We made it around the sun and back! Cute thank-you cards by Basic Invite for all the SPCA donations and Oliver’s gifts. **Sponsored post by Basic Invite** I love birthdays and Oliver’s is no exception, but the word “birth-day” has a totally different meaning now that I celebrate with him every year. The year has flown by even though there have definitely been some really long days and weeks as well. Staying at home with Oliver is the biggest blessing and hardest job I have ev

Catch up on previous updates here: Oliver’s birth story | Month 1+2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Month 10 | We loved spending our afternoons at the pool this summer and will miss it a lot! Whats the winter version of the pool for kids? It’s amazing how your opinion can change within the space of a month. Last month I was sad that I only had two more updates left until Oliver turned a year, and now I don’t mind at all. I think I have

Catch up on previous updates: Oliver’s birth story | Month 1+2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | This is by far my favorite post to write every month! I was going to stop when Ollie turned 12 months but that is only two posts away and I am in denial. Loves his food! Milestones Stands and crab walks around benches, window sills, shelves and the ottoman. Gives open-mouthed, slobbery kisses when we say “kiss-kiss.” Can understand simple comm

Catch up on previous updates: Oliver’s birth story | Month 1+2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Happy 8 months sweet boy. You are truly a delight! (Outfit deets: Jeans- Gap (old) similar, similar, similar | Shirt | Old Navy ) This month has been an interesting one. Oliver is moving around so much, and getting into so many things that he has me on my toes. He isn’t crawling just yet but is so close it could happen any moment. Every time I turn around, he has

First of all let me say that baby number two is not on the horizon at all. I have joked to Daniel saying that when Oliver can make me a PB&J then we can think about trying for another one. Becoming a mother has been so wonderful but it has also been painful, exhausting and emotional. You can’t prepare someone by telling them what it’s going to be like – they just have to jump into the pool that is motherhood and learn how to splash around until they can swim by themselves. Of

Catch up on previous updates: Oliver’s birth story | Month 1+2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 Daniel captured this special picture of us at his sister’s place outside Pietermaritzburg in SA. At 6 months, Oliver has already flown over 17,000 miles to South Africa and back. We recently took a month long trip to South Africa and I feel like we brought home a totally different baby. Isn’t it amazing what they can learn to do in a month? One day he was face-planting while trying to

5 month old Oliver wearing my brother’s old cap. Check out Oliver’s previous updates: Birth story, Month 1 & 2 (oh gosh – this was a hectic time), Month 3, Month 4 Since I was young I’ve been athletic and active. I’ve never had to watch what I eat or really work at keeping slim and trim. During my pregnancy I gained 20-ish lbs, and I stayed fit and active through yoga teacher training. Two weeks after giving birth, my arms were still slim and my belly was disappearing. Oliver

Our little vegan baby, Oliver, is 4 months old and now I understand how all parents say that time flies. (However, the first 2 months didn’t. Read about that here.) In the third month, the fog lifted and now that we are really having fun, the weeks are flying by! Sleep Night: What a difference a good night’s sleep makes! Oliver is sleeping about 10 hours at night (from 9:30pm – 7:30am) and we couldn’t be more grateful. I feel like a semi-normal person again. I still need an e

I absolutely love the last three questions of this quote and think they should be nailed to my forehead when I make any kind of purchase- clothes, shoes, and especially home decor or kitchen gadgets. When starting to plan Oliver’s nursery, I knew I wanted a “less is more” approach. I also knew I wanted a light and bright room and everything about our apartment right now is the exact opposite of that. Dark and more dark. We painted the room Sherwin-William’s “Pure White” and I

Check out my previous mama update in Diary of an Overwhelmed First Time Mom. Everyone kept saying that life with a newborn would get easier around the three-month mark, but after one month that seemed so. far. away. (See post above.) I was so overwhelmed with my recovery and Oliver’s non-stop crying that I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just had to take it one a day at a time and keep telling myself it would get easier for us both. Thank goodness it did! S

Week 1 The first week was amazing. A-maz-ing. I remember texting my friend Kristy, on October 15, “I’m high on life right now!” I really was on cloud nine. Oliver was feeding well, sleeping well, I was feeling all the feels and even though my recovery was really slow and I couldn’t do much – being with him was a dream. Someone told me that they didn’t really connect with their baby at first and that the newborn phase wasn’t their favorite. I remember thinking, “That’s crazy,”

Catch up on all my pregnancy updates: Vegan Pregnancy Update {39 weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {38 weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {37 weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {36 weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {35 weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {34 Weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {33 Weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {32 weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {31 Weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {30 Weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {29 Weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {28 Weeks} Vegan Pregnancy Update {27 Wee