ROAR!

Olivia's splashpad birthday party @ Pease park

We celebrated Olivia's 2nd birthday party on Saturday at the splashpad in Pease park. With the extreme Texas heat this summer we decided to have the party from 9:30 am - 11:30 am to keep us all from melting. Instead of cake, we opted for chocolate sprinkle donuts. A chocolate sprinkle donut is pretty much Olivia's favorite treat. We usually have one before we go to play gym on Friday mornings. She and her guests all seemed to enjoy the tasty treats.We had a terrific turnout. Mimi, Aunt Christie and Aunt Kim & Bennett all woke up bright and early to drive down from Dallas. We also had the Benavides, Langhouts, Browers and half of the Borths join in the fun. The kids wore themselves out running around playing in the misters and exploring the playground.

After the party, we came home to open gifts and have some lunch with our family in from Dallas. Then Sheila and Rebecca brought Trent over to play since he couldn't make it to the party because of a soccer game. Olivia had such a wonderful day playing with her family and friends (even with no nap). It's so hard to believe she is 2 years old. As they say, time passes so quickly!

Look who's 2!!!

Miss O was very excited about her birthday cupcake. More to come...

Davis Cup - US vs Spain

This past weekend Austin was the host of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup tennis matches. The US took on Spain at the Erwin Center. This was such a huge deal for our city to host. All week the USTA held promotional events leading up to the matches so my friend, Bobbi, Olivia and I braved the heat on Tues afternoon and got to see Andy Roddick hit balls to kids. Look how close we were. Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers were also there hitting on other courts, but Olivia was partial to Andy. Or maybe it's Mommy. ;-) She had a great time playing with the kid size racquets and tennis balls.Friday the first match was Mardy Fish vs Feliciano Lopez and it was awesome except we lost. Five sets of high level tennis. Our seats were on the very top row of the Erwin Center so we could stand up at anytime which was nice since the match lasted 4 hours. After the loss Andy was up next vs David Ferrer. Our crowd was supportive, but a little deflated after the five setter. But the Spanish Armada was in full force. They had at least 2-3 sections of fans who were extremely animated and having a great time. That theme would continue throughout the weekend. Andy played 2 tough sets that he lost 7-6, 7-5 and the 3rd set was a roll for Ferrer 6-3. The best part of the night was that we moved down to the expensive seats and got to see how the rich watch matches...pretty nice.
Saturday brought a renewed spirit because the Bryan Bros were playing the doubles match. They just won Wimbledon and I believe they are considered the best doubles team ever. So we liked our chances. Turned out we were right and had something to cheer for going into Sunday's match.Sunday's match was packed and the crowd was rocking (including the Spanish fans). We started things off with Mardy vs Ferrer. Tons of pressure on Mardy to win so Roddick could play his match. It was another tremendous match. Mardy had lots of break point chances but the "bulldog" Ferrer kept digging out of them. In the end Ferrer held his nerve better than Fish and the US lost in 4 sets, which meant we lost 3-1 and Spain advances to the semis. We hated to see the Spanish so happy but all of the matches were so incredible to watch live. Austin was fortunate to host this international event and we were so glad to be a part of it. USA 2012!

Home pedicures for Olivia & Mommy

The other day I decided I was tired of looking at my unpainted toe nails and pulled out the nail polish. Olivia was playing in her room, but when she came to check on me and saw the pink polish she wanted in on the activity. So she got her first pedicure. She actually did really well trying to hold still for me, but those toe nails are SO small. Luckily, she didn't mind that the paint was on her toes too.She was super happy with the results...

Happy Father's Day!

Olivia and her daddy! Happy Father's Day to a wonderful, caring dad and husband.

Water bug

Olivia is a water bug. It's the coolest thing to me. I like the water but can get uncomfortable real quick because I'm not a very strong swimmer. Luckily Rob and his family are all great swimmers (divers...actually according to Grandpa) so she must have gotten the gene.

As an infant, Olivia enjoyed being in the baby bathtub immediately and then transitioned to the big tub with no problems. So baths have always been a hit, then Aunt Amy got her a water table for last summer and that's when we really found out how much she LOVED the water. Dumping cups of water on herself and smiling with delight no matter how cold the water or how green or dirty. This summer she's still enjoying the water table and we've added a plastic yellow pool that she can jump in and out of and practice her bubbles.

We've also been taking swim lessons since March and so far she's learned to blow bubbles in the water, jump in from the side and go all the way under, kick her feet while on her belly and climb out of the pool on the side. It's been so neat to watch her progression. And amazingly she has no fear.

We've made it to one splashpad this summer and she had a blast! Cannot wait for our Galveston beach trip in August with Anna, Mia and Baby Lila. Anna and Mia are terrific at showing her new things to try.