Miss Personality Times TWO!

Olivia is two going on twenty-two!

Whoa-nelly! I am not ready. There are a lot of emotions being expressed at this stage with semi-grown-up vocabulary and a lot of silliness---and Charm City Daddy and I find ourselves suppressing and hiding laughter ALL the time. The girl is just full of personality.

Just this morning after Olivia burst into our room and realized that although we would let her climb between us in bed at 6:30 a.m. we weren't about to wake up and start the party with TV and teeth brushing. Nope she would have to sit there quietly or fall asleep for at least 30 minutes. After about 3 minutes of silence she started swaying back and forth between us..

"What do I do? What do I do now? What do I do? What do I do now?" she said.

After suppressing another laugh I responded, "You lay your little self down and fall asleep. That's what you do!"

This parenting thing is getting harder and harder, I tell you because at times I am thoroughly entertained and it is so hard not to show how amused, impressed, surprised, scared, proud, angry I am.

Like in Olivia's less-than-redeeming moments when her excitement gets the best of her and she kicks her little brother repeatedly in the head while they lay on the bed to get lotion applied after a bath. It takes every ounce of control in my being not to snatch her up and scream at the top of my lungs, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!?" and instead sternly talk to her in a disapproving voice while quickly catching her swinging feet and slightly squeezing them while widening my eyes to let her know that I. mean. business. Oooph! Parenting is tough.

She is little carbon copy of everything we do and say right now, so Charm City Daddy and I really have to be on our best behavior, speak in code, and spell lots of w-o-r-d-s to communicate.

Some of Olivia's recent favorites:

• "No I don't want to...!" fill-in: go inside, get my hair done, put my pajamas on, get in the high chair, drink milk.
•  "Mommy, I love it." or "Mommy, I happy"
•  Charm City Daddy is also known as "my daddy" as in "I love you my daddy."
• "No, that's MY lamb and my teta (paci)!" *Holding it closer to her and farther from you while and looking at you like you're crazy*
• "Mommy can you play 'I gotta feel it'?" *music request for Black-Eyed Peas' I Got a Feeling*
• "Mommy Lucas is cryin'/happy/smilin'/sleepin'.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Love her so much.