Olivia

There's nothing like talking to someone who's talking about what funny and cute things their child has been doing, and all the while thinking, "oh, she thinks that's cute - wait til I tell her what my child's been doing recently". And then you realize it isn't a contest to see whose child is cuter or more advanced, it's more about sharing in their joys as a parent. I find myself continually telling myself to just listen to the story without thinking of one I can tell about my child. This can be the same for the stories about the bad things they do too. And I almost feel like I tell more bad stories about Olivia than cute. Maybe that stems from the fact that everyone thinks I have the perfect child - she's "Princess", "Gorgeous", "Precious", and "Little Sunbeam" (which I have to admit is one of my favorites, because she truly does light up the world with her presence). Sometimes it seems like people don't really grasp the fact that all she has is an old nature and so, for all her smiles and hugs, she can throw a good tantrum. Luckily the people with kids around the same age as Olivia have seen her old nature enough to know that she is a normal child. So anyway, all that to say, this is a brag post. A post about all the funny and wonderful things my child does and how she is always doing stuff that makes me smile. So if you don't want to read it, that's ok. I understand. But it will be fun for me to look back on and to let her read when she's older. ;)
I am very blessed to have a very beautiful little girl. She has a very sunny disposition and loves to give out smiles and hugs. Sometimes the girls that are a little older than her take advantage of those hugs and keep asking for another one until Olivia's finally had enough. After all, aren't we together to play? :) She is very organized - even when she makes a mess. I walked in her room the other day to find this:

I had to laugh. Even the flip-flops have a pair of socks to go with them. I can't imagine where she gets this kind of organization from.
- She has a great imagination. She makes "pancakes" on her merry-go-round (and sometimes on the swings) and one time when there was water in the pool she made mud pie/pancakes using her tricycle as the oven.

- Elmo is very real to her. She talks to him and he talks back to her (when you press his foot) and she tries to feed him some of her toy food. She also likes to read him books.

- She loves to sing. Action songs are her favorite. She always wants to sing "Building up the Temple" before she goes to sleep. She helps her bear do "dwelling together". The other day, though, she was doing the "dwelling together" bit with me and she turned to her bear and said "I'm sorry, Bear. With Mama". I hope Bear's feelings weren't hurt too badly. ;)
- She really likes Clifford. One day we went to the store and as we were getting out of the car, she heard a dog barking. "Dog. Clifford." she said. "Clifford?", I asked, grinning. "He's too big to come to the store. Don't you think?" "Yeeaw (yeah)."
- She's very compassionate. I went into the health department a few weeks ago to get a booster pertussis shot and she sat next to me very quietly as I explained to her what was happening. Then when the nurse put a band aid on my arm, Olivia said, "All better?"
"Yes, Mama's all better. Was Mama so brave?"
"Yeah, Twinkle, twinkle little star..."
"Aw, are you singing to make Mama feel better?"
"Yes."
I have no idea if the nurse had any clue what was happening, because her back was turned, but I thought it was adorable. ;)
- Annie and Cali McWilliams came at the end of May and brought coffee, donuts, and stuff to give me a foot massage. It was a wonderful morning. ;) Olivia didn't quite know what to think of the foot massage. She kept watching trying to figure it out. I started out soaking my feet and then Annie massaged one while the other continued soaking. It wasn't til I pulled the second foot out of the water that Olivia came over and said "All better?"
"Oh my goodness, yes," I said. "You have no idea how much better!"
After Annie was done "washing my feet" she rubbed some lotion into Olivia's. Olivia loved it. ;)

 

Doing yoga with Dada.

Looking at books. Very reminiscent of Uncle Drew at the library.

Taking a picture with her dolphin flashlight.

She loves to take pictures "together, ok, together."

 Posing for a picture she begged to have taken.

Another lovely pose. She always begs to have her picture taken when she looks like this.

And when she looks like this she's begging NOT to have it taken.

"No, Mama, no!"

And one of my most recent favorites - laying out. Mind you, I have not laid out at all this year. I don't have a lounge chair and laying out on concrete is uncomfortable enough without being pregnant.

So many more stories. I'll have to keep up with them, so I can remember them in a few years.