Oliver: 9 months

Our little baby boy is turning 9 months today, which means we are officially entering the last quarter of his first year! wow!

Oliver is SUCH a fun baby and I absolutely love the age he's in right now; he's interactive, talkative, adventurous and very loving!

This month he mastered crawling (the right way!), feeding himself, pulling up to standing and he's VERY close to cruising around furniture; he can also drink from a sippy cup and is slowly getting the concept of drinking with a straw... go baby Oliver!

He is big and chubby and currently wears size 12-18 months; his legs are rolly and his cheeks are round and chunky.. have I mentioned how much I LOVE chubby babies!??! ;) Even though I don't know his exact height and weight, I know he's over 22lbs now; his next doctor's appointment isn't until mid-July. 

As far as sleeping goes.. well.. I wish I had better news :(.. Oliver STILL doesn't sleep through the night and wakes up every 2-3 hours. His nap schedule is also very crappy and we've officially named him the "cat napper" since he NEVER naps for longer than 20 minutes; I still wonder where he gets his energy from since it sure isn't from sleeping! :/

Oliver loves music and as soon as he hears any song, he starts shaking and puts his arms up. He also loves tickles and finds waving good-bye to be one of the funniest things people can do; it's so cute to see him laugh when people wave at him.  He loves playing with balls, stuffed animals, cell phones and remote controls. 

He eats SO MUCH and still breastfeeds like a champ...I swear he's addicted to my boobs and I'm already starting to wonder how I'm going to wean him off when the time comes even though there are no plans to wean YET!

Here are some pictures from his 9 months!

Oliver's first time in the pool! (06/16/16).. It was so much fun and I still can't believe I held off that long to put him in the water, especially living in South Florida.. he had a blast and couldn't stop splashing around! 

..and here he is during one of his rare naps.. he looks so peaceful and I wish he did this more often!

Happy 9 months Mr. Oliver! We love you and we are enjoying you so much! 

End of school year reflections...

As we wrap up another school year, I can say that I've never been happier to be DONE with school work for at least 10 weeks.  This school year was TOUGH in so many levels and I'm just glad we get to enjoy our summer without worrying about anything but having fun...

My girls grew so much this year and matured even more; they faced many challenges including becoming big sisters and sharing the spotlight with a new baby that has been more than demanding. I was incredibly tired for more than half the school year, the amount of work and tests was overwhelming at times, there were bullying issues at school, their dad's traveling schedule was insane and many more things made up for a hectic school year.  Through it all, both of them maintained the best attitude and excelled academically and in everything else they took on. 

This year was also very tough for me; I was an emotional roller coaster when Oliver was born and for a good amount of time I felt like I was neglecting my daughters by not dedicating my whole life to them like they're used to. I had many issues adjusting to them "growing up", coming out of their shell and "needing" me less, I guess...

I learned that my kids are fighters and the most optimistic little girls there are. I also learned that they are incredibly smart and have many academic strengths that I wasn't really familiar with. Olivia is a writer at heart and has the most beautiful handwriting I've seen and Gaby is a genius at math, sometimes even helping her sister with her homework; their skills really blew my mind this year!

I also noticed some wonderful traits in them such as creativity, ingenuity, generosity, compassion and a faith stronger than I could ever dream of.  I am so proud of them for finishing another school year on top of the world!

Congrats girls! I can't believe I have a 2nd and 4th grader! Enjoy your summer!!!