Some friends for Burt and Ernie

Last week Oliver started to get his second round of teeth and he wasn't that happy about it. Burt and Ernie (his bottom two teeth) give a warm welcome to: Big Bird, Snuffleupagus, The Grouch and Cookie Monster (these account for his top front two teeth and the two teeth on either side.) Right now we don't have any pictures of them since Oliver is very tight lipped about his new friends but we hope to get some shots of them soon. Perhaps we will employee the paparazzi to take some photos.

Anyway, here some things Oliver's been up two in the last few weeks.

He and Stella have taken their relationship to a new level.

Last weekend we went to the baby shower of our good friends Karen and Trish (they are having a little boy in only a matter of weeks!) There, Oliver met a lovely young girl and in the process of being mesmerized by her beauty he accidentally cut his finger on the inside of a soda can. Being the tough little trouper that he is, he hardly made a peep and was totally unphased by the incident. We did discover that he's a bleeder...meaning that the cut didn't actually completely stop bleeding for a few days (to Oliver's defense it was one of those small but deep little cuts, kind of like a really bad paper cut on a very tricky part of your finger).

We closed out the week by attending Danielle's collage graduation (congrats to Auntie D!!!). Oliver did really well even though it was over 90 degrees out. He was well protected from the sun with his super hat that Grandma and Grandpa got for him.

Oliver also discovered his rocker side this week. Give one baby a pair of sunglasses and one bass guitar and presto...you have your very own Ollie Van Halen.

Play this video

Bonus photo: Oliver and his rock band at school. (Shawn, Kayden & Oliver)

A happy baby makes for happy Moms on Mother's Day

This year Mother's Day was even more meaningful since it was our very first Mother's Day as Moms! Woo Hoo! We headed down to CT to be with one of the grandest mothers of them all and started the weekend with a trip to the Bronx Zoo. It was a cool but slightly muggy day but the animals were out and about, playing and loving the company (or so we would like to believe).

Our first stop was at the Gorilla exhibit which is always awe inspiring and a real reality check into evolution. We could truly see that humans are really not all that different than our mammalian relatives. Oliver loved being in Grandpa's arms and felt safe while watching all these majestic animals.

At one point we even thought we were looking at a version of Oliver breastfeeding.
Apparently this baby gorilla gets distracted from the task at hand as easily as Oliver. I guess all babies are the same in certain ways.
Oliver also got to visit one of the Zoo's newest members...a baby lion. The little lion played around with his Mom and gave us a glimpse into our future fun romps with Oliver.

We also got to see lots of cool fish and Oliver seemed mesmerized by all the different colors and shapes.

After lots of walking and animal viewing we took a break for lunch and had a little down time.
One of our last stops for the day included a really cool gander at an alligator. Hopefully this is the only circumstance where Oliver will have a run in with this pre-historic beast.

On Sunday (actually Mother's Day) we prepared to have a scrumptious brunch including bagels from H&H Bagels and lox and other goodies from Zabars. (All you New Yorkers will know what I'm talking about when I say that brunch just isn't brunch without H&H and Zabars.)

Oliver serenaded us with his musical toy during brunch and gave us some beautiful greeting cards. We feel so lucky to have him in our lives and we can't thank our little man enough for making us Moms. He made our dreams come true!

A truly fun packed weekend

This weekend was jam packed with fun activities for Oliver. We started Saturday off with some playtime in his super hot dog onsie. Oliver really loves playing with is his toys in our bed while we get ready for the day.

We then moved the party into the living room where Oliver got his first taste of the movie Fantasia. We were inspired to watch the movie when we heard Beethoven's symphony #6 playing on the radio. Oliver was simply mesmerized by the beautiful colors and sounds emanating from his TV.

Stella also got a little Ollie time. She decided it was time Oliver learn how to hold the bone for her. As many of you know, when you come to visit us Stella will often times show her affection for you by choosing you to be the sole "holder" of her bone so she can properly chew on it. It's a great honor really.

After his time with Stella, Oliver was ready to play with some real toys. He moved on to his newest toy...the musical table. Oliver can't really stand on his own yet so for now the musical table will be more like a musical mat.

Then we headed off to Zoe Straub's 2nd birthday party at Gymboree. Oliver was really thankful there was another baby his age who he could talk to and play with. Her name is Kylie Lum and she lives in Florida.

Once the party at Gymboree was over we headed over to Zoe's house for some more fun but this time with Zoe's private collection of toys. Oliver quickly commandeered her rocking horse and once again tried out his bull riding technique but this time on a bucking bronco. I think we are going to have to get him one of these.

Birthday girl Zoe making some birthday pancakes.

All this fun and it was only Saturday. Sunday was reserved for softball. We had our first softball game of the season but unfortunately, Oliver's moms were not responsible enough to take pictures. Considering there are many games this spring/summer we're sure Oliver's moms will remember at some point to take some photos. For now you will just have to imagine Oliver rooting for the home team.


BONUS PICTURES
This past week Boston was struck with it's first heat wave. It reached about 90 degrees and even though most of Oliver's cloths are still only spring appropriate we were able to find one of his more summerie outfits for him to stay cool for school.

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.

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.

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