Oliver continues to change at nearly the speed of light. He is now 8 months old and seems more like a little boy than a baby. He recently learned how to pull himself up to a standing position along the side of his crib, and it is now one of his favorite things to do. Oliver’s other favorite thing is riding in his new stroller (which Mom and Dad bought with some of their Christmas money). His old stroller was his car seat on a stroller base, so he couldn’t really look around very well. His new stroller is a real “big boy” stroller and he loves sitting at the very front, leaning over the edge, and gawking at everything around him! Kay gets lots of compliments on her cute baby wherever she goes.
Oliver hasn’t quite learned to crawl yet, but he can scoot across the floor on his tummy very quickly. He loves to try and grab the VCR and DVD player when he is on the living room floor and the alarm clock when he is on Mom and Dad’s bed. He is very careful and gentle as he explores and pushes all the buttons. He must have inherited his love of electronics from his Grandpas.
Just yesterday Kay put Oliver down on the floor of his room to play with his toys while she went to the bathroom. He was crying when she left; however, the crying seemed to get strangely louder and louder. To her surprise, Kay opened the door and found Oliver there! He had crawled/scooted all the way from his bedroom to the bathroom door. Oliver will do whatever it takes to keep track of Mom!
Kay Lynn was busy throughout the holidays making life fun for Oliver and Jason. She made a beautiful advent calendar with special activities for each day. She also planned some fun Christmas family home evenings like making snow globe Christmas tree ornaments and making donut-hole snowman cupcakes to take to the neighbors.
In between taking care of Oliver and Jason, Kay continues to work hard on her artwork. She recently designed and ordered a postcard mailer to send out to publishers. The mailer looks fabulous—very professional! Kay is hopeful that her mailer will catch the eye of art directors at the publishers she sends it to.
Jason is finally feeling settled in at work. He is working on a paper with a young economist exploring why European banks were so much more exposed to the U.S. sub prime mortgage market than U.S. banks were. Although the project is only in the “working paper” stages, they are hopeful that it will become something that can be published in a major academic journal. Jason also continues to enjoy rubbing shoulders with some very influential economists. He recently was able to attend a Board meeting where Chairman Bernanke and the other governors were briefed on the Fed’s projections for the economy. Although the meeting was classified, (hence he won’t discuss the dreaded ‘r’ word [recession]) Jason did let Kay know that the near-term economic future looks bleak. (So be wary of the stock market for now!)
We love you and miss you all!