A Week of Family & Friends :) & My 6 Month Shots :(

Hello Everybody! Well after a pretty slow and calm week last week, this week was VERY busy!! This past week as you all already know was Thanksgiving! My very First!! And it was also my 6 month check up!! Now this was just my normal checkup that all babies get at 6 months, and I will get into more of that later. But first things first! I have been doing so much better with seeing, grabbing, and playing with all my toys! I can grab super good now, and I can kick all my dangling toys really good too! I just love the sound it makes when my foot makes contact! Sometimes I try talking to my toys with my lil coo's and hum's but they never respond :( Oh well I'll just keep smacking them around with my lil feets until they talk back!! :) Other than that I still haven't figured out how to giggle or laugh yet :( But I still think I am close!! And my nights have been just about the same, wake up here and there, but I go back to sleep just as quickly as I wake up, so that's good :) Wanna see my hug my favorite toy!! Look Below!

Like I said earlier I had my Dr's appointment this week and it was my 6 month check up so that means...... I got stabbed :( Yes it was horrible, I got 4 shots!! It was insane! They struck me with that needle 4 times, 2 in each leg! It was so quick I didn't have a chance to react before the next one got me!! I turned bright red then exploded with a giant yell!! The nurse put some fancy bandaids on me and before I knew it the pain went away and I was feeling much better :) But STILL little preemie princess's that have been through as much as I have shouldn't have to go through such things!! Yikes!

Also at my Dr. appointment I got GREAT news!!! I can  now move to regular formula!! No more extra calories for me!! I still need my iron drops twice a day but that is it!! I am FINALLY starting to feel like a little normal little baby!! :) I was also weighed and I now weigh 13 pounds 13 ounces!!! That's over 11 pounds I grew since birth!!! I also grew a whole inch in length since the last month I was measured! So now I am 25 1/4" long! My head grew too, it is now at 40cm. So I guess all the extra calories from my formula was paying off, and I am really starting to finally fill out!! :) Oh and that is not the only thing growing, my hair is REALLY coming back now, so pretty soon I should have all my beautiful locks back :) The Dr. also did a smile test with me. He took a book with a bunch of babies smiling to see how I would react when I look at them, and guess what, I smiled right back at the pictures!! This I heard is something that normal 6 month old babies do, and look at me I am only "actually" 3 months and already wowing Dr's with my intelligence! I am becoming such a smart little princess :) That was about it for the news at the Doctor's. Sometime next week I will have to go back and get one more shot :( Oye I am not looking forward to that, but as always I will be fine :) 

Now the other big news of the week is that it was Thanksgiving, and that means ALL of my favorite people came to visit just me!! (Well everyone in the family actually, but mostly just me!!) We had two Thanksgiving dinners because just about everyone had plans on thursday, so everyone who couldn't make it made plans to come over for dinner on friday. On thursday my Grandma Berta and Uncle Joey came over to have dinner with my Mommy, Daddy, Alexis and I :) It was mighty fun I havent seem my uncle Joey in quite a long while and he got to hold me and even got to feed me which was really neat :) I spent a bunch of time WATCHING people eat the great smelling food while I was just stuck here with my bottle :( Man I cant wait to grow some teeth so I can join in on the fun!! After Dinner I spent time with Grandma and Alexis posing for some pictures :) It was real fun seeing you guys, thank you so much for coming over and spending time with us :)

Here you can see my sister and I getting in on all the photo fun :) Hehehe too bad I look grumpy though! Oye anyways on friday LOTS of family came over to see me! First it was Vicki, Terry, Matti & Sammi! Then it was Grammy Rolene! Then it was Grandpa Andy with Grandma Debbie!! Then Jade Came too!! Then the God Parents Amber and Chad Came!! My brother's Jayce and Preston were here too along with Alexis :) Wow lot's of people means LOTS of fun for me!!! The day started off with the Apple Cup where Sammi and I were pitted against each other in a battle of Purple and Icky Crimson...... and well we will just pretend that I got the outcome I wanted and leave it at that :) Ugh stupid Cougs! Anyhow Grandpa Andy got to hold me for a while and then it was pass the baby around to everyone else:) I think EVERYONE that day got a chance to spend some time with me and that sure made my day :) Then yet again everyone ditches me to go eat some great smelling food, and I get left in a bassinet :( Ugh! Afterwards everyone visited then I was off to take my nap!

Now I did forget to mention that I got to go SHOPPING this week too!! Yes it was baby's first black friday!!! And my oh my was that exhausting!! Mommy and daddy were all running around stores like crazy while I was just watching all the madness around me!! It was intense!! Lots of people moving around, and I got so exhausted from looking at all these people I decided I was just gonna go to sleep! I don't think I ever want to be apart of all that ever again! But it was fun being out of the house though, lots of new things to stare at and analyze, even though I spent most of the time asleep :)

Now I heard that this holiday is special. It is when families get together and give thanks for all the wonderful things in their lives. And my oh my I have sooooo many good things! I could not even begin to list them all off, but I will try! First of all thank you to all my family and friends, this has been a very long year for all of you, and yet all of you have stuck by me and gave me your best wishes even though I have been nothing but a trouble maker since the beginning! I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of that. All the things you all do really mean the world to me even if it is as small as walking up to me and smiling or as simple as reading this blog. You all are my world and I love you all sooo much!! I am also thankful for all my Dr's and Nurses that stuck with me every hour of everyday for over 3 months to bring me home to my family :) Even today all you guys are in my thoughts and prayers :) Knowing that all of you are out there making sure other little preemies like myself are getting ready to go home really makes me happy... So very happy! :) Lastly I am VERY thankful for my pretty clothes and toys!!! Mostly because I had NONE of these things when I was stuck in my plastic box, and now I don't think I could ever go a day with out them!! :) Now I am not trying to be materialistic here I just don't know much of anything else just yet :)

And as you can see above it is about that time, the time for me to GO TO SLEEP!! So I will catch you all next week, once again THANK YOU ALL for spending your time with me reading my babble & I LOVE YOU ALL!!  I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will see you all next week :)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE OLIVIA REMY MEDICAL FUND CLICK THE "DONATE" BUTTON BELOW, Thank you!!!

Learning New Things & Mama's Birthday!

Hello everyone! Did you all have a good week?? I sure did! It was not as crazy busy as last weeks week, but that was good because it gives me time to get a lot more rest for the next time 100's of people come and visit and of course for more growing! Now being 6 months old (aka 3 months old adjusted age), its hard to figure out what stuff I should know how to do vs. stuff that is still too early for me to do just yet. For example I was holding my head up just great the week I came out of the hospital, and normal babies can't do that till about their first month or so. But I had so much practice with my head early on I was able to figure it out quicker. Then there is stuff I should be doing at 3 months that I have yet to figure out, like sitting up! I can arc my back almost to the point of getting myself up, but I tumble back down to earth shortly after I try :( I can sit up in a chair if someone props me up, but I wiggle so much with my crazy legs I promptly fall right back down :( Now I believe if I would stop kicking my legs up and down so much maybe that would help me maintain balance but I just love kicking things lately and I can't stop its out of control!!! You should see me once I am in my bassinet, I kick so hard it makes a loud noise that everyone in the whole house can hear!! Heck it's so loud that it even startles me sometimes! Maybe Karate is in my future... :)

You know what's strange, I have read that the fact I can even begin to bring my body up on my own is way earlier than I should be able to, so I think my whole developmental cycle is always gonna be a little off. You just watch I will probably be able to sing the alphabet out loud before I am able to even walk!! Oye lets hope not! Then there are other things I should be doing more regularly that I just don't, one obviously is sleeping through the night, like 6-8 hours every night  and I ya I still cant do that one yet. I still wake up at least once a night and then the occasional all nighters with either mommy or daddy :( I am very impressed in how well the parents are able to handle all my night time craziness! Just the other night I woke up and didn't want any food just wanted to smile at daddy for 15 min before he finally gave up and put me back in my crib for the night again. Hey I am just a social preemie baby and needed me some loving time!!

Other things I am on pace for is learning to laugh. I have nailed the whole smile on command thing now. I can be pretty upset and then burst into my goofy smiles, but when it comes to laughing I am still working on that one. Mama will come over and make goofy faces at me and that gets me real excited, I start kicking my legs up and down and smile from check to cheek, but when it comes to making a laugh come out I just make a lil noise and then poof the laugh is gone :( Once I finally get my laughs to come out it will prob scare the heck out of people! I sure do have a lot of built up happiness inside of me that is just gonna explode out of me sometime soon, I can just feel it!! Or maybe its just gas!! Hehehe who knows either way watch out world, if sometime this week you think you hear an explosion or feel an earthquake it is probably just me either kicking my legs up and down all crazy like, or finally getting my laughs out!! :)

The other news of the week is that it was my mama's birthday!! Now I couldn't tell you how old she turned but my guess is she is about 18.... Ya that sounds about right :) I love you mommy sooo very much for spending almost all of your free time with me everyday :) And for putting up with me through all those months in the hospital where I worried you sick, and for all the nights I kept you up when you were trying to sleep since I have been home :) Your patience is amazing and I love you all that much more for it :) And thank you for always making me smile and trying to get me to laugh :) Oh and all the goofy noises and sounds you make when you talk and sing to me. There ain't a better mama in the whole wide world and I want you to know that!! So again Happy Birthday to my wonderful mommy :)

Now of course my mama had her birthday party at a restaurant, and it was pretty late at night, so I was not able to go :( Instead I was taken to my Grandma Berta's house and I got to spend the night there for the first time!! Which of course I slept for her through out the night! (I seem to be always on my best behavior when I go to someplace new to sleep!) It was mighty fun spending the night with Grandma Berta, thank you for having me over!! Can't wait to do it again!!

 And that was pretty much it for my week.  Like I said earlier pretty slow and peaceful week, but it was much needed :) Next week is Thanksgiving!! And that means a bunch of family are gonna come over and see me and my family!! I cant even begin to get into how many things I have to be thankful for in life, so I will save all that stuff for next weeks blog :)
 So like always thank you all for spending your time with me, maybe next week I will figure out how to giggle for mommy and maybe I can start figuring out how to actually hold on to my toy's with out the assitance of my mommy! (See above) :) I love you all and once again, Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mommy!!! Olive Loves You!!!

 Goodnight World!!! :)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE OLIVIA REMY MEDICAL FUND CLICK THE "DONATE" BUTTON BELOW, Thank you!!!

Birthday's, Visit's, and Sleepover's!!! And I'm 6 months Old!! :)

 Hello everybody!! Guess who's favorite preemie prnicess is back to talk about their week, Yep that's right it's me Olivia!!! And wow what an exciting week it sure was!! As you can tell by my big goofy smile it was LOTS of FUN!! I had LOTS of visitors through out the weekend, and had my very FIRST EVER SLEEP-OVER TOO!! And finally I turned 6 months old on sunday as well!!! But before we get into all fun that was the greatest weekend EVER, lets talk about my week!

Well first off my nights have been about the same, still not sleeping all the way through the night, but I usually only get up once around 3am and then around 6 once everyone is awake. Occasionally I still have my bad nights where I am up 3 or more times :( Someday I hope for the sake of mommy and daddy's sanity I will be better at staying asleep longer than 4 hours :) All my hair that I have been losing as of late is just now starting to come back, and the color is really starting to look strawberry blonde! You can't really tell up there in the picture, but I got me some new hair up there trust me!! I have also learned how to grab things!! Grandma Berta and Auntie Sarah have been handing me my teething ring and I have been grabbing it now and bringing it up to my mouth to chew on!! All by myself too!! And just today I have been figuring out how to grab the toys in my bassinet and bring them to my face to see them! I can also kick my toys around too, and that's real fun let me tell ya!!! Some other tricks I can do is pull my blanket up to my face and cuddle with it and chew on it too!! Other than that nothing really new to report! But I sure am smiling a lot more!!

Now my week pretty much went by according to schedule, with the exception of the poop disaster on Thursday which basically ruined my bassinet base and caused Grandma to have to clean up a HUGE mess!! Oye that was a pretty bad one, Sorry Grandma :( But when the weekend came along the fun sure did begin!! You see a couple weeks ago God Mom Amber basically begged my mommy and daddy to have me over night! And seeing how mommy and daddy have not had a full night of sleep in 6 months they figured they would let me go! (But it sure was a rough decision!) Now it was a bit tough and weird at first but after a while I sure LOVED IT!!!! I was such a good girl too! I wasn't crabby at all and I slept that night almost the WHOLE night!!! (I had to be on my best behavior or God Dad would have made me sleep in the garage!!) Ha ha just kidding :) But I spent the whole time being cuddled, held and played with, it was sooo fun!! And by the way this was my first time away from my parents EVER where it didn't involve a hospital room! Crazy Crazy!

The following day Amber took me home and it was just daddy and I because mama was at work. But we had lots of fun before we both fell asleep for a nap :) Once mama got home I had a special guest! It was my Daddy's Aunt Patty whom I have not seen since I was just over a month old! She brought me all kinds of presents too!! She got me some VERY adorable outfits that I just cannot wait to wear!!! Thank you sooooo much!! I love new clothes!!! Auntie Patty was really impressed with how well I have been doing and how beautiful I am :) She held me the whole time too!! My Grandma Berta and Uncle Joey were there too visting as well! I just love when people come to visit me :) Thank you sooo much Auntie! I can't wait to see you again come Christmas time! Shortly after that Momma, Sister and I all got in the car for a trip to Grandpa and Grandma Moisio's house!! And when we got there Auntie Vickie and Uncle Terry were there too!! AND my cousin's Matti & Sammi!! Everyone got to hold me and love on me, I was quite the popular little princess today! :) I love visiting you guys, all the attention makes me feel super special :)

The very next day Sunday, mommy and daddy had to go to their football game, so my Grammie Rolene came over to watch me!! And this was the day I turned 6 months old too!! And it was also my Grandma Berta's birthday too!!! I spent the whole first half of the day with one grandma, and the whole second half with my other grandma!! It was AWESOME! So I basically spent time with my WHOLE family in a matter of 2 days!! It was SUPER fun too!! Grammie Rolene and I basically hung out the entire time while all the other kids where playing with play-doe. I tell ya I sure can't wait till I am old enough to play with that stuff because it sure looked like fun!! Thank you Grammie for watching me!! Love you!!! Later in the day once mommy and daddy got back it was time for Grandma Berta's birthday dinner!!

Now I may not look to happy up here but trust me I sure was! Daddy made me pose for a picture and I was super hungry!!! Ugh!! Anyways Happy Birthday Grandma!! I was so happy to be apart of your birthday dinner :) My Aunt Sarah, Uncle Seth, and Uncle Joey were all there for the fun too :) But of course all the excitement took its toll on me and I was falling asleep, so my time up that night was very short lived :( Oh well I still had a blast guys!! So at the end of the week I got to spend a lot of time with Daddy, Mommy, Alexis, Jayce, Preston, Amber, Chad, Grandpa Andy, Grandma Debbie, Auntie Vicki, Uncle Terry, Cousin Matti, Cousin Sammi, Auntie Patty, Grandma Rolene, Grandma Berta, Uncle Joey, Auntie Sarah, AND Uncle Seth!!! Wow that's a lot of people :) And I sure do love and thank you all for your visits :)

And as you can see above my brother Jayce is insane and I am cranky again and that means it's time for bed!! Especially for Jayce!! Thank you all for being apart of my life story for these past 6 months, I know the last 3 have not been as eventful as the first 3 months, but I am SOOOOO much happier now than I have ever been, and I have all of you to thank for that :) I love you all very much, and lets see what the next 6 months brings this very happy preemie princess :) Bye Bye!!! 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE OLIVIA REMY MEDICAL FUND CLICK THE "DONATE" BUTTON BELOW, Thank you!!!

Halloween & My Dr's Appointment, Oh My!!!!

 Hello everybody!!! Well I sure did have a fabulous week and it all started of course with my first Dr. appointment in almost 2 months! Now this was a special appointment to check me on just about everything you could imagine, and this is of course because I am a preemie and I need extra special care and attention. So first of all can any of you take a guess on how much I weighed???? Well I weighed in at 12 pounds 8.6 Ounces!! So that means since the moment I was discharged until now (which is about 2 and half months) I have gained almost 5 pounds!! Insane!!! Now these aren't earth shattering numbers, but I am right where I should be (65th percentile) if I actually was born when I was supposed to. Now my total length was 24 1/2" long, which is VERY LONG for a 2-3 month old baby (95th percentile)!! So just like mommy and daddy I am going to be one tall princess!! Now all these fancy percentile numbers are for my adjusted age of 2 and half months old, not my real age of almost 6 months old. If we went by my real age I would be in the 15th percentile for weight (YIKES!) and 50th for length :( So we can’t use those numbers because it makes me feel small all over again :( Anyhow they got this big ole head of mine measured at 39 1/2 cm which puts me in the 65th percentile, so bald dome is just average in size, and from where I started It’s good to be average!!

Later the physical therapist person came in and checked my head , leg muscles and joint control, which of course I passed with flying colors!! They did this by sitting me down on my bottom and on my tummy to see what all my little body parts do. And I was able to support my own big head just fine!! My neck muscles are just fine for a lil preemie my age :)

See the pretty picture of me and my sister :) I love her sooo much! What was I talking about again??? Oh ya my Dr's appointment! Anyway the physical therapist person also checked my alertness by making noise in each of my head to see what I would do, and I passed that test too just fine!! Just ask mommy and daddy how often I respond to even the tiniest noise :) Hehehe! They also checked to see if I lift myself up or not, or at least try to and I sure do! I arch my back and everything trying to sit up all the time to see the big beautiful world around me! Eventually I will figure out how to sit up and I will be the happiest princess ever!! Finally they checked to see if I smile at familiar faces and voices, and of course I passed that one as well, especially with my mommy there because I smile at her all the time :)

Next the social workers came over and talked to mommy about how everyone at home is doing, and about having me at home finally and if she is happy or sad now. Of course the answer to that question was that she is happier than she has ever been! And everyone at home is doing great!! Hearing those answers come from my mommy really put a smile on my little face :) I am soooo blessed to have such a loving family :) They sure do put up with a lot when it comes to me!! :) The Dr also said I am a miracle child :) That's because for a child to be born as early as I was it’s VERY rare for there not to be some sort of signs of physical delays, such as heart problems, eye problems, hearing, or development and that I am truly a miracle child. :) Such kind words, thank you Dr!! And I am as healthy as a horse, and as happy as a clam!! (I learned those saying's from my hillbilly mama!!) Hehehe!

Finally I have no teeth coming in just yet :( And I sure do have A LOT of hair falling out :( But both should come in very soon :) I am going to stay on my current formula until January at the earliest :( So sorry mama and daddy you got to keep looking for my special formula still, oh well. Also I may be having re-flux issues again like I did when I was in the NICU so that is probably why I am so crabby all the time and throw up EVERYWHERE so often :( So if that gets worse than what it currently is, I will probably end up on my tummy med's again :( Also in a about a month or so I have to go in and get my shot for RSV and get boosters every 28 days after that ugh! No shots this time though! :)

Oh and I almost forgot, I have to stop sleeping on my right side :( Ever since the plastic box I used to call home I have slept on my right side since my left used to have the PICC Line in it, but now my head is going to end being an odd shape and size if I keep it up, so now it’s the left side ALL THE TIME! This is going to take quite some time getting used to but I am sure I won’t even notice it after a week or so :) So that goes out to you people, if you are holding me or feeding me or laying me down PUT ME ON MY LEFT SIDE!!! If you don't pretty soon my left ear will be next to my nose!! AND THAT WOULD BE VERY WEIRD!!! :) I don't want to smell my ear for the rest of my life so PLEASE watch where you lay me!!! Thank you!! :) This whole appointment took over 2 hours, but now you can see why, lots and lots of testing. And I aced this exam!! :) Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers because I guarantee it sure helped me get to where I am today :)

Now for the rest of the week it was pretty much the same ole, same ole, with the exception of Halloween!! Now I had a choice between my kitty costume and my Ducky costume but we were going outside so mommy decided to pull out the ducky one as you can see above :) It was sure fun dressing up and seeing my brother dressed up as Spider-man, and my Sister Dressed up as ME!! A.k.a. a PRINCESS. Now they were all getting ready to do this thing called trick or treating and of course I was not allowed to go :( Dr's said I can’t be outside that long and I had to stay inside :( BUT I got to go over to my god mommy’s house and help her hand out the candy to all her trick or treater's! Which was mighty fun let me tell you I was the center of EVERYONE’S attention every time god mommy Amber opened the door!!! They all sure did love my ducky costume. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Moisio for the Awesome Costume :) But after an hour or so I got pretty cranky and hot so Amber pulled me out of my costume and it was off to sleep :)

Here you can see a picture of my brother and sister on their Trick or Treating adventure! Looks like you had a blast guys!! :) On Sunday I got to go over to my Auntie Jade's new place and spend the day with her!! (This was of course because mommy and daddy left me to go the Seahawks game!!!) So I just spent most of my day cuddled up with Jade making all kinds of new smiley faces while watching some football, oh and having little conversations with her youngest son Jordyn :) Eventually she drove me back home and it was time for dinner aka "bottle" then bed :)

Annnnnnd that was pretty much it for my week :) Lots of good news and lots of fun times, Just the way I like it!! The holidays are just around the corner now so that means a whole lot of new "firsts" for me! And holy cow I actually turn 6 months old this Sunday!! Which is the actually the same day as my grandma's 62nd birthday!!! And you know what else is crazy SHE WAS A PREEMIE TOO!!! We sure do have a very blessed and lucky family :) So again Thank You all for all you kindness love and support through these past 6 months :) As always it’s the love that keeps my family strong and keeps me going!! I love you all, and Goodnight :)

Bye Bye Everybody!!!
:)
 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE OLIVIA REMY MEDICAL FUND CLICK THE "DONATE" BUTTON BELOW, Thank you!!!