That's Funny

Olivia is starting to think things are funny...and she will let you know.  She will say, "That's funny!"  She tooted and said, "That's funny!" She was a funny girl today and we had a great day. 

Being funny!

She woke up super early...Brendon and I were both really tired today.  So she came in our bed and watched some PBS while we snoozed some more.  She was also REALLY hungry today.  She ate anything I gave her today.  Banana, toast, (she asked for syrup to dip her toast in...whatever- she ate all of it), peanut butter sandwich, apples, veggie straws, some cookies, 2 snacks, and most of her dinner.  She even tried cheeseburger and dipped it in mustard and she tried some pieces of pickle! I am glad she ate a lot though...now tomorrow she probably won't eat much at all!

Brendon is going turkey hunting tomorrow...we are hoping he gets a turkey!!

I want country music!!

Olivia is loving her new seat in the car.  She has now taken interest in what kind of music there is.  first there were 2 categories- Regular music or her music (Dust, dust, dust, cd).  Well all of a sudden she doesn't want to listen to it.  So now she asks for regular music and specifically country music.  We tried to teach her rock and roll and then also dance (mommy's music).  But now she will say, "I want country music!!!" It is so funny.  I also drove down a street that is not paved/gravel and called it the bumpy road.  Well now all she wants me to do is drive down the bumpy road.  We can't drive down it all the time because we sometimes don't go that way! But she loves it!

Worst Night So Far

Had a reality check last night.  I was starting to get confidence in this whole mom thing...guess last night was a reminder I still don't know what I am doing at times.  

Well last night was the worst night of the toddler bed woes at bedtime.  I don't know what Olivia's deal was.  But she cried, and screamed, and cried...she was so upset.  I have never seen her so mad and upset before.  Nothing could console this child and I refused to lay down in her room like she wanted me to.  I defeated me...I cried.  I didn't know what to do.  Finally when she was getting tired she was still crying and fell asleep but still had those sniffles from when you cry really hard.  It was so strange though...I am thinking she was overtired. 

But I took the blame for it last night.  Working full time has been really hard and I know Olivia misses me.  I almost last night wanted to call my principal and tell her I needed to go back to part time...IMMEDIATELY.  I know that isn't an option though.  Just a few more weeks and it will be done.  I can do it...toddler tantrums and all. 

Mile of Silence

Still humbled today...one of the running stores in the Atlanta area was having a mile of silence today at 7:00 a.m.  We don't live close enough to one of them for me to make it there before work and then get to work on time.  A coworker suggested to meet at 7:00 a.m. on the track at school for a mile.  I was a bit late but I got my one mile in.  Boy did it clear my head.  There was no music, no talking, just the 3 of us on the track at different speeds and directions having our mile of silence. 

I know that I probably will never qualify for Boston, win a race, or be faster than lightning...but I do know this...I own my Nikes and they can take me anywhere.  I can run toward fears and I can also choose to run away from them.  We make choices in our life everyday and my choice today was to keep running...and not let this damper the one thing that I do love to do.

And someone is a future athlete too...

How do we keep our children safe?

Dear Olivia,

This was not the original blog post I was going to write.  Today was supposed to be a happy day.  It is Pepa's birthday and we were so excited about our friend Joan running the Boston Marathon.  But tomorrow the world as we know it will wake up different...again.  I am getting tired of that line...because we are saying it to frequently now.

I am sure your daddy didn't know what the day would entail when he dressed you in your Boston t-shirt from Susan this morning.  I was so excited to see you in it when you came to school today.  I was so proud that our friend Joan was running the Boston Marathon and we kept tabs on her progress all day until she finished.  But like Joan, who didn't know 4 minutes after she finished the marathon, tragedy would strike again.

Olivia it has me scared.  I am your mommy, and your daddy and I are your protectors.  There are so many things that I can protect you from and there are so many things that I cannot protect you from.  I want you to grow up in a world that is as magical as it is to you now.  You get excited about airplanes and birds and bubbles...life is so simple.  Life is so happy for you because right now you do not know about all the bad things out there...and it scares me.  It scares me to know that in the future you will know about those things...what am I going to say?

I admit...life is almost becoming a paranoia.  We are worrying about things that we never thought we would imagine happening and I don't know how to explain them or even process them myself.  The world is a scary place and little by little paranoia is taking it over.  We shouldn't have to live this way and I don't want to future to look like this either. I shouldn't have to be scared when I go out for a run and I don't want you to be scared that I don't return from a run.  But for some people today that fear came true. 

So my big question- how do we keep you safe? I really don't have the right answer to that.  As your mommy I can only do so much.  We cannot confine ourselves to our house and never leave...we have to get out in order to grow and learn.  But I do want you to know that we will do anything and everything possible to keep you safe.  We love you so much and all we want is for you to be happy.  You are growing so fast and I know time is not slowing down.  We want you to grow big and move mountains.

I hope one day that we can live in a world where people can get along and not have to worry so much.  But I know worrying is unavoidable because I am your mom, I will always worry about you- even when you are all grown up!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Happiest Toddler on the Block

This morning we went to church and Olivia did great.  She did a little talking but overall it was pretty good.

After church she was a bit whiny but I think she was just hungry.  She ate some banana and some cheese while we had some brunch.  Then we did some paper reading and coffee time.

After Olivia's nap today we decided to watch the dvd of The Happiest Toddler of the Block.  We watched The Happiest Baby on the block before Olivia was born and used a lot of the strategies while she was a baby.  The dvd was ok.  The strategies were alright.  It talked about using a language called "toddler-ese." Basically repeating back to them what they are saying or doing.  This kind of worked tonight during dinner time.  We have struggled for a long time with dinner and getting her to sit somewhere and not in my lap.  So when she started whining tonight I did the "toddler-ese" and it somewhat worked.  I guess we will try some of the other strategies and we will see if they work.