Happy 2nd Birthday, Oliver!

Dear Oliver,

My sweet boy. I can't believe you are two. This year has been so strange. On your first birthday I was quarantining; wore a mask, barely able to hold you and had to blow you kisses from a distance instead of smothering you with them like I should have been able to. I felt like you were sort of robbed from your first birthday. But we made the best of it and you were a happy boy. This time we were able to have more of a normal celebration for you. Both sides of the family were able to join and I made up for last year and gave you lots and lots of birthday kisses and snuggles. Some of your family members hadn't seen each other in person in over a year before your birthday party. It was a wonderful day celebrating you and feeling some normalcy again. This year you were really excited about your presents and loved when people sang Happy Birthday to you. 

It was a lot of fun watching you grow up this year. Right after your first birthday I ended up taking a leave of absence from my job. I was able to stay home with you and Avery for 100+ straight days. They were my favorite days. I never thought I would get that many days in a row with you and I feel so blessed. This year was really hard, in a way. There were so many things that we wanted to do with you that we couldn't do because of the virus. We can't wait to get you out and exploring the world a little more now that it is nice out again and there is a light at the end of the tunnel with the virus. 

You are fearless. You have given me more gray hairs than I want to admit with your antics. Daddy calls you his monkey man and boy is he right! You climb on and get into literally everything you are not supposed to. You have an astronomical amount of energy that I just want to bottle up and steal for myself. Daddy and I joke that we thought Avery had a lot of energy until you were born. You are ginormous (standing at 39 1/4" - the size of an average 4 year old) and you don't always know your own strength; but you're learning. I am in constant awe of your sweet soul. You give the best hugs and kisses, the best snuggles and you say the sweetest "I love yous". You snuggle anything and everything soft. You have gone through a few favorites: 2 or 3 Meow Meows, a Baa Baa and now your current favorite is your little toddler pillow. You love to read and often fall asleep at night on top of a pile of your books. You are also obsessed with puzzles, building towers out of anything, playdough and coloring. You love to sing the alphabet now and count to ten and sometimes higher. You are incredibly stubborn; need to do everything by yourself and have strong opinions. Great when they align with your sister's opinions...not so great when they don't! Speaking of your sister, other than me (you are currently very much a mama's boy), Avery is probably your favorite person. She is always the one you seek out first thing in the morning, the one you want to play with, read with and swing with and the last one you want to give "one more hug" to before bed. You copy everything she says and everything she does. You certainly have a mind of your own, but you look up to her so much. This year your relationship has really blossomed and it has been amazing to watch. 

You are about as strong willed as your sister (she still has you beat - but it's close) so we are already seeing glimpses of the terrible twos. I can't wait to see what is in store for you this year. Thanks for always keeping us on our toes. I love you more than you'll ever know.

Happy 2nd birthday my sweet, sweet Oliver Raymond.

Love, Mom

Winter's Come and Gone

I feel like most years after the holidays are over, the winters tend to drag. For whatever reason, this winter flew by. Perhaps it was finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine roll out. Perhaps it was the fact that the family got out and did a lot of skiing this winter. Whatever the reason, spring is coming and in about two weeks our baby is going to be TWO. I can't even fathom where time has gone - but here we are; on the brink of having a two year old and a five year old. 

Avery has been flourishing at school. Her favorite days are school days. She loves to learn, loves her friends and loves to share her knowledge. We registered her for kindergarten this coming fall and this girl is SO ready (her mama may not be, but she is!). Avery continues to amaze me with her smarts, her imagination and her kind, kind heart. Her teachers tell us that she is sweet, compassionate and a kind friend. That, to me, is one of the greatest compliments I can get as a parent. This year she has grown so much. She has gained a lot of independence and self confidence, which is something we have had to work on with her and she has made us really proud. Avery has really enjoyed skiing this winter. We have been lucky enough to be able to take her out quite a few times. Avery is somewhat of a perfectionist, so persevering through something that she can't get right on the first try can be tricky for her. Skiing was the perfect thing for her this year because it taught her that sometimes things don't come naturally and the more you practice the better you get. Our first day out she was nervous and fell a bunch. There were tears but she still tried. We then had a ski instructor give her a private lesson and she took to him well. She worked really hard with him and by the end of it she really got the hang of skiing. It was really awesome to see. Now she is all about speed; to the point where I have a hard time keeping up sometimes. Avery is bummed that skiing has come to an end already but has started up her gymnastics class again which she loves. She went about a full year without gymnastics class because of COVID so it was really exciting to see her finally be able to see her gymnastics teacher again and get her back into it. She is an amazing big sister to Oliver. He watches everything she does and repeats everything she says. Which can be sweet...but also not so much. Like when she scales the outside of the stairs or jumps off of the couch and Oliver is right there behind her joining in. In her spare time you can find Avery brushing Memphis's fur, playing in the mud, listening to Guster, pretending to be a dog or making someone a card. She is my favorite girl.

Oliver has enlightened me on "boy energy". This child has given me more gray hairs than I would care to admit that I have. He is fearless and I am just not fast enough to keep up with him! I love his sweet soul. He gives the best hugs and kisses. He cuddles first thing in the morning when he wakes (which is about the only time he sits still). This kid does not know his own strength though. I call him "Lenny" sometimes; from Of Mice and Men. Sweet, sweet giant. Goes in for a hug and then squeezes or pinches with the force of a thousand men. Memphis is the best dog who tolerates a lot...because teaching him how to have gentle hands has been a process. Speaking of him being a giant - I look forward to his 2 year check up when we will know his stats. He has got to be the tallest 24 month old out there. He is going through a growth spurt right now too. Eating everything and growing out of shoes before they even get dirty. Oliver has a great sense of humor and already tries to make people laugh - he is a ham! He also knows how to push his sister's buttons; in true second child form. Oliver is incredibly opinionated, like his sister. So 2 very opinionated and strong willed children in the household can be utter chaos. Who am I kidding? Four. There are four very opinionated and strong willed people in the household. I thought I would be blessed with one easy going child but alas; our children are exactly like us (shocker!). Oliver has been really interested in letters, reading books and doing puzzles. This kid is a master at puzzles. I am in awe watching him because he does them with such ease. When he was about a year and a half I was a little concerned because he probably only said about 10 words or so. Now the kid won't shut up. I love it. He talks and talks and talks. When I get home from work he tells me stories about his day. He loves to sing too. Avery has gotten him into Guster (of course) and now his favorite song is Fa Fa. The two of them will dance and sing to Guster together. We enjoy music video dance parties in our household. Recently Oliver got his first haircut. I loved his curls but his hair was just getting way out of control. I called it his COVID hair. I was definitely sad to see his long hair go but I am in love with his new big boy look! In Oliver's spare time you can find him reading all of the Little Blue Truck books, listening to Guster, eating every snack in the house, putting together a puzzle, or literally doing anything and everything that he is not supposed to be doing. He is my favorite boy.