The Age of Curiosity

It's incredible how quickly Olivia is growing up. Just in the past few days, she has started the "Age of Curiosity". When Amanda or I were burping Olivia before, she would rest her head on our shoulders. Now, she props herself up and looks around in amazement as she takes in the world around her. Here are a couple pictures of Olivia as she begins this new, exploratory chapter in her life:

As you can tell by the pictures, Olivia has also begun drooling a lot more too. She's bound and determined to leave her mark on every article of clothing we own!

Olivia continues to sleep very well...usually 7 to 8 hours a night, but there is a catch. She only sleeps that long when Amanda puts her in the swing instead of the crib. When Olivia is in the crib, she tends to wake up 3 or 4 in the morning. We think she's either waking herself up as she flails around (when she's in the swing, she can't move around nearly as much...she can wiggle and squirm, but that's about it) or it may be a case of acid reflux...which is a fairly common occurrence with babies as it takes a while for their digestive system to fully develop. We have her at a slight incline in her crib, but it may take a little more of an incline to keep the reflux down. It's a fine line between a good elevation angle that keeps the reflux down and keeps her in place and a bad angle that would cause her to slide down the slope. We're working on modifying the existing slope to see if we can walk that fine line.

Olivia's vocal development appears to be on track as she babbles, squeaks, and squeals more frequently. She hasn't completely laughed yet, but she has come awfully close when I play with her while she in the bouncy. Her eyes light up, she smiles really big, her mouth opens up, but nothing comes out. Then as she closes her mouth, she usually lets out a squeal. She's getting there...it won't be long now.

Amanda and I are really enjoying watching Olivia grow, look around, smile, and make other funny faces....especially the looks she gives as she's studying/absorbing the world around her. She furrows her brow...which is exactly what I do when I'm concentrating on something. With any luck, I'll capture that look on camera. Until then, you'll have to settle with these miscellaneous images taken over the past week or so. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!