December 15-22

We're trying to get Olivia to eat better vegetables.  After a rough start a couple of weeks ago with a carrot soup that she absolutely refused to touch, we broke out the raw veggies and dips.  First termites on a log (because all I had was golden raisins), then carrots and peppers with dips.  She's now progressed to willingly taking at least one bite of whatever raw or steamed veggie I put in front of her, though soups still send her running.  We're also trying to cut out the demands for different food and we've discovered that she eats better when foods are presented one at a time, so we've evolved a kind of course system to dinner.  Closest to Olivia is the night's vegetable, followed by the main dish, with a fruit or bread option on the other side of the table.  She can move on to the next thing after she's had a bite or five of whatever is in front of it.  It's been going well, and meals are much more peaceful.  As a bonus, Bryan gets the sides he's always wanted.  :)

Some time ago, Olivia decided she absolutely could not sleep unless there was a light on in the room.  We had a small lamp, so we used that to keep her from turning on her bedroom light.  Over time, though, it became apparent that she does not sleep as well with a light on (shocking, I know).  Since we're also hoping to night-potty-train her eventually, I decided to get her a toddler clock that doubles as a night light.  To keep her from turning on the bedroom light, I rearranged the room so the bed is in a different corner.  Her new clock changes color (from yellow to green) when she's allowed to leave her room in the morning.  Once she gets used to that, we'll be able to take the gate down so that she can go to the bathroom whenever she needs to.   The only problem?  She unplugs the clock.  At least she's sleeping in the dark again, though.

Olivia made the bread for dinner the other night.  This is where you say, we know, Johannah, that Olivia helps you make bread.  There was a 15-minute video about it once, remember?  That's not what I meant, though.  Reread the first sentence, pretending that you don't know that Olivia is only 2, and you'll have a better idea of what actually happened.  I measured the water for her (3/4 cup in a 4 cup container so she wouldn't spill getting it to the table), helped her remove some especially sticky dough from her fingers, and provided verbal direction.  That's it.  Olivia measured the yeast, salt, and flour, stirred everything up, kneaded the dough, put it in a pan, used her fingers to poke holes in the top of the loaf (for some reason known only to her), and put it in the (still cool) oven.  We ate it for dinner that night and it was delicious.

Lest you think something happened to Gretchen, we still have her.  She had a lull this week and didn't really do any new and exciting things, so I don't have any stories.  I took some pictures, though, so that you can see that we don't completely ignore her!  :)

Pictures:
Olivia was worried about Gretchen chewing on a wooden spoon:

Gretchen's BamBam shoot.  She sits up better than Olivia did, but that's mostly because she's older.  Also, Google+ seems to have done a small compilation for me*:

Bryan's decorations.  Google+ is going for all sorts of points*; notice that the lights twinkle in the second picture:

*Apparently Google's new photo editing is called Auto Awesome.  I accept.