far enough that the wave coming in couldn't touch her toes. If she needed water for her sandcastle, we had to get it for her. Addie loved trying to climb in the bucket full of water back by our blanket.

I thought I'd give it one more try and had her watch me hold Addie and dip her toes in when the water came in. Liv said she'd give it a try with me doing the same with her. Well, it worked well for a few minutes but then a huge wave came in and knocked over a woman who was father out than we were. It knocked her under the water and she slammed into my legs. That knocked me down. I did my best to hold Liv up and out of the water but she was still afraid. Soon after that we decided to leave the water and go for a walk on the boardwalk.

The boardwalk was nice. We got some ice cream, salt water taffy, and Billy won a stuffed frog, which Olivia claimed, playing "Whack-A-Mole".

When it was time to leave, Addie was ready because she wasn't able to nap on the beach (too much activity all around her). Olivia cried and cried. She didn't want anything to do with the ocean but wanted to stay and play in the sand. She said we couldn't leave because it wasn't dark yet.

Aside from the fact that Liv threw a fit when it was time to leave, Addie was a little cranky at the end of the day from not having a nap, and me getting my back burnt to a crisp (me the dummy put sunblock on the girls and not on myself), it was a great day. Next year we will have to go to the beach for at least a few days.

Here are some pictures from the beach trip................enjoy...............

A trip to the zoo.

While Bill was still home with the girls, I took a week off. Instead of going somewhere for the week, we decided to do some day trips, relax at the house, paint the living room and get ready for Addison's 1st Birthday Party.


Day trip #1 was to the zoo. We loaded up the car with the girls and headed southeast.



Olivia could not wait to get there and see all of the animals. The trip was uneventful except for the announcement from Liv while we were driving down the Schuylkill expressway that she had to go to the bathroom. So, we got to the zoo and ran to the bathroom. Crisis averted.


It was hot but we got to see lots of animals. We saw elephants, lions, and hippos, peacocks and prairie dogs, zebras, cougars, jaguars, and leopards, and so many more animals. We also got to meet Daisy. She is a white rat snake. Both girls loved them all. Liv loved the snake.





While we were eating lunch, Liv got to fee a female peacock. Soon after, the peacock hopped back in the area with the male peacock and he showed off his pretty feathers. Liv loved it when he opened up his feathers and walked around. What beautiful colors!!!

They had a small building with a play area for kids. We went in to get out of the sun and see what there was to play with. There were some things to play and crawl on but nothing too exciting. It seemed a little dirty so we didn't really let Addie run around too much on her own. Everything she touches ends up in her mouth. But, they did have fun sitting in giant eggs.

They all sat on a giant caterpillar, Olivia crawled through a bee hive and was swallowed by a frog, and later wrestled an alligator. It was a busy afternoon!!!

After all the fun in the kids play house, we went back to see more animals. We knew there was a chance of thunderstorms and saw the sky starting to get really dark. So, we kept looking at animals but took the path towards the exit. We were looking for the giraffes but couldn't seem to find them. We weren't alone, there was another family who couldn't find them either. Then it started to rain. So, we ducked into the gift shop so the girls could each get something to remind them of their favorite animal. Addie couldn't tell us what she liked the most but liked the stuffed gorilla the best. Olivia didn't want a gorilla or a lion or tiger or bear. She wanted a snake. So, she picked out a blue and green stuffed snake. Not what I expected her to want but OK.

We left the gift shop and it was poring. We didn't bring umbrellas but they wouldn't have helped because it was also very windy. So, we covered up Addie as much as we could in the stroller and we ran to the car. We were able to duck under a few areas of cover along the way but were soaked when we got to the car. Liv didn't like it too much but Bill and I thought it was hysterical.

The girls were worn out. They both sat in their car seats playing with their new animals for about 10 minutes......





After about 10 minutes, here was the view in the back seat................





The next time I looked back, here's what I saw....................




It was a good day at the zoo!!!!

The New Way To Match Clothes?????

Liv likes to pick out her own clothes. Bill lets her pick out the whole outfit, even if it doesn't really match. (I think he doesn't always know that the outfit doesn't match.) I usually let her pick out the shirt and then give her a choice of shorts that match the shirt from which she can choose. The other day, Bill was helping her pick out her clothes and this is what she picked.....

She said they matched because both the shirt and shorts had fruit on them. So what the shirt was red and pink and the shorts green, yellow, orange, and red. I made her change.

Last night, we were up stairs getting changed into pajamas and she picked out what she wanted to wear........

Maybe you guessed it, they match because they are both polka-dotted!!!