Oliver at 6 months

Okay, so this is a little late. I mean, Oliver's more like 7 months old now, but, gosh, with the ongoing house renos, me rejoining the gym (and finally making time for myself to get some exercise--hooray!), job hunting (because I'm having a hard time seeing myself returning to ECU) and chasing after two very active little guys, I'm finding it really hard to keep up with things like blogging, cleaning the house, or shaving my legs lately.

Happy Half Birthday to Me

But this post isn't about me. It's about our amazingly easygoing, oddly super-coordinated, and always hungry little Number 2.

Here are our little giant's stats (which go a long way in explaining his insatiable hunger!):

Weight: 9.5 kgs/21 lbs (90th percentile)

Height: 72.5 cm/28.5 inches (above the 97th percentile or in other words, off the charts!)


Now, I thought Elliot was a big boy, but Oliver truly is gigantic! He's already outgrowing many of our clothes designed for a nine-month-old and is moving into 12-month clothing!

And it's not just his size that is like a nine-month-old; Oliver, is a real mover. He is moving all over the place (it's more often backwards or in circles than proper crawling though I suspect this is just days away). He's been sitting up for months now and is super steady as he reaches and leans for toys or Nacho or Elliot (who he absolutely adores). He also absolutely loves his little walker. He 'runs' all over the house searching for new things to tear apart, knock over, or put in his mouth! I'm beginning to get very worried about his destructive tendencies and even more so because he is incredibly quick and has the most accurate hand-eye coordination of any baby I've ever seen. I hate to make predictions on who the boys will grow into, but I have a hunch that this little guy might be quite the athlete.

But I reckon, the best thing of all about Oliver is just how amazingly happy and cruisey he is. Just have a look at these clips (which are getting a bit dated now, but still you get the idea):

Oliver playing with Nacho

Oliver playing in his cot

And Oliver just playing and being happy

Pretty cute, huh?

Now don't get me wrong; he's not always happy. He gets tired or wants a cuddle or gets hungry (like OH-MY-GOD-FEED-ME-NOW-HUNGRY!!!!!!). And naturally he'll start to fuss. But that's the beautiful thing, if Oliver's upset, there's always an easily remedied reason why. And the rest of the time he's quite happy sitting and playing with toys or rolling and scooting around looking for things to put in his mouth or destroy. In fact, Paul and I often feel really bad that because Oliver's so cruisey, he sometimes gets neglected . . .

. . . except when he's hungry. Gosh this boy loves to eat. And eat. And eat and eat. He polishes off five full bottles a day plus three extra large baby meals (we're talking nearly a cup of mush each meal!) And when this boy gets hungry, I've learned to jump. Things get ugly quick! (In fact, he's been a really useful tool in teaching Elliot the virtues of patience!!) And he's definitely not a chubby bubby (well, except for his cheeks--they're pretty massive!) he's just big and likes his grub. I'm beginning to get very worried about our food bills when he and Elliot are teenagers (Elliot puts away more than his fair share of food too!).


"I love you, bro, but you know it's my cake, right?"

And speaking of Elliot, he is nothing short of a god to little Oliver. All Elliot has to do is say something silly or stick out his tongue and Oliver is giggling his little head off. His eyes follow Elliot whenever he's in the room and you can just see how desperately Oliver wants to be able to do more with him. (And Elliot is just an awesome older brother, getting Ollie toys or running to get me when he's had a spit up or is upset.)

Ollie's also pretty fond of Nacho and loves to play with him and tug on his fur and tail or get licked licked licked! But when push comes to shove, Oliver is definitely a mama's boy. Sometimes he'll start crying simply because he wants a cuddle from his mom, and I have to admit it's super endearing. Elliot has never been too fussed about who was giving him attention, and if I'm being completely honest, he's probably always preferred spending time with his dad. So you can just imagine how much I'm eating it up when Oliver wants some cuddles and one-on-one time with little old me.

I can't believe how quickly Oliver seems to be speeding through all the baby stages. I'm super proud of him and all his developments and accomplishments, but I really wish that I could just work out a way to slow it all down and keep him little, just a little while longer. Now if only he'd start sleeping through the night . . . and learning to say 'mama' would be pretty cool too!!