Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Before Olivia was born, I said I was not going to go crazy for Christmas because she wouldn't know the difference either way.  However, then the cutest thing that ever happened to me was born and I decided that if there was even a small chance she would know or be happy, then I had to go crazy for Christmas. 

So....we decorated the house, complete with an "Olivia-sized" tree

We bought Christmas presents and let her open one early (a bottle warmer....I wouldn't exactly say that's "crazy")

 

And we took Christmas pictures.  I got her a ridiculously expensive smocked dress that I'm sure she will maybe wear 3 times.  But I love it and will forever remember it as her "first Christmas" dress. 

I'm not sure how much she actually enjoys or appreciates any of it, but the fact that I had so much fun doing it only makes me more excited for next year!

Thumbs down

Sucking your thumb is apparently harder than it looks...(don't worry, we aren't actually encouraging her to be a thumb-sucker, I was just trying to help the poor girl out!)

10 Weeks of Olivia

Matt and I have WAY too much time on our hands and are WAY too obsessed with this little girl...

The Texans, Take Your Daughter to Work and Babysitters

We have been very busy this week! On Sunday, Olivia and Matt watched the Texans game while I went to lunch with my dear friends Paige and Danielle. We had to get a few quick pics with Miss Olivia before we left, but then Matt was on his own! (He picked out the Texans onesie, I picked out the leg warmers. I'm told nothing says hard-core Texans fan like polka dot leg warmers!)



Special dad post:



This is a picture of me with Olivia before the Texans played Jacksonville. I had just given her a very serious talk about the game. I told her that under no circumstances was she to jinx the team. When we first got home from the hospital Olivia was the sole reason why the Texans blew a double-digit lead against the Saints. I was determined for that not to happen again.


After the Texans got behind early they scored 17 of the next 20 points to take a 17-10 lead with 5 minutes to go in the first half. Olivia was super happy! But, did I detect a little bit of evil behind that smile? Would Olivia purposely defy me and jinx my favorite team?!


What the hell Olivia? Matt Leinart gets hit from the side and the Texans lose their starting quarterback for the season for the second time in two weeks. I knew Olivia would ruin this game for me. I vow never again to watch the Texans with her.


"I am going to throw you through the television if the Texans blow this game!"

Luckily, the defense stepped up and the Texans survived 20-13. I can't take the stress and I really don't want to throw my daughter through the TV so I'll be watching the Falcons game alone this Sunday.




The rest of the week was jam packed. Olivia is 10 weeks old now; since she's so "big" we are feeling more and more comfortable getting out in public with her.

On Tuesday we took our first trip to Target to get Christmas decorations. I am hopeful this will be the first of many mommy-daughter Target trips in my future.


On Wednesday I took her to Exxon Mobil to introduce her to my co-workers. (She wouldn't take her eyes off the fan for a picture before we left).


Then on Thursday she went to a holiday party at Rice to meet all Matt's MBA friends.


As you can see, she partied hard.


She also went to Aunt Casey's house for the first time to meet Noah and Owen. Both boys loved her. Owen kept saying "Persis' baby!" and just staring at her. Noah quickly warmed up to her as well and then kept wanting to show "Miss Olivia" all the Christmas decorations and make funny faces trying to get her to laugh. We know Olivia will have lots of fun growing up with the Born boys.


And on Friday, we had a big "FIRST" --- first babysitters! Matt and I went to my Exxon Mobil holiday party while Yasmin and Nazreen babysat Olivia. We were a little sad to leave her and have to admit we told several stories about her to my co-workers and to each other during dinner. But, it was nice to have a night out and know she was in very capable hands (as you can see by the cute pictures they took!).

Thankful

Matt and I have been thanking our lucky stars for quite some time now. We were so blessed to have a relatively easy pregnancy and birth and a happy, healthy baby. I can't count the number of times since she has been born that we both remark how thankful and lucky we are. So, we were very glad to have an entire day to be thankful!

We might start some of our own holiday traditions once Olivia is a little older, but this year we kept the same routine we've had since we got engaged. First, we headed to the Woodlands for lunch with Pop-o and Tutu at the Marriott Waterway. Olivia was very good and slept all through lunch. On the way home, her little belly must have been very hungry because she showed Pop-o and Tutu what a good set of lungs she has by crying most of the way home. Until....I brought out (one of) the secret weapons...Michael Buble. I should have included Michael on the list of Olivia's favorite things. She loves this Canadian songbird and immediately stopped crying once we put him on! After I fed her, she was all smiled and ready to play.





Then, we drove to Humble to hang out with my family. We spend each holiday with our dear friends, the Kaltenbachers. I was so happy to have Olivia become a part of this growing tradition and she even got a special shout out from Uncle Ed during grace. Each year Uncle Ed cooks a fried turkey and Aunty Minda makes the MOST delicious Thanksgiving spread you've ever had. My sisters and I dream about Thanksgiving every year just for Aunty Minda's cooking. Now we have Matt hooked on it too! Hopefully next year Olivia will be old enough to taste the delicious food that Matt and I will tell her all about..

My mom and Yasmin


My dad and Uncle Ed


Nazreen and Kyra


Kyra, Robert and Colby


Olivia getting her bottle from Lola


Olivia and Aunt Yasmin


Then it was time for some family pictures (she's half Mehta, so she needs to get used to lots of pictures.....Matt has already learned that the Mehtas like to document everything!)






Two of the Kaltenbacher grandkids (Colby and Kyra) were at Thanksgiving this year. They were the ring bearer and flower girl at our wedding, so they have a special place in our hearts. Kyra really liked Olivia and wanted to hold her and kept rubbing her back. So sweet! Colby was more interested in playing with Matt! Its such a nice tradition because my sisters and I have been around to hold and play with all of the Kaltenbacher grandchildren as they've been born and grown up. Hopefully now those kids will get to hold and play with the Mehta grandchildren!







It was a very long day for Miss Olivia with lots of people loving on her, so she was pretty pooped by the end of it. So we put her in her Christmas pjs (excited we can now start telling her about Santa) and rocked her to bed!




We love our pretty, little turkey so much and are so very thankful for her!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Now that Olivia is getting a little bit bigger, she has definite opinions on what she does and does not like. Here are a few of her favorite things:

The Vibrating Chair.....we've added the "animal bar" to the top of it and she loves it so much. She is in heaven when she's sitting in the chair and looking at the animals. I just sit next to her and shake the monkey or dance to the music and she thinks its great! (PS - how cute are her baby legwarmers?!)



The Miracle Blanket....she is now big enough for this blanket and she loves it. She does not cry at all when we are swaddling her. And as soon as she gets all wrapped up with a paci in her mouth, she can barely keep her eyes open. (This is one of my favorites too!)


Tummy Time...she is getting so good at holding her head up! And now she will actually smile and make eye contact with you if you get down on the floor with her. She still can't go for very long before she gets tired, but she is getting stronger and stronger.



Activity mat....like the vibrating chair, Olivia is in love with the animals hanging from this mat.


Story time....this one is mine and Matt's favorite too. Last week we started a nighttime routine of reading a poem or story before bed. Olivia loves it! She looks at the pages very intently. Her favorite book right now is Aloha Zoo...given to her by her favorite Hawaiians, Aunt Jennie and Uncle Lloyd. Its a cute book about all the animals at the zoo. When Matt reads it, he uses different voices.....

Some voices are happy.....


Some voices are silly (usually...."Uh oh aloha stinky smell!")


Some voices are scary


But the book always ends "with love, aunt jennie & uncle lloyd" (a great message to end the day on!)