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.

1 Month

As I look back through all of these photos, I am in amazement at how much Olivia had grown just in the first month. 

Here are some memories and milestones from this month:

• Olivia was already into 3 month old clothing. At her 1 month appointment she weighed 10lbs 5oz (75th percentile), and measured 22.5 inches (90th percentile). She's gonna be a tall girl!
• She went to her first Gallery Hop this month with Amy, Donald, Laura. She loved it. Slept most of the time, but loved it. It made for a nice and relaxing evening for Brad and I. 
• She likes to read warning labels. No really, she does...we catch her staring at the warning labels in her pack n' play, her car seat, and her bath tub. Then she looks at us like "Guys you're doing this all wrong!"
• She can't reach the top of her head. Very un-proportional right now.
• I returned to work and Olivia started daycare. Brad and I really hated it at first, and strongly considered removing her. I was quite the emotional wreck and I missed her so much. However, we got use to it. Marge and Lydia really like her and most days she is in a good mood when we pick her up, which is a relieving when I get to worrying about her. 
• Starting back to work was both relaxing a crazy. I thought I could hit the ground running, but it turns out I just hit the ground. PAW (Pumping At Work) was a new thing to learn to. But I stuck to it!

Dad love at the Gallery Hop

I left work early one day to go steal Olivia from daycare. 

This shirt says it all.

At work we have a baby calendar where each person can post a photo of their newborn baby. 

Everyone else's was wallet size. Mine...tabloid!

Newborn Moments

So to make up for lost blog time, we would like to share with you some captured moments of Olivia up until now...

At the hospital - Yes, she was born with all this hair!

She was quite the swaddle baby. And she loved it!
One of the 5 S's we learned from 'Happiest Baby on the Block' by Dr. Karp. 

She used to fit within one couch cushion.

She has smiled practically from day one.
She is such a happy baby, and seeing her smile never gets old.

Brad trying the side/stomach position from "Happiest Baby on the Block."
This one worked, for only a minute.

She fell asleep in the most uncomfortable looking position.
Brad - "Eh, do I try to adjust her?"

Why this blog?

As first time parents we’ve been a little disorganized since little Olivia arrived on June 27^th. Now that she’s a little older, and we’re a little wiser (or at least a little better rested) we thought it appropriate to start a blog. She’s about 4.5 months old now and a lot has happened. Somehow I've discovered a general fear of saliva, and Kelly's discovered how much money we actually saved by breastfeeding for the first 4 months. Olivia has managed to poop on Kelly, on me, on the cat, and on most other surfaces in the house. She has also nearly doubled in size; born at 8 pounds 9 ounces, weighed in at 16 pounds 3 ounces at her 4 month check-up. The doctor says she’s advanced because she has been smiling since day one, and babies usually don’t start smiling until at least the 2 month mark…but we’ve known all along she is advanced, I mean look at all that hair! The nurses at the hospital couldn’t stop complimenting her hair and what a beautiful baby she was. Olivia’s been an exceptional baby, growing steadily, not crying very often (and never without reason), excited during bath time, playful when getting ready in the morning, and very jumpy in her bouncer. We couldn’t be happier as parents, and we look forward to what surprises she has in store for us in the future. We love you Olivia!