I am mostly writing this post because I want to document all the things Olivia is doing right now so I don't forget in the future. I have been quite busy the past few months - my little business of making crocheted hats really took off once it became "hat" season. So, between keeping up with that and Olivia, I've had little free time for blogging. There's much to catch up on, but for now I want to get down this information while it's fresh! :)
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| at the park on her birthday |
It's safe to say we have a walker! I have a video of it which I will try to post later if I can figure out how. Though she still seems to prefer crawling as her main method of transportation, she can and does walk all by herself occasionally throughout the day. She took her first steps about a month ago (Sunday, October 9th to be exact!) and much to my relief, has taken her time easing into it. Seeing as how she can be a bit of a wild woman, I thought once she took those first steps she would be running the next day. Luckily, that was not the case!
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| my little owl at hills and dales |
She understands and is communicating so much these days! Here are some of the words she can say and knows the meaning of:
- "nana" (banana - one of her favorite foods
- mum mum (another one of her favorite snacks)
- hat (which she uses to describe not only hats, but also yarn - ha ha)
- head (which she knows from "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes")
- hi (this was probably one of the first words she said and really knew the meaning of)
- "ha-wo" (hello - she says this into the phone when she is pretending to talk on it)
- hot
- shoes
Here are some things she will do when asked:
- laugh (this is a new one)
- dance
- clap
- give a hug
- give a kiss
- pet Lucy (or Daddy or Mommy or Grandpa)
- hand us things we ask for
- make a doggy sound (i.e. pant)
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| contemplating life at cox arboretum |
She tries to imitate the word sock, but it comes out more like "gock." She knows what socks and shoes are and if you ask her where you put them, she attempts to put them on her feet (although not very successfully). In fact, she likes to try to make shoes out of lots of things, including Mr. Potato Head's body and some of her plastic blocks. She also knows what "hat" means and if you ask her where a hat goes, she will point it on her head.
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| oh, you know, just wearing a basket on her head |
She has a very funny sense of humor (see above picture for proof) and is always entertaining us. Her newest "trick" is peekaboo. She's been playing peekaboo for a while now - hiding behind her chair for example and then laughing as we "find" her when she crawls around the corner. But this is different. The other night at dinner she covered her face with both her hands and then "revealed" herself by dramatically removing her hands and holding them out to the side (the way you would if you were making an "I don't know" kind of gesture). Then she smiles really big and does it again (and again and again) and we love it every time! She knows we think she's funny!
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| hanging out on the scale in the bathroom |
Another one of Olivia's tricks is during bathtime when it's time to clean up her toys. Yusaku will ask her to start handing him her toys and she will do so. However, when it comes down to the last toy, she won't give it to him. Instead, she will pretend to hand him an invisible toy with nothing in her hand. She does this over and over. It's funny. Again, I have a video of this which I will try to post when/if I can.
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| first pair of walking shoes |
She's doing well with using the signs for "more" and "all done" with her meals. She love, love, loves Lucy and gets so excited when she sees her when we come downstairs every morning. Speaking of Lucy, Olivia has recently discovered the joy of playing with Lucy's food and water. She likes to pick the kibbles off the floor that Lucy leaves lying around and put them in her bowl. Then, she likes to take them out again. Then put them back in. And occasionally, she likes to transfer the pieces of food back and forth between the empty water dish and the food dish. Oh what fun!
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| a pumpkin just her size |
She keeps me on my toes, but I love the funny, smart, spunky girl she is becoming! (see picture below of how she discovered how to turn around and stand up in her stroller and you'll know what I mean)
