Olivia: 4 months!

Weight: 15lbs 3oz
Height: 25.25 in
Head circ.: 16.5 in

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY BE ABLE TO:

• squeal and laugh with delight Laughing is the newest trick and it is absolutely adorable! Listening to my girls' laughs is probably my favorite sound in the world.
• make "raspberry" sounds with her lips Olivia sure loves making raspberry sounds and bubbles with her mouth!
• experiment by making new sounds She has been "talking" up a storm lately and is such a chatter box.
• make sounds in response to you She even "talks" back when I make silly noises with her.
• track moving objects as her head and neck development work together Olivia is definitely gaining focus. She loves to watch Avery has she moves toys and books all around her head. She also follows my hand as it's between her face and whatever Avery has in front of her face so that when inevitably Avery drops it I can swat it away before it whacks Olivia in the face.
• roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop As of Saturday Olivia can officially roll over from her belly to her back AND from her back to her belly. She is a real rolie polie.
• raise herself up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen Olivia really hates tummy time and will only now tolerate it for more than a minute or so. She keeps trying to push herself up but she can't hold herself up for more than a few seconds.
• grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles Not only can she grasp the rattle she can even pass it from one hand to another without dropping it. Totally advanced, I know. My genius.
• bear weight on both legs I swear if she had balance she would just walk away. She loves standing on both legs and even likes to bounce.
• start to sleep through the night Ya right. She still wakes twice a night to nurse, but I don't mind (too much, anyways) because I love the quiet time with just she and I where I don't have Avery jumping on my lap rushing me to get done.
• begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight Nope. She is not at all interested in food -- only the boob. For that reason we will not be starting any type of food for a while yet.

Olivia: 17 weeks!

MONTH: 5
WEEK: 17
WEIGHT: 15+ lbs
LENGTH: 25+ in
HEAD: 42 cm
MILESTONES: Today we had family pictures. The photographer is a friend of ours, Melinda, and she asked if Olivia would sit up so she could take her photo. I said she had never sat unassisted. I was holding her hands and she let go and sat all by herself for about 20 seconds!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Today Olivia was all smiles.
EATING: Olivia has been struggling on one side so I hope she can focus and get back into a routine.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Today we took family photos and had a blast hanging out with each other as a family.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Olivia has really taken to playing in her jumperoo and still loves that silly pink playmat of hers.
MOMMY FEELS: Shocked that almost 4 months has gone by since Olivia joined us. She has already changed so much.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Seeing the photos that we took today.

    

Uncle Jake

On Friday Uncle Jake called and invited us to dinner since he was in town with his girlfriend, Amelia. Jake and Amelia have been dating for a little over a year now and I had still not met her so I was of course excited to join them.

Jake and his dad cooked and I was able to chat with Amelia and get to know her a little bit. She is a great girl and she and Jake seem to really click. I am happy I finally got to meet her and that Jake has found someone to put up with his shenanigans.

Jake has only met Olivia a few times because he has been so busy with school and work. Living about 90 minutes away he doesn't get to come home very often. I am so glad we got to have a little time together while he was in town and that I snapped this adorable photo of Jake and Olivia.

Olivia and her hat

A good friend gave me this hat for Olivia. It looks so adorable on her I almost can't stand it. Thanks, Liz!

Olivia: 16 weeks!

MONTH: 4
WEEK: 16
WEIGHT: 12+lbs
LENGTH: 22+ in
HEAD: 14+ in
MILESTONES: Olivia LAUGHS!!!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Usually it takes me several shots to get a good one where her hands aren't in her face and she is smilig (or just not looking generally unhappy). Today this was the very first picture I took. I took a few more to see what else I would get, but this was the best one! It's adorable.
EATING: Eating is definitely not an obstacle for us. Thank goodness.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Saturday we had Avery's birthday party so we saw lots of family and friends. Today we went to the Napa Town and Country Fair. Avery wrote her first fair ride with Daddy and Olivia slept through the whole thing. 
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Olivia really loves sucking on her thumb and playing on her playmat.
MOMMY FEELS: blessed to have two healthy, adorable, lovable little girls. 
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Olivia learning how to sit unassisted!

Avery's 2nd Birthday Party!

On Saturday we celebrated 2 years with Avery. It's hard to believe she is 2 years old. It feels like she just got here, but at the same time it also feels like she's always been here.

We celebrated with a monster-themed party at Yountville Community Park. We had lots of family and friends join us. Even with the unseasonably cool and windy weather we had a great time; Avery especially enjoyed herself.

Olivia: 15 weeks!

MONTH: 4
WEEK: 15
WEIGHT: 12+lbs
LENGTH: 22+ in
HEAD: 14+ in
MILESTONES: Olivia has officially found her thumb...
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: ...which you can see here in this super cute picture.
EATING: Olivia is an eating machine. And hardly a spitter at all.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Aunt Stacy came and stayed with the girls on Wednesday so Justin and I could have an anniversary date night out.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Obviously eating is #1 activity in Olivia's mind, but chewing on her thumb is a close 2nd as of late. She has also been practicing trying to roll over from her back to belly, but keeps getting stuck on her arm.
MOMMY FEELS: like time is going too fast. I can't believe Avery is going to be two and Olivia is 3 1/2 months old already. Slow down, time!
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Avery's birthday party!

Avery can read!

Avery has really gotten into books -- especially longer, story books -- and she will sit and "read" to you as long as you'll let her.

Olivia: 14 weeks!

MONTH: 4
WEEK: 14
WEIGHT: 11+ lbs
LENGTH: 21+ in
HEAD:  14+ in
MILESTONES: nothing significant this week. She is just practicing all her smiles getting ready to laugh any day now!
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Another evening photo, so the chair looks a slightly different color because the lighting is different, but Olivia just looks as cute as ever!
EATING: In case you can't see them she has these lovely baby thigh rolls that are courtesy of her excellent breastfeeding abilities.
VISITS/OUTINGS: We had so much fun while cousin Kayla was visiting and were so sad to see her go.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Olivia is still so in love with her playmat we even bought another one for Grandma and Grandpa Nunley's house.
MOMMY FEELS: Happy that my little baby is growing and becoming so much more interactive, but sad also that she is growing so fast. She is already getting too small for some of her 0-3 month size clothing. Avery was always a size behind until about 9-12 months so this is new territory for us! It also means most of the clothes we kept from Avery in the size Olivia is in now are the wrong season.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Mommy and Daddy's anniversary night out while the girls stay with Aunt Stacy, Avery's birthday, and visiting Auntie Mandy, Uncle Mike and cousin Penny in San Diego when we go to watch Uncle Thomas at his graduation from USMC bootcamp in September.

Olivia: 13 weeks!

MONTH: 4
WEEK: 13
WEIGHT: 12+ lbs
LENGTH: 23+ in
HEAD: 15+ in
MILESTONES: Nothing in particular this week.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: This is her first really smiley one and I just love it.
EATING: Eating and growing like it's going out of style.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Cousin Kayla is visiting this week and next week and we are having so much fun playing and just hanging out. I wish she could stay longer! She is such a help and the girls love her.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Laughing at sister is so fun and Olivia just loves it.
MOMMY FEELS: A little more tired than at the beginning of the week, but Avery woke up at 6am this morning. I am missing those awesome blackout curtains from the hotel. I should have taken them with us!
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Avery's birthday and birthday party and our first set of family photos are coming up. I realized we didn't have a single photo of the 4 of us and we have to fix it!

Olivia: 3 months!

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY BE ABLE TO:

• bring her hands together and reach for nearby objects as her coordination skills develop Olivia loves to grab the toys above her when she is playing on her playmat.
• consciously unfold her tight fists She holds so tightly on the toys that I have to rub the back of her hand to get her to let go when I need to pick her up while she is playing.
• suck on her fingers as she continues to explore her environment with her mouth I noticed her sucking on her thumb the other day. She's only done it a couple of times that I've seen, but Avery never did so it's definitely something new for us!
• practice focusing her eyes by maintaining eye contact with you I love trying to get Olivia to focus on me. Almost immediately I can get her to smile when she does look at me.
• perceive color differences more clearly (she’ll prefer bright primary colors; similar color tones can be hard for newborns to distinguish) I'm not sure about this. She can't exactly tell me what she can see. Obviously.
• focus on very small objects I don't usually let small objects get near her as good practice for when she is in that everything-goes-in-my-mouth stage, but she is getting better at focusing on things that are very close. Especially sister's face. Avery loves to get nose to nose with Olivia.
• begin to follow you with her eyes We practice this sometimes. She is very good at following and now that she has great neck control she can follow even further.
• turn toward the sound of your familiar voice as her ability to locate and recognize sounds improves I always greet Olivia in the morning from the bed. Lately she has been turning her head to me when I do. She also looks around for Justin when he enters the room and talks. It's really neat.

Olivia: 12 weeks!

MONTH: 4
WEEK: 12
WEIGHT: 12+ lbs
LENGTH: 23+ in
HEAD: 15+ in
MILESTONES: Olivia slept through the night for 3 nights in a row while we were on vacation. It was glorious. 
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: This one was taken in the evening, so the lighting is a little different, but it is still so cute!
EATING: If eating were an Olympic sport Olivia would be the youngest member of the American team.
VISITS/OUTINGS: The night this picture was taken we left for a long road trip to Oregon to attend a wedding for one of Justin's very good friends. While we were there we visited my friend Liz and her son Brady and went to the Portland Children's Museum.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Olivia loves playing and sitting up with assistance from her Boppy or leaning against me while facing out. She is so curious to see what is going on all around here. With Avery running around there is always something fun to watch.
MOMMY FEELS: Rested. We all slept really well on vacation. 
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Avery's birthday and birthday party is coming up. I guess I should start planning something beyond inviting 30 people to the park.

4th of July 2012

Olivia: 11 weeks!

MONTH: 3
WEEK: 11
WEIGHT: 11+ lbs
LENGTH: 23+ in
HEAD: 15+ in
MILESTONES: nothing notable this week.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: Since we missed last week I wanted to make sure we got this one on the actual day.
EATING: Still eating like a champ and growing like a weed.
VISITS/OUTINGS: Yesterday we had a playdate at Scientopia with Christina and Lailah. Today is 4th of July. This morning we watched the parade in downtown Napa and headed to a carnival in Yountville. Then we had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Olivia has become engrossed in her playmat. She loves to swat at the toys and make the smiling flower make music. It's so cute.
MOMMY FEELS: Tired. Avery has been getting up very early and mommy is not liking it.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Next weekend we are headed on a long road trip as a family to watch one of Justin's best friends from childhood get married. Another exciting event is Avery's 2nd birthday party is a month from today. I am having so much fun planning it.

Oorah!

This Sunday we spent a very busy day visiting. We spent the morning having brunch with Uncle Thomas. Sunday was the day he left for bootcamp and will be the last day we see him for 13 weeks. Now we are counting down the days until Sept. 21 when we fly to San Diego to see him graduate.

In the afternoon we celebrated Baby Cal Capote at Aly's shower. Avery had so much fun playing with Capri and I loved being able to catch up with Aly since she lives in Southern California now. We even had some delicious cake and played some super fun games! Now if only Aly, Joe, Capri and Cal would move back to Napa I would have a good mommy friend to playdate with!

Olivia: 9 weeks!

MONTH: 3
WEEK: 9
WEIGHT: 10lbs 12oz
LENGTH: 23in
HEAD: 15in
MILESTONES: Nothing major this week.
OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: We almost forgot to take a picture this week. Luckily we remembered on Friday and got the picture before the sun went to the other side of the house.
EATING: Olivia has been eating like a champ which is how she gained 4lbs in 2 months!
VISITS/OUTINGS:
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Eat, sleep, poop. Rinse and repeat.
MOMMY FEELS: Exhausted.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Avery's 2nd birthday!

Playhouse

Today we picked up a playhouse for the backyard that I found on Craigslist. It's little and perfect for Avery. We left her at Grandma and Grandpa Nunley's house while we went to go get it, so it was a surprise for her when we got home.

Olivia Rolls

Today while we were waiting at the doctor's office for Olivia's 2 month check up she was practicing her tummy time. I turned my head for one second to look at Avery and when I turned back she was on her back. I couldn't believe I missed the very first roll, but I put her back on her belly and tried to get her to do it again. She did it two more times before I could get the camera to record. I finally got it on camera on the last attempt because after 3 tries she was not exactly happy to be doing tricks for me.

Father's Day 2012: Pictures

This Father's Day was Justin's first Father's Day with two daughters. Aside from Avery not feeling 100% we made the best of it. It was such a fun day.

Olivia: 2 Months!

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY BE ABLE TO:

•     respond to loud sounds by becoming completely silent, crying, or acting startled Olivia does this a lot especially with having a big sister screeching around the house.

•     make cooing sounds She does make the most adorable coos but only occasionally. I wish she would do it more because they are so precious.

•     repeat "ooh" and "aah" Her coos sound like ohh and ahh, but she certainly doesn't repeat on command.

•     move her head or eyes toward the sound of your voice, showing that she recognizes you I love talking from the opposite side of where she is looking so she has to turn her head and look at me. It's so cute when she finds me and her eyes get wide.

•     raise her chest and head using her arms for support while lying on her tummy Not yet. She is definitely not a fan of tummy time so her practice is limited.

•     focus on very small objects and follow (or "track") objects with her eyes as her eye muscles continue to develop She loves to look at the little toys we play with and follow them as I move them around her head.