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She's getting old enough now she'll soon be able to read these herself.
Per tradition, we've now gone from this:
To this:

Onward and upward!


There was a Norman Rockwell exhibit up at the Orlando Science Museum on Friday. LOTS of hands on stuff! Highly recommended!

We hope to have some more photos and blooper pixes up this week!

$50.00 in food, drink and icecream.
$20.00 in souveniers.
9 hours of standing in line for rides and autographs.
$110 in a dress, shoes and tiara.
Actual amount spent: Priceless.
HAPPY UPCOMING 5TH BIRTHDAY O! MOMMY AND DADDY HOPE YOU REMEMBER THIS ONE!

The Shamu show was a bust this year. We waited an entire hour in the stadium for the show to start, and one of the whales decides the show needs to be canceled. So what happens? The show got canceled since they could not get a certain whale in a pen where she needed to go.
They may act like cats, but when they weigh several thousand pounds, well, you just let the whale do what it wants.

We got a nice COZY and SOFT bed tonight at our hotel before flying out to meet Scott.
For a certain Daddy out there that has to sit through 'live' T.V.
For, on this day, the seventh day of June, 2008, Olivia has proved her fundamental usefulness to daddy.
She got me a beer. Out of the fridge! Threw away the bottle cap too! I knew this kid would be useful some day.
Oh, don't worry, I'll cherish it while I can. I'm only, what, eight years away from her telling me to f- off three times in two sentences? Heck, it's what her mom does just about every day lately. She'll have learned from the best!

~She is dancing to Frank Sinatra, not classical music. But she did perform a Sinatra ballet for us, and it was quite entertaining.
This was the first time Olivia got to get as close to the airplanes as she wanted. She definitely took advantage of the opportunity.
Not only was this Olivia's first air show, it was her first bus ride. As you can see, she enjoyed posing in her mom's garden hat.
So Olivia, being my child, is enjoying Battle 360 as her "after-bath-time-grown-up" show. It's essentially a multi-part visualization of my favorite WWII book. Since this is the History Channel, interspersed between lots of really cool CGI battles are sound bites from various interviews with veterans and military experts, including one William E. Bodette, 1st Sargent, U.S.M.C. And let me tell you folks, he is every inch The Marine. How do I know?
Olivia, seeing him come on screen for the fifth time in the forth episode she's watched: "Daddy! That man's head looks like a Great. Big. Jar!!!"
I kid you not. And in patented "head-explodes-in-candy-helium-high" cute voice.
Kids.
I took Olivia to a local pet expo this weekend. What did we find? A CAT kite!!
This is O's first kite flying experience. She had us out there over an hour flying the kite at the local school's soccer field parking lot.


Yes, our flowers are blooming! Many thanks to our neighbors for letting us hide eggs in their yard!

It was our first REAL snow today so Olivia and I headed out after picking her up from Day Care for some fun. She never built a snowman and the snow was pretty good for one. Until we got a wild idea how to decorate it.

We are very proud of it. NO ONE in the neighborhood has one like ours!

Our pookie-pie is home sick today. She sounds like she swallowed troll snot. :/

That better not be what I think it is behind you!?!

It is! Gah!! Last time her hair got sucked out at the roots!

"Scott!! What the f*#%?!? There's cheese in the knife drawer!"
"Wasn't me!" (I actually don't know how it got in there. Not the point.)
Olivia: "Yeah, dad, what the f#$%?!?"
Ellen: "Olivia!!!"
Me: "What'd she say?"
"She said the W-T-F word" (as in "dubya-tee-eff")
Oliva, in her schoolmarm voice: "No mommy. That's not what I said. I said 'what the f$#$!'"
Us, together: "Olivia!!!"
Daycare, I tell ya. She learns it all from daycare.

We took Olivia to The Great Country Farm again this year. This time she was all for the rope swing!

I learned that, even sitting less than four feet away from me, Olivia can get into the most amazing things. Up this time: a mini-sharpie marker Ellen must've dropped who knows how long ago. Normally I toss them on sight. Permanent markers do not make daddy smile! Somehow I missed this one, and now Olivia looks like she murdered Barney with a kitchen knife. Swear to God, I only looked away for 5 minutes! Big, long, lurid purple spots and streaks from toe to face (face! sharpie!) now adorn everyone's favorite princess.
"It's okay daddy! It's my tattoos!"

We had my younger brothers in town, and as you see, none of them will hold still for a photo.
Whatever vestiges of toddlerhood still clinging to my tiny dancer have been flung down the stairs like... well, like the clothes on her back. Olivia is now into naked time!!! I can definitely remember this phase myself, but I thought it was limited to crude gross little boys. I have a giggly "laffy-taffy" shaking her nekkid butt back and forth across the living room proving me wrong.
No pictures this time. I'm not that dumb. But it is damned funny. Now if I can just keep her from sticking her fingers in her crack...

I should mention we hit the Ren Faire again this weekend for the last time this year. I made Olivia's costume this year.

Olivia and I with our Woodbabies!
Olivia liked my puppet so much last year, I bought her one this year.
On this day, at 1:00 pm, Olivia proved she knows how to answer Ellen's cell phone. It took her two tries, but while Mommy was in the shower Olivia fielded daddy's call and yelled at mom until she came down and picked it up. This is something of a double-edged sword for me. Ellen considers her phone slightly, and only slightly, less important than oxygen. If she takes after her mother in this regard, it does not bode well.
I kid! I kid! Geeze. Nobody has a sense of humor nowadays...
This Friday, my church was desperate for face painters for their painting booth at their yearly fair, so I signed up since I can paint.
I was not expecting to have all the kids line up to me vs. the other painters. Apparently my dragons are the bomb diggity for the boys, and my butterflies for the girls were just awesome.

Then I was told they were expecting some guy in it and did not realize it was me sitting in church for the past several weeks. Apparently "Bones" has made an impression already with the kids. I have the 'cool' car.
Today we find Olivia dancing to the music of "Aladdin."

Olivia has her own camera now, so I had to take a picture of her taking a picture.
Compare with:
The only distance between the former and the latter are five feet and three years. It staggers me.
Then, I don't think Olivia had ever ridden in the Spider. Now, she rides in it far more often than Ellen does. Maybe this summer we'll take our first father-daughter road trip? You never know.
I only have, what, nine years before she'll never want to talk to me again?
All the time in the world. And it'll be over tomorrow. Lord help us all.
In the past two days: ring pops dipped in ketchup, and hamburger buns dipped in grape soda. Rachel Ray better just watch the hell out; s'all I'm sayin'.
You really don't think that a Swivel Sweeper would do something like this. Usually they are used on a floor, but this little girl tried it on her head.

How I fixed the bald spot.

Why yes, that is permanent marker smiley face on her head.
I've told this story to several people recently, but I'm recording it here because otherwise by the time it's useful as embarrassment material for dates everyone will have forgotten about it.
During our stay in San Diego, we were always on the top floor of a 14-story tower, which, well, towered over the rest of the property. Olivia took to calling this "the building." As in, "daddy, I'm tired, let's go home to the building." Or, "daddy! Why won't you buy me everything in the store?!? You're in time out! Go back to the building!"
Fast forward two weeks later, with Olivia sitting on the floor playing with her various San Diego-acquired stuffed animals*. Suddenly, she says, "Daddy! I want to go home!"
"Olivia, you are home!"
"No, daddy, this home is stupid! I want to go home to the building!"
Well, it's a damned long walk, but we'll see what we can do, kiddo.
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* All 32 of them. I think. I lost count.
We have so many fun photos of many individual animals, that a small entry will not do them justice! So enjoy these for now!
Sorry, my Mastercard is for my business only. But here I bring you a VISA moment!
$65 per adult and $45 per child to get into Sea World.
$9.95 plus tax for the Shamu cup.

A VERY happy little girl, priceless.
Today O and I headed out to the Chula Vista Nature Center. You can check their website out here.
Now for the pixes!






Hope you all enjoyed this picture entry!

Yes, this is a single leaf of kelp. You have no idea how BIG these things get till you see them wash up on the shore.

Olivia will swim on her own now with her jacket on. She won't let you hang on to her anymore.

Ellen's big recital was last weekend. This was the first one Olivia let me see to the end. Unfortunately the lighting was just about impossible for me to shoot in, so this is one of the few sharp pictures of the bunch. More to follow.
Olivia, after watching (YAF*) Shrek commercial: "Daddy! There's Shrek, and Donkey, and Piss on Boots!" The staccato delivery was what really sold it.
And the latest flavor combo? Chicken nuggets dipped in chocolate pudding. Coming to a McDonalds near you.
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* Yet Another ... Fine. Yeah. Fine

Oh yes, 86 degrees and we have no champagne to celebrate with. So the hose is the second best!

The top is that scrunchy fabric with a straight skirt. Not bad if I say so myself!

This is the reward Olivia got for not wearing pull-ups anymore. ROLLER SKATES! HEELIES NO LESS!



Olivia's latest taste combo is...
Cheetos dipped in orange juice. Judging by the lip-smacking, this is quite good. I'll take her word for it.

uh...no Olivia. We already have a giant pony in the house. We do not need more of a zoo. Daddy will kill me if I buy it. Put back the giraffe and Mommy won't get hurt...

More to come...daily though. There is only so much pasta I can take!

Taken at the museum outing this past weekend.
Olivia, being Olivia, kept trying to boss her cousin JT around as we wandered the museum. Every time he ignored her and swirled off on his own tangent, she'd put her hands on her hips and yell out in a very exasperated tone, "Jaayymes!"
She is, after all, her mother's child.
No-prize to Jeff for sharing with us pictures taken with his snazzy new camera!