Happy Birthday, Olivia!

WOW... Olivia turns 2 today. I can't even believe it. She has brought a joy to our lives that Jon and I could never have imagined. She is so sweet, funny, and feisty all at the same time. I love everything about her. I love the way she talks to her baby every morning, the songs she sings all day every day, the hugs and kisses she gives, the wonder in her eyes when she sees something new, the way she soaks everything in, her HUGE heart, her silliness, and so many other things. I am so blessed to be her mother and although I hate the idea of her growing up so quickly, I look forward to seeing her grow.

So, what exactly is Olivia up to at 2 years?
- She wears mostly size 2t
- She occasionally pee pees on the potty, but not with any regularity. If I leave her naked on the bottom, she will consistently use the potty.
- She is an excellent eater. Her favorite foods are fruit of any kind, cheese, smoothies... Basically whatever she is eating at the moment!
- She loves playing with her babies! She puts them in the high chair and feeds them. She sets them near her quite often and says, "Watch this, baby." She rocks them and sings to them. She takes them on walks.
- She also loves being outside. She enjoys walks in her "bicycle", playing with her water table and pool, the playground, the nature center, etc.
- She makes sure that we say our "eating prayer" before meals and our "night night prayer" before bedtime.
- Books are still a favorite of hers. Right now, she especially likes "Llama Llama Red Pajama", most Dr. Seuss books, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and many others.
- She communicates very well, and talks consistently in 4-5 word sentences.
- She can say her ABCs and count to 16 (but always skips 12). Ha!
- She can identify all of the letters of the alphabet.
- She correctly identifies the basic colors... finally!
- She loves "family dinners". And, it is so nice that we are able to have those regularly with Jon's new job.
- She knows her birthday.
- She says she lives in Ohio. She also knows that Ady, Carter, etc live in Chicago and that Gram lives in AR where they say, "Hey y'all"! (We're working on WI for Grandma and Grandpa.)
- She LOVES singing. She spends most of the day singing songs. Her favorites include "Jesus Loves Me", "Where is Thumbkin", "Shake Your Sillies Out", "Old Macdonald", and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".
- Her favorite saying is "It's not up for debate".
- She says "I love you to the moon and back" and "I love you mostest" every night before bed.
- She enjoys cooking in her kitchen, as well as helping in the real kitchen.
- She asks for things by saying, "May I have some___ please?"... Sometimes after a gentle reminder. :)
- She is really into pretend play. She loves to say she's leaving. She walks to the door, comes back and says, "I'm back!" I ask where she went and she usually responds with "to the nature center", "grocery shopping", or "to the zoo".

I am loving this age. Her personality and imagination are so big! I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are entering the "Terrific Twos"!! :)

Jon took off today and we have a fun day planned. I'll post pictures soon!