Olivia at 4 Months....

Our little one is officially 4 months old and I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! She's 14 lbs 13 ounces (down from last month's weight check) and 25 inches. For some reason, we've come up with the nickname "Boo Bear" for Olivia and it's pretty much all I address her by. Olivia adores her big sister and loves to sit in her Bumbo seat and watch Sofia play with her trains and make up stories. She literally lights up every time she catches Sofia's eye and Sofia is very good to her too. Olivia has really started talking a lot and is a happy little girl, especially if she's being held and carried around the house or wherever else we might be. Not that she doesn't like to sit in her Bumbo seat or in her reclining chair, but she definitely prefers to be carried around a part of whatever is going on. She's pretty easy to smile, even at people she doesn't know and I wonder if she'll be as outgoing as her big sister.

Olivia does have an unusual schedule that seems to be sticking around. First, she's still a fabulous sleeper who goes down like clockwork at 6:30pm or 7pm at the latest and wakes up at either 7:30am or 8am the next morning without a peep in the night usually! Once she's up for the day, she's happy and smily for about an hour after she eats, then she gets fussy and is clearly tired. She'll sleep for 20 to 45 minutes and then is up until she goes through the whole thing again after eating. So, I don't get the long breaks that I enjoyed with Sofia, but frankly we'd rather have the great nights if we had to choose.

We took her to her 4 month pediatrician appointment where she got three shots and handled it well. Dr. Hopkins kept telling us that she looks great and is obviously healthy and thriving.

Our "Boo Bear" at 4 months


Such a cutie!


Her close-up


Happy on her tummy





Tummy Time





Standing up with a little help from Papa


Sitting up on her own....


....although not for long!


Getting weighed and measured by the nurse


Waiting for Dr. Hopkins to look her over


Dr. Hopkins checking out our healthy little girl

The Volcano

After we returned home from Meeting, Sofia wanted to open and build her brand new volcano! So, she and CK set to work and I was thankful to stay out of it since it looked somewhat complicated (and a little messy). It was surprisingly fast to construct and Sofia was beside herself having to wait to let it dry before painting it and letting it erupt. I think she must have asked 50 times whether it was ready!

The next morning, she and CK painted the new volcano! It ended up looking great and was soon ready to erupt! CK and Uncle Steve pulled together the necessary ingredients - baking soda, water, vinegar and red food coloring and we all headed outside to watch Sofia's volcano.

CK and Sofia set to work constructing the volcano


The first strip goes down on the volcano structure


Sofia is SO excited!


Sofia helps in the construction


The finishing touches


Painting the volcano the next morning


Uncle Steve provides some volcano painting advice


Getting ready for the first eruption!!

The Volcano Erupts!

Sofia was so excited to have her volcano erupt and we all headed outside to watch it explode! She loved it and I love watching the look on her face throughout this video. Olivia wasn't as into the whole event.....Enjoy!

Santa Claus Was in Town!

The first one awake on Christmas morning was Olivia around 7:30, so CK and I were in her room getting her a new diaper and feeding her when Sofia came into her room a short time later. She apparently never even noticed whether Santa made it into our house or not! So, when CK asked if Santa had visited she raced out of Olivia's room and into the living room and we could here her exclamation that Santa had, in fact, been to our house! Immediately, Sofia noticed that Santa had gotten her the two things she wanted most - a volcano and James the train! She was overjoyed! Santa had also gotten her a yellow seaplane that came with a 4-wheeler, outdoorsman and his camping goodies. Otherwise, Santa brought a lot of little goodies. She had a great time setting up the seaplane and having the outdoorsman drive around on his 4-wheeler....to the train track where he would get on the train and ride off. Sofia was so very happy with her new goodies from Santa.

CK helped Olivia open up her stocking which included a new outfit, a new swimsuit for our trip to Maui and a few little toys.

Papa and Sofia checking out the volcano


A very happy girl with her volcano!


One of my great gifts from CK - a chalkboard chicken! I LOVE it!!


Merry Christmas...bock, bock!


Sofia and her new seaplane


Playing with her seaplane


Olivia opens up her stocking of goodies


A new swimsuit for our trip to Maui.


All of us ready for Meeting


CK and Olivia


Olivia and me


Such a pretty girl


Trying to capture a smile on film....

Opening Christmas Presents

We decided to open our Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, leaving a few for when we opened gifts with Aunt Shirl and Uncle Steve. We made up an appetizer platter, built a big fire, sat in the living room and took turns opening our presents. Sofia and Olivia easily have the most gifts, so we had Sofia start off. She picked a gift from CK and I, which ended up being the game "CandyLand." Of course, Olivia's gifts all had to be "explained" and played with by Sofia so she could demonstrate how the worked for her baby sister. It was a fun evening full of a lot of great gifts and fun toys. The best part of the evening was spending time together and watching Sofia's excitement and pleasure at each new gift.

Sofia still loves to open each gift and play with it rather than go from gift to gift. I remember last year thinking that she wouldn't enjoy each gift for very long, but am glad that she still does. So, it took quite some time to get through the gift opening process and we ended up leaving a lot for her to open when Aunt Shirl and Uncle Steve arrive. She really loved all of her new gifts, but the one thing that she kept going back to was the Thomas Train book that her Grandma and Grandpa sent. She would open a new gift and play with it for a few minutes and then pick up the Thomas Train book and pretend to read it while CK and I were opening gifts of helping Olivia with one of hers. She's still a huge train fan so it was the perfect gift!

We put Olivia to bed and then set out the milk and cookies for Santa. I'd made several different kinds of cookies the previous days to give out as gifts to neighbors and friends and we made up a little mixed cookie plate for Santa to enjoy. After setting the cookies and milk by the fireplace, Sofia was off to bed.

Papa and his gals


Me and my gals


Olivia and the appetizers


Sofia opening the first gift of the evening - the CandyLand game


"Teaching" Olivia how her new toy works


Olivia opens her own present!


Checking out her new Mickey and Minny Mouse toys from Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Jay


Sofia still opening presents...


Olivia and all of her great gifts!!


Sofia looking through one of her books


Setting out the cookies and milk for Santa


A snowball, chocolate crinkle, Aunt Shirl's cranberry pecan cookie, and gingerbread cookie all set for Santa's arrival.

Playing with her Christmas Train

CK and Sofia set up her Christmas train a few days ago (her BIG present from Grandma and Grandpa last year and her very favorite toy ever) in the living room and Sofia has been completely consumed with it since. She spends literally hours talking out loud with a made up a story while stopping and running the train. She uses her Thomas trains as well as her toy animals as props for her stories and can't get enough of her train time. She's also gotten quite good at putting the engine and cars on the track so they line up properly and can run without derailing. Olivia enjoys watching her big sister play and the train go around the track.

The train comes into the station


Sofia opens the boxcar door


Off it goes again


Olivia watching the activity


Putting the cars back onto the track


Making sure they are all on properly


Off it goes!