Olive: 19 Months

This lady has me wrapped around her little fingers, over and over and over. She's wonderful.

First, the physical changes. She has gotten more teeth in the last month. Now she has three (four?) clearly visible on the bottom, and when her mouth is wide open you can see all the bumps and ridges where more are coming. Two molars in the back now, so real, proper chewing is on its way. It's amazing how much she can eat without molars, but I guess you learn to make do with what you've got.

She is clearly getting taller. Size 18-month clothing is getting too small, and pants that were once way too long are just skimming her ankles.

Her bangs are growing out, and they're almost in her eyes again. I will soon be forced to make the call on whether to trim the bangs or try to grow them out. I'd like to grow them, but not if it means her hair will always be in her eyes and face. So I'll hold off on deciding anything as long as I can. Unfortunately, she is also starting to get a little mullet, and that's all we need to say about that.

She is far more aware of her body and the things that are bothering her than I remember Milo being at this age. For instance, she picks at hangnails and is bothered by messes on her hands or face. She knows when she has gone potty and waddles around with a pained expression saying "pooooop" until her diaper is changed.

Her language skills continue to impress. She regularly strings words together to form mini-sentences. "My room!" "Mommy pillow." "Milo train." "Again, Daddy." "More grape please!" "My punkin." She's getting more possessive too. Lots of "my."

She still has the poutiest pout in the world, with the lower lip sticking out. Adorbs.

She always wants to be where Milo is, doing what Milo is doing. My mother-in-law asked me the other day if Olive ever played with girl toys. The question kind of stopped me in my tracks. I looked down at Olive, who had been playing with a train. Huh. No. She really doesn't ever play with "girl toys." She loves trains and cars and trucks and diggers. I thought, I was so worried about pigeonholing her into this little "girl" box of princesses and pink and tutus—did I inadvertently push her toward only "boy" things? But no, I don't think I did. She just adores her brother so much, she has come to enjoy the toys he likes. We have the stereotypical girly toys, too—the strollers, stuffed animals, baby dolls, dress-up clothes, doll bottles, a dollhouse—but Olive just doesn't show much interest in that stuff. I wonder how her interests will change as she gets older.

She likes books, and has begun quoting bits of them. She loves the "goodnight nobody" page in Goodnight Moon and will gleefully shout "nobody" when you get to that page.

Olive is a decent eater, though she does randomly refuse to eat sometimes. Probably when Milo is also refusing, though not always.

We have started calling her "Ollie" some. I didn't really think we'd go the nickname route with her, but since "Buddy" is already taken, I guess we had to have something else to call her. Sometimes I call her "Sweetie," more often than I probably realize.

It's so cool to see her start to develop her interests and personality. She and Milo are so similar in some ways, and so obviously different in others. She already knows how to push Milo's buttons. Ah, siblings.