Olivia at 21 Months...

Monkey Do, as we sometimes call her, is at that age when everyday I look at her and say to myself - please don't get any bigger, all the while envious of moms with kids that can 1) sleep on their own 2) pee on their own 3) won't endanger themselves when left on their own.

21 months bring Fall, long awaited cool weather.  Olivia loves taking (short) walks where she points to the ground, to the trees, to the barking neighbor's dog.  She picks up random leaves on the ground and the OCD in me has to remind myself not to stop her.  Her hair is long enough to brush against her eyes, and I happily slip a bow in there when she is not looking.

One night, as I lay in bed waiting for her to fall asleep, I felt a meaty little finger on my eye and a little voice saying Ai.  Then she pointed to my nose and said No.  Oh the kisses that followed.  My baby even knows shoulder and toes, thanks to her favorite song.  She loves post bath singing and tells me exactly what she wants to hear by veto-ing everything else with "no ma ma" until I sing the right song.  Something else she says that makes me swoon - thank you.  She says it with puckered lips like it's one word.  Gets me every time.

She runs everywhere now and it fills my heart with joy.  Especially when she runs toward me and wraps her arms around my legs.  It is rare that I don't pick her up and smother that face and neck with kisses.

Things I'm trying to teach her - colors and how to count.  Reminding myself to be patient, that once upon a time I was worried sick she wouldn't walk.  Look at her now.

Lately

I am knee deep in several podcasts and am a better person because of it.

First of all - In the Dark- APM reports.  Ever since Serial Season 1, I have been looking for another gripping true crime investigative report to listen to.  Thank you Kelly of Sorta Awesome for recommending it, an example of how one great podcast can lead you to finding other great podcasts.

It is a quick listen.  Nine episodes, about 30 min each.  It is about a kidnapping case that captivated the country, yet was never solved until this year.  Every episode filled me with dread, sadness, and anger, as only true crime stories can.  I'm starting to think the only crimes they actually solve are the fiction ones!  Very enlightening about crimes in this country and the people in charge of solving them.

Then there is This American Life, which I do not listen to on the drive to work because nine out of ten times it makes me boo hoo.  Episode #597: One Last Thing Before I Go - is one I started to listen to about one month ago and have not had the ability to finish.  I cry so hard I literally have to pause so I can see the road and drive home.  The episodes have different Acts, or stories, that all follow one theme.  I'm still on Act One - a story about a real phone booth in Japan that people use to talk to their loved ones they lost in the 2011 tsunami and earthquake.  The phone is not connected to anything, but it faces the ocean and the wind, and people travel from afar to talk to the ones they lost.  Sometimes it is one lone person, sometimes is a whole family.  Often they dial a number and even say hello.  The conversations are heart-wrenchingly real and private.  Simple words that are profound in the all the things they say and don't say.  One day I will sit in a corner of my house and finish it with a box of tissues.  Then I will pick up my own phone and call my own lost ones that I miss every day.  Every minute of every day.

Lastly I have been loving the new serials of Smartest Person in the Room, by my favorite Hollywood Housewife.  I miss her blog all the time, and sometimes clicks on the link just to make sure it's not revived.  In the meantime, I learn so much from episode one of the religions series.  Few things confuse me or fascinate me more.

Up next - Making Oprah.  Can. Not. Wait.