8 Months

Dear Olivia-

Today you are Eight months old! I can't believe you are so big already! We took you to the doctor last week and you weighed about 17 1/2 lbs. so you're growing like crazy! Your legs are so chubby that you actually have rolls on the back of your knees. It's so adorable.

This last month you have mastered so many new things. You can officially sit up, go down to crawling position or lay on your back, and get back to sitting up all on your own. You are crawling around all over the place now too. You're still a little "lazy" when it comes to crawling in the sense that you'll only put full effort in when there is something you want. All of the other times, you will take a few steps then look and your dad and me and whine until we pick you up or bring something to you. It makes us laugh. You also love to play games and especially peek-a-boo. We find you doing this even when you're alone. Just last night you were crying so your dad went in to check on you and he said you would cry then peek your head over the crib to see if anyone was coming yet. If you didn't see anyone, you would stop crying, sit back down, and start over again. You are a funny girl. You've also learned how to wave. Sometimes it's for hello and sometimes for goodbye but you always do it when you see yourself in the mirror. You love looking at pictures of yourself and always have a happy giggle or dance when you see yourself.

You are such a happy baby and have a smile for everyone. You are not afraid of strangers and will usually smile at everyone you see when we take you out. People always comment on how happy and beautiful of a baby you are, which of course makes your dad and I beam with pride. We love watching you learn and grow. We also love buying cute clothes for you and dressing you up. Your hair is finally long enough to do some fun things with and lately I've been putting it in curly piggytails. They are so cute! You also love to give us kisses. Sometimes they are better than others but they are ALWAYS slobbery and sincere. We look forward to these every day.

Olivia, once again, you are such a joy. We love you so much and couldn't imagine our lives without you. Everyday you bring a smile to our face and warm our hearts. We thank our Heavenly Father every day for the opportunity we have to be your parents. We love you so much!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Picture Princess Contest

For those of you who haven't perused the Shabby Apple website, you should take a look. They have darling, stylish dresses for adults and the cutest dresses for little girls you've ever seen. Right now, they are doing a contest for their Shabby Baby line called: Picture Princess.

Of course, Joel and I already know Olivia is a Princess so why not enter her in a contest and make it official?! Seriously though, Olivia has been the most perfect little princess since we were blessed to add her to our family. She wakes up with a smile and giggles throughout the entire day. Even through the list of problems she dealt with at birth, she still had the best disposition and radiated love. She's beautiful and wonderful, and why wouldn't we want to add stylish to that list? She loves to be dressed up and has her eye on all of the little girls and girls dresses from Shabby Baby. We LOVE all of the dresses but if we had to pick just one for her, I think it would have to be the VINEYARD dress for our little princess. Wish our little princess luck!

7 Months

My sweet little Olivia-

This month has been so fun! You are learning new things everyday and sometimes it's hard to keep up with all of the things you can do! You had your first sleep-over at Grandma Lees' and had such a good time. Somehow she even taught you to roll over which was something we had been trying to master for some time. Ever since then you have been rolling from one end of the house to the other. You love this new freedom of being able to move around and get into things. You're also trying to figure out how to crawl. You get up on your knees and rock back and forth and I know one day soon you are going to take off.

Bathtime has become a favorite again. As soon as we walk in the bathroom and turn the water one you start squeeling and flailing your arms and would jump straight into the water if you could! I usually let you play with the water as it fills the tub and you find such joy in this!

You've also started to babble more than just coo. You can really only say, "da, da, da" right now but I can tell other sounds will be coming soon. Your dad thinks it's great that you're saying his name, although we know you don't really know what you're saying.

Food is still so fun for you and you love trying new things, most of the time. We've started to introduce baby meats and you are less than thrilled about them. You're a good sport though and I only make you take a few bites each time because it really does smell pretty gross. You are so sweet during bottle time. You like to have me hold the bottle and you grab both of my hands with your hands. Even though you can hold the bottle yourself, you prefer this method. Sometimes it's hard when I have a million other things to do but it's so sweet I can't help but give in.

You are so fun and get bigger by the day. I love being your mommy and am so blessed to have you in my life. Oh the fun we will have!

Love you lots!
Mommy

6 Months

Oh Miss Olivia-

I was such a slacker this month and here you are just days away from 7 months and I'm just getting to this. I'll do my best to remember everything you did last month.

For starters, you did figure out how to get those cute toes in your mouth and it became one of your favorite pass times. Sometimes when I would lay you down for the night, your feet would automatically pop up and you would hold on tight, all while staying asleep. The other big thing you did last month was you learned to sit up! You started out a little tipsy but after a few days you had perfected the position, and loving it!

Your hair keeps getting blonder and longer. This month we were finally able to put it in a single pony, and then I even tried little piggies! They stick straight up on top of your head and Aunt Lindsay said they look like little antennae. I think they are darling.

You still love to eat new foods and like almost everything. We've tried lots of fruits and vegetables and the only thing you've rejected in green beans. Your little face was so cute all scrunched up when you tasted them. You were such a champ though and even tried a few more bites, until you just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't force it since they were pretty gross.

I took you to the doctor and you were so brave during your shots. Just a quick cry, then you gave me a hug and were back to smiles. Such a sweetheart. You weighed in around 15 lbs. 9 oz. and were about 24.5 inches long. Your head is still small (15th percentile) and so perfectly cute.

Your daddy and I love you more everyday (seems impossible since we already love you so much)! We love watching you grow and learn. You bring so much joy and happiness into our lives and we could not be more blessed than we are to have you.

Love,
Mommy

5 Months

Dear Livey-

As always, I'm a little late getting to this this month but already I'm loving you at 5 months! This past month flew by with the holidays but it was so much fun having you here for Christmas. You didn't care much for opening presents but you came out with two totally awesome gifts. The first is your jumper which you spend hours in playing and playing. It took a day or two for you to figure it out but now you jump around like crazy. The second is your Curious George movie. You watch it over and over again and just love listening to the music. You seem like such a big kid already.

For some reason, your bathtime glee disipated this month. You still enjoy the bath but now you just lay there and smile instead of splashing around. You've also tried very hard to eat your feet but haven't gotten there yet. I'm sure in the next few weeks you'll be sucking on those toes like they are candy. What, candy you say? Yes, you definitely know what candy is thanks to your dad. You try to eat everything we are eating or anything you can get into your mouth. If you see it, you want it. I've tried to keep it under control and only give you baby stuff but your dad is a sucker and gives you everything. It's pretty cute watching how excited you get over juice or treats. Thankfully, you also like your baby food. We tried applesauce and carrots this month and they were a huge hit. It's so fun watching you learn new things.

This month you got your first cold. You were such a good girl even while sick but it made me so sad to see you feel so crummy and not be able to fix it. Luckily you got over it fast and were back to your smiley self. It was cute to watch you wake up one day with a huge smile on your face as if to tell us the cold was gone. For some reason while you were sick you decided you didn't like to suck your thumb anymore and you switched the type of binki you like. I still can't figure out what happened. Now you love to play with your binki and you've figured out how to take it out and put it back in your mouth all by yourself (and you get mad when I try to do it for you).

We love you so much and have so much fun with you everyday. Thanks for being so happy and sharing your unlimited supply of smiles and giggles with us.

Love,
Mommy

4 Months

Dear Little Olivia-

I know I say this every month but I can't believe you're already four months old! You are getting so big! Your daddy and I love watching you grow. We went to the doctor and you weighed 10 lbs. 6 oz., and were 24.5 inches long! You have the cutest little fat rolls all over your arms and legs and I love to kiss those chubby cheeks.

I would have to say that your favorite thing to do right now is play in the tub. You've always like bathtime but this past month is has become apparent that you are going to be our little water bug. You start waving your arms and legs before I even put you in the tub and you would stay in there all day if I would let you. Sometimes I let you stay in longer than I should because it's just so cute watching you splash. We always have fun after bathtime (and before bedtime) too because that's when I tickle you and you love it! Your feet are especially tickelish and your little giggle is so fun to listen to that I start laughing too.

We've also started feeding you rice cereal this month (even though we probably weren't supposed to). You don't care for it much with a spoon but you love it in a bottle. I love it too because it helps you sleep through the night better. You've started to wiggle so much that daddy finally gave in and let me put you in your playpen to sleep. We are both a lot happier with our space however I still sneak you into our bed sometimes because I love to snuggle with you.

A new game you've started to love is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Your face lights up and you always smile when I put your hands above your head. It's darling. You also like to be sung to before you go to sleep. We both know I don't have a great singing voice but you tolerate it well. Thanks.

You are a tv junkie which is a huge help sometimes but I try not to let you watch too much. We want to make sure your imagination gets time too. It's funny to watch you while watching it though because you are so intent on whatever is on the screen, even if it's the news! You also hold up your head perfectly now and try hard to crawl, even though you're far from being able to.

Olivia, we love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

3 Months

Miss Olivia-

You are already 3 months old! Somehow your daddy and I fall more in love with you every day. You are so much fun and we just can't get enough time with you. You have really figured out how to suck your thumb and it's so great because you calm yourself down with it constantly. You LOVE any kind of music. If you are being fussy we can turn on music and you become mesmorized. It's so cute to watch.

Morning are my favorite time with you. As soon as you wake up you get this smile that goes from ear to ear and it lasts for about 10 minutes. Sometimes you like to play games with me like sticking out your tongue and laughing when I return the gesture. You've also figured out how to giggle and it is really the cutest little grunt/chortle. You're ticklish so when I'm getting ready to bathe you in the morning I always tickle you for a few minutes in your crib first. It's fun because it's just our special time together.

I'm not sure how much you weigh but you are definitely growing! I've had to put most of your 0-3 month clothes away and your wearing the 3-6 month stuff now. You have so many cute things to wear and I love dressing you up. In the mornings when I do your hair you sit on the counter and just smile at yourself in the mirror. When we're done I always show you the final product and you respond with a great big smile as if to say, "Yep, I do look cute."

You are still the best cuddler and I always look forward to my big hugs from you. I love you so much and thank our Heavenly Father everyday for the wonderful blessing you are in my life. I'm so lucky to be your mom and I'm enjoying every single second of it!

Love,

Mommy