Oliver laughs... for his mama!!

Finally, Oliver laughed at ME! It was the best moment, and once again I started crying. Oliver was in his swaddle blanket, just waking up from a nap. I unwrapped him and immediately smelled that oh-so familiar burnt popcorn smell. I got a bit closer to make sure he had a dirty diaper, and pulled back quickly saying, "Oliver, you stinky!" He looked me right in the eyes, and giggled. I started laughing and said it again– more laughter. I probably said it fifty times and after each one, he burst into laughter. My God, I felt like a million bucks! I grabbed my phone and recorded a short video. Enjoy!

(Password is Zogas)

Oliver laughs... for his mama! from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

More laughing!

Now that you just saw Oliver crying in the previous post, here is he laughing!

More laughing from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

Cry baby

Oliver is such a good baby. He's so good natured and is always smiling. He has his off days of course, but for the most part he only cries when he's hungry or over tired. And even then, he still has a hard time NOT smiling in between cries. We caught one of those moments on video the other day... It was sad, but still funny and I had to record it! He usually laughs when we kiss and blow on his cheeks but he was just so tired and wasn't having any of it. Please don't think we're horrible parents– right after we laughed and taped our kid crying, we smothered him with kisses and love, as always!

Cry Baby from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

My dream job

What a day! It began with my mom canceling and rescheduling meetings so she could babysit Oliver for a few hours in the morning so I could attend a photoshoot for the wedding invite website I'm designing for. I got to the photography studio and met Lia and Emily from the team, and we all were giddy. Our invitations were printed and ready to photograph, and it was just the BEST feeling. Everything looked amazing and we were SO excited!

Some of our favorite invites, ready to photograph!

My favorite set– designed by me! :)

We are all so proud of our work and the new website that will be going live in the next month. I was only there for a few hours but it was just awesome– picking out props, setting up shots, mocking up invite sets, making decisions, etc. It was amazing and I drove back home feeling really proud of myself, and super happy I have this opportunity to work from home on something I absolutely love. After my mom left I played with Oliver for awhile, put him down for a nap and later in the afternoon fed him when Oprah came on. It was about "dream jobs", and I looked down at Oliver and told him I was truly living my dream. Working from home on wedding invitations, as well as being a stay-at-home mom. This is what I've always wanted! I explained to my sweet little baby that he is such a good boy and makes my and John's lives feel complete, and I am so lucky I get to spend so much time with him.

A few minutes later, I brought him into my bedroom so I could check my email. I propped him up on my lap, and immediately he started grunting. He hadn't pooped for almost 2 days (which is normal) but it appeared –and sounded, and smelled!!– like he was finally going. I laughed at his funny faces and noises, and encouraged him to get it all out. He looked at me really funny at one point, almost like he didn't understand why I thought this was so funny. All of a sudden I realized my shirt felt wet. I leaned him forward, and sure enough found a huge wet spot on his back.

This, my friends, is what we call SUTB– Shit Up The Back. I continued laughing and plopped him down on the changing pad on his belly. I unbuttoned the onesie only to find a PUDDLE of crap on the kid's back.


Although I was still laughing, I went into panic mode. How the HELL do I clean this up?! Wipes? Towels? Oh dear God, where is John when I need him? I somehow got the onesie off without getting poop on Oliver's head and wiped everything up as best as I could. This was a definite bath situation, so I laid him down on the ground on a blanket so I could get the water going. 10 seconds later I walked back in the room and (barefoot) stepped in something completely wet:


The dark spots on the right are– you guessed it– PEE! He was giggling and so happy, and probably felt so good. I gave him a bath, put him in a new outfit, and after all that he was completely worn out and went down for a nap.

So here I am reflecting on this day, and I can't help but smile. My morning was so focused on this career that I love and feel so fortunate to have. I have never loved a job like this before. And then my afternoon was spent doing a job I love even more. I've never second-guessed my decision to stay at home, and I'm so glad that even after days like today– puddles of poop, pee on my floor and all– that I'm still happy about the decision. This is my life, and I absolutely love it.

Almost turning from back to front!

The past 2 days, Oliver has been trying very hard to turn from his back to his belly. I caught him on video a few times– that darn arm is in the way! I'm sure he'll do it any day now.

Almost turning back to front from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

Nap time? No thanks!

Once in awhile we'll bring Oliver into our bed with us for a morning nap when he's having a hard time sleeping on his own. On this day he looked very sleepy, but once he got in the bed with John he thought it was play time.

Play time! from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

Exersaucer Fun

Last weekend we went to the Meckel's house for dinner. They have 3 kids (one is 2.5 months old) and plenty of baby toys. They have an exersaucer, so we decided to put Oliver in it and see what he thought. He did great and seemed to really like being upright! The next day I found one at a consignment store in Portland (Bella Stella), it was in great condition and half the price of a new one. I bought it that day and Oliver has been in it every day since. He's still a little floppy but I think it's a great way to help him build those little muscles. This video cracks me up because he loves putting everything in his mouth these days, and he just can't quite get that doggy in there. What a cutie!

Get in my mouth! from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

Oliver laughs!

On his 4-month birthday, Oliver finally showed us how adorable his laugh is. Here's how it happened: he loves to put everything in his mouth, especially the cloth burp rags. Sometimes he throws them over his face and doesn't know how to get it off, so he simply kicks his legs and makes cooing noises to let us know he needs help. Well, the other night as this was happening, John simply pulled the rag off Oliver's face, leading him to let out his first real giggle. John looked at me in total shock, and said, "Ok... Was that a laugh?!" He did it 2 more times, and it was beautiful. I burst into tears, it was THAT exciting!! The next night he let out several more good ones but each time I brought out the camera, Oliver lost interest in laughing and focused on the camera. So tonight when I heard John make him giggle yet again, I sneaked into the room with the camera and caught it on video. How sweet is this sound?! I can hardly wait for him to laugh like this for me! (Password is: Zogas)

Oliver laughs! from Lindsay Zogas on Vimeo.

Oliver at 4 Months

At 4 months, Oliver:

-is 15 lbs., 13 ounces, 27.5" long and his head is 17" around. That's the 75th percentile for weight and head, and 100th for height. What a big boy!
-is still wearing 3-6 month clothes and getting close to growing out of his Carter's 6 months pajamas. His Gerber onesies are 6-9 months and are also getting small!
-is in size 2 diapers.
-gets really sleepy around 8pm so we put him to bed at that time. He wakes up anytime between 12-1am for a feeding, then back to sleep until 6-7am.
-hasn't rolled over since his 3-months birthday but still holds his head up beautifully during tummy time, and looks like he could push himself over again if he really wanted to.
-laughed the most wonderful laugh for John on his 4-month birthday!
-puts everything in his mouth. If you hold his hand, he'll try to put your finger in his mouth.
-found his feed and plays with them. I love watching him when he wears his pants with monkeys on the feet– the kid goes crazy!
-has eczema but since going to the doctor a few weeks ago, the flare ups have been minimal.
-has an even stronger personality now. He is so mellow and calm (like his daddy) but when he needs something... Watch out for the attitude! I wonder where he gets that from?

Oliver's first Easter

Oliver and I celebrated Easter with my family this year and had a great time. We went to 8:00 mass at All Saints, then back to my parent's house for a big brunch. We stuffed ourselves, then played Catch Phrase, and later Oliver and I took a nice nap. It didn't feel quite like a holiday, since John was away all day working. He's had to work holidays before, but it just feels different now that we have a baby. We missed him a ton, and I wish he could've been with us! But I'm so grateful that he has a good job and works so hard for his family.

Here are a few pics from the day!

All ready for church!

Nap time!