Elijah Chase

So, Mr. Elijah has been a part of our family for 2 months now...and I'm just now getting around to documenting it. Oops! I skipped a month or two with the other kids, too, so it's not just because he's the "forgotten" youngest child. ha! Having 3 little ones ages 3 and under is definitely exhausting and a challenge every minute of the day, but it is SO WORTH it! I LOVE what he has added to this family and now I feel like we are "complete". My heart is so full it might burst! Some things about the little fella:

*Weighs 11 lb 0oz (50%) and 23in (50%) He was a slow gainer at first & we had to go to several weight checks, but he's finally surpassed his birth weight & gaining like a champ!

*Size 1 diaper

*Gradually growing out of newborn and into 0-3 month clothing. Sleepers are still a little too long in the legs, but newborns are getting too snug.

*He is so laid back and happy! He is seriously SO chill...especially considering how much he gets trampled on by Livy. He smiles so easily, too and it just melts.my.heart!

*Nursing is going well...much better than I was anticipating at first. It is super hard to balance breastfeeding with having a newborn, 20 month old, and 3 year old. I really wasn't even expecting to make it past a month, so I'm proud we're still going! Now that I'm back to work, he nurses once in the morning & once at night then takes 3 5oz pumped bottles while at the sitter's.

*He is a great sleeper. :::knocks on wood:::  We have fallen into the routine of him nursing around 7:30pm or so and going to sleep around 9pm and then I get him up at 5am to nurse then he sleeps until I get him up & ready to leave just before 7am! It is glorious!

*He holds his head up really really well, does great with tummy time, enjoys laying on his play mat (especially if a sister joins in), likes sleeping in the Rock & Play, likes the bouncy seat & tolerates the swing for short periods of time (he prefers that it not be swinging, though. ha!). He also loves his sisters, looking at the Christmas lights on the trees, and does great on car rides.

Elijah, we are so thrilled that God chose us to be your parents. Even at 2months old, you have brought so much to this family and we couldn't imagine our lives without you! Love you sweet boy!

Olivia Grace~ 18 months

Miss Olivia is a year and a half old! Most of the time I can't believe she's ALREADY that old, yet other days I can't believe she's ONLY that old.

*You weigh 23lbs (30%), are 33in tall (80%), and have a head that's in the 60th percentile (can't remember the measurements). Tall and skinny...quite the opposite of when you were born. ;)

*You wear a size 3 diaper. You like to sit on the potty and demand toilet paper quite often. I doubt that means you will be potty trained early, but one can hope!

*Wearing a size 12mo in most clothing, but beginning to transition to 18mo for the length. You also wear a size 4 shoe, but transitioning to a size 5.

*You are quite the mess. Like, for real. Your personality has us laughing all.the.time. However, you can also be quite the handful. You are loud, active, busy, ornery, full of spunk, rough, hard-headed, sweet, and so many other adjectives. You definitely fit your nickname of "Livy Grace Rotten".

*Your vocabulary and speech leave everyone amazed. Sophia was quite the early talker, but you have her beat. You speak very clearly and use words that most 1.5 year olds don't. For instance: rather than a simple "no" you prefer to give a "no way", you've told us "that was 'dicilous (ridiculous)", and you frequently ask "sisser, you comin'?" whenever we are leaving....among many, many other things. We counted up before your 15mo appointment and you already had over 65 words/phrases and I can't even begin to estimate where you are at now. Both the pediatrician and his nurse made comments about your language at your 18mo well check. I told them is it sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse. ha!

*You don't get quite as much sleep as I'd like, but I can't complain about your sleep habits. You usually lay down for bed around 7:00 and are asleep 10-15 min later. However, you are usually awake by 5:45 or so and ready to get out of bed by 6:30. I can't complain because you do keep yourself entertained, but I would love it if you slept in a bit more...especially on the weekends. You also take a 2ish hour nap every day.

*You have 14 teeth with a couple more coming soon. You have a big gap in your front teeth...I think it's cute...and makes you look even more rotten. You quit using your pacifier right after you turned 17 months. You probably could have quit it sooner, but I was too chicken to try. You only used it for nap & bed and I didn't want to mess with it, but finally decided to take it away one night and you didn't care much at all! You asked for it for about 3 days, but never fussed about it. =)

*You used to be a great eater, but not so much anymore. Some of your favorite foods are: waffles, bananas, cheeseburgers, mac-n-cheese, ice cream, and fruit snacks.

*A few of your favorite things are: Sophia, Minnie "House", baby dolls, coloring, mommy, singing, and reading.

Olivia, you are such a light in our lives. You are definitely one of a kind and we love that about you! You are so different than Sophia, and that's what makes you both so special. God knew you'd be a handful...and often more than Sophia can take...so we believe that's why He's blessing us with a baby brother for you. ha! We're not quite sure how you're going to adjust to having a new baby around, but I think you'll be okay as long as you have Sophia. You LOVE your sister and she LOVES you back...your bond is so special to watch. Livy, we love you so much and are so happy to have you. Your spunk is something I hope you always have. Thank you for the personality you add to this family.

Ready to ride your first ride at the fair. So big!

After requesting "two hairbows" like Sophia. You look so big here!!

Miss Independent....love blowing bubbles

You love to dress up =)

You were "meh" about swimming...hopefully you'll love it next summer!
 

37 Weeks!

 *So, I wrote this when I was really 37 weeks, but apparently didn't hit "publish"..so it's been sitting in la-la land. I'm now just over 38 weeks, but not much has changed....so, here's what was up last week. ;)

How far along:  37 weeks
 

Total weight gain/loss: I believe we're at +20 now....I had lost 1 at my last appointment

 

Maternity clothes: yep, all the time

 

Stretch marks: haven't noticed any more new ones, aside from the couple a few weeks ago...fingers crossed it stays that way

 

Sleep: uhm, non-existant. The insomnia is awful. The needing to use the restroom is awful. The pain in my hips is awful. I live on coffee & Dr. Pepper...oops...

 

Best moment this week: This past week we were given two sweet "showers" to celebrate Mr. Eli! Work gave me one and he got lots of cute "boutique" things...which is funny since I never really received "boutique" stuff for the girls, ha! Then we had a family one that was fun (loud & crazy, but fun!) and he got lots of cute clothes along with some other good stuff! We are definitely blessed with people who love us and our kiddos!

 

Movement: He's a mover, for sure. More of a rolling-around-er....not kicks and jabs, but full out rolling around. Pretty uncomfortable most of the time, but I love the feeling and it's reassuring that things are fine.

 

Food cravings: Snickers, cheeseburgers, ketchup

 

Gender: it's a boy!
    

Labor signs: I've had some hard core contractions, but nothing consistent. They have stopped me in my tracks & woken me up, but it's only 1 or 2 here and there.
   

Belly button in or out: in, but not as deep
     

What I miss: sleep, normal sized feet/ankles, and sweet tea. I love me some sweet tea, but it has been giving me some mad acid reflux...which I don't love, so I haven't been drinking it lately.
     

What I am looking forward to: Going with Jeff tomorrow to finish buying things we need for the little dude. I know he won't know the difference now, but I'm sure when he's looking at pictures/videos when he's older, he'll appreciate not having to be seen with a pink boppy, pink pack-n-play, pink play mat, etc. =)
     

Weekly wisdom: Put your feet up whenever possible. As a teacher and mom of 2 littles, there really isn't a "possible" time to keep your feet up. Giving a spelling test from a chair in the front of the room may be frowned upon but ya gotta do what you gotta do.
     

Milestone: C-section is confirmed for 10/10/13 at noon!

33 weeks

 Here's what's up right now:

How far along:  33 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I keep forgetting to update this, so my memory may be off, but I think it's 18 total at this point

 

Maternity clothes: absolutely....until I walk in the door and it's gym shorts and tank tops =)

 

Stretch marks: getting new ones on my belly unfortunately =(

 

Sleep: It's pretty good right now! I sleep pretty soundly until around 4:30 and then I REALLY have to go to the restroom, but, hey, I'll take it!

 

Best moment this week: We registered for a few things (tacky?!) because some family/friends wanted to have some "good ideas" & we figured this would be the easiest way. We also got the crib put together!

 

Movement: He's beginning to chill out a bit, but he still moves enough to keep me from getting worried. He gets the hiccups a lot now, too!

 

Food cravings: Snickers

 

Gender: it's a boy!
    

Labor signs: nope...I do think I've had some Braxton Hicks here & there, though
  

Belly button in or out: innnn
    

What I miss: playing comfortably in the floor with the girls
    

What I am looking forward to: *Hopefully* getting to exchange the dresser and getting a new one pretty quickly. The dresser I ordered is way too dark & doesn't look good with the crib. We just hope it's exchangeable since I ordered it online & we had to completely open the box to be able to see the color. =(
    

Weekly wisdom: Be oh so very thankful we've had a "comfortable" summer this year! This last week has been triple digits and it's KILLING me. I am swollen, exhausted, and absolutely uncomfortable. SO thankful it wasn't an entire summer of it.
    

Milestone: Got my C-section scheduled for October 10! Dr. L said he'd get me on the schedule at my 36 week appointment but then realized that I am due 10/17 so my c/s should be a week prior, making it 10/10. We both figured that would be a very popular "elective c/s" day, so he had his nurse go ahead and call to get me on the schedule. I'll hopefully get confirmation at my appointment Tuesday.

 

 

33 weeks and HUGE!

29 Weeks

We are almost down to the single digits. Ho.ly.cow! Sorry sweet boy, I love you and are super excited to be expecting you, but your ornery sisters don't leave me much time ( or energy) (or brain power) to keep up with these updates. I'll make it up to you one day. Promise. =)

Here's what's up right now:

How far along: 29 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +3 today at my appointment so I *think* 15 total

 

Maternity clothes: when I actually get dressed, yes. I go back to work really soon so I guess I've got to turn in my summer attire of shorts & t-shirts =(

 

Stretch marks:  the old ones are growing again, but haven't found any new ones

 

Sleep: I've gotten the pregnancy insomnia right now and it bites. I am SO tired when I go to bed but lay there for about 1.5hours before finally falling asleep and then I wake up periodically throughout the night & it takes a bit to fall back asleep. I've taken Tylenol PM a couple of times to help me get/stay asleep (dr approved) but that's a habit I don't want to form

 

Best moment this week: Having strangers comment on me being pregnant. I guess I'm officially past the "is she pregnant, or just fat?" stage

 

Movement: yep! He's finally moved up a bit so it's not as uncomfortable as it was before.

 

Food cravings: freezer pops...you know, the frozen flavored heaven in the little plastic tubes. I can (and do) eat probably 5 a day. At least.

 

Gender: still a boy! I hope! I've been having those "what if" thoughts. Maybe I can talk the dr into one more ultrasound?!
   

Labor signs: nope
 

Belly button in or out: way in
   

What I miss: softball
   

What I am looking forward to: picking out the paint so we can get the walls painted & the furniture ordered!
   

Weekly wisdom: deep breaths and prayer. That's about all I've got some days. When S & O are being a handful, screaming, running amok, testing every boundary possible, etc. I just close my eyes, take some deep breaths, say a little prayer & know that someday I will miss the noise and ruckus of having little ones. It's those moments that I have a slight panic attack that "zomg, I'm about to add to the chaos!" but then I smile & thank God for the blessing of a new baby!
   

Milestone: Glucose test. Well, technically I haven't taken it just yet. Oops. Interesting story: I was supposed to drink the yummy drink & get my blood drawn at my appointment today, but today was a bit crazy so I forgot. (I purposefully forgot...but, still.) We had a house showing today so I cleaned like a crazy lady, took the girls to story time/the mall, took Sophia to the dentist to watch Jeff's appointment, then hustled over to my own appointment. I had a poptart for breakfast & a piece of chocolate cake for lunch & I would have had to drink the drink at the dentist so I decided to "forget" it. Anyway, at my appointment my blood pressure was pretty high so the nurse had me relax for a bit & then the dr took it again at the end of the appointment...still high. With my history (began developing pre-e w/Sophia & was admitted for monitoring once with her) he said he might have to send me to be monitored. HOWEVER, since I had "forgotten" to drink the stuff (and I swore to them it was also just high because of my crazy/busy day!)  I was told that I could drink it tomorrow & come back for a blood draw & blood pressure check. Sooo, I'll go back tomorrow afternoon and hope/pray that it's gone back down. Oh, but, tomorrow is my first day to report back to work for a work day....I'm sure that's not going to be stressful (right?!).

Please only pay attention to the belly...I am a hot mess (literally)

Yeah, I'm huge. With plenty of time to get even huge-er. yay! ;)

Almost 25 weeks!

So, even though I'm off for the summer, I'm still having a hard time finding a few spare moments to keep up with this blog. Blame it on fun stuff going on, pregnancy brain, mommy brain, or just having my hands completely full with 2 sweet girls...but I'm going to try to do better! Sorry, Mr. Elijah!

Here's what's going on at almost 25 weeks:

How far along: 24 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: gained another 2, so up 12 so far

 

Maternity clothes: yep!

 

Stretch marks:  still haven't gotten any new ones...fingers crossed they stay away!

 

Sleep: eh, it comes and goes. Some nights I sleep really well, other nights I have the pregnancy insomnia and/or a very full bladder all.night.long that makes me get up several times throughout the night.

 

Best moment this week: Olivia learning how to say "Elijah". So sweet!

 

Movement: lots and lots and lots of it ;)

 

Food cravings: Fluids: water, tea, sodas, snocones, popsicles, chocolate milk, anything liquid. Not a huge fan of food these days, I have more "aversions" than "cravings"

 

Gender: Elijah Chase
   

Labor signs: nope
 

Belly button in or out: I'll always have an inny
  

What I miss: being able to roll around/wrestle with the girls. They like to "rough play" before bed and now that they're getting a bit more rough and my belly's getting a bit more round I have to sit out and let daddy have all the fun
   

What I am looking forward to: finding nursery stuff
   

Weekly wisdom: long car rides are no fun when struggling with my aching tailbone
   

Milestone: 3 months to go!

21 Weeks

How far along: 21 weeks! Again, I skipped a week  = /

Total weight gain/loss: Had my monthly appointment this past Tuesday and I had gained 8 pounds in the 5 weeks between appointments! Yikes! That puts me up to 10 pounds total.

 

Maternity clothes: Dresses are still my favorite...and now that my summer break has officially began I can wear comfy clothes all day long. Score!

 

Stretch marks:  No new ones just yet

 

Sleep: I'm getting plenty right now

 

Best moment this week: We had our "real" ultrasound/appointment this past Tuesday and everything looked great! We got confirmation that we are, indeed, having a BOY. He was healthy and very active...all that we could ever hope for!

 

Movement: On my last post I said something like "holy cow, he's a mover!" and boy was I right! During our ultrasound the tech mentioned no less than 4 times how active he was, how most babies don't move around that much at 21 weeks, etc. He was moving the whole time...it was quite a show!

 

Food cravings: still no "cravings", just mainly preferences and aversions. I'll like something just find one day and then 3 days later it makes me want to vomit. Slightly annoying, but oh well.

 

Gender: he's most definitely a BOY! Mr. Elijah
  

Labor signs: nope
 

Belly button in or out: I'll always have an inny
  

What I miss: not having constant tailbone pain. I broke my tailbone many years ago & I re-agitated it while working out a few months ago & it hasn't healed. I am in constant pain. My dr. gave me a prescription for a pain killer that is safe to take while pregnant but said we needed to look into steroid injections if they don't help. I'm praying they help take the edge off because I really don't want those injections.
  

What I am looking forward to: looking for boy stuff! The bedding, decorations, clothes, etc are a whole new ballgame for me!
  

Weekly wisdom: If I am going to sit for an extended period of time I need to have a pillow to sit on. bleh
  

Milestone: Over half way there!!

sweet profile

somebody needed to join in ;)

19 Weeks

How far along: 19 weeks...skipped a week on here, oops! I also forgot (read: looked awful every single day this week so there is no picture) to take a picture this week.

Total weight gain/loss: I really don't know. I forgot to get a starting point, ya know, because we were in shock and all. Guess I'll find out at my next appointment

 

Maternity clothes: yep! I can still wear a few regular shirts, but I'm definitely in maternity pants full time. I love wearing dresses, too....bought a bunch of non-maternity maxi dresses and I think those will last me awhile =)

 

Stretch marks:  Still no new ones, and my old ones are beginning to tame themselves again.

 

Sleep: Much better! I only get up about once a night now, yay! My hands and/or feet often fall asleep during the night, though, and the annoyance of it wakes me up a bit, but I can get right back to sleep.

 

Best moment this week: Revealing to everyone that we're having a BOY!! I couldn't wait to find out (I've thought boy since day one, but nobody else agreed!) and my dr didn't schedule my next u/s until 21 weeks, so I used some bday $ and got a gender scan at just over 17 weeks. Jeff & I kept the secret a whole week! ha!

 

Movement: Holy cow, he's a mover! I definitely feel movement now. Lots and lots of movement. It is so weird feeling so much movement because it's early/he's still pretty low so I'm feeling it in different places than the other times. Love it!

 

Food cravings: no real "cravings" just a lot of preferences. Like, I now prefer a McDouble from McD's instead of the McChicken, etc.

 

Gender: it's a BOY!! Elijah Chase =)  the gender scan was pretty obvious, but we'll (hopefully) get confirmation in a couple of weeks
 

Labor signs: nope
 

Belly button in or out: just a monster of a cave
 

What I miss: not having to tell the girls "be careful, you'll hurt your brother!" when they want to lay/climb/cuddle/tickle/etc with me
 

What I am looking forward to: Getting confirmation that he's still a boy and then getting to start looking at boy stuff. It's going to be a whole new ballgame, folks!
 

Weekly wisdom: I "learned" it with both girls, but I have to remind myself...let others help you when they want to. Even though I know I can do something and someone else insists on doing it for me, let them.
 

Milestone: Feeling consistent movement

Sweet profile

*Ahem* (I feel like I'm exploiting my child)

              


 

<3 td="">

Telling family...Sophia is just now finding out. She's so excited for a brother!!
 

17 weeks

Well, I guess I should start doing my weekly updates. Don't want this little stinker to think he/she wasn't loved. ha!

How far along: 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 2 as of my last appointment a week ago, but holy cow, I feel like I'm huge already! My belly got really big with Olivia but I have a feeling it will be even bigger this time around. yikes!

Maternity clothes: I had to start wearing maternity pants pretty early on...like 8 weeks. I'm in a mixture of regular/my maternity shirts still.

Stretch marks:  Nothing new, yet. My old ones are beginning to get colorful again, though.

Sleep: I'm beginning to get more of that now! I was up 5-6 times per night to use the restroom and then it would take me a bit to go back to sleep each time. I'm down to only getting up 1-2x per night so I'm sleeping much better. yay!

 

Best moment this week: Scheduling our u/s appointment. It's still a month away, but at least it's scheduled!

Movement:  I'm pretty sure I've been feeling movement off & on for about 3 weeks now. I thought I was crazy and it was too early, but I guess with 3 so close together I'm more in-tune with the feeling? Nothing consistent or defined, though. I have a feeling it won't be long

Food cravings: pulled pork sandwiches, chocolate covered strawberries, oatmeal

Gender: don't know yet...but I'm thinking boy. Everyone else thinks another girl, though. We'll see!

Labor signs: nope

Belly button in or out: already becoming wider/deeper. bleh

What I miss: my hair not falling out. I thought that was supposed to be post-partum?!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender & letting the girls know. Sophia was wanting another sister, but she's changed her mind and now wants a brother. I'm anxious to see her reaction when we know for sure

Weekly wisdom: There's no use getting bothered/worked up when people make the comment "oh, so I guess you were trying for a boy?" or "I'll bet you hope this one is a boy!" and so on and so forth. No people, I want a happy, healthy baby! I know they don't mean anything by it, but I hate it that people think we weren't happy with our 2 girls and/or wouldn't be happy with 3 of them

Milestone: Made it well into the 2nd trimester and only "got sick" a couple of times. =)

Surprise!

I'm so bad at keeping this updated these days....poor baby #3 is hardly going to get any updates on here. Oh, yeah, about that? We're expecting baby #3 in October!!! We are over the moon excited but a bit scared about this newest adventure. We are so blessed to be given this unexpected surprise. =)

Ya know, I've always cringed when people say they got pregnant "by accident" or yes, sometimes even when they say it was a surprise. As with many things in life, we often know best before we are made to walk in those shoes. No, I still don't like the "accident" response (not sure how it can be an accident) but I do understand the surprise now. Baby #3 was a surprise for us. I was taking my BC pills (didn't miss any!) and was waiting between packs (I had just bought the new pack) when good old woman time never came. After a few days of Jeff worrying and asking "are you sure you aren't pregnant?" and me saying "no, dear" I decided to go ahead and take a test for his peace of mind. On Monday, February 11 I took a test I had from before Olivia. Positive. I figured it was just too old so I took another. Positive. I was speechless...half tearing up half smiling the biggest goofiest grin there ever was. I went to work and left during my planning period to buy a digital test. Went back to work, took the test, positive. By this point it was safe to say that I was, indeed, pregnant.

After work I went home and put Olivia in a Big Sis onsie. Jeff was speechless as well. It took him a bit to process everything, but once it all sank in we were super excited. We went ahead and told family immediately since I was having to quit the workout program I was in. We didn't go public until about I was just shy of 11 weeks and had already had a couple of ultrasounds.

Hopefully we will find out the gender by the end of May, but we will be so excited either way. It will be neat to have 3 sweet girls, but it would also be neat to finally have a boy in the family! Happy and healthy is all that matters to us!



Just under 10 weeks




Big sisters!!
 

 

14 weeks

15 weeks (already put on my comfy pants & too lazy to change back ;)



ONE Year!!

Miss Livy is ONE!! I cannot believe how fast time has flown this time around. As usual, I'm writing this a tad late, but at least it's getting done! ;) When we went in for her one year well check the receptionist asked if I wanted to go ahead and schedule her 15 month appointment and it took me a second to register that she was referring to Olivia, not Sophia. There is NO WAY she is already one! Here's what she was up to at one year.

*Wearing a size 3 diaper, size 2 shoe, and mostly 9 month clothing. She's beginning to transition into some 12 month clothing, but it's pretty baggy on her.

*At her well check (3 days past her bday) she weighed 19lb 9oz (25th percentile) and was 29 3/4in (50th percentile). She's a peanut like her sister!

*She has 10 teeth. Nope, no typo there...she really already has 10 teeth! Four on top/front, four on bottom/front, and one on each top side.

*She loves to eat. Not quite sure where she puts it all, but she is definitely an eater. She doesn't eat any baby food, just table food nowadays. Some of her favorites are carrots, pancakes, waffles, French toast waffles, yogurt, graham crackers, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, marshmallows (preferably PEEPS), and much much more.

*We have transitioned to whole milk and she handled it wonderfully. She now drinks whole milk at all meals and one to sip on throughout the day.

*She loves sippy cups. Not quite sure why, but she loves to have one nearby and gets excited when we buy new ones. ha!

*She has ZERO interest in walking. She can crawl super fast and pull up like it's no big deal, but there is no desire to turn it into walking. She's even beginning to climb up onto things and try to stand on high objects...but, alas, no walking. Guess she will when she's ready.

*Her vocabulary is beginning to take off. She says: momma, dada, hi, bye, nigh-nigh, baby, kitty, get-er get-er get-er (what we say when we tickle her ;), cupcake, and thank you.

Livy my dear, you are so special to us. You are so sweet and so lively. You keep us smiling, laughing, and on our toes. We jokingly refer to you as Olivia Grace Rotten because you are a little stinker. I hope that you always have such a zest for life and aren't afraid to take risks. We love you sweet girl!

(I'll put pics up later...just got done with her birthday party and I'm exhausted! I just knew I needed to update while I was thinking about it. Baby steps ;)

11 months

Again, I'm posting this a week late, but I figure better late than never. Right?! Besides, I only include stuff that was legit at 11 months...even if she started doing something new the very next day. =)

*Wearing a size 3 diaper

*Wearing mainly 9 month clothing.

*She has 4 teeth: top two & bottom two and working on cutting 4 more (next two on top & next two on bottom) She's handling the teething fairly well, but she can be pretty cranky about it, too.

*She hasn't really added many words, but she still loves to squeal. She says "uh-oh" a lot...especially right before she drops something. Little stinker

*After taking her 11 month pictures, I was giving her a hard time about not learning any new "tricks" and asked her if she was ever going to pull up, stand, walk, anything?! and apparently she wanted to show me a thing or two because she finally pulled up onto the bathtub while Jeff was getting the bath ready.

*She still likes to observe more than participate. She's in no real hurry to do anything. Can't blame her, though. She's always got Sophia someone to talk for her, get things for her, entertain her, etc.

*She still sleeps pretty well and almost always puts herself back to sleep if she does happen to wake up.

*She's quite the eater. We have completely stopped baby food. She loves pancakes, french toast sticks, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, yogurt, carrots, rice, cheese, quesadillas, waffles, bread, and much more. She still has about 20oz of formula a day: 6 in the am, 6 before lunch, 4 after nap, and 6 before bed. Hopefully she'll transition to whole milk easily...

Olivia Grace, you sure are a mess, but we are absolutely smitten with you! It is so fun watching you & Sophia interact with one another and seeing that sparkle in your eye whenever you see her makes me smile. You are an absolute stinker and I wouldn't have it any other way! I cannot believe you will be ONE so soon!! My oh my how time flies!

Having fun outside! Just 3 days apart...crazy weather!

This mischievous lil girl just ate some play dough...yum!

First taste of lemon. Guess we won't buy her any anytime soon!

I love her hair after a bath! It lays so flat once it's dried =(

The best Valentine picture I got of them. ha!

My littlest Valentine <3 td="">

Yup, sisterly love.

"See mom, I can stand if I want!"

Double Digits

Our ornery little mess is 10 months now! I kept meaning to get on here for her 9 month update, but time got away from me. I guess we can call it even since I skipped a month for Sophia back in the day, too. Olivia is definitely much different than big sister Sophia and we're loving every minute of it! Here's what she's been up to lately....

*She weighs 18lbs 4oz (50%), is 29inches (90%), and her head is in the 45%. I thought she was much bigger than this but her 9mo well check wasn't until 2 days before she turned 10mos so that's her official stats!

*Wearing 9 month clothes. Some pants and sleepers are 12 months for the length.

*In a size 3 diaper

*She started crawling the day after she turned 9 months old. She completely skipped the "army crawl" and went straight from rolling around the room to up-on-all-fours crawling. The "that's mine!" and "No Livy!" has officially begun...fun times.

*She has 4 teeth. Bottom two were first and then the top two came in one right after the other. She handles teething pretty well...we didn't even know she was cutting a tooth until I saw some white! Her main teething symptoms are nasty (nasty) diapers and drool.

*Her hair is finally growing out! Her hair has always grown pretty fast...it just grew in to look like a full head of hair but wasn't very long. It's still not "long" but it's now growing in length rather than just volume.

*She sleeps pretty well nowadays. She goes to bed around 6:30/7:00 and sleeps until 6:30ish. She wakes up around 4am most days to jabber, play around a bit, then go back to sleep. Bedtime is also the only time she uses a pacifier and even then she doesn't always use it, but it's in there if she wants it.

*This girl loves to eat! She has five 6oz bottles a day and 3 jars of baby food. Her favorite jars are pasta ones, especially lasagna and spaghetti...a pasta girl like her mommy. She also loves to snack on crackers, cheerios, yogurt bites, crunchies, "wheels", pizza crust, chicken nuggets, French fries, nilla wafers, pancakes, waffles, and just about anything you'll let her try.

*She loves to jabber and squeal...she's the loud one! She can say dada (her official first word), mama, byeeee, nigh-nigh (night-night), give kisses, blow kisses, give fives, clap, and wave bye.

*Your nose is a faucet. You have super bad allergies and it's hard to keep them under control. Your doctor upped your dose of children's Claritin to a full dose for a 2yr old and that seems to have helped a bit. However, if we miss even one dose, your nose immediately begins running and it takes about a week to get it to clear up. In the meantime of getting it to clear up, it causes ear infections. I hate that you have to go through this and I'm hoping you'll grow out of it?!

*Speaking of ear infections, I've actually lost count to how many you've had. Oops. I'm pretty sure we're up to 6? You had a double ear infection in the last month but the antibiotics cleared it right up. You also got the flu last month but were a champ during it!

Olivia, you are such a mess and you keep us on our toes! You are a good girl, but we can tell you are going to be the ornery one. We LOVE what you have added to this family and we couldn't imagine life without you. We love you sweet girl!

Her 9 month picture =)

  

Cute lil puppy ;)

She thinks her Gma Bettye & Papa Al are pretty neat!

they are best buddies <3 td="">

Our sweet baby is in double digits! Her first birthday is coming way too fast! Slow down, baby!!