12 Weeks!

My little Olive is 12 weeks!! (tomorrow) I knew when I started back to work that things would start moving at warp speed but holy moly. I can't believe she's about to be 3 months. She is developing quite the personality. I feel that we are going to have a curious humorous little girl on our hands. She is not shy toward strangers, she still loves new stimulation, and she has recently found her hands. She is still exclusively breast fed and enjoys going on walks with mom and dad. Her best friend is her sweet cousin Cassie who loves to be her little momma and give her pacis (any that she can find lol) bottles and kisses. I have been told these two smile at each other all the time but I sooo want to see it :) For those of you who are wondering why I havent yet- it's because this happens while im at work. Olivia spends her days at my brothers place with her cousins! such a blessing. Anyway here's some of our favorites from the past few weeks:

• Emergency bath. We had a poop explosion on the changing table that not even the new diaper underneath could contain. Olivia just smiled and smiled about it lol.
• Our walks through the neighborhood. She loves them! and so does Gus Gus.
• She loves the funny noises mom and dad make.
• We have a baby genius who already said her first word "mama" HA! ok, it probably wasnt intentional.
• Speaking of first words- she loves to talk. Every night when we get home I prop her on my lap and ask about her day. She always smiles and talks back. It's seriously my favorite. 
• She has found her hands. Im waiting for her to find her toes and start doing the "happy baby" yoga pose :)
• She is also grasping things. She loves her "fifi" short for feona. Her giraffe paci that she now clings to even if she isnt using the paci part. We also introduced her fist lovey which is a puppy and she likes to cuddle with that when she falls asleep in her rocker. 
• She started using her pouty lip. Right before she starts to cry she'll stick it way out and Micah and I just laugh.. which I think frustrates her more lol. 

This is from one of our nightly conversations. Now can you see why I love it soo much? 

A brief update on me: We saw the LC and she was super helpful. I think the tips she provided will fix the majority of my issues so we can move forward with exclusively breast feeding at least for a few more months. I'm feeling better in terms of sickness. I think this weather coupled with germs really knocked me on my butt. I really appreciate all the support from my last post. Every comment/message helped my to keep going. Yall rock! thank you :)

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Olivia's snapshot

A few days ago I read a blog where a mom decided for the new year that she wanted to do a snapshot every week for the whole year entailing her daughter's little life moments. I thought that was a fantatstic idea and wanted to give it try. I know Micah and I will remember the big moments in Olivia's life like her first giggle (soooo waiting on that) first time she walks, eats food ect. But I dont want to forget the little things that make us smile or cry too. Ill be realistic and say I probably won't think to do it every week but I am going to try so bear with me. I want to document every little detail of her life because I soo desperately look for new stuff in all of my mom's old things. If only social media was around in the 80s-90s for her to facebook/blog. That thought makes me smile. I honestly can't envision my mom ever using facebook but who knows. Anyway, more about Olive..

• She's starting to show a really awesome personality
• Nothing phases her. Dogs barking, fire alarms going off, diaper changes. She's so laid back. 
• She's nosy. If there are people around or things to see she wants to be facing out if she's being held. But if it's quiet and she's ready to sleep she loves to be held close and tight. 
• She loves to talk. Micah insists she tells him "stories" all the time.
• She was a champ during her 2 month shots. Only cried for a little bit. But poor dad thought it was a lifetime
• She has started sleeping through the night. {praise Him}. Or at least for 6-8 hour stretches. 
• Her favorite places are still the bath and the changing table. 
• She weighs close to 12 pounds and is still exclusively breast fed.

Life with Liv

My little girl turns 2 months today. It's still surreal to me that I have a beautiful healthy child. I keep thinking about all the moms that say how amazing it is to watch your child grow and develop. While I believed it when they said it I didn't quite comprehend that feeling until Olivia was born. From day one she thrived. It's incredible to see her discover new things and see her little personality coming to life. I would be lying if I said its been an easy happy journey so far. Motherhood is tough. I think anyone who says otherwise is trying to put on a face. You don't know the true meaning of selflessness until you're a parent. I can say without a doubt though, that it has been absolutely rewarding. I dont even think that's a good enough word to describe it. Even when I am utterly exhausted and frustrated I take a look at my girl and all that melts away. She's amazing. We've been so blessed to watch her go from a newborn to a curious little peanut. My husband and I have shared so many fun moments in these two months and I want to write them down so I dont ever forget. I did buy her a baby book.. but this allows me more detail and easier access to photos. I cant wait to go back and show her just what a cool little baby she was:

I think my absolute favorite is seeing just how much my husband loves our baby. I read a quote on pinterest (of course) a while back that read "I didnt know how much I loved you until I saw how much you loved our baby". Truer words people. He LOVES his baby. It might help that she looks exactly like him ;) I couldnt be more blessed to have such a hands on dad raising our daughter. He doesnt hesitate with diaper changes, middle of the night feedings, making silly faces to get her to laugh, and many many more. Even in a sleep deprived state ,where he thinks the pillow is his girl and tries to comfort it, he is always trying to care for her. As im writing this- theyre out for a run. Its incredible.

I love watching her sleep. She is a fun sleeper. A noisy sleeper. She always seems to be with people in her dreams. Her smiles on her face are priceless as shes dreaming. She also sleep screams. Which is actually kind of funny except when it's 2am. She will literally scream really loud just once and when we look at her shes totally out. Like it wasnt her at all and we are both delusional haha. She is a cuddler. Her favorite place to sleep is on someone. Usually me while were rocking in her room. Which I'm going to desperately miss when shes older. She looks so incredibly beautiful when she sleeps.

and chunky..

I love her smile. Even when it's nap time and she's like "you fool I'm not sleeping today". I swear she has angels in her room. There will be times I'm rocking her to sleep and her eyes dart open over my shoulder and she smiles soo wide and follows something behind me. There isnt anything in her room behind me but a blue wall. I think her grandmas come to visit her :) We can get a guaranteed smile on the changing table. every. single. time. Never fails. Even when she's crying- itll be like shes conflicted and cry-smile haha. She also loves smiling while I sing to her, when her dad makes goofy faces, or when she's hanging out on her bed staring at what we call "her best friend the ceiling fan". Seriously, any ceiling fan. She loves them.

I love how curious she is. Our pediatirican told us that she'll most likely always cry with new stimulation. Like going new places or meeting new people. It couldn't be more opposite for her. She loves exploring. She gets a very concerned look on her face like she's always trying to figure things out. I love her curiosity. I can't wait to help that grow as she gets older.

I love her face, her smooth skin, her belly, her baby butt and her chunky arms and legs. I'm always in awe of how much she's grown and how she continues to grow right before my eyes. It's amazing to think that she was doing that in my belly. That her first little flutters have now grown into wild strong movements. I feel so proud of my body for creating, growing, sustaining and continuing to sustain her ever growing body. It's truly a miracle from God. I consider myself very blessed to be able to say that I've done these things.

I would be lying if I said Micah and I dont make fun of her a bit ;) in a sweet way I promise! She's just so funny sometimes we cant help it. We love to joke about her faces, her poop grunts, and her fussiness. She does this one move where she's sleeping, restlessly, and whips her head back and forth grunting because she has to poop but is too tired to wake up and actually do it. It's hilarious. One of us will check on her when she does it and come back with "Just her poop grunts" and mimic her. Micah especially loves to do her faces. Why not theyre really his faces anyway haha.

These two months spent with her are irreplaceable. I can't wait to make more memories with her. She has changed us completely in the best way possible. She is my heart.

I love you olive bear