Oliver turns 100!

Okay, so officially Oliver turned 100 days old almost a week ago, but "Oliver turns 105" just doesn't sound as good! Here's a status report on Number 2 or Littlest One (as we affectionately call him) or Chuck (as my dad dubbed him because of the amount he spits up).

Weight: 7.1 kgs (15.6 lbs)

Height: 63 cms (25 inches)

Rolling over: Heck yeah! He just started today and he's not messing around. It freaked him right out the first time, but that didn't stop him from trying again and again and again. Now after only an evening of practice, he can flip himself from tummy to back and from his back to his side and nearly his tummy too!

Smiling: Oliver takes after Elliot with this one. He is a very happy, very smiley, very animated little fellow! I'm quite sure that I'm going to have my hands full with these two little charmers!

Sleeping through the night: Not even close! But maybe because I know that this stage doesn't last long and we won't be having any more little babies, it just isn't bothering me that much. In fact, most nights I quite enjoy the alone time that I get cuddling with him in the middle of the night. And let's be fair, with flying back and forth to the States, Oliver has had his little internal clock messed with just a bit. I'm just thankful that he's not waking up every couple of hours like he did while we were in the States and during our first week back. Most nights he's only waking once around 2am and again around 5.30 when Paul gets up with him. And unlike Elliot, Oliver is a pretty good napper most days which gives me my alone time with Elliot which I also love.

Sitting up: Oliver can't keep himself in a seated position or anything, but he loves to be propped up against the couch cushions and look around. He looks so proud of himself too. He's such a strong little guy and is already starting to try to do baby stomach crunches. Maybe he'll be really into fitness when he grows up . . .

Giggling: Although he's been giggling (really 'chuckling' describes it much better) for weeks now, Oliver much prefers the delighted squeal over the giggle. Still, with a little effort (Elliot has been joining in with tickles), we manage to hear an adorable little chuckle at least once a day.

Other really cute things about Oliver:

Oliver is infatuated with Elliot and happily spends a lot of his waking hours admiring his big brother. Elliot has been mostly indifferent to Oliver except for gorgeous momentary acts of kindness when he'll give Oliver a gentle pat or cover him with his blankie. But this seems to be changing as Oliver starts to be more fun. Just tonight, Elliot gave Oliver a great big kiss and hug and said "Goodnight Oliver!" on his way to bed. I hope that this a sign of much more brotherly love to come.

Oliver loves to squeal and attack just about anything within reach. He pulls his prey towards his mouth, growls and rubs his open slobbery mouth all over it. Just recently he's started quickly turning his head when I give him kisses on the cheek and slobber-attacking my own cheek. It is so priceless and I can't help but giggle like a maniac and egg him on to do it again and again.

He is also really really adept at using his hands to play with toys already. He reaches up and pulls the little toy on his little baby gym to make it sing and uses his hands to explore rattles and stuffed toys and his favourite, a little cloth book that we recently bought him. Only three months old and already devouring books, have we another gifted child on our hands?

Mostly, Oliver is just a really easy-going little guy. He is quite content on his own and often happily plays by himself for an hour or more during the day, and then when he gets tired, quietly dozes off to sleep. Sure, life with Oliver isn't always this perfect. In fact, when he's upset he is one of the LOUDEST screeching babies that I have ever heard. Lately, we've been hearing a bit more of this as he has been getting over tired and letting us know about it in the evenings when we're trying to settle him. But since this has only happened a couple of dozen times in his whole life (unlike Elliot's nightly displays), we still consider ourselves quite lucky.

I know that this sounds pretty cheesy, but given the terrifying start that we had with Elliot, we consider ourselves incredibly blessed to not only have Elliot healthy and seemingly untouched by his battle with meningitis, but to now have had the experience of bringing home a healthy gorgeous little baby. I guess that it's because of our scare the first time around that we are that much more thankful and elated to have two such wonderful healthy boys.