Our Pride of Winchester

Since our last posting Oliver has enjoyed many fun activities for the Month of June. Early in June we celebrated Gay Pride in Boston with our friends. It was a very rainy and muggy day but that didn't stop the Novoa family from partaking in all things gay and happy. Since it was pouring rain during the parade we don't have any pictures of the parade but after it was over we hung out at government center and played with some whistles (provided by Auntie Stacey) and ate some yummy lollipops.

Oliver's daycare celebrated the beginning of summer activities with a fun after school picnic. Ollie got his first taste of a snow cone and really enjoyed playing basketball in the "big playground."

Other fun activities for Oliver in the month of June included meeting one of his half-brothers! We were lucky enough to make contact with a really lovely couple who have a simply scrumptious little boy and with whom Oliver shares half his jean pool. It was really exciting to see the two boys play together and see their similarities and their unique differences.

Oliver has also really taken a liking to eating his food with a big fork and big spoon...although this size spoon is a little bigger than we had in mind.

As many of you know exercising is a big part of our family. Well it appears that Oliver is starting his exercising habits very early. After every run I always do a cool down stretch routine. Oliver usually gets to see me do my routine but on this occasion he felt compelled to join me (and yes the rope is only used for stretching).

Ollie is also becoming quite the helper in the kitchen. While dinners may not be a Novoa specialty...breakfast certainly is. I know very few people who will stand to cook scrambled eggs for their toddler at 7:30 am so he will have something yummy to eat for breakfast when he gets to daycare (thanks Mommy Jennifer).

And yes, it was that time of the year again...haircut time! Ollie is a consummate client and always sits very still. As an added bonus we got a really big smile at the end.

Since it's been so hot recently we broke down and got Oliver a blow up pool for the back yard. Needless to say, this is perhaps one of the best things we have purchased for him thus far.

Oliver also enjoyed laying in the hammock with us. It's on days like that (and basically every other day of my life thus far) that I really thank the earth for blessing me with such awesomeness.

After some swim time we headed over to the playground where Ollie stretched his legs and honed in on his climbing skills.

Makin' Beautiful Music...and Other Stuff Too

Oliver has had a great time experiencing all different kinds of music over the past two weeks. It all started off with a trip back to NYC for a reunion of sorts at my high school to say goodbye to my high school orchestra conductor who is retiring. Oliver even joined the family at the orchestra concert on Monday night. It was late in the evening for my little man but he did superbly...like a regular concert goer. He even shouted out "Bravo!" at the very end of the performance...as well as "Mama!" in the middle of the performance.

Ever since Oliver was born he has always been interested in music so it only seemed natural that he would pick up various instruments and try to play them. While at his Grandma and Grandpa's house he commandeered my childhood recorder and went to town! Oh and notice the homemade cardboard horn Grandpa constructed for Ollie.

After some hard core recorder practicing, Oliver took a dip in the pool. He hasn't changed much from last year...basically he is a pure water baby. This year he has started to even kick his feet while swimming.

Oliver took some time out from his many activities to read a little too. I'm not sure if the book he's reading says anything about his future endeavors...who knows.

Ollie also raided my childhood stuffed animal collection while back in CT. It looks like he has a special affection for the wonderful orange dog just like I did when I was a kid.

In between rain storms Grandma and Grandpa took all of us to the Westport beach/playground. Oliver got deliciously dirty and loved playing in the chilly Atlantic ocean.

An lastly, this wouldn't be a proper posting if I didn't exploit Oliver's eating habits. While we were in NYC for the orchestra concert we went out to dinner and Grandpa taught Oliver the fine art of drinking vanilla ice cream out of a wine glass.

On our way back home we stopped at a rest stop and Oliver discovered that while eating pizza with one fork is great, eating pizza with two forks is even better!

Oliver's parents need to be punished and put in the boo boo box for their poor blog posting habits. In order to make up for our lack of responsibility we are posting a myriad of pictures which tell the story of the past two months.


Back in April Grandma and Grandpa came up to visit and celebrate my birthday. Oliver was so happy to see them and extremely happy to sit on Grandpa's (Papa's) lap to read a story.

Oliver commandeered Papa's captains hat and refused to give it back. Fortunately, Papa has lots of captain's hats and was able to leave this one in the safe keeping of El Gran Capitan.

Ollie got to spend some time at Auntie Q's house and indulge in some homemade cupcakes. Let's just say...he loved them!

Oliver thought his shades really enhanced his dining experience while we were out for one fine spring afternoon. As far as we are concerned sunglasses make everything better.

Thank goodness for warmer weather because now Ollie can play with his bike outside instead of our 30' hallway.

Oliver drove his bike all the way to the park where he explored every nook and cranny.

Apparently I tend to stand with my legs wider apart than normal...who knew...well, Oliver knew that's who. Here he is imitating my stance (a bit exaggerated if you ask me).

Another really fun activity that has become an annual tradition is our trip to the Bronx Zoo for Mother's Day. Here Ollie got to pretend to be a Prairie Dog. This brought back lots of memories for me because this exhibit has been around since I was a little kid. Thank you Bronx Zoo!

Oliver was listening to the sounds as heard through the ears of a fox. Of course Oliver loved feeding the animals in the petting area of the zoo. I'm pretty sure we could have spent the whole day in this section.

This picture just brings joyful tears to my eyes. Oliver has really gotten good at imitating everything we do...including the various stretching and strange exercises I do. Here he is using the foam roller to work out his SI joint. Good habits start young.

I just thought this picture was really cute and just had to be included in this post.
The following pictures depict some of Oliver's best eating moments.

Here Ollie demonstrates how one should always eat hummus...with a spatula.

Oliver just loves some simple pasta and vodka sauce. It's one of his favorite things to eat.
While visiting with our friends, Bonny and Paul, Ollie got schooled in the proper way to consume whip cream...a tool that will no doubt come in handy throughout his life.
Oliver enjoyed some man time with Paul.
Most recently, Oliver and Jennifer were the best supporters during my 1/2 marathon run this past memorial day weekend.

While I was sweating it out on the 13.1 mile course, Oliver got to have a good time at the World Trade Center expo center playing with a hula hoop and goofing around in the moon walk.






And lastly, we end this blog posting with a sunset at the beach. This was Oliver's first time in sand and let's just say it won't be his last.

Over the past month Oliver's been very busy growing and learning more and more. He's really developing a wonderful personality and it's a pure pleasure to watch him change and grow. Here are just a few things Oliver has enjoyed doing since our last post.

1. He loves trying on our shoes....everything from flip flops and clogs to cowboy boots and pumps.

2. He's become quite a fan of eating out at restaurants. We had a recent wonderful dinner at Anthony's Pier 4. I don't think I've ever seen a more well behaved child at a restaurant. He sat for about 2 hours through appetizers, main courses and desserts...all without throwing any kind of fit and hardly throwing any food on the floor.
3. Oliver has also discovered the awesome power of trucks. Here's a picture of him ooogling at a truck in a parking lot.
4. Oliver survived the rain storms and floods all with a smile. I think the sunglasses and cool vest helped too.
5. And of course Oliver's love for his doggies just keeps growing and growing. We're just waiting for the day he wants them to sleep in his bed with him.

Lovin' Stella

Lovin' Gizmo