Here is a better picture of her teeth

Oh and I forgot to mention in my last post she can stand up when holding on to something now. She gets so proud of herself when she does it. It is pretty cute, she looks around the room to make sure that everyone sees and if you aren't looking she starts making loud noises until you do. We always make a big deal with lots of "WOWs!!!" and "Look at you!!!", then she gets a big goofy smile. Guess she likes the praise.

Start Spreading the News...

Liv's leaving today. She wants to be a part of it, New York, New York!!!

Ok, so it isn't new news. I have been really bad about posting anything on the blog lately because the move has been nothing short of crazy. Olivia originally planned on moving to Park Slope, Brooklyn and was excited to live where they film Sesame Street, I mean how cool is that? Unfortunately, mommy and daddy have been having issues with the landlady, she isn't fixing stuff and the apartment it isn't safe for babies- that is the abridged version. So now we are moving to Hoboken, NJ, but not until the end of November when our new apartment becomes available. Most stuff is still in boxes and we are living out of suitcases, so it has just made life a little more complicated. But tonight Milan is hopefully watching the Phillies take home the World Series after 25 years and I could care less, so I needed to find something to do- hence the post.

Liv and I have been spending lots of time together lately because I have decided to stay home with her through the remainder of the year, until things settle down. Then we are going to have to go through the tough task of finding a new nanny. We miss our nanny Renata from San Francisco soooooooooo much! And of course our share family, Carson and his awesome mom and dad. But it is so great that Liv and I are getting the chance to spend some really good mommy-daughter bonding time. Everyday we take the Dude to Prospect Park at 8am for some off-leash time- the only time The Dude is allowed to be off-leash is before 9am (not like San Fran), then we come "home", have breakfast, play, take a nap, have lunch and then usually another long walk including a stop at the swings (we love this). The rest of the day we play and wait for daddy to come home, mixed in with some dinner and a bath. It will be nice when we are settled and we can join a music class and a mommy and me group so we can make some friends and mix things up a bit. The days are long and busy. Liv is at an age where she wants to be constantly entertained so when she sleeps, I clean and when she is awake, I dance.

The biggest changes with Liv are that she is sitting up all by herself now and has her first two teeth. They broke through almost as soon as we landed on the east coast. She chews on EVERYTHING, including daddy's IPhone which almost broke it and then daddy would have cried. When she gets a hold of your finger now, she bites, hard! Those little biddy buggers are sharp!!!

Well that's it for now. Things are tough but they will get better. You know what they say, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. But for now we miss our west coast life.

Olivia is 5 months old!!!!

I can't believe how quickly time is passing and how much she and life are changing. She is a completely different baby then the one we anxiously brought home from the hospital just 5 short months ago. And a different kid then the one we debuted for the first time to our families a mere 3 months ago. We are so excited to reintroduce the new and improved and all grown up version of our little squishy girl to all of them in less than a month! And of course to show her off to all our amazing friends for the first time too. We are counting down the days!

These past few months have been filled with the most fun, love and laughter that Milan and I have ever experienced in our lives. Although our little Olive girl was quite the surprise, we can't imagine our lives without her. Milan asked me the other day if I could do it all over again and have the same baby just a few years later, would I? I didn't even have to think about the answer- NO WAY!!! Just like the Paul Simon song goes, she was "born at the right time".

We can't believe in these 5 months how quickly she has grown and how big she has gotten. Last time we went to the pediatrician (a month ago), she was still rockin it in the 97th percentile for height. And last night I weighed myself and then weighed the 2 of us together, not the most scientific approach. I won't tell you how much we weighed together (believe me, you don't want to know that) but if my calculations are correct, she is 20 lbs already. I think she needs to go into a bigger car seat at 25 lbs and that is right around the corner at this point. Crazy.

Aside from how big she has grown physically, her personality has developed even more. She entertains us on a daily basis with her funny faces and even funnier noises. Every moment in her life so incredibly precious and irreplaceable. Now that she is almost a whole half a year old, I have realized how fleeting each phase of her life is. I will treasure these times always and hold them in my heart forever. We relish every gurgle, sighing breath, and of course the giggles, oh the giggles... don't even get me started on the deliciousness of those. Even all the middle of the night feedings that are slowly starting to dwindle away, that would leave me so exhausted that I would literally have to hold my eyes open with toothpicks at work the next day, are already finding a certain romance in my memories. I can't wait to do it all over again. Ok, maybe I can... for a little while at least.

Some of her recent major milestones include that fact that she is almost ready to sit by herself. Remember my post about the fact that she is probably going to hate the gym like her mom? Scratch that! This girl does like a hundred crunches a day. She wants so badly to pull herself up... and she is getting close. Also she rolled over for the first time today all by herself, I was so glad to have been home to witness it. Sometimes it is hard to be a working mom, you feel like you miss out on all the good stuff. By the time I get home from work at night she is ready for a bath and bed. The girl definitely cannot party. She can't keep her eyes open past 6:30. But she can crush a bottle, so her dad thinks the jury is still out on that one. She has been teething for the past few weeks, so teeth should be coming any day now. Of course the process of getting the teeth is no fun but she has been a trooper.

Well here is to another great 5 months!!! Happy Birthday (even though daddy says it isn't really a birthday, mommy thinks it is) squishy girl, the love of our lives!!!!

Olivia's Adventures

I thought I would do a quick post on the inspiration for the name of this blog- "Olivia's Adventures". I got the name from my incredibly creative 7 year old nephew who made a book for Olivia entitled "Olivia's Adventures" when she was 2 months old. The book is about all the things that Olivia can be- rock star, snowboarder, magician, queen, birthday guest (???), etc. The moral of the story is that the most important thing of all, is that she is happy. How cute is that? I think there is a lesson in that for all of us.

Eat your heart out Katie Hoff

Although I don't think we will be ready in time for the 2012 summer Olympics in London, Liv is already proving to be quite the little swimmer. Maybe we will be ready for the 2024 games, she will be 16 years old then. Crazy to think about!

She loves the tub, so it is no surprise that she has taken to the pool as well. Although the water is a little colder and tougher to manage when your mom keeps letting you accidentally dunk you face in the water, it is fun all the same. We don't get many opportunities to swim here in San Francisco as an average summer day is in the 60's. So yesterday when it was in the 80's (at least it felt that way in the sun) we jumped at the chance. It is a lot of work- special swimming diapers, bathing suit, sunscreen- not easy to apply onto a baby I might add, about 30 minutes of prep time (and that's just Olivia) lead to about 5 minutes in the pool. But when she smiled after figuring out what was happening, it made it all worth it.

We are really looking forward to being back east next summer so we can enjoy more summer days in the water.

Olivia's laugh, although not a proper laugh just yet (she is still trying to figure that one out) is by far the best sound in the world to her dad and I! We will do just about anything to get her to giggle. It is a good thing no one has a camera on us... it might be quite embarrassing. I think this video clip will prove why the sound is quite addictive.

Here is a better picture in the sweater that mimi knit for her.

San Francisco Zoo (Boo!)

This weekend, Milan and I brought Olivia for her first trip to the zoo. I think that I am officially over zoos, at least this one. I had been to the SF zoo before when my nephew Connor came to visit last August, I didn't remember it being as bad as it was on this visit. You would think in a city as liberal and progressive as SF they wouldn't have a zoo in such bad shape. The animals just looked to be terminally bored. The polar bear was literally pacing back and forth. Not that he would be any better off in his natural habitat now with the melting of the polar ice caps, but he looked very unhappy. And they had a seal, yes, one seal (no friends for him). The good part about the zoo is the interesting facts posted outside the exhibits. For the seal it read that they can dive up to 475 feet. Well, this seal was confined to a small wading pool that was no more than 3 ft deep. The seal was lying lifeless in the corner of this kiddie pool filled with filthy water. Looking at it and many of the other animals, they appeared to be dead.

Aside from the animals being lethargic and listless the grounds were just dirty. It was sad. Many of the "attractions" had nothing in them but passerby's garbage- soda cups, candy wrappers, empty chip bags, etc. And those were the ones without animals. The one's with, were just as depressing- dirty water and patches of dirt and cracked concrete to lay on, no grass in many of the exhibits. And many of the enclosures were not large enough for the bigger animals to roam around, so literally all they could do was just lay there. And I was shocked by the number of children AND adults taunting the animals. You would think after a kid was killed by a tiger there a few months ago for teasing it, people would learn their lesson. Not these folks! I can't say that they generally looked like the smartest people on the face of the earth though (but I digress).

I want Olivia to grow up loving animals but I think bringing her to the San Francisco Zoo is not the way to do it. I think from now on to educate her about animals, we will read her books, go to pet sanctuaries, or a farm, not an enclosed prison for animals. Shame on you SF Zoo.

On a lighter note, we did get this picture of Olivia and I as kangaroos. I even have a papoose!

The dreaded "T" time

Olivia HATES tummy time! I know that hate is a strong word but how she feels about the whole scenario is definitely more than a strong dislike. We all slept on our tummy's when we were babies but now a days it is all about the "BACK to sleep" campaign. The thinking now is that babies that sleep on their stomachs are at a higher risk of SIDS. But they still need to build up the strength in their arms so that they can roll over, crawl and eventually pull up to standing. Every time I put her on her stomach she grunts, groans and is just generally miserable. She has definitely gotten better about it and can now last almost one full minute before the protesting begins. I tried to get some cute pics this past weekend while we were in a "training session" but this is the only one I got before she freaked. I am thinking that it is a foreshadowing of hating the gym... just like her mom. Oh and did I mention she drools a lot too. What is that a foreshadowing of???

Say Cheese!

There is nothing more charming than a baby's smile. It is so genuine and really comes from a place of pure joy and happiness. It is a natural high for Milan and I when those little rose bud lips thin out and spread across her face. Even better are the big gummy smiles we get when she is really excited about something. I thought this one of her was just so endearing and shows how old she is starting to look (well at least to us).

I wanted to post a picture of the beautiful, gorgeous, lovely, pretty, cute, adorable sweater that Olivia's mimi made for her :) Thanks mimi for all the hard work and love you put into it. We love it and love you. Sorry it isn't a very good picture of the sweater because the car seat straps are blocking it. We will get a better one and post it real soon.

Tahoe Baby!

This weekend our friends Joel and Christy had us up to their camp in Lake Tahoe. Milan and I have really been wanting to get up there this summer before it is too late and the snow starts to fall again. Ok, I realize it is only July but time seems to get away from you with an infant.

The water in the lake is an incredible sight. It looks like the ocean in the Caribbean, it is so blue and clear! I tried to capture it on film but was unsuccessful. Although beautiful to look at, it was way too cold to swim in, at least for us. So we enjoyed the lake by going no further than dipping our toes in.

Olivia had a great time. She was a trooper and slept the entire ride up there on Friday night. Then Saturday she hiked with us (in her baby bjorn) to a beach about 45 mins from Joel and Christy's house. Olivia got to dip her toes in the water and she loved it (even with the freezing temps). She has come to be obsessed with water and bath time is hilarious with all of the splashing and sequels of delight. She didn't sleep very well that day or night, new place, new people, too much excitement! But once we got her down, she was out. The next day we headed back to the beach for a little more R&R and Olivia got to dip her toes in the water again. After all that excitement she fell asleep in her stroller while the adults enjoyed lunch.

Whether due to the abundant fresh air, the trees that smell like butterscotch (seriously), or the high altitude, things just seem much simpler in the laid back mountain life of Tahoe. It was good to get away.

Olivia's first boyfriend

As many of you know Olivia does a nanny share with a really nice family that we met on Craigslist, who conveniently live just across the street. I wanted to post some pics of Olivia with her boyfriend Carson who is almost 7 months old. Yes I know, an older man. The good news is that Carson is way more into her than she is into him. We hope it stays that way, with all boys, for a very long time :)

Carson is as sweet as can be and is always smiling and giggling. Renata, our nanny told me this morning that Carson cracks up every time Olivia sneezes. How cute is that? Not only is Carson great, so are his parents- Allison and Jason. We feel really lucky that we found them and they have become friends. These pictures were taken at a BBQ at their house this past Saturday that they were kind enough to invite us to.

Pretty in Pink

Although we didn't want to be steriotypical and have Olivia wear pink all the time... pink is really her color! She always looks so sweet when we dress her in pink. It really brings out the blue in her eyes and her rosey pink cheeks.

It's about time....

So Olivia is officially 13 weeks and 5 days old today... about time for her own blog! With us living in San Francisco and all our friends and family on the other side of the country we feel like this will be a great way to share stories, pictures and videos. All of Olivia's friends here in SF have their own blogs, I can't believe we waited this long!

Our little Olive girl is growing up so fast, it is happening right before our very eyes. She is reaching new milestones every week, while we encourage them all, it is also bittersweet to see her growing up and gaining her independence. I keep telling Milan that before we know it, he is going to be dancing with her at her wedding (sorry I didn't give you the chance to do that with me dad :)... he already has the song picked out- "Daughter" and it's by Loudon Wainwright III. Check it out, it is a really beautiful song. Not that we want to get ahead of ourselves.

She is talking a ton (gibberish of course), smiling all the time, and last week she laughed out loud while I was singing the ABC's! It was so sweet but I am not sure if she was laughing with me or at me??? Milan was out walking The Dude so he missed it and we haven't been able to get her to do it since. Although dramatic at times, she doesn't like to "perform" on command. She is the smiliest girl around but as soon as we take out the camera she gets very serious. She isn't into the paparazzi I guess. Too bad she has picture crazy parents... she better get used to it. Here are some pictures we took of her this weekend in an outfit courtesy of Lulu (thanks Lulu). She is growing out of her clothes so fast so we are trying to make sure she wears everything before it is too late. Last time we were at the doctors she was in the 97 percentile for height and 75 percentile for weight. She is very tall and lean (like her mom used to be :( She will probably always be the tallest girl in her class which I am sure she will hate growing up, but will appreciate it once she is older- maybe she will be a basketball player or a super model? We don't care what she does... as long as she makes enough money for her dad and I to live a very comfortable life (preferably with a boat)- just kidding (sort of).