A Busy Week In NY

Olivia is twelve weeks old this week...soon approaching the 3-month mark. It's hard to believe that almost three months have passed since she was born. The past three months have been great though. I love being a mom - and I love the feeling of knowing that she needs me every day.

She has been spending more time awake during the days, so I have been spending more time with her lately. She still hasn't rolled over yet, but she's pretty close. I bought her a mirror this week and she has enjoyed spending time looking at herself in that. She is getting more comfortable with tummy time and doesn't get frustrated so easily.

While she naps, I've been busy sewing. I finished a Christmas present for one of my nephews this week...and I have to admit that it's pretty darn cute! I've also been donating my time to sew a quilt for a local church. One of our family friends told me that they are creating 9 quilts for a halfway house in Yonkers, but they don't have enough help to complete them all. So, I've been spending my time sewing squares together for them so they can complete their project on time. I would rather be sewing more Christmas presents, but it's also nice to donate time to others as well. My next project is another Christmas present for another nephew. Then a project for my grandparents, then finally I'll make something for Olivia!

Chris has been at meetings almost every night this week. I've barely seen him at all. Yesterday, Olivia had a rough day around here and was pretty cranky. Chris had a business meeting at church...and he is such a great husband that he offered to take her with him so that I could have the night off. It was nice to be able to sew and do the dishes without being interrupted! And it was nice to know that I could trust Christopher to take Olivia with him to the meeting...and everything would be just fine. Sorry ladies...but I have the best husband of all! :)

11 Weeks Old

Over eleven weeks have passed since this cute little bundle of joy has arrived. Our lives have changed immensely since she was born and we feel so very blessed. She is babbling so much more, especially to Chris and me. Her favorite two words now are "Goo" and "Ga" - typical baby sounds. Her face lights up with a beautiful smile when she sees us, and she loves interacting.

She is still at the point where she doesn't mind if other people hold her, so she is getting to know other faces at church, as well as when we have guests over or get together with friends.

She tries really hard to roll over but hasn't quite mastered that skill yet. She can push herself up while on her stomach, but quickly gets annoyed and bored that there isn't anything to look at underneath her except a blanket. I'm looking forward to borrowing my sister-in-law's activity gym so she can have something to entertain her while she is lying on her stomach and on her back.


Olivia really likes to be in the sitting position lately too. If we put her in her Bobby pillow laying down, she tries really hard to sit up, almost like she's doing stomach crunches. As soon as you sit her up, she is happy as a clam and will sit like that for quite a long time (propped up or our our laps of course).

She hasn't started laughing or giggling yet, but we can definitely tell she is getting close. She makes a funny noise that we think will turn into a laugh eventually, but she's still just smiling a whole lot.

She is really getting long too. Her 0-3 month clothing is finally getting to small because her legs poke out the bottom of the pant legs. I think she gets her height from my dad and brother. She'll probably be tall and skinny like her cousin..but only time will tell.

We are looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving so that our families can see how much she is changing. We will spend 1.5 days with my family and 1.5 days with Chris' family. It's not exactly ideal, but we are just thankful for the time we do have with them instead of sad about how little time we have.

I'll post her 12 week picture later this week - and maybe by that time she will be rolling over - so I'll have a video to post too!

Three Shots and a Princess

Olivia went to the doctor today to get her first set of shots. To make the day seem a little more happier, I decided to dress her in a costume. (Perhaps more happier for me than for her!) None-the-less, she was Daddy's Little Princess for the day. I even made Ellie an outfit to match! Surprisingly, she didn't mind wearing it at all. She actually purred when I put it on her and she let me take several pictures without running away. Now we have two little princesses in the house!

Overall, Olivia did really well at the doctor's office. She was tired when we got there, so she didn't mind just lying still through the exam part of the visit. She even fell asleep in my arms while we waited for the nurse to come back in and give her the shots. She got three shots, two of which were a combination for several different things. I felt so bad for her though - she was sleeping soundly in my arms and suddenly the nurse stuck her with the first needle. Her eyes opened wide, then they shut and the tears poured out the sides. She took a deep breath in and waited about 10 seconds before letting out the ear-piercing scream. Her face turned bright red and she screamed even louder as the nurse gave her the next two shots. Thankfully she let me hug and cuddle her and she was then able to calm down. But the look in her eyes still said, "Mommy, why did you let that happen to me?." I know it's best for her, but it still breaks my heart to see her in pain. I did decide to take pictures of her before and after the shots so that we could remember the moments though. (Before=Above, After=Right) She is weighing in at 10 pounds, 9 ounce and she is 22.5 inches long. According to the charts, she is between the 25th and 50th percentiles...which means she is healthy and strong!

October is almost gone

It's hard to believe that October is almost over! The past several weeks have flown by way too fast. However, I feel like we have accomplished a lot as a family. Our trip to Ohio was great - we were blessed with the chance to see lots of family and friends, as well as spend extended time with family. It was more than just a quick trip which allowed us to be able to relax a little while we were away from home.

Olivia is growing quickly and has more personality every day. Chris and I are so happy to spend time with her and we are truly enjoying parenthood. Sure, it's tiring getting up to feed her in the night, and it takes longer to load the car when we go out...but the pros of being parents far outweighs those things.

She smiles at us all the time and it completely melts our hearts each time. Seeing her gummy baby smile never gets old. She's headed to the doctor tomorrow for her first round of shots....so we'll see how many smiles she has for me tomorrow...probably not that many! Keep us in your prayers!

6 Weeks Old

Olivia turned six weeks old on Tuesday. Time continues to fly by so quickly! As I look at her weekly pictures, I see differences in her that I don't necessarily notice on a daily basis. I'm glad we are in the digital age where we can take so many pictures and not have to constantly pay to develop them all!

This afternoon we will take a road trip to Ohio...again. This time around, Olivia will get to meet so many new people. Her journey starts in Columbus with Neil and Melissa, a couple that lived in New York and went to our church, but recently moved back to Ohio. Then she'll get to meet all of our friends in Cincinnati (and see a few that she's already met). Plus, she'll get to experience the Homecoming parade and her first football game! She'll get to spend some more time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephews. She'll get to meet her three great grandparents on my side of the family, plus meet a few of my high school friends. Then, she'll travel with me to Montpelier where she'll get to meet her three great grandparents on Chris' side of the family. She'll take her first trip to Michigan to pick up Daddy at the airport and she will meet Uncle Steven, Aunt Amy, and Cousin Elijah. She'll also get to meet a few of her paternal cousins, aunts and uncles. Then she'll get to meet ALL of Chris' maternal family. Everyone will be in town for Granny's 80th birthday, so she will get the chance to meet aunts, uncles and cousins.

It will be a big week for all 3 of us - Olivia and I in Ohio with our family, and Chris in New York all by himself! Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as we embark upon this journey! We'll definitely document it with lots of pictures - we'll keep you posted!

One thing I keep telling myself is, "it's not about me." It has definitely taken me a while to get used to the fact that my daily to-do list doesn't matter when Olivia needs something. I can have 20 things on my list that need done, but if she needs fed, I need to take care of her. If she is awake, I take the time to interact with her instead of sitting her in the swing to be entertained while I work on my own things. I've come to understand that the list will get accomplished eventually - but everything on the list combined isn't as important to me as Olivia.

It's a lot different than being at work, having a schedule, sticking to that schedule, accomplishing tasks, and going home. Being a stay-at-home-mom is taking a while to get used to. But I love being able to be there when Olivia wakes up from her naps, I love feeding her, and I love going on daily outings with her - taking her to experience new things (even though she has no idea what we are doing!).

Something else I enjoy about motherhood is getting the chance to see Chris with our baby girl. He is an amazing father and loves to spend time with Olivia. He's actually going to Ohio this weekend, so he won't get to see her for two days. My guess is that he will definitely take pictures of her home with him not only to show to family members, but to show to EVERYONE he comes in contact with. He is such a proud father. When we go to church, he is usually the one who holds her and several ladies commented to me that it seems like I never hold her! Seeing him interact with her makes me feel more in love with him each time. I thank God all the time for blessing me with such a wonderful family.

One Month Old...Already!

Time really is flying by! It's hard to believe that it has already been one month since I gave birth to sweet Olivia. Where did the time go? But, when I look at her, it definitely looks like she is a month old. She is already a different baby than we brought home from the hospital. She is more alert, is starting to stay awake more, and her features have changed so much.

We went to the doctor today and she weighed in at 8lbs, 6.5oz. She's also grown over two inches since we brought her home from the hospital. The doctor said that she is very healthy right now...so her next appointment will be to get her 2-month shots...that should be a fun visit!

This picture was taken on Tuesday when she was four weeks old. From week to week she changes just a little bit. It's definitely hard to tell just by looking at her, but we can see the difference in her weekly photos. To see her weekly pictures, you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/cincychelle and click on the Weekly Photos album. There are also other new pictures in the Olivia - Month One album. Starting today, I'll post new pictures in a Month Two album.

She is starting to sleep a little better at night now. Although, she still cries after about 20 minutes of sleeping alone in her crib. But, that at least gives us SOME time to stretch out in the bed by ourselves without feeling like we are sleeping on pins and needles with a baby in the bed! Monday and Tuesday this week were really rough and she just wasn't sleeping well at all during the day or night. Things have calmed back down now though and she's back to her semi-schedule of sleeping for 3ish hours at a time.

**Big Sigh**

Now we're jumping into month number two. This month we have lots of things to look forward to with Olivia. She'll travel to Ohio with us again to watch the UC Homecoming game and meet a lot of our friends. She'll spend the week with me at my parents' house and get the chance to meet her great grandparents. Then we'll drive to Montpelier to spend with with the other great grandparents. She'll go to Michigan to pick up Chris at the airport and then will get to meet A LOT (if not all) of her extended family on Chris' side. She'll get to go apple and pumpkin picking with us at Stewart Farm and then end the month with vaccinations. Off we go...

We will be sure to post pictures on Picasa, Facebook, or MySpace. Check back for updates!