Little Parrot

Olivia and I made homemade pizza this evening. As usual, she was a big help - holding the eggs before I cracked them, pouring the yeast packet into the bowl -- all things that I couldn't have completed without her help, you know. As we finished mixing the wet ingredients, she put her hand on the bowl while we dumped them into the mixer. "Thank you for helping Mommy," I told her. She replied "Good job, smart girl." Guess she's heard that one a time or two.

Car Times

As I was driving to Edinborough Park yesterday, I was participating in the ritual of "keeping Olivia happy in the car," definitely one of my favorite pastimes. The routine consists of singing a few songs, discussing where we're going and what we'll be doing, and then supplying her with adequate reading material. She has particular tastes when it comes to literature and they are subject to change at the drop of a hat. Yesterday, I had tried rattling off various titles that I had in the front seat with me, all of which were rejected with a firm "no." Finally, I resorted to giving her only two options, requiring her to pick the lessor of two evils. I asked, "would you like to read 'Round and Round the Garden' or 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'" (both of which are five-page board books). Hilariously, her thought-out out response was, "how 'bout...Mulberry Bush?" You got it, Babe.

Holding you

We stayed in a hotel with my family up north over the weekend, which meant Evan and I got to share a room with Olivia...

We were treated to one sleeping-talking bout. In true toddler form, Olivia called out in her sleep, "No, no, no, no, no!" and went right on sleeping.

The next night she woke up, crying and very sad. She was probably scared waking up in an unfamiliar place. I ran over and picked her up, trying to find any words that would sooth her. "You're okay, Mommy's here. It's okay, Mommy is holding you. Jesus is with you. He is always with you. Jesus is holding you - " to that Olivia quickly snapped to and said "Get down!"

She was clearly not interested in Jesus holding her.

Whole world

After telling Olivia a few too many times that she is the "best girl in the whole world" or "Mommy's sweetest girl in the whole world" she doesn't let us stop short of saying anything less. Now, if I say "you're my sweetest girl," Olivia promptly (and emphatically) adds "whole world!" We won't be forgetting it anytime soon...

What is it?

We took Olivia to the zoo last week (I hadn't realized the MN Zoo was open year-round!). We did the Tropics Trail - awesome 75 degree weather - and the Minnesota Trail, which was bone-chilling cold. Throughout the day, one of Olivia's recurring questions was "What is it?" and she'd point the the animal on "display." We ended our day at the aquarium. As we stood next to the glass of a 20-foot aquarium, Olivia asked "What is it?" She had turned to look the opposite direction. She wasn't pointing to a sea animal, but rather to a large man in a red sweatshirt not 10 feet away. Unsure of whether or not he heard her, I scrambled to answer her question. "That," I told her pointing beyond the man to the other aquarium, "is a baby dolphin swimming with his mommy." Olivia wasn't satisfied. "What is it?!" she insisted, pointing directly at the man. This time, I guess he heard. He turned and walked away. "It's a man," I whispered sharply.

How does a one-year-old know so well how to embarrass her mommy?

Say what?!

Olivia's latest phrases: "Bummer!" and "Oh my gosh!" often used in appropriate context. Should I be proud or disappointed?