Little Miss Olivia

Two years ago our lives changed.  Well, it was 2 years ago and a week...but with all the broken-arm adventures around here, this is the soonest I have been able to write what has been on my mind and heart.  

Olivia, made her grand entrance into the world...surprising us all.  Her two pounds quickly won her way into our hearts and has stayed there ever since.  It is amazing to think of how far she has come since those first few days.  After seeing her briefly, moments after she was born, she was utterly and completely my girl.  We were connected, even more than we had been when she had been swimming around inside me.  All the months, in the NICU, holding her and talking to her...as crazy as it was during it all, were wonderful.  

One of my favorite things was in the hospital...we would hold her, skin-to-skin.  They call it kangaroo-care...holding babies close.  But even now, my little 2 year old, still loves to snuggle in that exact same posw.  Whenever I'm laying on the floor with the kids, or laying on the couch, she'll come up and snuggle right in, in the same position we used to kangaroo her in.  If she wakes up in the middle of the night and we bring her down to our bed...she'll automatically, every time, make a beeline straight for me and plop herself right down on my chest and shoulder. It is so funny and cute...that somehow she remembers that.  It's instinct to her, it seems!  Except now instead of it being like holding a baseball on my shoulder...she drapes half-way down my body!  :)

Just for record keeping...Olivia weighs in at a whopping 24 pounds!  I for once didn't get the lecture on how my child is too small for their age, which I considered an AMAZING change of pace!  At this last dr.'s appointment, as she has made it up to almost the 20th percentile.  Wahoo!  She is in the 80th percentile for height though...so at least we're excelling in some category!  Also, she is really starting to talk.  I don't know if anyone else understands her...but she is thoughtfully choosing her words and really trying to communicate with us!  Beats the grunting/whining/screaming phase we went through for a few months!  She's putting words together too.  After every nap, we are informed "I sleep!".  After every trip upstairs, she races up as fast as she can and then yells "I WIN!"  I asked her to carry something for me the other day, which she responded with, "Whoa!  Heavy!"

So needless to say, there is never a dull moment at our house!  Olivia is bound and determined to keep up with her brothers...which she does, much to their delight!

Happy birthday, my sweet girl!  We love you!!!

Laundry Fun

I know I've posted before about how my kids "help" whenever the laundry basket comes out.  Their folding always makes me laugh!  The number of times underwear on the head can be funny is quite amazing!  Olivia sitting on the couch across the room watching me pull clothes out and fold them and shouting out with each new article of clothing, "Dad!!!" - for Dad's shirts.  "E!!!!" - for Ethan's clothing.  "Gar!!!" - for Garrett's stuff...you get the picture!  But I especially love when Olivia starts putting on clothing.  It doesn't matter who's clothes they are...she just starts to pile them on...layer after layer sometimes!  

In this particular picture, she is wearing a pair of her shorts, a pair of her pants over that and a pair of Garrett's boxers to top it all off.  Then just to complete the outfit, she went into the kitchen, (apparently dumped her water all down her shirt!), pulled out an oven mitt and started wearing it around the house like a big shoe! Yep...total girl...it's all about the accessories!

Why????

And it starts...

Olivia - Where Dad?

Me - Daddy already left for work.

Olivia - Why?

Me - silently thinking that we are WAY too early for the 'why' stage...and really, she hardly talks anyway...this can't really be happening!

Olivia - Where Gar?

Me - (wishing little Olivia hadn't slept in this particular morning) - Garrett's already at school.

Olivia - WHY?

Me - (laughing) Are you seriously asking me why?  Do you really want an answer?

Olivia - (super serious) Yes.

So there you have it, I have a whole new set of 'whys' to answer these days!  :)

My Girl

So, I am a firm believer in a well-stocked pantry.  Anyone who knows me, knows this!  In fact, my pantry is so "well-stocked" that half of it is now housed in my new upstairs pantry (aka...the closet in my office!).  So imagine my surprise (and delight), when I apparently had left the door open to said upstairs closet and this is what I find flying down my staircase!!!

Olivia, throwing down (many) packages of chocolate chips, mint chips, dark chocolate chips - I told you it was well-stocked...at least with all the important things!!!  Wheat and chocolate chips...what more do you need!!!

She'd toss them down, climb down to where they had landed - only a few steps down from where she started!  Come on!!! Cut the girl some slack, she's not even 2 and those scrawny little arms that she inherited from yours truly are getting used to hefting around these 12-ounce bags of chocolatey goodness!

She'd scoot down to the next bag and give it a good toss until she had reached the downstairs with all her loot!  That's my girl!  Go for the good stuff!  

Laundry Assistance

Olivia loves to help me with the laundry.  She is always underfoot, ready to help me transfer wet clothes into the dryer or unload the dryer by putting clothes into the laundry basket.  Sometimes she'll help me fold...usually by putting unmatched socks onto her hands or rolling washcloths around and then putting them in the folded pile.  But yesterday, as I brought he basket in to fold....she dove right in.  I didn't pay much attention until I saw this...

She went straight for E's underpants and was intent on putting them on.  :)  Silly little girl!

Boo!

Olivia loves to jump out and say 'boo' any chance she gets.  :)  Actually, it sounds a bit more like "BA!!!!" in her language!  Her current favorite hiding place...she carefully closes herself into our pantry and then sits, waiting patiently until someone walks by and she can shout  'BA!!!'.  It's pretty cute!

Toes

So, I have a confession.  Apparently I didn't dust last week.  Or let me rephrase...the BOYS didn't dust last week (or for a few weeks, by the looks of it!).  Dusting is one of their jobs...so the blame doesn't fall on me, right?!?!  But regardless, I sat down on the floor the other day and came across this cuteness.  I know it's random, but it made me smile and made me laugh and made me sad for just how quickly my kiddos are growing up.  

These are Olivia's toe prints...caked in the dust on a little end table that sits at the end of our couch. (In the boys' defense, this table is hidden away and I know they did dust the other, more well-traveled areas!)  Anyway, I love seeing her toeprints.  They capture her entire personality in those 5 little dusty toes!  They are daring and adventurous.  Scaling the table.  Climbing up on top.  How is she old enough to even attempt such a thing?!?!  :) 

My Little Covergirl

Today, I turned my back for a second, and this is what I walk in to find...

Olivia had gotten into my makeup drawer, which is not uncommon.  She loves to reach up and grab for all her usual play things.  She can't even see into the drawer, but she knows right were the bracelets and hair clips and rubber bands are kept and plays with them all the time.  How else would I ever find time to get my hair back in it's time-consuming pony-tail?!?!?  I let her play with them so I can actually do my hair once in a while!   Funny thing is, I was actually listening to her play in it from the next room...but thought she was playing with the clips and normal stuff!  But today, she tried her hand at make-up application.

She had put mascara and eye pencil...all on her eye.  She was a mess...but I have to admit, I'm kinda impressed that she knew where to put them!  Who knows where she gets that from...I'm not all that savvy with make up myself!

multi-tasking

You may be guilty of too much multi-tasking if your baby girl doesn't simply grab a phone and jabber away on it like most kids do.

Instead she takes it, dials away until she feels she's produced enough beeps, tilts her head to hold it to her shoulder, goes straight to walking around, and proceeds to 'talk' that way. 

  

Now if I could just get her to fold a batch of laundry or unload the dishwasher during each phone call...then she'd really be like me!  :)

Brave Little Girl

Little Olivia had to go in for a CT scan a few weeks ago.  I knew everything was fine...but it is nice to get the all clear from someone who has actually looked at her little brain and can confirm it.  :)

Olivia's pediatrician noticed a few jump in O's head growth at one of her well-visits and recommended the scan...just to make sure.  I would have probably fought it a bit more (she is a Smith baby, after all, and big heads just run in the family!!!), or at least asked for a re-do on the measurements...but little Olivia had been acting so funny and so a little look at her brain was a welcome (though somewhat intimidating) prospect.

Olivia had started walking and was doing so well at it...but all of a sudden had completely stopped.  She seemed not even able to do it, nor even think about it.  She was diagnosed with double ear infections which made complete sense that she had stopped walking all together...but it was still nice to get a more in-depth confirmation of that as well.

Anyway, she did great for the scan.  This being the girl who goes into complete hysterics at the dr's office when they take her temperature under her arm (and she has since day 1 in the NICU!).  I thought there was NO WAY she'd be able to do it without being sedated...but once again, the amazing medical facilities we are so blessed with in the area, knew exactly what to do and are so incredibly good at working with children.  We LOVE Texas Children's!  She wasn't happy about it by any means...but she did it!

She was very excited to get out to the car and actually get to eat and drink again.  :)  I think she downed this cup of milk in 30 seconds even after we got home!!!  :)

The results came back fine...just showed us that her ear infections hadn't gone away.  So a second round of antibiotics and she's up and walking/running around like before!  :)  How blessed we are with this little girl!  

just because

How I LOVE my little girl!  :)

And yes, the old saying is true...the camera does indeed add 10 pounds.  But add a shadow into that equation, and I swear it ups it to 50 pounds!  :)  Well that and the 45 cookies I ate tonight!  :)

Further Proof

What's that???  You didn't believe me?  How could pint-sized little sweet Olivia get into any trouble???  Isn't she too sweet and girly to attempt to do her own stunts???

Well, here's just one more example...(I'd show more, but honestly, how often is the camera right next to the action?!?  I just need to carry it around in my pocket...then I could document how many times a day this little one attempts a new trick!!!)

And don't judge me on the state of my itsy-bitsy pantry!  One day, I'll find a way to keep it organized!

defying death

Olivia has a great love of climbing and especially for our staircase...a LONG straight-shot staircase.  She is a very coordinated/precise little thing and has picked up the skill surprisingly fast.  For weeks on end though, I have spent a large part of my day sitting on the stairs as she climbed up and down, just waiting for that one time that she slipped and fell.  But, she never does.  Not even when she climbs up and sits on the top just bouncing up and down and laughing at me still sitting in the middle of the staircase.  Not even when when I would startle her (still sitting at her favorite perch at the tippy top of the stairs) as I was convinced she was on her way down, and was running up the stairs as fast as I could to grab her...usually hollering "STOP!!!" along the way too!  She just stares at me like I'm crazy when this happens!  :)  

So after weeks of the doing this...and hopping over the gates at the top and bottom of the stairs that we'd put up when I didn't have the time (or the mental patience) to sit and watch her defy death once again, I decided I needed to give her a chance.  So now, she is up and down the stairs all day long as much as she pleases, and I get a whole lot more done during the day!  It makes me so happy to see her growing and becoming so independent...only because she is still my cuddler and still always comes back for a hug and a pat on the back - for both me and her!  She almost always pats my back when I hug her and it MELTS my heart!!!

So now, we're about a week into her new-found freedom.  She still is on the stairs constantly, but she now LOVES to stop mid-way up and stand holding the rails as she peers through to see who she can spot down below.  She'll jabber away to them, happy as a clam to be up higher than everyone else.  But the past few days, I've noticed that she is combining this freedom with her other new skill of standing alone (meaning not holding on to ANYTHING!!!).  Talk about a heart stopper when you see your teeny tiny baby girl, standing completely unsupported on the stairs, giggling and holding her hands up as if to say "Look Mom, no hands!!!"   AAAHHHHH!  I am now back to my sitting on the stairs, everytime I hear her pause on her way up or down.  This girl is going to do me in!  :)

Pretty in Pink!

Olivia woke up with a double-dose of pink eye!  Poor baby!  Her poor little eyes are swollen and pink and not so fun!  

But as always, she's a trooper and refuses to stop.  Although that just makes a whole lot more work for me...this little one is into EVERYTHING!  It will be a miracle if I can keep this from spreading to everyone else!  Though, I think I may be giving her a complex as I follow her around with clorox wipes, wiping everything after she touches it!  :)

peek-a-boo

Garrett's peek-a-boo...

Olivia's peek-a-boo...

She ADORES her big brothers and LOVES copying everything they do!!!

unfair

Life is unfair when you're the one stuck inside...

But then imagine the hilarity when I realized that I was trapped.  She was standing up while leaning on the door - a new-found skill, so she was already wobbly enough without me pushing her backwards!  All the other doors in the house were locked...the boys were outside with me (and they thought it was hilarious, but the way!!!).  This was my one way in...and she wanted out so badly, that it took a good minute or two to coax her backwards so that I could SQUEEZE in the door!  Poor little girl!  :)

bff

Introducing Olivia's best friend.

She squeals with delight whenever I bring out the vacuum and then follows me around as I clean the floors.  She loves everything about it...her favorite being when I turn it off and she scoots in front of it (like in the pic) and pushes it backwards all around the house!  Must run in the family...Steve was obsessed with vacuums as a little boy too!  Too bad that one didn't last into adulthood!  :)

Going Back

Last weekend we took a little family trip down to the hospital where Olivia was born and spent the first few months of her life.  We took a little basket down to the NICU full of little newborn goodies so that hopefully some family...who had just had the shock of their life and welcomed their own little miracle in a way that they never ever dreamed would ever happen to them...could know that someone was thinking about them and knew a little of what they were feeling.  It was wonderful to work with some of the people at the hospital who had helped us out so much during Olivia's 51-day stay in the NICU.  

The boys had fun going back and were quite proud of themselves for remembering how to get from the parking garage up to Olivia's floor without being told where to go.  They had fun stopping at all the same windows, looking for the same items in the gift shop, laughing hysterically at the same pictures on the wall, looking for the same picture books in the waiting room and on and on.  

Olivia was entertained by it all and just kept pointing and talking to everyone and everything that we passed.  She was so cute and funny through it all.  

Steve and I thoroughly enjoyed pushing the stroller around with Olivia WITH us as we made this trip down memory lane.  It was soooo much better having her with us than rushing in to see her for a few hours at a time!  

Ethan literally fell on the floor laughing at this picture!  Apparently sneezing babies tickle his little funny bone!

birthday follow up

Apparently, Olivia likes cupcakes!

Notice the chocolate frosting on her fingers...she totally got a hold of a cupcake during the 'apparently-too-long' version of Happy Birthday!!!  Impatient little girl!!!

Finally we have a child who will get their hands dirty!!!  The boys always freaked out when they got the frosting on their fingers...and refused to eat any more!  Olivia smashed it all up and ate every last bit!  That's my girl!!!

Straight to the bathtub...there was no cleaning this one up at the table!!!

Birthday #1

We've gone from this...

to this...

What an amazing, crazy, fantastic and humbling year!  We are so grateful for our little miracle baby and all she adds to our family!  

Happy birthday sweet girl!!!