More Updates...

Every evening Tyler and I sit and play with Olivia and talk about how much she's grown. They really do grow up so quickly. Last night we were laughing about how when she was a newborn we would lay next to her on the floor and just stare at her, and laugh at every movement she made. We still get on the floor and play with her, and she is still our main form of entertainment. But now we also have to chase her around and keep her from eating toilet paper.

It's hard to believe that in only 2 months we'll be celebrating her first birthday. Where has this year gone? I can't believe I haven't been working (at my job) for almost a year. Although staying home was hard for me in the beginning, I'm starting to enjoy it more. I think November was a rough time for me to have a baby. I wasn't used to staying home, not having adult interaction, it was too cold to go anywhere, and although Olivia kept me busy, let's face it... newborns don't do much but eat, sleep and poop. But now we're having lots of fun. Summer was great, and fall has been a lot of fun, too. It's been perfect weather for walks, playing on the lawn, running errands without melting in the hot car, and best of all, Olivia is so much fun to play with now. Here is a little fun down of what she's learning...

She knows where her mouth, nose, eyes, ears, hair, and tongue are. Sticking her tongue out is her newest trick and we think it is so cute so we are constantly asking her where her tongue is. She can also find her toes, fingers, hands, and sometimes her belly button (still working on that one).

If we tell her to give her baby doll "loves," she'll hug and kiss the doll while saying, "Awwwwww..." Every time I showed her how to give the baby "loves" I would make this "Oooohhhh" sound, and I think she tries to make that same sound. If I make a sound like the baby is crying she'll rush over to her baby to give it "loves."

She loves to crawl around and pull herself onto everything, and she loves to get into the cupboards (I did lock up a few of them, though). She doesn't love to walk, though. Olivia actually tries to sit down if you walk her around. Well, she'll do it sometimes, but she's just happy with crawling most of the time.

She says "da-da" all the time. If Tyler doesn't pay attention to her she'll scream it at him. She also says "dur" when she points to her drink/sippy cup and her rubber duck (she loves that duck). I'm not sure if she is really trying to say drink or duck, or if she is just most familiar with the "duh" sound, but she does repeatedly say it when she points to those items so I like to think that she is super smart! Although she's muttered "ma-ma" a few times, I think it's by chance. She hasn't really mastered that sound yet. Sometimes when I try to get her to repeat it she says "mba-mba." So, maybe soon. Yesterday she grabbed my face and I said "ow" and she repeated it after me. She did it for Tyler later that night, too.

She loves to point at everything and waits for you to tell her what she's pointing at. She's also really good at using that finger to point at what she wants! We also spend a lot of time asking her where things are and she's getting really good at pointing at them. She can point to the flowers, TV (is that a good thing?), ball, food, ballerina, books, computer, and more.

She loves to put everything into baskets, cups, bowls, drawers, etc. She's always moving toys from one basket to another, or the dishes from the cupboard to a drawer. She loves the bath tub, playing ball (rolling it from person to person) and she loves to read books, as long as she can flip the pages.

I love watching her grow and learn new things. She's so curious. But most of all, I love that she is so loving. I love that she wants me and that she needs me. I love seeing her smile when I walk in to her room after she wakes up. I love how she lays her head on my shoulder when she gets hurt, like when she fell down the stairs on Tuesday... yes, she tumbled to the very bottom! Good thing we have soft carpet and extra padding! She is the light of my life, and I lover her to pieces!