Sunday, April 26, 2009

Exploring his artistic side

Now that Oliver is 7 months old we thought it would be prudent to start exposing him to several new artistic avenues. After all, he's got a lot of work to do if he's going to be the first hall of fame Grammy award winning painter dancer.

We started Oliver's training on the grandest of all instruments...the piano. He was enthralled by the black and white keys and loved the sounds that came out of this wonderful instrument. I think we may have another Vladimir Horowitz on our hands.


After Oliver grew tired of the piano we moved on to some modern/abstract art painting. He started off in water colors but we think he will soon be using other mediums like acrylic and oil very soon.

His love for painting began at daycare where he experimented with some white paint on blue paper and then got a little more risky with purple and yellow paint on white paper. After recognizing a potential artistic gift we did what every supportive parent would do...we rushed out and got him his very own painting set. Oliver quickly took control of the situation and showed us what true genius is made of. Apparently masterful artwork can be created by directly applying the actual painting to ones mouth. I think Oliver may have found a new niche for the art world.



As if Oliver wasn't busy enough, he thought he would finish off the day by giving a shot at the bongos. The rhythm of the night was calling him and he answered...loudly. Baba Looooo!!!!


One would think that all this activity would be enough to keep this little boy happy....but no. He just had to try his hand at one more thing...modeling. Now, Jennifer and I don't believe in pushing ones kid into such a pressured and superficial industry but when your kid asks to try something you say yes!


Needless to say, after all these activities Oliver was a little pooped out. Honestly, there is nothing better than taking a nap with your little boy in the afternoon.

Friday, April 10, 2009

A Very Busy Two Weeks

Oliver has had a very adventurous two weeks. It all started with the celebration of Marina's birthday on April 3rd. He got all dressed up in his special cashmere outfit and surprised his Mama with a very special greeting.
After celebrating Marina's birthday we went to Jeff, Shawn and Zoe's house for an early Passover dinner on Sunday. Oliver learned a lot about his Jewish heritage and even partook in some of the Seder by donning a traditional yarmulka.

The next exciting thing Oliver did was sit in his highchair for the very first time to have his cereal. He loved being able to be at eye level and the Moms loved not having to stress their backs while feeding him.
Oliver, as many people know, has had a few minor baby illnesses since he's been born...acid reflux and chest congestion. Well, now we can add conjunctivitis...and...bronchitis to the list. It all started last Sunday when we noticed that Oliver's left eye had an unusual amount of yellow "gunk" in it, not to mention the whites of his eye were turning a funny pink color. This immediately caught our attention and we took him to the pediatrician the very next day. It was confirmed that he indeed had conjunctivitis a.k.a. pink eye. So, we proceeded to give him a topical eye treatment of Erythromycin for the next 5 days (he's almost done, yeah!). Not a big deal.

We thought we were in the clear with illnesses for a little while but to our surprise Oliver had a little more in store for us. All day Thursday he had been running a low grade fever and by Thursday night his temp skyrocketed to 103.7. So we took him straight to the Winchester Hospital ER just as a precaution....you don't want to mess with a high fever.

We spent about 3 hours there (pretty fast service for an ER if you ask me) and it was determined after a chest x-ray and some other tests that Oliver had bronchitis...nothing too severe but certainly in need of some antibiotics. We also learned that Oliver is truly the best patient ever. He didn't even really cry once (except when the x-ray tech picked him up with her ice cold hands) and even laughed a little during his x-ray. By 1:30 am we got the all clear and left the hospital with a bottle of Amoxicillin to administer 3 times a day. Woo Hoo!! But we shouldn't complain...it could have been a lot worse.


Wednesday, April 1, 2009

6 Month Stat Update

Oliver had is 6 month appointment today with the pediatrician and as usual he was a consummate patient. He sat quite happily while the doctor performed his exam and only cried when his shots were administered but quieted down quickly after they were over. We maintain that he may very well be the best baby we've ever had.

The official stats:
Height: 27 3/4" - 90th percentile (he's almost half Marina's height!)
Weight: 17 lbs 8 oz - 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 45.5cm - 90th percentile