The top ten Olivia-isms that make us smile...

As a tribute to our birthday girl...here is a list, in no particular order, of things we love about our daughter!

10. Her teeth. Although they are causing her quite the discomfort (which is obviously something that doesn't make us happy, or her happy for that matter), we can't help but smile at the sight of her first six chompers! Those six little teeth that are now calling Olivia's mouth home are just too cute!
9. The way she rests her head on our shoulders. She is just so at peace, and the way she nuzzles her little face into mama and dada is just priceless.
8. Her trademark pigtails. Well, her wild hair in general! As it grows out, she has so many natural layers...which always make hair-doing quite the art form! The fabulous thing is that she doesn't mind the hair clips and pony tails...and she usually sits pretty still when we do her hair. We better enjoy it while it lasts!!!
7. Her "talk." We love to hear her forming language, and can only imagine what all her babbling means to her! When she comes to the point when she is actually using words to formulate sentences, we just picture that Volvo commercial, where the dad is putting the little girl into her carseat, and she is just talking away, and he shuts the door, comes around, gets in, and his daughter is still talking. That will be Olivia...she is her mother's daughter, afterall! :P
6. Her gigglish squeal. One of the funniest times to hear this is when she is sitting up in her crib in the morning, and we crawl in, and she sees us through those slats...yeah, she goes ballistic! The squeals are the indicators that she is ready to play and be "gotten" (her response to "I'm gonna get you...")!
5. Her take on life. Yes, we realize that she is only one (ALREADY ONE, more like it!), but she just looks at each situation fearlessly. We know she's a child, and perhaps the fact that she is unjaded by anything contributes to this, but we can all learn from this attitude. She enjoys challenges (getting all the blocks back into the bucket or examining a toy until she can identify where in the world the sound is coming from) and she loves to explore everything (since she is at that age) hands and sometimes head on. In life, sometimes as adults we don't want to cross a bridge because we are afraid of the possible outcomes, but if we could only get back into a mindset like O's, then we wouldn't be intimidated to do something new. And we would know that even if we failed to accomplish something we went out on a limb to try, those we love will be there to help pick us back up!
4. Her pointing. Sometimes it looks a little sassy, sometimes it is a game and she wants your finger to meet up with hers, and sometimes it is because she wants that cookie (or whatever) on the shelf and she is letting us know. Seeing her make gestures as a way of communication is so profound; b.O. (before Olivia), we had grown used to two dogs that really didn't give us much back (aside from slobbery licks). So when we see Olivia interact on a higher level of intelligence because she is, oh, human :), it is just mind blowing to think that this tiny little girl is making connections and developing this whole cause and effect scenario in her head despite her young age.
3. Morning wake-up. It is too cute...Daniel will go into her room to wake her up, and she will smile when he tickles her and tells her to wake up. He knows that she knows he is there...but she just won't open up those big blue, green eyes of hers - almost as if she is thinking, "I know you're there, but I'm pretending I don't hear/feel you....." It's her morning game she shares on the weekdays with Daddy if she doesn't wake up on her own; in that case, she lets us know she's awake by saying, "Dada baba." :P And although it puts a bit of a monkey wrench in our getting ready schedules, Emily must admit that she does love those mornings when Olivia wakes up early enough for Emily to see her before she is off to work...but those mornings are also far more difficult for Emily to leave!
2. The way she recognizes that we're her parents. When Emily goes to pick her up, she sees her come through the door and drops everything to walk over to her at a rapid pace. She knows her mama! And later on in the evening, O and mom will be home hanging out, and Olivia hears that garage door open, and she is off, following in the footsteps of the dogs that are already racing ahead because daddy is home. And then her guy walks in, and it's all over...she is definitely a daddy's girl!
1. Okay, so number one is...well, it's going to have to encompass everything else about Olivia that we haven't listed. We simply cannot put into words just how much we love this little girl, much less compile a list of only ten things about her that make us smile!