Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to The Grand Mimi, Oma, Omi and all of you moms out there!  We are so grateful for your steadfast love and support.  Now that Rob and I are parents we fully understand and appreciate the sacrifices you made as parents, and our love for you has grown in such a beautiful, divine way.  We hope you enjoy this special day!

Olivia gave me an early Mother's Day present this year:  the gift of mobility!  Although she isn't fully crawling yet, she is able to creep very slowly to an item she desires, so she is well on her way.  Check out this video of her new talent:

And here are some lovely snapshots of a happy, creeping baby Olivia!

This is LivyLou perfecting her downward dog yoga asana!

Earlier this week we were delighted to welcome the Spitzbarts to our  house for an afternoon visit.  Olivia was on her best behaviour, and enjoyed meeting her Great Tante Katie and Great Onkel Josef.  Congrats to them both -- they recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary!  They traveled to Destin, Florida, to celebrate this wonderful milestone, and on their return trip to Canada stopped by our place in Marietta to visit with us and meet Olivia.  Here are some photos of our abbreviated time with the Spitzbarts:

Olivia was also on her best behaviour twice this Mother's Day weekend while dining out!  This was a huge accomplishment for her, and marks the first enjoyable restaurant experience for us since Olivia's birth.  It was also another priceless gift she gave us in honor of Mother's Day (okay, and cinco de mayo!):

She was so happy to be in a high chair at the table with us!

These Puffs are a lifesaver!  They kept her happy for at least 45 minutes.

Mom and her delectable sangria!

Dad chippin' it!

Hats off to my husband for making my first Mother's Day unforgettable!  Chef Robert whipped up a delicious breakfast for us this morning, and has made me feel like a queen all day.  I woke up to a strategically placed gift on the dining room table, together with mood lighting and all:

My new Pandora charm bracelet, with one charm for Olivia (a flower with her birthstone) and one charm for Rob and I (wedding bands on a pillow).  I love it!  Thank you so much Rob :)

Needless to say it's been a great Mother's Day for us in Marietta!  We hope you have enjoyed your day!

Here's another video of Olivia giggling that we hope will wrap this post up with you smiling:

Spring Vacation

We returned from our spring vacation to Florida two weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it!  Traveling with a 7-month-old was difficult and it took nearly 4 days to get back into our groove once we returned to Atlanta, but the disruption in our routine was entirely worth it, as we thoroughly enjoyed our family getaway!

Our first stop was at The Grand Mimi's house in Orlando.  She was delighted to see her first and as of now only grandchild (if you don't count canines of course!):

The lovely recliner/rocker The Grand Mimi purchased so she could rock her Grand Daughter.

Olivia and her Daddy checking out each other and the new rocker.

The Grand Mimi and her Mini-Me.

Aunt LouLou stopped by after work to pay her niece a visit.  They had an enthralling conversation!

 After two days in Orlando we ventured to west Florida (Largo to be exact) to visit Rob's Mom (aka Oma) and Papa Steve at their winter home in the Down Yonder mobile home park.  It was so nice to see them, and to finally see their Florida digs!  We had a lovely visit:

Olivia spending quality time with her Oma.

Olivia's profile is so cute!

We had a lovely time at the Veterans Memorial Park in Madeira Beach!

One of my favorite pics from the trip!

After a couple of days in Largo, we returned to Orlando and met up with Rick, Christina, Blake and Evan at a time share near Disney World.  Many thanks to Oma for giving up her timeshare week to us so we could stay together in comfort!

Blakey Bear loves his cousin Olivia!
Every morning he was so excited to hug and kiss Olivia! 
It was adorable :)

Dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe at Downtown Disney. 
The brothers and their babies!

George and Inge were also in Orlando while we were, so they stopped by the timeshare and paid us a visit:

Opa imparting knowledge to Olivia

Hey there's Blakey Bear giving Olivia a Schneider kiss!

Although we didn't join Rick, Christina, Blake and Evan at Disney World, Olivia was delighted to wear Evan's Mickey Mouse Ears when they returned!

Rick and Evan

Family  Snapshot

Tante Christina, Olivia and Evan

During our stay at the time share, we took Olivia swimming for the first time.  She did great!

Olivia's new swimsuit and hat ~ so cute!

When we arrived at the pool, Blakey Bear was ready to give Olivia another awesome Schneider hug!

At the end of our week at the time share, we ventured to Aunt LouLou and Uncle Jamie's house in Winter Springs for an impromptu BBQ and pool party.  Thanks  for throwing the shindig together at the last minute Lesley and Jamie!

The first time Gramps has held Olivia!  Such a sweet picture :)

Before hitting the road to return to Atlanta, we stopped back at The Grand Mimi's to pick up Buster and Pedro and have one last visit.

Pedro ready to go home, or at least to go wherever Dad is going!

The Grand Mimi giving Olivia her first piano lesson.

Olivia ready for the return trip!

Laughing Livy

Here's a fun video of Olivia laughing that is sure to brighten your day!

Olivia's First Solid Foods

Olivia officially ventured  into the land of solid foods on March 11!!  She suddenly began waking up every two hours at night, when she typically would go for a four- or five-hour stretch of sleep at a time, so we made the executive parental decision to commence the solids (which in fact are not solid at all, but I digress).

So far she has thoroughly enjoyed her brown rice cereal with breast milk, and that's about it!  She's tried sweet potatoes and plain yogurt but will only eat about three or four bites before she refuses to eat them.  Yogurt must taste quite sour to her; she makes the funniest face when it hits her taste buds!!

We shot some great videos of Olivia's first solid-food meals.  We've posted them below along with some fun pictures.  Enjoy!

Happy after eating brown rice cereal

After eating sweet potatoes

Being a silly goose!!

Tomorrow she's going to try eating puréed avocados for the first time.  Should be fun!  We hope you are all doing well!

Social Butterfly

Aunt Jodi, Uncle Mike and cousins Jacob, Cameron and Logan visited us last week and we had a wonderful time! Olivia was thrilled to spend quality time with the Schneider Clan, as this video of Logan and Olivia attests (along with the subsequent photos):

Olivia and Jacob

Olivia and Cameron

Pedro was thrilled to see his cousins too!!

Olivia was happy to share her different seats with cousin Logan. Here he is in her new high chair and in her bouncy seat (as you saw on the video, he also loved Olivia's Bumbo seat)!

And here are a couple of photos of Olivia in her new high chair. Her introduction to solid foods will begin in just two weeks! I know she can't wait; she is always grabbing at our food and plates while we're eating!

Olivia has also been socializing with friends quite a bit recently. Her Auntie Lisa payed us a visit last weekend, her Uncle Wade took us out to lunch today, and she recently went on her first baby playdate with my Mom's group. She is definitely on the move!!

Olivia with Auntie Lisa

Olivia with her Mimi and Uncle Wadislav

Olivia in her adorable new romper outfit,
looking mighty happy after her first baby playdate

We'll end this post with another milestone . . . Olivia recently learned how to roll over from her back to her tummy. Here is a video of her trying to figure it out (note that since this video was shot about a week ago, Olivia has officially perfected this roll-over move, although now she can't seem to figure out how to roll back onto her back):