Five on Friday

1. Next weekend is my friend's bachelorette party. I was so excited, I booked my flight for this weekend. Luckily, for an exorbitant fee, US Air can be very accommodating.

I'm a glass half full kind of girl - bright side? I didn't show up in AC by myself today. Could you imagine?

I texted her last week - "see you in a weeeeeek!" 
"You mean in two weeks right? That'd be a serious case of mom brain. Hahahaha." 
"Ffff"

2. Dan's grandfather found a doll named Olivia - that has blue eyes and brown hair, like when Olivia was born. It was such a sweet present and Olivia loves to play with it. But, the doll looks so real, and we've seen too many horror movies to not have a little fun with it once Olivia goes to bed.

It started with Dan putting the doll in my bed - so when I went to undo the covers, there she was, staring at me. So my mom put it on the wall of the man cave looking down into the living room. So we looked up and saw the doll staring at us.

Then I had the doll wearing my mom's camera strap and holding the camera.

My dad put the doll next to my mom in bed. She didn't notice until she rolled over in the middle of the night.

Assuming I was the one who put it in the bed, my mom put it in my carseat.

I moved it to Dan's carseat.

Dan set it on the front porch, rang the doorbell for my parents, and drove off.

Be careful if you come over. We have a weird sense of humor.

3. We got this at the end of the summer session from daycare. It was so sweet of her teachers to make it - I cherish everything with her little foot or handprints. BUT.

I just can't help but laugh. "Sweet summertime" and my cold natured babe is in a snowsuit and fur boots.

4. Olivia has never loved any stuffed animals. My parents gave her my old lamb "lambie" (original name, I know). She lit up! She loves lambie so much. She gives him kisses and huge smiles and loves to hold him. I think it is so funny that we have tried so many stuffed animals and the one she likes was mine when I was little.

5. She's walking!! I'll get a better video - we only have one of her taking a few steps. Still not walking everywhere. Just to us - or furniture that she knows she can walk to. But it won't be long!

Lake George and a Lesson in Swim Diapers

Over labor day weekend, we visited friends at Lake George in upstate New York. It was so beautiful. Growing up in Georgia, I have never seen a lake where you can see the bottom. Ours were all mud. 

Olivia did great on the flight - I was SO nervous!

Cuddles like these will never happen again.

Olivia and her two dads. At one point, Sam and I were paying and Jason carried the diapers, while Dan carried the baby to change her. It was quite a sight! That, coupled with the fact that Jason swears Olivia is his because of her love of boats. We decided that she has two dads - I was simply a surrogate.

Dan told Jason to watch her. Clearly, she is in great hands.

Sam also loves her.

Juussttt kidding.

Boat baby. She loved being on the boat, going fast, napping on the boat, sitting up front with the wind in her face. She even barely noticed her life jacket. I knew she'd like the boat, I wasn't sure about the life jacket.

Captain Olivia.

Her love of pickles allowed us to stop and grab lunch each day for a while. Don't worry, Jason, the stains came out of her Bentley t-shirt.

I also have to mention that I found out one key fact about how swim diapers work. People would ask what the difference was and I would say "they don't puff up like normal diapers." Great. 

I was holding Olivia in the restaurant while waiting for our table and she just started peeing everywhere. It was on my side on the coverup and dripping down my leg into a puddle under my foot. I said omggg omgggg and Dan was like "is there a bug? are you overreacting about a bug again?"

So. Much. Pee.

Turns out, swim diapers keep in solids but they don't absorb any liquids. We have taken her to the pool and back, to the beach - and she has just never happened to have peed while being held, in her carseat, etc.

I had to take her back out to the boat - luckily Dan had a t-shirt I could wear, and I rinsed my foot and leg in the lake. 

I really wish Sam or Jason were holding her at that moment. ;)

What did y'all do for labor day?

Back to School: Toddler Style

Olivia now fits in toddler sizes, which means even more choices and cute clothes to deplete my bank account look at online.

All items are from Gap, except the shoes and the off-white sweater are Old Navy.

My favorite, by far, are the black waxed skinny jeans. And I still haven't gotten into the camo/dark green for girls - but pink cargo skinnies are just the right mix.

And those ankle boots? Do they come in my size?

Also, I ran across this today. Olivia just might need it.

Source

Destin 2014

We all remember that the car ride to Destin wasn't much fun, but the rest of the trip was a blast. (Until we headed home ...) 

Olivia was taking 3 hour naps the first couple days. It was amazing. But so unexpected. We kept saying "she'll be up any minute" and wouldn't head to the beach or anything.

Almost all of these pictures, my mom took. 

My parent's don't have a bathtub yet, so Olivia bathed in the kitchen sink!

For breakfast, I had to be her high chair. 

First time at the beach photos!

First time in the water.

She didn't like it! :(

At one point, I swear she said da-da-pa. So that's what we've been calling my dad.

Love's the beach!

Baby blues and pretzel treats.

Finally getting a little hair.

Despite the way it looks in this picture, she loves me.

Date night! My parents babysat.

A family photo where we only had to worry about Olivia looking forward (not Koda too!)

Taking a selfie!

She looks sweet in the other pictures, but this is really her personality!

And most of our beach pictures turned out like this:

Olivia - Ten Months

Height: 28.75 inches (75%)
Weight: 18 pounds (40%)

Sleep: She is still sleeping 7-7ish. She naps around 9-11 (weekends, not at daycare) and then 2-4/5. She reads books before bed and goes down so well.

Eating: She eats exactly what we are eating. She has breakfast with Dan. Then we pack her her food for daycare. She has lunch with me. And then we all have dinner as a family. She's a great eater. Still getting 5 bottles a day, but some of them less milk depending on how much real food she has eaten.

Milestones: Still cruising everywhere and scared to let go. She can stand for a bit by herself before she panics and sits down. She has taken one step by herself - haha. She will hold our finger with one hand and walk everywhere - but not enough courage to try it herself. 

Clothes / Diapers: She is pretty much exactly to size. Although, the other day she did squeeze herself into some 3-6 month baby gap leggings. I'm pretty sure I heard her whisper "I've still got it."

Best Moment of the Month: Taking Olivia to the beach for the first time. It is my favorite place in the world, so showing it to my favorite person was incredible. She loved the ocean and waves. Wasn't too sure what the sand was. And slept like a charm. Vacation did her well!

Parent of the Month Award: This one goes to me. Olivia has been sick all weekend (hence no typical pictures, just one from Destin). All she wants to do is for me to hold her, walk around and her to cry. So I have been. At one point Dan walked into the room and I had Olivia squeezed into her old exersaucer that needs to go in the attic. She was happy and I could lay on the couch. It lasted about 3 minutes - but was so worth it. 

Favorites: The favorite right now is climbing up the stairs. She will do it all day. Up. I bring her down. Up. I bring her down. Dog food and the trash can are close seconds. 

We are loving the little spoons that attach to the squeezy pouches for on the go feeding. Footless Hanna Anderssen jammies (they are so soft, and she doesn't slide around when walking). And Freshly Picked moccasins, but more on those later. 

Halloween Love

I'm sorry, is it August? 

I'm sorry, do I care?

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I mean. I feel obligated to say Christmas is. But if Halloween were celebrated all month long like Christmas, it would take the cake in my book. 

One time, I went as Scuba Steve. 

I'm not bragging, per say, but flippers were only moderately difficult for me to navigate while drunk.

Okay, I'm bragging.

So, clearly, when I went into Hanna Anderssen for a simple pair of socks, I came back with these:

Which she wears often.

And when we went to the outlet mall in Destin, I picked up these:

Tshirt                                                                                     Leggings

And I'm considering purchasing this skirt:

Source

Can an infant have too many Halloween outfits? 

Exclusive Pumping Tips and Tricks

I am so excited to be guest posting over on Casual Claire today. I am sharing my tips and tricks for exclusively pumping. 

Claire shares so many wonderful tips and advice for new mamas (not to mention the awesome giveaways) – that I am thrilled to be over there today!

Go here to check out my post!