Exciting!

She can count to 5! :)

The cute and difficult of my daughter:

The cute: Walking across a parking lot holding hands... and then she starts kissing my hand. Muah sounds and all. Hearing her babble to the the tune of "The wheels on the bus" or "The Hokey Pokey". She also tries to sing the ABC's and H seems to be her favourite letter. :)
The difficult: Hitting and kicking, "NOOOOOO!", "MINE", and "DON'T" to name a few. The cute far outweighs the difficult though!

Talking and chores

Yesterday while Mommy was sewing, Olivia watched from the seat next to me. After whining and growing impatient, she had a realization, looked up at me, raised her eyebrows and said, "All done?" :) Her first two word sentence!
Tonight she plainly came up and asked, "Cookie?" She wanted some nature valley bar.
Today she also got paid for the first time for doing "chores". This may seem pre-mature, but she thinks it is a great game. First she took her clothes and put them in the washing machine, closed the door and after Mommy put the soap in she pushed the button. She then received a quarter and promptly ran in and put it in her piggy bank. The other "chores" were putting her blankets back on her bed, her shoes back in the basket, her toys away, and the magnets on the refrigerator. She earned all the change in my pocket, one coin after each chore adding up to $1.18. She LOVES the piggy bank her Uncle Andrew gave her, so she loves putting the coins in it!
Olivia also loves going into Starbucks, getting a milk from the case, handing it to the cashier, giving them the money and then recieving the change. :) She is SO adorable. My beautiful little girl!!!

Meow Meow

Meow

Olivia stuck in the bathroom

Filoli and Talk Like A Pirate day

Words: Uh-oh, no, puppy, kitty, doggy, bubbles, mil(k), mommy, daddy, Nana, hello, bye bye, hey, "here-go" (Here ya go), mo(re).

Actions: Brushing teeth: Holding the brush under the water, letting us put the toothpaste on, "brushing" aka trying to suck the banana flavour off (we brush for her), she holds it under the water to rinse, taps to dry, and tries to put it back.
Follows directions like "Put it back." "Close / Open the door." "Bring me your shoes/doll/milk etc."
Tries to put on her own shirts or jackets, and sometimes her shoes. She wears daddy's shoes and tries to dress her dolls. She likes to play mommy, and pushes her doll around in a stroller, stops to check on her, gives her a kiss and starts again. She gives us kisses. Climbing has become a new favourite. She also likes to run and dance. Making messes has now become fun, so we are learning to clean up after ourselves. As I am writing that she is throwing raisin bran everywhere.

Photos by Olivia (look closely and you can see her in my glasses)

Such a Big Girl

Update on Olivia! Drum roll please....

She walks (hesitantly), talks ("uh-oh", "baby" and today she said, "hi!"), and gets into things! She eats what we eat and is drinking whole milk. She feeds herself and shakes her head "no" in protest. She plays hide and seek and has six teeth with more coming in. She is beginning potty training, and is learning to use a fork. She no longer uses a bottle or a pacifier but instead drinks out of a sippy cup and has even used a straw! She sleeps on her own (and has for quite some time) and all through the night. Olivia enjoys going to the park and playing in the sand, watching older kids, pushing her stroller, shouting in places that echo and chasing the cat, Frankie. She loves being outside and exploring - as long as she can see mommy or daddy! :)
She is terrified of the loud toilets in public restrooms, men with facial hair, sun glasses or hats - any combo of those is sheer terror for her. She still doesn't like green veggies - except for broccoli. She loves that. She cries when we leave the room, and doesn't want to be alone. This is a new phase for her. It is really separation anxiety.
Her birthday is coming fast, and she will one already! It has gone SO fast! Just today I was walking with her in the park. Her hand was all clammy, and she was taking so long to walk. I thought about scooping her up and carrying her, and then I remembered that all too soon I will lose getting to hold her hand like that - it is SO bittersweet. Well, I am about to go cuddle her while she sleeps - guerrilla snuggling!

January

We are now in January, and Mommy has not updated in a while. Right now Olivia is busy playing with her toes, but some recent happenings are: she can sit up, crawl (though she'd rather try to get to standing), eat solids, and she has not one but two teeth (I found the second one yesterday!).
Her favourite food is Avocado though Marinara Sauce is a close second. She absolutely hates peas... and most green veggies come to think of it. (She literally gags!) She reaches for and holds her own bottle now - which is quite a task because we use the glass bottles, and they are heavy. She is best at it when reclining.
We have begun baby proofing everything because she is so much more mobile now. We lowered her crib and got an entertainment center... the center was free, and we thought the TV would fit, but it doesn't so now we need to get a smaller TV and either get rid of the old one or move it to the soon to be "family room". The breakables and the cords will all soon be hidden. I moved all of the medicines and personal hygiene products (razors, toothpaste, soap, etc) to the top shelves of the closet, and Jason has put plug covers on all of the plugs. Next we need to get the little "locks" for the cabinets. One I will leave without it, and have just a few pots and pans in. It is always fun for kids to play with those! She sure loves my measuring spoons!
She is changing every day. Just two days ago I went in to wake her up and I noticed she has enough hair now to have bed head! :)