19 months and counting over here!  My sweet Olive continues to charm, delight and amaze us as she grows and matures day by day.

This month was full of adventures and activities; I think we have been more active than ever.  I am making it a priority to get out of the house at least 2-3x a week to visit the park, the museum, etc.  This is on top of our 2x weekly excursions to church and the errands we have to run (grocery store, farm). Work has been busier lately so I want to make sure I still get plenty of time to take Olive out and about.  She is an explorer and loves nothing more than running free!  And like her mama, she loves to go out even if it’s just to pick up some milk.  😉  I’m blogging during Olive’s nap time (per usual) so let’s jump straight into the updates!

• Olive had a little growth spurt and is now approximately 31″ tall and 22+ lbs.  She’s still on the smaller side for her age but she’s made some great gains lately.  😉
• She loves to “keen up” with mama around the house.  If you hand her a little duster, she will be content to wander around the house dusting for a good 10 minutes.  If I tell her to pick things up (spilled nuts, a lost hair tie, etc.), she will cheerfully say “keen up!” in a sing-song voice.  I love my little helper!
• We visited many more nurseries this month, picking up citrus trees and plants for our front yard.
• The slide is the current favorite diversion at the park.  Olive could go down the slide all afternoon!  She almost always makes a high-pitched squeal on the way down.  😉  She also likes the swings but tells me she is “all done” after about 2 minutes on them.
• We visited another local farm with her friend, Jetta, and had fun looking at the animals and hiding in terra cotta pots.
• Olive still wants to wear a hat every day.  After getting dressed, she asks me for her hat.  A hat can be an actual hat, a headband, or a hair clip.  Anything that goes on her head is a hat, and apparently she isn’t dressed without some cute topper!  I suppose the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, since I have long been known for my love of headbands and fascinators!
• Halmunee and Nana-ji came to visit and we had a blast going to the pumpkin patch, visiting Morro Bay, enjoying sushi (Olive LOVES Japanese food), and just playing with her grandparents.  Halmunee loved on all of us by spending most of her time in the kitchen cooking yummy Korean food to stock our fridge.  I’m so grateful for my parents!
• We got to stay with Aunt Anna and Uncle Sean in Huntingon Beach for a few days while I took some meetings.  One of my favorite memories is the early morning walk we took with Anna down to the beach.  Olive loves getting her toes in the sand.  She also loves puppies (all dogs are puppies to her), especially my sister’s pup Ruby Pudding III.  Ruby was grateful for the attention at first, but then grew uneasy with the constant petting.  haha  I promise she was gentle!
• Olive spent a day with her gal pal Blake, daughter of my gal pal Melody.  😉  They had so much fun together and I was reminded of the blessing of having good friends who can take in your daughter with little notice!
• We visited Dallidet Adobe in San Luis Obispo and fell in love with the property and surrounding gardens.  I can’t wait to go back and hopefully, plan a wedding there sometime soon!  Such a charming hidden gem!
• We met up with Julia and her daughter, Ursula, for a playdate at the park.  It was so fun seeing our girls meet for the first time and enjoy splashing themselves (read: they both got SOAKING wet) in the fountain.  Precious memories!
• Olive is in a bit of a mama phase…  She is pretty clingy and mostly just wants me.  Although I love how she loves me, I am looking forward to her warming back up again to the rest of her loved ones.  For now, it’s a lot of “mama hold you” (she says this when she wants me to pick her up).
• She folds her hands and bows her head when it’s time to pray.  We catch her peeking up at us (I guess that means we are peeking too) once in a while and it melts our hearts.  I pray that one day she will truly know God and honor Him with her life.
• Favorites of the month: Elmo, pronounced “Ell-Mon” (she has only seen the Elmo song on YouTube but that was enough to fall in love with the little red guy, I guess) // Japanese curry with pork — spicy, with extra cilantro and green onions! // mandu (Korean dumplings) // pointing out everything to us (birds, “punkins,” the moon, puppies, her shoes) // Uncle Sean, lovingly prounced “Unk Shah” // “Five Little Monkeys” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It” // Goodnight Gorilla

cheese!!!

Here’s our 19-month photomosaic:

Sweet Olive — You bring us so much joy everyday!  You are full of energy and never like to be in one place for long.  You certainly keep me busy running after you all day!  You have an infectious laugh that I need to record more often; I never want to forget its beautiful sound.  You also have an intense focus on tasks at hand; I love watching you intently work on something (coloring, putting a puzzle together, examining a new toy) with your pouty lips and furrowed brow.  Your hair is getting longer and longer and I love to run my fingers through it and smell it throughout the day!  Thankfully you are quite a cuddlebug and don’t seem to mind.  😉  We are grateful for your adaptable nature and your sweet spirit.  We travel quite a bit and you have made it so easy on me with all the long drives and overnight stays.  Even though you have been very attached to mama this month, you still cheerfully greet everyone we see, making sure to also wave and call out “Bye Bye!” when we leave.  You are complimented on your manners when you say “Yes please, Mama” and “Thank You” in public.  We pray every night that you would grow up to know God and love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.  This bedtime tradition is my favorite part of the day.  I love our little family “huddle” for prayer, with you curled up in my arms, snuggled into my neck, and Daddy hugging us both.  It is truly a privilege to be your parents and we love you dearly.  Everyday with you is a gift and we never want to take it for granted.  xoxo, Mama (and Daddy)

Hope you’re all having a lovely Thursday!  See you again soon!