Chatham Manor

This is going to be a great weekend. Steven has a "96," aka: 4 day weekend. He has some studying and work to do. Otherwise, it's hang out time for the whole family.

We decided that it was a great time to enjoy the local attractions finally. So we ventured down to Fredericksburg to visit Chatham Manor. It's a pretty neat place that has a lot of history. It's over 250 years old. It was very famous back in the day and so it's had several president's there. It's seen slavery, the Civil War, the Great Depression among many other events. The Union Army fought here at this sight against the Confederates during the Battle of Fredericksburg.

When it was originally built, there was a lot of agriculture there. There were nearly 100 slaves working there to keep it running. The place was a mini city with horse stables for 30 horses, farm land, a dairy, chicken coop, etc.

Walking up to the estate

That gardens had butterflies everywhere

Cannons that the Union Army would have used during the
Battle of Fredericksburg. There is a river down below between the estate and the city in the distance.

Those Irish pop up all over history. There were a lot of soldiers buried here but then later relocated. 

This was originally the back of the house, but a later owner made it to the front

our little person

Everyday she is becoming less baby and more of a little person. I love to see all of her progress. She is currently reaching for everything. If you are trying to eat it, she wants to eat it. If you are holding it, she wants to hold it. 

She has her dad's wiggles too. Sitting still is not one of her strong points. 

We call this baby doll her blue eyed twin

I am actually sitting here in amazement that she does not have a bow on in any of these photos.

Other great news: Steven passed his first round of national certifications for Comm School. We are so proud of him and all of his hard work. He has an amazing work ethic; it's one of the things that I love and appreciate about him so much!

Olivia at 19 weeks

My little trick of taking pictures of her in her rock n play may no longer be any good. I tried this morning. I will not call it an epic failure, but it was difficult. She has decided that she really only wants to be sitting up. She's so over the whole laying down. She's not able to sit unassisted, but it doesn't stop her from trying. I love her determination. 

Once I sat her up in the rocking chair, we had a lot more success with the smiles. I'm feeling like I see more and more of Steven in her expressions. 

This is what she looked like the day she came home. It's crazy how much of a difference 19 weeks makes.

Other things that she works really hard at and enjoys:
*toys during bath time
*trying to walk
*hold herself up on the side of furniture
*drooling
*backwash in mom's cup or water bottle
*helping everyone text or type
*reaching for everything- even if its not feasible
*turning around while being held or standing.
*not rolling no matter how hard mom and dad try to teach her
*talking and cooing; especially during songs (one of mom's favorites)
*laughing

Milestone

Today was another milestone. Olivia sat in the front part of the shopping cart at the commissary. I had forgotten to put our Ergo carrier in the car and my arms were starting to get tired from carrying her around the exchange (we ran into a lot of people we knew, so it took a while).  I figured the worst that could happen is that she might get a little tippy. However, I sat her in there and she gave a little smile. So I buckled her in and handed her Sophie the giraffe and her blanket. She sat in there for nearly 30 minutes while I shopped without a single complaint.

I'm contemplating getting one of those shopping cart covers now. 

Another fun thing for her is skipping her morning naps. I'm not as much into this new trend. 

I went in the room and she should have been asleep but this is what I found.

My Olivia

I know this probably doesn't sound exciting to anyone who hasn't had a baby yet, but we have been having so much fun making noises together. She is a crack up. She loves to growl, squeal, gurgle and mimic what you are doing.  It's beyond one of the coolest experiences to be able to watch her learn new movements and sounds. I feel so privileged to have this opportunity as her mom.

Having fun making noises

Someday she will appreciate this when she is a mom

Some Fun This Week

Steven had his first field exercise in Comm School this week. They left on Monday and came back Thursday afternoon.

Some of the wives decided to put together treats for all of them and surprise them at their return location after they cleaned their gear and went thru their debriefs.  Everyone seemed very appreciative and grateful for the sugar rush and drinks. There were a lot of (tired) thank you's from them.  Olivia and Steven were two peas in a pod. They were both excited to see each other. I'm so grateful to all the amazing women who helped to pull of this surprise tailgater for them. It was a hit and I'm hoping to do it again after the next one. 

Olivia talking to dad

She would not take her hands off his face- it was pretty cute

With Megan and baby Gavin

Nancy & Duke, Us, Colleen & puppy Argos,
Katie & Aly, and Megan & Gavin

Olivia's first experience with cereal

Life Lately and helping with Dad's gear

 We have been having a lot of fun lately. It's been busy and it's about to get more busy. I like it that way though. It's nice to have everyday be different and have something always going on.

We recently were slotted to go overseas (most likely Japan). It depends though on what October looks like in the Marine Corps. They are always talking about budget cuts and at the same time, need to replace the Marines who are getting out or changing their location. So as of right now, our Geo Location is overseas. There is talk of cutting down the number of people who are going; we will just have to see what the supply/demand looks like. Japan isn't looking too bad though. One of Steven's buddies is over there right now. His wife has a blog (http://www.marshallsabroad.com/p/travel.html) and looking at her pictures has me excited for the opportunity. If it's possible to have an unhealthy dose of the beach, it will probably be in our future. If the Marine Corps lowers the number of people that they need over there and we don't go, we will be making a cross country trip to the beautiful West Coast.

Steven has been in Comm School for over a month now. He likes it and he is doing really well. It is technical though- so he is staying challenged. Sometimes they are given a really difficult assignment and one night to do it. The last time he came home from work and worked on it. He didn't go to sleep because he worked until 4:30 am. Then showered, shaved and went to work. He said that he wasn't satisfied with it but thought it was good enough to get good feedback from his Captain. He came home from work that night and said comparatively he did pretty well. Coming up this next weekend they have a Mastery. There are 4 of these throughout the course. The instructors told us at the spouse's orientation that they will be very hard. Their best advice was that during these weekends, to plan something out of the house and leave them alone, the entire weekend. Additionally, we can expect cranky husbands but to be patient with them. They are learning a year's worth of info in 6 months.

Olivia "helping" dad sort out his gear. You can see her artwork of spit up
down the center and on the shoulder of his shirt.

We have been practicing grabbing her feet and rolling over recently. While she seems to have zero interest in rolling over, I found her grabbing her toes today! I know it seems silly, but I was so proud that she has made the muscle connection.

Grabbing her toes on her own. 

She loves the Buff Baby rattle. 

She has this rattle that looks like a dumbbell. She has always liked this toy, but it's been a bit hazardous.  She hasn't had the muscle control to not whack herself in the head with it. I still put it around her though because she likes to reach for it.  Today, was progress not only in the foot grabbing department but also in the picking up toys department. I went to check on her while she was in her exersaucer and she had picked up the rattle all by herself. As soon as she saw me she ended up getting excited and the rattle collided with the middle of her forehead and tears followed. You have no idea how proud of her I was that she made eye contact with a toy, reached her little hand over, and picked up her toy.

She had her 4 month shots today. She really let loose on her screaming while getting them this time. But she was fine shortly after. She's been whimpering ever since then. It breaks your heart to listen to it knowing her legs hurt, but it will be over in a couple of days.  I feel like there is  pressure from other moms in this area to delay or reject the immunizations. I really don't understand this mentality. I'm more concerned about her contracting a deadly or crippling disease than I am worried about the small chance of her becoming autistic because of the preservatives. The other day I was in a mother's room feeding her and there were a couple of other moms there doing the same and talking about how they medically treat their children. It was a small room so I was listening to their conversations. One lady said that she hadn't taken her little boy to the pediatrician since he was born because there was no need to. They only go if something is wrong. She didn't see why they were so upset that he wasn't getting his check ups. He looked bigger than Olivia. So that tells me he has not had any of his shots. The other lady started to agree with her. She went on to say that her daughters only see a holistic medicinal person. Her holistic doctor only uses essential oils to treat ailments I guess. She went on to say how her kids still suffer from what seem like treatable problems.  She went on and on and said that she never immunized her kids. Her doctor told her that was a smart choice because the medicine was so bad and has a high chance of reacting with her kids bazillion allergies that they would have become autistic. There were so many things wrong with this conversation and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. As a parent, I'm learning that there is so much advice out there and you are the person who knows your child best.  I've also learned that at the end of the day, I trust my instincts and I trust my pediatrician. I did what I felt was a lot of research in trying to find the right one. I've never once had a moment with them where I felt uncomfortable with their advice. 

Anyhow, here are her most recent updates. 

Height: 23.5 Inches She has moved up to the 20%!

Weight: 13 LBS (40%)

Head size: 39 CM (10%)
Her gums are swollen and there is a lot of drool- which means it's teething time! She's right on cue and we should be seeing them in the next one to two months!

Other things she does well and likes: 

Spit up over everything

Smile (and she is starting to laugh)

Squeal

Try to walk while holding onto your hands. 

Attempt to drink from mom's water bottle 

Sleep from 9:30pm until 4:30am!! We are very happy about this one

Be outside for walks

She sort of enjoys the pool if it's completely calm water

She enjoys books being read to her and attempting to close them as you read. 

Looking at animals

Bath time

People making silly noises 

Reaching for things in front of her, especially a phone that you are trying to text on. 

Watching Lion King song clips on You Tube

Things she's not really into:

Loud echoes/noises

Shots

Strangers

Cold Water

Enjoying VA Beach

Cute chubby Feet

Lunch with dad at 16 weeks

We had another fun lunch day with Steven at work. It was a successful one too. Sometimes it's hard to time it just right. They typically get out either earlier or later than what is scheduled and it moves their 30 minute or 60 minute window with it. Also, there is hardly any parking close by that doesn't isn't designated to a specific person. So we have a little bit of a walk from the parking lot to his building. Today went smoothly though. We had a decent spot, a packed lunch, pretty decent weather and a spot under the shade. I'm grateful we have these chances now because I have no idea what the next duty station will look like.  

Olivia had officially found my hair. She loved to grab a handful. She doesn't really pull yet though. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way. I'm thinking that ill just be wearing studs for a while rather than dangly earrings.