We gave Olivia a practice Christmas present to see if she's ready for her December 25th performance. Oh boy, was she ever! 

The package somehow leaped to a new location. Confused, Olivia paused briefly for redirection.  

She's learned to use her most developed tool to her advantage here. 

But she eventually gave in to Daddy's insistance that society will one day expect her to operate this way. 

These pictures really don't do her justice. You can't see the fury with which she is working here. 

"At last! I've freed the wrapping paper! Now I can eat it." 

Special delivery! Actually, the postage would have cost a fortune. So we decided to keep her. 

Olivia's first 'real' food. She had a love/hate relationship with it. She would have loved it... had she not hated it. 

Our very own Thanksgiving Turkey. (Anne Geddes has nothing on this!) 

So many good captions could go here... 

How to Roll Over in Four Easy Steps

Step One: Lie as pathetically as possible with face in carpet. If all goes well, someone will take pity on you and pick you up. If this happens, skip steps Two through Four. 

Step Two: Use arms to push face away from carpet. Don't forget to ham it up for the camera! 

Step Three: Roll onto side. Optional: Take a short break to eat the blanket 

Step Four: After waiting so long your audience is about ready to turn off the camera to save battery power, roll from side to back and flash a winning smile.  

Hey, look, I'm artistic! 

I was playing with my camera. And salt. At the same time... 

Whatever it takes to get a good five minutes of tummy-time... 

Olivia meets her first Christmas tree. Her first fake Christmas tree. 

Rolly-Polly

Just a quick note: At 11:02 p.m., Olivia rolled from her stomach to her back. She had been on her tummy for about 30 seconds (she hates tummy-time). She was doing quite well, all propped up on her elbows. Then, slowly, she straightened her left arm, rolling her over onto her back. I called out the news to Josh who was in the office. He came a-running. We put her on her tummy again, and she did the exact same thing again. So, no fluke. We now have a rolly-polly baby.

It also won't be long before she's sitting up unsupported. But I think that landmarker will be harder to spot. She does a very good job as is, she just tips sideways unexpectantly. So we always have a hand to spot her, making it hard to tell if she's sitting on her own or not.

Sorry, Uncle Noah...

So here are your pictures and here's a brief update.

Olivia and I have been sick for the past three weeks. That's why there hasn't been as much posting. So Sorry. We both have stuffy noses and coughs (mine's worse, hers is cuter).

Olivia went to the doctor yesterday for her 4 month checkup. She's 25 inches long, 14 lb, 4 oz. Her head is 16 1/2 inches around. I'm not sure the importance of the last one.

Okay, gotta go.
Beth

All the expensive toys in the world... 

Remember that bowl of Halloween candy? There's not much left... 

How adorable are those eyes? And how yummy is that fist? 

This was Olivia's dedication day. Isn't she cute all dressed up? There are five generations in this picture. That's pretty rare. 

Change

So I'm thinking about changing the name of my blog. "here i am" no longer accurately describes this site. I really should change it to "Here She Is".

All in favor?

Tonight, Olivia and I got all dressed up for the Trick-or-Treaters. All two of them. I was a princess and Olivia was my duck. Anyway, when the night was over, Olivia pigged out on the left-over candy. 

Photo shoot in the woods! The Zapf's came to visit and we went to the park. It was so beautiful we took a gazillion pictures. Here are the Zapf girls. Olivia was too busy trying to fit her fist in her mouth. She forgot to smile. 

Not fair. Melissa's picture turned out professional-quality!