Olivia - 2 Years Old

Back in July my sweet girl turned two years old. Looking back only three short months, she is already so different! But I want to remember those precious memories that come and go so quickly they almost get missed. Here is a look back at my ladybug around the time leading up to her birthday (pictures are from February through July).

Length: 33" (25th %), Weight: 24 lbs (18th %)
Size 4 Diapers
Size 2T shirts and pants
Size 5.5 shoes

Our petite princess hasn't put on much in the way of height or weight since her birthday. I remember Nathan at this age and he had 4 inches and 4 pounds on her at this point. One of the best things about this age is starting to speak more clearly. At the time of her birthday I compiled a list of her most frequent words and their interpretation. 

Awwwuh (if she didn't get what she wanted)
Otay (okay)
Nope
I did it (I'll get it)
I dod it (I got it)
Mitt = men (substitutes t for n at the end of words)
Ee-ah (ia) = Olivia
Meelk (milk)
Water sometimes awa (agua)
Bubba = bubbles, bubba (Nathan)
Bobble = bubble or bottle
Sit! (Sometimes clear, sometimes uncomfortably close to the 4 letter word)
Gedup (get up)
Mite = mine
I seeee you!
Hop = her bunny lovie
C'mere mommy (come here mommy)
Yaysh = yes
Toome mommy = excuse me mommy
Hitapolalis = hippopotamus
Doofy = Goofy (of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fame)
Panking = spanking (her baby dolls and stuffed animals are constantly getting in trouble. "So sad, Doofy.")

By the time she turned two she could sing the ABC song (but not clearly) and count to 10 (again not super clear).She doesn't know her colors with any regularity yet. She knows which words are colors but doesn't connect the correct word with an actual color. She is still hitting, biting, scratching, and pinching (she bit someone at school on 5/20 and luckily there have been no more since that one time). I'm told by her teachers she pretty much confines that behavior to home and not school (with the one biting incident the exception). I guess being the second child means you have to set older brother straight to establish a proper pecking order. Even so, she adores her brother and has to be in his business doing everything he is doing. 

Olivia loves bubbles, play doh and sidewalk chalk - mostly to eat them, but also to blow, squish and color (secondary uses). She still adores her Bubba, even though she beats on him more than she loves on him. She loves to pretend with her baby dolls and Minnie Mouse. She likes to spin around and make herself dizzy. She sings songs all the time (although we usually can't tell what they are). She really likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse like Bubba did and also likes Veggie Tales and dancing to the theme song. She loves reading time at night and piles on the stuffed animals in the rocking chair with Daddy but only sleeps with Hop now.

Speaking of sleeping, we did modified sleep training in April (we stayed in the room but she had to stay in her crib and we would hug her then lay her down again). By the time she turned 2 she was sleeping much better and usually sleeps through the night. When she does wake up she calls for her Daddy, so he is usually the one to get up with her.

My sweet girl really likes for things to be in their proper place (like her Mama). She helps clean up most of the time or stops her activity to put something up. The most notable exception to this trait is "helping" with laundry. If laundry is involved, it must either be on her in layers or on the floor where it belongs (clearly). Girlfriend is crazy independent, but we'll leave a further discussion of this treasure for her next update when she really came into her own.

I'm not sure if this should worry me or amuse me. She was home sick with me and started putting all her "babies nite nite" using wet wipes as blankets. The line kept getting longer and longer as she found every single stuffed animal downstairs to add to her hoard.

Somehow I ended up with the little broom. Needless to say our sweeping wasn't very effective...

Other notable milestones in this time period:

• Going tee tee and sometimes poo poo on the potty before/after bath time (Started in May)
• Moved up to the Early Preschool class on 6/8
• Started hopping/jumping around 6/15. Calling it hopping might be generous, since she really only gets 1/8" off the ground, but it totally counts!
• First spontaneous "I la you" on 7/15 on the way to get in the car for bible class (complete with leg hug). I thought my heart would explode.

Olivia, my angel, Mommy loves you so much. Even though you drive me crazy in equal measures, I can't resist that sweet smile and those snuggly hugs. I love how independent you want to be and how you put your mind to work on your little problems. You love a good adventure but aren't quite big enough to accomplish everything you set your determined little mind to. You are beautiful inside and out and I am looking forward to seeing you grow into this big world. I love you, sweet girl. No matter what.

The words 'beat' and 'own drum' come to mind.

This picture was taken in March, but she was feeling the Christmas spirit.

This. This is why she drives me bonkers. "Look mama!"

Playing hide-and-go-seek with us.  Wait for it.....

Boo!!!!

My big girl's first pony tail. Make it stop!!

You have to watch this one like a hawk. I couldn't find her after turning away for 30 seconds and finally found her in the bathtub. After our last visit to Lolo's house I was told, "Whatever you are paying those people at the daycare, they are earning every penny!"

This one is a first class mooch. Around this age she was eating almost every meal (including our meal) from our lap. We eventually put our foot down about it, but in the first half of the year she was still pretty spoiled at meal time.

Look! I'm here too!

Waving to her fans at the Katy church.

We had to take hostage negotiation classes in order to get Olivia to take her medicine. When all else failed we started mixing it with Mickey Mouse yogurt and adding marshmallows to the spoon. It started with one marshmallow, but as you can see below she started negotiating more and more. So rotten. 

Helping with laundry. Eventually she started layering on Mommy and Daddy's undergarments (also around her neck). You're welcome future Olivia for omitting those pictures. 

The sweet face of innocence. See you in six months!