This blog is coming a little later than normal, but I'm still emotional writing it. If you didn't see my "Happy Birthday Olivia" blog post, I shared that on her actual birthdate, so go check it out! Celebrating the first year of Olivia's life has been so bittersweet. Most of the time we don't even feel like we have a new toddler. She is a seasoned tot for sure. I honestly believe it has a lot to do with the "second child" demeanor. Her entire life she's had someone to look up to and show her the ropes. We are completely blown away with all the things Olivia is during already. We are already making quite a few adjustments in our home with our sweet girl so, without further ado, let's get right into this first year update. 

Clothes: I just washed an entire bin full of Ava's old 18-24 month clothing and the rest of her 12 month clothing. Olivia fits into everything extremely well. 18 month clothing is still a bit long, but fitting extremely well. We haven't touched 24 months clothing yet because I know we just aren't there yet. Most of the 12 month clothing we have fits really well, but I'm noticing that some of the shirts are a bit harder to get on and off. Texas is such a strange state for a lot of reasons but mainly weather. One day it's 32 degrees out, the next it is 75 degrees. We keep a wide range of different clothing out just in case the weather does a 360 on us.

Health: Olivia is such a healthy little girl. Aside from the common cold, we have yet to experience any other health problems during this first year. She hasn't even had a tummy bug (knock on wood); with her big sister, we experienced 3 different viral tummy bugs by the age of one. We are moving into some of the more severe teething symptoms like mild rash, fever, and copious amounts of saliva.. but nothing outside of the norm! She is so incredibly strong, resilient, and she's growing beautifully. She's sitting at just over 21 pounds and she is 30 inches long. We have a one year well baby next week and I have a feeling we'll be receiving another clean bill of health for our sweet girl. 

Feeding: I have made the decision to wean our sweet girl (due to our fertility treatments not being breastfeeding friendly) and so we introduced cow milk sooner than i thought we would. In addition to cow's milk, I have introduced ezekiel bread, almond butter, and a few other fruits I have held off trying in Olivia's infancy. She still only has two teeth on the bottom - but this girl can eat her way through anything. She eats big girl foods and we are completely done with purees. 

Sleep: Removing nursing from our equation is going to make sleep time a little more challenging. Today it took over 30 minutes to get Olivia down for a nap without nursing. I imagine some long nights will be our future while we adjust to our new routine.

Milestones: We have a runner! Olivia is on the move like you wouldn't believe. She sometimes trips over her own little feet, but she seriously books it when she wants to. She is also extremely receptive and listens so incredibly well. If we ask her to put something back, she does. If we ask her to bring something to us, she does. If we ask her to do pretty much anything singular, she does it. It is amazing to me how quickly our second born has picked up on communication. Dancing has also developed a ton in the last month. Olivia loves all kinds of music and her dance moves have grown and seriously impress us!

Things You Love: You love food. Seriously. Baby girl you are a foodie. You love peek-a-boo, you love being kissed all over your sweet cheeks, and chunky thighs. You love playing with your sister's toys.. even when she doesn't want you to. You love being FREE - unless mama has you in a baby carrier. Then you love cuddling. But if you are down - you love to roam the house! You love to lay on our chests and to cuddle when you are ready to sleep. You hold daddy's fingers when you are upset and crying. You also have taken a liking to new music in the car. You have been a bit of a daddy's girl lately - he loves it. You cuddle him, let him hold you in his arms, and you walk to him all the time.

Our sweet girl was NOT a fan of cake! 

♥- Leilani

Happy First Birthday, Sweet Olivia

Fleeting. The one word that comes to mind when I think of how quickly the first year of your life has gone by.

Olivia: 11 months old

My heart is heavy today, just so incredibly heavy. The days have been creeping up on us so quickly - without warning. Our sweet Livy bean is 11 months old today and we are just 30 days away from celebrating her first year of life. I keep asking myself, how did we get here? Like seriously. I know this last month is going to go by just as quickly as the rest but that hasn't stopped me from getting so, so emotional about watching my littlest babe graduate infancy and move into toddlerhood. I feel like the last eleven months have gone by at a warp speed rate. I mean.. wasn't I just blogging bits of my birth experience with her not that long ago? Even though I'm not prepared to deal with all the growth, I did go ahead and buy Olivia's first birthday outfit, cake smash outfit, and I booked studio space so I can take her photos myself. Without further ado, the 11 month update for my sweet girl.

Clothes: Olivia still wears 12 month clothing, but a lot of 18 month clothing fits her well too. I like how many clothing options she has because of her current in between size. She fits most of the weight for 18 month clothing, but she's still on the shorter side and things tend to hang off her little fit in the larger sized clothes. With winter approaching, I've been able to layer and bundle her up - I absolutely love it! 

Health: Our last update my sweet girl had a cold... wouldn't you know her AND her big sister AND her father AND me are all sick AGAIN. We are being slammed like you wouldn't believe. Olivia is such a trooper though. She's got a runny nose, a little congestion, but that hasn't slowed her down one bit. She's eating normally, sleeping normally, and playing around the house like normal as well. We are so grateful for the resiliency our baby girl has. 

Feeding: We don't even second think what we feed Olivia almost all the time. If Ava has it, Olivia can have it too. I don't do anything dairy (just because we aren't there yet), but noodles, fruit, and veggies have no limits. Olivia LOVES food so much and will easily eat everything off her high chair. 

Sleep: I can't rave enough about how great of a sleeper our girls are. Olivia goes down around 8 or so and she stays down until about 745am or 8am. Sometimes it varies depending on if a certain preschooler in the house is intentionally being loud or not. I feel like Olivia will be going from two naps to one very soon here. This week I have noticed that she can go for longer stretches in the morning without needing a nap. Ava was the same way when she kicked her two naps a day routine. Either way, I'm so happy that we have such great consistency with sleep.  

Milestones: Dancing has been the biggest change since last month. Olivia will twirl, turn, and clap to any good beat. She loves dancing with her big sister and daddy. It is absolutely the sweetest sight to see. Our walker is trying to become a runner as of late, she loves staying up to speed with Ava. Olivia gives such great kisses, hugs, and she waves ALL the time. Anything you do, she will easily try to mimic. She's just so incredibly smart and receptive for such a young babe. She can also shake her head no, she's started watching t.v. shows with her older sib, and she loves playing with little people. Watching her actually try to play instead of just shoving toys in her mouth - big growth over here for sure! We have also noticed a switch in temperament. Our sweet girl isn't as big as a fussy gus in the car like she was even just two months ago. Mama could cry big happy tears because we are OVER that hurdle! 

Things You Love: You love music so much. You dance, bob your head, and move to the beat whenever you hear a song you like. You still love food and I LOVE that you are a foodie! You constantly grab at my plate or daddy's because you are so curious about all the foods we have. You love your big sister Ava and will run and hug her whenever she is near you. You two are so incredibly beautiful together. You love playing with big sissy's Sofia the first vanity set and you've taken a liking to Melissa and Doug puzzles too. You love knocking over mama's laundry piles when she's trying to be productive (it actually is pretty cute). You love putting daddy's bronco hats on and emptying all the book cases in the house. You've taken a liking to the toilet, although we wish you wouldn't and you love CLIMBING ON EVERYTHING. 

When I look at my sweet girl I feel nothing but such proud mama happiness. Though it flew by, it has been a year of SO MUCH GROWTH and so much learning. Our family would not feel full without this little baby. I am so grateful for this growing girl. I cannot wait to ring in the new year with Olivia's first year milestone. Happy 11 months baby girl! You have completely changed our world for the better. 

Chewing on her sister's notebook... with those beautiful eyes! 

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 10 months old

We are at this point now where all of the sad, nostalgic emotions are rolling right on in. When I look at Olivia, my heart, it hurts just a little. The growth, the changing, the less baby/more toddler dynamics... I cannot believe my sweet Olivia Rose is 10 months old today. They say the time goes by so fast with your first baby - just wait until it's your second. I'm in complete awe of our Livy bean even more so lately it seems. She has changed SO, so much in the last four weeks.. I can't believe we are just two months away from celebrating her first birthday. I'm trying HARD not to get ahead of myself, so before I do - let's get this update going! 

Clothes: We are slowly moving our way into 18 month clothing. I'm not surprised, but I'm glad we have so much clothing for this babe (Thank you big sister Ava). 12 month clothing still fits, but some of the shirts and pants are a little more snug. I think it really depends on the fabric we have on her. I did buy a couple of shirts from the cat and jack line at Target in 18 months and they fit SO well. 

Health: Bahh, humbug! Olivia is currently in the middle of her third cold in her first year and it has been a rough week. She's had a cough, congestion, and a runny nose - we feel so terrible for our girl. She's also had a few fits of diarrhea the past few days (my poor baby!). We haven't given any medicines other than baby rub (only on her feet) and we are praying that her STRONG immune system kicks into high gear to heal our girl before the holiday hits. Even though she has a cold, it hasn't slowed her down one bit.

Feeding: Solid foods are still a go! Basically anything we eat, we break into small Livy sized pieces and feed it to her. This has actually pushed us into healthier foods since we want Olivia to be eating the best nutrients we can give her, the whole family has been eating that way. It's a win/win! Olivia loves peaches, pears, bread, chicken, and sweet potatoes. I'm so glad we made the decision to finally try baby led weaning. When this method is done safely, it is extremely beneficial for the baby, at least ours. 

Sleep: THIS CHILD. She is still an amazing sleeper. When she is down, she is down! Sometimes her naps can be short and interrupted (especially if we are on the go), but when it comes to that long 8-8 stretch that we have in our normal routine at night - Livy is golden. 

Milestones: Last month I shared the big news that we had a WALKER, man you wouldn't believe how fast our child BOLTS when she is on the move. She is beginning to look like a pro and she chases Ava all over the house. Olivia can also drink from a straw (as of like four weeks ago, but it's not something we do regularly... so i didn't share it), wave her hands, and shake her head to any tune she likes. She has been responding to her name for a few months now and she can say mama, dada, baba, nana, and a variety of other baby babble.

Things You Love: You love food. Seriously. Baby girl you are a foodie. You love peek-a-boo, you love being kissed all over your sweet cheeks, and chunky thighs. You love playing with your sister's toys.. even when she doesn't want you to. You love being FREE - unless mama has you in a baby carrier. Then you love nursing. But if you are down - you love to roam the house! You love to lay on our chests and to cuddle when you are ready to sleep. You hold daddy's fingers when you are upset and crying. You also have taken a liking to new music in the car. You have been a bit of a daddy's girl lately - he loves it. You cuddle him, let him hold you in his arms, and you walk to him all the time.

I think this month has been the most surreal month, with the exclusion of the first couple months of your life. We see more of a toddler than we do an infant. We see personality, love, and so much growth coming out of our girl on a daily basis. I see the love she has for her big sister and their bond that continues to grow and emerge. 

Olivia, we love you baby. These past ten months with you have been nothing short of everything we ever hoped for with adding a second baby to our family.

Olivia's first day earth side.

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 9 months old

Ahh, 9 months already. This past month with Olivia Rose was a breath of fresh air. Teething has stopped tormenting our baby to the fullest extreme and her sweet personality has been emerging quite frequently. I have seen so much change, growth, and personality in my girl since my last update. We spent the last couple of weeks in New York and Olivia had a lot of firsts occur during vacation. She spent a lot of time on green grass in the country, she ate a lot of solid foods (nana's cooking was so yummy to her), and she was surrounded by more people than she ever has been in her life (cousins, uncles, aunts, etc). We did go through a bit of separation anxiety because of all the loving family members that wanted to hold her... and she wasn't able to have mama directly in her view. 

Clothes: We have officially moved to 12 months clothes entirely! I packed away all the 9 month clothes just before our trip to New York and I pulled out some 12-18 month clothing just to be on the safe side. I cannot believe that my nine month old is already in 12 month clothing. It's not like the clothes are extremely loose on her either. They fit well. So happy that our growing girl is moving on up! 

Health: Happy to report that we have had minimal bumps/falls/spills over the last month. I won't lie, I think I've gotten a little more cautious than ever before. Olivia has no fear though - and that most definitely requires us to be on the lookout just a bit more than normal. I thought for sure she'd get a cold after traveling to New York and back.. to my surprise, nothing! No sick babe for us. We had a doctor's appointment right before vacation as well and Olivia weighed in at 20 pounds and 3 ounces! She's also 27.6 inches long and in the 98th percentile for stats! We still stick with delayed vaccs, but Olivia will be getting her 9 month well baby set up here soon.

Feeding: Our baby mainly eats solid foods. We break off almost everything we eat and give Olivia smaller portions. I am very comfortable with baby led weaning and so is Olivia. She does so well with feeding herself and it makes meal times so much easier for the entire family. We do give her little baby puffs, yogurt melts, and sometimes stage 3 foods depending on where we are/time crunch. Even now, Olivia will take puree foods so much better than she ever did before. Maybe because they aren't the bulk of food she's consuming? Who knows! Either way, feeding has become a breeze. Olivia will literally eat anything you put in front of her. 

Sleep: THIS CHILD. She is still an amazing sleeper. When she is down, she is down! Sometimes her naps can be short and interrupted (especially if we are on the go), but when it comes to that long 8-8 stretch that we have in our normal routine at night - Livy is golden. 

Milestones: Are you ready for this? **WE HAVE A WALKER** Yes, you read that right. Our girl is standing up unassisted, and she's on the move. She's still in the beginning stages of walking, but she can take 4-5 steps all on her own. I cannot believe it. She's so strong, she's been so strong her entire infancy. That's the biggest milestone we've experienced, but there are others. Baby can say - mama, dada, nana - clear as day. I think the rest might be just a mix of baby jabber, but we love it all. She has been able to recognize her name for quite some time and strangers take notice to this behavior as well.

Things You Love: You love food. Seriously. Baby girl you are a foodie. You love peek-a-boo, you love being kissed all over your sweet cheeks, and chunky thighs. You love playing with your sister's toys.. even when she doesn't want you to. You love being FREE - unless mama has you in a baby carrier. Then you love nursing. But if you are down - you love to roam the house! You love to lay on our chests and to cuddle when you are ready to sleep. You hold daddy's fingers when you are upset and crying. You also have taken a liking to new music in the car. I love watching your mood change depending on the music in the car.

The past month has been a joy as always with our littlest little. Sometimes Justin and I cannot believe that we were given this beautiful baby girl. You are growing, you are thriving, and you are changing so much as the months pass us by. We love you Olivia Rose! 

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 8 months old

This past month has been thee most emotional month of our lives. I'm going to keep it completely real with you guys - this month has been so completely draining. Olivia went and did a 360 on us and is currently going through teething, thee " I only want my mama phase" and the " I want to pull up on everything even if that means it will FALL on top of me" phase. I can't quite put into words how I feel... maybe constantly having my heart feel like it's going to leap from my chest and a mix of utter exhaustion. I don't even mean like tired exhaustion. I mean like emotional exhaustion. I beat myself up over EVERYTHING that happens to my children. Why? Because most of the day, I am the sole provider for them. I am home, I take care of their needs, and it's my responsibility to make sure that they are safe... This month, I feel like I failed. It actually makes me super emotional writing that (more on this later). Okay, now that the heavy feels are out of the way, lets get back to celebrating my Livy bean's eighth month of life! 

Even with all the throws of parenthood, I would never for one moment change the fact that I get to be a mother to two beautiful, perfect, hilarious, little girls. Olivia's personality emerges more and more each day and she is without a doubt a strong willed, determined, intelligent little babe. 

Clothes: Surprisingly, Olivia is still in 9 month clothing. I know I could probably switch to 12 months entirely if I wanted to, but the next size up would still be a little big in the length department. I also can't believe that my 8 month old is already almost in 12 month clothing. I know we will definitely be switching before Halloween (more than likely before our trip to New York in a couple weeks). I have been SUPER matchy matchy with the girls and their fall clothing. Florals, festive shirts, and so many cute cardigans. My mom would match my sister and I all the time; I plan to do the same thing with my girls. 

Health: Olivia is perfectly healthy, it's more of the spills/falls/bumps that have occurred that have me feeling so emotional about her health. The other day, my child tried to climb up my vacuum cleaner. I turned away for one split second - the next thing I know: Olivia has pulled the vacuum cleaner down on top of her. Well, that's not exactly right. It didn't fall on her, but it definitely hit her on the way down. She had this indent on her head and I immediately started freaking out. I was crying, i was frantic, and I was trying to console my baby while trying to get a better look at what part of the cleaner hit her and where exactly she was hurting. The indent turned into a bump within a matter of minutes. Justin was on his way home from bringing the girls god mom from the airport. My immediate thought was to take her to the ER. Long story short: Olivia is perfectly fine. That was our health scare of the month though.

Feeding: This has changed significantly since I last did a monthly update. I wrote a blog a month ago (maybe?) about our choice to utilize baby led weaning. It was literally the best choice of our lives and Olivia's as well. She absolutely loves to feed herself and she eats so much! So many healthy choices - and i don't spend hours making purees anymore. She also loves those little puffs that gerber makes. They make these organic yogurt melts as well - Olivia LOVES them. Eating is going well and sometimes Olivia will let us feed her. As far as nursing, we are 8 months and counting! Still going strong. I almost want to say her feedings have decreased just a little - but we have a ton of cluster feeding later in the evenings.

Sleep: THIS CHILD. She is still an amazing sleeper. When she is down, she is down! Sometimes her naps can be short and interrupted (especially if we are on the go), but when it comes to that long 8-8 stretch that we have in our normal routine at night - Livy is golden. 

Milestones: So many things to list here. First, we bought Olivia a walker - she actually walks in it. I mean all over the place. This is used when Justin or I need to do a quick task (dishes, laundry, etc.) but we mainly keep her on the floor for play. She loves being able to chase Ava around the house in her walker though. Olivia has taken like 1.5 unassisted steps by herself - she topples over shortly after. She opens all her drawers, our cupboards, and entertainment center doors. Her goal is to be at the highest level she can (she succeeds in this a lot of the time). Olivia pulls up on the couch, dining room chairs, and often times her sister - just to be able to stand and attempt to take steps. We are so proud of her growth and all that our babe can do now! 

Things You Love: You love when we "gobble" on your neck with kisses. You love when mama rubs your head, arms, and cheeks. You love when your sister sings, dances, or pretty much does anything on your level. YOU LOVE BEING ABLE TO SEE MAMA 24/7. Seriously. If you don't see mama, there is chaos in your sweet world. You still love peek-a-boo (when it is done appropriately). You love the theme songs to two of your sister's favorite shows.

This month was full of so much change. I know before we know it, I'll be writing toddler updates for Miss Olivia Rose. It's insane to me that in four short months we will be celebrating a first birthday for our girl. I am relishing in all the moments with my sweet Livy girl - she truly is the center of our world in the Howland house. We love you Olivia Rose! 

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 7 months old

What happened to the last month of our lives? Seriously though. Olivia's growth has definitely hit an all time high and i feel like my little infant isn't such an infant anymore. We started solid foods last month, so I know that has something to do with it.. and the fact that my child is closer to being one year old than her actual birthdate. She wants so badly to play alongside her older sister and do everything Ava does. I feel like that's a motivating drive for her as well. She see's her big sister running, jumping, and facing no limitations... I have no doubt in my mind that Olivia is ready to do ALL those things.

Clothes: Olivia is still in 9 month clothing, but I have been shopping for 12 months. Our child is past the 98th percentile for all of her stats from her last well baby; needless to say, I feel like she'll be in 12 month clothing before we know it. I've been choosing outfits for Olivia that match her big sister's clothes as well! I am so excited to see these sisters match one another. I'm also extremely excited to watch Olivia wear more of Ava's old baby clothes. I am so incredibly glad we held onto everything. 

Health: Olivia was introduced to three new people this past week - her nana, her uncle, and her uncle's girlfriend.. who traveled to us via airplane.. I think some nasty germs made their way into our home with their visit because Miss Olivia (and her big sister) are sick. It isn't minor, in fact it's the worst cold I've ever seen our Livy bean have. She isn't miserable, but it's never fun to watch your baby go through a sick period. This will be Olivia's third cold in 7 months of her life. Aside from this cold, Olivia is in excellent health. Our girl weighs 18 pounds and 6.5 ounces, she's 25 inches long, and the doc says she's growing wonderfully! 

Feeding: Olivia is still nursing just as much as she did prior to us introducing solids. She doesn't really like food fed to her, but she will eat the solids that are put on her highchair tray. We still introduce a new food to her every three days, with hopes that she may take a liking to these baby purees. So far we've tried over 5 different fruits, 5 veggies, and peach banana oatmeal. I am really shocked at how reluctant Olivia is about food. When she does have food in her mouth, she sort of makes the chewing motion as if she has teeth or something. It's so adorable! 

Sleep: I have noticed that our little girl likes to be awake more during the day. This past week she has been waking up around 8am and not taking her first nap until closer to 11am. That is not like her normal schedule at all. Olivia has never not taken a nap within the first couple hours of waking. Because her first nap was so late, her second nap was also late. It totally threw us all off schedule. She was napping later into the evening, which made bedtime later for her as well. We've only had a couple of days like that, so I'm hoping that it was just a fluke? If not, we definitely have to evaluate our normal to accommodate both kiddos.

Milestones: We have got ourselves a full blown crawling, pulling up on things, talking (mama, dada, nana, baba) and unassisted standing (For about 2 seconds) 7 month old baby girl. We are so proud and grateful for all the milestones Olivia hits. The day she started crawling was also the day she started sitting up on her own. Less than a week later, Olivia was pulling up on anything she cold get her hands on... then she just let's go and will stand there by herself for just a couple of seconds. Stranger danger or separation anxiety has definitely hit full blown. If you walk away from more than a second, Olivia is crawling after you (usually in tears). She absolutely does not like when mama is out of sight and will actually scream a little to let you know she's mad.

Things You Love: Crawling after objects that you can pull up on. Your big sister's tea time chairs are your favorite thing to pull up on. You also like pulling up on the entertainment center, the couch, and often times your sister's toy bin. You love having your feet and tummy kissed or tickled. You also love when someone is holding your hand. Bath time has become interesting, as we have been using the inflatable duck in the tub so you can sit while we bathe you. Feeding is a treat because you love being able to clap your hands in any puree of food. You still love peek-a-boo, you have taking a liking to the show "Little Einsteins" and you love being close to your mama at all times.

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 6 months old

My sweet Olivia Rose has transformed into a stronger, mobile, and a partially self entertaining six month old baby... just in the last four weeks. I have no clue what sparked such an advancement, but our girl just took off with no indication that she will slow down. FAST is the one word that pops out when i discuss my second babe and how the past six months of her life have gone. The days, the months, the time just goes by so much faster with your second child. It makes me so incredibly emotional, but also very excited for what the future has in store for us. I can't wait to see our girls interacting and playing on a toddler/preschool level. I have so much to tell you guys in this update, so let's get to it! 

Clothes: My child is OFFICIALLY IN 9 MONTH CLOTHING. Yes, I literally boxed up all of the six month clothing almost two weeks ago. This happened over night. Her last update mentioned how we were using 6-9 month clothing (some outfits still are 6-9 month) and that's pretty seldom as well. We established care in our new city and Olivia was over 17 pounds.. I guess that's the moment I should have realized that she would soon be switching sizes. I am glad we didn't invest in purchasing so many new clothing items.. Olivia is growing right through alllll the clothes! 

Health: Olivia had her second cold this past week. It wasn't major, in fact it was actual less severe than the first cold she had. She had a bit of a runny nose, but that's about it. Big sister had a full on cold - I'm guessing this is where Livy got it from. Other than that, Olivia is a healthy little bean! She's got great numbers with weight, height, and head circumference... and we are all set for her six month well baby today! 

Feeding: We are still exclusively nursing... for another few hours. Today is the day that our sweet girl will be introduced to solid foods and a sippy cup. I'm really excited to be making baby food again, and I hope that Olivia loves sweet potatoes (first food we tried with her big sister). I'm extremely proud of myself for avoiding the use of a breast pump for the months that I exclusively breastfed. It was so incredibly important for me to prevent outside factors from interfering with my supply. Since exclusively breastfeeding is coming to a close, I might try pumping simply to add more liquids in the solid foods we make. 

Sleep: Thankful for my AMAZING sleeper! Olivia has developed her own routine for sleep during the day and she sleeps straight through the night. During the day she has a morning nap at around 930? Maybe 10? That is usually about 30-45 minutes of sleep. At around 12-1pm, Olivia will sleep for easily 90 minutes. The next nap she has isn't until closer to dinner time, or right after dinner time. We get ready for bed and she sleeps from 8-8. It is absolutely glorious and we are so blessed that her sleep schedule has only gotten better with time! 

Milestones: Olivia is CRAWLING! That's right, we have a mobile baby! In our last update she was scooting.. now we have a baby that can go anywhere in this house. She also said "dada" for the first time a week ago. We got it on video too! Justin was a big ball of gush. Sometimes I hear her say "Ma" "Na" but no mama or nana. Our sweet girl has some swollen gums as of today... I think we may have a teething six month old on our hands. Olivia can also pull herself up to the sitting position and stay there without any support from us. It's incredibly impressive and insane that my six month old is doing ALL of this! She's so incredibly strong and she's got a great grip.. I mean, she's just developing so wonderfully. We are blessed!

Things You Love: Ava is always at the top of the list here. You play with your older sister in such a beautiful way. She makes you laugh so MUCH. You love being on the floor and playing with all the toys that aren't designed for babies. You crawl to anything you want... even chairs, entertainment centers, you know.. all the "hazardous areas" for your six month old self. You still love falling asleep on daddy's chest ( I love this so much). You enjoy peek-a-boo very much so (still) and you love kisses on your sweet cheeks! Bath time has always been a favorite in this house for you and you also love bedtime stories as of late. You love being tickled, loved on, and listening to your sister sing her favorite theme songs.

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 5 months old

It's true what they say... don't blink. I now have a five month old Livy bean... can you believe it? We are finally getting into the most familiar stages of infancy (for me, anyways) and it is so exciting. Olivia puts allll the things in her mouth, she can sit unassisted for more than five seconds, and she has the cutest giggle (someone found their sense of humor). She does tummy time pretty much every waking hour and she now sits with her chest puffed out like she's holding herself up with her arms. We call them baby pushups! She's also started to ROCK as of last night!! I think we very well may have a crawler on our hands!! She is so incredibly strong. When we sit down for dinner, we sit her in the bumbo and she literally drag the GLASS fruit bowl close to her so she can try and pick up an orange or banana. She swivels her body around in the bumbo, so we have to keep eyes on her at all times.

Clothes: Olivia is currently in 6 month clothing, but she very well may be in 9 months before the end of June. Even a lot of 6-9 month clothing fit her. The cool thing is that we've still been able to utilize pretty much all of the clothes that Ava had for this age. Texas is so much more hot, but indoors it feels like 67 degrees pretty much at all times. I'm thankful that we haven't had to throw so much money into clothing with our Livy Bean. I've actually been trying to shy away from using the traditional girly colors when I dress her. Her eyes are blue, so anything green, yellow, or baby blue have been kind of my go-to's lately. 

Health: I found a PEDS clinic for both girls once we arrived in Texas, so I will be scheduling her six month well baby this week. Otherwise, Olivia is completely healthy. She's only had one cold in five months and she's thriving. We are blessed.

Feeding: We are still exclusively nursing! I haven't touched a breast pump at all, she's never had anything other than breastmilk.. I'm so thankful that my supply fits the nourishment needs of my sweet, growing girl. We will be starting solids next month (I still can't believe it) but other than that, no rice cereals (we didn't use rice cereal with Ava either) no juice, and no other forms of nourishment other than what we whip up in the kitchen + breastmilk. 

Sleep: Miss Olivia has still proven to be an amazing sleeper, and this mama bear is so incredibly grateful. She sleeps so much more soundly if she's on her daddy's chest during the day, but since vacation is almost over... those naps will only happen on the weekends. Even still, her naps during the day can last anywhere from 30 minutes - 2 hours depending on where she's sleeping. At night, she's like clockwork. Out at 730pm and I don't usually wake to her wanting to nurse until about 5am or so? We still co-sleep almost always, but I'll be trying out the bassinet and crib in the coming weeks to see if Olivia's naps can be more peaceful in her own space. Granted, the bassinet is right beside my bed, but we recently set up a nursery in the new house and I'm eager to see if she'll like it.

Milestones: I sort of spilled the beans on the milestone at the beginning of this blog, but here goes nothing, again. She's scooting (has been for a few weeks), she has found her infectious baby laugh, she's rocking back and forth (signs of crawling), she can push herself up on her arms like in a push up position, and she can hold pretty much anything she wants in her sweet hands. Focus is still completely incredible, responds and glances at you when you say Olivia, Livy Bean, Sweet baby. So many HUGE milestones this month. We will also be bringing out the high chair for the first time here shortly! I can't wait to get Olivia acquainted with utensils, her new seat at the table, and her first foods! 

Things You Love: You LOVE interacting with your big sister. I mean, we've been saying this for awhile... but it is so unbelievably true. Whenever Ava is around, you are smiling. When she talks to you, you coo + laugh hysterically. Ava loves you and you love pulling big sissy's hair. You love her kisses and you often give her slobbery kisses of your own. You love your floor time and your baby Einstein toy that recently found it's way into our home. You love being close to daddy and you seriously just melt into your father's arms when you are tired. You love when mommy plays peek-a-boo with you and you love when mama tickles your sweet baby feet. You also love sucking on your little piggy toes (should have probably included that in the milestone section) almost every chance you get.

We love you so much Olivia Rose. So thankful for your continued growth and good health! 

♥- Leilani

Olivia Rose: 15 Weeks

This week has been a deja vu week FOR SURE. I'm remembering all the things that Ava did at this age... Olivia's milestones are completely parallel. She's started doing a baby scream... Ava did this all the time. The first time I heard Olivia "baby scream" I just smiled so incredibly big. Justin's heard it a bunch on face time too. She's constantly got her hands in her mouth too. I didn't realize how much Ava had her hands in her mouth until I went back and watched videos of her at this stage. *** Note to self *** BE BETTER at taking videos of Olivia. With Ava, I literally almost always had a recorder in her face for videos. I've noticed that I take photos of Olivia more than I do videos. But that ends now. I want them to be equally as documented through picture and video. I made a compilation video for Ava when she was six months old, I plan to do the same for Baby O. Aside from her hands, baby screams, and being 15 weeks old... she's is full blown in the bumbo and has been for the last few weeks or so. 

Her head control is top notch at this point, she gets stronger by the day, and she can bare weight on her feet more than an almost four month old should. It's not like we stand her up or anything for long periods of time (technically, babies aren't suppose to be bearing weight at this age? Could be an old wives tale), but when she's on my lap or the lap of a family member, she's showing off how strong she is with her own little center of gravity. She's such a happy baby and for that I couldn't feel more blessed. She doesn't usually cry, unless we are in the car and she didn't have a proper feeding prior. She likes going to sleep with a full belly, every time she's ready for sleep. I have pulled over while out and about far more times than I ever did with Ava bug. But you know what? That's completely okay with me. It's allowed me to bond with Olivia in ways I didn't get to with my first baby girl. 

Especially in the mom wagon. I literally pull over in a parking lot.. normally the commissary, and I head to the third row. I change diapers and nurse that baby girl. Ava is usually watching a movie on the DVD player, so once Olivia knocks out, I end up staying back there for a good 5 minutes watching Ava's show with her. The past six weeks with both of my girls has been one for the books in all honesty. Olivia and Ava have grown so much in the last six weeks, it amazes me. Ava came up to me this evening and said, "Mama! Sissy has blue eyes?" It kind of caught me off guard, but I replied with, "Yes baby. Sissy does have pretty blue eyes and Ava has pretty brown eyes." I think Ava picked that up from every single person that stops us in public to gaze into Olivia's blue eyes. She still has very fair skin, blue eyes, and definitely lighter brown hair. All opposite traits of big sister, Ava bug. I love how different they are, but also how similar they are. 

I can't believe Livy will be four months old this month. It's going by way too fast with her.

♥- Leilani

100 Days Old

Olivia is 100 days old. I read once, that in Korean culture, celebrating a baby's 100th day of life is often bigger than a first birthday. Why? Many years ago, babies in Korea would not survive past the 100th day of life. As a way of celebrating their children surpassing that, they had a HUGE party with family and friends in recognition of the milestone. While I am not Korean, I find it equally important to celebrate my sweet Livy's 100th day of life. She's officially in the "three digit days" of life... I can't believe my baby is growing so fast. I mean that with all my heart, soul, and bones. These last few months have been the fastest whirlwind of my life. Most days, I'm just trying to savor the fact that she is still small. She still rests her head on my breast after a feeding, she still nuzzles into my chest once she's in a sweet slumber... and when she looks up at me with her baby blue eyes, I feel like I'm her hero. 

At 14 weeks old, not a whole lot has changed with our sweet girl. We have had a routine for a while, so it's basically something we follow almost every single day. I did make a change this evening though. Since birth, I've tried getting Olivia to sleep in the bassinet right alongside our bed.. I've had zero luck. We do love co-sleeping, so in all fairness... I think after a couple days, we gave up trying. It wasn't until we put a rocker from the pack and play inside the bassinet did our little cherub sleep soundly without waking. Tonight I removed that rocker and laid my sweet babe on her back in the bassinet.. It was a success! She's sound asleep. 

I've noticed how much more alert + aware Olivia has gotten in the last couple weeks too. The amount increases on a daily basis it seems. She will gaze at the television set when Ava's shows are on, she also focuses pretty hard at certain objects or the face of her sister. She has a hold like you wouldn't believe. She is always pulling Ava's hair. She loves bath time.. and pooping in the bath during bath time. This results in less than subtle shrieks from my toddler about baby's poop in the bathtub. Gotta love co-bathing. She loves her fingers too. If not a breast, then Olivia most definitely has her sweet little fingers in her mouth. We don't use pacifiers with her either.. I don't mind, although we have tried. One less thing to wean as she gets older is my perspective. She tends to sleep all day long during growth spurts; I love being able to tell when my baby is growing. 

This month she has her second round of shots.. but we are delaying the ones she will receive, just like we did with Ava. It feels good to feel secure about the decisions we make for our children (that's an entirely different post). I still can't believe I am going to have a three year old this month AND a four month old. You'd think the surreal feeling of being a mother would pass.. but it hasn't. I am completely smitten with both of my girls in every single way and I am beyond thankful to be their mother. 

Happy 100th day of life my sweet Livy girl! 

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 12 Weeks Old

Week 12 has been full of growth for our Livy bean. Not only does she remain extremely vocal (cooing and baby babble) but she has started to focus on toys and grab them in her hands... and they always end up in her mouth. It has been amazing to watch her develop so quickly. Tummy time occurs several times throughout the day and she loves it. We started using the bumbo this week (same timeline that we used the bumbo with big sister) and I think we might wait another week or two before it becomes a regular thing. Her head control is great, I just want to make sure that it's as strong as it needs to be for bumbo seating. 

We officially put our sweet girl in her first 6 month outfit this week... I cannot believe she is in 3-6 month clothing now. I guarantee you she is sitting over 14 pounds by this point. The weather is getting so much warmer than expected in April, so I did some minimal shopping to accommodate Olivia while we are out in about in this heat. When Ava was in six months clothes, it was the winter... some of the clothes I can get away with putting Olivia in, but it's mostly for when we are on the go that concerns me. Thank goodness Texas has central air. While it's 100 degrees outside, it'll feel like 60 degrees indoors.

Breastfeeding continues to be so good with her! Unlike her big sister, Olivia has never had a bottle... or expressed milk. I've been on the fence about pumping this time around and I don't know if it's going to be included in our nursing journey. It helps that Justin supports whatever decision is best for Livy. When we had Ava, I know he felt left out during feeding in the first few months because we opted not to bottle feed regularly. 

Olivia's demeanor has definitely changed in the last few weeks.I think I mentioned she totally isn't experiencing the "witching hour" any longer... (so, so incredibly thankful that the witching hour seems to be a thing of the past).. I think as we continue to get to know one another, her behaviors will adjust accordingly. She is happy + content almost always. It's a blessing. It really is. 

I know this update is short, but something I don't ever want to forget about the first weeks of the first year of Olivia's life. Below is a photo of my strong girl on her play mat. I still cannot believe that she will be three months old this month. 

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 11 Weeks Old

Olivia is cooing so much now. I love this age she's at. 

Olivia: 10 Weeks Old

10 weeks old and still completely perfect in every single way. Olivia is thriving and it's been a joy to watch. She's cooing so much. I swear I hear her say, "Ma" like all the time. She's been rolling over for quite some time, but I've noticed that she's also pushing off on her legs. She had her almost-slept-through-the-night kind of night and I was so incredibly thrilled! I woke up at like 5am for a potty break and realized Olivia had no woken up to nurse. not once. I really do believe she is going through a growth spurt though. She spent the rest of the day sleeping away (which she hasn't done in weeks). It was at about this age that Ava bug started sleeping through the night. Both of our girls are amazing sleepers. I love that her smiles are almost always on her pretty little face. She smiles for daddy through facetime too, which I know makes his heart just beam. We are doing tummy time pretty much every other hour or so throughout the day. It seems like she loves to be level and on the floor with her big sister.

I see us busting out the bumbo seat here very soon. Her neck control is really almost ready for it. I still can't believe we are at this point already. Some days it feels like I just brought her home from the hospital not all that long ago. I've also been nursing for 10 weeks... it's such a breeze with this babe. I mean, it was a breeze with Ava bug, but my confidence level didn't need much boosting with bebe #2. She nurses on demand (and will continue to do so until we wean). I do feel a self-weaning babe in her though. If that does happen, I won't be upset in the slightest. Having to wean Ava was one of the hardest moments in parenthood honestly. I think what shocks me the most after 10 weeks of loving this little cherub is how different my bond is with her, compared to big sister. 

While infants can be one in the same in lots of ways, there are so many differences between our two girls. I love it! Olivia did start pacifying me a few weeks ago, but for the most part.. if she is full and content, she will literally doze off by herself. With Ava, if she wasn't nursing, she wasn't content when she needed to doze off. That is such a huge difference. Sometimes I'll just lay Olivia on the play mat and give her a baby massage.. the next thing you know her sweet eyes are closing and she's drifting off into a baby slumber. 

♥- Leilani

Olivia: 9 Weeks

Our Livy Bean got her very first set of vaccinations today. It was really hard on me, yet again.. I actually left the room (just like I did when Ava got her vaccines). I hate hearing my babies cry, even if it's only momentarily. Yes, even if it's doing them more good than harm. Noone wants to hear their sweet baby cry. I'm thankful Justin is completely okay being in there with them. That man of mine, he's a God sent. I'm actually getting ahead of myself, so let me rewind. We got called back from the waiting room and like usual, Olivia's vitals were taken. Can you believe that my nine week old already weights 12 pounds? I could not believe it. She is such a healthy babe, couldn't be more blessed. We went back for her well baby and there were tears involved aside from the shots. The girls have thee best pediatrician, ever. Seriously. I told her about my mom passing and she just sat there and cried with me. She told me about her personal experiences with this type of grief and she also gave me resources to utilize for mental health. I ended up taking a postpartum test and i scored pretty high. She knew why and didn't give me a hard time about it. So long as I wasn't having thoughts of harming myself or the babies (which I could never imagine myself thinking, ever in life).

The doctor was beaming over Olivia's achievements so far. She can hold her head up so high for such a long time. She's got a great grip, great strength. She's staring into mirrors and following our voices. It is just amazing how much of this blows me away, even with baby # 2. I forgot to list a few of the things we have used with this baby girl that we did not use with Ava. One of those being: The Nose Frieda. Seriously, this thing is amazing. It sucks out so much mucus.. it's unreal. The appearance isn't exactly ideal, but it works so much better than a bulb ever could. We also have our sweet babe in disposable diapers. Her size  and my cloth stash had some disagreements on absorbency in the first few weeks, and after TONS of saturated clothes, I decided to take a break. With everything I'm battling, I will definitely cave when it comes to waste and how to handle it. I do miss cloth diapering, but I do not miss the laundry, the leaky diapers, and the added task on my "to-do" list.

We did start using a double stroller in the last week.. let me just tell you, Chicco does NOT disappoint. Our double stroller is a BEAST and it makes for traveling in this rainy Washington weather a complete breeze. I no longer have to wake a sleeping baby from her carseat to babywear.. I can let my babe enjoy her sweet little slumber. I've also started taking a liking to woven wraps. They are completely sturdy, comfortable, and durable for me and the babe. Babywearing is without a doubt an essential part of motherhood for me. I think we are going to start wearing Ava bug again as well (she's been requesting it a bit lately).

♥- Leilani

6 Weeks Old

I gave birth to my sweet girl in the season of Winter, and now, Spring is slowly but surely approaching. It's weird to think of the seasons changing so quickly, because that means Olivia is changing too. This past week has been a bit of a blur. Olivia has already presented things in parenting Justin and I have yet to experience. One of those major changes would be, crying. Ava never cried, and if she did.. a boob would likely meet her needs. That is not the case with baby # 2. Olivia tends to only want the breast when she's hungry or trying to doze off to sleep. When it comes to comfort, she much prefers to be held, to be kissed on, or to be swayed in her daddy's arms. There have been a few occasions in the last 3 weeks or so where her cries will last for almost 20 minutes. It's not frustrating for us, but it's heartbreaking. This is the first time I've ever not been able to console my baby immediately. I've cried, I've worried, but I've also taken the experience in entirely. I plan on blogging on this subject alone, so make sure to look back for that. It's humbling to be reminded that just because you've done it before, it doesn't mean you know it all. 

I noticed earlier in the morning that Olivia's left eye had been watering a bit and collecting a little discharge... so naturally, I phoned the PEDS doctor. They got me in that afternoon and Justin, Ava, Baby O, and I all went to see what was causing this. Turns out Olivia has a blocked tear duct. Nothing major, pretty common, and easily treated at home. I've been applying warm compresses a few times a day and massaging the inner meeting of her eye. While at the PEDS doc, Olivia also got a fresh list of stats. Can you believe my sweet girl weighs 11.2 pounds? It's unreal, right? The last time she was weighed was at two weeks and she clocked in at 8.4 pounds. If I had any concern about my milk being lesser than, those worries were dropped off completely. Aside from the tear duct, we have no other worries for Miss Livy bean. She's doing exceptionally well for six weeks old and I can't even begin to tell you what a relief that is. 

Out of all the changes this week, her smiling has got to be my favorite. She smiles so much now. Those smiles literally make my day, especially on days like today. I keep reminding myself that Olivia and I are both new at this. When i say that, I mean adapting to a normal where there are other people that need to be taken care of as well. i've never had to put my baby second to anything, because well.. Ava was our first baby. Now it's a constant juggle between being there for our toddler and being there for our infant. Some days I wish there were two of me, other days I impress myself with my multitasking. 

Either way, Olivia is thriving and that's all I could ask for at this point. 

♥- Leilani

Breastfeeding Project

I'm working on a really special breastfeeding project between Olivia and I... I can't wait to share it with all of you. I wanted to start by sharing some of the photos I've kept personal from our birth photographer. Our nursing experience started just moments after Olivia came earth side. These moments are to be celebrated, as it marks an important milestone in our bond. It marks the moment I made a decision to give my newborn the best nutrition possible. The most amazing thing about breastfeeding my second time around is the fact that the relationship is completely different with Olivia. She nurses and nourishes a lot differently than her big sister, but it is still without a doubt such an amazing thing to witness. My experience has been quite different this time too, but in such positive ways. Take a look at some of the photos taken of our first nursing session together. Looking back at these still bring tears to my eyes.

Photo Cred: BHP

♥- Leilani

First Bath

Not even five weeks old yet and Miss Olivia got her very first bath. All the firsts are still so incredibly important to me, so naturally Justin had to be present too. After taking a nice slumber on daddy's chest, we headed for the tub. I purchased the blooming bath this time around and I'm so glad I did. I did like Ava's traditional baby tub and seat... but I really wanted to explore other options for our second baby. The bath is so soft and absorbent. It's got some awesome cushion to it as well. Olivia seems to be a fan so i'm super pleased with this purchase. I started gathering all the things needed for bath time.. hooded towel, baby washcloth, and baby lotion... all things I haven't done in quite some time. I got a little nostalgic but in the same moment extremely excited. Another milestone we've hit with our youngest daughter... it truly is the most simplistic events that make for the sweetest memories. 

I talked to her the entire time I bathed her. I filled the tub with minimal water and burt's bees baby soap. She smiled at me a few times and I just kept on jabbering. Justin was talking too.. referencing some sitcom on Netflix that we decided to watch together. Our Livy bean is such a peaceful babe. She seemed to really enjoy her first bath, especially when I started washing her hair. I loved those moments with her. This phase of life is by far my favorite with my girls. Still so small, depending on you for everything. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world to know that you are needed. I put some lovely lavender lotion on the babe before putting her in a size 3 month sleeper.. I instantly got emotional. My littlest girl will be five weeks on Thursday and it makes my heart ache. The time, it's just going by so quickly with her. I savor the moments between just us two so incredibly much. We have our middle of the night rendezvous too and I enjoy them. 

This is the best part about having more kids for me, so far. I know how quickly this all goes. I know what to look forward to, I know not to blink too quickly or I'll soon have a toddler before me. The journey that gets us there will most definitely be different with Olivia, as she's an entirely different human being than Ava. We've already started to pick up the differences between Ava at this age and Olivia at this age. There have been things that Olivia has done that we never experienced with Ava and vice versa. 

♥- Leilani