Big Girl Stuff

Olivia and I went for a walk this morning. As I watched her ahead of me on the path, running, arms swinging, curls bouncing, I wondered what has happened to my baby. She has grown up so much in the last six months. She speaks in complete sentences (sometimes in paragraphs!), helps herself to things in the fridge, washes her hands independently, and does so many other "big girl" things.

Our big girl is very independent--when she wants to be. Often, when I offer to help her do something she says, "No, I do it self." It takes longer to get things done that way, but she is learning some good skills. She has also learned how to delegate. Sometimes when I ask her to do something she says, "No, you do it self." That little zinger isn't as fun to hear as is her assertion of independence.





Olivia loves to jump. If we had a trampoline we'd never get her off of it. One day last week, I heard her jumping on the couch while I was making dinner. Without looking up I said, "Olivia, stop jumping on the couch." She replied, "This not jumping, Mom. This bouncing." She was on her knees bouncing up and down. So she had me there, using semantics as a way out of trouble. We now have a new rule: no bouncing on the couch.





Olivia continues to be in tune with her own emotions and has branched out into noticing the emotions of others. She asks me several times a day, "You happy, Mama?" When she's done something she knows she's shouldn't have, she asks, "You sad, Mama?" Her newest question is, "Mama, you crazy?" She's heard me say, about things that really frustrate me, "That makes me crazy!" Hence, the new inquiry. Really, there is no other basis for thinking I might be crazy.