Words of Wisdom - Out of the Mouth of Babes

Two in one day, this must be some kind of record!

I wanted to write a few of these things down before I forgot to do so, in hopes that Liv gets to read them someday and understand what a smart and hilarious kid she was (and surely still is, no matter when she reads this).

The other night J was asking her some questions about Mama, Daddy, and other people she knows, kind of seeing where her understanding of descriptions (mostly physical) was at. He asked things like, "Does Daddy have brown eyes or blue? Does Mama have the same color hair as you?" etc. He asked, "Is Daddy skinny or fat?" She said, "fat!" (stifled laughter from J and myself).

Then: "Is Mama skinny or fat?"
Liv: "My Mama's not skinny or fat, my Mama's just happy!!"

As someone who has struggled with body image and weight (mostly being in the military gave me a skewed sense of "average"... at a size 6 I was "overweight", at a size 4 I was barely within "average for my height) I made a conscious decision to ensure that my daughter understood that her sense of self and happiness with how she looks and feels does not come from anyone else, it comes from inside. I want her to feel empowered about who she is, regardless of what we see in magazines or on television. Healthy and happy, this is what I want to impart on her. Her answer couldn't have been more perfect, I felt my heart swell when she said that.

For the record, I am neither skinny or fat, I'm about a size 6 and working to be comfortable with myself. I am very happy though! Secondly, I have never talked to her about body weight or image, she definitely came up with that herself.
Another gem: earlier today we went to visit J at work, and on the way home she and I stopped for lunch. While we were waiting, we were sitting on some tall stools facing out the window. She was playing around and leaned over to me, so I scooped her off her chair and gave her a hug. She hugged me back and then said, "Okay Mama, I want my own chair. I can't sit with you in yours." I said, "Why not?" She says, "Because I don't have a big booty like you do."

Well, one for two, not bad right?

Birthday Prep!

Livi's birthday is coming up. I am sort of in disbelief here, but at least I've been proactive! I've been making decorations and plans for her upcoming birthday, including a mermaid-colored tutu!

I've also been making birthday banners and things like that... this year is when she has started to understand that she has a special day and what that means. In fact when we are at the store and she sees something she wants, I just say, "well you have a birthday coming up!" and she totally accepts that as a reasonable reason why she can't get something. I suppose that won't work for the entire year.

She's reminding me more and more of myself personality wise. She is caring and shy, until she gets to know you, then she's wild and silly. Definitely intuitive. And a night owl, she'd rather stay up late and sleep in a bit (seriously, 8am or later these days... famous last words right?).

We went shopping yesterday and got her some 3T clothes, which she is just now starting to fit into. We ran around under the sprinkler, which was not as much fun in practice as it was in theory! It sprayed her in the face the first time and that was pretty much that. Thankfully I got pictures beforehand!

An Almost Three Year Old

So, I didn't even look at the date of the last post before this one. I'm not always the best blogger. But, life happens and it has been good! After a bit of an (ahem) rough patch from 2.5 until now, this almost-three-year-old has been WONDERFUL recently.

*knocks on wood*

Anyway, second year molars are nearly in. Olivia is somewhere between a 2-3T, she is super creative, intuitive, and sensitive.

I'm going to post more so I don't have to do silly updates like this.

Until then, these are my most favorite recent photos!

Mommy Moron

Yeah, this is an awesome post. So, we have this dog, Gordon, who is totally a idiot. He's just a big doofus. So we all had a good laugh when J discovered this old punk song called "Gordon the Moron". We listened to it a couple times, J made a few jokes about it.

Fast forward a few months. I met a friend at a nice cafe with a play place, our children were playing while we enjoyed a chat and some lunch. From nowhere, Olivia gets super excited, running around the play area, yelling, "Hi, Mommy Moron!" And then I died. Especially when she yelled it a second time, in case there was any doubt what she was saying the first time around. For a 27 month old, she has a surprisingly clear voice.

I've been trying to replace "Mommy Moron" with her other favorite nickname for me, "HoneyMommy", which thankfully seems to be working. She has no clue what a moron is, or that it's not a nice word. She says it endearingly, as though she were saying "Mommy Dearest".

At the end of this day, we walked around a bit and I could tell Olivia was tired and a little overstimulated. So of course, I suggest going into a toy store. Oh dear. Massive, epic tantrum. In public. Sure, she's independent, happy, funny, adorable, sleeping in her own bed, etc... but this right here makes you feel like you are doing everything wrong as a parent. At least in that very moment. I had to call my mom to be sure it was normal. You see kids throwing fits in public all the time, and mostly think nothing of it... it happens, they are kids! But when it's your own child, you're pretty sure no other kid in the history of the universe has ever done this before. Truly, it wasn't even that bad. A little crying (fairly loudly) and she let me carry her out of the store. She was then terribly sad when we parted ways with our friends.

I guess the moral of the story is that even if it sounds funny the first time your child says something like "Mommy Moron" do. not. laugh. Do not encourage it in any way! Because it's so not funny when screamed in public ;)

Independence

Independence... it's so bittersweet isn't it? Olivia has been little miss independent lately. She wants to do everything herself, which I suppose is a totally normal phase that all kids go through.

We set up her room about 10 days ago, and she was SO excited. She picked out owls and birds for her theme (which I was ecstatic about! I didn't want a theme room that she was over in a week) and helped decorate. We talked about moving her bed in there, as she'd been sleeping really well in her own toddler bed in our room. She was totally excited about it, so in it went. And she just, slept in it. All night most nights since then.

It's amazing to see how secure she is; I feel like I've done a good job as a mama, because there has been no issues with the new sleeping arrangement. If she wakes up, she just wanders into our room and climbs into bed with me. However, I miss her! Another baby may or may not be in the cards for us, so sometimes I feel like I have to savor each moment in case she's my only.

This has been accompanied by the exclamation, "Mine do it!" about EVERYTHING, which is cute but, you know, time consuming.

Lots of my friends are sending their kids off to preschool for the first time today, and I think I'm having an absolute freak out moment... that'll be us next year. Yes it's cliche but my god, where did the time go?!

That reminded me of a funny thing Olivia's been doing... I get on Josh all the time about swearing in front of her, and luckily she hasn't picked anything up (yet). Yesterday we sat down to eat dinner and Olivia says, "Oh my gog! Jesus Christ!" As you could have guessed, she definitely got that from me. She also transposes the "d" and "g" sound, so it's hilarious! Basically impossible not to laugh. Oops.

Getting Settled In...

This has been a bit of a process. Olivia is taking one of her very rare naps at the moment, so I'll have to make this quick!

We have finally moved and are settled into our new place. It seems to have a great energy and has really brought out the best in everyone. Aside from a particularly clingy toddler, life is good! We are enjoying getting things set up and Olivia has been the best project helper :)

Pictures to come soon, I still haven't gotten into a good routine for anything yet.

We're Moving!

We have finally decided on a home, after almost 2 years of searching, waiting for the right time, etc. I am SO excited that we get to provide Olivia with a really cool house to grow up in, and a nice big yard, in a great little town. We move this weekend. Beyond thrilling!

Our house has been ready and packed for some time; we definitely did not wait until the last minute! It seems that Olivia gets what is going on, a little bit anyway. She seems a bit frustrated and upset that the house is in boxes (hello, tantrumville!) but often asks to drive by the "new house" which is pretty amazing.

Lots more updates to come, this is a very exciting time in our lives!