21 Months

Three months.... only THREE months until these girls are two!! How in the world does this happen so quickly? It seems like month after month I have the same thoughts about these girls growing up so quickly. Of course having two older daughters doesn't help matters. I started thinking about the second birthday party the other day... something that I almost immediately shut down in my head because its SO HARD!! I guess reality is sometimes hard to come to terms with but none the less here we are at 21 months...

Olivia ~ So much spunk in such a little person...She has such a fun personality always giggling, running, playing, and just being plain silly. She is the most ticklish little girl - it doesn't matter where you try and tickle her she will go into a full on belly laugh. Still very much a daddy's girl this little one loves her uncle RyRy (Ryan), giving him all the snuggles when he's around. She's become very adventurous when it comes to swimming, climbing on furniture, and just general play. She loves to "bounce" on her bed, on the couch, on mommy and daddy's bed and anything else that is conducive to bouncing. She does have a bit of a temper arching her back and balling her fist when she doesn't get something she wants... oh this girl knows how to throw a fit. She gets over it pretty quickly if we just ignore her and help her move on to something new. She has a huge love for babies - she is all about the babies, she loves to hold them, feed them, swaddle them in dish towels, even take them to the potty with her. I know I say the same thing  every month but she still likes to observe what is happening but is now more apt to get involved and do what her sister is doing. Most times her getting involved is to take something (a baby) Charlotte has for herself. She is a lover of Mickey Mouse (really Minnie) she hands me the remote most mornings saying Minnie Minnie. She also loves to watch her preschool prep DVDs - shapes and colors - I can turn these DVDs on and they will sit and watch so that I can get a few minutes to prep dinner or make lunch! She has become quite the picky eater many of the past favorites are no longer appealing to her (or Charlotte for that matter)... someday its all I can do to get them to eat breakfast and lunch is often a mixture of snacking  on fruit, crackers, and/or cheese. Dinner is usually the best meal of the day for both girls so I guess we have that going for us.
This little one with her blond hair and blue eyes knows exactly how to get what she wants and win over just about anyone's heart especially her mommy and daddy. We love you Livy Grace!

Charlotte ~ Crazy, silly, energetic, and full of life are just a few ways we describe this little one. She is always making us laugh at every turn. She repeats almost every word we say in her little baby  toddler voice and it is just so stinking adorable. She very much has a mind of her own (I am sure I have said that before) but this girl reminds me so much of Kendal - she is not afraid to do what she wants and makes it very known that she will do what she wants. She runs around the house giggling and leaving a mess in her path. She knows exactly what to do to get what she wants and is rarely told no. Her sense of humor leaves us laughing so often, its almost as if she knows what do to and how to be funny at this young age. She loves to show Olivia who is boss and is pretty much always the leader of whatever mischief is happing with the two of them. Her personality has also come on very strong this past month and like I mentioned above she is very independent, opinionated (yes, at 21 months), and full of character. She loves to dance, give this girl a beat (any beat) and she will dance to it, even if she is sitting. She is also very daring and adventurous, most recently climbing the chair onto our counter hight table. She is going to give me more gray hairs than I already have! Eating is also been a struggle with this one - mostly cheese, grapes, and any kind of berry is this little ones favorite things. Charlotte's favorite toys are everything... you can never have too much right? This girl will play with whatever is in her path... she will often give up what she is playing with to Olivia and move onto something else. She probably does love her kitchen and her shopping cart the most. Charlotte has found herself in timeout for hitting Olivia or any of us for that matter. I think she loves to say sorry "sowry" she gives the injured a pat on the head and a sowry followed by a hug. She is so very compassionate if one of her sisters gets hurt or is crying she is right there to hug them or rub their leg or back it is the sweetest.
This little one wins us over with her big smile and warm heart... we love you Charlotte!

Everyday my heart seems to grow watching these two girls become more and more like toddlers. They successfully completed potty training boot camp (aka the 3 day method) {read about it here} and are doing very well with using the potty. I often catch myself looking at them wondering how did we ever get so lucky. They bring so many smiles and much laughter to us every single day. We love you little ones!