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