Oliver's Nine Month Well-Check

Oliver, the baby, and Flash, the puppy (yes, that IS a puppy. He's 10 months old--one month older than Oliver). Yes, yes, we have a puppy and a baby. Probably NOT the best or most thought-out decision ever, but Flash is great with Oliver. Very gentle and calm. Oliver and Flash are the best of pals. Oliver made away with one of Chloe's markers and was determined to feed it to Flash along with one of his socks. Flash declined the marker but accepted the sock.


Oliver went to the pediatrician today for his 9-month well-check. Our pediatrician is so impressed with Oliver and how far he has come since he came home in January. He didn't have to have any repeat vaccinations and it appears that his asthma is under control as he has not needed his nebulizer since last month.

In two and a half months, Oliver has grown 1.75 inches, and gained 3.5 pounds. Oliver jumped from the 5th percentile in weight and height to the 20th percentile. Our pediatrician doesn't quote the growth chart for us, especially since the three pediatrician's (one specialist and our two regular pediatricians) all believe that Oliver was a premie. Eventhough we aren't going by the growth chart, I still look to it for reference. He still has his reflux (he spits up A LOT) but he should grow out of it. Oliver got a clean bill of health and a big thumbs up from the pediatrician!

A Visit to the School Nurse

Chloe got her first visit to the school nurse today. She took a fall on the way into school. She was racing a friend into the building. The nurse cleaned her scrape and gave her a band aid. She was very brave.




I was not there for the fall. The friend's mom offered to walk Chloe and her daughter into school. It was raining and I didn't want to take Oliver out of the car. So, I was not present for the fall. The mom called me to let me know Chloe fell and was ok.

After school I took Chloe for ice cream to make it all better. We were going to go here (because it is FREE ice cream day today)...

but the line was long and it was raining.




So we went here instead--



Ice cream makes everything better.




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A New Bike

Chloe outgrew her old training bike and with the beautiful and warm weather we had this weekend, we were inspired to go bike shopping. Three bike shops later, Chloe decided on this bike.

Easter Celebration

Our Newcomer's Club held their annual Easter egg hunt and party on Saturday. Chloe enjoyed playing with her friends and hunting Easter eggs.

Oliver enjoyed taking in the sights, chewing on a bagel and meeting the Easter Bunny for the very first time!

Nine Months Old Today

and what a beautiful day it was!! The storm fromt he weekend seems like a distant memory with the sunny, beautiful weather---except for the downed power lines and fallen trees littering the place!

Chloe was out of school and we went with Nana to the park (my mom went home this morning). Oliver got to try out the swings and he loved it. He is nine months old today!

Tonight we have our 3-month post-placement visit with our social worker. Time flies.

Happy Birthday Matt!

Today is Matt's birthday. Chloe and I made him a cake and we presented him with a shirt he had wanted since he saw it on Brian in Ethiopia. Matt's mother and my mother were also on hand to help celebrate.

Happy Birthday Matt!!

Oliver's Christening (a.k.a The Night the Lights Went Out in NJ)

Electricity. It's a good thing. It really comes in handy to heat water for showers, cook food (and light gas ovens) and for heating homes. We all got to appreciate electricity this weekend as we went 24 hours without it.  A huge Nor'easter blew through the area on Saturday causing rain and high winds. We had just had massive snow fall a  few weeks before and the snow was melting, saturating the ground. The rain caused even more saturation and the combo of the wind and saturated ground caused trees to topple over onto houses and power lines. Our entire town went black and for the most part so did our entire county.

Our power went out on Saturday evening just as we finished preparations for Oliver's Christening on Sunday morning. Our friend, Sue, had planned some great food for the gathering at our house and it was in the refrigerator waiting to be cooked and served.

Sunday morning, when the sun arose, we could see the carnage the storm left behind. Downed power lines and toppled trees. We dressed and went to the church for the service and Christening. Lights out. We were given the option of rescheduling the Christening but I informed our pastor that my mother-in-law had flown in from England for the event, my mom had come from Dallas, a godfather from Virgina and another godfather from Dallas. He got the point that we weren't rescheduling and we gathered with our other church members in our chapel. Unfortunately the main sanctuary could not be used because of the lack of light from the stained glass windows. As our pastor said, it makes for a memorable Christening for Oliver.

After the service, friends and family gathered in our home sans electricity. Sue, the fabulous cook used our gas range to prepare some of the foods we had planned to serve. In the end, it was a great time with good food. Who needs electricity!!??

Oliver with his Godfather's Bryan and Tom.

The one photo that turned out of the Christening. (It was too dark for many of the photos to be seen)

FYI: Our power did return on Sunday evening. We had been told to expect Monday evening or Tuesday afternoon for the power to return. As of Wednesday, some in our town are still without power. Schools were closed Monday and Tuesday.

Sun!!

The sun came out today and brought some warmth so we walked into town and got some ice cream.

Catching Up

Oliver is doing much better. We're back on schedule and all is well.

This weekend Oliver had his first swim. We've gone a little stir crazy with our winter weather ( i.e. Lots and lots of snow) so we decided to take advantage of the family swim at our local gym.

Sunday we met a friend and his son for skiing. Oliver and I chilled at the ski lodge.


Oliver in his carrier/car seat---where he spends a large majority of his time on our busy Mondays.





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Poor Boy

We've all had some crud going around but Oliver got the worst of it. We took him to the pediatrician on Saturday and then the ER on Sunday. He's doing much better now.



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Happy Valentine's Day

We went skiing in the Catskills today. We told Chloe we were going skiing on Saturday and the excitement was a but much for her to contain. She woke at 3 a.m. to come into our room and wake Matt to tell him how one should "carve" in order to go down a steep mountain. She was then awake again around 5:30 a.m. wanting to know when we were leaving.

The drive to the ski resort was 2+ hours. Both kids did great.

Oliver and I remained in the ski lodge and Chloe and Matt hit the slopes. Oliver worked the ski lodge in his snow booties and "Heartbreaker" onesie. All the women were putty in his hands until he spit up 7 times on me. The smell of regurgitated formula isn't very charming, but he's still learning. It doesn't seem to stop the ladies.

The ski resort was packed for the President's Day weekend and after a  trek to park the car, Chloe and Matt finally hit the slopes. Apparently Chloe had a fall on the first run and was ready to call it a day. Of course, after a 2 hour car ride and expensive lift tickets, we weren't going to let her quit. It took a purchase of a pack of Star*bursts candy and the promise she could have it when she went skiing to get her back out there.

Chloe loves to ski with her Dad. Matt is a very good instructor with her. The only thing Chloe seemed to complain about was that her ski boots were too tight (Of course, that would have been helpful to know when she got fit for them two months ago). Together they hit the slopes for 2 more hours before we called it a day.

Lots of Fun in the Snow

We got about 12 inches total in snowfall. Chloe had a friend over for a playdate and they played for hours in the snow. Matt and Chloe had cleared the walk and drive and made a snow mountain. It provided lots of entertainment as Chloe and her friend used it to sled.

Chloe Loses Her First Tooth!

Chloe lost her first tooth last night. Matt had to assist but she was very brave and it came out easily. I had to convince her it needed to be pulled. It was dangling in her mouth and she would only eat rice the last few days. She was quite excited to return to school today and show her gap.

Chloe woke in the middle of the night to see if she had been paid a visit by the tooth fairy. She came running into our room at 2 a.m. to tell us the tooth fairy had been to visit!

They Didn't Get This One Wrong

THERE IS A ROAD BEHIND THE TREE...SOMEWHERE.

 Last weekend the "snowpocalypse" didn't strike our area despite the repeated warnings so people questioned whether the big snowstorm would make it to us today. Well it did.

Matt is working from home today. Chloe is staying in her pj's, except to occassionally don her snowsuit and go outside for a few minutes. For the most part she is playing W*i*i. 

Oliver is just taking it easy. He must be teething because he's very clingy and whiny today.

THE VIEW FROM MY KITCHEN WINDOW.

Happy 40th to my Sister!

Today is my sister's 40th birthday. We had a surprise left for her in her yard this morning.

Visitors

One thing that's really nice about where we live, we get lots of visitors. One of my best friends from college, Christi, came in last week and got to meet Oliver. As the mom of two, Christi gave me lots of sage advice while she was here and its already come in handy. Thanks Christi!

Last night, Tom came to visit. Tom will be one of Oliver's godfathers. He's lots of fun and he and Chloe played a fun round of light sabers.

Fair the Well

Aunt Deanna left on Saturday morning to return home. She stayed with Chloe while we were in Ethiopia and then she stayed on another week to help us get settled in. In total she was gone from her home for 3 weeks. Thanks for helping us out! It was much appreciated.

Show and Tell

I brought Oliver to Chloe's school today. He was her "show and tell". The kids sat on the carpet, I held Oliver and Chloe stood beside us and told that Oliver was her brother, he was born in Ethiopia, in Africa and he was 7 months old. Her teacher showed the kids where we were and where Ethiopia was on a globe. The kids then asked questions. Here are a few of the memorable questions:

• Is he a vegetarian?
• Is he hard to take care of?
• Where was he born?
• Does he blink?

Oliver let a big belch out during Q&A which made all the kids laugh. He was a hit and Chloe was a proud big sister in her traditional Ethiopian dress.

We're Back!!

We're back from Ethiopia with Oliver. I am trying to add the journal to Oliver's blog as quickly as I can. All is well and we are very thrilled!