Paci Free!!

Olivia has officially given up her first addiction: her pacifier. About a week ago I bought her a stuffed sheep that she has wanted for a very long time. It's similar to one her sister has. I hung it up high in her room and told her that when she was ready to give up her pacifier she could have the sheep. Two days ago, for no apparent reason, she decided she was ready. She even threw the paci away herself. It was a proud moment. Surprisingly, she has slept well the past two nights, but nap time has been rough. Yesterday, I spent on hour and a half trying to get her to take a nap. It was definitely a challenging power struggle that was not fun, but I knew if I didn't do it then, I'd be doing it at 10:00 that night. Hopefully it will only get easier. I've been experimenting with feeding Sophia finger foods (peas, small pieces of a pear, scrambled eggs, etc.). The only one she really seems to like is Cheerios. She doesn't even like bananas; I thought all kids liked bananas. It's kind of funny to me because she will put ANYTHING from the floor in her mouth, but won't eat the food I give her. I'm tempted to "accidentally" drop some of these foods on the floor and see what happens. Olivia's recent passion is dancing. This activity requires a special dancing suit which can be one of her sun dresses or one of my camisoles, and some plastic toys which are her "flowers". I'm always surprised that she doesn't get cold because she refuses to wear anything else with her dress, including socks or shoes. Anyway... she will turn on the CD player in her room and spend a large part of the day twirling, jumping, bouncing, and shimmying about. She especially loves it if Yale or I will dance with her. I'm really glad there aren't any big windows in her room because this is quite a sight.

I'm a Woman!

Sophia had her 9-month check up. The doctor says she looks good. She's 18 pounds and 1 ounce and 27 inches long, which puts her in about the 50th percentile for both height and weight. She didn't have to get any shots at this appointment, which we were all happy about. I would say she was quite charming with the doctor. She was smiley and easy to examine. Then again, how could you not find her irresistible when she's sitting in just a diaper with that adorable Buddha belly and those roly-poly thighs? Yale recently discovered that if you ask Olivia if she's a girl, she says, "No, I'm a woman." Now, that's my kind of attitude! Olivia seems to have made a friend at the parents' day out program. His name is Jack, and because there are two Jacks in her class everyone calls him Jack R. I think he's absolutely adorable. He has big brown eyes and these cute little glasses. I've spent a little bit of time with him, and, so far, I'm thrilled Olivia has picked him as a friend. He is friendly and gentle. He's kind of quiet, but if you start up a conversation with him, he has a lot to say. Geez, I sound like a school girl with a bit of a crush. I'm just trying to make the point that he seems like a nice kid. Last week when Olivia had just gotten to class, Jack walked up to her and tried to give her a hug. I thought it was very sweet, but I think Olivia thought it was too soon in their relationship for hugging and gave him a stiff arm. Now, when she gets to class he just comes up to her and wants to play. Olivia's teachers report that they are inseparable and play together every chance they get. All of this has lead me to do something uncharacteristic. Even though I've never even said hello to Jack's mom, I'm going to ask her if she and Jack would like to come to our house for a play date. Bold, I know. I see it as a chance for me to get to know someone with whom I have some things in common. She lives in the area. She's about my age, and has a child the same age as Olivia, and apparently doesn't work full time. Geez, now I sound like I'm going to ask her out on a date. Also, it's a way for Olivia to spend more time with her new friend. I know, it's not that big of a deal, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous. I'll let you know how it goes.

Those Kids Will Crack You Up

Funny Recent Happenings at the Golter-Kaul Household: Olivia shouted, "Oh no, I dropped my moustache!" I found a pea in Sophia's bellybutton. Olivia stated, "I've got to get my dad out of jail!" While I was combing Olivia's hair, she said, "I've got lots of rectangles in my hair." (Rectangles instead of tangles; get it?)

O & So

Olivia's recent passion is watching "Country Mouse and City Mouse" videos (which she calls "Crunchy Mouse"). She spends much of her day pretending she is Jeanie, a guest character in one of the episodes. I'm happy to report that Jeanie is a brave little girl who rescues her dad from jail. For some reason there are only two scenes that Olivia likes to act out. The first is when Jeanie is on her knees, covering her face, and crying. The other involves Jeanie falling down and saying "Ouch!". Who knows, maybe there is an acting career on Miss O's horizon. Sophia continues to be on the verge of crawling. She is getting better at lifting herself onto all fours and rocking back and forth, and she uses her arms to drag the rest of her body across the floor. She's also mastered waving and clapping, but only when she's in the mood. She's graduated to sitting in a highchair for the 3 meals she eats each day. Our youngest has recently pushed us to be better house keepers. We've realized we need to vacuum quite often because Sophia's now able to pick up very small things and, of course, they go straight into her mouth. The other days she spit up part of one of those small plastic thingies that holds the price tag on new clothes. I think we were lucky she spit it up without any damage being done.