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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Special Moments

Every moment with Olivia is a special moment. And over the past couple of months our little girl has grown from a baby to toddler...creating many, many special moments for us! The transformation seemed to have happened overnight...leaving me wondering what happened to our Baby O? Along with this transformation comes a whole new world of experiences. Although it was tough leaving the baby stage behind, the toddler stage has been a joy! Every day she surprises us with something new...whether it be a new word, a new skill or an adorable new habit. I have been told that the second year is amazing...as you watch them grow in body and mind. We are so excited for what lies ahead!

So as we enter this new stage I would like to share with you some very special moments from the past few months. Each of these pictures captured a special moment that stood out and will always be remembered. I am not a very good photographer, but once in awhile I take a good picture. The pictures below were taken by me and some of my family members. I will briefly explain the story behind each of the photos...

One morning a few weeks ago I walked into Olivia's nursery to get her up for the day. I usually walk in to find her standing, waiting for me to pick her up for a big hug. But on this particular morning she must have been more tired than usual. She seems so peaceful, so I had to snap a picture. It truly captures her innocence.

This was taken on Olivia's first birthday. We were at my mother's house for Olivia's party. While we were waiting for the guests to arrive Livie was exploring the house. She is quite fond of this low shelf that holds family photos...mostly of me as a baby. I like how she is studying the pictures. Although she does not know she is looking at pictures of her mommy as a baby, she gets very excited when she sees other babies. (That is me in the frame in the background).

This picture is a bit dark but I think it is just adorable. This is Olivia's Auntie Delia. She is my Dad's brother's ex-wife (got that?). Even though she is no longer married to my uncle we have remained very close. Up until a few weeks ago Delia and her husband Brian were living in Florida...and had yet to see Olivia since she was born. Well they now live in Bloomington, Indiana and we are so very excited! Delia and Brian came to see Olivia for the first time the weekend of her Birthday. My husband caught this special moment of the two of them. We look forward to being able to see them more often and for Olivia to get to know her Auntie Delia.

This is Olivia and her friend Henry. We met Henry by going to the mom group at Dupont Hospital. We have since grown out of the mom group but we have stayed in touch with some of mom's and babies we have met. Those of us who have babies close in age try to get together from time to time so the kids can play together. Henry's mom Laurie invited us over recently for a birthday party for the little ones who just turned or were about to turn one. We each brought a gift and had an exchange. The toy you see in the picture above is the toy that Henry choose as his present. Olivia was immediately interested because she has the same toy at home. For that reason she felt it was necessary to show Henry exactly how it worked. I just love how they interact with one another.

In the past few weeks Olivia has found the courage to start walking with the help of her walking toy. We just turned around one day and there she was...taking steps! Now she is all over the place with that thing...walking it into walls most of the time...but she loves it! So much so that she has mastered the skill with one hand. In the picture above she is holding onto her walker with one hand while holding her favorite orange toy in the other. This girl can multitask! The video below shows just how proud she is of her newest accomplishment...

Isn't it amazing how quickly they change? We have been so busy lately with all of the new developments and milestones I realized that I have not given any updated stats on Livie in awhile. A few weeks ago we went to her one year appointment at the pediatrician. She weighed in at 23 lbs. 15 oz and was 31 inches in length. She received a clean bill of health and Dr. Lisa said she is developing wonderfully! As you saw above she is actively walking with her toy. In fact she took her very first steps without the toy this past Sunday! Of course I missed them as I was having coffee with a friend at the time. I leave the house for one hour and miss one very special moment...can't believe it! I know she will take more steps very soon so I am excited to witness them firsthand. I will also post some video when she starts doing it on a more regular basis.

She is also talking up a storm. She has many words including...baby, bubble, ball, kitty, bye-bye Elmo (of course), and the basics...mama, dada and nana. She is a busy little bee...constantly on the move. She plays so hard that she still needs two naps a day. She is eating 100% table food. Things are much easier now that she can eat many of the same things we eat each night for dinner. Olivia also loves to read her books. Although she likes for us to read to her she also enjoys pulling all of her books out of their basket and spending time looking through them herself.

It is an exciting time in the Menor household. We are getting ready to start celebrating the holidays and we are preparing for all that will come along with Olivia's newest skill...walking! Next on the agenda...Thanksgiving...the best meal of the year! I am excited for Olivia to be able to enjoy her first turkey day! I have no doubt she will like it! Many more special moments to come...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel so grateful to have been a part of so many of Olivia's special moments, and I look forward to sharing so many more.
Nana

Erin said...

Awww...What a sweet entry! GOOD JOB Livie- walking seems like light years away for us!!!

We are planning on going to group on Wednesday- see you there with your little mobile lady bug!

Erin :)

Wormie said...

Wow! Two weeks ago we said she'd be walking soon, but who knew it would be that fast!!! She's pretty fast on her feet!!!

We're so glad that we finally got to meet her, and looking forward to watching her grow!! Take lots of pictures at Thanksgiving!

Love,
Aunt Delia