March 2nd, 2012 
Jessica 
Dear Oliver,
In one week you will be fifteen months old. Has it really been that long already? It seems like just days ago you were learning to sit up, watching Naomi zoom around you, and wiggling your “spirit fingers.” Now it’s all I can do to keep you out of everything. You can climb up onto my filing basket and get into the things on my desk. Earlier this week you climbed onto the couch and then the end table, knocking one of my Tiffany lamps to the floor. You stand in the doorway and scream if you’re not permitted to go outside, and you play hide-and-seek in my “new” kitchen cabinets.
It has been so fun to see your preferences and personality develop. Although you adore Naomi, you two are so different. At meal times, you go straight for the fruit, no matter what kind or what form it takes. After that, you go for the vegetables. Your last choices are usually meat or bread. You also love orange juice, and would drink it endlessly if we didn’t limit you. Now that you are bigger, like Naomi you wish to see what I’m cooking at meal-times and hang on my legs crying for a sampling.
You are so sweet and mellow that everyone immediately falls in love with you. With your round baby body and big baby grins, no woman can resist you. You love to play peek-a-boo and you chuckle when tickled. Recently you’ve learned to tickle others, and that makes you laugh too. You love to be held so that you can see what is going on above your head, or just to get in a few more snuggles. Lately you’ve been giving everyone big sloppy kisses, smacking your lips loudly for effect.
You love to run around the house, whether chasing or being chased, and you prefer to be naked. You love words like “outside,” “shoes,” “jacket,” “eat,” “snack,” “kiss,” and “Naomi.” However, your favorite word is “bath!” You can point to your “belly!” and your “head,” and you giggle and squirm when I tickle your “toes” and “feet.” It’s fun to hear your simple pronunciations of “ma-ma, ” “da,” “dee-dee” (kitty), and “doh-doh” (dog-dog). You speak a lot through your gestures, nodding and shaking your head , or leading me to the door or highchair when necessary. You like your routines, and recently you even reminded me when I forgot to brush your teeth!
Oliver, it is so fun watching you grow up from an infant to a toddler. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next!
Love,
Mommy
Posted in 
