Christmas in NY

Monkey! Monkey! Olivia likes to call out "dog" and "cat" and even "horsey" when she sees them but none of them get the enthusiasm like when she sees a MONKEY! It sort of fits being that she acts like a little monkey herself. We were so fortunate to be able to spend Christmas in NY with the NY Melvilles. We had a fantastic time. There was so much to look at and take in that the first whole day Olivia just walked around the house saying "oooohh", "look" and "wow". For as eye catching and fun as everything was, she did a great job of just looking and/or touching things very gently. Look below at how gingerly she picked up her stocking....at first.

This next one is more like it should be at almost 2! Then come the presents! Lots and lots of presents.

As if presents weren't exciting enough there was also SNOW and her first time sledding.

Grandpa Melville made this sled by hand when his first granddaughter was little 14 years ago. It didn't take her long to find it once it was brought out of storage. Doesn't she look anxious to ride it...still in her pajamas and not even out of the kitchen yet and she was on it.

I have some fun video footage of everyone sledding and hope to upload it in the next day or so. You know what you need when you are in NY during the winter? Furry boots!!! Doesn't matter if they come all the way up to the top of your leg and then some...as long as you've got some.

Olivia's vocabulary has really taken off. Each day she is learning and expressing more. We have noticed that she is putting together some great sentences. The one in the video is a pretty long one and Mike is helping her put it together but on her own she will ask "where's dada" "dada working?" "Olivia have juice?" (ok it's actually Lala have juice... she tries to say Olivia but it comes out Lala) "i don't want it" and it's opposite "may i have some?" . I'm enjoying watching her label and figure things out. We used to hear a lot of "i love you" but now we hear " i love you momma" & "i love you dada" and perhaps not AS endearing but definitely very cute is when she is putting on her boots and says "i love boots...Lala loves boots". She has been practicing pointing to everyone andn everything she sees and saying their name ...Marley,pencil, book, MONKEY, Lynn, Cuca (as Luca is affectionately refered to), and as of today Uncle Max is no longer Uncle Mack...she has gotten the X sound down! Another thing I heard today for the first time was "excuse me". We haven't worked on that with her and yet she said it clearly and used it appropriately. She has been sipping ginger ale since she hasn't been feeling well so she burped a few times today and each time excused herself. I guess she's listening to us even when we don't realize it! (hey, we have a lot of gas around here...what can i say? ha ha ha) Speaking of her not feeling well...I should log off before she wakes up. I'll post again soon.

Duke, Santa & a bathing suit in November

We're baaaaccckkkkk! It's hard to update a blog when you don't have a computer so huge thank yous to Mom and Dad Melville for getting us back up and running! Just in time to share some wonderful Olivia news! As part of a follow up study that Duke is doing on very low birthweight babies we were asked to bring Olivia in for an evaluation/assessment. They administered what is called the Bayley exam. It is a standard series of measurements used to assess the motor skills (fine and gross), language (receptive and expressive) and cognitive development of infants and toddlers 0-3. Here is Wikipedia's definition....they can explain it better then I can. ~~~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayley_Scales_of_Infant_Development~~~ The results...........................................................drumroll please .............................................................. the results confirm that she ROCKS! To quote the doctor "you should put all of your preemie worries behind you." "Not only is she not delayed but she is doing exceptionally well." Of course my eyes were welling up at this point but the tears really started flowing when the supervisor came in to say that not only did the doctor (who administered the test) report to her that Olivia was doing a wonderful job developmentally but that she was also taken aback by just how pleasant, personable and attentive Olivia was during the testing. She administers a lot of these tests and Olivia really stood out. Don't get me wrong, I already knew all of this in my heart of hearts. All of us have known. It is just so different to hear it from professionals with so much experience in this particular field. So to respect her achievements (and to acknowledge how silly I have been to have it in the first place) I have removed the "adjusted age" birthday ticker from the heading above. She doesn't need that margin/allowance for "adjustment" .... she is developmentally on track to be exactly what she is! (26 days shy of being a full fledged TWO YEAR OLD!!!!) An expressive almost 2 year old at that! Check out her "style". She has really been into getting dressed (and undressed ~ regardless of her father's disdain for it) throughout the day. On Thanksgiving she decided she had to have her bathing suit on over her clothes.... She accessorized with daddy's hat.... And then Savanah's shoes.....

And then Grandma's cell phone....

Santa!!!! She was more excited to see Santa then what it appears like in this picture. 2 hours late for nap + lots of things going on around her that looked like fun = a so so picture. I didn't have my camera with me so I had to use my phone but I believe family took some good pictures and I'll need to get copies so I can post one where she is at least smiling.

(below) On our way to Duke in the weee hours of the morning.

*as a side note, Mike said it felt much better to be leaving Duke this time since we were able to bring Olivia out with us...unlike all of those times where we left heavy hearted and empty handed. (he'd probably want me to add some sort of disclaimer about how he is NOT a softy, he was just making an observation. tee hee)

Santa? Here? In November?

Olivia really enjoyed our recent Christmas parade (yes, Christmas parade before Thanksgiving...not sure why)...but she got the most excited when she spotted Santa and his reindeer .... I don't know if i've ever mentioned it here before but one of the bazillion things i find adorable about Olivia is the way she walks. Her little hands folded behind her back, leaning slightly forward .... it's sooooo soooo cute...and that's why i could not resist posting this picture. I will use the next picture one day when teaching Olivia about depth perception. I should add this to a previous post about places Olivia likes to sit. If the bathroom door is left open for even a second I can promise that you will find her here. In the sink...with it on... She has tremendous upper body stregnth and uses "tools" (in this case the garbage can) to help her get where she wants to be. As dangerous, frustrating and sometimes inappropriate as it can sometimes be ... it is always amazing. We don't go anywhere where she doesn't impress someone.

a new feathered friend

A friendship started over popped corn. Olivia loved sharing with the geese...this one in particular. No fear on either of their parts. A few times the goose got over zealous and grabbed Olivia's sleeve with the popped corn and had it pulled down over her hand (and then some) before either of them realized...but it didn't phase them.

shopping

How could Daddy resist buying a ticket for the merry go round when his little girl is pointing to the horses and saying "please i touch please i touch"???

random from October

i don't have any fun hayride or pumpkin pictures just yet but i thought this kiss in the wheelbarrow was too cute not to post. the kids love to ride round and round the yard in here together.

look at O in her dress with Luca's work boots on. quite the fashion statement. i've told you before that she will put on any pair of shoes she comes across...and here is another example. the dress is covered in flour b/c she was helping Auntie Lynna cook.

I love you!

Olivia greeted me this morning with an "i love you" just as clear as could be. Soooo sweet. What a great way to start the day.

She is becoming more interested in other kids and doing what they do. I noticed she likes to sit/stand very close to her cousin and friends to watch what they do and to try it for herself.

Playdates are a lot of fun too! The kids that get together range from 15 months to 4 years.

When she's playing by herself she has her favorite things to do. I would say climbing is number one for sure. (videos at the end of this post show the latest climbing). Changing her clothes (multiple times a day) and SOCKS are a close second. The other day she had me put a pair of Savanah's socks on her...then she brought me a pair of my socks to put on over top of them...then a pair of Mike's (that came to the top of her thighs) to put on top of the other two pairs...and she wore it like that for the afternoon. Most of the time she just wants me to switch one of her socks out for another....round and round and back and forth...take them off put them on take them off...

Hats are a big thing too...I haven't taken many pictures of the hats (and by hat i mean anything she can put on her head, strainers, goggles, books...etc) but I will.

More and more she is liking her birthday suit. Being able to take her own diaper off isn't helping the situation. While she was helping daddy wash the motorcycle she got more and more naked and eventually..............................................................

climbed right on in the wash bucket! (slippers and all!)

Her latest expression (below) is..... well..... you tell me. If she wasn't so cute she'd look mean. It's quite different from her smile above.

After all her play time, motorcycle washing, and clothes changing it's time for a snack. If her hands look like this.....

.... you probably imagined her face would look like this. Notice the red arrow pointing to her new super cute single curl.

After snack...if the mood strikes .... Olivia will climb (all by herself) into her swing and then pick and choose what song and speed setting she wants.

She tries to fight sleep by keeping one eye partly open, making sure i stay close by .... but eventually drifts off to much needed sleep. (notice the sock situation...these two in particular seem to come into the rotation a lot)

She needs her nap b/c at night she has a hard time sleeping. Mostly because it's hard to sleep when you are climbing in and out of your crib. haa haa. The next picture is a night vision BUST!

News on the daddy front is that Mike has switched to day shift. Wow. Did you ever think you'd see that happen (voluntarily)? So far it has been a real nice change. I myself am enjoying the shared night time rituals of getting her bathed and in bed after dinner. Mike likes it b/c his weekends feel longer. Downside is that his days off aren't the best for travel (but apparently very good for watching baseball)

I learned a lesson the other day.... don't put a freshly baked apple pie on the counter and then turn your back to wash dishes. Watch the video below to see what happened when i did.

Moments later, after her belly was full, I'm guessing she wanted to go "out" for a walk.

random

no, i'm not just trying to show you how disorganized my linen closet is....i just wanted to show you what happens if you leave the closet door open. see anything that doesn't belong in there? the weather has been beautifully cool here so we've been doing more outdoors. even the sandbox (that is usually off limits when the weather is so hot and humid) was calling our name.

play dates with Celeste have been great. i wish i took more pictures of how cute they are together. next week i will be sure to.

"yeah, i eat chic filet, what about it?" hee hee... that's what i felt like she was saying to me when i turned around to take this picture.

hope you are doing well. we'll post again soon.

Howdy....

Olivia modeling her new kitchen. Did she see this maneuver on Food Network? Cooking with toes!

And the final picture of the day is the latest place Olivia wanted her chair. She carried it all the way out, down the porch and into the driveway just so she could sit and watch Marley. Have chair...will travel. =-)

Olivia would like to thaaaaank you for stopping in to read her blog. (below)