Last night’s dinnertime project was teaching Olive to smile on command. As you can see from the first shot, we had to point at our own mouths, say “SMILE!”, and make the biggest, cheesiest, toothiest grins ever. Olive followed suit.
And the final product…
Not bad, right? And doesn’t she look like she’s about four years old? STOP growing, child!
‘nough said. 
I love how she’s staring down the bowl of sorbet in the last shot. Tee hee.
I have to remind myself constantly that Olive is still a baby/toddler. It’s just that she looks so much older, because of her size, and she understands nearly every word that comes from our mouths. And we do NOT use “baby talk”; we talk to her as though she is our equal. 
For example: “Hey Olive, do you want to go outside?” She affirms this desire and we say, “Ok, go get your shoes on please.” And she runs to the foyer to her shoe crate, picks out a “pair” and then flops on the floor or the bottom step, awaiting her shoeing.
Another example: It’s time for dinner and the play room looks as though a toy bomb went off. We tell her it’s time to clean up. She looks at us while we ask her, “please go get that crayon and put it where it belongs. Thank you.” And off she runs to grab said crayon and runs it over to the easel, where the crayons are stored. Blows my mind. Of course, a lot of times once the crayon is replaced to its home, something else gets taken out and played with, but hey, we take what we can get.
The point? I have to continually tell myself that she’s still young. Very young. And this past week I caught myself telling people who asked her age that “she’ll be 20 months in a week.” And it dawned on me that I should slow down and tell people 19 months. If anything, I want to slow her aging process. And by telling people what she is going to be, I was rushing through what she is. And I do not want to rush anything. I know it may seem like a minor thing, but to me it’s a frame of mind. I don’t want this baby getting older, growing into someone who is embarrassed by her parents instead of seeking our approval and love. So if anything, I want to tell people she’s younger than she is, but definitely not skew her towards the next step. I love her for who she is, not what she will be. 
We’ve taken it upon ourselves to teach Olive some very important things.
Good friends of ours, Donya and Matthew, are preparing for their annual medical missions trip to Haiti. Each year, they go for about 10 days to assist doctors in all sorts of necessary procedures to the people who cannot afford it. They have asked us for help in collecting Crocs or similar styled shoes to take with them and give to people in need. Any size, any color, any brand! These shoes are great to take because they are durable, spacious for wide Haitian feet, and they are incredibly light and easy to pack.
So, I ask you my readers, to clean out your closets and your kids’ closets, ask friends and neighbors to do the same, and send your Crocs to people who really need them. If you have some, just email me: littlelizajane(at)gmail(d0t)com.
Thanks!!!
