Olivia - 15 Months

Time is flying by - and she is getting older (and more fun) by the minute. Thought it was time to do an update since it's been a few months!

She is finally becoming more independent. She always wanted me to hold her and walk her around everywhere. I, of course, obliged. And I, of course, was told I was spoiling her. Well - I already miss it! She doesn't want to be held and she doesn't want to hold our hand. She's too busy - ain't nobody got time for that!

Every single thing she does is my favorite in the world. We are totally biased. We're constantly saying, 'isn't she the cutest thing in the entire world.' And we keep her up way past her bed time because she's just so much fun. I'm not going to be able to capture everything she does in one post - but I'm going to try. I want to remember it all. 

Words: Ut oh is probably her first word. It's super helpful because it means "help me - I want something and I can't get it." If she REALLY wants something it's 'ut ut ut ohhhh.' I love how little her mouth gets on her long 'ohhh.' I'm considering buh-bull (bubble) her first word. She said mama and dada before, but she really pointed to the bubbles and would grab our hand to take us to the bubbles. She loves bubbles! If she REALLY wants them it's 'buh buh buh bull.' So much concentration goes into the 'bull' part. Now she really says dada (dad) and dada (koda) and dada (dog). She says mama. Bow. Boot. More. Ball. She really like's the b's. She also says a lot of other stuff that we can't understand. She says 'yum!' when she's eating something she likes. 'Woah.' And if she sees something she likes or wants to play with she does this really excited 'ohhhh!'

Genius: She claps for herself all the time. Every time she does something she thinks is awesome, she claps. I really think we should all start doing that. If no one pats us on the back, let's just do it for ourselves. The world might be a better place.

Blowing kisses

She loves loves loves to be outside. So to make an even better case for going outside, she gets the dog leash, which she knows riles Koda up - then they both sit banging on the front door to go play. Smart girl, rallying the dog.

This chick loves accessories. She has an opinion on which shoes she wears. She must wear a bow with all outfits, even PJs. She must pick out her own bow. We were even in the bath the other day, and from the tub she could see a bow. I told her she could wear it when she was finished. Even though she loves the bath, she got out immediately to be able to wear the bow. She loves vests and jackets. Anything that is round must be a bracelet and must be worn as such. So funny because she is surrounded by boys. Just shows there's some things that are them from birth.

Bow? Bow? Bohhwww!!

Assuming my sports bra was a new vest for her, she insisted on wearing it around that day.

She's a little type-a. Her sippy cups go on coasters. She's pretty good at putting things back where they came from - at least general vicinity. She will throw trash away for us if asked, and she will notice teeny tiny pieces of something on the ground and have to stop what she is doing to throw it away in the trash can. She doesn't like to have a snotty nose and must have a tissue after she sneezes. At dinner tonight she took Dan's napkin from him to wipe her nose. She and I get along great! :)

Where's your belly?

She loves her little baby dolls. She feeds them bottles, shares her food with them, rocks them (a little rougher but) like you'd rock a baby. In the grocery store she had her baby sit up front with her and was sharing bites of her cookie with her. She just has the sweetest heart. 

And cheeks. Ohh those cheeks.

She is really good with sounds. She doesn't repeat words easily, but she wants to repeat any sounds we make. She clicks her tongue and has whistled a few times. I did this french laugh (hoh hoh hohh) and she practiced it and now does it. Her book of animal sounds is one of her favorites - she likes who like an owl and buzz like a bee. If you put something in the form of a sound she'll not only repeat it but practice it. If only she treated words the same way.

Trouble: She always feeds the dog. She'll take a whole sandwich hold it over the floor near koda. I'll say 'no Olivia, do not give that to Koda' and she'll look at me, let go, and go "ut ut ut ohhhh." I see through you, little one. Then she'll say 'more.' It's like they've got a pact. Koda, everything they give me is limitless. I'll drop you some stuff and then I'll just get more for me. I got ya back. 

Dan bought this chocolate cookie butter. (I think the chocolate takes away from the delicious cookie butter, but I digress). It's like nutella - some chocolate crap in a peanut butter jar. No one has eaten this in months. Olivia goes into our pantry to play, sees the cookie butter, gets it out and closes the pantry, takes it over to Dan and starts tapping on the lid and whining for it. How does she know its chocolate? She's never had it. But she KNEW she would love it. He had to give her a bite - she was just too cute taking the time to pick it out and ask for it. 

Music: This chick loves her some good jams. She waves her hands high in the air, as if to say 'this is my jam' whenever one of her songs comes on. We've heard about how much she loves T.Swift's Shake it Off and Blank Space. Meghan Trainor All About that Bass. Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk. Really there's a million. I'll just stop. 

She claps at the end of every song. In restaurants, where most people barely notice that there is music - Olivia claps every time. 

She loves to dance, and this girl dances on beat. I love it! We were a little worried with Dan's  lack of rhythm but this girl has rhythm! 

Favorite Cartoon Character: Taylor Swift. No really. She doesn't watch TV - so there's no Elmo or Mickey obsession. But if you have Taylor up on a youtube video, she freaks like a middle school girl. Anything Taylor. How does this start so early?

Oh, Olivia, my dear, I can't remember life before you. These have been the greatest 15 months so far, and I can't wait for a million more.