When daddy is away...

The first quarter of the year is always a busy one for Matt with a lot of travel.  So Olivia and I have been keeping ourselves entertained here in Houston.

One morning we made a trip to Wonderwild to jump our sillies out

And you know you are desperate to get out of the house when a trip to Whole Foods is exciting! Thank goodness for their kid shopping carts and fancy cheese department.

One night Olivia requested a "fancy date night" so we headed to Laurenzo's.

Breakfast with my sweet fairy (we apparently eat out a lot when Matt is gone..)

Olivia started a ballet class with her friend Sarah on Saturday mornings.  They look so cute in their leotards and tights!  And, this class is pretty serious stuff.  The teacher is a former Houston Ballet dancer and she doesn't mess around.  Olivia doesn't seem bothered by it though, so we'll see how it goes.

We continued our traditional aunt/niece dinner (sushi and crepes)

And we spent one afternoon decorating some valentines cookies.  I asked Olivia who we should bake cookies for and she said "someone who lives far away....I think Harris likes cookies."  So, we did!  And, I understand from Aunt Jennie that Harris did indeed like the cookies.

Her school had some fun days planned including pajama day and a visit from the mounted patrol.

We had a couple days of really nice, cool Spring weather that allowed us to do an outside movie night with the Stephensons (PS - fajitas and outside movies are my new favorite thing!)

And, in Kindergarten apparently each kid has a "work book" in which they practice letters.  Olivia told me one day she wanted to practice S...and then this happened

Miss O chopped off her curly locks and she knew she looked cute with her new do!  (We have had some issues lately with her not liking certain parts of her body - which makes me SO CRAZY - so I was really happy to see her feeling so good about herself)

And, this little decorator decided my bare walls needed some art.  I'm not sure that this is exactly the look I was going for but it makes her happy.

Peppa Pig

I took Olivia and her friend Gwyneth to see Peppa Pig when the show was in town a few weeks ago.  

Gwyneth and Olivia are both huge Peppa fans, so they loved seeing all the familiar characters.  Unfortunately, while our seats were close to the front, we were at the side and their view was pretty obstructed.  So the kids had to stand up in their chairs to see (thankfully there was no one behind us).  Nevertheless, I think they still had a good time!

And any distress regarding the seats was quickly alleviated  by the purchase of these TWENTY DOLLAR light-up, spinning wands.   

A good time was had by all and they left laughing and talking about jumping in muddy puddles! 

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

"Let the good times roll" for the annual Mardi Gras parade at Olivia's school.  This was a big week at the school because the Mardi Gras parade and the Valentines Party were the same week and Olivia could not have been more excited!

Kindergarten gets to lead the parade so she made me promise that we would be on time (note: I have never been late!) and at the front of the line of parents so we could see her.  Luckily we listened to her because she was the line leader and led the parade out of the gate!  And, like her performance in the school's holiday show, she took this role very seriously.  We got a few fake smiles out of her but she was mostly all business in leading those kids around the courtyard.

 

The Kindergarten class

And after, she helped throw beads down to the little ones and then ran around the playground with her friends.  As Matt said, this is the craziest we ever want to see her for a Mardi Gras! ;)

Love Day

Matt was out of town for Valentine's Day, so we were lucky enough to crash Mimi and Grandpa's valentines celebration.  They came over for dinner and we introduced Olivia to the wonder that is fondue.  My little mouse was thrilled to be able to have cheese for dinner!

She is very fancy (like her Mimi) and insisted we eat in the dining room and decorate.  So we bought a white table cloth which she colored and "stickered."  It was such a great Love Day with some of the people that we love the most!

Not So Slumber Party

For months now Olivia and Cate have been begging for a sleepover and we finally made it happen a few weeks ago.

The day before I texted Cate's mom this picture and told her I hoped there would be room for Cate in the bed!

On the big day, Olivia requested I take a picture of the princess nightgown options for Cate and text it to her mom.

There was lots of dress up

We made some valentines & did some art projects

Painted our nails

Made (and devoured) some brownies

Watched The Little Mermaid

And enjoyed a donut breakfast the next morning

I think they both had a great time and they are already asking for the next one.  Given that they were pretty good at the "party" but not so great at the "slumber,"  Matt and I have decided Cate can host the next one!

All I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten

We rushed back into the new year with a big change for Olivia – moving up to “Kindergarten.” This is the last class in her school, its upstairs, and definitely has a “big kid” vibe to it. It took my girl a little while to settle in but we have been in the class about a month now and I think she’s finding her stride. Luckily for us, she moved up with Cate and Emma, so the transition is always easier when you’ve got your best friends with you.

Matt and I attended the orientation for this class and the teacher explained that her job is to get the kids ready for going to “real school” next year (cue panic attack in Matt and I as we realize that we still use the "baby monitor" to check on Olivia daily and may need to revise our parenting approach to include some of this "independence" this nice lady keeps yammering about!).

The class room is much more structured than the others and the kids definitely seem to rise to expectations. She will actually be in this class for about a year and a half before she attends “real Kindergarten” at our local public elementary school, so we have some time to all mentally prepare for the big changes on the horizon. In the meantime, here are a few pics of our BIG GIRL!

Music class with the babies before school

 Where does she learn these poses?!

And, for comparison's sake, this is her picture on her FIRST day of school!