Funny faces!

Another swinging video...

Laughing with no sound!

2 Month Appointment

Olivia had her 2 month appointment this morning. This meant she had to have some shots. Boooo! Lucky for her, she only needed two vaccines, but it was still hard for her (and for me!).

Her stats at 2 months old:

10 pounds 15 oz - 54th percentile
24 inches - 96th percentile
39.5 cm head circumference - 71st percentile

She had a great appointment and only cried after her second shot. And when she cried......she cried! It was so sad, but I held it together and comforted her until she was smiling again.

All in all, she is super healthy! Growing fantastically and has wonderful breath sounds and heartrate. The nurse was very pleased (again) with her progress.

Lee will set up the home studio in the next few days to take her 2 month photos, so stay tuned!

Smile! You're on Mommy's Camera!

I caught Olivia with some smiles the other day!

Trip to the Office.......

Today Olivia and I went to the office to meet all my co-workers and to have lunch with Daddy!  We got there around 11:20 and went straight to Lee's office.....he wasn't there!  So, we headed up one floor to my office and we were bombarded with people.  I thought everyone was excited to see me....turns out, it was Olivia they were interested in.  Who knew?  We walked around my floor for a bit until she got a little fussy.  We headed back down to Lee's office and decided to go ahead and feed her before heading to the cafeteria for lunch. 

After we ate, I gave her the rest of her bottle so she would possibly go to sleep.  It worked.....for a bit!  The cool thing was, her boyfriend was visiting the office!  Patrick is the son of one of my co-workers and was born on Veteran's Day.  His mom blogs and we keep up with all his pictures here. 

We visited a few more people after work then it was time to hop back in the car and head to Target and then home for the evening.  It was a great visit and we look forward to another one before it's time for me to go back to work in July.

Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day was a pretty decent one.  We didn't have any plans, so it was nice to just be home.  We decided we would cook out and invite Grandma and Grandpa over.  I didn't realize they would be staying at Wintergreen through Tuesday, so they were unable to come over.  Lee went to the store and bought some chickens and other items so he could smoke them.  We ended up having smoked chipotle chicken soft tacos with roasted corn salsa.  Um, delicious!!  Here's a picture taken with Lee's phone, not great quality, but you get the picture!

The day was not without stress.  Olivia did not sleep more than 30 minutes total all day.  Just when we thought she would take a long nap, she would wake up and cry.  That's how the whole day went!  It made us pretty nervous for the night ahead, but I will say, she slept well last night!!  In fact, she is sleeping on me right now and has been for about an hour and a half....perfect!

The day ended on a wonderful note with a homemade bourbon peach cobbler that Lee made that was TO DIE FOR!  I can't wait to have more today!  I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day!  We thank all those who have served and continue to serve our wonderful country and allow us to enjoy all this country has to offer!

Trip to Baltimore

Sunday, we took a day trip out to Baltimore to see our friends Shelley and Jason. They are getting married in October and asked Lee to take some engagement photos for them. So, we hopped in the car and headed out. This was Olivia's first road trip outside of Ashburn! Here she is enjoying herself in the car!  Her hat is a little big, but it was keeping the sun out of her eyes!

We got to Shelley's and visited a bit before heading to Patterson Park to start the picture taking process. 

There is a pretty nifty pagoda there that made for some pretty cool pictures.  While Lee, Shelley and Jason were working on the photos, Andrew walked around with Lee's second camera and took some photos of Olivia. This is my favorite!  He got her in one of her only sleeping moments.  I think she didn't know what was going on and decided to be fussy a lot! 

After Patterson Park, we drove to the marina where the boat Jason captains was docked.  Lee took some pretty cool photos of them on the boat while I rocked Olivia in her Bjorn to try to keep her happy.  There were SO many people partying on their boats while they were docked.  Gas is so expensive these days and these were some BIG boats, so I can imagine they take a lot of gas to run.  We chatted with some of the boaters and they LOVED Olivia.  It's a lot of fun seeing people's reactions to a 5 week old baby and have them give me props for having her out and about so early!  Although, I'm sure there are other folks who look at me like I have 6 heads because I have her out, but whatever! 

All in all, we had a pretty good day.  I only wish Olivia would've been a bit happier, but that's what happens with a newborn!  They can't always be so chipper.  We look forward to Shelley and Jason's nuptials in October!

Real or not....it's a smile!

I know babies make all sorts of faces when they are just starting out in the world. Olivia has her share of them! For a while, the one face she made all the time made her look like a grumpy old man! Her eyebrows would angle in and make her look so upset all the time. She still makes this face but it doesn't seem to be a permanent look as it was before. She smiles a lot but I'm pretty sure these are just "gas" smiles or just her face not knowing what to do. Nevertheless, I was able to snap a picture of one the other day! I can't wait for her real smiles because, if I do say so myself, she is so pretty when she smiles!!!

Tummy Time and Fun in my Swing......

Here are a few videos of Miss Olivia. Enjoy!!

1 Month Appointment

Olivia had her 1 month doctor visit this morning.  She was so good even though her eating time was approaching.  She fussed a little bit while we were waiting for the nurse, but we walked around the room and looked at all the cool dinosaurs that were hanging around.  They are very happy with her weight gain and eating habits and gave her a clean bill of health!

Her stats at 1 month old:

9 pounds 6 oz - 56th percentile
22.5 inches - 92nd percentile
37.5 cm head circumference - 62nd percentile

She's growing perfectly!  She did have to receive a vaccine today which I know hurt me more than it hurt her.  She did great and only cried for a second before completely relaxing for the drive back home.

We are so happy that our baby girl is so happy and healthy!  Her next appointment is in a month where she will receive a bunch of vaccines...Yikes!!!

1 Month!!

I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  Olivia is 1 month old today.  It's so hard to believe.  We are so excited about all the changes we see in her every day.  We are definitely looking forward to getting some real smiles from her because the little "gas" smiles she gives us are totally adorable!  Yesterday Lee set up a mini studio in the house and got a lot of great pictures of our little girl.

Today we wanted to get some pictures of her on her actual "birthday".  So, here they are!  I know Lee enjoys taking pictures of our little girl and for the most part, she cooperated!

We love you Baby Girl!!!!! 

Friends

Sarah and I have known each other since 6th grade and have been great friends since junior year of high school.  Our last names were such that our lockers were next to each other every year (well, until Heidi Greene moved in and split us up).  So, it made sense that we would get married in the same year (only 3 months apart) and have our first child in the same year (only 2 1/2 WEEKS apart).  Yep!  Olivia was born  April 24th and Vivien was born on May 13th! 

When Sarah found out she was having a girl, the way she told me was "Well, I see a lot of tea parties and pony rides in our future".  Ha! 

Yesterday, Olivia and Vivien got to meet each other for the first time.  Here they are posing for their first (of MANY) photos together!

Impromptu visit with Grandpa

Olivia and I needed a few things at the grocery store and I was in need of a Grande Skim Caramel Macchiato, so we headed to Safeway and walked around the store for a bit picking up a few items before hitting the Starbucks counter.  This is where I met Giselle.  Giselle is the Barista at Safeway and boy was she a chatty one!  I really just wanted to get my beverage and buy my groceries and get out!  She wanted to talk all about some documentary on the Discovery Channel about babies being bought and sold in Nicaragua for $100 or so.  She went on and on and on about how it broke her heart and made it hard to sleep at night, etc.  So, now my coffee beverage is a little on the warm side instead of nice and hot.  Oh well!  She was friendly!

On our way to the store, I called Grandpa to see if Olivia and I could stop by for a bit.  I got no answer, so I left a message.  On our way home from the store, Grandpa called back and hoped it wasn't too late for a visit!  We made the turn and headed over!  There is a slight possibility we made Grandpa's day!  We'll definitely have to do that more often!!!

New things.....

Olivia is changing every day.  Some of the new things we are noticing:

1)  She's definitely gaining weight - chubby cheeks and legs are definitely there!
2)  She is following things with her eyes - when she is in her swing, she stares at the little fish above her head and follows them around when they turn.
3)  She is holding her pacifier - well, she at least holds her arm up to keep it in her mouth.  Sometimes we think she's actually holding it.

It is so much fun to watch all the little changes.  We can't wait to see what's next!

Day Out!

Sunday was a great day for Olivia and me.  We got up and got ready to go pick up Grandma and head to Hidden Creek for breakfast with Auntie 'Reen and Adam.  The pancakes were great and the company was even better!  Grandpa got to see both the grandkids, though briefly as he had to hit the links.  It was great to see Adam sit in a high chair for the first time at a restaurant.  He certainly loved throwing all his toys and books on the ground and watching Auntie Kathleen and Mommy pick them up each time! 

After breakfast, we headed out to Target to do some shopping.  I am in desperate need of some clothes since I'm very "in between" right now and Maureen is heading to the beach in two weeks and needed some items for the trip.  Was a fun time!  We were thinking of heading over to Reston Town Center to walk around and do a little more shopping perhaps, but Adam was getting a little fussy due to some teeth coming in and it was time for Olivia to do some more eating, so we just called it a day.

What a great day! 

Farmer's Market and a Visit with Nana and Papa

Saturday was a great day! It started out with a trip to the Farmer's Market. Olivia did great in the Baby Bjorn. I wish we had taken a picture! We walked around and took in the beautiful weather and bought some herbs, bread and fresh veggies. We also picked up some fresh pastries to enjoy for breakfast. After our purchases we walked over to Starbucks for a nice cup 'o joe to go with our pastries and headed home. The rest of the day was relaxing as we got ready for a visit with Lee's parents, Nana and Papa.

They hadn't seen the little princess since her birthday, so they were definitely excited to see her. We had a great visit and a great dinner (thanks to Lee!!) Now that they are moving closer, Olivia will get to see them more often and that makes her happy!!

A "Thank You" to a co-worker!

Olivia would like to say "Thank You" to Nikki for her cute outfit!  Oh, and I'm trying to learn how to use the video camera all at the same time!

Lunch with Grandpa

Today Olivia and I made our first solo trip and met Grandpa at Panera for lunch!  I was a little nervous driving with her in the car, but it soon became natural.  I haven't carried her car seat very far but had to carry it from the parking lot to the restaurant.  Ugh!  That bugger is HEAVY!  I guess I need to get used to it!  We had a nice lunch and Olivia was asleep for the most part.  Then it was time to leave so she could have her lunch.  We made a quick stop at the gas station and then headed home.  The hard part was that she started getting really fussy about 3 minutes from the house and there wasn't anything I could do about it.  All in all it was a great outing!  Next time we'll go to Grandpa's house so he can have more quality time with her!  Thanks for lunch Grandpa!

Mother's Day....Part Deux

This year was my first "official" Mother's Day.  I have been a step mother unofficially for 10 years and officially 2 1/2 years, but this was my first Mother's Day as a real mother.  Lee shot a running race early Sunday morning but he and Andrew left some cards for me.  Once Lee got home he took over Olivia duties (other than feeding of course) and then made a fantastic surf 'n turf dinner for me!  Crab claws, shrimp, scallops and steak were on the menu!  Was a great meal and a great day!