THREE years old!

Over the last three years Oliver has...

Gained 27 pounds. He weighed 3 pounds at birth and had just hit 4 pounds when he was discharged from the NICU four weeks later. He's gone from wearing preemie clothes to wearing size 3T clothing and size 6.5 or 7 shoes. Right now my kids weigh 30 lbs (Oliver), 40 lbs (Ian), and 54 lbs (Nadia).

My first time holding Oliver (he was 6 days old)

Gained 20 teeth. He has 8 incisors, 8 molars, and 4 canines. He likes to have his teeth brushed. He will be seeing a dentist for the first time in October.

Been potty trained. He started out wearing an XS preemie size diaper (about the size of a playing card) and now he wears size 2T/3T underwear 24 hours a day.

6 months old

Has been hospitalized four times and ridden in an ambulance twice. He spent the first 4 weeks in the NICU (one week in Harrisburg and three at Geisinger). He had urological surgery at CHOP in February and ended up spending one night in Philadelphia because his oxygen saturation levels were too low to send him home after the surgery. He spent 4 days at Evangelical Hospital in April of 2014 due to RAD and RSV, and he spent 4 days in the PICU at Geisinger the end of December into early January 2015 due to RAD, RSV, and a collapsed lung. He came very close to being hospitalized again in May for pneumonia. We now own a nebulizer and use it whenever he has any kind of a cough.

1 Year Old

Learned how to talk and sing. He said his first word (Dada) at 8 months old, he added a second word (Mama) at 10 months old, and now he's talking all day long. It turns out he is an extrovert like his big sister and is very friendly, even with strangers.

Learned how to eat. At six months old I began introducing Oliver to solid foods, and he has done a terrific job ever since then! He is willing to try anything. He can use a fork and spoon, but he uses his fingers more often than I wish he did. Some of his favorite foods include any soup or stew, bbq chicken, pulled pork, baked beans, yogurt, fruit snacks, cheese puffs, string cheese, goldfish crackers, tootsie rolls, carrots, grapes, hot dogs, and most desserts. He prefers to eat sitting on my lap than in his booster seat.

Learned to sleep through the night. Currently he sleeps (on average) from 8pm to 7am and takes a nap (on average) from 1-3pm. He's gone from an incubator to a bassinet (in the NICU) to a crib at home to a twin sized bed. 

2 years 

Became mobile. He learned to crawl at 12 months and started walking at 15 months. He LOVES to climb. This boy has done things at his age which Ian (at 5 1/2) has yet to try such as riding a zip line and walking across the rope at the playground.

Learned to love his family. I am still number one in his life, but he also really loves Ian, Nadia, Paul, and his four grandparents. He loves to give bear hugs. He is definitely a snuggler!

2.5 years old

Learned to enjoy many different activities. Oliver loves to have books read to him, watch tv, go to the playground, swim, take baths, ride rides at amusement parks, play on the iPad, and play with a wide variety of toys. The toys he spends the most time playing with are anything related to cooking (such as play food). He also really loves to help me cook in the kitchen. It doesn't matter what I am cooking, Oliver wants to help!

We love you SO much, Oliver, and we look forward to seeing how you will grow and change over the coming years! His celebrations today will include donuts for breakfast, time at the State Museum, and his first trip to Chuck E. Cheese this afternoon. All four of his grandparents are planning to meet us in Harrisburg for the State Museum and Chuck E Cheese. Aunt Millie made him a Mickey Mouse birthday cake for us to eat at Chuck E Cheese. This is the first birthday he has eagerly anticipated, and we hope it lives up to his expectations!