Tag Archives: olive’s monthly

happy twenty-two months!

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oh baby olive. she is officially twenty-two months old. oh my goodness, that means she is almost two years old!!! whaaaaaaaa?!

via tandeminlove.com

[photo taken on 9.27.15}

top by czarina’s project, bow by coco and lulu, shoes by mini melissa

wow…she’s become such a cute, little, opinionated, sweet, bossy babe. hahaha! she’s definitely hit the almost terrible two’s. it’s not been so terrible but totally taxing on my sanity and patience. i completely understand that she is unaware of how to channel her emotions. i get that she doesn’t know right from wrong. i do my best to guide her and be as compassionate as possible. she’s a funny one. i get her by now, though. yes. no. yes. no. yes. no. i get all freudian on her. so, in the end i win! muwahahaha!

she still loves to eat. she’s got some chunky legs but her arms are so itty bitty! i only say ‘still’ because ya know how kids can be…they can get picky! so far, so good with miss olive but yes, she is still little. we usually start her morning with yogurt, fruit, and/or cereal. for lunch, we go in for an all beef hotdog, fruit, and cheese. she will get a snack in the afternoon and that will typically consist of annie’s cheddar bunnies, fruit, dried cranberries, applesauce, or horizon peanut butter sandwich crackers. for dinner, she will eat whatever we eat but we will add in fruit or veggies if we lack in those areas.

baby olive is a trooper sleeper. such a good, great, awesome sleeper. she has the occasional interrupted sleep {mostly her afternoon naps}, where she cries out for a minute or less but other than that, she’s pretty solid. she is a night owl. yes, baby girl looooooooves to stay up late. where most kids her age go to bed at 7 or 8 o’clock, olive is all milk drunk partying it up at night. she won’t hit the sack until 9-10 o’clock and sometimes she will lay in her crib and hum or talk to herself for another 45 minutes or so.  but like clockwork, she will stir at 8 o’clock {give or take} every day. she will hum or talk to herself for a half hour or so before she starts to scream my name. “mom! mom! mom! mom!”, over and over again. even if i answer her she will keep screaming it until i go into her room. sometimes she will converse with me from across the hallway {and that is soooo adorbs!} but most of the time, she won’t stop until i make an appearance.

goofing off is her middle name. she loves to be so crazy {toddler life}. she loves to chase me, grab at my legs and say, “i got you! rawr!”. she loves to say that over and over as we chase each other and play ‘tag’. she loves to jump on the couch {bad habit we don’t stop! eep}. her current love? jumping everywhere. she doesn’t walk, she will jump, jump, jump to point a to point b. she loves it when we throw her in the air, she loves to play hide and seek, she loves to read and be read to. her favorite book of the moment is the little engine that could. she loves it when i read to her in the morning, that’s her routine.

words or phrases she says. “oh noooooooo, it’s sucks!” translated to, “oh nooooooo, it’s stuck!”. “i eat”. “peas” translated to “please”. “i bow, i boowwww, i bow!” translated to “i want my bow!”. “i want”. “phone”. “i wuvvv you” translated to “i love you”. “munny” translated to “bunny”. “i like it”. “mmmm, yummy”. “doggie”. “cat, meow”. “cookie”. “pop” translated to “lollipop”. “i sorry”. “pilwoah” translated to “pillow”. “book”. “bear”. “hat”. “elwafent” translated to “elephant”. “mouse”. “shoes”. “tv”. “i drink”. “back” translated to “put it back”. i could go on and on. her vocabulary grows by the day and everyday, we are teaching her new words to say and remember. she knows her name, she knows how old she is, she can count 1 – 10 guided and so forth. it’s so amazing to watch her grow and learn.

her snuggles are the best. i love that she is now so cuddly and sweet. she loves to sit in my lap, be in my arms when we are sitting on the couch watching a movie. she will lean her head on me. she loves to crawl into our bed and lay with us. she gives the best kisses and hugs. the kind of hugs where she will repeatedly tap you on your back, so stinkin’ cute. she will hold my hand, give me endless kisses, lean her face onto mine, put her arms around me…i love every second of it!

this girl loves her shoes. oh, and she had plenty of pairs to swap around! she is so good with putting on her shoes and taking them off. the other week, she put it on the wrong foot and said, “wrong foot!” and proceeded to take them off and put them on the right foot! such a smarty. if she sees her any of her shoes sitting around, she will always put them on. so far, she’s been great with letting me choose her clothes and shoes. i will be sad when the day comes and she won’t ‘let’ me dress her anymore!

well, that is oh baby olive in a nutshell. i could go on and on about all the wonderful changes and growth she has been through {typical mom talk, non?!} but i will give you the condensed version. hahaha!

she is the light of our lives. i pray every day that she will grow up to be a strong, loved, patient, kind, healthy, beautiful lady. olive, we love you so much and always want you to know how much we care, give, and do to make this world for you a better place.

xoxo

slow yer roll olive

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my precious baby girl. she is so amazing. i am in awe over her sweetness every day. the love. the love. the love. it’s almost unbearable.

via tandeminlove.com

[20 months and growing]

since her eighteen month appointment, this girl has changed soooooo much.

she now says two word sentences! now that is a feat. she says, “i eat” or “bye, bye. see ya!” or “yes peas”. it’s so flippin’ adorable. i die every time she says something cute like that. i revel in every second of it. i know this is nothing new to anyone who is a parent but to a parent of their first child, it’s soooo novel and exciting and i will gush over every moment with no apologies.

her facial expressions are so distinct. she scrunches her face in disgust. she raises her eyebrows in surprise. she crinkles her nose in question. i love watching her react and seeing her face coincide with her emotions.

she understands exactly what you say. she might not be able to articulate her thoughts completely but i love that she understands what i say. it’s so cool. as soon as the words come out my mouth, she is on foot to do it or go there. i love it.

she has a major opinion. oh yes she does. when she doesn’t want to do something, eat something, or go somewhere, she expresses it. she infamous for throwing herself on the ground or anywhere for that matter. she’ll flip off a chair, she will tumble off a ledge, or she will simply bounce off the ground. if she doesn’t want to do it, she will let you know. when this happens, i usually just stand there and put my arms on my hips and she will get the message that i mean business {it’s usually accompanied with a very stern look and a very stern “olive”}…and hopefully she won’t throw another fit/tantrum. hopefully.

she is definitely intuitive. she can put on her own shoes, correctly. she can pull on her socks. she senses when something is wrong, or when you are sad, happy, or when something doesn’t feel right, she will know. she has always been very careful and cautious since she was a wee one and it has carried on. i love this sensitive, emotional, responsible side of her.

having particles in her shoes, bumps in her socks really bug her. she is so particular. hmmmmm, i wonder where she gets that from?!

man oh man is she neat. she must get that from her daddy! hahaha! she looks at bugs and say yucky. she gets food on her fingers and she says yucky and won’t eat until i wipe her hands or if you give her a wet nap, she’ll do it herself. eep. she puts her toys away. she loves washing her hands. i don’t mind the kiddo getting dirty, playing outside, falling to the ground at the supermarket and licking the floor…she does do all that, but in the end, she’s a bit of a neat/clean/tidy little lady.

this girl is a goofball. she’s so silly. she loves to giggle. she loves to play hide and seek. she loves to sit amongst all the pillow on our bed and laugh. i love her humor, sass, and cuteness. she is a toddler and she loves to play. she will pull out her books and read aloud and i melt. she will run like a crazy little person all around the house and i laugh at her energy. i cherish every moment of her silliness and wild actions. i want her to have fun, be carefree, and be young. this moment is going by too fast already and i want to savor every second.

olive is cuddly and she’s soooo loving! i love this about her. she loves to give kisses and hugs. she will always be in my arms, lean on me, snuggle her head on my neck/shoulder and i die over every moment. i know that these actions will eventually become less and less so i am taking advantage of every time olive wants to kiss, hug, and snuggle. sometimes i want to squeeze her so hard…i can’t get enough of her!

there ya go lovies. olive’s twenty month report card and it’s a+++.

xoxo

eighteen months

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my baby girl is a year and a half! waahhhhh! time is flying by. she’s losing her baby status and it is giving me anxiety! i look at her baby photos and i desperately want to cling onto those precious moments. but as they say, let your babies prosper and grow. hmph, i’ll hold onto her forever!

via tandeminlove.com

{photo taken on 5.28}

weight: 23 lbs 16 oz.

height: 33 inches

there are so many things miss olive is doing now. she surprises me everyday and i love, love watching her personality grow and her communication foster. she loves to repeat almost everything. so, that is now where hc and i need to watch what we say around her! i love teaching her words. it delights me when she correctly repeats what i say!

another adorable moment? one day, i was sitting in bed with her. she had just nursed and we were laying around. i sneezed and out of nowhere, while she was playing with her toys, she casually says, “bess gou”. i just about died. bless you?! she just said bless you?! i die. my heart almost exploded!!!! it, so far, has been the cutest moment to experience!

when i reprimand olive or she knows i am upset with her, she does this thing where she hyperventilates! yup. she looks right at me with sad puppy dog eyes and starts gasping for air. oh my goodness. she gets me every time. such a smarty pants. i can’t stay mad or upset with her! i give in and give her a hug or a back rub and start apologizing. yup, i am a sucker. she’s got me.

she loves to snuggle. period. need i say more?? she’s a snuggler, cuddler, and the best buddy to lay around with.

olive is still nursing. yes. who knew it would go on as long as it has?! we are throughly enjoying it. i keep telling myself that i am going to stop but every month, it’s the same story. i keep thinking it’s going to be next month, and then next month rolls by and i am still nursing! we are both happy and happy to be doing it so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. but seriously, i think next month will it! harharhar.

she does say a few vietnamese words! she says water, eat, oh no, dad…just a few. my parents love teaching her! it’s too cute. who knows? we will see how many more words she will learn and understand!

she’s obsessed with shoes. she has learned how to put on her shoes! she mostly gets the shoe on the wrong foot but of late, she’s nailing it. she’s putting the right shoe on the right foot. i get super proud and excited when she puts both shoes on the right foot! i let her know that every time she gets them on. what a fast learner!

another cute, cute thing?! the last few weeks, olive has learned how to say hug! i completely melted when i was sitting around one day and olive walked up to me and said, “hug?!”. wow. my heart did cartwheels. she proceeded to put her arms around me and squeezed me and patted my back. what a freakin’ doll!!!!!

olive’s eating habits have completely changed. natch. she used to be a trooper {eating everything given to her} but then she had to go and form an opinion! well, overall she is still a pretty open and good eater but it comes down to when she’s interested and not distracted {e.g. playing is usually the culprit}. we do our best to always eat with her or when she does eat, she eats with somebody {whether it’s grace or other kids}. another thing she is crazy about? spicy. this baby girl loves hot, spicy foods!! she craves it. she loves noshing on it. kung pao, spicy chips, peppery flavors, you name it, she will consume it! eeekkkkkk.

she is still an amazing sleeper. we have been so blessed with this. i can only imagine that our next child will be a terror with her sleeping habits!! yikes! olive sleeps through the night and hardly ever wakes up. she will, once in a blue moon, cry out at night where i just have to rub her back and tell her to go back to sleep and she always does. what a sweetie.

well, there ya go lovies. olive in all her glory at eighteen months! she is sooo wonderful, sweet, and loving. we love you so much and can’t wait to see your progress at your next big milestone…two years! oh my! {well, we might sneak in another update from now until then 😉 }

xoxo

olive

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so, since olive was born, i did a monthly post on her and stopped when she turned one. fair and fitting, since it’s quite common to document their first year of wonderful surprises. well, i felt it was time to do another report card on my beauty. she just had her fifteen month appointment and so much has changed since she turned one!

via tandeminlove.com

[headband by littlekutiesboutique]

weight: 23lbs height: 31″

she now fakes her cries. yes. she does. when i do something she doesn’t like or when i won’t give her something, she will fake her cries. i see right through her. she starts to shriek and pout and make crying noises but i see it in her eyes. she will stare right at me. almost smirking with her eyes! uh oh! trouble, trouble, trouble.

in the last month or so, she giggles out loud. it’s so adorbs. it’s the funniest noise. it’s almost like an “uhhuh uhhuh uhhuh”. it cracks me up when i hear her giggle like that. it’s so cute and endearing, watching her and hearing her make that sound makes me want to explode with happiness and love.

what does olive love to eat? she loves fruit and french fries. well, she really loves a whole lotta other stuff but she zones in on fruit and french fries like a dog to it’s treats. she is quite the eater. she loves food in general. she loves eating when we are eating and for some reason, whatever i have in my hand or plate is a lot more appetizing to her than what’s on her plate! aaaaannd, it’s typically the same thing…oh child, you so funny. 😉

it was and is such a blessing to have this babe sleep so well {since she was 4 weeks old}. she still is going strong with her nightly sleep. we have our usual routine every night. i sign bedtime {we teach her some sign language}, she might pout for a second, then i give her vitamin d, then i tell her to give daddy a kiss goodnight and a hug {which she happily complies}, and then i nurse her and put her down. she will sleep, typically, from 9:30 until 6.7.8 o’clock. it just depends. she is currently cutting her molars, so she hasn’t been in the best of spirits. but she does take her naps, typically twice a day {morning and afternoon} but it there is too much going on, she will clock in one really long nap.

her favorite toy is the etch a sketch and i think it’s my husband’s nightmare. he doesn’t get her with this toy because she typically cries and gets upset if you aren’t doing something for her, like draw or help her. i definitely get her with this toy…she loves to sit in my lap and draw and she loves it when i draw for her. she is typically a happy baby with this toy and me. of course, this will only last a few minutes before she beelines for the next ‘new’ toy!

she has nine teeth. she started teething when she was nine months old. she has her eight front teeth and her bottom left molar is coming in. so not nice. a mean molar it is. this is the first time olive actually showed signs of teething. her first eight were a breeze. this molar is a fighter! she cries, she drools, she jams her fingers into her mouth. she never did those actions prior with her other teeth coming in. ugh. to think there are plenty more where that one came from!

olive’s gramma loves to read her books, she has been reading to her since she was born. now olive loves to ‘read’ books herself now! it’s so sweet to watch and listen. she will grab a book out and sit down by herself and ‘read’ out loud. moments like these are the best. most of the time, though, she wants me to read to her. she will plop herself down in my lap and we will read books all day and night. of course, only once in awhile will she ever let me finish one!

olive’s vocab has expanded just a wee bit. she says a few words such as dada, mom, hi, bye, boppy, eat, down, up, on, done…hmmm, maybe a few more i might be forgetting. i love that she is able to communicate verbally as well as sign a few things. i try to reiterate and teach her everyday words that will her help her express herself. as others have said, pretty soon she just won’t be quiet!

she loves put on her shoes and tries to put on her socks. she has been doing this for a month or so. she will attempt to put on her shoes {she def needs help!} and pull on her socks. she is more successful with her shoes than she is with her socks. she will at least get her foot into the shoe but struggles with getting her foot in all the way. the socks…she does the motion but 0/0 as of right now.

she has this desire to always toss her diaper. she tosses her diaper across the room every time i change her! i’ll clean her up, wrap up the dirty diaper and put it next to her and she will grab it, wait for me to say 1, 2, 3 {with each number, she will swing her arm back and forth with the diaper in tow} and as soon as i hit three….whomp! she flings the diaper and it sails across the room. she’s got quite the arm!

as a newborn, olive would stare intently at everyone. almost if she was seeing right through you. she’s very interested in people but won’t go near anyone. nope. she does.not.like.strangers. but she is always curious. she loves looking at everyone and is intrigued by what they are doing or even how they look. i love that about children. always curious…until they can verbalize what they are thinking and then you are running around apologizing for your kid’s frankness and crazy talk!

alrightly, olive in a nutshell. a summary of her last three months! wow. she is so fun. it’s so amaze to see her grow. it’s just the best! i’m looking forward to see what my little girl will learn, do, and entertain us with in the next couple months!

xoxo

happy twelve months!

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happy twelve months olive!

via tandeminlove.com

[photos taken on 11.21.14]

weight: 20 lbs 15oz.

height: 30.5″

oh my oh my oh my! our baby girl is one year old!!! whaaaa?! already?! i’ve always thought about this day, i’ve always thought about her birthday party {so daunting & it turned out perfect!}, i have always thought about what she would be like at one year…and here we are. all these milestones and moments turned out to be exactly what i expected and also so much more spectacular than what i thought! she is so amazing, funny, sweet, loving, silly, cuddly, and goofy.

olive is so loving! she loves to give kisses and hugs. it just makes your heart melt. those pouty lips and chunky cheeks just get me. every. time. i love to say to olive, “kisses!” and she will lean in for a smack on the lips. she’s so cuddly and oh so loving! she loves to lean in for a hug. she loves to snuggle into my arms. she now likes to lay right by your side and chill. it is seriously so cool. she went from a baby to a little girl with a big personality {slow yer roll!}

olive is a healthy, hearty eater. she loves food. like loves it. she will eat anything you give her. i am hoping that this carries over throughout her childhood. i am an eater. i love food. i love trying new tastes, textures, and flavors. i get so much joy from it and i want olive to be the same. i want her to explore and widen her palate as much as i love it. so, we are off to the right start since baby girl does down anything right now. she loves spicy foods, veggies, fish, meat, fruit, cereals, and cake. yes, lots of cake…just like her momma.

she has been solid in her sleep. she hasn’t graduated to that one big nap a day yet…i think that will be in the near future. but for now, she is still hitting up two naps a day. she does go to bed pretty late {like mom like daughter??} and wakes up at a decent hour {typically around 8am}. she will nap between 10-11am and then take another nap around 4-5pm. i am still amazed that she has been so structured and solid in her sleep patterns since she was 4 weeks old! does that mean our next baby will be a crazy, sporadic sleeper??? olive tends to cry out at midnight every night {it’s like clockwork every night at that time, exactly 2 hours after she goes to bed} but only for a minute or two and falls back asleep.  only once this past month did she cry out {around 3am} and didn’t stop for awhile. i got up to console my baby girl back to sleep but that definitely was an anomaly for her.

um, did i mention that she mastered walking?! yes, she finally took that bold step towards craziness. like i said before, i really thought she would be walking by ten months, but eleven months it was. now she is all over the place. it’s too cute. she just wobbles around just to wobble around. she has no purpose. she has no destination. she just walks around and around because she can. it’s so novel for her right now that it amuses me just the same. i love watching her teeter everywhere and giggle at how delighted she is that she is walking! she currently has the goofiest look on her face when she is walking everywhere. it’s way too presh.

well, last month i blogged about her crawling up the stairs {and not knowing how to get down}…she has now mastered ‘crawling’ down the stairs. yup, she is pretty good at it. a little over a week ago, she was going up my parent’s stairs and then she decided that she was going to go down. and down she went with such ease!!! from that moment on, it’s been up and down, up and down any set of stairs.

i am a bit sad because this will be my “last” monthly post of olive. the first year is so important, amazing, and full of delight. it was a fantastic way to document olive’s ever growing status and now it’s come to an end. waaaah. now don’t get me wrong…i will be blogging about olive’s future milestones but it’s bittersweet that this chapter is closing. but ya know what they say…when one door closes, another one opens. natch.

happy one year my dear, sweet olive. we love you to bits and look forward to so many more amazing years ahead. the best is yet to come.

xoxo

happy eleven months!

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happy eleven months olive!

via tandeminlove.com

[photos taken on 10.27]

weight: she’s probably more than 20lbs

height: baby girl needs some height though!

ah! we are one month away from her first birthday! where did the time go?! i can’t believe our little baby olive is getting so big. this past month has brought us many wonderful memories and milestones.

no walking yet. i really thought she was going to take her first step around the ten month mark. only because she is standing by herself, she was walking everywhere {albeit holding onto something}, and everything was pointing in that direction but nope. don’t get me wrong…i am aaaa okaaaay with her not walking yet. i hear all bets are off when the little nub starts a walking! then the real trouble starts! 😉

she is such an eater. this girl loves her food. she is still eating purees but has graduated to eating solid, solids {like mac n cheese, fish, beef, chicken, salmon, rice}. she doesn’t refuse anything but she loves to eat whatever we are eating. she will eat 3-4x a day with snacks in-between. breakfast is usually something like bananas and cereal. lunch is typically fruit and cereal, and dinner is usually something heartier…like salmon and carrots. we gotta keep those chubby cheeks fat!

sleep is her best friend. it’s the same as it has been since almost the beginning. baby girl will go down around 9:30 and sleep until 8am. her morning naps are like clockwork but her second nap is unpredictable. she typically goes down for the second nap around 4 but it could be 3 or it could be 5. it’s all based on her morning nap and how long she sleeps for that first round. sometimes she won’t get that second nap in but overall, she sleeps at night and that is what matters!

olive loves to play by herself {sometimes}. she loves to explore. she is getting stronger and wiser and funnier. her humor is silly, her looks are so sweet, and her giggles are too presh. it is so awesome to see her personality develop. she loves to copy you. she intently stares and will copy what sounds you make and what movements you do. she’s becoming a little girl and i love her to bits.

omg. she is crawling up the stairs! um, we need to get a gate pronto! of course, like any babes, she knows how to get up the stairs but has no clue how to get down the stairs. typical. she thinks crawling head first down the stairs is the right way. nope baby girl, no. we’ll learn the right way later {well, hopefully sooner than later}.

officially, her first word was bye. it comes with a hand wave and a meek ‘byyyyyeeee’. you walk towards the door, she waves her hand and says “bye”. she sees you grab your purse, she will wave her hand and say “bye”. you put her in her car seat and she will wave her hand and say “bye”. way too adorbs. the second words? ‘uh oh’. everything she drops on the ground comes with an “uh oh”. so stinkin’ cute.

this past month, you have totally developed an affinity for your stuffed animals. you love your teddy bears {the little one and the big one} and your kiki doll. it is so sweet to see you snuggle with them. it melts my heart when you give them kisses and hold them close.

well, those are her ten month milestones in a nutshell. wow. again, i can’t believe she will be one next month! eeeekkkkk! we are all so excited for this. olive continues to amaze us and our love for her is growing and growing beyond capacity. how can all that love fit inside my body?? sometimes i feel like i might explode! i can’t wait to share some great moments from this coming month!

xoxo

happy ten months!

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happy ten months olive!

via tandeminlove.com

[photos taken on 9.27]

height: n/a

weight: n/a

oh em gee. it’s getting so close to her birthday, birthday! wow, time is surely flying by! this past month has brought us so much joy! her personality, her quirks, her sweetness…all coming into fruition, forming her cute little self. this past month, i’ve found myself thinking, “oh my gosh, she’s becoming a little girl”. sniff, sniff.

she is still standing on her own. baby girl is no where near walking though. she, well, i wouldn’t say she’s lazy {not as ambitious?} because she does stand. she contemplates taking a step but would rather sit down and crawl because that seems easier and faster! i’m excited at the prospect of her walking but i always say, i love having her as is. don’t grow up too fast! i know once she starts walking, it’s going to be a constant chase. so, slow it down baby girl!

she loves to snuggle. oh, it’s the best! after her feedings in the mornings, she loves to roll around in bed with me. it’s intensified since her nine month mark. she loves to give me hugs and kisses. she loves to cuddle and snuggle. she loves to wrap her arms around me and just lie there, skin to skin. it’s the best feeling in the world. her sweet actions just makes my heart melt. she turns to me and kisses my lips or face. she will rest her head on my side, my leg, my arm, wherever she lies down. she loves it when i caress her cheeks. there are times when we are sitting on the floor together and she will crawl up to me, stand up, and wrap her arms around me and gives me a long hug. *sigh* those moments make life so beautiful.

eating food is her favorite activity. she loves to eat. she loves it when we feed her…she gets so excited! she is still eating solids three times a day with snacks in-between. we’ve graduated into non pureed foods. the next thing i’m about to write might gross some people out but it’s so inherent for me to do. so, yes, if you like, you can call me alicia silverstone. i actually will put food in my mouth, chew it up, and feed olive. ok, not like chew, chew, chew with my molars but i will break it down with my front incisors and then give it to olive. it helps break down the texture and it’s easier for her to eat. we love to eat like that together and it lets me feed her such things as fruit and meats, certain items that might be a little tougher for her to break down with just her gums {since she only has one tooth!}. so, overall she is still a hungry, hungry hippo!

her sleeping patterns are such a blessing. we are so lucky she’s been such an amazing sleeper since her fourth week {let me tell ya, those first four weeks were hellish, let’s just say we never slept those first weeks}. she goes down around 9:30pm and she is up around 7 or 8am. the latest she has ever slept was until 9am! the only thing that is bothering her of late are her teething episodes. but that hasn’t really stopped her from sleeping through the night! she might cry out for a minute or two but she always falls back asleep. she is just a little bit more fussy in the morning or fussy with her naps. but otherwise, she is sound asleep all night long.

exploring her surroundings has been her new thing. it’s too cute. she will crawl around the house and explore all of her surroundings. she can entertain herself for quite awhile when she is doing this. she will look inside all the rooms. she will pull things off the shelves {mostly toys in grace’s room} or just sit in a room and stare around. she loves to touch everything and look inside boxes and bags that are sitting around {like a curious cat!}. she just recently started to try to step up on the stairs or the hearth by the fireplace. that’s only been the most alarming action so far {time to buy a gate!} and it’s something we must keep our eye on at all times now!

she hasn’t yet spoken a solid word. we are waiting. so excitedly waiting. she mumbles a lot of different things and she has said mama and dada but hasn’t yet used it in a way that has it’s true meaning. like, she hasn’t cried and called out to me, addressing me as mama. so, i’m anxiously waiting!

this past month, she has been loving the act of throwing herself back onto the bed. oh, she thinks it’s soooo funny. what a clown. i will place her down on the bed and she will give me a sly smile and then throw herself back onto the bed. she then giggles and rolls back around to do it again. she also loves it when i take her and throw her [face first} onto our bed of pillows, she pushes herself off, and then gleefully throws herself backwards onto the bed! she will smile ear to ear and waits for me to do it all over again! what a funny gal!

well, those are olive’s ten month milestones, quirks, and memories. she has been such joy for us. we love, love watching her grow. we love listening to her giggle and ‘talk’. we love how much she brightens up our lives. we can’t wait to share olive’s eleven month fun! happy monthly birthday to our little love!

xoxo

happy nine months!

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happy nine months olive!

via tandeminlove.com

[photos taken on 9.27]

weight: 18lbs 6 oz

height: 27 3/4″

oh baby olive, you are at a month, pre-having a baby, where i thought this was the cutest month a baby could be! you get cuter and cuter each month! we are enjoying every moment with you…it’s one new thing to another we look forward to!

she will no longer sit still {leading into the next paragraph}, so trying to catch a good pic of her is so difficult! and that hair!!! i had the hardest time taming her do…she woke up with the crazy hairstyle, so crazy hair pics is what I got! too sweet.

you are on the move! a mover and a shaker, you are! you crawl with speed and curiosity. you are so adorable and troublesome at the same time! oy. i love watching you explore. you crawl around the house with a sly look. you coyly smile and pucker those lips with mischievous eyes as you peek from room to room. you pull yourself up on the furniture with such pride and you gleefully pull everything off the table with a smirk! it’s such a game! once you have pulled everything off one table, you smoothly and gingerly move your little footsies, one baby step at at time, and scoot over to the next table to do the same. you are on your way to trouble!

i love that you shake your head when i say “shake your head!”. i love it when you hear the song, ‘if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’ and you clap your hands! i love that when i say “goodbye” you wave your hand! i love it when someone says cheese, you scrunch your face. i love it when i say “high five”, you put your hand in the air and don’t leave me hangin’!

you have become so snuggly. in the mornings, after your breakfast, you love to lie around and snuggle. you love hugs, you love back scratches, and you love to put your head in my lap and lay there {as long as i am rubbing your back!}. you like to sit on the couch with us, when you get tired, and relax by our side. oh it’s soooo adorbs. i love being cheek to cheek with you and having you wrapped up in my arms. i am cherishing these sweet, tender moments with you. ’cause i know these precious moments won’t last long!

holy moley…your first tooth has come in! your bottom left incisor! oh, you were a grumpy one {and still will be…we gotta a lot of teeth to go!}, you were fussy going to bed. fussy getting up. fussy overall. i felt so bad for my little girl, there is only so much i can do to relieve your sore gums 🙁 all i could do was console my teary eyed babes. at first we didn’t know what was wrong with your fussy bedtimes {and random moments} but once i ran my finger over those gums…i felt your little tooth right at the surface! and it all made sense!

food is your best friend. you love to eat. you eat solids three times a day and gobble down every meal. you are still nursing six times a day as well! you love chicken, onions, spinach, peas, carrots, apples, mango, and so forth. there isn’t a food you don’t consume. we are now at a point where you eat cereal puffs and cut up pieces of soft, squishy fruit. it’s so fun and lovely to watch you pick up your foods and feed yourself {and it’s a total mess too!}.

sleep is still great. you go down at your usual time, 9pm ish, and wake up at 6,7, or lately, 8am! you sometimes cry out at night for a few seconds {or a few minutes…bad dream??} but you always go back into a slumber. in the mornings, you sometimes wake up and babble, or you let us know right away to come get you by shrieking! i love walking into your room in the morning, it’s the most adorable moment…you have the craziest bed hair and i love greeting you with “good morning”s! i get the biggest smiles and hugs!

i can’t believe you are nine months old! it’s been such a fun ride already. you are so sweet, fickle, smiley, lovey, coy, curious, and beautiful. we love you to bits and can’t wait to see what the next month hold for us!

xoxo

happy eight months!

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happy eight months olive!

via tandeminlove.com

[photos taken on 7.27]

weight: tbd

height: tbd

well, well, well. baby olive is eight months old! oh my! she has had many great moments. as you can tell, there’s no more lying around and letting mama take some photos of her. yeah, this babes wasn’t having it, so we got some smiles and giggles while she was sitting up!

big milestone? she’s ‘crawling’!!! yes, she is doing a strange, gimp crawl. she scoots around, she does a two step crawl, she sits up, she turns a 180, she crawls with one leg bent and underneath her! but let me tell you, she gets from point a to point b in no time. at the beginning of her seven month, she was pushing around on her tummy and moving backwards everywhere, now she is totally mobile. oooohhhhh boy.

she loves to grab at everything! everything. her favorite object right now, our media console. she loves to slide the glass door open and pull out each book, one by one. we put the books back and slide the glass door shut and she shimmies back over to it and does it all over again. oy. she likes to grab for anything that isn’t her toy. how is that possible?! it’s like she knows she shouldn’t touch it, so, yes, that will be the object she will lunge for. i’ll put toys in her path but she will ignore each one of them so she can get to that tape measure that she isn’t allowed to play with.

she’s eating like a champion. she has graduated to eating her solids three times a day! i just love reading her cues, i could tell she wanted more and more she got! she loves all sorts of food. broccoli, carrots, peas, bananas, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and so forth. we try to mix it up for her every week so she can get a taste of something different and experiment with different flavors and textures. this little piggy doesn’t say no to any food!

she is still a sleeper! there was one day this past month where she randomly woke up at 4:45am. she was crying out and sometimes she does that in the middle of the night and it’s usually for a few seconds and it passes. this particular morning, she cried out and cried out. i walked into her room and consoled her on the rocker, after that she was happy as a clam but she was definitely not going back to sleep! overall, miss olive is a solid sleeper. she goes to bed to around 9pm and typically wakes up around 7am. she still naps 2-3 times during the day for an hour or two each time and is rock solid sleeping at night.

she has gotten so smiley with us. i love it. she will break out in a wide grin and it just melts my heart! another fun fact? she will grin ear to ear when you point a camera in her direction and say cheese! it’s so cute. she smiles on cue when someone is taking her picture! so funny.

her favorite, favorite program? baby genius nursery rhymes. it’s so ridiculous how much she loves it. she just lights up when we turn it on the tele. she goes into a trance and is mesmerized by all the songs, cartoons, and animals that she sees. it’s our go to when we want her preoccupied. we’ll sing along with all the songs and she smiles in happiness. thank goodness for baby genius! it entertains her, teaches her, and keeps us sane!

oh, how amazing it is to see her grow and see her little personality come alive.

little olive, we are so in love with you! you are an awesome little girl and you bring such joy into everyone’s life everyday. we love your laughs, giggles, and grins. we love seeing you getting bigger and stronger every day. we love your crazy curly hair, your chubby legs, and the funny noises you make!

we can’t wait to see you hit some wonderful milestones next month! we love you so!

xoxo

happy seven months!

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happy seven months olive!

via tandeminlove.com

[photos taken on 6.27 // total serious face on]

height: 26 1/2″

weight: 16lbs 8 oz.

i’m loving my baby girl growing up but i’m also sad at the same time. i love her being a baby! babies are so cute and i love so many things about her, she is just so adorbs…like her babbling sounds and her clingy nature and her chunky cheeks and her fat rolls and her just being so darn small and dainty. you can’t deny it, babies are so freakin’ darling, everyone loves a baby!

olive has had a great month. the biggest milestone so far? her trying to crawl! she started month six with the lunging. she would be on her behind and shimmy forward and back. then it became an action where she bounced from her behind forward and would sometimes fall on her face. now, it’s become a hands and knee push. she will be on all fours and awkwardly {kinda creepily too} crawl or drag herself across the floor. she’ll push and move her legs and arms but she won’t lift her head off the ground! she will drag her head across the floor but she will get from point a to point b…just moving her body and dragging her head! it’s so funny! sooooo, we will see how she progresses next month!

eating foods has become so fun! olive is loving everything. she has learned how to swallow, so now she is gulping everything down. she gets so excited to eat! she loves carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, cauliflower, butternut squash, pretty much anything. it’s awesome that she is loving it so much. she has graduated to eating two times a day and it’s tablespoons full of food. almost half a cup of food at a time. what a good girl!

the little babes has become quite the sleeper. we have tried to set a regular nap schedule during the day. she has been pretty good so far, she will usually go down around nine-ten, then again around one-two, and then she will take a small nap around six. she tends to stay up pretty late every night but she usually gets tired around nine, i will then feed her and she’s out! she will sleep for 9-10 hours a night!

she loves watching baby genius nursery rhymes on t.v. and she loves it when you sing to her. she’s totally observant. she watches everyone’s moves. she really loves paper, books, consumer tags on products, brown paper bags, anything like that to gnaw on. she has been very good at playing by herself, she will go for a long stint and when she is done, she is done! she will then want momma {she’ll cry out until i come over and then smile in my arms…trickster!}! i also love that she will lay around on the couch with us and just chill. something she never, ever did before.

her hair has gotten so long…those beautiful curls, i’m afraid they will go away. actually, they probably will. the hubs and i don’t have curly hair, so i know once {hopefully a long time from now} she gets a hair cut, the curls will probably be gone. i love to put hairpins and headbands in her gorgeous hair…it’s so fun & cute!

happy seven months baby girl! we love you so much and can’t wait for all the delightful events coming our way this month!

xoxo