Payback

My mom has always looked forward to me having kids.  Of course I'm sure she wanted to be a grandmother and play with cute little grandbabies, but I think the main reason was that she wanted me to experience the pain I allegedly put her though.  If you believe my parents (and I'm not saying that I do), then I apparently spent the first 2 years of my life crying constantly and never letting go of my mom - despite photographic evidence to the contrary.  Now, I have my doubts because that hellion that they describe certainly doesn't sound like me.  But, they remain vigilant in their story & have even gone so far as to get some close family friends in on the ruse!  ;) 

Although Olivia did not cry constantly, unfortunately I think she has picked up one of my self-admitted bad habits...picky eater.  Now, I'm not alone in this quality - my darling husband survived on a diet of chicken tenders, pizza and Dr. Pepper before we started dating.  But, as expanded as our pallets have become over the past few years, vegetables are still a hard sell.  And I guess the picky eating quality is genetic because Olivia has become quite opinionated and hard to please at meal time.

On Thursday when I picked her up from school her teachers told me to find something she likes to eat this weekend and not bring any more babyfood on Monday because she just spits it out or refuses to even open her mouth! 

So this weekend we went on a baby culinary experiment to find foods that Olivia likes.  Here are the results:

Baked apples with cinnamon - that's a no.  She will put the apple in her mouth, lick the cinnamon off and spit it out.  But no consumption of the apple actually took place.

Broccoli with cheese sauce - her teachers claimed she liked this but I think its a no too.  She took the bite that I gave her, ate the cheese and spit out the broccoli.

Cauliflower gratin:  That's right - gratin.  What 9 month old needs "gratin" is beyond me, but we seem to have a winner.  I put some brown rice in the bottom of a ramekin and then layered a cauliflower puree (with parmesan) on top; sprinkled it with some more parmesan and baked it for about 20 minutes.  She loved it, as long as there was some cauliflower/parmesan in every bite.  

Butternut squash soup with chicken - as long as this is a very "soupy" consistency with no chucks, she will also eat this.

Grilled chicken - this was a winner too

So, we have a few items she will eat and I'm now on a mission to find some more! 

And a random picture of my cute little picky-pants at the park with daddy.

Fathers Day

This year was Matt's first official Father's Day and I loved having a day to surprise him and make him feel special. 

We woke up early (because Olivia wakes up EVERY DAY at 6:30) and opened presents. 

Olivia is getting a lot more independent these days.  Her new favorite thing is her sippy cup.  I tried to take it away to get a picture of her & Matt before presents.  As you can see, she did not appreciate that.

But, once she got her cup back - she was very happy to sit & help her daddy open presents. 

Then we got dressed and had a little playtime.

After some lunch and a nap, we closed out the afternoon with a little pool time.

I hope Matt had a great day!  We are very lucky to have such an amazing daddy who helps out so much with Olivia - from getting up every 2 hours with me when she was first born, to being involved in every decision and activity along the way.  We couldn't ask for more and definitely feel very blessed.

First Words & Other Happenings

Olivia said her first word this Saturday (June 16) and it was music to my ears:

MAMA!

I thought she said it on Friday, but I was home alone with her so I was hesitant to make such bold a statement as "Olivia said her first word...and it was Mama!"  (Especially after "Roll-Over Gate!")

But then on Saturday morning, Matt was feeding her breakfast while I did the dishes and she saw me, started crying and then said "mama...mama" until I went over to her.  And she said it again at lunch...and again that night! I have refrained from physically dancing all over the house - but I am completely blissful!

However, I failed to exhibit any good parenting skills at all later that morning.  We went to the gym to work out and the day care came to get me because Olivia had a dirty diaper.  I went to change her and realized we had a blow-out, but unfortunately no spare outfit in the diaper bag!  So, our poor daughter had to leave the gym like this.  

Good thing she's too little to feel embarrassment - I know Matt & I definitely did (which is why we waited until we got to the parking garage to take any pictures and spent the entire car ride home laughing/cringing at our baby in her "toga")!

Then Saturday night, my parents, Aunt Yasmin and Grant came over to babysit while Matt and I went to Eddie Vs for a delicious anniversary dinner.  It was a great night spent reminiscing about the past 4 wonderful years and hopefully wondering about what the future will bring.

When we got home, we had a little early Father's Day celebration for my dad.  

 Olivia got GrandDad a shirt, but apparently she's not very good at sizing because it was small enough to fit Aunt Yasmin (who took the shirt!).  We will have to order GrandDad a new one ASAP!  But hopefully he still knows how much Olivia & I love him!

 

Happy Birthday Pop-O!

Pop-O's birthday was this past Saturday, so he and Tutu came over for a birthday dinner!  Olivia stole all Pop-O's thunder by cruising more than she ever has before and standing up for the first time.  Luckily, I don't think Pop-O minded!  ;)

Here's a video of the little cruiser:

And, of course, too many pictures of Miss O: 

Curious

Olivia has always been a very curious baby (Mimi says "nosy", but I prefer curious - mainly because Mimi often uses that same adjective to refer to me!), but now that she's mobile, she is into EVERYTHING!  Gone are the days when I could lay her on the mat and run to the restroom!


We have this cute playmat with every possible toy an 8 month old could want.  But, as you can see, Olivia doesn't really like to sit on the mat and play any more.

She mostly prefers to crawl to see what mommy is making in the kitchen.

Or try and touch the electrical outlet (don't worry - we replaced all the outlets in the house with the ones that slide that she can't get to!)

Or hang out by the fireplace.

 

 
Or stand up next to the jumperoo (not IN it in anymore - she has made it very clear that jumping IN the jumperoo is apparently NOT something she enjoys!).

Or play with the blinds.

Or play with the DVDs.

 

Or play in a box that came in the mail (Vineyard Vines can apparently now add "toys" to their list of items!).

Or play peek-a-boo with daddy.

Or try to climb up on the coffee table.  My parents got us a copy of "First Aid Tips for Parents" before Olivia was born.  Matt pointed out the irony in Olivia picking that book off the coffee table.

Or jump out of daddy's arms.

Or try to share her blocks with daddy.

Or play by the air conditioning vent.

She is everywhere but she's so cute that we don't mind chasing her around!