Notes from a mom

I haven't done this in a while so I figured I should get off of Facebook, or Facebutt as Anthony calls it, and jot some things down about our son. Oliver is amazing. I probably don't have to tell you how I feel about him. But he is AMAZING. And growing up so fast. His second birthday is right around the corner and I often spend my daydreaming minutes thinking about how he has grown so much in these last two years. He has gone from a completely helpless baby to an independent, smart, funny, mobile, creative and loving little boy. He continues to floor me with his abilities on a daily basis.

So on to what our little boy is doing these days. I'm lucky right now to be able to stay home with him and watch him grow up. So I get to see the all the good and the bad that toddlerhood is about. Oliver is exerting his independence in so many ways. Just tonight he didn't want me to turn down the light in his bedroom, he wanted to do it for himself. And even though he can barely reach the knob, he gave it his all and stretched far on his tip toes to get to it. He now wants to hold his books on his lap and read (babble) to himself. He definitely doesn't want us to feed him anymore. He can play easy kid games on our laptop and he is starting to try to dress himself. These are the good things. The negative side is that he thinks he knows what is best; when its time to go inside, change his diaper, leave the library, eat lunch, put on clothes, etc. So we're starting to see some tantrums and fits. You all think that Oliver is an angel and he'll do his best to keep it that way. But there really is a spunky kid in there with some attitude. He and I are working on this attitude and we're both new at this so we'll see who outlasts the other.

Oliver is talking a lot more as well. He's not pulling off full sentences or even able to fully tell us what he wants or needs, except for milk, shoes and blanket. But he repeats everything and says new words every day. He can name most animals in his book, either by their name or sound. He points out things in our neighborhood and has names for movies that he likes to watch. His favorites right now are "choo choo" for Thomas the Tank Engine and "Elmo" for Sesame Street.

I'm very curious how Oliver interacts with other kids. Right now he is pretty shy and only stares at kids at the park or library. Even when they engage with him, he is slow to respond or even attempt to acknowledge them. But when he is around another kid one on one, its completely different. He warms up to them quickly and soon is following them around and sometimes bosses them. I'm sure this is completely normal for all kids, but as a first time mom I'm wondering how his personality will play out in the years to come. I'm anxious to see if he is more like me or Anthony or neither of us.

Oliver makes us laugh all the time. He has a slew of facial expressions that he appropriately uses to get a laugh out of us. Sometimes it seems like he has a lifetime of knowledge built up already to be able to use humor like he does. He likes to play tricks on us and loves to laugh with us. Some say that I'll laugh at anything, but this one is really funny, I swear.

I feel very lucky to be Oliver's mom. Words cannot describe the feelings that I have for him. Lets just say that he's my world and I'm very much enjoying watching his life unfold.

Goodnight.