toys make life more fun!

Olivia tried out her new exersaucer for the first time tonight. She liked exploring and studying all of the gadgets. Can't you just see her mind working in this first picture! Thanks to the Liegl's for loaning it to us!

Tummy time on the boppy! She held her head up REALLY high this Saturday while trying to keep her eye on the football games!

Olivia has a very special Uncle Tyler and he picked this book out for her because it was one of his favorites when he was little. I think it will be one of hers too because she loves it when I read it to her!

Olivia LOVES the monkey that arrived in a box of toys from her cousins in Oklahoma. We always find her hugging on him just like this! According to their Mommy, Drew & Jordan have way too many toys so Olivia reaps the benefits! She also loves to suck and chew on her finger, as you can see in the picture. We think teeth are right around the corner for our sweet baby girl.

Her feet are also one of her favorite toys and she seems to always have one or both in her hands. This new facination makes diaper changing a bit difficult =)

I made her from scratch...

On a recent Grey's Anatomy, a character facing life threatening injuries was afraid to phone her mother and tell her about them. She said she didn't want to worry her. The young lady described how her mother used to be very protective of her while growing up, always saying "be careful what you do with your body, I made it from scratch".

That phrase resonated with me. I started thinking about the miracle of creating a child and I felt empowered. My body made our sweet baby girl. True, Andy helped a little, but my body gave her the blood and oxygen and a soft spot to grow from a group of cells into a healthy human. It is truly miraculous.

When I look at her now I find myself thinking about that phrase and feeling protective of her. Someone made a comment about her the other day that I took offense to. She looked at Olivia in her car seat and said, "she looks mean". I turned to her and said, "that is a terrible thing to say about a baby" and she responded, "well, look at her brow all crinkled up; she looks mean". I quickly turned Olivia's car seat away from this awful person and commented, "I made her from scratch and I think she is perfect".

Olivia has a new habit of scratching herself with her nails despite my best efforts to keep them trimmed and tidy (I cut and file them twice a week, but that doesn't seem to be enough!). She currently has two tiny scabs on her nose from these scratches and I just hate it. I found myself telling her to be careful with that sweet face of hers because "I made it from scratch".


While I have never been much for cooking from scratch or creating a fancy craft project from scratch, I believe that I have hit the mark with Olivia Grace. She is healthy, and sweet, and beautiful, and loving, and fun to be around.

She is my masterpiece, and I made her completely from scratch!

a new toy...

I am now a member of the mobile emailing and facebooking world.

I can change my status update just as soon as I think of it!

I can reply to an email instantly!

I can upload pictures to Facebook seconds after taking them!

I am officially addicted to my new Blackberry..... =)

A busy week.

Olivia Grace has learned many new skills this week!

She is playing with her feet while on her back, grabbing at toys with both hands, holding rattles and small toys on her own, putting EVERYTHING to her mouth, squealing, cooing, and "talking" aloud for long periods of time (sometimes twenty minutes or more), and tolerating car rides much much better. The three and a half month mark seems to have changed our baby girl into even more of a 'laid back' and 'go with the flow' sort of baby. She has always been easygoing, but it is shining through more and more these days. She is tolerating daycare better and is showing her personality off there, too! They tell me often how happy she is and that she only fusses when she is tired or it is time to eat. It makes accepting her time at daycare a little bit easier knowing she is happy and laid back there, too.

Olivia & her new elephant are amongst a serious clash of flower patterns!

Olivia gives the same zoned out look as her Daddy while she watches him play X-Box. It is almost as if I can see it zapping their brain cells - I have always thought that game was EVIL!

This is Ms. G. Olivia LOVES her and smiles instantly whenever Ms. G talks to her. She is not the permanent teacher in the infant room, but she has been there fairly consistently lately and I am so happy for that. Olivia goes down for naps for Ms. G without tears and is asleep in a matter of minutes of being laid down in her crib. That is a big deal for a mommy who feels terribly guilty leaving her baby in daycare in the first place.

Olivia seemed to need/want some extra sucking time after a feeding on Sunday, so I let her play with the passy. She mostly just chewed on it, but she did latch on for a few minutes. It only lasted long enough for a picture, but it was a milestone none the less. It was very bizarre to see our baby girl with a pacifier in her mouth. Perhaps this is a sign that she is becoming more tolerant of silicone nipples and that taking a bottle may be in our near future?!?!? One can only hope.

there's more than corn in Indiana...

What a great trip we had last week! We spent a few days at Mom & Dad's and got to catch up with family in Rensselaer. Olivia was a trooper and traveled like a champ, which is a good thing because we are a family on the move! This was her second airplane trip in her short 3 months of life! Olivia loves her Nana and fell asleep in her arms many many times!

Olivia gave Great Grammy many smiles and raspberries!

Meeting up with Aunt Lori for lunch!

Olivia was all smiles during her baths in the kitchen sink, especially when Papa snuggled her up!

Where did Olivia's legs go?!?! Hanging with Daddy at Great Grammy's.

We then traveled to Indianapolis for Erin's wedding weekend! Such fun we had! Being a bridesmaid I was very busy around downtown Indy, so Mom, Dad, & Andy faithfully delivered Olivia to me each time she needed to eat. Oh, how our simple our life would be if our sweet girl would only take a bottle!

Erin was such a beautiful bride and we had a blast at her and Jared's wedding. Such a blessing to be a part of it! Olivia slept through the reception in her car seat. The loud music didn't bother her one bit!

On Sunday we got to see our niece Kaylynn play in her soccer game and then all have lunch together before flying home. It was such a pleasure to be at her game because we miss those small things the most living so far away. Olivia got some loving from her Aunt Kelly, too!

Below, I display my nursing expertise - standing up, under a tree, in the rain, at the soccer game.....the things I do for our baby girl!

Olivia even got to meet her Auntie Kristina at the airport on Sunday! Our flights were within 3o minutes of each other, so we met up early and caught up with her. I am so glad she got to meet Olivia. Waiting till Christmas just wasn't going to work!!

Saying goodbye to Nana & Papa after a very FUN visit! We hated to leave.

pictures for Nana...

I really don't have anything exciting to share, but I know Olivia's Nana is always anxious for more pictures, so here are some to keep her happy until we arrive IN PERSON in Indiana on Wednesday! hooray!! Olivia is adjusting okay to daycare and I am doing the same at work. I have a lot of thoughts on this topic, but I haven't worked through them all yet, so I will just leave my comments at that.

Enjoy our precious girl - I know that we sure do =)

She is laughing out loud in this picture - she sure loves her bath time!

She sure does have her daddy's forehead and brow, doesn't she?

Relaxing in our rocking chair after church so Mommy could get clean clothes put away.

She loves to look at her aquarium during tummy time (thanks Aunt Cathy!)

In the boppy the first day I left her at daycare. I think I may delete this photo now because it breaks my heart to even look at.

Our family at the beach this past Saturday for some fun with my co-workers and their families.

I love it when she wears her sunhat!

Our sweet girl and her chubby cheeks!

Mommy and her girl.

Look what Olivia's Auntie Mandy made for her!! Aren't they great?

a conclusion and the next chapter.

There you see them - the challengers.

These brave bottles all faced our sweet daughter and not a single one of them was victorious. She could not be outsmarted or convinced to enjoy the tasty breast milk that flowed from the carefully warmed nipples. Not even the "she will drink when she is hungry enough" theory works for our precious little one. We tried that, too.

So, the conclusion has been determined. We are a team, she and I. We will continue our bonding every three hours despite the fact that tomorrow I will be wearing my blue scrubs and squeezing her feedings in between my patient's therapy sessions. I am surprisingly okay with that. I have prayed a lot about this and can see that the relationship that we have developed during our countless nursing sessions is working out for her. She is growing and thriving, and that makes me happy.

It is okay with me that she will entertain no other option to meet her hunger demands. Someday she will be so busy exploring her world and running around that she will barely have time to notice me. It will be then that I can look back and feel my heart smile as I remember all of the precious times we have shared together. After all, we are a team, she and I. And I feel strongly in my heart that God wants us to stay connected. He chose me as her mother and I will continue to do my best to protect her and love her, even if it is a challenge at times.

So, the next chapter begins tomorrow as I drop her at daycare, but I can face this challenge knowing we are a team. She needs me and I need her. It is really as simple as that.