April 1-8

Olivia has been playing with her tongue since the day she was born.  She flicks it in an out of her mouth, sticks it out at people, grabs it with her fingers, and, most recently, turns it over.  In both directions, I think, although it's hard to tell.  Every time I look at her lately, her tongue is upside down in her mouth.

If you had to guess the best way to torment an 8-month-old baby, what would you choose?  If you said "grass," you win.  Olivia loves being outside, but she does NOT like to be in the grass.  She has this little dance where she lifts one foot up and kind of hops on the other foot, trying not to stand in the grass.  Then she switches feet, hoping it might help.  Her cute little face crumples up and she starts wimpering up at the mean parents who keep trying to convince her that grass isn't all that bad.

We've been working on crawling still.  While Olivia is quite mobile and excels at scooting backwards on her stomach, she doesn't quite have the crawling technique down yet.  :)

My feet go in the air, right?

No? Oh, on the ground.  Got it.

Often Olivia will sit on her mat and knock down towers as I make them out of her shapes.  I tell her which shape I'm stacking (all the way to "red scalene triangle"-- to distinguish it from "blue triangle," which is actually equilateral) and try to see how high I can get the stack before she knocks it over.  The other day I was trying an alternate game: I stacked the blocks on Olivia.  I didn't get very far, even when I started putting one on her head to distract her.

You can see her two teeth!

Hers fits better.

We have matching hats from her shapes ball, but Olivia's more interested in the camera.  

While Bryan and I eat lunch, Olivia sits in her booster seat and munches on whatever we give her.  Lately, though, she's started tossing her carrot or zucchini stick on the floor.  We started giving her cheerios instead. She tosses those on the floor, too, but it takes more work.  :)

March 25-April 1

Olivia must have had a growth spurt, because she's already too tall for some of her 6-9 month onesies.  I just moved her out of 3-6 month onesies two weeks ago...

Last Sunday, I put Olivia down on her hands and knees and... she stayed that way!  Usually she just collapses.  :)  She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself, though, so she opted for lunging towards the toy in front of her and landed on her stomach.  She keeps trying to get the crawling thing down, but can only manage hands OR knees, not both.  Bryan and I are encouraging her in her efforts, while laughing about how we will probably be less encouraging to the mobility attempts of later children.  :)

In the past, Olivia took all her naps on me.  The only other naps that were acceptable were those taken in her carseat.  Whenever I put her down, she'd wake up and scream.  So we worked out a system where she would nap while she nursed and I would read while she napped.  It forced me to slow down my day a bit, and I got lots of reading done.  Recently, however, she has decided to only nurse when she's hungry.  While this is a good step forward, it did cause a bit of an upset to our nap routine.  Tired but not hungry?  No nursing, no napping, just crankiness.  So I started putting her down to nap again, and this time it worked!  This whole last week she napped in her crib and I suddenly had free chunks of day to fill with... reading?  Since most of my housework gets done while holding and/or entertaining Olivia, I've found myself with little that I HAVE to do during these times.  So I've been sewing things, working on blog posts during the week, and, occasionally, even reading.  :)

Wednesday we got our first back-to-front roll!  It only half counts, since Olivia used props: she was trying to get to me, so she used my clothes to haul herself the rest of the way over.  Landing on her stomach was an accidental by-product.

The best way to play with toys:

March 18-25

I've been practicing a lot lately because I'm entering a concerto competition next month.  Olivia is tolerant of my playing, as long as I allow her to "sing" along and don't ignore her for TOO long.  :)

Bryan heard a rumor at work last week that our March thus far has been hotter than that of Texas.  Calling shenanigans, we looked it up on Thursday.  Turns out the rumor was true, at least on Thursday.  Our temperature was 9 degrees warmer than the one in Austin, TX.  We're hoping that summer is bearable.

Because of the warm weather, Olivia and I have been on long walks almost every day.  We went on walks in the colder weather, too, but not as often.  Our trees aren't ready for summer yet, though, so there's very little shade. I got Olivia a sun hat to keep her cheeks, neck, and bald spot from getting burned.

As you may know, our Johnny Jump Up hangs above the table because it's not long enough to reach the floor from the middle beam where it hangs.  Lately we've been wondering if perhaps Olivia is tall enough and heavy enough to reach the floor so that we don't have to constantly move the table in an out of the middle of the room.  The answer to that?  Not now, not ever.  Back on the table she goes.  :)

This picture doesn't really do them justice.

Olivia's eyes are her most complemented feature.  They're the third most commented on (after "Look at all that hair!" and "She likes her tongue, doesn't she?"), but when they do merit a comment, people notice that they're beautiful.  I think they look like Bryan's: a dark blue with brown near the iris.  Her left eye has more brown in it than her right one, leading us to wonder if she's trying to resemble both parents at once.  After all, her right ear is like Bryan's and her left ear is like mine.  The difference is less noticeable than it used to be, but I can still see it.  Interestingly enough, her browner eye is on the side with her "Mom ear."  We're wondering if her eyes have settled, or if they're still working their way through "baby-colored."

More pictures:

March 11-18

Things Olivia Loves:
Seeing Daddy walk through the door
Baths
Jumping (in and out of the Johnny Jump Up)
Playing with her tongue and/or licking things
Strings/tassels/hair (fun to play with AND tasty)
Playing WITH somebody
Being outside
Hanging out with the baby in the mirror

Things Olivia Dislikes:
Drying off after a bath
Getting her nails clipped
Getting her nose wiped
Being on her stomach for too long (but will she roll over to fix it?  Of course not)

We have a budding ventriloquist on our hands this week.  75% of Olivia's non-crying noises have been made with her lips closed.

Olivia would love to be able to stand and walk jump.  She doesn't pull herself up on things yet, but she likes being balanced next to the couch, a chair, or her mirror.  Unfortunately, she hasn't developed the talent of falling into a sitting position yet, so we have to stay close in order to catch her when she falls.  This picture show the problem rather nicely.  As soon as I finished taking the picture, I had to catch her as she fell to the floor like an overbalanced 2x4.




Tuesday all of Olivia's usual pants were in the wash, so I put a new pair on her.  She looked very grown up, but couldn't reach her toes when she was sitting down, so she ended up wearing some comfy sweats from Uncle James instead.

The weather has be absolutely gorgeous here lately.  We've been going on walks every day.  It seems especially summery when you have a baby dressed like she's going to the beach.  :)

My project this week was unpaper towels.  Also known as kitchen towels.  :)  These are more fun, though, because they go on the paper towel roll.  I used old t-shirt backs and flour sack towels to make paper-towel-sized squares and then put snaps on the corners to connect them together.

March 4-11

How did I get so far away?

Olivia started shaking her head "no" recently.  She doesn't know what it means, but it's funny to see the concentration it requires for her to shake her head without tipping over.  She also started scooting around a bit.  Thursday when I put her on her stomach she scooted all the way off her mat.  Backwards.  She still didn't know that she was moving, so she was less impressed with her accomplishment than I was.

Last Sunday I watched the end of Hairspray with Bryan's mom and sister.  As the credits were rolling, Olivia decided to "sing" (yell at the TV) and "dance" (wave her arms and wiggle her hips as I kept her from falling down) with the movie.

Whenever she gets picked up, Olivia kicks her feet in a superb imitation of a swimmer doing the breaststroke.  She must think she's providing the actual momentum for movement, rather than being the movee.  This behavior, as well as her tendency to cling like a leech when being held firmly but resort to being a limp noodle and/or flopping fish out of water when a little assistance on her part would be appreciated (when I'm carrying a laundry basket, for example), has earned her the nickname Miss Wigglebottoms.

This week, Olivia's best friend is a green cup.  She tosses it around, chews on it, pretends to drink from it, and occasionally (if Mom is on top of things) finds a ball hiding in it.  Her nemesis is the spray bottle I keep on the changing table for diaper changes.  On Tuesday she managed to get a hold of the spray bottle and threw it off the changing table.  The spray part broke off and I still haven't managed to find where it went.  Unfortunately, Mom knows where to get more spray bottles (Target), so there was a new one by the next morning.

We got a table for the front of our prayer room.  It's actually a desk, but it serves the same purpose.  Olivia's favorite part of our prayer room is the string you see hanging down from the light.  :)

February 26-March 4

Eating Daddy's carrot.  Watch out, the
blanket ties look a lot like carrots.  She
sampled those, too.  :)

We ditched the rice cereal this week and decided to jump straight into baby-led weaning.  Now when we sit down for lunch, Olivia gets a zucchini stick or a pepper.  She likes to gnaw on her new "toys" and is getting better at hitting her mouth on the first try.  Yesterday, Bryan was holding Olivia in one hand and a carrot stick in the other and she reached out and took his carrot and began to eat it.  He was surprised and I was pleased, because that's how baby-led weaning is supposed to work.

Here's a picture of the finished prayer room from the doorway.  Paneling (with OSB board behind it for easy icon hanging), drop ceiling, and carpet.  We still need to sand down the door a little so that it fits and add a door handle.  We'd also like to get some sort of table for the front so that we can put candles up.  It would take the place of the cardboard box.  :)  More pictures after the break.

February 19-26

Tuesday was Olivia's 6-month check-up.  She's 17 lbs 14 oz and 28 inches tall.  The doctor also told us we could start her on some rice cereal, although we're planning on pretty much using baby-led weaning.  I bought one box of cereal so that she gets used to chewing before we just put food in front of her.  We mixed up a tablespoon of cereal and let the amusement begin:

As you can see from the pictures, she was excited to hold the spoon, but less than pleased with the resulting food.  :)  For more pictures, continue reading after the break.

Rice cereal?  Eww.
Mom's hair?  Yum.

I didn't realize the sun would
be so in the way...

Thursday we tried rice cereal again, and Olivia was even less impressed than on Tuesday, if possible.  She didn't even try to eat it, preferring to spit it out instead.  Good thing I like rice cereal.

We also found a bow in the wrapping paper when I was putting a bag away.  She really wanted the paper, but she was content with the bow.  Then I discovered that it had a little bit of sticky on it still, and she wore it in her hair for a while.  :)

Friday Bryan took off work and he and his dad spent a couple of days building a prayer room in our basement.  This was their second weekend of work, and they finished!  It looks very nice.  I'll post pictures next week.

This morning, Olivia discovered what an array of loud noises one baby can make in a resonant building (such as a church).  I don't remember my mom spending over half the service standing in the back of the church with a happy but noisy baby...

February 12-19

Monday Aunt Justine and WD-40 came to visit for the week.  It's a good thing she called when she left, because I had forgotten she was coming...

I tried to get a picture of the teeth...
It didn't work.  :)

Tuesday was a cranky day, but that pesky second tooth finally came in.  :)  Justine, WD-40, Olivia, and I went walking at the mall.  We were moving at a pretty good pace, but still got lapped by a more ambitious mall-walker.  Twice.  We reasoned that we were allowed to be slower because there were four of us and one of her.

Olivia is sitting up quite well now.  She only tips over when she straightens up too much and falls backwards.  She's careful not to reach too energetically for toys since she doesn't like losing her balance.  I've decided that she must have developed her inner ear.

The remainder of the week was spent going for walks -- a couple days were nice enough for outdoor walks -- and playing music.  Olivia liked the music, at least until she decided we weren't paying enough attention to HER.

Friday we drove to MI to see my family, where Olivia was MUCH more pleasant than last time, and even decided that these people who all look way too much like mom when you're tired and hungry and just want food and a nap maybe aren't so bad after all.  :)

For more pictures of the week with Justine (although it's hard to tell, because Justine actually doesn't feature very prominently in most of them):

February 5-12

This week I learned that babies don't slouch.  Olivia seems to have forgotten how to roll over, but she's compensated by beginning to sit up very well.  I pile some blankets on the floor to cushion her from the hardwood in case she falls, give her a couple of toys, and let her have a good time.  Every day she's a little less wobbly and sits longer before tipping over.  Watching her Wednesday, I noticed that she has great posture: Her spine is straight all the time.  She leans and tips, yes, but it's always her whole upper half that's moving, not just her shoulders.

We're working very hard on getting another tooth right now.  She wants a matching set, after all.  :)  I can feel a second bottom one just about to poke through.

January 29-February 5

Friday was Olivia's half birthday.  We had a BamBam photo shoot to celebrate.

We also went to the mall, where Olivia learned to drive in the parking lot.  They grow up so fast!

This morning we were standing in church.  It was near the end of the service, and Olivia had stopped squirming and was sitting contentedly on my hip, one thumb in her mouth.  Suddenly she yanked her hand away from her face and started crying.  Loudly.  I hugged her, I bounced her, I swayed in place...  Nothing was working.  I couldn't figure out what would have set her off.  Unless...  I stuck a finger in her mouth and felt along her bottom gum.  Sure enough, there were some little points sticking out, just (her) left of center.  A tooth!  My best guess is that she bit her thumb with her newly cut tooth.  I'd be upset, too, little girl.

More Pictures: