Livy's First Christmas

We had a very merry and memorable Christmas!

Santa came to our house for the first time...he brought toys and ski wear?!

Santa is either hoping for lots of snow or to go skiing!

Snow, snow, snow!

Can't wait to celebrate Christmas at Grammy and Bubba's house!

Gracie and I loved getting dressed up!

We love our new rocking chairs.

Christmas night at Momo and Bopbop's house!

My cousins were very entertaining!

I can't wait to play dress-up with Abigail and Mary...thanks Momo for our new dress-up clothes!

Christopher is very sneaky...he was tired of sharing his toys, so he decided to hide/store them safely in his jammies! So funny!

Thank goodness for cozy jammies....this holiday excitement is exhausting! :)

8 months

My new favorite spot to roll is in between the family room and kitchen. I have so much room and nothing seems to get in my way. I like chasing after my toys!

All my pictures seem so serious...but honestly I'm becoming quite silly.

Taking it all in...this busy place was filled with kids. Once I'm comfortable and familiar with a new setting I usually open up. I used to be pretty quiet, but now I'm proud to show off all my sounds. The louder the room, the louder become!

How big is Olivia??...SO BIG!!

Yep, this is her latest trick! I can't express how excited we were when she responded with her arms in the air, and a huge smile on her face, to this oh so fun game! It is amazing to think she's gone from a tiny infant who only coos and watches her world, to now a baby who interacts with her world. Life with Olivia continues to be wonderful! During this last month we've been busy eating, playing, sleeping and entertaining!

Also this month we've had the opportunity to visit some of our favorite doctors...the dermotologist and orthotist. Both visits were exciting and full of great celebrations.

Dr. Newell our dermotologist, saw Olivia for the 4th time since we started treating her hemangioma. He was amazed at the progress she's made. Thanks to the wonderful medication she's on, which has had zero side effects, the hemangioma is nearly gone!! Starting in February we will begin weening her off the medication, and by the time she's one she will be medicine free as long as her hemangioma cooperates! :)

Dr. Thom, our orthotist annouced that Olivia is his second fastest baby to respond to helmet therapy. In just 6 weeks her head has grown 14 mm and improved by 7 mm. This may not make sense to you, but this is a celebration! With that said, we were given the option to begin "maintance therapy" but we are choosing to continue therapy for another few weeks given her young age, and knowing she could regress if we're not careful. We are so relieved she's been so easy going through this entire journey!

8 months old seems oh so big, and of course I'm asking myself, "Where has the time gone?" Recently my sister-in-law put it best...the days seems to last, but the year is so fast! I'm reminding myself right now to not look ahead or wonder what's next, but to live in the moment and enjoy! Happy 8 months to our Little Lady! XOXO

Holiday Fun...

This digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Christmas memories...

Well a year ago today Bret and I were at the doctor's office having our thrird sonogram to determine if we were having a boy or girl! We were fortunate that this big surprise fell right before Christmas, so we decided to turn this special announcement into a gift under our tree. After completing the ultrasound, our wonderful sonographer sealed the news inside an envelope, and we headed down to The Little House to have some fun. Together we picked out a boy and girl outfit, and asked the wonderful ladies (Katy, now a good friend) to wrap the outfit based on the news inside the envelope! Well she did just that, and our Christmas morning surprise was amazing!!! We screamed, cried and laughed when we opened the box to find the precious baby girl outfit!

Last year's Christmas was one we will never forget, but from here on out each Christmas will only become more magical and memorable! The ornaments above are from our annual collection we started when we got married. I think these two ornaments will be our favorite for quite sometime. We will always be reminded of our "special gift" and wonderful news! Merry Christmas!

10 days til Christmas...

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! I've dreamed of this season since Olivia came along! There is so much magic in the air, and I am crazy about capturing every moment with Livy in preparation for her first Christmas! From visiting Santa, reading and singing about the story of Christmas, to coordinating jammies with her cousins for Christmas Eve, I can't get enough of all the excitement.

If I were to guess what is on Livy's wish list this year, at the wee age of almost 8 months, I would bet she's hoping for just a few things...

her first two bottom teeth

more space to roll and less furniture to get in her way

more yummy food (she's loving her Puffs and Cheerios)

a healed thumb so she can keep sucking away

more snuggle time on the couch to catch a glimpse of the silly TV :)

more books to read, chew and suck on)

more music so silly mommy quits singing :)

My First Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving was great! I started the day with a big breakfast, Macy's Day parade and my jammies (not sure where those ended up?).

Then, we headed off to Momo and Bopbop's house for dinner! During dinner my family shared how we are all so blessed, and have so much to be thankful for this year!

My cousins shared too...

Abigail (5 yrs) "I'm thankful for my friends and family."

Mary (3yrs) "I'm thankful for my sister."

Bobby (3yrs) "I'm thankful for swim lessons."

Christopher (2yrs) "I'm thankful for...these (candles)!

The rest of us are too little to tell but believe me, the list is endless!!!

Mommy and Daddy were thrilled to have old friends in town! I got to play with them for just a bit before they all went their seperate ways. This was such a busy weekend!

7 months

Wow, time is flying by too fast! Bret and I can't believe our little Doodle is 7 months old! Each month only gets better, and each new day is filled with wonderful surprises!

Lately, Olivia has become very social! She loves watching her cousins and playing with her friends. It's so fun to watch her laugh during Kindermusik or react when another baby plays with her!

Not only is she more social, but she is definitly more independent these days too. She has her own agenda. It doesn't matter how crazy Bret and I act to get her to perform, she will do her own thing when she's ready. For the last couple of weeks Livy has listened and watched us very intensly as we've rehearsed her new consonants sounds with her. The looks we were given as we repeated dadada, bababa or mamama were hilarious...very serious to say the least! Well just this weekend as she played in her oh so fun jump-n-jive, we heard her say the long awaited...dadada! It was so precious! Now as long as we're not asking her to perform, that's all we hear...in the car, crib, with her toys, in the tub, etc.! :)

Curiosity is such a gift...each day I discover something new to study and

play with! My tootsies are so interesting!

Speaking of yummy, I love my fruits and veggies! So far I've had sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, bananas, pears, apples, cantalope, and squash...my favorite!!

Hey lady, are you sure that bowl is empty??


Ready for my story, then off to bed!

I love to roll! Sometimes I roll so far I end up in silly places.


Hey...where did my toys go?

Sitting up is the way to go!

My helmet is quite handy during emergency situations when I topple over!

Underneath this helmet I'm growing hair.

Mommy and Daddy think I'm going to be blonde!

Bibs are a must these days because I drool and chew on everything!

No teeth yet, but I think they will push through soon!

Happy 7 months to me!