Livi in her sandbox.
Nothing like a quick visit to the beach in your own town.
Olivia was still getting the hang of walking in the sand.
She loves exploring the beach.
Riding her new tricycle down by Spring Bayou.
Playing in her new ball pit.
Checking out a ginormous grouper at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa for a belated Mother's Day celebration with Nana and Grampy.
Nana and Grampy taking a break at the aquarium.
Livi from the other side of the fish tank as she takes a look close up.
You're kidding me with these ears, right?
Oh no! You're serious. Well, I'm not thrilled with the idea and maybe you won't notice I tucked the ears behind me a bit. I don't even care that we're at Epcot.
For the love of God, this dude's got ears bigger than mine.
This is plain goofy and I don't like it one bit. Oh wait that's Pluto and Mommy kept calling him by the wrong name. Whatever. I don't care that we stood in line for nearly an hour.
Oh, well the ears don't look half bad on her. And I'm sort of cool with this so here's a fiver, Minnie.
That is one freaky looking duck, Daddy. And you are very mean parents.
If I'm a little teapot what the heck is that all about behind me? (By the way we were there during Epcot's Internation and Flower & Garden Festival, as you might be able to tell.)
I can't take much more of this. I'm kicking back while Mommy and Daddy ham it up.
Daddy, I'm no lion.
Olivia with my friend Tracy's kids, Shayla and Finn.
Friends being silly. Except for Olivia. She didn't want any part of it.
The view from our hotel in Chicago.
Livi chilling in the hotel room.
Tuckered out once again.
Some of the 50,000 tulips planted along the Magnificent Mile this time of year.
Livi and Mommy taking a break while walking the streets of Chi-town.
Daddy and Livi at the fountain at Millennium Park.
The "Jelly Bean" at the park.
Taking a family portrait in the shiny blob that reflects the city.
Visiting one of the nation's oldest zoos on Mother's Day. And it's free year round!
Daddy and Livi checking out a funky monkey.
Riding the carousel!
Livi falling in love at the gift shop. No we didn't take that big bear back on the plane. We opted for a T-shirt.
The view from The Signature Room at the John Hancock Center, 95 floors above the street.
Great Grandma "GG" Norma Epstein and Livi getting reacquainted after a year.
Our home for seven nights (May 30- June 6): Liberty of the Seas.
No caption necessary.
Outside our cabin.
The H2O Zone.
Up on deck.
We brought along a friend, and bathtub, for Olivia.
"Are you sure you can drive this thing," Olivia asks.
Riding in style on the basketball court.
Date night. I see the future and me don't likey.
Livi clapping to the singing wait staff at the onboard Johnny Rockets hamburger joint.
The view from our dining table.
One of many reasons why we like the formal dining experience.
Livi and a friend sleepy at dinner.
Livi meeting towel elephant.
Mommy and Livi in our cabin on the first of two formal nights.
Olivia and friends while Miss Nicole reads a bedtime story.
Livi loved the ledge and the view from the play room near the top deck.
Olivia finding her way around the "kitchen."
Beach time at Orient Beach in St. Maarten.
A splashing good time in the gorgeous Caribbean water.
David and some dirty birds in old San Juan. Miraculosly, none left their mark on him.
Daddy and Livi during a Crown and Anchor members-only event on our second formal night.
Olivia enjoying the "sprayground" in Labadee, Haiti.
Olivia and Daddy all giggles enjoying the beach day at Royal Caribbean's private island off of Haiti.
Livi jamming during musical play group.I simply cannot believe how much time has passed since I've blogged. May was the first month I didn't post since sweet Olivia was born. Shame on me. I have missed a bunch of stuff so I'll try to keep is somewhat short and sweet for all I'll cover and compensate with a lot of pictures. As you will see it's been a busy spring and start of summer for the Davis family. We've been traveling lots in between busy work and social schedules so who has times to write for fun?
Olivia hasn't stopped since turning one. She runs now instead of walks which might be a good thing since we've had so much to do. Actually, it's really hard to keep up with her. I guess that's why most people have babies young!
In the past couple of months, Livi has enjoyed her new play area on the porch which has a mini play set (her big birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy), a play mat and a ball-pit tent (gift from cousin Sarah and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Mike.) We already had the swing up which was a gift from Nana's friend. It's been too hot lately to really spend much time out there, though. When our northern friends are playing for the summer, we're melting and retreating into our air-conditioned homes. It's kind of a bummer but we try to make the best of it which means lots of water and sand time, too.
Olivia has spent a little time in her sandbox on our deck and only one time so far got a big splash out of her blow-up pool. She has visited beaches from Tarpon Springs to St. Maarten to Haiti. She experienced her first "sprayground" when we visited our dear friend from L.A., Tracy and her kids, Shayla and Finn, at Disney's Contemporary Resort back in late April. She's been to two splash park since, one in Labadee (Haiti) and the other in Oldsmar. We also took the season's first dip in Nana and Grampy's pool the day before Father's Day. Olivia is such a water baby. Not only does she not mind getting her feet wet, she loves getting her face wet, too.
When we visited my old college roommie, Tracy, in Orlando, we spent a day at Epcot which was Livi's second trip to Disney. When we went on kiddie ride this time (Pooh's Adventure) it was a big difference from December when we held her in our laps (on It's a Small World). They grow way too fast.
Over Mother's Day weekend, Livi and I tagged along for part of Daddy's business trip in Chicago for four days and had a blast Olivia did great on her second plane trip especially since en route we got stuck on the plane on the tarmac because of bad weather for at least two more hours than expected to be in the plane overall. On the return trip, it was just Olivia and Mommy and things went smoothly much to Mom's surprise. Thank goodness.
Once we finally arrived in Chicago, it was cool, in the 40s which was fantastic. The crisp air felt great as we walked and walked and walked in this very pedestrian friendly city. We weren't so sure how Olivia would deal with spending so much time in her stroller but she loved it and being outdoors. As we walked through fabulous brown-stone neighborhoods and along the Magnificent Mile, she would throw her arms in the air and squeal with delight. By the end of the trip she was "asking" to go in her stroller.
We stayed in a beautiful all-suite hotel called The Omni on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Huron Street, in the heart of Chicago. It was two blocks from the John Hancock Center where Olivia didn't mind the express elevator up to the 95th floor, ears popping along the way, so we could catch panoramic views of the city lights at night. Absolutely breathtaking. On Mother's Day we hit the free Lincoln Park Zoo where Livi and I rode a carousel which was her second but she didn't really seem as excited as Mommy. We took in many other sights, including Millennium Park and the big "jelly bean," strolled along Lake Michigan and dined at the Navy Pier. It was a wonderful trip in an awesome city.
Less than two weeks after our return he headed to Miami on May 29 where we spent a Saturday evening with Olivia's paternal great grandparents. David's biological Dad, Phil, was in the Philippines so we didn't get to see him this time. This was the second time Livi has met her great grandparents and she absolutely loved them, especially Norma, who wants Livi to call her G.G. instead of great grandma. The next morning we boarded Liberty of the Seas and set sail for seven nights in the Caribbean.
It was definitely different cruising with a baby but it was a nice family trip. There was so much more for us to do with our baby girl than we expected. We went to several play groups and she even got to ride on and in little kiddie power cars on the basketball court. She did great on the ship except for in the formal dining room. She wasn't a little monster but she wasn't the little angel we're used to either. That's OK, she got lots of attention from our waitress, Mary Jane, who would take Olivia around to other tables to show her off which Livi loved.
I would say Olivia favorite moments were at the ship's production, comedy and ice shows. Once the lights went down, she'd jump up and down on our laps, giggle like crazy and clap until her hands probably hurt. Then, within a half hour, she'd crash and fall asleep. She also loved all the foods she got to chow and splashing in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean and mouthfuls of sand. We will definitely take a family cruise again.
See told you we had a very busy spring and well, summer is off to a crazy start, too. Of course, we look forward to more season adventures with our busy toddler. Stay tuned. Enjoy our summer, all!
