On Thursday, Gretchen turned ONE! Bryan and I got lots of texts (which made us feel very popular, even though they were for Gretchen) and there were even a couple of phone calls. When I let Gretchen field her own calls, Olivia was immediately jealous and stated that it was her birthday, too.
Gretchen plays peek-a-boo regularly now. She used to require a prop such as a blanket or towel to assist her, but now she has learned that people will react if she puts her hands in the general vicinity of her face and then pulls them away triumphantly. She also waves good-bye deliberately. I wasn't sure a few weeks ago if she was waving or not, but this week I know she means it.
In yet more Gretchen news, she's standing all the time. She pulls herself up on things, lets go, and grins at everyone in the room as if to say, "See how talented I am? I can do this standing trick!" I've also watched her get to standing in the middle of the floor (with nothing to pull up on), which was THE major turning point in Olivia's walking progress. No steps yet from Gretchen, but we can tell they're coming soon. :)
Olivia spends her time narrating the day in song. Also making sure I stay on task, as illustrated by this recent conversation:
Olivia: "Mommy, where are we going?"
Me: "To the store."
Olivia: "Yes, we need bananas. We better go to the store to get bananas."
Me: "We can get some bananas."
Olivia: "And milk. We don't have any milk."
Me: "Yes, we will also get milk."
Olivia: "Uh-oh! And we don't have any cereal! We better get some cereal."
Me: "Actually, there's more cereal downstairs."
Olivia: "Oh. Okay, we will go to the store to get bananas and milk."
We have a swingset (I think I mentioned that last week) that Olivia loves, and this week we got a swing for Gretchen so that she can enjoy it as well. Olivia delights in pushing Gretchen in the swing. Bad news for Olivia, though: she's 2, and therefore doesn't always think things through. She was pushing Gretchen one day and stopped to examine a bug that had appeared near her foot. While she was crouched down, Gretchen's swing made its way backwards (as is to be expected) and destroyed Olivia. She got a bit of a fat lip and a small cut on her mouth.
My conference on Thursday was the Great Homeschooling Convention in Cincinnati. Much to Bryan's dismay, I think I found my people. After I got past the fundamentalists and even-more-socially-awkward-than-me types, of course. My friends from Lima went, too, and it was nice to get to hang out with them. Most of the sessions that I attended were applicable to parenting as well as homeschooling, so I was able to learn from them but Bryan still has reason to hope that I might not be totally sold on the whole homeschooling idea. :)
I left the conference early on Friday because I had to make it back in time to pick up my family and head to a rehearsal. Bryan's sister, Keshia, got married on Saturday, and we all had a part to play. Bryan was a groomsman, as well as official escort to the two adorably poufy flower girls (one of whom *cough Gretchen cough* couldn't walk yet). I was the music, and Jacque came in to be the cantor. Olivia had a hair appointment on Saturday morning, and I painted her nails to match her dress while she waited for her turn. Two hours later (after they'd finished the bride and bridesmaids), Olivia sat very still in the chair and DID NOT CRY (although she didn't look particularly pleased with the situation) while all of her hair was curled to look like Shirley Temple's. She even got a little braid like the big girls to hold it out of her face. Both girls did well for the service, Olivia had a blast dancing in her big dress at the reception (until the actual dancing started, and then she decided it was too crowded), and I'm sure there's a picture of them somewhere. :-P When I find it, I'll put it up.
Pictures:
Olivia pushed the chairs together so she could lie down:
The girls color together:
Our swing set:
Olivia plays a lazy game of CandyLand with Uncle James:
Gretchen is always super stylish (note the pants around the neck rather than on the legs):
Olivia gets all dolled up:
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