floor time...

We downloaded several videos to our computer tonight, so y'all are reaping the benefits!

say what?!

Here are some of Baby Girl's sweet noises. Beware that the last part of the video is of her in the moving swing and it may make you sick ;) However, her squeals are too cute to miss!

Five months...

Olivia Grace was five months this past Saturday. She has grown and changed so much lately and her personality shows through more and more each day! To satisfy everyones curiosity (or to help you out in your "I'm bored and blogstalking" moment) I thought I would elaborate on Baby Girl's skills and patterns. Also, I have a lot of preggo friends right now and I thought it may be nice for them to see what life is like with a five month old. I know I was information thirsty all throughout my pregnancy! Feel free to stop reading now if you don't care about specific baby details.....

1. She is still refusing a bottle and has been nursed for every single one of the approximately 1300 feedings she has had in her five months of life (not that I am counting;). I think I deserve some sort of reward for this, or perhaps just a night out with my husband....oh wait, that would require someone to give her a bottle... *sigh*

2. She remains a good sleeper. She goes to bed around 7:30 after our bedtime routine (bath, lotion & jammies with soft music playing, book, nurse to sleep) and gets up around 7:30am. She has anywhere from one to two wakings/feedings in that 12 hour stretch, although last night she slept all the way through to her 7:30 wake up time! I will not elaborate on that anymore for fear of 'jinxing' it for any future nights! We have done this routine for months now, so her body comes to expect bedtime around 7:30 each night. This can be a bit of problem when we are out for dinner or at a party, but we adjust because the benefits definitely outweigh this slight inconvenience.

3. She takes 2 or 3 naps a day. Her morning one is around 9:30 and lasts for about 1 1/2- 2 hours. Her afternoon nap is typically shorter, but I just never know. The third nap is typically a catnap around 5ish to get her through till bedtime. I have found that her new optimal wake-time is about 2 hours. Once she hits that threshold she begins to get fussy and doesn't play happily on her own anymore. She does not have the ability to fall asleep on her own unless she is in the swing or car seat (which technically isn't "on her own" I guess) so she is bounced/rocked/walked to sleep each nap. Now this can take anywhere from a few minutes to twenty, but we haven't mastered the whole 'put her down awake and she fall asleep' trick. She used to be okay if I put her down really sleepy, but she has regressed and must be pretty much asleep when we put her in her crib. I know this will be a bear to break and will require some 'crying it out', but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

4. We are continuing on the road of solids and Baby Girl LOVES it! We started with rice cereal, moved on to oatmeal, and have now begun to introduce various fruits and vegetables. She has had green beans, bananas, and butternut squash. I have been making her baby food and it is fun and very EASY, and so far Baby Girl thinks I am a pretty good cook=) Breastmilk remains the staple of her diet, but she gets some solids in the morning and evening.

5. She has rolled over from belly to back twice. The first time came at 12 weeks and the second time was last Saturday. It is almost as if she does it just to get us off her case, decides its really not that much fun, and then moves on to more exciting things...such as playing with her feet! geesh, does she love her feet!

6. It seems that we have a very vocal girl on our hands as she squeals the majority of the time she is awake. And when I say squeal, I mean SQUEEEEAL. She is spirited, loud, and inspired. She is one happy girl, gosh darn it! Her vocabulary is mostly vowel sounds like 'eeeeee', 'aaaahhh', and 'uuhhhh' and she typically squeals them in a high pitched sound while throwing her hands up in the air and waving her arms. It is one of the most heart melting displays that Andy and I have ever witnessed.

7. She weighs 18 pounds and is about 27 3/4 inches long. Most of her weight must come from her length because she really isn't chubby from my perspective. Although her cheeks probably add about a pound! Since she is so big she resembles a 6 or 8 month old, but we love her just as she is!

8. She still loves her swing and it can 'babysit' her for long periods of time, if needed! She also likes her excersaucer and jumparoo, but simply having floor time is her favorite. Everything goes to her mouth these days. And I mean everything! We have noticed that she is very visual and curious and often appears to be investigating her toys rather than just playing with them. Also, she has entered the grabby stage and lunges/reaches for anything and everything within her sight.

9. This past week she has begun to sometimes cry when friends are holding her. She stops when I take her back, so I wonder if we are entering the separation anxiety stage. We will see what the future holds.

10. Baby Girl continues to be the center of our world. She is fun and lovable and has charmed us both. Although the past five months have been challenging, Andy and I have grown a lot in our relationship. Becoming parents was something we both wanted, but I never realized the toll that it can take on your marriage if you let it. However, it is a dichotomy that also allows the opportunity for growth, and we have taken that opportunity and changed for the better. Even though I do miss our "old life" at times, I could never imagine our world without our sweet baby girl.

And to reward you for making it this far, here is a picture from last night....

independent reading time...

We take reading time seriously in this family. It is every man (or baby) for himself. Even if you are just shy of 5 months, you must still fulfill your daily independent reading requirements. The only interruptions allowed are for pronunciation questions! (and photo ops;)

what a week!

As I sit here looking through pictures I realize that there has been a lot going on the past seven days! Luckily, it has all been good stuff! This has been my first week home from work and I. LOVE. IT. Let me repeat - I. LOVE. IT! Granted, it has only been three days, but they have been splendid!

The tension that I was always carrying around in my neck is gone. The feeling that I was never where I really needed to be is gone. The hurried mornings and evenings are a thing of the past. We have had home-cooked meals every night this week, which is a far cry from the "what's for dinner" drama Andy and I always used to go through. I thought I would miss it a lot this first week, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Baby Girl has adjusted well too, I think. She has always been our "45 minute napper", but she has been sleeping for 2 hour stretches during the day this week without changing her nightly habits (still 7:30 bedtime, waking around 7am, with one feeding in between). She is still our happy girl and the list of cute things she has done that I would have missed by being at work is already a mile long!

Okay, I meant to simply post pictures, but I got to rambling. My apologies. Without further ado, here are some pictures of our life this past week.....such fun we have been having!

We walked in 'Light the Night' for leukemia research in support of Andy's mom. It was a great experience and I am sure we will do it again next year!

Olivia wore her Air Force jammies to bed Friday night in preparation for the big AF-Army game.

We call it 'Daddy Swap'!! Can you see Molly Paige holding Olivia's hand?! so cute.

We gathered with the Steinforts to cheer on Air Force against Army this past Saturday and had a great time They will be moving in January and we are not sure what we are going to do without them. They were one of our first friends when we moved here and we have shared many special times with them over the years.

Enjoying the sunshine during the game!

We broke down and bough Olivia a high chair! Feeding her in the Bumbo on the counter wasn't the best plan anymore. Ever since we were preggers I had planned on getting a cute wooden one that fit into our home decor. However, I saw this one on the Babies R Us website and I became a believer. It is 4 seats in 1!! How great is that? We won't have to buy another chair ever because it even came with a toddler booster seat. score! And Olivia has adjusted to it beautifully. She loves to hang out and play in it while I cook or clean in the kitchen.

We put an ice cube in this 'mesh feeder' and she LOVES it! She sits at the table in her big girl chair and chews on it while we have dinner each night.

Our happy girl!!

Is she smiling because Mommy is holding her or because Daddy is making faces at her?!

Her new favorite thing is to suck on a washcloth during bath. She screams anytime we take it away!

All snuggly and cute after her bath tonight.

Child of God...

We had Olivia baptised two weekends ago on All Saints' Day. It happened to be Andy's birthday, too, so it was a very blessed day for our family! Nana, Papa, Grandma Allen, Kaylynn, & Garrett all came down for the big day and we were so happy to share it with them.

Olivia looked beautiful in the gown and bonnet that her Grandma Allen had made for her. Thanks, Debbie!

Olivia was caught smiling at Nana while getting dressed for her big day! Olivia and her big cousins who came all the way from Indiana during their Fall break to celebrate!

Jeff & Christina are Olivia's godparents and we know they will be a wonderful Christian influence in her life.

Andy and I were married on this same altar 3 1/2 years ago! Now we share it with Olivia!

boo...

Halloween may have been over a week ago, but I still wanted to share our 'candy-corn pants girl' with y'all =) It was way too hot for her ladybug costume, so we went with a cutsie ghost bib (thanks to Grandma Allen) and the festive pants (thanks to Vanessa's mom).