My video game partner

After searching high and low we finally found the Wii. We looked everywhere for one and they were always sold out where ever we went. It came with Wii sports and Shawntel is awesome at golf it's the only thing I can't beat her at but I think I'm getting the hang of it. We ended up getting Mario Kart with it also and we're pretty even. When Shawntel has had enough though Olivia will play with me, she really has no choice at all and I win every time. For now any way I'm sure once she gets up in age she''ll be the champ and I bet it won't be Wii either it will be something that blows the Wii's mind. I remember when my sister and I got the original Nintendo for christmas. We played duck hunt all day and when my Mom and Dad put us to bed they took the night shift. Video games have come a long way.

Milk does a body good

Shawntel has been doing awesome at keeping up with Olivia's milk intake. Shawntel pumps it and Olivia gobbles it up. Here lately she has been eating more and more we think she's hitting a growth spurt. We googled growth spurts and they said that it will help mommies milk production increase but we had no idea it would be this much. I'm even dipping into it on occasion like the other day I needed a cup for some corn bread and we didn't have regular milk. This is the next best thing. SIKE!!! Hats off to Shawntel though I never realized how hard it is to keep up with a babies hunger strikes. We planted a veggie garden this weekend past with my parents and today all the seeds have popped up except the eggplant. I love eggplant I think that Shawntel sabotaged them. I almost forgot Olivia slept in her own room last night and she must have loved it because she only woke up once. We had both monitors on so when she did cry it sounded like a concert. Besides the one time, I slept great and as for Shawntel not that good but she'll get used to it.

I.C.E.

The past couple of days I've had a landscaping project going in the front yard. I'm not quite done but I'm very close and the only reason I've got this far is because Shawntelly has been hanging out with Olivia. I figured I'd pay her back today and chill out with Oli bug while she paints our bedroom. I'm going to have to watch Olivia alone sooner or later so this is perfect I'll test the waters with Shawntel in the next room just in case. So we started the day by finishing The Good Shepard it was a pretty good movie and I was able to get it in the mailbox before the mailman came so the next movie can get here quick. Big mistake. My cousin even told me that if they go to sleep you need to jump on whatever it is you need to do so you stay ahead. Watching the movie put me right behind the eight ball. I've only been able to get two loads of laundry done post on this blog and watch the rest of the Good Shepard but I have read five books to Oli, we watched three innings of the Cardinals Mets baseball game(she hates baseball) and her Great Grandparents came to visit. Needless to say I have a totally different game plan for tomarrow. The good news is that I didn't have to use Shawntel today, she did sneak in to get a few kisses now and then but I think Oli and I will be okie dokie when it's just the two of us.

Weekend with Granny and Grampy

Well we didn't make it to the seafood festival because it rained the day we were going to go but Olivia got to hang out with her grandparents all weekend. My Mom and Dad came down to see "us" which translates into see her. I'm okay with that because Olivia had a great time. That's the first time they've seen her since she was born. It was cool to hear how many things they noticed different about her. The one thing that has not changed though is she's still a night owl. I asked my my Mom and Dad if Olivia woke them up at all and they both said no. So it was kind of nice to know that somebody got good sleep. Our day is coming I can feel it. Shawntel has less than a month before she goes back to work, it's amazing how fast this time has gone. Our plan is to win the lotto so we won't have to return to work. Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

Strawberry milk

Today Grandma Kim and Miss Becky went up to Ellington to do some bargain shopping and they found a good deal on strawberries. Shawntel hasn't been able to stay out of them, I don't think they will make the night. Olivia is in for a treat tonight this will be her first strawberry milk. Hopefully since Shawntel is hooking her up with tasty flavored milk she'll return the favor and hook us up with some sleep tonight. We'll see.

Nice Doo

Olivia's hair is growing pretty steady, she's not ready for a bobby pin or a banana clip(blast from the past) but she is starting to get a distinct hair line. I remember wondering while Shawntel was pregnant if Olivia would be one of those people that grow hair all over their faces and how I would handle it if she was. Or what about if she had a really high hairline and looked like flipper. It's good to know that I don't have to worry about that but it is kinda comical because she has developed another hair phenomenon, a baby mullet. I looked up the mullet on Urbandictionary.com and a mullet is defined as a hairstyle that is cut trim in the front but the back is long and often left uncut. Well if the shoe fits Olivia needs to wear it. I think though that anyone will agree with me when I say that a baby ape drape is so much cuter than a full blown adult mullet. On the subject of hair we have a lot of friends who just had babies and they were born with a great head of hair. Olivia had hair but not all over so Shawntel and I were wondering what she would look like if she had it and this is our best guess.

Little Lollipop

Olivia had her 1 month pictures on Friday, so we went to Miramar Thursday to find a cute dress for her pictures. Well once we put her in the dress she started crying (she is her Grandma Williams girl) so the picture is not great the 1st go around but on Friday she wore it and smiled for the photographer. She was a picture ham and posed great. Today we had her 1 month check up appointment and she has gained weight.... she is up to 8lbs 9oz. She is growing fast. She is 21 inches tall and the nurse told us this neat equation to predict her final height. Take Moms height add it to Dads height subtract 4 and divide by 2. So if it is true, Olivia will be 5ft 6in. (taller than her Mom) They also told us that she was in the 38% weight, 68% height, and 77% head circumference compared to other babies, so Jonathan is calling her his little lollipop now. She also got her 2nd round of Hep B immunization. She did really well and didn't jump or cry too hard.

Out and about

The weather was beautiful today, super windy but the sun was shining. We took Olivia down to the seafood festival in Punta Gorda and we had a grand ol time. With all the rain the past few days the ground was soaked and muddy but Olivia was high and dry in her stroller. Shawntel got to change her second public diaper. I've always seen those things hanging on the wall in the bathroom and Shawntel was the first to use it. She said it was tough trying to hold Olivia and try to get all her stuff ready to lay her down. Then to wash her own hands while holding her was whole other story. I can't wait until I am in a position where I have to do that. We're starting to get the hang of pushing the stroller around in crowded places. It's nice now we have something to put everything on while we walk around. Aside from carrying wallets, cell phones and the diaper bag it held two beers, and a funnel cake we were totally hands free. Next weekend is the Englewood seafood festival so hopefully the weather stays nice. We've been out with Olivia just a couple times and she really just chills out in the stroller but she sleeps so good after being out strolling around.

Oops

We just went for a long walk with Olivia and the dogs around the neighborhood. Each time we go we venture a little further. This time it bit us right in the rear end. It started great, nice weather, the breeze was blowing just perfect, no traffic and the dogs were keeping up with us. We were probably were a mile and a half away from home and Olivia started to cry and we both said, I bet she dropped a wild card on us. Sure enough she had an accident and the diaper bag was a mile and a half away from us. Her crying started out kinda small and soon turned into a wail. Shawntel said she would take the dogs, just take the stroller and run. So I took off, while I was running the stroller started vibrating a little more and it made her cry sound like a siren. We made it home and changed her out with a quickness and she was back to good. We walked back outside and met up with Mom at the end of the road.

Last night Shawntel dressed Olivia in her sweet pea jammies and they were to small for her. This is her first outfit she's grown out of. She's growing up so fast. It's time to put it in the vault for her sister to wear(not any time soon).

New friends

Last night we had Joe and Amy over for dinner and they brought their cute little boy, Liam. Dinner was delicious and we really enjoyed their company. Olivia had so much nervous energy before they got here that she tired herself out and slept the front part of the evening. It must have been the same case for Liam because was passed out as well. When they woke up we couldn't get them to stop baby talking they went on and on about how many diapers they ruin a day and how sometimes they will wait until the new diaper is almost on and will ruin that one. Liam is a month older than Olivia and it was pretty cool to see what Olivia will be doing in a months time. They kind of look like an E-trade commercial I think. The past few nights have been great Olivia has woke up ate, got a new diaper and went right back to sleep. It's been really cool not looking like zombies during the day. Thank you Olivia. We're looking forward to the weekend I think the weather is supposed to be nice and there's a boat show in Punta Gorda. Sounds like a good opportunity to try out the stroller in a crowd. Last weekends weather was good enough for a walk around the neighborhood in it but it could get a little dicey maneuvering around things and people. If the weather holds we're up for the challenge.

NEVER buy generic diapers!

I went to Toys-R-Us the other day to pick up more newborn diapers and Diaper Genie refills. Well mistake #1 was the Genie refills. I picked up the "value pack" 3 rings for $20. The way we go through the rings, I will be back in a few days for more. Jonathan checked out, you guessed it, .... youtube for some instruction video so hopefully they will last longer than a week. Mistake #2 was buying the store brand diapers. They were out of the Pampers Swaddlers so I figured "how big of a difference could there be. HUGE!!!!!!! The first diaper Daddy put on, Grandma Kim discovered a wet baby. Diaper number two I put on and found, literally poop out the side, down her leg and on her back. Needless to say Daddy ran to the store to get Pampers and the knock-offs were returned to Toys R Us.

Bath Time...

Our Dr. gave us the o.k. on giving Olivia a bath in her tub and she loves it. She was a little freaked out at first but got the hang of it real quick. What's not to like it looked pretty cozy to me. Friends of ours say they wash their son every night and it's part of a cool night time routine they have. So if it works for one it should work for all. They also read a book in the evening to him. That's one thing that I have been doing, Shawntel holds Olivia and I do the reading. Our fave is anything Dr. Suess they are the hardest books to read it's so funny. I think it would be a hilarious drinking game to just read red fish blue fish one fish two fish after a few brews or maybe this could be a great sobriety test. Last night Shawntel had a pound of school work to do and I was cooking stir fry. As for Olivia she was up and wanted to hang out with us. Shawntel used to log on to this website babysteals.com all the time while pregnant and picked the Keltey carrier. It worked out perfect I think they made it for cooking stir fry. As soon as we got her in it she was out. Tonight we're thinking about hanging it in the closet with her in it. She liked it that much. I checked out youtube to see if they had any videos of the Keltey and they had a few. Mine is small and carries baby in the front but the one on youtube was big and it carried baby on the back. Mine is for walking around the mall but the big one is for running up Mt. Everest. Check it out it's pretty wild.

Bottles....

Right now Olivia is sleeping like a champ but, last night this wasn't the case. Shawntel and I are just getting done with an another all nighter. Yesterday afternoon we went to Grandma Kim's house for the first time and had an outstanding time. The dinner was good and Olivia got to hang out with Grandma Kim and Miss Becky who showered her with love. A Real quick side note we didn't take any pictures @#$% I hope for a small fee we can get copies from Grandma Kim. While we were at Grandma's, Olivia ate twice and when we got home she ate once before bed. We thought maybe she would be tired from having so much fun and go right to bed. So when it didn't happen that way we tried to figure out what went wrong. Maybe she was overtired and couldn't go to bed, was one thought. Maybe she was jealous that we ate a chicken dish with lemon gravy and she had milk again. Then today it hit us and we think this is pretty solid.

When we did our gift register we went down the bottle aisle and thought dang which bottle is the right bottle. So we asked a few mothers and they said that the baby will tell you which one is right. So we said whatever and went on to the fun stuff like: toys, clothes, strollers etc.. Well 8 months later enters the bottle issue again. We have four different types here at the house so Shawntel said maybe she's gassy lets try a different bottle. She suggested we try the platex drop in bottle so now with every feed we have to put a new liner in. I told her no way that's not the problem and those liners cost money. At lunch Olivia was going crazy and it broke me. I tried the playtex bottle and it worked like a charm. Shawntel was right and I'll pay a mint for those drop ins. Right after she ate she fell fast asleep. Mommy knows best. Oh and thanks Granny Rose for the playtex bottles I'll let you know how much sleep we get tonight.