Today

Guess what today is! It is officially one month away from a little girls 2nd Birthday!
Olivia has always seemed so little and babyish to me.  Maybe it's that she's slightly delayed in her developments.  Maybe it's that I still feel an intense level of protection over her for all that she's been through.  Whatever it is, I am having a hard time convincing myself that she is not my baby anymore.  The evidence is there.  She's as long as daddy's torso.  My back hurts after 30 seconds of holding her (standing up obviously.)  She wears a shirt that says "Attitude in Training" but she has graduated from trainee to expert.
Speaking of that attitude...I'm realizing more and more how much of an angel Ella was.  Ella had her moments (quite a few of them) but she was ultimately just emotional.  Olivia is stubborn, she's feisty, she's a fighter.  All perfect qualities for a heart child.  Not so perfect for a younger sibling.  But Ella still persists in trying to be a sweet and loving big sister.  I have faith that her example will eventually get through to Livie.
We've been working with Olivia on her speech and trying to get her to speak in small sentences.  It's only slightly working but even a little progress is welcome.  Olivia is getting a little more excited with talking since we started having her say prayers with the family.  It's not very understandable but they are the cutest prayers you ever heard.  Pronunciations aren't great either.  Binky sounds like daddy and when we try to get her saying it correctly she'll say "bee" and when we ask her to say "key" she says "you"  And now that she knows we think it's funny there's probably no chance of her ever saying it correctly.
Olivia has finally shown her movie loving quality that I knew had to be in there.  Pooh is still a favorite but she is showing a great amount of interest in Toy Story.  She also loves all things "Me-e Mow" aka Mickey Mouse.
Olivia is a handful and worth every little bit of grief she gives me.  At the end of the day she is the first to snuggle and give hugs and kisses.

Cheese!

Loves the dirt!  For two reasons: it's fun to play in, it makes mommy give her a bath.

Silly faces are the best.

Nothing like sharing a little binky love with Elmo.

Little stinker snuck into my cooking drawer and stole the 'mallows.