Loving life

Oliver doesn't embrace life, he tackles it. From the moment he wakes up to the moment he reluctantly falls asleep he is busy, busy, busy trying to get the most out of every minute.

The town has put in a new fountain right next to the playground that is located downtown. The other day we were supposed to meet some friends at the playground, but they were running late and Oliver was much more interested in waiting by the new fountain rather than at the playground. At first he circled the fountain, then he got closer and closer, then he started stomping in some of the puddles, then he dove right in. Mind you it wasn't one of the warm and sunny days we've had of late, but a rather chilly and overcast day. As I watched Oliver run through the fountain over and over again yelling that he was "Happy! Happy! Happy!". I overheard a couple of people commenting on how they would never ever let their child go near a puddle much less play in a fountain. For a less than a split second I considered that I was being a "bad" mom and that I should pull Oliver from the fountain. But this thought quickly passed - the smile on Oliver's face, that he was announcing to the world over and over again that he was happy...the amount of joy that Oliver was getting out of that moment was so fabulous that I almost turned, stuck my tongue out at the other moms and jumped in the fountain myself. I did have to chuckle when a few minutes later Oliver emerged from the fountain chilly and I stripped him down out of his went clothes, had to beg a dry diaper off a friend, and then wheeled my naked little boy down the street.
We did stroll over to a clothing store in town to purchase Oliver some dry clothes. I was heartened when we walked in the owner asked if Oliver had enjoyed the new fountain - as it turns out there were other moms and children in town who had thoroughly enjoyed the fountain - yea!

Oliver's zest for life also carries over to his love for lamb,

spending as much time as possible with daddy,

and the beach - getting as wet and sandy as possible.

While Davis and I are both people who try to get the most out of everyday and try to enjoy life to its fullest - Oliver has shown us that we can do a much better job - that we need to go further than embracing life, that we should, as he does, tackle it.