Life Lately…

Life lately: teething (?), lots of drool, laughing with Dada, living in diapers (too hot for clothes!), family time, clingy baby, finally napping for Mama, sweet potatoes and rice cereal, water in a sippy cup… my girl is growing up SO fast and changing SO much each and every day… love my little Oliv so very much. 

Baptized

Olivia was baptized this past Saturday, July 7, 2012 at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. Our entire immediate family plus the Geigers (Jay is her godfather) were in town to celebrate! Naturally, my little girl had a party dress for the day:

and a baptismal gown for the evening. It was made by my grandmother and worn by all my cousins, so it made the day extra-special.

During the day, we hung out at the house with family and friends. Bonding time with Jay:

The ceremony went great and Olivia didn’t cry for about the first half of mass (until after the baptism).

Then she got a little squirmy, so Rich took her back to the nursery. We did have a small incident earlier in the day where she fell off the couch (my fault…. they move SO quickly! one roll and boom. not my finest mommy moment), but she had more than recovered by the time of the baptism. She was so smily and happy and truly the life of the party. Father Bob Gangalou performed the baptism, and Olivia was more than happy to be near him.

The people of St. Paul’s are really so kind and interested and lovely.

We are so blessed to have family that are friends and friends that are family.

So blessed that Olivia will grow up swimming in the love of so many people…

Six Months Old

Dear Olivia,

HOW is this possible that you are already six months old? Where is the time going? You already look so different from the day you were born. Less of a baby and more of a little person.

I was going to wait until this weekend to start you on solids, but you have been so ready for weeks now, grabbing at my plate, grabbing at my hand when it holds food, staring at everyone eating and moving your own little mouth. We were sitting at the table tonight with your grandparents and aunt, and I had you in your high chair with a toy. But you wanted food! SO I gave you some of my sweet potato to try and… YOU LOVED IT!

It was awesome. More definitely made it IN you than on you, surprisingly, but you really really enjoyed it.

Your expression said “Finally! This is what I’ve been waiting for.” I am so excited to experience all the “firsts” we have coming up. We are still exclusively breast-feeding and I am pumping at work. It is a lot of work, but seeing how well you are growing and those chunky little thighs makes it all worth it.

You are ready to crawl any day now, constantly moving your arms and knees on the floor, but not quite in unison yet. You’ll get there little bunny and before we know it, you’ll be walking and running and dancing.

You are such a beautiful baby and I can’t go anywhere without people coming up to me and commenting on what a gorgeous child you are. Your eyes get bluer and bluer everyday and we are still hoping they stay that way. Your hair is growing in but not quite long enough for bows and barrettes yet. We’ll get there soon!

I still cloth diaper you at home and I think your fluffy cloth diaper butt is the cutest thing ever.

You are dressed in long sleeves and pants (despite the Florida heat) because your nursery is tiny and gets freezing cold and it makes me sad for you to wake up with cold feet.

You still LOVE to eat your hands…

and bathtime is always a favorite. We still take baths together and have such a good time, especially as you are now almost able to sit up on your own.

With just a little help, you can do it!

I feel like you are changing and growing so much every day. I am still only working 3 days a week, but those days seem longer and longer… it breaks my heart to be away from you at all, even when you are sleeping. So many times your daddy and I are downstairs with the monitor, watching you sleep, and we want to go wake you up to play because you are just so cute and so much fun. You are truly a gift from God and I am so grateful He has allowed me to be your mama.

You love music and singing and have started blowing raspberries. You have still only giggled a handful of times, but every time it is the most amazing sound. These past few days have been full of a few epic blowouts, but your sweet smile and happiness takes the frustration out of those incidents. You were sleeping through the night (about 7pm – 7am) for well over a month and then the past few weeks you have been up every night, usually several times a night, HUNGRY. Last night, you slept through again, so I am hoping we are back in the swing of things.

Each day with you is such a blessing, Olivia. I really feel like my life is complete now that I have you. My heart and soul overflow with joy just being in the same room as you. Now that you are getting older, I have so much fun playing with you and taking you places. Your smile brings such joy to so many people. You and I are becoming so attached to each other, and if I leave the room, you look around for me. This is amazing in the sense that I feel we are so connected, but it also saddens me because we cannot be together every second of the day. You are the light of my life and my love for you will only grow stronger as time goes on.

I love you,

Mama