Didn't we just do this?

Today we began potty training Olive. Crazy? Maybe. Maybe not. She is definitely on the young side for it, but I'm confident she will pick it up quickly. (I must say though, after going at this for about eight hours, I am a little less confident than I was this morning.)

Yesterday I bought a bunch of panties. Superheros, Dora, and standard-issue Hanes. All a little on the big side. Apparently Target doesn't stock panties small enough for a 17-month-old. I washed them, dried them, and got them all ready for her to wear this morning. Good thing I bought a bunch. So far she has gone through five pairs, I think. In eight and a half hours, three of which were spent napping. Another hour of which was spent playing pantsless out in the sprinkler.

So. That sort of sums that up. We've got a long road ahead of us, perhaps, but I'm going to give it a good shot. She doesn't start at her new daycare for another week, so since she'll be with me or the grandmothers this entire week, it seemed like a good time to focus on using the potty. And if she shows no signs of improving or getting the hang of it after a few days, we can always call it off and try again in a few months. I'm not completely crazy.

Olive is 17 months old!

Seriously, it's a little ridiculous to even post it. She is closer to 18 months old at this point, but I guess 17 still deserves its own post. So, where to begin?

Once again, her language skills astound me. She strings together three- and four-word sentences frequently. There it is, she says. She mimics everything, and seems to immediately pick up on the correct usage. "See ya," for instance. She now says this instead of "bye." She repeats things Milo says, too, like "why?" She knows some opposites, like up and down. She confuses others, like hot and cold. It would be impossible for me to list every word and phrase she knows at this point. Just know that she knows and understands and says a LOT.

Her hair is crazy long, always in her eyes. I do my best to clip it back or put it in a little ponytail on top of her head, but the clip or band is almost always lost by the end of the day. I'm considering bangs, just to keep her hair out of her eyes. But here's where I get crazy: the reason I don't want to do this has nothing to do with her hair, but that a "baby's first haircut" seems like it ought to be more than just bangs. I also think maybe I could just trim it myself, but I don't want to hurt her and I want to take photos of her "baby's first haircut." If anyone has thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them.

Olive prefers to drink out of a cup without a lid, AKA a non-sippy cup.She spills a lot this way, but is actually surprisingly good at it.

She has basically mastered the fork and spoon, though she does prefer to use her hands quite a bit. Alternatively, she "drinks" from every bowl she has, even if the food in is in no way drinkable. She also likes to pick up food, say "bite?" and feed it to other people. Cute, until you realize it's just a ploy to get out of eating.

She likes tickles, chasing, running fast, climbing, and trying to jump. She has the best laugh. Husky and shrieky all at once.

She has seven or eight teeth now. Top four in front, bottom two, and I think one on each side on the top further back. Yeah, I don't really know the names of teeth. She also may have just chipped a tooth (I'm not going to have any material for her 18-month post, am I?) on playground equipment. I think she banged her face on one of those rocking animals on springs. Well, more accurately, I know she banged her face on it, and I think that's when she chipped her tooth. It's not bad, not sharp or rough. Not sure if it even warrants a trip to the dentist, so she hasn't gone yet.

Speaking of gone (bad segue), our amazing and wonderful nanny has officially moved on. I didn't really write about her here, because of privacy or I don't know what. But man, she was amazing. We will miss her so much. Olive loved her, loved her daughter, and I believe they both loved Olive. I am certain we'll get together for playdates, but I'm sad for Olive that this amazing person in her life won't be as much of an influence anymore.

Olive still mostly takes two naps a day, but can usually drop the first one if needed. I think when she starts her new daycare, she will be pushed into dropping it completely. (By the way, Olive will be starting a different in-home daycare in another week. Just M-T-W; she'll still be at our current place Th-F.) She is a little old, I guess, for two naps, but she's so sleepy. And so much more pleasant when she gets that morning nap. I don't know. I wish she could just give it up when she's ready, but I doubt that'll be the case.

She goes to bed around 7:30pm and wakes up around 6:00am. She gets snuggly right before bed. She needs her paci to sleep. She sleeps on her tummy with her bottom in the air and her arms tucked underneath her, often wrapped around a "banket."

When she snuggles on my shoulder, she lifts her head and moves my hair out of the way, then lays her head back down.

She makes me tear my hair out, but I love her fiercely. She is such a joy, and even on her worst paci-less, teething, tired days, I wouldn't trade her for a million worlds.

Aww

Tonight Olive had a little trouble falling asleep. Teething, etc. I snuggled her for awhile, reminiscing about how I used to pace around her room, holding her the same way, when she was just a couple months old during those long nights where she just didn't feel like sleeping in her crib. She's much bigger now, but her head feels just as sweet on my shoulder.

As I laid her back down in her crib, I smoothed her hair back from her forehead and said, "I love you." And Olive, with her paci half hanging out of her mouth, said, "Ahhhhwuhh too."

It is these kinds of moments that will live in my mind forever.