Milestones

As Olivia approaches three we are amazed at how much she understands and is able to express. She has the best personality. She understands emotions good or bad, offers sympathy, and has her own sense of humor. She loves to laugh, and most of the time is in a great mood. She gets grouchy when she is sleepy, hungry, or sick. Thankfully her last two molars are in, and she is finely feeling better from all of the pollen coming early this year. She is a girly girl. She likes to have her nails painted, and is into wearing a skirt or dress. She loves her jelly sandals and her "pretty shoes with the flowers and the butterflies." Pretty shoes are simply her pair of brown mary janes. Right now she has a preference for her momma or mom as she calls me, but she will soon change and be in a daddy phase. She loves to help us cook, clean, garden, or take a walk. She will tell you that she has been working very hard at _ (cleaning, yard work, etc...). She helps with feeding the dogs and giving them their daily treats. She is potty trained and I mean big girl panties except for nap time and bedtime. She has been trained for about 3 weeks and is doing great. No accidents! She is actually staying dry during nap, and has woken us up on two different occasions in the middle of the night to use the restroom. I forgot to put a pull-up on her one day this weekend for her nap and she stayed completely dry for the entire 3 1/2 hour nap. BIG GIRL! She likes doing "projects" at her desk which include coloring, decorating with stickers, and stamping. She is learning to use scissors at school, and is a lefty like her Papaw. She can carry on a conversation with us about her day or what she wants to do later in the day or on the weekend and uses complete sentences. She still doesn't quite understand talking on the phone to relatives. She is able to state her full name and tell you that it starts with an "O." She also knows that my name starts with a "J" and Roberts with an "R." She recognizes some letters and wants to know what sound they make. She is able to draw a circle, name colors, and name shapes. She is learning to dress herself with a little assistance of telling her where the tag is and that it goes in the back. She know right vs. left when it pertains to her.
She is growing and changing so much. We are always amazed and surprised by things she will say or things that she knows that we didn't realize she knew and we may not have taught her. She constantly has us moving and on our toes, but we love every minute of it-even when she is grumpy.

What I have learned with home improvement projects.

I'm not sure if it is Spring fever, the weather, or a combination of the two but we have been busy bees around here. It started off with me wanting to get a little painting done. I have been itching to paint every inch of this house and get rid of the builders grade flat paint which shows every scratch, speck of dirt, and little finger prints. I painted the dining room and half bath this past fall, but never managed to motivate to tackle any of the other rooms. I finally picked out colors for Olivia's bedroom and bathroom. Two weekends ago I did her bathroom-including the ceiling and skylight. This past weekend I painted her bedroom. Both turned out great, and we are very pleased.While I was working on the bathroom Robert was doing a little caulking in our master bath. About 6 months after we moved into this house we started noticing water on the sheet rock outside of the shower door. Remember our house was empty for ~1 1/2 years before we moved in. At that time RJ recaulked the shower door thinking it was the root of the water issue. I then primed and painted the water stained area and all was great with the world until a few months ago when we started noticing water again. On said weekend of painting and caulking we were talking about the water staining. He thought it was a leaky shower door...I thought it was something much bigger. We both agreed that the only way to find out was to rip the shower out. And that's how the demo started. I have never seen my husband so happy. He missed his calling as a demo man. So here are things we have learned and or said to each other over the past two weeks of home improving.

1. Really? I can take a sledge hammer to the bathroom?
2. If this goes on for months you have to promise to hire someone.
3. I'm so tired my eyelids hurt.
4. I can barely lift my coffee cup.
5. Die tile! Die!
6. I'm pretty sure I just had a heat stroke painting the skylight.
7. I don't need no stinkin' painters tape. I have OCD
8. Mom, how your shower so strange?
9. Mom, I working hard too.
10. I yike my pink room.
11. Holy crap dude. I'm glad you weren't in here for the demo. The mold would have totally grossed you out.
12. Happy early anniversary baby. Looks like we bought ourselves a new washing machine.
13. What's our third thing? You know things come in threes.
14. How can you paint and not get anything on you?
15. Let's go back to work so we can rest.

The painted big girls room. 

 The gutted shower.

 The remaining baby blue tile around the garden tub. Awaiting demo.

 Where else do you sleep when your room is being turned into a princess room? Mommy and Daddy's bed of course.

We are so glad the shower met the sledge hammer. We had multiple areas of compromised tile and the shower pan resulting in water in areas where it shouldn't have been. Now all the yuck and mold is out. Waiting on quotes before we put everything back together.

A little catching up to do.

Life has been busy, and "thing" have gotten in the way of keeping an updated blog. Olivia says or does something cute, and I try to make a mental note so I can add it on here. Of course, as soon as I sit to type I can't remember a thing. February flew by. We have enjoyed some beautiful weather, wonder time with friends, and have started a few home improvement projects. Our life over the past month is probably easier to sum up in list form.

1. I went to a conference the first weekend of February. I am now trained to place and change prosthesis for laryngectomee patients.
2. The conference was followed by me having the flu and missing work. Followed by Robert having the flu and missing work.
3. Olivia celebrated her friend, Evan's, 2nd birthday.
4. I painted Olivia's bathroom and bedroom.
5. Robert ripped out our master bathroom.
6. Olivia is finally potty trained and wearing big girl panties.
7. Olivia's two year molars (the last set of baby teeth) are finally coming in on the top. BOTH sides=FUN!

A few pictures over the last few weeks:

Since riding this powerwheel at the birthday party Olivia has been asking for a Dora cart. On the way to school the other day this was the conversation:
O: Mom I have a question for you.
JJ: What is it?
O: How come Papaw hasn't brought me a Dora cart?
JJ: I don't know baby, but we can call him later and ask.
O: I call him now.
JJ: Sweetie Papaw is at work.
O: He at work making money for my Dora cart?

Papaw has been informed that he'd better come up with a Dora cart in some shape, form, or fashion.