videos

Olivia eating dinner a few nights ago...

Dinner time from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.


I mostly posted this so you can see how she likes to dance to music (like she is doing at the very beginning of the video).  She dances ALL the time, but always seems to stop whenever she sees the camera.

Reading Chair from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

Sunday afternoon thoughts...

It has been a whole week since my last post!  How did that happen?  I thought that I was supposed to have all kinds of free time since becoming a SAHM!  Well, perhaps that is true when you have a newborn, but having a near-toddler around the house has changed things considerably!  I can no longer sit on the couch on my laptop while she plays on the floor....she is too curious for her own good and instantly races in my direction when she sees the screen light up.  I have trouble making phone calls when she is awake because she WANTS the phone in a bad way.  The kind of way that ends with tears and screams when she doesn't get to hold it.  She has become a little more clingy as we continue to go through her top teeth coming through and she likes my attention more often than not!  Soooo, all of that severly limits any free time, but I don't think that is a bad thing; I was probably on the computer too much anyways.   However, I know I have anxious grandparents that like to get several updates and pictures on Baby Girl each week, so I will do my best to get a few posts in during naptime and bedtimes. 

We have had a nice day at home today.  We should have gone to church, but Andy was finishing up some homework and we decided to let him do that and to let Olivia get in her morning nap.  I feel guilty for not choosing church, but something has to give sometimes. 

Overall, it has been a busy week!  I was putting together the final preperations for a baby sprinkle I helped host yesterday as well as kicked into full swing on Olivia's birthday plans.  My little side-kick doesn't always allow for me to be as mobile or productive as I would like, so things are getting completed in random chunks, but they are getting accomplished.  I worked Friday and am again Monday, so that completely consumes those days.  Andy's flying schedule worked out that he was home those particular days (flying at night), so he has taken care of Olivia.  It was nice to not have to worry about finding a sitter.  

On another random note......the Grey's Anatomy season finale completely freaked me out!!  I was in hysterics.  Not sure if any of you are still holding off on watching it, so I will leave out the details, but holy cow it was intense.  I have never been so consumed by a TV show in my entire life.  We had to take a break and walk around outside for a bit because I was freaking out!  If you haven't watched it, prepare yourself!

Okay, Baby Girl is awake so I will end my ramblings.  Enjoy some pictures of the Baby Sprinkle that myself and two other friends hosted for our dear friend DeDe.  She, her husband, and sweet son will be welcoming the new baby sometime soon!

We used old wives tales to try and determine if she is carrying a boy or a girl.  Our guess is that she has a sweet baby girl inside her adorable baby bump!

We had a candy station so guests could fill up on some sweet treats on their way out the door!  Yummy!

Grandpa has requested some new videos so here are a few for you.  Nothing exciting, but you will get to see Baby Girls' sweet face none-the-less =)   (they may be fuzzy?!?  not sure why...)

Just playing around.....

Crawling on Daddy from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

Playing in the cabinet....

Playing in the cabinet from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

Ten month recap.

Baby Girl grows and changes daily and is quickly turning into more of a little girl than a baby.  The last two weeks have been trying as her top two teeth are giving her fits, but we are surviving.  However, we will be glad when we have our happy girl back!

Weight: 20 lbs 4 oz

Height: 31 inches (give or take, it was difficult to measure her!)

Napping: Two naps a day, morning and afternoon.  They average in range from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours with her norm being 1 hour 15 minutes.  She can put herself to sleep (which sometimes involves a little crying), but has required lots of help in this department recently due to her teething pain.

Night: There was a few day span where she was up 2-3 times so I took her to the doctor to have her ears checked.  They were fine; the culprit is her top two teeth.  However, the average for this month is still one wake-up around 5am.  So she sleeps from 7p-5ish, quick feed (yes, I am aware she does not need this), and then back to bed until the 7-8ish timeframe.  I will eventually wean her of that final wake-up, but it is harder for me to do because she has already been sleeping for 10 hours and I worry that she may be hungry and will cry even longer.  I am a softie on this one, I know.

 Food: Olivia is a great eater.  She loves most anything we offer her and eats mostly all table food.  New things for this month include: strawberries, lunch meat, shredded cheese, lima beans, tortillas, toast, scrambled egg yolks, english muffins, cooked pasta, and grapes.  Her favorite foods are watermelon, chicken, and yogurt. 

Nursing: Four times a day (7a, 11a, 3p, 7p) for about 10-20 minutes total

Skills: pulls to stand on anything including straight up surfaces (e.g., kitchen cabinets, dishwasher), chases after us when we hide from her, lowers herself down from standing gracefully, points to things that she wants, has turned from one object to another while standing (e.g., from the couch to the coffee table), closes doors, opens the drawers in her closet and on her dresser, arches her back and pushes off to show her displeasure in getting into the carseat, having her diaper changed, or trying to be settled down for naptime, and has become a climber onto anything and everything!

Language: is more and more verbal often having lenghty "conversations" with herself or her toys, says 'mama', 'dada' (actually she prefers 'da'), 'hi', 'ga' for cat, and 'da' for dog, 'num num' when she wants to eat, has a consistent sound combination for  'all done' but I haven't broken it down phonetically, shrieks in excitement quite often and is LOUD! (often does this with arms flailing about as pictured below:), has shown some emerging signs in conjuction with my signs but never independently (they have always happened while I am signing and singing to her)

Fun Facts: has began to show signs of seperation anxiety, has 2 1/2 teeth visible now, loves the pool so far this summer, wears size 3 diapers and size 12-18 month clothing, still claps anytime she hears me sing "patty cake....", still loves books and her favorites right now are 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', 'Red Hat Green Hat', and 'Brown Bear', wakes up happy most of the time, throws her food off of her high chair to signal she is done eating, insists that her sippy cup be placed in the round "cup holder" spot on her high chair tray, would eat puffs for all meals if I let her!, cries more often than normal while riding in her carseat, holds onto her blanket while standing and crying in her crib, likes to play upstairs and in her nursery, follows the cat around despite it continually hissing at her, likes to knock over stack of blocks, cries and screams anytime I am on the phone because she wants to have it, has begun to show her displeasure when she doesn't get what she wants by throwing a little fit (which is oh-so-fun), squeals with delight anytime we see the neighbor children, likes to climg all over me like I am a jungle gym, loves to put my sunglasses on her head and up to her eyes, will look up to the sky when she hears an airplane or birds, and likes to swing.

strawberry picking.

Look, Mommy, I found a BIG one!!

snack time.

While on the kitchen theme, I thought I would share a video from the other day too.  Grandparents, enjoy =)


Snack on kitchen floor from Stephanie Allen on Vimeo.

helping with the dishes.

Remember how I mentioned that Baby Girl likes to help out with loading and unloading the dishwasher?  Well, the other day I caught her in action!

Isn't she such a helpful lilttle girl?!

a day for mothers...

.....what a great idea!  I would like to kiss the person who created this holiday because I have felt special all day long.  Baby Girl and Andy got me a gift certificate for a deliciously long massage and a facial and I cannot wait to get to the spa and cash it in!  

We spent the afternoon together at Waterfront Park enjoying the harbor views and the sunshine.  Baby Girl even got some quality time in the swings at the park.

I had planned to write something sweet and catchy about being a mother, but my mind isn't really feeling it tonight.  However, I will say that being Olivia's mother is the most amazing blessing of my life.  I love her more than I could have ever imagined and sometimes just looking at her brings me to tears (happy ones!). 

I pray daily for God's guidance in being a good mother because she deserves only the best.  It isn't always easy being her mommy, but it is the greatest joy of my life!