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

5 Months

Dear Olivia,

How are you five months old already? Time is FLYING by… They aren’t lying when they say kids grow up in the blink of an eye.

Likes: singing songs (“This Old Man” is your favorite!), playtime, being out and about (I still think you get bored easily when we’re at home), toys (DeDe the dragon, your tiger, Sophie), chewing (on your hands, my hands, your toys… anything really), being naked, the water (bath, pool, ocean!), walks, being held

Dislikes: having your face washed, stopping at red lights (you HATE this!!!)

Since I read “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby” and we’ve been putting you to bed early (by 7pm!) and just like the book said, there is no crying, no fussing… just you, sleeping peacefully. This is really hard on days I work and I only get an hour of playtime with you before we begin our nightly routine (bath, diaper and nightgown, nursing), but you are SO HAPPY when you wake up, and I know it is best for you.

We drove to Spartanburg, SC, last weekend for Dave & Pam’s wedding and you were SO GOOD in the car. There was a little fussing towards the end of both the trip there and the trip home, but I was impressed! Daddy and I even mastered diaper changes in the car as it was pouring rain most of the trip. We even dealt with a few blowouts 🙂

You have now laughed at 3 separate occasions (once in South Carolina when I was tickling you) and you rolled over AGAIN today (that makes 4 times!). Every day you surprise and amaze me and I am so very blessed that God has allowed me to be your mother. What can I say except I LOVE YOU and that love just grows and grows and grows every day.

Love, Mama

 

20 weeks old

Olivia laughed today… two big belly laughs. This was her second time laughing (the first was in the tub with me) and it was AMAZING! As traumatizing and terrible it is to hear your baby cry… it is exponentially more exciting when they smile, and the laughs! Oh the laughs… I can’t wait until it is a daily occurrence! I love this girl so so so much. Today she went down for two naps (once  in her crib, once on my chest… we are working on the sleep routine!) and I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in how smily and happy she is in the afternoon with the added sleep. Thank you random couple in Sarasota for introducing me to this book. It is helping us SO MUCH! Pictures from week 20… I can’t believe how fast Olivia is growing up!

The smiles light up my life! I am so grateful every day for this blessing of life!

Siesta Key

We met up with other friends with babies yesterday for a day at the beach. Olivia, as is her usual lately, wanted to be walked and carried around… this made for a short time at the beach. I was afraid that the sun and heat were too intense for her, and since she didn’t want to stay in the shady tent… I hung out with her inside. We went out to dinner (with the most delicious organic margaritas!), but Rich and I had to take turns walking Liv around. Outings involving sitting (like dinner!) may be on hold for now…

Tummy Time

yummy! my hand! this tummy time isn’t so bad…

(face plant)

lifting the head…

thinking hard…

lifting feet and head!

building arm strength…

wow that was hard work!

that’s my girl 🙂

Four Months Old

Dear Olivia,

Already 4 months old! Where has the time gone? You are becoming less of a baby and more of a little person every day. I love this but it makes me sad to put away all your teeny tiny 3 month clothes… You smile and coo and laugh all the time now and it makes me so happy. I am so very blessed to be your mother! Everywhere I take you, people stop me and say how beautiful you are. You stare at them with your big blue eyes and smile your big gummy smile and it is awesome.

Things you like:

Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, smiling, being naked, the water (pool! bath! beach! you love it all), sucking on your fingers (and Mommy’s), dancing, music, car rides, people… you are a pretty happy baby and like a lot!

Things you don’t like:

having your face washed, nap time (when I do manage to get you down for a nap, you wake up confused and look at me like “hey! you tricked me!”)

I am so lucky God has allowed me to be your mother. He has truly blessed us with you and I am learning so much about life every day because of you. It is easy to become complacent when you’re an adult and fail to see how much every day changes can transform the world… but with you, I see EVERY DAY how you are growing and changing and becoming a person and it is an amazing thing to watch.

Sometimes I want you to stay this small forever… I love picking you up in the morning when you are super smily and cuddly and I hold your warm little body close to me… it is my happy place. My beautiful girl…. I love you so very much.

Love Mama

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Olivia’s newest trick is smiling on cue! I say “smile!” and she does (about 90% of the time). Check it out:

 

14 weeks old

(a little late on this one too….)

14 weeks old already! I love our weekly photo shoots, and even though I’ve returned to work, I try to fit one in each Wednesday after work. I’m shooting most of these with a flash, but I still think they’re pretty stinkin’ cute 🙂

That’s my girl 🙂