Happy Birthday Oliver!

Oliver is one year old! What a year it has been, so many changes. Its hard to believe this little guy could barely hold his head up a year ago and now is trying to toddle around the house.

This is Oliver on the morning of his party with one of his favorite toys.

Oliver had a great time at his birthday party last Wednesday. We were so happy that he could have his favorite "peeps" over: Granna, Grandpa, Grams and Grandmother. As you can tell from the guest list, this was one adored little boy.

We actually had to get Oliver up from his nap to attend his party but at least he was well rested. The first entertainment at the party was watching Oliver play with the helium balloons. We could have stopped with the balloons and Oliver would have been thrilled.



He had a great time opening his gifts, but kept getting distracted.


Next came the cake! I have a great source for birthday cakes if you are interested. She can do anything...I just loved his cakes.













At this point, Oliver really had no idea what was going on. He was ok with everything but kept looking around in disbelief about what we were all doing. Doug lit the candle on his cake and we all sang happy birthday. Doug and I blew out the candle and we all clapped and cheered.
There had been a lot of speculation of how Oliver would react to the cake. Would he eat it? How would he like the sugar? Let's just say, we know now that Oliver has a sweet tooth.He dug into the cake with no hesitation whatsoever. He managed to eat about half of his smash cake! I never got the happy smily picture of him eating the cake though...I think he was just overwhelmed.

Oliver has loved all of his new toys. It has been fun watching him play with his "big boy" toys. I don't think he has a favorite yet...it just depends on the time of day.

Grandpa Myrick made Oliver a toy box for his new (and old) toys. We definitely needed it after Christmas. As you can tell, Oliver was quite pleased with it.

Doug and I were surprised that despite all the excitement of the afternoon (and sugar), Oliver calmed down pretty well after his guests left. He had a good dinner, bath, and then it was time for bed.

I still love getting him out of the tub and wrapping him up in a towel. Such a sweet little boy!

We hope everyone had a good holiday-and safe and warm as well. Thank you to all of our family and friends who have made this year with Oliver so special. We could not have done it without the babysitting, food in the newborn days, lots of advice and phone calls. We look forward to spending the next year with everyone.

Christmas pictures will be coming soon and then back to the routine of work and school. Enough said.

Busy busy

We are busy busy around here! Between holidays and running after Oliver there hardly seems to be spare moment. Again, this picture from November 7 if that gives you any idea. I just really like it so I had to include it.

Oliver took his first steps on December 13! He still only takes a few at a time but we know that will not last for long. He looks so pleased with himself whenever he does-even when he ends up having to do a kneel to the floor to save himself.

He has become such a ham! Loves to laugh and make you laugh. Anything to get a laugh. He will even play peek a boo with his sippy cup because it makes me laugh every time. He loves it when you get down on the floor with him and crawl around and chase him-just laughs and laughs!

Oliver can snort and make "horsey" noises too. I am dying to get this on video but haven't been able to yet.

We are looking forward to his birthday on Wednesday. I can't believe it has been a year. Can you believe this is even the same child?

3 weeks:6 mos:
11 mos 4 weeks:
I can't believe the changes in him. Everyday I marvel at how much he has changed and how much he can do. At this time last year, we were anxiously awaiting our overdue baby. Now we are chasing after an almost one year old who already wants to do things himself. I love him so much and I am so proud of him. I can't even describe it. I have learned this year to not take for granted one second I spend with Oliver, Doug, my family, and my friends. I am truly blessed.

I may not update before Christmas so I am sending out Christmas greetings to all. Have a great holiday.

Playtime

I love watching Oliver play. Sometimes I feel bad for not interacting with him more but it is just so fascinating to watch him play that I just get lost in watching him. I don't know much about ten month old play but he seems so independent. Oliver is perfectly happy to play with his toys and books and doesn't necessarily need you to entertain him. Of course, he loves to play peek a boo, tickling, and anything that will make him laugh but he is fine on his own as well.

Lately, he loves to look at books. Tonight, right before bedtime, I looked on the floor at his "debris trail" as we call it, and there were six books and just two toys. Oliver just loves to look at the books and turn the pages over and over. Again, he's fine doing this on his own but, of course, loves to be read to as well. Books with flaps are a big hit but I am going to be doing some major book repair soon because Oliver really, really loves books with flaps!

This week he has also loved these little plastic balls-one jingles, one rattles, one has more of a maraca sound. Oliver will just push one around on the floor and chase after it.

Oliver still loves to bang on things-the ottoman, two toys together, whatever he can find. He just laughs and laughs at this game.

Paper is a big hit too. Oliver has a stack of magazines on a bookshelf that are "his" and he loves to rip out the pages and play with the paper.

The newest "thing" is that Doug taught him that he can make great noises if he moves his arm back and forth in front of his mouth. That is really fun-and loud! A great combination!

I miss being able to play with him so much. I love to just watch him and get lost watching him. I hate that because I have such little playtime with him that I want to make the most out of it. Of course, eventually I snap out of it and start playing again with him. He is just so much fun!

Content

I tried to define the word content this week for my fifth graders and explained that it means that you are happy-just not "jumping up and down happy". Tonight I saw the definition of content. I had just finished nursing Oliver and had laid him down on the bed to put him in his sleep sack. He was lying there in his pajamas and just gave me the sweetest smile-he was so content. It wasn't his cute teethy grin he has when we are playing-just a closed mouth smile. I loved it.

I love putting Oliver to bed. When we went through our hand, foot and mouth/ear infection sleep disruptions, I broke my rule about rocking him to sleep (anything that works at 3:00 am, right?). When I rocked him, he curled his long body up in my arms and would snuggle up against me in the rocker-so wonderful. Now he does this when I put him down for bed. The routine is that I carry him into his room, turn on his music, and sway a little back and forth while I tell him good night. Oliver will now try to curl up in my arms like he did in the rocker. I love it. It is the best feeling in the world. We are both content.

Cruising and pumpkins

Oliver has been quite the busy little on lately. We can hardly keep up with him! He is crawling a mile a minute and is cruising quite nicely. He has even started to go one handed (eek!).
Oliver's new favorite activities include banging on the ottoman while standing, banging toys together, splashing in his inflatable duck bathtub...do you sense a theme here? He also loves ripping pages out of magazines (specially selected ones, of course), reading books, being tickled and laughing. He is so much fun! I love how I can get him so tickled playing with him and making him laugh.

On another note, we are trying table foods with limited success. The food sometimes makes it to our mouth but even less of it actually stays in the mouth . Most of it winds up on the bib or under the shirt. Although we did find a cheerio in his diaper the other day...

Still lots of babbling but no words yet. Lots of vowels and some consonants. This week we favored the letter g.

Love, love, love to pull up. No serious injuries at this point but some required a little extra TLC.

Today we went to the pumpkin patch. Here are a couple of pictures:Oliver wasn't quite sure about the pumpkin patch. He is kind of a homebody right now. He never really fusses or complains but he is just so much happier at home. We keep trying to get him out for "exciting adventures" when we can to let him know that fun can happen outside of his familiar walls.

So much more to write. I think I have to get over the need to post pictures every time and just blog when I think about it (which is often). I know that all of these moments with Oliver are so precious and I want to remember as many as I can. My new goal is to have more frequent but shorter posts. We will see how it goes.

Laughing

So much has happened lately, and again I keep waiting for time to blog. Tonight I decided that would never come and I need to just go ahead and post.

First of all, here is one of my favorite things ever...Oliver laughing.

Excuse the lack of editing...again, time. Doug was holding Oliver and I was shaking a Wal-Mart bag. That's it. We just marveled at how tickled he got. I will treasure this clip forever. It brings a smile to my face no matter how upset or stressed I am. Hope you enjoy as well!

Here are a few more updates:

• Oliver had a great nine month appointment. He is now 29 inches and 21 pounds and 5 ounces, we think. He would sit still long enough on the scale to get a totally accurate reading. The nurse couldn't stop talking about how active he was. Oliver is doing fine and the pediatrician predicted he would be walking by Christmas. After watching him this past week, I have no doubt.
• Oliver is almost done cutting four teeth-in a week's time! He has 2 top lateral incisors (yes, I had to look that up), one central incisor has poked through and you can see the other through the gum. I can't believe his smile is going to change again. I will miss his little bottom teeth only grin. We are anxious to finish the teething process for this go around though-we have had some tough nights and are ready for everyone to get their sleep again.
• Speedy-that's how to describe Oliver now. He is so fast! I can almost not keep up with him. I can't believe how quickly he went from a few "steps" with his crawl to racing around the house.
• He is pulling up now. He is very good at it except he doesn't understand the whole physics of the best way to stand and will stand too far away from whatever he is holding. Today he got his first bump on the head when he slipped and hit his head on the bookshelf. Poor baby!
• Pulling up has also affected our sleeping. Now when he wakes, he will pull up and then, we suspect, not be able to get down and then the meltdown starts. We are really, really hoping this phase does not last long.

I am glad to be getting back into some kind of normal routine. Last week was parent teacher conferences and I hardly saw Oliver at all. I missed him so much-it was really affecting me by later in the week. I really missed coming home and playing with him. He is just the best. He is so much fun and now that he is more mobile, he will crawl to you and I just scoop him up and love on him-then he wants down and is ready to go. He is just the best.

As Oliver would say...oomba.

It's official...he crawls!

That's right! Baby Oliver is crawling. Just a few "steps" but it counts! He started yesterday (in case anyone is keeping count) and he did even more today. He can only take a few "steps" and then he collapses but he is on his way. Oliver loves to pull up on his knees now too so we know that pulling up and cruising are probably coming soon too! I am so excited for our baby boy. I am also buying baby gates this weekend because he is fast! I will try to post video of him crawling(and scooting for those of you who haven't been able to see him scoot).

Oliver is also the explorer-keeping doors closed and baby gates up will be essential once he is more mobile. He loves to just scoot into another room to find something to put in his mouth or touch and bang on. As he scoots along, Oliver will look back at you to see if you are following him and just laugh. I don't know if he thinks he is getting away with something or if he is just so happy to be going somewhere .

There are so many little moments I haven't been blogging about...like how happy he is when he wakes up from a nap or in the morning (most of the time). He starts with little "aahhs" and then really starts talking. By the time I get to his room, he has an entire conversation with himself going. Then he just laughs and laughs when you come over to the crib. Of course then you better get him out quickly because once he sees you he is ready to play.



Oliver is also working on verbal skills...it has really picked up this week. He will talk to his toys and just babble. I am convinced he said "da da" to Doug this week but he denies it. He definitely recognizes words like "Daddy", "splashtime" and "no!".

I have realized that I am behind in teaching him all this baby stuff like "bye bye" and "where is your nose?" so I am trying to catch up. We are also working on clapping. This video is a bit dated. It is from Doug's birthday last month but since Oliver still can't clap I am posting it now then you can see growth later.



Oliver has become a big eater. Three meals of solids a day plus bottles and nursing. There are absolutely no foods he won't eat. He likes everything and for that I am grateful. Sometimes he is not sure about a new food but by the bottom of the jar he asking for more. I hope we get the go to start some little bits of table food at his nine month appointment on Friday. We are also taking bets on how much he weighs and his length if anyone wants to get in the action. I am thinking 29 inches and 21 pounds.

All I ask for though is a healthy report from the doctor. That is what is most important. I love him so much. He is truly the best baby boy.

Busy time

It's really sad that I don't even have a recent picture on the computer of Oliver to share with you all. This is dated August 5 if that shows you how busy we have been. As you all probably know, I have returned back to school and since then we have been going a mile a minute. I have also changed grade levels and am now teaching fifth grade which has added more evening work (my usual blogging time). Anyway, enough of that...here is an update on Oliver.

• Oliver is now a very competent scooter. He gets around everywhere now by dragging himself around. He is so fast! He can also climb up on all fours and rock so we know that a traditional crawl is not far behind.
• Although he loves to scoot around, Oliver still gets excited sometimes and just "flies" like in the video I posted awhile back. It's usually when he is happy and laughing...very cute!
  
• More babbling! No words yet but he will talk your ear off if he gets going! In the crib and in his car seat are some of his favorite places to talk.
• Laugh and laugh! He is such a happy baby! Oliver will just squeal and laugh if you blow raspberries on his tummy and get silly with him.
• On the flip side, he has developed some stranger anxiety...he is not quite sure of new people and places right now. So if you run into us somewhere and looks solemn...don't worry, this is his normal behavior right now for new people. He will warm up to you, promise.
• Loves to pull books off the bookcase.Favorite book right now: Harry Potter. I am sure he will be reading it soon!
• Other favorite books include: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Peek-a-boo kisses, and the Belly Button book.
• We love cause and effect-lots of banging and rattling going on in the house. We love toys that make noise!
  

I can't believe how much he is growing up. We have moved out of our infant carrier and into his big boy car seat-he looks so grown up. I recently bought him fall/winter clothing and I had to buy 18 month sizes...not as many cute baby boy rompers. Sigh.

I must run now...I am determined to be more organized in the evening and get back to regular blogging. I am missing too much of lil Oliver's experiences not to do so.

Overdue update

We are long overdue for an Oliver update. We have had such a busy fun summer that I have so much to blog about-I think I will post more info later but I knew if I didn't post soon I would never catch up. Here are the highlights since my last post.

• Oliver has 2 front teeth! I will post a picture as soon as I get a good one. I am having trouble getting a good shot with the teeth showing. Oliver cut 2 teeth in a week's time but managed to get through it with a little Tylenol, teething rings and extra snuggles.
• Moving and scooting along...and scooting and scooting! Oliver has figured out how to pull himself forward (not really a crawl yet) and we are now chasing him around the house and having a blast. He is into everything! We have video but I haven't been able to upload it to my hard drive to post yet but I will as soon as I can. I need to film new footage anyway because he has gained speed in just a few weeks
• oomba oomba oomba...This is his new matra-lots of oomba, ga, and blowing raspberries. We have the best conversations.
• We are enjoying solid food...carrots are one of our favorites!

I have lots more to write but will post more later. One new "thing" is that Oliver is waking more at night so I had better sign off so I can get some sleep before he wakes. More soon!

video

I can't resist...here is some recent footage of my baby boy!

This is what he loves to do on the carpet. I can't decide if he is swimming or flying. He is getting so strong!


Ignore me in the video-I look terrible! This is Oliver dancing to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. He is so much fun.

Hope you enjoyed the videos!

6 months

I can't believe lil baby Oliver is 6 months old. I am so thankful that we have a happy, healthy, wonderful 6 month baby boy. Lately, I have been doing a lot of "It was just a year ago and we were..." Here are a few...

• I was just getting over my noon and evening sickness and was enjoying eating food again.
• Heartburn had replaced the ickiness.
• I was wondering if I was ever going to "look pregnant" (boy, did I ever!)
• We called him "Bean"
• Every doctor's appointment was an opportunity to hear his heartbeat and know (as best we could) everything was "ok".
  
• We were eagerly awaiting our 20 week ultrasound in July to make sure Bean was healthy and developing-and if Bean was a girl or a boy!
  
• Wondering what kind of child our little bean would be...

Which brings me to my next list...what we know about Oliver so far...

• He is a "people" person. Oliver smiles at strangers and loves to interact with people.
• Oliver is so physical! He loves to roll and pivot and MOVE!
• He is definitely going to be one of those kids who is into everything-pulling books off bookcases, etc.
• For the most part, he is a happy easy going kid.

My last list (I promise!)
Little things I don't want to forget:

• Right now he has discovered the volume on his voice and loves to get really loud and then laugh.
• I love how he smiles at you when he sees you when you come to get him out of his crib.
• I love how he places his hand on my arm when I sit him up to burp.
• He used to grab the burp cloth and hold it in his hands and it made him look like a little waiter. (You had to see this one)

Finally, I had to show these pictures of Oliver. (Yes, that's my hand keeping him from falling out of the chair.) The top picture I took today and the bottom one Doug took of Oliver in February.


Growing boy!

First bites

Oliver had his first bites of rice cereal last week-despite many delays including inservice days and making sure the memory card in the camera had been backed up. As you can tell from the picture it was a great success. Giving Oliver his first taste of solid food was bittersweet. I am so happy that we have a healthy 5 (almost 6) month old baby but a little sad to know that we are now entering a new phase. First rice cereal, next baby food and high chairs (if he will ever learn to sit up) and by this time next year it will be table food. Time flies.

Back to the rice cereal-Oliver was very interested from the beginning. None of this "If your baby isn't interested in food, try again on another day."As soon as he saw the cereal on the spoon, there was no looking back for Oliver. He was grabbing the spoon and trying to put it in his mouth all by himself-albeit with limited success. Oliver loves to grab the end of the spoon with his hand and really experience the food. We have tons of first food pictures and will spare you all most of them.

He still loves the rice cereal but is a little distracted by sitting in the Bumbo and trying to figure out what is around him. Hopefully, we can move onto the high chair soon. Oliver continues to require a complete wipe down after breakfast but we are getting better at getting the food in the mouth rather than hands, arms, and legs.

Here are a few more pictures to document the milestone:

What's he doing now?

I get asked this question often regarding Oliver so I thought I would jot down a few things so that I could remember what he was doing and what Oliver was into at this stage.

• Rolling.This is probably his favorite activity right now. He rolls and rolls and rolls. He can pivot too. We are convinced that crawling is soon to come. No getting up on the knees yet but he is "swimming" a lot. Video coming soon. He is definitely very physical.
  
• Chewing everything. This is a close second to rolling. Everything goes in the mouth. No teeth yet but Oliver loves to chew and gnaw on whatever he can find.
• Laughing. As I posted before, things can get pretty wacky around here. This morning, it was all about the ball. He has a stuffed multi-colored ball that he just loves. All you have to do is hold it over him and shake it or move it up and down in front of him as he lies on his back and he will just crack up.
• Lots of sounds: "aaaaahhhhh aaaaaaahhhh"(at various pitches and lengths), "mmmmmmmm, mumumumumumu", occasionally "gu". It is so much fun to listen to him. Sometimes we really have quite a conversation with him.

The picture at the top of the post is from our first trip to the park. Oliver wasn't as into as I was-I think he was too sleepy-but it was a beautiful day and I had to get him out. Our stay was short. I got in the swing with him in my lap and swung for a few minutes. We hung out on the blanket with some toys from home and then we took a walk around to look around at the new surroundings. Hopefully, we can return soon when Oliver is a little more awake and aware!

It's wacky!

That's what we say when Oliver is having a laughing fit. It can be over the smallest thing but he will get so tickled that he just keeps laughing and laughing! So, of course, we keep doing it so he will continue. We never know what will start it-he might be on the changing table or on the floor playing with his toys but he is absolutely hilarious when he gets going.

We keep trying to capture on video one of his laughing fits but we keep missing it. Here is the best we could do. He never laughs on this video but I can't stand it any longer not to post a video!
(Yes, we shot this video the same day I took the picture in the last post...I promise I actually change Oliver's clothes)


Our other big news is that summer is finally here! I am so excited! I keep telling Oliver that we have lots and lots "Oliver and Mommy" days now. We had a great first day. Nothing too exciting..just lots of playing on the floor and lots of kisses. As a bonus, he even took two good naps today which kept him in a great mood all day. I plan on posting often this summer, so stayed tuned!

Joy

Warning: Really sappy mom post ahead. Read at your own risk.

Today I was so happy, I almost cried. I was literally fighting back tears. I was playing with Oliver this evening and he was starting to get a little fussy. He hadn't taken his late afternoon nap which means an early bedtime for him. I just didn't want to start getting ready for bed yet-just 10 more minutes please! So I found on you tube the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video we have danced to before and started playing it. We danced all around the living room and he just laughed and smiled the entire time. He was so happy it made me just euphoric. We danced and I sang the song and we just had the best time. I couldn't resist one more and we listened to The Lion Sleeps Tonight and danced some more. I realized that we were creating a special memory and I stopped to just soak in the moment, realizing that this was just about as good as it gets. I had to fight back tears of joy to keep singing to Oliver.

Being a mom to Oliver is amazing and not a day has gone by that I haven't been thankful.

Mother's Day pics

Here are just a few pictures from Mother's Day and a brief recap. Oliver and I had the best Mother's Day. This is a picture Doug took of us on our front porch in the morning. It was cloudy and rainy throughout most of the morning and we were really wondering if the weather was going to hold for the rest of the day. By the way, this is my new favorite picture of Oliver and me. I thought Doug did a great job.

I met my mom and grandmother for lunch and then Doug brought Oliver by my grandmother's apartment so we could continue together on our adventure. My mom, grandmother and I have made it a Mother's Day tradition to go look at the peonies every year. They are absolutely beautiful and the pictures do not do them justice. Along with a dear family friend, we toured the peonies and took turns holding Oliver-who was very sleepy from the car ride and not as into the peonies as we were. It was a great afternoon.

When we returned home, Oliver managed to stay up long enough to give me his Mother's Day presents. Oliver and Doug gave me a mini-camcorder which means that video will be coming soon! They also gave me one of those recordable cards and Doug recorded Oliver laughing on it. I listen to the card every day at school when I need an Oliver fix.

Here is Oliver sitting in my gift from Mom:


Yes, we are the last family of an infant to get a Bumbo! I was trying to hold out saying it wasn't necessary that for years babies learned to sit without a Bumbo. Well, my mom read my mind, as she often does, and got us the Bumbo and Oliver loves it! I just wish I had broken down and gotten one sooner.

I must run. I finally uploaded the upteen zillion pictures from our camera so hopefully I can update again soon. Just a heads up, I may need to post his crawling picture soon because he is acting like we are pretty close!! (I say this and it will be months!). Take care, everyone!

I love being Oliver's mommy

Happy Mother's Day! I am so behind in posting that I can't begin to tell you everything that Oliver has done lately. Today I just wanted to write about being Oliver's mommy.

I love him so much. I know you would expect his mom to say that but I do. We say all the time "He is just the best baby." and he really is. Oliver is just a really happy kid. I love how he is exploring everything now-trying to put things in his mouth, reaching for things, looking with those big eyes at anything new you put in front of him. I love how he loves to roll over now-he can go from belly to back now and just loves to roll. He gets this great look of satisfaction in his eyes every time he rolls. The other day Oliver rolled from one end of the blanket to the other and would have kept going I think if I had let him. I digress...

At this time last year, I was barely pregnant and feeling yucky from "all day" sickness. I was so excited about being a mom that I kept telling myself that all the yuckiness was worth it-and, wow, it has been. I also would wonder what our little "bean" would be like. What kind of little person would we have for a son or daughter? Now, we are loving discovering his personality and wonder what new things Oliver will show us.

As I reread this post, I realize that my writing skills are so lacking (as always!) and I can't describe how much I love Oliver or being his mommy. I just hope that he knows that I love him and I really am trying to figure out this whole mommy thing for him.

Hope everyone has a happy Mother's Day-I'll be posting Mother's Day pics soon!

He rolls!

A couple of weeks ago (April 4 to be exact!) Oliver rolled over for the first time! The only reason I haven't posted sooner is that it has been crazy since going back to work but more on that later. Here is the rolling over story.

Oliver had been rolling onto his side for a couple of months but hadn't quite made it over to his tummy. He would just roll to his side and smile and then roll back to his back again. It finally happened on a Saturday-he was so kind to wait until a weekend to show his mommy. Oliver was actually pretty tired and I was about to lay him down for his late afternoon nap. He rolled over to his side and started moving his knee under him and trying to push himself over. At this point, I start cheering him and had to resist the temptation to roll him over myself. After several tries rocking on his side, he flipped himself over. I clapped and laughed like he was the only baby to ever roll over. I grabbed the camera and got these shots. I know they aren't great but I was trying to capture the moment.

Isn't this cool, Mommy? I can roll over now!

I did it! I really did it all by myself!

Still pretty cool isn't it?
Not as cool anymore...What do I do now?


At this point, he started getting frustrated at being on his tummy and I put down the camera to flip him back over. He rolled right back over! I couldn't believe it. He fussed again and it started to become obvious that this major milestone had worn him out and it really was time for a nap.

It was at this point that I realized the downside to my son's accomplishment-we couldn't swaddle him anymore in the crib. If he flipped over, he wouldn't be able to flip himself back over and judging from his reaction, he wasn't going to sleep on his tummy yet. I dug out the sleep positioner that we had never used and placed it in his crib. I still used the Kiddopotumus (I am sure I spelled that wrong) but wrapped it under his armpits leaving his arms free. You have no idea how worried I was to put him down for his nap without the swaddle. Oliver has had some nap/sleep issues in the past and the swaddling had worked wonders. Well, he did great. We have such an above average kid! His sleeping habits really didn't change and the sleep positioner is wonderful at keeping him on his back while in his crib. Don't worry, Oliver gets plenty of practice rolling over during the day. Doug and I just didn't want to play "Flip the baby" at 2:00 am.

So, I guess crawling and sitting up are next. I can't believe our little boy is almost mobile now. Babyproofing here we come!

Spring break

Oliver and I have had a great spring break. Although the weather, in true Arkansas fashion, hasn't been very springy, we have had fun indoors. I have tried to savor every moment with him. It has been great being able to get him out of his crib in the morning and get him ready for the day. I miss even the little things like washing his face and changing his clothes in the morning.

Only nine more weeks till summer.

No major updates-Oliver is still enjoying grasping toys, kicking and wiggling around, and working on rolling over. He is doing better with tummy time but still only tolerates it for short periods of time. He is "doing the work" though and getting stronger all them time. Now, if we can just start sleeping through the night....

Here are some pictures from spring break: Here a few shots from last week just because I liked them. That is all for now.

Oliver's latest tricks

On Monday, my mom and cousin Molly came to visit Oliver and I had to show off Oliver's latest "tricks". I decided that I needed to record them (as well as some others) before I forget.

• When Oliver is lying on his changing pad, he raises his right arm out-straight over his head. If you try to put it down, it pops right right back up. You can do this 5 or 6 times-it's like a little game with him. It is so funny-it's always his right arm.
• He has discovered grabbing objects. It started with my shirt when he was laying flat and I was next to him. I realize I am projecting but it was like "Hey, Mommy...what's going on?" Now Oliver can bat at objects over his head and will grab onto something when you are holding him and hand it to him.
  
• Along with grabbing objects, here is another fun game. He has a fish that plays 2 songs when you hit the button that dangles from his playmat that is removable. He has always loved this and we are always pushing the button and playing the songs for him but he isn't able to push the button when it is hanging from the arch on his playmat. I took it off the other day when he was playing on a blanket and held it out for him just to bat at. I was resting it against the palm of my hand when Oliver hit the button and started the song. I don't know who was more surprised, him or me! So then the new game was to watch him hit this button. I know one day he will have some toy that drives me crazy with all the music and noise but for now I love it!
• We are working on rolling over. We play the game where I put him at one end of a blanket and I try to get him to roll over to me. No luck yet but I will roll him over for tummy time (which he is not crazy about) and then roll him to me. Not as successful as the fish batting but we are working on it.
• Today he wasn't feeling well and hadn't taken a good nap so I was walking around with him. We did the "Who is that handsome baby in the mirror" game-and today Oliver smiled at his own reflection! He just smiled and laughed at himself in the mirror. Before he just sort of looked like"Who is that kid?" but now he seemed to really enjoy looking at that handsome boy in the mirror.

So many people have sent well wishes to me as I have returned to work. Thank you so much. It has been a difficult transition for me but I am making it one day at a time. We are so lucky to have Granna come everyday to take care of Oliver. He has done great with her and she is wonderful with him. We appreciate it so much. I am on spring break next week and will try to enjoy every moment with him. Oliver is doing great-I just miss him so much.

I will post new pictures soon. I just wanted to get a new post up before any more time passed. Thanks for reading!

Going back to work

Well, it's finally over. My maternity leave ends this week and I go back to school on Thursday. It is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Everyone was right. It went by like a blink of an eye. It is harder than I ever imagined. Today it really hit me when I set my alarm and got up at 5:15 am for a "dry run" on getting ready for school. Typically, I feed Oliver at about 6:00am and then he goes back down for another couple of hours. This is great in the sense that it will be easy to get ready in the morning but I realized that I wasn't going to have any "fun" time with him before I leave for school at 7:15. By the time I get home, we will have a little play time and then it will be time to go to bed. I know that we are very fortunate to have Granna (Doug's mom) watching him during the day and I will be home around 3:30 after school. This is truly a blessing because I don't know if I could go back any other way. Any positive thoughts during this time are appreciated!

On a happier note! I took these pictures yesterday when we were not taking a nap (more on that in another post) so hence the sleepy eyes. Oliver is smiling even though he was exhausted
from not napping all day. Thanks again Aunt Bonnie for the blanket-we love it! We are working on rolling over and grabbing at objects and this blanket is great for that.Here is another picture of Oliver where he rolled over on his side for the first time a few weeks ago. It's not the best picture, I know. I just had to grab the camera to capture this first side roll. He will never do it "on command" only when it is time in his mind so who knows when he will decide to roll all the way over.

More later on Oliver's latest adventures!

2 month doctor appointment

Oliver's two month doctor appointment was last Wednesday and I am just now getting around to posting an update. It has been a very busy week here but I will do my best to update the latest Oliver adventures! This picture, by the way, was taken by Doug when Oliver was in his swing one night. I just love his expression. As you can tell he is holding his head up well. I will have to post again soon about all of his latest accomplishments but for now the doctor's appointment...

First of all, the pediatrician said he is doing great. It was good to talk to the pediatrician and have some new mom questions answered. The big news is his weight and length-I couldn't believe it. Oliver now weighs.....

15 pounds!

Oliver's length is....

25 1/2 inches!

He is in the 97th percentile for weight and was literally off the chart for length. I guess we don't have to worry about him getting enough to eat! I am now looking for a new carseat because he will outgrow the current one at 22 pounds or 29 inches-whichever comes first. The doctor also said he got his height from me. This is special for me since as you can tell from the pictures, all of his other genes are from Doug.

I am so sad to pack away his 0-3 (and now many of his 3-6) month clothes. Some of them Oliver didn't even get to wear or only wore once. I am trying to take pictures in as many outfits as I can but we often do an outfit change because I can't stand for his little legs to be bent.

Here are 2 of my favorites that are now packed away.

In the end, though, I am just happy that my not-so-little boy is healthy and happy. Although, it looks like we will definitely be shopping for some new clothes soon.

Lovable Oliver

This is Oliver at about 2 weeks old. I actually took about 20 pictures during this "shoot" but I am sparing you the other 19. I wanted to post about some of the different things about Oliver that I just fell in love with during the first few weeks. They may seem insignificant to anyone other than his mom but I want to remember as much as can.

• He never wakes up crying at night (knock on wood) unless Doug and I are slow to get to him. He just grunts and coos. Very pleasant at 3:00 a.m
• He has hair growing behind his ear-very cute!
• Oliver has Doug's disposition-very easy going and laid back-thank goodness!
• When he was three days old, I panicked when I noticed his lips were a clear whitish color, thinking it was some horrible disease-turns out his lips were just chapped. (blush)
• He always sneezes two times in row.
• I love his hands, feet, and tummy and kiss them a thousand times a day.

Here's one more...This isn't the best picture but it is the only picture I have of him at 2 or 3 weeks in his Kiddopotamus. He sleeps in this every night (and naps on chilly days). I had never heard of it till my friend Kimberly loaned us her son's. It is a modified blanket designed for easy swaddling. We now have two we love them so much. In the beginning we swaddled him in it and now we wrap his torso in it but leave his arms free. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, it makes a great shower gift for winter babies.

Speaking of winter babies, I was not prepared for winter baby quarantine. When we went to the pediatrician for his one week check up, we were warned about RSV and advised to keep him in and away from germs when possible till his two month check up. We have followed this to the letter but it has been hard. Our excursions have been limited to family and stores we know will be empty. To say I am looking forward to warmer weather and the end of cold and flu season is an understatement. Of course, the idea of him getting sick enough to be in the hospital (which is what the doctor warned us against) is so terrible it is worth every minute.

Since I have deviated from my post topic, I will end now!

The Elusive Smile

I have been trying to get a picture of Oliver smiling for weeks and every time I would bring the camera to my face, he would give me such a serious expression. Today Daddy captured this smile while tickling his tummy.


Here is my best attempt as he turned away.Oliver's smile can make me smile even when I am exhausted at 3:00 a.m. Oliver will coo and talk to you and just smile away. Daddy and I have joked that we want his cooing noises as our ringtone on our phones.

He is truly a joy to have around.