25 seconds

...is the amount of time Michael said he was gone answering the phone when Olivia when from painting her paper to painting herself. Recognizing defeat, Daddy then helped out a little. They were both pretty proud of themselves.

Later, after a few minutes with a hose and washcloth, she spend some time reading the paper.

As I was walking around the yard taking pictures of flowers with Olivia, I realized that I would have way more pictures and video of her if she wasn't naked about 95% of the time that she spends outside. My apologies to the neighbors.

The Storm

Last night as I was posting about our boating trip, I was also watching the radar on TWC on line. I could tell a line of storms was forming, and we were going to get a thunderstorm. By the time we got in bed, we could see flashing of lightning in the distance. I fell asleep and woke up to the sound of wind and thunder. Then I fell back asleep. Then I woke back up to the sound of the baby monitor beeping because the power went off. I turned it off and went back to sleep. Then I woke up to the sound of Michael snoring since his cpap machine was not working - still no electricity. Then I went to the spare bedroom and fell back asleep. Then I woke up to the sound of my neighbors generator starting and sputtering. Then I fell back asleep. Then I woke to the sound of Olivia puttering around in her room. No wonder I am tired today. Upon waking for the last time, this is what we found outside. Guess it was pretty windy.

Michael did a bunch of work during the day, then I helped after I got home from work and ate dinner. Olivia helped too - actually quite a bit. There were certainly enough small pieces for her to handle.

About 10 days ago, we finally got the last of our brush pile cleared away after we burned what we could. The yard was finally looking really good. Now we have another brush pile in its place. At least this one should burn without goo much trouble.

We were certainly not the only ones with limbs and trees down - we saw quite a bit of damage this morning when we went to church. Our neighbors had to cut their way out in the middle of the night on our road to get to work (for the power company). We were out of electricity for just over 11 hours.

A Quick Trip To Mark Twain Lake

We ran up to Mark Twain Lake for a day on the boat today. I am shocked at how red Olivia's face is in the first pic - that is before we got out on the water. I think it is probably an initial reaction to the sunscreen - she does that sometimes. It is amazing how Olivia has really taken to the water since her swimming lessons. She has so much more confidence in the water and really doesn't care if we are near her or not.

The last picture clearly depicts exactly how much fun Olivia had in the water. That was taken while we were still coming back to the dock. She actually fell asleep on my lap, I then transferred her to the above position and finally to a lying position on another seat.

The Flower Girl

Twice over the next few months, Olivia is going to be a flower girl. Yesterday, she received this book from my niece Bethany and her fiance Travis. Since she did not see it in the box when we opened it (she was in the bath), I wrapped it up and told her that she had a present from Bethany and Travis. After the bath, she opened it and we read it before bed. It is a very sweet story, and such a fun way to start introducing her to the concept.

Another Fabulous Get Together

As soon as Lily got out of the car, Olivia wanted to hold her hand, and held it all the way into the museum.

I am so thankful that Amy and Candi are as committed to getting the girls together as I am because despite all the trials and tribulations of getting to Decatur today, it was amazing. These girls are cute beyond description together and played non-stop all day. We spent a couple hours at the Illinois Children's Museum before lunch at Monical's then on to DQ for ice cream and lots more playing. While they may not remember every detail of these wonderful times, we are planting the seeds of a lifelong friendship and connection.

More Pool Time and Father's Day

Yesterday we went back to Aunt Nunu's for cousin Jordon's graduation party. Olivia, after some hesitation, got in the pool and had a great time. She played for a while with Michael and I, then struck out on her own, swimming from the shallow steps to the deep end ladder. She would then get out, walk back to the steps and do it all over again. Such a cute little fish!

We had a relaxing Father's Day spend watching the US Open, hanging out and having a nice dinner with family. It was some much needed down time for all of us. Olivia and I got up earlier than Daddy and worked on breakfast, then Olivia carried a present into him in bed. Then we both carried coffee presented in a coffee cup that Olivia painted herself. She was VERY proud and Daddy very pleased.

Hope everyone else had a great Father's Day!

Swimming Lessons

Olivia had her second swimming lesson with Aunt Nunu (aka Michael's sister Marilu) today. She has been teaching swimming lessons for many, many years and is highly sought after as an instructor. We are lucky to have her teaching Olivia. And, according to the presumably unbiased instructor, Olivia is doing great.

Boating at Mark Twain

We spent the afternoon at Mark Twain Lake hanging out on Grandpa Charlie's boat. Olivia had a really wonderful time. She played great, got in the water briefly and had lots of fun waving to other boaters. Since we skipped the nap, she was asleep within 5 minutes of getting in the van to come home.

Just photos