Culmination of things

8-24-04
Haven't been updating this in a while it seems. Been busy with raising the perfect child and all. Well Olivia is running around crazy. She's over 20 lbs and its all muscle. Her legs are just pistons. She can squat down flat footed with her butt 1/2" off the floor and stay there for as long as she wants. She has quite strong abs and hands from all of the climbing she does. One of her favorite tricks is to climb up one of her toys to the couch. Then grab onto the top rail of it with both hands and pull herself to kneeling on top. Then she straddles and crosses the top of the couch to stand on the bay window and bangs on the glass. She likes a lot of music. Some of her favorite tunes are "Nothing but Flowers" by the Talking Heads, "Surrender" by Cheap Trick, "Sultans of Swing" by the Dire Straights, "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, and "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. Elena watches the Golden Girls quite often and Olivia will stop whatever she is doing when that song comes on and as if a daze she stares at the TV until its over then returns to reality. Elena is pregnant again. About 13 weeks along and we're excited and hoping for the best.

6-17-03
She slept in her crib overnight for the first time last night. I accidently deleted some good photos on the camera. Not so good. She's getting so big; over 10 pounds. Lots of people at Menards are having kids. There are probably going to be 10 kids born in 2003 at our store.

3-28-03
She's getting pretty chunky. She snorts and gurgles quite a bit. It seems she has a time around midnight to decide to wake up for the day for a good many hours and cry if not held. Its getting better though. She settles down in her carseat. She is wiggling on my lap right now and making it hard to type and keep her from falling. She sleeps most of the day and is starting to become aware of being hungry to wake herself up.
3-11-03
Brought her home today. Woo Woo!!! She cried all night, so I'm told. Speckles, our cockerspaniel mix dog, gets very cautious around her and just wants to give her a good sniff.
3-8-03
Olivia is up to 4# 8 oz. Its all in her head and tummy. She's getting better at eating but still likes to take her time. Held her a bunch today and changed the 'ol diaper. She doesn't seem so breakable anymore, probably because she doesn't have so many tubes all around.
3-7-03
Worked a lot today. Got a call from Outback Steakhouse asking if I'd like to join Elena, Ben, Steph, Mom and Dad for a late supper. They had been playing with Olivia in the hospital and decided that I would be allowed to join them in dining. Had a really good hamburger waiting for me when I entered. Nothing to drink though. Ah well, can't have everything. I hear that Olivia is doing well and more people held her. They told me that she ate fairly well but still needs some improvement. Scored some presents. I think she has every single Olivia book with no duplicates.
3-6-03
I'm getting better at avoiding getting sprayed by flying yellow poop. Today is the first day that I actually think that she recognizes my voice. I came up behind her while she was getting burped and asked her how she was doing. She gave a start and turned her head as far as she could and just stared my direction. It is taking her a while to figure out her feedings because there is just so much to stare at: the walls, a chair, a light, a corner, the ceiling.

Olivia meets Aunt Erin today. Olivia slept through the whole visit, but they had a good time anyway.
3-5-03
Olivia is getting better at eating but it still takes her a while. She is getting more and more active as she stares about her little room.
3-3-03
Went in to see the girl today. She looked around and glared around a bit. Had a dry diaper for me so that was good. She's learning how to eat better and weighs 4 lbs.
3-2-03
Having a pretty good day today. Olivia visits Mommy and Daddy most of the day again. Today she gets to meet Becky and Kyle, too, and had a great time with them as always!
3-1-03
We went in for most of the day today. Both did some kangaroo care on her. The whole time I had her she was making these little whiny, chirpy noises. We ate over at Bon's Buffet afterwards and had a good meal. The owner, Eric, there must work about 100 hours a week because he is always there when we go. Iowa HS wrestling is on TV now and am watching that.
2-28-03
The nurses wrap her up like a tootsie roll. She seems to like it. Robert came up to see her for the first time so that was cool.
2-26-03 to 2-28-03
Olivia goes on her first field trips during her hospital stay, these days to visit Mommy while she's in the hospital (again) for gallbladder surgery. But Olivia doesn't care, she really enjoys seeing new places for a change. Of course, she meets all sorts of new admirers in more hospital staff, and who doesn't enjoy that?
2-26-03
She makes the oddest expressions with crossing her eyes, frowning and almost smiling. Today's big amusement was sucking on her pacifier and attempting to draw milk from my pinkie finger.
2-25-03
Went over and stayed most of the afternoon. We gave her a bath and she wasn't too sure about it but it went fairly well. I taped her sucking on a pacifier for a good while. She was really getting into it.
2-24-03
Mom and Dad came over to say hi after their trip. Olivia is up to 3# 10oz. so she is getting bigger. She pooped on my hands again. I seem to go through a few diapers every time I change her. At least they're free for now.
2-21-03
Mommy and Olivia spent the afternoon together again. Olivia was more active today, and was very interested in everything around the room (at least what she could see anyway). Otherwise, still eating and gaining weight!
2-20-03
Met Elena at the hospital today. Olivia was all about sleeping and getting fed today. They're pumping a lot of milk down her nose through. She's up to 3# 4 oz. so that's a marked improvement. Elena had some other stuff to do so Olivia and I hung out for a few hours. I read a USA Today and the Rochester paper. It's amazing how much information is in one of those when you want to glean every last bit out of them.
2-19-03
Went to see the little one today. She was all wound up in Elena's arms staring about, crossing her eyes and waving her arms. I took some video of her goofing around before she prompty shut down. I tell ya, it must be rough. Eat, sleep, poop and occasionally enthrall your parents with the slightest hint of an eyelid opening.
2-17-03
Olivia was much more active today. She and Mommy spent the afternoon together, and Olivia looked up at Mommy quite a bit between naps. She sure missed Daddy, though, since he had to work today.
2-16-03
Olivia just wasn't up for much today. She just wanted to sleep. The biggest excitement was that she pulled her feeding tube out of her nose but the nurse just cleaned it off and shoved it back in. Back to work tomorrow so first time in a long time I won't be going to the hospital.
2-15-03
Saw Mom and Dad before they went off to Florida to visit the Grandparents. Olivia had a really good day I think. She slept like a log for most of the time until Elena went away and she woke right up and we had a blast. We spent most of the time sticking our tongues out at each other. I read a book from an old babysitter. Well, she's not old, it was just from a time ago. She lives in California. The book she lent us is called Growing Sophia. It's about another family that had a premature baby and what they were feeling. It's not something I would encourage for anyone to volunteer.
2-14-03
Happy Valentine's Day! Olivia had a pretty quiet day today. Mommy and Daddy both held her for a little while, and she even got to visit Grandma Nadine for a bit! Of course, as usual, Olivia slept the whole time Mommy was with her, and then woke up and looked at Daddy when Mommy was out of the room. Kids!

Went to Olive Garden today with Ben and Steph and had a nice meal. Food was kinda slow so they didn't get to do all they wanted in Rochester but it was a nice Valentines meal. Snowed a good part of the day but with not much volume, lots of wind.
2-13-03
Not much sleep last night so we're kinda weary today. Elena held the baby a long time today and I read a Readers Digest and a USA Today. Olivia was all smiles and making other faces and waving about her arms. She was in great spirits, or perhaps just over stimulated. I taped her sneezing a few times. That was fun. I'm getting better at changing diapers.
2-12-03
Another quiet day for Olivia. Grandpa and Grandma Watson and Grandma Nadine stopped in for a bit of a visit, and got to hear her fuss a little. Olivia enjoyed more kangaroo care with Mommy and Daddy.
2-11-03
We went up about noon and came back around seven so it was quite a day with Olivia. We both did kangaroo care and she seemed to really like it and slept the whole time, even when we changed her diaper. She was really zonked.
2-10-03
Not a very exciting day today. Olivia just wasn't up for anything except sleep. Elena did some marsupial action and I gave away the newspaper before she could read it. Olivia was promoted to a new unit so that was the big news of the day. She's eating about 25cc's of milk a day or about 100 calories from what I'm told.
2-9-03
Olivia had a great day today. She was all about looking around and being happy. I held her for the first time today. Elena and I each held her in what is called kangaroo care position. It involves using our bare skin to warm and comfort her. We put on hospital gowns and curled her up on our chests. This helps the kid sleep, digest, grow and bond with the parents. I guess it would be the closest thing I could compare to being pregnant. I could feel her legs and arms kick and scratch on my stomach. I felt fine. The little goof started sucking on my chest. I knew she wouldn't get any milk because according to an accredited Mayo pamphlet I read about breastfeeding, it specifically stated that men could not do it.
2-8-03
Mom, Dad, Mark and Dana came up today to visit. Went out to Las Margaritas for lunch and then over to visit Olivia. She was fairly quiet today, just wanting to sleep. Elena held her for a long time and everybody went in to see her.

2-7-03
Today I changed her diaper for the first time on her or any other baby. I lifted her legs up and wiped her off. No big deal, just a little bit of mess. Then I dried her a bit. As I was finishing that up, our little angel pooped for distance all over my hands.

2-6-03
She's doing well for herself. Just likes to sleep a lot. She opens her eyes every once in a while and just stares about the room. She likes her mother's voice and to be held snugly. Jabber, for those curious, is the colorful parrot that guards her stay. Someone donates beanie babies to the hospital. There is also a troop of ladies who quilt so every kid has a blanket.

2-3-03
Mom, Dad, Ben, Steph, Paul and Janet came up to see us. Elena's last day in the hospital so that is good. The guys ventured into the subway system for something to eat but the food court was closed. Not to fret, Victoria's Italian restaurant is open so we order take out and have a beer while we wait. It was a late night for the troop from Decorah. I'm sure they didn't get back until at least midnight.