March 31-April 7

Olivia can open doors.  Sometimes.  Her grandparents have a few doors with horizontal handles, and she got a couple of those open last weekend when we were visiting.  We have regular knobs at our house (old ones), and apparently she opened the bathroom door on Thursday night and almost escaped teeth-brushing. Bryan caught her in time, which wasn't a problem because she actually likes to brush her teeth.  He was surprised, though, and I'm now wondering if I should invest in door knob covers and/or little hooks.  I'll probably do the latter, since we don't have a lot of doors she isn't allowed to go through (partly because about a third of our doors don't even close completely).  Mostly I don't want her getting outside or into the basement or attic without me knowing.

We had some exciting moments this past week as the Klein baby prepared to make an appearance.  I was the on call babysitter for their toddler, so Olivia and I were packed and ready to go at any time.  Easter weekend was filled with false alarms, but I was able to stay and visit with Bryan's family the whole time.  Olivia and I finally went out Monday night just before bedtime and her friend Eva had a new baby brother by lunch the next day.  Olivia and Eva had a good time alternately playing with each other and ignoring each other.  Occasionally they'd gang up on the dog, sending him back an forth between his bed and the couch.  I think he was more relieved than I was when naptime arrived.

Tuesday night, my parents and James came to visit.  They all have the week off school, so they went touring, stopping to visit Justine, Joseph, and William before coming to our house.  Bryan entertained them Tuesday night (since I was still babysitting).  I hear that there were several games of darts, at least one of which was won by James.  On Wednesday, Olivia and I came home and spent the next two days enjoying their company.  Olivia was pleased to discover that both Oma and Opa would read her books for as long as her little heart desired.  She also had fun playing with Uncle James, although she wasn't always sure that she liked him being in charge of picking the activity.  Later in the day, Mom and I went shopping for material (so that I can make a sling for Reggie) and Easter candy (because it's on sale), leaving Dad and James deeply engrossed in a series of epic battles involving x-box racing games while Olivia napped.  Thursday was nice enough for a walk, albeit a chilly one, and then they took off after lunch.

Pictures and Video:
Olivia loves Grandma and Grandpa's dog.  He loves accepts is patient with her affections:

Helping me make veggie-laced fruit pouches:

Turning on all the parts required to watch videos:

Playing piano with Eva:

Reading with Opa (sorry, mom, I didn't get any of you reading with her):

Baking bread with Uncle James.  He refused to be in the pictures because he didn't like his apron:

Opa was taking pictures, except the camera was set to video:
Opa Takes a Video

Buried in blocks!