Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Look Ma...I'm 6 Months Old!

Today is Oliver's 6 month birthday! Woo Hoo! We made it! Honestly, it's been the most glorious six months of our lives. Oliver has simply been a dream baby and we thank our lucky stars every single day for him.

We would like to update you on his 6 month stats but that's going to have to wait until next week when he has his pediatrician visit, so instead, we will update you on some other milestones. Although we can say that we think he weighs about 18lbs (at least that's what our home scale said).

Oliver had the pleasure of trying a teething cookie for the first time...and I we can't emphasize how much he loved it!!!! We had a hard time taking it away from him. He got deliciously messy and we reveled in every moment.


After Oliver tackled his teething cookie he got really sleepy, so he took a nap. I mean, it's hard work chewing on that stuff.


Oliver has also gotten a lot better at sitting. He hasn't quite mastered it yet but we are hoping that with the help of the pugs he will be movtivated to have some more floor time very soon.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Burt and Ernie Update

Oliver let me take a really good picture of his two friends Burt and Ernie. He has been making really good use of these two new friends...biting his Mommy's fingers...chewing on his toys...and making a tremendous amount of drool.

We also discovered that Oliver has another alternate personality besides Super O...Oliverosaurus Rex made an appearance yesterday. His interests include: eating the town villagers, roaring big and loud, and causing massive destruction to everything he touches.

We were pleased, however, to find that while Oliverosaurus Rex is a tough and frightening creature, the truly sweet and loving Ollie is still underneath this scary facade.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Fun at Aliza's House

Last night Oliver took us to Aliza's house for a little dinner and fun with the Aunties. Aliza is growing up so fast that she is in cloths at a week old that Oliver wasn't wearing until he was 1 month old. I'm pretty sure Oliver has caught up by now considering he's wearing some 9 month old cloths already.

Oliver had a great time with Auntie Q - swinging on her legs was about the most fun he's had all week.



Now that's one sweet Aliza with one hot mama!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

A fun weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

After Oliver's adoption proceedings on Friday we high tailed it to Connecticut for a fun weekend with Grandpa and Grandma. When we arrived, Oliver was surprised to find a new toy for him to break in.

We also had some time to go to the Westport dog park were Stella, Gizmo and Oliver had lots of fun looking at all the other dogs. Stella wore herself out so much she had to seek refuge under Oliver's stoller.



After the park, Oliver had some good quality time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Oliver also got to learn the next step in his dream of becoming a bull rider.


He was also initiated into the tradition of reading the Sunday edition of the New York Times. Oliver also hit another milestone and was finally able to hold his own bottle. While he's already been sort of doing this on and off for a while now, he finally was able to hold a full bottle without letting it fall.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Oliver's Adoption

Today was another very special day in the Novoa family. Today we officially adopted Oliver. You may be asking why do we have to adopt our own son...well, since Massachusetts is one of the only states where our marriage is recognized (Connecticut is the only other state) Oliver is only recognized as a child of our marriage in these two states. Meaning that in Massachusetts and Connecticut both Jennifer and I would be recognized as Oliver's parents. So, in order to protect our rights in the rest of the country as parents we both had to adopt him so there would be no question who are his "real" parents. The crazy thing is that even if we went to the sunshine state of Florida to let say, visit Disney World, and the question of parenthood ever game up we still wouldn't have a leg to stand on since gay adoption isn't even recognized there (and in several other states).

Either way, today was a very happy and special day for us because it legally protected us as much as we could possibly be. Oliver was in a really good mood this morning and why shouldn't he have been, after all he was surrounded by wonderful friends and two Moms who adore his every move.

This is the judge making the adoption official!

The Moms and Oliver celebrating the adoption.

The judge was super nice and made us feel very welcome.
Happy and proud parents.
Our awesome friends who joined us for the occasion.

The woman who made it all happen...our lawyer, Joyce Kauffman.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Newest Arrival!!!

We have some great news to report. The newest addition to our Boston family has finally arrived (nearly two weeks late!). We welcome Aliza!




Well, it has been a long wait for everyone and we can now celebrate the arrival of this beautiful little girl. Oliver is so excited to meet her and to teach her all the millions of things he has learned in the 5.5 months he's been around.


The proud Moms: Katie and Angie.

Angie with her daughter.


Bonus pictures: Aliza and Oliver at the same age.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

All I Want for Spring Are My Two Front Teeth

That's right ladies and gentlemen....Oliver is officially teething! His two bottom front teeth are coming in. We can see the top of teeth just about to peek out. We have affectionately named the teeth Burt and Ernie. They keep Oliver company during the day and while he sleeps. We tried getting a picture of Burt and Ernie but they are proving to be very illusive since the only times we can see them are when he's crying (as seen in this picture) or yawning (which is nearly impossible to capture). Here's a blurry picture of his mouth but if you look hard you can find the two little white lines on his bottom gum which are his two first teeth!Note: We are going to try and get a clearer picture of Burt and Ernie as they develop so keep checking the blog.

Ever since Oliver started growing teeth we can't stop him from eating food. I mean really, sausages, broccoli...all sorts of things. And by the way, don't ever try and take Oliver's food away from him or he'll give you one of his deadly stares.

Before
After
Oliver has also figured out that he has feet with toes. He's still not totally enamored by them but just look at how proud he was when he discovered them!


On a more animalistic note...everyone knows we have two pugs, Gizmo and Stella (please refer to exhibit A)

EXHIBIT A

Well, one of these pugs (Stella to be exact...the one with her head up Gizmo's butt) has taken it upon herself to become Oliver's best friend. I'm sure one night we will find her snuggled up in his bed but for now we will have to settle for her snuggling up to him in our bed.
Note: The animal in this picture was not posed in anyway, shape or form. She acted out of her own volition.

We also recently found out that Oliver's love for dogs is not limited to pugs...apparently he likes all the pushed-in face breeds. Here Oliver is getting up close and personal with Daphne, a Boston Terrier loved by all and raised by Jenna and Tim Connors of Haverhill, MA. Oliver just adored Daphne and all her kisses! In fact, he loved her so much that he was reaching for her as if she was one of his play toys. I can only imagine what will become of the pug tails once Oliver becomes more aware of them. Yikes!