Month Four Milestones

Hi everyone. Oliver wanted to show you all that he has mastered sitting up on his own. Mom loves it because he is so much better at entertaining himself with his toys while sitting up. Also, it took a couple weeks of practice, but Ollie is a pro at eating his rice cereal now too. In case you were wondering, Ollie's mom is also a good eater and has been practicing with lots of chocolate this Christmas season!

Santa's Little Helper

Sam was excited to play Santa' elf this year and put together Oliver's Christmas present. We got him a walker because all he ever wants to do is stand and we get tired of holding him up. We gave it to him a day early because we didn't want to pack it up to Salt Lake, and as you can see it was a big success. Way to go Santa!

Christmastime Cheer

After our incredible week in Hawaii our family opted to give simple, homemade gifts for Christmas this year. After being inspired by the movie Elf, my little brother Donald decided that "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear." So as his Christmas present he broke out his electric guitar and played us a bunch of Christmas songs. Oliver was in the middle of eating his rice cereal when he was struck by the "Christmas Cheer" and started to dance. It was so funny to watch, we were all rolling on the ground and Donald received several encores.

Mele Kalikimaka

This year for Christmas my dad took us all to Hawaii for a family vacation. We rented an awesome beach house on the North Shore and spent nine incredible days exploring Oahu. This is us in our back yard.


When we got home and were looking at our pictures of Hawaii we realized that we had about two hundred pictures of Oliver and around twenty pictures of Hawaii. Of course, as the only grandchild, he was Hawaii's main attraction for his grandparents. He spent most of his time sitting on the beach lathered in sunscreen, but he didn't seem to mind.



We did some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was pretty cool until we came across some eels. Yuck!





The purpose of our trip, beside having a good time, was to attend my little sister's graduation from the University of Hawaii. It was Oliver's first time meeting his aunt Whitney. I think he was more interested in her leis than anything else. Of course, we all thought the leis were beautiful, but Ollie was the only one who found them appetizing.
















Of course, no trip to Hawaii could be complete without some surfing. We found a great beach on the North Shore that was just right for beginners and had a blast trying to catch some waves. Everyone did really well. When Sam asked the rental shop owner what we could do to improve our surfing skills the man looked at us and told us to get in shape. Ouch!
















This is us at the Dole Plantation where we stopped off for some of their famous pineapple ice cream. Yum.

Here we are at the beautiful Laie Temple.


Here we are at Sea Life Park. It is Hawaii's version of Sea World. We loved the dolphin show and the Sea Lion Show. Ollie mostly just loved his carrier, I don't think he cared much for the animals.



I think that someone at the rental place thought it would be a funny joke to set us up with these matching, yellow PT Cruisers. Driving around the island together we looked like the motorcade for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. We got a lot of stares and laughs. But, what is the point of being a tourist if you can't look the part. In this picture our cars are parked at a fruit stand. I was excited to try some of the foods that I haven't eaten since my mission, like passion fruit and sugar cane.

Four Months Cuter

Today was Oliver's four month check up. He now weighs 14 pounds and 2 ounces and is 24.5 inches long. He is in exactly the fiftieth percentile for both his height and weight so I guess he is a pretty normal dude. He smiled and giggled the whole time he was at the appointment and the doctor and nurses just loved him. Of course, the smiles disappeared when it came time for the shots but he had a quick recovery and even gave the receptionist a giggle on the way out. Good job Ollie.

Getting Dressed

Of course, any baby would probably prefer to wear only the birthday suit that they came in, but what fun is that? Sam and I have discovered, or should I say Sam has pointed out, that while some baby clothes are designed with functionality and utitlity in mind others are there for the sole purpose of making moms say "oooooohhhh!" This little bear outfit definitely brings out my baby talk. I bought it at an after thanksgiving sale, how could I have passed it up, they were practically giving it away, hem, hem.