Olivia Elia

Help?

2010-02-16T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is what I found when I went into her room this morning. She said, "Help?" Guess we're going to have to put drawer locks on today!

I'm a big girl now!

2010-02-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

All the baby furniture is gone and she now has a new BIG GIRL ROOM! No more laying on the changing table with her legs hanging off! Yay! The transition has been great, no complaints out of her, she loves it! Every day she points to the bed and says, "Livvy's bed!"

TWO!!!

2010-01-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

I wish I had a lot of nice, cute things to say about turning two-but it's been a rough couple of weeks. First she was sick for a week, then at some point one of her two-year-molars came in. She seems to think she's too old for naps now and she'd rather just scream and pound on her door. She's been waking up in the middle of the night screaming to be tucked in again and have her music turned back on. In between all that, she's still cute and lovable, just hard to handle right now! Hopefully my next post will be more upbeat!

For those of you not on our mailing list...

2009-12-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Am I two yet?

2009-11-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

We are officially discharged from therapy! No more physical or speech therapy. We had our evaluation and both therapists said that she is not only on track for her age but in some ways ahead of her age group. Especially when it comes to asserting her independance, otherwise known as "the terrible twos," even though she's only 22 months. She wants everything her way, when, where, and how she says! And if you dare to defy her she will let you know how unhappy she is. At the same time, she's adorably cute and lovable! =)

Shoe shopping with my BFF

2009-11-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

You can never have too many boots!

Pumpkin time!

2009-10-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Such a big girl!

2009-10-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Little Livvy-Lu thinks she's a big girl now, and so she's been peeing on the potty! She's only one year and nine months old! Having done this once before, I'm SOOOOO not ready to potty train. But I will, if that's what she wants. =) When she tells me she wants to sit on the potty, I let her, and she's done it three times in two days!

Farm Fun

2009-09-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

We went to Remlinger Farms and Livvy had fun on some of the rides, but cried on others. We had to turn the pony around after only five steps! Jake had the time of his life and asked if we can go there EVERY DAY!

It's raining, it's pouring...

2009-09-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

And the kids love it!

"I wuv you Wivia."

2009-08-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sand in the city!

2009-08-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

240 tons of sand are brought in for this annual event. A sandbox, a boat ride, and some ice cream...what more could you ask for?

NW Trek

2009-08-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

We had a fun outing with Jake's birthmom at the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Jake was so excited to be there that he actually let me take his picture a few times! Livvy did really well staying in the stroller when we walked around looking at the exhibits, but the one hour tram ride was a bit too long for her. Thank goodness for snacks!

Sitting with Jake's birthmom.

boating!

2009-08-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of Jake and Livvy's first time on a boat. Grandma and Grandpa Grady were so nice to take us out on their boat and have a lovely picnic on a little island near Olympia. It was a great first boat ride for the both of them!

Daahhhling...

2009-07-12T19:29:00.001-07:00

Visit with birthgrandparents

2009-07-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

We had a fun five days in Oregon visiting with Olivia's birthgrandparents! We also got to meet her almost four year old half sister! Here are some of the highlights:

Gotta love Summer!

2009-06-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Parks and playdates everyday, she is one happy little girl!

A Day at the Park

2009-05-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Park and sushi for Mother's Day, perfect!

yoga babies

2009-05-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

I've recently started taking yoga and the kids love to play on my mat. I've never done it in front of them, but somehow they knew one of the poses! Kids love to be upside down so I guess it just comes naturally.

bye-bye highchair

2009-04-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

When it was time to get in the highchair, she would kick her legs making it impossible to get her in. Once in, she would whine, refuse to eat, and say "down." Then after I got her down, she would come over to me and say "Up, up!" I put two and two together (okay, it took me a few weeks) and realized that she wanted to be a big girl and sit at the table with us! The highchair pulled up to the table was not good enough, so now she sits in a booster seat. Whenever she sees a chair, no matter how big, she tries to climb up and sit in it! Whatever makes you happy, little one!

She also loves to sit in the little chairs at Jake's preschool!

Back on the charts!

2009-04-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Even though she's only 18 lbs 13 oz, she's back on the growth charts at the 3rd percentile! She's 75-90 percentile in height so a real string bean! The doctor is happy with her growth so I'm going to stop stressing out (yeah, right!) about her eating

pudding

2009-04-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get her to eat more, we gave her the spoon to feed herself. Maybe pudding was not the best choice...

first REAL day of Spring!

2009-04-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

This is more like it!

Craig is in the background building our new deck!

First museum

2009-04-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited that Olivia is old enough now to enjoy a children's museum! It's so much fun now that she's a full time walker. This particular museum is the Hands On Children's Museum in Olympia which Jake's birth-grandparents are members of.

walking shoes

2009-03-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here's the new and improved walking! I never claimed it was graceful!

work, work, work.

2009-03-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Look at all these dishes to wash...

then I have to sort these books!

Our little monkey has started physical therapy! She needs to work on strengthening her core balance which is affecting everything from walking to eating! To keep her from standing and walking on her toes, we had to buy her some special shoes that support her ankles. Her walking has improved tremendously already! If she's not in a hurry, she'll just walk everywhere she goes. So far, her eating has not improved much, she's still as picky as ever. She has been gaining weight though, so I guess that's all that matters.

She walks!

2009-03-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

And so it starts...

Olivia says "Jake!"

2009-02-26T15:46:00.000-08:00

almost walking

2009-02-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that our Livvy-Lu has taken as many as five steps! They are more like stumbling to a fall than actual walking but it's a start! I've been trying to post some video but for some reason I'm having trouble with the video making software.

Here's a picture of her trying to be a big girl!

Let's dance!

2009-02-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

She loves rockin' out in her car seat!

words

2009-02-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

It's hard to really tell at this point but Olivia does seem to have a few "words" that she uses consistently. She doesn't have too many consonants yet so everything sounds like a form of mama, dada, or baba. Sometimes I point to Jake and say his name and she'll say "da" and I know she thinks she's saying his name!

ba-ba= used to be bottle but now is a sippy cup

mum-mum= food

nana= banana

ba= ball

da-da= kitty

uh-oh= something fell

ny-ny= night-night

buh=book

haaa=hi

Happy first birthday!

2009-01-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

What a tiny little peanut we have! Maybe I should let her eat the whole entire cake!

17 lbs 6 oz 3-5th percentile

29 3/4 in 50-75th percentile

She got the green light to switch to milk, but the doc is a little concerned about her eating. She's still not using the pincer grasp which is directly related to chewing food. If after one month she's still not doing it, she'll have to go to physical therapy. =( She also doesn't point, which is something that's supposed to happen before the one year mark. I can't blame it on being premature because she's doing everything else a one year old should be doing! Cross your fingers that she won't need therapy!

Indoor park

2009-01-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Whoever thought of this was a genious! It's the only thing that helps us get through the Winter months when we can't run and play at a playground. There are three different community centers in my area that do the indoor park and I've been taking Jake for years. Now that Olivia's one, she get's to join in the fun too! There are always more than enough toys and space to run around!

Poor Roscoe!

2009-01-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

Dog: "Now where did I put my ball?"

Baby: "YOUR ball? No way dude, this is MY ball!"

Baby: "I'm just going to go sit in the corner with MY ball."

Dog: "Oh man, she's getting baby slobber all over MY ball!"

First x-mas

2008-12-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

These presents are yummy!

I look good in my new wheels!
I don't know which color tastes better!

Her first snow

2008-12-22T15:33:00.001-08:00

It's her first snow! Except for the fact that there was a huge snow storm when we took her home from the hospital, but we don't count that! That was a nine hour drive through three passes (hoping they wouldn't close the passes) and stopping every three hours to feed her. We just wanted to make it home in one piece.

She loves her walker!

2008-12-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Practice makes perfect!

Excuse me...

2008-12-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Who do I have to see about getting some toys in here?

I've been a REALLY good girl!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Hi Grandma, it's Thanksgiving!

I got all dressed up for this wonderful Thanksgiving feast...yum, coasters!

mmm...granite!

2008-11-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

Her new favorite foods are...granite and shoes! She will go through four pairs of shoes in one sitting, one after the other. Luckily, these shoes have never touched the ground, just indoors. She also likes to lick the granite inlay in our hardwood floor!

FIRST WORD!

2008-11-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here it is..."BA-BA" for bottle! I've held off making it official for a few weeks now because I wanted to make sure she really was connecting the word with the object. At first she would say it when she was DONE drinking and would hold her bottle and smile at it! Then she started saying it every time she saw it, and now she even says it when she's hungry. Unfortunately the bottle goes away in two months replaced by a sippy cup, so we'll have to teach her to say milk or cup!

first halloween

2008-11-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, this halloween was not about Olivia, it was all about Jake! Three and a half is soooooo much fun! Next year when Olivia is almost two and walking and talking, that'll be more fun for her!

pumpkin heads

2008-10-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Olivia @ 9 months, Jake @ 7 months:

9 months old

2008-10-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here are her stats from the doctor visit:

weight: 16#2 10th percentile

height: 27 in 25-50th percentile

head: 25th percentile

Lookin' good!

matching

2008-10-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

You can imagine the attention they got in their matching outfits!

It's pumpkin time!

2008-10-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

She was a little sleepy due to not taking a morning nap, so we couldn't get any smiles! Even when she was clapping or standing, which usually brings out a big grin, she was very serious. Also, I dug up an old picture of Jake's first pumpkin patch when he was about her age.

clap-clap-clap

2008-10-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ever since she learned how to clap, she does it all day long!

BTW, for those of you keeping track, she now has SIX teeth! Two more top ones just came in!

funny new sounds

2008-10-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

So, our little monkey is figuring out what kinds of sounds she can make and it's very entertaining! She makes some very soft whispering noises that sound like ba-ba ma-ma, and some very loud screeching noises that when you're in the car, they can hurt your ears. But my favorite one at the moment is when she scrunches up her face and blows air out between her lips causing saliva to spray everywhere! I managed to capture all three on video, enjoy!

new digs

2008-09-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

The pillow palace is gone now and we've moved on to bigger and better things! I converted the dining room into a playroom and she's been having a ball in there. Jake also has a rejuvenated love for his old toys and is constantly "teaching" Olivia how to play with them. For some reason she looks so grown up playing with these toys, I guess it's because they are more for toddlers than infants. She hasn't really successfully pulled herself to stand again, so in these pictures I had helped her up. She will eventually fall so I can't be too far away when she's standing. Also, after standing for a while, she gets very upset when she's back down on the floor!

Look at the pride on her face!

2008-09-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

She pulled herself up to standing for the first time and boy was she ever excited! The funny thing is that she still hasn't even learned to sit herself up yet! She's getting a little ahead of herself here. =)

Aaaahhhh, Summer...

2008-09-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Can they get along this well forever?

Just enjoying those last few days of warm weather!

On the move!

2008-09-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

She's really getting the hang of this scooting/army crawl thing. Watch her go!

scooting and posing

2008-08-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is her new favorite position! She rolls on her side and then "poses" with her legs crossed.

She's also trying to scoot, but she doesn't get very far! I tried putting a toy out of her reach but she doesn't feel the need to go after it.

Grandma and Grandpa

2008-08-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

After six long months we finally got to meet Olivia's Grandparents! We had a wonderful two day visit from them on their way to an Alaskan cruise. Olivia had lots of fun playing with them and exploring new faces! We hope to have many more get togethers in our future! It was so nice to finally get to know them better face to face. Not only were they doting grandparents to Olivia, but they made Jake feel pretty special too! What a great addition to our family! I took about a hundred pictures, but here are some highlights.

BFF-agreed?

2008-08-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Use the secret handshake! Like this, remember?
I know, the hair's coming in nice huh? Don't worry, yours will be soon.

Let's hear it for being AVERAGE!

2008-07-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Wooohooo! Olivia had a developmental assessment yesterday with three specialists at the Children's Therapy Center. This was recommended by the hospital when she was born because of her prematurity and the infection that she was born with. We don't get the official written assessment for a few weeks, but they did show us her "grades" and she was in the 50th percentile for babies her age. That means she is an AVERAGE six month old with no deficiencies or delays! YAY! Usually with premature babies they will use your adjusted age, which is when you should have been born, but they used her actual age and she still got an average score. I kind of had a feeling that she was fine but it was nice to hear it officially.

As you can see from this picture, she's learning to sit unsupported now. I'm so excited for this stage because then she can sit in a shopping cart, restaurant high chair, and eventually the swings at the park! It's kind of funny to watch because when she does lose her balance, she does a face plant right onto the floor. She hasn't yet learned to use her hands to break her fall!

just talking to Livia

2008-07-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

As a three year old, Jake is constantly talking. Usually to his cars, trucks, or tractors-he makes different voices for each one and carries on conversations. So the other day when I was in the kitchen and heard him talking, I didn't pay much attention. But when I looked over, he was talking to Olivia! I asked him what he was talking about and he said he was telling her about his nap. I tried to capture it on video, but he just stopped talking when he saw the camera. It's not very often that Jake interacts with Olivia, especially unprompted!

What am I supposed to do with this?

2008-07-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

Since Olivia is now six months old, I thought I'd start feeding her solids. The first few times I tried she just looked at me like, "what the heck are you doning?" She doesn't spit it out, but she doesn't swallow it either! She just let's it sit in her mouth and stares at me! It's the funniest thing! After the third day of trying she's now getting the hang of it. Maybe she'll like it better when we move into something more exciting than rice cereal.

Just chillin'

2008-07-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

She looks like she's just hanging out, but actually she rolled into the pillows and got stuck! =)

welcome to my pillow palace!

2008-07-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

Olivia has got a section of the family room all to herself! It's padded along the walls for those times when she won't stop rolling until she hits her head on the wall. I went around the house and gathered up all the extra pillows I could find and made a pillow palace for her. We also had to put up a baby gate because the other day I was cooking and Olivia decided to roll all the way on to the hardwood floor to the kitchen!

Ready for the beach!

2008-07-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today we went down to the Lake for lunch and a stroll. Jake and Olivia both love watching the boats and the ducks. It's a good thing I took these pictures before we left the house because I forgot to take any when we got there! Her little noggin is so tiny, everything is so big on her!

Sitting is soooo last week!

2008-06-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

She absolutely will not sit on your lap anymore, she has to STAND UP! She doesn't like being still in any position. When laying down she rolls over or she scoots forward on her tummy, when she's in her excersaucer she spins around. Her greatest torture is having to sit in her car seat for more than a few minutes. I have a feeling she will follow in Jake's footsteps and be walking at nine months. Look out world!

Sound of the week

2008-06-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Not much to report in the fifth month. She's learning to use her hands more and she loves to stare at them in amazement. She also likes to stuff them in her mouth until she gags! It's hard to watch, but she will do it over and over again. Like everything else she learns, I know this will lose it's appeal and she'll move on to something else in no time. Her favorite sound to make at the moment is "aaaaahhhhh" with her tongue sticking out. She's done with the raspberries already...that was the messy one!

A rare moment

2008-05-27T13:44:00.001-07:00

Jake was having a rare moment of interest in the baby. He usually doesn't pay her much notice. But on this day, snuggled up in their jammies, he wanted to give her some love.

so far so good

2008-05-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Well, our little peanut passed her four month check-up with flying colors. I'm beginning to think this preemie thing is not an issue! The real test will be when she has her developmental assessment at six months. We'll be taking her to a specialist at a children's therapy center which was recommended both by her doctor and by the hospital where she was born.

Here are her stats for now:

11 lbs 14 1/2 oz-10-25th percentile

24 3/4 in-75th percentile

She's still rolling, and getting upset about it. =) Like I said, it's a compulsion!

Rolling over...

2008-05-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

...and over...and over. Six days before she turns four months old, she started rolling over and now she won't stop! It's like a compulsion, she can't stop doing it even when she's crying. She doesn't especially like being on her tummy, but she'll roll onto her tummy the second you lay her down on her back. Needless to say, naptimes are going to be lots of fun, at least until she learns to roll herself back the other way.

It's her first really big milestone and it's fun to watch! Now I just want to hear her laugh!

Wanna see my new trick?

2008-04-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

I love to blow bubbles all day!

That sleeping through the night thing was short lived. It was on and off for about a week, but now she's back to waking at night to eat. Oh well, such is the life of a three month old!

Three months old today!

2008-04-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

No new milestones to report, we're still waiting for that first giggle! She's sleeping a lot longer at night now, up to seven hours, but it's not consistant.

We had one day of nice weather and we're back to freezing cold and hail. Ugghh. I really want to take the kids to the park or for walks on a daily basis. At least they're too young to know any better, I think next year Jake is going to complain a lot more.

I feel so much better now!

2008-04-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Everybody is back to normal at our house now. Whew.

Yesterday we took the kids to the lake and as we're getting out of the car, Jake says to me,

"That's my baby"

"yes, Jake, that's your baby sister"

"I don't want any kids touching my baby"

"Okay Jake, I won't let any kids touch your baby"

"Her name's 'livia"

"yes, her name is 'livia"

I think I'm going to start calling her 'livia.

Just wanted to say hi...

2008-04-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

...and show you my dimples!

After finding out that Craig had pneumonia, I started worrying that maybe something more serious was wrong with Olivia too. Sure enough, she had it too. I had to take her to get a chest x-ray and it was heart wrenching to have to hold her down while she screamed. =( I was warned that preemies are more likely to get infections when they get sick and in the future more likely to have asthma. So, we're holed up in our house while she's in this weakened state and hopefully Jake won't be bouncing off the walls!

What a little angel

2008-04-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well, our little peanut is sick again! =( She's got a cough and runny nose, no fever yet. Her daddy's got it bad too, he hasn't left his bed for four days. I don't know how I escaped it this time, because Jake had it last week too. Thank goodness I'm okay though, because Olivia woke me up every three hours last night! She was doing so well going five to seven hours at night. Oh well, hopefully it's only temporary.

Not small, just petite

2008-03-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

I love my friend Maddie!

So, we got her two-month stats and she's doing really well! 10-25th percentile in weight and 50-75th percentile in height. Just when I'm starting to think she's not so small, we get a visit from Maddie whose only two weeks older than Olivia and WOW what a difference! Don't worry though, Maddie is very big for her age.

I'm two months old today!

2008-03-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

And I just learned to smile!

She just started really smiling last night and it's such a great milestone! Instead of just staring off into space, she now looks right into your eyes and sometimes gives you a little smile! She also makes cute little happy noises instead of just fussing noises. I don't want her to grow up too fast, but boy these changes sure are fun!

It sucks being sick

2008-03-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

And I especially hate when mommy and daddy use that suction thing on my nose!

Well, three out of the four of us are sick and as usual, Craig is bulletproof. We're getting settled into our new house and the weather is getting warmer so Jake and I are having fun at the neighborhood park. Soon enough Olivia will be running around there too. She's a little more alert now, but nothing earth-shattering happening in her world. I can't wait to go to her next doctor visit and find out how much she's grown!

Extended family

2008-02-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

Another Grandma to love me? Bring it on!

I was thrilled to get a call from birthmom Lindsay the other day and was finally able to meet her mother. We talked and cried a little on the phone and made plans to meet soon. The more people that love this little girl, the better off she'll be! Jake is so fortunate to have a huge extended birthfamily and now Olivia will too! Can't wait to meet them all!

Should I have been born NOW?

2008-02-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

I'm five weeks old now and they say I shouldn't even be born yet!

After her four week doctor visit, Olivia is in the 10th percentile for height, weight, and head size. Not bad for a 4-6 week premie! She eats like a champ every four hours and sleeps most of the day and night. I look forward to that changing but only the daytime part!

We're moving into our new house in THREE DAYS. I'm very excited but nervous about the transition with Jake being an almost three year old. Cross your fingers that he sleeps well right from the first night. He's done so well with every other transition in his life so I'm hoping for the best.