9 Months, Week 1

Another month older (and of course cuter)!  Her weight stayed the same this week (17 pounds, 5 ounces).



This weekend, Olivia attended her first birthday party for her good friend, Spencer. She had an absolute blast! As usual, Spencer was very sweet with her!

We also had an appointment this week with ENT, Dr. Charlotte Dugan. If we hadn't already had the appointment scheduled, we would have been going to the pediatrician that day. That's right Olivia has another double ear infection. Dr. Dugan said it is once again pretty bad and recommended we have the ear tubes put in as soon as possible. She prescribed more antibiotics in the mean time because she feared Olivia's eardrums would rupture if she didn't. As part of the appointment, Olivia also had her hearing testing. She failed the test further solidifying her need for the tubes. Sigh, this poor kid!

Dr. Dugan also said something that nearly broke my heart as a mom.  She commented on how happy Olivia seemed and that you would never know she was sick by the way she was acting.  She went on to say, "She's had so many ear infections that this is probably what feels normal to her."  Seriously, we have to get this kid well.  I do not want her to think it is "normal" to feel sick all the time.

But, in happier news it was also Valentine's Day this week!  Could you ask for a cuter Valentine?  I don't think so!

 All the Banks kids got to have "candy" (aka yogurt bites) for Valentine's Day.  I'm not sure who was more excited, Tinker or Olivia!

So, keep your fingers that all goes well with Livi's ear tube surgery on Monday!  This kiddo deserves to feel well for a change!

A "Super" Week!

Oh what a week! It has been a very exciting time to live so close to the Circle City. With the Super Bowl in town, there has been so much to see and do! We had a great time visiting the Super Bowl village. You couldn't ask for better weather for this time of year in Indiana and the crowd really wasn't too bad...until we mistakenly tried to get too close to the LMFAO concert. Whoops!

Grandma Sue came down to check out all the Super Bowl action and let Olivia play hooky from daycare. This meant I got to have some very fun lunch dates with my girlie! Grandma Sue also bailed us out as Olivia experienced yet another first...pink eye. ACK! Unfortunately, it was going around at daycare last week and kids love to share! Josh was also an unlucky recipient along with a yucky sinus infection. Grandma Sue to the rescue! On the upside, the pediatrician said Olivia's ears looked MUCH when we took her in for antibiotics for the pink eye infection. Thank heaven for small favors!

Olivia is really starting to pull her self up to a standing position. She's even trying to "cruise" along the furniture. She did manage to put some weight back on and is back up to 17 pounds, 5.1 ounces.

8 Months, Week 4

Well, that yucky cold turned out to be something much worse. Poor Olivia has ANOTHER double ear infection. For anyone keeping score that is her fourth "new" (some of her previous ear infections were just a re-occurrence of an infection that hadn't completely cleared up) ear infection. The pediatrician took one look in her ears and said this was a pretty bad infection and likely very painful. He is also throwing in the towel and referring us on to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist to discuss ear tubes. While we aren't really excited about the possibility of surgery, we are eager to hear about something that will give Olivia more lasting relief than the oral antibiotics are currently providing. This poor kiddo has been experiencing monthly ear infections since September and something has to change!

Even with all these cruddy ear infections, she is still such a happy girl! You'd never know from the look on her face that we took this picture just before heading to the doctor. She's such a trooper!  Unfortunately, the ear infection appears to be impacting her appetite. She lost a bit of weight this week and weighed in at 16 pounds, 14.2 ounces.

She still loves her baths! She has such fun playing with her toys and laughing. It often helps turn her mood around if she's having a rough night.

And check out my little "helper"...perhaps I should've been a little more specific when I asked her if she wanted to help me put the laundry away.

8 Months, Week 3

What's up party people? You would never know from looking at this picture that she still has a yucky cold! At least, it's not slowing down her appetite. This week she weighed 17 pounds, 2.1 pounds!


















Last weekend we headed to the region to celebrate two very exciting events, a visit from the Foster girls and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Szafarczyk's 70th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, we drove through a pretty nasty snow storm to get there. Thankfully due in no small part to some pretty fierce driving skills from Josh we arrived safely. We were also fortunate that Livi slept through the 5 hour drive that usually only takes 3 hours.



































Never a dull moment when we travel! Livi was very excited to not only see her Godmother, but also to meet another future playmate, Miss Gabby Foster! Olivia is starting to become very excited when she "meets" other babies. We are still working on not smacking our new friends though! All in all, a very good first meeting!












Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Szafarczyk's 70th (yes, that says SEVENTIETH) Wedding Anniversary Party was a huge success! It's such an amazing feat to see what two people can overcome and accomplish with love and faith on their side!













People often ask us how Tinker and Olivia get along. Those who remember when Tinker first arrived at our house may remember that he wasn't exactly "friendly" (although, he has gotten MUCH better over the years!). Tinker generally tolerates Olivia fairly well and is happy to be on clean-up duty when she's eating solids! So, while her shirt may be pushing it a bit (it says "best friends")...they are darn cute together!


















Oh to know what this little girl is thinking about sometimes!

8 Months, Week 2

Our little fishy started "Aqua Babes" swim classes this week at Riverview. Since Daddy was a swimmer as a kid and teenager, we are hoping Livi will love the water too. The first class went extremely okay. She didn't necessarily like going under water, but many of the other parents said it took a bit for their kiddos to warm up to the pool too.



Unfortunately, Little Miss has been battling a pretty yucky cold lately. This was the only way I could get her to nap over the weekend...she still looks so sweet!














This was of course after a bath was needed because someone decided she could feed herself lunch.


















And just to keep us on our toes...check out her adventure below. We always carry a "backup outfit" in case Liv has a diaper blowout or spits up. But what happens when you've already tapped into your backup outfit for the day? Well, you hope you are out shopping somewhere and can buy a new one of course! Notice she still has her hat on. Ah, my child the fashionista.


















Despite the cold and blowouts, Livi thankfully continues to put on weight and checked in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces this week!

8 Months, Week 1

Woo-hoo, somebody is officially 8 months old today! Happy as always and weighing in at 16 pounds, 4.9 ounces. She has finally doubled her birth weight!














Ever the tech savvy baby, Olivia is getting quite good a surfing the net. Of course, sometimes she does need just a little bit of help...


















Nap time is also starting to go much smoother. Olivia used to fight them with a vengeance. Even when she would give in to the nap, they wouldn't last long! But thankfully, she is slowly but surely starting to get into a regular routine.


















It's hard to believe how quickly 8 months can go by! I just love this little girl and her baby blues!

7 Months, Week 4

This week it was back to reality and trying to get back into a somewhat regular routine. Lucky for Olivia she is one of the few people who have a New Year's resolution to gain weight. Over the last two weeks she put on 7 ounces and now weighs 15 pounds, 11.3 ounces.

















Before we left Valpo, Olivia got a chance to see her Uncle Drew one more time. They look pretty happy showing their love for Da Bears.


















Once we got home and unloaded the car, this is the holiday aftermath we were left with...I kinda wish Santa would have left a maid with all of the presents!











It was so much fun seeing family and friends over the holidays that we decided to buy a new bed for our guest room. We took our own princess with us to find a suitable mattress. She didn't detect any peas, but thought this one was extra comfy!