Olivia is 15.5 months old!

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Olivia!  I've been meaning to do a '15 month' post about you for a few weeks...and it's been so long that it's no longer relevant to put it as '15 months'...so you get an extra .5 month added to the title :)

You continue to grow and develop, which is always very entertaining.  I think a "highlight" in your development this past month is your ability to throw a really good tantrum.  I'm talking about a "screaming/crying while laying on the floor" tantrum that I always vowed my kids would never have (oops!).  You definitely know what you want and don't want, and you don't like it when you don't get your way.

You continue to say "Ma" for Mom, and have recently added "ba" for ball and "kack" for quack/duck.  The words are going to really start coming quickly now, because you are forever trying to talk.  You love sitting and looking at your '100 words' book.  You love it when I sit with you and tell you the names of the things you are pointing at.  You definitely took the initiative with wanting to learn to talk because I have not sat down and read you that book at all until you took interest in it.  Being the baby of the family, you know how to get what you want!

You have a deep love for Kayla and Nathan.  You love Kayla because she is always watching out for you, and you love Nathan because he loves to "love on" you.  You continue to be very tolerant of his never-ending hugs and kisses.  You like to sit beside him on the couch.   You like Matthew, but the two of you don't really pay any special attention to each other.

We are working on forcing you to a eat a little more.  I've realized that you typically only tell me that you don't want more food (by refusing to take another bite) not because you are full, but because you are tired of sitting in your high chair.  I usually force you to take another bite or two and then you willingly finish the rest of your portion.  When you are done with everything, you try to put your cup on the table and lift up your plate to pass it to me.

You absolutely love fruit.  Your favourites are blueberries, strawberries, and grapes.  You also love tomatoes.  Your biggest love is candy though!  If you see it, you ask for it!

Olivia, you have really developed a love for playing with Fisher-Price Little People.  You are quite entertained by putting each person in a vehicle or putting them in a house.  It's really cute watching you sit and play with them.

You have a larger love for playing with (bald) dolls.  You always have a doll with you, held nicely against your chest.  You like to also have a blanket for the baby, and if one is not around then you use an extra item of doll clothes as a blanket, and if that is not around, then you pull a wipe out of my wipe container (haha!).  You like to put the 'blanket' (or whichever item you are using as a blanket), on top of the baby's face when it's laying in the ground.  You love taking your baby for walks around the kitchen in one of our many baby strollers, and you've learned how to feed your baby a bottle.

We've dropped your afternoon bottle, so you know only have a 9-oz bottle just before you go to bed in the evening.  We only dropped the afternoon bottle because I forgot to pack one on a Sunday morning and we had no plans to be home that day at all, so you had to do without...and you did just fine!

You weigh an even 24lbs.  The older you get, the more you are resembling Kayla's body type.  You are a perfect size...large enough to not be overly concerned with your growth, but small enough to be my baby.  But let's be honest here, even when you are 40lbs you will still be my baby :).

Nathan's Smooth Skin

While I was changing Nathan into his pajamas after his bath this evening, I was commenting on how smooth and clean his skin felt.  I wasn't looking right at him while I helped him step into the pants, but I heard him say, "Feel how smooth my noodles are, Mom!"  I looked up and laughed.  "Nathan, those are called nipples, not noodles!"

Cinderella 3

The oldest three kids and I were watching Cinderella 3 while Olivia napped.  We were about 75% done the movie when I noticed Matthew was crying.  My kids don't frighten too easy, so I asked him what was wrong.  "Everything bad is just happening to Cinderella!"  It was true, the mean stepmother had been doing everything possible to prevent Cinderella from marrying the prince.  I assured him that all Disney movies have a happy ending and he stopped crying immediately.  It was so cute!

Beautiful Fall Day

The weather was SO NICE this morning that the kids and I headed to our "little park" already at 9am this morning.  They even chose to ditch their vests at one point because they were getting so warm!

{So disappointed that none of my pictures of the four of them on the steps turned out clearer...guess that's what I get for trying to jump around to make them smile while also taking the picture}

{My girls.  Love these two!  I can always count on Kayla to watch out for Olivia}

 

{They each take one toy to the little park each time and play with them, rather than play on the playground equipment because it's designed for little toddlers}

{I've realized that I don't have near as many pictures of these two together as I used to}