Winter Wonderland

Oliver's first Christmas is going to be a white one - over the last couple days we have had over a foot of snow (it is about 6 lonely degrees outside, so Oliver and I are staying snuggy inside while Davis is outside snow blowing the neighborhood - we'll have a more accurate snow update once he returns (although given his affinity for snow blowing, it might be awhile before we see him)).

Enjoying his backpack, an early Christmas present

Playing in the yard with with Anna



Seeing what the Moutain Buggy is made of (I was a bit worried about Oliver becoming a bubble boy of sorts, but my worries were unfounded - wrapped in his great great grandmother's carriage blanket, he was asleep before we reached the end of the driveway.)

Our Christmas tree

"New" ride

We converted Oliver's stroller to a "big boy" stroller a couple days ago. Both he and Blue Banana seem to enjoy the change.

Food!

Until last week Anna has been wonderful towards Oliver, but only somewhat interested in his activities. Last week this changed -- Oliver ate his first food -- and Anna realized that Oliver has amazing potential. Over the past several days Oliver (and Anna) have sampled barley cereal, pears, applesauce, carrots, avocados and sweet potatoes. Thus far his favorite seems to be pears.

Here are some pictures of his first taste of food.

Oliver hates being strapped down (he prefers to be bouncing) and therefore was a bit skeptical when we put him in his high chair.


A tentative taste of pears and he began to warm up to the high chair.

He soon commandeered the spoon,


And became a very happy (messy) baby.


Anna is hoping that Oliver's next food is bacon, or even a roast beef.

Bouncing baby boy

Oliver loves to bounce. When he is standing he tries to bounce and bounce and bounce. While it is a great arm workout, bouncing a 17 pound baby hours upon end does get a bit tiring. Yesterday we found the perfect solution - for Oliver and for us - a jumperoo thingamajig (I'm sure there is a real name for it, but I'm not sure what it is -- perhaps mommy's little helper? Oliver's little slice of heaven?) Anyway, Davis hung it up last night when we got home and after an hour and a half we had to, much to Oliver's shagrin, pull him out.

Bahamavention

Last week we had our Bahamavention. We began our trip with a stay at the Hilton in Boston. Oliver was a big fan of the mattress there and, for the first (and only time) slept through the night. He so enjoyed his sleep there that he didn't notice when we scooped him up, walked over to the airport to check in, and began standing in the endless security line. It was only just before it was our turn to go through security that he woke up and wondered where he was. Soon, with Sophie in his mouth and Davis at his side, he seemed pretty excited about the flight.


Oliver was a great traveler, he smiled at everyone on the plane and didn't cry at all. And once he landed he enjoyed a relaxing boat ride to Man O War.


Once in the Bahamas we all had a wonderful time. We were able to relax and enjoy the nice weather and, more importantly, we were able to spend time with family. Oliver got to see his grandparents as well as his aunts and uncles. He had a great time showing them all of his tricks, especially his love for bouncing.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the trip --

Learning to drive the Whaler
Relaxing on the beach

Spending time with family

Oliver's first golf cart ride

Checking out the water


And of course, feeling the sand between his toes

We are all looking forward to our next Bahamavention (including Anna who, although she was happy to see us when we returned, would have much rather stayed with her friend Amy than coming home with us).

Gobble Gobble

Last night was what I hope will become an annual event -- an early celebration with friends. We gathered at the Doyle's and had an amazing meal. And even more amazing than the meal -- all seven kids, ranging from four weeks to 28 months, and twelve adults sat down to dinner (and at the same time!).


Tonight we are off to begin our trip to the Bahamas where we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. We look forward to sharing our pictures and tales of the trip (and tales of Anna's stay with Amy) when we return.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Bucket of laughs

Oliver's stuffed animals found a new home recently, and this weekend Oliver decided to give them a visit. He thought sitting amongst his animals was very funny and, to be honest, Davis and I did as well.

Baby cage

When I was pregnant with Oliver Davis and I decided to meet after he got out of work to look at cribs. Our first stop - Babies R Us. The closest Babies R Us to us is on route 114 in Peabody. To get to 114 from our house is very simple, you take route 95 south to the exit that says "to 114" and then you follow the signs. That being said I have only once made it there without getting lost. So on the day Davis and I were meeting to look at cribs I detoured through Middleton, Danvers, and Beverly, and therefore was pretty late. I called Davis when I got to the parking lot and asked where he was (if you've ever been in a Babies R Us you know it is pretty important to establish the whereabouts of the person you are meeting before you enter because you can get both lost and distracted (a dangerous combination) pretty easily). Davis replied that he was looking at "baby cages." So I went to the crib section and there was Davis - and a salesperson lurking close behind. He pointed out a couple baby cages he liked, and the lurking salesperson followed behind looking terrified. Davis then asked, jokingly, where the top to the cage was. The salesperson nearly fainted. Luckily we didn't find a crib we liked there, if we had I'm not sure they would have sold it to us -- no sense of humor.

We found Oliver's crib at a great little store in New Hampshire several months before he was born. For some reason I was intent on having the crib set up, mattress installed, bedding in place - all before Oliver arrived. The reality is that the crib (mattress and bedding) have served as a storage place for all his toys and animals. The other day I decided that it might be time to get Oliver used to his crib, so I put him down in it for his nap. He seemed to sleep well, but when I went in to get him when he woke up this is how I found him-


Looks like it's off to Babies R Us again - this time for a breathable bumper so he doesn't get trapped between the rungs. Wonder what detour I'll manage this time.

"You can stop giving him fertilizer"

Oliver had his 4 month check up this morning. He impressed Dr. Alice by rolling all over the exam table, shredding the paper on the exam table, trying to shove the torn paper in his mouth, smiling, and chomping on her with his two teeth (that's right, a second tooth poked through this past weekend). Dr. Alice was also very impressed with how big he has gotten and joked that we should stop giving him fertilizer. Oliver weighed 16 pounds today and was 26 and 1/2 inches long -- he has grown 5 inches in the past 4 months and has gained 8 pounds!

Unfortunately Oliver's visit with Dr. Alice ended with several vaccinations which he was very upset about. The poor little guy is now taking a nap and hoping that his afternoon will be less painful than his morning.

Little Lamb

Oliver received the finger puppet book "Little Lamb" from Melissa, John and Molly when he was born. On the back cover of the book is a quote from Parenting magazine, "Give your baby his (or her) first taste of story time magic with this finger puppet board book." I'm not sure if this is what Parenting had in mind -

Oliver is certainly enjoying his first taste of story time magic - although I have to admit, it is difficult to read the story while Oliver is trying to eat the little lamb.

Break through!

Oliver's first tooth poked through today! I realize that we've had plenty of warning - weeks of slime, gnawing on everything (including a good chomp on the dining room table last night), and the pediatrician telling us that Oliver has been teething. Despite these obvious indicators I was shocked when I felt, and then saw his little tooth this morning. I guess I really am going to have to say good bye to his gummy smile.

I tried to take a picture, but he seems to not want to show it off yet.

Never turn your back

This morning Oliver was playing on the dining room floor while I made coffee. Sophie was on the blanket as well as a couple other toys. Oliver was happily playing and I saw no potential disasters so I turned my back for one second so I could get milk out of the fridge. When I turned around, literally a second later, I discovered that Oliver had stopped playing with Sophie and his toys and instead was drooling all over the new issue of Parachutist. I thought I had at least a few years before this happened. Well, I've learned my lesson - I need to always keep both eyes on Oliver - you never know what happen.

Halloween Part II

We came downstairs this morning and this is what we found...


Looks like Anna wanted to be a dragon, and not a domestic diva -- we should have known.

Halloween

It wouldn't be Halloween without pumpkin carving. We decided it was probably not a smart idea to give Oliver a knife and have him attempt to carve his pumpkin - so instead we decided to put him in his pumpkin (clearly a smarter idea).


Oliver got dressed up as a dragon to help us hand out candy.

He wasn't a big fan of the wings and tail, but loved the feet.

Being a dragon was hard work -- Davis and Oliver had to take a time out for a drink.

Anna got dressed up as a domestic diva - complete with apron - unfortunately the pictures we took didn't come out well - and she wasn't that keen on having another photo shoot (or perhaps she just didn't want to be portrayed as a domestic diva)- so you'll just have to wait for another post for pictures of Anna.

Happy Halloween!

Slime!

Before I talk about slime I want to point out a change on the blog. The Liz, Ben, Ethan and ? link has changed- it is now Liz, Ben, Ethan and Adam. Adam was born on Sunday. We had the opportunity to meet him yesterday and he is adorable. Everyone is doing well.

And now on to slime.

Did you ever watch Nickelodeon? We didn't have it at our house, but when I babysat, or when we went on vacation I loved to watch it. One of the funniest things to watch was the people getting slimed. Well, we now have our very own slime-maker. Thankfully, however, it isn't green.

When Oliver, our little slime-maker, visited the doctor last week he treated her to a wonderful slime bath. He grabbed her hand, shoved it in his mouth, started chomping on it, and then drooling all over her. With her hand already in his mouth she felt around a bit and declared that he is teething. Although it would be fun to see a little tooth I have come to love his toothless grin and secretly hope that it takes awhile for the teeth to emerge (however, the longer it takes the more laundry I will have to do - his slime is managing to soak through bibs and clothes at a rapid rate).

On Sunday we got together with a couple of Oliver's new friends and one had a giraffe which she was using for teething (her parents said it was "the" teething toy). Oliver eyed the giraffe and shoved his hands in his mouth, slimed my hands, slimed Davis, slimed his parrot...we headed to the store and bought Sofie the Giraffe. Thus far it seems to have been a good purchase.

These feet are made for standin'

Oliver has discovered his feet. For about one day he was satisfied with grabbing them and pulling them up to his mouth, then he realized - standing on his feet is much more fun. Now all Oliver wants to do it stand. You hold his hands and he pulls up and stands there - he wobbles around a bit, not unlike a push puppet (here's a picture of one in case you are not familiar with them) - and is so happy.

As soon as we suggest it might be time for him to sit down, lay down, or do anything other than stand he gets super mad. Here is a picture of him - as you can see, he's ready to run.


With Oliver wanting to spend time standing, Mr. Parrot is now spending more and more time alone in the stroller.

Renaissance Men

It appears that both the men in my life are renaissance men.

Not only is Davis a master griller (yes this is actually what he wore to grill last night),


he is also a master knitter.

Here is Oliver showing off his new sweater.

And a picture of his new sweater and hat.

As for Oliver, he enjoys a nice bubble bath


As well as hard work.

(Davis is now taking knitting orders for the holiday season. Please contact him directly for orders and price quotes.)

When Mommy's away...

On Saturday I left Oliver, Davis, and Anna so I could go look at wedding dresses with Heddy and spend some time with the girls.  No sooner had I left the house when I got picture mail from Davis.  This is the picture I received --

Davis had gone to get Oliver up from his nap and there was Oliver, on his tummy, smiling at his new skill.  So Oliver can now roll from his tummy to his back, and his back to his tummy.  And he, once again, showed his new skill to Davis first.  I wonder what skill he'll show off next time I leave them?

You have new Picture Mail!

I was in Boston today and so Elizabeth was here to play with Oliver. Elizabeth is wonderful and throughout the day sends Davis and me pictures and commentary of what they are up to. It is always fun to see "You have new Picture Mail" on my phone and see where they are, what they are up to, and what outfit Oliver is wearing.

Here are the pictures from today. As you can see they had a wonderfully relaxing day -

Or not.

I learned that a portion of their day was not wonderfully relaxing, in fact it was downright smelly.

Elizabeth, Oliver and Anna headed to the state park down the road from us to take a walk. All was going well until Anna's leash somehow became unhitched (Jedi mind tricks) and Anna realized she was free to party. And party she did. She found a swamp and loads of horse manure and rolled and splashed and rolled and splashed. Although Elizabeth made a valiant effort trying to rid the crazy banana of the smell, burrs and who knows what else, Anna was pretty gross when I got home. Davis is off at the dog wash now ridding Anna of her treasures- I'm sure she'll be sulking tonight, she was pretty proud of how gross she was.