For Olivia

This is my 200th post and since it closely coincides with Olivia's 15 month birthday (and thus the celebration of her TWO years of life), I'm dedicating this little letter to her.

To my sweet Olivia,

I know I say this on each of your monthly birthdays, but it is so hard to believe that 15 months has passed since you were born.  At each of your your milestone birthdays I think to myself that this stage is the best so far.  When you were first born, you were so tiny and snuggly and every little thing you did seemed so magical.  A few months later you were all smiles & giggles and stayed awake for so much longer.  When you started crawling, we thought it couldn't get much better.  But then you started interacting with your toys and other babies and your personality really started coming out.  By the time you turned one, you were walking all over the place and getting into everything.  And, now...well, now you are this miniature person who knows and understands so much of what is going on.

One character trait that has stayed true through your short life is your inquisitiveness.  OH MY, are you ever the curious one.  You have to investigate every little thing you see and you are constantly aware of your surroundings.  Once you've figured something out, you don't forget it.  We've been spending a lot of time this last week in our baby pool out back.   Yesterday morning, you went outside in your pajamas and crawled right into the pool.  What you didn't realize was that the water hadn't warmed up yet and was really cold.  You were not happy with that little discovery.  This afternoon when I tried to put you back in, you REFUSED to get in until I got halfway in it myself.

You are constantly cracking us up with the things you do.  Today during our walk we took a break at a little park area and even though you had been walking around on the grassy area already, you refused to move from the concrete area to the grass without me holding your hand.  Then tonight after your bath, you decided to dance around the house completely naked.  When I come in to your room to get you from your naps each day you have to show me everything that is in your crib and then point to the fan and say, "Fah, Fah."

You are usually very independent.  When we are at our classes you barely know that I am there with you.  You immediately go off on your own searching for your friends or the older kids if they are there.  It seems the only time you want to cling to me is when I'm making dinner and need both of my hands for cooking.  I cherish the quiet moments I get with you early in the mornings and when I am putting you down to sleep at night.

We can barely keep enough fresh fruit in the house these days to keep you satisfied.  You LOVE strawberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, plums and bananas more than anything.  Surprisingly, you are also eating a lot of sugar snap peas.  Anything you don't like generally ends up on the floor for Magnum to snatch up.

We are constantly amazed with the new things you are learning.  You are using so many signs with us now.  You know the sign for bird, dog, cat, fish, more, eat, drink and all done and you are learning so many more.  You can locate your belly button, your nose, your head and you are obsessed with people's eyes - so much so that a few weeks ago you stuck your finger in another little girl's eye when we were out shopping.  We are still working on teaching you to be gentle.

We love you so much, Olivia.  Every day I think I can't love you anymore than I already do and every day I'm amazed with how much my heart has grown.  You mean the world to me and I am forever blessed to be your mother.

Love Always,
Mama