happy two years my sweet olive

oh my oh my! olive is two years old! happy birthday my dear sweet olive!

where do i start?! it’s been an amazing year since her first birthday. she has grown so much and it fills my heart with joy!

via tandeminlove.com

[how darling is this picture? so in love]

she’s so quirky. like seriously a funny, goofy gal. she makes the funniest faces. she says the craziest stuff and does the most daring things. i love watching her. she amuses me with the faces she makes, her expressions kill me. i could watch her all day and be so entertained by this little gal.

she’s so dang bossy. that might be an understatement. she loves to tell me or anyone what.to.do. when she does’t want you around, she will say, “go! walk!”. the only way she can articulate for you to go away. when she wants something, she demands it! her one word commands. “draw!”, “eat!”, “book!”. everything is a demand. oh, it cracks me up.

she loves to dance. boogie down. she will say, “dah, dah, dah, dah!” and tap her feet back and forth and wave her arms. when she hears a beat, she will bounce her head back and forth back and forth. oh, it’s so cute to watch. she loves music and gets a big smile on her face when she hears a fun song.

oh my, she’s an eater. i am surprised this babe is not fatter! where are her baby rolls?! she will eat anything. you cannot bring any food around her without her wanting to eat every bite with you. as parents, it makes you very aware that if you are eating something unhealthy, eep, she will jump on it in two seconds. so, we almost have to sneak certain things behind her back because we don’t want her eating it. hahaha! so bad, i know. she loves fruit, yogurt, peanut butter crackers, chips, cheerios, and begs for cookies.

she’s obsessed with the t.v. oh boy. she loves it soooooo much. it’s so difficult to control. we do our best to not have it on during the day and only at night, right before bedtime but it seems like it’s becoming increasingly more difficult as she is getting older. her current favorite programs are kipper the dog, lego friends, legos, and cat in the hat. she will watch these shows over and over and over and over and over again. no joke. we want to strangle ourselves but baby girl loves it so!

this babe still loves her sleep. she’s such a great sleeper. we are pretty consistent with giving her that one nap a day around 3-4pm, it’s only if we have an event or something outside the norm that is happening that will cause her to skip her afternoon nap but it’s very rare. she is quite the night owl, though. it’s so hard to get this baby girl to go to bed before nine. she will fight it every chance she gets but once she goes down, she will be out for at least 9-10 hours straight. we have progressed into reading right before bedtime. she used to love reading in the morning, but now we read a book or two right before bedtime. i really love it and so does she. it’s a lovely, sweet routine i am glad we have formed.

the one thing i have noticed with her turning two is that this past week, she has really turned into a little girl. she looks taller, leaner, and more like a kid than a toddler. her face has matured. her eyebrows have darkened. her attitude has changed. she’s truly becoming a little person with a big personality. it’s so amazing to watch. i am so attentive with little details like that and i love to savor every second, every moment with her. i am literally watching her grow right before my eyes and it’s so flippin bittersweet. i want to cry and squeeze her with so much love and joy at the same time!

well, that is our baby girl in a nutshell. i could go on and on about her and this post would be ridiculously long but i will just give you the highlights!

happy birthday my lovely little olive. we love you so much. words cannot describe the love we have for you. we hope that each day, each year we are able to show that to you. we want only the best for you and we hope that you always feel loved, cared for, and grow up to be a strong, confident women that will rule the world.

xoxo

momfessions

oh, toddler tales. toddler woes. toddler antics. baby olive is twenty-three months young and full of spunk.

a favorite statement i saw on fb recently was this:

toddler – emotionally unstable pint-sized dictator, with the uncanny ability to know exactly how far to push you towards utter insanity, before reverting to a lovable cuddle monster.

via tandeminlove.com

how accurate. my oh my. she is a trip. for the most part, she is so sweet, kind, cuddly, loving, funny, goofy, silly, and darling. then she has these moments where nothing makes sense. she is deliriously emotional and i can’t get any sort of reasoning across to her. i know she {obviously} does not communicate very well {yet} and when she gets upset, nothing soothes her, consoles her, or calms her down.

i must admit, it is extremely hard for me to deal with her outbursts. it pushes me to the edge. it makes me want to scream soooo loud. her tantrums drive me crazy and i react in {sometimes} a not so nice way. it gets the best of me and it makes me very, very sad when that happens. i feel like i have failed as a mom and failed as a teacher to my child.

my upbringing was very different and very unique. my anger issues stem from not being able to channel my emotions correctly and think straight. it’s easier for me to fly off the handle then it is to think calmly and channel my energy into a more positive light when i get upset. so, as you can tell…olive can get just as upset as her mommy, so it’s like i am staring at my mini me {staring in the mirror}…literally. oh, has it come full circle and it’s totally biting me in my ass! ugh.

the worst part about it is that i have to learn new ways and change my behavior and that is the hardest part. try living like your whole life the way you are and then bam! you have to change the way you operate. much easier said then done. so, with that…olive’s tantrums and nonsensical ways put me on edge. i get anxiety when we are out because i  worry about her having a meltdown or causing a scene. i do. i can’t stop it but i try to deflate it. i am very conscious of it and try my best to overcome it and realize that she is a toddler and that other people out there have kids too and they understand. again, easier said then done.

my emotions and ways are too deep rooted to change over night. my driving force is my baby. i try so hard to become more patient, more kind, more understanding, less angry and temperamental all for my girl. i don’t want her to learn my tart ways and i believe i can influence it if i step back and calm down before i react in a way that is not appropriate. again, easier said then done.

but i am learning. i am changing. i am s l o w l y getting better. i have my freak out moments when she gets cray cray but i am much more cognizant in the moment than i was in the past. olive’s mood swings and temperamental ways as a toddler has given me my biggest challenge to date. i only strive to be the best possible mom, example, role model, and foundation for her. i hope that i, in turn when she has a tantrum, love her, console her, hug her, kiss her, show her, and guide her how to channel her emotions, thoughts, and anger in the right direction and always have her come out in the end, feeling peace, happiness, and serenity.

xoxo