A Birthday Party!

Yesterday we went to our neighbor's (Adam) 2nd birthday party. Olivia did so well! She and Avry occasionally have issues when they play together, so I was a little nervous about her being around 10+ kids. However, either she was so overwhelmed with the amount of kids that she didn't care when toys were taken away, or she's just a really well-behaved 18 month old. I'm going with the former. His party "theme" was sports and we were instructed to wear our favorite team jersey (if we had one!). We didn't have a jersey, but we did have a UT windbreaker:



Eating PB&J:





The Birthday boy! Isn't he a doll? Seriously, the most laid back, easy going little boy:



I see a play kitchen in our future:





We had a great time!

We've been trying a new bedtime routine with Olivia. I'm getting really concerned that she's so terrified to be by herself (especially at night). I want her to be comfortable in her crib and falling asleep on her own. I read an article about a "modified" cry it out technique that we started this week. Basically, we do the same routine: bath, brush teeth, read story, lay down. Except, I lay her down in her crib and lay in the floor right beside the crib. That way she can see me, I can pat her back or sing to her, just not pick her up. She was not happy the first night and Michael and I switched back and forth until she finally fell asleep (after crying). However, it's gotten easier and last night she laid right down and went to sleep. I only stayed beside her 2 minutes! Really exciting around here. Starting this week, we move halfway to the door, so she can see us, but we can't really reach her. Then next week, we move outside the door and hopefully by the 4th week, she'll lay right down and go to sleep. Fingers crossed! Of course, she still doesn't sleep through the night and she ends up in bed with us at some point, but this is a great start!

Unfortunately, she woke up with a fever last night and has had one off and on all day. I'm hoping it's from teething and she didn't "share" anything with the kids yesterday!



Ice cream seemed to help. :)

I've also been trying to move Olivia and Avry's nap to after lunch. They seem like they're trying to go to 1 nap and I would rather them take it in the afternoon, but they both seem soooo tired around 11:00 am. One morning this week, I was rushing to get their lunch ready around 11:15am. I turned on Elmo for them to watch for a few minutes and when their lunch was ready, this is what I found:



Needless to say, they had a late lunch that day! One more thing- a really sweet lady ordered a hat from my shop to match her daughter's spring coat (she sent me a picture). I thought it turned out so well, I had a hard time sending it! Olivia looked really cute, so I see another hat in her future!

More Hot Tub fun

I forgot about the video!!

Olivia's Hot Tub

Olivia and Daddy have a new game. It started with Michael letting her sit on the side of the sink and play in the water. She loves water. So, he would take off her socks and shoes and let her splash in the sink. A few days ago it progressed to this:



Sitting in the sink in her onesie and diaper. Yesterday, she took it one step further:





Don't even think about getting her out before she's ready! Luckily, we can leave the water running and it spills into the other side. She sat and splashed with Daddy for about 45 minutes while I finished dinner last night. I think Daddy wanted to do something extra special before he went out of town (he's in TN until Saturday).

Our playroom has been a disaster since Christmas. With the influx of all the new toys, we were just running out of room. I told Michael this is what I wanted for toy storage:



Well, I didn't want the whole set, just a smaller version, like this:



He took one look at the price and said he could make it. So, I said fine, thinking it probably wouldn't happen. However, I should have known, if new tools were involved, he was all about it. He got some plywood:



A few new tools:



Olivia and I helped with the first coat of stain:



And Voila!







Didn't he do a great job?! The first one is complete. One more and I think all the toys will have a place!

We went to a rec center in Littleton today called Lilley Gulch. They have a huge gymnastics room and our Mommy's group reserves it once a month. Olivia loves it.

On the trampoline:



She's so funny on it. That one is really bouncy and she just barely has to bend her knees to get it going.

Showing off her hanging skills:





I swear, there is not one ounce of fat on that child!

Did I mention we finally got a table for the breakfast nook?





I'm going to have to get her a booster seat. I took the tray off her highchair and just pushed it against the table, but all she wants to do is sit in Avry's chair when she isn't here. Yet another thing to add to our collection in the basement!

Her stats from her 18 month appt: 30 inches (9th percentile!), 17 pounds, 4 ounces (still not on the charts for weight).

Have a great week!

18 months

Dear Olivia,

Yesterday was your half birthday. You are 18 months old and it's hard to believe how fast the time has gone, although I really can't remember life too well before you were part of it. I'm sure it was very boring. You are changing every day! You are talking more and more- even putting some words together (like "My paci" and "No Daddy"). People stop and comment on how pretty you are all the time. We agree with them (of course), but you are so much more than that. You are a sweet, sassy, funny, happy, smart little girl. Is it bad that I'm secretly glad that you're so attached to me (and Daddy)? I don't think so. It won't be long until you want to do things by yourself. Right now, me or Daddy have to be close by for you to be happy. And I love it. I love being your Mommy. You make me a better person and this world is better because you're in it.
So, what are you up to at 18 months?
- You love playing with your dolls. You will put one in your baby doll stroller and push it around and around the playroom.
- Elmo is your absolute favorite right now. There is one Elmo movie that you LOVE (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland). Any other Elmo movie, you refuse to watch. Mommy and Daddy could sing the songs in that movie in our sleep.
- You are around 17 pounds (we'll find out exactly tomorrow!) and possibly 30 inches long (you were 28.5 at your 15 month appointment). You are wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes now, although your 6-12 month clothes still fit. The pants are a little short and that drives Mommy crazy!
- You LOVE sweets. Anything and everything. As soon as Daddy gets home from work, you lead him to the pantry and say "cookie."
- You used to eat anything, but your tastes are changing. You still eat pretty well, but some things you spit out (like eggs and some meat). It's actually pretty funny! You really like yogurt, applesauce, and any kind of fruit.
- You are wearing a size 2 diaper (Mommy gave up on cloth diapers when you went entirely to solid food. Ew.)
- You are VERY attached to Mommy and Daddy.
- You had your first gymnastics class last week and LOVED it.
- You climb on EVERYTHING. You finally figured out how to climb into the bathtub and this is how I found you when I got back from getting your towel:



- AND (most important), you are doing much better for our little "photo shoots." I guess you're finally used to having a camera in your face all the time. We already have over 8000 pictures of you!





















There aren't words to describe how much Daddy and I love you! Happy 1/2 birthday, sweet girl!

Love,

Mommy

What's wrong with this picture?

Back to normal...

I haven't blogged lately, because there's not much going on! I feel like we're finally back to normal after the holiday madness and the trip to TN. Our routine is back in place!
Olivia is still obsessed with her Elmo movie- here she is trying to work the remote, saying "Melmo? Melmo?:



And then bringing the remote to me to "fix:"



She had a little cold last week and not much of an appetite. I finally got her to eat some strawberries with whipped cream. Of course, something sweet made her eat!



She's lately started playing with our little point and shoot digital camera. She likes to watch the screen on the back and (to my surprise), figured out how to take a picture:



Silly girl. We went to our first Mommy and Me gymnastics class yesterday. She did really well! She wasn't too happy about letting the teacher help her (separation anxiety again), but as long as I was right beside her, she loved it! She especially liked walking on the balance beam and jumping on the trampoline. She wasn't a big fan of the "marshmallow pit," which is under the bars- a big pit full of foamy, squishy sponges. She was supposed to wade through it with the teacher, but she wanted me to do it. That's the one activity they don't want parents to help with, so she was on her own with the teacher. I was really pleased and proud of how well she did! I hope it's a sport she'll want to continue with. :)

Here's a little video of her playing with Daddy. We've noticed at night that she gets clumsier as it gets later. I guess when she's tired, her balance gets off! I think she falls 3 times in this video!



And a video dancing with Elmo:



Her language seems to be taking off. I was trying to count all her words yesterday. She's got between 25-30 right now that she uses appropriately. She also repeats EVERYTHING we say. She's reapeating "I love you," but not sure what it means yet. She also started signing and saying "please" finally. We've been working on that one for over a week! Her 18 month appointment is Monday, so I'll have some stats for you then!