I know how this goes. He’s shorter than me, he will climb into my lap and loves it when one of us will sleep with him. He needs me nearby when he’s getting ready, he doesn’t want to be home alone for too long and he will play the part of the baby because he knows I love it and will snuggle him harder for it. He is happy to hang out with me, with his siblings, with his family. Right now we are always his number one choice. 
Tagged: 12, birthday, Imagine Dragons, Oliver, twelve
His nerves were palpable. I’ve never felt anxiety so acutely as felt by Oliver. Oliver has been taking classes and training at Nova Ninja for the past year. He outgrew the challenge of the rec classes and wanted to do team training. Part of being on the team is training and competing in competitions however he didn’t want to. So I gave him a year to get comfortable with the expectation that he would try a competition when he was ready. There are always nerves when experiencing something new but I thought the familiarity of his home gym and the support of his coaches would give him some ease. Instead he was paralyzed. He couldn’t warm up and instead quietly watched others running the course. From the moment he started I could tell he simply wanted it over with and moved as quickly as he could from obstacle to obstacle.
Tagged: ninja, NoVA ninja, Oliver
Oliver played soccer and basketball and showed a bit more scrappiness than my older two. But after a few years he dropped both and chose in favor individual sports and activities. Then out of the blue he asked to play flag football. We are grateful to the amazing coach and team that supported Oliver’s first season of flag football and made it fun to watch and an opportunity for him to grow. And a huge thank you to one of the players parents that documented each game and practice (these are all his photos). 
Tagged: AIM High, flag football, Oliver
Tagged: birthday, family, Oliver, photography
My baby is ten. My last, my youngest has achieved a new milestone of double digits. He is constantly testing, pulling, stretching against the binds I put on him. Seemingly aimless, boundless energy with no purpose he is very intentional and knows that his desired outcome is always achieved, to have my attention.
Tagged: 10, birthday, Oliver, photography
