So Many Special Days in the Month of May

May is always an extremely busy but very fun month with special days like Aunt Mal's birthday, Dad's birthday, Mother's Day, Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Ian's anniversary, Uncle Darren's birthday, Grandma Purnell's birthday, and more. I am pretty sure that I am going to be exhausted come June, as if I'm not already. However, all of the celebrating is definitely worth the discomfort of a few car naps along the way. It's a good thing that I wore my deodorant because I am going to be doing a lot of running this month. Yay for May!


On Tuesday, May 4th, we all got together for Aunt Mallory's birthday dinner with the fam. Aunt Mal, Mr. Chris, Grandma, Aunt Steph, Mom, Dad, and I met at Ceviche, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Roswell, to celebrate Aunt Mal's turning 24. As I get older, I am less fond of sitting still in restaurants, so it has become somewhat of a battle, especially when Grandma is with us because I know that she will let me do whatever I want. The chocolate cake after dinner was definitely the best part, aside from the lap floating, which I did after the cake. I laughed with Aunt Mal and Aunt Steph, smiled with Mr. Chris, and danced with Dada. It was quite a party! Grandma thought it was funny that Mr. Chris and I have similar smiles; that's right, you apparently smile like a 1-year-old, Mr. Chris. I am always down for a mid-week, family dinner. Again, Happy Birthday, Aunt Mallory!
A quick rant from Mom:
Dear restauarant owners,
If you are going to have high chairs in your establishment, you should also have a changing area in the bathroom!
Sincerely,
Getting Super Annoyed with Restaurants in General























May 5th is not only Cinco de Mayo but also Aunt Steph and Uncle Ian's anniversary. As a present to themselves, they opened an envelope containing their baby's sex during their anniversary dinner. Drum roll, please...I am going to be the proud cousin to a baby girl come September. I could not be more excited; I've got a lot to teach my new apprentice. I may even let her borrow my clothes from time to time. Congratulations, Aunt Steph and Uncle Ian!

The first week of May continued per usual with an awesome playgroup at Mrs. Lindsi and Jackson's house, as well as a new concept for the first May Gymboree. The highlight of this week's playgroup was the little Lego wagon, in which I sat until one of the boys, Boris or Lucas, pulled me around the house. We also had one more walker to add to our group this past week, for Jackson is really on the move now. Selina and Carla decided to stay in the living room and away from all of the craziness, which was probably wise considering I found myself being attacked by a horse at one point. Playgroups can get kind of wild! Before leaving to take naps, Lucas and I turned Mrs. Lindsi's ottoman into a trampoline - so fun, so fun; thanks for letting us trash your house, Mrs. Lindsi. On Thursday, Lucas and I once again joined forces for Gymboree. This month started out with a new concept, push and pull. The Moms got to push us up ramps and slides, as well as pull us around the room on various objects. I, in turn, learned to say, "Heave, Ho" as a form of encouragement while being pulled. We even got to push the air log back and forth across the room, which was more fun than it sounds. I again participated in every activity and led the troops for most of them; my favorites include the "Pound, Pound, Freeze" song on the air log and the bubbles on the parachute. During parachute time, a bubble got stuck in my hair and stayed there for a long time. Get excited, people: I finally have enough hair in which a bubble can get stuck! Lucas then made himself comfortable in my lap for the parachute ride. That is his new thing; he likes to find me on the parachute and then back up until he is sitting in my lap. I think it is funny, so I don't mind. Towards the end of class, Lucas and I made a new friend named Caden, with whom we danced on the bridge. I even played with some of the other little girls again this week. I'm trying to expand my horizons. Playgroup and Gymboree are my two favorite parts of every week.

Like I mentioned in the last blog, Mom and I have been running and walking with the other moms as much as possible lately. Last week included a run with Mrs. Joanne and Parker. Mrs. Joanne and Mom are both getting ready for some upcoming races. Parker and I enjoyed our snacks and rocked out to a little music while Mom and Mrs. Joanne sweated. By the way, I ask for, "Mu-", short for music, everywhere I go now. To burn off the calories that we had consumed while the moms ran, Parker and I did a little running of our own at the end of the trail. Mom also joined Mrs. Joanne, Mrs. Lindsi, Mrs. Allison, and Mrs. Alisha the next day for a social walk on the trail. Parker was in school, so I was the only girl with all the boys: Jackson, Tyler, Lucas, and baby Graysen. Lucas and I had our own fun from our strollers; we held hands, tried to top one another's screams, and just laughed at each other as we strolled along. I love being outside, and I especially love being outside with friends!

The busy week was nothing in comparison to the crazy weekend. Saturday was Dada's birthday, and I was so happy that he got to celebrate on the golf course with a few of his guy friends. While Dad played golf, Mrs. Melissa joined Mom and me as we ran some birthday errands. We got Dad's cake and lots of food for a big birthday dinner. Unfortunately, we left the cake out on the counter while we ran the rest of our errands, which wouldn't have been a big deal if it hadn't been an ice cream cake. Oops! I'm pretty sure it still tasted yummy. After Dada finished playing golf, Grandma came up and watched me so that Mom and Mrs. Melissa could meet the boys for a little birthday celebration. I think Dad had a great birthday, and I even got to play in his new hammock the next morning. Happy Birthday, Dada! I love you so much; even if, you are an old man.

Sunday was Mother's Day, and Dada helped me decorate a coffee mug with my hand prints to give to Mama. I wasn't so sure about the paint on my hands, but I did like signing the card. When Mom woke up, I had pen marks all the way up my arm; now, that is one heck of a signature. Dada and I gave Mom her presents, a book, a magazine, the coffee mug, and a gift card to her favorite boutique, before getting ready to go to brunch with Grandma, Aunt Steph, and Aunt Mal. Brunch at Ray's on the River was nice - minus the no changing table, again - but the seating was even better. We got to sit right outside next to the water, and I took full advantage. I ran back and forth across the bridge, walked along the stones in the garden, and soaked up some rays with the fam. I also tried to say, "Hello" to the very serious harpist as she was playing; I was just trying to be social. I didn't eat much of the food, of course, but when everyone got dessert and I tasted the decadent chocolate cake, I got really excited. I know that Mama had a wonderful Mother's Day thanks to Dad and me. Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms, soon-to-be moms, and grandmas out there, especially my Mom, all of my Grandmas, and soon-to-be mom, Aunt Steph! I hope you all had the Mother's Day that you all so much deserve.

This is...

Super Olivia,

Rambo Olivia,

& sleepy Olivia

...signing off for now.