I wrote this post over break. I was going to add pictures to it but Olivia woke up from her nap early that day. So, I saved it until today. I am just starting to look through pictures and I hear Olivia up from her nap. So, I'm going to post this without pictures. Hopefully, I can add some later! (But..probably not since I haven't posted on here in like 5 months!)
Wow..I haven't written a post in many months! Actually, I have two posts saved but I never posted them. I'm not really sure why I didn't post them. Anyways, Olivia has changed so much in the last 5 months! I can't really catch you up on everything that she has been doing so I'll just start with what she is doing now.
Olivia is a true delight to be around. The first few months of her life were very tough for Jeremiah and me. The past couple of months have been absolutely wonderful for us! I would describe Olivia as an adorable, funny, outgoing girl who loves to be around other kids. Usually, she doesn't cry unless she is scared, hungry, or tired. Olivia loves to make people laugh especially Grace. The past couple of times we have been around Grace, Olivia starts making a funny noise and then Grace laughs. She becomes very excited when she sees Grace and I love it!
Everyday I wish I could be at home with Olivia instead of teaching. However, I know it's not possible for me to do this. So, I leave school the moment I can to come home to my darling girl. When I pick Olivia up, she starts crawling towards me with a huge smile. It melts my heart every time. As dorky as it sounds, every day I feel like it's Christmas when I pick her up. You know that feeling you got when you were a little kid and couldn't wait to see what you got for Christmas? Well, that's how I feel as I'm on my way to pick her up. I'm that excited to see her. Speaking of Christmas, I have more than enjoyed my time off with Olivia over Christmas break. I feel like she has grown up a ton in the past week and I'm so thankful I'm off to see it. It's going to be extremely hard for me to go back to work on Monday but I can't think about that now.:)
Before I went back to school, Olivia was on a pretty strict schedule. Now, her schedule basically depends on what time she wakes up. She usually wakes up around 6:00a.m. (give or take 20 min.) and then takes two naps during the day. Her naps are different every day. Sometimes she takes 2 hour naps, sometimes 1 1/2 hours, and sometimes 1 hour naps. I wish I could predict how long she is going to sleep like I could when she was a little baby. Now, I never know when she is going to wake up from her nap. Something that is pretty hard for me (and Jeremiah) is that Olivia needs to go to bed around 6:00p.m. We have tried many times to keep her up later, but she just can't do it. She also still wakes up at the same time and is more cranky. I usually get home with her around 4:00p.m. and she is in bed by 6:15p.m. I barely get anytime with her at night and it breaks my heart! That's why I LOVE this break and the time I get to spend with her. I'm really thankful though because Olivia started sleeping through the night about a month ago! Usually, she'll wake up one night a week and need a bottle. It definitely makes for happier parents since she is sleeping through the night!:)
Olivia is still eating a bottle 4 times a day. She also eats baby food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I just started feeding her food for lunch over break. She refuses to eat baby cereal (even when I mix it with something) so I am just giving her fruits and veggies. It's fun exploring new foods with her. She makes this gagging noise when she doesn't like something. She's definitely a drama queen about her food! We've been giving her these rice cake snacks and she loves eating them. She has two teeth now and loves to chomp on everything.
Jeremiah and I feel so blessed to have such a healthy baby girl. Every day it seems like she is doing something new. Olivia started out army crawling for about a month and a half and then moved onto crawling. She is crawling all over our house now and thinks she is pretty big stuff. Olivia would rather stand then crawl though and can stand for a bit by herself. Every day she is able to stand for a bit longer then the day before. In the past month, she has started pulling up on everything and moving from one piece of furniture to the next. I've had to deal with many bumps on her head because she thinks she can do more then she really can! Olivia loves to walk when we hold her hands still and always tries to let go when we are walking with her. She has been giving kisses for about a month or so and recently started clapping. Olivia received a musical stuffed donkey from her Gee Gee and Pops for Christmas. Every time she hears the music she starts clapping and smiling. She also claps when she is proud of herself for standing. Also, she bounces her knees like she is dancing when she hears music (and she is standing up).
Olivia started waving about a month ago. One time my dad walked into the room and she waved and said a noise that sounded just like, "Hi!" She definitely is saying hi to us when we see her. Sometimes it sounds like hi and other times it is just the same sound. Olivia is saying many new sounds and recently started the "uck" sound in addition to the sounds she always makes. She also laughs at herself and us. It's adorable when I hear her crack herself up.
Oh..one more thing. Olivia LOVES my dad. Whenever he walks into the room she starts crawling towards him. When my family comes around she just wants to be with my dad. She is constantly giving him kisses and hugging him. It's precious! I know he just loves it.
