SITTING PRETTY....

Seven and a half months into his short life and Oliver has mastered the art of sitting! 

He still has his wobbly moments but for the most part he can interact with his toys and his environment around him while planted on his bum. He seems to be enjoying his new found vantage point especially when his toys are around him! 

It's only a matter of time before he transforms this skill into the art of crawling...but for now I'm savouring every last moment I have with him as "stationary" Oliver. 

ABC'S COURTESY OF JACOB....

Before bed tonight Jacob and Charlotte were dancing around our room singing various songs one of which was the ABC's. When I asked Jacob to sing them for me on video here is what he gave me....enjoy:

SOME MORE FUN PICS FROM GRANDMA'S 90th BIRTHDAY PARTY...

Tonight my sister Jalynn shared the photos she took at my Grandma's 90th birthday this past weekend. There are so many great ones to choose from but here are a few of my favs. 

Thanks Jal for taking these special shots I know we will all cherish them for years to come!

Shhh...don't tell anyone we're hiding under the podium

The Brown Family excited to celebrate this amazing milestone

So many great-grandchildren 

Grandma surrounded by her great-grandchildren and great-niece Kendall

I just love that all the siblings were together to celebrate 

Siblings and their spouses 

Someone is smitten with "us"

Flying Oliver... 

Jacob quite proud of his tatoo courtesy of Aunt Jal

Aunt Jal and Jacob

Grandpa's balancing trick

GRANDMA'S 90th....

Today we celebrated my Grandma's 90 birthday with a big party at the Donway Residence. Her actual birthday is on May 26 but we gathered the family from near and far to honour her on this special milestone birthday. It was a fantastic day filled with family, friends a lots of food! 

Grandma...we love you and can't wait to celebrate many more birthday's with you! 

Hooray for GGs birthday

Family minus Charlotte who was being stubborn..
hmm wonder who she gets that from??!!

Uncle Jack, Uncle Ray and Uncle Ted

Uncle Ray and his "mini-me Oliver"

Uncle Ted, Aunt Marg, Uncle Jack and Deanna

Grandma thanking everyone for coming to celebrate with her

Charlotte and her party favour

Grandma and her kids (Anne, Tom (my dad) and Bruce)

Grandma and her siblings (Ted, Ray, Marg and Jack)

Charlotte and her cake..she ate that whole piece

Uncle Ray and Oliver

Cousins - Charlotte, Jacob, Quinn and Kieran

Grandpa balancing Oliver

Auntie Anne, Grandma and Deanna (three generations)

Charlotte and Sam bobbing for beer ;)

Piano man...

Jacob loves music....

A VISIT TO THE ZOO...

Today we took Charlotte, Jacob and Oliver to the zoo. We also met my Auntie Anne, cousin Deanna, her husband Sheldon their kids Sara, Addison and Sam and my other cousin Michael, his wife Alison and their son Myer. They are all here from Halifax for the weekend to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. 

We descended on the zoo shortly after 9:30 and lasted until 1pm. Although we took Charlotte and Jacob to the zoo last summer they were much more into it this year than last. They were in awe of the merry go round at the front gate and loved seeing all the animals. They couldn't quite understand why they weren't allowed in the cages to touch them and kept asking us if they could pet them when we stopped at each new animal. 

Charlotte told us her favourite animal was the giraffe and Jacob said he liked the penguins. They both said they'd like to go back tomorrow! Although we won't be taking them back tomorrow we will definitely visit again soon!

Merry Go Round fun

Miss independent on the Merry Go Round

Charlotte, Addison and Sara on the elephants 

Big waves from the elephants

Charlotte and Doyle exploring the zoo

Charlotte and Jacob checking out the animals

White lions

Giraffe

All smiles for the giraffes

The Brown family minus Oliver who was hanging out in the stroller

Oliver at the zoo

MOTHER'S DAY....

I have just wrapped up my third Mother's Day as a mom and I couldn't feel more blessed to have Charlotte, Jacob and Oliver in my life. They are my little miracles and I cherish the moments I've shared with each of them since they came into our family. 

The day started off very early thanks to Jacob's 4:30 a.m. wake up cry from his room. Oliver work shortly after and seemed content in his crib until 5:15 a.m. when he became frustrated and no longer interested in being confined to his bed. I took him out and brought him downstairs so he wouldn't wake the rest of the house. We hung out on the couch until 6:15 a.m. when Charlotte woke and crushed all hope of any of us getting additional sleep. 

The kids were excited to give me their card and gift - a new point and shoot digital camera to replace the one I dropped and cracked a month after I bought it. I promised them I'd take much better care of this camera since it was from them! 

The rest of the day felt chaotic and a bit out of control. No matter how much I tried I always seemed to be a step or two behind where the kids were - they were clearly in control today. I was able to catch up slightly (to prepare dinner) when they were down for their afternoon nap...but the feeling of "control" didn't last long after they woke. We discovered the leak in our furnace room we thought was caused by our furnace humidifier was actually caused by a leaking pipe likely from our bathroom two floors above. My task for this week will be to find a plumber and hopefully get things fixed sooner rather than later. 

My mom joined us for dinner. She brought cupcakes for dessert which were a huge hit with Charlotte and Jacob! 

Despite how chaotic today felt I enjoyed my Mother's Day and look forward to many more ahead. Being a mom is one of the hardest jobs I've ever had but the rewards are endless!

My mom and I with Charlotte, Jacob and Oliver

HAPPY SEVEN MONTH "BIRTHDAY"....OLIVER

I love watching the progress a baby makes in its first year of life. Going from a tiny vulnerable little person to a fun-filled animated toddler is amazing. As exciting as this development is I also wish there was a pause button, a way to freeze time, especially when my third and last child is seven months. I'm not sure how the heck time flew so quickly but it has and despite my wish for a way to freeze time I can't...I just have to hop along for the ride and enjoy every moment...and that is exactly what I've done these past seven months. I have loved every minute of watching Oliver's personality blossom. He is turning into a fun loving, happy and laid back little man who has brightened our lives from the moment he arrived back in October!

This past month has brought many exciting milestones in Oliver's development including:

• Growing and gaining weight: We won't have his official stats until June since we don't actually have a "well" visit with Dr. Greenberg this month but my guess is something slightly above 20 lbs
• Rolling all the way over (front to back...back to front): Oliver finally started rolling from his back to his front. The best part of this milestone was that he rolled from his back to his front for the first time in front of "GG" on May 2 when we were visiting her. He continued to do it three more times while we were there and hasn't stopped since! It was a special moment indeed.
• Sitting for brief periods of time by himself: I decided to see what would happen to Oliver if I put him in a sitting position so I did and for a few moments he sat up and supported himself on his own. He still has a ways to go but it was fun to see him sitting there for a few minutes! 
• Enjoying more solid food: Oliver is not a big fan of baby food from a jar so I have been mixing the food we've been eating together in our magic bullet and giving it to him. This month he has tried quinoa, grilled veggies, feta cheese, pork, green beans, carrots and potatoe salad - in addition to all the other food we've introduced over the past few months. So far there isn't a food he won't eat! 
• Getting a clean bill of health from Sick Kids: Oliver received a clean bill of health from the Club Foot clinic at Sick Kids and no longer requires follow up visits for his feet. 
• Making new sounds: In addition to saying "ba ba ba"...Oliver has added "da da da" to his vocabulary. I'm still waiting for "ma ma ma"...but I know that will come eventually! 
• Blowing "bubbles": Oliver loves blowing "bubbles" with his mouth he's constantly pushing his lips together to make "bubble" sounds
• Drinking from a straw sippy cup: I won't be throwing the bottles out just yet but I am now starting the wean towards eliminating them. After a number of weeks of just playing with his sippy cup...Oliver actually starting sucking on the straw and swallowing the milk or water that came out of it. He still has a ways to go before he finishes a full cup but at least he now knows what to do with it when I hand it to him! 
• Continuing to sleep through the night: Oliver continues to be a sleeping champ. The only thing we need to work on is stretching his bedtime from 6:15 / 6:30 p.m. to closer to 7 p.m. especially when I return to work. 
• Wearing 9 and 12 month clothes: Oliver's wardrobe now consists of 9 and 12 month items. I had to go and buy new summer clothes for him because he was too big for the ones that Jacob had worn! 
• Continuing to clap, laugh, smile and expand his voice: Not a day goes by when we don't hear clapping sounds, laughs or screams coming from Oliver's direction! He continues to brighten our days with his amazing smile too! 
• Celebrating Mommy's birthday: Oliver, Charlotte, Jacob and my mom helped me celebrate my birthday while Doyle was in transit from Boston following the marathon on April 15
• Spending more time outside on the porch / in the backyard: Now that the nice weather has finally arrived we are spending more time hanging outside. Oliver loves being part of the action in is exersaucer or on a blanket! 
• Activities outside the house: Stroller Fit, walks in the neighbourhood and music at CECC

Practising sitting up for longer periods on his own

Oliver loves to smile and laugh! 

He also likes to wiggle...especially after many pictures!