Mid-January update

This is what Olivia does all day long. We put a barrette in her hair in the morning, and a few minutes later she pulls it out. She will not keep anything in her hair.

Olivia loves to mess up her hair while she is eating. She rubs the food into her hair and then pulls it in all directions. Lovely.

Olivia is having a bad hair day. This is what her hair looks like after putting ketchup in it last night during dinner and then syrup in it this morning during breakfast. Nice, isn't it?

I took apart Olivia's horse because we are going to send it to my niece Addy. I went out to look for a box to put it in, and this is what I found when I returned. She was bouncing up and down laughing and patting the horse. Olivia is just not ready to part with Old Red. :)

Well we are all settled in our home and we are all loving it. Olivia LOVES just wandering around the house going from room to room chasing Lupe and getting into trouble. She used to HATE car rides of any length because she was so bundled up in winter gear that she couldn't even move. A five minute drive to the grocery store was a huge nightmare when we were in Indiana. Going out was not an option on most days because of all the screaming and fussing that would accompany a car ride. Since we have been here the most we have bundled her up is in her lightweight fleece jacket, which she really seems to like because it has a zipper. Eric taught her how to work a zipper so now she just goes around unzipping everything! Back to my story...she loves being in the car now. She just sits in her seat and plays and talks and dances.

Lupe loves being able to run freely around the backyard without having to be on a leash in the freezing cold weather. On the day that we got the first "big snow" in Indiana, Lupe's paws froze. I took her out to potty, and she just stood there. Then she sat down, and then laid down in the snow. I had to pick her up and carry her into the house. It was sad. She was NOT a fan of the cold weather. I am not too sure that Lupe is enjoying Olivia's new skill of walking. It seems that Lupe can never get any rest because as soon as she lays down, Olivia runs to her and throws herself on top of her. Poor Lupe. They pick on each other like real sisters would.

Eric has been staying home with Olivia while he waits for his paperwork to go through. He has been given a start date of January 26. One more week as a stay at home Dad. He has really enjoyed spending time with Olivia, but he says he is definitely ready to go back to work. I am really glad he has been able to be with her, because now he knows exactly what it was like to be at home with her. While it was very fun, it was also a lot of work and very tiring. He is really looking forward to going back to work for ExxonMobil!

As for me, I have enjoyed the last two weeks back at AMS (Atascocita Middle School) teaching 6th grade Math and Science. It was a crazy two weeks, but they were good. It has been hard leaving Olivia each day, but I know she is in good hands. She will stay with my good friend and neighbor Natalie when Eric goes back to work. I'm also happy to report that the "diet" (of watching calories and NOT working out) that I started in September is still going well...27 lbs. and counting!

Since I have been typing, Olivia has learned how to climb up into the front window, has shredded an entire piece of tissue paper, and has emptied her toy box all over the living room floor. Oh the life of a 14 month old...