Lady Godiva Rides Again

An instant classic!

O Screams for Ice Cream

Olivia is back on her ice cream habit. Here are two recent indulgences. She demands seconds and begs for thirds. Our New Year’s resolution? Convincing our daughter that frozen yogurt is “ice cream.”

Happy Family

We’ve noticed that for whatever reason, the phrase “Happy Family” shows up a lot in Chinese restaurants, whether it names the place or a dish (often vegetarian) on its menu. Here Olivia and mama do their best imitation of a Chinese restaurant.

Extreme Close-Up

Olivia shows that although she has not yet grasped basic camera skills, she’ll go cross-eyed and backwards to capture the best shot.

Santa Baby

Our little one must have been good this year – her pile of presents threatened to overtake our tree by Christmas morn. She got a castle set, at least four Elmos, a number of books, and most excitingly, a plastic pony. I was not as fortunate. Aside from all the nice gifts I received, I also got a nasty case of the stomach flu. I spent the entire day wrapped in blankets.

Sweet-Tooth Fairy

Olivia couldn’t resist the pepperminty trips down Candy Cane Lane. She repeatedly raided our stockings and pillaged the candy dish in pursuit of the curved confections.

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day

Beni and I have worked out a sleep exchange – she lets me snore away when Olivia awakes in the night, and in return I let her sleep in when Olivia’s ready to face the day. I think it must be a better deal for me because Beni spends most mornings trying to convince me that it’s Bring Your Daughter to Work Day – again. This is from a recent office visit by our pink-clad, pigtailed princess.

Don We Now Our Gay (i.e., Rainbowed) Apparel

An exuberant Olivia and her ebullient mama deck the halls with their colorful clothing. This year, our ruddy-cheeked daughter is hoping to beat out Rudolph, the reigning (rein-ing?) champ, in the Reddest Facial Feature contest.

Tree Bien

Sleigh rides, Santa pics, Christmas music, crafts, and a chocolate fountain (which now sits atop my “Reason for the Season” list) – all free of charge at the local pavilion. It’s a wonderful life, indeed. Olivia, while hesitant at first, eventually got crafty wit’ it.

Keeping the Más in Christmas

“More, more” is O’s favorite phrase and baby sign. She says it a lot when she’s eating, especially when declaring war on the Christmas Chili (vegetarian chili featuring red and green peppers). Here she’s capping her meal with yet another cornbread muffin.

I Saw Mommy Dissing Santa Claus

Bundled buddies A.J. and Olivia waited patiently for Santa to make his way down the parade route, but in the end, their moms couldn’t wait out the cold. Fortunately, St. Nick puts in hours at the local mall.

O’s Christmas Tree, O’s Christmas Tree…

…How steadfast are your branches! (Also acceptable if you were singing along: How are thy leaves so verdant?) Whether your branches strong or leaves green, nothing ushers in the holiday season like the ornamentation of the Christmas tree. Olivia, apprenticing under G in Yuletide merriment, caught on to the decorations-on-tree concept quickly.

Mirror, Mirror...

…mirror, mirror, mirror, mirror all around, who’s the fairest in the town? My new favorite photo – Olivia practicing her saunter-crawl down the hexagonal runway at the Children’s Discovery Museum.

Flat Top Girl

In response to this era of rampant commercialism, we vowed to keep this space free of endorsements/advertisements. Until now. We just can’t help ourselves. Go to Flat Top Grill now. It’s too yummy not to. Olivia, pictured above in one of their nine convenient locations, considers it her second home.

Baby's Papa's Mama

G-Randi was the only member of my immediate family present at our Normal Thanksgiving. My dad is currently a UN volunteer in Vietnam, where he abstains from turkey meat and other avian food products, and my brother was on call in Detroit, where the professional football team plays like a bunch of turkeys.

Jackets Required...

…for a Snazzy Thanksgiving. Olivia proves her dapperness ranges from diapers to decorous dinner duds. No Tofurkey this year – Beni made her own version. G-Unit (Grandmas Randi and Beni Sr.) had Beni’s back preparing the fixings while I entertained our lil’ butterball.

Mum & Da

Olivia occasionally gets confused when pointing out her parents in photos/videos. She once thought Mario Lopez (Slater from "Saved by the Bell") was her daddy. This week’s misjudgments easily take the cake though. The King of Pop and a Sesame Street character were identified as her mom and dad.

Neigh-Neigh

At the mall today, Olivia circled the food court several times yelling “Nay Nay.” Not seeing Hawaii’s state bird or the Brazil’s favorite NBA son in our vicinity, I was stumped. As if she sensed my confusion, she grabbed my hand and led me to the merry-go-round. Of course, it suddenly made sense. Except for the fact that she chose a zebra.

The Thin Line between Happy and Sad

Our temper tantrum-throwing toddler is a tornadic tempest (or tempestuous tornado). She’s also the same child who laughs in four distinctive modes (a giggle, laugh, chortle, and guffaw), smiles incessantly, and gives out hugs and kisses for days on end. She’s all peaks and valleys; very little in between. The above picture captures the midstream transition of Baby Jekyll from Miss Hyde.

Havin' a Ball

Because O’s tall for her age, Coach always plays her at center for her Bloomington Baby Ballers team. However, she recently babbled that she’d rather play point guard – her dad’s old position. These days, you’ll see her working on her crossover dribble more than her low-post moves.

Global Warning

Harsh hurricanes in the Gulf. Tumultuous tornadoes in the Midwest. Tsuper-nasty tsunamis in Asia. Nary a transition from fall weather to winter – this morning, snowflakes and biting cold greeted my newspaper-retrieving behind. Mother Nature is fightin’ mad. Olivia, pictured here preparing for bed, is obviously ready to take on the peevish, more acrimonious Mama.

Lee-La the Ree-Da

A babbler from birth, Olivia is building her vocabulary with a steady diet of book. Ian Falconer’s Olivia series is a family favorite. The books also helped mark a recent milestone. Aside from her disyllabic variations of cracker, backpack, mama, baby, water, Elmo, AJ, and oatmeal, our little girl just added another one – the name she shares with the literary pig. It comes out as Lee-La. We’ll keep you posted when she adds the other syllables.

I Dream of...Cleanie?

Here are the requisite baby-in-bath pictures. I love how O dreamily peers out the corners of her eyes in the first one. The second photo proves her versatility – she often bathes without clothes on. How about that mop of hair?!

Fall Gal

To the tireless champions for child labor laws – your Charles Dickenses and your Keating-Owen Child Labor Acts of 1916 – we sincerely apologize. We are only trying to encourage, not exploit, our daughter’s talents. Are we to be blamed for her raking abilities?

Au Revoir, Aunt Liz

Dear Aunt Liz,

Thank you for all the time you spent with me over the past 17 months. I am lucky to have an aunt like you. I will miss you lots. So will my mom and dad. Have a safe drive to California. I can't wait to see you again over the holidays!

Love,

Your niece Olivia

Piglet Pen

O also got dressed up for the great Halloween tradition of...going to the zoo! Accompanied by G and Mama, Piglet found great joy roaring at the lions. No word whether she managed to get some candy from them.

Boyz & the Hood

From left to right: Froggy Aiden, Batman Logan, Monkey-in-the-Middle A.J., Busy Bee Owen, and Pig-by-a-Blanket Olivia. The picture has a real Anne Geddes feel to it...and is far less disturbing. As you can see, the stinker insisted on going sans hood the whole night.

The Next Kobayashi?

Olivia, shown here working her grill, recently wolfed down two soy dogs in a matter of minutes. We immediately warned the Doyen of Dogs not to rest on his laurels.

Sumo Baby

O giving props to her one-quarter Japanese heritage. We swore her milkaholic self was headed to sumodom after her first year. After a robust start, O’s weight has tapered off somewhat. She’s currently in the 50th percentile for her weight…whatever that means. New parents, don’t get too caught up with where your baby ranks (unless she’s in the 95th percentile for head size and height). Mensa and WNBA, here she comes!

Merry X-Max?

I don't know if Max is ever merry. We've thought about giving him doggie anti-depressants...but Tom Cruise talked us out of it. This is a picture from a couple of years ago...some of you remember the creepy holiday cards we sent out from this sitting. We promise to never subject you to that again...thank goodness we now have a baby's cuteness to exploit. Today is cause for celebration though. Happy 7th Birthday, Max!

Our Lil' Punkin

Beni and "Punks" (Olivia) visited a local pumpkin patch last weekend. This patch is actually a winery that offers delicious wine slushies. Olivia spent a lot of time trying to pick up the pumpkins, as she does with most heavy objects. She once tried to pick up my head, as well as a small dog. She loved the animals and zipped through a maze of hay.