Olivia - 10 Months

**I just realized that I published her 9 month post without anything about her doctor visit - oops, suffice to say it went well.  She cried a little about something (I forget what) and Naomi cried more.  So protective of her baby!  Otherwise, growing well.  

Stats?
Weight: about 17 lbs 8 oz (25%)
Height/Length: 27.25 in (25-50%)
Head: 16.75 in (10%)
Clothing Size: mostly 9 months
Diaper Size: Size 3 or 4 at night, and Size 3 during the day
   
How is she sleeping?
We put her down for bed around 7 or so and she usually sleeps until about 7:30 or so (sometimes more, sometimes less).  Naps are going well - I'm very thankful for Olivia's flexibility in her nap schedule.  Due to my teaching schedule she usually skips her morning nap on Tuesday and gets a very short 30 minute morning snooze on Wednesday and Thursday (about 9:30-10:00).  Other days she'll usually nap about an hour (about 9:45-10:45).  She goes down for her afternoon at about 1:00 at the same time as Naomi.  That's working pretty well and most days she naps 2-3 hours depending on the length of her morning nap. We are pretty consistent on the afternoon nap though we sometimes run about a half hour late (not good when that happens).   

How is she eating?
As far as nursing, we are down to nursing first thing in the morning and post afternoon nap.  She's getting pretty ADD with the after nap feeding so I anticipate dropping that one this month.  She seems to have pretty much mastered the sippy cup at this point.  She gets one at meals.  We offer her a bottle before bed most of the time, but she doesn't always drink it so we're hoping to phase that out before the year mark.  Solids she's eaten and liked: refried beans (still the favorite), baby multigrain cereal and oatmeal, diced peaches, various flavors of yogurt, all kinds of puffs, some little bits of chicken and sausage, roasted sweet potatoes, and a few other things that don't come to mind at the moment.  Oh, and she can definitely self feed with her fingers now and has started taking an interest in spoons and forks. 

Doctor Visit
Next one is her one year visit - crazy!

What new tricks does she do?
She's got a pretty fast army crawl going now and can crawl from one room to another and really all over the place.  She is trying to pull up on things and with a bit of assistance can get up on her knees and then up to standing.  She has started trying to take steps while holding our hands but is still very unsteady.  She can almost go from tummy to sitting but stops halfway there.  She started clapping and loves to do it all the time - sometimes to say yay and sometimes to say give me more of something.  She says da da and it does seem to be directed at daddy, so that's cool and we've gotten some ma ma's but not sure if that's directed at me or an indication that she wants more of something.  She's still a super swimmer.  I think she actually understands the instruction "kick kick kick" now because I can say it outside of the water too and her little legs start kicking.  She is still "swimming" a few inches between Ms Paige and Daddy (or Mommy).  Mmmm... guess that's it. 

General Observations?
She has grown more hair, so her little "chicky" fuzz is almost gone. Bittersweet.
Are those top two teeth going to come in or will my kid just be soaked in drool for the next couple years?
Naomi is getting better with her all the time.  I think she is starting to see that Olivia may be fun to play with sometime.  We've worked on sharing this month quite a bit.  I've had to set some take turns timers and have asked Naomi to bring Olivia a new toy if she is going to take one away from her.  We're making progress.  She occasionally just brings her toys to be nice or pets her little head or gives her hugs.  That sorta stuff just melts me.  
Did I mention?... I love watching the interaction between the two of them slowly develop.  I can't wait to watch them really play together!   
And lastly, I can't believe that my little baby bee will be one in two short months.  I thought one year flew by with the first, but it seems a little like warp speed with the second.  I better get a jump on her first birthday party planning!



Until next time... Enjoy!  (Note - Olivia started clapping as we were taking some shots, so there are some of her clapping - cuteness!) 

The Zoo

Also back in May, we had a Family Fun Day and took the girls to the zoo.  We really only got to see the Wilds of Africa section before it was time to get the girls home for a nap, so I'm really glad that we got a membership.  It was really cool and Naomi seemed to really like it (other than a couple of tantrums when she was hungry).  We look forward to going again when the weather cools back down a bit.  

Here are some pics:

Hi!

I'm riding an elephant!

Me too, me too! 

I'm trying to be better about getting in some photos with the girls...

Come here kitty!

The giraffe enclosure is pretty cool. 

Our view sitting in the Serengeti Cafe at the Zoo. 

I need a break!

Crocodile!  Snap!

Lets hug all the animals!

Really, all of them!

What's this on my head?  A hat, oh...

...got rid of that.  Much better!

The Arboretum

Back in May, while Brian's parents were in town for graduation, we headed out to the Arboretum to meet up with them and Terah.  

Here are some pics...

Olivia showing off her developing sippy cup skills. 

Naomi giving little sister a snack. 

Grandma Gloria and Olivia

Naomi starting to explore

I just love this...

Poor plants... never saw her coming!

Picking up twigs

FOUNTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Such a sweetie on our outing

Mom, this is cool, but I think I'm ready for my nap now. 

Graduation!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian FINALLY graduated this spring!  YAY!  

I'm so proud of him for so many reasons.  

This has been act of sheer perseverance over the many years and over our whole marriage.  He has gone to classes, studied, and completed projects while working full time, through job transitions, and through the birth of our two beautiful girls.  He has never given up and through it all he has always made me and the girls his priority.  We've often joked about my size 6.5 heels kickin' him in to high gear, but while I am a great encourager, his motivation is intrinsic and comes from a mature desire to succeed and to provide for his family.  I know that he does everything more for us than for himself. 

He did really awesome!  This is where I get to brag on my man who graduated magna cum laude.  Smart dudes are totally hot!  (Even more so for me than for your average gal considering that I'd pick Patrick Stewart over Brad Pitt any day of the week.)  Throughout his childhood report cards, there is a resounding theme (his mom gave me his old report cards) - the comment "Brian is a very bright boy; he just needs to apply himself" accompanied his very average six-weeks grades and a rockin' grade on the final exam.  He definitely applied himself in college and totally bested his nerdy wife.  :)  

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Brian's wonderful accomplishment.  Here are some pics from Honors Convocation, from the Graduation, and from our fun party at On The Border.  And, thanks so much for all our friends and family who have cheered for Brian, prayed for Brian, and who came out to celebrate with us.  We love you all!  

Honors Convocation

Me and my man!

Brian's Dad (Ken), Brian, and Brian's Mom (Emily)

Brian and his Mom

Brian and his brother, Alex

Olivia just being cute

My brother, Derek, and his wife, Tracey

Sibling Love! 

My cousin, Ashton, and her husband Josh

Braylon (my cousin Aaron and his wife Brandi's kiddo) being shy - I LOVE this photo. 

Friend Lori and her littles, Sydney and Adelay (who was born the day after Olivia)

My sweet nephew Nick and his Grandpa, Robert

Hannah's cute grin (our friends, Nathan and Jenny's daughter)

The Graduate! 

The Cake!

The cake may have been Naomi's favorite part of the party. 

Alex and Terah (Brian's bro and SIL) with Olivia

Looking a little sad that her cake is almost all gone...

My Mamo and Robert

Mmmm... on second thought there's this giant bit of cake over here.  

And that seems the perfect picture to end on.  :) 

Olivia - 9 Months

I delayed publishing this because I was hoping to snap some better pics, but that just hasn't happened, so here we go... :)

Stats?
Weight: about ? lbs ? oz (?%)
Height/Length: ? in (?%)
Head: ? in (?%)
Clothing Size: some 6-9 months, but mostly 9 months
Diaper Size: Size 3 or 4 at night, and Size 3 during the day
   
How is she sleeping?
We put her down for bed around 7 and she usually sleeps until about 8 (sometimes more, sometimes less).  Naps are going okay.  She takes about a 1 hour nap in the morning and about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, most days.  We've had a lot of leaky diapers lately, but I remember this phase with Naomi and know that it will pass. 

How is she eating?
We are still trying to nurse regularly, but it's slowly phasing out.  She still gets a bottle of formula before the afternoon nap and before bed and we give her a sippy cup of formula at mealtimes so that she can work on that.  Solids has gotten a lot better this month.  Her favorite food is still refried beans.  She finally started eating some of the baby oatmeal this month.  I started making it with white grape juice to help with her constipation and she seems to like it.  She also likes diced peaches and yogurt.  There are a few other things we've tried that she threw up afterward, so we'll try those again in a few months.  She now gets most things in her mouth when she grabs them on her own.  I think she'll get that down this next month since she's gotten quite a bit better this month. 

Doctor Visit
?

What new tricks does she do?
Physical progress slowed at the beginning of the month while she worked on some other things (like eating) and is just now really starting up again.  She's still a steady assisted stander.  Her propulsion systems employ a variety of rolling, pivoting, inch worming, etc.  She definitely gets where she wants to go.  She has started babbling more (and screeching, god bless my ears).  She is trying to pull up on things and with a good bit of assistance can get up on her knees and then up to standing.  She has also made a couple of moves that look like she is trying to figure out how to go from tummy to sitting.  She says da da and it does seem to be directed at daddy, so that's cool.  She's still a super swimmer.  I think she actually understands the instruction "kick kick kick" now because I can say it outside of the water too and her little legs start kicking.  This month she started "swimming" a few inches between Ms Paige and Daddy (or Mommy).  Mmmm... guess that's it. 

General Observations?
I love her little "chicky" fuzz on the top of her head. 
She has two razor sharp bottom teeth and has been drooling so much the last week or so that she's developed a rash under her chin, so we are keeping an eye out for the top two.    Olivia is still commanding her audience when she's in a smiley mood (most of the time).  This last Friday at swim class was hilarious.  She looked like she was having seizures of happiness as her whole body kicked and moved with glee.  All the other parents were laughing at it too.
Naomi lights up her world.  She loves when big sister pays attention to her.  She always wants to pull Naomi's hair, so we have to work on it.  Naomi has gotten pretty good with her.  If she finds a paci, a bottle or a sippy cup that she knows is Olivia's she will bring it to her.  I love watching the interaction between the two of them slowly develop.  I can't wait to watch them really play together!  


Until next time... Enjoy!

Uh oh, she found the sticker... photo shoot over.