Oh Olivia...

This post has been a long time in the making... I started writing this shortly after Olivia officially turned 2 and 1/2, but, surprise, surprise, I'm tardy in officially finishing and posting it. For a while now, I've been recording little odds and ends regarding Olivia that make me smile, make me laugh, and sometimes make me roll my eyes! :) I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and that Olivia is entering the second half of toddler-hood already!


Favorite Things...
Most days you can find Olivia playing with her babies - often putting them in timeout for hitting mommy, daddy, Gracie, etc., feeding them, putting them down for a nap, insisting they have poopy diaper every couple of minutes, and carrying as many of them around as possible while commenting on how heavy they are and how strong she is. Another favorite includes watching Dora. A "no" from Mom and Dad regarding this often results in a rather pathetic attempt at a temper-tantrum with the most fake frown face I've ever seen. Otherwise, Olivia enjoys playing catch and batting around the balloon. She's gotten so much better at this which you can imagine pleases her daddy! Complaining that everything is too tight - shirts, socks, shoes, coats, seat belts, ponytails, etc. is another favorite, and, yes, this is one of the things that makes me roll my eyes. Thankfully after a couple days of painful ignoring, this issue, while not completely gone, has gotten much better. Olivia enjoys pretend playing in her new kitchen, having "dance parties, " and snuggling on the couch. Lastly, as you'll read on Beth's blog, Olivia is a huge fan of her cousin Mya. These two play together so well and already have little girly "pow-wows" that none of us completely understand. My dream for these two is summers back and forth between our houses, cabins, and anywhere else we're going!


The Bathroom...
So, maybe it's a little odd to record how your daughter's doing in the "bathroom department," but I just have to for memory's sake! Most simply, Olivia has been dry a decent amount at night. I'm thinking we'll maybe buy some pull-ups next time she's due for diapers. Next, I just need to put it on record that Olivia calls her #2's "big snakes" or "little snakes" and often talks about what may or may not be a part of them all the time. I swear we did NOT teach her to do this! Lastly, a potty story worth re-telling... The other day both at bath and while watching a little Dora I was noticing Olivia was having some less than pleasant toots. I kept asking her if she needed to go potty but received only no responses. When we went to bush her teeth, she agreed to give going potty one more go. I wish I could replicate the face of concentration and effort that became her. I had to turn my head away as I silently chuckled. It was like she was off in her own little world. So, she did go, and just like the toots it was less than pleasant. As she stood up, she squeezed her nose (a first) and said, "That's custing (disgusting)" in a truly grossed out tone. I could only agree!

Playing in shaving cream while Grace took her morning nap. Loved it!

Craziest Morning...
* Just the other day, we had a rather crazy and a bit scary of a morning. It was just the girls and I as Brian was gone at an insurance class in Cedar Rapids. I went out to start the car so it could get warm. I left the main door open and just closed the glass door as usual. As I turned to come back in, I saw that Olivia had shut the main door. So there I stood, outside in negative temperatures with no coat and no key. My keys are usually in the car, but of course they weren't that day as I had them in my coat inside! I literally talked aloud to myself trying to stay calm. I ended up going to the front door, ringing the door bell, and then waving as Olivia ran to the door - thank goodness there are windows around the door. She came running over, smiling because it was just so funny to see Mommy standing outside in the cold! Thankfully, she then opened the door. Sigh of relief! About five minutes later I yelled to Olivia that I was taking Grace out to the car (yes I had unlocked door in the meantime!); I assumed she heard me. I walked back in a couple of minutes later to Olivia literally screaming at the top of her lungs, scared. She ran over to me, and when I picked her up she said, "Mommy leave me." Poor girl thought I had abandoned her. Thankfully after a few cuddles, all was well.

Slightly embarrassing, but Olivia was so proud of herself!

Odds and Ends...
Olivia has a few new talents these days. She's a big fan of hopping, and although this isn't really new, she's gotten really good at it and does it all the time. She's also catching fairly consistently, hitting a balloon around, and sleeping in her big-girl bed on occasion. She can identify colors when she feels like it which is pretty much never, but continues to match them up without any trouble at all. She knows some shapes and likes puzzles but often wants me to put the pieces where she says they go. She likes to "write" and to color. She's getting better at staying in the lines but most often doesn't hold her crayons correctly. She has no idea how to use scissors which is my fault, and generally I feel badly because I don't do some "crafty" things with her because Grace tries to put everything in her mouth which is really annoying. Olivia's pretty decent at following directions (actually she's great at Simon Says), but if she doesn't want to help, she'll just pretend like she didn't hear you. She likes to sit on your lap during dinner (annoying!), and thinks she needs a treat after meals and/or at bedtime. Olivia has recently shown some solid interest and decent talent at talking on the phone. She also continues to be a fan of nicknames - she's Goose; Grace, Gracilicious; Daddy, Pappy; and Mommy, Regina (thanks Brian). Otherwise, Olivia's pretty decent at procrastinating at bed time (thankfully this has disappeared as of late) and at taking cool toys away from Grace and replacing them with ridiculous items like the strawberry from her kitchen food. Liv can correctly find and identify the letters O (for me, as she says), E (for Elliot), K (for Kristina), and on occasion M (for Max, Mya, and Mommy), D, and G. Three's are also E's. Other random new things are playing with my hair as we sing songs, sitting really well through longer books, and screaming at the highest pitch possible for 30 seconds after getting buckled into her car seat.

Quotable Moments...
* Honey, Honey, Honey, Honey Grace...Come here!
* I puke in my mouth a little bit.
* I'm nice, I'm cute.
* I run really fast!
* Santa rides a Harley.
* Hopcorn (popcorn) money! (Response to money she received for Christmas.)
* Mommy stink. (Thanks Liv - I swear I didn't!)
* I play Mommy's bottles (all my bathroom things)!
* Mommy has bugs (long black tear-drop earrings) in her ears!

Sisterly Love...
I've continued to be so happy and pleased with how loving Olivia and Grace are...generally! They ask to see each other upon waking and want to be together in the same room. Although we have the occasional squabble over this or that, or the random push and shove, they typically get along very well. Olivia is always concerned about Gracie needing this or that, but also wants to separate what she can do from what Gracie can. For example, "Daddy go to church, me go to church, Mommy, Grandma, but NO Gracie!" "I go Grandma's house, but not Gracie - Gracie take nap." Gracie continues to make her best attempts at mimicking Olivia's actions, and is anxious to chase her around the house. I'm excited to see what Gracie starts to call Olivia - right now in the morning she just says da - da - while gesturing at Olivia's door in the morning. Kristina says that Olivia watches over Grace at day care and runs to the rescue if something's up. Olivia does bring Gracie toys, but as I indicated earlier, Gracie doesn't always appreciate the random french fry or random piece of plastic fruit Olivia decided to bring her. They love taking baths together, playing chase, and jumping on the couch and/or pillows. Summer is going to be so much fun with these two!

Not the best example of sisterly love, but I had to include it!

Okay - this is much better!

Oh Olivia, I can't believe you are already two and a half years old! I can't wait to see what you manage to learn and accomplish in the next 6 months! Love you lots!