Easter

We kicked off Easter time, with a fabulous Easter basket (really box) from my mom! She is so thoughtful and sweet, and it was delightful to get some goodies and prizes from her.

The Saturday before Easter, our branch had a breakfast and egg hunt. It was fun to participate in some Easter festivities. Oliver did scoot across the floor and got one yellow egg! Woo hoo. There is a little boy in our branch who is also named Oliver. He is so adorable, so we had to get a picture of the Olivers.

                        

After the hunt, we took glorious, long naps. Here are our post-nap faces:

Then, I wanted to dye some eggs. We use Kool-Aid in our house because Chris hates (really hates) vinegar. The dying was nice, and the eggs turned into deviled eggs for Easter dinner the next day.

Easter Sunday was pretty low-key. Oliver's first Easter basket consisted of a stuffed animal duck and some bubbles. He wore his adorable outfit from Grandma Jan. We enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner at the Reece's. We're grateful for good friends! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of our delicious dinner, but it was lovely.

Most importantly, we reflected on Jesus Christ and his resurrection. We are indeed grateful for his life, example, atonement, and that he lives. We know that because of him, we will live again. It is a wonderful time to reflect on and express appreciation for our Savior and Redeemer.

It was a lovely first Easter with our sweet baby boy.

Life with Oliver

Oliver loves to move! He loves to scoot all around the house, exploring. He's been working on standing up and has pretty much mastered pulling himself up to stand (he uses chairs, the couch, boxes, me, etc.) I love my days spent with this active boy! He also likes to make a mess. He loves pulling things out of baskets. We're working on now putting them back in. He's hilarious and oh so fun. Here are some pictures of our recent daily happenings: 

he loves to go under things

oh that chubby boy!

we love to read together

"look mama, I found the dominoes!"

loves to climb on boxes

he loves noise! especially making it

In other exciting news, I am now an aunt to sweet baby Cora. Addie and Brit had their beautiful baby girl. She is so sweet and lovely! Oliver and I can't wait to meet her the end of May! 

beautiful little lady

Teeth

Oliver has been doing some serious growing and changing. One of the major events recently is that our Oliver has teeth! He has his two front teeth, which are just adorable. It is hard work getting those teeth out though, and we have only begun.

The first tooth made its appearance after a fever that just lasted through one evening. Our baby was super mellow, and we didn't mind the snuggles. Gratefully, in the morning, he felt fine. That beautiful tooth broke through either that day or the next.

The second tooth followed suit soon after. Before it came through, Oliver was quite a little sick boy. He got a fever, and it was a rough day on both of us. He was moaning and groaning throughout the day. They were not the usual happy noises. He would wake up when I put him down, so I spent most of the day with him in my arms. This was my first real experience with a sick baby, and it was no fun at all. Oliver is typically such a happy boy, so it was hard to see him so sad. It was a rainy, sick day as I held my sweet boy. He was finally feeling better the next afternoon. So, now he has two beautiful teeth!

first little fever 

poor baby on the sad, sick day. that face :(

snuggling with mama

feeling better!

love him

show us those teeth

yay!

seven months

Oliver is seven months today. As I write, he is playing next to me. He loves the huge box of diapers. I think he likes to talk to the baby on the box. He also tries to pull himself up on it. Now he is heading for one of his favorite places in the house, the basket of shoes by the front door. Our son loves shoes. Unfortunately, he sometimes wants to chew on them, but he also just likes examining them. He is a moving boy.

It has been an eventful month with our Oliver. He really is learning and exploring now, and I love it and him.

Here are some of the delightful things about our seven month old:

~He really can move now. His scoot/army crawl has developed, and he is pretty fast. He doesn't exactly crawl, but he uses his knees more. He pushes with his feet and pulls with his arm and scoots pretty much everywhere.

~While moving about, Oliver pauses and poses for a second. He goes on his side and looks and grins at me. I like to think he's just checking in with me. "Here I am mom. Glad you're watching me. Let's share a grin." Sweetest.

~He transitions from sit to crawl position and down to belly for scooting quite well. He sits with such great posture, I've been noticing how much I slouch. I'm working on it.

~He's getting close to pulling himself up to standing. He puts his arms up on something and pulls. He's not super stable with standing all by himself yet (holding onto something).

~Oliver loves to talk. He babbles away. Dadada are his preferred sounds right now. I love his little conversations. He also squeals, kind of like a seagull. There is an occasional scream too, quite loud. I'm not such a fan of those.

~He's loving this eating thing, and will eat pretty much anything we give him. He chomps away. Although his favorite food is still mama's milk, he definitely loves food. I think he's going to be a great eater.

~He falls asleep by himself. It took a rough week or so (and some days are better than others), but he can do it now! It is a beautiful thing to just put him down for naps and bedtime. Of course, sometimes I just can't help but want to rock him to sleep. There is nothing sweeter, then him sleeping in my arms.

~Oliver loves to laugh. He is a happy boy. I'm grateful for his sweet and content little spirit.

~He is a flirt. Oliver loves to grin at everyone we meet. He enjoys seeing other kids too. He loves the attention from others, and since babies are kind of a rarity here, he gets plenty of it.

~His hair is really fuzzy and getting long. It is sometimes crazy, especially when he wakes up.

~Things he loves:
his papa, Oliver even gives him gentle kisses and it is the sweetest thing
shoes, as discussed previously
going under things, tables, chairs, etc.
bathtime! splashing
looking at himself
noise, he bangs things on the ground
books with mama. I love when he looks up at me with those chocolate eyes. I melt.
songs: I am a Child of God, Pat-a-Cake
peek-a-boo, he loves it and laughs so hard. we love to play while he's in his high chair. I hide below and pop up. it's our favorite game.
still loves my dancing and singing in the kitchen. good boy

We love our sweet seven month old boy. He's hilarious and happy and just the best.

the pose

he was having a hard time sitting still, go figure. 

tennis dates and bike rides

I have been loving tennis dates with my boys. It is fun to get out and play again. Granted, I am not very good, but we have fun laughing at ourselves. Oliver is a trooper, but he does sometimes start eating the rocks on the court which is obviously problematic. Oliver is blurry from moving in the picture from last week below. It is delightful to get out and enjoy this beautiful place. 

Last Saturday, we ventured for a bike ride into Waldport. It really isn't that far, but let me tell you my legs were burnin'. It was good to get some exercise, and Oliver was such a trooper on the back of his dad. The ride was worth it since we got our usual Saturday treat. There is a fabulous little bakery called Pacific Sourdough in Waldport. The people who own and run it are so great and the food is delicious. We usually stock up on a variety of treats: cookies, tarts, pastries, brownies, etc. We limited ourselves to one each this trip. I enjoyed a scrumptious raspberry turnover and Chris loved his apricot tart. We made it home with sore legs and a sleeping baby. It was a perfect Saturday with my two favorite people. 

Just two more pictures: Oliver waking up from a glorious 2 1/2 hour nap yesterday (his face!) and his delicious tummy in his jammies. He always has a onesie on, so I was pretty much obsessed with his perfect little tummy peeking out of his jammies the other night.