6 Month Update ~ August 2009

 Happy six months to Oliver!  We celebrated with a rice cereal party.  Oliver had been watching us eat with great interest and envy for a while now, so he knew exactly what to do with the spoon.  We think a few bites of cereal might have even made it into his mouth.

In his first few weeks of eating, Oliver has sampled rice cereal, squash and peas.  Oatmeal, sweet potatoes and applesauce are up next, and Oliver is very excited about his culinary prospects.  Not nearly as excited as he was about the cheeseburger Daddy was teasing him with a few weeks ago, but he'll take whatever he can get at this point.

Oliver has some crazy hair, and it just might be the cutest thing ever.  It's so fuzzy and soft -- perfect for running your fingers through, styling into a snazzy mohawk or just blowing into it and cracking up.

Oliver is getting more mobile every day, rolling and scooting around everywhere.  His newest trick is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.  It's probably only a matter of days before he starts crawling and starts getting into all of his big brother's stuff.  Let the fighting begin!

Future fist fights aside, having two boys is so much fun!  I'm so excited to watch them grow up together, play together, and yes, even fight, and I'm so blessed to be their mom.

4 & 5 Month Update ~ July 2009

 Our days are finally getting more scheduled lately, and that's a good thing for everyone's sanity.  Oliver usually takes two or three naps a day, and this makes for a much happier baby and Mama.  But with a big brother who likes to put on rousing concerts on the drums (and various other musical instruments), naps don't always work out so well.  On those cranky, no-nap days, Oliver sometimes ends up like this, face-down on Daddy's chest at 6:00 PM.

Tummy time is still not a favorite of Oliver's, but it's a lot more fun when he has something to distract him.  Like that cute baby in the mirror...

...or a hilarious big brother.

We're not sure if he's actually teething yet, but Oliver loves to chew on anything he can get his hands on, which is just about everything these days.  He's also discovered his hands recently and loves to suck on his fingers.  The thumb is especially delicious!

At his (late) four month check up, Oliver weighed in at 15 lbs, 5 oz.  It's still shocking to us how much bigger he is than Tyler was.  For comparison, Tyler only weighed 18 lbs at one year old.  At least I'm getting a good workout every day while I carry our little whopper around.  Plus, it makes his belly, cheeks and chins even more edible -- and helps him float better in the pool, too.

Oliver is generally a cheerful, content baby, although he does have his meltdown moments when he proves he does have a temper.  He's already showing off lots of personality and has quite the variety of expressions.

And of course, we love every single one of them.

Especially this one.

2 & 3 Month Update ~ June 16, 2009

Surprise, surprise, I've gotten behind on updates, so here are Oliver's two and three month updates, combined...

The second time around, we thought we knew what to expect from the first few months, but we never imagined that Oliver would be so different from Tyler as a baby.  First, he refused to take a pacifier.  I tried every single different kind of pacifier I could get my hands on, but apparently, Mama is the best pacifier there is.  Tyler, on the other hand, just gave up his pacifier about a month ago.

Oliver also never really liked being swaddled, much to his daddy's disappointment.  Jake is very proud of his swaddling skills and got to show them off until Tyler was at least eight or nine months old.  Since we were so used to Tyler sleeping like a little burrito, it's still amazing to see Oliver sleeping like this...

Oliver is also a lot bigger than Tyler was at this age.  At his two month check-up, he weighed in at 11 lbs, 10 oz -- over a pound more than his big brother weighed at two months.  Baby brother's wardrobe consists mostly of big brother's hand-me-downs, and Oliver is already wearing clothes that Tyler wore at six and seven months old.  Tyler never had those adorable baby rolls, but Oliver has cheeks and chins -- and yes, he's even starting to get those adorable baby rolls.

Oliver fits right in as the seventh Cantrell cousin, and all of his cousins love their newest baby cousin and fight over who gets to hold him.  As the oldest and most responsible, Gracie usually wins, with the other cousins hovering close by in case she needs help or in case Oliver looks like he needs a hug or a kiss.

Even without pacifiers or swaddling, Oliver has been a pretty good baby so far.  He seems to be past most of the screaming-for-no-reason of the first few months, and we're starting to get on a (loose) schedule and sleeping for longer stretches, so we're all pretty happy campers around here.  How could you not be happy when you get to see this face every day?

One Month(ish) Update ~ April 3, 2009

Like any good newborn, most of Oliver's first few weeks were spent eating and sleeping.  His favorite sleeping spot is in Mama or Daddy's arms, but on the rare occasion when we  have been able to put him down, his second favorite place to sleep is in his Daddy's old bassinet that we rescued from Nanna's garage.

Oliver joined us for the fishing trip to Coco and Papa's pond, but he was too sleepy to do much fishing.  Big brother did let him give it a quick try with his pole, though.

Oliver has had jaundice, but thankfully, we didn't have to check back into the hospital for any treatment.  We did do some at-home light therapy -- a little sunlight does a baby good!

Just like his big brother, Oliver loves to eat.  He latched on right from the start and has pretty much been eating ever since.  He was up to just over seven pounds at three weeks old, so I'd say he's getting plenty of milk.  Just look at those cheeks and double chin!

The past couple of weeks, Oliver's been staying awake more.  He has beautiful blue eyes, and I'm hoping they'll stay that way.  If I'm going to be completely outnumbered (Jake, Tyler, Oliver and two male dogs), I should at least get a little boy with Mama's blue eyes, right?

No, he's not quite smiling yet -- I just managed to catch him mid-yell.  And check out those baby blues again!

Oliver is already beginning to show off some personality.  Behold, the many faces of Oliver...

Oliver Aaron ~ born February 25, 2009 at 11:37 AM

6 lbs, 2 oz and 18 inches long