8 months Old! Fri, Jul 11, 2008  +enlarge photo My sweet little princess angel heart is now 8 months old!!!!!!!!!!!  Where does the time go?  I miss my newborn and I look forward to seeing her achieve new milestones for which she must grow up to achieve!  Motherhood, it's fantastic, amazing beyond words...... it's also very sad and confusing at times.  I find myself taking for granted all of the sweet, precious moments with my daughter.  Why am I so anxious to see her take her first step? First steps are quite scary.  It would be her "first step" to her independence.  Her "first step" to not needing me to be there for her at all times.  But, I want her to need me.  I am learning, even at only 8 months old, that she will not always depend on me and that makes me sad.  Even now, she wants to do it herself.  I love her so much! More than words could ever express. More than I thought my heart could ever love.  Well, now that that is all off my chest.................  LOL.  While watching my daughter grow up and coming to realize that she won't always be my tiny dependent baby, I am also enjoying some of the best days of  my life with my angel! I do love to watch her try new things and accomplish new things all on her own.  She has such an awesome spirit!  Some might call it "wild", LOL! She is very high-spirited, but that is what makes her so special. Truely, I am not sure where she gets it from.  But she sure does know how to light up a room or make a miserable person happy again!  She is a comic.  We just found out on Tuesday afternoon, that Alivia is allergic to strawberries, at least for now.  She may grow out of it.  We had her doc's appointment on Wednesday and she is just fine.  Man, she gave that nurse a run for her money! She did not want to be still enough for the nurse to meassure her or for her shots (I can't blame her).  The doc, was amazed at how here teeth are coming in, not in the normal order at all!  Other than that, she is healthy and happy (accept when that nurse is around, lol.)  She weighed in at 18lbs and 8.6 ounces.  She measured at 28inches, over 2 feet!.  Our next appointment is in two months!

Half of a year!!! Mon, May 12, 2008  +enlarge photo   Well, it's been a little while since I've last written.  Of course Alivia is learning something new all the time.  She is now sitting up like a big girl all of the time!!! She is so cute.  She reaches for any and everything in sight and yes, it must ALL go into her mouth! LOL!  She pulled herself up to her feet from a sitting position for the first time last week.  We were at church and she was sitting up in the pew, she turned around and reached for the top of the pew, grabbed on with both little hands and pulled up to her tiny feet! Twice!  The very next day she said "da-da"!  I was picking her up after work and in the softest little voice she whispered, "da-da" as I picked her up.  How sweet.  Of course daddy hasn't gotten to hear it yet! She gives kisses on demand too.  You tell her, " Give me kisses" and make a kissy  face, and she comes in with her mouth wide open. She's got the concept, just got to get the skill down.   We had a good mother's day.  My poor Livie was sick with a fever all day long, sweet little angel. She was just not herself.  I think we may have had a visitor who was sick earlier in the week.  Other then that, Mommy gets to spend a relaxing say at Earthsavers getting her hands and feet done, a massage and her make up done too! Can't wait, the question is, before or after the dance revue. LOL! This week we get to find out if Livi is having a baby girl cousin (more than likely) or a baby boy cousin (would be nice too, but less likely, seriously, LOL! We ARE ORLANDOs you know! Nothing but girls.).   Alivia is getting up on all 4s now and rocking back and forth. She knows where she wants to go, but she keeps going backwards instead.  She just reminded me of this when I looked down at her and she is just a rocking!  I love to see her try. We are going to Tampa in June, Livi's first time on the beach!  Can not wait, she and her "future hubby" Chase will get to hang out and relax with Mommy and Aunt Em while Daddy and Uncle Chris get to go to some baseball games. Here's to those who believe we don't have a life since we've gotten married. Ya know, those who believe we don't do anything with friends.  Sorry, a little personal resentment all of a sudden. I'll calm myself now, lol.    There's the scoop on my little "Minnie Mouse", we'll update you again when there is something more to share!

Cooing and Booing! Wed, Mar 19, 2008 Wow! It is so amazing to watch my little Angel learn every single day! There are so many things that just fascinate her.  She is such a happy girl and it makes me happy just to see her smile! Which happens often!!! These days Alivia is trying new foods and talking up a storm.  After a month on her rice cereal Alivia tried appelsauce and she is now on carrots.  She really seems to love her carrots.  She is doing so well.  She is beginning to sit up very well, she can sit up unassisted for very very short amounts of time; I'm talking 3-5 seconds.  It's not much, but it does mean that she is just getting stronger and stronger.  She said her first word, or should I say syllable! We were in the middle of a game of "peek-a-boo" when she said it herself, "BOO!".  It was amazing to her her say that! Now, she wont stop! "Boo" has turned into "ba" and "bwa" and even "be".  She'll hold a full conversation with her little syllables.  I love to hear the sound of her voice!  Lately she is taking note of her hands. She has always seen her hands, but now she is doing a full examination of them. Her daddy and I saw it for the first time this morning; as she went to reach for something her hand caught her eye.  She starred intently on that little, soft hand and she brought it in closer to her face and twisted it all around.  She was amazed to find out that there were 2 sides to that sweet hand! Mommy started work again on Monday (3/17) and Alivia now stays with GiGi, Nanny and Aunt Jess during the day.  She is taking well to her new schedule.  It took only 2 days of me waking her up before the sun rises, this morning she was up and at'em before I was even ready for her to be!  She loves to be at GiGi's house.  Mommy, on the other hand, is still getting used to the new situation.  It's is so very hard to not see her all day long, but it is comforting to know that she is in such good hands.

She's a-scooting Sun, Feb 24, 2008  +enlarge photo Watch out world, she's on the move!  We've always known she moved like a wild one.  That was evident inside the womb.  Then we saw it when she would wake up with her head where her feet had started.  She moves all around that crib, she is everywhere! She'll wake up with her head in the headboard or footboard.  She is a wild sleeper, sorta like her mommy.  Yesterday, for the first time we watched her get up on her toes and slide all around the floor.  She had an agenda, she knew where she was going and what she wanted when she got there.  Every now and again her little arms would get stuck underneath herself.  She would push off so hard with both of her little feet at the same time, when I saw that, I knew that was the move she was using on my ribs when she was still inside the womb!  It felt so familiar!  It was so amazing to watch her get around.  Crawling can't be too far off.  She is soooooo strong.   My little angel is growing up, and too fast at that.  Just the other day I started to clean up in her room and re-organize her closet and drawers.  I packed an entire rubbermaid full of all her newborn and 0-3month clothes!!! How sad?!?! Seriously, that just went by too fast.  I really feel that I have tried very hard to cherish every single moment, still, I can't make her stay a baby forever.  I will try though!!!!!!!

Eating Fri, Feb 15, 2008 My baby just began eating rice cereal for the very first time! She had her first bowl on Valentine's Day.  What a mess!?!?!?  She is too cute though. Not quite certain if she really likes the texture, I think more comes out then is actually going in!  LOL!

Getting so Big! Fri, Feb 8, 2008  +enlarge photo We saw the doctor again yesterday and Livie is getting so big!!!! She is weighing 13.4 pounds and meassures 24.75 inches long.  She also got 2 more shots, she took them really bad this time, my poor baby!  I mentioned to the doctor that Alivia had rolled over once and we were so excited.  She told me that it would probably be very sporadic at this age, which I've heard before.  However, last night, she rolled over TWICE!!!! All by herself.  I wake up in the morning to hearing her cooing to herself.  When I turn the moniter on I can see her on her back just enjoying herself and keeping herself content.  She is growing up sooo much.  She now reaches for her nu-nu and her bottle and brings them to her mouth.  She tries to hold her bottle, but that is a skill we are still trying to master!  The doctoer said that in the next 2-3 weeks we can start her on rice cereal.  She is also pulling herself up into a sitting position, or at least she is trying too!  We will keep you all posted!!!

Mon, Jan 21, 2008  +enlarge photo My little girl got her ears pierced today! She is so adorable with her little silver studs in her ears.  No one should be able to mistake her for a little boy now!  She did so well.  She was a little fussy to begin with, and she gave us a heart-wrenching cry when they actually did the piercing, but overall, she was a trooper!  They weighed her again, just because, she weighed 12lbs and 6 ounces.  WOW!   Recently I started to put her Baby Einstein dvds in for her to enjoy, her reactions are adorable! She loves when they show real kids.  She is constantly learning.  She had finally grabbed her toys when held in front of her.  Last night, she grabbed her pacifier out of my hand on purpose.  She didn't know what to do with it afterward though!  She is reaching for everything, and cooing all the time.  She gets swing time and play time in her crib, you can hear her "talking" and babbeling from another room.  She is so beautiful.  Right now, she is sitting in her highchair, watching Baby Einstein and cooing at what she sees and reaching for the toys on the trey in front of her.  She looks like a young lady. Last night we got to spend some time with Chase and Malaya, she really enjoyed her time with Malaya, it was like she was really getting to know her as Malaya sang songs and hugged Alivia!

My Baby Girl Tue, Jan 8, 2008  +enlarge photo   Alivia is growing and learning so much and so quickly.  She has a want to learn and to be stimulated by new things every day.  She loves to play her music in her crib.  We've watched her on her monitor reaching for her favorite bunny rabbit.  She is constantly reaching for my face and is learning how to use her hands and control her arms.  She stares so intently and seems to be taking everything in.  She is "talking" so much more these days, we just love to hear the sound of her tiny little voice.  We saw the doctor yesterday, Alivia now weighs 11 pounds and 12.4 ounces and measures 24 inches in length, she is 2 feet tall! My goodness!  Doc said she is beautiul and completely healthy.  We will be trying some baby apple juice soon too! She also got her 2 month shots. She did remarkably well.  For the first shot she just whined a bit, but got over it very quickly.  She didn't like that second shot though! Boy, she yelled and her face turned red, but she was just fine once she got her bottle.    In two weeks we will go back to get her ears pierced and then she goes back 2 weeks later for her 3 month check up.

Wow Thu, Jan 3, 2008  +enlarge photo My 2008 has already begun with one new development, Alivia actually and deliberately reached out and touched my face, not once, but twice! Lately she is gaining a little more control over her arms, although they still flail about wildly at times, she can consciously bring her fists to her mouth. Well, last night, while I was holding her in my arms feeding her, I felt her watching me more intently.  When she was finished feeding, her little left arm reached out so very wobbly toward me and it swatted past my face.  I watched her eyes following her hand, as if to say, "that's not what was supposed to happen."  Then that wobbly arm came up again and this time landed on my nose, and it stayed there for just a few seconds as her face lit up, her eyebrows raised, and there was a sense of peace and accomplishment across her face.    "Wow, that's my mom," is what she seemed to be thinking.  Then, just as quickly as it had happened, it was over.  I wanted to badly for it to happen again, but thought for sure it was just a fluke.  Before I knew it, she had placed her hand on my nose again, but it didn't stay there, it slide gently to my cheek, where it stayed for just a bit and she studied the situation briefly before it fell again, and it was all over.  Wow, what an amazing feeling to watch your baby grow and learn. How amazing still to know that she wanted to touch her mommy, and finally accomplished that! BTW, Alivia was Christened on Sunday, December 30, 2007, and what a beautiufl event it was!

She keeps on Growing Fri, Dec 21, 2007  +enlarge photo At Alivia's last doctor's appointment she weighed 10 pounds and measured 22.5 inches long.  I can't believe she is getting to be sooooo big, and so fast! Her next appointment is Jaunuary 7, she may be getting her ears pierced at this appointment, I can't wait.  Alivia is smiling and has been since she was about 2.5-3 weeks old.  On her 1 month "birthday" she began cooing  and mimicking sounds and faces that she sees.  Her favorite sound is "ga".  She is growing up right before our very eyes.  She has always been able to hold her head up for short amounts of time.  She looks like a little turtle, or a bobble head.  We started giving her some "tummy time".  At first she didn't like tummy time because she couldn't see what was going on around her.  Now, she seems to be enjoying it as she learns to hold her head up for longer lengths of time.  Alivia spends about 30 minutes a day in her play gym.  She absolutely loves her play gym!  She will lay there and look at herself in the mirror, turn her head to see the lights on the musical mobile.  For the first time on Tuesday, Dec. 18, she swatted at the toys that hang above her head.  She is such a joy in our lives.  We can't wait to see what else she has in store for us.