Olivia Is Three Months Old!

Olivia is three months old! She's growing up so fast! And as you can tell, she is smiling quite a bit.

Olivia continues to enjoy bath time. She keeps eye contact with Andrea throughout her bath. And yes, Olivia still gets bathed in the kitchen sink. That will probably change when we move to Utah in two weeks.Olivia has become a real fan of sucking on her fingers. Her mom isn't too happy about it. But I am proud that Olivia is honoring me by becoming a thumb-sucker just like I was.
When we had Olivia, my law firm employer from last summer (Latham & Watkins) sent us a wonderful care package. I particularly love this bib.

Although I accepted an offer last August to return to work for Latham after graduation, I more recently accepted their offer to defer my starting date to October 2010. So Olivia will be nearly two by the time I end up in Orange County, California, working full time at Latham.

In the meantime, the Ricks family will be extending its East Coast adventure. This fall, after I complete the California bar exam in late July, I will be working in a federal tax policy position in Washington, D.C. Then in the spring, I will return to NYU Law to complete an additional law degree focusing on tax law.

While this change of events has taken Andrea and me by surprise--we thought we'd be settling down in California soon--we are excited to get a little more time to explore the world. And I will probably get to spend more time with Olivia during this year than I would have otherwise.

And next spring, if another squirrel looks in our window, I imagine Olivia will pay a bit more attention than she did last week. She will have grown up so much by the time we return! We never expected that Olivia would begin to walk in the city she was born in!
Speaking of walking, we already have indications that Olivia will be interested. Andrea bought Olivia a pair of sandals to wear this summer, and she has been mesmerized by them. I think she inherited her mother's fascination for shoes!

Springtime!

Olivia is excited about the nice weather! It got up to 88 degrees today and we couldn't keep her inside. What a nice change from the cold weather earlier this week!

On Thursday night, after Olivia's bath, Daniel got a craving for Crumbs Bakery cupcakes so we put a hat on her, put her in the stroller, and went for a late night walk.




Olivia can stare out the window all day long. She will follow the yellow taxis with her eyes. There is always something for her to look at on Broadway.


Just some cute pictures of Olivia's sweet face. She is so fun to have conversations with because she always has so much to say!



On Friday morning while I was at the gym, Daniel took Olivia upstairs with him in our apartment building to pick up some papers from the printer. In the elevator a nice old woman commented on how cute Daniel's baby looked. She commented on the baby's cute hat, guessed the baby's age at about 3 months and then asked Daniel, "What's his name?" His? Have you ever seen a baby boy with a big flower in his hair and pink bracelet on his wrist? Daniel politely said, "Her name is Olivia." The old woman then apologized and said the blue threw her off. :) I took a picture to see if anyone else thinks she looks like a boy.


I ended up changing Olivia's outfit to avoid any other confusion. Obviously a girl:

What a little angel! She is so good at saying her prayers.

Happy Easter!

We want to post some cute pictures of Olivia from this Easter weekend. She has been really happy!

And really talkative!

On Sunday afternoon, Olivia had her first experience with a dog. Our friend Maritza brought her dog Peluche over for Easter dinner. I think Olivia will want a dog of her own soon. :)

Here's a close up of one of Peluche's kisses. Olivia is such a good sport!

She enjoyed getting all dressed up for church today.



Tonight before putting Olivia to bed, we gave her a bath (as we do every night).

She's starting to understand the routine, and so she anticipates the bath even before she gets in.

She loves bath time, and she's started splashing a lot!

Her baths usually put her right to sleep.

Photo Shoots

This week, Olivia decided to be photogenic. She has learned to pose and smile for the camera, so we've done a few photo shoots.

She doesn't even mind the ad placements. These first few fashion shots were paid for by her two grandmothers.

Olivia is particularly fond of using colorful props. This is her best friend Fonzi. She likes chewing on his wings.
And on his antennae.
For a two-month-old, I think she's got the sophisticated/contemplative look down.

She doesn't mind doing a little acting (like pretending to be asleep) when it makes certain shots more convincing.
And she doesn't mind being photographed when she really is asleep. [Note: As long as Fonzi is there with her, she will often fall asleep on her own. What a blessing!]But sometimes she gets a little bored with the photo shoots.
Even downright impatient.
OK. Fine. I'll put the camera down.

Proof of Olivia's Rolling Ability

After four or five unsuccessful tries during the last week, we finally got it on video!

She's Two Months Old!

Olivia is officially two months old! The day after her two-month mark, she successfully rolled over from her tummy onto her back. She has since done it three other times (so it wasn't a fluke). She starts out with her weight on her elbows, rocking side to side, and somehow manages to push her body over. She always looks surprised to suddenly be staring at the ceiling instead of the blanket.

Olivia is not always a big fan of "tummy time." That is one reason she has learned to flip over!

On Monday, March 30th (Olivia's two-month "birthday"), we took her to the doctor's for her first round of immunizations. Daniel and I had been dreading this for at least a week. I held her all morning before we headed to the doctor's, feeling awful every time she smiled because she had no idea what was coming.

Bundled up to venture out to the doctor's, heading to her unknown doom.

She weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds 9 ounces, which puts her in the 25th percentile!

Olivia was so patient waiting for the doctor. She still has no idea...

Look at that full tummy!

Showing off her tummy-time skills to the doctor.

Feeling betrayed. Don't worry, we were crying too. Well, I was. Her dad was too busy taking pictures. The nurse did a great job at sticking her with all three shots really quickly. Olivia didn't even have a chance to take in a breath of air before they were all done.

She forgave us when we put on her cute hat and promised her a bath and a slurpee. Good thing her memory is short. :)

Another big thing that has happened during Olivia's second month is her ability to smile at us. This makes all of the fussiness and sleepless nights worth it. We finally got some smiles on camera. She is turning into quite the goon!

She loves to have conversations with us and I think she has a special spot in her heart for her dad. She is always making eyes at him and being such a flirt! She loves her daddy! He is actually the one she is smiling at in these pictures. He can make her smile almost on command. (As long as her tummy's full. She still needs her mom.)

And even though she has grown up, she hasn't forgotten to sleep. In fact, she is even getting better at it. The past three nights she has slept through the night! With me going back to work three days a week, and her dad taking care of her and keeping up on his schoolwork while I'm gone, this couldn't have come at a better time.