Independent O

Searching for independence seems to be Olivia's main goal right now. She seeks out opportunities to do things on her own. She has been experimenting with eating with a spoon. I say experimenting because often the food either ends up dripping down the wall or anywhere on her face except for in her mouth. I know that this will make feeding her easier in the long run, but for now it's kind of messy. She has also finally taken an interest in giving herself a bottle. I know, I know, for those of you with young children you are thinking, "She still takes a bottle?" And, yes, she does. I could give you a very long explanation for why, but I will spare you the boredom. When we go for walks she would much prefer to push the stroller herself rather than ride in it. This works fine unless we are trying to get somewhere in under an hour. This reminds me of something else that surprises me about Olivia. She loves to go for walks; the kind where she gets to do the walking. I had no idea that a 14 month old could walk as far as she does, especially with those little, short legs. Although Olivia is working on finding independence, she also seems to be experiencing some separation anxiety. I guess I kind of hoped that we were going to skip that phase. Until recently when anyone came to watch her she would just wave to me as I walked out the door. Unfortunately, the past couple of days I can't seem to get out the door without her grabbing on to my legs and screaming like I'm going to abandon her in a desert without food or water for 40 days. I guess I'm glad to know that she likes me (at least I hope that's what it means), but it does make departures more stressful. This is completely unrelated to the topic thus far, but I keep forgetting to mention that Livi is going to be a big sister! I'm 3 months pregnant and the little person is due for arrival April 28th. I just had an ultrasound on Monday, and it was fun to see how much he or she looks like a little person. I could see both sides of its brain, as well as little hands and feet. At one point it was moving its jaw up and down, which for me was heart melting. The baby seemed full of energy and healthy. This time we are planning to find out the gender ahead of time, but I think we have to wait at least another month before that can happen. There are times that Yale and I both feel like we are crazy to have another child so soon, but I think in the long run we (and the kids) will appreciate that they are close in age. Hopefully, being close in age will encourage them be closer emotionally as well.