Growing Up

Can you believe that Olivia is almost 2?! She has grown up so fast. We have recently converted her crib to a toddler bed. There isn't much difference other than she can get out of the bed on her own. She really has done quite well with it, but I quickly realized that she was getting out of bed in the middle of the night, emptying her drawers and stringing diapers and pajamas over her room, playing with her stuffed animals (she only sleeps with a minimum of 4 each night that she INSISTS go to bed with her), and then reads her books in the dark, which is usually how I find her. Needless to say, we quickly dropped $200 on a video monitor to try to catch her in the act before allowing that to go on much longer. No need for any accidents, or the loss of any more sleep.

Olivia is also so much more vocal. As everyone told me it would, she literally learned 100 new words overnight. She speaks in full, but simple, sentences - noun, verb, and an occasionally adjective. She loves to mock what we say, so we have to be careful these days. If you know us, you know how difficult this can be. But I love hearing her talk and tell me what she wants. She is a little sponge and absorbs everything. She loves to get her jukebox that her Uncle Randy bought her for Christmas, turn it on, and twirl around the living room. But if she twirls too fast, she will turn to me and say "careful." At least she is listening! She has also absorbed our love for Wildcat Basketball (yes, even this season). Anytime any basketball game (or any game for that matter) is on the television, she pumps her arms up and down and yells "GO CATS!" She is quite the little cheerleader.

I am also continually amazed at how smart she is for her age (I know, every mother thinks this, but I can't help to be impressed). She knows her ABCs with just a few mistakes and will sing the song (well, at least every 4th letter). She can count to 5 and almost count to 10. She knows Ring Around the Rosie, Row Row Row Your Boat, Hush Little Baby, Old MacDonald, I'm A Little Teapot, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and many others (not all the words though, but she cuts in at the cutest times with a very off key voice).

Olivia is also very interested in babies right now. She carries her babies around the room singing them "Bye-O" which is my favorite lullaby. Some of you may know it as "Bye Bye Baby Bunting." She feeds the baby juice and milk (sometimes at the same time) and "burps" it by slinging the baby on her shoulder, hitting its back, and yelling "BURP!" I wish this had worked for me when she was a baby, although I think child protective services may have had something to say about it. She also loves to take them on a walk in their stroller. It is cute to watch her play a little mama. This is particularly prevalent when she hears her little cousin's name - "Baby Coopie" is her favorite subject - unless he is in the same room with her competing for attention. Then she wants nothing to do with him. I mean, how dare he steal her spotlight - as if!