1. Have you spent the day with a toddler lately? I haven't had a whole lot of free time to do things like sit, much less think and type things out on a computer.
2. What precious little free time I did have during May and half of June I spent with Becca and Aden. They have since moved to the Vancouver, British Columbia area, where my brother-in-law is busy working on some big name movies.
2b. After they left, I spent two solid weeks feeling very sorry for myself, which precluded cheerfully describing life without my sister and nephew.
But now that life is back to normal and we have reached another milestone, it's time to get back on the blogging wagon. I'll be posting some things from the last couple of months that I don't want to forget over the next couple of weeks, but right now, let's get a drum roll please... Olivia is walking!
This is a short clip from this morning -- she has been really hard to catch on camera so far.
Olivia Walks! from Liz Hall on Vimeo.
All that talk of Independence and Freedom for the fourth of July must have really resonated with Olivia, because she took her first solo steps on Monday, July 5th. We had a long weekend, which we spent at the beach with Gran and Pops, and C had a brilliant idea that led to Olivia's confidence. She's been cruising for 6 months and walking around holding my hand for at least the last 4 weeks but was afraid to let go. So C put his belt around her, underneath her arms, so she would feel supported. After a few tries, it worked! Then he started just holding onto her shirt, and on Monday night, he was able to let go and Olivia kept going for about 10 steps before she realized she was walking (and immediately sat down). So she's practiced all week, and today we went and bought her a new pair of shoes to celebrate.
I have to say, as excited as I am about the walking, it will take some getting used to. I've turned around no fewer than three times already today and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Olivia barreling towards me. She is so fast already, sometimes she is actually running!
It seems that walking has turned her tongue loose also, because her talking has increased exponentially in the last week. She can clearly say Hello, Bye, Baby, Dog, Momma, & Pappy and there are a couple of things that I understand (but aren't as clear) such as Bellybutton and Bath.
