Baby It's Cold Outside!

Well winter came late this year, but it sure hit hard a few weeks ago! Fort Wayne was hit with a blizzard the day before Valentine's Day...and after all was said and done we were left with almost 9 inches of snow! The whole city came to a stand still for a couple of days and we did our best to just stay inside...out of the cold! Although the snow was quite pretty, the wind was harsh and that made things much worse. The snow drifts were what caused the biggest problem, making it hard to even get down our driveway. Todd spent most of Tuesday coming in and out of the cold as he tried to keep up with the snow with constant shoveling and snow blowing. Olivia and I stayed inside where it was nice and toasty. Once the storm was over we bundled her up in her warm and fuzzy snow suit so that she could get a taste of her first big winter storm.

Nana got Livie this snow suit for Christmas. Although it is extremely adorable I was not quite sure when we would use it. But we have used it quite a bit. I bundle her up in it every time I walk her next door to the baby sitter. It is a great way to keep her warm for the short trip. She just looks like a big, stuffed teddy bear!

Well it is almost two weeks later and the snow is still on the ground. Last night we had a minor ice storm. Not too bad, but enough to make the roads very slick. Needless to say we have had enough of winter weather. We are read for Spring so we can start doing things outside with Olivia. We are very much looking forward to being able to take her for walks and play in the grass. We are also excited to take her to the zoo for the first time. And even though it will probably be awhile she has her bathing suit all ready to go for all of the time we will be spending at Uncle VJ's pool this summer! There is so much to look forward to. So goodbye winter, we are ready for Spring!

HELP!!!

Calling all moms! I need advice...and I need it quick! If there is anyone out there who has experienced what we are going through please tell me how you got through it.

Olivia is almost four months old now. She is a very healthy baby. She is also a perfect angel...as long as she is with me. Miss Olivia seems to be going through a severe case of separation anxiety. I know what you are going to say, "Not possible! She is only four months old." Well it must be possible because that seems to be what is happening. Anytime she is with me she is perfect....happy. Whenever I leave her with anyone else her demeanor changes within minutes. Once she realizes that her environment has changed and I am no longer there she starts crying and does not stop. She will cry so hard that she turns purple and is unable to be consoled. And she does this with everyone; Todd, my mom, and her babysitter.

The reason I am so baffled by this is because separation anxiety is typically something that you do not experience with your child until she is 6 months or older. I have never heard of it happening in babies this young, and nor has anyone that I have talked to about it so far. I have even called our pediatrician, as I am very concerned about her behavior. Based on the way I described her actions they believe that she is experiencing separation anxiety, but of course there wasn't much else they could tell me.

I think that in order for her to get over this quickly she needs to continue spending time with other people while I am not there. But I am afraid that if she keeps this up the babysitter is going to give up on me. The whole situation is a Catch-22! I am hoping that she will grow out of this phase quickly. It is very stressful and difficult on me as I am the only one who can calm her down. That means that I am not getting many breaks and it is exhausting!

I guess I like to think of this as Olivia just being ahead of the curve as far as her development goes. Maybe this means she will grow into a little genius! But I think for now I would prefer for her to stop being so stubborn and start cooperating with those who only want to spend time with her and love on her. Could this be a sign of what is to come with this child?

HELP!

Our Funny Valentine

Valentine's Day was quite eventful this year as it fell in the middle of Winter Blast 2007 in Fort Wayne. Olivia and mommy were stuck in the house all day because our neighborhood hadn't been plowed yet. After some assistance daddy was able to get his car down the street and out onto the main roads so he could go to work. We had a cute little Valentine's Day outfit all ready for Olivia to wear, but we weren't able to go anywhere to show it off. The three of us had planned on going out for dinner as a family, since Todd and I celebrated Valentine's Day with a evening out last weekend, but because of the weather we opted to stay in. Todd picked up some carry-out instead and the three of us enjoyed a nice, quite Valentine's Day in our warm, cozy house.


Even though we stayed in for Valentine's Day I still had to get Livie dressed up in her special outfit. Here is Olivia all decked out in her cute little onesie that says "My Heart Belongs to Daddy!" She complemented that with a corduroy skirt, a white hat with a heart on it and cute little shoes with the words "Love...You" on them. Oh, and let's not forget about the binky with hearts on it.

Every year my mom and I usually make Valentine's Day cookies. I was not able to assist her this year, as Olivia takes up most of my free time these days. So Nana was left to make the cookies all alone. But she did make a few special cookies for us to enjoy...

...what talent! Next year Olivia can assist us in the cookie making...who knows what those cookies will look like, or what mess we will have to clean up afterwards!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope your day was filled with lots of love!

Look Who's Talking

Within the last week or so Olivia has become extremely vocal. She has been cooing for about one month now but just recently her sounds have become much more advanced. She now talks constantly! I think she is going to be quite the chatterbox. I have been trying to catch her talking on video but it tends to be challenging. Below are a few short clips of her chatting away...

Just click on the links and it will take you directly to the video clips...

http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s179/zatchman2/?action=view&current=Feb.flv

http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s179/zatchman2/?action=view&current=Feb-1.flv

I can't believe how quickly she is changing, right in front of my eyes!

Cute as a Button

So many outfits...so much work! Since we had Baby O the cute and adorable outfits have been pouring in from everyone! Every outfit that we get is cuter than the one before. Between all of the gifts we have received and the things that Todd and I just could not resist buying ourselves, I think Olivia has a full wardrobe until she reaches 18 months!

I never knew that having a baby girl would be so much fun! But although the outfits are adorable they are a pain in the butt to get on a tiny baby! Trying to get the child dressed in anything but a sleeper is a huge chore and not one that she has much patience for either. But we do it anyway because she is cute as a button in her little outfits.

Another thing I was not expecting was for her to grow out of her clothes so quickly. Since she has gained weight quicker than we could have ever imagined she is ahead of the curve when it comes to the size of clothes she should be in. We are finding that although she is only three months old, the six month clothes fit her just fine. If she keeps this up she is going to be ahead of the seasons and all of the clothes that we have won't fit her during the proper time of year!

A few quick updates...Olivia just got over her first little case of the sniffles. She handled her first cold like a champ. The poor little thing had a terrible time breathing for a few days. And she was not too fond of her mommy constantly putting the bulb syringe up her nose to suction all of the crap out, but she handled it very well. I think she is pretty much over it now.

We are also having a little bit of a daddy dilemma. For the past couple of weeks Olivia has decided that she does not want much to do with her daddy. Every time he would hold her or try to play her with she would throw a huge fit. Needless to say this hurt Todd's feelings more than you could imagine. But he does understand that it is just a phase and she will eventually get over it. We were just surprised that she is going through this so early. I guess that is a sign that she is very advanced for her age! He has started doing special things with her to try and get her to be more comfortable spending time with just him. He gives her baths and they play together. She seems to enjoy these activities and we hope that little phase will pass quickly!

She is also starting to grasp her toys and play with her rattles. She does seem to be more enthralled with her hands right now, but she is starting to realize that all of these toys make great sounds and are quite fun to play with! New things keep happening each and every day!

Our Little Angel

Ok, well maybe not so little! In fact we think she resembles a little buddha or a prize fighter on her way to the big fight!

At almost three months old, Olivia is weighing in at over 15 lbs! Yes, you heard correctly...15 lbs! So needless to say we are not having any troubles in the eating department! Livie likes her food as you can see.

Things are going very well. This Sunday Olivia will turn three months old! I cannot believe how quickly the time as passed. It has been a roller coaster ride, but a fun one so far! We have enjoyed watching our teenie-tiny baby grow into a little buddha. And nothing could have made me happier than when she smiled at us for the first time. I am amazed by how much she grows and advances each day. Who knows what she will accomplish in her third month!

She is sleeping pretty well through the night...even though she still prefers sleeping in her bouncy seat. We are ok with that for now, as we think that is most comfortable for her and her acid reflux problem. She usually gives me one long stretch of 6-7 hours straight. We then wake up to eat and she goes back down for another 3 hours or so. I could not ask for more than that at this point in time. Although Todd and I long for the day when I can go to bed and sleep straight through, without any interruptions! She is talking more and more each day. The sounds she makes are too cute and sometimes we sit and have conversations about absolutely nothing at all! She is also very close to rolling over from her tummy to her back.

She is just our little angel! Well...most of the time anyway. Don't let the adorable pictures deceive you. Livie can still have her moments. Lately she has been protesting the bottle. For what reason we do not know, but it is a struggle getting her to take one...just ask Todd. And she also seems to be going through an anti-daddy phase. Not sure why, but she is not a huge fan of Todd lately. She seems to cry every time he holds her or tries to play with her. Needless to say, this has been hard on him. He asks, "Why does she hate me?". And I tell him that she is not capable of hating you this early (but just wait until she is a teenager!), and not to worry as she is just going through a weird phase. Hopefully she will go back to being daddy's little girl again soon!

For Christmas my mother gave Livie the little angel jacket and shoes that you see in the pictures. With wings on the back of the jacket and on the heels of the shoes, the outfit it just too cute...especially when she wears it with nothing but her diaper!

Happy three month Birthday Olivia!