So sorry.

As a new parent, one thing I didn't count on was needing to expand my repertoire of regular apologies.  Here are some of the new things I find myself apologizing for:

- I'm sorry I can't ever coordinate the baby-thing well enough to get somewhere on time.
- I'm sorry my son pooped/burped/spit up on your lap (e.g., Grey, Monita).
- I'm sorry he mistook your hair for a toy.
- I'm sorry he fell asleep on you.

(and my personal favorite)
- Sorry my son just motorboated you (e.g., ABC)

Thankfully, he's still small and cute enough to get away with these things.

Cute Things: Oliver and Isla

First, some great news: we welcome to the family Tim & Anna's little girl, Isla Elizabeth, born 11 January 2012 at 8.04 am and weighing 7lb 5oz:

Oliver had this excited response

which may be down to his extremely poor English.

However it's a marked improvement over the previous week's response to one of my jokes:

Aunties and Uncles and Cousins, Oh My!

Auntie Anna, Uncle Tim and Uncle Phil all came (from NYC, NYC and Oceanside, CA) to NC for Thanksgiving and got to visit Oliver.  Here are some of my favorites:

The day after Christmas, Aunt Elissa and Cousin Alex drove to visit Oliver from Washington DC.

Aunt Elissa teaching Ollie how to fly

Then we took Ollie on his first big (apple) adventure (a 500 mile drive!) to spend more time with Auntie Anna, Uncle Tim and Uncle Philip.

Whatever, I'm just hanging out in the car for 10+ hours.

We escaped NYC for a harried drive out to Long Island to see the Fitzpatricks, where cousin Timothy held viewing sessions so he wouldn't have to surrender the baby.

Grand people!

Some people are funny.  Some people are small.  Some people like honey. And some people are grand! Oliver has three grand people who love him lots.  Here are a few pictures of Oliver with his grand people:

Alan and Mary (Rob's parents) live nearby.

Grandma Mary*

Grandpa Alan*

Grandma Sue lives 670 miles away, so she came to visit a week after Oliver was born:

*The identified subjects have not approved these names for use by parents or baby.

A Lucky Muppet

So, we're crazy about this kid.  He's been a dream.

Thankfully, he's also lucky enough to be loved by many, many others.  This week, I'll put up some evidence of all the love.

We'll start with pre-birth loving from the baby shower.  Some very generous friends and family threw a shower for us at Alan and Mary's house, in their lovely garden.

Adorable orange owl pinata.  So cute!

Tim, Alan and Anna set up the amazing spread of brunch foods.

Heather and Krankin prep the activity tables

Such a lovely day!

Finland gives it's expectant mothers an exciting starter package containing the stuff below.  You can read more about this here and here.

While the US government offers nothing comparable, thankfully, our wonderful family and friends got Oliver set up with all that he might need!  Here are some photos of what our people created for him at the baby shower:

All of the handmade concoctions!

Krankin's masterpieces, including a cat "costume" to trick Oliver's grandmothers into
thinking he was a cat--to ensure they'd be interested!

This is how we remind Oliver about Uncle Phil.

For learning about animals.

Cathy's helpful reminder to keep bird flu away from the baby.