Eating out of her hands....

I remember thinking that Olivia was so strong willed at 3 years old! Whew! She challenged me. She pushed me. She exhausted me. Then....I had Caroline! Olivia is mild and complacent in comparison! Caroline defines strong willed. She has a fierce temper, but also a fierce loving spirit. She knows what she wants and accepts no less. She is a leader. And...she has people and dogs eating out of her hands!

Caroline is a Daddy's girl. She thinks he hung the moon. She squeals and runs for the door when he comes home from work. It thrills him, of course. She has her Daddy wrapped. She also has her Mimi wrapped. She asks for something and then says "Call Mimi". Hilarious! She seems to think that Mimi is her fairy godmother. (I have another fairy godmother story that I'll save for another post). I asked Caroline if she thinks Mimi will buy her something if we call her and Caroline says, "If I say so". That girl!

Well, now we have this sweet dog, Daisy. She is really Olivia's dog since Olivia prayed for her (another blog soon). But, we have all fallen for Daisy. Caroline has Daisy eating out of her hands....literally. When we go out to feed her, Caroline sits down and puts Daisy's food bowl between her legs, scoops up some dog food into her hands and Daisy eats that way. She gently takes the food right out of Caroline's hands! She doesn't gobble. She doesn't nip. She just takes whatever Caroline offers her. It's so sweet.

Caroline is a Daddy's girl....but she has her Mommy's heart (and temper)!

Here she is.....!

Just wanted to add a picture of Malibu Barbie!

1971

1971 was a good year. I was 6 years old. Life was easy. I had a new Barbie. She was Malibu Barbie and she came in a cute aqua swimsuit with sunglasses and a beach towel.
I had kinda forgotten about Malibu Barbie until late November 2002. I was shopping in Walmart and saw her on the shelf! WOW!! I burst into tears on the spot!! I was flooded with memories of playing with that Barbie! I loved Barbies as a little girl. I played with them every day! And....I was pregnant with my little girl, Olivia when I saw that Barbie in Walmart that day. I had to have her for Olivia. I held back. I didn't get her that day. I came home and told Brad about her and he encouraged me to go back and get her. So...I did. She was under the tree for Olivia on Christmas morning. Olivia was only 3 weeks old then. She was way too young to play with or appreciate Malibu Barbie. So, I put her up in the top of Olivia's closet. She has been there for over 6 years now. Every now and then Olivia will ask for her. I say...."no, she is special". She will wait a few months and ask again and I say..."no, she needs to stay in the box".
Last night, Olivia spied her again as we were getting ready for bed. Of course, she asked to have her. This time....I gave in. Olivia was thrilled!!! We made an agreement that Olivia would treat Malibu Barbie better than she treats all the other Barbie's in the playroom. Olivia slept with that Barbie last night. She took her to school today for show and tell. She wanted to show her class that she had a Barbie just like her Mama had in 1971 (she asked me the year all the way to school).
Malibu Barbie is special. She is even more special out of the box and the hands of my little girl...who will love her like I loved my dolls...only maybe she will be loved even more because she is like the one I had. Maybe that is what will make her different for Olivia. It doesn't matter about keeping her in a box. She needs to be used, played with, messed up and loved.

Celebrations

What a wonderful weekend!

Today was our dog, Daisy's 2nd birthday....and her 2 week anniversary of living at our house. We only celebrated the birthday, though. Olivia is a party girl. She loves to celebrate....anything and everything. Last month, we had a birthday party for our goldfish Belle and Jasmine. They had been with us for one year on March 17. I awoke that morning to the sound of the "Happy Birthday" song by Olivia and Caroline. They were singing to the fish. It was an important day.

Olivia has been planning this little celebration for the dog since the first day Daisy came to live with us. She gathered up a "table curtain", snacks (Goldfish and Wheat Thins), paper plates, cups and drink and we had a party at the picnic table!

I need to learn from Olivia. Celebrate. Celebrate the ones we love. Do special things for special people (or dogs or fish). Don't hold back. Make the extra effort. Take the time. It's worth it.

Santa and The Tooth Fairy

We had a great Easter weekend. We spent time at home. We went to church. We had an Easter lunch. We did a little yard work (mostly cleaning up junk). We got ready for the Easter Bunny. Only....I don't pretend that the Easter Bunny comes. I never have. My parents never did. It's never been a tradition for me. Maybe I should have thought this through before we started with Santa and the Tooth Fairy because my Olivia, my sweet little 6 year old has figured it out! She's been asking Santa questions since before Christmas. Brad and I talked about it and decided that if she ever just point blank asked us, we would, of course, tell her the truth. So...Saturday night as we were getting ready to pray, she asked about the Tooth Fairy, which led, of course to Santa. I called Brad in for reinforcement. We hemmed and hawed and answered questions with questions until finally she said "Come on guys, tell me the truth!" It was hilarious and sad at the same time. She promises not to ruin the fun for others. So far...so good. But, it's only been a few days! Our main objective has always been that our children know the real reason we celebrate Christmas and Easter. Jesus....our Savior who was born and then died....all for us. And guess what??? She gets it!! We know Caroline will one day, too!

My very first post!!

Wow! I am typing my very first blog. I'm really not sure how this all works, but I'm going to give it a try!

I have been keeping a journal for Olivia and Caroline since they were babies. I wanted to remember all the sweet things about them and I wanted it to be something they could look at one day and enjoy reading. I thought this blog might be another way to remember these wonderful days that you think you will never forget. The things they say and do are so precious (most of the time!). Sometimes, I wish I could freeze time, but then time passes and I realize that it just keeps getting better! Every day of their life is special. Every milestone is unique and wonderful!