Thankful

This year we continued the Thanksgiving tradition and drove to Sun City, Arizona to visit my Grandpa and Grandma Wimer. The trip there is about 6 hours, which with a one year old I thought would be more like an eternity. Oliver was beyond patient and perfect...as if I should expect anything less!

We arrived on Wednesday evening, settled in and relaxed for 3 straight days. It was beyond wonderful to spend quality time with family.

Look at how much Oliver has changed in just 12 short months:

Thanksgiving 2010 vs. Thanksgiving 2011

We sure do have a lot to be thankful for this year! Here are a few other highlights from the Sun City adventure!

Peas in a Pod....Stylin' Peas

A Boy and his Papa

Oliver Lee by day and Bruce Lee by Night

Our first real Halloween was a huge success! Instead of spending a bunch of money on a costume that Oliver may or may not cooperate with, we decided to use what we had....an authentic, silk dragon suit from  Shanghai and a blue bandana. We were torn between Mr Miyagi, The Next Karate Kid or Bruce Lee. On top of a great costume, some good laughs and a very happy little boy...and best of all, a Halloween with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dorrie!

1 Year - Dr. Appnt

And he passed with flying colors! Unfortunately, he didn't sleep like he is in the picture through the vaccines.

His rapid weight gain has slowed down; he now weight 22 1/2 lbs and is in the 50-60% percentile for height and weight. That big brain of his is still measuring in within the 90%! We wear it proud!!!!

Dino-Mite Celebration

We spent this past weekend celebrating our little man's, big first birthday! While it's likely a day that Oliver will not remember, I wanted to celebrate him and our family and how lucky we all are to have each other. People say that the first birthday is more for the parents....And, I think it kind of was. But, celebrating the joy this little man has brought to our lives is about the greatest excuse to have a party that I can think of! 

So.....we set out to have a big dinosaur bash! Grandpa and Grandma Monroe and Auntie Abby came all the way from Chicago to help us celebrate. Our friends and family joined in on the fun and made it a great day.

Here's a little summary:

One year ago today....

Exactly one year ago at this exact time, I could hardly see my toes. And, I was convinced I was going into labor any minute. Needless to say, I had about 10 more days to wait until I met my love. Time is a crazy thing....

Looks Whose Talking!

Oliver is a sponge these days...His vocab is growing by the day. His current words:

1. Mom -- 'Mum"
2. Dad -- "Daaaa"
3. Dog --"Dooo"
4. Ball --"Baaa"
5. Shoe --"Shh"
6. No -- "Naa"

Friday Night Fiesta

We were invited to Fidels this past Friday night for margaritas, tacos, and a little mariachi to celebrate our friend Brooke's Birthday!

Oliver kind of stole the thunder for the evening when the mariachi band came out. He proceeded to bob his head and wave his hands to the music. Needless to say, the entire room of people eating were watching my little music lover with the biggest smiles on their faces.

This mama got to stay out and enjoy some more margaritas while Dave took our little musician home to sleep.

Happy Birthday to Brooke!!! We <3 you!

Life is Tough...

Life sure is tough for these 2 amigos. This is how much energy Wyatt and Oliver have after they back from a visit at the park with their nanny, Paty:

Reminiscing...

It's so hard for me to believe that my little love bug will soon, no longer be considered a baby in the eyes of my pediatrician and clothing makers...He is almost on the verge of being a toddler ; (  I'm starting to think about his first birthday celebration and am preparing a book of his first year...full of the 100's of pictures taken along the way. I came across these pictures and couldn't help but spend the last hour reminiscing about this amazing day.

The very first photograph ever taken of Mr. Oliver Lee Hosfield...this was just seconds after he was.

This photo of Dave and Oliver (with our doula Sara tending to me in the background) is far and away my most favorite photo from this day!

Proud papa and Nurse Martha checking out the goods!

Grandma Lolli, who witnessed it all...Holding her first Grandson for the first time! Pretty magical stuff!

The start of something really, really cool!

Oliver's Amigos

10 Months Old

Mr. Oliver is officially in the double digit months....10 months old! What does that mean...well:

1. Oliver no longer wants to sit down. While he isn't walking on his own, all he wants to do is walk holding onto his mama and papa's hands....ALL day long.

2. Oliver saw his first and the last Atlantis space shuttle launch!

3. Oliver officially knows how to throw a tantrum. And no, it's not pretty. As I stated earlier, this kid doesn't want to sit down. That includes in his car seat. Oliver will lock his little knees and refuse to sit down when his mama's attempt to load him in the car.

4. Oliver has decided he hates wearing clothes and he hates having his diaper changed. Oh, and he'll tell you.

5. Oliver has learned to point. Ironically, his cousin Josee was pointing at everything on our last visit to Wisconsin. Sure enough, we got home and Oliver has been pointing non-stop.

6. Oliver is now aware of the train that passes by our house approx every 30 minutes. It doesn't matter what he is doing, when that train passes he will stop and say, 'Cha-Cha....Cha-Cha." I tend to agree with Oliver's nanny when she's tells me, "Oliver es mucho intelligente!"

7. Oliver has started giving away kisses. Yes, they are open-mouthed, and they are sweet as heck.

A Lovely, Low-Key 4th of July

After our trip to Wisconsin, this family need a low-key, relaxing day of doing nothing. And it just so happened to fall on the 4th of July. We packed up our bags and headed for the beach.

It was a very packed day at the beach. We found our small opening among all the other families, unfolded our towels, spread out the baby sand toys and took in the sun.  It really was the 1st time that Oliver really 'got it!' He pointed at the ocean waves and dug his baby toes into the sand.

I'm pretty sure he ate about 2 full cups of sand....I tried stopping him about 204 times, but he really seemed to be enjoying it!

I sat back and watched Dave walking hand-in-hand with Oliver down the beach and took a moment to realize how quickly our little boy is growing up. When I was a big bellied pregnant lady at this time last year, I sat on the beach dreaming about these exact days with Oliver at this exact age.

The day ended up being low-key and perfect. Oliver was pooped...this photo says it all:

Happy 1st Fourth of July, little man!

A Trip to Remember

Oliver and I set out on our adventure back to Illinois /Wisconsin last week to visit friends, family and celebrate the upcoming wedding of Kristin and Jeffrey! Oliver was a total joy on the trip....making the traveling part very easy on this mama and making new friends everywhere we went.

 Oliver got to spend the first couple of days with his Grandma & Grandpa Monroe, Aunt Abby...Oh, and the 4 lovely pooches: Buddy, Sadie, Thorp, and Penelope. From the look of all the pictures, he had an absolute blast.

He got to meet a live turtle for the first time.....

He laughed with Grandpa....Hey, do you see any resemblances here?

Love on the very lovable Mr. Thorp

Play constantly with Auntie Abby...Who, by the way is Oliver's new BFF!

And love on Grandpa some more....Hey, where are the pictures of Grandma?

I'm positive he had a wonderful time. I met him on Sunday morning for the 'exchange' and he questioned leaving the arms of Aunt Abby, if that tells you anything.

Next we ventured off to visit to Lolli and Pop in Wisconsin. Their is never a dull moment in this household for a little boy! First adventure = cooking class with Pop Mark:

He even had the pleasure of spending an entire afternoon with his Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dorrie would made the trip all the way from Winnipeg, Canada. Wow, talk about a lucky little boy! After going for a nice walk, and making a trip to A&W, all 3 sets of Grandparents set out for Oliver's first Lobster Boil!!!

The final few days Mr. O spent time with some Great-Grandparents, exploring the pool and playground. Oh, a few other firsts took place - The first golf-cart ride and the first gambling experience!

A summer trip to Wisconsin is officially being added to our list of family traditions!