Poor girl, you get called Crazy Olivia by your mom, dad, and sister most days. I can't believe how BUSY you are all day long! You're just 7 months old and you can navigate your way around an entire room. You prefer your sister's toys already and scoot as quick as you can to where she is playing. Charlotte does pretty well with sharing but sometimes has to be reminded not to take toys away from you.
Your crawling is evolving into a military low crawl, where you pull yourself with your elbows and push with your legs. I'm surprised at how early you've learned to crawl and how quickly you can get from one side of the room to the other. I have a feeling I will have to really watch you as you get more mobile!
You really enjoy your highchair at home and now frequent them if we're at a restaurant. You bang your hands and spoon, cackle, squeal, and grab anything that comes within your reach! You are one busy girl!!
You're so in tune with people around you! You notice when anyone leaves the room and cry every single time I walk away. I literally take you nearly everywhere I go, even if it is just to the bathroom or to the kitchen to get a drink. Deep down I love that you like me so much! I'm floored at how different you already are from your sister and excited to see what kind of kid you grow into.
Charlotte, you're about two and a half years old now (next month) and I feel like you're in the middle of some huge developments. You are the question-asker..."Why, why not, where, what is it?". Here is an actual conversation we had this week:
Charlotte- Where we going?
Mom- Chick-Fil-A
C- Why?
M- We're going to celebrate Madison's birthday.
C- At Chick-to-Play?
M- Not Chick-to-Play, it's called Chick-Fil-A.
C- Why not?
M- That's just what it's called, sweetie.
C- Why? Mommy, why? Moooomy, why not? Why not, Mom? Why it called that? Mama, why? Why not? Why not Mom? Mooom, why? Is it Mama?
M-What is what?
C- What is this called, on my finger?
M- Did it come from your nose?
C- Yes it did!
M- It's probably a booger.
C- A booger? Why?
While this is a tad exhausting, there's not a part of me that would discourage you to continue this curiosity. It's absolutely spot on developmentally and pretty darn cute.
You're also really into pretending! You will say that you're doing something that you're not actually doing, but you've set yourself up to look like you're doing it. Here's a video that will show you what I mean.
Here is a picture of your castle that you love to set up and play with. The lions are unrelated to the set but you decided that they would be pets for the king and queen.
You also love to pretend to exercise. You go to the gym with me a few days a week so you get to see me workout and you mimic the movements.
Here is your squat.
Here is your lunge.
Another fun development recently is your interest with doing your hair. You let me practice braiding your hair twice today. You liked to feel it and was excited to show your daddy "my braid and my other braid".
You sometimes get frustrated when you don't get what you want. You might growl, pout, or speak rudely, but we work through the emotion pretty quickly. You seem to enjoy taking a minute to yourself in timeout to calm down. I've been prompting you to remember a bible verse "Be kind and loving to eachother" Ephesians 4:32 and we pray. Today, you got mad while trying to pick up too many things at once. You threw them down and sat on the floor. I said that wasn't nice and that we don't treat our things that way when we're frustrated. You said, "I pray mommy." You closed your eyes, folded your hands, and looked at me. You repeated me..."Dear Jesus, please help me to be kind, Amen".
Your dad and I are in awe of what you are able to comprehend, say, and do. I'm having to really work hard to keep up with you and I'm loving every minute of it.
Today, we dedicated Olivia to the Lord. Meaning, Josh and I are committed to raising her to have a relationship with her Lord and Savior. Our church, http://www.gcomchurch.com/, hosted a meaningful and laid-back event for us to share our vision and plan for Olivia's upbringing. When we step back and block out the crisis of the moment, we are able to think of your life eternally. In the end, it won't matter when you got your first tooth, when you were potty trained, or whether you were on honor roll or valedictorian. What matters most is that you know Christ as your Savior and you seek and accept Him. We strive to raise you to have a strong spirit, be an active listener, and enthusiastically pursue life. Your dad and I are going to nurture our own relationship by continuing the girls' early bedtime to give us time together and establish consistent date nights. We will help grow our relationships with our Savior by continuing our personal quiet time with God and staying active in small groups. We partner with our church, friends, and family to ensure we are kept accountable in these goals.
Olivia was on her best behavior, as were the other 6 babies being dedicated this morning. We stood and introduced Olivia to our church family, recognizing the support we have here at Grace.
Our close friends, Brian, Laura, and Braden Major, joined us in our celebration and commit to keeping us accountable in our parenting journey. Charlotte has a bit of a crush on Brian, might choose Laura over me if given the opportunity, and treats Braden like her brother. The Major family means so much to us and I thank the Lord for this family in Christ.
Charlotte was happy to help Olivia out with the cupcake situation, since Livi doesn't have any teeth yet. How very generous of her. Charlotte was dedicated two years ago here at Grace as well. This church family has seen her grow since she was just 4 months old. We are so blessed to have extended "aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas" here to help us in raising these girls.
Congratulations, Olivia!
"We have not stopped praying for you since we heard about you. We pray God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives."
Here you are, two and a half years old, and so ready for preschool! You're potty trained, independent, and curious. You have learned more than I ever imagined in your first two years. I've had so much fun teaching you and it continues! However, one area I lack is your social interaction with others. You do great with our friends, but I wanted you to know that other adults can take good care of you. We also want you to figure out how to navigate with a group of other children in a more structured setting. You will go to preschool 2 days a week from 9am-2pm. I have the option of picking you up after lunch if you don't figure out how to nap well in the company of other kids. So here goes your first day...
The day prior we talked about you going to school and you were so excited. You said, "Daddy drop me off? I say 'goodbye daddy!"... so of course he reworked his schedule so that he could make that happen.
You gave us both kisses and hugs and was immediately playing with the other kids. I put away your packed lunch, water, coat, and nap mat in your own hook and cubby.
You and your class crafted, sang, played in the gymnasium, and ate lunch. You told your teacher when you needed to potty and after lunch you asked your teacher for sleep. However, when I came in to pick you up at 2:00 and you were walking around in the room with your nah-nah while the other kids were on their mats (some sleeping, some not). You had never napped in the same room as other kids so I'm sure this was way too exciting for sleep. We'll try it some more and see if you get used to it. On the way home you talked about Parker, a little girl in your class. You said, "she a girl, she nice". I asked you what you all did and you said, "I play, I run fast...not slow, we ate, we sleep". I kept asking questions and you finally said, "no thank you...no talk". Guess you were tired from all the play and NO sleep! We came home and I put you right in bed and you passed OUT!
Life is getting a little more mobile for you, Olivia. You're just 6 months old and so interested in things you see out of your arms reach that you're doing your best to get moving. You can sit up by yourself for only a little while before falling over but when you're on your tummy, you push up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth. Then all of a sudden, you lunge forward toward the item you're trying to reach. You seem to be in much more of a hurry to get places than your sister was. I believe we're all in trouble as you are eager to get into things!
Charlotte, you were a funny crawler! You were able to sit up on your own without falling over about 6 months but didn't attempt to crawl until 8 months. You started from the sitting position, leaned over and paddled with one foot while draging the other one behind you. You weren't in a hurry to get anywhere and still do things in a very thought-filled manner.
At 6 months and nearly 2.5 years, you girls are getting to be so much fun together and you're interacting with one another more and more. Dinner is becoming quite entertaining with you two! The videos speak for themselves...
Well girls, we've had one amazing Christmas together this year. We were fortunate enough to be able to spend the entire holiday here at home. Which, made me extra happy and stress-free since you do so much better when you're in your own beds. First, Gma, Papa, Uncle Chris, Uncle Jeff, and Aunt T filled our house with joy and laughter for a week. Then, Poppie, Chrissy, and Uncle Brad came for a few more days with more love for you girls. It was truly wonderful to get to see most of our family and you two were so sweet to everyone. Charlotte, you had a warm welcome for those who you remembered and warmed right up to the people you hadn't seen in awhile. You seemed to truly appreciate every present you received, asking to unpackage and play with each one before opening another. Olivia napped several times each day and got passed around for play time, bath time, and diaper changes. Here are some pictures to show just how wonderful this Christmas was...
Olivia taking in all the presents with Gma.
Charlotte would say, "Santa, santa, ho-ho-ho!"
Aunt T getting in her baby bath time!
Olivia playing with Chrissy and Lucy.
Hanging out with Poppie!
In motion with your "skis" (part of a box from Christmas gifts).
