Oliver's First Birthday Party

Oliver's real birthday party took place that Saturday. Amy and Jamir drove up to party with us (It is a long drive. They are the best!) Colt, Ashley, and Madi came as well. It was pretty low key, but fun to celebrate. We had hot dogs and hamburgers. Chris made Oliver a train cake. It was awesome! Unfortunately, Oliver didn't go crazy for it. He kind of poked it with his finger and delicately ate a little bit of it. So it wasn't the crazy, shove in your face first birthday cake moment, but it was still a good time. He was maybe tired and just wanted to play instead. That's okay. We love our boy. He got a magnetic alphabet from the Reece family and a shape puzzle from Amy and Jamir. We gave him a xylophone. He also had opened up fun little cars and rug to play with them on from my parents on his actual birthday. Oliver is a loved little man! He was pretty skilled at opening the gifts up. The adults rounded the evening off by playing some Kill Doctor Lucky. We're grateful for good friends and family. And we are happy our baby is one! 

an ode to Oliver's first year of life

opening up gifts!

Train cake!

A year in review. How our boy has grown and gotten so handsome! 

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Oliver walked on the beach for the first time a while ago. He loves the sand and the rocks too. I love this babe walking around, especially on the beach.

The Wednesday before Oliver's birthday, we took advantage of the local discount at the aquarium and made a visit. This was Chris' first time, and Oliver was definitely more interested this time around. It was also a beautiful day, so it was lovely to walk around to see the sea otters and sea lions and such. It was a fun day at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

3 Year Anniversary!

Chris and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on August 27th. It was a perfectly normal day. Chris brought me home yellow daises after work. We went out to eat at M&P Thai for dinner. It is always so delicious. Oliver loved the rice. 

I'm so grateful for our marriage and the covenants we've made. It's been a pretty delightful and exciting three years. A lot has changed since last anniversary. We have Oliver. We live on the Oregon coast. Chris has a great job. We bought a house. It has been another wonderful year. I love my Choco and am grateful for the good man that he is. We're still Livin' la vida Lopez and loving it. I'm grateful we can be together forever! Here's to eternity. 

 

Oliver is One!

Oliver turned one at the beginning of this month, so it's time to catch up! It has been the best year with our sweetest boy. We are grateful for this little boy, and that he's a part of our family. We love him to the moon and back.

At one year old Oliver:
-Weighs 22 lbs 10 oz and is 30 inches tall. He is just around the 50th percentile for his weight, height, and head. Our perfectly average boy.

-Walks! He really walks. I feel like it happened pretty quickly. I guess he decided he wanted to and hasn't stopped since. I love his little walk! It definitely makes him seem like a little boy now. I think he loves the new found freedom of walking and loves to explore more than ever.

-Eats. He really has started eating quite a bit at mealtimes with a couple of snacks during the day. He loves rice and beans. Fruit is his favorite thing. But he's pretty great at eating whatever I give him. I'm grateful he's a good eater and hope that sticks :). He's also started drinking whole milk and likes it quite a bit. We've started working on weaning a little bit, but in all honesty he's still a fan of nursing.

-Has so much personality. We love "talking" with him. He pulls the funniest faces and just does funny things. Every day I just sigh and laugh at my silly boy. I love him!

-Likes to be outside. We love the beach, and Oliver even enjoys walking in the freezing water. We also love walking to the little park by our house or playing at another park in town. He likes to go down slides. He likes to pick up bark and especially likes to poke his finger into holes or screw or whatever he can find. He also loves rocks! He likes to pick them up and carry them around.

-"Talks" a lot, but really hasn't said any real words yet. We're working on it.

-Loves to wave goodbye or adios to people.

-Loves dogs. I think he tries to say woof with me, but it mostly comes out as blowing. He's mastered blowing on his food when it's hot (or when it's not too).

-Is such a good helper. He loves holding the broom, mop, or any tool. He likes to take rags from the drawer and wipe stuff. He likes to hammer with papa and paint with me. It's good to have such fine help around the house.

-Likes to read with mama. We love our animal books especially right now as we point to the different animals and name them.

-Throws a ball pretty well. He also is good at throwing other objects.

-Is the best one year old around!

I'm so grateful for the joy and the things I've learned this past year being a mom to Oliver. It's challenging at times, and I'm always needing more patience. I know I can do better at so many things. But I am also so happy this is my job and that I get to spend almost every moment with this sweet baby. I love seeing him learn and grow and helping him explore the world around him.

Happy Birthday my little Oliver!

His actual birthday was pretty low-key but fun. We had his party on Saturday. But on Thursday, we started with a fabulous breakfast of watermelon and M and M pancakes in adorable dinosaur pjs.

We went to the park and played. It was a beautiful day of sunshine. And finished with the opening of one gift from us: some stacking cups. He is a fan.

On Friday, we went to the doctor's for his 1 year checkup. He is a healthy boy and is doing great. He really loved the tongue depressors. It was a little rough with five shots, but then he got a Dum Dum and life was good.

Party to come...

Mexico!

When we came home from Pocatello, Kenia accompanied us. It was fun to have her with us for a while before we all went to Mexico. She's beautiful and funny, and we love her so! She helped me give Oliver a haircut (followed by Chris finishing the job). He lookes so grown up now. I love my boy.

Amy and Jamir came for a weekend to hang with us. We had a good time visiting the jetty. Oliver and I didn't venture as far as they did because it was crazy windy and a little scary. We enjoyed a little beach picnic.

Kenia and I went to Lincoln City one of the days she was here. We went to the outlets, then went for fish and chips at Jay's. It's the best. We bought a tuna direct from the bay with Amy and Jamir. The boys had a good time getting it ready to eat. Choco made his delicious tuna burgers for us. Yummy. 

We headed to Mexico on the 15th of August and spent 10 days there. It was a great vacation. Jair came home from his mission, and it was good to see him. Oliver is loved by his Lopez relatives. It was nice to have lots of extra hands and eyes to keep track of our busy boy. We had a wonderful time eating delicious food, playing games, and spending time together. 

Abuelita and Oliver. She is the best lady. We're grateful for her example of faith and strength. And I loved her dress on Sunday. Oliver is a little blurry in this picture, but I love it. 

Hermosillo is hot, especially in August. It was hot, but we survived. There are also crazy rain storms. The boys went out for a minute in it, but I stayed covered. 

We took a trip to the zoo with Mama and Kenia. The day started out hot, but then the rain came and we got drenched. It was very refreshing though. I think Kenia is just about the cutest thing in her dress and hat. Oliver had a good time looking at the various animals. We saw lots of different ones. We even got to see/touch a baby leopard. Then our little monkey hung out in the tree. 

We went bowling. We've been practicing our skills. I'm still terrible, but Choco has the moves. Carne asada tacos are a must eat in Hermosillo, so of course we went to the usual spot one night. 

Then, Jair came home. We all went to the airport to see him. Oliver got to meet his uncle for the first time. They seemed to get along very well. It's crazy it's been two years. It was good to see Jair! We love him. 

Oliver loved the phone at the house. He would press the buttons and even pretent to talk on it. He also took his first real steps while in Mexico! It was the day that Jair came home. He had a pretty large audience so I think that helped. He really is a walker now. 

We went to San Carlos for a couple of days. It's a beautiful beach town. We kayaked and swam in the pool. We soaked up the sun. We also saw this beautiful old hotel. I wished I remembered the name, but it was adorable and fun to see. Chris' dad would come get Oliver from us in the morning and take him for a while. They would play and explore. Oliver loves his abuelito. It's so sweet. 

We played many games of Sorry, a Lopez family favorite. We also ate some delicious churros. It was hard to say goodbye. I'm sure Oliver misses all of the other faces around. We had a great trip with the family! Until next time Mexico.