Wordless Wednesday - Wordless Livia!

As of late, the only time my sweet little Livia isn't talking, singing, or a combo of the two is when she's sleeping... So here she is - Wordless!
She actually fell asleep eating at her Grandma Trilby's - it was so sweet! And of all times, I didn't even have my camera on me. Luckily, my Mother-in-law did have hers handy & we were able to snap several sweet shots of Liv. She even stayed asleep while we moved her to a more comfortable location. How silently sweet!

Future Track Star...?

Earlier this summer, Livia went to her very first little race - The Little Dutch Run in Haubstadt Indiana. I prepped her, and pumped her up, and I just knew she was going to be great! I mean, she's a little speed demon here at home and almost everywhere! I had high hopes of her even placing...!

Liv with her Nana just before the race.

My high hopes were dashed when I saw from the finish line that she didn't even want her Nana to put her down! I think it was the high crowd that got to her...
At any rate, she did start running (with my Mom) once all the others began to clear out.

And guess what? She still got her first running metal out of it!

Here she is receiving it just after the race with her Papaw.

All the kids who finished under a certain time frame got one. And more importantly, Livia really did have fun. The whole experience was just awesome!
And like any good little runner, she finished her race properly - with a banana!

So then it was my turn (OHmy...) I hadn't been running as much as usual, and this was going to be my test to see how much I'd be doing. Liv has always been my little runnin' buddy, so at least I knew I couldn't just collapse halfway through!
Perry was of course there to cheer me on, and here's a shot of all 3 of us just before the 5k... Sorry, no after pictures due to the fact that I looked like I was about to pass out!

For the time being though, I have decided it's best for me to ease up on the running... My knees let me know on a daily basis that it's just not the best idea to do so. I will be getting them checked out soon to find out what I need to do to be able to get back to one of my (and perhaps Liv's) passions!

Labor Day Weekend - 2009

This wonderfully long weekend has had its ups & downs, but it really was a great one! By Thursday, I was very much looking forward to having an extra day off... Why?
See below...
My sweet little daughter found that she could reach all sorts of things by climbing upon her changing table. Looking back, I really should have seen this coming, but I honestly didn't think my little angel could possibly make such a mess - and so quickly!
There's no way she could have been in there for more than a minute or two tops; and yet she was able to empty nearly an entire tube of Desitin into her hands... and subsequently all over her, the wall, her changing table, and more!

I had high hopes of making the most of every day in this long weekend, but it became painfully obvious Friday that there was no way I would be able to do anything unless I went to the Dr. for a horrendous headache that I'd had for more than 2 days. Turns out that I did the right thing - I had a heck of a sinus infection. Which kept me home all Friday night & Saturday. (Grr...) And I still wasn't feeling great on Sunday; and though I did not make it to church, I was able to get out to my parents... I think Liv would have gone crazy if she didn't get her weekly trip!

And lucky for me, I got to see my sister & her now husband Michael while there! They were married July 11th of this year, and I can't wait to show off some photos & stories of the events leading up to, and of course the wedding.
They were sweet enough to let me snap a couple of great shots of them before they left for evening church:
Laura recently traded her long locks for a very chic & stylish short-cut. I absolutely love it on her! And don't they look so happily married?

When Liv woke up from a late nap, we headed to the farm as usual... Although she missed her favorite show of Uncle Don & his Bobcat. She was still quite happy just to be there.

Livia & her Papaw looking at the cows

After we got back to my Mom & Dad's, Liv played outside until after the sun went down... And I was happy to be out there with her, so I could see the magnificent sunset!

It was just so pretty - unfortunately the camera couldn't quite capture how lovely it really was. (It never stops me from trying though!)

Oh - and something that's become very obvious to everyone is how much Livia Rachelle LOVES tomatoes! I thought no one could possibly like them as much as I do, but I think I have truly met my match!
She'll often go into the garden at my Mom & Dad's and pick a little snack for herself - as you can see!

Today was a great one as well - we spent the whole day together as a family! Perry, Liv & I went out to eat brunch at IHOP (yummy-licious!) And then shoe shopping. No! It really wasn't my idea! And believe it or not, I didn't even look for any. Livia & Perry both needed a good pair of tennis shoes - and I wish I would have gotten a picture because they both got New Balance brand.
Oh well. I did get some awesome pictures of Perry playing in the park with her Daddy close at her side. Our original plans were to take Liv to the Boonville splash park one last time before it closed for the season, but upon arrival we saw nothing was working & a sign over the hours...
"Splash park closed due to mechanical issues. Splash park closed for season."
How nice, huh? If Livie wouldn't have fallen asleep on the way there, we would have been in so much trouble!
Anyway, Livia did have a lot of fun:

On the swings...

Daddy helping her navigate the playground...

All the way up the wall to the big slide...

And down!

We finally packed up & drove around Perry's hometown where he grew up - he showed me where different businesses used to be, where some still are after all these years, and where many changes occured as well.
One very neat change was that my sister & Michael recently bought their house - and that house just happened to be where one of Perry's good friends grew up! He said, "I've been in that house a hundred times!"
After the town tour, we went to visit Livie's PaPa Bill - her Grandma Trilby is on vacation, so we know he loved the company. And Livia adores him endlessly!
Finally we headed home. It was still really early in the evening though, and I still felt bad about Liv not getting her fun day at the splash park. So I decided to take her down to the Old National fountain to play and splash...!

She was the only one there, and she loved having the whole place to herself.

I know that water was cold, but Livia sure didn't seem to mind!

And how could I not love this sweet little girl?

She played & splashed until her little lips were beginning to turn blue! I finally convinced her to get going (willingly)... but only with the bribe of McDonalds. Once in a while isn't too bad though, right?

And I hope everyone had as great a weekend as we did!

Flashback Friday ~ Livia's Stitches

Once upon a time, there was an active, happy little toddler who LOVED to run...
One day though, not too awfully long ago, found out that running inside isn't always all that fun...

My daughter, the future track star, may be on her way to slowing down after getting her first (and hopefully LAST) stitches! Just a little more than a month ago, we were at Nana & Papaw's on a Sunday night. It was a little late for Liv, and she was doing anything she could to stay awake. That included running back & forth in the living room - which she thought was great until...

CRASH!!

It was the "bonk" heard 'round the world - or at least in my little world. The second I heard it, I knew it was bad. I didn't know how bad though, until I ran in to see about her. My Mom had already picked her up from behind... and all I saw at first was blood! Gaa!

I immediately called Perry and told him what had happened - that Livia was running and tripped over the little rocking chair... and crashed head-first into the toy box. I had no clue if we needed to go to the hospital or just to put a band-aid on. Luckily (or unluckily) my husband is the stitch expert - he's only had them a dozen times or so! He said to bring her on home, and he'd take a look to see what we needed to do.

I put some antiseptic & a band-aid over the wound, and quickly drove home. Livia even fell asleep on the way... As soon as we arrived though, Perry carried her in to take a look at the damage - one look was all he needed. "Stitch City!" said my husband, and we were off to the ER!

So, wanna see what he saw...? Be warned - it's a little rough!

This is after she was all numbed up. We were so nervous about the aspect of her getting who-knows-how-many shots of whatever-it-is to numb her, but luckily our nervousness was unfounded. They had some type of gooey substance we held on her head with gauze - and after 20-25 minutes it definitely did the trick! She was even singing and talking before they came back in to stitch her up.

Now, my sister had called the ER ahead of our arrival - she told us who Liv would see, and gave them a heads-up that a toddler needing stitches was on the way in. I told Livia that these were her Aunt Laura's friends, and they were going to make her all better! She was afraid, but I could see the trust in her eyes - Mommy was saying she was going to be just fine, so it must be so.

Inside, I was just about as scared as she was, but I guess Mommy-Mode totally kicked in. They had to wrap her up to trap her arms... They had one gentleman holding her head... And they had a handkerchief-size cloth with a hole about the size of a softball in the middle. They held the cloth over Liv's head so she couldn't at all see what was going on! I was underneath the cloth with her - smiling and singing the whole time!

She only whimpered one time, when the cloth slipped over a bit too far and she got a glance at the scary tools they were using. I just sang "Jesus Loves Me" (her favorite) and she forgot all about what was going on with her head. I could even see her little lips moving to the words of the song, so I knew I was doing a good job of keeping her calm.

Before we knew it, it was all over! And Livia had 7 stitches!!! The ER staff said that without a doubt, Liv was the best 2-year-old they'd ever had there. I always knew she was a good little girl!

So, here's what she looked like the next day:

Not too bad, really!

And by the end of the week...

The stitches were ready to come out...!

And here she is the day after the stitches were taken out...
I don't think she'll have any long-term emotional effects from the ordeal!

And in fact, she may barely even have a scar...

But her Mommy will sure never forget this scare!

A Braided Beauty

Livia really is at such a great age - so fun and beautiful! And her Aunt, Nana, and even Mommy have lots of fun making her beautiful... With braids! (Though Liv's Aunt Laura has certainly done it the most) And my favorite part is getting wonderful pictures of her with braids...

Out at her Nana & Papaw's holding a baby kitten

Having lots of fun after a church softball game

Out in the country...

And even in the garden (with the Gooseneck Gourd)

My little girl's so cute in braids! Well, to me she's cute in just about anything. That's a Mommy for ya!

*Tomorrow is Flashback Friday... A chance for me to start to catch up on all the happenings within the last year. Oh, I can't wait!

Our Polka Dot Poser

At long last, it's happened - Livia has begun posing for the camera! Since she's had a camera in her face at least 50% of her waking (and sometimes non-waking) life, I was happily surprised yesterday evening when she said,

"Take a picture me, Mommy!"

Yes, she really did say that! Liv has been talking in full sentences for several months, but they're finally getting pretty easy to decipher.

At any rate, I clamored to get the camera before she changed her mind!

"I sit like Mommy!"

Were the words coming out of her mouth for this shot - and you guessed it, that's exactly how I was sitting.

"Cheese!"

Amazingly, she didn't do her usual open mouth 'cheesy' grin. That's almost always what happens when she says that magical dairy word... Like magic, she opens up her mouth like she's about to eat a huge bite of cheese.

"Me lay on belly, Mommy?"

Oh, is she really getting this posing thing down!

"Cheese!"

Doh! I guess I spoke too soon - this is her usual 'cheese' face... Still quite cute I must admit.

"I lay like dis, 'K?"

I could see her starting to get sleepy, but I didn't even care - I couldn't wait to see how she would pose next! And I just loved the little polka-dot outfit she had on.

"I holdin' my face, see?"

Ok, this one was my idea. But it definitely didn't come out as I'd imagined or even hoped - WAY cuter! I told her to put her face her her hands... This was when she was laying on her tummy. Well, she sat right up and did as I asked!

Livia was so much fun. Unfortunately my husband was out of town for a funeral... But after I emailed him one of these photos, his night definitely got a lot better. Bless his heart, he's had to drive so much the last 2 days (at least 7 hours each day). I'm thinking I should do something extra special for him. I don't suppose the dishes & laundry count, do they? Eh, didn't think so!

I love you SO much Perry... Last night just didn't feel right without you. I'm glad you're back home safely, and I'm even happier that we'll be able to have some family time to make up for yesterday!

A Trip with Triple the Fun

Often our trips to the farm will be made with Liv in her riding stroller. It's so easy to push, even a kid could do it... Ok, actually 3!

Meg, Sam, & Jay all working together to push Livia to the farm

Actually, they didn't particularly want to work together at first. The stroller really is easy enough for just one of them to push. It was so cute to see them working together, though!

And it was even better watching them try their best to keep the stroller on the road.

They made headway so quickly!

On the way back to my parents house, it was only Livia & Megan (the boys wanted to stay with their Daddy to help with the cows). Rather than make one of the girls walk or even having someone carry one, we let them ride together!


Livie sat in between Meg's legs, and Megan held on tight to her cousin to make sure she didn't fall (or try to get) out.

Boy, am I so lucky to have such a such a sweet little girl - and we're both lucky to have the triplets in our lives!