Easter

Happy Easter!

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia

Happy Birthday to our baby girl!! Her first birthday was filled with magical moments and many reflections on an amazing year! Olivia has changed our lives and brought so much joy to our family!

Today was a great day for me. It stared with a special lunch and then dessert with my family. Momo bought me a special hat for my celebration, but I wasn't so sure about wearing it. My cake was delicious...I loved the icing!

My cousins loved watching me eat my cake. I was very careful and well-mannered. Mom and dad are curious if I'm much of a sweet person?!

I had a wonderful time celebrating with my family!

This month we moved into our new home (Momo and Bopbop's house). I've had fun exploring, playing and chasing their dog, Remi!

We'll be living here until our new house is complete...possibly late August!

I like playing in silly places.

Silly smiles...my personality is really shining these days!

I love to be outside! On our walks we listen for dogs, cars and lawn mowers. Lately if I hear a dog barking, I'll bark back.

It's been an amazing year! Happy birthday to me!

XOXO

11 months

We are holding onto this last stretch of baby life, although Livy is showing us all the signs that she's no longer our tiny little Doodlebug anymore! We have had a great month exploring, learning new tricks, trying new foods, and watching for signs of spring! Here are a few of our highlights!

I get to see my Angie in Kansas City! We have had fun playing, going to lunch and snuggling! We are so glad she's here for a short time, and we all are hoping she stays in KC forever!!

These days, I decide what I want to play with! I love to search for the perfect toy!

Each morning we spend time in my room getting ready for the day. I no longer like being on my changing table for very long, so mom strips me down and lets me explore while she picks my outfit. Sometimes she takes too long, so I have to entertain myself! The other day I discovered my stuffed animals, and Mommy caught me giving all sorts of kisses to my "Olivia" doll.

This baby is my favorite toy! She makes me soooo happy!!

Now that I'm beginning to explore, I 've discovered some new spots in our house...

the bathroom is a fun place to visit because I like to watch myself in the mirror. I'm not quite sure I realize I'm looking at myself, but I do know that I love what I see!

We've had a great month outside! My instant reaction when I get outside is to open my mouth so wide and catch the cool breeze!

We've been taking walks and looking for all the signs of spring...my favorite change outside is getting to play in the grass! If I was allowed, I would gather all the leaves and acorns and put them in my mouth!

Meet my very best friend...Daddy! I love him soo much!

Each night when he gets him home, no matter what I'm doing, I drop everything and play with him until the day is over!

Soon enough I will be pulling up to stand! I'm constantly practicing this new skill. In fact, sometimes I don't fall asleep in my crib right away because I'm too busy going up and down!

Happy baby!

Gracie and I have so much fun together! She now knows me by name and if I'm not around she will look for me saying, "Oooliviiiaa". On this particular day, I had more fun watching her explore my room. I know soon enough she will be teaching me all sorts of fun games!

"What is the crazy lady doing to my bedroom? So far she's pulled all of my clothes off the hangers, and now she's on a hunt for something else to play with..."

Happy, happy, happy!

Kisses to mommy! Sharing kisses makes her so happy!

10 months!

I made mommy work for these pictures! Sitting still is a thing of the past!

Don't forget to check out the collection at the bottom of my blog to see how much I've grown!

I can push up into sitting posistion now. Each time I do it, I celebrate with many claps!

Look out everyone... I'm scooting! I can really move and get around!

I love to clap!

If I hear someone say, "yay" or "hooray", I will clap. I also like to clap when I hear a certain song from my music class! Clapping makes me excited and happy!

Silly faces make my parents laugh and smile!

I love books! I have many favorite stories...this book I'm holding is one that I like to read, suck and study. My daddy reads me some great stories at night and mom has been reading some stories with great pictures!

Another trick I have is kissing! I love to kiss/suck on mommy's face! Her reaction makes me do this over and over again. Sometimes if I hear, "kisses" I will give one but most of the time I choose not to. :)

I've advanced to my big girl seat, which means I get to sit at the table with everyone else. I also started eating solid foods. My favorite is chicken!

I explore all day long...even when I'm suppose to be taking naps! You wouldn't believe it, but each time I discover something new to touch, chase or put in my mouth!

I love to play peek-a-boo!

We play this game when mommy is taking pictures of me. It helps me to laugh!

*****

Olivia is 10 months old! This is a bitter sweet moment for me because I'm not ready for my baby to get any bigger, but each day only gets better (and winter is almost over)! I have to say that this last month has been filled with many changes and excitment!!

Her little personality is unfolding...sweet, goofy, demanding and loud!

Vacation to Vail

I'm ready for the mountains!

Vail received over 24 inches of snow in less than 36 hours! The snow was up to our knees...great skiing conditions for the advanced skier!

I loved Vail Village! Every time we would walk outside, my tongue would instantly try to catch snowflakes! After the big storm, Mom tried getting a picture of me in a snow pile, but it was so deep that I fell in!

I adjusted to the mountain life of eating, resting, playing and then eating again! Maybe next time I'll try skiing, but I think for now catching snowflakes is enough of an extreme sport for me!

Look out everyone...I'm beginning to scoot! Our condo had lots of interesting spaces to investigate, and with the help of Momo I'm beginning to figure out how to get places!

We had a great vacation! My favorite part was spending time with my family! Everyone said I was the best baby and a great traveler!

9 months

Life is good at 9 months!

I love to be naked, and when I get really excited or have something exciting to share I scream talk...my favorite place to do this is Costco! Sometimes mommy worries I'm upset, but it's just me being chatty.

We've had to get creative indoors...it's been a long winter!

Somedays we sing and dance to music, play with scarves or my favorite...roll around the house!

Meal time is a bit tricky these days because I'm interested in helping out.

I like to wave my arms in the air when I'm ready for my next bite, and mom usually waits until I settle down before giving me more. Just as she thinks I'm ready and my hands are out of her way, I quickly reach for the spoon to put in my mouth and of course splatter food everywhere! All I want to do is show some independence and it's not working out so well!

Rolling is still how I get around, but unfortunately I'm starting to realize that this isn't the most effecient way to get where I need to go. Traveling this way has landed me in some pretty interesting spaces, but I don't mind...I am happy to play anywhere!

Mom keeps us busy during the day. Her most dreaded chore during the day is putting away laundry! I like to lighten her load by riding along to each room...I think this helps motivate her to put the clothes away quickly!

I have a new love...my baby! Each time she visits me I wave my arms, let out sheers of excitement and give all sorts of snuggles!

I'm very interested in my toys. I love to examine them from all angles.

I've grown so much this month! My 9 month check-up was exciting.

Dr. Ehly says I weigh 20.5 lbs and I am 27 inches tall. I still don't have teeth and my hair is slowly coming in on the back side.

Life is so good!

Great news!

Well, yesterday was an exciting day for Miss Olivia...or maybe her momma!! :) Livy's head measured beautifully at her appointment with the orthotist, which means our maintenance therapy is beginning two weeks early. Hooray! Olivia's expression is priceless...she was quite overwhelmed by my excitement.

For all you that are interested I'll explain her measurements as best as I can. When we first began treatment Olivia's head measured 144 from her right temple to the back left of her head and the other side measured 163. The ultimate goal was for both numbers to be equal on each side. We had no expectations, but we were ready to give our little lady a fair chance at having a more symmetrical shaped head. After all this was all caused by her low positioning in utero. In the beginning Dr. Thom, a very dry and a not so warm-fuzzy kind of guy, wasn't able to tell us one way or another if the helmet would help, but after peaking at his notes yesterday when he was out of the room, I was so relieved to read in all caps...AMAZING RESULTS!! We feel so fortunate that she responded so quickly to the therapy and that throughout the entire process she never once fussed!

So soon enough her helmet will be retired to the shelf in the closet, but for now she will continue to sleep with it and wear it during long car rides. During the off times however, I will relish in the joy of snuggling, kissing and rubbing her sweet head!