Couple of funny things...

The other day Olive, Lucy and I were all kind of doing our own thing (I was cleaning, they were playing) when Single Ladies started playing on my iTunes on the computer. As soon as it came on Olive and I looked at each other, stopped what we were doing, and danced our hearts out for the duration of the whole song. It was so fun!

Last night Chris and I were sitting with Olive on her bedroom floor reading books with her and helping her settle down before bed. After reading the books, he and I started singing a song to her. The trouble is, she knows that once we start singing that means she's going to bed. So she got up, ran out of the room, and slammed the door. Then she came right back in, threw her arms into the air and yelled, "Chocolaaate!!!" We laughed so hard. Who is this girl!?

Olive had her 2-year checkup today. It was the first time she got weighed on the step-on scale instead of the basket one - big day! She's about 27 pounds and about 34 inches tall. When Dr. Oyas showed me her growth chart she was smack dab in the middle. Perfectly average size. She must get that from the Barragans, because the Eatons tend to be more large and in charge. She was a little squirmy when he listened to her chest and looked in her ears and mouth, but he is so great with her. I really love having him as my kids' doctor. We talked a lot about her progress - he said she should be saying a few words, pointing out her eyes and other body parts, and climbing and getting into everything. She's doing all of that, plus lots more, so I feel good about where she's at. He told me to give her plenty of time to scribble and color, and to point out colors and numbers and letters. We do all of that. Olive knows which letter is O, and is getting familiar with the other letters as well as numbers and colors. She counts a lot, too (she often starts with "7, 8"). He said there are 3 things she will want to be in control of at this age, and I probably could've guessed them from a mile away with her behavior with regards to them. They are eating, sleeping, and potty training. He said not to use food as a motivator (none of this "if you don't eat, we're not going to the park" business). He said to make sure we sit down and eat as a family, and that she'll eat when she's hungry, but definitely not to force it on her. I had thought I was being too laid back about not making her eat at mealtimes, but now I'm glad that following her lead on that is really the right way to go. He said being too forceful about eating is where eating disorders come from. She really has no problem letting me know when she wants snacks or "bepist" (breakfast) or lunch or dinner. So I feel good about that. I do tend to stress about her getting a nap at the right time, and about her getting to bed at no later than 7:00. He said it's OK to ease up and not stress about that. We are in a pretty good routine anyway, but there are days when naps don't happen. From now on, I won't feel like the worst mom ever on those days. As far as potty training, she really showed interest about 4 months ago and we did it for about a week. She was a total champ about it, but then we went on a trip and it threw everything off. She has inconsistently asked to get on the potty since then, but that's it. I was hoping to get her out of diapers before George is born, but I haven't and won't put pressure on her. I know I've only been a parent for 2 years, but I'm realizing the more I just follow her lead on things, the more she just shows me when she's ready to this or that. I can really say that that style works - I'm less stressed/worried, and she's totally learning and progressing at her pace. It's certainly not to say she's perfectly behaved - she's quite a stinker when she wants to be - but she's progressing well. I love her personality, I love her proclivity for exploration and learning, and we have been and will continue to encourage her talents and interests. We're proud of our girl.

Oh, I almost forgot - she had to get a finger prick to check for anemia (routine check). I'm such a wimp when it comes to those things, so I assumed it would be pretty upsetting for her. All she said was, "ow," and then she asked for the bandaid and lollipop. She loves bandaids, even when they aren't necessary. And naturally, she loves lollipops. She did great! She's definitely tougher than her mom was.

From now on, she only has checkups once a year. It's hard to believe 2 years have gone by since she was born. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe what a little girl she is, and not a baby anymore. We love Olive!

To start out the day, Chris made Olive a breakfast of star-shaped waffles and yogurt. We put a banner up on the garage so that everyone would know it was her special day. The morning and early afternoon was full of me saying yes to pretty much everything she wanted to do (we watched Happy Feet and ate marshmallows and danced and played). In the afternoon we took a trip to Walmart to pick up a few things, and I had made a "Birthday Girl" sign for her to wear around her neck so she got lots of attention there. In the evening we had a few friends over -Britnee, the Jensen kids, and the Stock family. Everything is "I want chocolate" these days, so naturally I made her a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting (it was really yummy, if I may say so).

She had fun grubbing on that. Next Olive opened her presents - some of the highlights were a light-up pair of Beauty and the Beast high heels, a pedicure set complete with hot pink fluffy flip flop slippers, and a Dora nightgown. The rest of the night was a total melee, running around with the Stock kids and getting into EVERYTHING. The house was just total carnage when it was all over, but both Chris and I agreed that it was so worth it seeing Olive have such a blast. She had a full fun day, and we love our little 2 year-old girl!

Often in the mornings when I go around opening blinds I'll yell, "Good morning Lake Havasu!" The other morning I opened the blinds in Olive's room, and she yelled, "Havasu!!!"

Olive has been saying "no thank you" a lot lately. It usually sounds more like "no sancum" but we'll take it!

Olive is enjoying being girly more and more lately. She loves to see a movie or a picture with a princess, and thinks that when she's wearing a skirt or dress that means she's a princess. She pronounces princess as "pinsun." Love it.

The other day I was changing Olive's diaper, and when I was about to put the new one on, she said, "Bye bye, TT." I had to laugh!

Olive has become quite the climber. We have to keep our kitchen stools upside down because otherwise she scoots them over to the counters and climbs up. The other day Chris caught her putting a metal fork and some raisins in the toaster, and almost pushed the lever all the way down. Yikes! She stands on most anything in order to reach, and she's just very resourceful in finding things to climb.

Last week we went to Utah for a visit. Until we got there, Olive had been pronouncing Gramma Gail pretty clearly. And then when we got there something switched in her little mind, and it turned into Gammer. Loved that. Also while we were there, Olive crashed Gessie's dance lesson. She went in and tried so hard to do the same moves that Gessie and her teacher were working on. It melted my heart. I swear she was born to perform! She and I have a little dancing/singing/silly time everyday, and she really loves it.

Olive loves chocolate! Each day she says the phrase "I want chocolate" 25-30 times, no exaggeration. We were at the Taco Bell drive-thru a few weeks ago, and when the girl asked if we wanted sauce, Olive said, "Ummm, I want sauce...and chocolate!" And then last night while we were trying to sing a sweet song and say a prayer after Family Home Evening, Olive stood with victory arms yelling "Chocolate!" over and over. She's such a character!

Olive is so bright. We do a letter puzzle and a number puzzle together everyday (sometimes several times a day), and she's almost to the point where she doesn't need any coaching at all with it. She knows which letter is O for Olive, and she can even write an O. It usually turns into a swirl of crude circles, but it's a start! We taught her recently that when someone asks how old she is, she should say, "two." She's got it down; only trouble is she still holds up one finger when she says it. It's pretty cute actually. She loves to be read to, but she also loves to take over and point out things on the pages and tell her own story. She loves to color, and she's very into stickers and sticker books these days. She's starting to understand colors. She loves to play Memory. We put the cards face up and have her look for all the matches. She does great. She's talkative, quick-witted, and smart, and picks up on things all the time.

Olive is so helpful! She puts things away or in the trash often without even being asked. And she loves to help out with Lucy however she can. She loves to clean up the bath toys after her bath every night. I'll say, "OK let's eeba the toys," and she immediately goes to work putting them in their basket. (We still say "eeba" instead of "clean up;" I don't want us to grow out of that!)

Olive has been more and more affectionate lately. She definitely keeps me on my toes with tantrums or with wanting things a certain way, but she has gotten to a point where she isn't too busy to take a break for hugs and kisses. Lately she's been saying a lot, "I wanna hoju" (hold you), and she sticks her lips out when she says it. I love it! And I'm such a sucker for it even if she's only doing it to be tall enough to see into the snack cabinet. Love my girl so so much.

23 months

A few weeks ago I caught Olive in the act of being such a mommy. It was so wonderful. First, she tucked her dolly into a makeshift bed with a cuppy and blanky, turned on the humidifier, turned the light off, and shut the door. This was especially sweet because that's exactly how I tuck her in every night. A little while later she set up a little tea party in the kitchen. And in the same day, she sat on the kitchen floor holding her dolly and feeding it from her own cuppy. I took a couple pictures.

Recently the girls and I spent a couple of hours at an outdoor mall in Vegas. They had this big fantastic park in the middle of the mall, and the park had a little stage in it. Olive was in heaven. She got on stage and sang and danced. She still really loves to sing and dance and perform for anyone and everyone. It's in her bones. Here's a picture.

Olive went sledding for the first time during our Thanksgiving trip to Utah. She looked so cute all geared up and puffy. Here she is with Alexis.

For Christmas in our family, our kids get one big gift from Santa, one from us, and they give one gift to each other. So Olive got 3 gifts - a kitchen from Santa, Your Baby Can Read from us, and some play food for the kitchen from Lucy. On Christmas morning, we always read Luke 2 together before we dig into the presents. We celebrated a week early this year because we took a trip to northern California and wanted to have our own thing at home beforehand. It was lovely. Olive has really enjoyed her kitchen, and we have big plans for the Your Baby Can Read program in the coming year. She already really enjoys it (we first noticed her proclivity for it while visiting David's house and he did it with her). Anyway, it was fun showing her Christmas lights, telling her about the baby Jesus, singing Christmas songs, baking treats, finding charity opportunities, and just seeing Christmas through her eyes. Here are a few pictures.

I've been amazed with how much Olive feels more like a little girl and less like a baby these days. She's talking a ton, saying things I don't even realize she's picking up (we LOVE the way she says chocolate and color - oh my gosh!). Her hair is getting longer, and I love to just throw it up in a little bun. She's just such a doll. She's really cute with Lucy, such a big sister. She's very outgoing and friendly, which a lot of times goes unreciprocated and that makes my heart ache. But she's amazingly secure and self-assured. She's pretty and funny and independent and feisty and a stinker and sweet and affectionate. I know there are a million details I'm leaving out. But we are crazy about her!

22 months