I choose you.

When I was pregnant, I had several people say something like, “you will just find the time.”  I can’t say exactly what this comment meant to each person who said it, but in my experience I have been very unsuccessful at “finding time.”  Instead, I have become acutely aware of the seemingly small number of hours in a week.  Work is an inflexible constant.  For the remaining time, the only way to make the math work for me has been to subtract activities so that I can add in time with Oliver.  It occurred to me this weekend that there are several things on my subtraction list that I miss like pedicures, yoga, massages and facials, pottery, getting my hair cut, shopping for me, dinners out, and sleep.  But, it is not that I don’t have time to do these things.  Joe is always offering/encouraging me to take a Saturday morning and go to the spa or yoga class.  It is that whenever I have to choose between one of these activities and spending time with Oliver, I always choose Oliver. 

With a kid this cute, fun and lovable, can you blame me!?

Happy Mother’s Day!

I am lucky to have a loving and supportive mother as well as a wonderful mother-in-law.  As a new mom, I cannot help but have a new appreciation for all that my mom did for me growing up.  Thank you mom!

I was spoiled with both gifts and love on my first ex utero Mother’s day.  I have to admit, I hardly felt like I had earned all the attention given what a privilege it is just to be Oliver's mom.

It was a beautiful weekend in DC, which means we were able to celebrate Mother’s day doing some of my favorite things.  We spent lots of time outside: picnicking, walking and playing in the grass.  We enjoyed lunch out on both Saturday and Sunday, picked out fruit and veggies for making baby food, visited the National Aquarium, and bought a couple new books at the bookstore.  The best part was spending time with both of my boys—a pretty perfect first Mother’s Day weekend.

5/8/12 -- Nine months old

Oliver is nine months old today.  The past few weeks, Oliver has been a busy boy.  He started crawling, significantly increased his babbling vocabulary, and continues to charm us with his developing personality.

I love my baby Oliver and my heart bursts just thinking about the past 9-months we have spent watching him grow.  But, I am finally starting to let go of my sadness about him not being a baby for much longer and I am starting to embrace him growing into a little boy.  As his personality develops, I just want to get to know him and let him become the person he is meant to be.  I am grateful for every milestone and every connection his mind makes.  We are so lucky to have this amazing little person in our lives. 

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We spent the weekend in Wisconsin to visit and celebrate Mom/Grandma’s birthday (a week early). Oliver enjoyed lots of love and attention during our visit.

On Friday, Oliver got to visit with his Great Grandma, Aunt Sheila, Kate and Claire. He also had a play date with August, Brent and Angie’s 6-month old little cutie. 

 

 He had his first Gator ride on Saturday morning and picked some dandelions with Grandpa afterward.  We attended a bridal shower in the afternoon where he got to meet some of his second aunts and second cousins.

On Sunday he had an extra special treat: between thunderstorms we visited the animals at Aunt Sheila and Uncle Jesse’s house.  He was a brave little man and took it all in.  He giggled at the pigs, admired the horses, and petted the chicks.

While in Wisconsin, Oliver advanced his crawling skills to the real deal.  He now crawls with his belly off the floor, and he practiced a lot of pulling himself to standing using every chair, coffee table and pant leg he could get a hold of.  Among other things, he also enjoyed playing peek-a-boo (Oliver now takes the lead and does the hiding/peeking), watching the birds from the window, napping in Grandma’s arms, giggling with Aunt Sheila, and playing with a big boy toy car Grandpa gave him. 

It had been a couple months since O’s last plane ride so I was a little nervous about how it would go now that he is more mobile and vocal.  He did great.  As usual, he totally impressed me with his patience, good nature and ability to make the best of whatever the situation.  He is a really great baby.