Update on Olivia

So I feel bad that I didn't give Olivia the birthday post that she deserved. I can't believe it's been nearly a month already! I just remember being extrememly busy and having no energy or time to do a long birthday post.

Now that I can sit down and write more, I want to note some things that she's been up to lately and document some things about her personality that I want to remember.

Olivia is my creative, artsy child. She loves anything having to do with crafts, sewing, baking, creating, etc. A few weeks ago I was cutting some pants of Jared's off to make shorts. At the bottom of the pants there was some zippers with some funky grommet things. I'm not sure what it's supposed to be, but I was cutting it off and the next thing I know, Olivia says "This would make a good skirt". I'm looking at it like it's the cuff of a pant leg, so how on earth does that make a skirt? But lo and behold, she picks it up and flipped it over (so the cuff is at her waist) and slides it up her tiny body and voila!- A SKIRT!



She also picked up a scrap from Whitney's pajama bottoms that my mom had hemmed and made herself a hat/scarf/bandana thingy. She looked so funny in her new little outfit. She has the vision, I guess. Reminded me of Whitney and her funny sweatshirt creations.



She is such a sweet girl. Lately she has been really helpful for me and kind to her sister. She is really independent and will happily make herself a sandwich or get things out to make salad. Yes, she's my salad girl (don't even ask about the other two!) She will often have a salad, toast, and cottage cheese for lunch. Since I've been working she will help take care of Ashley too. The other day she was so sweet and said, "C'mon Ashley, let's go play princesses" because she knew I wasn't finished yet and Ashley was needing me. 

She knows I love the color green and will always make sure that I get the green pieces when we play a game, or the green candy if we're sharing some treats or popsicles. She'll get this sly smile on her face and say, "I know which one Mom likes..." I love that she's trying to be thoughtful.

The other day she told me to wake her up so she could go running with me. So after my workout, I woke her up a little early and she got changed into the shorts and t-shirt she had set out the night before. We ran around the block (about a mile) and she was so proud. I loved that she wanted to share that with me. It's so important that we have a good friendship and I am trying to hard to pave the way for a good, lasting, foundation that will continue for decades into the future. 

Lately she wants her ponytail on the side and is always changing her clothes into something more fashionable. She is definitely not a tomboy, by any stretch of the imagination. She loves to dance and sing. I am seriously thinking about putting her into singing lessons. I want to help her discover her talents and develop them. I truly thing it's one of our most important jobs as parents. She has been taking ballet/jazz this year but didn't love it. I can't decide if it's her or the teacher but she never wants to go to class. But at home and when playing with friends, it's all she wants to do.

Since she's just finising kindergarten I have been thinking about how she's doing and how prepared she is for 1st grade. I have worried that she's a little behind in her reading, but I am not sure if it's just because all I have to compare to is Austin, who just finished Harry Potter #4 (over 700 pages). He just took off with reading and absolutely loves it, and it never required any effort on our part. Whereas, with Olivia, we've had to really encourage her and try to spend time reading with her, practicing cards with sight words, trying to improve the writing skills, etc. She is such a bright girl, but it's just not necessarily her strength. I worry about her going into 1st grade because I know all of the sudden she'll be required to write in a journal, sentences and stories, etc. and be more advanced in her reading. I just don't want her to struggle. I love her so much, I sometimes feel like I should be doing more to help her in this area but I just don't know what! She's come a long way in the past couple months, however, and I am proud of her. She is reading on her own and it's exciting to see the progress.



Olivia is also my toughest child (don't tell Austin!). She is so determined and will push herself to the limit. I remember last summer when she had swimming lessons, I could see the determined look on her face when the teacher said "Swim the length of the pool" and she would go even farther just to prove she could do it. The past couple months she has lost a bunch of teeth (4 on the bottom) and will pull until that tooth comes out no matter how much it hurts. She brought some pliers to Jared one night and asked him to pull one out. She just bears down and endures. Then she'll say "do it again". In April, we went to the dentist and he said 2 teeth had to come out. One of them was already loose and she pulled it out in the chair before he had a chance to do it. It saved me $75 so I gave her a big high five! She just sat there watching cartoons and when I walked in the room to check on her she just held it up and said "here" like it was nothing. She cracks me up!