6 Months

Okay, so we kind of fell off the face of the earth for a minute. It's not even half way through January and Olivia, Brad, and myself have all gotten sick. Booo, might I add. We have been very fortunate that Olivia has avoided a lot of what has gone around during her first 6 months. I guess she could only avoid it for so long. We now have a little germ incubator on our hands, because not long after she got it, we got it. It's hard to avoid getting sick from Miss Megadrool. That was the only time I have ever hoped that Olivia was a little older, so she could take care of herself. It's tough being sick and trying to take care of a baby. Did I say Booo, because Booo is the only word that describes the past few weeks. Not two O's, but three! However, all is better now, as we sit and wait for the crappy weather.

Now on to more important things...we have a 6 month old!

Olivia, you've got more stuff going on with you now than ever. We can't keep up with you. You're growing teeth, sitting up, giggling, reaching for us, reaching for everything else, slobbering - A LOT, eating solids, taking normal naps, and sleeping through the night. You are one hell of a child and your daddy and I are enjoying every minute we get to spend with you.

You still have absolutely no desire what-so-ever to start crawling, but you love to stand up. You totally impressed the pediatrician at your 6 month wellness check up with your crazy balance skills. We will be surprised if you don't walk before you crawl, or shortly after.

Have a mentioned how much we love to be around you?! We lose ourselves in your presence and melt every time you smile and laugh. You seem very happy to be here with us, and quite frankly we wouldn't want it any other way.

Olivia, we love you <-----------------this-------------------> much!


...and then some

Homemade Baby Food

Brad and I decided before Olivia was born that when the time came to introduce solids that we would go the homemade route. Not only because it saves money, but because it allows the child to taste food the way it should be. Also, if we are making food for each other, why not make it for our child! So far, at six months now, we have been sticking to it. It has been quite the experience learning how to make baby food. Much of it has been new to us, as we have never cooked some of the things that are considered first foods for baby, like squash or sweet potato.  Through a lot of trial and error we seem to have a system going now, for the most part. Unless its a food that cannot be easily frozen, like bananas or avocado, most of what she currently eats is mashed or pureed and frozen in ice cube trays, then moved to freezer bags. We chose ice cube trays because they are good 1oz portion sizes and the individual cubes are easy to quickly thaw when on the go. We are also allowing Olivia to feed herself as much as possible, which she already wants to do anyway. We hold the spoon, but she guides it in. It can be messy, but it allows her to decide what goes into her mouth and when. She's actually more receptive to trying new things with this method, rather than us trying to coax her. Another good thing about making baby food is that we don't feel bad about wasting what Olivia doesn't want. We only thaw 1-2oz at a time, so there is hardly ever waste when she decides she is done. If she wants more, we just thaw another cube! No half eaten jars of food or forcing her to eat more so less goes to waste.

So far, Olivia likes:

• Sweet Potato - by far her favorite!
• Potato
• Carrots 
• Oatmeal
• Peas

Indifferent to:

• Squash
• Avocado

Dislikes:

• Bananas - not sure why, but we're experimenting with the ripeness factor.

Next on the menu are apples and peaches!

Mmmm Wrapping Paper

Olivia loves to open presents...more importantly, eat the wrapping paper.

First Christmas

At almost six months old Olivia experienced her very first Christmas. The month of December was packed with adventures.

Grandma Lori and great grandma June time

Grandma Lori and great grandma June came for two whole weeks! They seemed to enjoy every minute of it, as they got to spend it all with Olivia. There was plenty of spoiling to be had and made up for. 

Olivia and grandma Lori

Olivia and great grandma June

Gift from grandma's - Nom nom nom

While mom and grandma were here, we hosted our first holiday dinner with the Turner side of the family.

My attempt to get everyone together for a family photo...

 Finally!

 Christmas morning...just the three of us

 Olivia was the official bow holder

 Taste-testing daddy's new blu-ray - she seems to approve!

Christmas with the Blumensheid's

 

Hangin with grandma and grandpa Blumensheid before everyone arrived

Who's this guy?

Cousins Meet

My mother, grandmother, Olivia, and I made the trek up to Michigan to see my sister in-law Jaime and nephew Micah while they were here from Colorado visiting family. The two are only seven days apart in age and will make great buddies when they are older!

 Micah Andrew Criswell

This was the point that we realized...Olivia has a big noggin!

Olivias new hat from grandma Perry!

Giggles!

We have a giggler! I hope this never changes...

Number Twoof!

Not even two weeks have passed and we have another tooth! You're on a roll little lady! Grandma Lori got you your first tooth brush set for Christmas. Looks like we might be using it sooner than we thought! Let the drooling begin...again!

Peek-A-Boo!

Now We Can Breathe...

The time finally came for Olivia to have her heart procedure, last Tuesday at 1pm. It turned out to be a perfect time for all of us; both my mother and grandmother, and Brad's family was there for support. I have to say, Olivia is one hell of a child. She did absolutely wonderful! Better than Brad and I did for sure. With what we were up against going into the day and up until the procedure, we could have easily had a cranky baby. Seriously, who makes a baby fast?! The only thing we could give her was Pedialyte from 5am until 11am. We thought for sure that she would refuse it and go crazy, but after a few gags and snares, she took it like a champ. She was totally chill the entire morning. Even when we arrived at Children's and got checked in, she was cool. The doctor was surprised at how calm and relaxed she seemed. He said that by the time most babies get checked in they are super fussy. But not Olivia, she was just hanging out observing everything around her, playing with her toys. 

Four hours later, we finally got to go see her in recovery. She was still asleep, waking periodically very groggy and congested from the anestesia. We were able to take her home later that night so she could sleep in her own bed. She recovered very well. A little hole in the crease of her thigh and some congestion from the anestesia and breathing tubes were all that she had to recover from. The incision healed up very nicely in a couple of days with mild tenderness, and although she is still raspy, her congestion has cleared up quite a bit. The doctor said he was very pleased with the procedure and feels that she may never have to undergo it again. She went from a 40% gradient blood flow from each side of the valve, to a 10% gradient, which is very good. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful child that is so happy and easy going, and such a loving family to be there for us and Olivia during this time.

We Have a Tooth!

Finally, after all of the drooling and gnawing, Olivia's first tooth has appeared! We noticed it tonight when I got home from work. Brad mentioned that she had seemed a little off today and when she was hanging out on the floor she was moaning every time she chewed on her fingers. I reached in her mouth to let her chew on my fingers and I suddenly felt this sharp little tooth peaking up above her bottom gum line. Very exciting stuff! The first of many Olivia!

5 Months

Five months old Olivia! You are such a big girl. We are so amazed by how much you've grown. Every day you are on to something new and exciting.

And...it's in her mouth...
You are really starting to sit up on your own now and are reaching for everything you can get your hands on. Especially Mommy's hair! You really love grabbing peoples faces and pulling them close. It's like you want to plant a big kiss on us, but you always open your mouth and try to eat us. Now that you have discovered your feet, we can't seem to keep them out of your mouth either. It's quite the trick!

Although we are no longer breastfeeding, I feel like we really bond when we sing to you. Your favorite song seems to be "You Are My Sunshine." Whenever you seem uncomfortable, fussy, or tired, I sing to you and you just stare at me and smile. You really enjoy spending time with Daddy too, especially on Fridays. He is always chatting and singing to you, and you seem to be in tune to what he is saying.

You are very observant, and when we sit at the table you will look across at us as though you are involved in our conversation. We are just waiting for the day when you decide to speak up.

You've completely outgrown your infant car seat, and we couldn't be more than happy to upgrade you to a convertible seat, because you are HEAVY! You're still not a fan of the idea of being strapped down, but you certainly enjoy the new view.

4 Months

Holy mega-drool Batman! 

We can't seem to keep enough bibs clean to get through the day. Still no signs of teeth though. 

Only solution to all of the drool...baths every night.

What are we going to do with all this hair?!

Pro Photos. Thanks Billie Mitchell!

Solids! 

Dr. Brown gave the go ahead for solid foods, since she was staring at us every time we ate. She wasn't quite ready at first, so we waited a couple weeks. Once she started to reach for our food, we realized she was ready. We started with oatmeal and pureed sweet potatoes. She really enjoyed the sweet potatoes, of course. Pureeing baby food takes a little bit of work, but it really pays off in the long run. You save a TON of money, and you know what's in the food your child is eating. It should also make the transition to other foods much easier. I look forward to making more. Avocado, carrots, peas, and apple sauce are next!

The Eikenberry's

I should probably be dedicating an entire blog post to this family, because they most definitely deserve the recognition. Hopefully this will suffice. I met Amy Eikenberry at work almost two years ago. She had little Cooper Wayne about 3 1/2 months ahead of Olivia, so we spent much of our pregnancy together. I have to say, having her as a friend, as a prego friend as well, made my experience all the more enjoyable and tolerable. We were constantly sharing updates, even the unmentionable ones. I've had many friends and family members have babies over the past year and for some reason I never shed a tear for them. Don't get me wrong, I was truly happy for them. But when Cooper arrived I was all tears. I'm sure partly because I was pregnant as well, and an emotional mess, but I was so happy for Amy and Donald. I felt like I had experienced her pregnancy right along side of her. Getting to see her little miracle made me so excited for ours. From then on Amy and I have been close friends. Once the husbands met, we realized they were pretty much bothers separated at birth. A very dangerous thought, I know. Unfortunately Amy no longer works at Nationwide, which is for the best, but we still make the effort to hang out often. She has truly been an amazing friend and has been very supportive of what we are going through with Olivia's heart. She even came with us to Olivia's last cardiology appointment to offer help whenever needed, since it was so stressful the last time around. She was right by our side the entire time, helping us keep our mind off of what was going on. Her being there made everything go so much better, even Olivia was a trooper.

Amy and Donald, Words can't describe how grateful we are to have you as friends. We have been together along this journey and experienced many new things together as first time parents. I look forward to the adventures that are coming for all of us and sharing them with you.

Boo at the Zoo with the Eikenberry's. Coop was the cutest lil stinker!

One of Olivia's nicknames is Mayor Bee (i.e., Mae B), so we thought it only appropriate for her to go as a bee.

Thanksgiving with the Eikenberry's. Cooper recently started to crawl and was all about playing with Olivia. She still didn't seem to interested.

3 Months

Jumparoo!

Okay, Brad and I have never been a fan of todays all-things-plastic baby toys. Frankly, we hate them. We vowed never to give in to buying the bulky plastic things unless absolutely necessary, and not without ALOT of research. With this, I did my research, and it paid off! The Jumperoo beat out any kind of Exersaucer or Circle of Learning in most of the reviews I read. And now I know why. I found this Jumparoo on Craigslist for $40. Thanks grandma Debi! 

Olivia's first time was pretty entertaining. The Jumparoo swallowed her little torso up and she could barely hold her arms up over the top of the seat. She was certainly intrigued, and although she didn't quite get the concept of bouncing yet, she thoroughly enjoyed the plastic rings that came with it.

I'm so glad I cleaned this thing with a toothpick. 

Now only her drool fills every orifice of this thing.

Such a beautiful baby.

I actually took some decent photos here. Which is easy to do with such a photogenic baby.

She was never a fan of tummy time. 

We give Northwest Childcare all the credit for this milestone. They certainly stuck to it more than we did.

Message to Olive from Papa

Papa Al asked me if I could share this message for him...my pleasure! "Hi, this is Olivia's, "Papa Al". I first laid eyes on Olivia during a business trip from Colorado to Ohio and she was already 10 weeks old. I could not believe I took so long to see her. The moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew she was special. I KNOW that I am not just saying that because I am 'Papa', but because when I first held her in my arms and looked in her eyes I could feel the special spirit she exuded. I don't know what impact she will have in this crazy world, I just know she will make one - a POSITIVE one! Blessed to be -"Papa Al" :)"

2 Months

Wow, we made it two months! 


This month was pretty crazy for us from the start. Olivia was growing like a weed! She started wanting to be upright more often too, even though she was nowhere near sitting up on her own. So to help her work her back muscles, Brad and I started teaching her how to pull herself up by holding our hands.  She really enjoyed it, and very quickly she was doing it on her own. 


My mom and Al also came to visit. Oh my, were they floored by how much she had grown! Mom hadn't seen her since birth, and Al was just meeting her for the first time. They couldn't get enough of her. Olivia was all smiles. We also took a trip to the zoo, a first for Olivia. 

We just love this photo. "What mommy?"
Because she couldn't sit up on her own, this was often how we would hold Olivia. 
A completely different view than from being on her back!

We would wrap the boppy pillow around her waist to keep her from toppling over. 

This month was also the start of the drooling and gnawing. Here she is gnawing on Le Giraffe.

At this months wellness appointment, we also learned of some other news. While doing a routine check of her heart, Dr. Brown discovered a slight heart murmur that he wanted us to have checked out further. Later that week we took Olivia to Children's Hospital and had some tests run. Things were looking positive at first, and we thought it must have been nothing. However, upon seeing the results from the chest echo and EKG, Olivia's cardiologist Dr. Thrush discovered that she had both a small hole in between the chambers of her heart and a condition called Pulmonary Stenosis (a heart valve disorder where the valve cannot open wide enough, and as a result less blood flows to the lungs). Brad and I were floored. We could deal with sleepless nights, fussy moments, poosplosions, well...pretty much anything that comes with raising a baby, But we didn't know how to deal with this. What does this mean, Pulmonary Stenosis? Is she going to have surgery? Will this affect her quality of life?  Dr. Thrush helped us understand the condition and what is expected to come of it, which really helped Brad and I start to deal with reality. The hole would heal up in time on its own, which is good. The Pulmonary Stenosis will likely require a procedure in the future, but she shouldn't be affected by it in any way. Now, we just painfully wait to find out when the procedure will be scheduled...

Olivia getting her EKG. I know this is a sad picture to see, but I want to point out how much of a trooper she is, and has been through this entire process. Look at that smile. She is such a tolerant baby, which has really made this easier for Brad and I to get through.