Happy 2nd Birthday Olivia!

It's hard to believe my baby is 2! She is definately getting to be more independent, but she is still my little love bug. We celebrated her big day this year with family in Dallas. It was low key since she wasn't feeling 100%, but she didn't seem to mind. Here are a few pictures from her big day!

It's Getting Hot In Here!

A few weeks back, our A/C went out. No big deal it was only 100 degrees outside, with no breeze! We did get a bit of a cool front so we were able to stay at the house for a few of the nights (it is much easier than trying to pack up our entire house to go stay somewhere else.) Thankfully, we had already planned a weekend trip to Dallas so we just extended our trip and tried to make the most of it. My parents, who has just been through a similar ordeal, let us borrow their window unit, which was wonderful...at least for cooling down one room of our house. This went on for over a week, with the last two nights being too warm to stay at the house. We decided to stay somewhere that would have things for Olivia and I to do during the day, so we chose the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort. (To make matters worse, Olivia was really congested and just feeling better from a viral infection, so she was acting okay, but her doctor said she shouldn't be going to school because she was contagious.)

Let me tell you this was the greatest place on earth, next to Disney and the beach. There were several restaurants to choose from, a HUGE pool complete with a sandy beach, inner tubes, a lazy river, water slide and a splash pad. Poor Greg had to work, so he missed out on some of the fun, but we managed to have some fun with him too! At night, they gave out smore kits to make smores over the various fire pits. Out room was also right next to the playground, so we were able to walk out our patio and play.

Part of the pool, this picture doesn't do it any justice, but my camera phone was all I had.Here is my little Liv Bug, enjoying the pool.

First Day of School!

It doesn't seem possible to have had the first day of school come and go already. Olivia did great, and neither of us shed any tears, so I think of that as a successful day! I had to wake her up early today (she would have slept until 9 if I had let her) to make it to school on time, and as a result she was a little snippy this morning. I thought for sure we were headed for major meltdowns. Two of her classmates started to lose it and she just got really serious and concerned. Her teacher did a fantastic job of distracting her so that I could sneak out-and we were golden. I couldn't wait to get back to pick her up at 2pm. When her teacher opened the door ALL of the kiddos were sleeping. I got to wake her up and she was so happy to see me...that made my day!

As for some funny things she is saying/ doing:

"Okay, I do it"
"No, I do-wannit"
"Bless you, Mommy!" (or Daddy)
"Pwease" (especially when she wants something, but we are trying to work on manners too!)
"Thank You"
"Yes Ma'am"
"My turn"
"Whats that noise?"

Olivia loves playing in her play kitchen and cooking us meals, and will usually end up pulling out my pots and pans to use in "her" kitchen. She also LOVES her stuffed puppy dogs, loves to give hugs, loves her "stories" and will pretend to read to us, and loves to play outside with bubbles. She loves to share, even when you don't particularly want her to, like with her snacks or meals...sometimes she just won't take no for an answer! More recently, she started "grazing" our plates. If something we have looks better than what she has, she wants to "try it". Unless this is of any sort of vegetable, in which case she refuses. She is counting 1-10 (though we sometimes forget five) and recognizes most of her letters.

She is less fond of diaper changes, as she doesn't want to be slowed down even for a second.

I can't believe she is almost 2! I am curious to see her stats after we visit the doctor for her checkup soon. Sorry for the lack of first day pictures...she was NOT in the mood this morning before we left, and I was too worried she was going to get upset at school to even bother. Once we get a routine, we will take "first year of school" pictures ( :

Cleaning House

No, not my own house, my blog, so to speak. I'm in the process of making it look all cute and stuff for the upcoming arrival of COLLEGE FOOTBALL! No, not excited at all. Stay tuned...and I promise more pictures, funny Olivia stories, or SOMETHING to go with it!

San Antonio

This past weekend was very busy. We went to the Circus on Saturday here in Austin, then on Sunday we made the drive to San Antonio to go see Nickelodeon Storytime Live. It was at the Majestic Theatre in downtown which was really neat. It was definitely not as big of a hit with all of us as the Circus, but Olivia loved seeing all of her favorite Nick Jr. characters. After the show, we walked around on the riverwalk and had lunch. A few pictures from before/ after the show...this time I made sure to sneak my camera in with me! If you were hoping to see some pictures of a grown woman posing as Dora the Explorer, well I am sorry to be the one to disappoint you, but unfortunately there was no picture taking allowing during the performance. There were a few that tried to "sneak" one in (always someone), but those ushers weren't fooling around.

Waiting patiently for the Nick Jr. crew

Right before show time. Greg and I spent a good portion of the show doing this...watching Olivia for a reaction.Tuckered out!

Like a Circus

Greg and I had been excited for weeks to take Olivia to the circus, but we weren't sure how she would react. We got in our seats as the show started and she was in total awe. We of course watched her for her reaction more than the show itself, but it was really well put together and kept her attention for the whole 2 plus hours we were there. It's hard to say what she liked the best, but definately either the elephants or the dogs. I didn't take my camera to the show because I had read online that cameras weren't allowed, but I learned my lesson because EVERYONE had their camera. I was a little disapointed, but here are a couple of pictures I took before we left.

Been A While...

I've been busy busy and lots of fun things going on, so unfortunately the blog gets pushed to the back burner. A lot of changes in the past few weeks in the Barber household. First, and most exciting....we are expecting baby number 2 in February! We are so excited and I was just saying how it still hasn't fully sunk in, at least until this morning when I tried to find a pair of shorts to fit. Then it seemed a little more real. So far so good-feeling pretty good, no wierd cravings, although I definitely have been craving certain items, like my Mango Magic smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I drive a good 40 minutes to get one, and it is worth every minute!

The house is really starting to come along. The kitchen is complete, with just a few touch ups needed. The backsplash looks fantastic-I just keep staring at it! Greg worked really hard, and he did a great job. The only other thing we need for the kitchen is a larger kitchen table. We haven't done any major projects other than that, just lots of little things, like trimming the bushes, painting the front door, installing new house numbers, etc. Slowly but surely, this house is becoming home.

Also exciting is that Olivia will be starting Mothers Day Out in just a few weeks. I can't decide if I am excited or sad. I know this will be so good for her, and me, but at the same time I am worried that I won't know what to do with all of that free time! (I'm sure I will manage.) It is only two days a week, from 8:45-2, so it's perfect. I am hoping that we don't have major meltdowns when I try to leave her, but we will cross that eventful bridge when we come to it.

Our last little bit of news really isn't THAT exciting, except to me of course! I finally upgraded to mommy mobile status. We traded in my 4 cylinder Nissan Altima (I am already missing the gas mileage) for a (much) larger V-8 new to me Suburban. We decided we wanted something higher up off the ground for me when, as Greg so kindly puts it, "You get REALLY big." Thanks dear. Hopefully loading and unloading Olivia in and out of her car seat will be a bit easier. The other upside, this monster has a DVD player, which we have decided is an invaluable tool when traveling with our almost 2 year old.

I'm trying to remember to take more pictures. I don't know if it's the baby brain already or what, but some days I am just lucky to remember where I live. (I kid). So that's the latest and greatest here. A few recent pics of Olivia, my almost two year old!