A Case Of The Sniffles

Olivia has her first official cold...at least I think so. It really is just a minor case of the sniffles. I had a horrible head cold a few weeks ago and I think she picked a little of it up from me. For the past few days she has been very congested. She has also been sneezing quite a bit and rubbing her eyes. But if it weren't for those symptoms I would not have known that she was sick. She has not been acting as if she feels under the weather. We have been very lucky with her so far. This is the only sickness we have had to deal with since she was born! I knew that something was bothering her when she kept making this face...

I kept wondering..."what is she doing?" I quickly figured out that this was the face she made to try and get the snot out that was building up in her nose! Too funny! So other than having to continuously suction all of the crap out of her nose (which she hates!) she has been handling her first cold like a champ! Which is good because we have had a pretty busy Memorial Day weekend. But we did manage to find a little time to relax. Here is Livie and her daddy resting in bed...

My Grandma and Uncle came into town for a few days for the holiday weekend. We were busy with cookouts and socializing. My Grandma just loves spending time with Olivia. She lives in Michigan so they get to visit somewhat regularly. Since Olivia was born just one week after my Grandfather passed away, she has been a great distraction for my Grandma. She is also quite a handful for her. With Olivia weighing over 19 lbs. it is quite hard for my Grandma to hold onto her. But I did manage to catch a nice moment with Olivia and her Great Nana Cleo...

We finished off our holiday weekend with our annual cookout at Papa Graham's house. It was a beautiful, warm day and Olivia wore one of her pretty new dresses from her Grandma in Hawaii. Here is a picture of Olivia with her Nana...lookin' cute!

We do not have much to report right now. Livie is just about to turn 7 months old...where has the time gone? She still is not showing much interest in crawling but she sure loves to play with her toys. Her favorites are those that she can bang on and make noise. Those are also the ones that drive her Mommy and Daddy crazy after awhile! I am not worried about her crawling, as I know she will do it when she is good and ready. That is how she has done everything else up to this point. She is talking more than ever now. She has been adding lots of new sounds to her vocabulary lately. She has mastered "da da" and "na na" but no "ma ma" yet. I am patiently waiting for that day!

We have lots of fun and exciting things coming up this summer. Olivia will be taking her first plane ride next month. We will be swimming for the first time very soon. And Olivia's Grandpa (Todd's Dad) is coming back again, from Hawaii, for a nice long visit. So much to look forward to!

Pearly Whites

Yep...she's got 'em! Two of them in fact. Miss Olivia is sporting two cute little teeth on the bottom. Best part about it is that we did not even know she was teething! We knew something was going to happen soon as this child has been drooling non-stop for the past three months. But it wasn't until my Aunt Sue, who was in town for Olivia's baptism a few weeks ago, just happen to discover a tooth while Olivia was chewing on her fingers. We were shocked! But with a feel of my own I could tell that one was popping through. Within a few weeks she had two of them break the surface! So the good news is that she did not fuss while she was pushing those teeth through. We can only hope the rest of them come through with the same amount of ease!

Olivia is about 6 1/2 months old and she has a lot of exciting things happening right now. She is officially sitting up on her own. She no longer needs any help what-so-ever! It is so great! She can sit and play for the longest time. I have never seen a child so fascinated with her toys! She loves anything that she can bang on and make noise. We set her up with a little play area and she is good to go. Here she is with her stash of toys...

She is also completely into solids. We have tried just about every veggie and fruit and there is nothing that she doesn't like...obviously! She has also been having a few bites of our table food, when it is something she can handle. She is still limited to mashed foods, but she enjoys trying new things. We have been giving her a few finger foods also. They seem to help with her hand-eye coordination. I think her little tummy is still trying to adjust to the change in her diet, but that is to be expected. And I am only having to nurse her four times a day. A few weeks ago she weighed 19 lbs. and 5 oz. Her weight gain has definitely slowed...which is good!

She is also doing much better at the babysitters. I think she is finally starting to enjoy herself over there. The little children entertain her and now that she is more independent she can occupy herself with no problem. That was a rough road, but I am glad things are looking up!

This past week my Cousin Ryan came to visit for a few days before heading to his internship in Pittsburgh. Olivia seemed to enjoy him, as he would just look at her and make funny sounds and faces. That is all it takes for her to be entranced with someone! I am glad she got the chance to spend some time with her Cousin Ry Ry as she doesn't get to see him very often.

Olivia is just a very happy baby. She smiles constantly! She brings so much joy to our lives. If either Todd or myself are having a bad day, all we need to do is look at her and everything is OK. That smile is just contagious...and I love it! Hope this smile brightens your day, like it does ours...

A Mother's Love

This is a special day for me! It's special because this year I get to celebrate being a Mom. I guess last year at this time I was technically considered a Mom, even though our baby hadn't arrived yet. I received a gift from Todd and some nice cards...but this year it really counts! This year I received a beautiful tennis bracelet from Todd as well as a pencil sketch drawing of myself with Olivia. They were both very thoughtful and meaningful gifts! But obviously the best gift of all is my little Livie!

To celebrate Mother's Day we decided to do some fun things as a family. We included my Mom, as we had some special things planned for her on this special day as well. All of us went to the zoo! Olivia loves the zoo and since we have a season pass we can go as often as we like. It was the perfect day to be at the zoo and we all had a very nice time. This evening we went to a friend's for dinner. Olivia had a wonderful time as there was a little girl there to help entertain her. Overall it was a wonderful 1st Mother's Day!




I always knew that I would enjoy being a Mom. What I did not know is how it would change me. My love for this little person is overwhelming at times! I look at her and cannot believe that she is mine. I did not know that I had this much love to give. It is truly an amazing feeling. Even more, I can finally relate to my mother and all that she went through to raise me. I understand that it is hard work...that sometimes it is extremely frustrating. I understand that I must sacrifice some things that I want, in order to do what is best for her. It has made me realize what is really important in life. I have realized that things that used to take priority, really aren't all that important anymore. But I also understand that being a Mom is probably the most rewarding thing I will ever do in my life. One day I will look at Olivia and be proud of the child that I helped to raise. I don't think there is a better reward in life than that!

But at the same time, today is a day to be thankful to my Mom. It is because of her that I am the person I am today. I owe her so much and I am so grateful for all that she has done for me. I can only hope that one day, when Olivia is all grown, that she will feel the same way about me.

Because I now know what it takes to be a Mom I can finally give the proper recognition to all of the other Moms out there. You are all amazing and should be so proud of yourselves! I hope your day was as special as mine was. There is no other love, like a Mother's love, and that deserves to be celebrated!

So Blessed!

Our sweet baby girl was baptized this past Sunday. It was the perfect day. The sun was shining, the weather was warm and we were surrounded by so many loving friends and family. We could not have asked for more.

The festivities started the Wednesday prior when my Aunt Sue flew in from California to be a part of this special occasion and to spend some time with her Great Niece. And that she did. They were able to spend quite a bit of quality time together over the course of the weekend. Sue was worried that Livie would not like her, as she can be picky about "her people". But that was not an issue at all. Olivia immediately took to her Aunt Sue Sue and they hit it off. For some reason Livie was fascinated with Sue's nose so she spent lots of time trying to grab it off of her face...

My Grandmother and Uncle also came into town from Michigan to spend time with Olivia. It was a fun filled weekend that concluded on Sunday with the baptism. Livie's Nana (my Mom) bought her the beautiful white dress for the special occasion. I had no idea how pretty she would look in it. I know I am biased since I am her mother, but she took my breath away!

She did very well during the church service, not making a single sound until the water was poured on her head. At that point she made her presence known. But it was also time for her morning nap, so crankiness was setting in. But she was a trooper and made it through with flying colors! It was such a special moment! And we are so lucky to have such wonderful Godparents for our little Olivia. Our close friends Korrie and Tom have agreed to take on this important role and we are so grateful to them!

Following the service we headed back to my mother's house for a celebration luncheon. Both my Aunt and my Mom worked very hard on all of the preparations and it was amazing! The food was wonderful and I think our guests really enjoyed themselves. Because Livie was so exhausted from her busy morning she took a nice long nap while the grown-ups ate and socialized. It was perfect timing.

After waking up from a long nap those who were not at the baptism were anxious to see Olivia in her pretty dress. Since it was such a beautiful day we went outdoors to take some pictures in the sunshine. With everyone watching she switched into diva mode and starting smiling for the camera.

The Proud Parents

Four Generations of Sculley Women

Olivia and Three of Her Cousins

A Blessing From God!

I knew that Olivia's baptism was going to be a special occasion for us. But we could not have imagined just how special. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on just how blessed Todd and I are to have this beautiful baby in our lives. It also allowed me to see how lucky we are to be surrounded by so many loving friends and family. Thank you for all of the wonderful gifts that were given to Olivia for her baptism and thank you to everyone who helped to make this day something we will remember always. God bless you baby girl!

My Michelin Baby

Our baby girl was 6 lbs. 10 oz. when she was born almost 6 months ago. Since that day she has put on the weight like it is going out of style! In the beginning she was gaining around a pound week! Obviously she has slowed down since then, but at just shy of 6 months old she weighs just under 19 lbs!!!

I have no idea why I have such a chubby baby. Don't get me wrong...I love her chubbiness. I am just baffled as to why she has gotten so big so fast! She is not a big eater. She does like her food but she has never been a baby who eats more than normal. But now that we are starting to get more into solid foods I want to be sure that I do not overly contribute to her already growing waistline! I have friends who have had chubby babies and they said that as soon as their babies starting moving more they thinned out. I have no doubt this will happen to Livie as she is an extremely active baby that moves from the moment she gets up in the morning to the second she lays her head down at night.

I was a chubby baby, as was my mother. I guess it just runs in the family. We are really enjoying her rolls and we just love squeezing her. It just cracks me up when I see her next to other babies her age. She could take most of them any day of the week! With all of this talk of Olivia's chubbiness in recent weeks my Aunt decided to take action and created this...

You must admit...that is pretty funny! What is even funnier is that when I googled "Michelin Man" recently I kept seeing a picture pop up over and over. It was a picture of a baby that was diagnosed with Micheline Baby Syndrome! Yes, it is a real thing. I guess it is an extremely rare syndrome where young babies have numerous, symmetrical rolls in their skin. See for yourself...

So Olivia isn't quite that big...but she is a big girl, and we love it!

As I mentioned, she will be turning six months old this Friday! I have no idea where those first six months went. She has gone from this little tiny baby who did nothing to a big girl with tons of personality. She is sitting up, eating a ton of different solid foods and pretty much sleeping through the night. I really could not ask for more. We are still having some trouble at the babysitter's though. She cries most of the time when she is there. Not sure why exactly. There are other kids there who try to entertain her but as soon as I leave the crying starts and most of the time it is virtually impossible to calm her down. I thought she would have gotten past this by now. It stopped for about a month but has recently picked back up. It is frustrating since she hardly ever cries for us. It also makes it difficult for the babysitter as she has other children to tend to. So hopefully we get over this soon.

And finally, Olivia was baptized this past weekend. It was a joyous occasion. I am waiting for some family members to send me pictures. As soon as I get them I will post them. She was quite a vision in her gorgeous white gown!

First Trip to the Zoo

Our weather has been amazing this weekend...reaching the mid to high 70's! It was also opening weekend of the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. My Aunt gave us a year long membership to the zoo for Christmas and we have been itching to get Olivia there for the first time. This was the perfect weekend for it, so we decided to make today our first trip (of many, I'm sure) to the zoo!

Instead of adding to the hundreds of strollers being pushed around that place we decided to strap the Baby Bjorn on Todd and just walk around. She seemed to enjoy being strapped to Daddy. Since we will be going to the zoo many times this season we did not feel like we had to see everything, so we thought we would just visit a few attractions and let Olivia see some of the animals. Here is Olivia and her Daddy by the monkeys!

She really enjoyed all of the commotion around the zoo. Kids running everywhere and lots of exciting things to look at. I am not sure how many of the animals she actually noticed but we did point them out to her and tell her what each one was. Some of the bigger ones seemed to spark some interest. We took her on the log ride in the Australian Adventure and I even managed to snap a picture of the three of us...

After an hour or so Todd was getting quite tired from carrying Livie around. Remember...the child does weigh over 18 lbs! Not to mention that it was pretty warm and we did not want Livie spending too much time in the sun. So we stopped to relax in the shade before heading home.

We are looking forward to taking her to the zoo many times this summer. It may not mean much to her this year, but by next year she will probably be begging us to go every weekend. It is such a nice zoo and Todd and I enjoy going, so I know she won't have to twist our arm! It was a long day for Livie and she passed out on the way home. How sweet...

So thank you Aunt Sue Sue for giving us such a special gift. We will have many special memories from our trips to the zoo this summer as a family!

Rollin'...Rollin'...Rollin'

Olivia is one active baby! Within the past month she has begun rolling over on a regular basis. She prefers to roll from her belly to back but will occasionally go the other way if the mood strikes. She actually rolled over a few times when she was two months old but it must have been a fluke because it stopped as quickly as it started. Around four months she started showing some interest in changing positions. It was very frustrating for her at first as she had a great deal of trouble figuring out how to get over that bottom arm to complete her roll. She would sit on her side for quite awhile and usually end up just rolling back, as it was just too much work. But one day she made it all of the way over and now she has it down pat! In fact most of the time, as soon as I lay her down she immediately rolls over to her tummy! Here are a few videos of Olivia's new favorite thing to do. The first video shows her trying to roll over but just not making it all the way. The second clip shows her reaching her goal! The video clips are quite dark but I think you will get gist of it...

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

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

Olivia is also a very strong little girl. Around the age of three months she started trying to lift the top half of her body off the ground like she was trying to sit up. She would hold her breath and her face would turn red as she attempted a task that she obviously was unable to complete at such a young age. Watching this is hilarious as it looks like she is trying to do sit-ups. She does have quite a big belly so maybe she is trying to tone those muscles! As you can see from the pictures she is desperately trying to pull herself up...

And...Livie is also able to sit up unsupported for a short time. Within the past two weeks or so I have been able to let go of her while she is sitting. She sets herself up in a tripod position...with both legs spread and her arms out in front of her. By doing this she can hold herself up for quite awhile. Yesterday I think she sat unassisted for about three minutes before toppling over. Here she is sitting up all by herself! I am so proud!

This is a great accomplishment as we are on our way to being able to play without Mommy and Daddy's help. But for the meantime we just prop her up on the couch in the boppy and she plays with her toys while watching her favorite TV channel...Sprout! She changes more and more each day!

Hippity Hop!

What a cute little bunny rabbit! Well today is Easter...but you wouldn't know it by the weather we are having. It actually snowed today as we were on our way to church! There is no excuse for snow in April! But the weather did not stop Olivia from getting all decked out in her Easter duds!
Olivia's Nana bought her this adorable outfit for her first Easter. She caught quite a bit of attention at church looking like a little "sailor girl". Church was quite long today but Olivia managed to get through it. Her little catnap in the middle of the service helped. She also managed to smile at just about everyone that would look her way. She is quite the flirt these days! After church we headed over to some close family friend's for dinner and Olivia even got to participate in her first Easter egg hunt! Well...Mommy walked around looking for her eggs while Daddy held her...but it was fun nonetheless. She also got two Easter baskets full of goodies! So it turned out to be a pretty good day for Livie. But all of the excitement of Easter caught up with little Miss Olivia and she started getting fussy by the end of the afternoon. So we headed home and she immediately crashed! A little too much Easter excitement for one day I guess. Here's Olivia with one of her Easter goodies...sitting on Nana's lap. Give her something to play with and she is one happy camper!

Nasty weather aside it was a wonderful first Easter for Olivia and the rest of us. It was a day full of fun and most importantly being around loved ones! We hope you and your families also had a very blessed Easter! Now it is time for Spring to come and stay for good!

Spring is in the Air

Spring is officially here! This is good news for Olivia. It means no more having to be stuck in the house while it is freezing cold outside. We can finally starting getting out and enjoying the weather....and we have been doing just that! With a few nice days here and there we have been going for long walks. It is clear Olivia loves doing this and does not mind being in her stroller. Most of the time she wants to sit up and look around but occasionally she lays down and enjoys a leisurely nap....what a life! Check her out...so stylish!

Just yesterday we took her outside to enjoy the sunshine. We sat her in the grass for the first time and let her explore. She was very fascinated with the grass and immediately starting grabbing at it. I know we will have many fun adventures this Spring and Summer! Here are a few pictures of us enjoying the lovely weather...

Olivia is on the verge of turning five months old and boy it shows! She is almost sitting up on her own. She still needs support but can balance on her own for awhile before toppling over. She is also improving on her eating skills. The cereal is going down a little easier after two weeks of trying. She still prefers milk and rather not take the time to be fed by a spoon. But I make sure and give her a little bit of cereal at least once a day. And last we checked she was weighing just under 18 lbs!!! Yes...she is a very big girl for 5 months. She is wearing 6 month clothing which is screwing up our seasons a little, but her rolls are adorable and it just makes more for her daddy and I to squeeze.

With Spring in the air there is so much to do and enjoy outdoors! The month of April is going to be very exciting for Olivia as she will be baptized also. We are looking forward to this special occasion and being able to share it with family and friends. And just imagine little Livie in her beautiful white gown!

Yum! Yum!

Olivia is officially a big girl! After about four months of existing on nothing but breast milk we decided that it was time to take the next step...so last week we started her on solid foods. The first step is trying rice cereal...yummy! So we strapped her into her high chair and gave it a try. Below are some before and after pictures. You can see the uncertainty of what is to come in her face in the "before" picture. And as you can tell from the "after" picture more of the food ended up on her face and her bib than actually in her mouth.

BEFORE AFTER

I know it will take her awhile to get used to it. We have been giving it to her once or twice a day for about a week now and I can already see an improvement. She is swallowing more of it but is still a complete mess when she is finished. She has mastered the action of opening her mouth when the spoon gets close but once the food is in her mouth she is still unsure of how to keep it there. Most of the time her left hand goes into her mouth at the same time as the spoon. Not sure why exactly but she can't seem to take a bite of food without that hand being part of the action! And sometimes she closes her mouth and blows a raspberry which causes the food to spray all over my face! Ah...the joys of parenthood!

Here are a few video clips of Olivia adjusting to her new, expanded palate...

http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s179/zatchman2/?action=view&current=CerealVideo2.flv

http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s179/zatchman2/?action=view&current=March2007028.flv

I think we will introduce veggies very soon. I can tell by Olivia's interest in what we eat that she is more than ready to try some different foods. She will reach for my bottle of water and open her mouth when I am drinking. She did the same thing earlier this week when I was eating a banana while she was sitting on my lap. She is almost five months old so I don't think there is anything wrong with giving her a few more options.

We have just entered a whole new world with the introduction of solid foods! I am sure we will see many strange reactions as she tries things for the first time...sure to make for some great pictures!