21 Month Update

Last week Olivia turned 21 months old-that really struck me because it means in three short months she will turn 2 years old. WOW. I feel like every day I notice something new-she is taller, her hands are bigger and her fingers are longer, she is getting more hair, losing that “baby” look in her face,  and wanting to do more and more things by herself. According to our scales at home Olivia weighs 25 lbs.

The biggest change I have noticed is that we have conversations with each other. Whereas before I could ask her questions that she knew the answer to and would get a response, now I can ask her about her day and she will tell me what she did, how she felt, and will answer follow up questions for me including what she ate, if she took a nap, and if she had fun. It is crazy sometimes when I stop and think about how our communication has changed in just a few short weeks. And sometimes her answers crack me up. The other day she was waving while outside. When I asked her who she was waving to, she responded matter-a-fact, “The peoples.”

 Here is what Olivia is into at 21 months old:

Reading: Although she has always enjoyed books and reading, she has become such a little book worm. We have to make trips to the library every week and check out around 20 books because she reads them so quickly. Conservatively, we read her around 30 books a day and lately she wants us to read the book then she “reads” it back to us. Here is a recent video of Olivia "reading" Goodnight Moon.

Our bedtime routine has been a challenge lately because she gets so upset after the last book before bed. And one night during dinner she pitched the hugest fit because she had to leave her books and come to the table to eat.

New Toys: When Olivia is not reading she is playing with her new Christmas toys including the dollhouse she received. I love watching her have independent play with the dolls and pets and cars that came with the dollhouse. She also really loves the new wooden magnetic toys. We have an alphabet fishing set and Olivia and I “go fishing” for letters regularly. She also loves the foam bath doll set and we have a hard time getting her out of the bath when she is changing the dolls’ outfits. Another two toys that Olivia enjoys are her blocks. She has a set of Wedgits and loves to build pyramids. She also received her first set of building blocks and builds her blocks as high as they can go before toppling over.

Singing: Olivia still loves to sing songs and she recently learned a new song from her cousins from South Africa. She knows all the words and motions to “Around the Garden.” She also knows the words to “Ring around the Rosy” and makes us all hold hands and go around in a circle.

Potty: The funniest thing these days is her interest in her potty. Sometimes she tells us “pants off, shirt off, socks off,” and goes to sit completely naked on her toilet. She will sit on the toilet, read books, and wipe with tissue but has yet to “go” in the potty. We are currently reading several books about the potty J