18...Are you kidding me?

Olivia is growing quickly. She is so smart, which sometimes gets her into lots of trouble. She is currently learning mama and papa's behavior expectations and what happens when we choose not to listen. There are certainly times where a battle of wills is at play. She is learning though that mama and papa are as stubborn as she is. It is an interesting line to walk with her right now because I want her to explore and be able to satisfy her curiosity but most of the time it seems like this leads her to getting hurt or ruining something. Speaking of getting hurt...you should see this girl's knees, I don't think they will be scrap free this entire summer at the rate we are going!

I have come to the conclusion that she needs more age appropriate toys. Being a January baby doesn't allow for many new gifts to come her way during the rest of the year so I am going to start keeping my eyes peeled for some good deals. She played tonight with one of her baby dolls and 2 wipes that never got used and have since dried out. It was so cute to see her use those dry wipes to clean the baby's face and to cover the baby as if they were blankets and then pat her to sleep. Seeing her pretend play is such a great experience for me as a mom. I want to get her a baby doll that she can work on putting clothes on and off of and just interact with more than the "plush" version she has right now. She kept asking me to take the baby's hat off. Little does she know that baby's hat is sewed on to her face to keep all her stuffing brains in tact. She may be highly disappointed if I were to actually get that hat off. Though...she may also be quite interested in the new play material.

We went to the children's museum today and it made me realize that I really need to get her a play kitchen set. She stood by one of the tables pretend mixing things in bowls and cups and then offering them to me. She also had so much fun putting fruits, veggies, and other things into her grocery basket.

It is so fun to look back on all her baby pictures and see how much she has advanced and grown in such a short 18 months! I have 2 new nephews now and I am so excited to see them grow up and someday play with Olivia. Based on what I have seen so far though...those boys better watch out because I am sure she will let them know who is in charge! (she might get a little bit of that from her mommy...but don't tell anyone!)

"The toddler age allows children to look at life in a whole new way."