Dear Olive,

People were not lying when they told me to appreciate every moment with you because time flies by so quickly. The past three months have been such a whirlwind of excitement (and sometimes a little bit of concern when we cannot figure out what you are crying about)! I feel like I keep waiting for the “hard part” to start. You tested us a little bit during your “witching hour”, however you have definitely outgrown that phase (thank goodness)! You are just an easy baby. An easygoing baby. A very smart girl.

This month I have really noticed your independence growing. You no longer need to be held all the time. You are very content to sit beside me while I make flowers, or lie under your play structure to watch the lights and listen to music. You love watching shapes on the TV or Mommy’s computer screen (currently we are watching lots of Project Runway for project inspiration!), and some mornings you spend your time snoozing in your swing. However, the thing you like the most is sitting in your Bumbo chair on the counter “helping” Daddy bake! This past weekend you helped daddy bake 72 muffins and 7 loaves of bread. Daddy was on a real baking kick, and now we have a freezer full of snacks.

You have started to hang on to small toys and blankets. As soon as I put a blanket over you, it always ends up bunched and on a straight trajectory to your mouth. That seems to be the destination of choice for most of your things – blankets, rattles, little stuffed animals, your hands! Lets not get me started on your hands! Your Great Aunt Kelly has been trying so hard to get that thumb of yours into your mouth! You still haven’t officially found it, although I have caught it in there a time of two. I think you are enjoying having time to look around and explore without the distraction of Mommy or Daddy.

You experienced your first May Long Weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Blair’s! You enjoyed every second of the sunshine (from the shade!), and hanging out with your aunties, uncles and cousins. You barely said boo all weekend long as you were passed between the twenty-something people that were there. I think your favourite part was going to your first campfire. You would not take your eyes off the fire as we all sat around it making smores. You thought it was the most interesting thing you have ever seen! Mommy and Daddy are planning to have more fires in their fire pit this summer!

This month you exploded with expression, personality, and love. I cannot tell you how happy you make me when your smile is so big you have to squint your eyes, or when you tell me stories about your dreams or the excursions with Daddy and your Snugli. You have really found your voice this month with your rolling ‘R’s and cute “I love you” coos. You are such a happy baby. It really is not hard to please you.

Another thing that you like: Being naked! Mommy can remember Granny letting her “streak” around the house when she was old enough to run. I have a strong feeling that this may be a favourite past time of yours when you get older.

You and Daddy are all about your Snugli. You love it when Daddy straps you in and heads outside. You never know exactly what you will be doing, but it is always an adventure. Daddy likes to have his time with you at night (before you are over him and only want Mommy) At first Mommy thought that he was only taking you out for walks, until one day she caught him driving you around on the tractor. You LOVE the tractor, and you mow the lawn with Daddy every single time. You get bundled up underneath Daddy’s coat with great big ear protection on. I don’t think you realize, but you are usually strapped in for over 2 hours! You just snooze away, enjoying the movement and rumble of the machinery!

I think we have officially said goodbye to the witching hour. You still get fussy at night, but we can now calm you down. You love your Daddy so much during the day, however your new fussy-thing to do is scream at the top of your lungs in the evening until Daddy gives you back to me. Once you are in my arms, everything is right with the world again. I’m not entirely sure why this is, or why you don’t want to be with Daddy later in the evening, but I hope it doesn’t last too long.

We have started a new routine at nighttime. Instead of Mommy walking around and rocking for you what seemed like hours (you always want to be awake when we are ready to sleep), we now swaddle you up with a nice warm blanket and put you between us. You absolutely love this. Every night when you lie on Daddy’s pillow your head will look back and forth between us with a big smile on your face. Its like you are saying “I’M IN THE BIG KID BED”! It really doesn’t take you long to fall asleep this way. Maybe 15 minutes at a maximum. Once you are out like a light, I move you over to your bassinet where you will usually sleep between 4 to 7 hours depending on the night. Yes, you are still in your bassinet. Mommy hasn’t worked up the courage to move you to your own room yet. I like having you beside us at night. It gives me comfort knowing that my two favourite people in the world are right there with me. I know you would be fine in your big-girl crib, however I don’t want to move you just yet!

We celebrated a lot of special events this past month which meant you got to wear a lot of party dresses! Lots of birthdays – Grandpa Murray, Grandma Blair, Uncle Kenney, Cousin Jessica and Mommy! We also celebrated Mommy’s first Mothers Day by going for a nice family drive around the Verona-Sydenham loop and ending with ice cream and you have been preparing to celebrate Father’s Day by looking through the tool sections in the sales flyers (it is your morning bed-head read!!)

New this month:

• Playing with your hands–clasping them together, sucking on them, and and grabbing anything near them
• Doing sit ups. You like to curl your head towards your chest as you try to sit up. It will only be a matter of time before you start rolling!
• Kicking! You kick ALL THE TIME. Your arms and legs will not stop moving. Granny calls these your “exercises”. If we don’t swaddle you nice and tight at night, your arms and legs definitely keep you awake. I don’t know if you realize you control them yet.
• Splashing in the bathtub
• Your birth announcement ran in the Westport Mirror
• You started officially wearing your cloth diapers full time (You LOVE them – and so does Mommy)!
• You like to let Daddy play with you and do funny things like this:

I keep thinking to myself that you are more than a gift–every baby is a gift. But I feel like you were almost created exactly for me, to give me what I was missing, to make my life easier and happier–much easier and happier than I expected. The more I learn about you, the more astonished I am at how perfectly your nature fits in with mine, like puzzle pieces. I feel intuitively tuned into your needs and it’s as if you, in turn, are aware of what I need from you. I am so grateful and amazed and blessed that you are not a source of stress for me, but happiness and calm.

You are calm and observant and social. You give me those morning smiles and they melt my heart, and you happily look out the window or doze during car rides around town, and you sit alert at meetings and events, looking around the room, smiling at all of your new friends. You eat when I feed you. You sleep when I rock with you. You babble at me when I lean over you and sweep my hair across your face, tickling your cheeks. Thank you for being what I need, and thank you for teaching me to slow down a little bit. Every day is a new adventure, and I love every minute

We love you Olive!

xoxoxox
Momma