Party animal

It was a pretty busy weekend and of course, I got sick again. I woke in the middle of the night on Friday with that horrible pain on the side of my face again, my teeth hurt so bad that they started to feel numb. I took some medicine and used the heating pad. I was up from 4am until almost 6 and then I finally started to feel a little better. I didn't get much sleep though because Liv woke up at 7. We had a birthday party on Saturday and Olivia had a blast. When we first got there, I had to wake her up and she didn't want me to put her down. I didn't want her to cling to me the whole time, I wanted her to have fun so I put her down and she cried for a few minutes but then she was fine. She was jumping with another little girl in the bounce house for a while, she loved it but then bunch of older kids ran in and they were being rowdy. They kept knocking Olivia over and two kids actually fell on top of her, she didn't seem to care but I was getting nervous. The bounce house ended up deflating, I was actually kind of glad because I think she would have gotten hurt if she stayed in there. They also had a little petting zoo and pony rides, of course Olivia went wild when she saw the animals. She was chasing them all around and trying to catch the chickens, she was even petting the sheep. At one point it got a little too close and she backed away very quickly, her face was priceless. She got to ride the pony twice and I'm pretty sure that was her favorite part, she kept saying more but there were a lot of other kids there. I didn't feel great all day but I stuck it out for Liv, it makes me happy to see her having such a good time. She was so exhausted when we got home that she went to bed at 6pm, so of course this morning she woke up at 6am. I was so beat, I had to take a nap when she did. After our nap, we all went out to lunch and then we took her to the park. It was so disgustingly hot outside that we couldn't stay for too long. She had fun on the swings though, she really loves playing in the sand too. We just relaxed for the rest of the night, I still don't feel great but definitely better than yesterday. I've been sick for so long that I feel like I'm never going to get better. This cough that I have is seriously brutal. At least Olivia is doing better, she doesn't seem like she's sick at all anymore. Back to our routine tomorrow, I have pretty long hours this week so I definitely need to get some rest tonight.

Good news.. kinda

I'm happy to report that Olivia hasn't thrown up since Friday. The bad news is that she still cries all day at daycare and barely eats or drinks anything. I'm wondering how long she is going to be stubborn for because it's been really stressful, on both of us. Luckily today was my day off so I took her to the park and then we went for a walk. She really loves being outside (except when she's at school) and she would stay out at all day if she could. There were a lot of kids at the park today (including some annoying teenagers). When I was pushing Liv on the swing, another little girl was laughing so Olivia started fake laughing. It was really funny, she just wanted to copy the girl. She's silly, she makes me so happy no matter how bad my day is going. I know I've been neglecting this blog a bit but I've been super busy. My job is absolutely exhausting and when I'm home, I like to spend as much time as possible with Liv. I have a lot I want to post though so hopefully I will have some time this weekend.

Distracting a toddler

We've been going to the playground a lot lately and loving it. We saw the same little boy there that we saw at the library (library adventure), he didn't remember Olivia but he kept saying how cute she was. He's a funny kid, Liv saw a dog and started running towards it and he said "don't go over there, dogs eat babies!". Then he was chasing Liv around and she was having a blast. Yesterday we just hung out at home in the morning and after Olivia's nap, I decided it was time to get out of the house. I needed to pick up a few things so we went to Target (my favorite place). I could walk around that store for hours, I got what we needed and a few things we didn't need. I let Liv hold a little cat plush and she hugged it the whole time. I was going to buy it for her but when I scanned it, it was $10! I can't believe it was that much and it was just a small stuffed animal, I figured it would be closer to $5. She got a little upset when I took it away but I gave her a box of goldfish to hold onto and distract her (works every time). When we got home we played outside for a while, I brought out Liv's car and ride on toy and she had fun. Today was a very gloomy and rainy day so we didn't leave the house. Luckily I got to nap when Olivia did, it wasn't for long but it was much needed. It's supposed to rain the rest of the week so that's kind of a bummer. It's hard to keep Olivia entertained when we are stuck inside, she gets bored and I hate when she watches too much TV. Anyway, off to relax and catch up on a few shows.

Sunny with a side of snow

It was finally nice out yesterday! We played outside for a while and then I took Olivia to the park. It was pretty sunny out so I brought her sunglasses, she always puts them on upside down but I think it's adorable so I never fix them. There is still snow on the ground and of course she just wanted to play in that. After I coaxed her away from the snow, she ran around for a while and then I pushed her on the swings (she loved it). She went down the slide for the first time on her own, she was a little nervous and went down in a strange but hilarious way. She had one leg up and she went down backwards, I was laughing because it reminded me of the scene from Elf when he was trying to go up the escalator. The second time she did it the correct way, I was proud of her. After about an hour, it started to get cold because of the wind and I was ready to leave but Liv wasn't. I had to pick her up and she was yelling so loud but once we got in the car, she was fine. I'm excited for more warm weather! After the park, I had to pick up some groceries so we stopped at the store. Taking Olivia to the grocery store is always an adventure. She wanted to hold everything, first I let her hold the bag of apples but that ended up on the floor. Then I let her hold the bag of cucumbers, she opened the bag and put a cucumber up to her mouth and said "nom nom nom". I couldn't even be mad at her because it was so cute. The warm weather was a tease, today was cold again. We went to playgroup and she was good for the most part. She pushed a little girl away when she tried to take her toy but other than that, she didn't try hitting anyone. She also got a little upset when the teacher stopped blowing bubbles but she got over it pretty quick. This week flew by and now I'm excited for the weekend!

 

Spring tag

1. Where do you like to hang out during the spring? The playground, park or just out in the yard.

2. Favorite spring shoes? Flip flops!

3. Favorite spring accessory? Sunglasses.

4. Favorite spring treat? Definitely peeps, I love them.

5. Favorite thing about Easter? Good food and spending time with my family. Now that Liv is getting older, she will have fun coloring eggs and doing an egg hunt.

6. How do you like to wear your hair in the spring? I usually wear my hair down, unless it's really hot out.

7. Favorite seasonal beverage? Spring always makes me think of lemonade for some reason, pink lemonade is my favorite.

8. Do you like to travel or stay home during the spring? I love to travel but it's been a while because we haven't had extra money for it. If everything goes as planned, we will be going to visit family in South Carolina sometime before the end of the year.

9. Favorite spring nail polish? I love most shades of pink so that's normally what I pick.

10. Are you doing anything fun this spring? I would love to bring Olivia to the zoo. I also plan on bringing her to carnivals, fairs, parks, playgrounds and museums. I just want her to have a good time, I love seeing her happy.

Hurry up spring!

Am I the only mom that forgets she's doing laundry? The other day it took me almost six hours to do one load. I forgot to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer for almost two hours so I had to run it through the wash again. After that, I forgot again! I guess I need to start setting a timer on my phone or something. Okay, that was just a quick little rant about my forgetfulness. Anyway, it was such a sunny and warm (well.. warmer) day on Wednesday so I decided we should go to the playground. I was really excited but when we got there, the entrance was blocked off by a huge snow pile. I was pretty bummed, especially since it's the only playground close by. I ended up taking Olivia for a walk, it was great being outside. We are both ready for the spring, warm weather just makes me happy. I am not a big fan of the winter and I'm pretty sure Liv isn't fond of being cooped up in the house either. Yesterday was pretty nice out too, just a little bit colder than Wednesday. Olivia is really missing playgroup (it starts again in two weeks) so I took her to the library and she had fun there. We didn't go until after her nap, it was around 4 o'clock so there were a lot of bigger kids running around. Liv kept yelling in excitement and one of the boys kept covering his ears, she thought it was funny. She loves being around other kids, it's really cute to watch. She has such a silly and fun personality, I love it.

Too cold for the playground

It didn't end up snowing on Friday so I took Olivia to the playground. She hated the swings but I think she was just annoyed because it was so cold. Everything was wet so maybe it actually did snow and then melt, I have no idea but we only ended up staying for ten minutes. Since the playground was a bust, I ended up taking her to the library. The children's section is really cute, they have a play house, play kitchen and train set. Olivia was running around playing with everything, she really loved the play house. It was fun to finally get out of the house, she had a good time and I enjoyed seeing her play. She's been eating better too so I think she is starting to get over her cold.

 

 She's a better cook than mommy.

 

On Friday night I didn't sleep much, I only ended up getting about 3 hours. I had so many things to do yesterday but I only did half of what I wanted to do, which really bums me out. I was able to get a haircut though so I was happy about that, it's been almost a year since my last one and it was out of control. I was so exhausted by dinner time (I was falling asleep on the couch) so I went to bed way earlier than normal, I fell asleep before 9. Unfortunately, I woke up around 1am and couldn't fall back to sleep until 6am. So of course today, I'm tired again. It's a never ending cycle of bad sleep habits, I don't see that changing anytime soon. I have to work today and I'm not exactly looking forward to it, hopefully it goes by quick.



Sleep regression

I know I post about sleep way too much but the past few weeks have been so rough! Olivia wakes up at night and doesn't want to go back to sleep and she is still refusing naps. The other day she just sat in her crib for almost two hours and never took a nap. I even started searching for reasons online because I've been going crazy, she needs to sleep (and so do I). I found out that at eighteen months sleep regression is common. Pretty much everything I read about was exactly her. I read that it can last for 2-6 weeks, we are going on one week so hopefully by next week we will be back to normal but that may just be wishful thinking. It can be due to a milestone approaching, she is a bit behind with talking so I'm hoping it's because she's getting ready to pick up a few new words. It could also be because of teething but she has all of her teeth already (except for her 2 year molars). Although, since she got all of her other teeth early (according to the charts), maybe her 2 year molars will be early too, just a thought. There are a few other reasons why it could be happening, separation anxiety and starting to gain independence. Whatever the case, I just hope it passes soon!

I took Liv to the indoor playground again today and she had fun running around (per usual). Then we came home and had a lazy day. To me, just spending time playing with her and hanging out at home are the best days. She has been getting more interested in her ride on toys lately, we got her a rocking horse for her first birthday and she never wanted to go on it (she was scared) until now. It only took her a day or two and she figured out how to ride it, of course sometimes she gets on backwards but it's still adorable. My sister got her a pink ride on train last Christmas and she likes it but it's a little hard for her to ride because the handle is far away from the seat, so I went out and got her another little pink ride on (super cheap at a consignment store) and she loves it. She likes pressing the buttons to hear the music play and hiding things in the seat (it lifts up). She has been really making me laugh lately with the silly things she does, she is so quirky sometimes. Today she was trying to pet one of the cats and he ran away from her (smart move), she got mad so she was trying to bite the table (what the heck?!). Then later on, I let her have a bite of my chocolate chip cookie and she kept saying "mmm mmm mmm" and the faces she was making were just hilarious, after the next bite she started doing a little dance (yummy dance). Even though I'm so sleep deprived, she can always get me to laugh or smile.

Stalker cricket

Somehow a cricket got into our house and it has been driving me crazy! It's seriously so loud and annoying and I have no idea where it is! The creepy thing is that I can get close enough to where it's super loud but then it stops, Paul said it's watching us and it stops when it sees us.. Uhm what?! How freaking scary is that?! I don't like it ..I don't want to have a stalker cricket, I hope it just goes away! Okay, moving on from that because it's giving me the chills.. my throat was hurting again this morning but after a few hours it felt fine. So I decided to take Liv to that indoor playground, today was the last day of free play before the classes start. There was only one other kid there and he left after about fifteen minutes so we had the whole place to ourselves. It was really cute, there was a swing set, slides, little roller coasters, ride ons, trampolines, tunnels, ball pits, basketball hoops and a bunch of other toys. Olivia's favorite part was running around (of course) but she played on pretty much everything. The classes are kind of expensive so I'm not sure if we will take them or not since the library classes are free but we'll see. Olivia had a great time and I'm really glad I brought her, watching her run around and have fun makes me very happy!

It was really hard to take a good picture because she didn't stop moving the entire time.