Live and Let Livy

Christmas Cookies

2012-02-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

LA was very excited to be my Christmas Cookie Helper! She got to add the sprinkles as the finishing touch.... you can tell she was beyond thrilled!

This is her official kitchen stool - she loves it!

sweet, secretive smile

enjoying the finished product with daddy!

Gingerbread House

2012-02-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

This year we did a gingerbread house - LA did the decorating (and the sneaking of candy). It was lots of fun but not a great activity to do right before dinner - I need to remember that for next year!!!

Videos

2012-02-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

Here are a few videos I downloaded from my phone.

LA's rendition of "Santa Claus is coming to town"

counting to 10 in Spanish

"Jingle Bell's

Upstairs

2012-02-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

I'm going to lump all of the upstairs into one post. Basically, up the stairs to the right is Zac's study; straight back is the master suite; to the left is the laundry room.

Pictures of the upstairs study

laundry room

master bedroom - we got this bed headboard/footboard from a consignment store in Dallas. It does a great job of looking elegant and traditional!

Master bathroom

Master closet

That's it folks! I hope you made it through all of these posts and enjoyed seeing the finished product. We are super happy with how it turned out and glad to be all moved in!

The Stairs

2012-02-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Taking off the roof and the building of the stairs was the scariest part of the renovation process for me. I lost a lot of sleep those nights... but thankfully we were going through a drought so rain did not interfere with the process! We ended up flattening out the stairs more than we intended to, but I love how it turned out (don't I sound like a broken record?)

Before picture (where the stairs will be going in)

during pictures

what is missing from this pictures? OUR ROOF!

old attic-pull down

new stairs going in

after pictures!

Downstairs Full Bath

2012-02-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite areas (besides the kitchen). It so nice, bright and airy now.
-We removed the original built-ins from underneath the windows
-We removed the pedestal sink and the original 1926 toilet (SERIOUSLY... from 1926!)
-We refinished the tub

Since they do not manufacture toilets small enough to fit in that corner, we placed the toilet underneath the window. We built a long vanity area where the pedestal sinks originally was and added carrera marble for the countertop. We put in new octagon shaped tile on the floor and new beadboard on the walls.

before pictures

During pictures

after pictures

Livy Anne's Room

2012-02-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

Livy Anne moved into the previous master bedroom AND (drumroll, please) is in a big girl bed now! She was super excited to make the move. She intently helped Zac put together her bed (literally, he said he could not have done it without her). She placed the screws in the holes for Zac to work on and so forth. We think next Christmas she may be the one putting together her Christmas presents!

Here are before pictures of the master bedroom (I guess I forgot to take the ones before we moved out)

after pictures - we kept most of the black furniture we had (except for the bed headboard) and got LA a new bed.

She could not believe she had 2 closets - she kept saying "for me? both of them for me?" It was hilarious! The one on the right is for clothes and the one on the left is for toys/books.

Family Room

2012-02-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

We didn't change too much in the family room, but the new paint, doors and windows make a BIG difference!

before pictures

I didn't get a very good picture of the built-ins but they were a dark wood color

after pictures

Zac created this "wall of fame" for our family. It has lots of family pictures, cards and artwork. I love it!

We painted the built-ins black and I love how it turned out!

Not great lighting - but you can see that we took the original door from the kitchen and reused it here.

my favorite part - Charlee's new home! It's a little storage area that houses her kennel. she LOVES it!

Kitchen

2012-02-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

The kitchen changed D.R.A.M.A.T.I.C.A.L.L.Y! We basically gutted and started over in there.

Here is a summary of the changes:
-bricked in 2 windows to add more cabinets
-all new cabinets
-destroyed (is destroy too strong a word?) the 2 ft x 2 ft pantry and created a walk-in pantry
-refinished the original 1926 butler's pantry
-new countertops/backsplash
-we kept the same appliances
-tore down wall between kitchen and dining rom

Before pictures

During pictures

After pictures

L.O.V.E. the kitchen... there is not a single thing I would change!

Dining Room

2012-01-31T19:28:00.000-08:00

This room had a big transformation - we took down the wall between the kitchen and dining room, added new windows, paint/trim.

Before pictures

During pictures

After pictures

Living Room

2012-01-31T19:20:00.000-08:00

In the living room, we: added new windows, added stairs to the second story, painted, re-trimmed.

Before pictures

During pictures

After pictures

Exterior of the house

2012-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

We were not originally going to paint the exterior, but we changed our minds on this one. I'm so glad we did because it makes the upstairs "fit better." We also started over on all of our landscaping, rebuilding the pergola on the side patio, and redoing the concrete overlay (since we had to dig into the original concrete to add piers under the house).

After pictures

House Renovation

2012-01-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

For those of you out there who want all the splendid details of the house renovation, you will seriously enjoy the next handful of posts. I will post before, during and after pictures... can you tell we are over-the-top pleased with the house?

Summary: the renovation took 4 1/2 months and we added on 1,002 square feet to our house. We left most of the downstairs room the same (except for removing the wall between the dining room and kitchen) and adding in the stairs.

We ended up adding on a few extras once we began construction - new downstairs windows (you know the kind that actually deflect heat/cold... imagine that!), painting the exterior, refinishing the wood floors, re-texturing and painting all rooms and trim, moving around the full and half bath toilet/sinks. Okay, so maybe we added on more than a few things but I'm SO GLAD we did all of them. Once we realized how nice the upstairs was going to be, we realized we need to do a bunch more to bring the downstairs up to par.

I hope you enjoy watching this process... you receive the instant gratification that took us 4 1/2 months to get to!

House Update

2011-12-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, we decided to renovate and add square footage onto our home. We have been thinking about it for a while so after lots of research and examining our options, we ended up pulling the trigger. We had a few setbacks with having to apply for a variance from the city based on the way our house is set on the property - apparently the city codes have changed a bit since 1926! Imagine that :)

We moved out of our home in June and moved in with Zac's parents (aka Honey and Poppy). We moved everything except for clothes into a storage unit. We are so thankful we could stay with family and we had a wonderful 5 months with lots of family bonding. LA got lots of special attention espeically from Poppy. She pretty much took over his world once he got home from work: "poppy, change clothes," "poppy, play on the bed," "poppy, play outside." Some of these phrases sound a little (or a lot) bossy! They ended up in their own world:) what precious sweet memories!

Here are the before and after pictures of the house.

Living room: view from the front door (before)

(after)

living room view into the dining room (before)

(after)

view from the kitchen doorway into the dining room (before)

(after)

View from the dining room towards the kitchen (before)

(after)

View into the study (now labeled the family room) before

(after)

View of study towards the hallway (before)

(after)

View from the hallway into the kitchen (before)

(after)

View of the original 1926 butler's panty and original telephone in the kitchen (before)

(after)

Kitchen sink (before)

(after)

stove/fridge/pantry area (before)

(after)

View from dining room into kitchen (before)

(after)

Looking into the only full bath (now titled the downstairs full bath) before

(after)

Full bath toilet area (before)

(after)

sink area (before)

(after)

I'm not going to post the 2 downstairs bedrooms because they are still in the transition phase.

Going upstairs now:

The master bedroom

Master bathroom

Master closet

Study (aka man cave)

Laundry room

Nutcracker

2011-12-21T18:51:00.000-08:00

Livy Anne loves the Nutcracker - specifically the 1973 Baryshnikov version (thanks Lolly!) So, when 3 of my piano students told me they were performing in their studio's Nutcracker performance, I immediately purchased tickets for us. LA was super excited to go and the performance did not disappoint! Since she knows the storyline so well she kept asking, "when is the mouse king coming?" or "where is Uncle Dresseylmer?" or "when do they break the Nutcracker?" So, there was some (or lots) of "please be patient." Once the music began, she was mesmerized. She did wonderful for the whole performance!

Zac's 30th Birthday!

2011-12-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

Zac turned 30 in November! To celebrate this momentous occasion we all went to see Shrek the Musical at Bass Hall. Livy Anne L.O.V.E.S Shrek! My sister (who has seen it) warned me about when Shrek does a really loud roar in the beginning. So we prepped LA and as soon as the intro started she covered her ears. She kept saying, "daddy will save me." She did surprisingly well the whole time - minimal squirming. She even laughed out loud a few times!

Here we are at the musical. Love that big smile!

Here we are on Zac's actual birthday... obviously we were really living it up:)

Biggest Loser

2011-12-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

The biggest loser of our family is.... ZAC! Since November 2010 he has lost 50 pounds!!!!! I'm so proud of him! He did it by counting calories and running. He has really enjoyed running and is planning on running a half-marathon in March.

Here is a before picture from the Rose Bowl - January 2011

This is on Zac's 30th bday - Nov 2011

Dr. Livy Anne

2011-12-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

Since I have been going to the doctor for my maternity appointments, LA has gotten into playing doctor. She likes to "check" on the baby. She often asks when I need to go back to "Dr. Liams" (aka Dr. Williams). She does pretty well at the appointments and everyone at the office LOVES her.

Halloween - Belle of the ball!

2011-12-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween Livy Anne was Belle. I bought a cheap-o dress from a store that didn't hold up very well so we ended up borrowing this adorable outfit from a friend.

Here is the beautiful Belle - ready for Halloween night!

let the fake smile begin...

"but I don't want to take any more pictures!"

Belle and her prince (I tried to find Zac a prince outfit but the closest I could come at the last-minute was a beast outfit and it was pretty scary).

LA and her favorite man

I love this picture... she is looking at him so adoringly!

We had a wonderful evening with friends! However most of the evening the smell of dog poop seemed to be following us around... turned out it was on both of LA's shoes!!!

Pumpkin Patch Day

2011-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

I shipped LA over to Dallas for the day (cannot remember the reason now), and everyone went to the pumpkin patch. Here are a few of the pictures.

One of LA's favorite parts of Lolly and Pop's house is the water feature in the backyard. She splashes and splashes to her heart's content.

Ice Cream Delight

2011-12-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while we make a Braum's stop for some ice cream once I pick up LA from school. She looked too adorable wearing her chocolate not to take a few pictures.

Poop, O Poop; Where for art thou poop?

2011-12-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

**This will be the last post about bodily functions... atleast for a while**

Legend: #1 is tinkle, #2 is poop

Livy Anne was potty trained over the summer and doing EXCELLENT with #1's. She loved all the treats and within a few weeks she was taking her nap wearing panties. She still sleeps in a diaper since she is in her crib.

However, #2's were a TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY! She had a few early successes but then just didn't want to put in the potty. She would hide in another room or wait until her naptime. I tried EVERYTHING I could think of. For a whole week, I followed her around like a hawk - for an independent child this was torture! Then, we talked, we pleaded, we bribed, but we couldn't get it figured out. We even put her favorite things (like watching Beauty and the Beast) on hold until she pooped in the potty. So when I asked her what great things happen when you poop in the potty she would list about 10 things, but she just couldn't seem to make it happen.

Finally, I read about a "phase-out" strategy. Here are the steps we took:

1) You can only put poop in the pull-up. She had to ask for it and then poop immediately.

2) You poop in the pull-up while standing in the bathroom.

3) You poop in the pull-up in the bathroom while sitting on the potty.

4) You poop in the pull-up in the bathroom while sitting on the potty with a hole in the bottom of the diaper.

We stayed on each step a week or so until she felt comfortable with it. Then, I cut the hole in the diaper (sidenote: this was NOT an easy task!) Livy Anne's first attempt with the hole was AWESOME - she just looked up at me and said "I did it. I just did it." She had a look of awe and shock. We did step 4 a few days and then she said, "I'm a big girl, I don't need the diaper anymore." AND SHE HASN'T EVER SINCE!

I can tell how proud she is of herself and I'm so glad that I didn't push her too hard to figure it out on my timing. Yeah for potty training successes!

Baby #2.... coming April 2012!

2011-10-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

**I'm very behind on blogging, but I wanted to get it all on here so I'm going WAY back**

We are expecting baby #2 in late April! Here is Livy Anne telling Zac the big news. Zac's face was priceless!

big grin

I love this one

It was a sweet moment and we are so blessed to be expecting another sweet bundle of joy!

Oh I just can't wait to be king!

2011-10-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, I took Livy Anne on her first movie theater experience to see Lion King! I had to find a theater that was showing it in 2-D (3D glasses + LA = not a winning combo). So, we ended up at a movie tavern and ordered some food got settled in and ready for the movie to begin. It was a 3:30 showing on a Tuesday afternoon so we had the theater to ourselves (literally). LA did not understand why the movie didn't just start when we sat down (like the movies do at home), she kept saying "play" and "press play."

Anyway, once the intro started with the VERY loud stereo sounds LA looked at me and said "this is scary!" It was WAY TOO LOUD for me, too. Maybe when the theater is full it dampens the sound?

Once the movie began, she started calling out all the animals and making the sounds... she is a very active participant! At this point, I was glad we had the theater to ourselves and it also helped for me to walk her through the story line.

She sat in her chair for the first hour and 15 minutes and then she got a little restless. During the scary parts, I thought she would want to sit in my lap but she wanted to stay right where she was.

Her first question when the movie ended: "black lion's name?"

Me: You mean Scar?

LA: YES!

Me: Is Scar mean or nice?

LA: MEAN

Me: Did you like Simba?

LA: Simba sweet, Scar mean

I was literally singing along to every song in the movie! It was so fun to see it in the theater. I must digress for a moment. When Lauren and I were entering junior high, we were REALLY nervous. As we walked up to the school for our first day, we were holding hands and saying "hakuna matata." PEOPLE - we were SERIOUSLY holding hands and saying that. It makes me laugh out loud just thinking about that. To answer any lingering questions out there - YES, we were nerds!

Ballet/Tap Class

2011-09-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

We officially started ballet/tap class! Here is Livy Anne right before her first class. Look at that sweet little body:) We only had 2 falls before class began in tap shoes... but there were other people watching so there were no tears.

Showing off some of her moves - which resulted in one of the falls

At home before class began ... fake smile and all

standing at the pretend barre

arms up, feet in first position

Class went very well! She came home talking about Daisy in her class. (side note: there was also a Daisy and Donald in her school class last year... turned out it was Daisy and Donald Duck). Based on that, I was a little skeptical that this was a real Daisy but today at class I discovered there really was a Daisy and as soon as LA saw her she started waving. When she walked out of class she said, "bye Daisy, see you next week!"

Zoo Date

2011-09-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the first day of school, we headed out for a zoo date. It was BEAUTIFUL weather and we had a great time!

One of our favorites, the meerkats - they kept popping up and LA would say "HELLO!"

watching the elephants

watching the pink flamingos - "momma, they're doing passes!"

check out that tortoise!

Now that the weather is cooling down, we hope to be at the zoo much more this fall!

First day of School - Fall 2011

2011-09-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

Here we are heading out for our first day of school this fall. Livy Anne was super excited to go to school!

silly smile

sweet smile, crazy hair

showing off her ballet slippers by doing a plie

finally putting on her backpack - "momma, only one shoulder" - those were the literal words she said to me walking into school!

The only breakdown we had was when she realized that she could open her lunch sack and lo and behold there was an apple juice inside! That was total trauma-rama but she has learned that she has to wait until lunchtime to open it up. Here's to a great year at school!

Silly Playday

2011-09-19T18:44:00.001-07:00

Here are a few shots from a recent playday.

Has anyone seen Livy Anne?

Charlee's turn!

Has anyone seen Charlee? Here she is!

Seriously, these two are best friends! Actually they are so close that LA tries to spend extra time with Charlee by climbing into the kennel with her. Charlee doesn't seem to mind BUT I DO!

The Bee and Me

2011-09-06T15:48:00.001-07:00

When BIG things happen, I make up a "Livy Anne" story about it. Here are a few samples of stories: park story (getting over her fear of slides), fireworks (how she was scared at the beginning but loved it at the end), medicine (how taking medicine really makes you feel better), Riley story (how sharing makes momma, daddy and God happy)... you get the gist.

Here is a new story from our last day at the pool for the summer. The bold words are said by Livy Anne.

There once was a girl named Livy Anne.

Her momma and daddy loved her very much.

She had a doggie named Charlee.

One day, Livy Anne was swimming in the pool and she needed to take a break. So, she got out of the pool and went and ate a quick snack of fruit and raisins. She was standing by Angela and baby Audrey. All of a sudden, a silly bumble bee sat on her arm and STUNG HER!!! She screamed and cried and her momma rushed her to the first aid area. The lifeguard used blue tweezers to get out the stinger, cleaned it out, and put on a band-aid. Livy Anne was so brave when the bee stung her! The end.

We also have a song dedicated to "The Bee and Me." The tune is B-I-N-G-O (in case you want to sing along).

There once was a girl named Livy Anne

she was stung by a bee on the arm.

Her name is Livy Anne

her momma's name is Whitney

her daddy's name is Zac

and her doggie's name is Charlee.

There once was a girl named Livy Anne

she was sitting by Angela.

She was eating raisins

and sitting by baby Audrey.

Then a bee came up

and stung her on the arm!

There was once a girl named Livy Anne

she was stung by a bee on the arm.

She was rushed to the first aid tent

so the woman could take out the stinger

and she used the blue tweezers!

Watermelon-drum

2011-09-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite summer treats is WATERMELON (LA proncounces it wadamelon). Each time we are the store we usually pick one or two of them up. The watermelon gets to ride next to LA and serves as an impromptu drum for our grocery store songs.

Organize much?

2011-09-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

LA loves organizing things. She sets things out just so and then starts all over again... this is a VERY time consuming process.

Baby Francine only eats tea and desserts, BUT she still has to wait until after dinner (confusing to me, too).

Getting the table set and ready for dinner.

Dance Class

2011-09-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne begins a dance class next week. So, after much preparation-talking about dance and the dance outfits/shoes we headed to the dance shop. LA was hesitant at first to put on the stockings and try on shoes but after the first pair of ballet shoes were on her feet I could not get her to stop dancing! She went up to the barre to work on her plie and tondue. Then she started telling the dance shop employees about the Nutcracker, clara, the prince, chinese, russian, flutes... seriously, the people at the shop were REALLY impressed! They could not believe she knew the whole Nutcracker and was only 2 1/2.

Then we moved onto tap shoes. She could not get over the awesome sounds! They were a tad slippery and she ended up on the ground a few times.
We start dance class next week so I will update about that later. Happy feet!

GO BIG OR GO HOME!

2011-08-29T18:46:00.001-07:00

This is LA's motto when it comes to swinging at the park.

As soon as the swinging starts:

LA: Bigger momma, bigger!

Me: Be patient, it takes time to go big.

LA: Bigger bigger

Me: I'm working on it.

LA: Touch the trees, please!

Me: Working on it, sweets.

(at this point, other parents at the park periodically gasp at how high she is going)

Me: Okay, high enough.

LA: big, fast, high!

LA loves swinging so much that I have to put a time limit on it otherwise she could do it for at least an hour (seriously, I have clocked her swinging going on 45 minutes before at which point we stopped because my wrists were cramping). So, GO BIG OR GO HOME!

Beauty and the Beast

2011-08-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne was introduced to Beauty and the Beast a few weeks ago and it was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! We watched it a few times (currently the movie is in the "poop reward box" until we get #2's in the potty) and have not stopped talking about it since.

Livy Anne's favorite character is the beast. I think that says a lot about her personality.

Pretty much once a day, we talk about Belle and the beast and retell the story (since we cannot watch it... see above). Here is LA's version of the story:

Papa run away.

Mean doggies with yellow eyes in the trees came after him.

Papa walked into castle and said "hello? anybody home?"

Beast is mean.

Belle finds Papa.

Belle walks in the castle and said "hello? anybody home?"

Belle meets beast and he is mean.

Belle runs away.

Mean doggies with yellow eyes in the trees came after Belle.

Beast saved her! But got a boo-boo on his arm.

Belle made it all better.

Beast started being sweet.

Gaston came after beast and hurt him but the Gaston fell down and went bye-bye.

Beast laid down and saw all different colors (when he is changing into a prince).

Prince and Belle dance.

When I ask about her favorite part it is: 1) when the beast is mean 2) when the mean doggies come after papa and belle.

Actually...

2011-08-25T16:53:00.001-07:00

Here is a conversation from earlier this week.

Me: Let's pick out a name for the new doggie (side note: new doggie came as a reward from the poop box).

LA: OK!

Me: What about Oreo or Spot?

LA: Swot? Swot?

Me: Okay, Oreo it is. What a sweet doggie.

LA: Actually, momma it's a puppy.

It took me a few minutes to stop laughing after this. And since then she has used actually quite a number of times!

Timeout = Trampoline Time

2011-08-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne has recently discovered that her crib mattress can also serve as a trampoline. She mainly uses this during timeout sessions (once she is done thinking about the consequences of her actions...right?). The other day she added the "ABC's" to the mix. I had to get it on video.

Driving

2011-08-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, Livy Anne is allowed to get in the driver's seat and pretend drive. We had to add in that pretend because otherwise she would ask if she could drive every time we got into the car. The other day we were waiting outside the house for a few minutes so she got to pretend drive.

I love her sweet voice in this video.

LA's Beauty Shop

2011-08-19T05:37:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne likes to "do" hair. (the "doing" is very relative) Sometimes she wants to do my hair but yesterday Charlee was the lucky recipient of a new hairstyle!

Asking Charlee is she can "do hair"

making the magic happen

this side needs a little more fluff

giving Charlee a quick pretend bath

liking what she sees!

Notice that Charlee has stayed in the same position the whole time. She has figured out that if she just sits there eventually Livy Anne will get tired.

Here's to new hairstyles!

p.s. I would not be doing this post justice if I didn't mention "Dad's Beauty Shop." Dad's Beauty Shop started up sometime during elementary school and was a place where we could find alternative hairstyles (ex. ponytails that went for an edgier look - lots of bumps). Although the owner was very eager for clients, the practices were a bit unorthodox... but a success all the same!

Who says you can't do ballet in the car?

2011-08-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Very Ladylike!

2011-08-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

This picture was too cute not to post. I was cooking dinner and looked over at LA and she was sitting on her stool with her legs crossed doing Minnie's hair. So very ladylike!

New Ballet Moves

2011-08-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

I know everyone who follows the blog is wondering, what ballet moves has Livy Anne learned lately?

Here is a little update. Please note that she is feeling her "baby" (i.e. tummy) at the end of the video.

p.s. we start ballet class in September!

Museum Playdate

2011-08-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

The other week we went on a museum with Lolly, Lala and Riley. We had lots of fun in the kids' play area.

Living Anne L.O.V.E.D. driving the ambulance around.

Riley - "what is going on?"

driving around

look at how fast she is going!

We had fun with only one big breakdown on the way out! (that's pretty good in my book)

Summertime Fun!

2011-08-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

We have had lots of fun at the pool lately (until recently when the temperatures have been way too hot!). Pool time has taken on a new dimension during the potty training stage - we made lots and lots and lots of trips to the potty at the pool. Better in the potty than in the pool!

Taking a quick break from the pool to eat a snack

"close those eyes" and other potty favorites

2011-07-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

My all-time favorite is: "close those eyes" Once LA gets on the potty she calls out, "close those eyes" (because closing eyes helps you to hear when the tinkle hits the potty).

New Song:

Tinkle tinkle Livy Anne

You are such a big, big girl

Sitting on the pink potty

Wearing pretty panties

Tinkle tinkle Livy Anne

You are such a big, big girl

Since LA has received lots of positive encouragement about using the potty she has decided to shower others with the same encouragement. Examples: "way to go momma!" "Good job!" "want some M&Ms?" "big girl!" It's obvious that the positive reinforcement really made an impact on her :)

Power Stroller Class

2011-07-26T19:13:00.001-07:00

I started participating in a power stroller with my good friend, Miranda Davis, over a year ago. The class is geared for moms and children and you use your stroller throughout the hour long class. Miranda was appearing on Good Morning Texas last week and asked me and a few others to help demonstrate the class. We were asked to wear "attractive workout gear" so of course I had to do a Target run (does anyone out there really have attractive workout gear handy?) and I got us coordinating outfits:)

This event happened on Day #6 of potty training and included an hour drive to Dallas, the demonstration (45 minutes total) and the hour drive back to FW.... a lot of time for a newly potty trained person to make it! So, we brought the "on the go potty" and as we were warming up she called out POTTY TIME and I grabbed the potty and she tinkled right there in the warm-up circle! I was so proud of her and actually that was all she needed to do until lunchtime!

We had a wonderful time and we are so thankful to be part of our class!

Potty Time!

2011-07-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

Since we are in a new living arrangement for the next few months, I planned on putting off potty training; however, LA had other plans (for anyone who knows LA this should not surprise you!) Last time we were at Lolly & Pop's house talking about the potty she found the small potty, got undressed (including her diaper) and sat on the potty... I knew at that point that she was REALLY ready to be potty trained!

So, we purchased a small pink potty, lots of treats from the Dollar Store and JUICE, JUICE, JUICE. To prepare I read the Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers book. It was a straight forward, no-nonsense book that took me all of 15 minutes to read from cover to cover. I highly recommend it.

I cleared the calendar and we started on Thursday morning. I was trying to feel really positive about the experience but I was secretly preparing myself to be utterly exhausted. After only 2 accidents she was able to connect the sensation of using the potty to actually getting to the potty in time. Once she realized this, she just wanted to stay on the potty for a REALLY long time. Here is what she looked like... drink in hand.

When she decided she was tired of sitting there, I started using computer time to get her to sit there longer. With that incentive, she would go potty but want to sit there and wait for the next one to come... talk about a good motivator!

Here is LA proclaiming her big news!

We are still working on understanding the poop sensation.. sometimes it comes on all at once and sometimes it takes about 12 fake-outs to get it. I have been very impressed with LA and her desire to be a big girl and wear her big girl panties!

We also travel with a "on the go potty" that has come been VERY helpful. I use it if we are out and about on errands, in the car or even at new places where the big potty seems overwhelming.

Here's to no more diapers (except at nighttime)!!!! WOO-HOO!

4th of July

2011-07-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. Livy Anne and I spent some time swimming in the morning while Zac played golf. Then we had dinner with a few friends and headed to the main excitement of the day... FIREWORKS! We didn't attempt them last year because we thought the sound would be too much for LA to handle. Actually we almost backed out this year and I'm so glad we didn't!

We found a spot at Colonial and started to prep Livy Anne for the fireworks. We explained that the fireworks would be REALLY loud but that she was safe with momma and daddy. Her eyes lit up when we told her about all the colors she would see. Needless to say, the last 20 minutes until fireworks were filled with "when do fireworks start?"

staking out our spot

having a heart-to-heart about the fireworks

Zac caught Livy Anne's face on his cell phone camera once the fireworks began. She kind of whimpered and put her fingers in her ears.

Here she is by the finale of the show

She has been asking about the "colors" all week and wanting to see more. She was a champ :)

Ballerina Swimsuit

2011-07-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Lolly found an adorable ballerina swimsuit for Livy Anne and she L.O.V.E.S. it! Every time we get ready to swim, I give her 2 options and she always picks this swimsuit.

Here are a few of her new ballet moves:

passe

arabesque

arms up and first position (LA's version of 1st position)

Sweet girl

2011-07-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

We got home from church and Livy Anne looked too adorable (and like a big girl!) not to take some pictures.

This is her "please" face

Doing a curtsy

Literally saying "cheese!

She was in the process of making lunch for Big Mickey when I called her over for pictures so she brought the hamburger with her.

Feeding daddy the hamburger

Morning Time

2011-07-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is Livy Anne at 7:45 AM. She wakes up and walks into her closet to get the pink tutu. She picks out her shoes and we go outside to dance.

Livy Anne BELIEVES this is how the tutu is supposed to fit. If you try to pull it down to her hips you will get a "no, no, no... like this" as she pulls it back up.

The "hippo falls down" is from a piece of classical music we listen to - there is a loud bass drum sound when the hippo falls down (from Fantasia) ... FYI.

P.S. Yes, we are signing her up for dance in the fall!

New Job - Interpreter

2011-06-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

My new job is as an interpreter... for 2 year olds! Let me explain.

Last week Livy Anne was swinging in the park next to another 2 year old. The other girl (Emma) was trying to tell her aunt something but the aunt was unable to understand her. After a few futile attempts at communicating her message, I interpreted for Emma:

"My daddy pushes the swing better than you, but he's at work now."

The woman was shocked but also grateful to know what Emma was saying.

Please call on me for all your 2 year old interpretation needs:)

7th Anniversary

2011-06-27T15:09:00.001-07:00

Zac and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this past weekend. We decided to do a weekend trip down to Austin to celebrate while Livy Anne stayed with Honey and Poppy in FW. We stayed at the Mansion at Judges Hill and let ourselves be pampered! We dined with Nathan on Friday night, massages on Saturday morning, shopping, sushi, and a glorious Sunday brunch. We operated on our own schedule and did not have to rush around to accommodate afternoon naptime... what a treat!

Here is our only picture from the weekend in front of the Mansion

Meanwhile back in Fort Worth...

as cool as she can be!

We had a great weekend celebrating our anniversary together... only 43 more years until our golden anniversary!

Swim Date

2011-06-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Lolly, Riley and Uncle Dala came over for a swim date last week (Lauren and Ben were out of town). Although the kiddos don't look too happy in this picture, we really did have a great time! Livy Anne has mastered floating in her life jacket. She jumps off the steps in the pool, holds her breath, waits to float up and then floats and kicks herself in a circle. I'm pretty impressed with her. She only needs my help every once a while and she states her independence by saying, "momma move over there please" (I made her add in the please to sound less bossy).

First Pedicure

2011-06-21T15:26:00.001-07:00

The other day during Livy Anne's nap I painted my toenails pink. As soon as Livy Anne woke up she noticed and asked if she could do her toenails (asking = now my turn pink!) So we used this motivation to "listen and obey" all week long. We headed to Target and picked out the toenail polish and got to work as soon as we got home.

Heading home from Target with our prized purchase! (please notice: she is also the carrier of all grocery lists)

I told Livy Anne she needed to sit REALLY still for the whole Mickey Mouse show... to my amazement she did! She wanted to get close to her toes so she could watch it happening. Oh, the curiously of a child!

Finished product

Livy Anne's toes has become a conversation starter. As soon as she meets someone new, she sticks out her foot and says "pink!" She also notices what color everyone else's fingernails/toenails are and starts calling them by that color- the woman at Tom Thumb is "red." She has already decided that daddy will be orange... we'll see if that one happens:)

Colonial Tourney

2011-06-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

As I was flipping through the pictures on my phone, I realized I forgot to do a post about the Colonial tournament this year... so better late than never!

Zac was in charge of Will Call this year. So, we really didn't get to attend the actual tournament until Sunday afternoon once Will Call closed.

Here are Zac and LA taking in the 18th hole.

Zac walking to the 18th green in his plaid jacket.

precious pic

Shape Game

2011-06-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

We love the shape game! Here is how you play it: draw the shapes in chalk, call out the shapes and let the game begin!!

We are still working on the numbers part:)

Ballet

2011-06-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne has recently gotten into ballet. She watched the Nutcracker (literally, the whole thing!) and randomly breaks out in ballet moves around the house. Today my mom put her in one of our old ballet costumes. I love this picture... Livy Anne looking at an old picture of me in the same costume.

here are Livy Anne's dance moves (kind of long but super sweet!)

All things girly

2011-06-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

The other morning Livy Anne got my heels and found her purse and got all dolled up. Please note the necklace, butterfly purse (she is wearing this as a necklace), lipstick, money, keys and black heels! What an outfit :)

love those little legs!

Golf Lessons

2011-06-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

One evening while Zac was working on his golf swing in the front yard, he gave Livy Anne an impromptu golf lesson.

Although this pictures makes it look like she understands the "swing" concept; she actually just takes the golf club and hits it straight on the ground. Actually the club head broke off after this picture.

Livy Anne's true feelings emerge...

Ready to swim?

2011-06-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

2011-06-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Livy Anne and I headed over to Dallas to spend the day with family. After Lauren and I both took turns playing the piano, it was Livy Anne and Riley's turn next.

Livy Anne tickling the ivories and Riley working the pedals

We are still working really hard on the sharing concept... notice Riley's cup and teether behind Livy Anne's back.

Okay, I will share with you.

Livy Anne giving up on whatever she was wanting to do... a pretty obvious sign that she was ready for her afternoon nap:)

2011-06-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

While I helped assist Zac with the golf tournament, Livy Anne spent a long weekend at Lala's house! Here is an excerpt from Lauren's blog (www.lifewiththesolomons.blogspot.com).

Livy Anne came over and stayed with us for the weekend! I was looking forward to seeing how life would be with two kids...Let me say that when we got married Ben said he wanted to have FIVE KIDS! I was in shock...After this past weekend, Ben has decided he is perfectly content with one kid (or less). I think eventually he will come around to having more than just Riley! :)

Livy Anne and Riley had lots of play time together! Here are some pics of the weekend:

I had yet to put this infant bouncer up in the attic and LA immediately wanted to play in it. Riley is trying to help rock her to sleep!

LA never took a paci as a baby but Riley did. When Riley recently stopped using paci's, I put up every paci but one... which they found. And that one paci passed from LA to Riley more times than I would like to remember. Sorry Whitney!

Here is Riley playing with the paci long after LA left!

The girls right when they woke up in the morning. Please notice LA's crazy bedhead and Riley's crazy evil look!

Excited for the day to begin!

Their first bath together. It was all going good until LA started to pour water on Riley's head, Riley began swallowing water and the bath ended quickly thereafter. Overall a success though. LA is so sweet with her cousin!

Livy Anne giving Riley some small sugars. Whitney made sure that LA knew she could give Lala (that's me), Ben, and Izzy big sugars and for Riley she needed to give small sugars!

Hmm...what is so great about this rubber duckie anyway??

Because LA actually sat in the pink polka dot chair, Riley suddenly realized that there was indeed a chair and it was there solely for her to climb on it. Uh Oh!

Apparently Ben and I said "Oh my gosh" repeatedly while tending to Riley and now LA walks around saying "elmo gosh". Oops!

Wimming time!

2011-06-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

wimming = swimming

We took swim lessons in early May and besides the water being FREEZING, Livy Anne did really well. She remembered lots of her swim moves from last summer. She can do bubbles, splashes, kicks, up & down, reach & pull, head under water, itsy bitsy spider on the wall. Here are a few actions shots from her last lesson.

Looks like last year's cover-up isn't covering up too much!

Here's too wimming!

PJs + Boots + Bedhead =

2011-06-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

a great picture! Livy Anne was helping Zac get ready for work the other morning by bringing him his boots. Love the bedhead on this girl!

Eye Cream

2011-05-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

You cream, eye cream, we all cream for eye cream.... that's how the song goes, right?

oh wait... it's ice cream! About once a week, we head out to get frozen yogurt (which we have led Livy Anne to believe is ice cream) and she chants "eye cream, eye cream."

Here we are at our favorite place, Menchies, finishing up some frozen yogurt.

The way to daddy's heart...

2011-05-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

"sit down watch golf with daddy bear"

Livy Anne used this well calculated phrase last night at bedtime and (almost) melted Zac's heart.

Happy Momma's Day!

2011-05-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Livy Anne bought me an ipod nano! She is very tech-savy, don't you think?

Let's see to recap the day - I took a nap at 9:00 AM, we had a splendid lunch at Uncle Julio's, followed by a long stretch of reading a new book in bed and church at night... I could not have asked for more! I'm so thankful for my husband and daughter and I cannot imagine life without them.

Zac recorded this for me and I will treasure it for all of my life.

Riley = swiffer

2011-05-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sure this will end up on my sister's blog, www.lifewiththesolomons.blogspot.com, but I had to post these pictures, too. Riley does an army crawl and she is getting VERY speedy. Since she is crawling on the floor, my dad suggested adding a swiffer to the mix. Why not? Riley is already down on the floors, right?

Riley + swiffer + duct tape

2011-05-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

We came over to Dallas to celebrate Easter and my dad's birthday. We started the afternoon with a backyard Easter Egg hunt. If I remember correctly, we participated in family Easter egg hunts until I graduated college/got married. As you can imagine, they got progressively more difficult. There was even a year where my dad wrote numbers on the eggs and you could only find the eggs with your number on it (i.e. my brother was really good at finding eggs and would find all of them). The eggs would be hidden so well that NO ONE could find them... even the parents who hid the eggs:)

Livy Anne did most of the hunting this year but we still could not find 2 of those darn eggs!

Any down here?

fake smile

Riley watching LA hunt eggs

Solomon family pic

Thompson family pic - this has somehow become Livy Anne's new "normal" smile.

The weather was gorgeous so we spent a lot of time outdoors and Livy Anne showered baby Riley with lots of love.

We came inside to fix dinner and watch Mickey Mouse (a mandatory part of every day life). We had a wonderful steak and baked potato dinner and celebrated Pops' birthday with a birthday pie. When I told Livy Anne about Pops' birthday she immediately asked to help him "blow candles." So with Livy Anne's help, we blew out the birthday candles; however, since they were trick candles it took quite a bit of effort and a bit of water to get them out!

Ending the day with a car ride home and some sweet cuddles with big Mickey. She was asleep by the time I put the car in drive.

Livy Anne Inc.

2011-05-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne Inc. is now open for business! Here are the different services Livy Anne Inc. has to offer:

-"fix dinner"

-"read book"

"puter time" (computer time)

-"tea time" (tea party time)

-"silly" (being silly)

-"funny" (being funny)

Livy Anne Inc's working hours are mainly during the afternoon to evening hours and since the number of hours worked per week is very random, Livy Anne Inc. is not looking to expand at this time. Please see some action shots below.

big smile

SURPRISE!

fish face

falling asleep on the job

monkey face

Kitchen islands are made for...

2011-05-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

running!

and that's just what I'll do.

Kitchen islands are made for running

and that's just what I'll do!

Let me explain. Livy Anne has found that the sole purpose for our kitchen island is to do laps. She is like the energizer bunny! After about 15 minutes of running this morning I got out the camera to record it. Then I went back to what I was doing and came back and watched her finish up her morning laps. You can tell she is pretty wiped by the end of it... I would be too!

Enjoy the morning exercise:)

Dancing Machine

2011-05-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne loves music. Piano music that I play (as long as she can sit on the bench with me while I play), classical music in the car, music she makes with her instruments... basically anything that she can dance to. She has a "mall" piano (small piano) with 4 keys and a "BIG" piano with lots of keys that also plays music and has a microphone to sing into. She has taken to carrying the big piano to whatever room we are in so she can dance to the music. Sometimes she just sways to the music but sometimes she gets really into the music. The other day, I set up the video camera and captured her dancing with me. priceless.

Favorite Phrases

2011-05-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne's new favorite phrases:

"n like it" = I don't like it

"mommy hold you" = hold me mommy

"stuck in there" = I am stuck

"no-kay" = this is NOT okay

It's really bad when she starts putting them all together like this:

"mommy hold you stuck in there n like it" = I need you to hold me because I am stuck in here and I don't like it.

Each day she remembers so many new words. I am amazed at her little brain! She loves copying what I say and she actually uses the words in context very well. For instance, she will wait to say a new word (such as "oh gosh") until she drops something and as she reaches to pick it up she will say "oh gosh."

He is Risen!

2011-05-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Easter is such a wonderful occasion to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! I struggled explaining Easter to Livy Anne this year, so I will try to be more prepared next year :) What she does know: Jesus gave her a wonderful gift of life! Each time we spoke about the meaning of Easter, she wanted to make sure that I remembered that Jesus' mother is Mary.

We attended an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday and had a great time (besides the windy weather and humidity)! Here is a family picture before we began hunting the eggs.

Sweet picture of LA and daddy

being silly

Once the egg hunt began, Livy Anne watched in amazement as everyone around her picked up eggs. Zac encouraged her to do the same but to no avail.

"daddy do it"

assume the safe position: insert fingers in mouth and stand still

"look momma"... wow, look at all those eggs in the basket!

She very carefully inspected the eggs and enjoyed finding out what was inside.

posing with Kate

We also ventured into the petting zoo. She did very well considering that the month before she refused to have anything to do with petting zoos. She petted each animal one time and then was ready to be out of there.
We attended a Saturday evening Easter service and enjoyed spending time with family. We had a perfectly wonderful Easter!

It's tiring being this cool

2011-04-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is how Livy Anne fell asleep in the car the other day... sunglasses and all!

Easter Egg Hunt #1

2011-04-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

We are going to a few Easter egg hunts this year and here are a few pictures from our first one - the Berkeley Easter Egg Hunt. It took place in our favorite park right by our house.

I worked on explaining the egg hunt concept to Livy Anne and what to do when you see an egg. But as you can see from this picture, she did not fully understand the concept.

I see the egg and you want me to do what?

After collecting a few eggs, Livy Anne was more interested in seeing what was in the eggs. So we took a quick break to inspect the eggs.

A successful Easter egg hunt!

As soon as the Easter bunny walked up, she got very excited. She ran up to give him a high five and said "hello bunny!"

Although she doesn't look very happy in this picture, she has continued to talk about the Easter bunny and how she give him a high five and said "hello bunny" and "bye bye bunny" to the BIG bunny. (side note: we have been working on the big/small concept so she likes to specify where people/things fall)

There was also a petting zoo and Livy Anne walked straight up to the sheep, goat, and bunny and started petting them. Just a few months ago, she was very skittish and didn't want to get close but not anymore. She was so proud of herself and I was too! In one of our potty books, after the girl learns to go potty she says "I'm so proud of me!" and so we have taken to saying that when she accomplishes something.... she ran over to me and hugged me and we said "I'm so proud of me!" together. It was a precious moment.

The other highlight was a HORSE RIDE! I thought it was going to be a pony but as you will see from the video below it was a BIG horse. Livy Anne waited patiently in line and as we got closer to the front of the line, I kept wondering if she was really going to ride it. When it was our turn, she was so excited and only showed some trepidation once the horse began walking and she started swaying from side to side. She was doing a nervous little laugh/cry while riding but SHE MADE IT! As soon as she finished the ride, we said "I'm so proud of me!"

Weed-picker

2011-04-15T19:19:00.001-07:00

We have hired a new weed-picker...

Although her hours are extremely limited and she seems easily distracted, she is a definite keeper!

My name is...

2011-04-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am proud to report that Livy Anne is finally able to say her name. Here is a quick overview of this process:

1) she called herself "it" for a while

2) "it" became "me"

3) "me" became "anne"... I think she thought the Livy part was like the. I made up this really silly song about her name and stay with me because it is REALLY complicated. Olivia Anne, little Livy Anne, Olivia Anne, little Livy Anne (each time you say the name you go up a whole step)

4) "anne" became "livy anne thompson" (well, close enough for me!)

He loves me, he loves me not...

2011-04-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

While Zac was doing yardwork over the weekend, we sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Zac brought us a flower from the backyard... it was a beautiful rose and had a wonderful aroma. Actually LA had been admiring that one rose for quite a while and it took up much of our outdoor playtime. She would play and then wander up and smell it over and over again. In all fairness, LA has loved smelling flowers for quite a while. Even in the books we read, if there is a flower on the page we will smell it. Fast-forward to this past weekend, after a few minutes of enjoying the rose she started plucking off the petals and laying them on the table. It made me think of "he loves me, he loves me not"... what in the world is that from anyway???

I would like to set a few things straight:

1) We are playing outside in our pajamas

2) We did eventually change out of the pajamas by lunchtime

3) Her hair always looks like that!

Donuts with Daddy

2011-04-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Last week was "donuts with daddy" at Livy Anne's school and Zac was able to work around his schedule so he could be there. LA was a little teary when she got in "daddy bear's truck" because I usually take her to school. She kept telling me "mon momma" (come on momma). However, she quickly recovered especially with all of the fun happenings in daddy's truck. It is a BIG truck (big = if Zac wouldn't have had the step-runner installed, I would not be able to get in without jumping). Livy Anne likes to sing out "I shakin, I shakin" when the truck is moving.

Anyway, Zac told her that she needed to lead him to her class and she took it very seriously. She pointed the way and led him through the doors, past the desk, around the corner, down the hall, past the choo-choo train mural, down the next hall to her classroom. They went in and ate donuts together with the other dads. Zac said that the other kids ate the donuts very quickly so they could start playing and Livy Anne just leaned up against him and ate her donuts slowly savoring each moment they were together (ok, I added in the last part beginning with savoring). Zac was very glad he was able to do that with her and I am, too! What a sweet memory.

What are you looking at?

2011-04-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

Seriously, what are you looking at?

The other day while we were all at Target, Zac and Livy Anne wandered off and found these awesome sunglasses. It is pretty much Zac's mission in life to get her to wear them and since she knows that (and is ornery) she will barely wear them. This is probably the first and last picture in them... so enjoy:)

Surprise!!

2011-04-09T14:54:00.001-07:00

As Zac welcomed us home from the weekend get-away (see previous post), I walked in the study and found a note saying "since you don't splurge on yourself, I'll do it for you this time. Zac" ... HE BOUGHT ME A MACBOOK PRO!!! I always thought I would be a PC user, but in the 2 weeks since I started using it I am loving it!!!!

Here are LA and Zac posing together using the camera on my NEW computer

Weekend Get-Away

2011-04-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne and I headed out of town for a GIRLS ONLY weekend get-away with Honey, both of Livy Anne's great grandmothers, Aunt Michele and Jordy. We pushed off early on Friday morning and made a stop in Waco for some iced tea. As soon as I handed it over for her to drink, LA declared "my drink." This was a PERFECT time to work on the sharing concept. Once she realized that she would not get any of the drink unless she shared... she started sharing (1 point for momma).

We met everyone for lunch at the Grismill in Gruene. It was a wonderful lunch!

We headed out to walk around the town and we stopped in this old fashioned ice cream shop and shared a lemonade. Refer to the sharing incident above (point 2 for momma).

Livy Anne soaked up ALL of the attention she could. She was pulling out all the tricks in her book... dancing, smiling, singing, numbers, sounds. We had a blast just hanging around and spending time together.

We headed out the next morning for some more shopping. LA decided to meltdown right as this picture was being taken.

Mamaw flipping through a recipe book with Livy Anne.

We ate at a fun Mexican restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately there was some kind of motorcycle/old car rally going on so there were lots of really really loud cars in the street and it really scared LA.

Stopping to smell the flowers

At that dinner that night, LA was once again the star of the show. She was making everyone laugh until she went downhill fast (to be accurate our dinner was taking a really long time and I was even getting a little antsy). At this point in the evening, I had an "anything goes" mindset hence LA getting to dip her hand in the dessert plate:)

Playing on the bed with Grandma Barbara and Mamaw. She was hiding under the pillows and almost fell asleep there.

We had a great weekend including the 4 hour car ride (I was VERY thankful for our portable DVD player)!

Mommy-n-Me Time

2011-04-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, Livy Anne enjoys playing independently. So during the mornings we have a mommy-n-me time. I set up Livy Anne up at her art station to color or play with magnets and I sit down to play the piano. Although we take many "breaks" where we talk about colors, or find the color that was thrown across the room, etc.... I get at least 20 minutes of ALONE piano time. In my world, this is absolutely exquisite. Once LA has reached her time (i.e. begin meltdown sequence), she sits on the bench next to me and we play through WEE SING. Wee Sing is a songbook of children's songs. LA picks the song and I play it on the piano and we sing together. We also change up the lyrics. For instance, today we sang "He's the whole world in his hands" and after 30 times through God had Mickey, the wizard, baby Riley, daddy, Mickey's hat, Charlee, chalk, bubbles, etc. in his hands! It's a great songbook and if you are not musically inclined, it has a CD that you can sing along to... it's a WIN WIN! Pam and Susan did a great job with the book (no, I do not know them, but LA loves to look at their pictures on the back of the book so we are on a first name basis).

Job Update

2011-04-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

At the end of February, Zac resigned his position from Pulte Homes and began employment with Beazer Homes. Zac was hired by Pulte right out of college as a sales associate and then transferred to the Land Department in February 2005. It was a hard and emotional decision to leave Pulte, but it was the right decision to be made.

His new office is just 2 minutes further than his previous office and he gets to take a shorter way that has less stop-n-go traffic so he is a happy camper! He is putting in long hours right so Livy Anne and I are getting creative with early evening time... this includes late afternoon outings to the dry cleaners, grocery store, frozen yogurt store, park, etc. I'm so thankful for daylight savings and getting to play outside until later in the evening.

Zac is really enjoying his new position and we are very thankful for this new opportunity!

1 Year Anniversary

2011-04-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

March 2011 marked my 1 year mark as a piano teacher. I started with 3 students last March and now I teach 10 students. It took me a while to get myself organized between preparing lesson plans, purchasing music, teaching and taking care of Livy Anne.

One highlight of Livy Anne's week is our trip to the music store. They all know her and enjoy playing with her (mainly because it allows me to actually look through the music and purchase more!) I teach piano on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. On Wednesdays, I have a TCU student come to the house to babysit and Livy Anne goes down for her nap talking about "Miss Allison" and all the fun things they get to do together... like riding the train, going on walks, going to the park, reading at Barnes and Noble. On Thursdays, Livy Anne spends the afternoon at Honey's house. One BIG highlight at Honey's house is Livy Anne has her own house! Seriously! It's about 4 ft by 4 ft and it is made of cloth and hangs over a folding table... but it is a house she calls her own. And it even has a hot pink shag rug underneath it!

I am so thankful that I get a taste of both worlds right now - being at home with sweet Livy Anne and teaching piano. The other day, I taught Livy Anne to say "momma teach piano" and she loves saying it! Now she says, "my turn teach piano." Hmmmm, not quite.

Miner?

2011-03-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne sees lots of other girls wearing headbands and bows so she has asked to wear them. This is how Livy Anne prefers to wear this headband... she looks like a miner!

Sometimes the flower comes down and covers up one of her eyes and she looks like a pirate.

Little Momma

2011-03-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Since Livy Anne has started wanting to push her stroller instead of sitting in it, we have started taking "interesting" walks. We just start walking and talking about all the things that God created for us to see and enjoy. I try to bring Charlee but she just does not understand why we are on a walk and we are not doing very much walking. Our stroll takes us about 4 houses one way and 4 houses the other way, but to Livy Anne that is a long way!

This past week Livy Anne loaded up big Mickey and Liam the lion to take out on an afternoon stroll.

Every 20 steps or so, she stopped in front of the stroller to check on them. She is a very good little momma!

Then we rocked them a bit and sung them a few of our favorite songs like ABC, twinkle star, and Oh how I love Jesus. Please note that Livy Anne's hair is especially crazy after her nap this day.

Running and Jumping

2011-03-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, I will hear lots of ruckus coming from Livy Anne's room. This particular instance was during a time out. Since I do not have a video monitor, I never really know what happens in there. So I walked in with a video camera ready to find out once and for all. Of course she got a little shy once I turned on the camera, but you get the idea. Her new favorite phrase, "MY TURN."

Cruisin' Around

2011-03-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Just cruisin' around with Olivia and Monkey

Have you noticed a theme? Livy Anne loves to be surrounded by her stuffed animals. I pack her stuffed animals in around her (by her request) and she usually leaves them there for a long time. Here she is enjoying a ride with big mickey, small bunny and Liam the lion.

"I'm still here, momma!"

Colors

2011-03-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne is getting very good at her colors. The list sounds something like this:

red, yellow, blue, green, orange, TCU. Wait, did you just say TCU? Yes, in this house TCU is a synonym for purple!

Bonding Time

2011-03-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Livy Anne and Charlee has become very good friends. This is how I found them the other day....

I quickly explained how Charlee is not allowed in her crib, so she cannot be in Charlee's crib. Since then she has tried to invite Charlee into her crib several times.

Dances

2011-03-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Since we talk about Mickey and the Wizard, Mary and the Elk, and Donald and Daisy so much (if this is confusing to you, please read the prior post), I choreographed a few dances. Since I recorded this we have added a few moves but you get the picture.

Once she finished the dances, she starts singing the end of the Olivia theme song. Notice how she hits the high note. Priceless.

Mickey and the Wizard

2011-03-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Let me start from the beginning. Lolly and Pops introduced Livy Anne to Fantasia 2000. In case you do not know, Fantasia 2000 is a set of animated stories set to music. Livy Anne instantly fell in love with the Sorcerer's Apprentice because it has MICKEY in it. There is another story that she has nicknamed "Mary and the Elk." It has a woman in it who has long hair (so LA calls her Mary - i.e. Jesus' mother - who apparently has long hair.... the woman on the Starbucks logo is also Mary). Her last favorite is a version of Noah's Ark with Donald and Daisy Duck. Anyway, she came home talking on and on about all of these stories.

So the next time we were in Dallas we all watched Mickey and the Wizard together.

Even Riley enjoyed the action

laughing with Uncle Dala

Side note: later that day we went for a walk and Riley fell asleep in her stroller. We brought her in the house and let her keep sleeping UNTIL Livy Anne walked by and saw that she did not have her paci in her mouth (GASP) and she woke her up to put it back in her mouth.

Playing while LaLa was performing her piano music

LA showing Riley how Mickey uses his hands to make magic

the girls

Thankfully, my parents sent me home with a copy of Fantasia 2000 so we have been able to enjoy the stories at our house. Since Livy Anne could watch this over and over and over, we have a limit of watching it only 2 times per day.

The next time Lolly came over she brought a wizard Mickey over for LA. Since then the "big Mickey" has rarely left her side.

Livy Anne is onto me...

2011-03-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

In an effort to keep our small house de-cluttered, I have taken to storing some of Livy Anne's larger toys in the garage and then switching them out every few weeks. Well, Livy Anne KNOWS MY TRICKS! Unless we have an extra 30 minutes to spare so she can play with all the toys, I have to be very strategic about when I open up the garage.

She is singing and dancing to the ABC song in this picture

more dancing

giving me a "why are you hiding all of these wonderful things from me" lookSide note: Our house is much enjoyable with less toys around (minus the play food that ends up EVERYWHERE no matter how much I try to keep it organized!)