Little Olivia can sit up for short lengths. She's getting close to getting up on her own. She hasn't really tried to crawl yet. She likes to sit and chat it up. Sometimes she forgets that she can only lean so far before she topples over.

Christmas Party

We went to our first Holiday party of the season. Olivia wore her dress from grandpa and was the cutest thing ever. She likes our Christmas decorations even if the tree isn't lit up. We miss all our family and the holiday traditions, but are excited to be seeing you in 1 MONTH!!!!!!

Thanksgiving.

We were so happy to be able to visit The Clark Clan for Thanksgiving. Olivia seemed to pick up a lot from being around her cousin Hayden and Dana. She is eating baby food everyday now. I try to give her rice cereal in the morning and a vegetable in the evening. She has been eating sweet potatoes this week. She loves to eat and finished the whole jar, while still looking for more.

Olivia did not sleep very well while in AZ, but her schedule is back to normal for the most part. She is also getting better at tummy time. If I catch her in the right mood she will stay for about 15 minutes. But most often she starts grunting right away.

I have her practicing sitting with as little support as possible. She plays with her rattles and dolls while I read. She also LOVES to sit in her bouncy and watch the dogs. Gus likes to sit underneath her and get stepped on by the little feet. I can tell they are already fast friends.

Can't wait to see everyone again next month. Abuela we miss you the most. Olivia looks at your picture and smiles. See you soon.

Potty

So, I know that our whole idea of potty training seems crazy, but I discovered something yesterday. Olivia has been fussy for the last few days. Yesterday she was fussing and kicking her legs. I changed her and then was trying to feed her and she just kept kicking her legs. I thought that maybe she was uncomfortable because the cloth diapers can be a little thick. I took off her diaper and started to feed her again and she peed! She had just had her wet diaper changed so I was surprised. Then this morning she was fussing so I took her diaper off and put her on the little potty. When I started queuing her she peed! I had read that it really kicks in at 4-5 months, but wow!

Camping and Halloween

On Thursday and Friday I had planned a surprise trip to the coast for Albert. He ended up finding out but it was a really good time. Up here in the Pacific Northwest they have these things called YURT's. Year-round Utility Recreation Tent. They are almost like little cabin/tepees and they have electricity and heat. The bathroom facilities there are so clean and nice and they even have showers. All of this for $30 a night and within walking distance of the beach. On Thursday we didn't get to do much but we drove by the beach and got some wonderful fish and chips and checked into our digs. Oh yeah, and we made smores at night.

Friday was so beautiful. After breakfast at a cute little diner we went to a Lighthouse. It was $7 to park so we decided to walk instead. It turned into a little jog and was super super beautiful. We saw Harbor seals, caterpillars, slugs, and lots of gorgeous beach. After that we went back to the YURT to check out and went to the beach there. We walked and lunched along the ocean. There was a water run-off that we had to cross to get to one side of the beach and it was an adventure. Luckily we had both bought rain boots!

On the way home we stopped at one more beach and there were tide pools with sea anemone. Olivia did fairly well the entire trip. She was fussy but she has been fussy for about a week now. I think that she is in a growth spurt and my milk supply has not caught up yet. Yesterday I gave her a bottle soon after a feeding and she fell right to sleep.


Halloween night Albert was Frankenstein and I was a version of his bride. Olivia was a little devil ballerina. I know everyone is going to think we are crazy but we took her to a haunted house. I wore her in the baby carrier and she slept through half of it. Everyone there was surprised we brought her AND how well she did. It was a fun haunted house. They pretended that a meteor crashed nearby and that in caused everyone to turn into zombies and these military people were supposed to help us get to the transport vans out of town. It was fun.

A little note about Olivia

I am fairly certain that the photographs are everyone's favorite part of this little blog, but I thought that maybe the Grandmas wanted a little more information about what Olivia has been up to. She is getting so big of course! She can sit by herself sometimes, she is really wobbly and needs assistance but I have gotten her to prop herself up. She had been a regular jabber box for a few weeks and now she has quieted down for a few weeks. She babbles some during the day but not like before.

She loves all of her toys and likes to play with a variety all day long. Albert and I spend the day moving her from bouncy seat to swing to leaf mat on the floor. We just put the bouncy play center that my parents sent together. She doesn't love it but she plays with it for a few minutes each day. She is starting to really like being read too. Before she just kind of laid there and didn't seem to care but now she wants to touch the book and when I stop she immediately turns and looks at me like "Well, wheres the rest?"

Twice this week she slept for 12 hours straight through the night. That was nice. I think she may be having a growth spurt because on top of that she is fairly fussy. I have had to change nursing positions like six times in one sitting just to get her comfortable, and this happens almost every time she eats during the day. Before she would sit in her bouncy seat or lay on her mat for hours on end and lately she tires of them quickly.

We had a playdate with all of the babies from our birthing class last Friday. It was so nice to see all of the babies growing and hear about their development. Also, because of the playdate we have been making Olivia stand up a lot more. All of the other babies were standing and dancing and seemed very comfortable on their feet. Olivia usually squats after a few moments, so we have been encouraging her to stay up there longer and more frequently. She still doesn't like tummy time very much but if I time it correctly I can keep her there for 10-15 minutes.

Tomorrow is our trip to the beach. We are going to stay in a YURT: Year round Utility Recreation Tent. It is cold up here, but we all need a break from our work schedules so I figured the beach would be a nice change.

Today I tried to give her mashed up banana but she was really hungry and tired so she didn't take it. I will try again tomorrow, hopefully with better timing. Well, Uncle Sammy should be here soon to watch her tonight and I must get our stuff ready for the trip so, goodbye.

Lots of love and hugs
P.S. This pic was just taken moments ago.

The begining of fall.

3 days shy of 4 months

The first pic is my first attempt to do something with her hair. I'll have to do another post and update about all her new developements. On our way to yoga right now. lots of love.

For Uncle Josh

Uncle Josh asked to see some recent pictures of Olivia, and since she is becoming so animated I thought a little video would be best. This is her today, Sunday morning, playing on her mat and looking in the mirror.

First Playdate

Well, today we had our first play date with a lady I used to work with and her little baby Ellie. Ellie is 7 months so she could do a lot more than Olivia but they looked so cute checking each other out. Ellie was very interested in touching Olivia, but as usual Olivia just looked around.

She is doing a lot more talking now, and can entertain herself for a good stretch of time. Right now she is on her play mat looking at herself in the mirror and playing with some toys on the mat. She is almost able to roll over. She gets onto her side by herself pretty well, especially when she is hungry :)

I have been telling her to talk to Abuela and Grandma when she starts babbling. I can't wait to see you all again.

Lots of love and hugs.

Hola Familia!

Well, Olivia is three months old now. She is talking a lot more, moving her arms and legs everywhere, and smiling the whole time. We started to get into a schedule more regularly since moving to the new apartment. Mondays, Tuesday, and Wednesday Olivia and mama hang out at home. We practice our Spanish on the computer, read books, sing songs, have tummy time, and go for walks. Olivia still loves her columpio and is now getting into her toys, she really loves her amarillo conejo.

Thursday and Friday Papa spends the day with his baby girl. Albert has taken Olivia to the doctor for her shots twice now. She does not like them so they come visit mama at work after. From Thursday - Sunday Albert and I work opposite shifts, so we don't get to see each other much. We have also had uncle Sam over to help when our shifts overlap.

The dogs like the new apartment and Gus has been able to go to the dog-park :) She does very well, she doesn't really play that much yet but she is getting more used to it. Olivia gets everyone's attention with all her hair. Olivia is so calm she goes everywhere with us. I take her to the park in her stroller, and papa takes her to the stores. We are going to start having play dates. I have a play date with one of my old co-workers, and we are all going to meet up with the families from our birthing classes. We saw them this week and they are all too cute.

We look forward to seeing everyone again as soon as possible and talking to you all on the phone. We will try to post pictures more often. Luv ya.

Visiting family :)

Well, we ventured our first flight with little miss Olivia. She did so awesome! She barely cried on any of the flights and on our mini road trip from Phoenix to El Paso she did very well also. Now we know that it is possible and that sets me at ease because I hope to go to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, and We all are going down in January.

It was awesome to see Olivia with her family. I am very glad that she got to meet her vis abuela and abuelo, they were the main reason for the trip. Abuelo is go good with children, I got some good pics of him singing to her. It's also good to see her with her generation, Jonathon held her hand on most of the car rides around El Paso, and Hayden had fun trying to kiss her.

Alas, I did not get the job in Phoenix. We are sad that we are not going to move closer to family but also happy because we really do enjoy this city very very much. I did not want to leave even though I think it is best for our family right now. I will continue to apply for work here, Phoenix, and El Paso. We will see where this economy takes us!

Miss you all.