22 Months Old

Ahhhhh!  This milestone hit Sarah hard.  Perhaps it is all the growth she's seen in Olivia in the past month.
We enjoyed a morning trip to the zoo--it has been in the 70-80's this past week and gorgeous out in the morning.  When Olivia heard we were going to the zoo, she asked for the monkeys and giraffes.  So, we saw both.  She enjoyed watching them.  And to top off the morning, Olivia made Sarah very nervous by insisting she wear her "purple meows" panties instead of her trainer.  (I complied and packed extra clothing and towels and made the girl take several potty breaks...but she stayed dry!  I know we'll have to start doing this more and a wet change of clothes will not kill me.)  So, as you might guess on the potty training front we have once again made progress--Olivia is getting better about telling you she needs to go (especially when you allow her the opportunity) and is slowly overcoming her fear of automatic flushing toilets when out and about.  She still gets caught up in what she is doing and forgets to take a break, but she's learning and doing amazingly well.
Olivia imagination has really started to take off--here's a sample of the weeks play: baking "cupcakes" (pom-poms and eggs) in the coffee table, playing tea party with her babies, playing potty with her doll, pretending she was riding a horse, dressing up in her hats with her purses, and serving sand "ice cream".  She will play other things, but her favorites continue to be babies and dress up.
She is good at  6 pc peg puzzles, color matching and naming (the nursery lady at church had her naming colored rings on Sunday), and naming things in books.  The color of the week is pink--pink clothing, pink bib.  Although, still likes her purple.
Her vocabulary continues to expand--more and more two and three word phrases.
She is very caring and concerned.  If one of us says ouch or that hurt--she'll kiss the body part.  She likes to make sure you have everything that is yours or that she thinks you need.  She's also demonstrated some toddler independence and opinions--wanting things her way (usually she is swayed/distracted easily).  For example, Dan used one of Olivia's bowls this week at dinner for a side--Olivia was very insistent that is was "mine".
Olivia still loves her food.  She likes her fruits and veggies-they usually disappear first.  She also likes cookies and chocolate.  Her two year molars have been giving her fits, but the first one has finally appeared.  3 more to go!
Olivia loves Brisco and will help feed him, brush him, and gives him kisses and hugs good-bye when we leave.
We have done swimming lessons at the Y this month and Olivia has enjoyed the jumping in best.  She has a hard time waiting for the instructor to give the next instruction.  When she is paying attention, she really watched the instructor and other kids to see what she was supposed to do.  She's been very excited about swimming every week.

Swim Lesson-jumping to Dan

Trying on Mama's shoes.

Monkeys!

Giraffes

Getting baby ready for tea party.  Note the bibs...