5 Months Old

Oliver turned 5 months old yesterday. Taking his picture proved to be a bit more challenging than in the previous months. He likes to grab anything around him- especially if it crinkles. While we were grocery shopping last night, he was very excited about the tostitos bag. He continues to grow quickly, we are hoping to get him in for a weight check this week (just b/c we are curious). He likes to sit and stand (both with a little help) and has yet to roll all the way over. He can get his bottom half flipped from front to back and back to front, but his arms get in his way for the top half. It is hard to believe he has been with us for 5 months already- the time has flown by. We are looking forward to the warmer weather and being able to have him outside and do all of the summer activities with him- camping, baseball games, grilling and others.

New York Trip

Henry and Oliver- Oliver kindof looked like a giant compared to Henry, but I'm sure before long, they will be running around with each other.

Oliver tried out the swing at Randy & Kara's house

He also went up in the treehouse with Aunt Kathy

We went out to New York for Alex's first communion. He did a very good job. We went back to his house afterward and enjoyed the wonderful weather and ate some delicious grilled food.

Max sporting Uncle Dale's sunglasses.

On Sunday, the weather was wonderful again. We played a game of dominoes outside on Kathy & Dale's patio

Me and Max

Sophia holding Henry and Oliver and all three of them looked :)

All of the nieces and nephews that were there in age order: Samantha (18), Kelli (17), Alex (8), Max (4), Sophia (2), Oliver (5 months), Henry (6 weeks)

We had a great and fast weekend in New York. We got to Kathy & Dale's at 6:40 am Saturday morning. We went to Alex's first communion mass Saturday morning and then we spent the day at Randy & Kara's house. The weather was so warm. That evening, Kara, Kathy, Coco, & myself went to see the Diary of Anne Frank at Randy's theater- unfortunately the theater lost power midway through and the show was cancelled. We ended up going out to eat and had a good time while Randy & Eric watched the kids.

On Sunday, we got up and went to church, then everyone came back to Kathy and Dale's house. We hung out all day and enjoyed the weather. We left a little after 5 Sunday afternoon to head home and we were very happy to arrive home this morning and get some sleep.

Ooo-ing

Oliver has been making lots of noise for quite awhile, but in the past few weeks, he has started "ooo-ing."

Here we caught him doing it in his exersaucer before he got distracted by the horse.

Spring Weather

Here is Oliver sitting by himself outside. If we put him in position to sit and spread his legs, he can usually sit for 20-30 seconds. He is starting to get a little better at correcting himself so he doesn't topple over.

We were able to get outside on Saturday and do some much needed yard work. Oliver enjoyed being outside with us too. We put him in the grass for the first time and he seemed to like it.

We found these flowers all over in our backyard so before Eric mowed, we dug them up and replanted them along our garage in a little flower bed there. We figure if they die, we aren't out anything so we might as well try. We also found what we are pretty confident to be onions growing randomly in our backyard as well. We also transplanted 2 or 3 of those to see if we grow any onions.

That evening, we went through Oliver's clothes and put away almost all of his 0-3 month clothes. While in his closet, I noticed his life jacket so we decided to try it on him. He wasn't too bothered by it, so it looks like he is ready to get on a boat and go.

I managed to get the pictures out of order, but here is Oliver napping while we were outside working.

The video below shows Oliver sitting up outside.

Easter Morning

Oliver's first Easter morning and he slept in until around 9:00. I don't think we will have that happen for Easter again :) He was pretty interested in his Easter basket, but had to check out what Grandpa was doing first.

Here he his, holding onto his basket and sitting in his bumbo chair. The Easter Bunny was very good to Oliver, he got a new book, 2 new rattle-type toys, an outfit, a duck, and a new hat. What a lucky boy!

Looking at his blue Easter egg with his name on hit, we dyed eggs around 11:30 the night before.

Checking out all of he loot and he even seems to be looking in the basket for more.

The basket it officially empty, except for grass, but he keeps reaching in looking for more.

Happy Easter!!

Eric being baptized

Eric and I

Our family after the Easter Vigil Mass - notice Oliver is still awake and bright-eyed at 10:30 pm

Our Family with Eric's parents

Our family with my parents

This year was a big Easter year for our family. It was Oliver's first Easter and Eric became a member of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass. We had been going through RCIA classes since August of 2008 and have met quite a few people during the process. The mass on Holy Saturday was very nice. Both of our sets of parents were able to be there with us (and to help with Oliver so Eric and I could actually stay inside the church throughout all of mass).

5 Little Ducks

Oliver learned how to pull the umbrella (with the help of a ring) on his rocker. When he pulls it, it plays "5 Little Ducks." While we are very happy that he is learning to do many new things, we don't get quite as excited as the first time he pulled it. He seems to pretty much have it mastered now and we hear "5 Little Ducks" for about as long as he is in his rocker.

He has also pushed the button on a fish hanging on his play-mat-type thing, although that one is still pretty hit and miss. He other newest noise came from his piano, he has learned that he can kick the keys and it will either a) turn on or b) switch songs.

We are thinking of possibly buying stock in a battery company as he begins to be able to turn things on by himself :)

This is Oliver and his cousin Sierra at his Aunt Amy and Uncle Mark's wedding reception. We were back in Iowa April 3-5 for this celebration. It was a fun time and we were glad to meet Mark and his two children and welcome them to the family.

Oliver's 4 Month Appointment

Here is a quick update on Oliver's 4 month appointment. He weighed 15 pounds, 3 oz and was 24.8 inches long. His weight is the 50th percentile and his height is the 40th percentile. The doctor said he looks really good and to keep doing what we are doing. He got two shots and one oral vaccine. He did really well, he was all smiles for the doctor and nurses. He let out a little cry right as the nurse gave him his shots, but as soon as I picked him up, he stopped crying. He is doing really well after the shots, he just seems a little sleepy, but that could be in part to our busy weekend.

It was nice to be back in Iowa for a bit this weekend and see some family. It went quickly as it always does and we were chased out with that yucky Iowa weather. We left a little earlier than we had hoped to because of the weather, but we were glad we did. By the time we got to Cedar Rapids, the roads were dry. It did end up raining for a good share of our ride home, but that is much better than snowy, slushy roads.

I will try to post some picture tonight or tomorrow. Have a good day everyone!