Snowmageddon 2010

Today should be my second to last day of Maternity Leave, but over 30 inches of snow covered the Maryland area, crippling the state! As a result, schools are closed and another storm is predicted to blanket the area again tomorrow night into Wednesday, adding another 6 plus inches!  So today should be my second to last maternity leave day, but I think Mother Nature is having her own fun!  At this point, Dan is outside for a third day digging out and Baltimore County Schools have closed for Tuesday and Wednesday, so we will wait to see what Howard County decided to do.

My car fell victim to a hit and run sometime Friday night/Saturday morning during the storm.  Someone lost control of their car and sideswiped my Alero, leaving a dent in the fender, the driver's side mirror is dangling, and a huge dent in the passenger side door.  Needless to say they did not leave a note or knock on our door to let us know what happened!  So on top of digging out we have to take the car over to get fixed!  UG!  Here is a shot of the car covered in snow, you cannot see the dents well, but they are there and you can get a feel for just how much snow we received:

 

Other than the car incident we have had a good time and we only wish Olivia was bigger to enjoy the snow more!  Dan is dying to make a fort in the backyard with her and play inside!  Hurley is having the time of his life, running all around the backyard.  We had to block the back area off because the snow is so high he can practically walk up the snow and over the fence!  He is hilarious when he runs to the top of the snow in the middle of the yard, because he looks like some kind of wild animal, watching over his land!  

Courtney and Kris traversed the elements yesterday and came over to watch the Superbowl.  Dan dressed Olivia yesterday in this very boyish football onsie, but he added the headband to make her more girlie!  We got a great laugh at her look:
 

It was an eventful game, but Olivia was asleep before kickoff!  We all had a good time watching the game, eating yummy snacks, and drinking some beers! 

OH BREAKING NEWS: Howard County Schools will be closed tomorrow!  YAHOO!


Back to the blog:
We did take Olivia out in the snow on Saturday and she laughed at the snowflakes that feel on her.  On Sunday the sun came out and when we took her outside it was so bright out she had a hard time keeping her eyes opened and focusing.  So we were not outside for long.  We did compare some of the snowbanks that were not shoveled where it was just snow and they were higher than her little body. 

Well hopefully the next huge snow storm Olivia will be able to play in the snow better!  I know Dan and I will be more excited than her! Haha!

To see more pictures, check out the photo album on the Picasa Web Albums! 
We will continue to dig out and hope for more snow days!
Love to all

3 Months Old

Yesterday Olivia officially turned 3 months old and we spend the day helping Grandma feel better!  My mom has been battling some back issues and yesterday was off of work, so I packed up Olivia and went to keep her company.  I also think she kept me company.  It was an enjoyable day and Grandpa was home for the afternoon and played with Olivia too!  To my relief she took two 50 minute naps in her pack n play at their house.  That made me happy because in just a short week she will have to sleep in that at Miss Sharon's house, her daycare women.  For the next week I will continue to make Olivia laugh, give her lots of hugs, and enjoy the precious moments with her.  At least I can look forward to Spring Break and then Summer Vacation!

So how has Miss Livy Loo changed in the past three months?  Where to begin!  I was looking at her pictures the other day and it is amazing to see how much she has grown!  She now looks less like a starving alien and more like a healthy baby!


It is just so cute to see her face light up when she see something she likes or someone she recognizes!  She has started cooing now and it is getting pretty loud!  The first time I heard her start cooing loudly was a few weeks ago.  I was in the kitchen putting dishes away and she was laying in the living room under her play gym.  I heard this noise and I thought she was ready to switch toys.  When I went into the room she was under the gym talking away at the toy!  She has the cutest little voice ever!  Of course on the flip side her cry can be equally as loud!  I joke that she is going to be as loud as her mother!  I guess it is my payback for being so loud...poor Dan!

She has been gripping things in her hand since Christmas time when Aunt Jill put her rattle in her hand.  She will hold onto the item for a few minutes and then fling it on the ground.  Well the past few days her new tick is that she will reach out and begin to grab at things.  I really saw it this morning when she was sitting in her swing toy we have.  There is a dangling bear on the side.  She reached out and started batting at it!  It was very cute! I cannot wait until she begins to pull at my earrings!

We continue to work on her stomach muscles by daily Tummy Time.  She prefers her back though because she likes to look around and investigate what is going on around her!  She will tolerate Tummy Time and is close to rolling over.  She is starting to figure out that her arm has to come up above her head, but she just does not get that force to roll all the way yet.  I do help her out when she really gets frustrated!

The sleeping has become much improved too!  We have started a bedtime ritual and she goes down between 6 and 6:45, depending on the type of naps she had that day.  The crying has been extremely minimal since we have figured out that we were making her overtired and she could not fall asleep!  When we catch her yawning we begin our nighttime ritual.  It has worked out pretty well.  Most nights she wakes up for one feeding and then wakes up between 6 and 7 in the morning.  It is not perfect and she falls asleep much better at night.  I think it is the whole quite and dark thing! At least she is taking all her naps and sleeps at night in her crib.   I am sure when I return to work next week we will have a whole new issue to deal with but we will celebrate the peacefulness for now!

Well it has been quite the ride for three months.  I look forward to what is ahead and it is amazing to remember where we came from:

 

and are now here:

Time certainly flies when you are having a good time!