Hot, sunny early days of August and Olivia is one month old!

Today is August 6th, my sister Rachel's 30th birthday and Olivia's one month birthday.  I can't believe she has only been born now for one month.  In some ways it seems like it went slowly and in other ways it seems like this last month has gone by so quickly.  We have had a stream of visitors seeing Olivia with the latest being my Aunt Lael and cousin Lauren last week and then we saw a bunch of Sean's family including his sister Dawn and her fiancee Jose for Dawn's baby shower this past weekend.  My mom has come quite a bit to help out on usually one day a week (the day that Brandon is not in daycare) and that has helped tremendously and has been fun for me.  Brandon loves his CeCe and he gets a lot of one on one play time with her that is harder for me with a one month old.  This past weekend, Sean watched the kiddos during nap time and my mom and I even got to go the Street of Dreams which was in West Linn this year.  It was a lot of fun since we love watching our house shows on HGTV.  My mom and I were brave and took Brandon and Olivia to the zoo yesterday and it went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would.  Brandon continues to go to school twice a week to keep his friends and his routine (and his spot) and we continue to have play dates a lot with Logan.

Olivia at 4 weeks just before Dawn's shower

Olivia and her Auntie Dawn

Daddy and Olivia at Dawn's shower

Kevin and Brandon (Brandon's soon to be cousin)

Olivia is a sweetheart.  She loves to be held but is getting better on being put down for periods of time which is nice so I can get things done.  She has grown quite a bit.  I keep getting amazed at how big she is getting. Everyday she seems less and less like a newborn and more and more like a baby.  Last week when she was 3.5 weeks old, she weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces and was 22 inches tall when I weighed and measured her at our New Mom's group.  She is still nursing quite a bit (usually every 2 hours during the day) and is starting to sleep better through the night.  Knock on wood but the last 3 nights she has only woken up once (usually around 3:00-3:30 AM) after going down at 11:00 PM) and then making it again to between 6:30-7:30 AM.  She sometimes fights her naps in the afternoons which leaves her tired and cranky in the evenings, but what baby is not tired and cranky in the evenings (it is called the witching hour for a reason, right?).  Olivia also in the past couple days has been doing a ton better in her carseat, which makes it 100% nicer to go places with her.  Today she sat her carseat for 30 minutes awake while her brother got his haircut and got some frozen yogurt.  Olivia is very interactive for a one month old.  She smiles purposefully at me especially and her brother Brandon.  She loves it when you look at her and talk to her and listens intently.  She moves her mouth when you talk to try to imitate you.  She has even cooed at me a few times.

Olivia in her tutu in the backyard at 3.5 weeks

Sweetie pie in the backyard

Love how I got a smile here!

4 weeks old and so expressive

One month old in the cute dress Sara got her

 Brandon continues to amaze me at how well he is doing adjusting.  We try to go some place every day even if it is just to the library or the store.  He still goes to school twice a week which I think is important for him to maintain his friendships and his routine.  He truly loves his teachers too and gets great exercise and social interaction there.  It is also nice because it gives me a break and some one on one time with Olivia.

Brandon, Daddy, and Olivia reading stories before bed this week

Look how Olivia has all eyes for Brandon

Big Brother and Little Sister shirts this past weekend

A bit kiss from Brandon

Olivia loves to smile and is so jolly

Love these two so much!

More kisses from big brother in our backyard

So gentle with her

She can't stop staring at him

Love this picture of Olivia looking at Brandon

Fourth of July 2013!

My due date was on the Fourth of July and I thought for sure I would either be in the hospital or with a newborn at home. Thus we really did not make any long term Fourth of July plans like we normally do. I knew on the 4th that if the baby did not come on her own I was going to be induced in the early morning of the 6th so we ran out to the store and tied up some loose ends around the house to get ready for the upcoming birth. We also met up with the Mowerys and took Logan and Brandon to Pump It Up-a giant bouncy house to get our their energy! The boys had a ton of fun going down giant inflatable slides and jumping on the bouncy mats. It was nice because they played together and were old enough now not to need our help so a very pregnant Brooke and I could sit.

Brandon playing with Daddy's blue tooth of Fourth of July

At Pump It Up

Loving the slide

So much fun!

Brandon and Logan in the wind tunnel at Pump It Up

 We had Brendan and Sara over to BBQ that night which was a lot of fun. We then met up with the Mowerys who were at Taylor's mom's neighborhood Fourth of July party to do fireworks. Brandon at first was really scared of the fireworks bit then warmed up to them. He enjoyed staying up late and running around with Logan and the other kids. It ended up being a very fun Fourth of July!

Brandon and Daddy playing with the poppers

Brandon playing with the cones

I can't believe I made it to my due date and beyond!

Brandon and Logan watching the fireworks