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?

Can I Just Have...

A whole slew of 2 year olds? Seriously, I mean that. Olivia will be 2 in 25 days (I know this because today, May 6th, was my initial due date. 25 LONG ASS days later I gave birth!) and she's like, a real kid now. Toddler moments, yes we have them, but overall she is so sweet and wonderful, I just love this age.

Earlier we went out for our run, and whenever we come back Olivia likes to run around outside for an hour or so. It's nice because I can sit on the back porch and drink a cup of coffee while she happily plays. We have "our" spot, where she always tells me to come sit with her. Today we sat in the spot (the top stair of the porch) and she repeatedly came up to me, kissed me on the cheek and said, "love you too mom, bye mom!" and would go down the steps to play. After a couple minutes she'd come back up the stairs and say, "hi mom!" and sit down and hug me. Then repeat. Holy heart melt.

We then went around and picked "daddylions" which are dandelions for dad. They are mostly smashed now, but it's the thought that counts ;)

Speaking of dad, Olivia has called us "mom" and "dad" since she began talking. She's like a little teenager. Anyway, J has recently been trying to get her to call her "daddy", which she's taken to. In addition, she's started adding the "y" sound to the end of many words, just out of the blue. "Me drink wog-y" (water, which used to just be "wog") or "touch mom's leggy". So funny.

It's amazing to me that just a few months ago she was practically nonverbal, and now at 23 months she's making up songs, talking up a storm.