Dear Olive,
You are a riot! Before you came along I was never really interested in the baby development stages, but now it fascinates me. The amount you have grown both mentally and physically over the past 4 months boggles my mind. No matter what type of mood I am in – tired, frazzled, busy trying to get flower orders out – you just need to smile at me once to make my heart burst a million times over. That one smile brings me out of the funk and reminds me that life is too short to be stressed out.
I have officially named this past month “Oh, I can hold on to this? Lets put it in my mouth” Month!
You are now about 14 pounds and 25 inches long. You are growing like a bad weed. In 4 months you have grown 5 inches and have almost doubled your birth weight. Granny still thinks I’m feeding you pure cream. Uncle Kenney says it goes straight to your (cute) baby rolls… and your rolls on rolls… I just smack him and remind him that “Olive is a healthy baby! We want those rolls!” You have started to really pick up your chin this past month which I am thankful for because it helps air out your treasure chest of treats you leave yourself for later. Your overly large (but incredibly adorable) cheeks line up with the bottom of you chin when you lift your head. I must say… I love it!
This is another month of firsts for you (I can see that every month is going to be the month of firsts for a while)! You have started sticking your tongue out like a little toad. I think you are trying to live up to your nickname from Granny and Grandma – Toady! You have also started rubbing your eyes when you are tried. It’s not just a gentle rub, its an all-out-push-as-hard-as-you-can rub. You have started to giggle (just a little bit) when daddy makes faces at you, or when we give you raspberries on your tummy. You love raspberries. Speaking of raspberries – Daddy made a Raspberry sorbet in his ice cream maker that you bought him for Father’s Day. Granny decided to let you try some. I have never seen someone lick their lips as much as you did! I sense that you are going to have an ice cream addiction like your Daddy (but lets hope that your favourite kind of ice cream isn’t the “old man ice cream” that Daddy loves {Maple Walnut}).
We have been playing on the floor a lot more lately, and I cannot believe all the moving you have been doing. In the last two days you went from staying in one spot to almost rolling from your back to your tummy! Your shoulder is getting in the way of you completely rolling over, however I bet you will nail it in the next few days! You are growing so fast!! I guess it is time to really clean up the floors in the house!!
We celebrated Daddy’s first Father’s Day this month! You decided to get him an Ice Cream Maker Kitchen Aid attachment. I think it was a hit! The first thing Daddy did when he opened the box was take everything out and put you in. I think Daddy has a thing for humans in boxes (as you can see by the photo of Daddy taking over a Las Vegas street performers gig)! Daddy didn’t want to do anything special for Father’s Day, so we spent the day together at home, and then visited Grandpa Murray and had dinner with Grandpa Blair. Do you know what else you got Daddy for Father’s Day? Another one of his favourites – Melanie’s Sweet Creations chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. His eyes lit up when he saw her drive in the yard! It doesn’t take much to make Daddy happy
This month I decided it was time to take you to see a movie. The theatre in Kingston has a “Stars and Strollers” movie showing once a week that allows little babies like you to come see a movie. I thought “this is great… Olive is such a good baby, and she loves to watch the TV. She usually sleeps in the afternoon so she will be super good. I know there will be babies there that will scream, but not my Olive”. You were sound asleep when we arrived at the theatre. I bought the ticket to see The Internship and then bought myself a drink. I should have known it was going to be a disaster as soon as I spilt it all over the floor… But no, I decided to wheel your stroller to the other side of the theatre and sit at the top. As soon as the previews started, you woke up and SCREEEAAMMMMEDDDD like I have never heard you scream before! There was no calming you down. I rushed down the steps and across the front of the screen to get you out. It took me taking you outside (in the rain, undercover) to calm you down, all the while I was thinking “my stroller is on the other side of the theatre, and your diaper bag is way at the top. You won’t stop screaming, but we can’t go because we don’t want to interrupt the movie!”. Eventually (30 minutes later) you let me go back in and you sat and loved the rest of the movie. I was “that mom with the screaming baby”! I totally didn’t expect that!! I waited a few more weeks and decided last week we would try it again. We went to see The Heat. This time I didn’t get a drink, I parked your stroller in the walkway up to the theatre, I left your diaper bag with the stroller and we sat 1 row up from the entrance. It was like night and day! You sat on a lap facing the screen the entire time, loving every minute. Thankfully I was not “that mom” this time around!
On June 22, Daddy, Cousin Jessica and Mommy competed in a Triathlon Relay in Smiths Falls. Can you guess our team name? Of course we were “Team Olive”. Granny, Great Aunt Kelly and Great Aunt Suzette looked after you while Daddy swam, Mommy rode her bike and Cousin Jessica ran! We were the second relay team to finish! Not so bad for our first time! I think you enjoyed spending the evening with your relatives! You were such a good girl!
We took you to your first Canada Day fireworks. I was so excited all week to see how you would react to them, but surprise, surprise – your slept right through them. We ended up going to a cottage on the other side of the lake because we thought they would be too loud for you at the beach. You didn’t wake up at all, but it was a great show! I promise!
You are still sleeping in our room! You started to go backwards with your night sleeping this month – getting up 2 to 3 times a night, instead of once! I’m not sure if this is because it has been so humid, or maybe you are outgrowing your bassinet? We still let you fall asleep between us in the big bed and you LOVE it. As soon as you lie down, both arms stretch out to touch both our faces, hanging on to our lips and noses. You are starting to touch and feel everything around you, and I think this gives you a sense of security knowing we are both beside you. My favourite part of my day is cuddling with you in the morning and falling asleep with you at night!
You make every day so bright and full of energy. I love you to the moon and back, Olive. I cannot thank you enough for all the memories you have been making in the place four months!
We love you Olive!
