6 Months!!

Ok, so this is a little late... but better late than never! Olivia is 6 months old!!! I can not believe how fast that half a year flew by!! It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, but at the same time I cant imagine life without her. She makes us so happy. We were happy before she was born, but she brings such excitement to everything we do! She is the happiest baby I have ever known. Everything makes her smile and her laugh is to die for! She's getting really good at sitting up and has started getting on her knees...(uh oh)! She currently weighs 18lbs 2oz and is 27" long!! She has 2 little teeth and I think they are just the cutest little things ever. She is developing quite the personality! She is so silly and I wish she could tell me what she is thinking sometimes because I think she's going to be a funny little girl! Oh and did i mention she has a pony tail now?? Pony tails are for BIG girls!!! She's growing up too fast! Here are some pictures of our little princess!!

Its all over!

After a terrible week of our poor Livi being sick, I think the corner has finally been turned. She has kept food down, taken her medicine, and is eating again just like normal. I'm so glad that is all over. Of course she still needs to finish her antibiotics, but she doesn't seem to mind them so much now that her tummy is feeling better. We will be going to get an ultrasound on her kidneys on Tuesday, and try to figure out what caused the infection. Hopefully this was not just a small part of a bigger problem. I'm trying not to think about it like that...but being a new daddy, I can't help worry about it. One other thing has come from her being sick...she's a belly sleeper now! It scares me sometimes when I walk in to her room to check on her and she has her face burried in the blankets, but Brittani says as long as she's breathing she's fine. I guess she really is becoming a big girl!

We had our first official weigh in after 2 weeks on the new diet. The results are in, and so far things are going well for Brittani and I! In 2 weeks, with no exercise to speak of and just some small changes in the way we eat, brittani lost 4 lbs and I lost 7. It may not seem like much to some people, but it makes us feel really good knowing that the changes we have made are actually paying off! The next step is to start making daily exercise a priority. Brittani is planning on returning to her power walking, and I will start taking Olivia on walks after work. I can't wait to update again after we have lost even more!!!

Much better!!

Olivia is feeling much better now! She's been taking her medicine and eating alot! Woo Hoo!!

Finally...

It has been a rough week here at the Gilliland home!!! Olivia has NOT been a happy camper since Friday. After high fevers, vomiting, lots of loads of laundry, tons of whining and crying, sleepless nights, suppositories, a trip to urgent care and 2 trips to the Dr.'s office we FINALLY have a diagnosis.... a URINARY TRACT INFECTION!!!! As much as I hate to say it... thank goodness. At least now we know what is causing all of this and can start making her feel better!!! I hated not knowing what was wrong, it was scary!!! Today we spent 4 hours at her Dr.'s office. We saw a new Dr. today and I really liked her. She was the first one who actually seemed like she wanted to find out what was wrong. The other 2 Dr.'s we saw just said "Its probably just a virus and will go away in a couple days." I knew something else was wrong and am so relieved to have an answer. Today they had to do a urine sample... and let me tell you getting a sterile urine sample from a baby is not an easy task!!! They basically taped a bag to her girl parts and then we had to wait for her to pee!!! She hasent been drinking a whole lot so I figured we'd be lucky to get her to pee before they closed at 5(it was about 1). So we waited and waited... and waited. She took a nap and when she woke up I set her down on the table and she PEED!!! We got so excited... until we realized NONE of the pee was even going in the darn bag!!!!! She peed ALL over the table and we figured out there was a huge hole in the bag... UUUGGHHHHHHHH!!!!! I wanted to cry. So they had to do it all over again... and thankfully she peed again about an hour later=) She did indeed have a UTI and since she had the fever since Friday they decided it would be a good idea to give her the antibiotic in the form of a shot. They said it would be a very painful shot but would help her feel better alot faster... so I agreed. Anyways, 4 hours later we were allowed to leave. They want her to get an ultrasound done of her kidneys and also a VCUG test to make sure her kidneys are functioning correctly. Poor baby. It was a long day. But the good part is she seems to be feeling a little better already!!

Here are some pictures from tonight.

Poor Livi Bug =(

These past few days have been some trying ones for our little family. Olivia woke up on Saturday morning with her first fever, and she has not been feeling well since then. The fever hasn't really gone much higher than 100 degrees, but for us as new parents, and for our poor little girl, it seems like the end of the world. She is not herself at all. She hasn't really liked to play in these last few days, but prefers just being held and sleeping. Its so sad...anytime Brittani or I try to put her down for a few moments, she looks at us like "why are you leaving me? I dont' feel good". Brittani has admitted, she doesn't mind the cuddliness most of the time. We were told by the pediatrician that it is possible she has a stomach virus that has been going around, but we're still hoping that it may just be from the teething. Nothing we can really do at this point other than giving her lots of hugs and kisses and wait for her little immune system to work its magic!

On the weight loss front, I can definately see a small amount of progress. We're not really supposed to be weighing ourselves, but I admit I have snuck a few peeks at the scale and like what I see so far. The only real changes we have made is in our eating habits. We rarely eat fast food anymore, which is a lot harder on me than it is on my wife. We have stocked up on lean ground turkey, chicken, and some other choices that are much better for us than the ground beef and chicken fingers we were used to eating. We still haven't really found a way to work consistent exercise into our schedules, but I'm confident that we will make that a priority in the next week or so. Keep your thoughts and suggestions coming, we love hearing what has worked for everyone else.

Love you all!!
-Tymon, Brittani, and Olivia

We have decided...

We have decided that we are going to jog/walk a 10k. Now we just have to find one=) We will not be racing, but will do our best to finish in the fastest time possible for us. Mindie gave us this idea and I really think it will help us stay motivated to workout(I hope... lol)!! Thanks Mindie! We have really been doing a better job lately of eating healthier. We weighed ourselves on Monday and are hoping to see some progress when we "weigh in" again in two weeks! I have been going on power walks with my moms group every Monday, Weds & Friday mornings for the last month or so. And when I say power walks... I mean walking as fast as my legs can possibly move without running lol!! We usually do 3 miles three times a week, so 9 miles a week! Thats a start!! Olivia likes to take her morning nap during the walks, which works out great for me! We will keep you updated on the weight loss when we "weigh in" again in two weeks! (Of course I will NOT tell you how much I weigh, just how much I lost) haha.

Now onto our little bug. She is SO much fun! We are having such a great time with her. It is amazing how fast she learns new things. She thinks everything is so funny and she has the best laugh I have ever heard. She will be 6 months on April 26th. YES I said 6 MONTHS!!! Where has the time gone? She is no longer a little baby=( I feel like 6 months is such a huge milestone and I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet! She has been really working hard at sitting up on her own and she's getting close! She rolls over from her back to her tummy and pushes her arms out straight and gets on her toes(almost in a push up position). I have a feeling once she figures out how to get her knees under her body she's going to take off! Also, she got her first tooth!! It came through a couple days before Easter. I think she's working on the second bottom one right now because she's been a little grumpy the last few days. Poor baby.

I think that's all for today! I will leave you with this picture of sweet Olivia...

How do you not smile at that!!

Welcome to our lives!!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to our brand new family blog! We decided to start this blog as a way to share the important, exciting, or just plain fun events and happenings in our lives! Our days are filled with so much love and happiness, and we are hopeful that by sharing our lives with you, that you are able to experience just some of that joy! Within this blog you will hear about the wonderful things (and some not so wonderful things) that come with being new parents and raising our sweet baby Olivia Nicole. You can expect lots of pictures, stories, and updates about the silly things that our little bug does everyday.

Currently, we have begun (again) our journey towards living healthier lives. Brittani and I both gained more weight than we care to talk about during the pregnancy, and have decided to make a "lifestyle change" to start eating better and live more active lives. We look forward to the days ahead that we can run and play with our sweet "Livi Bug", without needing to cart around the oxygen tank. We are excited about making these changes, but I think both of us are a little worried that it may be more difficult than we can imagine. This is not the first time we have tried to lose weight together, however I have a good feeling about some of the decisions and plans we have already made. Also, this blog will serve as our "weight loss journal" as we work towards our ultimate goal of being happy and healthy for years to come. You can help too!! Encouragement from friends and family are always welcome, and if you have any tips or suggestions from your own experience, please share them. We need all the help we can get!

Our hope is that by creating this blog, we will give some insight into the things that bring us so much joy each day. Thanks for reading!!!