Olivia at 22.5 Months

So I have to give her some credit. I made her sit in this chair every week for 52 weeks her first year. And now in her second, we’ve done them monthly.

Girl is done. I’m done. We’re done. Sitting nicely (or even kind of nicely) for monthly photo shoots is a thing of the past. And they’re getting more and more painful.

So Chris and I shot two photos and decided to damn it all because this is pretty much accurate on what life with Olivia is like at 22 months.

Highlights: Her first ponytail was a success!

And we took our first family vacation, just the three of us and it was awesome. Seriously, she did so good. I’m working on that post now from the weekend because it’s so awesome it needs to stand all on its own.

She also visited the pediatric dentist mid-September and while she HATED getting her teeth counted and flossed, it was actually a really wonderful experience. It was her second visit, but her first at a year old was at my own dentist, but I thought she would do better at a pediatric dentist. Though she wanted nothing to do with a photo op there, or even within the five seconds she willingly sat in the exam chair, I did get this cute one of her strapped in the carseat, where she couldn’t escape my camera.

Nicknames: Ollie, Monkey, Bugsley, Monks, Miss O

Weight: Unsure. She better not be a jerk at her 2 year check and let us get an accurate measurement.
Length: Ditto.
Diaper size: 5, and size 5 at night
Shoe size/Clothing Size: 5/ wears 2T and 24 months. Can still fit into some 18 month clothes.
Teeth: Getting her top two cuspids (canines), bringing the total to 14. Teething has been royally sucking. Seriously. Worst teething month ever, because the nights without Motrin are awful. Well, OK it could be worse, but her top two cuspids—fangs, as they are affectionately known as here—have been the worst. Worst than her one year molars.

Eating: She’s nursing about 3-5 times a day, depending on what our schedule is and if she’s teething. She is loving her whole cow’s milk (organic, because I can get it cheaper at Aldi) that I usually give her once a day and it seems like her constipation from it has been better. Somewhere along the way, she has become a picky toddler, but still loves her fruits. Right now, her favorite things are berries, eggs, Mexican food, string cheese, plain yogurt, meatballs, and tomatoes. In fact, if I had to throw out her favorite food right now it would hands down be tomatoes. She can climb into her high chair and likes to attempt to help us buckle her in. When she’s finished eating, she pushes her tray away, and claps her hands: “DONE!”

Toileting: On August 22nd (because you guys know this blog all doubles as a baby book) I was running water for Olivia’s bath, and just had had a conversation with my mom about potty training. She had told me she tried to force it with me and I hated it (sorry, Mom.) and then with my two younger sisters, she let them lead the way and it went a lot better. So I decided to casually ask Olivia if she wanted to sit on the potty after I took her diaper off. She gave me an enthusiastic “yeah!” and I sat her on there. She only wanted to sit for 2.5 seconds and then she got in the tub for her bath.

At the end of her bath, she kept pointing back to the toilet so I got her out, dried her off and lifted her up onto it. And she totally dribbled pee! (I don’t think it even quite made it into the bowl, but I was so shocked I didn’t care. She sat there for a few more seconds and wanted to get down. And now I totally get how stupid happy parents get when their kid pees in the potty. I don’t think we’re there yet to start officially training, but we let her sit on the toilet when she wants.

Diaper changes have been going pretty good and when I say that, I mean I don’t have to always have the TV on as a distraction and sometimes she even GASP! let’s me change her in her bedroom.

Sleeping: Her sleep would be really good if it weren’t for the teething. She goes down around 7:30 and will usually sleep until 7 or 8. She’s rarely up to nurse at night, and if she is teething and gets Motrin, she will sleep all night. She is on one nap a day, around 1:00 p.m. and I try to leave her in there for two hours to get my things done. But unfortunately she rarely sleeps over an hour and a half. I’ve noticed she is drinking more from her water cup at night now.

Milestones: Washes and dries her hands, helps brush her teeth, can take off her shoes and attempt to put them on. She’s getting more coordinated with throwing things (this is both good and bad, depending on your viewpoint), starting to walk upstairs using the railing, but mostly slides up and down on her belly still. She loves to help out around the house, so I’ve been letting her do more things, like help me unload the dishwasher, carry the dustpan to the garbage and throw things out. It’s adorable.

Communication: Oh this girl is saying more and more words. In addition to Mama, Dada, Up, No, Bubble, Ow, Uh Oh, Buh (ball) Jack, Hello, Stop, Hi and Bye; she’s saying Sad (adorable story: when Elsa and Anna’s parents’ boat goes under the water in Frozen, we always said “Sad!” because she would look back at us with her eyes wide and would babble and point. And now every time that scene plays, she looks back at us and says, “Sad!” It’s more than I can handle sometimes.), Rock, Wah (water), All done, Blocks.

She’s saying Hi and Bye with gusto. To anyone and everyone and usually follows with a wave. She also loves to say, “Mamo Daddo!” Constantly. It’s hilarious. In fact, you can usually find her tearing down the hallway screeching, “MamoDado! (something unintelligible) Mamo! Mamo Dado!” (I hope she loves us this much when she’s 13.)

She loves to give hugs (when she wants to) and knows the things that are going to make us laugh. Nursing is now called, “Buboos!”

Activities: Where to begin? Well we had the last pool party at the beginning of September! It was cold, but she still had a blast!

Chris and I took Olivia to an outdoor art and craft fair that had the most delicious food and beer.

And we found a fun park about 45 minutes from us for Labor Day. Unfortunately, Olivia was on a slide ban, and being that the park consisted of no less than a dozen slides—we didn’t last as long as I had hoped.

We’ve joined some new things in the last month. ECFE started last week and she’s so excited to be in her two year old class. Not a whole lot is different, except for drinking from a big Dixie cup verses a sippy during snack time, and a longer parent meeting where we separate from the kids. She did great with her cup and they even let them walk to the gym holding onto the colored handled rope which is hysterical. It looked like herding cats, but she did really good staying with the group, save for one moment of weakness, breaking off from the rope and making a run for it. Luckily, we have a fantastic teacher who’s known her since she was 4 months and was able to successfully corral her back.

I also joined MOPS which I was really nervous about, because 1) I’m awkward in big groups, 2) Despite being in my 30s, I’m still in fact very much shy, and 3) I am having a hard time being able to relate to other moms. But I can say that it actually went really well. Like, way better than I thought it would. Olivia did great in the child care and even wore her little pony tail.

I also joined a women’s small group on Thursday evenings through my church and Olivia was invited to come so the older kids could play with her. I got some time to renew my spirit and the women I met with were incredible. I told them my infertility story, cried, and was immediately accepted and loved which was amazing. So we’ve had a lot of new things that both of us are participating in and luckily, they’ve all been good changes.

We’ve been going to church and I’ve been continuing to go to the gym and Olivia is doing great being in someone else’s care, which I’m so grateful for. And I’m actually getting back into strength training which has been great for my anxiety as well as preparation for a hopeful second pregnancy.

Health: Teething sucks. Right, I’ve already said that. She has been healthy otherwise except for the occasional runny nose. I’ve been letting her have some Juice Plus with me and I’ve been better at giving her her probiotics.

Likes: Closing and opening doors. She just started doing this, so it’s no longer an option to close the doors to rooms I don’t want her getting in to. Eating. Watching TV (Curious George, Daniel Tiger, Sesame Street, Frozen), playing at the playground, wagon rides.

Being tickled. Going to the gym’s child care and playing with her little friends. Coloring and painting. And as always, nursing.

Dislikes: Walking past the park without visiting it. The thought of going to bed. When we prevent her from doing anything fun, like flipping headfirst down the stairs, or unwinding the toilet paper. And apparently we can’t understand her sometimes when she’s trying to say Something Important and that always gets her in a hot mess.

Looking forward to: Our trip as a family of three went awesome this weekend. So naturally I’m looking forward to planning one next year. More on this later, as I have a post currently in the works! Also, her second birthday, and I can’t believe I’m even saying that. She’s six weeks away from being 2. How did this year fly by so fast?