Eating, Sleeping, and Playing

Olivia continues to grow and become so interactive. It seems like every stage we get through and she starts a new one we say, I love this stage!

She is eating well about every 3 hours during the day and at night will last anywhere from 6 to 10 hours. Last week she slept through the night twice! By sleeping through the night I mean from 6:30pm until 6:30am! I actually did not set our alarm because usually she is up once a night and I set it after that night feeding. At 5:45am I jolted awake, realizing I never fed her last night! I shake Dan awake, nearly scaring him, say, "She slept through the night!" He cheered and then feel back to sleep while I got up and showered! The next night she slept from 6:30pm to 3:50am and the following night slept through the night again. It is not consistent yet, but I have enjoyed the past few nights with longer stretches of sleep! It is amazing how it makes the days easier!  She has had nights when she is a restless sleeper and will kick all the covers off and even kicked out of her PJ's.  On morning when we went in to get her she looked like this and we got quite the laugh! 

Since she is sleeping better, playtime is much more fun!  She loves the Precious Planet Jumpero toy we have for her.  After her recent growth spurt, she now can touch the bottom of the toy and can jump  up and down! Last weekend she was content to play in the toy for 45 minutes and we took her out of it because it was close to nap time!   She also loves to lay on her back and bat at toys, stare at Hurley, and watch the other kids at daycare.  Olivia will tolerate tummy time and has rolled over several times from her tummy to her back.  This is not consistent, but it is fun to watch the few times she has preformed of us!  She still loves her bouncy seat and is grabbing at everything she can get her hands on!  She will hold onto her toys and investigate it and then put it in her mouth. 

She has also become very verbal!  She cooing all the time in her car seat, playing with her toys, when we are changing her diaper!  We hear her in the morning in her crib cooing and laughing.  It is the cutest sound ever!  Olivia has also copied Dan and I and started blowing raspberries with her mouth.  It is quite mess and get drool everywhere but Miss Sharon was impressed because she is not suppose to do that until 6 months!  Dr. Landcaster also saw that trick at her 4 moth check up and comment she will probably be very verbal.  Um..wonder who she gets that from! LOL

So all in all Livy Loo is growing up fast and playing hard!  Here are some other family pictures:

 

 

Surviving Day Care and Turning 4 Months

Here is Olivia packed and ready for her first day of daycare with Miss Sharon!

After an extended Maternity Leave of 15 and a half weeks, Olivia began her first day with Miss Sharon.   I was very nervous to leave Olivia with someone who was not a family member and I was terrified she would cry the whole day and be a mess each evening.  As a result, we visited Miss Sharon on Monday so Olivia could get use to her house and we could drop off some of the extra things to keep at daycare.  Surprisingly, Olivia did not cry once and loved watching the other kids playing around.  I felt much better about leaving her at this point.  She was scheduled to start on Tuesday but because of all the snow we did not return until Wednesday February 17th and were delayed 2 hours each day that week!  So it was a nice, easy transition to work and daycare for Olivia. We rushed out of school as soon as the kids left and when we entered to get Olivia we were greeted with her huge smile and giggles!  She was so happy and it was apparent as she looked at Miss Sharon with another huge smile. We got the full report that she ate, slept, and played with out any fussing.  We knew we found the right place for Livy and we continue to be impressed with Miss Sharon!  Thank God we found her!  

There is a part of me that is glad to be back at school.  I was able to realize, during my maternity leave, that teaching is something I love to do and I missed the classroom while I was gone.  Knowing I am in the right profession,  helps the days to go by quickly.  The best part of my day is when we pick her up and she flashes that heart-melting smile!

As we fall into a new routine she has had stay busy on the weekends and have many visitors too.  Laura and her roommate Lindsay came to visit the other weekend and my mom stopped by too. 

Last weekend, when she turned 4 months, we started the March Month of Birthday Celebrations by celebrating my dad's birthday.  Olivia also met her cousin Blair for the first time.  They had quite the play date on the floor, staring at each other.  It was quite cute! Blair is 5 weeks older than Olivia and we look forward to many more opportunities for play dates with the Lake Family.

On Thursday we had Olivia's four month check up and she continues to grow!  She weighted 12 pounds 12 ounces and was 25 inches long.  That puts her in the 31st percentile for weight and 78th percentile for height.  Dr. Landcaster also talked to us about starting her on cereal.  We decided to wait until Spring Break time, which would be around 5 months, to start cereal.  She seems to fine at this point with her bottles at daycare and is sleeping fairly well.

This weekend Dan's parents came to visit and Olivia was spoiled by her Gram and Grandpa Puryear!  It was fantastic to have them visit and stay with us.  I know Olivia was excited to play with Gram and Grandpa.  Gram will also be stopping by next weekend on her way to meet her newest granddaughter, Jill and Steve's new baby, who will be born sometime this week!  We are so excited to hear all the details! 

Hope all is well and we will update again soon!

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!

Other January Events

Now that we have the 2 month sleep issue on the way to improvements, I am sure there will be more bumps along the road, especially when I return to work February 10th. Olivia continues to grow and explore her world!

At her 2 month appointment, in early January, she weighed 10 pounds 15 ounces an increase of about a pound.  She also grew 3 inches in a month to 24 inches long!  She is in the 49th percentile for weight and 94th for height.  We do not go back to the pediatrician until March for the 4 month check up, but lately she is looking so much bigger to us!

This month she also enjoyed a playdate with Caitlin and Clara Bossle, going to Tyler's basketball games, a visit from Gram and Grandpa Puryear, visiting her cousin Brayden, and being baby sat by Aunt Cathi and  Uncle Randy, and of course Grandma and Grandpa.   She is discovering her toys more and is more fascinated to watch and observe what is going on.  Livy is also grabbing at everything along with puting everything in her mouth.

Here are some picture highlights and for more images of the month, check out the Picasa Web Link on the right column:

 

 

 

January Sleep Issues

To say we started the new Decade with a bang is an understatement!  As we came home from a wonderful Christmas in Ocean City, the reality of having a baby began to settle in.  The first month Olivia was an angel and such an easy baby.  Well when Dan returned to school the newborn bliss gave way to an overtired, cranky little girl!  Olivia was on a bit of a schedule and by that I mean she was eating every 3 hours and would take about 4 naps daily.  Usually a shorter one in the morning, which allowed me to shower, a longer one in the late morning and a longer one in the afternoon.  She would go to bed around 7:30/8:00.  I was all set to get right back into the swing of things on that Monday morning in January and Livy Loo had a different thought! I rocked her to sleep and put her down in the pack n play, like I have since she was days old, and five minutes later she was wide awake and crying!  Not knowing what else to do I picked her up and tried again...with no success.  I began to get a bit frustrated because she was clearly tired but would not stay asleep when I put her down.  So I called the pediatrician and the nurse at the office told me I should not be rocking her to sleep because she was not learning to fall asleep on her own.  She recommended I should let her cry it out for five minutes.  Well I tried that and honestly that only made her more frantic and me more frustrated!  I was in tears and exhausted when Dan came home and Olivia was a mess.  She was falling asleep while I was feeding her and as a result not getting enough food.  So after a frantic call to Dr. Lancaster on her cell phone she told Dan to take Olivia for a drive to settle her down.  I stayed home to sleep and after an hour she was passed out in her car seat.  Dan came in the room and put her down and she slept in the car seat for 9 hours that night!  It was a LONG day!

The next day was her 2 month check up and we talked to our doctor about what we needed to do.  Her answer was at this age you cannot spoil your child and do whatever it took to get her to sleep.  So after an exhausting week of trying to put her down to sleep, I finally gave in and let her sleep in the swing, the bouncer, any place that would not wake her up when she fell asleep.  It was a LONG week and Dan was not a happy guy coming home.  Several nights I handed her to Dan and went to bed.

We slowly became a bit more rested and went to visit our daycare women, Sharon.  On that day, I realized that Miss Sharon would not be able to rock Livy to sleep every time she need to sleep or hold her all day.  So I became a woman on a mission to help get over this sleeping hump.  I started to read a book that was recommended to me by several mothers, Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Babies. What I realized and started watching for was signs of when Livy was getting tired.  The book also made me realize that she really can only handle about 2 hours of awake time before she needs a nap.  While reading the book we also realized that we were keeping her up too late at night and she needed an earlier bed time!  We were skeptical at first, but tired and that night she slept from 6:30-3:30!  The book also said to keep the routine consistent with puting the child to sleep.  So we now rock her for only 10 minutes, which is less than our 20-25 minutes, and put her in her crib.  There have been a few times we let her cry for 5 minutes and went in to calm her down, but overall it has been much improved and she is a much happier baby!  I have enjoyed this too because she is currently in her own room and sleeping most nights until 3:30/4:00am.  It has been nice because Dan and I have  some time together in the evenings.

Although the first few weeks of January were challenging and emotional we have come out of it as a stronger couple and more confident in taking care of Olivia.

Olivia's First Christmas

It has been forever since our last update and we  have been so busy with Christmas, New Years, and a bit of a sleeping issue.  Here is the Olivia's First Christmas recap!

To recap Christmas, Olivia had quite the busy first Christmas.  She had three celebrations and two adorable little dresses for each!  Our first Christmas was with the Hart family on Sunday December 20th.  She was a good little girl and enjoyed lots of floor time with her big Cousin Tyler.  There is a hilarious picture of the two of them on the floor with pacifiers in their mouths! She was spoiled with presents and love!

The second Christmas celebration was with Dan and I.  On Saturday before Christmas a huge snowstorm came through and dumped over 2 feet of snow in Maryland.  Olivia enjoyed the snow and when I took her outside to "play" she fell asleep with the snow falling on her face!  As a result, Howard County Public Schools closed for 3 days and Dan was home with us!  So on Tuesday night we celebrated our family Christmas.  We had a nice dinner and opened presents.  Olivia received a first Christmas ornament from both myself and Dan.  In the middle of our celebration Olivia had a bit of a fussy spell, crying for 30 minutes, so that put a memorable damper in the evening.  Regardless it was a fun evening!  We will always remember our first family celebration!

Her third Christmas celebration included a five day, four night trip to Ocean City!  She was a joy in the car, sleeping the entire ride, and we successfully fit all of her things and our things in the car for the trip!  We are lucky her Gram and Grandpa Puryear had lots of baby gear to help lessen our load.

In Ocean City she met her cousin Emma and her Aunt Jill and Uncle Steve.  Emma loved her cousin and was such a big help with her, bringing Baby Olivia her blankets, pacifier, and toys!  In March Emma will become a big sister and I know she will be wonderful.  A funny story though, one morning Jill was holding Olivia during breakfast and Emma come over after a few minutes and told Jill,  "Uncle Dan  needs to hold Baby Olivia." Jill laughed and made room for Emma on her lap with Olivia!  It was adorable. 

On Christmas Eve Olivia had her first church outing, attending Gram and Grandpa Puryear's  children program.  The music was lovely and Olivia was quiet the entire time...quite the little angel!  Christmas morning Dan and I were awake before Olivia and when we finally heard  her we peeked over at the pack n play to see her laying there sucking her thumb!  We told her Santa had come and it was time to celebrate!  Yeah, she had no idea what was going on, but she gave us a smile. 

Most of Christmas morning she spent kicking around on the floor and opening Christmas presents.  The Puryear family has a tradition of opening Sleigh Presents after dinner, a tradition dating back to when Lee was a child.  Olivia spent most of sleigh in the swing, sleeping, but at one point Emma was getting upset and started crying and then on the opposite side of the table Olivia started crying.  I started laughing and said, "well this is certainly a new era of sleigh."  It was a laughable moment and capped off a lovely Christmas day!


The rest of the week we had a nice time hanging with family and Olivia even had her first trip to the OC Boardwalk!  Of course she slept in the stroller most of the time, but I am sure this summer she will have more fun visiting it! 

We had a lovely Christmas and Olivia received many lovely gifts.  We feel extremely blessed this year having Olivia in our lives and that is honestly the best present we have received in years!