Father's Day

"The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, 'Daddy, I need to ask you something,' he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan." -Garrison Keillor
We do not have a son, but the above is otherwise 100% true. Oh, and Robert loves Garrison Keillor.

From the first moment they met and every moment in between they share a love that no one else will ever know or understand. Whether it's a Monday morning and we are rushing to get out of the door, or a lazy Saturday morning with not a care in the world Olivia is the pride in her daddy's eye. He kisses and doctors boo-boos, makes the best mac and cheese upon request, gives awesome piggy back rides, plays dollhouse and dress-up, and tucks her in with a hug and kiss every night. Olivia is blessed to have such an awesome daddy, and I am blessed to have such an awesome husband.

We celebrated Father's Day with breakfast in bed.

Then Miss Olivia and I exited the house so daddy could have some "him" time. We attempted to go to the jumpy place-but it was closed, we attempted to paint pottery-but it was closed, we even attempted a pedicure-but the nail salon was closed. We attempted Lake Ella-and it was open with lots of people, ducks, turtles, dogs, and humidity.

We also attempted Dunkin' Doughnuts-they were open and full of chocolate treats, juice, and iced coffee for mommy.

Surgery # 3

Our sweet baby experienced her third surgery on June 17th. After repeated ear and sinus infections and a slew of out of the air high fevers for days we along with her pediatrician and ENT doctors decided it was time for ear tubes and an adenoidectomy.

Waiting on the doctor, and no she isn't scared. That is her fake smile.

Enjoying all of the juice she could possibly want.

The hardest part for her was not having her glass of milk first thing in the morning. The hardest part for us was walking her back to the sterile area and handing her off to the nurse. Surprisingly there were no tears, but there were a few pouty lips going around. She was in surgery for approximately 40 minutes. The ENT doc informed us that her adenoids were huge and gross and it was a good thing we decided to have then removed. They only allow one parent in recovery, and I was the chosen parent since she was in a "mommy phase" at the time. She was sleeping so peacefully until she saw me, and then the whaling began and continue for the next hour. She hated the IV, and that was the first thing she said to me was that she wanted it out. Following recovery we went to her room where they monitored her for the next two hours, and then we were discharged home.

Our regimen for the next week included pain meds every four hours, antibiotics three times a day, and drops in her ears twice a day. We quickly learned that Lortab has the opposite effect on our daughter which resulted in an over active hyper as crap 3 year old and two exhausted parents. The Lortab was replaced with Tylenol and Ibuprofen ASAP. Robert and I felt like we had a newborn again. We were taking turns with night duty and setting alarms to get up and administer meds. Miss Olivia enjoyed the attention, and endless icecream and popsicles. She returned to school on Tuesday, but we had to continue the pains meds until Friday. She goes back to the ENT tomorrow for her two week follow-up.

Popsicle # ??? we lost count.

Bama Baseball

Alabama baseball was in town the first of June playing in the regionals. We were excited to attend an Alabama sporting event. They are few and far between in this area and since welcoming Peanut. Olivia and I enjoyed the evening with family friends while Robert enjoyed a chance to catch up with a friend. The evening was a little shaky thanks to severe weather causing multiple rain delays. Alabama was scheduled to play at 6:00 p.m., but the delay pushed the start time back to 7:30p.m./Olivia's bedtime. We hung in there for a few innings, but I was done with bribery i.e chick fil a, gummies, goldfish, pretzels, and dippin'dots, and we headed to the house. Olivia had a blast. She loved dancing with the music, and said multiple "Roll Tides" and "Go Bamas."

The beginning of the bribery with gummy fruit snacks.

Something tells me I will see this look again in about 12 years.

Daddy's Bama Girls

A little visit from a man named Papa, and awesome Uncle Kyle and Aunt La

We were over the moon to learn that Robert's dad, a.k.a. Papa was coming for a visit Memorial Day weekend all the way for North Carolina. We were also lucky enough to have a visit from Uncle Kyle and Aunt La from Tuscaloosa. Olivia is more than excited to meet her new cousin due December 23, 2011. She doesn't quite understand why the baby isn't here, and seems to believe that Santa is going "big" this Christmas. The weekend was spent catching up with family (which was long over due), relaxing, eating, a little swimming, and more eating.

Playing dollhouse with Papa.

Enjoying a birthday party and a little face painting.

Pretty butterfly

Pool time.

Pool side with Uncle Kyle.

New Beginnings

We were once told by a wise woman that no parent wants someone else to help raise their child, but in today's time sometimes it is necessary. That same woman also said that she would love our child like she was one of her own, and that we were "co-parenting"  in this thing called life. That sweet lady loved, nurtured, and protected our sweet little girl for the first two and a half years of her life. Robert and I then decided that it was time for Olivia to join a "school."

She began Immanuel Baptist Church Preschool last August. The first month was horrible. The crying began as soon as she woke up and realized it was a school day. Poor Robert was the one to drop off, and subsequently the one to pry Olivia's little hands off of his leg or from around his neck. She/We finally transitioned and all was right with the world.

Our sweet little world had a bit of a hiccup a few weeks ago when we learned that our preschool would be closing at the end of June. It's a long story, but the church had voted and decided to close the preschool. Here comes another transition YIKES! So, as of June 1st we have started a new preschool. Olivia loves it! There has not been a single morning of whining, crying, or leg/neck clinging. As a matter of fact when I take her she all but jumps from my arms to go into the classroom and see her friends and teachers. Without a single doubt we have her previous teachers to thank for helping her with the transition. Instead of focusing on the negative that the school was closing they discussed the positive of going to a "new big girl school."

She still misses her "brown school" and asks about her teachers, and makes comments about something they would like or say. She loves her "butterfly school" and is enjoying her new adventure.