My 15 Minutes

There is an open editor position on my team at work, and I have been able to sit in on some of the interviews and meet with the candidates. Earlier this week, I went in to meet with a woman who was interviewing for the position. I shook her hand and introduced myself. Her eyes got big, and she said "Oh my gosh, Megan Langford! I am so excited to meet you! I've seen your name everywhere! Oh, wow, it's like a brush with celebrity!"

I kid you not. She said those things. I just laughed and said I was hardly a celebrity.

I have to admit though, it was awesome to have somebody recognize my name. I'm sure it wasn't so much that she is a Hallmark Books Superfan or anything, but more that she has been doing her research to prep for the interview. And I have written a fair number of books at this point. But still, I never think of myself as a big famous author or anything. It's fun to write books, but it's part of my job, you know? (But I love that I have a fan.)

My littlest baby (that would be Olive, for those of you keeping track at home) is 14 months old

Let's see... No official height/weight stats this month, but I'm pretty sure she's sticking to her generally "large" sizing, likely hovering around the 80th percentile still. She just looks TALL, barely shorter than Milo. Of course she must actually be quite a bit shorter than him, but it seems close. She's got her adorable baby belly, and I love how it sticks out in the most un-self-conscious way. Aren't babies great that way?

Two new teeth, her canines (?). Total of six teeth now, four on the top and two on the bottom. She's got kind of a gap between her top teeth, and I'm curious to see if it remains there as her teeth grow in. I always had a gap between my front teeth until I had a procedure that may or may not have been called a frenectomy. I wonder if she is going to be my mini-me in that sense.

Speaking of mini-me, I was showing Milo some photos of me and Andrew as babies/kids, and there was one of me when I was about 15 or so months old. I said to Milo, "Who's that?" and he said, "That's Olive!" And even I thought it looked suspiciously Olive-like, except with redder hair. So crazy to see a resemblance to yourself.

Olive's hair is getting longer, so that we really should clip it back every day. But her clips always come out, so more often than not she just has hair in her eyes. Her hair in the back curls a little, and I think she may get the Carlson/Jones hair trait of being straight in some places and wavy in others. You're welcome, Olive.

Words, words, words. Sentences, even. I don't know if I could possibly list all the things she says off the top of my head, but let's see if I can start. In no particular order, Olive can say (and use properly): shoes, socks, eye, nose, teeth, hair, hug, kiss, mommy, daddy, kitty, cat, meow, cheerios, banana, book, pop, light, up, all done, no, uh-uh, belly, No David (the book title), bye, hi. She puts words together, like: Up now Daddy (when she wanted to get out of her highchair).

She is a great communicator without words, too. She brings her shoes to me when she wants to go somewhere. She understands so much, it seems like everything I say she responds appropriately too. She'll spit out her paci when you ask her for it. She'll give you a kiss when you say "kiss?" She nods yes when you ask if she wants food. Ask her where the lights are, and she'll point to the ceiling. When I say "bonk" (like when she falls or bumps into something) she playfully smacks herself on the head. I have to admit, it's a fun game.

She climbs. All over everything. She's been found on our kitchen table more than once. She climbs on stepladders and over the sides of chairs, onto the fireplace and up on the coffee table. No fear. I'm shocked she hasn't climbed out of her crib yet.

Olive likes to play a game where she flings herself backward. It's not a great game.

She runs into things all the time. She literally has four big bruises on her forehead at the moment because she's constantly slamming into her surroundings. I once saw her walk right into the refrigerator. How can you not see the refrigerator? (And no, her eyesight is fine. She'll wave at me from down the street.)

I love coming home and getting greeted by Olive. She runs over (well, walks as fast as her legs can carry her) to me with a huge grin and outstretched arms and simply falls into me. She holds the hug for a few moments, then is off. She just wants to say hi and is happy to see me. It's awesome.

When she's mad she shakes her arms up and down and pouts. She shrieks and cries. When she wants something, she wants it NOW. She is very insistent and persistent.

She falls and loses her balance when she's tired. She also gets incredibly irritable and cranky when she's tired.

She loves books. LOVES them. She'll go get a book and bring it to you to read to her. And then she'll want you to read the same book over and over and over. Recently, we've read No David, Goodnight Moon, and Are You My Mother? a bunch of times. I adore how enthusiastic she is about her books.

Sometimes I think she's on the verge of getting a lovey, a blanket (any blanket will do) but it hasn't really stuck. Miah, our nanny's little girl who Olive hangs out with three days a week, has her blanket loveys and Olive adores her blankets. But she doesn't seem interested enough to carry it around all the time or anything.

Olive isn't attached to any particular toy either. Sometimes she'll get into a baby doll or the play kitchen or the microphone for awhile (like 15 minutes) but she doesn't go back to any one thing over and over.

Likes: yogurt, cantaloupe, waffles, cereal, kettle corn, chocolate, peas, pasta, chicken nuggets, hummus, any type of bread, carrots, ham, berries, bananas, applesauce, oatmeal, french fries, cheddar cheese, pizza, peanut butter. Most things.

Dislikes: broccoli, swiss cheese, rice, peppers, spinach.

Once again, I've practically written a novel. A poorly edited, probably typo-ridden novel. I can't help myself. This girl of mine is too full of life and quirks to write much less. I do love her so.

Ack, my poor photography skills have led to a photo where you can't see Olive's hair. And that's honestly a damn shame. But oh my goodness, look how tall she is!