Big Head

Well, Olivia had her 9 month checkup today. Here are her stats:
19lbs 12oz 75th percentile
29" long 95th percentile
Head: Off the charts.
There is no category for her enormous head. Good thing she has a strong neck. I am bracing for some serious headbutts later on in life. However, all was good at her checkup. We were told to try and let her have more table food and to let her drink out of a real cup (in a place that can get wet.) Sometimes when babies feel the liquid hit their mouth in a real cup as opposed to a sippy-cup it helps them learn how to tip to get a drink.

Below is part 2 of the Blow On Olivia video.

Ok, so I took a little liberty by saying that Olivia was a natural when she was pole dancing. She did have a little liquid courage first to get her going. She is not a light weight like her daddy.
After she had her drinks, we made sure she could walk a straight line before doing any dancing. She made us proud. She is able to stand on her own for as long as she wants. The problem arises when she tries to take any steps. If we could just get her to take a step now she will be totally mobile.

Busy Livi

It was a pretty long and action-packed weekend for Little "O". Saturday we went down to Columbia to fish and have dinner for day one of Auntie Steph's mulit-day birthday celebration. Olivia even wore her fishing backpack that Grandma and Grandpa got her. The fishing was not good and it was way too hot, so we went back to Mima's house, relaxed and had dinner. We headed home around 7:45 so Olivia could get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Sunday we let Livi sleep in a little with the hopes of getting her on our schedule so we could get to Columbia for part 2. Today would be rollerskating. It has been over 20 years since I have been on skates, and I am horrified that I am old enough to say "It has been 20 years since anything..." Skating was fun though. The girls showed their skills by doing some twirls and skating backwards. John used to be a speed skater and had to rent the expensive "Speed Skates".

Olivia had fun playing the video games with all the shiny buttons.

Brooke and Steph competed in a skate race

John and I did as well. Either my form on the corner is perfect, or I hurt my back reaching for an invisible beer.

After skating, there was dinner and cake. Olivia got to help blow out the candles.
After cake, Olivia surprised her Aunti Steph with some special pole dancing. She had been taking lessons. Livi gets to pay for dinner tomorrow night!!

Clean Out That Crib

Olivia has learned now that if she doesn't want her little rabbit or blanket in the crib, all she has to do is stand up and throw it out. Of course, once it is out, you don't get it back. Not sure she understands that yet. Actually, she doesn't throw stuff out too much, but does know that it is possible.
She has also discovered that she has a tongue. She likes to stick it out, especially if she is crawling to you and you have some food that she wants. She also likes to chew on it a little. Her tongue is going wild lately. She moves it side to side like a little snake or lizard.
I am posting some video taken a while back of what happens when you blow in Olivia's face. She has always loved it, and makes a gasping noise when the wind hits her face. Maybe she is more like a dog than we thought, I bet she would like to hang her head out the window while we drive. She loves the wind in her face.

Bottles

Bottle Boot Camp is going OK. Not as fast as we would like, but she is starting to get the hang of it. When the cup is full and she doesn't have to tip it back as much it gets easier for her. She has also taken a liking to cheerios. Brooke spreads a bunch of them out on her highchair after she eats her baby food and she eats them all up. Well, not all of them, last night we went around and removed little cheerio shards from her chest, arm, forehead and leg, but who is counting. She has been reducing her nap time as well which we hope will lead to an earlier bed time for the night.
This morning I went in to wake her up and did my normal routine of rubbing her back and stretching out her legs and arms while she is on her stomach. She woke up and went into a sitting position facing the back wall. I put my head in the crib and made little kissing sounds, she groggily looked over at me, saw me and got so startled that she fell sideways. It was pretty cute. I don't know where she thought those little back tickles and leg moves were coming from if they weren't from ME!!
Olivia also had another play date. This time it was at our house. She had a good time again and loves playing with other kids. We also got her to another restaurant. Blue Ocean sea food. She was a very good girl and ate a little bit of what we ate. We are trying to get her out more now that she is staying awake and seems to be OK entertaining herself.

Lulu's Bday

Yesterday was Lulu's Birthday. She made it to two years old. Two and queen of the world, not bad progress. Sheri got her a new fuzzy little toy and she loves it. It is her new favorite "box" toy, since the other dogs would tear it to shreds in one second. Lu says "Thanks Sheri!!"

Tipping Back A Few

Not much new here. Olivia is enjoying a Saturday with her Mima and Grandpa. She is still not doing very well on holding her own bottle. Like Brooke said, baby bottle Boot camp time since Daycare will be starting soon. Can't have a helpless baby going into daycare and getting laughed at by all the other little kids because she doesn't know how to use her arms to hold a bottle. I don't think opening your mouth and whining will cut it in the real world. You need to TIP the bottle back, otherwise you are only drinking milk scented air!! Can't seem to get that point across. Oh well. It will happen in due time.
P.S. I took this picture yesterday morning when I got Olivia up. She has been waking up and going right into a sitting position with a dazed look on her face. This one happened to be more of a scowl than a dazed look. Oh I long for the old days of her waking up and smiling at me. Look at those eyebrows, I get shivers just looking at that picture. "But dad, all the other girls have pierced belly buttons!!!" Yea, that's the look, I'm in trouble.