Olivia @ 4-Months!

Olivia turned 4-months old this past week!  It's hard to believe that it's been that long since she was born.  I thought it would be good to record what daily life with her is like and the milestones she's reached at this point since I don't have time for a baby book at the moment. :)

Olivia is a bright-eyed, happy little girl who constantly watches what is occurring in the family - smiling and scowling as she deems appropriate and sometimes even giving an offended cry.  She's particular too...from her preference to hang out with mommy to her desire to sleep in her own bed.  She eats and sleeps well and has a fairly regular schedule that allows mommy to plan for the daily/weekly routines of bible study, chores, homeschool, shopping, meal prep, and other family activities.

She has a wonderful personality and a beautiful dimple in her left cheek.  She is affectionately nicknamed "Bean" and is called "weila" by Zane, who can't say "Olivia" yet. :) 

Olivia is a mommy's girl and needs some help getting comfortable with others besides mommy. :)  She is our first baby that detests a wet diaper and will cry until the offending diaper is changed.  She also prefers to nap in her own bed, away from all the family hub-bub (I can't say I blame her!).  She enjoys playing with her sisters but isn't so sure about Zane as he is usually too loud for her. :)

Olivia is doing well meeting or even exceeding some milestones for her age.  She:

• holds her head up well while being held or laying on her tummy
• laughs out loud (so adorable!)
• will turn to certain voices (like mommy's)
• rolls to her side and will roll to her tummy if she's on something soft
• easily grabs toys, blankets, hair, and her pacifier - sometimes she likes to try "holding" her bottle
• chews on anything you put in her mouth...teething has commenced (although an actual tooth could be weeks/months away)

This past week brought some new things for Olivia as well...she has started "talking" to us, which is adorable, and she now takes the pacifier out of her mouth and can even put it back, sometimes.  Removal of the "poppy" (as it is called in our home) usually results in an offended cry.  It's hard not to laugh at times, since she's the one taking the poppy out of her mouth. :)

Here are a few pictures of Olivia and her siblings too!

Nature Study - Leaves

We did our first nature study today!  The children and I, minus Olivia, went outside to see what we could find that interested our senses.  It is a beautiful, sunny, and warm day and we headed out in the morning hoping to beat the afternoon heat and some of the bugs.  We were only successful in beating the heat!  The bugs were so bad by the woods that we quickly retreated inside after only 15 minutes outside.  Here's what we saw:

1. Autumn Olive - we have two bushes to the south of the house that have very pretty green leaves with red berries.  What is unique about these bushes is that the underside of the leaves are sliver and the berries also have silver dots on them.  Upon further research we discovered that these are Autumn Olive bushes, which are thought to be noxious weeds that are very hard to get rid of!  I also found an article, see the attached link to this post, that indicates the berries are delicious and high in lycopene.  The berries have a very interesting seed inside of them as well.
2. Queen Ann's Lace
3. Blackberries!
4. Large grape leaves
5. Mosquitoes galore!!!

We also heard an amazing symphony of sounds while we were outside - from the bugs and birds!  The crickets, locusts, and various birds were singing away this morning. :)

We'll be spending this week learning about the things we saw, below are some pictures:

Olivia & Jessica

Here's a short video of Olivia being cute with Jessica watching/commenting.  Olivia is 2 months old and smiles, coos, and "talks" to us.

http://www.vimeo.com/26133625