14 Weeks

What a fun and busy week for Miss Olivia! Before I returned to work for the new school year, we had one last adventure. We headed north to the region and Chicago! First, Olivia got to meet my God daughter, Alyssa. Alyssa did a great job with her!













Afterwards, we headed to the outlet mall, Lighthouse Place. She's always up for a good shopping trip!


















On Saturday, it was time to head to my absolute favorite city in the world, Chicago! And because Olivia only travels first class, her first hotel stay was at the four-star Knickerbocker Hotel in the Gold Coast area (thank you Priceline!).














She absolutely loved taking in all the sights and sounds of the Windy City, particularly on the Mag Mile.


















She already had her eye on the American Girl store.


















We wrapped up weekend with a trip to Navy Pier. We had such a great weekend! And Olivia really enjoyed all of the yummy treats Chicago had to offer...she's now up to 11 pounds, 9.7 ounces!

13 Weeks/3 Months

Another month in the books! The summer has flown by and we have had so much fun! Sadly, next week I have to return to work (which I'm choosing to deal with by not thinking about it!). But Grandma Sue will be coming to stay with us for a few weeks to help with the transition.














No weight gain this week (still weighing 11 pounds, 3.4 ounces), but that may be because Olivia was too busy ROLLING OVER to put on any weight! We were at Baby Boot Camp and Olivia decided she wanted to work out too. One minute she was laying on her back and then next she was on her tummy looking very proud of herself! She also figured out that when she gets a bottle, she can hold it herself thank you very much!

While we are still ladies of leisure for a few more days, we are trying to make the most of it by gettin out and about. Although, we did stop by one of my schools for a meeting today. Olivia had some really insightful things to add to our discussion about "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports."














She still loves going to meet Daddy for lunch.


















And before we buy anything for the house, we have to try it out...


















She's still not a huge fan of naps, but she looks so peaceful when she finally gives into the nap.














When she's awake she never ceases to crack me up! I'm not sure what caught her so off guard here, but it makes me laugh every time I see this picture!

12 Weeks And Baptism

What a busy week! We are savoring what is left of summer vacation. It is going by too quickly! This week Olivia's weight dropped just slightly to 11 pounds, 3.4 ounces.

We were fortunate to have lots of friends and family join us last weekend for Olivia's christening. It was a beautiful Mass and we felt so blessed to have so many wonderful people join us. Here are just a few of the many pictures from the day:

Wide eyed and happily waiting to head to church!

Getting dressed at the church. She wore the same gown, bonnet, and booties my mom and I wore at our christenings.

She was so alert and attentive during the Mass! You could tell she was just taking it all in. She hardly even whimpered when Father Michael poured the water on her head!

We were so appreciative that Father Michael rearranged his schedule so that he could perform Olivia's christening. He officiated our wedding at St. Mary's six years ago, so it was really important to us that he celebrated this important event with us too.

Olivia with her godparents, Uncle Drew and Auntie Christi. We greatly appreciated them flying in for the weekend (especially with the rising cost of airline tickets!).

It was also nice to have Auntie Christi come for a weekend visit! We can't wait for baby Gabby to arrive in October!

Family Photos

Being the center of attention certainly does wear a girl out!

11 weeks

Our little summer sweet heart is doing her best to stay cool! Not a huge amount of weight gain this week (she weighed 11 pounds, 4 ounces) but I'm told that's normal.

Olivia is starting to really enjoy tummy time! She is so close to being able to roll over. She gets onto her side and then can't quite figure out what to do with her arm. But, she is so determined that it won't be much longer.

Hmm, I wonder what I have to do to get a Barbie dream house...or maybe a pony...

10 Weeks

This happy, preppy girl is loving summer and now weighs 11 pounds, 3.4 ounces!

For the last few weeks, Olivia and I have been going to "Baby Boot Camp" three mornings a week. Since it's at the park at the end of our street, we don't have many excuses not to go! It is a great workout for moms with young kiddos and has been helpful for me to get back in shape. Olivia is typically very good, but she knows if she just cries a little bit, Miss Shawnie will pick her up!

Last week we also had a visit from our friends from Philly, the Foster Family! Out of thirty pictures, this was the best one! Who knew it would be so difficult to get a picture of four kids and two adults all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time?!?!

All that fun with friends, can be awfully tiring!

9 Weeks/2 Months Old

This week, Olivia hit the 9 week/2 month mark. She is now weighing in at 11 pounds, 1 ounce and is 22 1/2 inches long. The pediatrician said she is still doing beautifully and (hopefully) won't need to go back to the doctor until her 4 month birthday. Of course she will need her next round of vaccines then, but so far those just make her sleepy. Look how blissfully unaware she appears 5 minutes before this round:

Olivia continues to be a very happy baby for the most part. That's not to say that she doesn't have a rough day here or there, but she loves to go places! Whether it is to the mall with mommy:

Or visiting daddy at work:

Or saving big money at Menards:

Olivia loves to be on the go!

But every now and then, you just need a day at home to chill out. It's nice to kick back and watch a little TV:

(She's a big fan of Nate Berkus. She likes to get ideas for when we hit Home Goods.) And who doesn't love hanging out in their PJs and slippers?

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Olivia!

8 Weeks Old and Happy Fourth of July!

Miss Olivia is closing in on two months old! This week she weighed in at 10 pounds, 13 ounces.

This weekend we made another road trip. This time to Ikea! We were going to pick up a piece of furniture for the den, but as with most of our trips to Ikea we ended up with a whole lot more! Olivia did quite well on the drive to West Chester. She also appeared to enjoy shopping at Ikea (Probably because there is so much to look at!).

Our "All American Cutie" had the pleasure of celebrating her first fourth of July with family and friends. Much to her dad's dismay, she also wore her first (and if he has his way her last) mini skirt.

And despite the mosquitoes (notice the netting we pulled back just while we took her picture), fireworks were a lot of fun too! We weren't sure how she would do with the loud noises, but as with most things she just rolled with the punches!

The only thing brighter than fireworks is that smile! It just lights up the room!