Welcome to the BrittBundle Blog

Our blog has moved --->

2010-06-08T15:36:00.002-07:00

It's official - our blog has a new web address:

http://WeAreTheBritts.blogspot.com

This blog will remain up until I have had the opportunity to turn the posts into some kind of "photo" book, then it will dissapear.

>>poof<<

You will notice that the new blog is still *slightly* under construction. This will soon be remedied with an updated family pic and pics of all of us individually.

Please make note of the change of address and update your links (if you like - I'm not gonna force ya ~ wink).

Updates coming soon...AND...a new blog

2010-05-28T13:28:00.002-07:00

Photos of my boys that I snapped today. Hope you enjoy them, more coming soon, I promise.

Oh, and we are moving blogs...get ready for the new Britt Blog, coming your way June 1, 2010! New web address, new features and more fun!

Our kids are made out of pure awesome!

2010-03-10T21:41:00.003-07:00

Our kiddos are are just plain cool! Check out these photos and Oliver's video for proof.

Just hanging out together

Eli - 4 months

An intense conversation

Hop, hop, hoppity HOP!

See!?! You can't deny their awesome-ness!!

Roger Roger!

2010-02-28T20:03:00.004-07:00

Oliver is most definitly his daddy's son! Let me explain.

Most of know that my dear husband works in the IT field, and has for many years. Growing up, he also was involved with computers, however, not professionally - a hobby. He used to be a gamer on his PC, but now, married life and children have greatly decreased this hobby to almost nothing...BUT...now that Oliver is getting older, he is slowing introducing some of his hobbies to our son.

For example, for the past two weeks, Aaron and Oliver have been hanging out and watching Star Wars: Clone Wars episodes. Oliver LOVES them. In the mornings, he will wake up and typically ask to watch Star Wars. Uh-oh, hopefully I won't have an uber-geek on the rise...

Oliver also loves technology. He was gifted a Fisher Price toddler camera this Christmas from our dear friend Kevin and he LOVES taking pictures. This is a digital camera for toddlers, unbreakable - indestructable (so far).

He also plays video games on Aaron's iPhone; granted, they are toddler video games, but he still plays them with gusto!

On a side note, we have always known that Oliver is going to be athletic. He has great coordination and dexterity for a 2 year old. Take a look at this short video of Oliver imitating baseball...

Pretty cool, huh?!?

And we can't leave out little Eli! Some updates are definitely warranted!

Eli has been rolling over from back to tummy now for about 10 days now - it's awesome! What's funny is that he's rolled from tummy to back for a while now, but now that he's rolling the other way, he's forgotten how to roll back to his back! I remember Oliver doing this same thing and thinking it was just too funny. Poor baby gets so frustrated when he can't get back to his back.

In addition to nursing, he has been eating rice cereal at one meal now for a week. He LOVES the rice cereal and gobbles it right down.

Enjoy Oliver's video and the picture of Eli. I hope to get some more pictures up soon.

Some more fun!

2010-02-11T21:10:00.006-07:00

I am posting, again! I'm hoping to post weekly like I used to, even about goofy stuff like food I've created or how many times Eli spit up in an hour - well, maybe not that -- wink.

I decided to let my guard down a bit this week so I bought Oliver some Crayola Washable Markers. I am always so cautious about things in my house getting ruined or colored on, so I figured I needed to relax a bit; afterall, things are just things. Oliver LOVED the markers, he was excited to learn to take off and put on the caps and color with them. I wanted to document his experience, it was quite fun to watch!

Off comes the cap!

" Oops, mommy I got some on my hand!"

How fun is this!

" Look at my hands mom!"

And now on to Eli - can't leave him out! Not much to update about him at this point, he's still cooing all of the time, getting so close to rolling back to front and smiles at you all the time. Doesn't your heart just melt when you see his smile? He's going to be a heartbreaker!

"Cheese!"

Up close and personal with Eli

The Adventures of Der and WhyWhy

2010-01-19T21:29:00.005-07:00

Whenever Oliver refers to himself he's called "Der" or when he refers to Eli it's "WhyWhy" hence the title of this post.

Oliver has turned 2 1/2 and Eli is now 3 months - sheesh, time flies. Oliver is still talking up a storm and starting to really play with others. Make believe is also something that he's begun to do. Sometimes he'll reach into one of his pockets, pull out a "pretend" cell phone, talk on it really quick, say "bye" and put it back into his pocket. Obviously mom and dad must be on the phone enough that he thinks it's something fun to do.

He's also started grabbing a book and holding it like a tray and serving us hot or cold food. He'll tell us "Hot!" or "Cold!" and we'll blow on it or toss it around our hands and pretend to eat it. He gets a kick out of it.

Oliver's also really enjoying playing with legos, his train set and his cars. He likes for you to build a BIG house that has stairs with the legos.

Eli 3 mo - Talk about a cute smile!

Check out Oliver and his lightsaber - too funny!

Eli is quite the cutie, he's doing typical baby stuff: cooing, roling front to back, almost rolling back to front, etc. He smiles a lot, mainly when being talked to. We brought out the stationary bouncer that Oliver used to use and he's not sure what to think about it yet; I'm sure he'll enjoy it soon!

We go in for Eli's 4 month doctor visit at the end of the month, I can't wait to see how much he's grown!

A look into the Britt family household

2009-12-20T20:44:00.004-07:00

Oliver 29 months, Eli 7 weeks

In case any of you were wondering about what life is like at the Britt house, well, here is a little peek:

It's a little crazy with the addition of a newborn, our sheduled days aren't as scheduled anymore. But, really, who's going to call the schedule police? I'd like to think that our lives will resume to our normal-ness sooner rather than later, but who am I kidding? I must mention, however, I don't mind...really!

Mondays are good, provided mom gets up before the kids. This means that I am showered and dressed, face made up and hair looking presentable. If this does not occur, then make way for the Grinch. Yes, I said Grinch -- don't believe me, ask Aaron!

Tuesdays are about the same as Mondays. That being said, so is Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We try to go to the park on occassion, especially when other kids Oliver's age are there. He loves to play with kids any age, so the park is a must. Every once in a while we go to BounceU so Oliver can bounce some of his energy out. If you haven't taken your kid there, you've got to go, they LOVE it!

Along comes the weekend and it's sleep-in Saturdays (although Oliver hasn't gotten the memo yet, apparently). Aaron takes care of the outside house maintenance, I play with the kids. Typically we try and get out as a family and eat a meal in a restaurant together then maybe come back home and watch a movie.

Sundays are COMPLETELY unpredicable. Oliver usually naps during the day around 1:30 till 3 or 3:30, so trying to juggle 2:00 church is nearly impossible some days. How do you take a 2 year old to church when he hasn't had a nap and he won't fall asleep in your lap? Ideas? Suggestions?? Benadryl (totally joking about the Benadryl)!

The best thing about life at the Britt household: life is unpredicable at times. I love my two little boys, I love my husband. I have so much to be thankful for that in the end, the days that don't go just right, are just a blink. They pass us by so quickly and we often forget them. It's the days that are magical that we remember!

Oh how you have been neglected little blog...

2009-12-10T13:40:00.007-07:00

So it seems that once you enter into the world of parenting multiple children, time on the computer is pretty darn scarce. Who woulda thunk? Here it is, 7 weeks after Eli was born and I have only posted one time. Well, here comes TONS of updates on our family!

Oliver:
Man oh man, this boy keeps you busy! He is just a sponge-and-a-half (if there could be such a thing). He is learning to speak in sentences, count, get dressed and help around the house. He's still really enjoying Eli, which is awesome! Whenever Eli cries, Oliver comes and tells me, "Baby Crying". He loves to give Eli kisses and hugs and likes to hold him still. Oliver enjoys setting the dinner table with placemats and napkins at dinner time. He also says our breakfast prayers each morning (2 year old prayers are SOO cute). He likes to find things to count, and counts, "two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, eight, nine, eight, nine, TEN!". He sure is an awesome kid!

Eli:
Eli is now 7 weeks old, and HUGE! He has his 2-month doctor visit on the 21st and I'm expecting his measurements to be off the chart. Aaron and I measured his length with a tape measure the other day and he was over 23 inches long (he was born 21 inches long). He is also almost too long for 0-3 month sleepers, so I guess I'll need to dig out Oliver's 6 month sleepers to see if he fits those. He is also pretty much sleeping through the night and has been for about 3 weeks. He'll eat at 10:30pm or 11pm and then not eat for 7-8 hours later (which means we all get to sleep!!!)

Our Family:
Other than adjusting to having two kiddos, life is pretty good here on the home front. We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Aaron's brother, Ben. I cooked my very first turkey and it turned out great! We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, cran-raspberry relish and rolls. Yummmm...

And now for pictures!

Welcome Eli Daniel

2009-11-05T20:53:00.005-07:00

Yes, it's true, we had our baby. We welcomed Eli Daniel on Wednesday, October 21st at 6:45pm. He weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 20 inches long (even though our pediatrician measured him at 21 inches - hospital just measured quickly and inaccurately). He's such a doll and is fitting right in with our family!!

Shortly after birth, the doctor tested his blood type and found that he is a different blood type than me and some of my blood got mixed in with his blood making him Coombs positive. Loosely translates into Eli being high risk for jaundice -- which he did get. He had to go under the billi lights for just about 24 hours. Then after we got home and followed up with our pediatrician, the poor little baby had to get blood draws from his little feet for four days to make sure his jaundice wasn't getting worse.

Oliver is enjoying his little brother so far, he likes to give him kisses, hugs and enjoys holding him (unless Eli is crying then he wants to give him back).

We had some great help right before we went to the hospital from grandma Keyser. She was able to stay with Oliver until my parents arrived the day after Eli was born. My parents spent twelve days with us and kept Oliver quite busy and entertained. I'm pretty sure he wore them out!

The last three photos are of Oliver (of course). The first of his photos is of him saying "I'm STRONG!", the second is him wearing his Superman Halloween costume and the third is Oliver riding his bike at the park. He LOVEs his balance bike and is a super-kid on it! He rides downhill at the park, turns circles and goes over rocks, NO training wheels for this kid!!

Shooting hoops and other things

2009-08-20T21:17:00.004-07:00

Last night as Aaron and I were sitting in the play room watching television with Oliver, we had the pleasure of witnessing him shooting hoops in the Little Tykes basket ball hoop that grandpa and grandpa Keyser got him for his 2nd birthday. I'm talking like really shooting hoops. He grabs the basketball in his right hand (basically palms it), supports it underneath with his left hand, brings it back near his right shoulder, and, he shoots, he SCORES! He's standing about 3-4 feet away from the hoop and shoots over and over and misses every once in a while, but pretty much makes 80% of the throws. I did manage to get one shot on my camera's video so take a look:

Last week, we took Oliver with us to go look at some new shoes for Aaron. Of course we walked out of the store with new shoes for Oliver too. Can you blame us though? His feet won't quit growing (when will that slow down??). He's now wearing a size 10 tennis shoe and just about fits a size 11. This kid is either going to be very tall with large feet, or just have large feet!

And here are just some random pictures of our AWESOME little man!

As far as this pregnancy goes, it's going well! I'm 30 weeks, baby is growing and growing. At our 29 week appointment he was measuring 31 weeks 6 days and weighing in at 3lbs 9oz. He's going to be a big baby. Here is a 3-d image that we got then:

Until next time!

On to officially potty training Oliver

2009-07-28T20:12:00.002-07:00

Oliver is officially 2 years old and seemingly ready for potty training. At 21 months he appeared somewhat interested in the potty but it faded just about as quickly as it showed up. On occassion he would ask to go potty and we'd take him and he' go, but most often he just wanted to sit on the potty and jump off.

So, why now, you ask. Over the past couple of weeks he has been growing more and more self-aware of pottying, he has named for both pee and poo and is aware of when he goes. Most often he'll tell us that he needs to go or has just gone, a major step towards potty training. He has also been wakin up from his naps dry.

So off to the bookstore I go and I pick up "Pottywise For Toddlers", read it through while Oliver is napping and determine that this sounds like a great approach for our growing boy. Some of you may know that we used the "On Becoming Babywise" method of rearing Oliver and it worked very well for us. Oliver has thrived on routine and schedule, practically demands it really. He is a child that likes to know what to expect for the day, this means what time breakfast/lunch/dinner is, when he's going to take a nap, etc. However, his day is not all scheduled out to the hour or minute, but for the most part meals and nap times come at the same time each day. It was only natural then, that I was attracted to a potty training book that is an extension of the original book we used for Oliver.

"Pottywise" can be looked at as a controvesial book mainly because it is pretty agressive and most children are "day trained" within the first day. The rest by day two or three. Night time training takes a lot longer and will naturally come once the day training is accomplished. I'll outline the process tomorrow after our first day has come and gone. But just as a sneak peak or spoiler, we introduced the potty doll and toilet tonight like the book states and Oliver was in big boy underware from 6:30 till bed tome with no accidents and lots of going potty in the potty!! YAY - SUCCESS for the first night!!

Tomorrow, my focus will be potty training, potty training, potty training. My plan is to get up earlier than usual, prepare the house for potty training and have TONS and TONS of patience for my little man. Neither of us can afford to lose our tempers or get frustrated when it comes to this....SO, wish us luck!

Ideas for a joint bedroom for the boys

2009-07-23T21:15:00.012-07:00

Aaron and I have been brainstorming about what to do about bedrooms when it comes to having two boys - the solution: they will share a room. Why not, right? That being said, it looks like we'll have quite a bit of rearranging to do and some furniture purchases and/or creation. See my idea board below, followed by some more detailed information.

We have two rooms upstairs that can accommodate 2 boys, they are Oliver's current room, and the room we use for our joint office. I have layed out two possibilities for Oliver's current room, one using bunk beds and one using two twin beds. The third layout is of our current office using two twin beds.

For the twin beds, I would create two identical headboards made of MDF or plywood covered with batting and maybe some foam. I would then use courderoy-like fabric for the covering and then put nail-head trim all around the edges for a more masculine look. LOVE this idea!!

I am not quite sure what type of bedspread to use for each bed, but I would sew a bedskirt out of a faux-suede material that coordinates with the headboard.

The remainder of the fabrics would be used as accent pillows for the bed.

I would like to replace the wood blinds in the bedroom with roman shades that I would make out of the fabric with the circles on it. On the very bottom of the shade there would be a strip of the golden fabric sewn to it.

We would need to purchase a dresser that can accommodate both boys as well as one, maybe two nightstands depending on the room/furniture layout.

To bring in some additional color to the room, a red-based accent lamp would be brought in, as well as some colorful artwork that I would paint.

We would paint the lower half of the wall the steely-blue color and leave the upper half of the walls what it currently is now.

So...what do you think? Do you like my ideas? My color choices? Do you have any suggestions?

Photos for you, from moi

2009-06-20T20:34:00.005-07:00

Here are some fun photos to hold you over until I take some more, better ones! It really is hard to take photos of an almost 2 year old, they just wont hold still. Sure, they like to say "CHEESE!" and then try to swallow the camera lense, but let's be realistic -- that just doesn't quite cut the mustard. We'll work on it.

And sorry to dissapoint folks, but I'm thinking I probably am not going to bare my bare belly this go 'round, I'm just feeling like my belly is rediculously huge and un-becoming, so covered is what you're gonna get for now.

Enjoy!

Some randomness from me

2009-06-08T20:22:00.006-07:00

Since getting pregnant this time around I have noticed that my blog is becoming less and less updated, by, well...ME. YIKES! I once had told myself that this would never happen, but it has and I feel awful. Tons of things go through my head such as: what will Oliver think some day when he goes back and reads the blog and sees basically 3-4 months of non-Oliver posts? What about this new little one, will he understand that I just have not wanted to take any preggo belly pics this 'go-round'? I feel huge and ugly and a picture is the LAST thing on my mind.

I would love to post some updated photos of Oliver, but sadly, I have been HORRIBLE at taking pictures lately. Oliver does new and exciting things all of the time, but getting that kiddo to stand still for a picture is the trick. He's movin' and groovin', jumpin' and 'a-skippin' and at almost 2 years old, how CAN he be still? Last week he tripped over himself and knocked his poor head on the corner of our stair railing, got a HUGE goose egg on his forehead and he says his head still hurts when you touch it. Okay - as a mom, I worry about that...

I mentioned that he's jumping and skipping, okay, skipping not really, BUT it kind of looks like that when he's running then leaps off of one foot then lands on another and then leaps again and falls. It's just too cute! Note to self: get this on VIDEO!

He talks a mile a minute. He can scream and the dogs in Texas can hear it (I'm talking majorly high frequency here folks). He thinks it's hilarious to be tickled and will come back and ask for more. He'll tell you that dogs go "oof", cats go "eeoww", birds go "teet teet", snakes go "sssss", bees go "zzzzzzz", ducks go "ack ack", aligators go "rarrr" (so do lions and bears, by the way).

I re-decorated our master bedroom. I got really tired of walking into a room that felt so bare and ugly, so I found some fabric (for curtains) and got my color inspiration from that. I'm quite pleased with the final outcome, and pictures will be coming soon!

I have promised a friend, Bonnie in Oaklahoma, that I would take some preggo belly pics this week, so I will also post those. And some of Oliver, maybe even a video of him if I can catch him doing what he does best :)

Well folks,

2009-06-01T20:45:00.003-07:00

IT'S A BOY!

3-D picture of the little one, he looks comfy all nestled in there!

Today's doctor and ultrasound appointment went really well, obviously from above, we found out that we're having a boy! YAY for Oliver, he'll have a little brother, a pal for life :) We're excited about another boy, it'll be a lot of fun seeing how much Oliver and his "bro" are alike or not alike.

I'm not sure if the tech that did our ultrasound today was all that "ultrasound talented" because most of the photos she gave us are either blurry or just plain questionable. It was tough today to get a look at this little one's goods, but after a few tries we saw that he was a boy! We also discovered that he weighs approximately 11 ounces at this time.

On a side note, we are 19 weeks pregnant, with 21 to go. So far, this pregnancy is going VERY well, the doctors are quite excited that I'm not having problems *yet* and are hopeful we'll make it all the way without bedrest!!

We've been invaded!

2009-05-30T07:47:00.004-07:00

See our "rock waterfall" here in our backyard? Well, we have certainly been invaded, by, can you guess it??

Yep, FOUR of these little ones, PLUS their mommy!

A few weeks ago, I was listening to two cats battle it out for our backyard (strays, of course). Well, it seems like prego-momma won because only a few days after that, I found an hours-old kitten hiding amongst some of our bushes. Seems like mommy either left that one because it was a runt or maybe she was moving her babies. Well, we found the "lost" kitten a home that night and now it seems mommy cat and her four babies have moved in to our back yard. Ugg.

Okay, yes, these babies are ADORABLE, but seriously, we are just getting used to no pets here at the Britt house. Anyone want FIVE cats???

I'm sorry Oliver...Daddy insisted

2009-05-04T21:21:00.002-07:00

Sorry, the picture is blurry folks, but it's the best I could do at the moment!

Camping last weekend and going in the "potty"

2009-04-28T20:07:00.005-07:00

WARNING: "Potty" references are in this post.

I like to confuse my readers with crazy-messed up titles like the one above. I figure, make them think about what my post entails, maybe it will bring surprise!

Yes, we went camping last weekend, Christopher Creek actually. We camped at camp site #9, and I TOTALLY recommend this spot for tent campers; however, please check your camping dates with us before you go because this is "our spot"! [tee hee] The following are some pictures from our little adventure:

The creek was right below our tent, it was awesome!

Yummy marshmally goo!

Drumming with our "neighbors".

Our rockin' camp site with our huge tent, awesome fire, creek-side views, etc (you get the picture).

As for the going in the "potty" part of the title, sorry folks, I don't have pictures of that (a little too personal, don't you think?)

Tonight, Oliver announced that he wanted to potty. We've sat him on his biyg boy potty a few times, but he's never shown any interest in it (except to look at it). So, I brought him into the bathroom and sat him on the potty (with his diaper and pants on). I figured he just wanted to sit there and take in the sights - but after I took him off the potty he announced once again - "Potty!". So daddy told him if he needed to go potty that he had to take his pants off - so he did. Aaron took him into the bathroom, sat him on the potty and he went pee. My little 21 month old went pee in the big boy potty!!! It was the cutest thing, and we were so excited for him. The next thing we know, he's asking to go potty again. This time he signs "poop" too. Into the bathroom he and I go, I sit him down and he starts playing with whatever he can find. Daddy brings in a couple of books for him which were great, total distraction from the toilet paper and flusher. After a couple minutes, he poo's! WOWEE!! A few minutes later he asks to go potty again, and he pee'd again. So within 30 minutes tonight, my little boy pee'd twice and poo'd once in the big boy potty.

Many of you will think that I am weird for posting about my child using the big boy potty, but HEY! I'm darn proud of my 21 month old for telling us he wanted to go potty and then doing it!

Pictures from today's ultrasound

2009-04-20T12:47:00.002-07:00

Aaron and I went to our specialist this morning for a routine ultrasound and so I thought I'd post the pictures! It is really funny how in some of the images that we saw on the screen looked so much like Oliver's profile or his nose. So, needless to say, if this baby looks anything like Oliver, we'll have another cutie on our hands!!

As you can see by the picture below, to the left is the baby's head (you're looking at it's profile). You can't see it's arms but they are actually both up near the baby's eyes, which you'll be able to see in the 3-d photo below.

Baby is measuring right on track, 13 weeks, development is going smoothly and it's a movin' and a shakin'! According to my "favorite" pregnancy book, the baby measures about 2 3/4 inches from head to rump right now, pretty cool huh?!?! Here baby is playing peek-a-boo with us (go ahead and let it out -- "awhhhh", you know you wanna).

Oliver likes to point to my tummy, give it kisses and say "deedee" (baby in Oliver language). So wether or not he "knows" he's going to be a big brother, we'll leave that up to the critics!

Kristie ... on being a neglectful blogger

2009-04-14T13:55:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I'll admit that lately I haven't been in the "blogging" mood. Truthfully, I haven't spent too much time on my computer lately either [ well, except for a couple nights here and there before going to bed ], but who wants to write up a nice blog post after a tiring day of chasing a 21-month-old, negotiating with that same child, uh, you get the picture. But here I am, Oliver is napping and I find myself wanting to post a little something.

Here it is: Oliver is still growing (betcha didn't see that one coming!). I'm 12 weeks pregnant, 28 to go. Aaron is planning on taking Oliver camping in May with the church for the Father and Son activity. We're going to try a family camp adventure April 24/25 to see how he'll do. This should prove most interesting.

I've got tons of photos to share and I will try and post those here in a couple days, along with more fun facts about what's happening in the life and times of Oliver.

Check us out!

2009-03-26T11:12:00.004-07:00

So, there's this photographer named Vanessa, she's a lot of fun! You should totally check her out at:

http://www.blissboutiquephotography.com/.

Plus, you'll see photos of us there [wink].

But, for ease, here's a direct link to some of our pictures:

HERE

More cool photos coming soon!!

Make way for baby !

2009-03-13T07:10:00.003-07:00

Oliver is going to be a big brother!! Had our first doctor's appointment and ultrasound yesterday, it all went very well. I have to say, though, THANK GOODNESS for the baby sitting co-op! I couldn't imagine bringing Oliver to the appointment yesterday, well both appointments.

I received my referral to go back to our specialist, which is great and reassuring. Had our ultrasound where baby measured right on track for our due date of October 25th, got some pictures and now are sharing them with you.

I was very nervous that there may be two babies again, but the tech assured us that there was only one. Soon I'll be posting belly pics, because it seems as if you really DO start showing faster the more pregnancies you have....hrmmm.

~Until next time (where I have some really cute updates about Oliver :) )

A photo post

2009-02-25T09:14:00.004-07:00

Last weekend, Aaron and I went out on a date! We saw Coraline in 3-D, hence the glasses that Oliver is proudly displaying below.

Ah, fun at the park! We went to the park this week with Kacey and Shannon, had TONS of fun and of course took photos. Oliver got a turn on the toddler swings and did not enjoy those at all. I'm not sure if he didn't like them because they confined him or if it was the whole swinging thing...He loved it if I sat on a swing with him on my lap and we would swing. Odd.

Oliver loves legos! He got these new legos for Christmas but we had to take them away from him because he would gather as many as he could in his hands and carry them all over the house. He'd always try to hold more than his hands could handle so he'd end up dropping them and getting very angry. He just got these back this week and he's in hog heaven!

And, we have a piano! Our good friend Bonnie happened to be at a garage sale this past Saturday and saw this piano. She called us to tell us about it and we bought it! It's used and somewhat abused, but a piano nonetheless and all three of us are enjoying playing it. Oliver loves to get up on the seat and play the piano, he'll even bring you over to it for you to watch him play or want you to play. It's so adorable! He doesn't pound on the keys which is even more amazing, he plays one or two at a time like a pro!

~Until next time

(oh, and as always, click on the pictures to enlarge them!)

MY LITTLE ARCHEOLOGIST!!

2009-02-18T16:29:00.004-07:00

I've gotta say, that Oliver is the greatest! Really, he IS! He got to venture outside once again this afternoon and he brought me these, and lined them up just like you see here.

"Mah!" He exclaims, don't you just love it?!?! He placed those rocks ever so carefully on our kitchen table (thank goodness not on our dining room table). He says some other uncomprehendable words, which I think went something like this:

"Mah, look! I've gathered these rocks for you to see. Don't you think they are SOOO cool??"

Then, off to the backyard he went and began closing the screen door, "Ouch, Mah!" See him above rubbing his fingers? He shut them in the screen door [oops]. "Mah, give them kisses to make them all better" is what I imagined he said. So I did!

Back to my rocks! "I found some really AWESOME rocks, see look!"

Now, onto "Handy Oliver", he was wearing his Sesame Street tool belt the other day wandering around the house looking "Handy" so I snapped a quick picture. He loves his tools and tool bench, just like Daddy!

~Until next time

About our doggy

2009-01-29T14:04:00.005-07:00

~*~*~*~MACY~*~*~

We love our dog, we do. She has been a great source of entertainment for the past 3.5 years, but, sadly, it is time for her to depart from our family to someone else's. Yours?

Here's the scoop:
Macy will be 4 years old in April, she is housebroken, kennel trained, sits, lays down, shakes, gives high-5's and hugs. She is great on the leash, and loves to play with other dogs. She thinks she's a guard dog and that her duty is to inspect all that enter. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body, and she has never bitten or tried to bite anyone. She loves to play chase and fetch (but not outside, that's her domain and she fetches for no-one). She is spayed and gets haircuts and baths at Petsmart about quarterly to minimize shedding.

Why we must part with her:
Over the last year since Oliver has been mobile, we have noticed his allergy to her getting worse. Both Aaron and I are slightly allergic to her in that when we play with her and she brushes against us, we get bumps on our arms/face and begin to itch pretty badly. Well, Oliver has this same issue, however, his seems to be getting progressivly worse. He LOVES Macy and LOVES playing with her. They chase each other around the house, they play ball, BUT, his allergy is something that we can control by changing the situation.

What we are looking for:
We are looking for a home where Macy can play with other dogs, or where she can run outside a lot. She prefers to be inside with people, but would do well outside with a companion.

If you are looking to add a doggy into your home, or know someone that is, please pass along this information about our Macy.

Thanks,
Kristie
email me here

At last! The long awaited video slideshow...

2009-01-18T21:21:00.003-07:00

Enjoy!!

Time for an update?

2009-01-16T13:06:00.002-07:00

The holidays are over, my 29th birthday has passed and Oliver reached his 18th month. January is half over and I still haven't posted pictures from Christmas -- SLACKER!!!

Oliver had his 18 month Dr. visit on the 12th, he's SOOO tall; again in the 98th percentile for height (35 inches). He's growing like a weed, learning new things every day [and I mean every day]. His vocabulary is rapidly increasing, he will often say 2 or 3 things together, for instance "where'd it go?" or "how you doin' mom?" or "I need to play". Okay, at least that's what it sounds like to us (and everyone else that hears it).

Other words he says are: again, juice, no No NO!, yes, yah, doggy, woof, meow, daddy, mom, more, mine, baby, EEEo (Leo, his favorite toy), and ouch.

He still climbs on everything, all his toys are just step ladders to something on the wall or on a shelf. He turns light switches on and off, finds the buttons on the side of the TV and changes channels, lowers volumes and turns it off, LOVES LOVES LOVES to play outside and gather rocks. He and our dog play ball and chase and he thinks chasing mommy around the house is a BLAST!

We went up to Flagstaff, AZ on New Year's Day and spent the night so we could all play in the snow. Oliver didn't like it much at first but then realized you could eat the snow! We had a sled and unless you were in it, he didn't want anything to do with it other than pulling it around and loading it with snow clumps. We had a great time and hope to head up there again for the snow soon.

So, you see, there has been so much happening here with growing little boys and activities that I have SOOO many pictures I'd love to share. Alas, you would grow tired of pages and pages of photos, so I am going to put together a slide show/video for you to watch so you can fast forward, rewind or totally skip the pictures!! I hope to have this up by Monday, but don't hold your breath...seriously. I don't know that I could get to you in time to reciussitate you if needed...

On a side note: anyone looking to add a dog to their family let us know. We are looking for a new home four our doggy, Macy. She'll be 4 in April, is well-trained on a leash, sits, shakes, lays down, gives high-fives and hugs. She can be a cuddler at times. She's never bitten anyone, loves to play with balls, destroys dog squeek stuffed animals, doesn't chew on the house or it's possessions. She's completly kennel trained.

Merry Christmas from the Britt House

2008-12-24T15:23:00.003-07:00

It is Christmas Eve, as tradition would have it, we'll be feasting tonight! Rolls are rising, prime rib is resting, the potatoes are awaiting the oven and the green beans are slumberly sleeping, for now.

I hear it is snowing at my grandmother's house, so bad that she'll be snowed in [again]. The town just was able to plow her roads yesterday, and here it is snowing again threatening the closure of her windy, gravel road. She'll have a fire burning in the fireplace, her multi-colored christmas bulbs strung up on the eves of her house and a fat blue-spruce in the living room, presents all around. The table will be set with the Spode Christmas placesettings, cordial glasses at every chair, Scandinavian dolls and green boughs span the center of the table. Ahhh...Christmas at Grandma's house!

This year, we are staying home, we're finding our "family tradition" and also due to the rising costs of airfare. It seems, however, we may not have made it anyway with so many flights cancelled due to snow and ice ALL over the U.S.

So here we are, our little family, enjoying each other's company and the company of friends and neighbors. We'll have good food, good laughs and rejoice in the reason for the season!

~Happy Holidays (pictures coming soon...I promise)

Ladies and Gentleman...we have a climber

2008-12-18T20:37:00.005-07:00

Many of you know this already, but I thought I'd just mention it again. Yes. Oliver is a climber, really has been since birth when he tried to climb up Aaron's tummy the day we brought him home from the hospital. Umm... so... yeah. Here he is, he just found out last week he could pull out our kitchen chairs, climb on them, then climb onto our table. Not cool.

A few weeks ago, we decided it was time to pack up Oliver's high chair, it's pretty hard to keep clean due to:

a messy eater,
the seat is fabric and is not supposed to be washed in the washing machine,
it's big and bulky (even though it can shrink and collapse),
it's not all that portable,
Oliver wasn't a big fan of it,
Oliver wanted to be a big boy and sit in a big boy chair (ask anyone with a booster, they will tell you all about it).

Here he is in his new big boy booster, eating breakfast with his big boy plate and big boy spoon! He is growing up SOOO fast.

And, since we were so AWESOME (sense the sarcasm?) at taking photos at the HUGE family Thanksgiving, this is the only picture we took, so here it is. Ahem...this was even taken at our house, lame, huh?

~Until next time

Happy Holidays from the Britts!

2008-12-02T14:05:00.006-07:00

Here is our little family, dressed in red and sending you happy Holiday wishes!

And here are our Holiday wishes for you:

Enjoy your friends and family
Spend a little time baking
Stop and smell the cinnamon and pine cones
Roll some snow balls (some travel may be required)
Build a gingerbread house
Listen to Holiday music until your heart's content
Give a little extra hugs and kisses
Sip hot cocoa and apple cider
Decorate your house with strings of popcorn and cranberries
Be happy, healthy and enjoy the Holidays!

Love,

The Britts

A visit with Santa

2008-11-24T22:14:00.004-07:00

Remember some of the Christmas movies where a small child is brought in front of dear Santa Claus? The tentative little boy (typically), holding tightly onto his mommy's hand, a grip of steel I tell you. This little boy has exclaimed how he wishes with all his mite to go sit upon Santa's knee and divulge his Holiday desires of G.I. Joes and Tonka Trucks, oh, and even a BB Gun?

Once arriving to the long-awaited position of "It's my turn to talk to Santa", that boy takes one look at the jolly man in a bright red suit and a snow-white beard and bursts into tears!

That's my Oliver! Of course, he didn't know I was taking him to see Santa. He didn't know why this strange man with a beard of white and a fuzzy red cap wanted him to sit on his lap. He doesn't know about Santa Claus - YET!

You see, it is with great JOY we parents get to take our children to see Santa. We did it when we were kids and feel we should share the experience. Not only was I prepared for Oliver to burst into tears and clamp onto my shoulder like he was being tossed off the high dive for the first time, I was excited for it!

What kind of mother would be excited for her child to fear this jolly man in a fuzzy red suit? ME! This is an experience I just couldn't wait for, I wanted to do it last year, but Oliver would have only been about 5 months old - too young for Santa. But this year, this year we were ready! I know that next year, when he is nearly 2-and-a-half, he will understand that Christmas is on it's way and that he can divulge all his wishes for toys to this wonderful man.

Of course, we will be teaching him the "reason for the season" and that Christmas isn't JUST about Santa Claus.

~Until next time

Mullett be gone!

2008-11-18T21:14:00.011-07:00

I did it, I took Oliver to get his first haircut and he did AWESOME!

We went from this:

To this:

And let me tell you, the transformation is incredible! We went from having a toddler to having a little boy in one day. See the ordeal in pictures below:

You could see his delight while in the carseat, I told him all the way there what we were going to do and he kept talking back to me (in understanding, of course). Once we got there, he was awestruck by all of the decor there (and the fun toys), that I thought this was going to be a breeze. His stylist sat him in his chair, put on the apron, showed him the clippers and began to clip. Boy did he NOT like the clippers on his head. One of the other stylists brought out "the bubbles" and Oliver decided the bubbles were more fun to watch than worrying about the clippers. So, the "first haircut" ordeal was hardly and ordeal at all. Eh, I wasn't ever really worried...(can't you tell?)

I do want you to know that I paid the extra $5 for the "First Haircut" package which includes their "after" photo, a first haircut certificate with a lock of their hair and a first hair cut cardstock photo holder for momentos. TOTALLY worth it!

~Until next time

To mullett or not to mullett

2008-11-17T12:48:00.009-07:00

That is the question of the day!

See the ever growing mullett our boy has been blessed with? It's outta control! I will be taking Oliver this week, probably tomorrow (Tuesday) to get his first haircut. There's a place I've heard does a great job for kids, as they only work with kids, called Snip-Its. We'd like to have this "hair situation" taken care of before our family Christmas pics are taken (even though from the front you'd never know this kids has a mullett).

Can anyone say SPAGHETTI?

Yes, Oliver LOVES pasta, spaghetti even better. He's never been this messy before - Uh Oh!

And finally, a yummy photo collage of Oliver's "new" fort, I guess his imagination is coming in full-force now a-days as he's finding more and more things within our house to play with (or in) in this case...

This is a cupboard in our entertainment center in our family room, we've had to empty this particular one so Oliver can play with it. He has been getting in there and closing the door and then peeking out to see if we are watching him.

He's also been going into our coat closet downstairs, shutting the door and then finding shoes to play with. Most of the time he starts chewing on a shoe - eww.

He's starting to say more and more lately too, when he signs the word "please" he usually says "eeash", it is SOO cute.

~Until next time

Mischief is my middle name

2008-11-12T09:17:00.009-07:00

Oliver has a cold - YUCK! Of course, no matter how hard one tries to sanitize hands (and feet) colds are somewhat un-preventable in the fall and winter. Do they have to be so contageous that mom and dad get them too, c'mon. Guess I need to get more strict on my use of hand sanitizer..

Anyhow, I took some photos of Oliver yesterday being mischievious (as usual). He's turned two plant stands upside down and is using them as a fort - I guess.

I probably should discipline him for playing with furniture this way, but, it is just too cute and I wouldn't want to "stunt" his creativity..wink, wink.

Daddy got suckered the other day at Target and bought Oliver a new red ball. Balls are still some of Oliver's favorite toys, he loves to throw them, kick them, chew on them, you name it, he'll do it. Out of the balls that he does have, I must say his MOST favorite are Macy's doggy balls, they share them - ewww...Macy chews, Oliver chews, you understand.

Then, of course, being a mother, just posting cute pictures of my adorable son is what I must do, so here are two more!

Oh, and a video of course:

~Until next time

Happy Un-Halloween

2008-11-03T15:46:00.004-07:00

I am late on posting pictures of Oliver on Halloween, not too late, but late nonetheless. This year, he was a dragon, a bright red and blue, bouncing belly dragon. Can't you tell?

The back of the dragon named Oliver, see his wings?

Lookie there at his tail!

See his dragon feet?

A hot, worn out dragon after all the trick-or-treating was over.

See our pumpkins we carved - FUN TIMES!

~Until next time

WHEEEEE!

2008-10-29T08:06:00.003-07:00

Oliver is the CUTEST kid, I swear! He learns new things every day and surprises us with these things. Last week he learned how to spin - SPIN! Where did he learn this? I've been babysitting on occasion, and Oliver's been spending time with other kids also, so another kid must have shown him how, but it is just too cute that I had to share with everyone.

Here is a video, properly entitled "Wee Wee Wee". Please excuse his coughing in the video, he's had a bit of a runny nose and some allergies...

~Until next time

Eskimo kisses and a walk with butterflies

2008-10-15T14:57:00.007-07:00

Monday, Oliver learned how to "Eskimo Kiss" ( also called a kunik - a form of expressing affection, usually between family members and loved ones ). Imagine this, from a mother's perspective: my young son cannot yet say "I love you", so to teach your child to give kisses, and NOW eskimo kiss, is quite thrilling! Oliver will be playing with a toy and then randomly will come up to you making his kiss sound - mmmmmm. He then places his tiny lips to what ever body part he deems worthy, a knee, your toes, your neck, what ever. This is as close to "I love you" as I am going to get for a while, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

As to the part about a walk with butterflies, well, Tuesday, we went for a stroll around our neighborhood. Let me tell you, it was a perfect afternoon, a light breeze, a majestic sun and butterflies: EVERYWHERE. It was beautiful, and I imagined what it must be like to be a small boy (or girl) and seeing these creatures flitting about for the first time. It was magical!

Some for me and some for you

2008-10-09T17:22:00.003-07:00

How can you not laugh at a boy and his dog? There must be something mystical about boys and dogs, because I just don't understand how a little boy could love a dog so much. Oliver and Macy have really been playing A LOT lately, they chase each other, Oliver throws Macy's balls to her, and then they share food. Yep.

Macy is eyeing Oliver's string cheese here, who can blame her?

I'm pretty sure she got a nibble here.

Cleaning up after "her" boy.

Mommy loving on Oliver after witnessing such a wonderfully silly afternoon!

~Until next time

At the park

2008-10-05T20:34:00.004-07:00

We all went to the park near our home this afternoon, so of course I must be the ever-photo-taking-mom and show you how cute our Oliver is!

We let him play in the sand as much as he wanted today - first time EVER. Well, he thought it was pretty cool and learned that he could dig in the sand. Of course, playing in the sand wasn't nearly as fun as eating rocks, they must taste good 'cuz he tried to eat A LOT!

See me dig!

HI! Peeping through one of the slides.

I'm trying to climb UP the slide like I do with my slide fort at home, but I'm not having any luck.

BYE!

~Until next time

Ready to be bombarded?

2008-09-25T07:38:00.006-07:00

Wow! I have a lot of photos to share with everyone, but not a whole lot of updates. Oliver is growing like a weed, doing new things all the time and starting to say more and more words.

He has said "ouch", he copied me after I had said it one day, "hi", "bye", and "bath". Mind you, most of these he says after Aaron or I say them, but they still count!

He has been learning about time out - A LOT. Of course, time out really is about 1 minute in his playpen without any toys, but it is time out nonetheless. He is so good at climbing things now, which is mainly why he goes into timeout. He loves to climb onto the couch and then play with the art that is on the walls, a big NO NO in our house. Once he gets onto the couch, if we tell him to sit down he plops right down on his bum and sits for about 3 seconds and is back up again. Repeat process.

Here are some photos:

Trying to climb onto the kitchen counter, unsuccessful at the present moment.

Mommy gives me "Ohs" (cheerios) on a chair, but...

I like to put them here and sit and eat them. AND....leave some for the dog.

Sitting at the table like a big boy - eating Ohs.

I love Ohs!

I met a friend at the park.

He's a really good climber, excuse me please.

That looks like fun!

WHEEE!!! I slid down the slide all by myself!!!

Goodbye!? Same time next week??

~Until next time

Oliver definitely communicates with us!

2008-09-18T08:36:00.004-07:00

I caught Oliver's sign language on video this morning, of course he had a little encouragement from me...He says milk, water, please, and all done. Water and all done aren't quite correct, but we have modified them so he can do them.

Here is his video:

OH! Also, Oliver has been entered into the BabyGap casting call contest. You can enter up to five photos of your child and five children from the four categories will be selected by judges. Around Christmas time, the public will get to vote on the photos.

Here are the three photos that I entered, I may enter two more, but I'll have to take some more photos before I enter them.

~Until next time

Celebrating Aaron's birthday

2008-09-15T09:15:00.006-07:00

Saturday was Aaron's birthday, and here's how we celebrated:

Yes, that is a carrot cake, a homemade carrot cake (well, from a mix anyways). I did decorate it all myself though! Aaron's favorite cake is carrot cake so I tried one this year. I will absolutly make one from scratch next time, loaded with carrots, raisins and nuts. Yummm.

Sunday, we met up with Emilee and Allen for a birthday dinner for Aaron. We went to Texas Roadhouse and had a great time.

I took a photo of Oliver's hair just for giggles. He's growing quite the mullet, hopefully the rest of his hair will catch up.

Here Oliver is running around the house with one of his frogs and a blanket. He really likes frogs lately, he picks them out of all of his toys and gives them hugs and kisses - it is SO cute!

After dinner, we went to the Stride Rite outlet in Tempe to hopefully find Oliver some shoes that didn't hinder his walking. We did find two pairs that were good for him, see below.

Of course, I had to share this quick little video of Oliver "smelling his toes." He does this during tumbling class and today he did it all by himself!

~Until next time

Confessions from a toddler negotiator

2008-09-10T12:50:00.003-07:00

Yes. It is true, I am negotiating with a 14 month old. Who would have thought that the negotiations would have started this early, I sure didn't. You see, Oliver really loves carbs (guess he must be related to me), you name it if it contains carbs he will eat it: bread, pasta, crackers, etc. He also loves yogurt, he could eat yogurt at every meal and be completely satisfied.

When it comes to meal times, we have breakfast pretty well figured out: fruity oatmeal (usually peach or strawberry), toast with strawberry jam OR fruity yogurt OR pancakes OR scrambled eggs...the list could go on. He thoroughly enjoys his breakfast, whatever food it may be.

Lunch. Well, this meal is a little more difficult because I do try to eat whatever he eats (which really means he eats what I eat). Being that I love carbs so much, it is difficult for me to come up with well-balanced lunches. His typical lunch consists of: almond butter and jelly sandwhich OR grilled cheese OR pasta of some kind [mixed with veggies and meats]. Then usually this is accompanied by a fruit of some kind: applesauce OR pears OR whatever we have on hand.

On to the negotiations. A week or so ago, Oliver decided that he'd rather eat what he wanted for his meal rather than what I gave him. What do I do? Well, I just won't give in to his finicky ways, I would like him to not be picky like I am when it comes to food, so variety is best. Well, when all else failed at this particular time, I tried telling him the following: "Oliver, you need to eat your sandwich. Eat this peice of your sandwich and then you can have a bite of yogurt." Well, it worked!!! We continued to eat lunch this way, eat a bite of sandwich then have a bite of yogurt. YAY! Of course the first instant of success was followed by my cheering and clapping for him, which in turn made his smile and clap enthusiasticly.

So you see, I have been negotiating with a 14-month old and the negotiations seems to work thus far. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

~Until next time

Inspired...

2008-09-03T15:39:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, while browsing blogs that belong to my friends, I happeded across one in particular that lead me somewhere else, I want to share my experience and encourage you to be inspired too! I do want to make a quick disclaimer: THIS POST HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH OUR OLIVER, but please read on anyway. Thank you.

August 16th, 2008 three people were flying in a small airplane and it crashed, the pilot instructor passed away, the two other in the plane are still in the hospital with severe burns all over their bodies. These two are husband and wife, they have four small children and live here in Mesa. Their families have really come together, along with so many others in the WORLD, that reading about these people that I have never met has really touched me. Read more about this accident and the updates here.

I watched a video from someone that also had never met this couple and the video showed such love for a stranger and such compassion that radiated through her children. Watch the video here. The woman in this video talks about how she's read the blog of the woman in the hospital for quite sometime and how she's come to love how she loves being a wife and mother. Being the emotional woman that I am, it was so hard to fight the tears - both in sadness for the family in need and just seeing how much this other woman cared for these strangers.

After reading all I could from this family's blogs, I began to really think about my own life; I have been inspired to be better. Better at being a mother, a wife, a friend, a neighbor and person. I want my children to know how much they are loved and how much I love my husband and my family. I feel that I have been called to give myself to others more and be less selfish with my time.

So, you see, this post has little to do with Oliver. I just feel like this story should be told so others can find it within themselves to pray for this couple and their family and to help them in any way. The family has given some terrific suggestions on ways you can help, here they are:

***Pray for them!

***Donate to the "Stephanie Nielson Fund" at any Wells Fargo.

***You can also donate at any Bank of America under the "Christian and Stephanie Nielson Rehab Fund."

***Send cards to decorate our patient's room!
(2 separate rooms)

c jane
2250 N. University Parkway #4876
Provo, Utah 84604-1590
(No flowers please!)

If you've made it through this post, thank you!

Every Mother's dream

2008-09-01T12:41:00.002-07:00

I don't know if Oliver was trying to tell me something by grabbing our swiffer mop, but it sure looks good on him!

~Until next time

Oliver and the great fort

2008-08-29T08:44:00.003-07:00

Oliver LOVES his play fort that grandma and grandpa Hendrickson got him for his birthday, he plays in and on it all day! He's recieved his fair share of bumps and bruises from this fort, but he's such a trooper that he gets over it quickly and moves on to find a new way to play in it.

And here's one just for kicks from last night's storm, it was a storm like no other...The sky filled with constant lightning and the thunder was non-stop. Aaron and I were taking photos of the lightning and we got this shot.

~Until next time

Tumbling, swimming, and more!

2008-08-26T13:17:00.003-07:00

We have been up to SO much lately, it's pretty exciting! Oliver started tumbling class last Friday, he cried through most of it. He feels that since he walks, and since the tumbling room is SO big and filled with mirrors, he thinks that he should have the whole room to himself and use it as a running room. There is one other toddler in the class, a girl about 15 or 16 months old. She cried quite a bit too so I didn't feel so bad. The class is 45 minutes and I tell you what, we BOTH sweat through it. It's quite the work out for mommy too, running after an escape artist.

Today, we start another round of swimming lessons that will go until December 18th or so. He will go every Tuesday at 3:30 and class is 30 minutes long. I'm pretty excited about this class because I'm hoping it will help Oliver get even more secure and confident in the water. He LOVES to swim and thinks he is big enough to swim without mommy - BUT, that is not the case yet.

I have some photos to put up here, not tumbling or swimming related, but cute none the less. I'll post them a little later!

~Until next time

Photos from today

2008-08-09T21:35:00.002-07:00

We went today to get photos taken of Oliver for commemorating his 1st year. We had asked if Emilee and Allen wanted to join us for pictures, they said yes! So here the photos are from today!

Hope you enjoyed the photos!!

My growing boy - a novel?

2008-07-28T20:37:00.004-07:00

Sadly, I don't have any photos for this post, so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Oliver is growing up. Right before my eyes. This doesn't surprise you? I realize that kids grow up in the blink of an eye, but really, do they have to grow THIS fast? Read on to find out more.

Oliver has just started drinking milk - not formula. He hasn't had a sip of formula for a full week now and he's loving it. I still carry it with me when we leave the house, just in case he gets a hankering for milk, or formula rather. So far though, no dice.

He has also decided that baby food is for...you guessed it, babies. Apparently he thinks he's grown up enough that he is too big for baby food. His favorite "human" foods as Aaron calls them are:

*Almond butter and strawberry jam sandwhiches (which he eats a WHOLE sandwhich)
*Grilled cheese sandwhiches (again, the WHOLE sandwhich)
*Baked potatoes
*Green peas
*Cheerios
*Oatmeal (strawberries n' cream or peaches n' cream)
*Yogurt

Of course we all are aware that Oliver is a walking fool, but did you know that he is also practically jumping off and onto objects? We had to remove the ottoman in his play room because he just climbs on top, wanders off the side and falls to the ground or else leaps from the ottomen to the couch (OUCH!). Let me tell you, a week hasn't gone by where he doesn't have a bruise on his face somewhere...

He has also learned how to ask for milk using sign language, it's really quite cute. He reaches out his hand and squeezes his fist open and closed, just like you were milking a cow. Next, we will be working on signing "please".

Oh yes, lest I forget. He has decided he is also too big for bottles, he wants to drink only from his sippy cups. Who would have thought weaning a baby from formula and bottles would have been this easy?

So, the moral of my story is: Oliver is a VERY smart boy, determined, stubborn, and did I mention smart?

~Until next time

Happy Birthday Oliver!

2008-07-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

A little late in posting all the goings on during Oliver's birthday, but, here it is!

Oliver just LOVES balloons, we had them strewn about the house for all of the kids to play with and Oliver is STILL enjoying them!

The theme for Oliver's birthday was Baby Einstein, he loves to watch the videos of Baby Einstein, so we figured the theme should be related to what Oliver likes.

Ummm..well here you can see Oliver and his very own birthday cake. He was a little unsure of what to do with it when he first saw it. His first thought was, "Hrmm...I guess I'll just touch the white thing and see what happens."

Oliver's next thought, "WOW! That stuff sure tastes yummy, I'll dig a little deeper and see what I find."

"This stuff sure is terrific. I'm going to keep eating, mommy and daddy must not be watching cause I'm sure getting messy."

"Okay, I think I've had about enough. I'm ready to move onto presents!"

You can see by the wonderfully staged photo that Oliver sure is loved. I think he was quite spoiled by everyone for his 1st birthday.

All in all, Oliver was quite the star at his party, he thought it was so much fun to walk around the house with all the other kids and grown-ups. I will hopefully get a video of Oliver eating his cake online here soon. There is A LOT of footage so I will have to edit it some, but you will all love it!

~Until next time

I'm a little behind in the updates...

2008-06-26T20:20:00.004-07:00

Well here we are, just about 2 weeks until Oliver's 1st birthday, can you believe it? I am SOO overwhelmed with the magic of the past year. Let me tell you of the amazing things that Oliver has done over the past few weeks.

Riding on daddy's shoulders - so much fun!

First off, he is officially a "curtain climber" as my grandpa says, which means that he's walking!! On our trip to WA state he literally just took off. We bought him some soft soled shoes and my mom walked him around the mall. That night he was just a walking fool and hasn't stopped since. He took his first steps at 9 months and decided that crawling was the quickest method of transportation so he continued to crawl. He'd walk around everything, hold onto your hand and walk around, but other than taking 3-6 steps at a time that's all he would do. So, we now have a toddler!!

Here you can see that Oliver discovered the mirror in a dressing room and was playing around with it.

Oliver is growing up so fast and trying new things all of the time. We have been feeding him new foods, mainly because we think that he's getting bored of mushy baby food. He ate his first "real" meal a few days ago: green peas, red potatoes and ham. He got to feed himself and LOVED doing so!!

He's giving hi-fives now and just started clapping today! Here is a list of words that he's saying:

da da
daddy
ma ma
na na (this means food)
ba ba (bottle and/or ball)
no/neh
mo (more)

We have been working on somersaults too, he thinks those are really fun! Peek-a-boo is at the top of his list for fun games.

Well, I'll go into our vacation to Washington state now. On the way to the airport, poor Oliver got sick, had diarreah, and vomited in Kevin's car (which had just been detailed). The next day, I got sick. The following day, Aaron got sick, then my parents...Poor Kevin ended up with it, then his parents too. So, the vacation sarted off a little rough, but turned out great!

Oliver all wrapped up in grandma's jacket at the lake in Idaho.

Father's day up in Sandpoint, ID.

Oliver with grandma and grandpa Hendrickson

Take a look at these pictures, they are basically the same angle but on different days. The one with snow was June 8th, the one with out snow was June 16th.

~Until next time

Mother's Day and a bubble bath

2008-05-19T10:45:00.004-07:00

A late report on Mother's Day: it was TERRIFIC! Daddy let mommy sleep in and she awoke to pecan pancakes (which were soooo yummy) and was showered with gifts. Later on, the three of us went to the Outback Steakhouse for lunch, which was also quite yummy. See the photos below:

Mommy and Oliver

Oliver chewing on his keys and doing what he does best: being cute.

Looks like someone's getting a little mischevious...

Oliver thinks that the pumpernickel bread at Outback is very tasty - he ate A LOT of it.

Here daddy is feeding Oliver and ice cube with a hole in it - perfect for slipping over a straw.

And last, but not least - Oliver's first bubble bath. He took one last night with daddy and at first he did not like the bubbles. After a while, he decided they were okay, but was still a little unsure.

~Until next time

Eating pasta

2008-05-09T14:21:00.005-07:00

Last night I made Mastaciolli for dinner (really yummy pasta dish), so today for lunch I decided to give some to Oliver to eat. See the progressing photos below:

You can see he thoroughly enjoyed the pasta, I even have video to share!

~Until next time

Just some photos

2008-04-29T22:05:00.003-07:00

I really don't have much to report in the world of Oliver other than to note his tongue clicking or clucking and his "spitting" sounds he's been making. He's really enjoying making a sound and then having you copy him, he will do this over and over - it really is cute. My boy is growing up so very quickly, he's so close to walking, he's getting more and more brave every day. So, here are some pictures:

Oliver fell asleep here at little Jonathan's 2nd birthday in February, so sweet.

Sporting his shades at the park.

Look, mom! I'm standing by myself! Now if he'd only take some real steps.

Out to lunch with daddy, Emilee and Allen.

~Until next time

Swimming lessons for Oliver

2008-04-14T12:00:00.006-07:00

Oliver started swimming lessons today, and he had a BLAST! There are two other kids in his class, and I have to brag a bit about my little boy...he LOVES the water. He is going to be a little fish when he is turned loose in the pool. He never once cried, he got dunked, he puts his face in the water to blow bubbles (which he doesn't quite do yet - the bubbles) and he kicks and splashes like a champ! So, here are the pics from today.

Stylin' in his swim trunks, little big I think.

All the kids and mommies.

Trying to blow bubbles.

Oliver showing his skills.

Dunkin' time.

Oliver says, "I'm a pro, but hey, NO pics please."

~Until next time

Just some more updates

2008-04-11T13:21:00.003-07:00

Oliver had his 9 month pediatritian appointment today, all is well and he is growing right on track. He was 20 lbs. 12 oz. and 28.5 inches long. It seems he has developed a slight allergy to the laundry detergent we were using (no dyes and no fragrance, weird, huh?), so it's back to Dreft for his clothes.

He has been learning more and more lately. This week alone he's discovered several new things. The first is that he is sharing his toys with us. It starts out as him chewing on a toy then putting the toy near or in your mouth for you to chew on it. Then he takes it back and chews on it and repeats the process. It is really cute! Funny thing today is he decided to share his toothbrush with me. He had been chewing on it for quite sometime and I guess he thought I needed to brush my teeth too!

Here is Oliver and his toothbrush.

He has also decided that he likes cold water. Aaron was feeding him water from a bottle cap last night and he would drink it then shiver. We tried to get it on video, but only got his "fake" shiver after he found out we thought what he was doing was cute.

This photo I took because I thought it was funny. He has several balls to play with and this particular time he decided to put the ball under his shirt and crawl around with it there. He's stop every once in a while to place the ball back in his shirt.

Here is a video of Oliver playing with a ball.

This video is of Oliver playing with the door stopper - sorry that the video is so dark, bad camera.

On a side note, not related to Oliver...his friend Kacey (who is one month younger) had surgery this week to remove the CCAM in her lung. The surgery went really well and she is recovering. She has been progressing well and is being quite the trooper. We are all hoping she can go home soon!

~Until next time

Sick, sick and more sick

2008-04-01T19:58:00.002-07:00

How do you keep from recycling the same cold within your little family? Oliver came back from Washington with a cold, poor baby, he's been miserable for a while now. Well, last Friday I got something, deep in my chest, in my throat a cough and a major sore throat. Sunday I woke up with no voice at all, Monday I've was a little better and today I'm doing better still.

Little Oliver got sick again yesterday, and again, he's miserable. Doc says it's just a cold, lungs sound clear, ears are good, etc. Poor boy just has a cold.

I just don't know how you stop transfering the same cold to each person in your family..anyone have any suggestions? I've bought hand sanitizer for practically every room in my house and in my car, a spray sanitizer for when I'm out with the boy to spray on grocery carts, etc.

~Until next time (when hopefully we are all well again)

Oliver and the park

2008-03-27T14:07:00.003-07:00

We went to a park today to play outside, it ws actually quite fun. I ate my lunch there, Oliver ate at home before we went. We met Shannon and Kacey there so the kids could have some fun.

Here he is with his music table in the park, concentrating.

Photo 'op of course, a tree and a lake...hrmmmm.

Crawling in the grass.

See what happens when you make a baby go home when they don't want to?

~Until next time

It finally happened...

2008-03-27T11:08:00.003-07:00

Yep, he's standing up in his crib. Playing with his mobile. went to go get him up from his morning nap and that is what I find. Time for the mobile to come down. Sorry the second photo is blurry, I've got to work on my photo taking skills.

~Until next time

Wowzers! What a growing boy

2008-03-21T22:51:00.003-07:00

This growing up business is for the dogs I say. One minute, you're carrying around this little tiny fragile bundle of love, and then the next minute that bundle is practically walking.

Our trip to Washington was pretty much a success, no major complaints which is always a good thing. I did however, let Aaron know that I will not be making that trip alone again, EVER, until Oliver is older. Poor baby, it took all his effort to stay happy and still on that 2.5 hour flight. He was a trooper though.

In the span of 12 days that was our trip, Oliver learned how to sit up on his own, crawl completely and pull himself up onto things. Upon arriving home, he's been pulling himself up on to EVERYTHING and trying to walk around them. He's also been testing his balance (which is awful), he'll let go for a split second and hopefully fall forward to catch himself cause he does not like falling straight back - OUCH!

Oliver has a pretty nasty cold at the moment, though most days you wouldn't know he was sick, other than his terrible cough and runny nose. He HATES having his nose sucked out (which we have nicknamed: Brain Sucking).

He is also the teething geenie. He now has 6 teeth, 4 on the bottom, 2 on the top, and 2 more coming on the top. The top is pretty funny because it's the front left tooth and the side left tooth. The front right tooth should be popping through sometime this weekend I bet.

I've included a couple new pictures of him in one of his new *adorable* outfits! Enjoy.

~Until next time

Pics for daddy!

2008-03-12T20:30:00.003-07:00

Well, here we are, in WA state. All is well! Just a couple more days till we get back to AZ, so I thought I'd upload some pics for daddy while we were away!

~Until we get home

Oliver is a big boy now

2008-03-01T08:48:00.004-07:00

Oliver says hew wants to crawl and stand and walk so bad. It's funny to see him try so hard and get frustrated because he can't wuite do what he wants. Ahhh.

So here are some pictures showing all of his big boy things!

Here he is playing with his musical toy, it sings songs, the alphabet, numbers and more.

Can you see all four of his teeth? Aren't they cute?

Oliver in his new big boy car seat, ummm apparantly he still little enough to fall asleep in the car (hehehe).

Oliver outgrew his 12 month sleepers, in the feet area, so it's on to big boy pajamas. He looks so big in these.

just being cute little Oliver.

He's discovered that he can take the edge of a blanket and roll himself up in it like a burrito, he's a burrito baby!

Unrolling the burrito.

~Until next time

Oliver and the great balloon

2008-02-27T08:44:00.002-07:00

Sounds like a good name for a children's book, eh?

Last Saturday, Oliver and I ventured up to north Scottsdale to go to his cousin's 2nd birthday party, Jonathan II. Oliver encountered his first ballloons there, and let's just say, he was loving them! See below.

"What's this nifty, shiny thing?"

"I'm not sure, but I WANT it!"

"I've almost got it..."

"HA! Caught ya!"

~Until next time

Milestones

2008-02-26T20:40:00.005-07:00

Time is flying by SO quickly; Oliver is nearly 8 months old, he has four, count them, FOUR teeth, crawling is in the very near future as well as pulling himself up onto things. Here's the story:

For the past two weeks or so, we have had a very cranky and fussy baby. He has been teething like mad. Poor baby has been so upset with hurting gums, but finally, Wednesday of last week his fourth tooth broke through. So, now his four teeth are looking cute on the bottom of his mouth. When will the top teeth start coming???

This past weekend, Oliver has done quite a few new things, milestones we might say. I was out on Sunday getting a pedicure and having my hair done and I got a call from Aaron. He called to tell me that Oliver had just hop crawled; let me explain. He will get up on all fours, then scoots his legs forward (in a hopping motion) and reach with his hand(s) to get somewhere. It is really cute, and VERY deliberate. He will do this to get one of his toys or just to do it. He also has sat up on his own twice this weekend now too. I missed this too, ugg. Aaron said that when he pushed himself up into the sitting position he was quite mad and did not stay sitting. I find that funny, because he LOVES to sit, he will sit playing with a toy or sit to watch a Baby Einstein movie.

He is also getting very close to pulling himself up onto things, give him your thumbs and he'll pull himself up and laugh and give you a big Oliver grin!

Okay, I realize that I may just be babbling, but you're the one still reading!

Oliver has really been enjoying his baby food, I have been making all of the foods he eats, which so far are apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, peas, green beans, acorn squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. Surprisingly enough, he LOVES them all, except carrots, these he just tolerates. All of the sudden our little boy has decided that he would like to eat his food at each of his four feedings, so our hungry little munchin went from eating 2 ounces of baby food a day, to eating 6 ounces. Wow!

All of these things combined, new tooth, more food, and learning to crawl have made little Oliver much happier! At the doctors last week he weighed 20.3 lbs at 7.5 months old.

~Until next time

Oliver-aholic, part 2

2008-02-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I am an Oliver-aholic. See proof below!

See him sucking his thumb, this is how he puts himself to sleep these days. He was sucking his thumb a lot in December but it tapered off once his teeth came in. He now seems to really only suck his thumb at bed time or when he gets hungry, thank goodness.

Now, onto my attemps at "professional" photography.

This outfit is one of my favorite outfits he has right now. Quick story - my parents gave it to Oliver for Christmas, he wore it 3-4 times and then somehow it dissappeared. Well, after hunting for it for two weeks at home and calling stores, I finally found it today at Macys!!! I can't tell you how happy I was that it was there, in the store, even though they told me yesterday that they had NO SUCH outfit. Men.

See Oliver doing pushups? He always tries to stay fit. Actually, he has been doing this for a few days now, part of the crawling process I suppose.

One of Oliver's favorite passtimes, big toe sucking. He has always been fascinated with his toes, and now he has found out that it is SO much fun to suck his big toes, like you would suck your thumb.

Well, that is it for today, hope you enjoy the photos!

~Until next time

Cute pictures from today

2008-02-02T21:30:00.001-07:00

Hi. My name is Kristie and I'm an Oliver-aholic.

You see, I can't seem to take enough photos of my boy. I never get tired of looking at his smiling face; then of course sharing that face with you!

This photo is just Oliver smiling and looking cute.

Again, Oliver smiling and looking cute.

Oliver sitting on our bed, looking cute. I see a pattern arising!

Oh, here he is sitting - again.

"Who? Me?" Oliver asks, "You think I'm cute?"

Oliver on his tummy - looking cute, and smiling.

Showering with daddy. We've given Oliver showers almost since we brought him home. I HIGHLY reccommend them, SO much easier than running a bath and leaning over a large tub to bathe a baby!

Finally, Oliver has begun sleeping in rather odd positions. It seems gone are the days where he just lays peacefully on his back. I caught him tonight sleeping like this, it's quite funny but I can't imagine he is all that comfy.

~Until next time

What's This All About?

2008-02-01T07:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Oliver and I were out of the house for the whole afternoon which meant that he didn't really take any naps in the afternoon. He usually takes three naps during the day, each about two hours long, so imagine a 6 month old that hasn't taken his afternoon naps: CRANKY BABY! After he ate at 7:30pm we put him to bed at 8pm. He cried for a half an hour so I went upstairs to sooth him. I got him up rocked him and sang to him. We sang twinkle twinkle (which is his favorite song), mockingbird and the ants go marching. At the end of the third song he had calmed down enough that I put him back to bed and he fell right to sleep.

About an hour later he woke up and cried for about a minute, then fell back to sleep. Another hour later, he did the same thing. Then he coughed which was loud enough that it registered on the baby monitor, so in goes Aaron to check on him. Well, the little rugrat was laying on his side all cuddled up with himself. I'm now wondering how long he's been doing this. Aaron had me go in and check on him to see him laying on his side, well, he doesn't just lay on his side, he has his whole body arched with his head stretched backwards, it is rather cute.

I went back to bed and of course worried about him until I fell asleep, which felt like it took forever. Worry you wonder, well, I worried that he would roll onto his tummy and sleep on his face. He is doing much better on playing on his tummy but I don't know if he would wake up enough to know to turn his head to the side when sleeping...uggg, the joys of parenthood! Hopefully I can catch him sleeping like this during a nap and take his picture.

~Until next time

Screaming, Teething, Rolling....Oh My!

2008-01-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened lately with Oliver, he now has three teeth, all on the bottom, and I believe there are three more on their way. He has started eating "real" food now, he started with pears, then apples, carrots and tomorrow will be starting sweet potatoes. So far, apples are his favorite.

He has developed a *very* loud voice this past week as well - he LOVES to scream. Funny though, because if someone else around him screams it scares him and he begins to cry.

Rolling over is now his favorite method of "getting" around. He's discovered that he can roll over and over to get some where, it's great to watch because he is so proud of himself.

Just hanging out is his crib.

Oliver eating carrots for the first time.

Jumping in his jumperoo.

Rolling around, he discovered one our chairs, which he then proceeded to try and eat the leg.

Naked time, another favorite!

Last, but not least, a video of him screaming and rolling. Have a little patience while watching the video, he rolls somewhere toward the middle of the video, and the video's about 2 minutes long...

Oops,one more - can you see his teeth??

~Until next time

...And More Pics

2008-01-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, enough already you must be thinking - but my little Oliver is sooo cute! Today he is wearing an outfit that my cousin Shelli gave to him for Christmas, he looked so adorable in it that we had to take a photo (and share, of course).

~Until next time

Okay, the Long Awaited Pictures

2008-01-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

These first two photos are before we left, we were going to my Arabian horse club's Holiday party.

Now here we are at the Phoenix airport, little Oliver asleep.

Now, on the plane, before takeoff.

During the flight Oliver and Aaron napped together.

Here is Oliver's great grandma Eva May (this is my grandma).

Christmas morning, Oliver is with my brother Eric (Oliver's uncle).

Oliver and his great aunt Debbie, playing with his new Elmo toy.

I'm feeding Oliver in the yellow house, as we all call it, where we stayed during our trip.

This is the yellow house where we stayed, covered in snow. We actually got stuck in the driveway here due to the snow. We were trying to pull out of the driveway, got almost all the way turned around then got stuck on ice that was under the snow. We had to get some help to get out then Aaron and to floor the gas to get the car up the hill and then try not to roll off the hill - fun times!

This is an accident that we saw on our way to the airport - have to show those:)

Finally, here are some pics of Oliver - just randome cute ones.

~Until next time

We're Home....and We Have a Tooth!

2007-12-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

***DISCLAIMER*** Photos to follow soon....

Our Christmas trip was really nice, lots of snow, saw the family tons and they got to see Oliver, which was our main goal! I won't go into the trip too much, but I had to report that Thursday, Dec. 27th, Oliver got his first tooth!! Then, Sunday, Dec. 30th, he got his second tooth. He got his bottom front teeth first, the left one first then the right. They're not too big yet, just there to break the surface and be sharp - I can't wait to take photos of his two teeth to show everyone :)

~Until next time (when I post photos)

And We're Off...

2007-12-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

That's right, we are just about ready to take of to Washington for Christmas. We'll be leaving Wednesday (tomorrow) and returning on the 28th - 10 whole days of wintery weather (including snow, ice, slush, etc.).

This is Oliver's first plane trip, first time to meet his great-grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. He'll get to see g'ma and g'pa again (for the second time) too.

We are really excited to see everyone and hope that we all have a great time! Enjoy your Christmas and I'll post again when we return :)

~Until next time

Just Sharing Some Pics

2007-12-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

The above photos are from Thanksgiving.

This photo is Oliver and Kacey playing together a week ago.

These two photos are of Oliver in his Jumparoo the first day we got it and put him in it. He wasn't so sure he liked it, but now he loves to jump and bounce and play with the toys!!

~Until next time

Onto a New Chapter

2007-12-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

It seems that the time has come for Oliver to move on to formula...This day was inevitable, I just had hoped that it wouldn't come so soon. All in all, I am ready for him to be fed strictly formula, but I will miss my mommy and son moments - as you can never know the bond that is created by breastfeeding unless you have a chance to experience it for yourself. We made it ust shy of five months, my goal was to make it to six months then re-evaluate to see where we were and possibly keep going. Well, if it hadn't been for Oliver's ear infection that he got this past week, we would still be breastfeeding. He would try and eat from the breast and he could do it for about four minutes on each side (his usual feeding is ten minutes on each breast), well, after four minutes he would arch his back and pull back and scream in pain. That's one of the most horrible sounds a mother can hear - their child in pain and there isn't anything you can do about it - and it feels like you're the one causing the pain. So, we decided to start supplementing formula, and as of today, he's on formula full-time.

Overall, I am very proud of myself for breastfeeding for nearly five months, it is not an easy thing to do. I have a breastpump and use it on occasion; however, in order to get a full feeding of breastmilk I would have to pump twice - and at 3am two nights in a row. That being said, Oliver ate from the breast pretty much every feeding except one or two times a week when Aaron would feed him from the frozen breast milk in the freezer.

I'm excited for Aaron now, he is able to feed Oliver more frequently, something he really looks forward to. There are more Sunday football games in the future for the daddy and son duo!!

I have to report that Oliver has really discovered his feet and toes lately. He thinks they are the coolest things ever! It is so cute to watch him kick his legs up towards his head and grab onto a foot. He tries to pull his sock off while playing with his foot, it really is a site to see. Sometimes he will grab onto a pant leg and pull so his foot will come into grabbing range - I'm going to have to take a picture or video and post it here:)

~Until next time

Thumbsucking and More

2007-11-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like it's official - Oliver is a thumbsucker. I had hoped that this wouldn't happen. Around 2.5 - 3 months he started doing it every once in a while, but he did more chewing on his thumb than anything. This past weekend, and now today, Oliver has been doing a lot of sucking, his left thumb with his left pointer finger resting on the side of his nose. Uggg. I was a thumbsucker and did so I think until I was 4 or 5, Aaron never did.

I despise pacifiers, but I think I despise thumbsucking more - so, it looks as though I may have to give in to the pacifier, it's a much easier habit to break in the end.

Also, today is the first day that Oliver has really responded to his name. I was goofing around with him this morning after his 6:30am feeding, and every time I'd say his name, he'd turn his head, look at me and smile.

Tomorrow, Oliver will be going to the pediatrician for his 4 months shots. He'll get weighed and measured, I can't wait to see how much he's grown. I'm sure tomorrow will not be pleasant over all, I'm sure to have a sad baby for most the day.

~Until next time

More of Oliver

2007-11-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here are just some more fun photos of Oliver - tummy time, his least favorite activity:) The last photo is cute, it shows Oliver looking in the mirror on his playmat - however, the mirror image is distorted, kids toys you know. The video below is just for fun too :)

~Until next time

Almost Sitting Up

2007-11-08T20:11:00.001-07:00

That's right, Oliver is almost sitting up now! He's getting the "tri-pod" stance down, today is the first day that he actually kept the pose for any amount of time without falling forward. I hope you like the picture!

~Until next time

Oliver Video

2007-11-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest Oliver video - him rolling over! He's really doing it a lot lately, and now her rolls from him tummy to either side. He started out only rolling to his left, but as of Saturday, he's rolling over to his right too! He is growing SO quickly.

~Until next time

Oliver's 1st Halloween

2007-11-03T18:06:00.001-07:00

Ahh...Halloween, a treasured time in a child's life! Oliver dressed up as a cute and cuddly teddy bear and of course, WAS cute and cuddly! Aaron and I sat out in our driveway with our firepit and handed out candy while Oliver slept for more of the time (in his crib). He was out for a bit for the trick-or-treaters and neighbors to see, he was well received by all. We didn't actually take him around the neighborhood at all, he's just too young - next year he'll most likely understand what's going on!

~Until next time

A Trip to Schnepf Farms

2007-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

A week ago Saturday, the three of us went to Schnepf Farms with some friends, it was fun! Oliver got to ride on his first carousel, I'm not sure if he had fun or not, but we did! You can see by the pics that it wore him out. I hope you enjoy!

~Until next time

All In Red

2007-10-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

At Oliver's baby shower, Aaron's best friend Kevin gave Oliver tons of T-shirts from Thinkgeek.com. They are all humerous t's and/or geek t's, very cute! Well, last week, Oliver wore one of the shirts from Kevin - "They Shake Me", it was too cute!

~Until next time

An Afternoon in the Park

2007-10-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today was Oliver's first trip to a park, it was a community park, but a park none the less. We slid down a slide and sat in the grass, it was fun!

~Until next time

3 Month Photos of Oliver

2007-10-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Oliver has turned 3 months old now, I can hardly believe it. I know time just flies by as you get older, but who knew that once you have a child it flies by even quicker?

Oliver is growing so quickly, in fact, he is now wearing his 3/6 and 6 month clothing - eek! He is getting so tall and this is where we are having the problems with his clothes, he's not too wide for the 3 month clothes, just too long. I can't believe how choked up I get when I pack away his clothes that are too small. I sit and fold them and just think about the past weeks and months and can't believe that my little boy is growing so quickly, before I know it, he'll be going to school.

Oliver is on a really good schedule now, we get him up at 6:30am to eat then we play until 7:30 or 8am then it's nap time. We then wake him up again at 9:30 or 10am to eat and play, then nap time again at 11:30 or so. 1pm he's up to eat and play, 2:30 it's nap time. He eats and plays again at 4pm then naps at 5:30 or 6pm. Eats and plays again at 7pm then naps at 8:30 or 9pm. At 10pm he eats one last time then goes to bed for the night.

What else can I tell you? Oh - Oliver will be a teddy bear for Halloween, he looks so cute in his costume. I bought it in February at Old Navy hoping he would fit in it at Halloween, looks like he will! I think next weekend Aaron, Oliver and I will go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a couple pumpkins for Halloween and take some fall pictures there. We are also going to have some professional pictures taken this week of the three of us - I can't wait!

~Until next time

Our Not So Trip To Flagstaff

2007-10-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, the title of this post may confuse you - Our not so trip to Flagstaff...You see, the three of us (Aaron, Oliver and I) had made plans to meet up with some friends in Flagstaff and stay a couple nights for a mini vacation. Thursday started really roughly to begin with, Aaron had a doctors appointment at 7:45am which in turn ended up with him having to get an xray of his head so the doctor could look at his sinuses. As the day drew on, more and more had to be done around the house: drop off Macy (our dog) at the boarding place, pick up our SUV at the dealership (it needed some warranty work done) and Aaron had to return to the doctors to have him read the xray. Well, now the doctor wants Aaron to get a catscan so he can get an even better look at his sinuses...Something told us that we should stay away from Flagstaff...

We finally packed the SUV up and left the house at about 3pm (we were originally going to try and leave at 11:30am). Traffic was terrible as it always is Monda through Friday beginning at around 3pm...We arrived at Anthem (just outside of Phoenix) at 4:45pm and had to feed Oliver (we are still breastfeeding so I fed him in a booth at the food court at the outlet mall). Okay, that task is done and we are back on the road.

We pull into Flagstaff about 7:30pm and check into our hotel. Again, feed Oliver and then decide to get some dinner. We pull into Denny's and eat, while Oliver is being quite fussy. We get back to the hotel (completely exhausted by the way, from the lack of sleep fron the night before - as Oliver didn't sleep much) and we met our friends there and then we all go to our rooms and head to bed. Of course, with our luck, Oliver decided to not sleep, he's congested, cranky and awake!

Throughout the night, Aaron and I get maybe 1 hour of sleep total, and Oliver got probably even less. At 5:30am, we decided that it was best if we headed home, even though we were supposed to stay another night. Oliver finally slept in the car on the way home, and when we got home, he slept most of the day. We realized that he must have caught a cold because he is very congested and extremely tired.

So, at almost three months old, our little Oliver has caught his first cold :( The pediatrician told us that other than sucking out the "boogies" in his nose with the bulb syringe and a humidifier, there is nothing more we can do - no medicines. Poor little boy.

~Until next time

Oliver Giggles

2007-09-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day that Oliver started giggling over and over. Sure, he'd done it randomly over the past week, but yesterday he was playing on his playmat and giggling away - it was so great!! Today, I put him on his playmat again and to my surprise he started giggling away once again. So, out comes the trusty camera, changed it to video camera and hit record. Of course Oliver only giggles a couple times on this video, but still, I caught it and now am sharing it with you!

~Until next time

Can't Resist - More Pictures

2007-09-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Not much to update everyone on, I just thought I'd post some more cute pictures of little Oliver :)

~Until next time

A Boy and His Dog

2007-09-19T11:41:00.001-07:00

I took some more photos of Oliver today, the first one is him and Macy hanging out together. The second is of Oliver and Kacey playing together on his playmat - doesn't Oliver have the funniest look on his face? The third photo is of him in his rocker chair, he was quite content!

~Until next time

2 Months Already

2007-09-13T22:25:00.001-07:00

Oliver turned 2 months old on Tuesday, can you believe it? Lots of things have been going on in Oliver land lately too! He went to his 2 month pediatrician appointment on Wednesday and got his first round of shots...such a sad day. The first photo above shows his sad face and his bandaids from the shots. He got two shots in his left thigh and one in his right thigh. While at the doctors office, the doctor placed Oliver on his tummy and he rolled over to his back twice - I think it caught the doctor off guard. Oliver weighed in at 12 lbs. 1.5 oz. and is 23.5 inches long. He is growing like crazy! Later yesterday evening, I took Oliver and Macy (our dog) for a walk, Oliver got to sit in his stroller like a big boy, no car seat. He LOVED it, he could look around and see where he was going. Lately, Oliver has been trying to laugh, he'll open his mouth for a huge smile and then let a squeak out, I can't wait to hear is actual laugh!!!

~Until next time

A Baby Shower - So Much Fun!

2007-09-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I

Here is the room before the guests arrived

Playing the "diaper" game

Opening gifts

Check out our loot :)

This past Saturday (Sept. 8th) was our baby shower - YAY! As you may know, our original baby shower was planned for May, but due to me being hospitalized, it wasn't able to happen. Well, with the help of a friend (Jen), we had a baby shower. The theme was Radio Flyer Wagons (and red, white and black). We had food from AJ's Fine Foods, and we had marinated chicken pieces set atop mini rice cake squares, crisp Asian wrapper filled with brie cheese, strawberries, grapes and walnuts and A crisp phyllo triangle filled with raspberry jam & brie cheese. We also had a veggie tray and fruit salad along with Wheat Thins and cream cheese with raspberry chipolte jam. The cake was a white cake with raspberry filling and whipped cream icing.

The party favors were organza sachet bags with red, white and black M&Ms in them with peppermint sticks with dark chocolate on them.

We received SO many children's books, they are all wonderful! We also got our crib bedding set (Alphabet Soup) and it's now on Oliver's crib. The baby shower was really fun and I hope everyone, like me, had a great time!!

~Until next time

4 Nights In A Row!

2007-08-29T16:59:00.001-07:00

Many of you know what this title is in regards to...but for those that don't, it means that Oliver has slept through the night four nights in a row now!! I've gotta tell you, "On Becoming Baby Wise" works! I am a believer :) I emailed my cousin in Idaho that used Baby Wise and asked her at what age her daughter slept through the night, and what she wrote encouraged me that Oliver would soon be doing the same. The very next night after I read her email, he slept through the night - for 6 hours!

Today, Oliver is 7 weeks old and this past night he went 7 hours between feedings, he ate at 11pm and then woke up at 6am (by the hand of Aaron as he wanted to say goodbye to him before leaving for Chicago).

~Until next time

New Things To Report

2007-08-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

I have new things to report regarding Oliver: he rolled over yesterday (8/25/07)! He was doing some tummy time on the boppy and with concentrated effort, he rolled over onto his back. You could see his little brain working - just trying to figure it out.

New thing #2 - Oliver went nearly 6 hours last night in between feedings!! He ate at 10:30pm then woke up at 4:22am to eat, that means he's really on his way to sleeping through the night!

New thing #3 - I took a bath with Oliver tonight and he LOVED it - absolutely loved it. He nearly floats all on his own, I was just slightly supporting his head as to make sure he didn't dunk himself, but he was kicking and splashing and pushing off my legs with his so he could move around. It was so much fun bathing with him, I can't wait to take him to a pool (which we will be doing in about 2 weeks).

~Until next time

An Oliver Video

2007-08-24T12:58:00.001-07:00

I had to share this video of Oliver that I took today - have fun!

~Until next time

Ahhh...The World of Baby

2007-08-24T08:01:00.001-07:00

Oliver turned 6 weeks old this week, amazing, huh? There really hasn't been a lot going on lately, just small things - baby steps :) In the last week or so, Oliver has been smiling a lot more, as well as enjoying tummy time more. Yesterday, he actually lifted his head and chest off the floor and was doing baby pushups, it was really cute.

As far as sleeping goes, Aaron and I have been trying to keep Oliver to a schedule of some kind to help him sleep more at night. Yesterday, he was awake almost all day - from 5:00am until 5:00pm, with maybe an hour nap total - he was just not wanting to sleep. Doing this though, made him sleep really well last night. He's still waking up in the middle of the night to eat, but he went right back to sleep and then was woken up at 6:30am to eat. Right now, at 8am, he is not wanting to go back to sleep again, so perhaps we will have another day like yesterday - we shall see.

~Until next time

Why Do Babies Loose Their Hair??

2007-08-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Honestly - who can tell me the answer to this question? Oliver was born with some hair on the top of his head, and quite a bit on the sides and back. Well, now at 5 weeks old, he is practically bald on the top of his head - and to top it off, he has developed cradle cap. You can just lightly pull on his hair and it just comes right off, I am so sad for him. I really hope that his baldness does not end up all over his head, I LOVE his hair, I want it to stay.

Sleeping again has been a challenge off and on. He has really good nights, then has a VERY bad night, like last night. He had lots of "wake" time during the day, good naps and then at his 10:30pm feeding he decided it was time to be WIDE awake. He stayed up until 1:30am in order to eat again. Then he was up even after that. I think he finally settled in to sleep around 4am this morning - what was he thinking? Please, send Aaron and I some "sleep through the night" vibes, we REALLY need it :)

~Until next time

Time Is Flying...Oliver Is Now A Month Old

2007-08-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday (8/11) Oliver turned 1 month old. He is growing so fast. We had him weighed while we were at the hospital visiting a friend, and he weighed in at 8lbs. 12oz! Can you believe it - he's gained over 2 pounds since he left the hospital (he left the hospital at 6lbs. 5oz.).

Every day he is getting better at sleeping at night. There are some nights that are better than others, but he's doing well. He's also getting so strong, he is lifting his head up well during tummy time, and he's also trying to roll over (not sure if this is on purpose yet, but he's trying).

He's smiling more and more, and almost getting to the point of laughing at times. He enjoys hearing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when mom or dad sings it. He also likes to play Patty Cake - "Toss it in the oven" is his favorite.

~Until next time

Oliver Is Now 3 Weeks Old!

2007-08-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can hardly believe that Oliver is now 3 weeks old now. Time flies when you have a baby...Oliver is such a cutie and is developing a personality like no other! He's also starting to hold his bottle on his own when we give him a bottle of breastmilk - he started doing this on Sunday.

~Until next time

Yesterday's Peditrician's Appointment

2007-07-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Oliver's 2 week checkup at the pediatrician's office. They weighed and measured him and LO and bedhold, he has grown!! He's now 7 pounds 2 ounces (up from 6 pounds 5 ounces a week and a half ago) and he's now 20.5 inches long! It's incredible that I can make food for him (which he eats) and he grows. I've been breast feeding Oliver since birth and I'm still in awe about the whole process.

At the pediatrician's office yesterday, Oliver also got circumcized (ouchie). Poor baby cried and cried during the procedure, I just wanted to hold him the whole time. He's doing well today, eating, sleeping and going potty just fine. I still feel bad though when I've got to change his diaper.

Oh - and I have to say...Oliver went FIVE whole hours last night in between his late night and early morning feedings. He is well on his way to sleeping through the night (I hope ;) ).

~Until next time

Ok - More Pictures, Had Enough Yet?

2007-07-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm a photo taking fool for my little boy! Oliver turns two weeks old tomorrow, I can't believe it. So far, everything has been going really well. He is breastfeeding regularly, pottying A LOT, loving baths and keeping us up at night. Yeah, he seems to have his nights confused some - of course, babies really don't have days and nights confused, they just need help with their scheduling. We've read "On Becoming Baby Wise" a book highly reccommended by several people we know, and we are on our way to having Oliver sleeping through the night. The goal of the Baby Wise book is to have your baby sleeping through the night by week 7.

I guess after having a baby, your life truly does revolve around them. They grow so fast and change every day, can you ever take enough pictures?

~Until next time

Bath Time and More!

2007-07-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Oliver is now almost two weeks old - my how time flies! We've been busy here at home learning all about our little boy. Oliver is so much fun, he makes so many faces when he's sleeping and awake. I hope to catch many of these before he grows out of them. These are pictures from one of his first baths at home, he really seems to like them so far. His favorite thing about the bath is having his head washed, he just loves it!

Aaron has been home since Oliver was born and he plans on going back to work tomorrow, this should prove interesting :) Oliver has gotten himself onto a pretty good schedule during the days and nights - he eats about every three hours during the day and then at night every four hours. So far, sleep has been okay, last night was a little rough though. He likes to be awake at night occassionally and last night was one of those nights. Hopefully tonight Oliver will sleep well so Aaron is rested for work.

I hope to be taking some more photos of Oliver this week, I want to get our baby announcements ordered - they will be SO cute!

~Until next time

A Birth Story With Lots of Pictures!

2007-07-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

First, let me tell you, we have a baby!! Oliver Martin Britt was born Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 5:49pm. Are you ready for the birth story? Here goes!

Wednesday morning at our doctors appointment, we had our final ultrasound to check for growth. The ultrasound tech estimated his weight at 6lbs 8oz. When the nurse examined me she said I was dilated to 6cm and she considered sending me to labor and delivery. She made a call to the hospital and had me do some monitoring for contractions while she waited for the return call.

After the nurse consulted with the doctor on-call (Dr. Ghandi), she said that they would like me to go down to L&D and they would see if they could manually start labor.

We arrived at the hospital late morning and were admitted to triage for some contraction monitoring once again. The monitors were not really showing any contractions so Aaron and I were concerned that they would send us home. The midwife/nurse on-call for our doctor's office came in and examined me. I was in between 6cm and 7cm dilated at that time. We talked about breaking my water to get labor started and we all agreed to this plan.

We were finally admitted to L&D and filled out paperwork, etc. At 1:40pm the midwife came in and broke my water with a long plastic tool that looks like a crochet hook...Anyhow, about an hour later the contractions started up. For me, they really weren't that painful and not that regular. They L&D nurse told me I could move around if I wanted, use a birthing ball or even rock in the rocking chair. I chose the rocking chair and am thankful it was in the room. I was able to rock myself during the contractions when they started becoming somewhat painful.

Around 4:45pm the contractions really started getting painful. I was back in my labor bed and trying to ease the pain - I can tell you that there's not much you can do. No focal point really helps during these. I chose to go unmedicated through labor, so no epidural or pain meds. After about 30 minutes of these painful contractions I was ready to push. The doctor on-call to deliver me was Dr. Williamson, she was great, she really did a lot of coaching. After about 15 minutes of pushing our little baby boy was born.

Oliver Martin Britt was born at 5:49pm on June 11th. He weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. He has all of his fingers and toes and had a head full of dark brown hair.

Oliver really is a beautiful little boy, he's got chubby cheeks and adorable eyes :) We've been home since the afternoon of Friday, July 13th and doing well. Aaron's aunt Emilee stayed with us Friday night and my parents flew in Saturday morning. My dad flew back to WA state on Monday for work and he is missed. Mom is staying through Saturday to help us here at home with Oliver.

Okay, now, for the long awaited photos...WARNING...there are LOTS!!!

~Until next time