The verdict is in...

Olivia is (hopefully) over her separation anxiety (YAY!). She stayed 2 whole nights with her Mamaw and Papaw in TN. Can I get a big, relieved sigh? So what if the separation anxiety has been replaced by tantrums involving head banging?
While Olivia was with her grandparents, I enjoyed girl time with some old friends. I have great friends- it doesn't matter how long it's been since we last saw each other, we always pick right up where we left off.

Here's the cute cabin we stayed in:



The reason for our weekend- Jane is getting married!



We hit some hot spots in Gatlinburg, including The Mysterious Mansion:



It was really scary! ;)



We did a little shopping.



And posing.



It was awesome, even though by 10:00 PM, we were exhausted. Definitely not as young as we used to be, ha!

It was such a relief that Olivia was happy and not crying uncontrollably. I was prepared to drive back and get her, but it wasn't necessary. AND she did AWESOME on the plane. What a change 6 months makes! We managed to visit Elizabethton and get in a little family time (missing some people in these pictures, though! I have to get better at that!):





We also made it to Megan's house to meet baby Ella (Olivia LOVED her) and visit with Eli. Olivia and Eli had lots of fun playing! It's really hard to get 3 kids to look at you for a picture!





Olivia's Mamaw and Papaw had to drive us to Charlotte to catch our return flights (thank you sooooo much!). Olivia got a little swimming in:



Quick trip, but lots of fun! More trips are on the way!

On the road again...

Olivia and I are leaving tomorrow for a quick weekend in Tennessee. We actually have several trips planned this summer. The last flight we were on (in January) was awful, so I've been searching for other ways to keep her entertained. I found a website about quiet books and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately my (7 year old, $99 Wal-Mart special) sewing machine is having issues, so I only got 2 pages finished. The third one is almost done and I'm hoping to finish it tonight! A quiet book is a handmade book with different activities on each page. It's easier to show you:



This is the first page, a traffic light. The circles on the right have velcro attached and the object is to match the colors. Here's the second page:



The apples on the tree are attached with snap clips (great for fine motor!) and the object is to "pick" the apples and put them in the basket. The third page has buttons, so another fine motor activity. I'm not expecting a miracle with only 2 pages, but by our next trip, I'll hopefully have a few more completed!

What is it about toddlers and messes? We have toys in the master bathroom to keep her entertained while I'm getting ready in the morning. The cabinets (with the cleaning supplies) are child proofed, but the drawers with my make-up and hair stuff aren't. Of course, that's where she wants to play. Last week, I was getting ready when she took off into the hallway. I wasn't too concerned at first, because she will sometimes go and get another toy, then come back. When she wasn't back in a few minutes (and she was quiet!), I went to investigate. This is what I found:



She managed to get the lid off some of my powder. She left a trail down the stairs:



Luckily, I found this pretty funny. She's been trying to get the lid off that powder for weeks! When she saw me cleaning, she got a wipe and "helped:"



Silly girl.

We played with sidewalk chalk this morning. She loves it:





I also got her hair in 2 french braids. I've been waiting a long time to do this:



Love it!