Olivia's First Halloween

We got Olivia her first pumpkin to go along with her first Halloween, Thursday night. She really enjoyed the pumpkin and played with it. I guess she thought it felt neat. She rolled it around for a while and played with it with her hands and feet. Friday morning Paul took some pictures for me in her Halloween clothes since I was already at work and hadn't seen them yet. Doesn't she look SOOO CUTE!!! Instead of posing with the pumpkin she decided to eat it, YUCK!

Now I really LOVE this picture except for the fact that Paul cut half of her head off. She was way too wiggly while he was trying to take pictures. She decided to pose with the pumpkin and smile, for once she was cooperative:)

Here she is with both of her pumpkins. The little one is for her to play with and Paul was planning on carving the big one. I couldn't believe how expensive pumpkins have become(inflation I guess).

Late Friday night Paul decided that he would carve Olivia a pumpkin. Too bad she fell asleep before he was done. I'll have a photo of the finished pumpkin later. If you can't tell from the photo he is putting her name on it.

All in all Olivia had a great first Halloween. As you can see we decided to skip the costume and just go with a cute shirt. Olivia is WAY TO PICKY already to deal with a costume, next year I promise. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!:)

Our little monster:)

I think I've created a monster in my sweet baby girl. One thing I love to do is rock Olivia to sleep, or any time, especially at night. Well this is how I've created a monster, a very cute one I might add. I was warned by almost everyone not to start rocking her to sleep but I did it anyway. I've tried hard to stop but it is SO HARD to let her cry when I know I can fix it. This whole rocking situation has left us once again sleepless in Fernandina:) Olivia has begun teething again, I think 4 teeth are trying to come in this time-will this ever end. Since teeth are so painful she is have a really hard time sleeping at night. What to do, what to do? I wish I had the answer to that question. Well actually I do we rock her when she wakes up at night. She usually wakes up to eat a few hours after she falls asleep. Well this is the beginning of the end of a good night sleep for the Panke family. Once she is up she stays up ALL NIGHT. Well maybe not all night but for a few hours. Last night she woke up at 1 and was up until 3:30. I know, where does she get the engery for this. Thank goodness Paul helps at night and stays up with her. Last night he rocked her until 3:30, I think she finally fell asleep then. We've tried to just let her cry and she gets louder and louder until it is unbearable to hear. Of course our solution to this is to rock her. So as you see I've created a monster in my sweet little girl. She has to be rocked to sleep all the time, especially at night. I've got to try something different.

Let's all hope this sleeplessness comes to an end for all of us. We all so badly need sleep, Olivia more then us. She needs to be well rested to grow and learn.

Isn't she just sooo sweet!

Just chillin' in her toys. She was crawling around and stopped to chew on a paper towel roll. I thought this picture was hilarious. I hope this isn't what the future has in store for my girl. Yes, this is a stripper pole that Daddy made for Uncle Ronnie. It is for the FL/GA game-if you build it they will strip:) We were just going to send a picture of the finished product to Uncle Ronnie and Uncle Russ. Olivia wanted to try it out. By the way she was shaking her little booty when Paul stood her up on it. I guess I better make sure the college fund is full so she doesn't have to

work on a pole to make it through college:) Just a few random shots I get while she was playing on the floor. I can't help myself. I think I have about 1000 pictures of this beautiful baby.

Oh yeah, the day at Aunt Debbie's was great. She was a doll for them. She played with Laici, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Neil. Gator(the dog) wanted to play with her but she really wasn't game for it. She did play with him through the window and had a blast. I guess this means I have another babysitter for the future. Thanks Debbie for taking such great care of my girl and giving me a chance to get a few things done.

Olivia's playtime

There hasn't been too much excitement around the Panke house this week but we have been having a lot of fun with our sweet Olivia. Isn't her smile just so sweet. Her teeth are starting to get big enough to see when she smilies. I think I have captured her teeth in almost every picture that she is smiling in.
She may be cute and sweet but I think she has an evil side to her. Isn't this just the most sneaky, devlish look you've ever seen. She is eating one of my bithday cards that sings. She loves the song and starts moving around like she's dancing. Like I said before, who needs toys just give a baby random things around the house and she'll be happy.

As you know Olivia has an obsession with our cat. She wants to play with him so bad she can taste it. And yes I literally mean she can taste it. She always dives at him head first with her mouth wide open and usually gets a taste of his hair, YUCK! I constantly try to get her to stop but to no avail. I guess she figured she would play with his toys instead of him. We have a scratching post in our room for him and Olivia has decided it too now belongs to her(like everything else in the house). We try to keep her away from it because of the nail pieces, but this was too cute to miss. She was going after the big orange pom pom at the top. When it would move she was completely mesmerized by it and would stare until it stopped and move it again.
Just ignore that giant pile of sheets behind her, we have:)

Who needs to wear clothes when you can play with them. I think we may have to have naked time in the future, she loves to just play in a diaper.

Some other random and exciting news around our house. Olivia ate an entire bowl of sweet potatoes and turkey last night, WITHOUT oatmeal. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. For the past few weeks we have had to mix everything, yes EVERYTHING, with oatmeal for her to eat it. I don't know what the problem is but she will not eat anything plain. But last night the turkey and sweet potatoes were a hit. She'll be eating those for the next 4 nights for dinner then we'll try something new, I hope it's a big hit too.

Bath time is also getting more exciting. Olivia is such a wiggle worm that she climbs, or falls, out of her little bath tub. Instead of her getting hurt I made the executive decision to bathe her in the regular tub. She absolutely loves it. She has lots of room to move around and can even play with the water coming out of the faucet. It does get a little slippery but as long as she doesn't bump her head, it's all good. Laying down in the water is now the cool thing to do.

One last thing before I go. Olivia is suppose to go to her Aunt Debbie's today while I run errands. I'm a little nervous to leave her with someone else. She has only ever stayed with Mom, Stacy, Paul, or I. I know she'll be fine. I'll let you know how it went later this weekend.

She can do it!!!

Some exciting news I forgot. Olivia is becoming fluent in babbling. Over the past few days all of the noises she makes have turned into wonderful baby babbles for Mommy and Daddy. We have been trying to get her to say 'mama' and 'dada' for a while, which resulted in nothing. To our surprise she said not one, but both of these beautiful sounds. It is great to hear her say 'mamamama' and 'dadadada' while we are playing.

I was starting to wonder if all of the noise she made would amount to any understandable sound and voila they did. I'm so excited about this. I love to hear it and so does Paul. He actually tries to get her to say 'dada' more then I try for 'mama'. Now that she can say this she won't stop talking, I LOVE IT. She definately takes after me:)

The last few days

The last few days have been pretty ordinary for us. We played and spent some quality family time together. Olivia has been discovering new ways to play with her toys. She is suppose to be in the seat, not on top of the seat. Olivia has now decided that it is much cooler to play with the toys on her seat by laying ontop of the seat. She has done this a few times and even got stuck in the seat. She seems to think it is loads of fun. Nanny had some adventures in babysitting Saturday with Olivia and Colby. We had to go to Lake Santa Fe for the day and the only way two families could go was to leave the littlest family members home. Nanny said she could babysit for us. With Nanny watching both of the kids it gave them a chance to play together. Olivia and Colby had a ton of fun. Here are some of the highlights from the day. Nanny still had all of her hair when we got home, she said they were great:)
I love the face here. She's looking at hime like are you crazy, don't you know that is mine.

She then decided to take it from him. That's my girl:)
This is the newest addition to Nanny's toy collection. It is trifold and has archways to walk/crawl through. Olivia always plays with it and I'm glad she decided to share with Colby. They played on it for a long time. Olivia especially likes to make it make noise. Have you ever noticed that ALL baby toys make the most annoying sounds. Do toy makers want to see if parents are going to go crazy or what?
All in all babysitting was a success for everyone, Nanny and kids. Olivia got some play time in with her cousin Colby and we got everything done we needed to. Olivia learned a lot from Colby Saturday. He is a little more mobile then she is and can babble more. She did everything he did. When he stood up, she would stand up. I think it was a learning experience for all.

This is the look of determination in a 6 month old. She is trying her hardest to get the magazines on the table.
Her determination paid off. She got the magazines she wanted and decided to eat them. Shortly after I snapped the picture I took them away.

The Pork Chop

I had to share these photos with everyone. As you see Olivia is eating a pork chop bone. My mother always told me that she did this when I was a baby and I was completely appalled. How could you give your baby a bone to chew on-it's a baby not a dog. Well now I see why she did it. She thought it was GREAT! She went to town on that thing. This is the second time we gave her one, this time she enjoyed it more then the first. I guess it tasted good and made her teeth feel good. Hey, whatever makes her happy, that's our motto. Enjoy the pics:)

Who does it hurt more?

I'm talking about shots for Olivia. Today was Olivia's 6 month check up. Of course she is growing like a weed and the Dr. confirmed that by giving us her stats. She weighs in at 18 lbs 8 oz and is 28 inches long. The Dr couldn't believe how much she is growing and what she is able to do-crawl, babble, and walk around holding onto things. Dr. Sabban kept saying she is like a 10 month old in her cute little accent. Well as any mom knows the 6 month check up includes shots. There were 3 this time and we opted for the flu shot(which ment 4). She cried for the first 3 but quickly stopped when Paul and I talked to her and soothed her. But that flu shot sure did kick her butt. She cried for what seemed like FOREVER after the shot. Paul had to hold her after and it was hard to get her dressed and ready to go. She continued to cry off and on the whole way home while she was trying to fall asleep. She fell asleep like a big dog in the carseat. Paul took her out when we got home and stayed asleep when he put her in the crib. I hope she has a good night.

Back to my question I think it hurts me more. I hate to see her cry about anything let alone something that is partially my fault. I know shots are what's best for her but why do they hurt so bad. I was going to cry watching her cry. I know she was in pain but so was I so I think we are even. The good news is at her 9 month check up no shots, but we do have to go next month and get the second part of the flu shot yippee:( Let's hope next time is a little better.

She likes to eat apples &...

Not bananas, chicken. Yes, her new favorite is apples and chicken. It is a gerber baby food and the only one with meat I can get her to eat. As I see it she can eat apples and chicken until she is 5 years old if she has to. I hope she expands her repitore of food by then:)

Here is a few pictures of what we've been up to for the past few days. This is a giant caterpillar that has been holding Olivia's door open since before she was born and now she has decided that she can ride and crawl on it. She was also eating the antenna-she won't eat veggies but she will eat a stuffed caterpillar:) Olivia is really trying to get to know the cat. He is really trying to get away from Olivia. Actually he just kind of teases her. He let's her get close enough to touch then he'll run just as she lunges toward him. I think it's kinda mean Paul thinks it hilarious. One day Olivia will get him and he'll be in for a treat, he'll really want to run from her then,
Why play in the exersaucer when you can use it to stand up and play with the toys on it. This is her new hobby. Stand up on her toys and play with them rather then get in them. Oh and do you see the look on her face. She was eyeing the trash can and pulled out the trash. The child has tons of toys and she decides to pull out the bag the diapers came in and play with it.
PopPop, Memi, and Aunt Jaime came over while we were eating dinner with Nanny and Stacy. They of course brought baby Jaxson for Olivia to play with. At least she thought she could play with him. As you can see she really wanted his paci and took it, not once but twice. Olivia won't even take a paci but she wanted Jaxson's, how funny:) She had fun playing with him while he had fun sleeping. Dinner was great with Mom and Stacy, we had chinese food which I have wanted for a few weeks. It filled the craving YUMMY!
Who says a 6 month old can't get their own toys, Olivia would disagree. She made a path all the way to the toy basket and started getting toys out. First was her drum and then a bunch of others. She didn't actually play with anything she took out she just threw them on the floor for me to clean up.

How it went

Olivia's first sleep over went well. Nanny said that Olivia slept great and had lots of fun. I'm so glad. I was a nervous wreck when I left her, but I knew she was in good hands. I guess since she had her first sleep over there will be plenty more to come, just not too soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today I celebrated my 29th birthday. It wasn't as fun and exciting as it used to be. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting old or because I'm a mom now and Olivia is my priority not myself. Either way I had a good day with the family. Paul, Olivia, and I just hung out together at home, something we don't do too much of because Paul has a phobia about staying in the house. Here is a picture of the birthday hat Mom and Stacy got me, yes it says Birthday Princess. Stacy wanted me to wear it to dinner but that didn't happen I wouldn't dare wear it in public. Of course there were presents and I got everything I asked for. A few years ago I would have killed Paul or Mom if they bought me what I got today but I was so excited when I opened my presents. Mom and Stacy got me a new coffee maker. It was one of the one's that makes only one cup of coffee at a time, hopefully it will help my Starbucks addicition as well as my budget. Paul got me a new floor cleaner for the tile in our house. I am really concerned about how dirty the tile is in our house now that Olivia is crawling. Oh and how can I forget the Starbucks giftcard from Kendall and Colby, I can feed my addiction for a few more weeks:) Thanks guys
Since it was my birthday we also decided to let Olivia spend the night at Nanny's so we could have a date night. It was the first time we let her go over night, boy was I a wreck when we dropped her off. I've called to check on her twice. This is only the third time we've left her for date in 6 months. I know she'll be fine Nanny knows what she is doing:) We went to Outback for dinner-YUMMY!

Of course we had playtime all day since we stuck around the house. Paul intorduced Olivia to the giant exercise ball(that never gets used). She thought it was great. She rolled all over on her belly and bounced on her bottom. She thought it was so much fun. I can't wait to see what she tries to do on it by herself.


I wanted to show off a few of her sweet smiles. I can't get enough of them. If you look closely you can see her teeth. Isn't she just the cutest, I think so:)

YUMMY

I know you can't see exactly what Daddy is feeding Olivia but it's a lemon. Most kids make really funny faces when they lick a lemon, not mine she loves it. Not only does she continue to lick it but she began to eat it. Yes, I said eat. She was taking bites out of it. She seemed to really like it. This was a shock to all since most kids have the adverse reaction. There's something special about my girl, she's not your average baby.
I love to see Olivia smile and can't help but take a picture whenever she does. She is such a happy baby that I wanted to share it with everyone. Enjoy the sweet smile of my precious baby:)
Oh and by the way we still aren't getting a full night of sleep. She's back to waking up about once an hour. Will she ever sleep? I know she's hungry at least one of the times she gets up but the rest of the time I think she's just trying to be funny or just a pain:) I know she's not doing it on purpose but I can't figure out what the problem is. Early this morning I actually turned the monitor off. I know, call me a bad mom since I didn't want to listen to my sweet girl cry and whine. It was about the 10th time she had gotten up and we needed some sleep, I do get up at 5 for work. She went back to sleep and stayed asleep until I left for school. I keep praying that this is just a phase and she will sleep all night(well at least more then an hour at a time). Maybe one day soon my prayers will be answered. The more sleep all of us get the happier we will all be:)

Our little Dare Devil

This picture doesn't tell half the story of the little dare devil we have on our hands. Olivia and Daddy love to play. Their new play toy is the couch. Olivia will jump all over and think it is hilarious, she laughs big belly laughs the whole time. She will crawl and jump everywhere, even off the couch. The past few days she has only been jumping on the couch but tonight she realized that she could jump to Daddy who was sitting on the floor. She would get up on her knees and just leap. I was a little nervous that she would hurt herself but Paul assured me he would catch her and nothing would happen. He was right. As you see he put a pillow on the floor just so she didn't have a far drop, just in case. She never fell, boy was I relieved

I also wanted to share some irony while I am here writing this post. Olivia just went to bed so I quickly grabbed the computer and a snack before it got too late. Well Mom made some brownies and of course I took some home with me. The brownie is my snack and what am I watching while I type-The Biggest Loser. I guess since I'm eating a brownie I won't be the biggest loser:)

Dinner and Playtime

Shopping with Nanny wasn't the only fun we had on Saturday. Once we got home Daddy grapped her and went outside. While we were gone Daddy went 4 wheeler riding and of course it needed to be washed. So what does Daddy do, puts Olivia in her walker on the back porch to help. Well she thought it was just GREAT! He would spray her with water and she would let out a big belly laugh. What I thought was great were her dirty socks. I told Paul to put some socks on her so she wouldn't scrape her feet on the concrete. Of course he listened and of course they were dirty because the porch has dirt on it and with the water-well you get the picture.

Helping Daddy wash the 4 wheeler. The dirty socks and no they didn't come clean.
We also went to Osaka for Aunt Sarah's birthday with the Panke's. Of course the food was great, I can't say the same for our waitress. She must have been new or something. Olivia did great with dinner. The cook didn't make too much noise since there were two babies and Kendall but the other cooks did. The noise didn't seem to phase her she watched intently. She even threw a spoon at the cook. I gave her the soup spoon to play with and well she chucked it at the cook, yes she hit him. It was a good thing he was standing there or else it would have went clear across the restaurant and hit someone else. He had a sense of humor about it and laughed:)
Of course we had to stop for cake after dinner at Aunt Sarah and Uncle Fred's house. Olivia and Colby got a chance to play with each other.

Here is the extend of playing with each other. He was very curious and kept touching her. She really didn't do much of anything she had just woken up. I need to teach my girl some self defense so she can fight back:) He wasn't hurting her just playing she really didn't know what to make of him.
One last thing, here is Olivia's new spot to play. She was crawling around the other night and discovered the underneath of Daddy's chair. She played under it for about 10 minutes. The littlest things make her happy. The chair is great or at least she thinks it is. She has been pulling up on it and playing all over it. I guess it's like a cardboard box, no matter how many cool toys a baby has they will find something else to play with.

Lunch and shopping with Nanny

Saturday usually means doing something with Nanny and that something was lunch at Panera. Paul will not go to Panera, I don't think it's manly enough for him. So off we went to get Nanny and have some lunch and do a little shopping(browsing). Tara and Jude were going to try and join us if they were in the area, but no such luck just us girls. We sure did miss them, Olivia and Jude could have played:) At lunch Olivia had her first bagel. She loves to chew on things and it wasn't very messy and wouldn't get too soft too quick, therefore she ate while we ate. The sesame chicken salad is wonderful, it is now my new favorite.

After lunch we did a little shopping. First to Bed Bath and Beyond to look at the Tassimo coffee maker. I would like to get one but they are $140 dollars. It sure would save me money in the long run because I won't have to go to Starbucks everyday for coffee. Then off to Old Navy, they were having a sale. I wanted to get Olivia a jacket for winter so she can go outside with Daddy. I found her a really cute jacket and Nanny found her this really cute hat(it matches the jacket). She wore it all through the store, doesn't she look cute:)

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY!!!

Yes, I know it's late but I was sick. Yesterday was Olivia's half birthday-she's 6 months old now. Boy has the past 6 months gone by fast. It seems like just yesterday I was in labor for 22 hours and now she's crawling. Where does the time go.


Somtimes she has the most intelligent looks, like the one above. I still think she's cute, I think I'm a little partial:)

YIPPEE... she did it again:)

WOW, she slept through the night, again:) I can't believe it two nights in a row Olivia slept all night. Well maybe not all night she got up at 11:30 to eat and at 4 just cause. I had to post to share the exciting news, we are back to sleeping all night long. It's so great that we can all get a good night sleep. I think this is the beginning of something wonderful-sleep for everyone.