My Olive is 18 months old.
I fear as she reads through this record of our lives some day, she may feel slighted - her first year has not been as well documented as it should have been. I am sorely behind in doing so. What a crazy year her first year has been for our family. But, I've said it before - she has been a source of joy in an otherwise uncertain time.
Olive = fun. She loves to have fun. She smiles big, toothy, drooly grins. She belly laughs when you tickle her or flip her around or nuzzle her neck.
She's her own little person, but if big sister is around, she'll willingly imitate her, whether it's mom-approved behavior or not.
She's still tiny, toddling around on sweet, spindly legs and wearing about a size behind her age in clothes. But those legs are long like her sister's, so finding pants to fit that tiny waist and those long legs is proving to be an ongoing challenge.
She's talking. This is one of my favorite things about this age. I love hearing this new voice. I've heard it plenty in yells and general noises, but now I hear the words apple, owl, yeah, Daddy, Maaaaaama, bowl, door, boo (moo), and many others. She roars and has her own words for baby and doggy, two of her favorite things.
She's my little bookworm. Ever since she was able to scoot over to the bookshelf and pull book after book after book down, she's been enamored. More often than not you can find her in a corner, on the floor, sitting on the couch, flipping through a book. She'll drag a book, bigger than her, over to you, open it up, and start pointing. She may even grab your hand and want you to hold hers as she points to pictures and looks to you to tell her what it is. It's likely she'll already know what it is, especially if it's an animal, but she may just want you to say it anyway.
She's running. Doesn't like the word no. Teases when she knows you want to change her diaper. Likes to hug. Has a personal rule of one pacifier in the mouth, one in the hand.
She's so much fun. There's something about this age that tempts me to want to freeze my kiddos, knowing full well that even more great times are ahead as they get older and, frankly, who wants to have to figure diapers in to the budget for the rest of time?
At times I feel sad that she's no longer quite a baby but I love being on the front row of watching her learn and grow and I'm so grateful she is healthy enough to do the things she does.
I'm so thankful to be her mommy.
