Summer has begun and we are all enjoying the warm days filled with swimming, cousins, p
opsicles, beach days, more swimming & more cousins! Here is whats new in her life as of late:
Underwear & Naps- July marks the beginning of a new era as Odesa no longer naps- this means she is going to be at 7:30 instead of 9. She has also using the potty all day long and wearing big girl undies for awhile now.
Dance- She has swim & dance lessons every week and looks forward to them all week long. We had our first dance recital at the end of June. She danced with her classmates to Elvis singing Devil in Disguise and it was about the cutest thing to ever happen. We had a dance
rehearsal the day before at the auditorium and I could tell from the minute we arrived
Odesa was going to be enjoying this preforming bit. She
immediately wanted to go on stage but the older girls has to rehearse first so we patiently waited. She
didn't understand why she couldn't dance with them as well! Once it was our turn she run on stage & did the dance all by herself
like a pro. The moms stayed on stage with the girls but she
definitely didn't need me up there. I told her all the empty seats would have people sitting in them the next day during the show while we were rehearsing. That next morning she ran in to wake me up as she always does and said, "momma- today all those seats are going to be full!" with a giant grin on her face. Both sets of grand parents came to watch her as well as daddy. Afterwards we all went to lunch to celebrate her accomplishment.
Swim- We have been swimming 5 days a week since the kids have been out of school. Some days at the pool by us, others at Grannie & Grandad's house. She has been holding her breath since about 6 months old when we did the mommy & me classes and can kick a few feet with her arms out to me now. While at the lesson she can float on her back but she has yet to do it with us. Her favorite thing to do though is dive down to the bottom (of the shallow end) and grab a toy! Swim lessons are the first thing she has ever done solo without me and she is doing amazing. Odesa also likes to pretend she is the dance or swim teacher & will hold classes for Mike and I at bedtime. She pushes the button on her imaginary CD player and runs through dance class exactly like the real teacher does it. Same with swim!
Family- We are so lucky to have one set of cousins right down the street from us. We see them regularly and I can say without a doubt Sophia & Olivia are two of her favorite people in the world. This summer has been filled with play dates and adventures & I am sure there are still many more to be had in the 2 months before school starts. We spent the 4th of July swimming with them & some neighbors at our community pool and then fireworks at our park. The fireworks were a little late so right before they started I noticed she was all curled up in Sophia's lap & went to check on her. She had asked Sophia to take her home & put her in her bed so we called it a night before they started. You know she is tired if she is asking to go to bed! We also got to spend some time with her other cousin Ruby who was staying with Grannie & Grandad for the weekend. They had a blast swimming in the pool.
Big Sister Odesa- Odesa is looking forward to being a big sister in 2 months. She talks about baby Ofelia all the time and often gives my belly kisses for her. We are starting to bring out the old baby stuff and organize her room all at the request of big sister Odesa. With the birth being only two months away I am realizing this is the last time I will get with Odesa as an only child and we are making the most of it.
Smarty pants (aka the brag section)- Odesa has been talking since she was 9 months old. She started out at 8 months doing animal sounds & by 9 months could do all the farm yard animal noises by request. She was saying mommy & daddy and making requests before her first birthday. At 14 months she was putting together sentences. At 18 months she was full on talking- having conversations, asking and responding to questions. At two she had at least 100 words in her vocabulary. At 27 months she calls her grand parents and has whole conversations with them, replaying them for me afterwards. She has 200+ words in her vocabulary and talks in a way that makes you & everyone else think she is 5. Her imagination is amazing as is her memory. She has whole scenes from movies memorized and reenacts them often, word for word. She will listen to a song a few times and will have that memorized beat and all. She will watch a show where they mention a place she has never been like the airport or Hawaii and asks for an explanation. Where is this place, why haven't we been there, what is in this place and can we go. She can recall events that happened months ago, even a full year ago. We passed by the hospital on our way to the mall yesterday & she asked me what it was. I told her it was the hospital and she said, "Yes I have been there, they fixed my arm when I pulled it." Referring to the time over 6 months ago when she slightly dislocated her elbow. We were driving up to the frozen yogurt place to get some ice cream and as soon as we pulled into the shopping center she pointed to the place & said, " There is the ice cream store." We had only been there twice before & hadn't been for almost a year.
Cooking- Odesa loves to make anything but pancakes and cookies are her favorites. She cracks eggs, mixes and measures with me. She also likes to cut up tofu & avocado with the butter knifes and will watch the cooking channel with me. She will watch them make something then immediatly want to go in the kitchen & make it herself! Yesterday I made her a quesadila & asked her if she wanted any salsa. She doesn't care for the bottled salsa & asked if we could make some like they had at the restaurant so we did.
