Sand, Spiders, and Swimming!

We've had lots of adventures this week! I found something else to keep Olivia occupied while we work on the deck (which Michael finished the top part today! Just the fence is left). This turtle sandbox was $1 (yes, ONE dollar) at a nearby yard sale. Play sand at Home Depot is $2.50/bag and we got 3. So, for less than $10, a new sandbox!





Wednesday, Olivia and I went to The Butterfly Pavilion with Lindsay (my neighbor with the daycare!), her kids, and some daycare kiddos. The Butterfly Pavilion is about 40 minutes north of our house. It has lots of bugs and creepy crawlies, but the main attraction is a tropical conservatory with 1200 butterflies from rain forests around the world. Needless to say, there were butterflies flying EVERYWHERE! We started in the insect room. Olivia was as grossed out by the cockroaches as I was:



The main attraction in this room is Rosey. Rosey is a tarantula. If you "hold" the tarantula, you get a sticker proclaiming your braveness. Have you met my sticker loving daughter? As soon as she saw those stickers, she made a beeline for the spider. Unfortunately, you have to be at least 3 years old to hold Rosey. Even more unfortunately, if you're under 3, Mommy can hold the spider for you. Luckily, I can handle spiders (in a controlled environment). A snake would be a different story! I found it quite funny that she wasn't afraid of it!



We moved through a few more exhibits, then hit the conservatory. It's kept really humid and we were all sweating within 2 minutes. (I will remember this place next winter, when it's snowing for the umpteenth time!)



The butterflies were amazing:



The staff are mostly volunteers with loads of information. The main rule is (obviously), don't touch the butterflies. We were informed that butterflies landing on us is OK, preferably on our clothes, to avoid the oil in our skin. Now, you can't walk 2 steps without butterflies swarming around you, yet we were expected to keep a 2 year old and an almost 2 year old from touching? Tough request! They did pretty well at first. Then, we rounded a corner to find Lindsay's little boy shaking one by the wing. I thought one of the volunteers was going to pass out. We made a hasty retreat to a play area!
Note the sticker:





Lots of fun! The rec center pools opened Friday, so we went down for an hour or two. She wasn't really into it. She liked the splash area pretty well:



But, was much more interested in the snacks I brought:



Saturday and Sunday was mainly spent working on the deck, but we headed to a nearby park with fountains today. I thought Olivia would really like it and she squealed when she saw it- "wader!" (water). However, I think it was a little intimidating for her:





That was as close as she got before running back to Daddy:



We decided to head to the pool instead. Luckily, she did much better today. She even let us take her in the "deep" end (4 feet). We usually stay in the kiddie area. It's a zero depth entry, so it's perfect for little ones. She gets cold pretty easily (probably because of the lack of fat on her body!), so even though it was warm today (around 80), she was really cold when she got out of the pool:



She was once again really into the snacks I brought:



I guess I'll take her to the pool on days she's not eating well! Did you notice her hair was in a ponytail today? She looks so much older!



One video to share. Michael thought it would be really funny to teach her "Becky." I didn't think she would pick it up, but lo and behold:



So, now Mommy's working on some new words: "Michael Andrew." =)

A day at the park

Last Monday was one of the first really nice days we've had this Spring. It was so nice, I decided to pile the girls in the bike trailer and ride to a nearby park for a picnic lunch.



They love the park:







There's also a small lake (pond), so I took a loaf of day old bread for the geese. Avry really got into feeding them, but Olivia wasn't too impressed. If they started walking towards her, she ran to me (screaming).





My favorite part of the park? Two worn out little girls:



They were asleep within 2 minutes of leaving. Unfortunately, the ride back home is much harder than the ride there. It took me about 45 minutes and by the time we got there and I unpacked the lunch, they were up and ready to go. I was exhausted, so I let them loose in the playroom. Olivia discovered her new trampoline has some music and when Avry heard it, she started dancing. This girl has some moves!



Since they were so into the dancing, I took them in the living room and turned on the Kiddie music channel. Michael came home from work and we watched them dance for 45 minutes. They were hysterical!



Olivia has the pants falling down problem pretty frequently!

Oh, in case you were wondering- the sunscreen did NOT come out of the carpet!

Baby jail and the Sunscreen Incident

Michael started working on the deck last weekend. The dogs wreaked havoc on the deck with their nails:



He got a good deal on Trex, which never has to be stained (Yay!) and is supposed to not scratch as easily as wood. It's turning out to be more work than we originally thought. I'm trying to help, but it's hard with Olivia. I finally hit on the baby jail. I used to use this gate to keep Olivia and Avry in the playroom. Then I remembered it will connect together to form a circle.



She thought it was fun for 30 minutes. Then she hung over the side, saying and signing "all done."



It's really not safe for her to be outside:



So, I took her inside for dinner. She skipped her nap and was exhausted. This is what happened while she ate her spaghetti:



Work on the deck has temporarily stopped, due to snow and a few days of cold weather (in MAY. There is something so wrong about turning on the heat in May). This weekend is supposed to be nice, though.

Olivia gets so excited when Avry comes over. She waits by the front door and watches for her when I tell her she's on her way:



Yesterday, they were playing nicely in the playroom and I slipped away (I thought they didn't notice) to the bathroom. I was gone maybe 2 minutes. When I came out of the bathroom, I heard giggling in the playroom and this is what I found in the living room:



Yes, that's sunscreen. And it was EVERYWHERE:







This is how found them in the playroom. Have you ever seen two guiltier looks?







To make matters worse, Olivia ate a blue crayon while I was cleaning up the sunscreen.




We need nice weather NOW, so these kids can play outside!

THAT child.

You know the one. The kid that all the other kids stay away from, because he/she takes their toys, or hits them, or pushes them. The kid that the other mothers tell their children to stay away from. I used to look at those mothers with pity. Imagine not being able to control your child.



That was my child this week.



Not the whole week. Just one day. The one day we had a play date. Disaster with a capital D. It all started when I forgot her blanket at home. How dare I do such a thing. She had her bunny (blankie and bunny are her 2 comfort items at the moment), but not blankie. When we got to our play date's house, my friends little girl had a blanket very similar to Olivia's. Which meant it was hers (of course). My friends little girl put up a fight, but Olivia pulled her hair and she let go. Sigh. Time out number 1. It went downhill from there. Magic markers on the wall, apple juice spilled on the carpet, tantrum after tantrum when she wanted a toy that someone else was playing with, it was nonstop drama. We left early (apologizing profusely) and she was a perfect angel the rest of the day.



I was aggravated at her for a little while.



But it's really hard to stay mad at someone wearing pink sparkle shoes and carrying a bright pink pirate monkey. Especially when she knows she's been bad and gives you that little impish grin. REALLY hard.