Empty

After seven Christmases in just over a week, Olivia has become an almost-expert gift-opener. Today I think she thought she had hit the jackpot when she discovered our stash of Christmas gift bags, but was disappointed to find each of them e-m-p-t-y.

Got milk?

I was reading to Olivia in the car yesterday to keep her occupied and cheerful. The book is titled "Cow and Calf" (yes, she will say "calf" if you ask her what a baby cow is called). One page in her board book talks about a calf drinking its mother's milk. I told Olivia that baby cows get milk from their mothers' udders, to which she replied loudly, "YAY udders!" No surprise coming from our dairy queen.

Waking Up

Most weekend mornings when we hear Olivia starting to wake up, we bring her into our bed so we can all leisurely "wake up" together. This morning, she was acting particularly cuddly and allowing me to nuzzle her soft hair and kiss her sweet cheeks. I was whispering in a slow, low voice, "Mommy loves you...you're such a good girl...you're Mommy's best girl." There was a short pause, then Olivia whispered back in the same slow drawl "getttt upppp."

T-neck

For as far back as I can remember, I have been a wearer of turtlenecks. When I was a kid, it looked cute when paired with corduroy overalls. In 7th grade it was dorky (what isn't dorky under an oversized flannel shirt?) In college, it was acceptable and now it's both practical and back in style (when done properly). Olivia has no choice in the matter. She, too, will be a turtleneck wearer as long as I buy her clothes and oversee her outfit choices.

Mommy's helper

We've started having Olivia participate in helping with easy tasks during the day to help her realize life isn't all toys and books. She takes her diapers to the trash, holds the dust pan when I sweep and fetches items for me. When she completes these tasks, I call her "Mommy's helper" and make a big deal about how helpful she it. It's a fun time all-around.

The other day she was playing with "her" pot while I was working in the kitchen. (Her pot is a itty-bitty red pot that matches the rest of our pots and pans. She has claimed it as her own and has an tiny whisk that she stirs her fake ingredients with.) I thought it might be fun for her to actually have something to stir so I put some dry oatmeal in the pot. She stirred for a few seconds, but then thought a better idea would be to empty the oatmeal out of her pot. As she scooped oatmeal out by handfuls onto the kitchen floor, she proudly exclaimed, "Helping Mommy!" Sure...now go grab the broom.

Time-out

Olivia put her toy (an "egg shaker") in time-out during her bath time this evening. What's funny is that in addition to saying "time-out" and "shaker" she also called the toy "naughty." Do we even use that word?!

Gross?

Olivia sneezed in my bowl of Cheerios yesterday. I was hungry...and late...and ate them anyway. Does that make me easy-going or disgusting?

Olivia's new best friend is...a pilgrim woman. Not sure why they don't make more carved representations of 17th Century separatists for toddlers to play with. My 15-month-old's face certainly lights up when she spies her bestie on the mantel. Although her given name is probably something like Constance Billington, Olivia simply calls her "Pilgrim." Connie has gotten over the fact that Olivia tries to steal her pumpkin and doesn't recognize the cornucopia on her apron. I think they'll be friends for a while.

Fashion Statement

I'm trying to get Olivia into a routine when we come home at the end of the day. We take off her shoes and coat and carry them to her room. We put her shoes away and she "helps" me hang up her coat on a hanger. As we going through this routine yesterday, she spotted her Vikings jersey in her closet. She pointed to it and said, "Go Vikings!" (no surprise) but then followed it with "wear it!"

I clarified, "You want to put on your Vikings shirt?"

"Okay!" she replied.

Soooo...over her dress and leggings went her purple and gold jersey. I would not have been so accommodating had we needed to leave the house. When we were putting stuff away in my closet, she noticed an old scarf so, of course, she had to wear that, too. It made for an interesting outfit:

Doctor

Olivia had her 15-month well-check this morning. She is doing very well, minus a cold that won't quit. She is almost 22 pounds (29 percentile) and 32 inches (85 percentile- Evan and I continue to be in shock). This evening as the three of us were talking over the events of the day, Evan commented that he was glad he could meet us at the doctor for her appointment. "Doctor" had been the buzz word of the day and it immediately cued Olivia to say "no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" I guess we need more doctor references...?

TP

This is what happens when I spend 60 seconds washing my hands instead of 60 seconds paying attention to what Olivia is doing.

She was holding the toilet paper up to her saying "fancy."

Rain

Olivia and I enjoyed some time outside this rainy afternoon. It was (relatively) warm so we got our winter gear + umbrella and headed outdoors. Olivia discovered that it is very fun to stomp in puddles and less fun to sit in them. She also learned that taking her mittens off is okay with Mommy, but after holding snow and grabbing for leaves in the sewer grate, her hands get kind of chilly. Finally, she realized that playing in the rain is amusing only for a short time, and that a warm bath makes things better. What a fun, rainy April, er...November afternoon.

Mr. Jones

I'm thankful for dads, Olivia's dad, in particular. I worked late on Wednesday so Evan had Olivia-duty. While I worked in my classroom and watched the snow coming down outside, I thought about how fun it would be to take Olivia outside and play which made me feel even worse about being at work. I pulled in the driveway around 6 (though it was dark enough to be midnight), I was delighted to see Olivia and Evan outside enjoying the snow illuminated by the streetlight. Evan had cleverly pulled out the beach toys and was happily building snow shapes for Olivia as she cheerfully stomped on and destroyed them. Leave it to a dad to find a use for the sand toys in November.

Hold you

Like many toddlers, Olivia is experiencing some confusion when it comes to differentiating between the pronouns "you" and "me." For instance, if I say, "Do you want Mommy to hold you?" she answers "Hold you!" For a while I corrected it, but for now, I've decided to let it go (because it's totally precious). She says "holding you," "rocking you," "hugging you," and the occasional "kissing you" whenever we are doing those things.

This evening Evan and Olivia were playing in our room with the baby monitor. Our fancy-pants monitor acts as a walkie-talkie so I talked to them from Olivia's room. Olivia is beginning to be able to hold a very basic conversation over the phone by saying things like "hi" and "I love you" and "bye-bye" when there is only a voice and no visual aid. After talking back and forth through the monitor for a minute, I told Olivia she was going to get her jammies on and go to bed pretty soon. Replying to me she said "okay." As I walked from her room into ours, I saw my sweet baby holding the monitor saying "hugging you."

Burp

After I fed Olivia a few nights ago, I told her I was going to pat her back until she burped. Since she's talking quite a bit, I'm trying more than ever to narrate everything to continue to add to her vocabulary. I also told her about the patting because the night before when I did it without telling her, she reached around and patted her own back. It must be confusing.

Anyway, after I told her, I started rocking her and patting her back. Not 10 seconds later, her tiny voice says "burp." I guess I should have been more specific...

Minnesota gal

Saturday morning rolled around bringing snow -- lots of snow. Since Olivia was coming off a solid 13-hour sleep fest, I felt it would be an opportune time for her to experience the start of a Minnesota winter. In a flash we had her outside, dressed for the elements (snowsuit over footie PJ's, fuzzy hat, but intentionally without mittens so she could touch the snow). Flakes were falling softly and the neighborhood was still. It was idyllic. Olivia, however, was...less than interested. She didn't want to walk or sit or move at all. The scene set and we were poised and ready for her to do something cute or funny, yet she just stood there. I was deflated, my dreams of a fun winter morning dashed since my kid was too wimpy to play in the snow, and then she did something so Minnesotan that it made up for everything: she stuck out her tongue to grab a snowflake just like she had been doing it her whole life. Some things are innate, folks.

What? I didn't say I was dressed for the snow...

Break

We've started taking breaks. And by "we" I mean Olivia and by "breaks" I mean time-outs. In my second grade classroom, kids that misbehave or simply need to re-center are asked (told) by me to "take a break." In the classroom, it's seamless -- minimal disruptions and low- maintenance management for me. I started it with Olivia last week. You know all the cute place mats young, almost-marrieds register for from Crate and Barrel? We are putting ours to good use as "take a break" mats. We have a multi-colored striped one sitting by our porch door as the main take a break hub. When Olivia pulls attitude, I tell her she needs to take a break. She sits upright on her little mat, legs straight out in front of her and hands to herself for 30 or so seconds (during which I try not make eye-contact with her or smile because she looks so crazily cute) usually whimpering, but sometimes wailing. After the looooong 30 seconds, I ask her if she's ready to get up and if she says no, she continues her break. If she says she is ready, I tell her to say "sorry mama." We hug and make-up and life goes on. Last Friday she decided mashed up fish wasn't an acceptable dinner option...it took five breaks to convince her otherwise. She knows what's up. She points to her little mat and says "break" throughout the day when the cheerful blue and green mat catches her eye.

Today convinced me she's got it figured out: I picked her up at my mother-in-law's today and told her to come get her coat on. She just stared at me. I told her again - she flat-out said "no." I firmly said, "Olivia, come here." She toddled over, glanced up at me and said "break?"

Evening Prayers

Each night as I rock Olivia before bed, I pray out loud, thanking God for our sweet healthy baby, asking for a restful night for all of us, and lifting up other requests before Him. The other night, in the middle of my prayer, Olivia suddenly said "Amen!" I thought it was awesome that she knew I was praying, but wasn't totally surprised by this as 1.) she is often displays random bursts of language (especially during our nightly ritual) and 2.) I had suspected she had made a connection between our mealtime prayers and nighttime prayers, since they both start with the same "Dear Jesus." I continued to pray. I was caught off guard, however, when moments later, she added "Mommy... Jesus." What a gift that my young daughter is already beginning to realize how easily we can talk to our Heavenly Father.

A what?

Olivia has found interest in various animals during her 14-month life - puppies and kittens, of course, butterflies, lions, bees, cows - she doesn't discriminate. She has lovingly patted and affectionately named pretty much any species that appears repeatedly in books for babies. Recently she spent the night with the Heyer clan and they bought her a new book. It features a host of various baby animals asking their mothers to carry them (apparently human children are not alone in this request...?). The book was laying out the other day when Olivia pointed to the picture on the back of a basket containing five baby animals. "Lemur!" she said proudly. Having not read the book to her yet (and not entirely sure if I'd heard her correctly) I took a closer look at the animal that was clearly...a raccoon? I flipped through the book until I came to the "raccoon" page. "Mommy lemur, will you carry me on your tummy to keep me cozy and safe?"

Having successfully added another word to her "animal" file, you might guess what animal exhibit we made sure to hit at the zoo on Monday:

*Notice the book in Olivia's hand? It's open to the lemur page...

Here Goes...

Everyone is blogging these days, so it seems. Because sometimes I have more to say than will fit in a status update, I figured it was time to jump on the train. Be prepared to hear mostly ramblings about how sweet or clever our baby girl is, and maybe something about her parents every once in a while. Read on if you're interested in Keeping up with the Joneses!