Please welcome little Miss Olivia back to the blog in honor of her first birthday! This little peanut is so loved by her family of eight, and a busy little thing now that she’s mobile. Olivia is a Baby Plan member! When you last saw her, it was at her adorable sitter session. A little more than a year ago, her family joyfully welcomed her into this world–see her newborn session here. You may enjoy taking a look back at her maternity session. And you’ll be seeing her again for a family session this spring or summer (her last Baby Plan session)–can’t wait!
Here’s more about Olivia from her dad!
What are Olivia’s favorite things to do?
She loves to try to stand these days and laugh at her brothers and sisters and, of course, her goofy dad. She is a bath aficionado, and there is no doubt she has grown accustomed to her nighttime Facetime bubble bath conversations with her sisters in college, along with her “Abuelito” in Florida. She enjoys dancing with her daddy, loves cuddle time with her mom, and is a huge fan of watching her older brothers and sister play any game. She loves it when people clap, and usually, when we start clapping in response to something she does, she starts clapping too! For most of her first year of life, church nursery was NOT her favorite, but now, she’s coming to love her church nursery and making memories there too!
What makes her laugh?
There is no doubt that this kid is a “Dominguez”….if you hang out with this family long enough, you will learn there is a pretty healthy sense of humor that seems to be “hereditary.” She loves to laugh at many things – she laughs when her dad chases her (still “speed crawling” at the moment), she laughs at her brothers hitting themselves and she laughs when they pretend to allow her “punches” to knock them to the ground. She laughs when her big sis, Arianna, throws her in the air and says, “Bob-a-boo-ee,” or something like that! While she is not a fan of being laid on her back when changing her diaper, we tickle her and she laughs uncontrollably. Some days, I wish we could stick those little laughs in a jar and listen to them in the future. Olivia’s laughter is one of the most rich and beautiful sounds.
Tell me about how you will celebrate her first birthday.
We will celebrate her first birthday with a few of her baby friends by going to a pottery store and doing some “hand print pottery,” and we hope to end the night with a bit of “smash cake”! We realize this is more for us than it is for her, but the memories made will be priceless and ones she will come to treasure.
What are some of her recent milestones?
Some of her recent milestones include standing, taking a step or a step and a half before falling down, and trying to talk. It is adorable hearing her put sounds together. When she picks up a book, she pretends to read – it truly is the cutest gibberish you’d ever hear! Today, she played catch with a football with mama. Everyday feels like a new adventure with her!
Describe your feelings as you reflect on her first year.
This may be one of the most thought-provoking questions we have recently answered. This first year of life started with Mom and Dad feeling like zombies for the first month or two of Baby Olivia’s life. Thankfully, we knew from our other kids that this would be short-lived, albeit it is definitely different in one’s “40’s”! This year has been one of TRANSITION…I think this may be the best word for it, as we took our second oldest to college as she started her college “adult life.” This would be our first year without having either of our older girls at home and our first year with Baby Olivia. We were used to doing things like going on dates with each kid and each other, and we had to adjust for sure. I believe we would both say that we have felt and seen the grace of God in our lives to adjust. It has been a year of adventure because this year, while having to “adjust” to the daily life side of things, Baby O made it to Miami, Puerto Rico, Jacksonville for a church conference, and Universal Studios in Orlando. Not too shabby for her first year of life! This has been a year of GROWTH, not just for our baby but for our entire family. Considering that our two boys, who have been with us since 2020, were finally officially adopted on December 29, 2022, only 15 days after Olivia’s birth, and all the rest I mentioned took place AFTER these two major milestones, it’s been a busy year. However, we wouldn’t change a thing. We cannot imagine our life without her now!
Olivia and family, enjoy your sneak peek!
-Jamie
Parker, Colorado Baby Photographer
Telling YOUR Story
