Recaping the past two weeks

I know we've been bad and have not posted recently but it's been a busy July so far. We've included lots of photos for this post to try and make up for lost time. Now, let's recap.

A few weeks ago we went blueberry picking with our friends Jeff, Shawn, Zoe, Angie, Katie, Aliza and Auntie Q (a.k.a. Suzanne).

Oliver found his super dexterity to come in handy while picking some plump and juicy berries.

Ok, so he wasn't actually picking any blueberries but he was doing so in his dreams...we promise.
By the end of the afternoon Zoe was an expert blueberry picker. I'm sure she and her Mom cooked up a yummy blueberry pie later that day.
Aliza was all cozy in her carrier while her Moms selected some juicy blueberries.
Ollie enjoying a little awake time after all the blueberry picking. This kid really knows how to avoid doing any of the work yet reaping all the benefits. Ummm. I think we are going to have our hands full with this one!
Oliver and Aliza (and Jennifer and Angie) getting ready to depart the blueberry farm.
Oliver also discovered a new toy at Zoe's house...a school bus. Observing how much he seemed to enjoy riding it and being rolled around we ran out and purchased his very own (although his is a fire truck). I think Oliver likes it. What do you think?

Oliver also discovered his newest food love...pickles! That's right, pickles. I guess he does take after both his pickle loving Moms after all.
The biggest thing to happen in the past two weeks was that Oliver finally learned to crawl!!! Just shy of being 9-1/2 months old, on Saturday July 11th, Oliver took his first real crawling strides on his knees!!! We were so excited to be able to capture it on film (or digital file for all you semantic sticklers). Oliver has been teasing us for a while with crawling attempts and frustrated angst but he finally bit the bullet and got off his belly and took his first strides towards being a super evolved homo sapien. Check out the movie below!

Thanks to Zoe for supplying the awesome homemade toy that Oliver coveted enough to motivate him to take his first crawling steps.

BONUS PHOTOS

My two people watchers.

My three little beggers. Really, they were all begging for the cheese I was eating.

A Happy 4th from Westport

We spent a beautiful weekend in Westport, CT to celebrate the 4th of July. This year, though, Grandma and Grandpa were not present since they are traveling around eastern Europe right now so instead, Oliver and his Moms joined their friends Shawn, Jeff & Zoe and Katie, Angie & Aliza for a fun time in Connecticut.

This holiday marks the first time Oliver has ever gone in a pool and he was not disappointed. Oliver loved splashing around from his whale float as well as attempting to do a freestyle stroke. He also went under water and while he was a little stunned he didn't cry and really didn't seem horribly phased by it.

Aliza also made her debut in the pool but took a slightly more cautious approach. Who can blame her, she is only 4 months old, but a brave 4 months old.
Zoe dove right in to all the fun and really seemed to have a good time as well.

Oliver had a little man-to-man time with Jeff, the only other male there this weekend. I'm pretty sure Jeff shared some crawling secrets with Oliver and perhaps threw in a few other pointers as well.

We also took several walks this weekend with the whole gang including a trip to the Wesport Dog Park.

Shawn even got friendly with Bowie, one of Katie and Angie's dogs. This was a sight we thought we would never see.

Oliver also took this opportunity to spend a little quality time with his half-sib Aliza. She is growing up so fast and before we know it they are going to be playing stick ball on the streets...ok maybe not stick ball but perhaps Nintendo Wii.

BONUS OLIVER PHOTOS!

Has it been 9 months already?!

A whole 9 months has passed since Oliver was born but sometime it seems like just yesterday that we were bringing home our 5 lb 3 oz baby from the hospital. We don't have the official 9 month stats for him from the doctor yet so we'll post that when we have it but trust us...he's huge! Well, at least we think so but there have been some independent assessments that corroborate with us.

The truly amazing thing about having kids is watching them absorb everything around them, and the other amazing thing is seeing what excites them and captures their attention. For all the wonderful toys out there we have found that a simple paper towel role or tub kneeler or Mama's glasses or Mama's watch or Mama's ring can keep a baby amused just as well or even better. Of course with these types of toys Moms have to keep a very watchful eye on the baby and can't just go to the bathroom like she can when he's in a jumper but they are good for those moments when you just don't know whatelse to do.

Here are just a few milestones Oliver has hit in his 9 months of life:

Holding himself up in a standing position on the coffee table. (this sometimes results in a death defying fall backwards which most often will culminate in an egg on his head, but who am I to deny such joy to my child?)


Oliver has also learned to use a highlighter and calculator. Perhaps he has some accounting profession in his future. I'm sure Angie will have lots to show him.
Oliver is also on his way to mastering crawling with the help of the pugs.
What better way to celebrate being 9 months than to celebrate the birth of another future friend. Our good friends Karen and Trish gave birth to a healthy, beautiful boy on Friday June 26th. Oliver welcomes Carey Patrick Voorhees to the world!
The happy and proud Moms.
A smile already...looks like they are going to have their hands full with a happy baby...we should all be so lucky!

While we were visiting Carey at Beth Israel hospital we thought it would be nice to see some of the NICU nurses that took such good care of son when he was born.

This is Grace. She was always so clam and really helped us through some emotionally difficult times in the NICU.
This is Beth. She kept our spirits up and made us feel like everything was going to be OK.
On Saturday night we went to the epicenter of fun...Auntie Q's house! Auntie Stacey was also there and had a little face-to-face time with Oliver.
The happy boy in his carrier.
Oliver the rock star! Notice the faux-hawk hair.
The woman at the source of all this fun...Auntie Q.

Who says we can't celebrate Father's day?

Even though Oliver doesn't technically have a Dad he's got lots of men in his life who are Dads and one of them is his Grandpa. So, this weekend we headed down to Connecticut to celebrate Father's day with Daddy Novoa (a.k.a. Oliver's biggest fan). Even though the weather was less than desirable it was still a very fun weekend.

Oliver attempted to wrap his Grandpa's Father's Day gift...amazingly he didn't cut himself with the scissors or get tape in his hair or eat the wrapping paper. We consider that a success in the Novoa house.


While we were in Connecticut, Oliver got to practice his piano technique on a grand piano. I think he might have a future with the ivories.


Oliver also got to play with a few "antique" toys which used to be his Mom's toys. 31 years and they are still ticking...although I'm not sure Oliver will even know what a rotary phone is when he grows up. All the toys were still functioning which goes to show...they just don't make them like they used to (am I speaking like an old person....I think I am...ahhhh!)


On Sunday we had a Father's Day brunch where Oliver presented his well wrapped gift to Grandpa....a self-portrait. Do you think it's a little self-indulgent to give a picture of oneself to someone? I say, not until you are at least 18 (isn't that cut off for most things?)
Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.

The happy family! (You will have to take our word for it that Oliver was actually happy and smiling a second before I took this picture)
A good shot of Burt and Ernie and one of his new friends, Grover.
Oliver LOVES his bath time!

Oliver's Big Day at Gay Pride 2009

This past Saturday was Oliver's first Gay Pride Boston! We had so much fun. Thinking that we had the departure plan from our house down pat, we confidently left for the train station. When we arrived at the station we realized how novice we still are at this whole process because forgot the baby carrier. So, we were faced with holding our 22 lb baby for most of the parade (and by we I mean Jennifer). We sucked it up and proceeded on. Oliver got to see his first choo choo train and boy did it make a loud impression. We arrived to Government Center around 12:00 pm and waited patiently for the parade to make its way to us. Oliver had a great view of the parade atop Marina's shoulders, although I'm sure the view would have been better on someone a bit taller but he'll have to make due with his short Mom.


We got to see all sorts of people dressed in costumes and wonderful outfits (some more scantily clad than others).



After the parade we had lunch with our friends and Oliver got to try is very first taste of french fries. He really liked it and I fear that getting him to stop will be a challenge.


We returned home with one sleepy baby and two exhausted Moms. It was a fun day of celebrating the love and pride we have for our family and community.

Winchester Town Day

This Saturday was Town Day in Winchester so Oliver took his two Moms to have fun in the sun on the Winchester streets.

There was a baby animal petting zoo, pony rides (Jennifer really, really wanted to participate), face painting, a mini Olympics for kids and all sorts of fair food, music and booths.

We also got to see our good friends from our birthing class. They had a little baby girl, Zeynep Lale, back on October 29th. Oddly enough she and Oliver shared the same due date but ended up being exactly 5 weeks apart.

During the course of the day Oliver got in a little bit of trouble and the Winchester Police had to intervene. Fortunately, his Mom's were able to talk to the police and get Oliver exonerated from his wrongdoings.

BONUS OLIVER PICTURES!!

Rooting for the home team

Oliver ventured out in the sunshine (and eventual rain) on Sunday afternoon to root for his two Moms at their softball game. It was an exciting and close game with his Mommy (Jennifer) going 4 for 4 with an in-the-park home run! His Mama (Marina) played a half game and went 2 for 2. Oliver has such great friends who all wanted to take care of him while his Moms played. Thanks to Karen and Trish for entertaining him and to Tamar for making sure he was comfortable during the game. Also, thank you to T for getting Oliver his very own Wild jersey!