18 Months....oh how time flies!

Oliver is going to be 18 months on Wednesday 3/24 and even though it seems like he was born just yesterday we can also see how much he has grown and changed. He is exploring more and more each day and testing his boundaries. He seems to be a very focused individual who likes to do things his way while still listening and taking direction very well. He still treasures his sleep and bottle above all things and loves to be read to and sung to. Here are some highlights from the past month.

Oliver had a fun play date with his friend Kaden from Kindercare. Kaden has left Kindercare but when he was there he and Oliver were best buds. It was cute to see the two of them duke it out as budding toddlers do.


This past month was also Oliver's discovery of Sesame Street. He absolutely fell in love with one episode in particular...the one about opera! Here he is watching very intently as Marylin Horn sings "C is for Cookie" in her best soprano voice.


Oliver seems to have developed an infatuation with shoes...like someone else I know...eh hem...me! Here he is trying on one of my slip on sneakers. I think if I wore high heels this would be a very different picture.

This past month we also got to celebrate Aliza's 1st brithday. I think Oliver really enjoyed playing with Aliza's birthday gifts more than Aliza.


Here is the very adorable Aliza on her big day!

I think Oliver wanted to show Aliza exactly how a 1st birthday cake is supposed to be consumed. It's almost as if he's willing her to stuff it in her face.


Oliver also got some well needed trombone lessons from his Auntie Q. If this kid doesn't play some kind of instrument when he grows up I don't know what I will do.

Ollie really enjoyed playing dress up with his friend Zoe. She has enough necklaces to put the most prolific Mardi Gras party-goer to shame.



Oliver also got to spend some well needed quality time with his grandma and grandpa. Like the good grandparents they are, they took Ollie to the mall and spoiled him with two new pairs of shoes and lots of adorable cloths. Thanks grandma and grandpa!

Jennifer and I are so proud that our little baby is turning into such a sweet and thoughtful little man. We love him with every ounce of our beings and can't wait to see what the next few months will bring.

Growing and Learning is so much fun!

Since our last post was a while ago, we feel it only right that we include lots of pictures in this post of what Oliver's been up to these past few weeks.

At the beginning of February we celebrated Jennifer's 35th birthday! Aliza and Carey came over to celebrate. I think Oliver had a pretty awesome time playing with his friends.

Here's Oliver being a good big brother and sharing his toy with Aliza.



Carey and Oliver comparing belly size. Carey is quickly catching up. He's almost 8 months old and already crawling and working his way to standing/walking on his own. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

Here is Oliver having some fun in his home-made tunnel.

Ollie's been doing really well with learning new words. Right now he's getting the hang of naming all different kinds of animals. So far his very favorite animal is the elephant.

Oliver took yet another trip to the Children's Museum but this time he went with his buddy Zoe. Here he is posing for his first Hood milk commercial. Sometimes I think all he thinks about is milk...when will he get it next, how much will he get and where can he spill it.

Ollie's also taken up the newest Novoa sport...running! Here he is getting ready for a run with his sweat wicking hat and his wind resistant running gloves.

This past weekend we ventured down to a foreign land...Providence RI. Why would we travel so far you ask...our dear friends, Kris and Tamar, just bought a beautiful house and we couldn't miss their house warming party! Here's Kris and Oliver enjoying some snuggle time together.

Oliver just loves his Auntie Q. For some crazy reason she always seems to make him laugh except in this picture where we captured one of their rare serious moments together.

Here is Oliver showing some good restraint when faced with an entire plate of scrumptious chocolate chip cookies.

Oliver really loves pulling all the tissues out of the box, so much so that he forgot to put his pants on.

New Steps

Oliver has been growing and learning at a very fast rate these days. He's exceeding all our expectations and creating new ways to explore and learn. He has recently started really brushing his teeth. Fortunately at this point he still really likes it...hopefully he will continue to keep up this good habit.

Oliver has also started to really develop his silly side. He relies less and less on us to provide him with entertainment...instead he is turning towards his own imagination through the use of several inanimate objects, like a bucket.

This past week Oliver gave us a glimpse into the strength of the Y chromosome. All he needed was a beer instead of his bottle. Here he's watching an episode of Barney and Friends...later on in life it will be football or something else that the Y chromosome dictates.

At heart, Ollie is still just a little boy even though sometimes he seems like such a mature man. We ventured to the Children's Museum in Boston this weekend to pass some time away and Oliver really enjoyed himself. He's still a little small but quickly catching up to all the other kids.

Some areas of the museum were still just a little advanced for him but he stared at them longingly...soon son, soon you will be big and strong and able to climb the rock wall and shoot baskets with the other kids.
Oliver was able to find an activity that is age defying. I think we can consider this his first date. What do you think?
Before we left the museum we stopped at the gift shop to rescue a very lonely Itsy Bitsy spider. Oliver has been wanting his little friend to join him for a while. He even allowed Itsy Bitsy to join in one of his favorite activities...bottle drinking.
He also figured out that Itsy Bitsy was great at tickling pugs.

Even Jennifer became enamored with the little fellow.

On the Mend Again

Last week Oliver had his first encounter with the dreaded EAR INFECTION! He actually fared quite well and thankfully his sleep was hardly disturbed. I can't say so much for his usually pleasant demeanor. But who can blame him, he was feeling quite badly for a few days but before we knew it our adorable and happy little man was back.

Before Oliver fell ill, he did get one last play date in with his good friend Zoe.

Thank heavens for Play-Doh!!!
During his time at home last week we played lots of games in order to help him feel better.

Oliver found an old pair of headphones and took the opportunity to put on his DJ persona and rock the house even with his incredibly runny nose.
Ollie also played a little dress up with one of Jennifer's Christmas gifts. I think it might fit him better than Jennifer. What do you think?
Oliver continues to explore his love for books and reading. His favorite book is called Barnyard Babies and helps him learn counting and all the different sounds that animals make. He brings it to us to read him multiple times a day.
Oliver has also really gotten into exploring and climbing. He's climbing on everything around the house...including into the storage drawer of the stove. I think we are going to have our hands full...wait, I know we are going to have our hands full with this one!
Now that Oliver is over his sickness he has returned to his happy self. Woo hoo! There was a rough patch there for a few days but we all made it through!

BONUS
Oliver actually had his 15 month doctors appointment last week while he was sick so we have some updated stats to share.

Height: 33 inches (90%)
Weight: 24 lbs (25%)
Head: Still really big

So basically he's still our tall skinny dude and we love him to bits!

First Day of Toddlers

Today was a big day in the Novoa household. Today was Oliver's first day of toddlers at daycare! This is a big step for Oliver because it means he no longer takes a bottle during the day, he eats all his meals sitting on a little chair at a table, and he gets to learn a lot more from kids who are a little older than him. This means that we will be seeing a lot more developmental advancement from him, not that we haven't already. I mean, he throws out his own food in the garbage, helps puts his toys away, and is getting better and better each day at feeding himself with a fork.
He's also turning into quite the artist.

One other fun thing about going to toddlers is that he gets to bring a cool backpack to school.

Don't mess with a toddler and his Elmo backpack and skull and cross bones hat.
At heart Oliver is still a softy and he just couldn't leave for his first day of toddlers without kissing his doggie Stella goodbye.