A.J. and Olivia tried their best to raise the roof on their gingerbread house, but found the walls too much an obstacle in terms of their irresistible deliciousness and structural unsoundness. Apparently the candy house was not the only thing falling to pieces on this day – Olivia’s expression in the last picture of this sequence is just priceless.
Forget what you heard about Jack being nimble, our dexterous darling puts him to shame. Whether she’s got her nose to the ground or practicing what can only be described as moon salutations – back flat on the ground, both feet pulled to the face, and butt in the air – Olivia’s really devoted to what she calls “baby yoga.” Here she does some enlightened reading.
Over at G’s house, our mad food scientist created her version of holiday cookie batter using only sprinkles and sugar.
It’s fair to say that Olivia made quite an impression at the Children’s
You’ve got to hand (foot?) it to her – she does make good use of the time she spends in the car. The casting away of socks and shoes while riding in her car seat is Olivia’s latest and greatest feat (feet?).
Our cookie monster bookended her day with these sweet treats – the top two pictures are from the “Festival of Trees” event we attended in the morning, the bottom one from the pre-Thanksgiving farmers’ market we got out to in the evening.
Olivia made like a nutcracker and became part of the giant Christmas tree’s ornamentation.
Olivia demonstrates an incredible act of flexibility, perhaps not so incredible for the toddler set, but certainly so for her unbending parents.
Our karate kid decided to add a splash of training wipes to the walls of our front room. When we asked her what she was doing, Olivia shot back, “Homework!”
Olivia discovered chocolate nirvana in the form of brownie mix from a wooden spoon. She kept hounding us for, what she called, “a little tastee.”
I was attempting to fold some laundry this evening when Hurricane Olivia tore through my work, making the task of matching up socks more difficult than it already is. In a brief moment of calm, my perfect storm grabbed one of her shirts, peered through its neckhole, and declared herself a chicken.
Sweet Potato Eye – a one-act, one-scene drama/comedyTime: Seven-thirty in the morning
Place: The mattress in Olivia’s room
Principal characters: Olivia and Mommy
Setting: The messy set suggests an active toddler’s room on the second floor of an older home. Pink with flowers is the main color and theme. The room contains an unused toddler bed and rocking chair off to the side. Much of the floor is taken up by a futon mattress, which is where the child sleeps and where the opening (and only) scene unfolds. Toys, books, and clothes are scattered throughout the room.
Act One – Scene One
(Sunlight shines through the window shades. Olivia, a dreaming child, stirs herself awake. She sports some sleeper pajamas. Looking over, she sees Mommy lying beside her on the mattress. Mommy has not gotten much sleep because Olivia tossed and turned throughout the night. Olivia lets out a yawn. She turns to face Mommy.)
Mommy (chuckling and needing clarification as to what she has just heard): "What did you say, sweetie?"
Olivia (deadpanned): "You have a sweet potato in your eye."
Olivia exited the polling place in a secretive mood. She didn’t want to reveal the candidates for whom she voted.
At one point, while Olivia and I were waiting outside for her mother to fulfill a fundamental duty of our democracy, an elderly woman approached us and playfully asked Olivia if she had voted. Olivia indicated that she hadn’t but explained that her “Mommy went to go on a boat.”
