Smooches Gracias!

I have to give a big Thank You to my mom for coming out and spending the week with us.  Time literally flew by while she was out here.  We all enjoyed spending time with her and it is always nice to have an extra set of hands to pick up the place after Olivia a cyclone comes through.  And, another huge thanks to her for taking over my job of blogger yesterday.  I think she now realizes why there are sometimes DAYS in between posts.  It is very time-consuming.

I have to add on a few things to Nana's post about Olivia's "smartness."  And, trust me when I say, the last thing I want to do is brag.  This blog {which gets turned into a book each year} is honestly the best way for me to keep track of her growth and accomplishments.  I spent several days while my mom was here working on her digital photo albums for her second year of life.  And, I kept consoling each picture that didn't make the cut with a It's okay, you made it on the blog.  I have her "baby album" still unfinished in a cabinet above my desk.  {Note to self:  Finish it!}  My point is, this little blog is the most accurate measure she'll have of what was going on when she was a baby toddler {sniff sniff}.  So, I'm going to brag a bit.

Last night before dinner, we asked Olivia to say the blessing.  Without any kind of prompting, she was able to say, "God is great. And we thank him for the food. By his hands must be fed. Give us (mumble mumble mumble) bread."  After I wiped the huge smile from my face, I had to pick my chin up off the floor.  This isn't something we've been practicing or working on.  It's just something we do before dinner each night {and sometimes before breakfast or lunch}.  It is amazing how quickly she has picked that up.

Tonight while giving her a bath, she pretty much sang all the lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  She is able to fill in the words of so many things...from stories to songs to phrases.  Another one of her favorite books is No, David by David Shannon.  Yesterday, she was flipping through the book and pretty much said what was on each of the pages.  Now, it's not like she recited an entire book or anything.  Most of the pages say something like, "No, David.  That's too loud," or "Come back here, David," and "Go to your room, David!"  But, the point is, she knows what storyline is going on with each page.  

In addition to her amazing memory is her ability to entertain herself for long periods of time.  With just a few of her toys {mainly the Little People or her play food} laid out, she will play uninterrupted for at least 20 minutes.  She knows all the names of the Little People and is always talking about what they are doing.

Each day I am amazed at the something new that she knows or retains.  Today, on her own, she counted to 12.  And, as she counted, she pointed to a different picture of Olivia in her book.  {One of the Olivia books we have has Olivia in different outfits or doing different things on the inside cover.  This is what she was pointing to.}  While taking a bath the other night, she pointed to the diamond shaped tiles and said, Diamonds.  Lots of them.  And, take my word for it, she knows what real diamonds are as well.

Even if she didn't know all of these things, I would still be so incredibly proud of her for being such a sweet little girl.  Yes, she can be a stinkpot with the best of them, but for the most part she is an incredibly loving girl, and I am so blessed to be her Mama.

I just wish she would SMILE at the camera more!!!

Happy Tuesday from the Central Coast!