Springtime blooms

At the end of April, Olivia turned 1 1/2! She's growing steadily - a full inch and a half taller than her big sister was at that age, a few pounds heavier, and her head is an inch bigger, too! (That's 38th% for height, 71st% in weight, and 96th% for head circumference) Again, I mention the comparison simply for reference.

One of her many looks/poses that are uniquely "Olivia."

This video is a little old at this point, but after Olivia learned how to walk she would go around with her arms held out (for balance). I called the look "Franken-Baby" because she looked like Frankenstein walking around! She doesn't do it anymore, but it was fun to see while it lasted.

One-and-a-half is kind of the age of frustration... She wants to DO so many things, and TELL us so many things, but her abilities just aren't there yet. Countless moments end in tears for her every day, just due to her frustrations. Her opinions are also getting a lot stronger, specifically regarding food (and, most recently, clothes!). Since she can't SAY what she wants to eat, though, she can have a tough time with it.

She still loves to eat many of the same things, like cheese noodles and freeze-dried peas (peas for breakfast! Crazy kid...). She follows her big sister EVERYWHERE, and Madeline loves the attention most of the time. Our days are filled with shrieks and giggles, occasionally punctuated by shouts and wailing. They're quick to recover, though, and usually just a change of activity brings back the smiles for both. It's funny, though - often, when Olivia is upset or hurt, she doesn't want me anymore, she wants Madeline! Even if Madeline pushes Olivia down (because she's suddenly had enough of her little sister following her), Olivia will cry and want a hug from MADELINE!

Olivia is crazy for clothes, shoes, and purses. She's constantly raiding laundry baskets (clean ones, not dirty), dresser drawers, etc, and tries to put the clothes on. She can't put shirts on (much to her dismay) so everything goes over her legs. It's not unusual for her to wear Madeline's (clean) underwear, over her own pants. I'll have to snap a picture soon! In the meantime, here's a shot where she found some mittens and INSISTED on wearing them. Especially significant when you know that she REFUSED to wear mittens all winter long. Seriously, she'd scream her head off.

 

"Peek-a-boo!"

Spring is in full-swing here! Glory, glory, halleluiah! We bought a crab apple tree for the front yard, and the kids helped dig the hole. They had so much fun!

 Scooping out the hole, one sand-shovelful at a time...

 If big sister is helping, little sister has to get in there, too!

 The dirt SOMETIMES made it into the wheelbarrow. Most of the time, though, the dirt fell on the ground before she reached it.

 "THIS is my dirt. And I love it."

Helping Mommy and Daddy pick out the tree.

 

Last fall we also planted a bunch of tulips. Now that spring is here, we have so much color in our yard!!