Valentine's Day is a lot of love 
with a dash of candy, and Easter is a lot of candy with a dash of love. I made out like a bandit on both fronts this year; Ethan had an awesome Easter but a Pink Eye kind of Valentine's Day. His oozy eyes were pretty unappetizing, but I managed to choke down a few pounds of candy hearts and chocolate treats anyways. He really enjoyed his new truck and my stamp block, and I really enjoyed my Eiffel Tower picture holder and Peter Pan movie, until I realized it was way old school. I've been obsessed with the 
Eiffel Tower and learning French ever since Mom and Dad got back from Paris. Yucky eyes or not, Ethan is still my 
Valentine; although, he does like to regularly beat me with random objects these days. Boys, they are violent...and wild! I made sure that Daddy felt l'amour too with a homemade card and caramel brownies made with love; Ethan's eyes even cleared up enough after nap that I let him help decorate the brownies, which he thought
was awesome! I made special heart cards for all of my favorite family and friends because as I told Mom, "I love to love people on Valentine's Day". For my schoolmates, I handed out Princess Valentine's, of course, and we got to have a little Love Day celebration at school! Thanks to Aunt Mal's residence in our basement, Mom and Dad even got to go out to a fancy dinner on actual Valentine's Day, prior to which Dad sent Mom a beautiful bouquet of flowers during the day. Those two, they are pretty cute.
Side Bar for February: Happy Birthday to my absolute BFF, Parker Violet! We
may fight like crazy, but we will always be besties, and 
I loved her gymnastics party! We are learning to deal with our little arguments like big girls now that we are both 4; Mom and I have discussed dealing with conflicts a lot lately, so the last time Parker and I got into a fight at school, I dealt with it the right way, which I thoroughly explained to Mom as soon as I was in the car. "Mom, today, Parker Violet was being really mean to me, and she kept pushing me, which hurt my 
feelings, so I said, 'Parker, come sit on the ellipse with me. Parker, why are you being mean to me?' and she said, 'Olivia, I thought it was funny.' So, I told her, 'Parker, it hurts my feelings, and I don't think it is funny.' She then hugged me and said, 'I'm sorry Olivia; I won't push anymore.'" Not bad for four-year-old conflict resolution; Mom was pretty impressed. Unfortunately, I have reverted to saying mean things back, crying, and tattling 90% of the time. Oh well, at least there was a glimmer of hope, and our fights only ever last about 5 minutes. Happy 4th Birthday to my favorite friend, Parker Violet!Scary Side Bar for February: Daddy got sick, really sick! I won't go into great detail since I don't like to talk about it, but
Ethan, Mom, and I had to rush a semi-conscious Daddy in excruciating pain to Urgent Care and then to the ER where Grandma scooped brother and me up. After a CT scan, a terrible spinal tap, lots of IV fluids, several hours in the ER, and a follow-up trip to the Neurologist, Daddy has been diagnosed with a severe complex migraine brought on my stress. We are all just glad that Daddy is okay; it was a really scary day, and we told him that he better reduce his work stress, pronto! We know he is the man, but he is our man first! Grandma came over the weekend after the scare so that Mommy and Daddy could have a stress-free afternoon out together. I know Mommy is really relieved that Daddy is okay. February also included:
A Ladies' Day out with Mom
Ethan is finally big enough, so we graduated to the big kid grocery cart at the store. Pancake cheers for that!
I am now obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even more so than with princesses, and Parker, Grayson, Ethan, and I make the best TMNT. I am always Donatello because he is the smartest!
Oscar viewing with Mommy!
I am becoming quite the laundry folder...
and artist! I stay in the lines like a pro now, and my drawings are now getting faces, limbs, and distinguishing themes.
Ethan is becoming quite the fit-thrower!
I do egg him on quite often though.
A glimpse into the future...hmmmm?
Easter Bunny that I could barely stand the wait. Ethan and I even got to meet the bunny, which went about how you would expect with a 14-month-old. 
That bunny did not disappoint either; we each got a basket full plus some. Ethan liked to shake his Puff-filled sports eggs the best, and I fell in love with my little stuffed bunny rabbit. I fall in love with new, stuffed friends easily. I planted Jelly Beans outside on the eve before Easter, and you'll never guess what grew! Our Jelly Beans grew into big lollipops over night, which can only happen on Easter! We hosted the Easter Day dinner, egg hunt, and festivities for the whole family at our house. 
I even hand-painted a flower to be rolled into each guest's place setting; 
Mom wrote a name on each stem, and voila, they double as place cards. The spread was great, and Harper and I got to sit at our own kids' table. I think the karaoke and cousin band jam with Harper True trumped the unfortunate indoor egg hunt. Darn wet weather! My favorite part of the whole day was playing with awesome stomp rocket that Aunt Steph got for me; we got spoiled by the fam and the Easter Bunny. I love holidays, and I think Ethan is definitely developing a fondness for them too. Sweet treats can develop a fondness for anything in that boy.
March was a month of firsts for both Ethan and I:Ethan had his first visit to the dentist, during which he did awesome and even laid in the big chair while the dentist checked his exciting two teeth. He is definitely a little behind on teeth, but the dentist said that they would come, eventually. The dentist also said that I am doing a fabulous job brushing on my own. I met the tooth fairy at my school, and I really want my teeth to help make the moon brighter. You'll have to ask the tooth fairy what I mean if you ever make her acquaintance. I've been teaching Ethan to do a good job brushing too because it's important for big sisters to teach little brothers everything we know!
Big sisters are also always supposed to be there to catch those pesky, little brothers when they falter.
That pesky, little brother got his first haircut in March too . Yep, he beat me to the first haircut by about three years.
Don't make fun; I'm slow on the hair growing, but he is slow on the teeth cutting, so we are even. Ethan was super brave and just pretended to call all of his friends while the stylist made him look oh-so-handsome. I tried to help out by handing him the comb and cheering him on. Perhaps the fact 
that it was a family affair helped him muster the courage to stay calm, cool, and collected because his second haircut two months later with just Mom was a mess! Without the presence of Daddy and me, he lost his mind. In fact, the lady couldn't even finish because of his head shaking, tear soaked fit. Mom tried to sit with him in the kiddie chair, about which she received a "most moms can't fit in the chair" compliment from the hair stylist, but it still didn't help, and Ethan left with a crooked trim-up in the back. I don't think Mom is looking forward to haircut #3.
2nd Haircut - Not So Great
I got to take my lunch and eat at school for the first time! It was awesome; you would have thought I was going to Disney World instead of spending just 30 more minutes at school to eat a Lunchable with my best gal pals. Yes, it has to be a Lunchable because all the cool kids take Lunchables...and so it begins.
Mom ever since. Her run times are getting pretty good, and we don't mind the 30 minutes with lollipops and wind in our hair. Ethan, unfortunately, has things a little mixed up, seeing as he 
thinks tennis shoes, as well as most other things, belong in the mouth. Because of his confusion, the gym is dead to us...for now. One whole weekend of Ethan and I throwing up while Dad was out of town, and Mom said forget the germ-infested gym daycare! It was a bad weekend, a very, very bad weekend. Aunt Mal and Grandma got the stomach bug from us too, but thankfully, Mom was able to avoid it. Ethan puked first, and he was pitiful, and then a day later, I puked for 6 hours straight; I was even more pitiful. I just kept saying, "I can't do this; I can't do this" in the saddest voice. I never want the stomach bug again!
Maybe a little evening bike ride will help keep us all fit as well.
We attended our first library read at the new library, which isn't as nice as our old library, but it's got lots of books to choose from, so we'll make it work. Ethan had a blast!
Along with being an avid reader, especially when it comes to the Fancy Nancy series and The Bernstein Bears, you can also add l'artiste to my resume.
Ethan saw his first snow, which was all kosher until Mom locked him and her out in it for 20 minutes! The locks in the new house are goners! Despite feeling icky, I mustered up enough energy to go out and catch a few flakes on my tongue. Gotta get that GA snow when you can.
Our new neighborhood rocks! We get to take a stroll, or bike ride, down to the lake gazebo any evening we want, and Dad is even going to get me a fishing pool so that we can catch some of those big fish that swim by when we feed the turtles and ducks.
Evening play time with Dad when he is in town is the absolute best time of the day, and Ethan and I both agree. These days it's two against one in the tackle arena.
Thankfully, these three sweet, silly babies won't be heading off to college any time soon!
Candy and love, they really do make the world go 'round, and the two of us get plenty of both, which makes for two happy kiddos!
