Signage

Hopefully I will make it through this post before Antz gets home. Olivia is upset with me today because instead of our usual flash cards *made by Daddy*

I changed up the curriculum by reading/spelling words from this book to Liv

She was not at all amused and has been fussy all day. I am only thinking of giving her a head start to win the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee!

So I stumbled across this adorable Bloggess from New Orleans. I am in love with her sign idea of 15 street destinations that have special meaning to her. I am thinking of re-vamping our menu chalkboard and creating a favorite destinations sign of our own. My only issue is where will it live? *we have run out of wall space in this house*.

My sign would most likely include:
1. Delmas Terrace *the street of our first apartment together*
2. Topanga Canyon *the street of the beach we got married on*
3. Dexter *our current street*
4. the street of the house I would love to buy
5. California *the street of the hospital Liv was born*
6. Atwater Village *the neighborhood we hope to move to/we spend alot time here*

I have to think longer for the rest of the streets/destinations. Sadly, Liv has been waking up from her nap screaming her head off for no apparent reason.

So once again I'm playing the waiting game with Best Buy. It seems the iPhone 4 in white may be available this Saturday, so I am going to line up early. I doubt it will be there but I need to get Aimee's birthday present *a new Samsung phone* anyway. Her birthday is Sunday but we don't have any plans with her yet. We are bringing her gifts to her house but she doesn't want to celebrate, she's bummed she's turning 35. She asked Antz 2 years ago to paint her and Holden as Madonna & Child so he finished it last weekend.

I think it's pretty rad except Holden isn't as plump as the painting depicts. I know she'll love it. She already has a painting by him of the Mona Lisa with her face on it and a couple of Van Gogh's he painted for her.

Well, I have to make this fussy baby happy. Tomorrow I hope to post the bedroom makeover I've been working on in Photoshop.

This is what I get for being greedy!

Haha, today I somehow managed to behave like I'm someone's mother. I got up around 9am and fed my Liv. As I was feeding her I kept noticing how much lint she had in her hair. Rather than give her a usual sponge bath, I felt quite confident, so I decided to give her a bath in her big tub *all by myself*. She did great, I didn't have any trouble except carrying the tub from the bathroom to the kitchen I splashed a bit. After her bath I put her in the swing and cleaned up a little. She slept for so long I was able to take a quick shower! *Victory* When I got dressed I was hungry so we went to Subway and for the first time I wore Liv in her BabyHawk! It was super easy but the straps are too long and the drag on the ground which make them dirty *Boo*. When we got home I was starved so I ate half of my footlong sandwich and a couple of bites of the other half and huge cup of mango juice. Well, now I regret my greediness because my tummy is killing me. I have been on the phone with Best Buy for the past hour trying to do two things; figure out how to preorder a white iPhone 4 and fix my online account. The problem is that my online account has 1 item in my cart but when I click my cart it says I have no items. Noone can seem to figure out how to get the *ghost* item out my cart and no luck preordering the iPhone. I seriously need to buy a new battery for my laptop. This one is completely dead so if my cord falls out *which it does all the time* my computer shuts off. At least I wrote out my thank you cards today. When Antz gets home he's going to print the christening photos to send with the thank you's. We also need to take Liv's week 7 pic. Yesterday Antz brought home a present for Liv from his co-worker, Mia!! I was so surprised, it's a precious silver antique teapot with an "O" on it. I love it!! I think it's way too fancy to use for tea parties but if Liv wants to she can as long as we don't tarnish it. We have another weekend of no-plans but I'm sure we'll either go to his Mom's house or pick her up. We decided to ask his sister to watch Olivia on August 1st but I feel really guilty about it. Antz gave me the list of movies playing at Paramount next month: Twilight-Eclispe, Get Him to the Greek, and The Kids are Alright. I want to see all of these but I can't leave Liv for that much :(
I can't believe Keith hasn't invited us to his house yet, *well, I can*. He is remodeling his kitchen and I'm sure he wants to wait until it's finished before he has folks over. Every year he has a pool party and he cooks.
Last years pool party

Well, maybe some time in August will be awesome. I am on the lookout for a new cardigan and a wrap/scarf. Here are my prospects:
Nordstrom Tissue Weight Cashmere Wrap

Anthropologie - Outdoor Cafe Cardigan

I really love both of these however, they both seem too thin for the purpose.

Chicken and Waffles

Seriously, whoever came up with this delicious combination is a GENIUS!! Yesterday my Mom came over and we went to Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles for lunch. So yum!

We drove past Melrose because my Mom is looking for a cowboy hat but she said the store was out of business. Olivia was a dream yesterday, she slept during the car ride and lunch and when she got home my Mom and I gave her a bath. Antz took these pics of her on Sunday, they are hilarious! She looks like a mini breakdancer.

 

 
































































I can't wait until she can actually fit her shoes. We are planning on getting her Adiddas bronzed. Dinner for Schmucks is playing at Paramount on August 1st, so we are going and asking Antz sister Debra to babysit for us. I am so nervous *and guilty* about leaving her *bummer* but I have to do it some time, I suppose. I feel so bad I haven't been able to work on my summer bucket list but so many things she can't do yet because she's too little. I would LOVE to take her to a Hollywood Bowl concert but it's too crowded and noisy for her. We haven't been back to the Farmers Market but we may go this Sunday. The easiest thing on my list is the hardest for us to complete because although Antz get's off early on Fridays, I have been busy running errands and we usually end up eating out.

1. Take Olivia to at least one summer *outdoor* concert
2. Learn the lyrics to an entire April March song *Working on Mon Petit Ami*
3. Buy an inflatable pool and play with Liv in it *bought a float, still need to get the pool*
4. Eat outdoors every Friday *2 Fridays down*
5. Become a regular at the Montrose Farmers Market *Sundays*
6. Buy fresh strawberries *#5*/Make a strawberry pie
7. Take Olivia to Keith & Tina's for her first swimming lesson *still patiently waiting our invite*
8. Take Olivia to my Mom's house in Apple Valley
9. Sleep in the hammock
10. Make s'mores over our firepit *bought s'mores, need to buy logs for our firpit*
11. Have a friend's dog party at our house *Antz has not approved, Liv is too young to be around so many dogs*
12. Take one road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway *maybe go to the Hearst Castle or seal santuary*
13. Take 1,000 pictures of Olivia *I haven't been counting but I'm well into the hundreds*
14. Take Olivia to a petting zoo *she needs her vaccinations first so this is on hold until late Sept*

Life with Bebe Olivia

After a phone call with Story, I have been thinking about how life with our Olivia has changed. It seems our friends are convinced that we will "change" with no clear definition if it will be for better or worse. I think we are still the same only my hyper-obsession with travel, house remodeling and parties has decreased due to Olivia obsession. Our house still feels the same *pre-bebe* to me but I suppose Olivia has made herself at home. I don't have any plans to take down her banner *it's much too cute*

Lola is curious about Liv but not too intrusive

We have to store her huge tub in Antz *already full* closet but it works like a dream and Liv really enjoys it.

Her swing is definitely a must have, even if it takes up space in the living room. When she's fussy, we'll put her in it and she falls asleep immediately. The songs it plays are constantly stuck in my head *twinkle twinkle little star*

I wish she enjoyed her playmat as much as she does her swing. I give her daily tummy time but it must be too hot for her to enjoy it. However, today she was very active on the mat and she lifted herself up and turned her head left and right twice. The mat is easily folded up and tucked away behind the bedroom door for storage.

I am so glad we got the Boon drying grass for her bottles and my pump. Our drying rack is always full of dishes and we wanted to keep her things seperate. Her bottles are just the right size for her *she typically likes 2-3 oz per feeding*. I am only pumping 1-2 bottles per day since Antz has gone back to work.

I would say the most changed and most utilized acclaimation into bebehood would be her nursery. Before we changed the room it was Antz office but we hardly ever used it. We had a TV in there that he never watched. The paint job in there was always a regret of ours *red and brown, yecch*. The room lacked design and was mostly storage because Antz moved his laptop into the bedroom to hang out with me for the past 9 months. Now I use the room all day and night and it feels so cozy and bright. We keep classical music playing in the room so it always has a feeling of serenity. Antz is back to using his laptop in the room which is great because we love to hang out in there. I can't believe how we lived without a bebe for the past 4 years!

There are only a few more items I'd like to get for Olivia. She definitely needs a bouncer to strengthen her legs.

I would also like to get a hamper for her clothes *although her loads are mega tiny* this one would be great in the nursery next to her hutch.

I found a couple of books I must get her. I already ordered My Friends for her but Amazon had to cancel the order. I love the illustrations of this one

So far I think Liv's faves are Goodnight Moon and Spring is Here.

Our Angel has been christened

Yesterday was Olivia's christening. I was nervous for some unknown reason but the day was perfect. Although I was painfully tired I washed and curled my hair and it came out really pretty. As a matter of fact, my hair came out so nicely that my makeup and outfit looked awful. I knew I should have bought a new dress :(  Leslie brought the cookies and her cake by early. My Mom came by and I helped her with her hair and makeup.

How amazing is this lovely cake?!

We took pictures of Liv in her gown, it fit her a little big. I love her bonnet!

sleepyface

Like Mother, like daughter

We only had 16 out of 35 invited guests but we were happy to have a smaller crowd. Olivia behaved so well during the ceremony. Other kids were screaming and running around just as the priest was telling us to have our children behave in church. Aimee gave Olivia a beautiful rosary. I appreciate her Godparents so much. Our daughter is so lucky to have such incredible people in her life.

We asked Holden to record with the Flip but of course, the battery died. Dion was in charge of pictures, he did okay but for some reason they came out dark, even using the flash. Darn camera!

My wacky family

I am actually glad it's over because we are burned out on family events. So far I have nothing planned until Disneyland this Christmas. Last night I was finally able to get a good night's sleep. Olivia slept so well I had to wake her to feed her.