Six Months Old

We can hardly believe that Olivia has been in our lives for half a year already!  The time has flown by and we continue to treasure each moment!  We had a doctors appointment on Tuesday and after a very LONG wait we discovered Olivia has grown an inch and a half to 26.5 inches long and has gained almost three pounds!  She now weighs 15 pounds and 9 ounces! Her height puts her in the 77th percentile and 43rd percentile for weight.  The doctor said she is growing well and should start trying real food.  Our plan is to make our own food and then freeze it for the week.  To be honest, I have bought some Gerber green beans so we will see how this goes!  Dr. Landcaster said that now her food is just to experiment with and learn to eat different textures.  Most of her nutrients will still come from milk.  We are excited to try out some new foods. 

On her six month birthday, May 1st, we had quite an eventful day.   At Noon, we scheduled a photo shoot at Target for her milestone pictures.  She was wonderful and charming, and the Target staff worked patiently and efficiently!  The pictures turned out beautifully and we will be able to pick them up next weekend!  Our next stop, to pick up Tyler and Aunt Laura and head to the Maryland Zoo! 
 
We arrived at the Zoo around 2:45 and the zoo closed at 4:00, so we knew we had to hurry through the park.  We started in the Children section, which was adorable and Tyler had a blast!  This trip was much more eventful than our first trip.  The crowd was minimal, and the animals were out and playing!  Of course I forgot to grab the camera so we missed out on great photo opportunities...oh well I am sure that will not be the first time.  The animals we saw included, the cutest otter doing back flips off a rock, snakes slithering, bats flying, penguins swimming, a camel giving rides, polar bears,  giant tortoises eating grass, lazy cheetahs, and ravens.  The most exciting part of the day was when a monkey went a little crazy!  We were standing by the outdoor monkey area and one of the monkeys came over to place we were standing, turned towards us and sat down.  It was cute, but suddenly he freaked out!  He picked up a huge water container, dumped it out, and threw it at the plastic viewing area.  Then he jumped up and kicked the plastic area.  The four of us jumped back, surprised and a little scared.  I have never seen a monkey act that way and it was pretty intense.  Tyler claimed that he had anger issues!  It was quite an eventful day at the zoo and we love that we only need to use the pass one more time and we have paid off the pass!  I am certain we will return soon.

On Sunday of her six month birthday weekend,  it was my mom's birthday.  The entire family drove out to Harper's Ferry in western Maryland to hike and walk around the historic town.  While we were getting ready, Tyler kept Olivia occupied by playing and reading to her.  We had some very cute pictures of the two of them!  The day was enjoyable and felt like the summer with the temperatures in the 90s!  Olivia was a great little girl, sleeping for about 45 minutes on the way to Harpers Ferry.  She ate when we arrived and then sat in her stroller for most of the time.  She was such a great baby.  By 12:30 she was growing tired and we were all hungry.  So we headed back to the car and across the street for a picnic lunch.  I put Livy in her car seat and she was asleep in a matter of five minutes!  While we ate lunch we kept her in the car with the windows rolled down and ate lunch about 100 yards away.    After the bugs ran us out of the area, we headed back to Mom and Dad's for presents and dinner.   The day was fabulous and I know my mom had a great birthday! 

She had quite a busy weekend, but she continued to sleep well at Ms. Sharon's house.  It was a very summer like week, so they headed to the park most mornings.  Olivia slept in the stroller while the other kids ran around.  She watches those kids so closely and cannot wait to run around with them.  Next fall I am sure she will be close to giving them a run for their money! 

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I am excited to celebrate my first official day! 
Love to all~