Happy Birthday Mom

On Sunday it was my mom's birthday so we headed up to my parents house to hang out for the day. We spent most of the day at the pool doing what we do best (snacking and swimming). Olive someone managed how to teach herself how to climb in and out of the pool. She figured out how to get in the pool feet first which amazes me cause no one taught her. She did that for a good hour. Then we had a little pool party foul. Stella the big black and white dog who is in a lot of photos bumped into her and knocked her down face first. It was a total accident and didn't look too bad till I pulled Olive up and her nose was bleeding. I'm pretty sure I had a mild heart attack and thought the world was going to stop for second. Blood and babies are never good. She screamed her little heart out while I just held her as tight as I could. My mom cleaned her face up and we gave her a Popsicle which of course made it all better. Her first crappy sugar treat and first bloody face. She seems to be all better now except for a little tiny scratch below her nose. Besides the blood the day was great. We went out to our favorite deli and had a little cake before heading back home. Olive tried a pickle for the first time and she loved it.

And now for my sorta out of order photos........

10 months/First steps

Yep Olive finally took her first steps! I had this feeling it was going to happen today. She was standing up more than usual and I could tell she was really thinking about it. She was sweet enough to wait till Blake walked through the door from work. I was in the kitchen making dinner and talking to Blake. Olive was on the floor playing with a spoon and all of a sudden she stood up and took two steps. It was so exciting, like all of a sudden she became this big girl. Then she did it one more time. Hopefully she will do it again tomorrow. So one day shy of her 10 month birthday she took her first steps!

She also signed for her cup at dinner tonight. She is sippy cup obsessed so I can't leave it on her tray or she will suck the entire thing down and ignore her food. So the past few days we've been showing her the sign for cup and she finally did it a few times tonight. I've really been working with her on the sign for milk but every time I do it she laughs at me and then tugs on my shirt. She has only signed milk once and I think she was just copying me and she didn't make the connection. Hoping now that she gets the sign for water the rest will catch on. The whole signing thing didn't really make sense to me till now. She is trying so much harder to communicate so I'm thinking being able to sign might help. She will just blab and blab and I can see her get so frustrated. She has definitely learned how to have a mini tantrum where she will just stop and make her face turn red and make this really pissed off screaming voice. I'm not supposed to think it's cute but it really is. She also says book but it kinda sounds like boy. She is obsessed with her books and will spend a really long time just flipping through all the pages of each one. Some go in the mouth and there are others that are now in half but she loves it. She loves to throw her ball and we play catch a few times a day. She also loves to tear apart all her drawers and bins in her room and we do that a few times a day. The anal OCD in me wants to go crazy and fold everything up but I'm learning to just let it happen and I now I just shove everything back in big unorganized messes.

She loves to play patty cake and 5 little monkeys and today she did all of the hand motions with me. She has been trying so hard to do the "roll it" and she finally kinda got it today. She knows how to "call the dr" and will always wave her hand when you say "no more monkeys jumping on the bed." It's funny how this simple little things are the best.

One of my favorite things when she wakes up from a nap is when I walk through the door and she seems me. She takes a big breath and pants like a dog cause she is so excited. She also does that when we are in the car and I come around and take her out of her carseat. Pretty funny. 

Every time I make these posts I talk about how I can see her personality really coming out and it really is so true. She has started to become very sweet and cuddly with me but I think more than anything she is social, very social. She will occasionally give strangers her serious face but for the most part she is waving and flirting with everyone. She loves being out and about anywhere she can people watch. She loves water and being in the pool or at the beach. She hates sleeping and having her diaper changed. Her laugh is amazing and I know all the little tricks to get her to laugh. Singing the itsy bitsy spider and letting her put a block on my head will always do it. Of course tickles under the neck and raspberries on the tummy will work too. A game of peek-a-boo still blows her mind and makes her laugh. She has a ton of different smiles. My favorite one is the overly excited, mouth super wide open. I make the face all the time so I know she got it from me but she is way cuter when she does it.

We tried Cheerios for the first time yesterday and they were a big hit. She also had her first pretzel today which she shared with Sierra (or I should say Sierra stole half of it) Olive was just thrilled she got close to her. As of now I would say hummus is her favorite. I put a big mound on her tray and she goes to town. Garlic hummus no less. I've been giving her chunks of a veggie or fruit for at least one meal a day and she seems pretty comfortable with cut up pieces. I think it's more me that is freaked out of her choking. Definitely one of the scariest things as a parent. Her favorite breakfast is oatmeal with peaches and blueberries or banana chunks. I've been trying to give her part of our dinner as much as possible and so far it's been working out pretty good. Unfortunately she doesn't take to dairy. I tried yogurt on a few different occasions and each time she broke out in a nasty rash on her chest and face. Allergic to dairy, just like Blake. I have given her a few pieces of cheese on occasion and she has been fine but it was such a small amount that I don't think it mattered.

Also this week everyone has decided to tell me how small she is like it's a problem. At first I didn't think much of it but now I feel like people look at me like I'm doing something wrong. I would think they would look at me and realize I'm pretty tiny so it's not a huge shocker that my baby isn't massive.

I still can't believe she is going to be a year in two months. I always forget to include things about her and I also know I repeat myself a lot so sorry about that. Happy 10 months!

*Also I apologize for my shitty grammar. I write how I talk so most of the time it doesn't translate and I come off sounding silly. So I'm sorry..........