Our big (I mean little) girl

Two days after Olivia's actual birthday, we took her to the doctor for her two year well-check. She may be a smart cookie, but she's a tiny cookie. Weighing in at 23.4 lbs. and measuring 32.25 in., Olivia is in the 1%(!!!) for weight and 14% for height. No one is too worried about her little size though. The doctor said that if Yusaku and I were small when we were her age, which we were, then it's to be expected.

Here are some things she does/says lately:

-Uses words like amazing, beautiful, delicious, disgusting, actually, and most recently - holy mackerel.

-Pretends about everything. She is always pretending to go places (Kroger, Trader Joes's, Yoga), be animals, etc.

-Often tells me she is "finkin" about things...mostly animals.

-Can name a ton of animals...to name a few, meerkat, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, bald eagle, water buffalo, whooping crane, spider monkey, etc.

-Knows and can sing at least a part of LOTS of songs (Happy and You Know It, Hokey Pokey, Ring Around the Rosey, Wheels on the Bus, Baby Beluga, the list goes on and on).

-Puts puzzles together on her own very well.

-Jumps with both feet off the ground.

-Has become a very good tower-builder.

Fall Fun

We've been enjoying doing things outside in the beautiful fall weather we've had lately.  The first set of pictures are from the weekend of Olivia's birthday party. Before everyone had to head back home, we took some time to explore a park close to where we live. 

The next set of pictures is from this past weekend. We went to both Hidden Valley Fruit Farm and Windmill Farm. They're both on the same road, not far from one another.

Olivia turns 2!

Our big girl turned two recently and a few weekends ago we had a big celebration with family and friends. A great time was had by all. Here are some pictures from the party.

Cutie pie getting her chocolate paw cupcake
(that she's talked about for weeks) :)

so proud of herself after she blew her candle out

The best thing about this birthday is that Olivia could open all her presents by herself and was truly excited about each and everything she opened. She would say things like "Yay!" or "Woo hoo!" It was so fun to watch!

Opening presents (with some help from her friend and I)

Checking out her new tent her cousin Kaitlyn made for her

My dad, Sarah, and I having fun with Olivia's new toys

Enjoying some tea from her cool new tea set from
Leslee, Jon, and Quinn

Riding on her new donkey from Linden :)

Thanks to Daniel for blowing it up

Some of our party guests. :) 

A few more pics from the party.

had to include this picture because it cracks me up

Labor Day Weekend Trip to Chicago

Last Wednesday, Yusaku woke up, rolled over, and asked me if I wanted to go to Chicago for the weekend. Um, sure, I guess. Of course I was excited at the prospect of going to Chicago and seeing my sister, but also needed a little time to adjust to the idea. Going on a quick car trip for the weekend with a toddler isn't always the easiest. And Olivia was coming down with a runny nose, which I wasn't sure was teething-related or cold-related. After a little back and forth, we decided to be spontaneous and go for it. So, Friday morning we packed up the car and headed out.

Despite Olivia only napping for about 20 minutes of the entire trip, it went pretty smoothly. Sarah took off a little early from work and when we got into the city, we picked her up near the train station and headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Here are some pictures from the zoo. As you can see we spent a lot of time playing with/climbing on the gorilla statues.

Look! A zebra!

Hiding in the bushes is hilarious!

Saturday morning, we walked from Sarah's apartment to Ann Sather (a Swedish restaurant) for breakfast. After that we decided we would take the train to the American Girl Store. Turns out, that was a traumatizing experience for Olivia. So, after one scream-filled stop on the train, we got off (much to the delight of the rest of the passengers I'm sure) and took a cab.

"Yay! I'm so excited can't you tell?"

"Oooh, dolls!"

The trip to the American Girl Doll store was about the most exciting part of our day. After we left, we checked out H&M, ate some lunch, and took a cab back to Sarah's apartment where all four of us napped the rest of the afternoon away. By the time Yusaku and Olivia woke up, Yusaku took the train to go get our car from the parking garage, and we checked into our hotel, it was close to dinner time. We did a little window shopping on Michigan Avenue before heading to Portillo's for dinner. Sarah came back to our hotel after dinner for a little more visiting before we had to say goodbye/go to bed.

Dancing on the hotel bed...
most fun of the whole day!

Sunday before we left, we finally got the chance to meet up with Yusaku's college friend Heather and her husband and little girl Amelia who is just one week older than Olivia. We had hoped to take the girls to the aquarium but with the hour-long wait to get in, we decided to change our plans and go to the field museum instead. It was fun and great to meet up with them, but I hope to make it to the aquarium next time we visit. I think it would be a little more enjoyable for little kids than the museum.