Olivia's Christening

On November 21, 2010, we had Olivia christened out in Spicewood.  We had originally talked about having her christened on our next trip to England which we thought would be in the Spring.  I wanted to have the ceremony take place at the church that I was christened in and where my parent's marriage was blessed but with me only going back to work part time, our England trip will be postponed for another year.  It was very important to me that Olivia be christened sooner rather than later so we decided to have the ceremony here.  We went out to The Compound where my parents live with Alvi and John Alford (and 5 dogs, 9 cats, 4 horses, 4 chickens, and a bird) and had the ceremony under the Alford's covered patio overlooking the land.  Mike's parents are still in town so Olivia had both sets of grandparents, her Aunt Nina, and the Alfords present.  The Alfords have been in my life for many, many years and it was so special to me that they be included.  A very nice woman named Vickie Wood who married some friends of us a few weeks ago came out and officiated the ceremony that she wrote specifically for Olivia.  As Olivia's Godfather, Matt Horton participated in the ceremony via Skype - gotta love technology!  It was a beautiful ceremony and Olivia didn't fuss very much at all.  She thought the holy water on her head was great, a bonus bath!  One of the best parts of the day for me was when Vickie poured the remaining holy water in a fern that was on the patio, we'll have to watch and see how he grows!  After the ceremony we went back to my parents house for a lovely reception and some football - it was Sunday after all. 

The christening gown that Olivia wore has been in my family for 60+ years.  Me, my Mom, my Aunt (who is my Godmother) and my Uncle all wore it.  The Peridot broach my Mom gave me for my birthday this year.

In my bloomies waiting to be dressed.

Nana buttoning up my dress.

You better be careful sticking those pins in my dress Mommy!

The ceremony started out well . . .

. . . was iffy there for a minute . . .

 . . . but we just needed a position change.

Mom and Dad are looking at the computer because my Uncle Matt who is my Godfather was on Skype.

We all held our breath to see how Olivia would react to the holy water.

A midday bath - bonus!

There's us with Vickie the pastor.

It was so special to have both sets of Olivia's grandparents there.

Seriously, how cute am I?

Mmmmm, christening gown - yummy!

My Aunt Nina was taking the pictures but we got her to take one with us.

I've got this thumb sucking thing down!

I've known Alvi and John for half my life and was so happy that they could be with us on Olivia's special day.

The "English Tea" reception complete with little sandwiches and scones.

The yummy cake that I wasn't allowed to have any of!  All they give me is this fake milk stuff these days.

A sad goodbye

Dear breast pump,

I regret to inform you of the termination of our relationship effective immediately. I understand that we had a 9 month contract and if given the choice, I would have honored that contract with the possibility of an extension but extenuating circumstances have taken the matter out of my hands. You were an excellent partner and companion and will be truly, truly missed. We had a rough start, you so eager to help and me too frustrated and frantic to realize the need to take time and build our relationship. Just when I had lost hope, you lifted me up and showed me how productive and giving I could be. From then on, no one could stop us. I was surprised and excited at what a great team we made, and was thrilled to see the charge that we were responsible for thrive. We spent a lot of time together, day after day, night after night, through sickness and in health. You were my constant, I could always rely on you to be there no matter what else was going on. There were times when you were my escape and you allowed me to take a few deep breaths without skipping a beat.  There were times when I cursed you for taking up my time but you never took it personally and remained loyal to me. We travelled well together and conformed nicely to foreign surroundings. We have been torn away from each other too soon and with little warning and I will miss you dearly. I hope to work with you again some day but in the mean time, you will be highly recommended to anyone I come in contact with looking to fill a need similar to mine. Be proud of what you have accomplished because I know I am and there is living proof of our hard work.

Best regards,

Rebecca

First day back at work

Today was my first day back at the office.  I was supposed to start last Monday but it was too soon after the surgery and I was still taking pain medication that made me feel dopey so I wouldn't have been much help anyway.  Last night I felt like it was the first day of school after a long summer that went by way too fast.  I can't believe that 3 months ago today my sweet, sweet Olivia mouse entered our lives.  It is so cliche but it really does seem like just yesterday we were bringing her home and worrying about her eating and clumsily changing diapers.  Olivia still teaches me something every day about being a mother but at least I know how to quickly change a diaper now!  I didn't sleep well last night, anxious about the inevitable moment when I would have to say good bye to my mouse.  I slept through my alarm (go figure) and rushed around pumping, packing, showering, and trying to find work clothes that fit.  My mother in law got the baby when she woke up around 7:00am and took her to the living room and it still took me forever to get ready.  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to do all that AND juggle the baby once Pat and Bill leave but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Then I was ready to go, purse, lunch and pump ready, in the living room I heard my baby babbling on Pat's lap.  That's when it hit me, I was leaving my sweet baby for 10 hours.  For some reason this was harder than being stuck in the hospital without her because I felt like I was the one leaving her.  I hugged her and kissed her and told her not to forget me while I was gone and I cried . . . and cried and cried.  Then I went into the garage, ready to leave and realized that my in laws car was blocking mine in.  Back inside I went to have a few more minutes with my mouse while Pat moved the car.  Then I was really off, still crying, to the office.  It was terrible leaving her but I made it through the day and am confident that I'll be able to do it again tomorrow because as hard as it is, I'm doing it for HER and I have to keep that in mind.  It also helped that Pat sent me pictures during the day . . .

Morning nap

This time I'm fake sleepin!

Hi Mommy

Off to Walmart with Nana and Papa

Why are my pants on my head Nana??

I FINALLY like my bouncy seat!

Introducing the Bumbo!

All of the dreaded tummy time is starting to pay off.  Each day Mike and I torture our poor child by rolling her on to her tummy and trying to distract her with a toy long enough for her to work her little back and neck muscles.  She HATED tummy time in the very beginning. It was pretty pathetic looking actually.  Once rolled over, she would immediately slump her face down into her play mat and cry, refusing to turn her head to the side so that she could actually breathe which made for very short tummy time session.  That slowly evolved to turning her head to picking her head up and is now to the point that we get some smiles during tummy time.  All of Olivia's hard work and Mom and Dad's diligence has finally paid off.  Welcome . . . drum roll please . . . The Bumbo!  The Bumbo is a little rubber seat that Olivia can sit in now that she has neck muscles strong enough to support her big ole noggin which is the 75th percentile by the way.  She enjoys her bumbo enough to entertain herself for a few minutes so that we can get something done - like eat.  Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to The Bumbo.

Daddy had been waiting for SO long to try out my bumbo.  During the first attempt, he had to hold my head for me, not quite strong enough yet.

Olivia spends quite a bit of time in the bumbo on the kitchen table . . .

Um, ahem!  Where is my lunch?

Hanging out with my bug.

Done hanging out with my bug.

Our sweet, sweet center piece.

Welcome to the family bumbo!

Wordless Wednesday

Olivia's first UT football game

Last Saturday the Texas Longhorns played the Baylor Bears at home.  I had been in the hospital since Friday afternoon and we were watching the clock on Saturday hoping that I would be discharged in time to make the game.  When the nurses heard that we had tickets to the Budweiser suite in the stadium, they wrote up my discharge papers and got us all ready to go so that when the last drop of antibiotics dripped from the bag they could take my IV out and we could hit the road.  We rushed home, changed our clothes, got Olivia in her game day gear and headed down to campus.  We had to park several blocks away from the stadium so Mike carried Olivia (facing out of course so she could see what was going on) and I carried her empty carrier because carrying Olivia IN her carrier gets very heavy very quickly!  Piggy Mouse!  We made it to the stadium just in time to hear the cannon fire inidcating kick off and were up in the suite by the end of the first possession.  Olivia mouse had already had a big day in the hospital and there was a lot going on so we only made it through the first half before she let us know that she was ready to go.  Hopefully when we go to Olivia's second UT football game, our team actually remembers how to play football!

Olivia is not happy when she finds out that the Longhors are losing.

Daddy?!  Baylor scored again??

The highlight of Olivia's evening was her bottle.

Oh forget it, this game is boring.