Saturday, May 17, 2008 - Update

Oh, hey mom! Whatcha doing?
I am just planning our next trip to the zoo. . .

Elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes. . .

Then maybe we can swing by and see the penguins. . .

I am so grateful to have my husband home. He was out of town on business all week. He wouldn't let me mention anything on the blog. . .something about telling the whole world that his wife and daughter were home alone. That was probably smart, although, we weren't alone. . .my mom stayed with us. I appreciate all that my mom helped me do while he was gone. I felt bad having my mom take a vacation from work only to make her work. But, thank you mom!

Olivia now weighs 13 lbs! She is doing really well on her cereal, loves her sweet potatoes and sitting in her highchair. She doesn't, however, enjoy her patch and if there is a tiny section that's not stuck, she will attempt to pull the whole thing off.

Unbridled Excitement

I have talked before about how Olivia loves her mobile. Words can't quite describe it, so I thought I'd show you. We're basically going to have those animals attached to her bed until she's twelve. She LOVES them!

Thursday, May 15, 2008 - Update

Last night I was unable to sleep again. Each night it seems like it's for a different reason. Last night, I believe it was reason #749:

I thought reading a magazine before bed might help ease me into a restful slumber. In the magazine, however, I read about the alarming increase in the number of children with severe food allergies, to foods such as peanuts, tree nuts, etc. I know it has drastically increased in some of the surrounding school districts. Some believe it is caused by antibacterial soap and lack of exposure to germs in infancy. If that's the case, then Olivia is at a huge risk. I struggle with how to protect her best. Sometimes I don't know. I know I talk about how it's best not to worry about things, but that sounds better in theory than in practice.

Anyway, we were up bright and early because Olivia had another eye appt today. We now have to increase her patching to 6 hours a day. . which is most of her waking hours. It just breaks my heart. We go back in about 2 weeks for another checkup. I also learned that our eye doctor is leaving at the end of the summer. They are trying to replace him and there is only one other pediatric ophthamologist in our town. I've heard that if Olivia is going to need surgery to unblock her tear ducts, it's best performed between 12-14 months to be the most successful. . . .which is right when we'd be switching to a new doctor. I'm pretty stressed about the whole thing. I'm sure that will be reason #750 that keeps me awake tonight. . .

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - Update

I can do it myself, mama.

My little girl. . .already trying to be independent. She really would not give me back the spoon. It's such a joy to watch her grow each and every day. She wasn't all that fond of squash, but she likes her carrots and her barley. The barley is my personal favorite (yes, I try a taste of all her food.)

We've had a great day together. Olivia has got to spend some time with Grandma Sailing this week which enabled me to get a much needed massage. Can you imagine how good all of us would feel if we could get one of those every day?

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - Update

Oh Boy! Daddy/daughter time!

I am truly blessed with one of the most amazing husbands. I always thought that no one could have a better father than me. I think that Olivia will grow up just as lucky. The past year has been a very difficult one for Ryan and me. There are times when we're cranky, bitter, angry, sad, fearful, tired. . .but, I can't imagine going through any of it without Ryan, the love of my life. No one understands exactly what we've been through, except us. . .along with our Heavenly Father. Because of that, I've never felt alone. Thank you for being a wonderful husband and an amazing daddy!

Monday, May 12, 2008 - Update

I like sitting in my big girl chair.

Dad, isn't this like the millionth picture you've taken of me? (No, it's the 3,228th.)

Yesterday, we took Olivia out to the cemetery to visit Logan for the first time. It was very difficult. I cannot tell you how grateful I was to be holding Olivia in my arms. I did have a blessed Mother's Day yesterday and I hope all of you did as well.

We started Olivia on her yellow/orange vegetables this week starting with squash. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I am finding solid foods a little difficult. She probably only takes about 1 tablespoon of cereal twice a day and I know that she should take more than that. I don't want her to take so much that she doesn't want to take her bottle OR throw up everything she's had. It's quite the balancing act. I guess I promised weight updates and haven't really been posting them. As of this morning, she weighed about 12 lbs 14 oz. We're hoping to break the 13 lb mark by the end of the week.