9 Months

Another month has flown by!  This month's photo shoot was quite the challenge.  She tore off her 9 Month sticker instantly and this was the only decent shot I got. 

Here are a few of the outtakes (I tried to take a few pics before bed - obviously a mistake!):

 

Because she is nine months old, the obvious time comparison is to my pregnancy.  During those nine months, our house was quieter and less cluttered, we ate when and where we wanted, we slept through the night, and we hoped and wondered about what life with this little girl would be like. Nine months later, I think we’d both agree that this life is crazier, louder, messier, and better than we could have ever imagined. 

Olivia is much more like a toddler and less like a little baby.  She is crawling everywhere and can stand for significant periods of time.  She has definite opinions on where she wants to be and go and has taken to pointing at the door when she wants to leave the room (this mostly happens at about 3:00 am when she doesn’t want to sleep and most recently, at the doctor’s office after she got a shot!).

She is still very social and happy.  She smiles, waves and claps to everyone we see, everywhere we go.  And while she is very willing and happy to waive to every stranger we meet, she definitely, without a doubt, does NOT want to go with them or be held by them.  In fact, Olivia wants to stay as close to home base (i.e. mom & dad) as possible.  Matt and I can’t really complain about it though, who wouldn’t want to snuggle a little bug as cute and sweet as Olivia every chance they get?!

Her nine month appointment went well (despite her double ear infection).  Here are her stats:
Height: 28" (63%)
Weight: 18 pounds, 4 oz (49%)
Head: 17" (25%)
Teeth: 6 (4 on the top, 2 on the bottom) 


And, with all those teeth, she has become quite the foodie.  Olivia seems to waiver on a daily basis as to what she will and won’t eat.  The constants are Cheerios, yogurt and Mum Mums.  Other than that, it just depends on her mood.  Recently we were at dinner at an Italian restaurant.  She refused to eat any plain pasta or chicken or bread (all things she usually loves).  So, when my dinner came (pork in a cilantro sauce) I gave her a little bite and she seemed to love it.  So I gave her a bit more, until we realized that she was only sucking the sauce off the pork and spitting the rest into her bib.  We dipped pasta & bread into the sauce and got the same reaction!  Matt and I went to dinner with her the other night and had a similar experience with her licking the cheese off her pasta and spitting out the rest.  She’s a tricky one!  


This month we have been crawling and cruising all over the house to explore every nook & cranny; playing with friends; holding her own bottle; playing outside; and looking at First Words flashcards.

Happy 3/4 of a year Olivia!  We love you so much and are so lucky to have you!

Two Peas In A Pod

Or in my bed.  Sleep has been hard to come by the past week at Casa Dean. Little Olivia has (another!) marathon ear infection and the poor thing has been miserable at night.  Matt and I have tried hard to stick to our “no baby in the bed” principle, but extreme exhaustion compromised our morals and last night we finally just brought her into the bed with us.  Between Matt’s snoring & Olivia taking up more room than one little body should, I didn’t get much sleep – but I still woke up smiling when I looked over to see Matt + mini-Matt next to me.

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: