Olivia's Favorite Things (At 6 Weeks Old)

The lack of blog entries does not represent the activities that Olivia has been enjoying the past few weeks!  She continues to grow and develop a personality!  She is very determined to get what she wants and her set of lungs has really developed ( I wonder who she gets that from...me probably)!  However she has a very cheerful and relaxed disposition as well.  She began to smile about a week ago and we have had a hard time capturing it on camera because we love watching it so much!  Here is one of the first times she smiled:

It is really neat because her entire face lights up and she is really starting to react to Dan and I's faces!  It is heartwarming!

In honor of Oprah canceling her Favorite Things episode this year we decided to capture and share Olivia's Favorite Things.  This list is much cheaper that Oprah's but just as important!  At six weeks of age here are some of Olivia's Favorite Things:

Item #1:  Her friend Mr. Fan 

After a tasty meal provided by mom, Olivia enjoys digesting her food by kicking and flailing her arms, while staring up at the ceiling fan in our room!  It will provide her at least 15 minutes of entrainment.  Sometimes after a late night feeding, Olivia will fight falling back to sleep because she is staring up at the fan. Dan and I call it her friend Mr. Fan and she quite adorable staring at it!

Item #2 The Bouncer Seat 

This has been one of our sanity savers.  Olivia slept in the bouncer seat for the first week and a half of her life.  The first night home she did not want to sleep in the bassinet, so after three sleepless hours I tried the bouncer seat, with a vibration setting, and she fell asleep quickly!  So for the next few nights Olivia and Hurley slept in their little "beds" on the floor of our room.  We were able to transition her into the bassinet about a week and a half later! Now she enjoys the bouncy seat during the day to stare at items and take little naps!  My favorite part of the bouncy is that I can put her in it during the week while Dan is at work and take a shower.  She will just lay there and sleep or just stare at the lights in the hallway!  It is a nice break for me and I LOVE that I can shower daily!  As I type this entry, Livy is swaddled up in the bouncy seat fighting off falling asleep!

Item #3 The Playtime Mat 

The other playtime activity that Olivia loves is the Fisher Price Playtime Mat!  She loves staring at the dangling toys and will lay there for at least 20 minutes!   She recently discovered that she can hit the toys when she is flailing her arms about!  It was pretty funny the first time she hit it because it surprised her and she stopped for a minute to investigate!  I am sure it will not be long before she can kick the ball on the other end of the map!  We will also have Tummy Time on this map.  She does have two other playtime mats but at this moment this on is her favorite! 

Item/Activity #4 Bath Time

The first bath that Olivia had she screamed the first few minutes and then settled down and seemed to like the bath.  For her first bath Dan was here to help, but I felt the need to accomplish the task on my own and after Dan went back to work I tried it out!  She was wonderful and seemed to LOVE the bath!  She kicked around, stared at the running water, and tried to lick the water off her hands!  We have our little routine now of bathing on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  She has even started to tolerate getting out and being dried off! 

Item #5 Her Thumb

Just like her mother and father, Olivia loves her fingers, especially her thumb!  For the first two weeks of her life she would not keep the pacifier in her mouth and to calm her down Dan and I would have to stick out finger in her mouth because she could not get her own to suck on!  Since then she will keep the pacifier in her mouth but still prefers to get her thumb!  Often she will spit it out when she is in her car seat and starts screaming, but a few minutes later you can  hear her sucking on her hands and calming down!  We also hear her waking up and putting her hands in  her mouth!  I am looking forward to the day when she can get her hand in her mouth because then we will not have to fight with the pacifier falling out.  Although I guess the dentist bills will begin to mount up as she gets older!

Item #6 The Baby Bjorn 

The Baby Bjorn baby carrier has been a saving grace for us!  During the day Olivia will have times when she does not want to be put down, so I put her in the carrier and finish things around the house!  It is wonderful as well when we go out because it is less to carry than the car seat and stroller. Last weekend we had some Christmas shopping to get done and we decided not to maneuver the stroller in the mall, so Dan wore her around the mall and it was so much easier!  She will often fall asleep in the Bjorn.  I have used this to grocery shop and on nice days we will go for a walk with Hurley as well.  I know the fresh air is great for her and Hurley LOVES the extra walk! 

So there are a few of Olivia's Favorite Things!  The first 6 weeks has been an interesting time, adjusting to her needs, learning exactly what her cries mean!  It has been challenging, but now that she is smiling it is all worth it!  Nursing is taking less time and she is feeding about every 3 hours, which leaves more time to get things down and interact with her! 

We look forward to her first Christmas!  We are venturing down to Ocean City for Christmas and are excited for Olivia to meet her Aunt Jill, Uncle Steve, and especially her cousin, Emma!  Of course she is excited about seeing her Gram and Grandpa again! 

Hope you all are enjoying this holiday season!

Love to all

Laura, Dan, and Olivia

   

Cutting Down the Christmas Tree and Ravens Game!

The busy Thanksgiving weekend continued on Saturday with the cutting down of our Christmas tree and being babysat by Gram and Grandpa Puryear, while Dan and I attended the Ravens vs. Steelers football game!

With three weeks to go until Christmas we decided to get a jump start on the tree and decorations!  Saturday morning Olivia was wide awake again and was not in the mood to be put down, so in between holding and feeding her, Dan and I began to decorate  some of our house!  We were able to get all of the decorations down from the attic and put some of the decorations around the house before it was time to head out to cut down our tree! 

We traveled with my parents, sister Bethany, Tyler, and Greatest to a tree farm in Carol County.  When we arrived Olivia was not happy and we realized it was time to eat...again!  So in the back seat I gave her a bottle and Dan changed her diaper!  It must have been an interesting site to see, but I am sure it will not be the first time she eats in different places! Then we put her in the baby Bjorn and set out to find the perfect tree! 

When Dan and I finally choose our tree my Mom wanted to take a picture of Olivia because she looked oh so cute as snuggle up close to me!  As we were occupied with the photo opt Dan was cutting though the trunk of our chosen tree.  Next thing we know Dan is on the ground calling for help!  When we looked the tree had fallen over and pinned him to the ground!  It was pretty funny and I decieded to take a picture instead of helping:

Do not worry though he just had some mud on his knee!  He survived and it makes a funny story!  Here is the photo that my mom was taking while Dan was cutting.  I personally think it is quite adorable:

The tree was perfect and after some struggle to get it home it is not set up and looking awesome!  Next step is to decorate it!

On Sunday Dan's parents arrived to give us a helping hand!  We had tickets to attend the Ravens Sunday Night Game so Gram and Grandpa we asked them to babysit Olivia.  Jean and Lee were an excellent help to us on Sunday because we were able to finish decorating the house, set up and put lights on the Christmas tree, and I was able to take a nap!  Jean also made us a tasty dinner, with leftovers, and Lee fixed our outdoor strand of lights!  We had quite the productive day and so much fun that night!

Olivia was well behaved from what we hear and spend most of the evening being snuggled and held by her Gram!  It was strange to be out of the house without Olivia, but I know Dan and I appreciated the time together!

The Ravens Game did go into overtime and we arrived home just in time for Olivia to be fed again!  It was a great night!  Thanks Gram and Grandpa Puryear!

Hope you all are having a great Holiday Season!  This Friday starts the Holiday party time!

Love

Laura, Dan, and Olivia! 

Olivia's First Thanksgiving!

Olivia was all dressed up for her first Thanksgiving celebrations!  She looked adorable in her little outfit and the finishing touch to the outfit was the baby Uggs sent to her from Darleen and Eric Butler! I took a close up because they are simply darling!

This year have have many things celebrate and be thankful for!  First and foremost is our little Grace of God sent to us this year!  Secondly, the love and support from our family and friends.  It was not an easy road extending out family but the journey was worth the reward!  We have enjoyed each moment with Livy, including the gas incident when she cried for two hours straight!  We continue to learn every step of the way!

Olivia, Dan, and I were lucky to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with both families!  On Thursday we spend the day at my parents house and on Friday we traveled to Carol's house to have lunch and celebrate with Dan's parents and sisters!

On Thursday Olivia was wide awake for most of the day and enjoyed watching all the busy activities in the kitchen!  She was also able to meet her Uncle Pete and Cousin Derek! Of course the Greatest and my sister Kym, Tyler, Grandma, and Grandpa were there to celebrate too!  It was wonderful to have everyone together and the meal was outstanding!  By the time we ate though, Olivia was passed out!  She spend the meal in her bouncer seat!  Here are some pictures from the day:

 

 

More pictures of our eventful Thanksgiving Holiday can be found in the Picasa Albums!

Friday was the second Thanksgiving Celebration!  We traveled to Carol, Scott, and Brayden's house for lunch and to catch up with Gram and Grandpa Puryear about their Florida trip!  We had a lovely afternoon and the food was delicious!  Here are some of the hightlights:

 

 

 

Again, there are more pictures of our two Thanksgiving in the Picasa web albums!

Hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving!  I guess next year Livy will be eating the real food!  That should be interesting!

Love to all

Laura, Dan, Olivia