Our First Family Vacation

Matt, Olivia and I went on our first family vacation last week to Santa Fe, NM. Olivia and I had never been there before and it had been a very long time since Matt had been there. I found a hotel that ended up being just perfect for us... a 2 room suite that was basically a 1 bedroom apartment with kitchen, family room and separate bedroom/bathroom. It was great because then Olivia could sleep in a separate room from us and we didn't have to worry about waking her up.

She did great on the 5 hour drive down, sleeping about half the time and otherwise being entertained by Mommy. We arrived a little before her bedtime on Tuesday night. On Wednesday we headed to the Plaza to check out the shops. If you are a fan of southwestern art and jewelry then this is the place for you! But I'm not really, so we didn't go into too many stores. We did check out La Fonda, a very nice hotel Matt really wanted to stay at until we saw that the cheapest rooms were $300+ per night! We hung out in the plaza and enjoyed the guitar music playing while we people watched.

Thursday we started our morning by taking Olivia to the pool. This was her first experience in a pool. At first she was a bit unsure, but quickly she was smiling and kicking and having a great time. Then we headed back into town and checked out the San Miguel Mission, Loretto Church and the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. The churches were beautiful and Olivia was great walking around town in her new Baby Bjorn. The Georgia O'Keefe museum was very disappointing because it doesn't show many of her painting. Instead it has rotating exhibits with a few of her painting scattered throughout. Thursday night we went to dinner with a friend of Matt's from college and his family. It was great to meet them, and Olivia was very well behaved as usual!

Friday we headed home, stopping in Taos on our way back. It seems to be a nice town, but it's Plaza isn't nearly as big or nice as Santa Fe's. We walked around and got some lunch and then headed home. It was a much longer trip home and Olivia had one meltdown, but overall she did great considering it took us over 6 hours to get home! This was a great first family vacation and we really enjoyed ourselves!!! Next up... Hawaii in January!!!

6 Month Check Up

I can't believe that Olivia is 6 1/2 months old now! The time is starting to fly by more quickly now. Especially now that she is learning so much every week! Last week we visited her pediatrician for her 6 month check up and to get more shots! The doctor was very pleased with her progress and said she was just "lovely". Here are her newest stats:

Height: 27" (she grew 3" in just over 2 months and is in the 75-90%!)
Weight: 14 lb, 10 oz (25% - same as last time... I think eating some solid food now will help her put on some weight)
Head: 43cm (50%)

Since seeing the doctor last she has:
- Gotten 2 teeth
- Starting to eat solid food (including applesauce, peas, carrots, zucchini, yams, sweet potatoes and pears)
- Grabs at toys and can hold and shake them
- Rolls over from her back to her tummy
- Sitting in her stroller without her car seat
- Getting stronger every week at sitting up on her own

I was also excited because the doctor said that her eyes will remain blue!!! They are a deep blue with a bit of grey in them. I have some grandparents who have/had blue eyes, but neither Matt nor I do, or any of our immediate family, so we definitely were not expecting Olivia to keep her blue eyes. They are beautiful!

She received 4 more vaccinations... one oral and 3 shots. She didn't even cry at all with the first shot and then started to cry about halfway through the second shot. About 10 seconds after the third shot, she stopped crying all together... my little Rock Star continues! I'm so impressed with her! Next visit (at 9 months) we don't have to get any shots!!!

Rolling Over!!!

Olivia rolled over for the first time a couple of days ago!!! She's been getting close recently, but couldn't quite figure out how to get over her arm that is on the floor. But the other day I had her on the activity mat and I noticed she was getting close, so I made sure to watch her. Sure enough, she was able to push past her arm and fully roll over! She laid on her arm for a few minutes but eventually was able to maneuver it out. She's done it several times since then. It just feels like all of a sudden she's learning so many new skills! She's eating solids now sitting in her high chair, rolling over, gotten 2 teeth, grabbing things and sitting in her stroller without a car seat! She needs to stop so I can catch up now!!!

Starting Solid Foods!

This week we started to introduce "solid" foods to Olivia. So far it's just the rice cereal so that she can learn how to eat off the spoon and figure out how to move the food to the back of her throat to swallow it. The first 2 days, most of the food just stayed at the front of her mouth and she really didn't get it. She also didn't understand completely about opening her mouth for food, but instead just wanted to suck it off the spoon.

Trying Solids for the First Time

But by day 3, she had it! We are on day 5 now, and she totally gets opening her mouth, taking the food off the spoon and swallowing it! I'm so impressed how quickly she got it!!!

I'm interested in getting this baby food processor that steams, defrosts and purees food for her. So once we get that, we'll start moving onto some veggies, fruits and other items. I can't wait to see what she likes.

Olivia's 1st Tooth

The other day I discovered that Olivia has her first tooth coming in!!! It's already broken through the gum, but I didn't even notice because she hasn't been fussing or having any trouble sleeping! It's her bottom right center tooth and it's sharp!!! I definitely wasn't expecting it since my book said most babies start teething at about 6 months, and I just assumed that because she arrived early, that she would be late doing most things! Guess I was wrong... maybe we have a little over-achiever in our future!!! I'll post a picture of the tooth when it comes in a bit more.

Olivia's Introduction to the Pacific

Last week Olivia and I were in California to celebrate my Grandpa's 85th birthday and to spend the week visiting family and friends. As usual, Olivia was an excellent traveler, sleeping through all the flights.

We took her to The Wedge since a storm had created it's famous huge waves, which I had never seen in person. The waves were amazing and it was an beautiful day at the water. We even put her toes in the sand and she didn't seem to mind!

The rest of the pictures can be found under our pictures link above to the right.

4 Month Check Up

Olivia had her 4 month check up at the pediatrician's office last week. Here are her latest stats:

Height: 24" (50%)
Weight: 12 lbs, 2oz - officially doubling her birth weight! (25%)
Head: not sure of measurement (50%)

She's really improving, especially in her weight... really catching up from being in the 10% to the 25% now! She also got 3 more immunizations and like last time, Olivia was a Rock Star! Only cried for about 10 seconds and that was it!!! She's so awesome!

She smiles a ton now and can talk up a storm... we are just waiting to hear our first laugh! Her neck is getting stronger and stronger and her head wobbles a lot less now. We bought a Bumbo seat for her and she is sitting up in it pretty well!! She's also lifting her head up quite a bit from a laying down position. She's still not grabbing a whole lot right now... mostly just my fingers when I feed her, but that's probably her just working on it.

The doctor was pleased with her progress. She took her off the Prevacid that she was on for the reflux we thought she had and she seems to be doing great without it. She put her on her tummy and had her stand up and was glad to see her strong. I asked about teething and what to expect and she said that all the drooling and fist chewing she's doing lately is probably the start of the teeth moving around. Although it can still be many months before a tooth comes through. We've gotten some teeth rings just in case!

So she's doing great, getting stronger everyday and is a total joy for Matt and I!

Summertime Surgery!!!

Yesterday I went to my OB to have a follow up ultrasound on the fibroids and cyst I have. The cyst on my ovary has not grown, and at the moment is not of concern. The fibroids, however, did grow a bit and at this point I have 2 that are about the size of a grapefruit each! I don't feel them and they don't hurt (my doctor was fairly surprised at that). So we talked about my options... leave them there or remove them surgically.

If I leave them, my doctor says they won't ever get smaller (until menopause), and since they are hormonally stimulated, they can get bigger, especially with another pregnancy. They shouldn't be an issue in getting pregnant, but because of their size and the fact that they can get bigger in pregnancy, they could become painful for me, and once I'm pregnant there is nothing I can do about them.

If I have then removed, it's basically like having a c-section. It's 2-3 days in the hospital, no driving for a week, and no heavy lifting for 6 weeks. It also can mean c-sections for all future pregnancies. She mentioned that fibroids can be a contributor to pre-term labor, which I had with Olivia. She can't say for sure that they cause that, but it's possible.

So Matt and I talked about it... and I think I'm going to have the surgery. The doctor suggested that I give myself a year between the surgery and the next pregnancy so since we plan on trying to get pregnant again in Aug/Sept 2012, this summer would be the time for the surgery. Amazing that I went my whole life without a hospital stay and now within 8 months I'll have 2! So much for avoiding a c-section when delivering Olivia!!

Picture Time!

This week I had professional pictures taken of Olivia through one of the Mom's groups I've recently joined. I dressed Olivia in these dresses (the blue one is from my friend Nicole, and the USC dress is from Maggie). When she was in the blue dress, she was set in an Easter basket with some over-sized Easter eggs surrounding her. I'm not sure we got any good shots there because she wasn't in the mood to smile, of course.

In the USC dress she was beyond adorable! We set her on a white fur rug so the dress really stood out! She had several smiles during this session, but also wanted her hands in her mouth (her newest obsession!) I know we got one good full body shot and think we may have gotten a few good ones that were close up... I'm hoping to get to see proofs in about a week and then we'll print up a bunch for family! I can't wait to see how they turn out!

All Smiles

Olivia is really smiling a lot these days, which just makes Matt and I melt! If you smile at her (and she's not crying), she'll almost always smile back now! So sweet!!!