Olivia Grace was born at 11:51 PM on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - weighing in at 8 lbs and 7 oz and measuring 20 inches in length. A special shout-out to Auntie Tamra, who shared her magazines with my mom (and dad), while waiting for the OG to be born. When she (FINALLY) arrived, Olivia was immediately spoiled with visitors and presents. It often seemed like a game of how-many-people-can-we-jam-into-an-8-by-10-room. At one point, I’m pretty sure there were at least 12, 13 if you counted Keegan, but then Olivia started crying and everyone quickly cleared out.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrs.auriol/Hospital
MAY
Coming home from the hospital was fun and interesting for everyone. Whenever she wasn’t sleeping, Olivia was very curious about her surr
oundings. She stared all around as we took her on walks within our complex, and then down the street to Starbucks, and even to Michigan Avenue. We had her shopping at Old Orchard when she was only 2 weeks old. She loved all of it – sometimes we carried her upright, in our arms or in a sling. Other times, we laid her down in her stroller and she stared up at the trees and sky. Again, many visitors came in and out (usually bringing all sorts of delicious food with them). Grandma and Papi (Stephane’s parents) came to visit from Las Vegas. We celebrated Mother’s Day with a trip to the Botanic Gardens. Then, Uncle Jason came for a week from San Francisco. At first, he claimed that Olivia was “just another cute baby”…but by the end of the visit, she had him hooked.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrs.auriol/HomeFromTheHospitalhttp://picasaweb.google.com/mrs.auriol/Hospital
MAY
Coming home from the hospital was fun and interesting for everyone. Whenever she wasn’t sleeping, Olivia was very curious about her surr
oundings. She stared all around as we took her on walks within our complex, and then down the street to Starbucks, and even to Michigan Avenue. We had her shopping at Old Orchard when she was only 2 weeks old. She loved all of it – sometimes we carried her upright, in our arms or in a sling. Other times, we laid her down in her stroller and she stared up at the trees and sky. Again, many visitors came in and out (usually bringing all sorts of delicious food with them). Grandma and Papi (Stephane’s parents) came to visit from Las Vegas. We celebrated Mother’s Day with a trip to the Botanic Gardens. Then, Uncle Jason came for a week from San Francisco. At first, he claimed that Olivia was “just another cute baby”…but by the end of the visit, she had him hooked. 
The OG is definitely going to be a Cubs' fan (sorry, Uncle Huey). Her favorite thing to do each morning (after feeding and getting changed) is to sing and dance to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" which plays from the Cubbies mobile that hangs over her crib.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrs.auriol/DancingToTheCubbiesJUNE
After 5 weeks at home with the baby, I had to go back to work. The timing of my pregnancy was poor, in that I had only been at work for 9 months when Olivia was born, and thus did not qualify for any maternity leave. I wouldn’t have changed anything – I couldn’t have waited another second to meet this little girl. Olivia is at home with Ah-Ma (my mom) 3 days a week and at Little Hands (the on-site daycare at work) on Tuesdays and Fridays (the picture to the left is from her first day at "school"). Each week, Little Hands sends out a “report card” discussing the week’s activities. Ah-Ma doesn’t send out a weekly report card, but then again, we don’t have to pay her an arm and a leg for her services.
We tried to take some pictures of Olivia for Father's Day...and this was the best one that we could come up with...JULY
Olivia was baptized by Reverend Mayall (who also married us) on July 15th, 2007 at Holy Name Cathedral. Fittingly, she was a perfect little angel for the ceremony. The OG was especially honored that Uncle Travis and Auntie Cori (who were just married this weekend – August 18th- congrats!) agreed to be her godparents. She was also glad to have the chance to finally wear her pretty pink party dress.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrs.auriol/Baptism
AUGUST:
So far this month, Olivia has been gracing us with lots of smiles. She seems to be able to recognize our faces - which is quite the accomplishment because we've been out of town so much these past few months. We haven't mastered how to capture one of her smiles on the camera, though. Each time we try, the flash startl
es her and we get the wide eyed, surprised look that she has in so many of these pictures. We're hoping that eventually she will get used to the flash...or, the sun will come out in Chicago and we won't have to use it.She has also become a very inquisitive little baby. She turns her head to investigate every little noise that we make. Everything is fascinating to her - from the squeaky elephant toy Uncle Jason gave her to her own little hands.
Her very favorite thing to do is to play with Daddy. Whenever he comes into the living room to play with her, the OG's face lights up and a big smile appears. As soon as he picks her up, she opens her mouth wide, in an attempt to eat his nose. Whenever she's with Daddy, she coos and kicks her legs with excitement... the OG loves to be tickled by Dad's stubble - it's the only thing that can regularly make her laugh outloud!
What a daddy's girl!
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