Our Little Mover is Ten Months Old!!

  I can not believe how fast time flies... I'm sure if  I reread some of the past blogs this exact statement would be in all of them though. Just a few more days until Christmas and we are ready! However, I'm sure Olivia will care more about the wrapping paper than anything else. She is such a busy body... ALWAYS on the go! She is constantly trying to get into the fireplace (which is gas and is never on), tries at least once a day to pull the Christmas tree down, and anything else that she should not have... she attempts to get:)

New this month:

•  4... yes 4 top teeth coming in!! and she's still in a pretty good mood!
•  feeding herself at every meal... she eats anything and everything...pretty much whatever we eat
• walking with her walking toy
• dancing! anytime she hears some music she starts moving around... has taking a strong liking to grandpa's ipad
• constant babbling and singing
• climbing the stairs (we stand right behind her and steady her when she decides to stop and turn around)
• starting to become afraid of strangers now
• has stood on her own for several seconds at a time

 I love watching her expressions and wonder what she is thinking.... you can see the wheels turning!!

Here are several pics from this  month.

Someone got an early Christmas present

Hilarious!! She got stuck in her toy box:)

Happy Girl

It's just not as easy to take her picture with a paper sign anymore:)



Tis the Season

  It's Merry Christmas time!! We took Olivia to meet Santa today... she really was not too sure about him but after he gave her a candy cane to play with she figured out he's not a bad guy after all. Although we never got an "official" smile out of her while she was on his lap.

  Meeting Santa must have worn her out because she fell asleep in the car and almost slept through lunch in her car seat at Osaka, our favorite sushi place.

  After some yummy sushi and some chicken fried rice for Livvi (healthy right... but hey there were veggies in it too) we went to the Collierville square to take some holiday pictures. We took a MILLION pics of the sweet girl and a few of us too. I was sooo excited because I got a picture of the three of us for our Christmas card by using the self timer on the camera, and Olivia thought it was hilarious that I was running to get in the pic.... so she has the biggest smile on her face:)

Look... I'm standing!

Santa's chair

Looking at the pretty flowers right before she tried to eat it

I absolutely love this pic of them

(she really is a daddy's girl)

Daddy was supposed to be taking pics of mommy and baby.... but we see who the star is

Shoulder Ride!!





  Now we just have to get the Christmas tree up and we can really enjoy the Christmas Season... Happy Holidays!!

Nine Months and time for Thanksgiving!!

 

Look Who's 9 Months Old

    So, today I had two people tell me, "she is very persistent." Yup, that's my girl, very determined... which is a great trait to have in life. However... right now her persistence consists of fighting diaper changes and getting dressed... getting into the TV wires... speaker wires.. etc...etc..... but I would not trade it for the world. Olivia is very inquisitive and really concentrates on whatever she is doing, slightly hard headed.... I'm not sure but that MAY come from mommy?? She also has a high tolerance for pain... like daddy. She is one tough cookie!!

  Today at the pediatrician she weighed in at 17lbs 14oz and is 26 inches long... doing great! Much better than the last month or so. She had her first sick visit to the doctor... she got antibiotics for a sinus infection.... then 2 weeks later she had her second sick visit.... she had RSV, two ear infections and bronchiolitis. Poor baby.... I felt so bad for her... but through it all.... she tried to keep that sweet smile on her face.

  Those two teeth that I saw coming in last month are now in... and Dr. Zeibarth said there were several more trying to come in... he thought maybe this weekend... we shall see. Olivia is crawling all over... pulls up on everything, claps her hands, and is starting to feed herself at mealtime... although she really would rather stay clean and let me do it.

hmmmm.... what toy do I want?

  Thanksgiving is two days away and we are ready for some turkey!! I am so thankful for all the blessings we have and so very thankful for my beautiful, healthy baby girl. We will be celebrating with everyone at my dad's house this year.... hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

My Watermelon is 8 Months Old!!

   October 21st marked Olivia's 8 month birthday!! We celebrated by taking her to Hope's Fall Fun Fest at church. She may still be a little young for the games and moon bounces but she had a blast watching everyone.... she even entered a costume contest!! The contest must have been rigged because she did not win.... oh well.... I think she was the cutest one there:) She stays quite active these days and loves to babble.... it is absolutely amazing how much she changes each day. A few weeks ago she was weighing in at 17lbs 5 oz at the pediatrician's office when she got her flu shot... which she was a big girl for.... just a little whimper and she was done.

  New tricks:

• crawling on all fours
• can sit herself up when she wants to now
• screaming at top of lungs just for the heck of it
• getting into the dog's food dishes
• can pull up on me with help

   While feeding her this morning I found a hint of two bottom teeth trying to come in... she usually doesn't let me look in her mouth but today I got a glimpse. Speaking of eating... she has loved everything we have given her so far.... which is a wide variety of things from fruits and veggies to meat and potatoes... and loves her snacks too. Such a good eater.. hopefully she will stay that way.... we shall see!

  Olivia is such a happy baby.... we are very blessed. This morning the ladies at church were fighting over whose room she went to. She is generally all smiles so when she does cry.... it's usually for a good reason. As long as she gets a catnap in the morning she can usually make it to anywhere between 1pm and 3pm for a long nap. However.... I laid her down in her crib for a nap about 30 minutes ago and I am sitting here watching her play in her crib on the video monitor. She keeps laying down and then popping up.... I guess she's afraid she will miss something:)

    Grandpa Bill came over all by himself last night to keep Olivia. The two of them had a great time... and Olivia was well fed and asleep when we got home, so grandpa passed:)  We took advantage of our time by going out and buying a new car!! My lease was up on my Altima and I wanted something a little bigger.... so we got a new Nissan Rogue..... which I love so far! I plan on driving this car until it dies.... so I better love it:)

  All in all things are going great and Ben and I could not be happier with our sweet little girl... I thank God each and everyday for our precious gift.



  




  



Fall is in the Air

  Even though it's still warm outside most days... it is cooling off and I have really enjoyed wearing jeans again! Next up is sweater weather...yay! I had to go buy Olivia some more clothes... she is now in 9months clothes... can fit into some 12month sizes... but when it got cooler I realized she didn't have much of a fall or winter wardrobe. No need to worry about that anymore... between me, Aunt Chris and Grandma.... she is all set! Spoiled little thing that she is doesn't hurt for a thing:)

  She is now 7 months old... still no teeth... but I love that toothless smile... it just melts my heart!! Most things have now been moved because Olivia is an expert army crawler and is excellent at doing the down dog yoga pose... which Ben called the upper dog today... made me laugh! She is a determined little thing... keeps her eye on what she is going after while she grunts her way across the floor. I'm not sure how much she is weighing these days... but I can tell you she's growing... my guess is around 17lbs maybe?? I am very excited for next month... she is going to be a watermelon for Halloween.... it is THE cutest costume! Last month I mentioned that she may have to be a pirate for Halloween because the pediatrician said her eyes were not following equally.... but we went to the eye doctor and she said she looks great... thank God:) A few weeks ago we started the First Time Mom's group at church which has been wonderful. Other first time moms and their babies get together for fellowship and a bible study and it is so sweet to watch Olivia play with other babies.

Olivia and her friends

  A few weeks ago we had pictures made of Olivia... April Hurdle... did an awesome job!! Now I have to figure out which pictures I am going to buy... I look through them everyday and I'm still trying to decide.... I told someone I could easily have a shrine dedicated to Olivia... but I will hold back:) It is hard to pick though.

  I take a picture of my own every month on the 21st to mark her "monthly birthdays." She is such a squirmy girl these days I had such a hard time this month... I was laughing so hard because she was looking at me like I was ruining her life by trying to make her sit still for a picture... this girl has places to go!!

As you can see... she's not impressed this time:)



August... What a busy month!!

  Well... this month has been so busy and has flown by! Ben and Chris had an awesome birthday party for me... I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my 21st Birthday.. hehe. They rented a gigantic water slide... at first I was thinking "what in the world??" but it was sooooo fun!! We are all just big kids at heart.

    My growing girl turned 6 months old on the 21st... which I still cant believe... half a year has gone by! Olivia is weighing in at 16lbs 1 oz and is 26 inches long... no teeth yet but everything goes straight to her mouth of course:) She is starting to get up on her hands and knees.. I'm sure she will soon figure out what to do next... we MUST baby proof the house soon. She is also sitting up by herself now... but sometimes falls over... she doesn't get upset when she falls over... just keeps playing.

 She is soooo happy and laid back all the time... takes after daddy in that aspect. We went to the pediatrician the other day: she got more shots:( and he said she is doing great... except he says her eyes don't follow objects equally so he is sending her to a pediatric opthamologist... kinda scary for me but I am praying everything is fine. From what I have heard and read on the internet she may have to wear a patch over one eye to strengthen the muscle. So maybe she can be a pirate for Halloween.. hehe. Uncle Eric will love that... he has some what of a pirate addiction:) We will just have to wait and see what the expert says.

  Yesterday.. August 25th, Ben and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary! We both had the day off together which does not happen often and we just hung out with Olivia together... all in all a nice quiet day. We went to breakfast with Ben's dad and step mom and went to dinner with my dad and Deb... awesome, relaxing day. Each year we take a picture of ourselves on our anniversary so we can watch how we change over the years. Here is this year's pic!



  I must say the last four years have flown by and time just keeping passing faster each day. I am loving married life and love being a mommy.. so in love with my little family.

Really... 5 Months??

   Yup, really... it has been five months since my sweet girl arrived. We are trucking along nicely I must say. She is such a happy girl and is such a joy to be with. I am proud to say I am her mommy and while I cant wait to see what she looks like and how she acts when she's walking and talking I want time to SLOW down!! I see newborns at work daily and I look at them and think "wow, Olivia was that small." Funny how quickly you forget. We started feeding her baby food this last month. So far I have been making her food which I don't mind at all... ironic since I don't like cooking huh. She has had rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, winter squash, bananas and mashed potatoes. Everything has been a hit except the bananas... she's not too sure about those. Next to try is avocado, apple, green beans, peas, zucchini and summer squash.

First Bite of Food



Four Months and Growing!!

  Well at four months old Olivia is weighing in at 14lbs 3oz and is 25 inches long.... 75th percentile!! We just got back from seeing the pediatrician and she got her shots.... she is not a fan of those... but who can blame her. In the last month she has become so much more interactive and playful and such a joy to be around... she's such a happy girl. I could just eat her up!!!

  Miss Olivia has reached several new milestones in the last month!

• rolling over (loves her tummy now)
• laughing and cooing
• grabs at her toys (and sticks them in her mouth)
• she loves her new excersaucer
• not sure of the official word for this but she makes "raspberry noises".. at least that's what the internet calls it:)
• found her feet and loves to grab them
• sucks her thumb when she is really tired
• went swimming for the first time.... and several more since it's soooo hot here!
• went to her first birthday party
• got to meet Aunt Beth!!!

  On June 5th we had Olivia Baptized at Hope Presbyterian... such an awesome event and I was so glad my family was there to see it! The only thing I was upset about was that I had Olivia facing away from the camera so no one could see her face but I guess what is truly important is that Ben and I saw her sweet expression!

 Ben enjoyed his first Father's Day too! I made him breakfast, we went to church and then he had to go to work.. boo. But, I did get him tickets to see Stomp which we went and saw a few days ago. The show was awesome!! My dad, Deb, Chris and Eric also went with us so we had a great night out, eating on Beale Street, watching the show and enjoying some "adult" time after.

  Next up... Olivia gets started on food! Going to start the cereal this week... let's see how messy our life gets now!!



Life as We Know It

   Can you believe my baby is 3 months old! I treasure each and every moment with her... even when she is crying and fussy... I thank God for her! Olivia is the best blessing I have ever been given... I love being her mommy. I rarely get things done around the house because I would much rather watch her play and giggle... which is THE most adorable thing she does:) That's ok... my house can stay dirty... it's still going to be there when I get around to it. I had a wonderful first Mother's Day... I got a gift certificate for a massage (which I still need to get) and spent the day relaxing with my girl. I am upset that my brain quit on me that day and I did not get a picture of the two of us that day... oh well.

   Over the last month she has started laughing and is much more interactive now... she loves to be outside (just like me) and she loves to be sitting upright. If you lay her flat she does crunches... she just doesn't understand that she cant sit all the way up yet... and it frustrates her! I'm pretty sure she is going to have a six pack of abs soon...nosey little girl wants to see the world... not the ceiling or her play gym! She is meeting lots of new friends between the gym, church and the babysitter... always in a good mood and happy to see other people.

Getting some exercise and working those abs!

She loves bath time too! Love those prayer hands:)

Maybe she's praying for a good night sleep?

   Speaking of the babysitter... I love the sweet couple who watch her. They love on her all the time and it makes me feel better to know that while I'm working she is getting all the love she would at home. Work has been good... it is very hard to be away from her though. Since I work 12 hour shifts I really don't get to see her on the days I work... I usually get home in time to feed her a bedtime bottle and I love on her then. On the days Ben has her I make him send me pictures of her by text message... it gets me through the day.

   Ben is doing well too. His sling is off... but he still has limited use of his arm... he cant lift anything heavier than a pen!! He goes to physical therapy 3 times a week and his range of motion is improving every day.  Sooo... that means he really cant keep Olivia all day by himself.... but thankfully we have wonderful family who help out. Ben's mom and my sister are lifesavers!! He goes back to the doctor on June 9th and hopefully he will be able to lift more than a pen.... at least I'm praying he can. It has been hard on him to have such limitations and he is very frustrated! He has mastered using one arm though! He does his best to help as much as he can with Olivia... he's a great daddy!!!

                Next month my goal is to get more pictures of all of us!!

Loving Life

      My sweet Olivia is now two months old... time is flying by! Our little family of three is doing great and we are settling into a routine. I've even been back at the gym which I never thought I would be excited about but I am. Over the last 9 weeks I have become VERY used to being off and I am not excited about going back to work May 2nd...but bills have to be paid so Hi Ho Hi Ho off to work I go. Ben has been doing good too... he's excited about getting his sling off this week so he can hold and take care of the baby... good thing because he is going to be watching her the days I work!

    Olivia had her two month check up last week; she got her shots and I cried right along with her... she weighed 10lbs 15oz... growing perfect:) She loves to be held and she is smiling and cooing all the time now and it just melts my heart... such a sweetheart! I am very thankful and very lucky she sleeps great at night now, she usually goes to bed about 8-8:30 and will sleep to anywhere between 4-7am! I took her to see the Easter bunny on Good Friday and we had a nice Easter dinner at my dad's house.


                                                      
                                                                      Good Friday
          



     Other than that things are pretty quiet here... just becoming good friends with Dave Brown, the local weather man, as he tells us where the daily tornado warning is. I think we need to decorate our hall closet so we have something interesting to look at... but thankfully we have stayed safe! I'm looking forward to all the May flowers these April showers should bring:)

Month One... and oohhh what a month it's been

  My sweet angel is 1 month old today!! Wow, the first month has flown by. Granted we have had a few bumps along the way to make it a bit of a blur. Olivia is doing great, she is a very sweet baby and is growing like a weed. At her 2 week check up she weighed 7lbs 14oz!!! Usually babies are just back up to their birth weight at 2 weeks so I guess my baby is an overachiever:) hehe. I haven't weighed her recently but she is definitely growing. I'm guessing she is a typical baby... she sleeps (usually) eats, poops and cries. She loves to take her time with her bottles though.... this child savors her food. It can take up to 45 minutes to feed her and every once in a while she wants more an hour later.. little piggy. I was stressing out about the time it took her to eat because I was just sure something was wrong.... we've tried different bottles and different nipples.... but nothing makes a difference. I decided to get over it and let her enjoy eating... she doesn't spit up at all so maybe it's good she takes her time huh. While I call her a sweet angel... she does have her times when I wonder where she went.... this girl also has a set of lungs which she usually likes to show us in the evenings. My friend Emily saved my life though and let me borrow her Moby Wrap. This piece of cloth is from heaven.... it is just a long cloth that wraps around me and holds her right up against me.... AND my arms are free. As soon as I put her in it she is asleep and I can eat.. do dishes... sleep... whatever I need to do:) Thanks Emily!!!!!! People keep asking me if we have settled into a routine yet? Ummm.... nope... apparently I am not capable of that.... sometimes I can manage to have her in bed by 8pm.... sometimes 11pm... I'm working on it... but as we already know.... Olivia can be a bit stubborn. (not sure where that came from... haha). Here are a few pics of the baby girl!!

she's thinking "would they just figure out what i want!"

Spring dress... she loves the nice weather!!



   Now... for the bumps in the road. The second day Ben went back to work (Olivia was almost 2 weeks old) he was washing a plane after work, fell and dislocated his shoulder!! I was sitting at home waiting patiently for him to come home.... I had been alone all day with the baby... was tired, hurting and ready for some company. Ben calls and says "I need to go to the ER" ummm, what?? Yup... so I was stuck at home and still not allowed to drive. My sister had to come stay with Olivia and Eric had to drive me to the ER to get Ben.  Make a long story short... Ben went to the ortho... had an MRI.... and had to have surgery on his shoulder on St Patrick's Day!!! He is now in this huge sling... and learning to do things one handed. Poor guy needs alot of help!! He should be in the sling for six weeks and then has to go to physical therapy. It is killing him that he cant help me with the baby the way he wants to. But he's trying... here are a few pics of him:)

just got home from surgery

he figured out how to feed the baby... someone else just has to burp her:)



  Needless to say... it's been a little stressful but we have a wonderful family who has been very helpful... thank God!!! Our goal for the second month is for both Ben and I to stay out of the OR:)

Olivia is Finally Here

     Ten days ago my world completely changed....for the better. All I can say is WOW!! What a whirlwind it has been....I am completely blessed by God!! Miss Olivia was stubborn until the bitter end of my pregnancy... she was due on February 17th... and there were no signs of her making an appearance on her own, so we had to evict her:) This landlord was finished and ready to meet her! In a nutshell here is how she made her entrance..... Ben and I went into the hospital at 6pm Sunday February 20th for a cervidil induction. That means I had to get some medicine to get my body ready for labor. Around midnight I started having contractions that were pretty uncomfortable... but for some reason I would not take any pain medicine.... (soooo should have taken some) Therefore, I did not sleep at all Sunday night. At 6am Monday morning they started my pitocin which is a drug to make me contract more.... once the doctor broke my water I felt what REAL pain was (I don't do pain well) so I got my epidural pretty quickly after that!! Here is a picture of Ben and I after my epidural.... I have never seen a smile so big on Ben!!



 Olivia had a room full of anxious family waiting on her.... and she must have known it because she STILL had stage fright. After 12 hours of pitocin and still no sleep I had stopped dilating and I needed to have a c-section. At first I was upset but then got over it quickly because I was so exhausted and ready to meet her. Apparently there were lots of stubborn babies that night because I was third in line for my c-section.... I told Ben it was like waiting on the runway:) Finally at 9:16pm February 21, 2011..... Olivia Grace Hetzler made her appearance!!!!!!

    She weighed in at 7lbs 1oz and was 19 3/4inches long!! My precious angel we have waited so long for was finally here.... I cried when I saw her and Ben was in awe. I was pretty impressed with how well he did in the OR... I thought he would've passed out... but he did great!! The surgery itself was not bad.... I was a little anxious but things went well... cant ask for more than that!! Here is our first family portrait:)

  I need to say a special thank you to everyone who took great care of Olivia and me: Jill, Sarah, Dr Mayo, Jeff and finally Amy who took all the delivery pictures.... thank you guys so much for ALL you did!!! We were in excellent hands the whole time!!!

 We came home on Thursday the 24th and began our adventure as parents without the help of hospital staff.... it has been a learning experience. My patients always say to me "you will have it easy with your kids because you know what to do." UUMMMM... nope.... I'm pretty clueless with what to do with a baby after they go home. Ben and I are learning new stuff everyday... I just want the best for my sweet girl so I have been worrying over everything!! Is she getting enough? Is she sleeping enough? What does that sound mean? It has been an adventure and Olivia has been patient with us:) She seems pretty happy... she is doing wonderful with the exception of some gas pains... but that is NOTHING compared to what it could be. We started giving her some gas drops yesterday and she seems more comfortable.



   Ben has been off with us and has to go back to work tomorrow... he has taken such good care of us!!! He is a wonderful husband and daddy, I could not ask for more!!!!! I am a little nervous about him going back because I am still slow moving and hormonal but my friends assure me this is normal. I think daddy is trying to rest up on his last day off.... he is pretty worn out from taking care of us. (He may kill me for this picture.... but that's what is nice about me doing the blog.... I get to post the pics... hehehehe)



   I thank God each day for my little family.... I am so in love!!! 



 

Counting the Days:)

   So I was rereading my last post and at one point I said I was fine going to my due date but let's see how I feel in a few weeks. Well.... I'm 38 weeks and I'm ready:) Olivia, however, is nice and cozy and I don't think she has any intention of coming out to all the wintry weather we have been getting!! As Aunt Chris put it yesterday... why should she... she's warm, well fed and gets to play all day.... and it's too cold out here. I am still feeling fine... just ready to meet her. Although I have been feeling fine... I have been VERY emotional this week.... pretty sure I have cried every day so far this week... but that's hormones for ya I guess. I went today and got a pedicure so my feet will be nice and pretty when I do deliver... because that is really important huh. It was so nice to sit there and get a short leg massage... I fell asleep for a few minutes. I now have some pretty pink tootsies.

  I'm also soooo ready for spring!! I am sooo very thankful we don't live in a city that gets tons of snow most of the year. I think the snow is pretty, however, I don't like driving in it and I prefer the warmer weather.... this past Saturday it actually got up to 72 degrees!! I took advantage of the warm weather and read a book on the patio (got some tan lines too) and took Jax and Lilly to the dog park. They got some MUCH needed exercise and fresh air. However, my friend Emily's mom thought Lilly looked a little tired so she insisted we put Lilly in Graham's (my friend's child) stroller. I think we may have to exchange our stroller for a double stroller now because Lilly actually stayed in it and let us push her!! Rotten dog.

Lilly Living in Style



Jax lives to get dirty:) He enjoyed the fresh air!





 So that's pretty much it for this week.... hopefully the next post will be pictures of Olivia!! All in due time though... God is trying to teach me patience:)

Four Weeks to Go!!

    I can not believe I am 36 weeks.... time is flying by!! In four weeks (or less) Olivia will be here. The way my luck runs though I will go all the way to my due date.... as long as she's healthy I am ok with waiting for her. Lets just see if I feel that way in another few weeks though:) I think the dogs have finally figured out that something different is happening... they have both been sniffing my belly lately,  Lilly just stares at me, and both are very curious about everything we put in the nursery. Speaking of the nursery... we are all set!! Thanks to the awesome people I work with we now have everything (at least that I know of) and I received all the "big" items: carseat, swing and highchair.... along with alot of cute monogrammed outfits. Ben and I put the carseat bases in our cars today... the highchair is together ( a little early for that I know, but Ben was excited), the bassinet is ready and waiting and Olivia's clothes are packed for the hospital... although mine are not. There are several of us at work and at church that are all due within a month of each other: 2 of them had their babies this week.... and I keep thinking, "wow, it is really time and it's really going to happen!" I'm just waiting for my turn in a few more weeks!

                         My Swing!!!

Shower guests:)



Kristy 21 weeks, Emily 38 weeks, Mary 34 weeks and Me 35 weeks!

Work Pregos



P.S.  Ben is putting the swing together now! Can't wait to see it:)



Happy New Year!! It's 2011.... Olivia will be here soon!

    Happy New Year everyone.... yes 6 days into it.... I can still say it right? I cant believe how fast the holidays went by and here we are back to "normal." Ben and I had a great Christmas and a very low key New Year. Ben and I got spoiled at Christmas and we celebrated New Years by having Sonic on the couch and were in bed by 10pm... big partiers huh.

Jax always loves presents too

   As of today I am now 34 weeks along.... 6 weeks or less to go! I cant believe it, time is flying by. I am starting to freak out a little bit.... the kids in my house always go home after a day or so.... Olivia is going to stay... there's no sending her home with my sister like I do with my nieces and nephew:) Don't get me wrong... I'm very excited... I think I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm actually having a baby..hehe. We have the nursery ready and waiting, just need to do some organization after my baby shower next weekend! Olivia spends her days doing flips, sticking her butt in my ribs and dancing on my bladder.... but I have loved every bit of it so far. I can sit all day and watch my belly move. I have been feeling pretty good... although work is wearing me down....I crash at the end of those 12 hour days!

So for now... I am going to keep trekking on and waiting for February!!

Finishing Touches



34 weeks Pregnant!!