Sweating in July - Part 1

July was a hot one, but we have been blessed with wonderful dry weather so the kids could enjoy the outdoors more thank being stuck inside.  The month started off with some family visits to Ottawa. Tita Cely and Tito Tony from NYC came down to visit us.  It was a full house but the kids loved all the attention. At least this week we didnt' have to worry about daycare because there were so many hands helping out. However, as soon as they left Olivia and William headed out to summer camp.

It wasn't the most ideal situation, but it was a new school opened by Olivia's former Montessori teacher and we needed the help.  We thought this was the best scenario for the kids, and as it turns out both kids enjoyed their time there.  They ended up just doing a couple of weeks there 3x a week.  I honestly think that Olivia and William being thrown together in a new situation brought them closer together.

The month of July has really brought out the princess in Olivia. She has been wearing her Snow White and Cinderella outfits ALL THE TIME. Meaning...when she wakes up she has to put one of the dresses on, one of the Disney movies is watched at least 2x a day, and the Disney toys are all out - until the end of the day where she has to take a bath and take the dress off. They look so worn out now, that I don't think they will be usable for Halloween. Sigh. Even William has gotten into "princess" fever and is constantly walking in fancy shoes and crowns with Olivia. Poor guy I don't know what to costume to put on him. One day I decided he could put on the chicken costume Olivia had one year, but it was too warm. hahahahha.  I have to say though as annoying as it is, it keeps her busy and entertained. I have to also admit it has become one of my bargaining (bribing) items to get her to cooperate these days. She may look like an innocent princess but my oh my...she is definitely testing and pushing the limits.

After a couple of weeks of summer camp, Olivia got to go on this wonderful trip with Grandmaman and Grandpapa. Uncle Max had rented a house in New Hampshire and invited the family to come join them.  Because of our situation (me bedrest, Martin working, and basement renos), Olivia got to go by herself.  WHOA!  A very big deal. This was the first time Olivia has been away from home. At first we weren't sure about how she would handle this, but in the end we thought this could be the best thing for her. A few days to enjoy with her cousins (san Audrey because she was in France) and her grandparents. It turns out she had an awesome time with her cousins and they did so much there (Storyland- where she ended up wearing a Snow White costume to, parks, swimming etc), and ate lots of goodies :0) She came home excited, exhausted, and very bilingual. hahahhaha.  It was a big step for Olivia and Maman and Papa, but it was all worth it.

Yes, we because we "thought" she would miss us, we gave her the iPad so we could SYKPE with her. As it turns out she was more interested in playing with her cousins than spending some "quality" face to face time on the computer. :0P

Grandmaman did tell us that she eventually took off her dress to something more park suitable.  We hope this trip for Olivia was a positive one for her. She only gets to see her cousins sometimes once or twice a year. The fact that they were able to bond and spend some time together in the summer, we think has made such a difference in her life. Just a month over 3, we knew it might be hard for her because she is very much Olivia and still a baby in so many senses. But what an amazing experience for her. Next year we will ask Grandmaman and grandpapa to take William too! hahahhahah  I have to say William enjoyed much quality time with Maman and Papa. He did surprisingly look for Olivia once in awhile, but it was great that just for a few days he had all our attention. He was great!