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.