the month in review

Olivia had a busy month -- so busy that I was a bit of a slacker at uploading. So in photo-essay form, here's what the fabulous Miss O has been up to:

she suffered through the indignities of a ponytail

got stuck in a box

swiped my car keys and attempted to flee the scene

gave Up Up Elmo a much-deserved smackdown

"helped" by cleaning out the pantry

honed her artistic prowess

and most importantly, learned the finer points of relaxation from dad

supposedly no more

I just saw her take a few steps! She would have been able to keep going, but she stepped on her Charley Harper puzzle and decided that was enough.

supposedly walking

We're finally all over our Gymboree- or playdate-acquired colds, thankfully. I think it lasted the longest for poor Olivia, but you'd never know (other than the insane quantity of ... um ... output from such a tiny nose) that she was sick. For the most part, she was in a good mood as usual. And she's slept through the night for 4 days in a row now, which makes me very happy.

I've had a bit of freelance work lately, which means that daddy plays with her in the living room while I'm at the dining room table working. I can't tell you the number of times in the last week that he's claimed that Olivia has taken several steps on her own. As soon as I run in there, she plops on the floor and starts back up with the take-a-knee scoot she's mastered. Yesterday we had dinner with friends at their place, and while I was upstairs chatting, Olivia allegedly took 10 steps on her own while down in the basement with the dad and his son. She also -- and again, I'm going to say allegedly, because I won't believe it until I see it! -- stood up on her own without holding onto anything, and then did it again this morning. My husband described it as sort of a downward-facing dog for babies. So while she's way behind my mom friends with babies her age, maybe she actually will walk eventually. ;) Now if we can just get her off her beloved ba-ba and purees ...

In other news, we're thinking about enrolling her in a mom's day out program in the fall. If my freelance continues to be as busy as it has been, I need some daytime hours other than her unreliable naps in which to work. It would be two days a week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and it would be much less expensive than hiring a sitter to come to the house. The program is NAYEC accredited and looks really great. I sent a small deposit in to hold the space for now, and I'll have until August to figure out if I can really go through with it. I have a lot of guilt even thinking about it. I feel like because I chose to stay home with her, I should be responsible for her care 24/7 (which I know is irrational), she'll get sick, I'll get sick ... So we'll see.

conquering germophobia one playdate at a time

This week -- spurred by near insanity brought on by cabin fever -- we went to a Gymboree class on Tuesday and had a playdate with a friend and her son on Wednesday. I was proud of myself for not getting (too) twitchy when she put a ball to her mouth at Gymboree or when she chewed on some toys during the playdate.

But today Olivia has a runny nose, and now I too am sniffling/sneezing and have that nagging tickle in my throat that means a bad cold is on the way. I'm trying to convince myself that this is a good thing: she needs to be exposed to things to build her immune system, and I don't want her to be sick nonstop in preschool and kindergarten, but ugh. I'm a wimp and a sick baby is the saddest thing ever. It sort of makes me want to hunker down in the house a la Howard Hughes surrounded with vats of hand sanitizer and face masks.

new words

I just had to pop on and jot these down -- this is basically my baby book, after all!

shoe ("dooooo") -- she also picked up the baby sign for this

boot ("booooo" or "bot")

boo -- as in peekaboo, usually said from her carseat when she sees me in the mirror

more ("moe") -- accompanied by the sign

bye-bye -- she's been doing this for a week or two, but with more regularity now, and also says it when she sees us putting on our coats, when people leave our house, or when we leave somewhere

please ("peeeees") -- she also does her version of the baby sign of this one

bath ("baaaah")

moose ("moo" or "muh")

moo -- what she says when she sees a cow or a gallon of milk

kitty -- ("tee")

balloon -- ("boon")

no -- ("nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh") -- frequently uttered when she's doing something she shouldn't be, like moving toward a power cord or reaching for daddy's receiver

I think there are probably more -- "moe" :p -- but they're not coming to mind right now. I'll update this if I think of others.

added 3/18:

mouse -- "mouw"

bee

magazines -- "mee mee"

mail

socks -- "docks"

she's also repeating everything, which is funny:

come see me -- "mee mee"

mailman -- "may mannn"