Ollie at 2

Ollie at 1 yr and at 2 yrs.

My sweet Ollie is two! You may say, "Beka, he turned two almost a month ago," and you would be right, but I am just getting to writing a little about our baby.
I have posted before about how he is a bit of a neat freak and likes things to go in patterns. Everything has its place- and it can't wait until I am ready to get it there, even if the item is currently in use. Things run on HIS time frame- or he will scream and scream until it does. He is super picky about which bins his toys go in, where his books lay, and most pointedly, how his blankets are folded and hung over the side of his crib in the correct order and then his taggie and stuffed animals placed on top. Then it is time to get dressed. It can't wait for later- it happens immediately. I think maybe there is a bit of Grandpa Kirt in him!

Ollie loves to play in my makeup. Unfortunately, he also knows how to unscrew things. He also really likes to suck on my makeup brushes and stick his fingers in my chapstick and deodorant. One morning I got out of the shower to find that he had unscrewed my mascara and brushed it up and down the sides of his face from hairline to chinline- vertically over his eyes. I now wake up an hour and a half earlier so that I can make sure all grooming on my part is finished before he even thinks about waking up. I know you are thinking- "an hour and a half? Yeah right, I see you often enough. There is NO way you spend that much time in the bathroom." Which is true. I don't think I have ever purposefully spent that much time in the bathroom. But I have found it nice to get some of the other things done that Ollie is not so helpful with... that list is neverending!

Ollie has NO volume control. It reminds me of that part in Austin Powers when he says, "I am having trouble controlling THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE!" Almost every word he speaks comes out a yell- and if you don't acknowledge that he spoke, he will keep yelling louder and louder until you do. It was really pleasant just today in the middle of the sacrament prayers when he noticed daddy helping pass the sacrament. The congregation loved the repeated scream of "DADDY!"

Ollie CANNOT be distracted from what he wants. The whole parenting technique of trying to channel the child into a different distraction is pointless on this boy. Yesterday he began a screaming fit in TOYS R US- and we weren't even making him leave! Anyway, he was screaming so we finally gave up and headed out of the store. He also hates the car, so buckling him for the 20 minute ride home was fuel for his fire. I tried EVERYTHING- toys, suckers, candy, songs, windows, pointing out all the construction vehicles- he finally stopped screaming after he had laid in his crib for about 20 minutes. As far as I can estimate, that was about 50-ish minutes straight of screaming, shaking, flailing, red-faced madness.

Ollie is really finally trying to talk. He has been a terribly persistant grunter, which has driven me mad. Some of my favorite things that he says are "kepup"- ya know, for "ries", "cake and ciky (cookie)"at snack time, "hep" when things are a little too difficult, and I know there is trouble when I hear "Oh, boy, mom." He also loves to "-mell" the "wowies"(flowers)and point to the TV and say, "GAME?" His speech often reminds me of my nephew Bryce, when he started to talk. Ollie leaves many of the beginning sounds off his words, so we play "leap -rog" and drive behind "-rucks" as we pass the "-ple" (temple). He has mastered his first knock knock joke- "knock knock," "who's there?" "Banana." "Banana who?" "Banana. Haa Haa Haa!" There are also times when he says things that melt my heart- he is so quick to say "thank you" and loves to say love you on the phone.

Ollie is a terrible eater- unless we are talking about inedible items. Why he can't eat potatoes or corn or apples like he eats mud, sticks, and rocks, I will never know. He does eat suckers, licorice, mnms and pez like they are going out of style!

Ollie is a total adrenaline junkie. Just this week he has gone over the handlebars of his big wheel twice. He has quite the fat lip to show for it. But he gets really angry at me if I take him off the bike, so I guess that bodes well for his mountain biking future? He loves things fast, bumpy, and if there is a chance of getting that little funny feeling in your tummy, he is all laughs!

Ollie is the grunt work in our family. He is the strongest 2 year old I know! I mentioned above about how he unscrews jars and bottles and what not. If he wants into a bottle bad enough, there isn't much I can do about it! He can get into anything! He also is very smart when it comes to getting to whatever it is he can't have. He has taken a chair from his room all the way downstairs to climb onto the countertop after various whatnots. This is when we finally stopped tying the chairs to the table. There was no point to it anymore!

Ollie loves music! He was my first to actually enjoy and ask for more opera to be played in the house and often asks for songs to be played "adain". I think his favorite songs are pretty standard for his age- Old McDonald (yah-yo), Popcorn Popping and A You're Adorable. He also loves the Cougar Fight Song and can clap along, knows when to stand up, and can do the Rah Rah part all on his own. On a not so great side note, I have been singing "I Am A Child Of God" to him every time he goes down for a nap since the day he was born. Now every time he hears this song he bursts out in tears. I think I have scarred his primary years to come!

Ollie has finally discovered toys! HOORAY! He has never really paid much attention to toys in the past- but now he can't get enough! He wants his trains and trucks and "guys" and blocks and stuffies and on and on... all the time. What a great milestone!

Best of all, Ollie is my only cuddler. When he gets out of bed, he just wants me to rock him for a couple minutes while he lays on my shoulder and then wants me to read him a couple books before he braves his brothers. His smile melts our hearts and his peekaboo and eyebrown games at the dinner table keep us laughing over and over. He is a little piece of happiness in our family and will keep us on our toes for years to come!

Other random facts-

Favorite food- cheese, bread

Favorite color- Red. Unfortunate.

Favorite book- NFL opposites or A You're Adorable

Favorite animal- Cow

Favorite thing with a motor- tractor (tihtoh)

Favorite things to do- playdough, Play Don't Break The Ice, trains, paint, bubbles, stack plastic cups, swing on monkeybars, play catch

Favorite things to wear- hat, snowboots

Fears- the dark, being alone, charlie biting him

Favorite playmate- DAD!

We love you Ollie!