Milestones all around

As Olivia grows older, her physical milestones are becoming dwarfed by her intellectual milestones. I love watching her grow, learn and laugh at things that one could only see from being 3-feet tall. She's my favorite small person. Her latests: Singing songs, counting from 1 to 10, recognizing places and people's names and one of the funniests...pointing out when mommy or daddy farts! Ethan gets a kick out of that.

I am still trying to decide between one of three good pre-schools to enroll her in for the fall.... St. John Lutheran Early Childhood Center, Cypress UMC Wee Wuns or Lakewood UMC Little People. They're all great schools with pros that outweigh their cons. We're going to continue praying for a place that will be the most nurturing environment to help Olivia grow spiritually, socially and academically.

Thanks for your continued prayers for my aunt during radiation treatments. She's currently finishing up her second of 6 weeks in treatment. Olivia loves going there with us, mostly because she loves the fish tank and the pretzel snacks they have!

In other milestones, we're going to a first-birthday party and a retirement party this weekend (not for the same person, ha!), we're planning a going-away party for our friends who are moving to Kansas soon and another baby shower in June! I love little babies!!

Ethan and I are SO ready for a little vacation away! He's been super busy at work, and I've been a little stressed, to say the least. We were thinking about another cruise, but I think the whole cruise industry is shaken up a little, so we'll wait until things calm down. We'll probably head back to Hyatt Lost Pines in April instead. Loved it there.

New Discovery

Ever since we fell in love with one of the tot lots during our visit to OKC over Thanksgiving break, Olivia and I have been on the search to discover one around here just as good. And I think we found it! It's called Marrs Pocket Park, and it's just about a 5 minute drive from our house! I guess it's called a pocket park because it's tucked away inside of a residential neighborhood. We loved it because there it's very spacious and has a separate play unit just for toddlers. We are truly enjoying the outdoors on these lovely mild winter days. We go around our neighborhood pretty much daily, and the county has just finished a walking trail behind our house too. Yesterday, Olivia and I took a jog around Coles Crossing trail. Great fun! Here are some pictures from the Marrs Park....

Love me some motivation!

I love me some motivation! I think NBC really offers the hands-down best sports coverage of all networks, and my most favorite things to watch and hopefully some day witness in person, are the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and the Summer Olympics!!! I am really looking forward to later this summer and spending all hours of the days watching the Summer Olympics!  I love watching beach volleyball, swimming and gymnastics, but I equally enjoy all of the athlete stories in between the games and races. They always provide me with an opportunity to shed a tear and be proud of this awesome country. Here are some pictures Ethan and I took while visiting Olympic Park in Beijing the year after the Summer Games. And I made this video montage for my students of the 2008 athletes, but I somehow deleted that along with all my school files totalling 5 years. It's ok, I don't see myself going back anytime soon....

 The Bird's Nest



The Swimming Cube

One thing I can add to the list is what I just finished watching  - the Olympic Marathon Trials that took place on Saturday in Houston. I am currently getting back into my running regimen, and what better way to be encouraged than to watch these awesome athletes race after thousands of hours and miles training to be a part of our awesome American team. When I ran my half-marathon in 2009, I had a goal of finishing under 2 hours. I am hoping to be able to redeem myself from missing my goal by 14 seconds....yup, you heard me....I finished in 2 hours, 0 minutes and 14 seconds. I'm not sure when I can find the time to log in enough miles to beat that, but my goal is to run about 3 miles three times a week. And with our unusually mild weather, it's been easy to head out the door with the jogging stroller after Olivia's nap. I've finally gotten back into lifting since Ethan got me some dumbells for Christmas. I don't see myself registering for a half or triathlon anytime soon, but I'm hoping to continue with my fitness goals well into 2012...wish me luck!

31st birthday and Firsts

2012 has been quite busy for us. First, we celebrated Ethan's birthday with Amy and Andy that evening with a BBQ dinner and dessert at Orange Leaf. We really enjoyed spending adult time with them before they are set to leave for Wichita, KS soon. I will really miss them!!

That same weekend, we had a combined birthday celebration for Ethan's mom at Shogun where Olivia had her first hibachi cooking experience. She didn't really care for the show, especially the flames. It's all so predictable....beating heart, egg in the chef's hat, onion volcano train, ha! Afterwards, we came home and enjoyed a yummy gluten-free cake I made along with some Ben and Jerry's "Late Night Snack." Olivia helped open daddy's presents.

I got Ethan's MBA Tulane diploma framed for his new downtown office. He's enjoying his new assignment and being back in an office after a few years of being in a cubicle. Unfortunately, he's having the take the park and ride bus now, which means he's home later than I'd like. But that's ok. I think I will visit one day and help him decorate a little more.

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Olivia had her first swim lesson today. I had her excited all week leading up to today, so that she would enjoy it. After two minutes of being scared, she really warmed up to the pool and to her teacher Matt. Today, we swayed back and forth and jumped up and down in the water. We started showig her how to kick, scull the water with her hands, going under and getting out of the water. I think she will really enjoy her weekly lessons, and I am looking forward to her graduating on to the next class so I can stay out of a swim suit. :o)



Better Than Ezra & Aunt update

Today is Ethan's 31st birthday! I will have another post specifically dedicated to him later....

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Last week, Ethan and I had a nice date night at Lupe Tortilla and then to see the Better Than Ezra concert at the House of Blues. I've been to countless BTE shows (somewhere between 30-40) and I have to admit.....this was the first show where I wasn't blown away. I am hoping it's because we decided to get balcony seats for the first time (I'm short), and the atmosphere isn't as electric up there as it is downstairs in the general admission area. It's alright though, I am sure I will continue to go and support when they come around once a year. Here is a snippet I took of one of my favorite songs, "A Lifetime."  

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Please pray for my aunt. Soon, she will begin 5-6 weeks of radiation treatment five days a week to combat her stage 4 breast cancer. Luckily, we are able to schedule her treatments at a closer location to her home. Thanks to everyone for their continued support and offers to help.

Loved 2011, will love 2012 even more...

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas season with your family and friends, as we did. Although Olivia was under-the-weather for most of the holidays, we still had a fun & busy time.  We started off the month slowly decorating for Christmas inside and outside. I took a minimalist approach this year, and only decorated a little bit, since I’ve found that having an almost-two year old helps to really consume space in the house. But, I was also a little bit lazy. I bought some red lights for our bushes outside, and only decorated about half of them.

Our lights

Christmas Eve started off with Ethan and I assembling Olivia’s present – and 3 hours later, a new kitchen. Christmas Eve service at church was wonderful and pretty as always. We then went to my uncle’s house to celebrate with my side of the family. Things are always so crazy there because we have such a large family here in Houston, but the food is always good. Olivia was so tired already, that we couldn’t stay to open all of the presents. But, we did make sure that Olivia opened these presents from my aunt! I searched at Target, Toys R Us and Walmart and realized that they don’t sell Barney toys anymore, so this was a great surprise! These came from my cousins from when they were younger. I think it brought great joy to my aunt to see Olivia so in love with these new toys.

Before Christmas Eve service

All of Olivia's aunts and uncle

Barney!

All of Barney's friends and my aunt. "I love you, you love me. We're a happy family."

The next morning, we opened presents as a family at home. Olivia was just speechless over her kitchen, and she has loved every minute of having it so far. We spent the rest of the day at Ethan’s family’s home with Grammy, Papa, ‘Nena and Blake. Brunch and dinner was yummy as always. It was a long day, but a special one.

Barney in all of the action.

Olivia and Grandma.

Periodic Table blocks from daddy.

All set up in the playroom.

Opening presents at Grammy's and Papa's house.

We needed a couple days to recover from the parties, and luckily Ethan had the entire week off. It was a little too cool for the zoo, so we decided to spend the morning at the Children’s Museum. Olivia loves going, but she’s starting to always be one of the oldest kids in the Tot Spot. So this time, we decided to spend more time downstairs. She loved running around outside and inside. We’ve really enjoyed coming here, that we just renewed our membership.

Looking like a giant at the Tot Spot

 

At the library downstairs

One of the highlights of this week was seeing our dear friend, Bindi, in town from New Jersey. I was lucky to have been able to visit her back in September, but it’s always nice to see her back home where we all grew up and went to college together. She came over to play with the girls before we had a ladies’ dinner at Sweet Tomatoes.  The visit was too short though.

Oh yes it's Ladies' Night.....at Sweet Tomatoes

The girls always love playing together. Grace came over today to play (not pictured…sorry) and we had a fun time. But, I am so sad that we won’t have many more play dates soon because Olivia’s dear friends, Abigail & Emily, and our dear friends Amy & Andy are moving away soon for Andy's new job. I just try not to think about it, but I know it’s the best for their family, so I support them 100%. *tear*

Best Friends Forever

So as this season came to an end, and we slowly packed up decorations, I am just so thankful for Ethan, Olivia, our family and our friends. It’s so easy to always think about what we don’t or may never have, stress about drama in our families and to think that things just aren’t “good enough” compared to another mom who is always perfect.  So for 2012, I am holding myself to a higher standard…..to get rid of all of the aforementioned “junk,” to be thankful for what we have, to commit myself to helping others and to live my life according to God’s will, not mine. Friends to friends, we have each other’s backs physically and spiritually in low and high times, and should call each other out when needed….not because we are ready to offend or defend, but because we are friends. So besides getting my butt back into gear with strength training and cardio (who’s with me here?!?!) and no french fries for fifty days (boo...), that is my new year’s resolution.

Happy New Year! It’s going to be a GREAT one for you….I know it.