Roll Over Update

Fabulous Friday!

To start things off, Miss Olivia slept 6 hours last night....whoopwhoop! However, I got so excited about this small victory that I couldn't go back to sleep :) go figure! As you can see from the picture, O is moving around a lot at night. She started on her back at the top of the positioner. Guess I need to remove things from her crib...

Today I will be attending a Body Pump class at the gym with my neighbor Stacey. It's an hour class (yes, Olivia will be in childcare for 60 minutes!) that is supposed to whip me back in shape. Afterwards, since it's supposed to be beautiful out today, I promised Jerr-Man that we would take a walk around Hertel Pond.

Then tonight Tim and I are having our first date night since December! Justin and Tiffini will watch Miss O for us while we have a dinner and see Slumdog Millionaire. We are excited about our night out. I'm a little anxious about leaving Olivia for so long, but I know she's in a Professional Mom's good hands!!!

Moro Reflex

In this video I believe Miss O is demonstrating the Moro Reflex

(if I'm wrong, please let me know). She does it every time... LOL :) :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa Tom

Olivia has been exploring her voice and participating in conversations with Tim and I more frequently. Today is Grandpa Tom's birthday and at the beginning of the video we were talking about how he was going to celebrate. The video clip shows after that discussion where Olivia did some of her own talking :)

Mobiles

It is said that children at Olivia's age will spend about two hours a day in a "quiet alert" state. Well Miss O absolutely loves looking at her mobile and ceiling fans. I laid her down for her nap and 20 minutes later, this is how I found her!! So happy :)

Recently we bought a new mobile that fits on O's crib. There are four different stuffed animals, but Olivia loves the yellow lion. She follows it all the way around till it goes behind her head and then finds it when it comes back into view. It's pretty cute.
(watch her eyes)

My Hand

Olivia has discovered her hands and loves to put them in her mouth. She is learning to grasp onto objects and will swing her hands at things hanging in front of her.

A Girlie Sunday

On Sunday we watched Taylor and Aubrey while their parents participated in a bike race. The morning started early, but was filled with lots of fun stuff. Tim and I got a taste of what it would be like to have three girls under the age of 5 and it was definitely busy! We painted nails, colored, read books, visited a park, and went on a walk to Hertel Pond. On our walk back home, Miss T and Miss A fell asleep in the wagon. Too cute!

Highchair

This weekend we got out the highchair. Now when we eat our dinner, Olivia does not have to sit in her bouncer on the floor :) The highchair does come with a tray, can sit upright or recline, and eventually convert into a booster seat!

Swimming

Jerry just discovered a new swimming hole and it's right in our own backyard! We put his kennel on the side of our house and it got filled with rain water. Now when we look outside and can't find Jerry, we know he is playing in his "pool".

Today I managed to go to the gym again (go me)!! This time it was a little easier to leave Miss O, but she was sound asleep...so I was hoping that she would stay that way. I worked out for 30 minutes (yes, that's longer than 20!!) and when I went back to the childcare area, I found Olivia in a teacher's arms spitting up. I got closer I saw that the teacher had spit up all over her shirt too. Ooopss...forgot to give the disclaimer about Olivia and her spit up.

The Gym

I finally made it to the gym today...with Olivia. I dropped her off in the childcare area and left her in her car seat. As I was walking out the door, I kept swallowing and blinking...I could not let a tear fall....IT'S ONLY THE GYM! I was there for the longest 20 minutes and the whole time I experienced a combo feeling of puking and crying. The only thing that stopped my tears on the treadmill was that the gym was packed and there would have been no way to hide the fact I'm a new mom who has some serious attachment issues. I felt sick that I left her in a room with 8+ kids...she was not going to be the center of attention....

I stared at the clock the whole time, telling myself that I had to make it twenty minutes, otherwise I could have just jogged around the house. When I was finished, I ran faster back to the childcare area than I did on the treadmill. I went in the room and Olivia wasn't where I left her and I couldn't find the car seat. PANIC SETTING IN. The lady must have noticed the terror in my face, she immediately pointed to the swing. I rushed over there (like a psycho lady) and Miss O is sound asleep. I almost passed out.

The only good thing about this whole experience is that the first time is done. Hopefully the visits will get easier and that I will find some coping strategies. Any suggestions???

Happy Sister

Erin called me this morning from England to tell me great news.... Kevin and her are getting a NEW COMPUTER! We will be able to communicate again :) I felt a little lost knowing Erin wasn't around to read my emails. I'm already sketching in gmail chat time with her tomorrow! Wahoo!!

Today Tiffini (w/Aubrey), Jude and Chris all came over for lunch. I burnt the angel food cake...ugh, but discovered that if you pick off the burnt parts...it still tastes delicious. It was nice to get together and catch up. They also got to visit with Miss O (who was sporting a beautiful new dress from my mom...aka Grandma...thank you).

Yesterday she had a difficult day keeping down her food, but (knock on wood) so far today she's doing really well! I'm considering switching to formula soon. I've heard from multiple people that once they switched to formula their baby fattened up!!

Sunglasses

Grana and Grampa Hertel sent us another package (thank you!). I opened it and LOVED the glasses immediately. Tim told me that they weren't for me...and it took a minute, but I decided they might fit Miss O a little better. How absolutely adorable!

2 Month Doctor Visit

Today Olivia had her 2 month checkup. In the past month we've already been to the doctor 3 times due to her reflux and a cold. We've been paying close attention to her weight because she's not been gaining enough. Prior to the appointment Tim and I both guessed her weight. Tim said 9 lbs 1 ounce and I said 8 lbs 15 ounces. So here are her stats:

**Head Circumference 15.5 inches - 75th percentile
**Height/Length 22.5 inches - 50th percentile
**Weight 8 lbs 12 ounces - 5th percentile (yes, that's the number five)

Needless to say we're both a little disappointed in her weight gain. The doctor has us increasing the amount we are feeding her, adding more rice cereal to the breastmilk, and continuing her medications. And now our number one objective is to fatten up our little girl.

The rest of the appointment went good she's developing well in all other areas. Then came the vaccinations. UGH! It was Olivia's red silent face that made my tears come down. It was the longest silence before the scream... She now has bugs bunny band-aids on her legs. Mmmmrrrr....

Next appointment is at 4 months.

First Flight

We did it! Olivia went on her first plane ride and slept the whole time :) Of course on our travels to Ohio we had to go through some bad storms and had quite a bit of turbulence (I think it helped to keep her asleep). When we arrived my parents were there to pick us up. Our drive to my grandparents proved to be interesting as we drove through the worst of the storm during the middle of rush hour. However, when it was over we saw a beautiful double rainbow. It was so bright and you could see it from end to end.

The visit with all our relatives in Ohio was wonderful. Click on the link Our Pictures on the right to see photos of everyone (with Olivia). We ate a ton of delicious food, compliments of my grandmother, played games, and spent some quality time just hanging out. We also visited the Diamond Cellar where Tim was surprised with the opportunity to pick out a new watch for our ten year "dating" anniversary.

On our flight back home Olivia went to the bathroom as soon as we took off...and we were left with a stinky diaper for 2 hours! The restroom was too small on the plane and had no changing area for me to change her...oh well. She didn't sleep the whole time, but seemed to enjoy the hum of the plane.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from our weekend.
Proud Grandparents
Happy GREAT Grandparents
Four Generations
The HUMAN Capsule :)

Tummy Time

Olivia is getting better with her tummy time. This morning, while mommy and daddy were running around packing everything, Miss O practiced her mini push-up! Jerry is also getting more and more interested in Olivia's development. He likes when she makes noises and the fact that she is becoming more interactive.

Packing

O and I spent our day getting ready for the trip to Columbus. Mommy is anxious to see how Olivia does on the flight. Olivia, on the other hand, can't wait and wanted to stay in the suitcase :) I explained that she doesn't have to travel in a suitcase...

S0, we have so much stuff!! I called Tim in the middle of the day stressing that we needed to pack another bag. We got everything into one big suitcase, one carry-on, Tim will have a backpack, and I have the diaper bag. Then, we will be brining the carseat and stroller. Having a child DOUBLES the amount of stuff!!

MMMMrrrr...

O is sick :( She caught a cold....from her Mommy :( :(

The Human Capsule

As we are preparing for our trip to Columbus on Wednesday I am excited for Olivia to wear The Human Capsule (from Mike and Chris). Today I discovered that the outfit can have legs or be a sack!! It looks so comfy and it's adorable...can't wait to put it to good use! Hello Cold Weather :)

Hello London

Today we booked our tickets. Where are we going? LONDON!!! We leave May 13th and return on the 19th. This will be our first real trip/vacation since our honeymoon (it's been too long). While we are there we hope to visit with Erin and Kevin and catch up with Tiana. Olivia is excited to get her passport...what a fun time! WhoopWhoop (as Aunt Erin would say)!!!

(this is what O looked like when we told her the wonderful news)

Update - Royal Empress

We'll continue to keep you posted :)
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And a picture of Jerry giving his love to Olivia...

Pre-Mini Clothes

I finally found it! After Olivia arrived we got down my "Pre-Mini" clothes that were stored in the attic. For the past couple of weeks I have been wondering where all my good clothes were. Well today (8 weeks later) I went up into the attic and searched through the collection of tupperware we have up there...and I found it! One missing tupperware containing some very important pieces of clothing.

And...a cute picture of O :)

Packages

Olivia is one lucky lady. Today we checked the mail, which we don't do that frequently, and Miss O had TWO PACKAGES! Grana and Grampa Hertel sent the adorable outfits on the left and Uncle Kevin & Aunt Erin sent the trendy knickers and dress on the right...all the way from England!

Thank you for the sweet items :)

The Royal Empress Tree

You are probably wondering why we have Miss O sitting next to a twig. Well when Olivia was born we decided to plant a tree. Tim and I did some research and settled on the Royal Empress Tree. So the other day Tim ordered our tree online and it came in the mail. We wanted the large plant but only the small was available. And small is NO JOKE! As you can see from the picture, our twig (...I mean tree) has a lot of growing to do. They say it can grow 6 feet in one year! We will definitely keep everyone updated with the growth of our Royal Empress.

Jerr-Man

Our wonderful dog Jerry is definitely understanding his new roll as big brother. He waits, as patiently as he can, for his walks and is coping with the new noises that have infiltrated our house. He chooses to lay on O's blankets that are on the floor. I think it's his way of trying to get our attention, since Mommy and Daddy are always playing and talking to things on the blanket. Jerry has also become very attached to his stuffed bear. He carries it around everywhere and is often found sleeping with it. We have the best dog!!!!

She Still Has It...

Miss O has not rolled over since the other morning. We thought it might be a "one hit wonder" and it would happen again when she was ready. Well this morning Olivia rolled over twice! Once from her tummy to the left and then from her tummy to the right. As you can see in the video, Jerry was very excited!

Super Bowl Sunday

Today we went to Mike and Chris' house for a Super Bowl Party. It was also the time our fantasy football league came to an end. Tim presented awards to Mike and Matt for having the lowest and highest game scores. He then proceeded to present himself the league TROPHY, for winning the season. We are all looking forward to playing again next year!

Olivia enjoyed the party. She desperately needed to take a nap, but with all the excitement during the game, her naps only lasted 10 minutes. If you look closely at the picture, you'll see her eyes WIDE open looking directly above her.
Can you guess what's on the ceiling? :)