NEW BLOG ADDRESS !!

I was having so much trouble adding to this blog so I created a new one and that seems to be working better. It has a new look and a new address so if you would like to continue following Olivia's progress please make a note of the new address:

www.oliviapitz.blogspot.com

I have already added some pictures on two postings to test it out and everything seems to be OK. Thanks for following along on our journey!!

I've heard some people, including myself, have trouble getting to the blog page and get a message saying the "page cannot be found". If you have any trouble getting to the site, just keep trying. Depending on how your computer is set up, it sometimes takes a couple times for the address to go through.

See you on the new blog!!

Ouch!

Olivia went in for her 15 month checkup and more immunizations. We are getting her caught up to where she should be so she got three shots again. She takes it pretty well though. Just cries/screams while she gets the shots but then gets over it quickly.
She weighed in at 21 lbs, 8 oz. That's about 2 pounds more than her last checkup. She is starting to say a few more words now. When eating she can say "mooooore" and "all-done!" but her version of the all done is "ah-da" as she slams her hands down on the high chair tray. She also makes sure we pray before every meal. She won't say any words but folds her hands and laughs every time we get to "Amen".
She is also giving out kisses and hugs now which is so cute. She also understands a lot like when I tell her to get her high chair out or go get your ball, she knows what I mean.
I am having a lot of trouble getting "blogger" to upload pictures into my posts now so hopefully this post will work and I will keep on trying to get more pictures out.

Bye Buddy

This Post is Dedicated to Buddy

Grandma and Grandpa Manning's dog, Buddy, died on Thursday, October 4th. He was a stray dog that came into all of our lives about 4 years ago. Although he had some strange ways about him he turned out to be a wonderful companion, playmate for grandchildren, guard dog to announce anyone pulling into the driveway, eliminator of critters that tried to come to close to the house and an all around good boy.
He died very suddenly, unexpectedly and unexplained. We may never know what actually happened but we will all miss the way he would run down the driveway to greet us whenever we came for a visit.
Grandma and Grandpa gave him a great home and a wonderful life with them. He was lucky to end up at their home and they were just as happy to have found him. Unfortunately he was not around as long as we all expected him to be.
Anyone with pets should give them all a little extra squeeze and maybe a treat to remind them of how much we depend on their unconditional love for us and how much we appreciate them.

We will miss you Buddy!

Horses...Horses...

To be in this family means you have to love horses and Olivia is starting to now. The end of August, before school started, we went to visit some friends that bought a horse we had for a short time. "Levi" is a beautiful horse but was a handful that needed more time than we knew we would have after coming back from China. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt so we sold him to a really nice family by Fort Atkinson that said we could visit anytime we wanted. They also wanted to meet Olivia so we took a road trip one day for a visit. Olivia seems a little intimidated by him but still liked to pet his soft nose. She actually was more intrigued by the "moo-cows" they had.

Since that day though she has been more interested in horses and I found one that is more her size for now. She also rides her bigger bouncy horse but I haven't been able to get a picture because I have to hold her on that one yet so she doesn't slide or bounce off.

I hope she grows to love horses and we can someday have the real thing again but until then, the safer, cheaper, less maintenance horses will have to do...

School days are back

Now that Kyle and Jenny are back in school we have to find other ways to entertain ourselves, especially when Mom needs to get some things done around the house. Olivia loves to play with Misty and this picture was so cute, like they are having a deep conversation on what trouble they can get into next. Misty taunts Olivia to get her to chase after her. It's good exercise and helps improve her walking and balance. Misty loves the extra attention too.

Olivia has three new teeth. A total of four on the bottom and three on top, as far as I can tell. We have really settled into a nice routine now and Olivia is thriving. We will need to go in for her 15 month immunizations and check up soon and will get an updated weight on her. Some days she sure feels heavier than others! She is still eating really well and likes all kinds of food. She had to have gained a few pounds since the last checkup.

She is still working on new words but for now just likes to imitate everything I do. She also babbles more everyday and uses a lot more expression in her babbling.

For now our days are filled with playing and learning reading book after book after book and of course, more pictures........

15 Months Old

Olivia is 15 months old today and you can see by the "then-and-now" pictures how she has changed so much from the sad, tired, scared, very limp, weak and unresponsive baby she was at 11 months old on Gotcha Day, May 14th.

Today she is remarkably stronger, so active and a very happy baby. The catching up she has accomplished came pretty easy for her since she is very determined and seems to concentrate so much on whatever her latest goal is.

Olivia is trotting around the house on her own and loves to be outside, although I've discovered what I had heard about Asian babies and bug bites is true with her. A mosquito bite can last forever on her and gets very red and sore so we are careful with that and waiting for the cooler weather to get here and slow down the bug population before spending too much time out there. She can entertain herself with her toys and is starting to sort of play-pretend with her kitchen set. She is also getting much more interested in books and is always bringing one to me to read. She won't sit and listen to an entire story but wants us to hold the books so she can turn the pages, point to pictures and we make up a shorter version of the story as she goes back and forth through the book many-many--many times.

She is also babbling all the time now, knows what Hi and Bye mean and everything else is "Ba". We can't wait for her to really start communicating (or can we?). She can be so goofy sometimes and once she finds something that makes everyone laugh she knows to stick with it.

It's pretty hard to remember what life was like before she came into our lives just four months ago. We're enjoying every minute!!

All Caught Up

Olivia's Physical Therapist, Dawn, has been very impressed with the progress we have made in the past 7 weeks. We have reached the all the goals we had set. When we started Olivia couldn't sit up without help and now she is standing up by herself and walking all over, getting into everything. She is drinking from her sippy cup and is now starting to experiment with talking more everyday. She now says "bye", while making her hand motion. Her personality is coming out more every week and is still a very happy baby. Dawn will be coming this week yet, just to sign off on paperwork and give us a few things to work on at home but then her therapy is done. We feel she is caught up to any normal American 14 month old baby.

Our next project is steps. Going up and down safely. Today she climbed all the steps from the basement to the first floor almost completely by herself. I just stayed behind to catch her while Misty nipped at my ankles. The two of them fight over my attention everyday. I will now work with Olivia on how to turn around and slide off of furniture on her belly instead of her idea of going down head-first. This will also help her in going down steps safely. She is so determined with everything I want her to learn it makes it pretty easy for me. Also, climbing up the steps is a really good way to tire out a very ambitious toddler.