Stereotyping

About five minutes passed before I realized I hadn't heard a peep from little Olivia. I looked around and found her happily sitting on the couch and peeling an onion she swiped from the pantry. She couldn't have been more proud when I caught her in the act.
I hate to stereotype my kids but Isabella is turning out to be your "typical" oldest child. Of course she isn't perfect but she's definitely responsible, independent, mature and pretty darn obedient. Olivia on the other hand at least at 16 months is proving to be the "wild child." She's already been known to "bully" the older boys at day care and today when we were at the museum, I had to watch her like a hawk because at any given moment, she'd just take a nice hard swipe to any kid, young or old who came near anything she was playing with. The one thing about kids is that no matter how many kids the same two people create, they will all be different.

Another day...

I really do love staying home with these little munchkins.
We started off the day by fighting the Philly traffic and taking Jason to school, he's such a lucky guy....getting schauffered around town
We then made it to our appointment at a potential preschool for Isabella which I really loved and so did she.
We came home for a quick bite and then went to the park. We were there for over two hours and the girls just had a great time. Olivia's favorite thing was to test me and put her foot out over the tallest platform and act like she was going to step down about 6 feet to the bare ground underneath. She definitely knows how to get my attention.
We came home so that Olivia could nap. While she napped Isabella and I played and read books. I also managed to clean out my car while Isabella played with the little girl across the street. We then topped the night off by meeting friends for ice cream. On our way home, Isabella said "Mommy, I want to go home and watch football." This is the same girl who insisted on wearing her princess costume tonight to the ice cream shop.

Olivia 16 months

Olivia's personality grows with each passing day. She is turning out to be quite the character. For the first year she was just the sweetest little thing you'd ever met. Well, she's still sweet but definitely has a feisty streak.

She's quickly learned that whenever she does something wrong like hit her sister that she immediately gives her a kiss as if that's her free pass and the wrong is made right.

She loves putting things in her mouth that she knows she isn't supposed to and running the other way. She started this trick several months ago, but the game of chase never gets old.

She's obsessed with buckling herself into her stroller, trying to put a zipper together, and putting lids on containers.

She also loves just throwing herself off the tallest slide at the park and making sure that I'm nowhere in sight because I just might slow her down.

She's definitely a mama's girl. I'm her favorite, make no mistake of it. I think she's going to have a harder time with the newborn than Isabella did at that age.

She loves her pacifier. Her favorite thing is to have one pacifier in her mouth while holding another.

She loves to sing and dance. She knows most of the hand motions to the nursery songs I've taught her, so cute to watch.


In the pic above, we're making homemade play dough. The girls really loved it, although I need to find a better recipe.

Bear hug

We had a 3 hour layover in Dallas on our way to Corpus Christi so we spent a lot of time running around the airport, eating and playing. We bought a few delicious treats at this candy store and the girls could not get enough of this bear. They both immediately ran up to him and just showered him with hugs and kisses. It was so cute.

The Beach

I love this pic of my mom with the girls. She spent a lot of time running around with them and playing in the waves. They were having a blast. I'm glad the nearest beach is only 45 minutes away from us.

Biting off more than I can chew

Gosh....I seem to keep doing that.
I went to check out the garden plot that I've rented in our neighborhood. Right now it's one very large piece of land with a lot of dirt. My seedlings are doing pretty well, but they are getting very large and quickly outgrowing their tiny peat pots. I need to get them in the ground soon, but not before I work the soil and get it ready for the plants which is not going to be a small feat. It will take a lot of compost and a lot of trips with the wheelbarrow. I also need to plan out the space and decide what to plant and where.
At least my pharmacology class will end soon, first week of May to be exact. Although, I just registered to take the CCRN exam so I need to break out the books for that soon. One thing at a time....

Abuelita

After looking through my pics of our visit, I realize that I didn't get a photo of mom with both of the girls. Sad. Olivia had fallen fast asleep in the car when we took this pic.

Our Texas visit

Lytle and I and of course the girls spent a long weekend visiting my mom in Texas. We had a great time and I think that the girls had an even better time. They loved the beach and Olivia couldn't get enough of the water. I think she's half fish because she right away wanted to be let go so that she could dunk her head into the water and swim away.
We also enjoyed lunch at Rudy's which took me back to my days in Austin. I'd forgotten just how much bigger everything is in Texas and how long it takes to get from place to place because of the sprawl. Although, I definitely miss the southern hospitality and friendliness of the people.

Fun in the Sun

The time of year when every window and door in the house is open and the girls are running around in their swimsuits all day has arrived! Today a friend of Isabella's came over to play and they turned the sandbox into a mud pit. It was so fun to watch them play and just truly enjoying the weather, getting dirty and getting wet. Olivia had her 15 mos well check today and got about 6 shots (slight exaggeration) so she was fast asleep and missed out on all the fun. I've been lazy about taking pics, but maybe I'll do better this weekend when we're in Texas visiting my mom and enjoying the beach.

Easter Bunny

We enjoyed a pretty low key Easter weekend. The weather here was unbelievably beautiful so we spent most of the time hanging out outdoors, going to the park, playing with water toys and just enjoying time together. Lytle and Darwin were also here to partake in the Easter festivities. I put together Easter baskets that were simple and not loaded with candy. The girls had a fun time opening all of the eggs to find a surprise inside. They were so busy with their baskets that they I couldn't get them to look at the camera for a quick shot.

The Giggle Gals

Lytle and I spent a summer working at Arby's together when we were in high school. We got really good at selling the best roast beef sandwiches in town and not to mention, the delicious curly fries. After a few weeks of working together, our coworkers affectionately nicknamed us the "giggle gals" because only we found incredible humor in our work environment, from both the coworkers and the customers. We would just spend time giggling and giggling and really having such a great time doing what many people would think is just awful work.
Last night while I was doing the dishes the girls were in the family room and I could just hear them giggling and giggling. It wasn't just a superficial giggle, but a deep, resounding belly laugh. They went on for a long time so I had to come over and see what was so funny. Turns out, Isabella thought it would be funny to sip on her sippy cup and spit out the water on Olivia's head. Apparently, Olivia thought it was just as funny.
The girls are just so much fun. I love watching them become better friends every day. Of course there is the occasional spat over not sharing, etc. But each morning, Olivia and I walk into Isabella's room and she's so excited to see Olivia, giving her tons of kisses and they are just so excited to be together.
I hope their coworkers nickname them "giggle gals" one day.