Olivia's new stroller

I have to add one more thing today! The weather the past 2 days has been beautiful- it got to 70 degrees yesterday! Of course, it was short lived, as it's now 19 degrees and snowing as I type this. We took advantage of the weather and were outside almost all day yesterday. We went on a walk with our next door neighbors. I think I've written about how great our neighbors are- I lost count of the number of times Sarah brought us dinner after Olivia was born. Really sweet, outgoing, fun family. Sarah and I decided to swap babysitting once a week- she's a runner and I just need to lose weight, so I keep her kids (Liza, 4 and Landon, 2) for an hour on Wednesdays and she keeps Olivia for an hour on Thursdays (yes, she actually stayed!). During our walks, I wore Olivia and pushed Avry in the stroller, because Olivia is still too small for the stroller, even with the straps on the smallest setting. This is her Graco stroller (her carseat fits in it, but she likes to face forward now):



See how loose the straps are?

This is her Maclaren (sp?), which I LOVE, it's so lightweight (thanks Brett and Rachel!):



If you look closely, you'll see the blanket I have to double up and put behind her, which makes me nervous, because she's still pretty wobbly.

So, long story short, when I picked Olivia up Thursday, Sarah opened the door and said: "We've solved your stroller problem!"



That's Liza's baby doll stroller! How funny is that? The straps actually fit around her!





I got a short video. If you notice there's a baby doll on the floor that she walks around- that's Lola, and the stroller actually belongs to her! :)



Looks like Liza will be pushing Olivia on our walks now!

Here's what Michael and Olivia did while I made dinner tonight:



Ok, I'm done now! Have a good night!

New Tile and Pro Hockey

It's been a busy week or so around our house! Mainly because we finally decided to tile our master bathroom. Really, who puts carpet in a bathroom?

Before (I took this picture before we bought the house). Note the carpet:



After:



We still have to paint the trim, thus the paint can. Hopefully we will completely finish this weekend!



The cleanest my closet has ever been:



Ok, not really, because one of the spare bedrooms became my temporary closet:



The only problem is we now want to retile the tub and shower to match the new tile. It never ends...

Olivia has been in great moods the past week, so when Michael got free tickets to an Avalanche game, we thought we'd chance it. The Avalanche play in the Pepsi center and we've been there many times for Nuggets games (basketball for those of you that don't know!), but neither of us had been to a pro hockey game. It was fun!

I'm laughing because she WOULD NOT look at Michael for a picture. She was entranced by the lights:



Unfortunately, the outrageously loud music began right after this picture and she started screaming. Blood curling screaming! I tried to quiet her down and of course, the music stopped for the National Anthem and I'm pretty sure she outsang the performer. Michael finally whispered "Maybe we should take her out." I walked her around outside the arena and took her into the bathroom, but she was over it. I finally decided to make my way back so we could leave. As soon as we stepped back into the arena and she saw all that white ice and lights, she was fine. Although not too impressed:



We left during the 3rd period (and missed all the traffic!). It was nice to get out, even though I feel like I'm packing for a week whenever we take her anywhere.

I started taking Olivia's picture with this Pooh bear the first week she was born. I wanted something to chart her growth this first year. It's becoming more interesting as she gets older. She wants to play with Pooh, not sit beside him for a picture! It took me about 30 shots to get one of her looking at the camera:



See what I mean:





One more, because I love this outfit. It's a hand me down from Cousin Aubrey. Soooo cute! She wore this to church Sunday:



That's all for now, she's up from her nap!

Rice cereal, take 2!

It's funny how 2 weeks can make such a difference in a baby. Olivia loves her rice cereal, now! The first bite or two are always rough, but the longer I feed her, the better she does. I guess you can tell from my previous post that she's doing much better during the day. She's in a much better mood and giggly again, which is nice. HOWEVER, her sleeping at night went downhill fast. It seems if she's happy during the day, she sleeps horribly at night. If she's a grumpy mess during the day, she sleeps better at night. So, if we can just get the two together, we'll be great! Currently, she's waking up every hour to hour and half at night, which makes for a very tired mommy and daddy. :)

First bites:





Getting better:



And a video:



My other "project" this week was working on baby food. Yes, an exciting life I lead! I checked out a book on healthy eating habits for kids and homemade baby food was highly recommended. So, I got 2 organic sweet potatos and got started!

Steaming:



Blending (Michael got me the blender for Christmas):



Freezing:



The next morning, I popped out the frozen cubes, labeled them, and put them back in the freezer. When Livi's ready for vegetables in a month or so, we'll be ready! 2 sweet potatos made 26 ounces of food.



This is the other reason I had so much time on my hands:



Snowing and COLD with more snow on the way. Yuck! We're both bored:



But, happy!



I also need to apologize to anyone who's called my cell phone lately. I've started leaving it on "silent," because it wakes the babies up, but I keep forgetting to check it. I had 3 messages tonight from the past two days, but with the time difference, I didn't return phone calls- I will tomorrow! :)
One last video: Olivia's opinion of the dogs



Have a good day!

This is the fourth time I've attempted this post, so it's going to be a short one! I finally figured out how to post videos. I was tickling Avry (the other baby I watch during the week) while Olivia was on my lap. She started giggling, so I grabbed the camera.

I also caught her rolling over today! Admittedly, I think her cloth diaper helps her a bit, but she did it all by herself! Naturally, she wouldn't perform for the camera, so I had to get her started by putting her on her side. (Yes, I know I sound like a dork)

One more thing! I know I've written about her new toy.

It's got all these cool things that light up and make noise (I'm sure a researcher out there spent lots of time on it). What does she do? Chews on the seat cover. (yes, I washed it)

She's going to be the kid that plays with boxes on Christmas...

Rice cereal and a fluffy bum

Olivia's pediatrician suggested trying rice cereal when she reaches 4 months adjusted age, which is next week, but we decided to give it a try tonight.



She was uncertain and not particularly impressed. :) I do believe she's not quite ready for solids. She spit out every bite I gave her and gave me some pretty funny faces. She still has the tongue reflex that automatically pushes the spoon out of her mouth, a sure sign she's not ready. We'll try it again in a few weeks! She decided her fingers tasted better.



Olivia officially has a fluffy bum, too! I know what you're thinking, because I thought the same thing. Cloth diapering is gross, hard, etc. However, I've been looking into it for a few weeks and cloth diapers have come a LONG way! It's really not gross (I promise!), we're going to save alot of money, and it helps the environment. All we're out is a few extra loads of laundry. The diapers fit like a disposable, but fluffier. I'm waiting on a few more to arrive, but here's some pics of her in one of the all in one diapers:





How can you not like such a cute bum?

Unfortunately, we've had a rough week or so. Olivia has been super fussy and clingy. Fussier and clingier than I've ever seen her. We're not really sure what's wrong, I thought at first she was teething, but no signs of a tooth (but we all know they can take awhile to come in). She's cried so much the past few days, her voice is hoarse. The only things that calm her down is one of us standing up with her in front of the television or a bath. Yes, standing. If we sit, she's not happy. She's squirming in my arms right now, wanting me to stand up and walk her around! The clinginess was unexpected, too. I tried to leave her in the nursery at our rec center so I could go to an aerobics class. I got her settled with toys and slowly backed away. As soon as I was out of her line of vision, she started screaming- not a cry, a scream! I calmed her down and tried again. Not happening. 30 minutes later, I left with her (much to the relief of the nursery workers, I'm sure). Hopefully, this is short lived. I'm going to try it again this week, so I'll keep you posted!

Here's the pose we assume to keep the crying to a minimum:



Write more when I don't have a fussy baby on my lap!