Three years of Olivia

And just like that, my toddler is kid. 

She started pumping on the swing and can swing by herself. I told her I was really proud of her and she replied, "yeah mom, I'm 3, I can do things like this now." #threenager

The past year was a fun year. She learned to swim. Slide down water slides and swim to the side. She learned to ride a big bike with training wheels. She started talking in full sentences. She dug even deeper into her shoe obsession. She learned the chorus of 'riding dirty.' 

She became a big sister - and a fabulous one at that! She's always looking out for and thinking about Emma. Has never uttered a mean word about her. And is pretty darn helpful. She can buckle herself into her carseat, write her name, draw a football and an egg. She learned all of her colors, precisely 2 letters of the alphabet (O for me and E for Emma), and stopped everything in its tracks the minute she realized she was learning. 

She stayed just as shy. Potty trained herself. Moved into a new room with a big girl bed. Learned to open the fridge. Learned to let Koda in and out. Learned to put clips in her own hair (since Daddy wouldn't do it). Has figured out the art of backseat driving, and drives her father nuts. 

She finally outgrew the mullet. Insisted that she wash her hair every night so it wont turn 'purple', and begs for google images of crooked teeth so can talk about how she wont look like that since she brushes hers every night. She started a love for princesses, Sofia the first, Cinderella, Frozen, and Curious George.

She checks the weather on her phone. Wears jewelry. Gave up her paci for one night, and quickly took that habit back. Learned that she doesn't like coffee. Listens really well. Stalls at bedtime better than anyone I know. 

This past year with her has been so much fun. She's so helpful and so good. But can be so silly. Always up for an adventure. Loves to laugh and laughs hard. Tries to be just like me, including helping clean up. And seems to get all my jokes and sarcasm. She's my best little buddy, and I can't wait to see what 3 brings. 

And then, what I wrote on Instagram: 

Three is magical. Three is fiercely independent. Three loves with all her heart. Three is shy. Three is adventurous. Three greets us at the door to ask, "how was your day today?" Three loves pink and shoes and jewelry and princesses, but her baby sister the most. Three can be bribed into anything with fruit snacks. Three is potty trained, sleeps in a big bed, and can write her own name. Three hates to learn. Three wants to be just like me. Three makes me laugh. And three makes me love harder than I ever thought possible. I can't believe my big girl is three. Love you Olivia. Never grow up.

Emma vs Olivia - 8 months

Emma has more hair, lighter eyebrows, paler skin, and a smushier face. Boy do I love both of these girls. I don't even remember Olivia being that little. 

 

Emma - Eight Months

Emma is so old, she's almost one, which means basically a toddler, which means we'll be dropping her off at college soon, and I'm not ready for that. 

Height: 26.25 inches
Weight: 14 pounds 12 ounces

Sleep:  She still wakes once per night at 1 am. Since I go to bed at 11 and up at 5, 1 is the worst. If she did 4am, like Olivia used to, I'd at least get a 5 hour stretch. Emma goes 5 hours without eating. Many of my friends had newborns that did 5 hour stretches. Womp womp.

Eating: She loves food! She'll destroy food faster than Olivia ever did. But she doesn't like sweets. She'll gag at fruits and only eat a little. Give this girl a meat or a green veggie and she can't get enough. This one loves peas!

Milestones: We are officially crawling! She's also pulling up, but can't get past one foot and one knee to stand all the way up. Slow down sweet Emma. I want you to stay a baby!

Clothes / Diapers: 9-12 months and size 3 diapers.

Best Moment of the Month: It seems really simple but I had the girls on the school playground. Olivia was swinging and Emma was watching her smiling. Emma would shriek and laugh when Olivia smiled back. Olivia just looked at Emma and smiles in this huge exaggerated smile that people only do toward a baby and said "boopers!" (Olivia's nickname for Emma) "Boopers, I love you!" Emma lit up and had the biggest grin. I just love their bond.

Parent of the Month: This goes to me. I was taking her 8 month pictures and then looked down at the camera to see what they were looking like and she leaned forward, fell of the chair, and faceplanted into the ground. Poor Emma. And photos were over at that point.

Favorites: Emma loves paper and tries to eat it. Dan found these indestructible books that look like paper but are waterproof. So Emma can eat on them all she wants without ingesting paper. 

Apple Picking

I have finally let go of summer, and this weekend we did my favorite fall activity: apple picking at sky top orchard. 

We wore fall clothes because it seemed appropriate. And then we started sweating and cursing our long sleeves. 

Olivia ate one bite of about fifteen different apples.

Instead of crying during the sister shot, Emma decided to get even. 

Despite the hair pulling, they do love each other. 

We had some trouble parking and had to offroad a bit - Olivia and Emma were just cracking up in the background as we went over all the bumps in the yard. Sweet sisters. 

Emma had her first apple. She's not positive she likes it. She is positive she likes the chick-fil-a french fries we had on the way home.

We ran into friends who were headed into Asheville for a couple of brewery tours and chose to meet them for a beer at Sierra Nevada. This brewery deserves a full day. It was beautiful, with kid play areas, walking trails, games, a restaurant, etc. We plan to come back next year. 

Now I need to borrow an apple peeler. We bought way too many apples!!